PRODUCERS’ SETTLEMENT WITH TIMES NOW: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE | 27 June, 2021

The settlement between the 34 top producers of Bollywood and four leading trade associations, who and which dragged two television news channels to court on the one hand and Times Now television news channel on the other over the derogatory manner in which the channel often referred to Bollywood and its members for several months together in its coverages last year after the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput would’ve gone unnoticed had it not been for some small news items about the same in a few national newspapers. Considering that the name-calling was unprecedented and prompted more than 30 leading producers of the country to come together to take on two news channels — Republic TV, besides Times Now — by filing a case in the Delhi high court, the settlement was lukewarm and, should I say, too skewed in favour of the channel.

Settlements are sometimes that — skewed in favour of one party or the other. Or, at least, that’s often what the party/ies feel — and so do outsiders. However, when the case is not about who wronged whom but only about how one party kept on hurting the interests of the other party, there can be no question of feeling that it is skewed. It is either skewed or it is fair. And the settlement between the Hindi film industry and Times Now is completely unfair. To understand how unfair it is, let’s first take a look at what the settlement is.

A joint statement issued by Times Network, which owns the Times Now channel, and The Film And Television Producers Guild Of India Ltd. (on behalf of all the 34 producers and the four associations who/which were signatories to the lawsuit) on 22nd June reads: “As per the consent terms agreed, Times Now reaffirms its commitment to abide by the Programme Code under the Cable TV Network Regulation Act, 1994 and the Cable TV Network Regulation Rules, 1994 and undertakes not to publish or air anything that is defamatory to the Plaintiffs (the Hindi film industry) on the Times Now channel.

“With this matter settled, the Plaintiffs and the Times Group can look forward to building on their historically cordial relationship.”

Finito!!! Frankly, is this a settlement at all? Does this settlement mean that merely because Times Now has agreed to abide by the Programme Code, everything is forgiven and forgotten? That can’t be the settlement! The television channel was duty-bound to abide by the Programme Code, so that cannot be the settlement. The settlement has to be something over and above what a party to the dispute is bound by duty to perform/observe. Besides, the settlement says that the channel “undertakes not to publish or air anything that is defamatory to the Plaintiffs (the Hindi film industry) on the Times Now channel”. Really? Doesn’t law give this cover to every single person or body or industry? Then why does it have to be part of a settlement? Without even this ‘settlement’, for whatever it is worth, isn’t Times Now — and, for that matter, every television news channel — under an unwritten contract NOT to publish or air anything that is defamatory to the Plaintiffs (Hindi film industry)? Then was there a specific reason for making this a part of the settlement? In other words, the settlement is nothing but a face-saving instrument. For whom? Times Now? Bollywood? Your guess is as good as mine!

Times Now signing the settlement deed is understandable because by merely signing the deed, it has been able to make Bollywood forgive it and forget about the horrendous wrong it had done to it after Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide last year. But are producers and stars so desperate to be seen on Times Now once the industry reopens after the lockdown is lifted that they agreed to this type of a ‘settlement’? No other reason can justify this kind of a lopsided settlement. There were talks of never again appearing on the two channels which were at the forefront of painting Bollywood black last year, of course, in hushed tones in film trade circles. But, unfortunately, an apology of a settlement, like the one under reference, is supposed to prompt producers and stars to dump the ugly past in the dustbin and pretend that all’s well between them and the ones who needlessly and viciously made them villains, crooks and criminals in the public eye — for weeks together.

Frankly, the film industry should’ve insisted on not only Times Now channel airing the news of the settlement but Times Network’s newspaper, The Times Of India, also giving wide publicity to the settlement. After all, the harm that the channel did to Bollywood and its members was very, very huge. The way it has panned out, the settlement is tame, very tame.

In fact, the kind of agreement the Guild and Times Network entered into makes one wonder if this was the ‘settlement’ for which the lawsuit was filed by the topmost producers of the Hindi film industry and the trade bodies consisting of artiste- and producer-members? In any settlement of this kind, the aggrieved party insists on the party, which has wronged it, to issue the apology on its platform. Why did The Film And Television Producers Guild Of India Ltd. not insist on Times Now airing the news of the settlement on the channel? The only reason why this may not have been insisted upon is that the Guild itself may have been ashamed of the settlement which seems half-hearted, to say the least. Why else would 34 top producers and four leading trade associations not get a news channel to come around and atone for the wrongs done repeatedly for weeks together after June 14 last year, by admitting that they had wronged an entire industry in full public view while belittling and insulting the industry?

The reach of the Times Now news channel is very wide. If the channel’s anchors could shout their lungs out last year while referring to Bollywood and its members as “filth”, “druggies”, “prostitutes”, etc., why did the same anchors shy away from talking in absolutely clear terms about the settlement Times Network had arrived at with the Hindi film industry? Just why? Why did Times Now push the settlement under the carpet? More importantly, why did the Guild, which is the signatory to the settlement, allow Times Now to keep the settlement so hush-hush? If in the events that led to the filing of the lawsuit, it was the news channel which was clearly in the wrong, it is the Guild and the other associations and the 34 producers which/who seem to be absolutely and completely wrong in their stance in this settlement of the lawsuit.

The right course for the Guild would’ve been to insist on the above and have the same recorded in court papers — which they must’ve done — so that execution of the same would be ordered by the court. But just one point here: in court, the Guild must insist on execution of the settlement by Times Now as above or as close to the above as possible.

The Guild may pretend that it has arrived at an honourable settlement with Times Now. But every self-respecting producer and actor of Bollywood knows that it is not even close to that!