A head of state, an 86-year-old politician, served as chief minister of two states. At one time, a serious contender for being a Prime Minister. And he is having a foursome.
The perfect reason for media in any country to go berserk.And why not? The story has all the right ingredients. He is so old that he can barely walk but was in bed with three women, one of them who is 7 months pregnant! He can’t even deny it since it’s all on tape.
Expect sensation. Expect controversy. Expect dirt from the past. Expect some more skeletons tumbling out of the closets. Expect confessions.
Wait a minute, I almost forgot, it happened in India. He is N D Tiwari, an Indian politician. Zip. All Indian public figures are saints. Even if they get naughty at times, the media act as a tolerant parent, hit a stick or two on the knuckles and moves on. Hence the top selling English dailies came out with the blandest headlines possible-
Times of India: N D Tiwari denies role in sex tape. (Obviously he is going to deny it)
Hindustan Times: Andhra guv battles sex taint (Makes him almost sounds like a hero)
Only Indian Express showed some courage by having a sarcastic headline “His sexellency?”
But imagine if something like this would have had happened in UK or US. You don’t need to imagine. Think Bill Clinton or Tiger Woods more recently.
I bet Tiger wished he was an Indian. If he were, the entire incident would have only appeared as an accident in the papers. Bribe the policemen and they will say what you want them to say to the media. And the media will accept it wholeheartedly. Say ‘no comments’, and they won’t bother you. No interview from past girlfriends. No smses or voicemails to worry about. Public apology on the website? Are you crazy ?? God doesn’t apologies.
Media-celebrity nexus in India
Celebrities are untouchable in India. They are literally stars. Be it actors, cricketers, politician or industrialist. You can admire them from a distance never knowing what happens when they not acting, playing or doing they respective jobs. There is no concept of paparazzi. I am sure many came to know the term ‘paparazzi’ in India only when Lady Diana’s death hit the headlines worldwide.
But then we don’t want paparazzi in India. What we want is a courageous journalism where spade is called a spade without any fear. Not in the name of sensationalism but truth.
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