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Nikhil Taneja

@tanejamainhoon

Feb 10

Thread on BeerBiceps and the Outrageous Outrage

1/n

We have become a Banana Republic.

Ranveer Allahabadia said something, which at best was cringe, and at worst was crass. But in the span of a single day, there have been police cases filed in Mumbai and GUWAHATI, against him and the other judges on the panel, among whom is a 23 year old woman. The National Human Rights Commission, the Maharashtra Women’s Commission and the Maharashtra Chief Minister (!!!!!) have given statements, vowing to do something about this.

Almost every single political party has sworn to take action. I have so much to say about this. But first, a genuine question: when was the last time you saw the entire political and legal machinery take such swift action in our country???

2/n

Yes, there is a conversation to be had about what he said, and where does a joke stop being a joke? What are the boundaries of art, free speech and comedy (if any), and when can content be considered vulgar or indecent, and what culture actually contributes to the shaping or harming of a society’s moral fabric? There’s also a conversation about who is allowed to say what joke, and who is offended by it.

I wish we would also have a thoughtful discourse about why India’s Got Latent is one of the biggest original digital IPs, and how, in the abnormal times we live in, dark humour and dank language is a sanctuary for those who are exhausted by the sermons and sanctimony of our society’s gatekeepers.

And last of all, there is probably an important and necessary conversation about podcasters using their platforms to amplify or endorse misinformation and disinformation, and when is comedy used as an excuse to be abusive in language.

3/n

Read 11 tweets

Nikhil Taneja

@tanejamainhoon

Aug 15, 2024

WHAT CAN MEN DO TO HELP

I have been struggling to find words about the heinous and tragic crime of sexual violence and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata, and have only been amplifying stories of women & medical professionals so far.

But looking at the comments in so many posts of women, I’ve been horrified & disturbed.. but sadly not surprised. Hundreds of men have, as usual, chosen to respond with ‘Not all men’, ‘Men get raped too’, ‘Fake feminism’, ‘Victim card’, ‘Attention seeker’ and so on.

They are going to attack this post too, and I’m not sure if there’s any easy way to fight that mindset, so this post is aimed at the other men: who are feeling deeply uncomfortable today, and aren’t sure what men can do to help. As it turns out: we can do EVERYTHING.

1/10

WHAT CAN WE DO RIGHT NOW

Listen, read and amplify
A lot of the anger today is aimed at men, and rightfully so. Instead of reacting to it or taking it personally, we must read as many accounts of women speaking up, to understand and acknowledge their pain. And we must then use our platforms to amplify as many of those voices as we can.

But this must not stop only at social media. We must create spaces among our families, friends and teammates, for women to be able to express themselves without judgement, shame or fear. Listen, but not to react, or even to respond, but to just intentionally, meaningfully and genuinely listen.

2/10

WHAT CAN WE DO RIGHT NOW

Speak up and show up
It’s a shame that not enough men - even decent, well-intentioned men - are sharing stories or posts or commenting or supporting the women who are. A silent support is no support at all.

Of course, there will be men who will attack us too, who will write degrading messages like ‘nahin degi’ (which I’ve received a *lot*) or will try to find ulterior motives to this bare minimum. But there is strength in numbers - if enough of us speak up, others will too.. and it may just compel those who think otherwise to join us too.

But this support cannot be limited to online spaces: show up offline. Join protests. Add our voices to those of the women.

3/10

Read 10 tweets

Nikhil Taneja

@tanejamainhoon

Feb 3, 2024

Wow, so #PoonamPandey is alive. A friend of mine told me in private last night that this is a campaign by a digital agency, but I was skeptical. Because could we really fall this low? Looks like we have.

So many things wrong with this. #Thread

There are hundreds of thousands of people who die from cancer every year. To use a cancer-led death as a tool for a publicity stunt is one of the most insensitive, thoughtless, vile ideas anyone's come up with. You've diminished real deaths & suffering, and made a mockery of a terrible illness.

Beyond that, you've turned the HPV vaccine into a punchline. I really hope that every woman who was considering taking this vaccine after the news of the death yesterday, goes ahead with it, because chances are that this will have the opposite effect: people will not want to be associated with anything Poonam Pandey was.

Read 13 tweets

Nikhil Taneja

@tanejamainhoon

Dec 11, 2023

Spoke to @shrutisonal26 for a @timesofindia piece on 'The rise of alpha males' thanks to films like Animal, Gadar & <name the South blockbuster>.

While I don't disagree that hypermasculinity has made big bucks, I have a contrarian view on its rise. The reason? @iamsrk

#Thread

If there's a trend about so-called alpha males, and the associated misogyny, aggression and violence, I urge everyone to look at another trend: the giant success of the 'softboy' masculinity of SRK's 500 Cr+ blockbusters of this very year, Pathaan and Jawan.

Some examples:

In Pathaan, the introduction to Deepika's character is through an action scene where she saves SRK's character. And at no point does 'Pathaan' try to 'take charge' (or even try to cut himself loose).. he knows Rubina is very well in charge, and she's kicking all ass!

Read 21 tweets

Nikhil Taneja

@tanejamainhoon

Dec 31, 2022

My Annual List of TV, movie and book recommendations is here! ☺️
instagram.com/p/Cm1h8XsOsZE/…

My top TV Dramas, Dramedies and Fun Things from 2022:

My top Hindi TV/film, non fiction and book recommendations from 2022:
(I haven't seen enough of any of these!)

Read 5 tweets

Nikhil Taneja

@tanejamainhoon

May 30, 2022

#Thread on the memeification of the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial:

Alright, so I know I'm going to get hate for this thread, but I'm a bit fed up of seeing the hundreds of (mostly Heard) parody videos + memes from the trial, and I'm a bit sick about what they represent.

1/n

First: everything I know about the trial, I know against my will. I've never sought out, read up on, or watched videos of the trial - until it started seeking me. Until I wasn't able to escape it. Until it became pop culture the same way Trump did, *before* he was elected.

2/n

Second: I'm not going to get into the facts of the trial, because at this time, everyone has their own facts (her truth, his truth, the truth).

Irrespective of the trial's outcome, Heard has already lost. She's not a survivor, she's not even a perpetrator, she's a meme now.

3/n

Read 11 tweets

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