The Twitter bird was chirping all over again. Facebook had an ‘awe’ attack in reverence. As far as one could discern, some sort of freedom was at stake. The ‘What’s Trending’ list was abuzz. Overwhelmed bubbling emotions of social media warriors stuck a chord. Collectively, the internet had an ‘intellectual’ orgasm.
Words of wisdom coming from our beloved Bollywood are always a bolt from the blue. But, Sonam ‘Jhakkaas’ Kapoor’s tweet on the 4-day meat ban by BMC knocked the socks off every sane mind in this country. Meat-ban was termed ‘misogynistic’ by our silver spoon fed star kid and she was termed ‘Bimbo’ in return. This wasn’t the first case of misplaced anger by Bollywood but misuse of dictionary by misplaced ideology was certainly path breaking. Oh sorry! This territory already belongs to our liberal leftist army.
The last time someone from Bollywood was trolled so ruthlessly was when Shruthi Seth tried to take a jibe at our Prime Minister for his #selfiewithdaughter campaign. Kavita Krishnan added fuel to the flames by calling PM as #lameduckpm. And, when the bitch Karma hit them exactly where it hurt the most, they cried foul. The ‘victim-card’ was played within no time. What they failed to understand was that Freedom of Speech is a boomerang. You throw it hard, someone retaliates harder. Our cleavage-loving media leaves no stone unturned to decipher the retaliation as misogyny. You see Sonam, that’s how to use this word in a sentence.
We don’t want to go into the details of what Sonam said, what she meant or where she mistook. We want her to know that we don’t question her IQ either. We shall also ignore the fact that in a drought-hit state and a flood-hit nation, all that Sonam cared to care about was a meat-ban. But, the way Bollywood actresses respond to criticism is perturbing. All of sudden, one of the most empowered section of Indian society, feels victimized by this brutal patriarchal establishment.This is where they cease to amuse.
Undoubtedly, disagreement is the foundation of a free state. You don’t believe in Freedom of Expression at all if you don’t respect this right of those who totally refute your opinion. Any expression or opinion presented in public domain will be subjected to criticism time and again. When you cross the fine line demarcating criticism and rant, you expose your vulnerability in a domain where there are no ground rules. Social Media is a powerful tool to voice your opinions. But it is fierce, unethical and merciless at times. Your game, your ground and your rules only ! Internet doesn’t seem to work in this particular mode.
So, let it be known to Bollywood that those who contradict your opinions straightway are not any low lying species of Internet world who could be stereotyped as anything ranging from misogynistic to right-winged hooligans. A climate of mutual respect and tolerance is much needed to clear this logjam. Let’s have a fresh start. After all, Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke and Bade Bade Desho Mein Aisi Chhoti Chhoti Baatein Hoti Rehti Hain, Senorita !
Shruthi Seth, that still remains uncalled for !