Echoes of hooliganism, absurdity

Kashmir Times. Dated: 11/22/2017 12:02:15 AM

Row over Padmawati is misplaced; betrays the tacit patronage of the govt to lumpen elements and its hypocrisy

The row over Bollywood film Padmawati exposes three things. One is the increasing power and base of the fringe lunatics patronised by those in power. Second is the legitimization of threats and misogyny. And, third is the hypocrisy of a party that is tirelessly pursuing the agenda of re-writing history text books but chooses to use the bogey of historical distortions for what may well be an electoral game ploy. The film in question is a period film that relies on a poem from Indian literature Padmavat pivoting around a Queen Padmawati. According to historians, there is little historical evidence to show whether a queen of the same name actually existed at that point of time. Yet the initially feeble protests of Shri Rajput Karni Sena, who did not see the film, have spread like an epidemic and metamorphosed into a full-fledged campaign as BJP and many other political groups and individuals as well as Rajput communities, none of whom have seen the film either, have joined the echoes, many seeking the blood of the film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actress Deepika Padukone portraying the role of the Queen. It is not known whether the film is based on a fictional account of a poet or has some historical basis to it and no such claim so far has been made. None of those opposing it had the temerity to condemn the bashing up of Bhansali and the vandalisation of the sets of Padmawati. Bhansali has been accused of many distortions including projection of a love-affair between Padmawati and Alauddin Khilji; and Padukone condemned for doing a Ghumar dance number, which conservatives feel should not have been picturised on a queen. While the latter exposes absolute levels of absurdity and idiocy, Bhansali's denial about the imagined love-affair reveal that the campaign is based on far more distortions than Bhansali could ever be accused of.
This row does not set a precedent. It is part of an evolving culture that has become the norm. But it demonstrates that silence over intolerance to freedom of expression for far too long, with the tacit and patronizing silence of the BJP government, has allowed the country to be pushed to dangerous levels of hooliganism. Fringe elements have been previously pouring their outrage over films, books and media houses over one pretext or the other. Giving in to their pressures or turning a blind eye to their hooliganism and intimidations has come to such a pass where the row over Padmawati has assumed far more ferocious and bizarre levels with even some of the known liberals joining in the chorus in the name of protecting 'Rajput pride' and the 'honour of a queen', who may well have been fictitious. It is an all too familiar journey that earlier erupted over Aamir Khan's Piku, Karan Johar's 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' and many more. The silence of the government and the inability of the artistes, stars and cultural personalities to rise to the occasion and stand up for those being senselessly accused of treason has emboldened these fringe groups which are not only being mainstreamed, they are also inspiring rest of the mainstream to follow suit. If Karan Johar was forced to cough up a huge donation for the Army's welfare fund for casting Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, Bhansali is reported to be succumbing to pressures by agreeing to screen the film for the protestors to clarify their doubts.
The responsibility of such a situation lies squarely on the government and the film-world which episode after episode have failed to stand up for each other, barring few aberrations. Secondly, the row exposes the ugly misogyny of the protestors who claim to fight in the name of 'honour of a queen' but shamelessly are baying for the blood of an actress and putting a price on chopping her nose. Even silence over such threats while protesting for banning the film amounts to legitimizing such verbal violence. Needless to point out that Rajasthan is notorious for its skewed sex ratio like many other parts of the country but this issue does not inspire the emotions of onslaught on 'honour'. Thirdly and most importantly, the BJP government stands exposed for patronizing these elements by maintaining silence as fringe groups are having a field day bullying and beating up people. Many BJP leaders have been part of similar protests revealing the tacit blessings that such elements enjoy. With the row over Padmawati, the government, which has made painstaking efforts to distort history in school text books by dwarfing national heroes while eulogizing people like Savarkar who apologized to the British colonialists and sided with them and even men like Hitler and by erasing history that challenges Hindutva's linear narrative of "barbaric Muslim invaders who persecuted Hindus", has also exposed its hypocrisy. Besides, it also betrays its frustration at trying to use this occasion for electoral benefits in Gujarat elections as well as the bankruptcy of leaders like Amarinder Singh for making their gimmick more workable by joining the list of protestors.

 

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