Shall we Dance, Big Brother?

Truckers, encores and more: a macho superstar who played the most famous trucker in Indian cinematic history, a dusky beauty who became the victim of a racial taunt and the darling of an apologetic civilisation, a Hollywood dreamboat whose charm and charisma can still seduce grandmoms, grand daughters and most entities female and even remotely human. A cause celibre, spreading awareness about a virus that kills without discrimination and a kiss. The kiss that sealed it all, these Orwellian vanguards of culture they confess to champion (and fail to understand) burnt effigies and shouted slogans in protest. While Indian women are repeatedly gang raped and brutally killed, lovers paraded naked and hung from trees, the foreign tourists of the fairer sex are molested, cheated, ravished and murdered, there is not even a murmur of protest from the champions of culture. These worthies have the time and energy for the innocuous peck on a more than willing Shilpa Shetty as Richard Gere tangoed with her in the presence of a wildly cheerful audience, who went home after a pleasantly memorable evening.

Gere, the star of Hollywood blockbusters like Pretty Woman, Chicago and Shall We Dance, had come to India at his expense for the notable cause of spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS in India, home to by far the world’s largest HIV infected population. Truckers, one of the most vulnerable groups were to be the main beneficiaries of the event, where the kiss stole the show taking the limelight away from more serious issues at hand.


The antics of the moral police would be a laugh riot, if they were not of such nuisance value.

As supermodel Indrani Das Gupta exclaimed, “It’s ridiculous to see the reaction to that episode! The hue and cry created is weird!” If the honour of Indian women was due to the besmirched public display of affection by Richard Gere, a mere dekko at their mirror images would do them good. Dancing girls and starlets regularly shimmy and shake to make the stageshows rock in favour of multifarious political parties. Yet, their loyal supporters, hypocrites to the core, blow matters out of proportion over a harmless kiss!



“Richard Gere’s intentions cannot be doubted, they are positive and absolutely fine. Ninetynine percent of India is civilised, modern and democratic and because a fringe group blows the issue out of proportion, it is not representative of the character of the entire nation,” actor Anupam Kher told TSI. Rohit Bal reiterated that, “It is trivial and stupid to even talk about it!”

Being on the road for weeks, Indian truckers indulge themselves with multiple partners at the cost of a mere Rs 50-Rs 100. It is estimated that half a million of India’s HIV infected are truckers. Regrettably, most are wary of using condoms and others are ignorant of its significance. Need we mention that unaware of the lethal virus they carry, they go home to their wives and the inevitable occurs…

The moral police in our country should remember that India is the land of the Khajuraho and Kamasutra, and is also as inspired by the Gita as it is by the ras leela. The conservative nature of our culture is nothing but a residual legacy of Mughal and Victorian prudery. That Richard Gere came to India to help a noble cause and had to face the ignominy of such futile ire, is a source of embarrassment for the rest of India.

If one thinks about it, who cares about who was kissed who, unless of course there’s AIDS involved . . .