Celebrity status is acquired by high profile writers, scholars, artists, players and editors. Many celebrities come from film fraternity. Movies have a high impact on many. Unfortunately, people don’t lightly watch, enjoy and get entertained. They associate and bond with admiration to the main characters like the hero or heroine in their minds. So, therefore, film stars often become household names. To carry out messages very fast and instantaneously, often government uses the services of film stars or artists of renown or famous sports personalities as brand ambassadors for their schemes. Of course, many celebrities stand, if they are passionate of the cause they are standing for.
With information technology in place, regularly people get messages from various sources clouding their mind. For a cluttered mind with myriads of messages that try to draw attention of time, celebrities become arbiters to decide. The trouble comes when celebrities go beyond endorsements of policies, schemes or advertisements of commercial or government. When they say their personal opinions on certain things that are not of their domain or expertise, the hearers become cynical.
Nobody disputes with celebrities’ freedom of speech. However, the stand they take up can be scrutinised. For, airing an opinion, is not entirely an objective issue. Opinions are mostly based on belief. The belief either ideological or political. In recent controversy brewing in the political circles, Aparna Sen, the famous film director, talked about the occurrence of lynchings in the country, specially, mentioning only Muslim-minorities as sufferers (adding, of course, Dalits to give a secular tinge to her argument) along with 48 other signatories. Her open letter to prime minister, with an army of celebrity supporters signing, she could be of the expectation that it would shake the nation. As birds of the same feather flock together, these celebrities have been talking on the same lines ever since the BJP has taken over power i.e. since 2014 and a little prior to that. So, their talk or letter would not evoke any emotions in people. These celebrities often repeat the same clichéd denunciations and never course-correct or put their words in the manner that appeals. They think they are the custodians of the truth and endowed with the virtue to correct all.
No sane individual in India condones lynching. To lynch a person for not saying Jai Shri Ram goes against Indian ethos, however, these incidents supposedly videographed and displayed on T.V. are rare and one-offs in the many other unlawful things prevailing. As people, we feel, ideally, these stray incidents should not have happened. The rule of law should prevail.
It appears, that these 49 signatories are ideologically the same flock that led the Congress to doom with their Nehruvian-secularism where minorities are preferentially treated. Taking a moral high ground and writing to the prime minister, though well within their right, did not go down well with large sections of people as it seemed to be a selective outrage. They are filtering people in the country, by sorting only minorities in the case of lynching, leaving cases from majority Hindu victims in lurch.
‘We are more humane, we are the care takers of minorities, we have empathy and sympathy for Muslim- minority’- kind of attitude exhibited by these 49 celebrities is certainly divisive. They are already branded as pro- Muslim and anti- Hindu for their partisan stand in their previous statements. The meaning transfer takes place between the brand and celebrity— in people’s mind. They know which celebrity stands for whom and what cause? Saying that they don’t align with any political party (by the 49 celebrities), is all a humbug. One among them, Shri Ramachandra Guha in his book : Democrats And Dissenters, writes in page -37, the following, admitting that all celebrities have moorings with political parties of their choice.
“In India, tragically, too many writers, scholars, artists and editors identity with a single party or even with a single politician, this association leading to the suppressing of facts or twisting of opinions. This betrayal—a harsh word that seems entirely justified here — occurs all across the spectrum”.
So, ‘all across the spectrum’ these celebrities are arguing for some political party or political ideology. It goes without saying, these 49- celebrities are practitioners of appeasement-oriented secularism. In the same book Shri Guha writes in page-74 that despite 26/11 attack in Mumbai in 2008 , he went to Pakistan to attend a conference, immediately, in early 2009. He also writes that his mother and sister objected (for going at that volatile time) but his daughter asked him to show (by going to Pakistan) that ‘ not all of us (Indians) hated them ( Pakistanis)’. Meaning to say, some Indians like R Guha-kind, like Pakistanis even if a large number of Indian civilians died in the Pakistan orchestrated ghastly bomb attacks! So much love for that country, Pakistan! Taking this as cue, if some Indian says: Go to Pakistan, all hell will break loose from Liberals’ side.
To take you back to filmi- celebrities, because of their attractiveness and lifestyle, they have become connoisseurs of poor Indian people. Most of the film stars, being elite, educated and glamorously attired, their personality brings compelling authority to public discourse. It’s good that 49 are questioned by 62, to out number their voice of questioning and for being partisan. 49’s credibility is eroded long back with the defeat in the recent parliament elections. 62’s voice got credence this time round. Enough of this minority line taken by 49s. Hopefully, wish them to try using the same yardstick for all.
Irrespective of celebrities voice and cacophony, generally speaking, lynching (though sporadic) is a ghastly crime and goes against human rights and human values. Hence, there should be a law in place for stringent punishment against all lynchings and every state should endeavour to implement it with full vigour. That way, peaceful environment is good for investment in business and for rapid economic growth of our country. After all, it’s everyone’s dream to see the country progress at tremendous speed.
