Note: This post is about the Bengali TV serial Ishti Kutum. If you are not a follower of the show, please follow the posts on category archives for context.
Dear Madam,
These days on Star Jalsha, promos of the forthcoming Star Jalsha Parivaar Awards 2013 have started making rounds. In that we see you and actor Ronita Das (the actor playing the lead character Baha) talking to, smiling at and hugging each other. On the papers also we saw both of you taking photos together with sweet smiling faces. It was indeed very lovely to see you together in such joyous moments. However there was some distrust in the mind when I saw it, a nagging cynical thought kept knocking on my heart’s door, and this letter is about that.
Let me tell you what is the distrust about. Tell me, as a an actor, when you act in a particular show and a bunch of people use filthy language and abuse that show’s main plot and leading characters, should you be supporting them? Should you be patting them on the back and encouraging them personally?
I do not belong to the entertainment industry, but even as a person of ordinary prudence I think it is not the right thing to do as a fellow actor. But you have been doing that.
I am talking about the fan page opened for the character of Mun of Ishti Kutum (MIK Page) on Facebook. You have occasionally visited the page from your personal Facebook ID. It is evident that you have a direct connection with the admin of that page because he/she shares your personal message with the fans. More recently you had an online chat with the members of that page where you answered many of their questions. One particular question was, “Archi r choritro ti tomar kemon lage?” (How do you find the character of Archi)” “You had replied, “tomader jemon lage” (Same as you guys find it)
Madam, are you aware that the members of that page routinely address the character of Archi as ‘Rapist Archi.’ Perhaps that character is flawed but do you really support the use of such language for the character? As per your chat it seems you do.
Besides this, the page routinely abuses the character of Baha in the worst of the worst language and maligns the character with unspeakable abuses. I find it surprising that at one hand you are establishing personal connection with these members and at the other hand we see on the newspapers photos where you and Ronita Das are together smiling.
You would probably say I am mixing up FACT and FICTION, confusing real people with fictitious characters. After all the MIK page is NOT maligning real people, they are only abusing about fictitious characters of Archi and Baha.
TRUE. So the question madam is, who are you, Ankita or Kamalika? Fact or Fiction?
If you are Ankita, an actor by profession then why are you associating yourself with a page opened for a fictitious character? Can you explain?
That page has a tag line ‘Ankita Rockss.’ Who is this Ankita? No such character in Ishti Kutum. Is that you? Does that mean it is both a fan page for Mun as well as Ankita Chakraborty? If that is so, then should we assume it is running with your knowledge, consent and support?
I mean, that per se is not a big deal. Some fans opened a page for the character you playing, you might feel flattered and so you might want to encourage them. I wouldn’t have written this letter had that page been like any other fan page and not a place to run a hate campaign or if there language was not so filthy and obscene. It just seems a bit odd that you associated yourself with that page.
I have a feeling that owing to an immense pleasure of having a fan page opened for your character, you got carried away and didn’t check the credibility of that page before associating yourself with a them. Who are they, what is their identity, what kind of messages are being posted there etc. You must be a busy person, never got time to go through those hundreds of posts, so allow me to give you a few instances of their language and standards. On reading them you’d yourself realize who you are associating with and encouraging, and in what capacity, as Mun or Ankita?
Sonia Ray writes on MIK page, “Rapist Archi parasite er ki khabor?” (What’s up with Rapist Archi parasite) “Rapist Archi r moto ekta napungshak…;” (An eunuch like Rapist Archi…) Riya Ghosh writes, “Ei ____ er baccha Archi r bar baronto…ok jento puriye mara uchit;” (This son of a____Archi is crossing all limits, he should be burnt alive) Trish Bharti writes, “morte morteo sayatani” (notoriety even while dying)
As a member of the Ishti Kutum creative team, as an actor, as a colleague and as an educated cultured human being, associating yourself with such language and mentality, does it look good on you?
Think about it.
Thanks
Ps. I have the screen shots to support all my statements given above.
Note: This letter was posted on Magic Moments Motion Picture Pvt Limited FB page (
the creative team behind Ishti Kutum) but have been removed from there. While all the abuses are still intact. Rather strange.
Bengali Version, originally posted in Facebook
Ishti Kutum e Mun choritre abhinoy korchen abhinetri Ankita Chakraborty ke ekti khola chithi,
Idaning Star Jalsha Awards er promo ashche, tate dekha gelo apni Ronita Das er sathe heshe katha bolchen kolakuli korchen. IK success party r je chobi dekhlam paper e tateo apnara eksathe khub hashi mukhe chobi tulechen. Khub bhalo laglo ei gulo, kintu moner moddhe ekta sangsoy, ekta ki jeno khach khach korche, sei niye ei chithi likhchi.
Sangsoy ta keno seta boli. Ekjon actor hisabe apni jakhon kono show te abhinay karen, sei show ta niye, seta r mul galpo o choritro niye asobhyo abhadra bhashaye jakhon galagali deoa hoy, apnar pakkhe ki take samarthan kara uchit? Tader ke niyamito bahoba deoa, utsaho deoa uchit??
Ami entertainment industry r kichu jani na bujhi na, tabu e tuku mone hoy je fellow actors hisabe eta uchit noy. Kintu apni eta korchen.
Katha bolchi Ishti Kutum e Mun choritro niye je fan page ache (MIK page) setar. Apni page ta majhe majhe visit karen nijer personal ID diye. Sei page admin er sathe apnar je ekta direct personal connection ache, seta bojha jaye karon se majhe majhe apnar message page members der sathe share kare. Ebong apni recently page members der sathe chat e boshechilen, jekhane sabar nana prosner uttor diechen. Most noteworthy was je apnake keu jeggesh korechilo “Archi r choritro ti tomar kemon lage?” Apni likhechilen “tomader jemon lage”
Madam, apni ki janen je oi page niyamito bhabe Archi ke RAPIST bole daka hoy? Archi r nana bhul thakte pare, kintu apni ki Archi r choritro tir jonno ei dharaner sabdo bebohar support Karen? Apnar chat anujai kintu bolte hocche je, han apni eta support karen.
Ta chara Baha r name era akathyo galagali die thake, amar abak lage je ek dike apni Facebook e ei page members der sathe personal connection established korchen, odike khaborer kagoj er pataye dekha jaye apnar r Ronita Das er eksathe tola hashi mukhe chobi.
Apni hoyto bolben ami kalpana o bastab ke guliye felchi, sei page ta to ar Ronita ba Rrishii ke gali dicche na, dicche Archi Baha ke, tara to kalpana r manush matro.
THIK KATHA. TAHOLE PROSNO, APNI KE? MUN na ANKITA? KALPANA na BASTAB?
Apni jodi Ankita han, bastobe ek abhinetri tahole keno kalpanik choritra Mun Fan page er sathe personally joriye porchen? Bolte paren?
Na mane as such eta kono temon baro bepar noy, apnar choritro niye fan page hoyeche, apnar bhalo lagtei pare, tai apni hoyto fans der ektu utsaho dite chan… katha holo oi page ta jodi bhadro hoto tahole ami eto katha boltam na. Kintu ekta nongra page er sathe jarano ta kemon jeno lage.
Amar ki mone hoy abeger bashe apni oder sathe jarabar aage, oder credibility check karenni. Tara ke ba kara, tader real identity ki? Tara ki dharaner lekha lekhe ityadi. Apni besto manush, somoy panni oder oto shato post parar. Tai apnake kaekta instances di, apni nijei bujhun kader ke bahoba dicchen, ar ki capacity tei ba dicchen? Ankita hoye naki Mun hoye?
Mun er fan page e Sonia Ray likhche ‘Rapist Archi parasite er ki khabor?” “Rapist Archi r moto ekta napungshak…;” Riya Ghosh likhche, “Ei ____ er baccha Archi r bar baronto…ok jento puriye mara uchit;” Trish Bharti likhche “morte morteo sayatani”
Ishti Kutum creative team er ek member hisabe, abhinetri hisabe, saho-kormi hisabe ebong shikkhito ruchisheel MANUSH hisabe, ei dharaner bhasha ebong manosikata r sathe joriye para ta apnar pakkhe shobhoniyo hocche to?
Bhebe dekhben.
Dhanyabad
Sanjukta Basu
(Writer, Traveler, Photographer, TED Fellow, TEDIndia Member)
Follow Link to all of my articles on Ishti Kutum
Attached below the several screenshots as evidence of the statements made by me in the letter.
Dr Sanjukta Basu 
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