If it's not your cup of tea, then don't drink it

This tweet by Indian filmmaker Karan Johar grabbed my attention, he tweeted this in response to all tweets that criticized his participation in a controversial episode of AIB knockout roast. While I enjoy watching some stand-ups I am not a very big fan of them. I think most of them focus more on the negative aspects of life and use insults and vulgarity as major elements to create comedy. But these shows and such types of comedy are very popular and I recognize why it is so popular. These comedians also push the limit to the extent that it sounds sometimes offensive or derogatory but that's how it is. These shows are not part of any TV channels that are meant for family audiences and they give proper disclaimers before the show for people who don't know what are they getting into. This particular AIB roast also comes with a disclaimer about its adult content, so, people who are not comfortable with such things should not watch it, it is as simple as that. 

Everybody claims to have a sense of humor as it is a cool thing to have but very few actually have it. It is easy to laugh at others and pass comments about others but it is very difficult to laugh at yourself, very few people dare to do that. Comedy forms like satire and most stand-up shows are not for people who don't can't withstand ridicule and insult. In India, this form is relatively recent, it is not that we didn't have comedy shows but their format was different and the focus was always on so-called clean comedy, so, I am sure many will find it difficult to adjust to this new style of comedy. I was stumped when I saw the first stand-up on YouTube when I came to the US, I was surprised to see how people could tolerate and laugh at such racist, sexist, and insulting comments. But then I realized that this form of comedy is not everybody's cup of tea, I can't watch some of these shows as I don't enjoy the contents of them but that doesn't mean that I can stop others from watching them. 

I managed to watch this show when it was still there on YouTube. It is funny, I enjoyed most of it and yes, it is really vulgar and filthy at times but the show puts this warning right in the beginning so you know what to expect. I have no complaints about the contents of this show, I didn't like some things about it, but that's my problem. I can't demand an apology from participants for using abusive language towards each other, that will be the stupidest thing to do. There are many things that we see around or watch on TV or in movies that don't suit our taste, we are free to reject them and even to register our protest in the strongest possible words. But to question a person's right to express their thoughts is a sign of a regressive mindset. I hope this controversy is settled soon, this is such a waste of time. India has much bigger problems to deal with than worrying about the contents of some comedy roast. I even found some parts of a very popular comedy show from one of India's TV channels "Comedy Nights with Kapil" very sexiest and insulting to women, so I stopped watching it and if I watch it I do it at my own risk, I can't demand an apology and ban just because I don't like it. I hope adults learn to behave like adults and stop wasting time on such petty issues. Like Karan Johar tweeted, if it's not your cup of tea, then don't drink it. If you drink it by mistake, then don't cry foul or abuse the makers, just laugh at your own stupidity and move on and be careful next time.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

What is so obscene or vulgar in this PK poster?

Recently the poster of Raju Hirani and Amir Khan's upcoming movie PK was released. I am sharing the poster below for readers to see so that they understand what I am talking about.

Now I don't understand what is there is this poster to term as obscene or vulgar or against Indian culture? How this poster is any different than many undergarment ads that we see posted on big hoardings, displayed in many magazines, and played on TV? I am sure people who are attacking this poster or objecting to it in the name of an attack on their culture are doing so just for the sake of getting some media coverage. I also wonder if there could have been a similar reaction if this would not have been Amir's movie? They all (especially political parties) know that as Amir is a big star and any news related to his movie is bound to catch media attention, they want to encash this opportunity and grab media headlines. Male or female nudity is not new to any culture, there are nude statues in Khajuraho and also in many other parts of the world. Many people visit all these places, so I am sure as Indians we are not strangers to these types of images. In the era of the internet and smartphones where one can browse any website on their mobile phone what are these people trying to achieve by objecting to these posters? This poster is purely for the promotion of a movie and there is no intent to offend anyone, it is as simple as that. There is also a question of artistic freedom in this, as artists these movie makers are free to display their art within the allowed legal framework. If they are not breaking any law then I wonder why these people are objecting to it, and if they want to object they should take the matter to the court. Sadly it will be a waste of the court's valuable time as there are already many important matters pending for years in Indian courts but that will be a more logical route rather than protesting on the road.

There is another issue of objectification of the male body involved in this and this is a somewhat concerning issue. Already objectification of women is very common in movies and advertising. So, this question needs some attention but no one seems to be asking this, everyone is focused on obscenity or vulgarity or how this is against Indian culture. Except for the point of objectification of the male body, nothing else sounds objectionable to me. Any culture that survived for thousands of years is not so weak that it will get threatened by a movie poster. 

I was also surprised to see that some leaders from political parties also joined protests against this poster. They are doing this to get some publicity and media headlines. Many more important issues in India need urgent attention from these political parties and their leaders and this is definitely not one of them. This poster is just for the promotion of the movie, many people are just going to laugh at it or ignore it. People who don't like this poster or have some objection to it are free not to watch the movie. I don't think there is a need to create any controversy over this. We have many other serious issues which need our attention and time so let's focus on that.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]