What is the similarity between Akshay Kumar’s ‘Raksha Bandhan’, Aamir Khan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, and Alia Bhatt’s Darlings? Raksha Bandhan and Laal Singh Chaddha will be releasing on the same date. But, believe me, they have more in common than just the release date. All three films have been cancelled by the cinemagoers for various reasons.
You see, cancel culture is on the rise. It is because the cinemagoers are way more evolved than ever. They have started cancelling the actors, writers, and directors who have spewed venom against the nation or somehow are promoting any kind of abuse. Simply put, cancel culture which was introduced by the liberals themselves, is now coming back to bite them in their posteriors. And, what a delicious watch it is!
When did cancel culture begin?
What is Cancel culture? Well, the practice of withdrawing support over anything offensive or objectionable is popularly known as cancel culture. Sure, freedom of speech is the backbone of a democracy, but it does not allow anyone to disrespect the nation they reside in.
This trend in the country, however, reached heights only after the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020. Public figures like Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt, among others, were on the radar for allegedly promoting nepotism which led to the actor’s death.
“Cancel culture is people’s way of expressing dissent or disapproval over something they find objectionable, like in any other democracy; in India as well I believe they are entitled to do so,” Manoj Srivastav, chairman, Diorama Cinemas said.
Notably, in the last few years, many movies, public figures, and shows have become targets of #boycott for hurting religious sentiments. From #BoycottPadmavat to protests against Tandav and now Boycott Alia Bhatt, Boycott Laal Singh Chaddha; the trend is continuously rising with a dramatic speed.
Liberals’ cancel culture
Interestingly, liberals were the first to use the culture for their own political reasons. Remember how Ajay Devgn starrer Tanhaji was boycotted even before its release? The left cabal came together to cancel the film as it courageously portrayed the Hindutva. Liberals were aghast at the unapologetic glorification of the Sanatan Dharma in the movie. The movie caused some major heartburn among the left liberals as the Maratha glory was on full display in the film.
This could have helped Deepika Padukone’s ‘Chapaak’ to become a massive hit. However, Padukone dug a hole for herself as her act of landing at the JNU campus has backfired in ways the actor couldn’t have imagined. Many people, who were disheartened by Deepika’s one-sided show of solidarity had called for a mass boycott of her film.
Moreover, the liberals came out all blazing with guns before the release of Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Tashkent Files’. Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri was also served a legal notice ahead of the release to stop the release of the film. That too, by the grandson of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Why? Well, he was a Congress member and former Secretary of Congress.
Talking about the boycott of the films, how can we forget the delicious meltdown of the liberals after The Kashmir Files was released? The reviews of The Kashmir Files were extremely poor, with scores of 1/5 on The Indian Express, 1.5/5 for Rolling Stone India and The New Indian Express. The film was also banned in Singapore because of its “potential to cause enmity between different communities”.
Liberals used to laugh like fools whenever any politician spewed venom against the film. The horrific laugh of Arvind Kejriwal while making a joke about the film calling for uploading it on YouTube is still the unfunniest thing I have ever come across.
Cancel culture backfires
You see, these liberals are now fuming over the boycott of Raksha Bandhan, Laal Singh Chaddha and Darlings. Their move has now backfired as the ‘Boycott Bollywood’ has actually started working. Be it the much-hyped Shamshera or recently released Ek Villain returns, the year 2022 has hardly witnessed a superhit Bollywood film like RRR which was a South-Indian film.
The audience has evolved and is no longer interested in the stale content being offered with a new star cast. Such is the impact that a superstar like Aamir Khan is forced to beg the audience to watch the film.
During a recent media interaction, he said, “I feel sad that some of the people who are saying this, in their hearts, they believe that I am someone who doesn’t like India. In their hearts, they believe, but it is untrue. I really love India. That’s how I am. It is rather unfortunate if some people feel that way. I want to assure everyone that it’s not the case so please don’t boycott my films, please watch my films.”
Kareena Kapoor Khan whose every statement reeks of arrogance is also asking people to ignore the cancel culture. Alia Bhatt, too, urged people to boycott the boycotts saying, “We need to cancel the ‘cancel culture. We need to boycott the boycotts.”
If the experts are to be believed, Laal Singh Chaddha and Raksha Bandhan will be the biggest flops of the year. Whatever unfolds is yet to witness but it has proved that cancel culture works and the liberal cabal is threatened by this culture.
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