It takes years for an actor to earn a certain degree of credibility among fans and fraternity members. The popularity and success is a result of hours of toil, perseverance and constant innovation in the space of performing arts.
As journalists, we are messengers via which a celebrity or a star communicates with his fans and admirers. Yes, the communication pipelines have diversified and become more direct, thanks to mushrooming of social media platforms, yet the power of the written word, the impact of a scribe’s ink cuts through the clutter making a publication a preferred and revered medium.
This article is not meant to pack a competitive punch or earn brownie points over someone else’s lapse of judgement. IndianWikiMedia thrives on credible and quality journalism and believes in collaboration over competition. As they say, alone you can walk fast, together you can walk far.
Having said that, the space of television and digital, and its actors and people involved, need to be seen through a new prism.
It’s creative art… far more worthy of treatment and approach than being stereotyped as brainless frivolous entertainment.
“I have focused all my life on my art, my work is my religion. I have always shied away from unnecessary distractions and today when I was wrongly projected in the media, I had to voice out,” are the words of inimitable Vikkas Manaktala, who is left a tad disappointed and hurt with an article in a web publication which misquoted him in an attempt to sensationalize news.
For the uninitiated, Life OK, the channel, is set for a revamp and barring Ghulam and Savdhaan India, all its current programming will see a halt. However, media has been abuzz with Niti Taylor, the lead of Ghulam, apparently being asked to leave the show.
The above mentioned publication sketched a conjecture on one of the reasons of Niti’s exit being uncordial relationship with her co stars, Vikkas being one.
“I never uttered what’s written. It’s absolutely unprofessional. I have no idea why did this happen. Journalists need to understand the gravity of their work and be more careful. Sensation doesn’t help anyone,” shares Vikkas with IndianWikiMedia.
He continues: “There’s so much of information these days, so much being written. I usually don’t react, but this time I had to for I knew it’s not right the way it got presented.”
We absolutely understand Vikkas’s concerns. And the issue is not a storm in a teacup. The larger concern is the lack of willingness and endeavour to resort to ethics and standards of journalism. Yes, it could be a slip which can happen with us or anyone for that matter, hence collectively we need to be careful and learn from each anomaly.
It’s laudable of Vikkas to voice out and all must to ensure that the entertainment journalism space evolves and gains a certain credible cadence.
More power to the written word.