Amitabh Bachchan's Comments On Unnao/Kathua Isn't A First, He Has Always Shied Away From Taking A Stand. By Ankur Pathak
It's no secret that
one of Hindi cinema's most influential star, Amitabh Bachchan, is also the
industry's most feeble voice, especially when it comes to taking a stand on
issues of national significance. A master of verbal diplomacy, Bachchan has
consistently shied away from explicitly taking a position that directly affects
the very society that has made him a megastar.
Being in a position of
power that Bachchan is in, comes with a certain moral obligation to use that
power responsibly. It's not a lot to expect our stars to call out regressive
drivel that gets perpetuated online or otherwise, especially when it affects a
member of their own fraternity. Bachchan routinely talks about 'women
empowerment' on Twitter, but never in a specific context. For him, it's always
been a calculative decision, not a sincere one, like was evident when he wrote an
open letter to his granddaughters, talking about women becoming victims of
patriarchy, just in time to coincide with the release of his
similarly-themed, Pink.
At a press conference
in Mumbai to promote his next film, Bachchan was asked about the horrifying
rapes in Unnao and Kathua that have rocked the nation. Almost the entire
industry (Anushka Sharma, Sonam Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Alia Bhatt) has condemned
the incident, with actors such as Rajkummar Rao, Patralekha, Swara Bhaskar,
producer Ekta Kapoor joining protests demanding swift action from the
establishment against the atrocities. However, when it came to Bachchan, he
said,
"Even discussing this issue feels disgusting, don't bring up this
issue. It is terrible to even talk about it." Ironically, he is the
brand ambassador of the government's 'BetiBachao, BetiPadhao' campaign.
That, most certainly makes him accountable, at least as far as having a
nuanced, complex response is concerned. Here's when he's
bailed on other occasions:... read more:
An ex-CM commits suicide in 2016, alleging corruption in the high judiciary - no probe. A senior judge in a case involving a political heavyweight dies a mysterious death. His family thinks it might be murder & India's pliant media covers it up. What Does the SC Judges’ protest mean for this situation?
NB: Between 1939 and 1941, some 100,000 German men, women and children (prisoners, mental cases, alcoholics), were killed by a group of German doctors under the direction of Dr Werner Heyde, neurologist, at the University of Wurzburg. The means used were lethal injections, poison gas and starvation. Some of the doctors had written false death certificates and co-operated with the authorities to keep the actions a secret. These persons were tried in 1960 in a Hamburg court, and acquitted on grounds of being unaware of the illegality of their actions. One of their elder colleagues had this to say of them: It is true they have a head but its too close to their arse, because they have no backbone: Paraphrased from J P Stern, The Fuhrer and the People, 1992; p 192. DS