POLITICS & MEDIA..GAME OF POWER! 

Politics is now game of power. Media is playing vital role in it! Some time it helps to improve system! Reference to this I remembered more than 7 decades old classic Hollywood film 'Meet John Doe'. And Bollywood adaptation of it 'Main Azaad Hoon' which completed 30 years!

In 1941 two such American films of masters released with the plot of 'Media & Politics'! 
One was Orson Welles' masterpiece 'Citizen Kane'..And just after that came Frank Capra's 'Meet John Doe'. How newspaper columnist create grassroots political campaign with the involvement of fictional unemployed character was the theme of 'Meet John Doe'.

That was the last screenplay Robert Riskin wrote for Capra. Earlier he wrote Capra's 'It happened One Night' (1934) which became the pathshowing for romantic films! That time famous star Gary Cooper portrayed character of John Doe and Barbara Stanwyck played the role of journalist in it. This hit film is in the list of 'AFI's 100 Years..100 Cheers'!

In 1989 Indian remake of that film came as 'Main Azaad Hoon'..with Superstar Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role. Tinu Anand directed this Hindi movie wrote by Javed Akhtar. 
In this lady Journalist create fictitious character of poor unemployed man for such socio-political campaign..which become mass-movement against the corrupt system! In this Shabana Azmi did that journalist role..And that was the only film in which she played lead with Amitabh Bachchan who did such offbeat role..and also sung "Itne baazu Itne sar.." wrote by her father Kaifi Azmi! Dialogues of this film were powerful for which Javedji won Filmfare award! 
I still remember some part of this movie (especially climax) was shot in Pune!

That way cinema focused on the politics..and media gimmicks! Earlier it was to increase the circulation of newspapers in Print Media and now for TRP rise in Electronic Media! 
If this happen for the good of common people then that is OK! But some time opportunistic politicians take the benefit!!

- Manoj Kulkarni