The silver screen sparks

Bollywood star Aamir Khan's statement on intolerance has opened a can of worms. The debate on whether celebrities should be careful while making statements or speak their mind continues in full swing on social media. Meanwhile, ‘Metrolife’ interacted with a host of celebrities on the statements of people in public life and the accountability that comes with the larger-than-life status they enjoy.

Bollywood star Raveena Tandon, who was one of the earliest to speak on the issue, points out that history is replete with instances of people making statements and others reacting with counter-statements.

“I think the people of this country have finally woken up and are alert to what is happening and have come out of the ‘chalta hai’ attitude. They have begun to look at the concept of diversity with a more open mind,” she says.  She also feels that celebrities must always lead by example and conform to certain set standards when making a statement in public. 

Sonu Sood says that curtailing the right to freely express one’s point of view is not the right thing to do in a democracy like ours. Those who have the power and influence to shape people’s opinion must do so with a lot of responsibility.

“Public figures are not really free to openly express their views and share their perspectives. Yes, there must be a lot of responsibility when celebrities put across their point of view. Sometimes, they tend to speak in an emotional tone and the whole thing gets misinterpreted and takes a different form altogether,” he explains.

Sonu hastens to add that celebrities mustn’t be scared to express their views and remain silent. “It is important to speak your mind and be open about what you feel but it must be done with a lot of caution,” he adds.

India is more diverse than any other country in the world. It is the sheer diversity that attracts different nationalities to come here just to experience it, according to actor-director Ramesh Aravind.

Stating that India is indeed a tolerant nation, he says, “Considering the diversity
we have, we are quite a tolerant country. The stray cases of intolerance need
to be dealt with severely and nipped in the bud and people must do everything that they can to mend the torn parts.”

Ramesh wonders why people don’t pause to ponder over the statements or the remarks made by those in public life. He wonders why there is an unnecessary rush to misconstrue or read beyond the statement.

“Many times the statements have unintended consequences. A remark goes out
of proportion and often puts the person who has said it in a fix. It’s important to
understand and differentiate if the statement was intended to hurt or otherwise,”
he feels.

Filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli strongly believes that people in public life are in some ways the conscience-keepers of the society and must not only be guarded when they speak but must be extremely responsible. People must be both accountable and responsible for their actions and words.

“It is more important to understand the cause behind the statements and the
context in which it was made. Public figures are always at the risk of being misquoted or misinterpreted. This is where the danger lies,” feels Girish.