In an article on Chindu today:
That's it, the entire article. Now there were long winded stories when the original issue broke out with interviews with Shabana (the witch) Azmi, Mahesh Bhatt, the long sermons about how intolerant Indian society is and so on. Now he comes back and says there's no discrimination. So why shout from the rooftops that you were being denied a house? Where is the media's journalistic instincts to put him on the spot for wrongful comments against a particular group?
Actor Emraan Hashmi, who had alleged that he was denied a flat by a housing society because he is Muslim, claimed there was no discrimination , and the controversy arose because of a “miscommunication.”
That's it, the entire article. Now there were long winded stories when the original issue broke out with interviews with Shabana (the witch) Azmi, Mahesh Bhatt, the long sermons about how intolerant Indian society is and so on. Now he comes back and says there's no discrimination. So why shout from the rooftops that you were being denied a house? Where is the media's journalistic instincts to put him on the spot for wrongful comments against a particular group?
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8 comments:
these ppl take Hindus for granted. they even use Hinduism to get cheap publicity by making derogatory remarks its followers.
The best part was that there are already muslims residing in that housing society complex which no one in the media bothered to verify before adding their voice to Hashmi's allegation.
"Miscommunication". LOL!
Deshabhakta's satirical blog is very funny on this topic... i recommend that to all :)
- Sudhir
or he has been browbeaten by f.i.r. filed against him to retracting
Puzzle resolved:
http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/08/13/stories/2009081350730100.htm
Reluctant hero
Emraan Hashmi tells ZIYA US SALAM his silence has been misread
The other day noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said, “Silence has dangerous implications”. Little did he know his words will come back to haunt his nephew Emraan Hashmi, now in the middle of a controversy he probably never meant to stoke up. Some media personnel had asked Emraan at a press conference if he still stuck to his stand in the now famous Pali Hill controversy where he accused the Nibaana Housing Society of not letting him buy an apartment in the Society because he was a Muslim! Emraan pondered a while, kept his counsel, stating he would wait for the judgement of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission.
But the damage had been done as the word went out that Emraan was going back on his allegations of religious discrimination. Emraan though is sticking to his stand. Reiterating his faith in the Commission’s judgement, Emraan says, “It is absolutely baseless to say I have backtracked on my statement. Whatever I said to the media earlier I repeated to the commission. I have reason to believe that discrimination has taken place. Unfortunately, at places the issues has been politicised. I am okay with the verdict as I am looking at a peaceful resolution of the whole problem. The news report that I have taken back my allegations was damaging. I want to set the record straight. People have misread meaning in my silence.”
His niche
The reel hero who has been a regular in his uncles Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt’s films and carved his own niche as a passionate romantic guy, is now all set to be a real life hero. Maybe willy-nilly, but by going public with his allegations of discrimination at social level, he has expressed the anguish of people denied accommodation because of being Muslims, or even belonging to certain parts of the country or even nurturing certain food habits! Though Emraan has found a lot of support in cyberspace, he has found very little support from the industry. He is neither disappointed nor surprised.
“I had raised my voice not expecting support. If I have got support from common people it is good enough. Even if I did not get support from somebody in the film industry, it is fine. In response to whatever has been reported in the media about the Khans, all I can say is, if it has not happened to Salman or Shah Rukh Khan it does not mean it does not happen. And if it has happened to me it does not mean either that it has to happen to everybody. I am speaking as an individual, not as a representative of the industry.”
But didn’t Mahesh Bhatt hint at birth of the real hero even if the reel hero has to recede?
“I see no reason why it should impact my film career. I stood up for what is right. I should be allowed to speak up on an issue that affects me.”
Raising a voice
The young man caught in the crossfire between people accusing him of causing communal disharmony and those finding an echo of their problems, clears the air. “Discrimination of any kind is wrong. The whole thing has got blown out of proportion. I am prepared to go by the Commission’s verdict. People are pointing fingers saying I am trying to ruin communal harmony. Or I might have rubbed some people the wrong way. All this is rubbish. If people don’t talk loudly about the discrimination in all forms and manner, it does not mean everything is fine.”
So, does he see himself as the hero of the faceless, voiceless multitudes, the guy from the North-east who finds it tough to rent a house in Delhi, the bearded Muslim not welcome in parts of Gujarat, the non-vegetarians in many parts across the country, the thread-wearing Hindus in parts of Delhi and Lucknow?
Umm. Emraan maintains his silence. Again. Then mutters, “Discrimination of any hue is wrong”. The reluctant hero is here.
Deshbhakta,
Thanks for your comments.
Sudhir,
The whole saga is a sad joke played on the public.
Psuedosufi,
One would really like Emraan to go to prison for raking up a non-issue.
But he probably will not, so there goes it..
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