What possibly ties Telugu actor Vijay Deverakonda and Bollywood girls Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor Khan with a thread of commonality? Deverakonda’s shrugging at a recent interview and saying, “This boycott movies gang should not be considered as important. Jisko dekhna hoga who dekhenge humari film Liger!” brought back memories of Khan uttering smugly, “No one has asked the audience to go and watch our films, no? If you don’t want to watch, mat dekho!” in an online dialogue held last year about nepotism in Bollywood with controversial journalist Barkha Dutt.
However, Bhatt, even after witnessing the recent debacles of big-ticket films Liger and Laal Singh Chaddha, had the nerve to casually remark, “If you don’t like me, don’t watch me!” days before her film Brahmastra, with co-actor and husband Ranbir Kapoor, is set to release in the theatre. Interestingly, while Liger and Brahmastra carry the Karan Johar (a man who has been under the scanner ever since Sushant Singh Rajput passed away for fanning nepotism and diluting the quality of films through insipid, baseless and irrational stories that often painted Hindus in a degraded light) tag, LSC bit dust because of the heat Aamir Khan faced due to the comments he passed against India in the past, his agenda peddling show Satyameva Jayate and for hurting Hindu sentiments in the extremely anti-Hindu film PK. Actually, the film LSC was totally panned by eminent critics but the left liberals would obviously blame ‘fascist Hindutva’ trolls for its failure.
Drunk on the arrogance of stardom
However, the arrogance of Bollywood doesn’t look like it is going to break very soon. Repeated commercial flops, the extensive boycott by the audience who are fed up with their lacklustre content, anti-Hindu diatribe, and distorted narratives that have affected the fabric of Indian society for years, notwithstanding, star kids and actors continue with their indignant fronts disrespecting the audience, their thoughts and decisions repeatedly. An industry filled with actors, producers, directors and other members who tasted stardom because of the love showered by the audience, are now blatantly disregarding the emotions of the junta expressing their ire over how these celebrities have been misusing their influence. And even if that morality bit is kept aside, what could possibly explain the gargantuan success of films such as RRR, KGF, Karthikeya 2, The Kashmir Files and Pushpa that were not Bollywood products?
In fact, small films such as Jaadugar, as well as series like Panchayat, Gullak, Ghar Waapsi too did well because of their relatable content as against what Bollywood has been brainwashing the public with for many, many years. So, when Arjun Kapoor has the audacity to utter that Bollywood should come together and teach the ‘boycott gang’ a lesson, it only reeks of his ignorance about quality content and the truth that in a democracy the audience will only watch what they enjoy! And this time, no amount of PR buzz generated by the Bollywood cabal is going to attract moviegoers to the theatre.
Bollywood’s mill of propaganda
Even as we pen our thoughts on how unfazed Bollywood celebrities are by the disgruntled audience, the urban chatter room is brimming with opinions about the Hindi film industry acting as a propaganda platform against Hindus for years causing immense harm to the Bharatiya psyche generation after generation. With money laundering rampant, communist thought processes permeating people subtly and involvement of the mafia, experts now opine that the fall of the industry should mark financial losses for anti-Indian forces which actually is a welcome move.
Not that the powers-that-be in Bollywood have taken note. For, the PR machinery that has always worked up the halo effect for the stars despite the poor work they generate is already working overtime to topple the truth. Gems of Bollywood, a popular page on Twitter systematically decoding the anti-Hindu narratives spilt by the industry is being shadow banned and runs the risk of being suspended. Movie reviewers who put out honest criticism against paid positive reviews are being obviated using legal muscle (a case in point is Kamal Rashid Khan being arrested ten days before the release of Brahmastra for his 2020 tweet).
Instead of correcting themselves and introspecting about what exactly brought about their downfall, the Bollywood cabal is playing dirty, armed with overconfidence. There is hardly any sign of course correction. The excessive usage of Urdu and Farsi in Brahmastra is not the only problem pointed out by movie lovers. They are questioning the veracity of what is being depicted in the film in the name of Hindu philosophy and iconography. Also, the latest skeleton tumbling out of the closet is that the film was originally named Dragon and Kapoor’s character was supposed to be Jalaluddin Mohd Rumi that got changed to Shiva after the Pulwama attack. So, questioning the veracity of the intentions of the filmmakers sounds legitimate.
While for ignoramuses the film might look like Ayan Mukerji’s tribute to Shiva and Parvati, actually it is nothing but a money-making tool doctored on the lines of Marvel and DC Comics that want to reap the benefits of the rising spiritual consciousness of Hindus. But, no matter how calculative the scheme is, the cracks in confidence are visible. Karan Johar is conspicuous by his absence from the promotions while S S Rajamouli has been flown in to spread awareness about the film since he is riding the wave of his immensely successful and nationalistic work, RRR.
The web of money-generated PR supporting the stars
While many, including most from the Hindi movie industry, would say films are made just to entertain, sensible minds would gauge that cinema is also modern visual literature that has an all-pervasive grip on the mind of the audience. They have the ability to shape thought processes and which Bollywood has for many years. In fact, if films were just to entertain then so are nukkad naatak, dance shows and the circus. Then how can we justify the humungous pay disparity between Bollywood film actors and the rest (even within their own industry)?
What ‘amazing’ work is the topmost ‘stars’ of Bollywood doing to demand such a hefty fee? They influence at an impactful scale and the web of money is spread to support that halo. Rather an entire system is built around it. But the sheer lack of talent of the star kids makes one wonder how they have relied heavily on faff and PR in order to not have to work hard while enjoying the fruits of fame and power. This has made them defensive towards genuine criticism and insecure about getting dethroned when talented freshers make headway. Interestingly, this very PR has been successful in painting Bollywood as the be-all and end-all of Indian cinema despite way better work regularly coming out of Marathi, Gujarati and other film industries in the country.
No space for genuine talent
Don’t we remember how Shiney Ahuja’s career was ruined by a rape case where the accuser later made a U-turn, or how Priyanshu Chatterjee stopped getting prominent roles despite becoming a sensation after Tum Bin? Remember Shreyas Talpade relegated to silly slapstick comedies even after he exhibited a massive spark with Iqbal and Welcome to Sajjanpur? Rajat Barmecha, who delivered a sleeper hit with Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan, had openly lashed out at the nepotism prevalent in Bollywood that disillusions, demoralizes and ruins the careers of young actors when the talentless star kids feel threatened about relinquishing the throne to deserving actors.
And of course, we all know what happened to Sushant Singh Rajput! A noxious nexus present in the industry ensures that star kids keep getting work no matter how terrible they are in histrionics because that’s how it has always been, at the cost of audience money. Or maybe because it’s a superfluity of unaccounted money that emboldens the cabal and makes the members stick together. It’s a vicious cycle that ensures mediocrity is celebrated and arrogance is toasted while real talent is stifled and genuine efforts are thwarted.
In fact, Deverakonda’s demeanour and body language at the press con (and the way he lifted his feet up while sitting to interact with the audience) show how the Bollywood dust has rubbed off on him. Now it’s up to the Geeta Govindam and Arjun Reddy star to realise that Bollywood will only heed him if he gets in the moolah. In an industry that only understands money and is a million miles away from morality, humility or professionalism, it wouldn’t take them minutes to use and throw him if their purpose is not solved. The audience has woken up to this blatant truth and moved on to better content dished out by filmmakers in Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada and Telugu cinema. When will this reality dawn on Bollywood, blinded by hubris and conceit? Or will it ever!
