We really can't blame the public to look upto Bollywood to talk about pressing social concerns. After all, the industry has the power to be one of the biggest influencers in the country. However the idea of speaking about a social topic is like a double-edged sword - it can earn you both bouquets as well as brickbats. The same people who applauded Meryl Streep for talking against US President Donald Trump will ask you to leave the country if you talked about the current regime. Recently, actresses like Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhasker, Kareena Kapoor Khan received admiration as well as threats for making a stand against the Kathua and Unnao rapes. Many of the right wing Twitter users called their outrage selective and even asked people to boycott their movies.
So is this why Amitabh Bachchan felt too 'disgusted' to even talk about the issue when he was asked about it during the song promotion of 102 Not Out? When asked about what he felt about the Unnao and Kathua rape cases, Amitabh Bachchan was quoted as saying by ANI, ""Even discussing this issue feels disgusting, don't bring up this issue. It is terrible to even talk about it."
Interestingly, the legend is the face of the government's Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, so his reluctance to talk on this matter is disconcerting. it is not like Amitabh Bachchan has not spoken about this before; we have seen him tweet his outrage about various rape incidents (many of which were during the Congress regime, as certain Twitters users pointed out). He had even penned an open letter to his grand-daughter Navya Naveli during the eve of the release of PINK, that was about women's safety.
So can't blame the Twitter for wondering what is making Mr Bachchan to not talk about these burning issues. Check out some of the Twitter reactions below,
A gentle reminder of the past deeds!
"Please don’t ask me about this issue, as it disgusts me to talk about it" :Brand Ambassador of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. pic.twitter.com/1wfFR1Ssbt
— Unofficial Sususwamy (@swamv39) April 19, 2018
And these Tweets during movie release. pic.twitter.com/QRYX4L9Jrb
— Unofficial Sususwamy (@swamv39) April 19, 2018
Panama Shri? LOL!
"Its terrible to even talk about this in BJP Rule, Don't bring up this issues as in both the cases you know who was trying to save culprits." ~ Panama Shri (2018) pic.twitter.com/R0oHHvXnYd
— History of India (@RealHistoryPic) April 19, 2018
A pictorial depiction!
Look @SrBachchan is so tall but head so low. This how Mr. Ambassador is going to help solve the issues. pic.twitter.com/kMBDsFj75X
— Chef Ali Vaidya (@AuntyHindutva) April 19, 2018
'No means no' would have got him another round of applause!
Why so afraid to talk about what is wrong??
Pink me se atleast do lines kh dete. What's the benefit of doing such films then? https://t.co/MMqBa6AIC7
— shivani (@aliasshivani) April 19, 2018
A couple more PINK jibes!
Bring up these issues only when it goes with the theme of my film. I'll write open letters then. https://t.co/KzT3Tw82f9
— Reya (@that_girl_reya) April 19, 2018
When his movie Pink was coming out, all he did was talk about it. And now it's 'disgusting'. This is Bollywood for you. https://t.co/qWhUD7lI0B
— Ripper (@Ace_Of_Pace) April 19, 2018
Now it is upto Amitabh Bachan on how he wants to react to a particular issue, and he is perfectly in his rights to do so. But we do have to question his timing on when he opens up a bit more on talking about these serious concerns just when a relevant movie of his is about to release.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 19, 2018 03:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).