This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan, Raman Kirpal and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by filmmaker Sudhir Mishra and senior journalist Arati R Jerath.

The panel opens with a wide-ranging discussion on censorship, marketplace pressures, and cultural anxieties in contemporary cinema, covering topics from Bollywood’s ideological climate to the impact of OTT platforms.

Speaking on film censorship, Sudhir says, “If I say as a filmmaker that I cannot make the films that I want to, then I’m scaring off a lot of young filmmakers. A lot of young filmmakers will think, ‘Yeah, then what about me?’ So it starts putting some sort of shutdown in their minds… unconsciously maybe.”

He further adds that “The marketplace is a very big censor. At one point, they say you can’t make films with women in the lead. Comedies don’t work. But then something works and proves them wrong. Popular sentiment is there.”

The conversation then shifts to the Opposition’s no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, examining the allegations of partisanship and the broader implications for parliamentary functioning.

As Arati points out, “Since 2014, politics has become extremely polarised… Vajpayee’s approach was consensual. He would meet opposition MPs and seek their help. Today, a lot depends on personalities in leadership positions… Both Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi see politics as a vehicle for personal agendas… There is a sense of settling scores.”

Manisha adds, “I think there’s an understanding among parliamentarians that we are performing either for the benefit of a viral reel or for our media, which will cheerlead us on… There’s a confidence in the governing party that whatever we say will be played up really well on 24/7 primetime channels.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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