I hate you, but you’re right


This is a feeling that I very often have. It’s the feeling when your egos have already started engaging in a ‘cold war’ but your rational side is still controlling your conscious mind.

Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan are some of the many celebrities who I almost despise. I’ve hated them for the shoddy products they make, mostly. Then of course, the fact that they have become popular despite the shoddiness. But, in a few interviews, I’ve seen them make some really good points (especially about culture, marriage etc.). Points that I often make to corroborate my arguments. Not only that, their articulation of their ideas was nothing short of a critical thinker’s. Especially, Shahrukh -- he has become really clever in handling some of the most clichéd questions that he has had to face in his career. I don’t think his answers were as clever before. Only Sushmita Sen has managed to sound so intelligent right from the beginning. Ash was always the “look at me I’m a politically correct bimbo” type. Shahrukh was in the same band too, but lately he seems to be fed up with that. Or he’s just chosen this new “technique” to handle a more “intelligent and international” crowd. Whatever the reason is, his interviews are more watchable now.

But it’s still uncomfortable to hear sensible stuff from the people who you don’t like so much. Celebrities have multiple dimensions to like or hate. Their persona on screen, the products they give, then the people they are, the things they say (do) etc. I don’t know the ‘mode shifts’ that my mind goes through when I watch them perform and then giving interviews.
My ‘roast of VV’, at least some of my points, was instigated by what Gautam Menon had said in some interviews (about Oscar etc). It’s a bad movie, but what made my ranting really “harsh” was what he and Kamal had said off-screen, about the movie (it wasn’t a movie review, why should I distance myself from all that?). It’s sometimes too hard to dissociate the two. You hate the guy (girl/woman) in the movie for what he said in TV and you hate the guy in TV for what he did in a movie. Of course, sometimes they are the same.

I think it’s the same with blog readers. You might “hate” someone for things that he/she said in some posts, but can’t disapprove of what he/she says in other posts. That’s when you either downplay the post’s significance or pretend like you never read it. It doesn’t matter I suppose. It’s a favour we keep returning one another; a self sustaining ecological cycle that maintains a balance. A balance that is required to make sure there are no ‘superstar’ egomaniacs who get in to “masala blogging” before they end it for good (Lazygeek is probably a good example).

By the way, this post is not in response to anything that’s happening in this blog but to Shahrukh’s rather sensible interview in IBN. Well, it wasn’t totally sensible; he did get in to the “Islam is a secular religion” bullshit mode. But come on. It’s enough that he’s trying to be sensible, it’s too much to ask of him to be a radical.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

appa sami modho post urupadiya puriyara mari panni irukkanda

The Individualist said...

Don't even remind me of VV. I should listen to your podcast to relieve myself of the angst, I felt after the movie.
p.s. During the movie, I couldn't feel anything at all. Totally numb.
This was one movie that made me want to get a mic and do a personal roast of it too. And yeah, calling it a 'quality' movie makes it worse. Phew. Anyway, sorry about getting off the topic. Couldn't control myself when that movie's name was mentioned. :p
"Karan Thapar: Another issue that the Health Minister has specifically raised and in raising it, in fact, he took your name among others, is that people like you should not identify with an advertised soft drinks. He says soft drinks are bad. Children see you and start drinking it themselves. He appealed to you not to advertise soft drinks.
Shah Rukh Khan: I would appeal to any authority like that to ban it. Don’t let it sell in our country if it is bad for children. If smoking is bad, don’t allow production in this country."

*applause* Point perfectly made.

Suresh ET said...

yeah, this question was rather openly answered. The answer itself isn't that novel, but that he gave it is. The Sharukh of the 90s wouldn't dare say a thing like this.
About VV, haha, I'm glad there's one more person to the small group of people who honestly can't stomach the movie.

The Individualist said...

Was just reading one of your other posts and got curious. I know it is not related to any post. But can being a sociologist be revenue generating? Are there outlets where you can practise it and go about it like any other occupation? (Am not saying it needs to be and neither it is aimed at making it sound devaluating.)
Am just curious. Just to know more about another interesting branch that I have missed out on-
Was just thinking about the BA Sociology that universities here offer. They make it sound so dull, utterly useless, sometimes even contemptible, when in hindsight, it seems to be the other way around. Students are to be given a thorough explanation on what deals with what and where it can take an individual, for us to be able to create geniuses in each field, regularly. Our approach to education is so cliched and uninspiring. There needs to be some transparency between the courses available and the potential students-
Am just ranting. Never mind.
p.s. You can only like something when you get to know about it, right? If you are kept in a leash till you are twenty-ish when you finally break out of it, it is practically too late-
That is what seems to be happening all around me.

I said...

why don't you acknowledge ur pretense of intellect?

Suresh ET said...

^^why don't you learn to beg well?

Suresh ET said...

@Sudhir

Yeah, sociology can be "revenue generating" if you do it in a place where there is relatively appreciable value for it. In India, economics and statistics share some of sociological literature and are quite popular. But in other countries, you get to specialize sociology in numerous subdisciplines (demography and criminology--both based on statistics, are some of the most popular in all 'developed' countries). As for India, soc is only one of the many disciplines that has not developed so well. It's not a big surprise. However, there are quite a lot of Indian scholars working from UK and the US.

Classical sociological theory can be a bit boring. But if you learn how to theorize contemporary issues (using old literature, if required) it can be very interesting. But as I said, it's not all about theory. I'll talk about other stuff in mail.

I said...

"I hate you but you are right", are u talking to me..?

Suresh ET said...

Indha maari sila per keepanunga'nu dhan indha line'a potu tholachuen - "By the way, this post is not in response to anything that’s happening in this blog but to Sharukh’s rather sensible interview in IBN."
Irundhaalum sila pannadainga main matter'a otaila vitrudhunga!

Anonymous said...

me, me..... i hate kirubaaa....

Suresh ET said...

come on, I hate Kiruba too, but I'll clarify that he's hardly right!

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