I would say that it is very hard to find patriotic, conscientious and socially aware people in the media and entertainment industry. Harder still would be to find people with such qualities who actually do something about the social ills of the country. It, of course would be well near impossible to find such people who are politically conservative as well. Recent events have breathed a new hope in me.
Leading the pack of such people is Amir Khan with his show Satyamev Jayate. Though not the best of actors, he is one of the most accomplished moviemakers in India. His association with the movie “Rang De Basanti” was very encouraging. He tried to make patriotism cool and thus should be acknowledged for that. His show has been the real eye opener. A lot of people including us talk about social problems and their solutions. However, we do not have the forum or the celebrity of an Amir Khan. He could have gone the route of the rest of his Bollywood ilk and done a show about some pop-entertainment / sleazy / game reality show and made money. But he took the road not travelled and is opening eyes of Indians who have become comfortably numb. We all know that the problems exist but it takes an Amir Khan to re-open India’s eyes to them. It speaks poorly of the Indian middle class that it takes an actor to make us aware of problems surrounding us but Mother India is happier nonetheless.
Amitabh Bachchan’s rise from a middle class UP family to the height of superstardom is, for complete lack of a better word, inspiring. To me, who USED TO BE a huge fan, he often seems to be a weak man trapped in the material world with no concern for the society’s weak. He has risen from that cesspool and done things to redeem him self time and time again although it always feels that a man of his celebrity could do a lot more. So when he decided to stand next to Narendra Modi and become a brand ambassador of Gujarat, I was surprised. By all imagination, Modi’s name must be a filthy word in Bollywood where Muslims have tremendous power and hold an enormous sway. For Bachchan to share the stage with Modi indicates that despite of all his trappings, he is willing to take a tough decision and do the right thing even if it may mean antagonizing his entire acting fraternity.
Actors like Anupam and Kiron Kher have been admirers of conservative politics. I hope that it is not only due to their views on J&K. Then we have Ajay Devgan, Sanjay Dutt and Akshay Kumar who have probably broken ranks to express their admiration for Modi’s administrative abilities. They may have been there to make money via investments but to come out in public and express their sentiments like this has to be commended. But the most admirable of all these people is Paresh Rawal who, in an interview, expressed an unabashed admiration for Modi and described him as an honest politician who is a visionary with no hidden agenda. Appropriate words for Bhai Narendra indeed.
I hope and pray that Indian media would do their job fairly. I hope that Indian movie stars, who hold such sway over the lives of Indians would take upon themselves to do right by Indian society and follow the suit of Amir Khan with actual deeds rather than just TV spots and shows. That would be something.
Some links to Bollywood actors interacting with Bhai Narendra.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adZI0xcXpi4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gkUGQPsubs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=jVLjDz02ZBo
http://www.rediff.com/movies/slide-show/slide-show-1-paresh-rawal-narendra-modi-is-a-visionary/20120604.htm
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