An Unwitting Victim?

Poor Ramgopal Varma!!! Inadver­tently, he has beco­me the butt end of more jokes now than he had at the time his Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag relea­sed! The most popular of these is: Ramu ne do Sarkar banayi, aur ek girayi! Not terribly accurate since chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has had to go, not his entire government, but it did raise a laugh among most people who read or heard it.

Everybody condem­ned Ramu for indulging in what has become known as ‘terror tourism’ and the diminutive director was reduced to giving television interviews trying to justify his visit to terrorist-hit Hotel Trident with the chief minister and his sons, one of whom, Ritesh, is a film star. He went to the extent of saying he had not even been “properly introduced” to the chief minister and he had not been “invited” by him. Apparently, he had just tagged along.

What irked people most was the immediate thought that Ramu was there to have a first-hand look at the devastation wrought by terrorists and use it as research for a film he would make soon. He was quick to clarify that he had no intention of making a film on the subject. In fact, Ramu was so much on the defensive that he seemed willing to say anything that would help salve the rash of irritation that had spread in the public against him.

But, to be fair to Ramu, was he really at fault? Frankly, how many of us would have turned down the offer to be part of the chief minister’s entourage to visit Hotel Trident, when the entire world was curious about the actual state of the scene of crime? Probably all of us would have jumped at the offer, including each and every one of the media people who ranted against Ramu for going there. Journalists, especially those from the electronic media, would have been willing to take a bullet in their right arm to get a first hand look at the insides of Hotels Oberoi Trident and Taj. So, they were hardly justified in going hammer and tong at Ramu for doing so. Besides, if the chief minister thought it perfectly okay for Ramu to join him on an official inspection of the damage, why would Ramu protest, or turn down the invite?

Ramu seems to have become an unfortunate and un­witting victim of public anger actually dir­ected at Vilasrao Desh­mukh, but def­lected by media to­wards the director. Ramu ought not to have gone there, and he may or may not make a film on the subject, but his presence did not merit such widespread censure. Surpris­ing­ly, no one in the media has gone after Ritesh, even though he had as little right to be there as Ramu, so what if he is the chief minister’s son.

Ramu has been targeted because he makes a convenient victim. If at all, it was the irresponsible chief minister – and fortunately, he was made to pay the price by being made to resign – who went to inspect the tragic sites as if he was going to a wedding reception, with his family and guests in tow! Did he not realise that the terrorist attack was like a declaration of war and 50-60 hotel guests had been slaughtered, besides, many police officers and constables had lost their lives, and all because he and his government had been negligent? Instead of inspecting the war site with forensic experts and other officials who could help in bringing to justice the culprits, he turned it into a social occasion! How irresponsible is that?

In an ideal world, Ramu should have refused to accompany the chief minister. In a perfect world, Ramu should have lambasted the chief minister for his negligence and voiced the massive wave of outrage that had swept over the masses. But we do not live in an ideal world. We live in a world where Ramu makes films like Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag and where Vilasrao Deshmukh feels that he had to resign not because he had been incompetent and had allowed, through his negligen­ce, loss of lives and wanton destruction but because of the anger caused among people by Ramu’s presence at Hotel Oberoi Trident!
God may not be able to save the public from the kind of films Ramgopal Varma has been making lately but one prays that God would save India from such politicians.

- Surindra Bhatia

Pakistani Actors On The Run?
Perhaps, there aren’t many Indian actors working in Pakistani films or tele­vision serials, though there must be some who travel to Pakistan or the Gulf where many Pakistani serials are shot. But the number of Pakistani actors who feature in Indian films, serials and reality shows has been growing steadily over the years. Today, no reality show seems complete without a token Pakistani presence.
However, the recent terrorist attacks in Bombay may well change the scenario for Pakistani professional actors in India. We can deplore the pressure of right-wing political organisations, threatening producers and demanding that they terminate contracts and associations with Pakistani actors, but are the masses in a mood to tolerate Pakistani actors/singers/anchors on our small screen? It may not be so now. Earlier, Indians were of the opinion that people-to-people contact between the two countries would help bring India and Pakistan closer – and that might still be true – but the recent terrorist attacks have inflamed the ordinary citizens of India and may just be the last straw that breaks their long-tolerant back. Now, not just vested political parties but even the public may not want to grant Pakis­tani actors so much prominence in our media. The anger against Pakistan is only matched by the venom our masses are willing to aim at our politicians. In such a situation, television producers – who utilise the services of Pakistani actors the most – may take the more prudent way out and ease them out of their shows.
It is unfortunate that things should come to such a pass but Pakistan is clearly being recognised as not only a failed state but as the fountainhead of international terrorism. Pakistani actors working in Indian serials, as, perhaps, the majority of Pakistani citizens, probably have nothing to do with these fringe extremist organisations, but Indians are being goaded into becoming less tolerant.
With the Indian government seemingly too indecisive against terrorist activities, the anger among Indians against Pakistan will not abate so quickly, and the unfortunate victims of this anger might well be the careers of Pakistani actors in Indian serials. Yes, it’s sad but true!

Third Hindi Film To Be Shot In Greece
Producer Boney Kapoor is both, a happy and a sad man. Sad, because his director, Prabhu Devaa, lost his son to cancer on 4th December. Boney, like all those who were close to Prabhu, was aware that the eldest of Prabhu’s three sons was suffering from terminal cancer. Prabhu had been going through hell since many months while watching his son suffer so much.
In fact, Boney is happy that Prabhu was not held up in Greece for the song picturisations of his Wanted Dead And Alive, when the end came. Before the demise, the director had completed one song and had then returned to India, leaving the work of the balance two songs to his choreographer-brother, Raju Sun­daram. The songs were shot in three islands of Greece, viz. Rhodos, Santo­rini and Paros. The unit managed to complete the three song picturisations in time in spite of inclement weather which even threw aircraft and sea schedules in disarray. Salman Khan, who couldn’t manage a flight ticket, after the schedule, from Paros to Athens because of heavy backlog traffic, was then flown by Boney Kapoor in a chartered flight on the morning of 5th December. Accompanying him were his staff and Boney’s son, Arjun. Boney himself and his unit left Paros on the evening of 5th. With these song picturisations, Wanted Dead And Alive is complete. Accor­ding to Kapoor, “The locations on which the songs have been picturised were truly hea­venly.” Be­fore this, two Hindi films – Chalte Chalte and Tashan – have been shot in Greece.

Issue dated Dec 7- 13, 2008

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