Watching
the short video of an abject Karan
Johar pleading - like an errant student pulling his own ears - that he will never
again make mistake of using actors from a "neighbouring country" one
cannot but help asking: who wrote that script and who directed it?
Where is the
flamboyant, confident and colourful Karan Johar we know so well and admire?
Here he appears to be caught in one of those hostage situations, where the
victim is made to admit that he is a spy, probably just before he is executed.
'Intolerance'
In a way, he is a
hostage, not just to a small political party that openly threatens to 'teach a
lesson' to all those who use Pakistanis in their films, but also to the growing
belligerence in our polity which makes it almost impossible to tolerate a
diversity of opinions.
Yesterday it was the
very word 'intolerance' that was a red rag, today it is 'Pakistani actors',
tomorrow it could be something entirely different.
Once the mob - some
of it on the streets, others in television studios and social media, still
others working smoothly behind the scenes - decide that straying from an agenda
is unacceptable, nothing can save the naysayer.
Johar is an
intelligent man, with a lot of common-sense and a creative mind, which shows in
his public statements and in his cinema.
When
the regional Maharashtra Navnirman Sena party first 'demanded' thatPakistani actors in Bollywood
be sent back in the aftermath of
last month'smilitant attack on Uri - the actors had all
left India by then in any case - Johar, whose film Ae Dil Hai Muskhil
(Difficulties of the heart) had Fawad Khan in its cast, pointed out that a ban
on Pakistani actors was no solution to terrorism.
He was not just
referring to his own film, he was also standing up for a principle.
Yet, within days, he
capitulated. Not just by issuing a press statement but in a video mea culpa of
sorts, declaring that he would never use a Pakistani actor again.
What changed?
'Nation comes first'
One can only
speculate what happened behind the scenes, but a few public developments could
provide some context.
On Monday, just
three days before the opening of the 18th Jio MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving
Images) film festival, the organisers pulled out Jago Hua Savera (Awake, it's
Dawn) a 57-year-old Pakistani film from its line up.
A curt press release
said that the film had been dropped due to "the current situation".
The same day, at a
public event where he was interviewed, industrialist Mukesh Ambani said that
for him, "the nation came first, not arts and culture".
Mr Ambani's company
Jio is the main sponsor of the film festival. The film, made in 1959, is a fine
example of India-Pakistan entente in the arts, even if it harks back to another
time.
Just a few days
before that, in the aftermath of the MNS warning to drive out Pakistani actors,
The Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association, a body of
filmmakers, also declared that these actors would not be allowed in Hindi
films.
The federal
government had not issued any such instruction, but unbidden, the film industry
was already falling in line.
Actor Ajay Devgn, a
self-proclaimed fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched in by saying that
he personally would not act with Pakistani actors. "We cannot isolate
ourselves from the nation," he said.
Devgn's own film
Shivaay is ready for release on 28 October. And not surprisingly, his statement
is being seen by many as a tactical ploy to prevent Johar's film from making it
to the theatres.
Cinema owners in
Mumbai declared they would not screen the film after expressing fears that
their establishments could be attacked by violent MNS activists.
Polarised industry
Now, twelve MNS
activists who barged into a cinema to threaten the staff have been arrested and
the state's chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that violent protests
will not be allowed.
The state government
has not made any statement, one way or the other, on Pakistani actors in
Bollywood.
Nor has the Central
government, though federal Information Minister Venkaiah Naidu has said that
"there is an atmosphere of anger at Pakistan in India and people from all
walks of life have to be mindful about it." (He has also helpfully said
that the media "should understand national interest.")
It is not difficult
to read between the lines.
At the best of times
the Mumbai film industry is divided into several "camps" and rarely,
if ever, takes a united stand on anything.
Now it is getting
polarised and publicly so.
The 'nationalists'
are taking a hard line, and most others are staying quiet, fully aware that
remarks can be twisted and frenzied criticism from 'trolls' and politicians can
be swift and ugly.
On television shows,
pro-government film personalities have been hitting out at those who argue
otherwise. Bollywood is now a divided house, with barely a handful - Salman
Khan, Anurag Kashyap and Priyanka Chopra among them - standing up to be
counted.
Amitabh Bachchan,
whose daughter in law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stars in Johar's film, has
remained silent, though recent reports suggested that he had gifted a watch to
Raj Thackeray's son after receiving a cartoon sketch of him drawn by the MNS
chief.
Soft target
In the
circumstances, it is not surprising that Karan Johar must have felt
beleaguered, even scared.
It is easy to
criticise him for not taking a stand for free speech or even for the sorry tone
of his video but with large sums of money at stake and the threat of violence
in the air, he may have taken a call to make a public declaration.
The matter will not
necessarily end there, since the MNS claims it will continue protesting against
the release of the film and cinema owners are still wary of screening it.
Meanwhile Bollywood
superstar Shah Rukh Khan's forthcoming film Raees, has Pakistani actor Mahira
Khan in it and is also a likely victim of the proposed ban by cinema owners. In
it he plays a criminal don in Gujarat. He is also said to have a cameo role in
his friend Karan Johar's film.
Johar's video
statement is only going to encourage the forces of bigotry and hatred.
Raj Thackeray, who
is desperate to become politically relevant is undoubtedly happy that he got
this level of attention, but the culpability of creating and nurturing this
intolerance, all in the name of the "nation", goes far beyond him.
The film industry is
a perennially soft target because of its high profile and its swift buckling in
to any pressure, but don't be surprised if soon, reading Pakistani authors or
being Facebook friends with Pakistanis or even writing about that country could
be declared anti-national.
Any of us could then
be turned into Karan Johar.
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