Quite like other King Khan fans... I, too, was eagerly waiting for the release of 2010's biggest movie... "My Name is Khan"...!! I was definitely hoping that this movie creates history... but not exactly in the manner that it did... :):)... I switched on the TV and MNIK was all over... on all the news channels and news papers ... and then soon on all major chat shows... discussions... twitter... blogs...and what not!! Tragically, all this coverage was not for the movie or its story... rather it was totally focused on one person... SRK... The Shah Rukh Khan...!! All this coverage... the publicity... was not in good taste... It was bad... very bad...!!
All this uproar was triggered by Shiv Sena.... they were and still are protesting against SRK... that is because he is supporting the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in IPL teams. Their weapon to achieve this goal... is to disrupt the release and running of SRK starrer MNIK...!!
First and the foremost I so totally disagree to the reason of the protest... but if for a moment I let it be...!! Still disrupting the movie doesn’t make any sense to me at all..!! What I don’t understand is ...if we are protesting against person and his ideals... then how in the world... protesting against his film serves any purpose...??? In any film... he is only playing a character... which may or may not portray his own ideals or principles...!! And more so... there are more people involved with making of a movie... they have also put in their money and soul in it... what about them... and their efforts??
Now coming to the reason ... it sounds so lame... so baseless... and so very illogical!! SRK is supporting inclusion of Pakistani cricketers... so what’s the big deal about it?? He is an individual and as an Indian.... living in India ... definitely has the freedom of expression...!! Doesn’t he...?? Shouldn’t he?? I am yet not arguing the merit of the statement made... I am just wondering... if we indeed belong to the largest democracy of the world... and are we abiding with the very core of the democracy...?? Shouldn’t we be free to speak our own mind... word our own opinions??
And then I watched the movie...only to realize... how ironic it is... to protest against this particular movie...!! P.S. - On records... I agree its typical Karan Johor... candy floss... and larger than life film...Still the innocence of the protagonist touched my heart.... The simplicity of the plot is remarkable... and the message is indeed worth the whole effort involved in making it...!! It convey a simple message ... that you should not generalize people’s character... that you must not make opinions against a person based on nationality... religion... creed... color... complexion... gender... or language...!!
If the hatred between these two nations.... India and Pakistan.... is one bitter truth... then there is another truth as well... that we share common roots... and a common beginning...!! I am no advocate of India-Pakistan peace ... and don’t believe that any effort or initiative can ever change the equation between these two nations...!! But I am a strong supporter of freedom of expression....I understand that this is my personal opinion.... and I should not influence anyone else with it or impose it on others...!!
In the movie, Mr. Khan is trying to prove...My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist... and the tragedy is that he has to prove his authenticity and patriotism in real life as well... and still we claim... that we are a free nation...Are we really??
3 comments:
I agree. India is a free country and every citizen has the right to express his views.
I think the movie is phenomenal and the message strong and one that must be heard by one and all.
Let me confess...I did watch MNIK...and I'm not a SRK fan!
The other day, I got extremely frustrated with all the Shiv Sena-SRK-MNIK-IPL-PAK drama and happened to express my feelings to our BigB.....surprisingly, he responded and it actually made sense.
Before I share his response/opinion....
On the same day, Mr. Bal Thackeray made two statements:
1. Australians are racists...they should not be allowed to play in Maharashtra.
2. North Indians do not belong here...they should be evicted from Maharashtra.
How tragically contradictory! On one hand, you allege a nation for 'Discrimination' and on the other hand you practice the same within you own country!
So BigB says....'Don't worry! Don’t really pay any attention! They don't mean this....no sane person can mean these stupid statements.....it's all Politics primarily motivated by the desire of personal benefits!’
Now, coming back to the original point....of course SRK has all the rights to express his opinion and Shiv Sena has no rights to oppose the movie based on their personal feelings against Pakistan.
Of course (agreeing with you) the movie itself is a typical Bollywood 'massala' movie...but hey, us Indians like 'Massala & colour' everywhere....Food, Clothes, fashion, life...everywhere! And the fact that they tried to make the movie on a Positive note (primarily with love….even for the Americans)...deserves appreciation!
All in all….no matter what, SRK (definitely not my favourite) is a respectable Indian citizen(contributes massively to the Indian economy), a very successful actor, Padmashree and is trying to do something (in his way) which is positive and spreading the message of love…..
Our dear Mr Thackeray….. Forget it……not even worth me saying anything about him! Just an absolute (sad) loser!
@Vartika and Anugyan
Glad you guys liked my thoughts :)
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