http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/cinema/my-name-is-khan
http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/art-culture/balasaheb-you-are-a-lucky-man
I recently read two reviews of my name is khan on open magazine that filled my heart with joy (links above). I wrote on this blog, about main hoon na khan the day after it was released. Next day when all the critics in the media were heaping praises on this sorry piece of I don’t know what , I was left wondering, is it possible for Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar to bribe all the “critics” in the national dailies ?! But later, I was thinking if millions of people enjoy bollywood melodrama – what right do I have to crtiticize it. Who the fuck do I think I am ??
Similar arguments are given by Chetan Bhagat , Ekta Kapoor and Amitabh Bachann. Amitabh Bachann dislikes bollywood being called bollywood. It is the ‘Hindi Film industry’ which is adored by millions and millions of fans all over the world. It is completely different matter that Amtiabh Bachann has himself acted in scripts that have been ripped off from hollywood and roles that have been played by Brando , Al Pacino and others.
Well the same people who have made a phoney like Amitabh Bachann a superstar in most of India and a cartoon like Rajnikant a superstar in south, have voted again and again for Bal Thackrey , Laloo Yadav and Jayalalita. Thanks to the wisdom of this junta, Mayawati has a realistic chance of being our prime minister. The same junta did not vote for Manmohan Singh even when Congress in all its wisdom made him contest from South Delhi , arguably the most educated and aware constituency in India.
There is old riddle ( not exactly a riddle but whatever). Imagine you are driving a railway locomotive and the track ahead of you has two divergences. One has been not in use for years and all the signs have been put up to indicate that. One is in use regularly and warning labels have been put up. Now as the driver you see one kid on the track that is out of use and a whole lot of kids on the track that is supposed to be in use. You realize that you will end up running over someone. What would you do?
The wise thing is to run over the lone kid to limit the damage. Right ???
Well if you think about it. The lone kid has done nothing wrong. But it were the other stupid kids who were ignoring the warning signs and loitering around like morons. This is the bane of democracy. The lone correct guy would be run over again and again to suit the interest of the mob.
The poet Allama Iqbal summed it up the best –
Is Raaz ka ek mard-e-firangi ne kiya hai faash,
Harchand ki dana (intellectuals) ise khola(disclose) nahin karate,
Zamhooriyat(Democracy) ek tarz-e-hukumat (way of ruling) hai jisme,
Bandon ko gina(counted) karate hain, taula(weighed) nahin karate.
- Amaresh
Comments