Filmi chakkar

In our country, the gods (and goddesses) of Bollywood have always sought to prove that they are heroic both on and off screen. Stars have armed themselves with sub-machine guns, pleading that they were simply acting in the pursuit of Farz not Karz. Others have slapped and kicked members of the press, complaining that the Insaaf Ka Tarazu has been unfairly tilted against them. Stars have rampaged into politics driven by the unshakeable conviction that the act of casting one’s franchise is identical to buying a ticket to the movies. There are heroes famous for violent behaviour, others who are known for their hard-drinking and high living ways, others who are guilty of violating the laws of Hum Dono and still others are becoming notorious for their alleged links with a sinister new entrant into the Mumbai film industry: the underworld.

In the public spat between two Bollywood shahenshahs Vivek Oberoi and Salman Khan, Oberoi has not only provided details of Khan’s well known shockingly delinquent behaviour but also hinted that the actor has connections with the bhais of organised crime. Whatever the murky machinations of the midnight telephone calls and threats and counter-threats over the object or objects of Khan’s destructive obsessions, there can be no doubt that Oberoi’s attempt to secure the moral high ground through a press conference is yet another example of a star trying to prove that in reel life as well as in real life he is Hero No.1.

Salman Khan, still awaiting trial for the drunk driving case against him, is a failed Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. His Sharmeeli has failed to take her Teesri Kasam, thus driving him into incessant inebriation, a Devdas stereotype that would have even given Omar Khayyam a run for his bottle of wine. Salman is Tere Pyar Mein Pagal, not even hesitating to occasionally harass the one Rai of hope in his life, leading her, and her parents on one occasion to even complain to the police. Into this volatile situation of starry Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham has come that hungry monster, the press. For fiercely competitive 24-hour TV networks and newspapers scrambling as never before for ever higher circulation figures and TRPs, a brawl between Bollywood’s brats is guaranteed far more public mindspace than it deserves. This is clearly nothing but a case of everyone trying to prove they are Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahin.