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Journalism of Courage
Criticism, it appears, is becoming increasingly difficult to digest, as far as film folk are concerned. In a recent issue of some women8217;s magazine, Meghna Gulzar has grumbled about all the scathing reviews she received for her 8216;8216;labour of love8217;8217; Filhaal. The debutant director complains that critics were harsh on her 8216;8216;sensitive8217;8217; film, and that they simply didn8217;t get what she was trying to say. As one of those critics who was dissatisfied with her film, I8217;ll take it upon myself to speak for my lot8230; Filhaal may have been intended to be a sensitive film about a sensitive issue. The manner in which the narrative was treated, however, was far from delicate. You would think that an intelligent young lady like Meghna Gulzar would encourage options like adoption, instead of harping on the fact that 8216;8216;the character wanted a child of her own, so she chose surrogate motherhood8217;8217;.
Script holes aside, even the direction wasn8217;t exactly top of the pops. So what8217;s all the fuss about? She was credited for extracting commendable performances out of her female protagonists particularly Sushmita Sen, so it8217;s not like critics were completely merciless.
The least tactful ones employ the most tactless approaches. Raj Kanwar sends a death threat when you savage his Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke, Satish Kaushik says critics aren8217;t 8216;8216;mature8217;8217; enough to understand his abysmal Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, and Vashu Bhagnani insists that critics attacked Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein and Deewanapan both insufferable films, also box-office disasters for personal reasons.
To think that these are the same guys who talk about taking criticism in their stride. The same guys who say filmmaking is a roller-coaster ride where you sometimes go wrong and you sometimes go right. The same fellows who say adverse criticism can8217;t put a good film down.
Credit then must go to the guys who really do take criticism in their stride. And the one name that comes to mind here is Karan Johar. Amidst the hoards of mostly positive reviews for his box-office smash, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, there were at least a handful of reviews that knocked Johar8217;s star-studded opus, and dubbed it a trite family weepie. No threats, no rude SMS messages, no nasty comments, nothing. As Johar has gone on to explain since: 8216;8216;My film has spoken for itself. Not only did it make money, it also seems to have touched many hearts. What8217;s a few bad reviews compared to that?8217;8217;
