Women’s safety in Guwahati
I am deeply concerned about the increasing violence against women in Guwahati, particularly the disturbing rise in murders happening in rental homes. In recent months, we’ve witnessed a series of such tragic events. Last month, three women were brutally murdered, and just recently, two more bodies were discovered in the span of 24 hours. Women who choose to live independently in rental homes are becoming easy targets for such violent crimes. It's heartbreaking to think that the pursuit of independence for women has now become a source of fear. Why is it always women who suffer these tragedies? These aren’t just statistics—they are real people, families torn apart, and lives lost too soon. The fear among women is evident. Independence should never come at the cost of safety. Every woman has the right to live free from fear, whether at home or in public. I urge the authorities to take immediate and thorough action in investigating these cases and monitoring rental homes more closely. Landlords and property owners must be held accountable for ensuring the safety of their tenants. The victims’ families deserve justice. If the culprits are caught, they should face the harshest punishment, including the death penalty, to send a strong message that such crimes will not be tolerated. If we don’t act now, the next victim could be someone you love—your sister, mother, daughter, or wife.
Dristi Buragohain
Cotton University
Doing justice to biopics
Filmmakers rush to cash in on a popular, or unpopular, personality's fame to produce biopics or biographical films. These non-fictional films in the usual course should have evoked considerable curiosity. However, after "Gandhi" by Richard Attenborough, only a couple of biopics have turned heads in India. Biopics require extraordinary acting skills to do justice to the film's main protagonist, and casting has always been a challenge. Contrary to perception, they also need excellent actors and actresses to don roles other than the central character of the film. The director's deft handling of the characters and his ability to maximise research are integral to the biopics. Ironically, the more the lead actor imitates the central role, the more the artificiality that is infused into the film.
The script should be tight, and dialogues must be laced with punch. While the risk of dramatization can be taken by the director, again dramatics depend on the personality being depicted. Obviously, when a politician is the centrepiece, the director's task will be herculean because knives will be out to dissect his intentions. At times, the captions of the biopics may raise people's hackles as the "Accidental Prime Minister" did. It is clear that contentious titles are for the sake of throwing in a "pepper-and-salt" effect. Biographies, said Mark Twain, and it can apply to biopics as well, "are like clothes and buttons of an individual; the biography of the person himself cannot be written."
Dr Ganapathi Bhat
(gbhat13@gmail.com)