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Cinema
An Actor and A Cause
 Comparison by MH Ahsan
Big moments it is said occur only in retrospect. When one is going
through them, they are mere obstacles one is trying to overcome. This is
true in the case of Aamir Khan. Two years ago the actor was introduced
to the Narmada Bachao Andolan by his filmmaker cousin Mansoor
Khan. Instinctively drawn but not in the mind-frame to commit himself,
Aamir waited and watched the growing agitation from a distance.
As seasons changed and a new order came into his personal life, Aamir
was ready to make a commitment. He had become sensitized and stated that
he would support Medha Patkar and the movement irrespective of the
consequences.
The issue here is not
whether celebrities help or hinder a cause but whether celebrities
making a living out of a different profession have the right to
jeopardize interests of those associated with them. That the
pro-Narmada dam activists have pulled down posters and stalled the
screening of Aamir's Rang De Basanti all over Gujarat and
called for a boycott of products endorsed by him (Coca Cola, Innova
Toyota cars) including freeze of advertisements featuring the actor
on the big and the small screen is an alarming indicator.
Like all budding activists Aamir today stands at a crucial junction
of his life. On one side is his commitment to his profession. On the
other, a new found ideology. The actor is at liberty to choose his
path but not before he has revised his ground rules and clarified
them to his investors (advertisement and filmmakers).
Until then for the actor to throw caution to the wind and gamble
with the business prospects of professionals who have trusted his
brand image is both unethical and self indulgent.
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Aamir
Khan's support of the Narmada Bachchao Andolan and opposition to the
Sardar Sarovar Project in Gujarat triggered off violent protests
across the state. The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee calling for
a boycott of all brands endorsed by the filmstar including Innova
Toyota cars and Coke, has requested dealers and the concerned
companies to remove all posters featuring the star and freeze the
products.
In Ahmedabad, the Gujarat BJP's youth wing disrupted screenings of
Aamir's latest film Rang De Basanti in several city
multiplexes. Posters of the film were torched in Ahmedabad. Similar
demonstrations staged by Youth Congress workers in Baroda and Surat
where effigies of the star were burnt. In Baroda many theatre owners
temporarily cancelled all shows of the film. Aamir's alliance with
the anti-Narmada lobby has also cast a cloud over his next release
Yashraj's Fanaa with angry protestors asserting that there is no
place for Aamir in Gujarat till he issued a public apology.
Clarifying his stand Aamir said that having lived in Kutch for more
than six months he understood the water problem plaguing the
district and he supported the Project that was seeking to make water
available to four states. But first, he wanted the affected people
rehabilitated. |
The Aftermath
 Crusades
are usually championed after the victim suffers a trauma. This is true
of Salman Khan.
I'm not going to waste any further newsprint on the whys and what
happened with Salman Khan. It is no more about dates — 1998, 2000 or
2002. Nor about targets — Chinkara, black buck or pavement dwellers is
all a blur now. It is about the aftermath and about self-examination. I
recommend it to his fans, family, lawyer, the police, hospital security
and most important the media.
In the olden days a hero was one who did heroic deeds. His followers
revered him for his virtues. Today, a hero is one who is in the news and
his distinction is in his charisma. Then the common man prided in
remaining anonymous. Today he is desperate for that one glimpse in print
or on camera. Be it a late legend funeral or a superstar home-coming,
the fan is forever overstating his loyalty. On the other hand, the
actor's family for some mysterious reason has begun to underplay their
role and responsibility. Writer Salim Khan will agree with me that his
son could have been more subdued in his home-bound journey.
It's distressing that nobody any longer exercises any restraint. There
is no pride or sanctity of profession. How else would you explain a
responsible jail superintendent discuss the excitement amongst staff
children at Jodhpur Jail to have a superstar amidst them? Why should a
private conversation shared between two inmates be leaked out for a
sensational story? Not just that, don't lawyers of Salman Khan
understand that it is premature to make pompous statements like "we got
justice" when the actor is only out on bail and the case hasn't closed?
It's shallow of the hospital security hosting the actor's mother Salma
Khan to complain about extra working hours due to celebrity guests.
Shouldn't they be resolving these issues in-house?
As for Salman, it's a positive sign that he intends to take constructive
action like improving conditions of jail toilets and contributing money
to decrease his inmate's term of imprisonment, but does he have to make
such dramatic statements? Also granted that he was overwhelmed by
cheering fans outside his balcony but does that justify him stripping
his shirt and flinging it to the crowds like he is not out of jail but
at a live concert?
And finally, the media. It's embarrassing the way they get into details
about the actor's clothes - vest, cap, shopping bag. His escorts -
brother, sister, girlfriend, body guard and vehicles - Land Cruiser and
later charter plane. They insensitively identify barrack no 210 occupied
by the actor as a status symbol. Is this what we have reduced our front
page headlines to?
25 years ago when I became a film journalist, film glossies were chided
for thriving on star trivialities. The mainstream coined our brand of
journalism 'yellow'. Over the years while the mainstream in its greed to
conquer greater readership has transformed to a blazing red while cinema
journals have demurely paled in comparison.
April 30, 2006
Top |
Cinema
The Week of April 30, 2006
Nepal
Maoists: The American Connection and More by Rajinder Puri
India's Reservations Controversy by Dr.
Subhash Kapila
America's One Trick Pony of Band-Aid Policies by
Gaurang Bhatt, MD
Is Sonia above Law? by V. Sundaram, IAS (Retd)
The Education Crisis : Private Vs Sarkari by
Usha Kakkar
Charisma Vs Caste by Usha Kakkar
Are you Safe on Network? by Ruchi
Gupta
Women and War by Dr. Prasenjit Maiti
The Rising by Deepti Priya Mehrotra
Human Limitations: Is it possible to overcome
them ? by TA Ramesh
Banishing Poverty & Illiteracy: Instant Solutions
by Swachid K. Rangan
Europe: The Ageing Continent by Mehru Jaffer
Mahabharata – The Harvest of Hatred by Satya
Chaitanya
Are You the Right Man? by Dr. Krishna
Saksena
A Trip to Self Realization by Surjasikha
Ganguli
How to Choose the Right Book for your child?
by Garima Gupta
Hysteric about Headache? by Dr.
Savitha Suri
The Food-Mood Tangle by Neeta Lal
Remembering Zimbabwe of Old by Dr. Amitabh
Mitra
Trip to the rainbow nation South Africa –
Johannesburg by Jayati Chowdhury
Kenya: Killing her Softly for Playing by
Kwamboka Oyaro
Self-made Stithprajna by J. Ajithkumar
When I was Humbled by Arya Bhushan
Jacky's Gruesome Death by P. Mohan Chandran
An Actor and a Cause – Comparison by MH Ahsan
Re-Evaluating Gulshan Nanda by Satish Chandra
Singh
Pyaasi Ghaggar by Kusum Choppra
What makes Rats Perky and Dinosaurs Tardy?
by VK Joshi
Positive Blip on HIV Radar by Nitin Jugran
Bahuguna
If : A book review by G. Swaminathan
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