MediaSpace: DME Media Journal of Communication

Knowledge and Attitudes towards Balu Mahendra Movies among Gen Z Students: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Priya P, V. Shanthi — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines the knowledge and attitudes of students of the GenZ from the
films Balu Mahendra by cross -sectional survey. Balu Mahendra, a pioneering filmmaker
at Tamil cinema, was known for his realistic narrative, unique cinematography and
a comprehensive depiction of social and gender questions. While his films have
been critically recognized, it is little known about how the younger generations are
engaged in and perceive his works. The aim of this study is to fill this gap by analysing
acquaintance, perception and engagement with his films among the students of
GenZ.
The structured questionnaire was managed to students on various educational
environments. The survey included demographic details, familiarity with Tamil cinema,
awareness of Balu Mahendra’s contributions and perception of topics and social
comments present in his films. Key aspects have explored how students perceive
their depictions of women, socio-political themes in their films and their importance
in the current cinema.
The findings reveal a diverse range of opinions. While some respondents recognized
the influence of Balu Mahendra on Tamil’s cinema, a significant amount was limited
with his work. Some students considered his narrative impressive and relevant,
especially in terms of social realism and sex representation, while others considered
them obsolete compared to modern film trends. In particular, his depiction of
women caused a debate, and respondents were divided between recognition for the
development of nuances and criticism for the reflecting of traditional perspectives.
Another critical observation was the role of digital platforms in influencing the
evaluation of the film. Many respondents have admitted that it is more inclined to
the current digital content than to explore the classic cinema. However, those who
watched the films Balu Mahendra acknowledged their depth and artistic merits.
This study contributes to discourse about the relevance of the classic Tamil cinema
among new generations and emphasizes the need to integrate discussions about
pioneering filmmakers into modern film education. The finding suggests that with a
reasonable exposure through platforms for digital streaming and academic discourse,
classic films such as Balu Mahendra films can continue to influence and educate
younger audiences.

Navigating Digital Rights in the Recent Era: Promoting the Freedom and Safety

G Sanjay Guru, Dhivyabharathi K — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The paper establishes a practical view against privacy that violates human rights.
The disputes that arise due to trouble are faced in the technology that is used by
the recent generation. Digital rights are closely linked to the use and publication in
digital media, freedom of speech and expression, right to privacy, even the right to
access the computer and other electronics and communication networks. Most of
the technologies that are beneficial to use such expansive knowledge in the digital
mode. Why are digital technologies that harmful to every individual? Because the
people are unaware of problems faced by them while sharing their details. It is the
broader way to calculate the significance by using digital technology. Digital rights
are very useful by implementing many talents to the world. More ways restrict the
rights of an individual to showcase their skills in the pandemic world. There are infinity
methods that restrict digital rights such as copyrights, data privacy, basic human
rights, etc. Violation of another kind of right is not that reckless, but violating the rights
of individual privacy digitally is in the place of insecurity. More disadvantages that
affect the advantages of using the source, like mobile phones, computers, palm tops,
etc. The wrong way of using their data may create a bad impression of the technology
development. If people get fear of using resources like private data to log in to some
source, then how is digital mode utilized properly? The laws that protect against
this confusion are implemented in the Information Technology Act, cybercrime,
cybersecurity agencies, etc., that is, to help individuals while their data is in an unsafe
position. We, the users of technology, should be aware of overusing our details in
common ways. Should not normalize the things of sharing their data on all kinds of
unauthorized websites or links that provide on mobile phones. Nowadays, people
are knowingly and unknowingly using their private data to be ejected without their
consent. Why is privacy stolen repeatedly? Even laws are being set up to secure the
people from scamming and hacking. How can the technology also protect the private
data? Through the apps and services licensed by the Government that help to keep
your information secure, such as privacy score, disconnect, safe shepherd, cocoon,
Anchor Free hotspot shield, LBE privacy guard, and Burn Notes. Encourage and
recommend technologies which enhance privacy and security such as encryptions
and protection of communication tools.

Train and Tanga as a Cinematic Metaphor: Visualizing Migration, Trauma and Religious Identity in M. S. Sathyu’s Garam Hawa

Md Danish Rahman, Ritu S. Sood, Mohammad Ashraf Ali — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Partition of India on the basis of religion in 1947 was one of the most tragic events
in the history of Indian subcontinent. It brought uncertainty and changed the life of
millions forever. People were forced to migrate concerning their safety and security.
They left their belongings thinking they may comeback once the situation gets normal
but never to return. The rumors and riots fueled by religious hatred intensified the
displacement, and millions lost their life in those arduous and risky journeys. The
only means of travel for common people were train, tanga and bullock cart. Even
those means of transport were not affordable or available for many and people tried
to cross the border on foot covering hundreds of kilometers. The train and tanga, full
of humans and their belongings became the biggest symbol of displacement and
homelessness in those times. The film Garam Hawa (1974) by M.S. Sathyu showcases
the plight and agony of Muslims in India after the partition were announced. The use of
train and tanga as a cinematic metaphor to present the deep feelings of helplessness,
isolation and insecurity that Muslims had to face is clearly evident in the film. The
trains and tanga in the film symbolize the separation of families, their ordeal and the
rootlessness from their homeland.
This study examines the train and tanga as a visual sign that highlights the collective
suffering and social instability of the time. Train and tanga scenes do not only depict
physical journeys but also reveal mental and emotional journeys, involving memories,
fears and hopes. This study also explains how Garam Hawa sensitively communicates
the tragedy of Partition to the general audience through the image of the train and
tanga. This research is useful for film and media studies because it shows that a
visual symbol can be able to explain complex historical experiences at a simple and
deeply emotional level.

A Critical Analysis of Advertisement Regulation in India: Does Advertisement Regulation Do Enough for the Citizen?

Manindra Singh Hanspal, Gagan Kumar B R — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper critically examines the effectiveness of advertisement regulation in India in protecting citizens' interests. Through analysis of regulatory frameworks including the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the Consumer Protection Act 2019, and sectoral regulations, this research evaluates whether current mechanisms adequately safeguard Indian consumers from deceptive, manipulative, and harmful advertising practices. The findings suggest that while India has established a comprehensive regulatory framework on paper, enforcement gaps, reliance on self-regulation, limited digital oversight, and inadequate protection for vulnerable populations undermine citizen protection. The paper argues that significant gaps remain in addressing the sophisticated targeting capabilities of digital advertising, protecting rural and low-literacy populations, regulating emerging advertising technologies, and ensuring meaningful accountability for violations.

Role of Animation in Promoting Environment Behaviour in Teenagers

Amrita Rai, Mehak Jonjua — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Animation is not the art of drawings that move but the art of movements that are
drawn.” - Norman McLaren. Animation serves as a powerful catalyst for promoting
pro-environmental behavior among teenagers by making environmental issues
more accessible, engaging, and personally relevant. Through visually rich storytelling,
animation translates complex ecological concepts into compelling narratives that
capture adolescent attention, increase knowledge retention, and foster emotional
connections to nature. Animation has emerged as a vital medium for influencing
environmental attitudes and behaviors among teenagers in an increasingly mediacentric
world. Research demonstrates that teenagers exposed to animated stories
centered on climate change, conservation, and sustainability exhibit increased
environmental concern, knowledge, and motivation to engage in eco-friendly
practices compared to traditional educational approaches. This abstract underscore
animation’s unique potential to bridge knowledge and action, proposing its integration
into environmental education initiatives as an effective strategy for nurturing longterm
pro-environmental behavior in adolescent audiences. Stuart Hall’s representation
theory posits that representation is not a simple reflection of reality, but an active
process of constructing meaning through language, images, and symbols. This
theory argues that meaning is not inherent in things, but is created and shaped by
cultural and social context, and can be influenced by power structures. Key concepts
include the role of the media in encoding and audiences in decoding these messages,
the use of stereotypes, and the idea that representation is a “re-presentation” that
reshapes reality rather than simply showing it. Multiple studies report that narrative
formats reliably increase factual understanding (names of species, causes of pollution,
simple ecosystem relationships) among young learners. Storytelling helps children
remember cause–effect links.

India’s Strategic Ascendance Amid Global Technological Nationalism

Kumar Vineet, Showkat Ahmad Dar — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In the 21st century, tech isn’t just critical to growing the economy; it’s an essential part
of how countries flex their power. This is often referred to as tech nationalism, in
which countries want to govern vital sources of tech, data and online distribution
for protection and advancement. India, one of the fastest-growing economies in
the world and a rising power on the global stage, has developed its own approach
to dealing with this. This article examines how India is addressing tech nationalism
at a global level. It writes about what India is doing to develop its own tech skills,
secure its supply chains, talk to other countries using digital means, find its space
between the U.S. and China and remain steadfast on technology independence while
still being part of the world. It dissects India’s primary plans, partnerships and what’s
standing in its way, to provide a fuller picture of how the country hopes to rise to big
tech and global power.

Artificial Intelligence and its Influence on Visual Art and Artistic Practice

Vipin Sharma, Dhruv Sabharwal — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has arisen as a powerful and transformative force across
various fields, and the realm of visual arts is no exception. The integration of AI into
the artistic process is not just limited to automation or ease—it is reshaping the
very foundations of creativity, authorship, and artistic identity. From algorithmically
generated paintings and AI-assisted illustrations to advanced tools that support image
enhancement, layout design, and concept generation, artists today are operating in
an environment deeply influenced by machine intelligence. The boundaries between
human creativity and machine-generated outputs are becoming increasingly blurred.
Contemporary artists are not only adopting AI tools for efficiency or innovation but
are also engaging critically with the implications of algorithmic creativity. These shifts
raise profound questions about what it means to create, who or what constitutes an
artist, and how originality is defined in an age where machines can learn from vast
visual databases and mimic stylistic patterns. This research paper will explore the
multifaceted impact of AI on visual art and artists by examining specific technological
advancements such as generative adversarial networks (GANs), neural style transfer,
and text-to-image creators. It will also delve into broader cultural and philosophical
discussions about authorship, ownership, and aesthetic value. Through case studies,
critical theory, and contemporary practices, this paper will argue that AI is not merely
a new set of tools for artists—it is a disruptive agent that challenges traditional artistic
paradigms and invites a rethinking of what it means to create visual art in the 21st
century.

Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Brand Identity Creation in Small-Scale Industries

Dr Remanshu Attrai, Apoorva Nawaz — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In today’s rapidly evolving digital economy, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as
a transformative force reshaping how businesses build and communicate their brand
identities. While large corporations have leveraged AI to enhance brand management
and customer engagement, small-scale industries often face challenges in adopting
such technologies due to limited resources and expertise. This study explores the
impact of Artificial Intelligence on brand identity creation in small-scale industries,
focusing on how AI-driven tools and analytics can empower these businesses to
establish a distinct and competitive market presence.
The research examines various AI applications—including data analytics, natural
language processing, predictive modeling, and automated content generation—that
assist small enterprises in understanding consumer preferences, personalizing brand
messages, and optimizing marketing strategies. Through a mixed-method approach
combining qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, the study investigates how
AI contributes to shaping brand perception, enhancing customer engagement, and
fostering brand loyalty. It also identifies the barriers that small-scale industries face
in implementing AI solutions, such as cost constraints, lack of technical expertise,
and data privacy concerns.
The findings are expected to demonstrate that AI, when strategically integrated,
can significantly strengthen the brand-building process by providing actionable
insights, improving customer interaction, and ensuring brand consistency across
digital platforms. Ultimately, this research highlights the potential of AI as a catalyst
for innovation and competitive advantage in small-scale industries, enabling them
to craft unique brand identities that resonate with their target audiences in an
increasingly technology-driven marketplace.

AI-Driven Digital Personas and Their Implications for Human Rights, Trust, and Media Ethics in India

Agam Kumar Prajapati — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence has brought forth a new generation of digital entities
in the form of AI-powered influencers, synthetic avatars, and machine-generated personalities
who shape Indian audiences’ understandings of authenticity, credibility, and human rights
within digital environments. While AI-generated personas—now actively participating in
brand communication, public discourse, and cultural storytelling—raise questions for our
consideration that are ethical, psychological, and social in nature, they do not possess lived
experience, emotional depth, and moral accountability like their human predecessors, yet they
are well capable of persuading opinions and influencing behaviours in large-scale amounts. That
is the paradox which challenges traditional understandings of representation and foundational
principles of human dignity, autonomy, and consent.
In this context, India’s multilingual digital media ecosystem, with its fast-growing youth
population and increasing reliance on visual storytelling, presents an important site to assess
these changes. While AI influencers offer creative opportunities to brands through cost
efficiency, risk-free engagement, and control over the content, they simultaneously introduce
concerns regarding manipulation, misinformation, and identity distortion. Too many viewers,
especially in semi-urban and rural regions, the failure to distinguish between real and synthetic
identity poses a threat to the right of viewers to transparent information; thus, AI-generated
content is directly linked to human rights.
The current study uses a sequential mixed-method design, integrating content analysis of
Indian AI-led campaigns with trust, authenticity, emotional reliability, and ethical awareness
measurements through surveys and interviews. Results indicate a growing tension between
technological fascination and ethical skepticism: despite audiences appreciating the innovation
behind AI personas, a significant portion indeed show uneasiness when they realize that
persuasive communication is delivered by a non-human entity. Lack of disclosure emerges
as a critical violation of digital autonomy, with audiences demanding clear identification of
AI-generated content as a matter of their right to truthful information.
These findings are interpreted in the context of representation theory, cultural production,
and human rights ethics. The research postulates that AI-driven digital identities are not an
entertaining tool but a powerful socio-cultural agent that redefines how identity, reality, and
trust are built in a digital context. Thus, it draws attention to the growing necessity of introducing
regulatory frameworks, compulsory transparency standards, and digital literacy as a means of
protecting user rights while ensuring that creative innovation is not hampered.
This paper situates virtual AI influencers within larger debates on digital ethics and human
rights and contends that the future of media must strike a balance between technological
advancement and ethical responsibility. The advent of AI-driven personas should not substitute
for human authenticity but rather evolve within a structured system respectful of human dignity,
protective of audience autonomy, and fostering responsible communication practices within
India’s increasingly digitized society

Changing Moral Economies of Labour: A Qualitative- Dominant Comparative Textual Analysis of Professional Ethics and Everyday Work in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Cinema and Contemporary Hindi Films

Praveen Jain, Atul Arora — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This article is an analysis of how Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s films develop a framework
of ethics in the context of everyday work, professional identity, and morality and
compare it with current Hindi cinema. The study, based on a qualitative-dominant
comparative textual analysis of five films from each period, namely Mukherjee’s Anand
(1971), Abhimaan (1973), Bawarchi (1972), Gol Maal (1979), and Namak Haraam (1973);
and contemporary films Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (2009), 3 Idiots (2009),
Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), Gully Boy (2019), and Thappad (202 Theoretically inspired by
E.P. Thompson’s moral economy, middle-class realism and cultural studies of work,
the paper contextualises Mukherjee’s cinema as a pedagogy of morality that focused
on notions of collective duty and integrity in professional life. In contrast, modernday
films represent neoliberal individualism with work being linked to individual
ambition and market success, often at the expense of communal ethics. Findings
show reduction in scenes dedicated to the moral dilemmas at work (from 28% in
Mukherjee to 15% in contemporary films) and a change in the types of professions
in the workforce from service-oriented to entrepreneurial. This transition brings
into focus the shift on the Hindi cinema, from the critique of systemic inequalities
to the endorsement of performative productivity under the influence of economic
liberalization. The article adds to the study of South Asian film by highlighting the
demise of moral economies in labor representations, which calls for reconsidering
the role of cinema in shaping professional identities in globalization.