Janhvi Kapoor slams voyeuristic media culture, says her mother's death became a 'meme'
Mumbai (PTI): Actor Janhvi Kapoor has criticised the "voyeuristic nature" of media culture where even death gets dehumanised, something that she experienced after the death of her mother and more recently with veteran actor Dharmendra.
Speaking at the We The Women 2025 event on Sunday, Janhvi said media, especially social media, has "single handedly contributed to the complete derailment of human morality".
"The voyeuristic nature of journalism, of media culture, of social media today, has single handedly contributed to the complete derailment of human morality, and I'm seeing it more and more every day.
"It was horrible when I lost my mom. I don't know if you all can imagine what it's like to lose someone that close to you and see it become a meme. I don't even know how to compute or explain it, but it's just gotten worse," the actor told senior journalist Barkha Dutt.
Janhvi said she avoids talking about her mother, renowned actor Sridevi's death publicly, as she fears that people will think she’s using it to grab headlines. Sridevi died on February 24 in 2018 at the age of 54.
"I think the feeling and the phase that I went through during that time is something I'll never be able to verbalise. And I think that it was such an individual experience that even if I told you all everything about it... I don't know if any of you all would ever be able to relate to it, and I'm always conscious about sounding like I'm saying things to get you all to feel bad for me.
"And so I always refrain a little bit because I know everyone is opportunistic in nature, and everyone just wants a headline. And I would hate if I ever sounded like I was using such a painful part of my life and my relationship with my mother for a headline, so I think that always holds me back," she added.
She also referred to the false media reports about veteran actor Dharmendra's death on November 11. The "Sholay" star died on November 24 at the age of 89.
"We saw what happened with Dharamji and it's happened repeatedly before that. I'm sure it will only get worse," Janhvi said, adding that celebrities are equally responsible for the problem.
"I think we are part of the problem. I think every time we give videos, headlines or narratives... like views, comments, likes, every time we look for something like that, we are incentivising this culture," she said.
Janhvi said "human morality is in shambles" and it is nothing but "depressing".
"I think earlier we had a consciousness in us that stopped us from seeing certain things, saying certain things, indulging in certain practices, but that's out of the window, and it's disgusting.
"This is the modern-day crisis that we've lost our morality as a result of how voyeuristic everything has become. Someone dies somewhere, some horrible attack somewhere, you kind of want to see the things that you shouldn't see, and it gives you the strange feeling of... I guess it's that same horrible feeling of satisfaction that sometimes you get when you gossip, but it's been encouraged so much through social media," she said.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
