Tag Archives for Satyamev Jayate

SJ’s Oprah Khan earns 30 million per gig!!!

It’s not unusual to hear about stars adopting the alter ego of social crusader. In India, actor/director/ producer Aamir Khan is being applauded for calling attention to some of the country’s longstanding challenges in his new show Satyamev Jayate (Truth Alone Triumphs).

Khan’s show, which debuted Sunday after a massive promotional campaign, began by tackling one of India’s darkest secrets—the traditionally taboo subject of female foeticide.

He explored how the nation’s longstanding preference for male heirs led to the tragic practice, which still occurs today in remote villages that are poor and hard to govern. During the show, Khan interviewed several young mothers who candidly shared their painfully raw and emotional experiences.

So far, critical reception has been overwhelmingly positive. The Hindustan Times newspaper went as far as to compare him to American talk show queen Oprah Winfrey due to his mixture of social activism and intimate, personal style.

Khan used data graphs and statistics to make his case, before urging the public to support progress and change. Satyamev Jayate ended with a powerful Bollywood-style song meant to maximize emotional impact.

The show immediately became a trending topic on Twitter. Actor and social activist Shabana Azmi tweeted “Aamir Khan’s show can bring a revolution.” She added it “forces us to re-examine ourselves.”

 Actress Preity Zinta told her 1.5-million followers: “I love this effort from him and thank him as a woman!”

Khan will reportedly earn 30 million rupees, about $564,000, for each of the 13 episodes, which will air on Sunday morning—a prime slot typically reserved for soap operas in India.

Such efforts have garnered considerable attention, which can only benefit the cause, but the actor remains humble: “I can only keep the issues in front of everyone,” Khan told reporters after the show. “One person cannot improve or bring solutions to an issue.”

Female foeticide in India has led to a huge gender imbalance. According to the 2011 census data, there are just 914 girls for every 1,000 boys across India – behind the global benchmark of 952.

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Aamir Khan, the ideator behind ‘desi-leaks’ SATYAMEV JAYATE

Anything Aamir touches turns into gold. We all know that. But it’s not just a magic trick. No, he listens to people, to their concerns, what moves them. He is reading society like a book. Then he starts thinking… for a looooooong time he does just that.  You can hear Aamir thinking during the long silences when he seems to disappear from watchful Bollywood eyes. You know the jolly monster that glows in the dark with hundred thousand eyes and then spits out gossip, lots of it, well, he knows how to hide from it.  Aamir has found a way of tricking the Bollywood-Yeti into believing nothing is going on with him… and then he appears on stage and pulls out.

And everyone is in awe. This time it’s a TV show which promises to cover a lot of grey areas.  Satyamev Jayate  promises to become the desi Oprah show, the desi Wikileaks.

The first episode dealt with the barbaric practice of female foeticide and it got a HUGE response.  I hope he will focus on a couple of other issues, such as animal cruelty, the need for nationwide and organized sanitation program, garbage collection, public waste baskets,  which I still haven’t discovered yet, not even one! OMG, so many issues I can think of, starting from minimal wages which should be raised, child labor,  abuse of young daughter in laws, touching upon  the very difficult subject of  homosexuality… I wonder how far Aamir will go and what he will investigate next.

Meanwhile, he successfully shook up the nation with his first show. It will be interesting to see what follows.

One last thing, people who criticize Aamir and claim he is preachy are probably those who got good cards dealt in life. I think it’s wonderful that he takes up the concern of people, that he cares. He puts himself out and tries to make a difference. He could have made another gory movie like Ghajini, which was gold at the B.O., instead he chose to use his fame, his time to create a show that might change the mindset of people, and opens their eyes towards something unjust that they keep ignoring partly because they don’t know how to fix it. I salute Aamir for what he is trying to do. I hope  he will make this show available on DVD – with subtitles, and I wish him great success. (courtesy: thebollywoodaddict)

read up on the show and how  100,000 people called in after the show to talk to Aamir.. movie_story.aspx?ID=ENTEN20120202290&subcatg=MOVIESINDIA&keyword=bollywood&nid=207996

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India’s Oprah, Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan(Sataymev Jayate)’s efforts may make a dent where the Indian health secretary can’t.

Tripti Lahiri writes in her column in  WSJ‘s INDIAREALTIME:

…In a culture that reveres Bollywood, and celebrity in general, his (Aamir Khan’s)  efforts may make a dent where the health secretary can’t.

……..In the first of 13 episodes, Mr. Khan began with one-on-one conversations, Oprah Winfrey-style, with two women about how they were treated after giving birth to daughters.

…….“Satyamev Jayate” takes elements of the female empowerment talk show associated with Oprah Winfrey, journalism, public service announcements and reality TV interactivity and throws them all together. Only in geeky India would a movie star feel the need to add graphs and charts to the mix.

…….Will the Rajasthan government respond to Mr. Khan’s letter and audience SMS’s? Will the trials proceed faster and will the show change attitudes that are deeply entrenched? It’s a little too early to be upbeat about any of these things — Mr. Khan may well be preaching to the choir — but unlike some of the skeptics among the Twitterati, we’re happy to give Mr. Khan lots of props for devoting 90 minutes to trying.

…..In the meantime, the show seems likely to continue its focus on women and children – and is likely to be as bleak next week. We’re guessing child abuse, from the spot that showed a woman telling Mr. Khan, “Believe what your child tells you,” as he wipes a tear from his eye.

Read the full article: India’s Oprah, Aamir Khan

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Aamir Khan (satyamev jayate) can bring a revolution in India

Dr. Mitu Khurana, a pediatrician & the mother of the 5-year-old twins guddi & pari, is the first woman in New Delhi to file a complaint under India’s PCPNDT Act, which bans sex determination tests.

Dr. Mitu Khurana, a pediatrician & the mother of the 5-year-old twins guddi & pari, is the first woman in New Delhi to file a complaint under India’s PCPNDT Act, which bans sex determination tests.

 Rachna Srivastava writes in Bollygraph:

Shabana Azmi: Watching Aamir Khans TV show on female foeticide. SUPERB. Bravo Aamir.. What a huge service u r doing. Bless u. Jeete Raho. Khush raho. Aamir Khans show can bring a revolution. Thoroughly researched covers all aspects touches emotional chord n forces us to reexamine ourselves

A sure exposition brought before us which acts as an adjuvant , in unearthing the human in us.” Satyamev Jayate” unraveled all emotions in the very first episode itself, leaving us expecting more out of it every week, taking the journey around in India along with the superstar Aamir Khan. We all have inflated respect for this Khan even more now.

The eyes were left misted when we heard the dolorous story of Mitu Khurrana, who comes from a very well educated family and was also married off in a family well settled and well educated. Her case impinged all souls and left everyone with an array of unanswered questions and mixed thoughts.

Post the show twitter was flooded with tweets from the celebs, like:

Preity Zinta: Watching Aamir Khan on Satyamev Jayate discussing Female Foeticide ! I love this effort from him & thank him as a Woman !

Poonam Pandey: #SatyamevJayate reminds of the Sunday Time Slot whn use to watch #Mahabharat as a teen evn by skipng some sunday mtchs Bravo “Aamir Khan”

Neha Dhupia: #nowwatching @aamir_khan address the unreal problems of real india … I’m a fan as always! #satyamevajayate. Respect @aamir_khan #satyamevajayate !

Farhan Akhtar: Satyamev Jayate. A show with a heart.

Mandira Bedi: A reality show in its truest sense. Some stirring & troubling realities of our times.. I applaud @aamir_khan

Zoya Akhtar: #AamirKhan proves that being a real hero is about affecting change and not about 6 packs and sexy backup dancers. Respect. #Satyamevajayate

Vishal Dadlani: Aamir coulda made 3 Cr. a day for any kinda TV show. He CHOSE to make his airtime worthwhile. May his tribe increase. #satyamevajayate.

Satyamev Jayate is very well researched and well grounded in terms of numbers and figures. Aamir surely has double-checked his homework. He also broght along two audacious journalists,Meena Sharma and Shripal Shaktawat from Rajasthan,who had conducted a sting operation seven years back in clinics and hospitals across India  on the barbaric cases of infanticide, bringing to the actual front the real faces of the doctors that were involved ,who can just for some amount of money, kill the child in the womb. The cases are still lying open in Rajasthan court and has been divided to different sub-divisional courts and since years the accused doctors have their licenses intact and they are continuing with their practices.

Through the show Aamir has brought the issue in front of the public and has promised to write a letter to the Rajasthan Court, pleading them to constitute fast-track courts and the cases should be brought in the limelight and be resolved as soon as possible. Aamir, has also seeked public support which can be expressed via sms or feedback on their web portal http://www.satyamevjayate.in

On the ending note, Aamir talked about a “magic wand” which lies in the hands of common people and every individual who had witnessed the show.He showcased a small success story of a small district in Punjab named Nawanshahr, where people with their continued efforts saved around 2000 girls.It is a pledge that we need to take in order to stop injustice that is spreading its roots and would some day,if not controlled, devour our whole country,leaving it in ruins.

Read the full report:  Satyamev Jayate – Aamir wins hearts !!

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Bollywood Idealist Aamir’s Satyamevjayte to create history in world television

Bollywood megastar Aamir Khan’s television production Satyameva Jayate (Truth Alone Prevails) is going to be telecast across India from May 6, 2012. With this hugely promoted project Aamir Khan is set to create history in Indian Television on three major counts.

First, Aamir Khan, the perfectionist-idealist among the three famous Khans of Hindi Cinema, is going to make his debut on the small screen. This mega show marks the first ever television serial to have the superstar as the performer-anchor-producer.

Second, Satyameva Jayate will be first Indian television show to be telecast simultaneously by a private entertainment television channel and Doordarshan—the national broadcaster. This concept of simulcast emerged out of Aamir Khan’s insistence on getting the largest possible audience. With its countrywide terrestrial network Doordarshan has a formidable presence including the vast rural belt. The simulcast is not even restricted to Star Plus—the private channel and Doordarshan as a few other television channels too are joining in due to the serial’s dubbing in several Indian languages including the four major South Indian ones.

Third, this project has launched reportedly the most expensive ever promotional campaign for any Indian television show in history. All possible advertising avenues including the movie houses of India have been tapped and booked for the promo. Its high-value theme song is being shown across 300 movie houses of India just after the compulsory screening of the national anthem. With the huge star around big sponsors had already lapped up the project eagerly.

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In the first lot 16 episodes of Satyameva Jayate will be telecast shooting for which had been done extensively across the whole of India. Each episode will be of one and half hours duration. Aamir Khan had reportedly asked for the Sunday morning slot as this chunk is regarded as the ‘family prime time’ and Doordarshan has a history of achieving unprecedented rating points in this slot for the telecast of the greatest Indian epics—Ramayana and Mahabharata—about three decades back. Sunday, 6th of May, 2012, 11am is the date the Indian audiences have with their most favorite movie star in the comfort of their homes.

Aamir Khan has great expectations from the larger Indian audiences for his first ever television show and also trepidations. He has succeeded in not revealing the content of the serial and has kept everyone guessing. Reports say that the content has a lot to do with the common man and the common problems faced in this country. Like the idealist that he is, Aamir Khan could never shy away from the common man with whom he would want to identify himself, always. The small screen is definitely the ideal place to do so.

Interestingly, in 2011 Aamir Khan’s offbeat Delhi Belly did surprise and horrify quite a few in the conservative chunk of the Indian population, but the movie got wide critical acclaim.

The perfectionist understands the pulse of India only too well! (courtesy:  Chinmay Chakravarty  & Technorati)

 

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