In this episode of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran, Pooja Prasanna, and Leena Reghunath discuss the dichotomy of the BJP’s Muslim-messaging within India and abroad. In the second section, they also talk about whether art can be truly separated from the artist. Joining the discussion are The Wire’s editor Seema Chishti, Musician TM Krishna, and senior journalist Anna MM Vetticad.
On the BJP’s mixed messaging after Operation Sindoor, Seema Chishti says, “The BJP has always been straddling Gandhi in London but Godse in Gwalior. But now the two worlds have crashed and burned into one.”
Talking about how the BJP sees leaders like AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi as useful when it’s politically convenient, Pooja says, “Imagine what all Owaisi would have been accused of if he hadn’t toed the Union government’s line. So how much worse would it be for lay Muslim citizens?”
Seema adds, “It is only ‘secular India’ that will find acceptance on the global stage. Now the BJP has to project abroad what it despises – secularism.”
As the conversation shifts to the question separating the art from the artist, the panel discusses CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby praising a film starring Dileep, who is accused of conspiracy in the Kerala actor sexual assault case.
Dhanya says, “How do people in power react to this? There is a responsibility on the leaders and organisations. But also, how do the audience react?”
Anna MM Vetticad says, “MA Baby is not a film critic, he has no such excuses. So why was the statement necessary? Let us stop pretending he went to support the film’s young director only.”
She adds, “A Dileep film will bring the greatest benefit to him only; it is the man who plays the lead who earns the most money and derives the most from it for the rest of his life.”
On separating the art from the artist, TM Krishna says, “This separation between the two is an escape pod the art world uses to escape accountability. The idea of separating art and artist is wrong.”
He adds, “By appreciating their art, you are contributing to the individual’s finances and to the power hierarchy they maintain. The art of an accused should be problematised along with the individual.”
Bringing the conversation back to the survivor, Anna asks, “How long is the woman punished for the crime that was committed against her? Why is the world invested in how long we punish a man and not how long a woman suffers for the crime committed against her?”
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Audio Timecodes
00:00:00- Introduction
00:02:04- Support TNM
00:03:29- Headlines
00:19:12 -BJP’s mixed messaging
00:39:33- Art vs Artist
1:20:42 - Recommendations
1:24:50 - Support TNM
References
When Is a Good Time to Ask Questions?
A Drop in The Ocean : The Story of My Life
How A Modi-Era Ecosystem Of Official & Unofficial Censorship Is Transforming India’s Film Industries
Recommendations
Seema Chishti
Anna MM Vetticad
Turning Point: The Vietnam War
TM Krishna
Leena Reghunath
Prakash Raj in Conversation with Dhanya Rajendran
Pooja Prasanna
Dhanya Rajendran
My Father, Woody Allen, and the Danger of Questions Unasked
LANGUAGE OF WAR, LANGUAGE OF PEACE
Produced by Bhuvan Malik, edited by Jaseem Ali.
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