Dirt on My Mind

“This is just not fair,” whined my sister in law on Sunday when her patient wait for Sony to telecast the much awaited TV premiere of Vidya Balan starrer The Dirty Picture went in vain as the channel announced that the film could not be screened due to ‘unavoidable circumstances’.  She was possibly one of the many enthusiastic viewers or shall we say in this case ‘voyeurs’ J who had missed the theatrical release of the film and wished to find out what the whole world and its aunt was going gaga about. So obviously speculation went ripe about the many reasons that could have caused such sudden cancellation. Reportedly, the Information and Broadcasting ministry of India received a quoted number of 600 calls from viewers protesting the screening of the film at prime time slots, judging it not suitable for children. The producers’ claim of having got the film censored with 59 cuts went unheard while the whole episode justifiably raised the ire of leading lady Vidya Balan who questioned the integrity of the I&B Ministry and its duplicity of intention, acknowledging her performance with a National Award and then dismissing the film as unsuitable for public view. Balan lashed out at the Government adding, “I do hope that better sense prevails and that the film industry is not once again used as a convenient high-profile punching bag for anyone looking to establish their moral credentials.”

I wonder though if we should blame only the Government. What about the 600 odd Indians who feel it is fine if their kids watch reruns of Two and a Half Men and Sex and the City, women cheerleaders displaying cleavage and butt at the IPL matches and item songs feature female actors wearing itsy bitsy garments, prancing seductively. I am not even going to start talking of Hollywood films which almost always have generous doses of smooching, lovemaking and indecent exposure in some way or the other. If you take a moment to think about it you will realise that the same moral credentials Balan talks about remain questionable when it comes to the majority of us Indians. And glaring examples of the same can be found in popular culture around us.

The entry and subsequent welcome Sunny Leone received in the Bigg Boss house immediately comes to mind. The whole country watched and approved of this adult film star’s presence on a show in India, irrespective of the moral nature of her profession. Her friends Sky, Pooja and Juhi Parmar even went on to embrace her identity after it was revealed during the course of the show. So does that mean by accepting Sunny Leone and her professional qualifications, we actually respect her decision to pursue an active career in well, exhibiting her personal assets? Is Sunny now the brand ambassador of her sorority in the adult film industry? Do we now see such women as being socially acceptable and thus deserving of equal respect as women in any other professional sphere? And finally do we then start believing that there is nothing wrong with women resorting to such means to earn money...would we give a clean chit to every woman doing the same? So when Sunny signed Jism 2, her fans cheered but now the same fans are feeling miffed that she is still making merry through her adult videos by cashing in on her newfound starlet status. Why so? Are we now trying to say that she should put behind the same profession that we seemed to accept her with, warts and all?

Further examples can be found close to home. An HT survey conducted earlier this year tested trends in attitude based on the responses of 7021 of India’s youth, living in metro cities. As per the survey, 54.9% agree to pre marital sex no longer being an issue but on the other hand 62.3% want their spouse to be a virgin. Homosexuality is not acceptable for 76% of youth so I am guessing those who join the Pink Parades and the Gay Parades of the world are simply doing it under peer pressure or the urge to act ‘cool’ in front of the world. The truth remains that we seem to have our heads muddled up in an endless quagmire of convoluted ideas rooted in our traditional Indian value system. This is at once negated and sometimes overcome by a seemingly western outlook thanks to our growing exposure to the outside world. How else do you explain why parents in sophisticated urban homes do not approve of sex education being a part of the school curriculum when the same parents encourage their kids to be friends with the opposite sex from an early age?

I can continue with more striking traits that prove the inherent hypocrisy that deepen the chasm between our thought and action but would like to instead end with one more attitude that further captures our confused mental approach towards women in the 21^st century. This is something most women looking for a prospective suitor for marriage will encounter these days. Most well educated, liberal and progressive guys looking for fair, beautiful and descent (read virgin) girls insist on their wives pursuing their profession even after marriage but also frown at the said wives not being able to cook garam rotis, broom the dust off the shelves and massage the saasuma’s feet when she comes home in the evening. You see, this is to compensate for the lost time spent in office doing whatever work they do there. Like my sister in law lamented, “This is just not fair.”

We are living life in the fast lane, whether we like it or not. The world is passing by us at supersonic speed and we need to run faster to catch up or risk being left behind. It’s therefore time we shed that garb of hypocrisy and really understand that it is not going to help to sit on the fence or be bigoted about the emerging trends around us. India is gaining global recognition and being marked everyday as the go-to country for all sorts of multicultural influences and aspects. Let’s not come across to the world as Indian born confused desis, please.

PS. The author of this article has been a frequent viewer of Bigg Boss, IPL cheerleaders, Two and a Half Men and Sex and the City apart from being a Hollywood film buff and does not intend to classify such content as malicious or offensive. She is just concerned that many so called adults who are watching the same are yet to grow up.