From: Pushpa Rajguru
Saturday, February 23, 2008 - Commentary
Between the distorted tributes to Akbar Ghazi and the fake Kabir Khan, it is hard to understand why the Islamic Republic of Pakistan really needs an ISI when they have Bollywood and its agents in the trade-award lobby planted in India to do their job for them right under the eyes of the Indian public.
This agenda of Bollywood continues this year with Filmfare, once known to ignore popular Hindi blockbusters in favor of Naseeruddin Shah type cinema in the name of 'appreciating art', now having dropped all pretensions of that neutrality and dignity.
The filmfare sponsors were linked to the mid-east funded underworld not too long ago. But they don't even bother pretending not to be an Islamist charade anymore.
The awards are hosted at Adi Chopra's studio, where Chopras are given some made up power award. What is the need for a made up 'power award' in a critical appreciation environment anyway should be the first question? But that apart, why are chopras given these made up power awards?
The answer is not because they were able to make Uday Chopra into a superstar. It is because Chopras are serving as vessels to promote certain Khan actors in Hindi's cinema, not for any other reason. The show is emceed by this khan, Shah Rukh Khan, who conveniently, is again nominated for the award, standing along with Saif Ali Khan who's linked to a Kareena Kapoor, who is also now all of a sudden being given award after award as if she is the new Nutan. Why? You can't be sure whether her award is for her performance in some movie, or for her performance of dumping her man for some Khan in real life.
This is not to ignore the Shahrukh Khan Community peons Farah Khan, and Sajid Khan, whose works like Heyy Babyy and OSO are also deemed worthy of an award nomination.
After a series of gimmicks, the actor award goes to....who else? Shahrukh Khan, the supposed host. Nobody asks how can any actor, who is supposed to be a nominee for awards gets to be a host also.
This is nothing new of course. Even in years 'baadsha' Khan is rejected by the audience, Filmfare likes to create a false illusion and make up some award for Khan.
The whole charade is a first class repulsive political tamasha. The BJP (or some other) government before it comes into power should take note that Bollywood and its media are nothing but the media arm of the Islamist congress party. That congress has been getting routed and its government is about to fall from Delhi but bollywood has so far gone unscathed. And it shouldn't anymore.
Because Bollywood's trade and award lobby have become unabashedly political along that ideology (it can be seen through Zee Cine Awards, IIFA, Star Screen awards, Filmfare and trade write-ups). The politics of it is that if you're a Hindu, and make a movie on Hindu cultural values or heroes, you will get the shaft at the awards. On the other hand, make a semi-coherent movie starring a Muslim Khan actor, or distort towards heroism of a Jalaluddin Akbar Ghazi in Jodhaa Akbar or some fake Kabir Khan in Chak De, well you might as well book yourself a filmfare award now. It would be one thing if there was a semblance of balance reflecting the reality of Hindustan as a whole but there isn't. This crowd is something else, belongs somewhere else. This is not the Hindi reality.
The question is why are Hindus patronizing this charade, let alone allowing this in the name of Hindi cinema? What we have here is essentially subsidization of Pakistani-Punjabi culture in the guise of Hindi cinema. Pakistani-Punjabi because those Punjabis who lean Hindu too get the shaft from the trade/award lobby. And all this is increasingly being done dropping all pretenses of dignity and secularism. These people benefitting from secularism are themselves operating in communal camps when they can.
But be that as it may then. They can self-congratulate themselves right now. But Bollywood and its awards are going to be treated in the same manner from now on in response; without pretense of the esteem and dignity that an award is supposed to represent in the first place.
And politically, the producers and lobbyists need to keep in mind that the climate can change in 10 Janpath soon. They will have to go pleading to the very people being angered right now.
Courtesy: IBOS Network
February 23, 2008
