Where was your dharma then?

It is a common practice during the hunt that some men are used to create noise and push the prey towards a specific direction. The animal is taken towards a spot where it can be hunted be easily. The tamasha of returning awards, which the recipients got during earlier regimes, brings to memory the same practice. The self-styled authors and artists are crying hoarse in unison so that noise is created, government is forced to go in a particular direction and then it would be easier to hunt it down.

Those who are taking out their awards from the cupboards so that they could be returned claim that the freedom of expression is been curtailed in the country and the Fascist ideology is on the rise. Had they any iota of truth in their claim, one would have heed them seriously. However, the truth is otherwise. The questions are being raised on the hypocrisy of those who are shouting from their rooftops and these questions are being raised by none others than the one-time victims of their six-decade long hegemony.

“The same people who are raising voice for freedom of expression today controlled the fields of intellectual discussion and education. They had the monopoly. They made it their mission to trample any other thought than theirs. Where was their concern for the freedom of expression then,” asked noted Kannada writer S. L. Bhayrappa in Pune recently. Do the champions of free speech have any answer to this question?

Bhayrappa is not just another writer. He is among the pinnacles of the modern Kannada literature. His novels have established records in terms of popularity, sale and the appreciation of the critics, not only in Kannada but also in Indian literature. Every type of dirty trick was used to keep any government recognition or award from him.

Patil Puttappa is a noted Kannada writer and journalist. When Bhayrappa was sidelined and Dr. Chandrashekhar Kambar was awarded the Jnanpith Award four years ago, he openly said that a “big lobby was behind the selection of the awardee”.

Another noted writer Girish Karnad had come to Pune three years ago when he was asked a question about Bhayrappa. At that time, he had said, “Bhayrappa writes well, but he was swayed by Hindutva”. Thus, it doesn't matter what or how the author has wRritten, the only important point was that which ideology he followed.

This is why it assumes extra edge when Bhayrappa says that he was the victim of the suppression of free speech by the Leftists and they had no right to speak about of the freedom of expression. No more elaboration is needed about the inherent motives of the pre-planned outrage of the Leftists.

This was not the first sledgehammering on the one-sided love for freedom of expression of the Leftists. One such voice had come forward last month even before this bout of coordinated campaign of returning the awards started.

That was the voice of Prof. Sheshrao More. Prof. More is known for his extraordinary research on contemporary issues and mainly for his books on Veer Sawarkar which seek to change established conventions of the great freedom fighter and thinker. Besides them, he has written books on Kashmir, revolt of 1857 (which he says was a jihad and corroborates it with proofs) and the partition of India. Such is his exquisite detailing and solid writing, that a challenge was put at the time of third book that if anybody comes forward to refute claims in this book, another book on it would be published.

But alas, Prof. More refuses to portray Nehru as hero and Leftists as prophets of progressive thoughts, hence he was almost ostracized by the intellectuals in Maharashtra. However, last month, he was the President of the Vishwa Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held in Andaman and he fired first salvo on the hypocrisy of the seculars.

While attacking the self-styled progressives, he coined a term the Terrorism of Progressives which created a flutter in the progressive camp. Then either Prog. More was overlooked or he was termed a Hinduist. However, Prof. More was saying the same thing what Bhayrappa said recently and that many in the past said - the Leftists' love for freedom of expression was not absolute. It comes to fore only when their voice becomes feeble.

As for Maharashtra, there is another famous example in the form of late P. B. Bhave. Considered one of the four pioneers of the new age short story in Marathi, Bhave never received the acclaim he deserved mainly because he was a Hinduist writer, proud follower of Veer Sawarkar. What is more, when he was the president of the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in 1977, the literary meet itself was thwarted. None of the artist or author fel free speech having been curtailed then. It was only since last year, when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, that they felt country was filled with the atmosphere of hatred.

This is very reminiscient of the Karna, who invoked the Dharma, when the wheel of his chariot got damaged. The question which Krishna and Arjun put before him then can be put today to the Leftists, Socialists and the self-styled intellectuals - Where was your dharma then?

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Shivaji: How many hurdles?

There is a song in the movie Padayappa. That song literally means : There are a thousand hurdles in life, but for you, these hurdles are only a step. That fits well in the real life of the movie's hero Rajinikant as well.

At the one hand his 'Shivaji the boss' is creating much expexctations from all quarters. At the other hand, the perk and rumenaration that Rajni got has created a lot of buzzword. In Indian moviedom, there is hardly any actor at this moment to match his popularity and stature. Be as it may, rajinikant still faces some hurdles and as is shown in his many a films, he conquers them all. This time he has an uphill task ahead in his real life and every eye is on him now.Shivaji is directed by Shankar who gave us many hits like Kadhalan, Gentleman, Mudhalvan, Jeans and Indian. He is a stylish director but any director working with Rajini must bear one of the most daunting task and that task is to fulfill the public's expectations. And this task is compounded this time from the very first day of announcement of the 'Shivaji-the boss.' The difficulties faced by Rajinikant that I mentioned above starts from this severity. Rajini is not only the flagh bearer of Tamil film industry, he is an icon for millions of his rasigans. He might have enjoyed their fierce loyalty and unconditional love for over two decades, he also has to respond to their anticipations. That he does so time and again must be credited to his uncanny down-to-earthness.If he by chance misses the bus, a debacle is sure to follow as was proved at the time of Baba.To add to the woes of the Superstar, some external elements chip in, which make the outcome of a Rajni movie more thrilling than the movie itself. This time also, as the talk was on of Shivaji being a launch vehicle for the Rajini to his political career, there were many who contributed to the saga of Shivaji. First one was the Tamilnadu government itself which, fearing an onrush of the crowd and thereby encashment of the popularity by distributors, assumed all rights for the control of theatre ticket rates in Tamilnadu. As if it was not enough, VIjay T. Rajinder, an influencing personality in the Kollywood, cautioned against the hike of the ticket rates and declared that he will not sit quietly if the rates are increased.Then surfaced Rajinis' old nemesis, Pattali Makkal Katchi which raised its head again to oppose the Shivaji. It particularly targeted a song 'oru koodai sunlight, oru koodai moonlight,' on the pretext of using English words and sentences in the song. The party workers (or leaders?) even have shown readiness for an agitation for this cause. Pattali Makkal Katchi people have a history of opposing to Rajini, first time showing their trait at the time of release of Baba. But this time, Shivaji has faced resistance from one more quarter, and that is an unexpected one. A certain trade union in Thanjavoor has opposed some references to the Kaveri river in a song in Shivaji and they too seem ready for an agitation. What is funny in all this episode is the statement given by this union, in which it is said that Rajini has kept mum many times on Kaveri water dispute. That's why, according to this union, he has no right to use Kaveri's name in any song in his movie.As Shivaji-the boss has rewritten some records in the movie history of India, it has also has to face an unprecedented hurdle now. The Kannada Rakshan Vedike, an organisation specialing in isolating the Kannada peolple from neighbouring states, has decided to oppose the release of Shivaji-the boss in Karnataka. It is unusual development. Usually, even when non Kannada movies were banned or withheld from Karnataka (pls see some of my previous posts), Rajini films have been given the go. But this time now, the case is different. WIth the Kaveri tribunal award going in favour of Tamilnadu, Kannada Rakshan Vedike is full swing and to show its opposition to Tamilnadu, it has decided to play with Shivaji's prospects.

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Tamil Films facing closed doors in South

It was not long ago that Kannada film industry, apparently raged over the diminishing collections on account of copetition with Tamil films, demanded to the State government to restrict release of non-Kannada films in Karnataka for the six weeks. The state government subsequently conceded on account of which non-Kannada films were barred entry for the first six weeks of their release in Karnataka. That decision affected all other languages films as well. On account of that step alone, Karnataka witnessed a high number of remakes in Kannada from Tamil and Hindi films. It did not though brought any worthwhile trend of original stories or new concepts in Kannada movies. Some trade bodies even went to the Supreme Court against this order in 2004 and now recently state government has denied having issued any such order.
These trade bodies feared that neighbouring States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala will be provoked to take similar decision against release and exhibition of Kannada and other language films in their respective states. Though these apprehension were not realised owing to the little popularity of Kannada films in other regions, it has came into existance for Tamil films. The same situation aroused in Andhra pradesh some time ago. Some Chiranjeevi films having failed to garner collections to the level they once did, at the same time Rajinikant's Chandramukhi dubbed in Telugu making records in collections and Santkozhi, Thimiru, Aanai etc. films making waves on box-office gave sleepless nights to the industrywllahs. Faced with a lacklustre performance of a majority of Telugu films and Tamil dubbed films making hay one after another, the film producers association there demanded a ban on Tamil films dubbed in Telugu. But this demand, arose as did subsequently vanished without a whimper and no concrete decision in this matter has not been taken till now.
After the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, it is the turn of the Kerala now to try to halt Tamil films at its border.
Tamil films, actor, actresses and songs have a huge fan following in Kerala. Anyone watching Asianet or Surya TV can vouch for that. Even Malyalam actresses have a harvest time now in Kollywood. Asin, Nayanthara are two heroines who can prove this point. Sometimes Tamil songs have more buzz than the Malayalam songs in Kerala. Old horses like Rajinikant and Kamal Haasan command a big fanbase with young guns Vijay, Surya and Vikram following the suit. So much so, that though Prithviraj is a face to reckon with in Tamilnadu, he is a big craze in Kerala girls. A distributor in Palghat has the bought rights for Shivaji-the boss for a whooping amount of Rs. 35 Crores, which is considered a record in Kerala.
It is hardly surprising then that Mollywood's insiders are alarmed at the pace at which Tamil films are gaining ground. To contemplate on this situation, some financiers in Mollywood recently had a meeting. It was decided in this meeting that Tamil films should be released in Kerala few weeks after their release in Tamilnadu. Even so, this restriction is less likely to affect the films starring Rajini, Kamal, Vijay etc. These films will be released simultaneously in Kerala.

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