Rumble in the DANGAL

KOLKATA: Few mainstream Bollywood stars are known to take a stand on controversial issues. The backlash is huge and the stakes are too high. Even if they do, it is rarely against a fellow actor. That's why Aamir Khan describing Salman Khan's 'rape' analogy as 'unfortunate' and 'insensitive' has made it to the national headlines. By default, it has also polarised the film industry, both nationally as well as in Kolkata.One group of celebrities are now happy that since Aamir himself has spoken out, they would have no problem in criticizing Salman as well. On the other end of the spectrum is the group reading more into Aamir's protest at the poster release of his wrestler film 'Dangal'. Incidentally, Salman too plays a wrestler in 'Sultan'.

But, before listening to the two camps, let's check the exact statements of the two megastars. While responding to a reporter's query on the kind of effort Salman put in to be physically right to play the character of a wrestler, he had said, 'It's a tough process. You need ample training like the wrestlers. The training Aamir Khan and I have been through is similar or probably a little more than what the wrestlers go through. If we didn't do it, we wouldn't be able to fight convincingly in the ring.... I underwent weight training. Then I perfected the moves. I spent 2-3 hours in the day practising those because in the film, I go from the village level akhada to the mat-based ring and then the MMA arena. So I had to do a lot of punching and kicking. I had to be convincing, or else I'd look like a fraud."
The reporter then said, 'The shoot must have been gruelling...," to which Salman responded, 'While shooting, during those six hours, there'd be so much of lifting and thrusting on the ground involved. That was tough for me because if I was lifting, I'd have to lift the same 120-kilo guy 10 times for 10 different angles. And likewise, get thrown that many times on the ground. This act is not repeated that many times in real fights in the ring. When I used to walk out of the ring after the shoot, I used to feel like a raped woman. I couldn't walk straight. I would eat and then, head right back to training. That couldn't stop."
Some media houses reported that immediately after this comment, the journalists present had sniggered, following which Salman had said, 'I shouldn't have (said that)."
When Aamir was asked to react to Salman's comment, he said, 'Well, I am going by the media reports because I was not present when this happened. But as per the media reports (and) whatever I have read which quotes him as saying certain things... I feel what he said was rather unfortunate and insensitive. That's what I feel."
But while criticizing Salman, Aamir made a faux pas himself, which he immediately corrected. On being asked about releasing the poster of his film before Salman's 'Sultan', he had said, 'I always feel when Salman enters a room, you feel a star has come. When I enter, I feel a waiter has come." However, he immediately apologised. 'Sorry, I shouldn't have said that, as waiters are great people. I feel when I walk into (a room), I feel it's nobody as I enter silently. When Salman, Shah Rukh enter, you feel (a) star has entered. I don't have that quality. They are bigger stars than me," Aamir had added.

Two superstars. Two errors. And two immediate retractions. Yet, the film fraternity is divided in their support for their heroes. Director Kaushik Ganguly has no qualms about being in the Aamir camp. 'When you are a superstar, you have to be much more responsible with your words. Your words become superwords. Perhaps, Salman never meant what he said. But, an intelligent person ought to have apologised soon after." Likening Salman's comment to a 'loose ball," Kaushik adds, 'He should have been sensitive. As a celebrity, he must understand that a lot of people look up to him. Saying such a sentence was definitely incorrect.'
But actor Rudranil Ghosh has a different opinion. Arguing on behalf of Salman, he says, 'We live in a country where few acknowledge that men too can get raped. Having said that, I need to add that Salman never said it to hurt anyone." According to him, Salman must have known that India is a country where people are waiting to create a controversy and magnify the mistakes of stars. 'It would have been better had he used words more consciously . Aamir, in any case, has always been very diplomatic. It's not fair to unnecessarily create a controversy. I'm certainly not on Aamir's side,' he says, empathising with the 'injustice' done to `Bhai' by making a 'mountain out of a molehill."
Filmmaker Srijit Mukherji, however, advocates a culture where words are chosen carefully. 'Rape is such a heinous crime that I don't think the reference should be made casually. Salman never made fun of rape while making his comment. But if we want to suggest exhaustion, we can say dog-tired. There are so many other ways. Don't we avoid Nazi and racist jokes? If we can do that, why can't we avoid the rape metaphor,' asks the director.
If Aamir is finding more favour among Tollywood's directors, Salman is a favourite with the heroes. Actor Ankush puts up a strong defence for Salman. 'I understand that rape is such a heinous act that many feel it is unfair to even compare it with anything else. But I feel Salman might not have meant to insult anyone. It is very unfair to be hauling him up this way. I would certainly not agree with Aamir,' he says.
Elaborating, he points at the way cuss words are used in common parlance. 'Words like 'mother' and 'sister' are commonly used in abusive language. What about the cuss word `motherf*****'? On the sets, people use it casually. Do we ever haul them up? Just because Salman is a celebrity doesn't mean he should be picked on this way," he reasons.
Many would have assumed that most Tollywood heroines would side with Aamir on this issue. But it's not that straight. Actress Sudipta Chakraborty feels it is unfair to haul Salman up because this generation was never taught to understand the heinousness of rape. 'That's why such analogies are so casually used. Salman too did that. When Dev had made a similar remark, there was a lot of hue and cry. This generation just hasn't understood that such things can't be said casually. I am hoping that my daughter's generation will be different,' she says.
But how is it that this generation liberally chooses to use the rape analogy and not something else, such as, say, castration, to express pain and exhaustion? 'It would be so demeaning for men to be reminded of castration. The honour of men has to be protected; anything about a woman can easily be spoken about [assuming that men are never raped]. A spineless man is so often referred to as a woman who wears bangles. Nobody even thinks that saying so also means a woman wearing bangles is spineless,' Sudipta exclaims.
According to Gargi Roy Chowdhury, society accepts that use of analogies in common parlance is not supposed to be taken literally. She refers to the Bengali phrase 'Kaak kaaker mangsho khae na (a crow doesn't eat another crow).' 'It is the same with the film industry. Since industry people don't publicly pick on each other, I want to raise a point. Has the release of `Dangal' got anything to do with Aamir's remark?' she wonders.
Actress Parno Mittra is clearly not on Salman's side. Like Kaushik, who directed her in `Apur Panchali', Parno said a celebrity has to be careful. 'People look up to stars. When you are an Aamir or a Salman, you have to be very careful. Let's not forget something similar had happened in Kolkata too. These issues need to be brought up. Being a superstar means you have to be extra careful,' she says.
Having said this, Parno raises an interesting point. She points out how Aamir, who has been quick to protest Salman's comment, never said anything when `3 Idiots' used the word `balatkar' (rape) in the dialogues that everyone enjoyed so much. 'In Bollywood, using the word `balatkar' is so common. People laughed away when it was done in `3 Idiots'. Perhaps Aamir has forgotten that,' she says.
But, Parno also points out that when `3 Idiots' was made, awareness about the trauma of a rape survivor was much less. 'These issues were openly discussed only after the Nirbhaya case. Aamir is a smart guy . He usually doesn't speak without thinking. When he does talk, he is usually right. What he said is extremely contradictory to the way dialogues were written for his superhit film,' she says.
So, is she questioning Aamir's curious reticence, or a `Ghajini'-like selective amnesia to the `balatkar' jokes while being upfront about criticizing Salman? 'That happened long ago. The film is out and is a hit. Perhaps, the PR person of that film is off now,' she says.
Sudipta is more direct in her reply. 'I remember, the entire nation had laughed at the `balatkari' joke,' she says, adding she would have been happier had Aamir admitted that in retrospect, the `3 Idiots' joke was as insensitive as Salman's comment.