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Journalism of Courage
Asha Bhosle has demonstrated the best way to counter Raj Thackeray,by ignoring his bluster
MNS chief Raj Thackeray objects to the very premise of Sur Kshetra,an upcoming show on Colors where Indian and Pakistani singers will compete and collaborate. The MNS has sent a letter to the channel,asking it to scrap the show,and communicated its ire to Asha Bhosle,who is set to judge the show. Thackeray is practising the only stunt he knows,inflating trivial things into matters of Maratha pride,threatening violence. However,the 69-year-old velvety-voiced Bhosle has reaffirmed why she is a national treasure by playfully puncturing Thackerays threats,and going ahead with exactly what she had intended.
Unlike the long line of entertainment industry luminaries who apologise,placate and make nice when the Thackerays get aggressive,Bhosle undercut their very plank. She pointed out that she was a good Maharashtrian who believed,as her culture taught her,to respect a guest. She said Athithi devo bhava,and in the next breath,Jai Maharashtra. At which point,Raj Thackeray lapsed into nonsense like,Asha Bhosle says atithi devo bhava. Why did she not say this when Kasab was arrested?,and accused her of singing only for money. This isnt the first time Bhosle and Thackeray have squared off. At an event in March 2010,he suggested that all Indians accepted her songs as their own because she was Marathi. Bhosle sweetly rebuffed him later,saying: Mumbai belongs to all of India… No one can snatch the job of a man who works here from morning to evening.
Bhosles feat is that she has stood up to Thackeray without dignifying his bullying with a counter-statement. She affected naivete,saying she only knew the language of music,she did not understand politics,but she loved him anyway and knew he liked her music. That response both demolishes Thackerays bravado and provides a more likeable vision of the world.
