The Problem Is Not Ali Zafar, The Problem Is The Mindset

Published

5 years ago

28th April 2018

The MeToo movement in America after Harvey Weinstein was exposed, seems to have touched Asia, what with women coming forward in Pakistan to make startling allegations of sexual harassment against singer-actor Ali Zafar.

But according to Aditi Rao Hydari who has worked with Ali, the problem is not Ali or any one individual. It is the male mindset which feels it is empowered and sanctioned to treat women the way they want to. Aditi who has been at the receiving end of unwanted male attention feels the male gaze must stop falling ondisempowered women who do not know how to deal with predatory patriarchal attention.

Says Aditi, “A lot of the times when such an incident happens there is the fear of being ostracized by the film industry, of not getting work. That fear should be dispelled. Whenever I’ve faced situations that have made me uncomfortable I’ve turned down the project. Have I lost out on good work because of my refusal to ignore unacceptable behaviour? I may have. But at least I can look myself into the eye when I look in the mirror.”

However there is the other side to this awful crisis of credibility where the male feels he is entitled to misbehave, and even when he doesn’t misbehave his every move is looked on with suspicion.

Some years ago a young married actor with a child lost his face and career when the househelp accused him of rape. The actor spent considerable time in the cleaner, came out on bail and has now reached an out-of-court settlement with the alleged victim who has withdrawn the case.

Insistent whispers allege she was part of a gang that extorts money from “empowered” male sections after accusing them falsely of rape.

There is always this danger that if you are a man in a position of power you will misuse that power. But there is also the equally imminent danger, never considered seriously, that if you don’t use that power in the way a woman wants she may use your power against you.

We’ve the case of a well-known filmmaker and a reasonably recognizable singer being accused of rape by a woman whom they had known for years.Both were finally cleared by the courts.

The very articulate and decorous actress Dia Mirza feels the cult of sexual exploitation is often a bogey used willingly by the “victim” initially but eventually disowned as being unwanted attention after the arrangement of mutual benefit runs its course.

Says Dia, “We must examine the circumstances that foster and encourage men to misuse their power. I think there is almost nothing worse than empowered men using their power to get sexual favours out of upcoming aspirants, both women …and men too. Let’s not forget men are as susceptible to being sexually exploited as women.”

Dia agrees with Amitabh Bachchan in Pink when he says a woman’s no means a no. But Dia is also concerned with how persuasive and convincing that no is. “I’ve been a part of this entertainment industry for 20 years. I’ve seen how ambitious youngsters avail of sexual favours to make their way up the ladder, not realizing that the short cuts are never a dependable route to success. Why should the onus of such youngsters’ moral compromise only be on the exploitative elements in the entertainment industry? If you are old enough to seek job opportunities you are old enough to know when you are being told to compromise for the sake of the opportunities. After that the choice is entirely yours. I never took that route of seeking favours by being ‘nice’ to people who matter. For this I’ve been called boring. I refuse to see that epithet as an insult. I wear it as a badge of honour.”

Many actresses and even actors in the male industry have chosen to give sexual favours in return for the promise of work. Is it right for them to turn around and cry rape after they achieve some success(and hence are empowered enough to say no unwanted attention)or when they don’t get the rewards that pushed them to compromise with their sexuality?

As the Kathua gangrape and murder reminds us, the atmosphere of vitiation and perversion has touched an all-time high in our country.The nation’s morale and morality are at an all-time low. Let’s not waste time running after offenders who become offenders after not keeping their promise.

The real problem is the offenders who sexually violate women and children to subjugate and dominate them.Not women and men who are fully in control of their minds and body when consenting to sexual compromises.

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Aamir Khan’s Sister Plays Shah Rukh’s Mother In Pathaan

Published

1 day ago

1st February 2023

Subhash K . Jha

Aamir Khan’s Sister Plays Shah Rukh’s Mother

Ever since Pathaan released on Wednesday, audiences have been curious to know who is the woman who plays Shah Rukh Khan’s adoptive mother in Afghanistan. The stately lady with royal looks is none other than the late producer Tahir Hussain’s daughter and Aamir Khan’s elder sister Nikhat Khan.

Nikhat has been closely associated with the film industry and has helped her father in the production of his films like Dulha Bikta Hai and Tum Mere Ho.

Nikhat has acted earlier in the Akshay Kumar starrer Mission Mangal , Ajay Devgan’s Tanhaji and in Sandh Ki Aankh(as a Maharani).

For Pathaan, it was Shah Rukh Khan who suggested Nikhat Khan should play his foster-mother in Afghanistan who names him ‘Pathaan’. It proved to be an inspired piece of casting, as audience have loved Nikhat Khan’s cameo.

It is heartwarming that all three Khan superstars are associated with Pathaan in one way or the other.

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Anurag Kashyap’s New Film Is About Love Jihad

Published

1 day ago

1st February 2023

Subhash K . Jha

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Love Jihad, whatever that means, is the theme of Anurag Kashyap’s new film Almost Pyaar With D J Mohabbat.

Debutant Karan Mehta plays a Muslim boy in an intense relationship with Alaya F who plays a Hindu girl.Kashyap has spared the audience none of the ugliness that such a relationship generates among social-media bouncers, the self-styled guardian of morality .

In the hardhitting powerful and pertinent film a bigot is heard commenting snidely, “These people first talk about Mohabbat. Then they talk about Mohammed.”

Happily and surprisingly, the Central Board Of Film Certification gave the film a ‘UA’ certificate with no cuts: a rare non-‘A’ film of Kashyap.

So far Kashyap and his team have kept the Love Jihad part of the plot out of all media interaction.

But the cat is now out of the bag.

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Samantha Ruth Prabhu to Star Alongside Varun Dhawan in Prime Video’s Indian Original Series , Samantha Speaks

Published

1 day ago

1st February 2023

Subhash K . Jha

Samantha Ruth Prabhu will be starring alongside Varun Dhawan in the Indian installment of the Citadel universe, the global-event series from Prime Video and the Russo Brothers’ AGBO. The untitled Citadel series based out of India is being helmed by renowned creator duo Raj & DK (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK), who are the showrunners and directors.

The local installment is written by Sita R. Menon, along with Raj & DK. The streaming service also confirmed that the production is currently underway in Mumbai. After this, the unit will head to North India and then onwards to international locales like Serbia and South Africa.

Richard Madden (Bodyguard) and Priyanka Chopra Jonas will star in the first-to-launch series within the Citadel universe, which comes from the Russo Brothers’ AGBO along with David Weil (Hunters) and is set to premiere in 2023. Alongside Madden and Chopra Jonas, the first-to-launch Citadel series will also feature Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games saga). Additional local-language Citadel productions are also in the works, including an Italian Original series starring Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing).

Speaking on her participation in The Citadel franchise for the first time,Samantha says, “When Prime Video and Raj & DK approached me with this project, I decided to take it up in a heartbeat! After working with this team on The Family Man, it is homecoming for me.The Citadel universe, the interconnected storylines between the productions across the globe, and most importantly, the script of the Indian installment really excited me.”

Samantha says she is looking forward to working with Varun Dhawan . “I am thrilled to be a part of this brilliant universe conceptualised by the Russo Brothers. I am also looking forward to be working with Varun for the first time, on this project. He is someone who is full of life and cheer when you’re around him.”

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Bollywood’s Achche Din Have Come

Published

2 days ago

31st January 2023

Subhash K . Jha

All you doomsday prophets, the booms-day profits are here. Pathaan has opened the floodgates again for Bollywood’s bumper bonanza at the boxoffice.And now there is only the achche din ahead for Hindi cinema.

In the next two months there are three sureshot blockbusters coming up, beginning with Shehzada. An astute devilishly impish adaptation of Allu Arjun’s 2020 Telugu blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.The super-popular Kartik Aaryan gives his own spin to the character. This performance will take Kartik to the next level of stardom. Kartik’s version of Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is radically different from its Telugu version. Shehzada takes the core idea of the Telugu original and turns it into a something completely different. Kartik’s co-star in Shehzada is Kriti Sanon with whom he earlier shared superhit space in Lukka Chuppi.

Then there is Luv Ranjan’s ravishing rom-com Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar. The director’s male viewpoint on the chaos of love relationships crests to a comic high in his latest. Ranjan for the first time, collaborates with Ranbir Kapoor for the first time collaborates with Shraddha Kapoor who badly needs a hit.This film should do the trick. The winsome lead pair tries to do one another in a game of Luv This is Luv Ranjan’s Hum…Aapke Hain Con. Ranjan has in the past used the romcom space to entertain his audience to the hilt, he says this time the stakes are different. It is not something we’ve seen before.

Finally it is Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. Karan Johar’s first directorial in six years(not counting the one segment each in Ghost Stories and Lust Stories). This time he has assembled a dream star-cast of Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Ranveer Singh and the boxoffice darling(s) Alia Bhatt. But trust me, this one is not about assembling stars into a complacent plot. The writing in this zany Romeo & Juliet is so crisp and engrossing, the experience is likely to be the visual version of a multi-flavour icrecream cone. Colour, choler and karma collide in this tragic-comic love story . Let the box office dhamaka begin from the house of Dharma.