Tantra slams 'boring and sloppy' All India Radio on its new range; AIR hits back at firm's 'terrorist attitude'
Tantra slams 'boring and sloppy' All India Radio on its new range; AIR hits back at firm's 'terrorist attitude'
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Conversation and controversy: The T-shirt graffito |
ONE of new India's young and funky icons has taken serious potshots at the country's grand old radio station, and the latter has returned fire just as virulently.
The protagonists at war: the clothing range Tantra and the public-sector All India Radio (AIR).
The battlefield: Tantra T-shirts.
"This is All India Radio. We apologise for inflicting our beloved listeners with sub-standard quality of programming, bored newsreaders and sloppy production for 50 years since inception/Independence," reads the graffito on Tantra's new range.u00a0u00a0
However, the company has for some reason stopped producing the apparel range.
"We do hope you stay with us for the next 50 years."
The broadcasters are livid.
"It is terrorist attitude to tarnish someone's repute," said an angry T Jairaj, additional director general of AIR.
Freedom of expression doesn't mean I can shout at you. We don't want to curtail any rights, but even the Supreme Court says freedom isn't absolute."
But it's only the truth, say makers Tantra in self-defence.
"If the government puts up something sub-standard, there are bound to be creative expressions about it," said Ranjiv Manchandani, managing director and co-founder of the brand. "People take potshots at 200 things that the government does. Tell me, should the government raise objection if I talk of potholes and bad roads instead?"
The design, which has now been withdrawn from most stands, is only meant to be healthy criticism, reiterate the proprietors. "At the end of the day, the government is a product of the people, and everyone is guaranteed the freedom of speech for or against it," said Manchandani.
But AIR's additional director general said the station may not always give sensational information, but the news is correct, educative and helpful to many students and farmers, who still make up 70 per cent of the country.
"They've crassly misunderstood us. I cannot print your photo on a T-shirt without asking you. It is a case of misrepresenting and misleading," said Jairaj.
Tantra officials, however, feel this isn't war.
"We don't mean to upset anyone, and the model has been discontinued. Some things just become symbols of an era. The government should ask itself why it's private enterprise that's giving people the best of world-class amenities, and not them. But our print wasn't meant in bad blood," said Manchandani.
Delhi's designers and pros say no one must play style police, but getting personal while exercising wit isn't a good idea either.
For fashion designer Mandira Wirk, striking a balance between irreverence and subtlety is the key to stay out of unnecessary trouble. "There is a fine line between poking harmless fun and getting nasty. Light, intelligent humour is okay, but hitting below the belt isn't done. This is not to say it was a wrong innovation, and I do abide by the freedom of creativity," she said.
Ex-IITian and web technologist Pankaj Chaddah says this is "insane and very offensive".
"AIR plays better and more sensible stuff than any other private channel," he insisted. But 24-year-old business analyst from Noida Prachi Tewari differs, and thinks the authorities should take this in the right spirit.
"The truth is always bitter, and I'm sure this wasn't done with any ill-intention. I could've picked up a piece myself," she said. She went on to ask a question that most of us, including the brand, want answered: "Why doesn't the government concentrate on improving things instead?"
