Anna Hazare - the name itself evokes power. Sounds like 1000 Sunil Shettys standing as sentinels up against the dangerous ‘white’ criminals infesting India.
The old man, to me, draws a lot of parallels with RK Laxman’s unique creation of ‘common man’. An icon who represents the vindicated tyrannized citizen of our great nation. I assume the same thing must have caught veteran actor Anupam Kher’s fancy to support Anna’s cause for he must have resembled the lead character of his last hit ‘A Wednesday’ where a common man takes up the cudgels against the system single-handedly.
Well jokes apart, Anupam sure seems more rational than buying that logic to espouse Anna Hazare’s corruption less India campaign, but his statement that the Constitution of India must be amended for the overall prosperity of the nation doesn’t seem to go down well with the so called ‘bearers’ of democratic morals.
Recently, Anupam’s home and his acting school were vandalized by pr
otestors blaming it all on his alleged anti-constitutional statements.
A privilege motion was also moved against Kher in this regard in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. The actor was horrified by the incident as he completely denied making any derogatory comments against the Indian Constitution.
Never in his wildest dreams would he have ever imagined that this is what it would all turn into.
Well…welcome to politics Anupam.
Reports established that the members of a ‘political party’ protested against Anupam at his house in Juhu by shouting slogans against the actor. Anupam, you must have realized it by now where it is coming from and who actually is behind this.
You should have known that politicians have mastered the skill of hitting balls from a distance, and still pretends to be saint. One moment they will be against you and the other moment they might come in support of you to gain political mileage and try to infiltrate the group of civil activists.
Ask any common man of India and he’ll never balk at the fact that politicians are corrupt. And for the first time these scheming politicians are feeling the heat generated by the storm called Anna Hazare.
There is no doubt that they will stoop to any level in using their power to have this Lokpal Bill fail in Parliament.
The fact is that to combat a force like Anna, these politicians are feeling frustrated, helpless… they’re not finding a way to react to the revolution which promises to eradicate their very existence from the social-political framework of India.
So, Anupam it’s not hard for us to figure out that instead of Anna they have made you a target and started venting their angst against you.
It’s but definite that Anupam Kher’s comment was misconstrued. His statement that Constitution needs to be amended in the context of social activist Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement was deliberately politicized.
Kher claimed he is a responsible citizen, and that he respects the Constitution. He said that if India was a part of globalisation, people needed to revisit the Constitution and make some amendments.
"I revisited the Constitution and saw that 104 amendments have already been made since it came into effect in 1950. This proves my point that the Constitution is not an irrevocable document and can be amended,” he said.
That’s the apathy of our country. People don’t use their brains to think and this weakness is abused by corrupt leaders to unleash violence, the kind that was at display Anupam Kher's properties.
I am sure that none of the guys who was smashing glasses and attacking the actor's house knew or had seen the interview clip and had any idea about what the actor had said.
And interestingly, it has become a common thing now that every time film stars try to voice their opinion about a social cause, there is always some kind of an uproar. Perhaps this pandemonium would have never occurred had Anupam stuck to his medium to convey his message in a more effective manner.
After all cinema, as they say, is the reflection of the society.
(The views expressed by the author are personal)