Amrita Rao defends Bollywood and item numbers after media has raised a question mark against the provocative dance numbers in films.
It’s been far too long that a section of the media have raised a question mark against item numbers in films. They are saying that item numbers provoke men to commit rapes in India.
Though I haven’t been a part of a single item song myself , I choose to protest against this opinion.
Before I launch into any kind of reasoning, I want to make it very clear that I am mortified with what happened to the photo-journalist in the heart of my Mumbai city.
I feel better for her when she chooses to fight her ordeal bravely and get back to normal life. But I fear that her positive attitude and her belief in Nari Shakti might now not be misunderstood by our government who will continue to believe that women of this country are ready to be raped and then move on with their lives.
I’m sure this photo-journalist girl is lucky to be born in a family where she got all the support.
1. There are many Indias within India
Let us also not forget that there are many Indias within India. The reality of the people and especially of the women belonging to these different Indias is drastically different from each other.
If the same girl was born in a remote part of India then she might have been ostracized from her village or would have never got marriage proposals for the rest of her life.
I wholeheartedly support the movement which aims at freeing this city from criminals who target women. Having made my stand clear, I want to talk about why people should stop ‘distracting’ themselves by blaming item numbers for what is happening around them.
2. Should item numbers be banned in an age and time of the internet and satellite television?
We are in 2013 and today even a paanwala or a rickshaw driver (you will be surprised) has either internet on his mobile phone or has access to a television which showcases world entertainment.
I have seen television sets glare out of the shanties or the so-called jhopdas on the streets of Mumbai. Do people need Indian item numbers to provoke a sexual urge in them when they have access to foreign channels on their TV sets where nudity is considered natural? Mumbai’s Dharavi: One of world’s largest slums.
Then by those standards, are we going to ban Indian newspapers from writing about foreign models and actresses because they are ready pose semi-nude at the drop of a hat? Going by that argument, photographs could also have the same perverse impact on a man’s psyche. Further do you think that every man who sees a Bollywood item song would want to rape a woman?
Think about it.
Who are these men who get ideas in their minds that give them the courage and confidence to rape a woman? Do you think these men belong to the same families as you and I? Did they go to school and learn moral science?
These men are a part of the larger reality of India. They belong to the majority that is parched and deprived. Their life is so deprived that they don’t have access to the basic facilities that a human needs to grow up with. They don’t have access to basic education for him to develop a sense of principle and value which makes him distinguish between right and wrong.
3. It’s time to focus about awareness and not item numbers Read More
*Disclaimer
We have not paid Soumyadipta Banerjee for this article and that we have picked this article from his blog at www.bollywoodjournalist.com.
