OK, first of
all, a confession (no crime, but…) – I do read at least 7-8 (English &
Marathi) newspapers in a day. There was a challenge to tell something that
supposedly nobody knows about you and I told this fact to the participating group
of friends.
The
reactions were hilarious. One friend commented with a tinge of sarcasm, “why so
many? Don’t you understand in a single newspaper/ single reading?” Some others
expressed their dismay on my ‘extravagance, money squandering ways’.
I mean - let’s
leave these learned folks to their devices. I will not change, here. The
reading habit too old to be changed now!
The fact is
I like reading newspapers and I like to have different points of view,
understand various opinions and read about current affairs, international
politics & relations, and other news such as business news.
You might
wonder why am I writing this? What is the need to assert my liking for reading?
Why now? And other such queries.
OK – nothing
earth-shattering reason, as such.
I just
watched a piece of cinematic excellence called ‘The Post’. Essential details – three of the best movie creators/ collaborators – Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and
Meryl Streep – not in any particular order. Not to forget the entire team.
The Post shows
a true story of The Washington Post journalists and their serious efforts to
publish the Pentagon Papers and stark reality of Vietnam war.
The result is
simply awesome.
I don’t really
get enthused/ bothered by any movies be it English or the rich content Marathi
movies. But this one ‘The Post’ is exceptional – my personal opinion.
The
newspapers are mentioned in derogatory terms by many – like they will be ‘raddi’
(trash) next day, they are full of unnecessary stuff, and other such
indignation.
However, I
believe they are much more than a source of inspiration. I, on an individual level,
still have confidence in print medium/ newspapers – the usual rant that ‘print
is on a terminal decline’ – notwithstanding.
Fact check: The
Audit Bureau of Circulations claims that
the average number of copies of print media publications in India went up by
2.37 crore between 2006 and 2016.
Lastly, I think
I tend to agree with that famous line in the movie ‘newspapers are the first rough
draft of history’! or some such to that
effect.
Postscript:
Apologies, in advance! If someone was hoping for a movie review & a star rating,
here. I am not a film critic, celebrated or otherwise.😊
