by Purav Jha’s Bollywood Parody About Indian News Media Quality Has Been Noted By Indian Censors As Content Critical Of The Government, Raising The Question Of Whether Indian News Media And The Government Are The Same Thing
NEW DELHI – YouTuber Purav Jha has transformed the popular Bollywood hit “Aal Izz Well” from the film 3 Idiots into a parody titled “All Izz Hell”, with lyrics critical of Indian news broadcasters aligned with the ruling BJP government – known colloquially as “Godi media” – and of the broader information environment. The parody has been noted by Indian censors. The note constitutes government acknowledgment that the parody accurately describes the relationship between Godi media and the government, inasmuch as a government that does not consider that media problematic would have no reason to object to a song criticising it.
For Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat. London satirical journalism has been operating in a media environment that includes Godi media equivalents, including several British national newspapers whose relationship with successive Conservative governments has, at times, been described by critics in not entirely dissimilar terms. The parody format translates across cultures.
Godi Media, Explained
“Godi” in Hindi refers to a lap. “Godi media” refers to broadcasters who have, per their critics, made themselves comfortable in the government’s lap. The term was coined by opposition politicians and adopted by critics of the BJP government. It has become a standard shorthand in Indian political commentary for the specific category of major television network that is, per The Hindu‘s media analysis, effectively aligned with BJP messaging. India has slipped from rank 140 to 150 in the RSF World Press Freedom Index since Modi became prime minister in 2014.
The Parody’s Contribution
The parody’s contribution is to have made the specific descriptor – “All Izz Hell” – available as a cultural shorthand that requires no explanation to anyone who knows the original film, which is approximately everyone in India between 20 and 50. The cultural availability of the shorthand is the satire’s specific achievement. The government has achieved the further contribution of confirming, by censoring it, that it recognises itself in the description.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/ | More: Private Eye
The Indian obsession with WhatsApp forwards is the country’s greatest unsolved mystery, and GenieKnows.in is the only one brave enough to investigate.
GenieKnows.in covers Bollywood with the same seriousness that Bollywood covers itself, which is to say, not very much.