Most in the Indian film
industry have protested the way Sanjay Leela Bhansali was manhandled in Jaipur
during shooting of his next film Padmavati based on 13th Century queen Padmavati
or Padmini who, according to Malik Muhammad Jayasi's 16th Century epic poem Padmavat,
had committed suicide in an act of mass-immolation along with many other women
of Chhittorgarh seeing impending defeat and capture by the forces of Allauddin
Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate. Attackers alleged that, Playing with history and
people's sentiments, some objectionable scenes were being filmed between the
characters of Rani Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji.
The assault on Bhansali is an
outrageous act and is being condemned widely and like has become the norm now,
Twitter is the primary platform giving expression to people's anger. But some
are going a step further and asking others to join by setting a precedent like
actor Sushant Singh Rajput has done, by removing his surname from his Twitter
handle. So his Twitter handle @itsSSR has Sushant only as his introduction. And
it seems he is on a Twitter campaign to take the march further. He is still tweeting
his thoughts on the issue and is replying back to trolls as well.
Tagging #padmavati, he had
written on January 27, "We would suffer till the time we're obsessed with
our surnames. If you're that courageous, give us your first name to acknowledge".
Naturally, it was an open
invitation to trolls and they were there with a bang, with their obnoxious
language and all unhindered obscenities. They started questioning his roots,
his intention, his mental balance, even trying to give it a communal angle. Sushant
hit back writing that 'people quote
history to search for their relevance in future, not knowing that their names
surely will be forgotten forever.
When someone commented that
Sushant didn't have the balls to stand for history, Sushant retorted saying 'he
has the balls to stand up for the future, so just shut up you joker'. It was
yesterday, on January 28.
Today, on January 29, he tweeted
his mind again on the issue, "There is no religion or cast bigger than
humanity and Love and compassion makes us human. Any other division is done for
selfish gains."
Trolls, too, were there, on
their job again. People wrote that removing surname was a business driven
decision and even after that Bhansali would not take Sushant in his films. Trolls
name-called the whole film industry saying that they were an insensitive and
apathetic lot.
When someone advised Sushant
that we use 'surnames to respect of fathers and forefathers and due to some
stupid acts by some idiots, we should not stop following them, Sushant replied
gently, "Well I respect my father and he knows it. But that doesn't allow
me to disrespect somebody's son. Violence is not bravery. You react on a
speculation because of fear. There are ways to put up your point but that
requires intelligence."
When someone tested his
patience saying "why doesn't he change his name too, if he doesn't follow
any religion then why a Hindu name Sushant?", the actor gave him a
befitting reply, "I've not changed
my surname idiot. I'm probably 10 times more Rajput than you are if you're
implying courage. I'm against the cowardly action."
It is interesting to see
someone from the Indian film industry taking a principled stand. Hope it will
inspire many others in his fraternity to do so. Padmavati or Rani Padmini was
real of fictitious is not the issue here.
When it comes to the legends that have become part of our folklore, people go
by sentiments and not logics.
Many Rajput outfits led by
Karni Sena have alleged that history is being distorted in Bhansali's movie. Distorting
history or manipulating historical facts for creative freedom or to add drama
to an otherwise flat storyline is done all across and is a hotly debated issue,
be it Hollywood's Schindler's List or Gladiator or Argo or other such productions
or our own Jodhaa Akbar or Bajirao Mastani (Bhansali's last film) or even
1982's Gandhi that was an international production. Schindler's List, Gladiator,
Argo, Gandhi and many other films alleged for distorting history have emerged
as milestones of the world cinema and have gone on to win Oscars. Even back
home, despite all their controversies, Jodhaa Akbar and Bajirao Mastani were
commercial successes.
©SantoshChaubey