When Prakash Jha’s ‘Rajneeti’ released in June 2010, I happened to be in Bhopal and decided to watch the film in the theatre without realising the fact that a major part of this movie was actually shot in the city. It was a full house and in a scene when Arjun Rampal who was playing Prithviraj Pratap, a powerful politician asked his men to take out the car by saying, ‘chalo bada bazar’, the entire theatre erupted with joy, they clapped and shouted and what not! It was quite understandable as the locals might have been familiar with the place. However, Prithviraj was going to take his revenge but the clapping didn’t stop. It was in a way strange as well! The same people who question the ‘gundaraj’ and teach their kids to behave nicely, were cheering for corrupt politicians who were using their powers and playing dirty tricks for three hours.
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It wasn’t the first time this was happening. Al Pacino made the entire world go crazy when he walked out with a machine gun in 1983 and said, “say hello to my little friend.” That scene from Scarface is remembered as one of the most iconic scenes from gangster films. Over the years, Indian fans have clapped for gangsters movies that also feature corrupt politicians like Sarkar, Satya, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai and most recently, Raees. There is something about these movies that fascinate the audience and makes them clap for men with power and care-free attitude even if they are crushing and killing other people.
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Then, why is it that we complain when a politician like Shiv Sena’s Ravindra Gaikwad beats the staff of an airline and says it in media proudly! Actually, my question should be, what gives a political leader like Ravindra Gaikwad the confidence and pride of hitting a staff member who is merely doing his job? Do you hear the voice of those claps and the echo of those cheers? Well, that’s it!
Watch the incident here:
“Yes, I beat him as he had misbehaved with me,” these words from Gaikwad are only a reflection of our thinking and ideology. Parents beat kids when they misbehave and teachers beat students when they misbehave so that’s the idea we have been creating for a long time now. We vote for Lalu Prasad Yadav even though even though he was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and Rs 25 lakh fine for his role in the Fodder Scam by CBI court, we help Salman Khan movies earn unbelievable amounts despite his condemnable acts and we are the ones who fail to respond when someone like Gaikwad dares to misbehave.
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We have not only sown this seed but also have been watering it for years now. And, if you think that things are going to change anytime soon, no, they are not. If political leaders like Gayatri Prajapati will continue to contest elections despite being accused of rape charges, if our filmmakers will continue to look at gangsters as better subjects than martyrs and if we will keep clapping for the glorification of these elements, no they are not!