Our Heroes are Molesters

Akshay Kumar forcibly kisses Sonakshi in HOLIDAY 

I have always been a strong believer in perceptions being the trigger for everything related to decision making or for that matter in any thought formulation. What we perceive based on our understanding of the surrounding environment often dictates our actions. And perceptions can be highly amusing or surprising depending on which side you are.

I bring this up because of this harmless post by a school friend of mine in our WhatsApp group. The post was in reference to an article in a newspaper 'The Hindustan Times', where the journalist had mentioned why she thought Bollywood Heroes promoted molestation. Being an incurable romantic who had grown up watching the staple fare dished out by Bollywood such an accusation was bound to pique my interest. How was it possible that our venerated heroes who flared their nostrils at the slightest provocation to their ma's & behens & threatened to turn cannibal & drink the hapless dogs' blood (kutte main tera khoon pi jaunga!)  would themselves turn out to be rabid perps?

To the credit of the journalist, she did make a strong case for the same & believe me you really need to view it from her angle to even start comprehending the unthinkable. Using instances from several latest films such as Kick - Salman pulling (upwards) at the skirt of the heroine with his teeth & the heroine showing displeasure or Holiday - Akshay Kumar continuously following Sonakshi & placing a kiss on her lips while she apparently was bristling with anger. Also remember Dharam paaji with Dhanno while he teaches her to shoot - his hands move ever so deftly on her. Being a family hindi film, the film makers probably couldn’t show him make an attempt at the bases, but the intent was very clear & so was the apparent discomfort on Basanti's face.

 She (the journo) also referred to the Shahid Kapoor, Illeana starrer - Phata poster nikla hero (or some such), where he sings 'Khali peeli khali peeli bhaunk ne ka nahi, tera peecha karun to tokneka nai, Hai tujhpe right mera…'. The lyrics basically reinforces that while the heroes are willing to fly the extra mile to beat up the bad guys insulting / molesting women, a similar kind of behavior by them is ok, infact reinforcing the right of the guy on the girl who he is besotted on.

Kyun bhai?

Todays highly charged environment, with the media reporting every infringement & apparent molestation, means that our prism through which we view the world is also changing. Now even a (supposedly) harmless wooing exercise can be construed as the evil machinations of a salivating road side romeo. Several romantic tomes throughout the ages are rife with the suitor wooing the disinterested damsel, and all of us, including those not as mushily romantic, have enjoyed the dalliance & the visual imagery that it evoked. Now all of that now is suddenly a manual on male brutishness.

As a father of a daughter, I perceive, especially after reading the article, that the films might be justifying impropriety under the garb of playfullness, flirting & wooing - I mean when does it stop being harmless fun & get converted to harassment? Do note here that in all the cases mentioned above, the heroine invariably falls for the charms of the guy inspite of being forcibly kissed, having their skirt pulled up in front of others & being groped - thereby reinforcing the stereotype that when Girls say NO, they actually mean Yes.

As an erstwhile lover (I am no Cassanova, but I ain't Shrek either) who has wooed, sought & gained the attention of comely ladies (well some of us common folk have to work extra hard at it), I am confused if all my time spent sending poems to my lady love(s), standing waiting outside their college & home for hours for a glimpse & showing my face to them (in marketing terms its called brand recall), writing love letters in blood (or the cheaper substitute - tomato ketchup),  or holding their soft hands on the pretext of reading their future would be now construed as sexual harassment.  I believe that today it may be so & I totally blame perception for it.

So let me take this opportunity to thank god that I was born so many years ago when unrequited love was seen as such & honest longing, wooing & courtship wasn’t tainted with the perception of impropriety. Some benefits of being on the wrong side of 35 wot say??