DAILY VOCAB DIGESTIVE 497 (21.12.2020) .12.2018 HECKLER’S VETO:.2018 ON VIJAY SETHUPATHI'S WITHDRAWAL

FROM.11.2018 MURALITHARAN BIOPIC '800' Films can be subjected to criticism after their release, but not stymied before they are made Opposition from sections of has led to versatile Tamil film star Vijay Sethupathi withdrawing from a planned biopic on the Sri Lankan bowling legend, . Opponents mainly from the Tamil film industry and political parties in claim that Muralitharan had “whitewashed genocide” by not raising his voice against the Sri Lankan state, and warned the actor against playing his character, contending that he would only jeopardise his career and alienate his fan following. It is a shame that these protests have prevented a talented actor from essaying a role based on the story of Muralitharan, who scaled Himalayan peaks in international cricket through talent and determination. Noting the unfair and unrelenting attacks on Sethupathi to the point of accusing him of being a traitor, Muralitharan appealed to the actor to keep out of the biopic. The ultimate decision may have been Muralitharan’s own, but it is quite clear that Sethupathi dropped the idea only after the onslaught. The film’s motion poster released recently had evoked great expectation among cinema aficionados, especially because of the actor’s highly convincing resemblance to the cricketer. Appropriately named ‘800’, in celebration of the number of Test wickets the bewitching off-spinner bagged, the biopic appears to aim at showcasing his rise in the backdrop of the violent ethnic conflict that shook for three decades.

Exponents of art being cowed down by protests is not new to Tamil Nadu. The real problem in the latest example of popular intolerance prevailing over artistic ventures is that an old chestnut in Tamil Nadu politics — the idea that every Tamil should pass a ‘Tamil nationalist’ test — has been resurrected to stymie this project too. Madras Cafe, a film, could not be screened in the State after opposition to its portrayal of the LTTE. In 2008, a Sri Lankan producer was forced to give up his footage while he was in to process his film at a studio. Some of those who demanded that Sethupathi withdraw from the biopic have emphasised that they were merely making an appeal to him, given his past political views in favour of causes that resonate with the people of Tamil Nadu. Whether it was an appeal or a threat, it is a no-brainer that pressure was brought to bear on an artist to give up his professional decision. As for Muralitharan’s political views, it may be that some of his remarks were seen as supporting the Sri Lankan Army’s triumph over the LTTE and questioning the truth behind the grief of the mothers of the disappeared thousands. However, that is no reason to run down his monumental achievements in his chosen sport. And nothing prevents any detractor from questioning the film’s motive or content after its release. It is unfortunate that the heckler’s veto has prevailed.

Meanings of Difficult Words:  heckler (noun) – a person who embarrasses a  opposition (noun) – objection, obstruction, performer/speaker with irrelevant & impolite criticism. comments.  section (noun) – part, division, wing, group (within  veto (noun) – a right/power to reject a decision/ a larger body of people). proposal; rejection, dismissal, denial, ban,  versatile (adjective) – all-round, multifaceted, prohibition. multitalented, multiskilled.  biopic (noun) – a film that dramatizes the life of a  whitewash (verb) – suppress, cover up, obscure, non-fictional (real) or historically-based person or conceal (something deliberately). people.  genocide (noun) – mass murder, massacre, racial  be subject to (verb) – susceptible to, liable to, killing. open to, disposed to, prone to.  contend (verb) – claim, argue, state.  stymie (verb) – prevent, stop, hamper, thwart,  jeopardise (verb) – put at risk, put in danger, impede, hinder. endanger.  voice (noun) – opinion, view, feeling, comment.  point (noun) – extent, level, stage.

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DAILY VOCAB DIGESTIVE 497 (21.12.2020) .12.2018  alienate (verb) – set apart,.2018 isolate, set against,  cow (usually be cowed) (verb) – frighten or separate, cut off, divide. threaten someone to do something; intimidate,

 essay (verb) – attempt, make an effort, try/strive, browbeat, bully, overawe. .11.2018 seek.  intolerance (noun) – bigotry, narrow-mindedness,  scale Himalayan peaks (or) scale new discrimination, dogmatism, illiberality, heights (phrase) – achieve great success (in hypersensitivity. particular activity).  prevail over (phrasal verb) – conquer, triumph, be  determination (noun) – will power, resolution, victorious, gain mastery, prove superior. resolve.  venture (noun) – undertaking/involving (in a risky  unrelenting (adjective) – continuous, unceasing, job/work/business). persistent, non-stop.  old chestnut (phrase) – (relating to) something  traitor (noun) – betrayer, double-dealer, defector. which is boring & tiresome due to its continuous  keep out of (phrasal verb) – to not become recurrence. involved in (something).  resurrect (verb) – relaunch, reinstitute, bring back.  onslaught (noun) – attack, offensive, assault/  screen (verb) – show, telecast, broadcast (a film). aggression.  portrayal (noun) – narrative, representation,  evoke (verb) – invoke, give rise to, bring forth, characterization, depiction. bring to mind.  give up (phrasal verb) – abandon, forgo, renounce,  aficionado (noun) – expert, authority, specialist. relinquish, discontinue.  convincing (adjective) – strong, sound, believable.  footage (noun) – part of a kineme/film recording a  resemblance (noun) – similarity, likeness, particular event. sameness, identicalness.  resonate (verb) – resound, reverberate; evoke  bewitching (adjective) – enchanting, attractive, some feelings/emotions. delightful.  no-brainer (noun) – something which demands  bag (verb) – get, secure, obtain, acquire. little/no effort mentally.  showcase (verb) – display, exhibit, unveil, show to  bear on (phrasal verb) – to have an effect on the public. something; be concerned with, have to do with,  backdrop (noun) – situation, scenario, context. be connected with.  ethnic (adjective) – relating to a population  triumph (noun) – victory, win, success. subgroup (cultural, national, traditional/folk) with  grief (noun) – sorrow, sadness, pain, heartbreak. a common national or cultural tradition.  run down (phrasal verb) – criticize someone or  shook past tense of shake (verb) – upset, disturb; something unfairly. weaken, undermine, damage.  monumental (adjective) – impressive,  decade (noun) – a period of ten years. outstanding, remarkable, magnificent.  exponent (noun) – advocate, supporter,  detractor (noun) – critic, fault-finder, censurer. proponent.  prevail (verb) – be in force, be in effect, be established, be the case. ***************************************************************************************** THE TRIUMPH OF HOPE: ON JACINDA ARDERN'S ELECTION VICTORY Inclusive politics and decisive governance won another term for Ardern in New Zealand Jacinda Ardern was expected to win Saturday’s parliamentary election in New Zealand given that almost all opinion polls had predicted this for the 40-year-old global liberal icon, noted for her inclusive politics and tough handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But it was the margin of the victory that surprised many. Her centre-left Labour Party won 49.1% of the popular vote and is projected to take 64 seats in the 120-member Parliament. This is Labour’s greatest victory in almost 50 years and the biggest victory of any party since the nation adopted a proportional representation voting system, which gives assembly seats to any party winning

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DAILY VOCAB DIGESTIVE 497 (21.12.2020) .12.2018 more than 5% vote, in 1996. The.2018 Opposition centre-right National Party won 26.8% of the vote and is projected to take 35 seats, down from the 56 seats it won in the previous election. Ms. Ardern, who came to power in

2017 by forming a coalition with the Greens and the nationalist New Zealand First party, faced unprecedented .11.2018 challenges in her first term, from the Christchurch terrorist attack and the White Island volcanic eruption to the COVID-19 outbreak. She herself had turned the polls into a de facto referendum on her government’s handling of the pandemic by calling it the ‘COVID election”. New Zealand, home to over five million, recorded just 25 pandemic deaths — one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. It has eliminated community transmission by imposing strict lockdowns and brought back relative normalcy before the election.

What makes Ms. Ardern’s victory significant is that her brand of politics — socially liberal, economically inclusive and politically democratic — has bucked the trend of conservatives and the anti-immigrant, anti- minority far-right parties making gains in crisis-ridden societies. Offering a new way of governance, she presented herself as an empathetic co-citizen who happens to be running the government. This approach was successfully tested when a far-right terrorist opened fire at two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019, killing 51. She immediately reached out to the country’s Muslim minority and backed a Bill that banned most assault style weapons. She has also promised to alleviate child poverty and fight climate change more vigorously. Inclusive politics and a humane approach, coupled with quick decisive actions to tackle crises, transformed her into the most popular New Zealand leader. But the emphatic victory also means great expectations. The lockdowns have had a heavy economic cost — a contraction by 12.2% in April-June. One of the criticisms she faced during the campaign was that she did not have a recovery plan. The COVID-19 threat is still looming large. She will have to prove her critics wrong and live up to the expectations of those who supported her while ruling for, what she said, “all New Zealanders”.

Meanings of Difficult Words:  triumph (noun) – victory, win, success.  popular vote (noun) – it simply refers to a  inclusive (adjective) – all-embracing, all-inclusive, democratic vote which has been put to an entire with everyone included, comprehensive. electorate (voters), which could be in the form of  decisive (adjective) – deciding, conclusive, an election or referendum; public vote. determining.  proportional representation (noun) – this refers  given (preposition) – considering, taking into to an electoral system in which the distribution of account, bearing in mind. seats corresponds closely with the proportion of  coronavirus (CoV) (noun) – a large family of the total votes cast for each party. This is a more viruses that cause illness ranging from the complicated but representative system than the common cold to more severe diseases. common first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, which is used in signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, . If a party gets 40% of the total votes, for fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing example, a perfectly proportional system would difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can allow it to get 40% of the seats. Some countries cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory used a combination of the proportional syndrome, kidney failure and even death. representation system and the FPTP system. (Courtesy: WHO)  centre-right (adjective) – moderately right-wing  pandemic (noun) – the worldwide spread of a new (party). disease; The illness spreads around the world and  volcanic eruption (noun) – it occurs when hot typically affects a large number of people across a materials from the Earth’s interior are thrown out wide area. of a volcano. Volcanic eruptions can be quite calm  centre-left (adjective) – moderately left-wing and effusive (pouring out of molten rock), or they (party). can be explosive. Effusive eruptions produce lava  project (verb) – forecast, predict, estimate, flows, while explosive eruptions produce ash and calculate. pyroclastic (denoting fragments of rock) density  coalition (noun) – alliance, union, partnership. currents.

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DAILY VOCAB DIGESTIVE 497 (21.12.2020) .12.2018  nationalist (adjective) – extremely.2018 patriotic.  far-right (adjective) – relating to the extreme right  unprecedented (adjective) – not done or wing of a political party or group; extremely

experienced before. conservative, rightist. .11.2018  outbreak (noun) – outburst, flaring up, breakout,  crisis-ridden (adjective) – dominated by crisis. sudden appearance/occurrence of something.  empathetic (adjective) – compassionate/  de facto (adjective) – Latin, literally ‘of fact’; humane, sympathetic, understanding. existing, actual, effective.  run (verb) – be in charge of, manage,  referendum (noun) – public vote; a direct vote in administer, govern. which people cast ballots to decide on a specific  reach out (phrasal verb) – contact someone to issue or policy. obtain/offer help/assistance/cooperation.  (case) fatality rate/ratio (CFR) (noun) –  back (verb) – support, endorse, approve, in epidemiology, the proportion of people who die advocate. from a particular disease compared to all  assault rifle (noun) – assault weapon; It is individuals diagnosed with the disease over a originally built for military special operations as a certain period of time. fully automatic/semiautomatic weapon/firearm.  community transmission (noun) – community (semi-automatic gun/rifle is a firearm (like AR-15, spread/transmission means spread of an AK-47) which fires one round for each trigger pull, illness/disease for which the source of infection is whereas “automatic rifle” is a firearm (such as unknown. An infected person has no travel history MG-34, M16) which fires more than one cartridge to an affected area and no known contact with a with a single pull of the trigger. These firearms are person previously diagnosed with a particular often referred to as “assault weapons or disease. It is possible the patient is exposed to a rifles, based on their rapid-fire capability). returning traveler who is infected.  alleviate (verb) – reduce, control, mitigate/  local transmission (cluster) (noun) – moderate. local spread/transmission means spread of an  climate change (noun) – a long-term change in the illness/disease for which the source of infection is Earth’s climate, or of a region on Earth (Courtesy: known. An infected person has travel history to an NASA). affected area. We could able to identify and trace  humane (adjective) – compassionate, individual cases, and ring-fence a cluster (of them) considerate, sympathetic, kind-hearted. to prevent the spread of infection.  (be) couple with (verb) – combine,  lockdown (noun) – an emergency protocol integrate, connect, incorporate, link. implemented by the authorities that prevents  transform (verb) – change/alter, modify, convert. people from leaving from a place; An extended  emphatic (adjective) – clear, definite, firm, state of confinement/encirclement/isolation of a decisive. person by the authority.  cost (noun) – sacrifice, loss (needed to achieve/get  normalcy (noun) – a normal condition; normality, something). regularity.  contraction (noun) – In economics, it refers to a  liberal (adjective) – unbigoted, broad-minded, decline in national output as measured by gross open-minded. domestic product.  buck (verb) – resist, oppose, contradict, defy, fight  loom (verb) – emerge, appear, become visible, against. take a threatening shape.  conservative (noun) – right-winger, reactionary,  loom large (phrase) – be imminent/close, about to rightist. happen (and something which has a lot of  anti-immigrant (adjective) – voicing opposition importance/attention). to immigrants (non-natives, foreigners, migrants).  live up to (phrasal verb) – satisfy, fulfil, achieve, meet.

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