Thursday, July 5, 2012

Irresponsible entertainment?


What would we do when we graduate from X with good grades and getting admitted to a good junior college? Shop? Party? Have fun? This girl, I met some days ago, more than anything else, raced around to get her name changed. Why? Because her name, apparently, had become a way too popular.

It may sound a little too frivolous. But trust me, if any of you would have met her, you would understand what I am talking about. If you had seen in her eyes the guilt of bearing a name that was adjective-zed with something like “chikani” and contained in a song that vulgarizes one's being, you would understand where I am coming from.

When I asked her why she changed her name, she informed me, “Bhaiya, I don’t want to spend my first few months of college in embarrassment.” I felt angry. Imagine if I had to rename myself because some careless a**hole has turned my name into a cheap entertainment! Some people may argue that this girl, and all the girls like her, need to have courage and strength to fight it or to ignore and not to be affected. I ask, fight or ignore is a good idea... but how many times in a day?

I am sure when her parents would have named her whatever they did, they must have had some very beautiful connotation. And we – people who create such songs and those of us who have made them so popular – have brought shame upon the same name. At this realization, I think of all those girls who may be named a Munni, a Sheela, a Chameli and such. What creepy humiliation it is when you walk on the street and someone at your back sings “Sheela ki Jawani” or “Chikani Chameli”!

Men have been objectifying women since ages. That's pathetic. But what is more crazily insane is women's participation in this process of victimization. This has to stop. And to stop this, it’s not men who will take the initiative, some may be empathetic though. Rather its women who need to take the lead. I wonder - why a Shreya Ghosal has to sing Chikani Chameli in first place? Why a Farah khan has to create space for Sheela ki Jawani in her film? Why Malaika Arora has to dance on Munni Badnam Huyi? Why these women do not have courage to say no to such demands? After all they are established and powerful figures in their respective professions? Aren’t they?

As I understand cinema, the concept of “script ki demand” is crap. There are hundred other ways to narrate one's story. One just needs to explore those other ways. And I don’t think it’s about creative liberty to do what we do in liberty’s name. If that would have been the case, it would have been interesting to listen to Katrina ki jawani or Farah badnam huyi. But we don’t. Because in the name of creative liberty we rarely spill off the shit on ourselves. It’s mostly others.

I respect the courage with which all the girls with these names are surviving and fighting this humiliation. On my part, I pledge never to play to any of such songs. I pray that someday our film industry will grow to be a little more sensitive. I also hope that in one of the Satyamev Jayate episodes Mr. Amir Khan also talks about the social responsibility his industry has and is not catering to. Amen!

P.S. – I am a huge Amir fan and I love his work, including SMJ.

7 comments:

prerna malhotra said...

cheapness seems to be mainstream nowadays! I mean...just imagine...this generation is growing up to songs like...shelia ki jawani, chikni chameli, munni, jalebi bai...etc In the name of entertainment...all the limits of ridiculousness has been crossed...even when it comes to the radio...I am extremely irritated considering how frequently the song...'hunter' is played on the radio...it sounds like... 'hell yea bitch...i have a penis...and I will show it off whenever and where ever i want'...and if a woman does the same...then first of all the censor board's ass will be on fire...n then...some random activists would begin their.. 'humaari sanskriti bhrasht ho rahi hai' kinda crappy and double standard aandolan!!! how could we ever expect this geenration to be sensible and to think though things...when they're surrounded by this ridiculousness!!!

mystic said...

Few years ago, a song get very popularized in Pakistan "Billo de ghar". Countless girls in Lahore and Panjab have nick Billo. It was a huge problem for parents and girls who constantly get teased at schools, colleges, neighborhoods etc. There was one murder too after fight between boys and family...

Its just sad....

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shilpa shokeen said...

very nicely stated an important issue which we all need to take it up seriously. We have to raise this question that " DO WE WANT SUCH KIND OF ENTERTAINMENT WHICH AFFECTS THE INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY??"

shilpa shokeen said...

very nicely stated an important issue which we all need to take it up seriously. We have to raise this question that " DO WE WANT SUCH KIND OF ENTERTAINMENT WHICH AFFECTS THE INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY??"

Sundarraj Kaushik said...

Well said. Why do the women not take steps to ensure that such a situation does not arise, not that the men can shrug off their responsibility, but women have a role to play too. I will take it to a further level.

Why cannot every mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, sensitize their son, brother, nephew, grandson to the other gender. Why do these women not teach their male relatives to behave?

Have we wondered why we have the stereo type mothers-in-law but not stereo type fathers-in-law? Is it ingrained into our women to belittle other women?

Unfortunately there is no doubt that we are a male dominated society where man dictates, but if all the women get together and educate, sensitize the males around them the world would be a much better place.

Any relationship where one dominates over the other and there is lack of mutual respect is a relationship filled with hatred, bile, jealousy and all the other negative attributes. There is no love.

It is only in relationship where each considers the other equal is there peace harmony, trust and hence love.

This applies to individuals as well as society. Try and analyze why we talk about racism, casteism, imperialism, religion base differences. All of this arises because one does not think the other is one's equal.

This is true of the relationship between gender too.

Hope there is a social revolution to get rid of this situation.

Devesh said...

One of my office friend comes to me excited he said I have something for you and hands me his Pen Drive. There was a music folder and he copied some song on my desktop. He went, and I assured him I will listen to the song.
The song is titled "What to do" from a forthcoming film. It is as cheap as any song can ever be, I couldn't listen it completely but I knew in my heart it will be a block-buster.