Vikrant Massey talks about responsibility of media as the fourth pillar of democracy (IANS Interview)

Mumbai, Nov 6 (IANS) Actor Vikrant Massey, who is awaiting the release of his upcoming movie ‘The Sabarmati Report’, has spoken up on the responsibility of the media as the fourth pillar of democracy.

‘The Sabarmati Report’ is based on the burning of the Sabarmati Express train. The tragic incident occurred on February 27, 2002, when a mob set fire to the S6 coach of the Sabarmati Express near the Godhra railway station in Gujarat. In the film, the actor plays a Hindi journalist, who stands up to the system because he wants the truth to be covered in the reportage.

Vikrant told IANS, “All the news channels today are competing with each other, not with regards to their reportage, but for their ratings. Everyone claims to be number one. That is why perhaps you will find a fact-checking department in every media organisation. The more the information, the more misinformation there is. Why I call it a double-edged sword, and I do not blame those sensational news channels either, is because people want to see it. There is a demand for it. It is a simple law of demand and supply”.

He further mentioned, “But here we are talking about integrity. Why do we talk about integrity through this film and especially the unfortunate incident of the Sabarmati Express is when we recognize the media as the fourth pillar of a healthy democracy, one has to look and also with the advantage of hindsight, you can look back and understand or probably analyse did they do their duty rightfully at a time when the country needed them the most or are they continuing to do that today where an average common man wakes up in the morning or returns home at night after a long arduous day”, he added.

The actor also spoke about the censor certification status of the film.

He told IANS, “The honourable CBFC has already seen the film. There are certain recommendations which are very generic, which is a general procedure. Now, how the audiences will react to it is something which I cannot foresee. We have made a film with absolute honesty, with intent and facts and research. But having said that, the complex world that we live in, my reality could be your propaganda”.

“So I would like to leave it there. I do not want to come out there and try to change your worldview because Firstly, I can only hope that it changes, but I am not going to push it upon you. Here, we have spoken about absolute facts backed by the judgments and reports of the honourable Supreme Court”, he added.

Presented by Balaji Motion Pictures, and produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ektaa R Kapoor, Amul V Mohan and Anshul Mohan under the banners of Balaji Motion Pictures and Vikir Films Production, the film is set to release on November 15.

–IANS

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