In this week’s episode, the in-house panel featuring Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Raman Kripal is joined by Mayank Shekhar, a film critic and recipient of the ‘Ramnath Goenka Award. He’s also the author of Amazon’s bestselling book, ‘Name Place Animal Thing’ and also has a podcast titled ‘Sit With Hitlist’The discussion begins with the problematic coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and how it has now transformed into a political issue. Mayank says, “It’s a toxic mix of everything that is wrong with the country — the state of politics, and news media.” “ Whatsapp messages are now taken seriously on news channels” which has led to ED inquistioning Rhea Chakraborty about her makeup, adds Abhinandan.Raman is of the view that the Enforcement Directorate’s involvement in the entire affair confirms that the case has become political. Manisha thinks this will last till the Bihar elections. She also expresses her shock at women anchors like Anjana Om Kashyap and Navika leading the toxic reportage with, Kyu iske paise kharch karwa rahi thi, pyar tha ya dhoka tha? Why did she spend his money? Was it love or betrayal?The discussion also touches upon the media circus around the ‘Ram Mandir bhoom ipujan‘ which demolished any hope of secularism. Abhinandan says, “It'd need another Bapu-like leader to undo the damage.”This and a lot more, only on NL Hafta. Tune In!Timecodes: 05:18 - Headlines and announcements 09:23 - Media coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput's death and Bollywood's silence 30:58 - Subscriber letters 43:42 - On media coverage of Ayodhya's Mandir Bhoomi Pujan and India's shifting political climate 01:17:34 - Subscriber letters 01:26:22 - Prashant Bhushan and the contempt proceedings against him 01:32:38 - Announcements and Recommendations See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.