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National Press Club honours Indian journalist
In an interview with the club, Ayyub highlighted the suppression of journalists who attempt to speak the truth
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Mehak Luthra - Fri, 05, May 2023
- 15:09 EDT
- 509
Rana Ayyub, an Indian journalist, was named an honorary member of the National Press Club on World Press Freedom Day. In an interview conducted by the president of the Club, Eileen O'Reilly, Ayyub, who was named the John Aubuchon honoree of the Club in 2022, was informed of the protections and rights she was now entitled to as a member of the club.
Ayyub is the first Indian and second non-American to receive this honor. In the interview, she talks about the threats faced by women journalists in the face of disinformation and fake news used as a tool of warfare by governments.
A study by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) noted that 8.5 million tweets were directed toward the journalist to silence her for speaking up. Apart from this, she has faced several legal cases and death threats in an attempt to intimidate her.
In the context of democracies, Ayyub specifies, “Democracies cannot survive without a robust press.†She emphasized the importance of press freedom at a time when many Indian news organizations surrender to the current revenue model as they are owned by billionaires.
Highlighting the many instances of suppression of the free press by the Indian government including imprisonment and murder, Ayyub went on to say that the independent news organizations that speak up against the unfair treatment of minorities in the country are restricted from entering mainstream media by “slaves of the revenue model.â€
O’Reilly acknowledged the risks, Ayyub had to undertake to speak the truth and assured her that she has the full support of the Club. Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is a leading professional organization for journalists. It consists of 3,000 members and is the leading voice of press freedom around the world.
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Netflix’s crime thriller Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders held its world premiere at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on Nov. 28, ahead of its global release on Dec.19.
The film returns to the universe of Raat Akeli Hai and brings back Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Inspector Jatil Yadav.
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Directed by Honey Trehan and written by Smita Singh, the sequel opens with the brutal killing of the affluent Bansal family in Kanpur, pulling Yadav into a labyrinth of power, deceit and buried secrets.
Ruchikaa Kapoor Sheikh, director of Original Films at Netflix India, said the new chapter deepens the noir universe. She described the sequel as “a distinct blend of suspense and emotion,” adding that Honey Trehan “returns to raise the stakes with a mystery that is more ambitious in scale, layered in character and grounded in emotional truth.”
Trehan said the film pushes further into the themes introduced earlier. “This film explores the price of truth and the corruption of conscience, with the stakes higher than ever as Jatil now has to unravel a mass murder,” he said.
Speaking about the premiere, he added that IFFI “has always been a space that celebrates authentic storytelling.”
Siddiqui said revisiting Jatil Yadav was meaningful. “Returning as Jatil Yadav feels like revisiting a part of myself that never left,” he noted, calling the IFFI premiere ahead of the Netflix release “truly special.”
Backed by RSVP and MacGuffin Pictures, the film features Radhika Apte, Chitrangda Singh, Deepti Naval, Rajat Kapoor, Revathy, Ila Arun, Sanjay Kapoor, and Akhilendra Mishra.
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