Does your vote count?
REENA KAPOOR
He has tried several times in the past and failed miserably, but Himesh Reshammiya does not want to give up on his dream of becoming a movie star. Not yet. His film The Xpose is set to hit the theatres this week and Himesh is optimistic. He says, “There can never be another Kishore Kumar. I agree that my films have flopped and I have been slammed for my nasal voice, my look and my dialogue delivery. But every time I got a negative feedback, I went out of my way to work on it. I’m unapologetic about multitasking.” Himesh adds, “From being a television producer to a musician, an actor and a film producer, I would like to believe there has been growth in my career.”
He had maintained a low profile for quite sometime before returning with The Xpose. “Taking a sabbatical from acting and music was a conscious decision. A lot of people were already copying my style and my music. The two years, when I was on a break, I composed 500 songs. I was not sitting idle and worrying about not getting work. I have always believed in reinventing myself and taking risks. I don’t fear failure. Every aspect of my life has taught me a lesson,” Himesh says.
This is also the first time that Himesh has collaborated with rapper sensation Yo Yo Honey Singh. The film marks Honey’s acting debut as well. Speaking of their rapport, Himesh says, “Honey and I work in perfect tandem. As musicians we don’t try to overshadow each other. The man is hugely popular and I knew from the start that he would be an asset to the film.” Reacting to talks of the songs of The Xpose being inspired from some other films, he says, “No, the songs of this film aren’t inspired from any other film. I’d like to clarify that this has always been my style of music. You can check the work I have done in the past.”
His look in the film has become the talk of the town. Himesh says, “I have worked really hard for the film and I had to lose a lot of weight. I used to do face exercise, among other workouts. I would ensure my dinner would be done by 9 and my diet was strictly controlled.”
Himesh would love to work with big stars but he says that his films don’t require the presence of big names. “The films I do don’t require top actresses. My films are made on a modest budget. But if I do get a chance and a good script, I’d definitely want to work with Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif,” says Himesh, who doesn’t believe in camps. “Akshay Kumar Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan are my friends. We have done some good work together. The actor I work with has to inspire me. I don’t believe in camps. I believe in equations,” he adds.
Himesh is not blind to the mistakes he has made in the past. “I failed because of my mistakes. Earlier I was not dedicated as an actor and that reflected in all my films. But Khiladi 786 changed my view. I got a lot of applause for being the comic element in the film,” he says. Himesh continues, “This whole game of hits and flops will always be there. As a musician and as an actor, I have survived because of my faith in my abilities. The degree of success may vary from film to film. As music director, all my songs have worked and as an actor, out of the four films I have done, only one worked.”
However, he remains unfazed by the negative feedback. “I don’t care about the allegations. I have seen success. Controversies and criticism only affect you when there is no success in your life. As long as a hit comes along, one shouldn’t care about what people say. With each film I have to better myself. Others’ opinions don’t matter to me at all. I am a multi- talented person and I try to work hard with a lot of dedication. I am a singer, actor and a music composer. So there are a lot of expectations,” he says. always believed that except for those people who have hardcore political beliefs, the reason most of us vote has got less to do with politics and more to do with perception. In an ideal leader, the single most important characteristic that one should look for is competence. But would we know that from facial features or the tone or body language? It’s human that we quickly form an impression about those we see, even before we’ve had a conversation with them. That impression then colours whatever else we learn about them, be it their hobbies or their political abilities. When we think we are making a rational political judgment, we could be, in fact, judging someone partly based on just an impression we have formed, from say what his or her face looks like. For instance, I have no idea about Priyanka Gandhi’s political abilities but I will vote for her.
Of course, there are many things that could subconsciously affect voting decisions, right from promised freebies to sex scandals to how much has been spent on the campaign and so on. But the bottom line is that your vote is never going to make any difference in a large national election. If your favourite candidate is going to win, he or she will win even if you don’t vote. My conclusion is that, contrary to popular belief and government propaganda, your vote actually does not count. So why do millions of people spend their own time, energy, and money to cast a vote that will not make any difference in the electoral outcome? You might say, “But what if everybody thought that way?” The reasoning goes that, if everybody thought that voting was irrational and a waste of time, nobody would vote and democracy would collapse. People often believe that what they do or how they think influences other people and others will think and behave like they do. So, people believe that if they bother to vote, everybody else in the country will also vote, and democracy will thrive. But if they don’t bother to vote, then everybody else in the country will think like them, nobody will vote, and democracy will collapse. This lop- sided thinking reminds me of a piece of writing I saw a long time back on the wall of a graveyard. It read, “This graveyard is full of people who thought the world can’t go by without them.” Much like how a dead person doesn’t really matter to those alive, your one vote doesn’t really matter to the outcome of the election. So whether who you have voted for, has won or lost, my advice to you would be to not take it personally.
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