STOP CALLING SOFT CONVERSATIONS “INTERVIEWS”
India doesn't have a shortage of interviewers.
India has a shortage of questions.
We have turned interviewing into a strange performance where the interviewer wants to be liked by the person sitting across the table.
The powerful person smiles.
The interviewer smiles.
The camera rolls.
And then comes the question:
“Sir, how do you manage to work so hard?”
“How do you stay so energetic?”
“What do you eat?”
“How do you study so much?”
“What is your morning routine?”
And occasionally:
“How do you eat your mango?”
Really?
That is what we are spending the microphone on?
You have five minutes with someone who possesses enormous political, economic, cultural or institutional power—and your greatest question is about their mango?
That isn't journalism.
That's access journalism.
THE INTERVIEWER IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE FAN
The interviewer is not there to collect selfies with power.
Not to collect compliments.
Not to manufacture viral clips.
Not to become famous because a famous person laughed at their question.
The interviewer has one weapon:
THE QUESTION.
And that weapon is becoming increasingly blunt.
ASK THE QUESTION THAT MAKES THE ROOM UNCOMFORTABLE
Don't ask a politician:
“What is your vision?”
Ask:
“You promised this three years ago. Where is it?”
Don't ask:
“What inspired you?”
Ask:
“Who benefited from this decision?”
Don't ask:
“How successful has this programme been?”
Ask:
“Show us the evidence.”
Don't ask:
“Why should people trust you?”
Ask:
“What have you done that gives them a reason to trust you?”
Don't accept:
“We are working on it.”
Ask:
“By what date?”
Don't accept:
“There are challenges.”
Ask:
“Who was responsible for addressing them?”
Don't accept:
“That is misinformation.”
Ask:
“Then show us the evidence that proves it wrong.”
Now you're interviewing.
I WANT THE QUESTION THAT MAKES THE INTERVIEWER'S OWN THROAT GO DRY
Yes.
That kind of question.
The question you hesitate before asking.
The question where you know:
“If I ask this, the atmosphere is going to change.”
Ask it anyway.
Because that's where journalism begins.
When the guest pauses.
When the smile disappears.
When the rehearsed answer doesn't work.
When the public-relations script collapses.
When the interviewer says:
“No. That's not what I asked.”
And asks again.
And again.
And again.
Not aggressively.
Not disrespectfully.
Precisely.
CRITICAL THINKING IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE COMFORTABLE
We keep telling Indian students:
“Develop critical thinking.”
But what are we showing them?
Don't question the teacher.
Don't question the politician.
Don't question the celebrity.
Don't question the institution.
Don't question the expert.
Don't question the successful person.
Don't question the popular opinion.
Then we wonder why people cannot think critically.
Critical thinking begins with uncomfortable questions:
How do you know?
Where is the evidence?
What assumption are you making?
Who benefits?
Who loses?
What are you not telling us?
What would prove you wrong?
What happens if your assumption is false?
These aren't rude questions.
These are thinking questions.
THE BEST INTERVIEWER SHOULD BE A PAIN IN THE ASS
Not because they are arrogant.
Because they refuse to accept bullshit.
If an answer doesn't answer the question:
Ask again.
If the guest changes the subject:
Bring them back.
If the guest gives a statistic:
Ask for the source.
If the guest makes a promise:
Ask for the deadline.
If the guest blames somebody else:
Ask who was actually responsible.
If the guest says:
“Everyone agrees.”
Ask:
“Who doesn't?”
If the guest says:
“Nobody questioned this.”
Ask:
“Why not?”
If everyone is applauding:
Look for the contradiction.
STOP MEASURING JOURNALISM BY VIEWS
A stupid question can get ten million views.
A brilliant question can get ten thousand.
Views don't make a question intelligent.
Virality doesn't make journalism courageous.
And a famous guest doesn't automatically make an interview important.
The real question is:
Did the interview make the public think?
Did it expose something?
Did it challenge something?
Did it reveal a contradiction?
Did it force accountability?
Did it make the audience uncomfortable enough to question what they previously believed?
If yes—
THAT was an interview.
YOU DON'T NEED TO SHOUT
This isn't about screaming at guests.
The most powerful interviewer may be the calmest person in the room.
Listen.
Remember.
Wait.
Then say:
“But five minutes ago, you said something completely different.”
Silence.
That's more powerful than shouting.
Or:
“Can you give us the evidence?”
Silence.
Or:
“Who takes responsibility for this?”
Silence.
Or the most dangerous question of all:
“What if you're wrong?”
That is an interview.
THE INTERVIEWER SHOULD REPRESENT THE CITIZEN
The ordinary citizen cannot enter the Prime Minister's office.
Cannot walk into a billionaire's boardroom.
Cannot interrogate a celebrity.
Cannot question a government department.
Cannot cross-examine an institution.
But the interviewer can.
For those few minutes, the interviewer is holding the citizen's microphone.
So don't waste it asking about breakfast.
Don't waste it asking about mangoes.
Don't waste it asking questions designed to make the guest feel good.
Ask what the citizen would ask if they had the opportunity.
Where did the money go?
Why did this fail?
Who benefited?
Who lost?
Where is the evidence?
Why should we believe you?
What are you hiding?
Who is accountable?
Those questions matter.
THE DAY INTERVIEWERS STOP TRYING TO BE LIKED…
Something changes.
Because suddenly the interview isn't about the interviewer.
It isn't about the celebrity.
It isn't about the politician.
It isn't about the viral clip.
It becomes about truth.
And truth doesn't always arrive politely.
Sometimes truth arrives as a contradiction.
Sometimes as an uncomfortable statistic.
Sometimes as an unanswered question.
Sometimes as a long silence after the question has been asked.
And sometimes—
the most important thing an interviewer can say is:
“I'm sorry, but that didn't answer the question.”
Ask it again.
Don't blink.
Don't apologise for asking.
Don't rescue the guest from the discomfort.
Let the silence sit there.
Because perhaps, for the first time,
the audience is finally thinking.
WE DON'T NEED NICER INTERVIEWS.
WE NEED BRAVER QUESTIONS.
Questions that make politicians uncomfortable.
Questions that make billionaires uncomfortable.
Questions that make celebrities uncomfortable.
Questions that make institutions uncomfortable.
Questions that make journalists uncomfortable.
And, most importantly—
questions that make US uncomfortable.
Because the moment an interviewer becomes more interested in being liked than in discovering the truth,
the microphone has already been compromised.
Don't interview power to impress power.
Interview power to interrogate it.
That is journalism.
Everything else is conversation.
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