THE dacoit drama Sonchiriya, starring Manoj Bajpayee and Sushant Singh Rajput, was released on March 1, 2019. An excellent film, it was a box-office disaster, grossing a meagre Rs 9.7 crore. If we consider the average ticket price in India to be Rs 119, according to a February 2023 Statista study, then around 8.1 lakh people watched the movie—less than the population of Andheri. As if Rajput didn’t even exist. Fifteen months later, on 14 June, 2020, his body was found hanging from the ceiling of his Bandra West apartment. And in the coming months—amid COVID-19 ravaging lives, the Chinese army advancing towards the border, migrant workers trudging to their homes, many collapsing on the way—the country indulged in a baffling alchemy: converting suicide to murder.
Kangana Ranaut led the charge. In a fellow actor’s demise, an actor found what she craves her entire life: a perfect story. She posted a two-minute video, rubbishing Rajput suffering from depression, and asked a question: “So was it a suicide or a planned murder?” Ranaut deployed the classic no-smoke- without-fire tactic. Bollywood is incredibly nepotistic and enough reports had surfaced over the years about Rajput’s uneasy equations with the film industry’s dynasts: Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions. In the subsequent weeks, this case began to unfold like a TV series, producing a steady stream of episodes, villains and subplots. First came Karan Johar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shekhar Suman (with his #JusticeForSushantForum), then fans, politicians and TV channels.
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin September 21, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin September 21, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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A TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY
The LGBTQIA+ community has battled long and hard against deep-set social prejudices and unjust laws and notched up significant victories, but more remains to be done to achieve a just and inclusive world
LANGUAGE & PREJUDICE
In its state of unending flux, language evolves just a semicolon behind changing societal constructs and, therefore, you may now call sex, sex, and queer, queer without causing any social seizures!
CONSENT IS THE CORNERSTONE OF HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
Educators can empower the youth by providing them various tools and resources so that they can make informed and empowered choices and cultivate meaningful emotive connections based on reciprocity, love and understanding
WON, BATTLES WARS YET TO BE FOUGHT
Despite major setbacks in courtrooms, the queer movement will soldier and ultimately win because it is quintessentially a battle for love and to live with dignity
EQUITY NEEDED TO HARNESS YOUTH DIVIDEND
India's youth population presents a significant opportunity for an economic surge, but realising this potential requires an equity-oriented approach that addresses the country's vast socio-economic disparities
"WE HAVE REACHED A POINT WHERE WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO FUTURE GENERATIONS"
Laxmi Narayan Tripathi is a trailblazing transgender activist who has been instrumental in securing legal rights and changing perceptions of the transgender community.
AWARENESS KEY TO RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT
Programmes that raise awareness and equip the young with guidance and agency to challenge skewed social stereotypes can shake deep-set prejudices, trigger affirmative action, and overturn the status quo
PROTECT YOUTH FROM CYBERSEX CRIMES
Battling loneliness and lacking awareness, India’s youth are sharing much more than what is good for them online and becoming the unwitting victims of crimes ranging from sex tortion to doxing and more. The prevailing laws, unfortunately, are inadequate
"TBBT HAS PUT YOUTH AT THE CENTRE OF THE DISCOURSE 99
Mohammed Asif is Executive Director and Dr Komal Goswami is Chief of Party at Plan International (India Chapter). While Asif leads the organisation’s initiatives in welfare and development for children and equality for girls and women in India, Goswami leads the purposedriven initiatives of Reckitt executed through PLAN India. In an interview with Naina Gautam, they talk about The Birds and Bees Talk (TBBT) initiative, the opportunities, the achievements and the challenges so far. Excerpts:
A RIGHT IN THE MAKING
Though the Supreme Court disappointed the LGBTQIA+ community on the issue of civil union, it hopes that the recent announcements by the Indian National Congress, CPI(M) and BJP will pave the way for a legislative solution to its rights