The interesting debate that seems to have erupted in Bollywood shows that our film fraternity is not politically uneducated after all. For an industry, that has long been accused of neglecting ‘real issues’, this is unprecedented. Narendra Modi should be thanked for this, as it is because of him that probably for the first time Bollywood personalities are participating in a heated political debate.
However, reports in the media and social networking sites about Modi splitting or ‘polarising’ Bollywood is stretching things a boit too far. In a democracy, people ought to have different political opinions. Bollywood, too, consists of individuals who come from varied backgrounds and hence support different political ideologies. So how can this be termed as polarisation of Bollywood? In fact, those 60 film personalities who have come out with a petition to take side of secular forces should be applauded for speaking their minds unlike some ‘stars’ who often prefer to maintain safe distance from anything political.
This election has got Bollywood talking about ‘serious’ issues like ‘secularism’, ‘growth’ ‘development’, ‘governance’, subjects considered too serious for mainstream Bollywood. Even the likes of Tusshar Kapoor have tweeted their political views.
What is surprising is the criticism of film stars for expressing their political opinion. So what if they have asked people to vote for a ‘secular’ party? Or have expressed their support for a ‘strong’ leader. Just because they are public figures doesn’t mean they can’t express themselves in public. The issue should not be blown out of proportion. If Bollywood ‘splits’ let it be, at least our stars are speaking up. It is healthy sign for our democracy. Bollywood may have finally shed its image of being flippant.
However, reports in the media and social networking sites about Modi splitting or ‘polarising’ Bollywood is stretching things a boit too far. In a democracy, people ought to have different political opinions. Bollywood, too, consists of individuals who come from varied backgrounds and hence support different political ideologies. So how can this be termed as polarisation of Bollywood? In fact, those 60 film personalities who have come out with a petition to take side of secular forces should be applauded for speaking their minds unlike some ‘stars’ who often prefer to maintain safe distance from anything political.
This election has got Bollywood talking about ‘serious’ issues like ‘secularism’, ‘growth’ ‘development’, ‘governance’, subjects considered too serious for mainstream Bollywood. Even the likes of Tusshar Kapoor have tweeted their political views.
What is surprising is the criticism of film stars for expressing their political opinion. So what if they have asked people to vote for a ‘secular’ party? Or have expressed their support for a ‘strong’ leader. Just because they are public figures doesn’t mean they can’t express themselves in public. The issue should not be blown out of proportion. If Bollywood ‘splits’ let it be, at least our stars are speaking up. It is healthy sign for our democracy. Bollywood may have finally shed its image of being flippant.