Will 'Activist' look good on your resume?

In an Instagram post dated September 17 actor Priyanka Chopra wrote ldquoI have been moved by the power of your voices over the past week At its core Activism is fuelled sic by cause and effect and when people come together to raise their voice about something there is always an effect You were heardhellip The show got it wrong and Irsquom sorry that my participation in it disappointed many of yourdquoThe show she was apologising to her fans for is The Activist a reality competition announced by American broadcasting company CBS and coproducers global advocacy group Global Citizen in early September In retrospect it may now seem like the showrsquos team participated in group naivety if they thought that this would not create a problemActor Priyanka Chopra said that the show went the wrong way after The Activist a reality TV concept was panned for adding competition to social causes instead of collaboration PicGetty ImagesHosted by Chopra who has in her position as celebrity influencer supported varied causes in the past including been UNICEFrsquos Global Goodwill Ambassador singer Usher and danceractor Julianne Hough the show planned to pit six activists against each other while supporting the cause of health education and environment The criteria to judge the lsquocontestantsrsquo would be online engagement and social metrics eventually leading up to them petitioning world leaders for funding and support The one to get the most funding would lsquowinrsquo Social media erupted with anger and surprise while the concept was panned for exploring and proving off activism An oped in Washington Post said ldquoit sounds like the second circle of hellrdquo environmental onlinecampaign activist Andy Wilson called it the worst idea ldquoever for a TV show everrdquo and several Internet users accused it of being ldquoperformativerdquo ldquopromoting pseudo activism over realrdquo Some even compared it to the Hunger GamesSince then owing to the backlash the showrsquos makers have decided to replace competition with collaboration change the format and make it a primetime documentary special As Global Citizen and CBS said in a joint statement ldquoIt has become apparent that the format of the show as announced distracts from the vital work these incredible activists do in their communities every day The push for global change is not a competition and requires a global effort It will showcase the tireless work of six activists and the impact they have advocating for causes they deeply believe in Each activist will be awarded a cash grant for the organisation of their choice as was planned for the original showrdquoSocial media creators Abhi and Niyu feel that itrsquos critical that the only reason for activism to originate is from a place of empathy PicSatej ShindeThis showrsquos concept may be undergoing a transformation but at a time when ldquoactivistrdquo ldquofeministrdquo and ldquohumanistrdquo have become tags to sport on your Instagram bio what exactly determines if the activist or the cause they support is genuine and not in it to gain eyeballs or followersThe dictionary defines activism as ldquothe policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social changerdquo This in todayrsquos day could take social media presence making getting the word out there imperative But experts we spoke with said the line between what is kosher and not is a thin one Harish Iyer and Niyati MavinkurveMonica Raheja cofounder of Pad Squad a Mumbaibased outfit that has distributed menstrual hygiene products across the cityrsquos slums surrounding villages and to the tribaldominated areas finds the concept unnecessary Why have the show when the money to be spent on production and fancy judges can be donated to worthy causes is how she sees it But she does agree that outreach is necessary to make a change happenldquoThere are two types of activismmdashcharity and relief work In charity we dip into our own funds With relief work I ask people to donate and then make the best possible use of that money So Pad Squad requests celebrities who are convinced about good work to put up a post in support and request donations But no one is paid to do thisrdquo she saysAmit Deshpande Harish Iyer and Neeraj SharmaThe pandemic brought with it a crisis and the number of needy seeking help spiralled With free time on hand during lockdown a lot of people were driven to join a cause How many of them last beyond the pandemic is to be seen ldquoThe Pad Squad has grown to 70 members in the last year and no one has quit even after offices have opened and normal work hours have resumedrdquo says Raheja whose day job is as producer The initiative she launched in June 2020 with eight people is now a peoplersquos movement spread across 30 cities with more than eight lakh sanitary products distributed sinceWith opportunity comes opportunism she rues While people came out in droves to help several were more than happy to seek recognition She remembers receiving a WhatsApp forward from someone seeking a vote for a ldquoCOVID warriorrdquo award ldquoSeveral celebrities and privileged personalities were recognised and felicitated In my opinion they should have been reserved for frontline workersrdquoMonica Raheja of Pad Squad has expanded the initiative to 30 cities and distributed eight lakh sanitary productsMumbai resident Bilal Khan who works with Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan distributed ration during the lockdowns and continues the work to date When an award agency approached Khan suggesting that he apply for the award he refused ldquoIt was everybodyrsquos duty to help in the pandemic We were doing it out of humanityrdquo says Khan adding that those who are in it for the long haul canrsquot jump off the bandwagon when the world ldquoreturns to normalrdquo ldquoPeople depend on us Itrsquos a 247 job and there are no work hours But the not so fortunate who helped despite their circumstances like rickshaw drivers are the ones deserving of awardsCelebrity power has its uses up to a point The moment you monetise it it becomes a problemrdquoMenrsquos rights activist Amit Deshpande sees Khanrsquos point He argues that the problem is in the very nature of the social medium ldquoWhile without it those in need may never learn that help is available most people today drawn to activism put up a post without delving into the nitty gritties of the cause without enough reading up or research They drop out soon after The attrition in activism is highrdquoActivist Bilal Khan says that activism needs to be sustained since communities depend on activists and volunteers who work for themCelebrities end up walking the thin line between being questioned for concerning themselves with nothing else but glamour and overindulgingin a cause so that they can stay squarely in the limelightActor Deepika Padukone first came out publicly about her struggle with depression in 2015 It was also the year she launched her mental health advocacy outfit Live Love Laugh Did it make for a good interview headline was it publicity for her next film Following actor Sushant Singh Rajputrsquos shocking death last year Padukonersquos post attributing the death to suicide and depression saw her being mercilessly trolled ldquoRepeat after me depression is treatablerdquo she had said The line became inspiration for memes with several accusing her of assuming Singh had taken his life when the police investigation was still underway and using the depression card to gain sympathyBilal KhanAnd yet the famous continue to stand behind causes and charities Anushka Sharma has been an ardent animal rights advocate Bhumi Pednekar used her social media handles during the second Coronavirus wave towards ldquoidentifying resources to enable facilitation and access to medical supplies plasma request and donorsrdquo Pednekar is also known for her love for nature conservation and adopted a noplastic policy on set while shooting for the film Durgamati Her 2019 social media initiative Climate Warrior saw her create awareness about environmental change And itrsquos all paying off Later this month she will be speaker at the Climate Week in New York alongside Aaditya Thackeray state minister for tourism and environment The Climate Week now in its 13th year is run by international NGO Climate Group in partnership with the United Nations COP26 Summit and the city of New YorkAbhiraj Rajadhyaksha is a content creator who enjoys along with wife Niyati Mavinkurve an enviable 21 million following on Instagram as Abhi amp Niyu He says each to his own ldquoItrsquos all very personal Someone may think they need to step away from the limelight for the core of the cause to get highlighted while another may believe that the cause may get more attention if they step into the limelightrdquo Niyu sees the difference between assistance and exploitation clearly ldquoExploiting someonersquos condition for gain other than that personrsquos is wrongrdquoThe couple who shot to fame with the Instagram series ldquo100 reasons to love Indiardquo continue to support a variety of causes Their posts sometimes seek to empower followers with information How rich is the Taliban or they goad them to adopt healthier habits Sometimes itrsquos simply about spreading awareness ldquoFor most activism has become a way to show off People do start caring about something but forget it soon enoughrdquo says Abhi adding ldquobut trolling is of no help We should encourage every kind of activismrdquoWould it be right then to assume that the makers of the controversial reality show had the right intention but messed up the execution An activist who was contacted by the casting executive for The Activist shared on Instagram that her story and cause were deemed not emotional or dramatic enough for television Industry insiders will argue but thatrsquos what reality TV needsmdashemotions overthetop reactions and dramaA creative director with a production company in Mumbai requesting anonymity says that the folly was in putting one activist or cause against another ldquoAnd stillrdquo she argues ldquoreality TV was the format for it because itrsquos the easiest way to get eyeballs But then they should also know that the people who will come to the show as audience will come for the drama not the causerdquo Perhaps the social media naysayers are not part of the showrsquos audienceNeeraj Sharma the man behind The Content Team the creative producers for hit music reality revision shows Indian Idol and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa looks at the issue from the eyes of a content creator ldquoI donrsquot think the idea behind The Activist was a bad one if in the end all they wanted to do was spread awareness If the issues are real then those issues get a big platform via the show right I think if the contenders are competing it makes it more interesting than watching a simple documentaryrdquoWhen the controversy broke British activist and presenter Jameela Jamil had tweeted ldquoCouldnrsquot they just give the money itrsquos going to take to pay this UNBELIEVABLY expensive talent and make this show directly to activist causes Rather than turning activism into a game and then giving a fraction of the much needed money away in a ldquoprizehelliprdquo People are dyingrdquoQueer activist Harish Iyer sees a problem in that statement ldquoForget reality TV even in the real world causes are pitted against each other When we speak for animal rights some say lsquobut people are dyingrsquo When we highlight the exploitation of women some say lsquobut what about the queerrsquo Each one thinks their cause is bigger than the other We belittle a cause by building a hierarchical structure of causes The show was going to do exactly what we do in real life The showrsquos makers got it rightmdashevery cause is fighting every other cause these days and thatrsquos the truthrdquoSixNo of activists the CBS show was originally pitting against each other in various challenges meant to raise the profiles of their respective causesThe Activist judges and their causes In 2007 Usher launched his campaign in ldquoChange in the Southrdquo in Atlanta Georgia in support of then presidential hopeful Barack Obama In October 2015 Usher partnered with the organisation Sankofa which focuses on issues of social injustice that disproportionately affect the disenfranchised the oppressed and the underserved New Look his nonprofit founded in 1999 is aimed aimed at improving the lives of disadvantaged children and adolescents Julianne Hough has joined forces with the Kind Campaign to create and host Kind Camp empowering and encouraging girls to be confident beautiful women and to eradicate bullying