‘Live and let live’. This line might sound simple on many contexts. But seems like, the words are a bit too complex for a small fragment of the society to understand. Cinema is a creative art that has always been a matter of self-expression. The audience has always been the ‘king’ and hence, they have every right to criticize and express their disagreement against any form of content that they cannot relate to. However, the problem starts when all sorts of judgements and trolling start to happen in a premature manner without the artiste getting his or her share of opportunity. The problem lies when the very artiste gets subjected to humiliation and negativity on social media without even having had the platform to prove his or her mettle.
In this fast-paced digital world, a section of netizens have developed the knack of jumping the gun a bit too early and that’s where creativity takes a beating. Today, we are in this generation where actors get trolled for almost anything. From a famous superstar getting trolled because his son apparently got involved in a drug controversy to a leading ‘firang’ lady of B-Town getting trolled for marrying someone way younger than her, we have seen it all in the recent past. And now, the latest individual to be facing the brunt of trolls is Anushka Sharma for her portrayal of Jhulan Goswami.
Ever since the moment, Anushka dropped the first promo of Jhulan Goswami biopic, a section of netizens started to post hate comments against the actress. Suggestions came from all nooks and corners criticizing her ‘stereotypical’ Bengali accent. Not just that, there were also suggestions regarding why a ‘dusky’ Bengali actress who perhaps would look and sound similar like Jhulan wasn’t cast for the project. All said and done, the biggest question that arises here is very simple. Is the criticism even fair and necessary? What is the rush behind passing all sorts of judgements with just one announcement promo? Why hurry into dismissing things so easily?
Similar questions were also raised earlier when Priyanka Chopra essayed the role of Mary Kom, a boxing sensation from North-East or even when Kangana Ranaut played the role of South India’s respected ‘Amma’ aka Jayalalithaa. Even Farhan Akhtar was not spared as many felt a ‘Sikh’ should have played the character of late legendary athlete Milkha Singh in his biopic. All said and done, can we all take a moment to reflect back as to what happened after the criticism was done away with post the release of these movies? Priyanka, Kangana and Farhan, all three of them literally received applauds, whistles and hoots from the audience for their performances. Their hard work, discipline and efforts behind getting into the skin of the character was visible on the 70mm screen and at that point of time, nothing else mattered. Irrespective of their culture differences or geographical limitations, they managed to pull off stunners and that’s why, the appreciation was never-ending.
The point that needs to be taken into consideration here is that there’s no harm in the audience asking for realism in their content. Without any iota of doubt, each and every opinion should be respected. However, what needs to be answered is that since when did art of playing characters on-screen require physical resemblance or cultural similarities as a mandatory criteria?
Despite having no facial or cultural similarities, Priyanka, Farhan and Kangana did a phenomenal job in their biopic movies and such was their charm that these movies even gained recognition and prominence from the International film community. So if the likes of Farhan, Priyanka and Kangana can hit the bull’s eye with their performances, why can’t someone like Anushka who’s already delivered some impactful performances in the past? Why is it so difficult for the layman to understand that the very purpose of ‘acting’, ‘transformation’ and getting deep into the skin of a character gets defeated if we start casting actors for projects based on their physical and cultural similarities.
Yes, Anushka’s Bengali accent in the Jhulan Goswami biopic promo wasn’t the most convincing. But then, netizens seriously need to take a chill pill and wait for the film to release before giving out their final verdict. You simply never know what’s in store for you once the actual movie releases. As a ticket-paying audience, everyone has the right to criticize and not like a depiction. However, all we are trying to suggest here is that at least give the lady who’s making a comeback in movies after her maternity break a proper opportunity to showcase what she’s got before writing her off? In any case, we unfortunately tend to write off actresses in our society once they become a mother. Why not change this entire thought process with Anushka Sharma to start with readers?
Yes, you all can criticize. Yes, you can dismiss a type of content calling it all sorts of names. But, you can and you should do that only after watching it without having any preconceived notion. Let the movie release and then, we can all take a call on it after that certainly. Till then, more patience and tolerance please.