Gauri Lankesh murder: The dangerous life of scribes in Indian cinema

A cult classic and a nearly forgotten film remind us how precarious journalistic work can be

The assassination of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh at her home in Bengaluru on Tuesday yet again reminds us how fragile the glorified ideals of freedom of press and speech really are in our country. According to various news reports, at least five journalists were murdered in India last year. On the Impunity Index of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which ranks nations according to the number of murder cases of scribes without conviction, India is a dismal 14 (Pakistan is nine, Bangladesh 12). And, on the World Press Freedom Index 2017, India ranks a pathetic 136 out of 180 nations.