Disclaimer: This piece may come across as an elderly professional's `hamare zamaane mein… bla bla bla' rant. It is probably intended as one.I used to be a film journalist and turned a film writer in 2000. It's a decade and a half of writing in movies and yet scribes ask me (especially the young ones) if it is possible for journalists to have a healthy relationship with film people. And as I look back at my own trajectory, I have to say it is sprinkled with several strong friendships and bonds within the film industry. Of course it helped me that I was working for a magazine that was mostly non controversial and chose to focus on what the film stars felt or thought rather than what (or who) they were doing but I think it was more than that. It was the times.When I was a film journalist, newspapers very rarely covered film celebrities and TV wasn't the 24-hour monster it is today. It was left to about eight (or ten) film magazines to write about filmdom and its inmates. So here we were about 50- give or take a few-reporters moving around the same 100 people and interacting with them at all times. It also helped that film personalities in those days only worked in films unlike today where they do commercials, events, political rallies, sports (playing and owning teams), weddings, award shows, tweets, bb status updates and what have you. In those days they spent eight, ten or even fifteen hours a day on sets and did precious little else. All we needed to do was make a call and find out where they were shooting and turn up. We sat with each other for hours, shared meals, gossip, secrets and a fair bit of our lives. We had undivided attention from each other and recognized each other as flesh and blood humans and not just means to a headline.I know times change, outlooks change and agendas are reshaped. I learnt early in my career that what truly makes for all effective journalism and specifically personality-based journalism is curiosity. About the person you are covering. And that does not just mean what he/she is `doing' but what makes them `do' it. Ultimately I presume our aim when we write is to give a peek into the person we are covering through his/ her action and words. That's why I quit journalism in the late '90s because I figured I wasn't curious anymore. And this disinterest (at times disdain) was beginning to creep into my pieces. My editor used to say often that for film journalism to remain fresh every new generation of film stars needs a fresh generation of journalists. I don't know what it is that drives present day reporters to opt for film journalism but it should help to remember that ONLY what they write will determine their relationship with the business. And their readers. Everything else is fluff!

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