Imagine someone capturing you on camera making out with your spouse and posting it all over the web and TV or worse still, when you are in a delicate situation of contemplating making out and your conversation is tapped!(A La Shakti Kapoor)
The purpose and the job of News Media is to report the facts. But with increasing competition, the news channels, if they don?t find something spicy, just cook it!
If I keep a big heap of gold coins in front of you and tell you its all yours to take for a small favor you could do me, then wouldn?t you oblige? If I offer you a date with Claudia Schiffer for$10, would you not go? Temptation is such a strong sense and it goes a long way from chocolates to women!
There are so many aspects of these so called?Sting Operations?. A wannabe actress approaching a film star for favors obviously has on her mind the give-n-take rule but if she is willing to go for it, then is it the film star?s fault?
Secondly, it?s a personal matter between two people and that?s not anybody else?s business. If she wants to do it, she?ll do it and if she doesn?t he?ll let her go! The only difference being that if she takes the call, she has a chance of a shortcut route to stardom whereas if she wants to do it the hard way, she might have to slog with a zillion others and try to beat the competition in her lifetime.
Thirdly, why should a girl approach an actor if she wants to be a movie star! The right person for her to approach is the Director who takes the screen tests to calibrate acting skills. The fact that a wannabe actress approaches another actor is strong evidence of her seeking influential favors from him. Isn?t that itself unethical in first place?
Fourth, who defines ethics and morality? The past generations, the Bible, the Gita? If yes, then why do we assume they are always right! If two people are willing to commit the so called?sins?, and the result of that being a benefit to both the sinners and the movie going world in general, then for all practical purpose, it?s a good deal for all. And if you feel it?s unethical and immoral to do it, then maybe you should take a relook at your career goals. Maybe you would be more comfortable being a doctor or a lawyer! But people want glamorous life and glamour comes in a packaged deal with sleaze, vulgarity, fame and tinsel vows.
Fifth and very briefly, it?s wrong to force someone into a crime to beef up TRP ratings. Its equivalent to playing with people?s lives, its cheap and speaks very lowly of the TV Channels and shows they can stoop to levels lower than the victims involved in the sting operations. No two thoughts about it.
Lastly, who are we kidding anyway! The channel does it because it boosts viewership -It?s us, the viewers who encourage such episodes time and again. We are so damn bland in our lives that we seek spice in others?! All this talk of the TVs exposing hidden motives in public interest is total hogwash-The TVs use it for their TRPs and the public uses it for gossiping. Given a chance in a private moment, everyone?s hidden demon would come out and be its real self!
No wonder I read in a small side column of a daily that half of India TV?s female staff got their job at one of its producer?s couch!