CONTROVERSY
IN India cricket and Bollywood are akin to religions. Fans of both sport and film industry are known to hold their idols accountable and react with severe fervour when they step out of line. Often it becomes a case of shoot first, asking questions later. So it is with director Karan Johar, whose latest film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil has become embroiled in various controversies. The latest focus is on a line spoken by the female protagonist with a negative reference to playback singer, the late Mohammed Rafi.
In the film the character played by Ranbir Kapoor wants to become a singer and fancies him almost in the league of the late Rafi. His friend played by actress Anushka Sharma remarks, “Rafi sang less and cried more”. This line has created a furore amongst fans of the late singer who believe it to be a great insult. The late singer’s son and family have slammed Johar for writing the insensitive remark and keeping it in the film. Rafi was one of the industry’s most respected singers and is held in high esteem. Singer Sonu Nigam, one of the most popular singers in India today and who started his career by singing cover version of Rafi’s songs said that the late singer could be considered a saint. He felt that in this regard one would never taint the image of a saint, so the line should never have been included in the film. Various others have also weighed in with extreme viewpoints suggesting Johar cut the scene from the film.
In the film MS Dhoni there’s a scene where a mob of erstwhile fans pitch up at his home burning effigies of the cricket player because of a slump in form which cost the national Indian team a huge loss in an international series. It is this religious zeal which leads to unfortunate situations like the aforementioned, fuelled by those who have something against the so called perpetrators, like Johar and Dhoni in these instances.
In the case of the Rafi incident, it is the noted and award winning lyricist Manoj Muntashir who perhaps has the right take and understanding of the situation. He is quoted on the website dnaindia. com saying, “I have not seen the movie so far. But I am sure about one thing. Karan Johar is a diehard Rafi fan himself. Dialogues are written for characters and characters have their own fictitious trajectory of thoughts. We have to grow up and stop over-reacting to such stuff. I am sure if Rafisaab was alive today, he would never have taken offence to such things”.
I agree. Johar, of whom I’m not a diehard fan, actually pays a wonderful homage to the late Rafi with Kapoor’s character singing a song originally picturised on his uncle, the wonderful actor Shammi Kapoor, in the film An Evening in Paris. Johar shot a huge portion of his film in Paris. The film contains many references to music greats from the past, so the furore over the Rafi comment, made within the context of the film and in keeping with the character’s off beat nature, can surely not be seen as an affront purposely intended by the director. Yet so many prominent singers and musician have joined in the fray voicing their indignation at the director.
Earlier Johar was approached by Amitabh Bachchan to review scenes which may have placed his daughter – in – law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in a poor light. Rai Bachchan plays a poet in the film who becomes a muse of sorts to Kapoor’s younger character. They end up having a no strings attached sexual affair. Johar has been rumoured to have succumbed to the Big B’s pressure and edited the more sensual scenes. This may be the reason that Rai Bachchan’s character seems under developed, hampering this aspect of the film.
Just prior to the release of the film there was an attack by Pakistani militants against India. As a result Indian army officials called for the deportation of Pakistani actors working in India back to their mother country. The talented Fawad Khan, an actor of Pakistani origin, has a major role in Johar’s film. Johar was taken to task by some Indian politicians for casting a Pakistani actor in his film. The director has since put out a video message saluting the Indian army, showing his commitment to his country and pledging henceforth not to work with Pakistani artistes in his future films.
His actions have caused further controversy as fellow filmmakers and actors disagree with his actions. It has been felt that a director as famous as he is should use his weight and status in the industry to unite the long warring countries through art, not create further diversion.
Despite, or should that be in spite of, the controversy, the film has become a huge global hit.