There has been a number of happenings over the recent past that makes one wonder as to whether we, as a people are genuine and nice or are we narrow minded with our prejudices and vindictive to fellow human beings, in other words, one's own countrymen? Let me go through just two of them......
(a) The Interview that could have been more decent.
I happened to watch a recent interview of Sunny Leonne by the CNN-IBN's Bhupendra
Choubey. Not only was it offending, but it was also crass. Here are a couple of questions that
were hurled at the actress just to highlight the pettiness:-
(i) Do you believe your body will take you everywhere?
(ii) Is there any correlation between the rise of porn in India and Sunny?
Okay, the lady has been a porn movie artist in the past but what's the harm in her - an NRI -
aspiring to be an actress in the Hindi movies? She has a good body that's one of the requisites
to be an actress besides the ability to act. Do the present set of leading ladies feel threatened by
her and do the lead actors have any qualm acting with her? And why are we obsessed with her
past?
I feel that she should be given a fair chance. If she can't act, she'll face the consequences of
being another failed actor. Period. But, for heaven's sake, don't prejudge her!
Incidentally, I must say that the lady came up trumps in the interview. She was dignified and
sporting to the hostile set of questions posed to her. And that brings me to another query as to
whether Bhupendra Choubey would have been similarly crass, mean or petty with another
actress on the hot seat? No!.....Hey, then why the double standards?
(b) The Aftermath to Mrinalini Sarabhai's passing away.
Globally acclaimed dancer, Mrinalini Sarabhai, passed away at the age of 97. Her contributions
to the cultural world have been enormous and the establishment of the 'Darpana Academy of
Performing Arts' by her at Ahmedabad, in 1948, that has overseen the graduation of over 18,000
students in Bharathanatyam and Kathakali, shows her dedication and perseverance in promoting
dance which was her passion.
I must confess that, on a very personal level, I'm glad that she's another Malayalee who has
proved her mettle in the field that she chose for herself. I've had the privilege of seeing her
performances on a couple of occasions in Thiruvananthapuram organised by the Soorya
Cultural Society, I think. RIP, ma'am! My prayers and tears.
Her daughter, Mallika, has come out against PM Narendra Modi in not condoling her at her
passing away. I found it a bit incongruent for two reasons viz.:-
(a) She hates his style of politics and blames him for the 2002 riots of Gujarat. Consequently,
she has taken him on and continues to be a virulent critic of his.
(b) Offering of condolences is a purely personal choice left to each person.
Isn't it, therefore, a paradox that she should get perturbed over the PM's silence on the issue? I
mean, if I were in her place, I wouldn't have been perturbed at all and ignored the no-show as
yet another of those things in life!
Tailpiece.
On the other hand, taking the role of the Devil's Advocate mulling over the issue, I've a few questions for the PM which are:-
(a) Being the PM of the entire nation, shouldn't you be condoling the death of a person who
has contributed so much during her lifetime?
(b) Or are you taking it out on her daughter for her stand against you when she's the freedom of
expressing her viewpoint?
(c) You abide by the Bhagwad Gita and doesn't it tell us to be forgiving?
(a) The Interview that could have been more decent.
I happened to watch a recent interview of Sunny Leonne by the CNN-IBN's Bhupendra
Choubey. Not only was it offending, but it was also crass. Here are a couple of questions that
were hurled at the actress just to highlight the pettiness:-
(i) Do you believe your body will take you everywhere?
(ii) Is there any correlation between the rise of porn in India and Sunny?
Okay, the lady has been a porn movie artist in the past but what's the harm in her - an NRI -
aspiring to be an actress in the Hindi movies? She has a good body that's one of the requisites
to be an actress besides the ability to act. Do the present set of leading ladies feel threatened by
her and do the lead actors have any qualm acting with her? And why are we obsessed with her
past?
I feel that she should be given a fair chance. If she can't act, she'll face the consequences of
being another failed actor. Period. But, for heaven's sake, don't prejudge her!
Incidentally, I must say that the lady came up trumps in the interview. She was dignified and
sporting to the hostile set of questions posed to her. And that brings me to another query as to
whether Bhupendra Choubey would have been similarly crass, mean or petty with another
actress on the hot seat? No!.....Hey, then why the double standards?
(b) The Aftermath to Mrinalini Sarabhai's passing away.
Globally acclaimed dancer, Mrinalini Sarabhai, passed away at the age of 97. Her contributions
to the cultural world have been enormous and the establishment of the 'Darpana Academy of
Performing Arts' by her at Ahmedabad, in 1948, that has overseen the graduation of over 18,000
students in Bharathanatyam and Kathakali, shows her dedication and perseverance in promoting
dance which was her passion.
I must confess that, on a very personal level, I'm glad that she's another Malayalee who has
proved her mettle in the field that she chose for herself. I've had the privilege of seeing her
performances on a couple of occasions in Thiruvananthapuram organised by the Soorya
Cultural Society, I think. RIP, ma'am! My prayers and tears.
Her daughter, Mallika, has come out against PM Narendra Modi in not condoling her at her
passing away. I found it a bit incongruent for two reasons viz.:-
(a) She hates his style of politics and blames him for the 2002 riots of Gujarat. Consequently,
she has taken him on and continues to be a virulent critic of his.
(b) Offering of condolences is a purely personal choice left to each person.
Isn't it, therefore, a paradox that she should get perturbed over the PM's silence on the issue? I
mean, if I were in her place, I wouldn't have been perturbed at all and ignored the no-show as
yet another of those things in life!
Tailpiece.
On the other hand, taking the role of the Devil's Advocate mulling over the issue, I've a few questions for the PM which are:-
(a) Being the PM of the entire nation, shouldn't you be condoling the death of a person who
has contributed so much during her lifetime?
(b) Or are you taking it out on her daughter for her stand against you when she's the freedom of
expressing her viewpoint?
(c) You abide by the Bhagwad Gita and doesn't it tell us to be forgiving?
No comments:
Post a Comment