Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma calls out dance reality show for racism, host issues clarification
Mumbai(PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said racism should be condemned "unequivocally" after a contestant from Guwahati on a dance reality show was subjected to racist rhetoric.
In a clip of Colors TV's "Dance Deewane 3" that has gone viral on social media, the show's host-dancer Raghav Juyal is seen introducing a contestant from the North East while speaking gibberish, seemingly to mock Mandarin, the language spoken by the Chinese people.
When the judges, including actor Madhuri Dixit-Nene and filmmaker Remo D'Souza, ask him what he is trying to do, the host replies as he casually makes a racist remark on the young contestant, Gunjan Sinha.
"People might not be able to understand her Chinese but they surely understand her dance," he is heard saying in the 40-second clip.
The third season of the show, which went on air earlier this year, concluded last month. The chief minister took to Twitter and said the "racist rhetoric" against the contestant was unacceptable.
"It has come to my notice that a popular reality show host has used racist rhetoric against a young participant from Guwahati. This is shameful and totally unacceptable. Racism has no place in our country and we should all condemn it unequivocally," Sarma tweeted.
"Dance Deewane" was judged by Dixit-Nene and choreographers Tushar Kalia and Dharmesh Yelande. D'Souza featured on the said episode as a special guest.
While there has been no official statement from the channel as yet, Juyal (30) shared a video on Instagram in an attempt to "clarify the misunderstanding".
The host said he wanted to share "the story" behind the small clip that is circulating on the Internet for the sake of his mental health and the people who know him.
"When the children come on the show, we ask them what their hobbies are. Gunjan said 'I can talk in Chinese, I have this talent'. And we used to laugh at the things children say. When we asked her to speak Chinese, she started talking in gibberish. From there onwards, we would ask her to speak in 'Chinese' on every episode or ask her to speak in the language of another planet!" he said in the video.
According to Juyal, in the final episodes he introduced Gunjan in the same gibberish Chinese ahead of her acts on the show.
"You will not call me racist if you'd see the whole show," he added. The host, who has starred in films like "ABCD 2" and "Street Dancer 3D", said he has a strong connection to the North East.
"I have my family in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. I have friends in Nagaland with whom I've grown up in boarding school. I'm someone who tries to show things politically correct and who takes a stand on injustice and racism. Instead, I often get trolled whenever I take a stand for a religion, caste, culture or creed," he said.
Towards the end of the video, Juyal said he apologises to those whose sentiments were hurt.
"I'm so sorry if I've hurt your sentiments. It was neither my or Colors channel's motives that something like this happens. But before making a clip viral and judging, I'd really want you to watch the whole show," he added.
Racism!@TheRaghav_Juyal introducing Gunjan Sinha of Assam in #DanceDeewane3 of @ColorsTV with "Momo", "Chinese" and celebs like @remodsouza, @MadhuriDixit have no objection in it.
— Ron Bikash Gaurav (@RonBikashGaurav) November 15, 2021
People of Assam is not Chinese, yet such shows always do racism comments.
When will it stop? pic.twitter.com/cOTA8s8nvy
It has come to my notice that a popular reality show host has used racist rhetoric against a young participant from Guwahati. This is shameful and totally unacceptable. Racism has no place in our country and we should all condem it unequivocally.
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 16, 2021
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
