Oh! God

doweshowbellyad=0; Salman Khan (TOI Photo) There will always be a percentage of the population who will believe that these two souls have done nothing wrong.
The Damocles’ sword is hanging over the fates of Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan and people have already started to formulate opinions. While some say that they will go scot-free because of their star status, others’ say that they should be punished as no one is above the law.Human psyche works like that and it has the power to make a nobody a hero and a hero a nobody.
Says psychiatrist Pooja Chatterjee, There will always be a percentage of the population who will believe that these two souls have done nothing wrong. And there will be some who will look at the magnitude of the crime and decide whether such a harsh punishment was justified or not. Similarly, there will be another group who will say that the stars are wrong and should be punished. Also, I feel that the media plays a strong role in the all this. Had Sanjay and Salman not been celebrities would the cases have been hyped so much?
Well, in short, opinions can be psyched, but it has the power to keep a dead man walking or write a RIP even when the person is alive. Case in point: Kabir Khan (SRK) in Chak De! India. One moment he is the hero and the next he becomes an unpatriotic soul. So, what went wrong for Kabir?
Says Shimit Amin, the director of Chak De! India, If you look at Kabir Khan, he is the victim of a situation. Peoples’ opinions too are shaped by situations. I feel that those who are in the limelight have to pay a price, but they end up paying a price anyway. Now, this is an old argument, isn’t it? Celebs have so much more at stake. But would the latest tryst with law affect the BO record of the stars and dub them as fallen heroes?
No. It will not adversely affect their box office record. Had Sanjay Dutt been booked under TADA, things would have been different. But I don’t think that neither Sanjay’s nor Salman’s magic will wane even by five per cent. Remember how Rekha was accused of driving her husband Mukesh Agarwal to his death? A week after that incident KC Bokadia released Phool Banne Angaarey.
Everyone had warned him not to, but the movie went on to become a hit. Sanjay and Salman have the sympathy votes of the masses, adds film critic and trade analyst Komal Nahta.
Yes, our reel gods do have sympathy votes even after their downfall. We wish our real gods were that lucky. For the past several months, the residents of Jodhpur Park have seen their park (the part overlooking the Jodhpur Lake) transform into a burial ground for the idols, whose number is increasing by the day. They stand naked faceless and headless.
Ever since the CMC has stopped the bisharjon of the idols in the Lake, people living in the bustee around here do not go to the Ganga to immerse the idols. There too, they have to adhere to certain rules and regulations. So, they have taken the easy way out. They simply dump them here. We have spoken to the councillor and he keeps on assuring us that he will take a step and clear this, but... says Dr Manas Sengupta, a resident of the area.
Just in case you are thinking that Jodhpur Park is one isolated case, you are wrong. Look around your area, looks under a trees, drive down Beliaghata Main road and the EM-Bypass, you will find idols that are maimed first by humans with their act and next by nature. Wonder what ever happened to the Antigones of this city!
jayeeta.ganguly@timesgroup.com