Heroes on Screen! Villains Off it?

Actors in a silent fast protest at Chennai on 30th Sept (PTI photo)

The CM of Tamil Nadu and three of her close aides were convicted and sentenced to jail by a special court in Bengaluru on 27^th September in a case of disproportionate assets that dragged for 18 years with several twists and turns.

She was moved to Parappana Agrahara jail in Bengaluru on the same day. What happened later and on the day of the judgment is quite a disturbing and disappointing trend that is taking roots in the recent past in India. Thanks to Supreme Court intervention, good sense is forcibly being prevailed.

While it is the courts that will decide on the future of the jailed CM and her accomplices, there is an orchestrated movement to apply pressure on the Judiciary and also to disturb the social fabric of peace for the sake of one individual who is no bigger than the law. There is an attempt to channelise justice as desired by the vested interests.

There was disruption of peace not only in TN but also in some pockets of Karnataka abutting TN by the supporters of AIADMK. That did not end there. The more disturbing event happened when Tamil film actors staged a fast ‘silent’ protest in support of the jailed CM. It is ‘silent’ because they have nothing to say that is rightful. If they open their mouths, they have to speak the truth which may not be in the interest of the person in favour of whom they sat in fast protest. No wonder they preferred this ‘silent’ route.

If we looked at each one of these actors: they all became heroes on the screen and built larger than life image off the screen by playing roles that fought with the corrupt system. They were cheered for every dialogue and every time they landed a punch on the villains who in most films happened to be a government employee or one from the Ministers, Home or CM. The producers, directors and actors made millions of rupees just by producing, directing and acting in films that gave a sense of déjà vu to the poor viewers who in real life felt helpless to fight against the poor governance or the bad that was meted out to them. They saw themselves in each hero on the screen and developed a feeling that some of the heroes are part of their families and life. And here we have them, sitting in protest to support a corrupt leader who has amassed wealth that even a villain in the films will be put to shame. This is the first time that a sitting CM is convicted and jailed in the history of independent India. How will all these actors explain their support to such an individual? Are they saying that they should not be adored because they are not heroes but real life villains? Are they demonstrating that they support the bad elements in real life? What moral grounds do they have to act in such films even though it is just acting? Shouldn't they practice some of the good from the films they do in real life?

Adding salt to the wounds is the government machinery ‘motivated’ ‘dharnas’ and strikes. It is a hard core sycophant sitting in the CMs chair. He was not even met by the jailed leader citing some vague reason when he went to see her in the jail. It could be anybody's guess that he could have been given the task of using the government machinery to raise a huge wave of support so that normal life comes to a standstill and there is disruption of law and order which might motivate the judiciary to view the case in a favorable manner. Have we not seen such things in the same films in which these ‘great’ 'heroes' and 'actors' played?

Even a layman can make out that the new CM and his team has been given a clear target and ultimatum to firstly work on bringing out their leader on bail as it is partly in their hands as to how they can generate that kind of circumstances in the state. Reports suggest that they are doing their ‘best’.

Earlier a similar attempt was made by Bollywood. They disappointed us by trying to play a supporting role in bailing out and creating a consensus in his favor when Sahara group’s Chairman was jailed. They tried the same in a film hero’s case of illegal possession of arms. As the matter is being directly handled by the Supreme Court, lot of them backed out later.

Film personalities have been enjoying the favor of the masses and spreading their tentacles into politics once their GQ (Glamour Quotient) dips to irreversible lows to simply turn their mass appeal into money making political careers. It is time people stopped giving these filmy heroes any more value beyond the screens because off the screens they are less human than any of us and are not worth to be holding positions of service in the government or to get elected to Legislative positions.

The law should take its own course and should not be dictated by vested interests who are using their positions of popularity and power to create a God out of demon. May truth prevail and final victory be with people!