Long ago,when I was studying my engineering,I had read a news item wherein a fine arts student,Chandramohan from the Maharaja Sayajirao University was arrested and charged under sections 153B and 295A for the said depictions of some gods in his own way.
Which I would say should be referred to as his own renditions of his Gods!Then a few other popular references that,to me, have been pretty disturbing could be a Taslima Nazreen for Lajja or a Salman Rushdie for Satanic Verses or a million more.Time and again a person's right to expression has been tied down with the bureaucratic chains.There can be no state that can say that it is a developed one if it has so many curbs on free press.The reason we call it 'free press' is because of the fact that they can report what they see.(let us not discuss, poor reporting and masala-fication of news here).Our loyalty to anything borders on the lines of fanaticism.Religious,regional,ethnic,cultural,caste-based even a simple emotion like love;anything, we have to lay down the 'my way or the highway' rule.If we want something we get it else we protest.A near 100% of our protests involve one or all of these: slogan shouting,window breaking,bus burning,if that doesn't work we resort to the next level that involves strike and more often than not,a total shutdown of the machinery.If it has to do with the entertainment industry we call for a ban on the movie/play/actor or a heavy censorship,which would anyway kill the movie.
Which I would say should be referred to as his own renditions of his Gods!Then a few other popular references that,to me, have been pretty disturbing could be a Taslima Nazreen for Lajja or a Salman Rushdie for Satanic Verses or a million more.Time and again a person's right to expression has been tied down with the bureaucratic chains.There can be no state that can say that it is a developed one if it has so many curbs on free press.The reason we call it 'free press' is because of the fact that they can report what they see.(let us not discuss, poor reporting and masala-fication of news here).Our loyalty to anything borders on the lines of fanaticism.Religious,regional,ethnic,cultural,caste-based even a simple emotion like love;anything, we have to lay down the 'my way or the highway' rule.If we want something we get it else we protest.A near 100% of our protests involve one or all of these: slogan shouting,window breaking,bus burning,if that doesn't work we resort to the next level that involves strike and more often than not,a total shutdown of the machinery.If it has to do with the entertainment industry we call for a ban on the movie/play/actor or a heavy censorship,which would anyway kill the movie. Let alone art we 
cannot even handle humor in a mature way.The 'cattle class' tweet by Shashi Tharoor,which in a way,if not directly, cost him his ministry is still etched fresh in our psyche .His indication was to something miles apart from what was made out of it.Things that we hold in supremely high esteem should not be criticized,be it something mighty obvious.But no, you dare not say a word against them.We are never open to discussions.Our sense of humor may sting others but when and if it even remotely comes down to us,we unleash hell,show the world how crass we can get. We watch so many foreign production talk shows on television and laugh at their jibes on their actors yet get pissed when something similar happens here.We get furious and release a press statement with the words culture,respect,women,dare,sad,India distributed randomly across sentences.Maturity in thought and humor reflects in the intelligence throughput of the state.We are a great nation(well that is what we like to call ourselves) with a rich history and a beautiful culture which is the envy of the world,then why do we react the way do.
cannot even handle humor in a mature way.The 'cattle class' tweet by Shashi Tharoor,which in a way,if not directly, cost him his ministry is still etched fresh in our psyche .His indication was to something miles apart from what was made out of it.Things that we hold in supremely high esteem should not be criticized,be it something mighty obvious.But no, you dare not say a word against them.We are never open to discussions.Our sense of humor may sting others but when and if it even remotely comes down to us,we unleash hell,show the world how crass we can get. We watch so many foreign production talk shows on television and laugh at their jibes on their actors yet get pissed when something similar happens here.We get furious and release a press statement with the words culture,respect,women,dare,sad,India distributed randomly across sentences.Maturity in thought and humor reflects in the intelligence throughput of the state.We are a great nation(well that is what we like to call ourselves) with a rich history and a beautiful culture which is the envy of the world,then why do we react the way do.I was talking to one of my friends,when she mentioned to me that Russell Peters had,apparently, made some remarks which,as many believe,are not in a very good taste. One of the main reasons why I decided to voice my views about this,here and now.Well,knowing his genre of comedy,I was not expecting anything new or alien.I later read that he had slung some mud on Hindi movies and some actors and actresses.
This is how we reacted:
We demanded a ban on the movie which featured him,and is currently in the cinemas.
We asked for a ban on him from entering the country.
We started doing what we do best(read often) ,start calling names and abuse him.Statements like,"Russell Peters should die".
We demanded a ban on the movie which featured him,and is currently in the cinemas.
We asked for a ban on him from entering the country.
We started doing what we do best(read often) ,start calling names and abuse him.Statements like,"Russell Peters should die".
What sort of a big and mature nation reacts in such a manner?First things first,every individual is entitled to his own opinion and he has every right to speak it out.Now,here is where the,"speak responsibly" part comes in.That would be a different story altogether.
This is how we could have reacted:
If the popular media doesn't like what he said,they should refrain from giving him coverage,at all.
Better yet,pay it back,in his own currency.Think of innovative and witty ways to get back at that person.
Well,there are a million other ways.Also,what we tend to forget is the fact that movie making is an art and art is any form is liable to criticism.Honestly,hasn't anyone from the north ever criticized a Tamil/Telugu/Kannada movie?I can quote a dozen examples,randomly without much digging!A majority of people all across India find the movies of other languages,silly and their actors dumb.So,why di
d we get so offended when someone pointed out the same thing,yes,that was tad brutal,yet!Inspite of the likes of Shahrukh Khan mocking the South Indian style of movie making and its characters,the movies are made and they continue to reign at the box office and ring the cash registers.Just because that is what pleases the audience.That is how simple the proportion is.What someone said against our leading actors or actresses would never deter us from going and buying a ticket at the counter,ideally on the first day of release.Yet,we continue to over-react!
d we get so offended when someone pointed out the same thing,yes,that was tad brutal,yet!Inspite of the likes of Shahrukh Khan mocking the South Indian style of movie making and its characters,the movies are made and they continue to reign at the box office and ring the cash registers.Just because that is what pleases the audience.That is how simple the proportion is.What someone said against our leading actors or actresses would never deter us from going and buying a ticket at the counter,ideally on the first day of release.Yet,we continue to over-react!It is high time we show the world how a nation with a history spanning thousands of years and a population of over 1.2billion thinks and talks like.If we say we are mighty and mature we should as well act and react so!
Suggested Reading:Bandh and Associated Telangana Fiasco,art?
4 comments:
Couldnt agree more! Our responding only shows that we are bothered..
completely agree with the third paragraph..about shashi tharoor i differ ...
How could you write something like this ? Are you nuts ? You dont have any respect for your culture and cant standup for when someone bashes your own culture. You must be socially deserted. Stripped off all your possessions and made to run around till you tender an unconditional apology. Pliss to publish an apology blog . :P
I shud prolly go on the streets n tear the posters of Speedy Singhs n shout out slogans against all these people... throwing stones on the cinemas,staging a rail/rasta roko n burning some effigies might help me win back the loyalty of my friends n colleagues!
Post a Comment