A section of Bollywood has come out in open support of the
Pakistani Artists after the unfortunate Uri attacks, in which, 19 of our
soldiers embraced martyrdom. Popular
Filmmaker Karan Johar claimed that
Artists are vulnerable soft targets and they should be left alone! Other big
names like Salman Khan and Shyam Benegal have also spoken in favour of the
Pakistani actors. Now let us see as to how justified is their support.
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| Picture Credit: Times of India |
First and foremost, as a part of a professional industry,
the members of our film fraternity need to know that every market provides some
opportunities, and at the same time, every market has some threats. The liberalization of Indian economy has led
to an unprecedented rise in the spending power of the Indians, and Bollywood
has been gleefully cashing on this opportunity. The once elusive magic figure
of 100 crores has become a norm these days. Therefore, the same Bollywood cannot
cry foul on being confronted with the threats (that include the diplomatic and
military confrontation with Pakistan) of the Indian market. The film fraternity
can do well to learn a lesson or two from our sports fraternity in Cricket,
Badminton and Kabaddi, who like them are also in the field of entertainment but
have decided to boycott Pakistan in solidarity with our armed forces and the
mood of the nation.
Some people also come up with arguments such as Artists are border-less, Art should not be mixed with Politics
etc.However, all these arguments hold little or no merit. To begin with, Artists are not border-less.
They don't perform in a vacuum or a flag-less land rather they perform for a
specific audience within a specific boundary, and hence they have to be accountable
towards their audience, and also the land in which they perform for earning
their livelihood. Secondly, god forbids but if the next 26/11 was to happen,
and the house of some of the Bollywood personalities was to be attacked (particularly
those who are supporting the Pakistanis now), then it is the members of our Armed forces, who would put their lives at
risk for these so called 'border-less' people. I shudder to think of a day when our
soldiers start behaving like Bollywood personalities and start saying -
"Don't mix our lives with politics".
If a section of Bollywood expects an average Indian to use one of its
hands for placing a wreath on the bodies of our soldiers, and the other for
clapping in adulation of the Pakistani Artists, then it is perhaps asking for
too much. While sympathising with Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan et al, Bollywood also
needs to be mindful of the sentiments of
the families of the martyrs, who have sacrificed their lives so that people from
the film fraternity could live a peaceful and a comfortable life in Mumbai
without the fear of any external aggression.
