The Shraddha Walkar gruesome murder case in Delhi has sent shivers down our spines. Allegedly Aaftab Amin Poonawala strangled his live-in partner to death over an argument, chopped her body into 35 pieces and started disposing of the parts in the Mehrauli forest area. As per reports, in between this beastly act, he took breaks to drink beer, smoke and even order food. It is being said that Aaftab is fond of crime shows, especially ‘Dexter’, and the drama has in a way inspired him.
This has led to a lot of questions, debates and discussions on how crime drama can affect viewers’ mental state. Many also have opined that makers of such shows should handle these stories with utmost sensitivity and responsibility. Celebs weigh in on the debate:
Hiten Paintal
I read about it and was absolutely shocked at how somebody could do it. I came to know that [Aaftab] is a big fan of Dexter, but even I and millions of others also enjoy watching the show, but we did not do any such thing. And, I don’t understand why he did this. I think he committed this crime in a fit of rage and I guess he has some psychological problems that need to be checked. I don’t think there should be any other punishment than death penalty for someone who could ever do such things with the people they love. Crime dramas are just concepts. It doesn’t mean people are supposed to copy it. Whatever they show might be fictional. I don’t think it’s true that people are getting affected by these shows and committing such crimes.
Aniruddh Dave
The murder case is horribly upsetting in every way. It’s ridiculous to blame the entertainment industry for this. Crime shows and thrillers have long been popular, but that doesn't mean that viewers are being provoked or inspired by them. Instead, it's alerting many people, especially youngsters who see that they should never rely on others or even friends. Police and investigators are on their toes, they should be afraid as well, as sooner or later, they will be punished. I think these punishments, especially for men, should be tough. Any person, irrespective of their gender, committing a crime should be punished. The law should be made stricter now.
Pranitaa Pandit
I think the whole case is really heartbreaking. It has shaken me to the core. After Neeraj’s case this one has really impacted all of us now because it has gone to the next level. I don’t think any web series has made such stories or characters. In fact, shows are actually derived from real-life stories. So it’s not like just by watching something you’ll become that. It is the inherent nature of the person. Shows should be made very responsibly and I think they are already made that way. I don't think any show or film is to be blamed.
Namita Lal
I do think that the media affects people in a big way. Be it TV, web, films or social media —these days when everything is available at any point in time, it is creating mental health issues. We have done real research to show how it’s affecting teenagers. Body image, body shaming, violence… There's no limit to how it may affect somebody and neither do I know how much censorship or self-realisation there is because even small things might start to affect someone. There’s a lot of self-control that should be exercised otherwise we are going into a digital world which might not be something we will be able to survive.
Ankur Nayyar
These days any and every type of content is available online. There are religious shows like Ramayana, which have portrayed the character of Lord Krishna and Lord Ram. Basically, people consume what they want to consume. No one can stop people from consuming what they want to watch. Everything is so widely available on the internet. I don’t think we have to put restrictions on the creative liberty that people have. And we should also stop finding ways to blame people; rather think about what we can do. I don’t think everything we watch inspires us, not to forget art is inspired by real-life to a larger extent. These are like one of the odd cases of such psychopaths and they have to be treated. So, we cannot generalise about having more censorship or restrictions on such shows. Whatever we see on television and web is something that is happening in the world, but it can also be the creators’ thought process saying that this might happen, so beware.
Anuradha Singh
I don’t think that any web series or film can let people think about doing crimes. We can also look at the other side, that people are being aware of. This all depends on the mindset of a person. It takes a lot of hard work to start taking a stand and spreading awareness. There are no web series to trigger something, it's all inside the mind. All these things that are shown on OTT are something that we are being aware of very late. This is very cruel. At Least the punishment should be as people would be afraid to even think about it.
