Faced with a seemingly endless pandemic lockdown and an economy in free fall, Indians have spent months glued to the rollercoaster aftermath of film star Sushant Singh Rajput's tragic death in June. I report for @AFP https://au.news.yahoo.com/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
From reporters simulating his method of suicide to primetime anchors flagging smiling photos of the actor as "proof" that he was not suffering from depression, no detail has been deemed too trivial or too tasteless. @AFP @AFPSouthAsia https://au.news.yahoo.com/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
Meanwhile his former girlfriend, actress Rhea Chakraborty, has been dragged through the mud as an ice queen and a gold-digger, with Rajput's family blaming her for his death. @AFP @AFPSouthAsia https://au.news.yahoo.com/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
"Every time you think TV news can't plumb new depths, these channels find a way to do it," media analyst @geetaseshu told @AFP. https://au.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
India's tabloid-style TV coverage has a long history. The accidental drowning death of Bollywood superstar Sridevi in a Dubai hotel bathroom in 2018 spurred one reporter to climb into a bathtub to depict how she might have died. @AFP @AFPSouthAsia https://au.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
So-called media trials have become a staple of TV news coverage. But this time it has touched a nerve in a country deeply anxious about its future, with coronavirus cases hitting new records and the economy in tatters. @AFP @AFPSouthAsia https://au.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
Leading television channels such as Republic and Times Now, which are openly partisan, have offered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flailing government a much needed reprieve by focusing on Rajput's suicide. @AFP @AFPSouthAsia https://au.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has even been running a #JusticeForSushant campaign in the eastern state of Bihar, where Rajput was born and which is due to have elections next month. @AFP @AFPSouthAsia https://au.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
The death of a star who had many hits to his name shocked a nation that has stigmatised depression as something that only afflicts unsuccessful people. When Rajput's family said he was not depressed, many were eager to believe them, especially the TV media https://au.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
Then there's the misogyny. "What we are seeing here is the total vilification of a young woman," feminist activist @vanditamorarka told @AFP. Images of Chakraborty, who has denied any wrongdoing, being pushed and shoved by cameramen have been polarising. https://au.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
Many Bollywood celebrities have come out in support of the 28-year-old actress, with stars like Vidya Balan condemning the "media circus" and demanding #JusticeForRhea on their Instagram profiles. @AFP @AFPSouthAsia https://au.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
But the rapacious coverage is unlikely to ease. India's television media operates under the principle of self-regulation, and is nominally supervised by the independent -- and largely toothless -- News Broadcasting Standards Authority. @AFP @AFPSouthAsia https://au.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html
The implications for India are grim. "The government already does its best to dismiss the media, with a PM who doesn't believe in press conferences. Now, thanks to these channels, public trust in the media is also slipping," analyst @geetaseshu told @AFP. https://au.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/bollywood-stars-suicide-tv-witch-030801457.html