The only word I hate more than “Hypocrisy” is “ISIS”. Those who practice this hypocrisy are those whom I hate even more. In India almost everyone practices hypocrisy at some level or the other. It is fine till no harm is done to others. But when it affects the masses, it should be called a crime.
The benchmark of this hypocrisy is set by two types of people in India – the so called liberal seculars and the other group is the most revered Bollywood Celebrities. It is quite evident that Bollywood celebs are no more intelligent than a “Paanchvi paas” (not all of them).
They stand together to support one cause and find it quite cool to abuse all those who confront them (Recently Sonam Kapoor called them “assholes” in one of her tweets). When #BeefBan was introduced in Maharashtra, many stars came out in open to oppose it which I do not condemn. Everybody has right to express his feelings. They all called it intrusion of the government in their kitchen.
Similar things happened when the Maharashtra government introduced a temporary #MeatBan for a few days on account of Jain festival “Paryusham” and Ganesh Chaturthi which many people in Maharashtra accepted that these temporary bans have been in past too. Almost all the stars started protesting against it in order to score some brownie points.
A whole set of liberals including many Bollywood honchos came out in open to protest against the Government’s #PornBan which was aimed at banning child pornography. The government had banned more than 1000 websites which were involved in child porn. The Bollywood stars apparently unknown to the exact clause and specifics of the ban started protesting. They claimed that the government cannot resort to moral policing and should not encroach in the bedrooms of people of modern India.
Now it comes to something which really concerns Bollywood. Almost all actors came out in support of Aamir Khan when a controversy broke out where he apparently made fun of Hindu Deity. A scene in his recent movie “pk” made fun of God Shiva. An actor in the getup of God Shiva was portrayed running away from PK and chasing behind was PK himself once the actor got free from a public toilet where he was literally held captive by PK.
When Hindu groups resorted against it and demanded the scene to be removed as it hurt the religious sentiments of a section of society, a whole group of liberal Bollywood actors came out in support of Aamir Khan saying that if the scene would be removed, it will be violation of his “freedom of expression”. However the scene was not edited and the movie was released as it was.
The CBFC was under immense pressure from the Bollywood fraternity to allow the film to be released as it was. This was because of two reasons – first, Aamir Khan is a very big star in Bollywood and no fish messes with the crocodile of the pond and secondly, the stars being double mouthed found no profit in protesting against him.
It is this so called “Freedom of Expression” I am talking about. Is it only for those who play with the sentiments of majority community?
What made me write this article were the recent proceedings related to A R Rahman. A Mumbai-based Sunni Muslim group, Raza Academy, has reportedly issued a fatwa against filmmaker Majid Majidi and Oscar-winning music director AR Rahman. A R Rahman was out casted from Islam and was asked to again convert to Islam and remarry his wife if he had one.
The fatwa issued against Iranian filmmaker Majidi’s upcoming film titled ‘Muhammad: Messenger of God’ will be the first of the trilogy on the life of Prophet Mohammad. The fatwa demands that Muslims shun the film as it makes a mockery of Islam. It also says that no visual or picture of Prophet should be created in any way. The fatwa also claims that non-Muslim actors have been cast in key roles.
Muhammad: Messenger of God, Iran’s most expensive film, opened nationwide in the Shiite Islamic republic earlier this month. The movie depicts the Prophet on screen, an act prohibited in Sunni Islam. The visually stunning 171-minute film cost around $40 million, partly funded by the state, and took more than seven years to complete.
Reacting to this Fatwa, Mr. Rahman responded by saying, “I am not a scholar of Islam. I follow the middle path and am part traditional and part rationalist. I live in the Western and Eastern worlds and try to love all people for what they are, without judging them”. He further added “My decision to compose the music for this film was made in good faith and with no intention of causing offence. In fact the decision [to compose music for the film] was based on a similar point of view as expressed by Mr Noorie. What, and if I had the good fortune of facing Allah, and he were to ask me on Judgement Day: ‘I gave you faith, talent, money, fame and health… why did you not do music for my beloved Muhammad film? A film whose intention is to unite humanity, clear misconceptions and spread my message that life is kindness, about uplifting the poor, and living in the service of humanity and not mercilessly killing innocents in my name’. (Source)
The double standards of two organisations come to forefront in this incident, Bollywood and The Raza Academy.
Let us all first see what Raza Academy actually is. The academy was set up in 1978, its main purpose was to print and publish books written by the Barelvi sect founder Alahazrat Imam Ahmed Raza and other writers of Ahlesunnat Jamaat. In August 2012, a rally organised by Raza Academy at Azad Maidan, Mumbai turned violent, resulting in the death of two people and around 50 injuries.
Now, what my opinion is that, this group appears nothing more than a group of people having extremist ideologies. They resort to violence whenever their ideologies are not accepted.
Now let’s come to Bollywood. The whole set of the fraternity who came out in the open to support “Freedom of Expression” of Aamir Khan in PK has hidden behind the curtains. Today, the most recognised musician of India has been abandoned by the own fraternity for whom he has dedicated his life. No one from Bollywood came out to support him. No Khans, no Kapoors, no Chopras, no Bhatts, no one. None supported him. Is it not a case similar to the PK incident where one’s Right to freedom of expression is violated.
Rahman said that people born in India are “fortunate and blessed” where “religious freedom is practiced and where the aim of all communities is to life in peace and harmony sans confusion and violence.” “Let us set a precedent in clearing conflict with grace and dignity and not trigger violence in words or actions. Let us pray for forgiveness, and from our hearts bless those who suffer in the world and bless the country that we live in. To so pray is to reflect the noble and enlightened nature of our beloved Muhammad,” the musician concluded.
What I believe is that you should stand for what you say or practice irrespective of circumstances if you want people to call you a man of character and a person of firm will, otherwise your integrity will be questioned.
Coming to the legal aspect of Rahman’s case, I want to draw your attention towards the fact that the Supreme Court on July 7, 2014 has ruled out that Fatwas and Sharia courts are illegal. The apex court claimed that the Sharia courts, which dispense justice among Muslim community members, have no legal sanctity and at times their order infringes the fundamental rights of the people. The court further told the petitioner that “some fatwas may be wise and issued for the general good also”.
The whole incident has once again showed how the Bollywood follows double standards and shies away from its responsibilities when a situation arrives. Either they should not support the members of their fraternity or if they do, they should do it with full vigour as it happens in a modern society.
