Are you a gentleman? I am not a gentleman. The honour ‘gentleman’ is something irritating, revolting and abhorrent. I always want to be known as a common man. If I am about to claim to be a gentleman there will be lot to laugh at me. The so-called gentlemen we have heard about or seen in public in literal sense are men of clay feet. I can very well name countless of them the only reason why I don’t want to divulge here is not out of fear or libel suit. Be that as it may. I hesitate to prolong the discussions about the species. The only reason being that only.
At least five days in a week, sometimes a whole week I take a trip either by autorickshaw or by car to the nearby town down the streets to meet someone or to the bank where I operate my account, remittances are rare, frankly speaking, and withdrawal of cash sometimes, to consult doctor once in a while, to purchase medicines, some periodicals, vegetable from the market. Little little items, nothing much expensive, the reason ‘funds insufficient’ in the banking parlance.
On the way to the town unawares my eyes catch sights of obscene, erotic cinema posters depicting actors and actresses scantily dressed, some even naked in compromising positions. On watching those posters I feel ashamed of myself, the whole film world must be thinking about depravity we have fallen into. I can very well picture or imagine some reader’s faces and their silent sarcastic comments about the morally upright ‘gentleman’. I don’t want to be known as a morally upright man as I was not at all, still now not that much morally steadfast or straight forward. While in my teens- an explosive period in everyone’s life- and early youth I too was bewitched, fascinated and attracted towards the raunchy, seductive, inviting looks of ladies even got entangled in it admit as my life took a new turn with passage of time, means when I came of age or attained maturity I got ashamed of myself, still get ashamed of myself on thinking about the moments or period when I was always a part of it.
The theatre which continuously runs the types of obscene or porno films stands at the side of the road through which I proceed along posters are nauseating and erotic to me and a few persons like me. Man and woman in various poses, some perverted, are numerous and I could always watch crowds starting from school going ones, drop-outs, youth, middle-aged and even who are in their 70s or 80s impatiently waiting outside to purchase tickets which are sold dime a dozen like the pulp fictions of Sidney Sheldon, Alberto Maravio et al.
Regrettably these kinds of vulgarities are exported to Kerala from Kodambakkam in TamilNadu and AndhraPradesh. Such sorts of Malayalam pictures were very rare once and now down the line even our Malayalam films are stooping to very low levels with the actors willingly or are forced to exhibit publicly their flesh to the ‘delight’ of viewers, apparently these low standard films are produced to amass as much money as possible.
It is even alleged that these vulgar films draw inspiration from Bollywood and Tollywood. Unfortunately malayalee girls often fall prey to this so-called ‘flesh-trade’. I was aghast when I happened to go through an interview given by the daughter of one of the Mega stars of TamilNadu - widely known all over India – the said girl is also an actor in her own right, non-chalantly speaking to the interviewer “so what in exhibiting my skin to the exhilaration of the audience”? Wonderful times indeed.
A few Super stars and some political leaders did take strong exceptions to the making and display of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ an Oscar winner which brought many a laurel and wide acclaim across the world alleging that India’s “great sacred image’ was tarnished in front of the world which according to them was extremely shameful. The realistic portrayal of poverty-stricken, malnourished, emaciated women and their drunkard husbands, lack of sanitary facilities and pure drinking water in ocean-sized slums of Mumbai was not to their taste in other words left ‘bitter taste’ in their mouth.
Needn’t get surprised or embarrassed over these allegations.
Even the greatest film-maker of all times Satyajit Ray was a target of scathing attacks by a cross-section of Bengali elite when his debut film ‘Pather Panchali’ which bagged President’s Gold Medal and many laurels around the world in the history of Bengal alleging that Bengal’s historic image of greatness was dirtied by the depiction of poverty prevalent over a period of time.
By the by how many of us know May 2, 2010 was his 90th birth anniversary? Only a few must be knowing about it even the Bengali citizens barring his family members.
Bollywood money-spinning entertainers stuffed with masalas ranging from sex, stunt, comedy, fire-spitting dialogues, the tear-jerking love-triangle, separation and reunion- a world of colour, pomp and pageantry are now largely seen, appreciated and talked about show the abyss to which the Indian films have fallen into, exceptions only a few.
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