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Journalism of Courage
After the heroes turned out to be possessed of clay feet, a heroine has stood tall. By openly confirming that she received an extortion threat, that during the shooting of the film, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, a person claiming to be 8216;bhai ka aadmi8217; demanded that she pay Rs 50 lakh, Preity Zinta has done the Indian citizen proud.
She deserves heartfelt congratulations for an act of personal courage and for a stance that might bring long term benefits to the film industry. It is extremely unfortunate that in the high-profile Bharat Shah case probing the links between Bollywood and the underworld, Zinta8217;s other tough guy colleagues have emerged looking lily-livered in pathetic contrast to their heroic celluloid roles. Larger-than-life Bollywood heroes like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan as well as film directors Rakesh Roshan and Mahesh Manjrekar all turned hostile to the prosecution and determinedly denied any knowledge of the influence of the underworld in Bollywood.
But Zinta has spoken up and to some extent rescued the state government8217;s loud proclamataion that the arrest of Bharat Shah was their trophy against a newly initiated war against the dons.
It is a campaign that has not been as successful as the government had hoped, notwithstanding the fact that the crack unit of the Mumbai police8212;the Criminal Intelligence Unit8212;has notched up some victories by killing some known city gangsters and claiming that the number of gangland 8216;encounters8217; are now down to two a month after the all-time high of two a week in the early Nineties.
Yet, in spite of the successes of the Mumbai police, the fact that Zinta is only the second film personality8212;film director Abbas being the first8212;to admit to being contacted by criminal elements has revealed the depth to which Bollywood has been permeated by the Mob.
Film stars are the folk heroes of our time. In them repose the fantasies and aspirations of millions. When they act in ways that publicly lowers their integrity they appear as posturers undeserving of their fan clubs and their popularity. But when they act with exemplary and brave honesty, they become true heroines.
Having placed herself and her career in a situation of fairly serious risk, the state government must now spare no effort whatsoever in effectively protecting the security of the courageous Preity Zinta.
