I have a special guest on the blog today. A popularly affable face and someone who has an electrifying presence, she needs no introduction. It’s a rare privilege to host one of the biggest names in TV journalism in India, someone who is extremely down to earth and has no starry airs about herself. Sunetra Choudhury is one such name who redefines elegance, charm, intellect and poise on TV with the unique capability of holding her forte effortlessly against ‘theatrically difficult’ guests but also someone who flits and gel easily with the youth of the country, tapping their voice and the relatability factor in telling the vibrant stories of India. Today, NDTV’s Sunetra Choudhury speaks to me about her book, ‘Behind Bars’ on what goes inside India jails after the compelling but fun ‘Braking News’ where she traveled the length and breadth of the country. Sit, enjoy and discover what led her to explore the world of jails and do not hesitate to get your copy of the Prison Tales of India’s most famous, ‘Behind Bars’ on Amazon . If you still haven’t read Braking News which is a compelling book and a bible for students of journalism or anyone who wants to discover the real India, click here to buy.
Author and NDTV journalist, Sunetra Choudhury
1. Hi Sunetra, thanks for accepting my request to grace the blog. Let’s begin with an atypical question: Behind Bars is quite a departure from the compelling and fun Braking News where you explored the world of jails. How fascinating is the ‘Saalakhen’ to a VIP, something we’ve heard and as part of research, did the encounters scared you as a journalist taking into account closure is just a mere word?
Sunetra: It wasn’t scary, it was intriguing. As a journalist, we are always looking for new experiences and so it can’t get better than this. The story came to me and so I was compelled to write it
2. The Vishal Yadavs and Manu Sharmas hogged the limelight not just for the heinous crime allegedly committed but also the five-star privilege in jail. Journalism is about the passion of bringing an amazing story and the vivacious personality that you are known for-the love to explore down-to-earth stories, what were the leads that pushed you to explore this dark and gritty world in ‘Behind Bars’?
Sunetra: One of my characters is the reason. A chance encounter with a Romanian model who tells me about her fight to get her rights in jail was what made me write this book.
3. Certainly, that woman on the other side of the call triggered the trail that you went after and the book has touched almost every aspect, be it Subroto Roy, the Talwars, and Indrani Mukerjea. Did the revelations in jail come as a shocker and how the incidents related to rapists or dehumanizing victims changed you as a person?
Sunetra: I kept thinking- if I with 18 years of experience don’t know that these things happen in jail, well then nobody does. And so I felt the need to tell it. The story that changed me was the one about Wahid- who spent a decade in jail and was tortured even though it was so evident he was innocent. What moved me wasn’t so much the way he was tortured but his kindness even after, his ability to use the experience as a fuel for his mission to save other innocent people.
4. A journalist is a human being with emotions. How do you put aside your emotions as a person during the investigation for your book and pursued the voice of reason since rationality is desirable to separate the wheat from the chaff?
Sunetra: I think it is a lesson we learn very early on as a journalist. You can see or hear some very, very disturbing things but at that time you don’t have the luxury to feel. You are focussed on your deadline. So you learn to put it away but it catches up with you sometimes and some of us write books because it is a bit less transient and constructive too.
5. I want to go back to Braking News where you traveled the length and breadth of the country in the iconic red NDTV van. You were very candid as an author and not shying to publish the hate mails and the messy makeup that you were pointed at or your seniors patiently explaining stuff… Being a public figure, were you not wary at some point or the other to share behind the scenes details and what were you thinking before asking the ‘gun totting someone’, Are you from a daaku family? Also, what does Braking News means to you as a journalist and a writer coupled with the fact that being a TV journalist, how do you juggle time to write?
Sunetra: You can’t write thinking what will people say?! You write because you can’t help but write sometimes. Braking News was like that. I had such an intense experience, I had to share it. I had to put it down. It gives me immense joy to hear that you or anyone else enjoyed my journey in that book. And yes, the compulsive story is written by staying up at night, or just writing all day. That’s how I did both books.
6. You have been both in print media and TV for years witnessing the birth of social media, digital and of course the juvenile trolls hounding journalists with name calling. Do you have apprehension on the future of traditional media such as print and TV? Do you see the need for media reinvention as well as the fact that how one challenges hateful fake news, from a citizen and journalist perspective?
Sunetra: There are many challenges and yes, people think much less of journalists these days. But, I am an optimist and think of myself as a storyteller. People will never tire of listening to stories and that’s why our trade will survive and thrive.
Love
V
PS: The answers from Sunetra Choudhury are unedited and the interview was done on e-mail exchanges.
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