The Untouchables - II

Maha Jodi

The Untouchables - I

Creative and Entertainment Industry and Media : recently, I have read a post by mysansar. That post was talking about the top ten NGO who gets donation from US company. In this list you can see the name of MaHa sanchar also along with other 9 company. this company is listed on 5 number for getting donation seven times with total of 500,600 dollar until  May last year. Hari Bansa is also a board member of the Antena Foundation Nepal which is the top most donation receiver in this list. How come our big and brilliant artist are on the list of donation from US ? Do we have all the people in this country who can do good work if only they get dollar money ? what if they were not provided those greens had they stopped working for the national ? This is a good slap in our entertainment and creative industry.

Trust me, like many of you I am huge fan of these two towering personalities of our country. You must have read his autobiography Harayeko Manche, where at one point you can read him do for nation don't ask for donation, but, the truth is; his company Maha Sanchar have made all the good programs with donation money ! Easy to preach hard to live that preaching.

I agree with you, when you say they made all the good programs, most of them has so strong social messages in it. In every society, creative people keep doing that to make money as well as responsibility to society. Here lets talk about movie made by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani. Producer like Vidhu Vinod always needs Director like Rajkumar Hirani as director and this Director needs Aamir Khan to tell his story to the society in a way they will listen and also make them good money. Audience will go to the movie hall just to watch him, knowing Amir is sensible actor who will not play in meaningless movie.  Three idiots has very strong social message, yet, it was not made with donation money. Instead, it went on to make new box office record with 350 corod, breaking all previous record  any indian movie have ever made before this. Bollywood movie Taare Zameen Par also has a strong social message, yet it was not made by donation money. Satyamev Jayate broke all Indian day time price for being so expensive. Yet it was not made by donating money and the social message it it had and the impact was so that it not only affected Indian society but around the world. So much so that Bill Gates wants to work with him for his project that is going on in India and the UN have appointed him good will ambassador. Amir Khan strongly believes when you do business everyone was to make money.

Donation made program breaks the channel of marketing and open competition in box office. Because big name like Hari Hasha and Madan Krishna name was on top of the donation program it broke that channel and competitive feel in the market. they were spending good money to make good programing but with donation money instead of investors money. they were winning the heart of public but breaking the cycle of distribution chain of marketing. Today, we can't see good program on our television is not because we can't compete with Indian channels but its because big stars lie Hari Bansa and Madan Krishna were so short sighted to see its lasting impact n our society. Are they scared of open competition o box office ? or they thought they are too big to compete with new creative breed of brains ?

One thing I have noticed in our media is, it keeps a loud silence on why Bhaskar Rajkarnikar is still allowed to run his TV station ? We have been reading in many media that Avenue TV not paying its staffs for six months, not to those just pretty face news anchors. Can we trust those journalist to be the voice of voiceless when they can't raise voice for their basic rights which is to get salary on time ? I keep meeting with people, who tells me that the staff of avenues are never paid on time and then there was man from electricity office to cut the electric supply from his TV station but he manages to call some number to stop it for a day. There were staff from his office, who were putting, not paid for the work they do on their facebook status. Fine, the staff will be fired soon but how come other journalists can't write about a media house which is exploiting journalists as well s suffering from cancer like disease. Are they afraid now he is a powerful man ? Why our mainstream media do not talk about Hari Bansha Acharya and his company lining up for donation from the US ? Why our media do not open debate on creative and entertainment industry taking donation from the same NGO from US ? Like Maha sanchar there is Nepa~laya, who is in the same list to receive donation ? Why journalists do not pick up their pen to write about the untouchables for their investigative work ? Why people in media can’t raise question against Kantipur and the one kg gold offer or 10 ten million bumper prize to its potential buyers ? Are they afraid to raise voice for rich, wealthy and powerful people in society unless they have to ‘bring them in size’ ? Not every question I have raised here, crosses the code of conduct, but its media’s work to show its public good way to future not leave them   like a crow to get lost in the foggy winter.

Unless we learn to touch the untouchables, in our news, media will keep losing the trust from public. In result, it will cost media house advertisement from corporate houses. But, instead of finding its answer, they turn to government to get the hundi from them.  Why don’t government use that huge money - more than 8 billion Rs** - annually to make the good program for the nation instead of distributing it to the media houses who want to survive on government money ? This way it will create more money from market and brilliant and creative people from industry do not have to line up for donation with foreign nationals.

References :

*http://www.mysansar.com/2014/05/12298/

China Harayeko Manche, Hari Bansha Acharya, Fine Prints

**Journo bring change within, Prateek Pradhan, Media and Ethics, Press Council Nepal

Note : This article has already been published in Samhita, Asar 2072 [June-July 2015]. This is a trimester magazine published by Press Council Nepal.