Bollywood director eyes 'tabloid' culture

By Zubair Ahmed BBC correspondent in Bombay Life seems to be imitating art for Bollywood director Madhur Bhandarkar these days.

His new film is a look at India's hard partying high society that feeds what is locally called a 'Page 3 culture'.

In India, Page 3 refers to colourful daily newspaper supplements that chronicle cocktail parties and gossip of the glitterati - the country's equivalent of tabloid journalism.

This after an aspiring actress and model recently accused the filmmaker of rape after promising her roles in his films. Bhandarkar has denied the charge, and has been granted interim bail.

High flying lifestyle The newspapers are now full of specualation on Page 3 about Bhandarkar's "links" with the model and actress.

There are a lot of people who only read the Page 3 sheets and discard the main newspaper, especially the young Anil Dharker, Page 3 regularThey range from fashion designers to models and remix music divas, and of course glamorous rich men and women.

Page 3 in India is hardly as bare-all as the original in Britain's best-selling tabloids.
"It's an old wine in a new bottle," says columnist Anil Dharker.

But it was considered bold enough when it was first introduced by The Times of India newspaper some years ago.

Full of risqué revelations about the rich and famous, it acquired cult following in the high-octane world of Indian celebrity. India's other national newspapers rapidly followed suit.

Today the flashy supplements are a mix of celebrity news, party pictures, movie gossip and stories on such subjects as the sexual habits and preferences of Indians.

'Froth is important'

Bhandarkar's forthcoming film has also triggered off a debate about India's high life culture in its entertainment and commercial capital, Bombay (also known as Mumbai).
Socialite Bandana Tewari, who features regularly on Page 3 sheets, says the froth is important.

Konkona Sen - the lead woman in the film
There is enough "angst in every other page of a newspaper", she says.
"There's enough of war, blood and crime and what have you. I think it's human nature to laugh at other people's follies, to read who goofed up, who threw up." Many believe it's the need to know who among the beautiful people goofed up and threw up that's driving the runaway growth of Page 3.

The Times of India claims its Page 3 is a phenomenon. People love to love it or love to hate it, but cannot ignore it.

Says Anil Dharker, who often appears on Page 3: "There are a lot of people who only read the Page 3 sheets and discard the main newspaper, especially the young." Many young people, aspiring models and actors cannot do without a Page 3 fix.

Munira Shaikh, a young advertising executive and film-buff, admits to a prurient curiosity that forces her to read Page 3 every day.

One Page 3 sheet claimed in a recent self-congratulatory article that everyone wanted to be in it but nobody wanted to admit it.

Bandana Tewari says Page 3 merely reflects the inter-dependence of media and celebrity.

"You can't punish them for wanting to look at their best and have a good time and wink at the camera " Socialite Bandana Tewari

"One feeds on the other. Both rely on each other. One needs the content, the other coverage." But not everyone is cheering about the rise of Page 3.

Shoals of disgruntled newspaper readers complain it is a waste of space to feature airhead celebrities on Page 3.

Dharker agrees and admits India's gossip sheets seem to have struck little balance between glamour and achievement.

The Booker Prize-winning author, Arundhati Roy, is both an achiever and glamorous. She and people like her should feature in Page 3, he says.

Bandana Tewari, a staunch supporter of Page 3, disagrees. "On the one hand they [celebrities] are the ones who provide you with amazing coverage and give you all the juice for all the tabloids.

"On the other hand you can't punish them for wanting to look at their best and have a good time and wink at the camera."

It is a debate that shows no sign of running out of steam just yet.

my comments : i think that yes gossip seems to be the main source of entertainment in a newspaper and as stated above many young people buy these newspapers and are indirectly taught to be a certain way. I think this whole idea with MARXISM fits in perfectly with this. As people from thw working class aspire to be like the celebrities they want to live the luxorious lifestyle that they see in the papers, therefore in order to do so they are told how to behave through the media as it is a ideological state aparatus ( ALTHUSSER ) " you either love it or hate it" this is the general view of the film.... and i liked it!