I thought I have finished with whatever it is I want to say regarding the recent hullabaloo surrounding Shah Rukh, my blog's resident controversy generator, with this post. But watching BDUTT's interview with him on NDTV tonight sparked off a rant in me.
I have never heard a more honest speech on politics than what Shah Rukh has given here. I can now absolutely understand why so many reporters and even random people in the audience have asked him when he is going to join politics. And I can also absolutely understand why he won't touch the world of politics (as a politician) with a 1000-foot pole. I fell in love with so many things he said in this clip, and there are some places in the interview that suddenly made me go.. hey! I know this guy! ..I felt it's as if he'd suddenly burst into Bahasa Malaysia (my national language) in the next sentence. Like he's someone I've known all my life. Dunno how to explain it.
Anyway, watch the interview. I still can't believe the exhibitors pulled out. And if any of you are following me on twitter, you'll know that the VHP, an international hindu organization founded in India in 1964 (see, thanks to Shah Rukh..I know more stuff about India now), has now publicly taken a 'stand' to support Shiv Sena by asking THE ENTIRE NATION ..wow!!!.. to boycott My Name is Khan. Yesterday I was quite happy coz I read that the controversy regarding the Shiv Sena has receded. Today I was shocked when I read that the entire nation is asked by an international hindu organization, and let's not forget that India has a hindu majority, not to go and watch the film. And not because the film has a muslim as the protagonist. Noooooooo. It's because Shah Rukh KHAN is a traitor. Oh, and get this.. they "may support the Shah Rukh issue, but not with the Shiv Sena on the 'Mumbai for Marathi' one". Yeah? You can do that? You can just pick and choose issues you want to support or oppose without any sound reasoning to back up your decision and the entire nation will just go out on a limb to follow your instruction?
You know.. even I, who's not that bright in picking up clues, can see the whole blinking clues like they're some blinking neon lights on top of the Taj. In fact, I'm blinded by the blaring bright lights! They're just too bling bling and shiny! My eyes can't take it.. maybe I should wear shades. I don't want to look down on an entire nation based on the actions and speeches from some illogical public personalities who like to hog the limelight for whatever agenda they want to further, but this is looking more and more ridiculous every day. I am not understanding it if the entire nation would actually take up the call and boycott the film. Know what? I refuse to understand it. No one can ever succeed in making me understand that scenario. No one.
I have my own issue with My Name is Khan. I come from a muslim background that is against the registration of marriage between a muslim and a non-muslim. But will that stop me from watching My Name is Khan? Heck NO!! See here, you can't mold the world into a shape that you think is beautiful just by violently denying that other shapes exist and are probably more beautiful in their own way than the shape that you prefer. And if you force the people under your influence, who respect you or fear you or depend on you for their livelihood because of your seniority/position/whatever, to admit or accept that ..yes, the shape you think is beautiful is the only shape that should exist for this world.. then you're a dictator who has abused his/her power. That's my stand for my nation's leaders as a regular citizen who's voted in every general election held in this country since I came of age, and that's the stand I think every voter should take for the leaders of his/her respective nation. Think about it for a second. Just think about it.. for God's sake.. before you start burning a poster/effigy at the instigation of your political leaders again.
I wrote in this blog before that I have never gone to a cinema to watch movies. It's coz I love to rewind my favourite scenes, I'm very noisy when I watch movies (I cry/scream/give comments/encourage the characters to do what I think they should do even though I know there's no way they can hear and follow what I say..duh../I clap/I do all sorts of ridiculous antics that I won't disclose here coz they're too embarrassing), and.. I confess.. I want to have Shah Rukh all to myself. I don't want to enjoy him with 40 other people in a dark cinema hall 25 km away from the comfort of my living room. I want to have my pillows with me. I want to have boxes of tissues ready beside me. I want to be able to pause at any scene and go to my kitchen to get a glass of juice. I don't want to have to rush out and rush in during the intermission for a loo break. And since MNIK is a very special movie for me (and I'll tell you why in a bit), I have absolutely no problem avoiding all online reviews and waiting for a few months until the DVD comes out.
When KJo was questioned on why his marketing and promotional team keep things low for MNIK.. I went blank. I mean, I was too shocked at that question to even utter a coherent comment on it.. and I'm this weird person who likes to scream at her computer monitor when she's disturbed by something she reads on the net. Reading that article, the only word that goes through my mind like some scrolling marquee is: STUPID. That is it: stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.. x 10000000000. With the involvement of Fox as their international distributor, 500 (or so) prints being distributed all over the world, phased global release plan in about 70 countries not including the huge release plan in India, promotions at high-profile events and places (NASDAQ, press conferences in New York, MTV Iggy, one week of coverage in the BBC Asian Network including a spot on the Jonathan Ross show, premieres in Abu Dhabi and Berlin), promo tours to several regions in India with an interesting theme that is.. to find extraordinary love stories experienced by ordinary people (and some really made me go.. Woah! They were so brave to come forward onto the stage to disclose their love stories!!).. and what did the indian media have to say? That the Shiv Sena controversy is the one that actually helps to raise visibility for My Name is Khan. Don't believe me? Think it's too preposterous to be believed? Read this and weep. You know what.. maybe 'stupid' is a gigantic understatement.
I'm in despair.
KJo, I don't think you can win this. No intelligent person has ever won an argument with stupid people, coz they basically have years of experience being stupid. Like.. from birth?
The reason why I think My Name is Khan is a special movie? Shah Rukh, Kajol, and KJo may go emotional about it and say all sorts of mushy stuff on how special the story is, or what a blast they have filming it, or how beautifully depicted humanity is in the movie.. but I can say something here that they've refrained from telling, maybe out of modesty or maybe it's too soon to say it coz it hasn't been released yet. "My Name is Khan" is poised to be a movie that'll change cinema history, if not history itself, not just in India but globally as well. Why do you think Fox picked it up? At least, that's what I see how KJo and Shah Rukh planned it before all hell broke loose in India over.. I'm still not sure what issue. And the stupids are too dense to see how stupendous it will be for the hindi movie industry and Indian economy if the ambitious plan for My Name is Khan works. I'm not stupid, I hope. At least, not so stupid that I purposely want to be left out of such a momentous event. I'm going, man!
Fine. Boycott it, you fools. Boycott it. We'll see how this movie is received in other parts of the world. As I'm writing this, I have gone against my own rule of never going to a cinema to watch a film by making plans to go to a cinema to watch it when it's released in Malaysia. I'm even now looking at transportation methods of going to the only cinema hall that I think will carry the movie in Kuala Lumpur. It's quite far. But then, anywhere further than 10 feet outside my front gate is quite far for me. I think I'll go by train. And maybe I'll have to skip my lab work for a day to watch the afternoon session coz I'm too scared to go home near midnight by myself in an area I'm not familiar with and coz most likely the movie will finish right after the train service has stopped for the night. Arrrgh, so many things to consider! But I'm quite sure I'll go. And if a thorough homebody like me can go through all this hassle to catch My Name is Khan on the big screen, it's not hard to imagine regular cinema-goers in those 69 other countries to do the same. I'm sure at the end of the day, some innocent child in India will ask his/her parents, "Mama, papa.. why haven't we watched this film?" Will they answer him/her the way the parents in "Chak De! India" have done.. that "We're boycotting it because a traitor to his nation is in it"? Good job, madams/sirs!
I'm sure I've shone a high-powered spotlight on the nonsensicality of this entire issue in this hugeass post, but regardless of what I think or what I believe.. I know that people will still think what they want.. people will still believe what they want. To enforce my viewpoints on others has never been my intention in writing this. I'm just letting out steam. I doubt my steam can drive any of the broken-beyond-repair ships home. Let's wrap this up and continue to wait patiently for the showtimes to be published, shall we? Just before I go away, let us see how the man of the moment is doing. Is he sulking at home worrying about everyone not loving him anymore and driving himself bonkers with questions over his Indian identity? Nope. It's work as usual for Shah Rukh Khan. I swear this guy has got some Superman genes in him. I love you Shah Rukh! Stay you always.
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