Friday 13 February 2015

About criticism Aamir facing for expressing his opinion on AIB Knockout

There is a lot of talk about Aamir's criticism of AIB Knockout. He is being hailed as hypocrite for expressing his view on the show by giving his link to movie Delhi Belly. Most of the people who are expressing their objections have many things in common that they have to say about this issue. Like starting from simple ones...

1. HE DIDN'T EVEN WATCH THE SHOW
In his response to the question which was asked to him (by journalist) about AIB Knockout episode, Aamir has clearly mentioned that he came to know about content of the show from his friends Karan Johar & Arjun Kapoor & he is reacting to what they have told him about the show. So the perception that he didn't have any idea about the kind of jokes that were made on the show is wrong! Even if Karan & Arjun had told him few of the jokes that were cracked at the event, they are enough to get the knowledge about the kind of show it was & he has whole right express his 'opinion' on them.

2. HE HAS MADE AN ADULT ENTERTAINER LIKE 'DELHI BELLY' HIMSELF
In his reaction he clearly states that it's nature of abuse that is the problem. Insulting somebody with abuses is kind of verbal violence, he says. So not just abuse but context of it is important. Me saying abusive word to a close friend of mine is different than me saying abuse as style statement of being cool & using it for third person who is not even remotely related to me. In movie Delhi Belly characters spoke abuses with friends & in fit of anger (which is exactly how it happens in normal day to day life). They didn't use abusive language while talking to family, neighbors or stranger just for heck of it. Many times creative medium has to show eccentric things because they form crust of the story. Boys living in hostel environment use friendly abuses is common knowledge. People in underworld use abusive language is common knowledge. People use abuses in fit of anger is common knowledge. This reflected in the movie duly certified Adult. He didn't even only certified it Adult but went on to make a promo (as a warning) for those who consider Aamir movie as a family entertainer. You compare Delhi Belly with a stage show which was earlier free to watch by anybody later restricted to adult assess by YouTube?
3. HE USED 'BHAAG D. K. BOSE' AS PROMOTIONAL SONG
There is difference between double meaning & frank abuse. Double meaning songs, jokes have been part of plays & movies since beginning. They don't imply direct abuse but give hint of it. Only those with acumen to understand both the meaning gets the real joke. Everybody else just take it on the face value. Like there was a movie by famous film maker Dada Kondke called 'Andheri Raat Mein, Diya Tere Hath Mein'. For those who don't understand other meaning of it, it's just a simple title. But for those who know the other meaning it's completely a different title. The hidden abuse in it is not it's USP but it's double meaning is. Many comic writers used this double meaning as a tool to create comedies. Many people feel it's wrong but many more people enjoy them as well.  They can't be enjoyed publicly if they are frank abuses. Dada Kondke's movies were massive hits at that time with all family members sitting & enjoying them. Women who often didn't get the hidden joke laughed for its simple meaning & men who knew hidden meaning laughed for that duality in dialogue/song etc. Song 'BHAAG D. K. BOSE' falls in category of double meaning songs not in frank abusive songs like 'Balatkari''.
Even in the promo of movie 'Happy New Year' they used double meaning slang where one actor says, "Madar....." & Shahrukh says, "Chhod naa yaar."  It was though double meaning was more obvious than D K Bose. Everybody seemed OK.
So the point is there is difference between Double meaning dialogues/songs & frank abuse. You can't release content with Frank abuse in public domain while content with double meaning dialogues/songs, well have always remained in public domain.

4. HE WAS PART OF BALATKAR DIALOGUE SCENE IN 3 IDIOTS
I think most of people have scene the movie & I bet most of them enjoyed this scene. Was this scene funny because it had word 'Balatkar'' in it? Or was it funny because it was shown that when you mug up without understanding the meaning, you make mess of it? If we judge people by only what they say without taking in account their intent, then we are misjudging them. In this scene Balatkar was not made fun of. If it was so, many people would have left theater at that moment only. But it was fun made on the tendency of mugging up without understanding actual meaning. Don't we listen, read word Balatkar in our daily life? Do we instantly condemn everyone using it? Or we try to find out their intent?

5. HE POSED NUDE IN CONTROVERSIAL MOVIE PK
Some people doesn't want him to give his opinion because he is been part controversies earlier. They bring in his nude pose in PK movie & question how anybody who supported nudity himself criticizes other for bad language? This has been answered by Aamir & Raju Hirani many times but still briefly explaining, nudity & vulgarity are two different things. You can be vulgar covering yourself head to toe. Your intentions matter! Many people watched the movie with all their family members & didn't find anything wrong with that nude scene, as the intent & relevance of that scene to the story of movie was not vulgar.

6. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Aamir when criticized AIB for it's content also mentioned that these thoughts are his personal opinion. He also mentioned that there can be many people who may have enjoyed watching AIB Knockout but he didn't find it funny. He further says that the kind of backlash AIB team has received is uncalled for. They don't deserve this unless they have broken any law. He further tells his experience of Delhi Belly & how he promoted it as an adult movie.
So did Aamir in any way objected, obstructed AIB's or anybody else's Freedom of expression? Some people are calling him hypocrite for expressing what he felt. Whenever his movies have been subject to criticism he has always said that he respects their view though he didn't agree with them. He don't criticize people for criticizing him or his work! That's the real freedom of expression! You may differ in view & you may disagree with him but you need to respect his view as he respects yours. It seems as if he doesn't have any right to speak because he produced Delhi Belly. Having different opinion for same event is a beauty of democracy. If you criticize people for voicing their opinion you are failing the very purpose of democracy! If instead of appreciating & criticizing people if we start appreciating & criticizing ideas we will better serve freedom of expression. That's completely my personal view & you are free to differ with me!

5 comments:

  1. I completely agree with you. Some days earlier I read this blog of some nonsensical wannabe blogger called Heart ranjan who, without complete knowledge and of course, without any sense wrote about how Aamir is a pretentious prick. Well I must say, this is a brilliantly written article for those who think Aamir is the so-called pretentious prick. Well done.
    P.S. I'm still waiting for an excellent reply for that idiot Russell Peters who passed nasty comments on Aamir. I don't think that he's qualified enough to pass such comments on our Bollywood icons and on their iconic works. Someone please give him a lollipop to shut up.

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    Replies
    1. open letter by Subhash K Jha to Rusell’s “SHUT UP” on Aamir: http://skjbollywoodnews.com/2015/02/shut-russell-peters/4126526.html

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    2. Thank you. That made my day. Excellent answer.

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  2. open letter by Subhash K Jha to Rusell’s “SHUT UP” on Aamir: http://skjbollywoodnews.com/2015/02/shut-russell-peters/4126526.html

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  3. Bhaskar, you killed it man! Kudos.

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