Sonam Kapoor whose role in the movie ‘Neerja’ got a special Mention at the 64th National Film Awards gave the world a glimpse of her shocking state of general awareness. Sonam Kapoor is a self-confessed bibliophile too (if I understood her ‘a female actor who lives to eat and read in that order’ twitter bio correctly), and hence when a bibliophile showcases such outrageous general knowledge standards, what he/she reads becomes the most pertinent question. We’ll probably discuss what stars read, but some other time.
As discussed previously in this article, there is a campaign called LetsTalkAboutTrolls, launched by Hindustan Times [whose penchant for anything anti Modi is hidden from none], against an apparent horde of savages, or what they term as TROLLS, who are driven by a sinister agenda to submit the harbingers of the ideals of true democracy and liberty into silence. As it turns out our Aisha girl Sonam Kapoor was venting out her frustration in the same show. Sonam appeared pretty miffed with a lot of things. As per her, sexist and judgmental trolls are on a rise, and they never leave an opportunity to ‘troll’ a successful woman, a feminist, a humanist and a national award winner like her. Sonam quickly called herself an avid reader with a library full of books a consumer of news, an engaged Indian and so very capable of having a discussion on any issue, with anyone. Why not?
Sonam Kapoor then delivers a mini sermon of sort and stresses on the need of religious and cultural tolerance in civilized societies. In her own words:
I’m a proud Indian. I love my country but for some of you — and you’re the bigots, not me — I become ‘anti-national’ only because I ask questions or choose to be critical. Listen to the national anthem one more time. Recall the line you heard as kids, ‘Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Issai…’
Sonam Kapoor said it. She said it with full authority and earth-shattering confidence. The national anthem we heard as kids talked about Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Issai? I can’t seem to recall it.
I have always believed that the Hindi version of Jana Gana Mana, originally composed in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore is the national anthem of India. And nowhere it talks about Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Isaai. So which national anthem is Sonam Kapoor talking about?
Some Bollywood song maybe?
But that’s not the only problem with Sonam Kapoor who proudly states – “You might call me a ‘bimbo’, I’m a terribly self-assured woman”. The problem is that when people point out such silly mistakes, she lets go of the same tolerance that she preaches about and starts finding fault with people’s articulation skills:
Or simply laughing at her own silly self:
Or endorsing hilarious logic like this one:
Actually, the second stanza of jana gana mana has the words "Hindu Bauddh Shikha Jain, Parasik Musolman Christaani". #NationalAnthem pic.twitter.com/QvZXdbFPI3
— Kriti Trehan (@krititrehan) April 21, 2017
THIS IS NOT THE OFFICIAL VERSION. HENCE THIS IS NOT THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.
Or flashing the famous victim card:
Thank you sir. I receive your hate with love. Hope you achieve peace and learn to curb your anger. Live in tolerance and joy. 🤞❤🇮🇳
— Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) April 21, 2017
It must be so wonderful to be born in a rich, respected and reputed family, have access to fame and money, have a career with no entry struggles and a licence to preach along with that package? I wonder how these 5-star celebs who probably never stepped out of anything air-conditioned talk about cultural tolerance and universal brotherhood without having the slightest idea about the ground realities?
But the real people of this country have seen real struggles and their general awareness is better than the awareness of self-confessed star bibliophiles with libraries stacked with books and no, a silly argument doesn’t clear Sonam Kapoor of her massive goof-up. Talk about the country and tolerance and culture, but learn and understand the National Anthem first.
