Monday, September 27, 2010

Us fragile souls

Comedy is no longer limited to the Shiv Sena. I used to find it hilarious that the Shiv Sena claimed at the drop of a hat that the sensibilities of the Marathi manoos (i.e. me) were hurt when anybody did anything that the Shiv Sena did not approve of. Then came the "Billu Barber" controversy that shockingly the courts approved of! Now it borders on the silly and frivolous:


This time sanity prevailed and the judge saw the PIL for what it was: a publicity stunt meant to get cheap attention. Political correctness has turned into reality TV, and it is not simply limited to India. Initially I thought frivolous lawsuits like these were a by-product of the American justice system that works so efficiently that it has the time and resources to devote to such claims. But I was wrong.

Let's humour this particular case. The petitioner claimed that the film "Dhobi Ghat" had nothing to do with a dhobi ghat. And according to an act of law, it is a punishable offence to call somebody by their caste name. Really? I'd like to see their politically correct caste certificate that is issued by the same Government that enacts this law. Once again, if the storyline were the autobiography of a dhobi, would it make this law moot? Apparently not, because Billu Barber was the story of a barber.

May be the clothes cleanliness provider will go to the hair maintenance expert for some advice! By the way, should the judge be called a judge? Its so judgmental!

1 comment:

Vibha said...

Good one Amit. I have come across your blog for the first time and you write well. Can I follow you? I wouldn't have asked that if I had seen a FOLLOW icon .

regards
Akkila