This refers to your cover story Content is the New Khan (July 15). Though rooted in the past, Bollywood has always looked ahead at the future, embracing transformation and reorientation to keep pace with the changing sentiments, aspirations, needs and preferences of the audience, mainly young people. The old order has to give way to the new. As many filmstars had been getting old and losing appeal, the audience was looking out for a new generation of actors, who have now come to rule the roost.
M.Y. Shariff, Chennai
For decades, most Bollywood movies used to be formula-driven. Love triangle, revenge, separated siblings, the good and the bad, the rich and the poor and so on used to be common themes. A few big-name actors commanded huge fan followings. Fans hardly missed a movie featuring their favourite actor. However, offbeat movies were also made and admired by a section of moviegoers. That era is now history. Most movies now have unconventional themes and unfamiliar or little known actors, none of whom can match the fame and fan-following of the super-heroes and heroines of yore. The new movies are often box-office wonders, but none manage to stay on the big screen for long. Movies celebrating silver, golden, diamond, and platinum jubilee was common once upon a time. The big question is can Bollywood deliver all-time classics like Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam and Sholay anymore?
M.C. Joshi, Lucknow
This is with reference to the cover story AES… A Pallid Shroud (July 8). The fact that the treatment of the disease has not been found underscores the lack of commitment of the government. Deaths happen because good hospitals are miles away and people cannot avail instant treatment. Though the mysterious condition surfaced about 35 years ago, both state and central governments did little to combat the disease. They have no contingency plan to stop the menace once for all and no strategy to nip it in the bud. Governments are keen on patronising the corporate sector and the rich, but are ignoring the sufferings of the downtrodden. They have been slow in providing adequate healthcare, free quality education and a healthy environments. While the government cannot provide roti, kapda and makaan (food, clothing and house) directly to poor people, it can help them stand on their FEET by providing gainful employment. How long will authorities shirk their responsibility? There is a need to open more government schools and hospitals and strengthen the existing ones. Healthy people alone will forge a healthy India.
M.Y. Shariff, Chennai
Your story shows the truth on the ground. The government should spend more money on primary healthcare and launch programmes that are tailored specifically to the requirements of a particular region. After reading the story, I have come to the conclusion that politicians are the real culprits . They have not bothered to provide basic amenities, but have made a lot of money for themselves. In 70 years, Bihar has not seen much development. Blaming the who’s who of politics is no solution. We need to revamp our healthcare system.
Vishwanath Dhotre, On E-Mail
Mayawati’s refusal to engage with younger Dalit leaders outside the BSP may cost her dearly.
Lal Singh, Amritsar
The plight of Madhubala and a few more is perturbing (The Assam Question: Who Am I; July 15). It shows the callousness, arbitrariness, nonfeasance, irresponsible attitude and blatant misuse of authority—by the government and its officials. Also, it raises question about the sanity of persons who executed the process. It reflects the protection they have from the system. There is a something called “common sense” and a word called conscience essential and integral to humans. The government’s laissez faire towards employees is resulting in such pathetic and stupefying mess. The cases mentioned here, are the tip of the iceberg, but are the epitome of flagrant negligence of officials. The judiciary should take suo motu cognisance to set up an inquiry, punish errant officials, and recompense victims from their salary.
Indu S. Dube, Varanasi
The hopelessness of so-called foreigners in detention camps is aptly captured in The Assam Question: Who Am I (July 15). People of Assam sincerely want a 100 per cent correct National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is being drafted lately. But vested interests would like to keep away the names of Bengali Muslims, Bengali Hindus, Biharis, Nepalis. Scores of people are shoved into detention camps as foreigners—many because of mistaken identities. We want the NRC updated. But we don’t want harassment of the commoners. In today’s Assam, in the name of the NRC, thousands of Bengali people are being harassed. The BJP government, like the Congress, is playing with the lives of a section of the population. People can see through the BJP’s double standards—NRC to harass certain people and the citizenship amendment bill (CAB) to appease Bengali Hindus. Such divisive politics will ruin the lives of Bengalis as a whole.
Ashim Kumar Chakraborty, Guwahati
I sat bemused, with a newish Outlook (dated May 27) in my hand. It was May 26. On May 23, the poll results were announced and BJP had swept to power in one of the most decisive mandates of recent decades. Yet, Outlook had Rahul Gandhi on the cover, with a gallery of leaders from “strong independent parties” on the side! Was the magazine oblivious to the whole thing? How could this happen? This disaster would not have happened if Vinod Mehta—who once pulled out nude photos of Protima Bedi out of an issue of Debonair ready for printing at the insistence of Kabir Bedi—had been at the helm.
A Note: The confusion, dear reader, about the date printed on the masthead isn’t new. Like many newsmagazines around the world, it’s the date on which the issue expires; that is, the date till which, at the very latest, it has currency. The May 27 issue actually went on the newsstands on Friday-Monday, May 17-20 (depending on the location), when the chances of the Congress and the Opposition had relevance! The next issue (June 3, Narendra Modi, Conqueror-in-Chief) went on sale at the earliest on May 24 evening, and would have been delivered everywhere in the next two days. The issue in your hand, Mr Menon, had just run the course of its seven to ten-day life. Do get your copies of Outlook on time, sir!
This refers to your story The Latest Heir-Bender (July 15). Mayawati’s move to snap ties with the Samajwadi Party shows that she expects the BSP to capture a large chunk of the non-BJP votes in Uttar Pradesh, which would enable her to become a dominant force once again in the state. She will be left disappointed when this opportunistic behaviour fails to bring the positive outcome she hopes for.
Anish Esteves, Mumbai
This refers to Vendetta Visions in Ghost Town (July 15). Former Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu’s grandiose plans for new state capital Amaravati hang in a balance just like his own political career. Now a poor caricature precariously poised politically, arrogance, overconfidence, defying Modi in the company of opposition Lilliputians and taking the people of his state for granted were some of the flaws responsible for his rapid downfall. His own trusted party mates are leaving him like rats deserting a sinking ship. CM Jaganmohan Reddy is leaving no stone unturned, smelling a rat in every deal made by Naidu. Prior to May 23, Naidu hobnobbed with politicians all over the country, acting as a kingmaker nursing a secret desire to be the king himself should a situation arose similar to when H.D. Deva Gowda had become PM. Being hounded by the Centre and the Andhra Pradesh government now, Naidu and family have no choice but to lie low in extended hibernation for five years. However mighty one may be, when nemesis catches up, there is a huge price to pay.
Ashok Raipet, Secunderabad
This refers to your story Modi’s Mandarins (July 1). The taste of the pudding is in the eating, and the test of the bureaucracy’s worth is in the government’s functioning. If the hoi polloi are not ensured freedom from want, it is an unworthy bureaucracy. It is also unworthy if freedom of expression is absent, for that leads to tyranny as power inevitably intoxicates and corrupts. The intelligentsia, barring those in authority, are the watchdogs of democracy, and a government that is vindictive not against those who harm the people, but against those undermining its power, reveals the substandard quality of its bureaucracy. Governments come and they go for their faults. Marie Antoinette of France, the Czar of Russia and James I of England will testify to this.
J.N. Bhartiya, Hyderabad
This refers to Good Cop Bad Cop (July 8). Former Gujarat IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s trials and tribulations raise soul-searching questions. Under the present regime, there is no telling when fair turns foul and foul fair. It can happen in the twinkling of an eye. Bhatt has been facing the music because of his determination to take the road most people avoid—the road of truth shown by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. He is being subjected to a severe ordeal because of his courage in exposing the evils and hypocrisies of authoritarian rule.
J. Akshay, Bangalore
