NDTV Youth For Change Conclave: Highlights

In Conversation With Farhan Akhtar



Farhan Akhtar in the closing session of the NDTV Youth for Change Conclave spoke about a range issues from films, music, family and even water conservation.

Here are the highlights:

Farhan Akhtar, Actor

• If the story is not good, then no matter where you shoot the film it doesn't matter. Content has to be supreme.
• There was a time when music became more important than lyrics. Audience would not even remember the lyrics. That is changing now. The thought that if you have one hit number in the movie and that can ensure success of the film is also changing.

The penultimate session of the NDTV Youth for Change Conclave was on, 'Evolution of Entertainment Industry.' The entire team of soon to be released, Badshaho, led by Ajay Devgn was on the panel.

Here are the highlights:

Ajay Devgn, Actor
Always look ahead and not dwell on the past, just focus on rectifying the errors as we move forward

Emraan Hashmi, Actor
If you are from a family connected with film industry then getting a break may be easier but at the end of the day you have to be good in acting. At the end of the day the audience is the decision maker. There is more pressure on 'star kids'.

Ileana D'Cruz, Actor
I treat acting as a job and don't let it dominate my entire life. For me family remains a priority. I enjoy acting but this is not the end all and be all of my existence.

Session six of NDTV Youth for Change Conclave was on 'Social Media: Boon or Bane?' The panel moderated by Rajiv Makhni had Ileana D'Cruz, Actor, Jiten Jain, CEO, Indian Infosec Consortium, Gowri Ishwaran, Founder Principal, Sanskriti School, Abhinandan Sekhri, Co-Founder & CEO, Newslaundry and Karuna Nundy, Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Here are the highlights:

Ileana D'Cruz, Actor
Youth have this constant need for attention these days, which is why they get hooked to games like Blue Whale Challenge. There is a need to spread awareness.

Gowri Ishwaran, Founder Principal, Sanskriti School
Today's youth suffer from depression and even their families don't realise when they get hooked to things like the Blue Whale Challenge. The youngsters get attracted to something like this as they feel that they will become a legend. Today's education and schooling system also failing as the focus is no longer of character development.

Karuna Nundy, Advocate, Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court has acknowledged that when it comes to children the challenge increases. You cannot block the incessant flow of information.We should not demonise internet. You can learn a lot from internet.

Abhinandan Sekhri, Co-Founder & CEO, Newslaundry
The calm phase of Internet will also happen soon. The technology has been changing constantly and the ugliness is going down.

Jiten Jain, CEO, Indian Infosec Consortium
Banning is not a solution. There is a need to change with the times.

NDTV Youth for Change Session 6 touched a musical note with panelists - Armaan Malik, Neeti Mohan, Irshad Kamil and Music composer duo Sachin-Jigar. The topic of the session was, Music in the Times of the 'Now' Generation.

Here are the highlights:

Armaan Malik, Singer

I was a 10-year-old when I got to know that I am from Music composer Hasrat Jaipuri's family. In my family everybody is a composer, I am the first one to get into singing. My grandmother makes me listen to Hasratji's music and always asks me if such good music is being composed today as well. I feel good music is still being created.

Irshad Kamil, Lyricist
Today the films are closer to realityand so the scope of music in the films have gone down.

Sachin-Jigar, Music Composer Duo
The shelf life of songs have not gone down. Today lot more songs are being made and so audience has a lot of options to keep sifting through. But good songs live on for a long time even today.

Pratik Sinha, Founder of Alt News joined Ravish for a session on the 'Business of Fake News'.

Here are the highlights:

• Fake news has now become a propaganda tool. These days you get WhatsApp messages that come with subject line, 'What paid media will not tell you.' So there is a concerted effort to cast aspersions on credibility media organisations.
• In WhatsApp the messages are encrypted so it is difficult to track these messages. WhatsApp as a company also cannot help in this regard. Digital literacy is also a area of concern in these matters.

Session three of the NDTV Youth for Change conclave focussed on gender divide. On the panel were Arjun Kapoor, Actor, Nidhi Dubey - Country Director, Girl Rising India, Captain Anny Divya, World's youngest pilot of Boeing 777 and Sushma Verma, India's Youngest PhD Student.

Here are the highlights:

Arjun Kapoor, Actor

• I am not very educated. I didn't clear my Class 11. But my upbringing has been such that despite this lack of education, I got a chance to move on in my life to do what I wanted to do. I don't think women get such opportunity.
• I have grown up among women, predominantly with my sister and mother, and I have seen how strongly women face adversity.
• We should incorporate it in the syllabus itself how men should treat women.We always hear, 'Stop crying like a woman.' We inadvertently are implying that women are the weaker gender.
• I have a sister and somewhere there is always a concern about her safety. It is not just about urban or rural areas, world over security of women is an area of concern.
• We are moving forward and progress is everyone's right. It cannot be gender specific. Gender parity means that both are equal not one is superior than the other.

In Conversation With World Cup Stars Mithali, Jhulan, Punam

In session two of the Youth for Change Conclave with Afshan Anjum, women cricketers - Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Punam Raut talk about setting new records against all odds.

Here are the highlights:

Mithali Raj, Captain, Women Cricket Team

• PM Modi tweeting about the women's team was a moment of pride for us
• My grandparents did not want me to take up cricket
• Cricket is not life to me. There is life beyond cricket too
  

Jhulan Goswami, Cricketer

• World Cup final defeat will continue to hurt all of us
• After beating Pakistan in the World Cup league match, even their fans applauded us
• Unfortunately only 1 day out of 365 is celebrated as Women's Day
  

In Conversation With Kangana Ranaut


In the opening session with Ravish of NDTV Youth for Change Conclave, actor Kangana Ranaut shares the travails of being a superstar.

Here are the highlights:

Kangana Ranaut, Actor

• Big cities are money-oriented, small towns are more concerned about what people - buaji, mausiji - will say.
• I come from an extreme environment, a conservative background. I felt stifled and just wanted to be free
• On being discriminated against as a child: I could never feel pride in my lineage and I don't feel like I belong when I go home
• I want to tell women that they should fight for their own dignity, be it against fathers, husbands or children
• A film takes nearly 2 years of your life so I want to do work that allows me to connect with people