Is Abhishek-Aishwarya wedding a media circus?

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The Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek Bachchan wedding has whipped up a media frenzy with journalists nearly tripping over each other for juicy details regarding bridal trousseau, jewellery, mehendi and the likes to even the most intimate details like the couple’s honeymoon destination.

A large media contingent is stationed outside the Bachchan residences in Mumbai to give minute-to-minute updates on what’s been described as the wedding of the year.

But who decides when private matters become public? And is the consumer is the really listening?

Is the Abhishek-Aishwarya wedding becoming a media tamasha?

This was the big, almost incestuous topic of debate on CNN-IBN show Face the Nation conducted by Rajdeep Sardesai.

On the panel of experts tto discuss the issue threadbare were Editor, Editorial Page, DNA-Mumbai Siddharth Bhatia; Editor of Afternoon Farzana Contractor and CNN-IBN Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand.

Private affair in public realm

Such relentless has been the media’s urge to satisfy its appetite that Samajwadi Party leader and Bachchans’ close friend, Amar Singh has said, “please leave us alone.

According to Singh, the media is converting the wedding into a frenzied event but the family wanted it private.

But can the Bachchans be left alone?

Reacting to Singh’s statement, Bhatia said, “Well, he is right. The media is going bananas but the point is why shouldn’t it do so. They are a glamorous couple, they are brands and in the public eye. So, the media must cover it because there is a lot of interest in the wedding.”

But is it a legitimate news story to be covered in as frenetic a manner as it is being done?

Disagreeing strongly Contractor said, “No, not in the manner it has been. Up to a point it’s ok because they are superstars but the way the media has gone overboard. The media has simply gone mad.”

All dailies have a couple of pages on the wedding but at the end of the day isn’t the media incestuous about it? We want these weddings because we feed on them.

“The reader wants it so we give it. Out of 44 pages we probably devote half a page. So, how can you say that we are full of it,” Bhatia argued.

While there are many who say they are sick and tired of such stories, bit it’s also true that everybody secretly wants to know what’s happening at the wedding.

“But you don’t want it everyday. Not in your face like front page of national newspapers,” Contractor said.

There have been big Bollywood weddings in the past like actor Ajay Devgan married superstar Kajol and then the famous Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia wedding. But it seems the preferences of the viewers are changing now.

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“I think it’s all changed. Now there are many more channels and so the competition is much more higher. But the reason the word ‘overboard’ is being used is because from the Bachchans’ side there has been a resistance to share. Ten years ago say in a big RK wedding there was always a participatory involvement. Press was invited and they were allowed to take pictures. There was a sharing relationship. This resistance to share is sort of being seen as this invasive attitude,” explained Masand.

In the past Amitabh Bachchan is known to have reached out to the media but why now on this big occasion is he keeping the media away? Is it really that private?

Masand said that it’s a little strange because this is the same Amitabh Bachchan who a couple of years ago when Abhishek was being launched as an actor, went out on the street outside his house on a Sunday and introduced his son to these very people saying, “the way you bless me please look after my son also.”

“Amitabh reached out to the same people and today he is shutting the doors on the media which is in a way shutting it to the people. However, the media is hoping that they will come out and make a public appearance,” Masand said.

However, one important fact that Amar Singh pointed out was that of giving private space. Doesn’t Amitabh Bachchan deserve his space considering it’s his son’s wedding and he wants to keep it private? Isn’t he entitled to it?

“He has all the right to do so and the wedding is completely private. The media is outside and this is not Britain where the paparazzi intrudes. Let’s also put it in perspective that there are a lot of media houses and so the volume adds up. But in our newspaper we have certainly not put it on front page,” Bhatia clarified.

News and its muse

Is the wedding a case of a page 3 story coming on page 1 or is it a page 1 story in itself?

Bhatia explained saying, “It’s a page 1 story to the extent that they have gotten married. That’s it. Every other aspect can be relegated to the inside pages. We are just getting carried away by calling it a hype.”

There is a huge amount of public interest in the star couple, so catering to that by the media seems very obvious.

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“Yes, but only up to a level. The news value is very high but you cannot go to town with it talking about every small detail. People are not interested in it, our readers are not. And we have already got a feedback saying ‘thank god you are not writing about it everyday’,” Contractor said.

So, are people getting turned off by this relentless coverage of the celebrities?

Bhatia explained that people are getting turned off “but that happens with saturation coverage of any issue. There is such a thing as blanket coverage and after a point the story stops moving.”

But with rising competition there is a certain amount of pressure on the media as well.

“Yes, there is definitely pressure to cover the story. But this is the biggest news story. They are two of the biggest stars in Bollywood. And of course there is pressure to cover the story exhaustively because of competition,” Masand said.

But are we titillating the viewers? Is it more about trivia or the bigger picture of two top stars coming together?

As the debate gathered steam, Masand explained that one needs to identify the news value of a story.

“What is the effect of the union to the film industry and apart from that of course everyone wants to know the little details. But the point is which bit should be taken seriously and which should be taken irreverently,” Masand said.

The discussion then meandered on whether the entire event is all about branding and in this marketing age where everything is commercialised if the wedding is also part of that nexus.

It was seen in the Liz Hurley-Arun Nayar wedding more starkly but the Bachchans have tried to prevent that from happening, however, despite that the wedding becomes a brand.

Without making any bones about it, Bhatia said, “They are valuable brands. We are getting free access to two brands who combined make Rs 300-400 crore. So, why am I not going to use that opportunity.”

So, then it’s not about privacy anymore but more about money and branding the event.

To which Masand said, “One reason why this wedding is being kept private is because when one opens doors it is actually opening doors to a big media invasion.”

Perhaps, the Bachchans were intimidated by this media invasion. But Contractor argued that the Bachchans “contributed to this media frenzy.”

Agreeing Masand concluded the debate by saying, “By just being gracious and allowing the media to take pictures would have made things simpler. They would have taken the pictures and gone away. Recently there were so many weddings in Bollywood, though not so big, but Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Karisma Kapoor came out and did oblige the media.”

SMS poll results:

62 per cent – Yes

38 per cent – No

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