The most eventful thing to happen to me last week was a passionate debate on WhatsApp with a group of old friends. What started the debate was what starts most debates in the country these days- news about Kangana Ranaut. Of late, the media has been highlighting news about Kangana Ranaut talking on drug abuse, cartels, and nepotism in the Hindi film industry. In her discourse, she has also been personally attacking others in the industry.
During our debate, some of my friends hailed her for speaking out. And there were few who did not agree with how Ms. Kangana Ranaut spoke on national news channels. I was one of the latter. I found the personal nature of her comments distasteful. But I was outnumbered. Most of my friends thought that there was a lot of truth and relevance in the issues she was raising.
Perhaps it was the sting of invalidation, but I could not stop thinking about the topic for days. As time passed though, my outlook did turn more impersonal and more balanced (or so I like to think). This post of mine is to share that outlook with you.
Why Ms. Kangana Ranaut Finds So Much Support?
I kept thinking about why only a few of my friends shared my agitation against the vitriol of Ms. Kangana Ranaut. Why were so many people rallying in her support on social media too? The answer had actually already been given during our debate. Some of my friends had experienced struggles or loss of opportunities in their own lives. They had lost out on admissions in coveted colleges after putting in years of hard work. All because of quotas for specific castes or paid seats. That was the reason, they said, that they could relate to Ms. Ranaut’s complaints about nepotism.
It occurred to me later why nepotism hadn’t mattered to me. I actually didn’t share my friends’ experience because of having ended up in a law college. I was fortunate for not having had to face the competition for getting into a good medical or engineering college.
My Experience Being Privileged
But with this realization of my good fortune, the memory of a different experience of my own came back to me. At law college, we were supposed to take viva voce exams besides written tests. Examiners in these oral exams were usually eminent academicians invited from other colleges. During one of the exams, I was being questioned by a professor who had come down from a reputed law college in Delhi.
He started by asking where I was from. When I told him that I came from the same city as our college was in, he assumed that I was a day-scholar. I told him that I was not. He was surprised. I had to explain to him that my house was quite far from the college. My parents thought it may be better for me that I live in a hostel on the campus. This somehow worked the examiner up. He said that I was too privileged. I had parents who were throwing money after me and so I had no sense of responsibility. Perhaps to prove his theory to himself, he asked me some pretty difficult questions of law. I came out of the exam room totally defeated.
The after effect
Since then I had remembered this incident grudgingly. I never quite understood why the professor was so judgmental about my personal circumstances.
Now, I did look back at this incident in a different light. I speculated that this professor too may have struggled hard to reach the place he was at. Perhaps he too grudged me, or ‘privileged’ people like me.
The ‘Privileged’ Perspective
So now that I probably understood his context, did I find his assessment of me fair? Not really. I still thought that his unfortunate experiences were not reason enough for him to look down upon me. Yes, I did have it easier than many because of being born to parents who could have afforded the resources they did. But for that, I did not deserve to be persecuted.
“Privilege is relative and contextual.”
Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist:Essays,“Peculiar Benefits”,Olive Editions, 2017
We are all more privileged than someone else. The professor too was privileged to be highly educated. Many people in our country are still illiterate. Also, if he did face challenges in his journey, he could now use his position to make people aware of them. It was actually upon him to now make efforts to bring about parity.
What purpose was lashing out on any individual going to serve anyway? Was I going to leave the hostel and go back to commuting the distance every day? All this, so that no one complains that I got unearned privileges? I was not. No one in my place does. Because there is nothing to be gained in it. A much better course for me would be to make efforts to bring more resources to those who lacked them. But the problem was that with his attack on me, the professor had already alienated me from the real issue.
Why Ms. Kangana Ranaut’s Approach Is Flawed
My thoughts went back to Ms. Kangana Ranaut. I recalled that she had first raised the issue of nepotism and the struggles of ‘outsiders’ in 2017. This was on the now-famous episode of Koffee With Karan. From her accounts, it does seem that she has gone through some tough experiences in her industry. I cannot pretend to completely understand what that feels like, but I empathize with her.
All the same, I believe she is doing a disservice to herself and others like her by holding grudges against people. In the last 3 years, no good seems to have come out of it. Here we are in 2020, still discussing the same topic. We haven’t made any real progress or concrete change to show for it. When the majority of the populace feels that Ms. Ranaut is raising valid issues, why are no solutions in sight?
How You Can Do Better and Still Make The News, Ms. Kangana Ranaut
At the risk of sounding preachy, I would suggest to Ms. Ranaut to take a leaf from Mahatma Gandhi. Take the high road. Be the change she wants to see in the world. Aim for ‘non-violence’ in her words.
Ms. Ranaut can raise awareness about the challenges outsiders face in Bollywood. She can tell her story. And she can do this without sharing her low opinion about this star kid’s looks or that one’s talent. That serves no purpose apart from giving a vent to her personal grudges. She should drop the personal affronts, and try to take up the cause at a higher level. She can have even more of an effect if she stops alienating the ‘privileged ones’.
Ms. Kangana Ranaut clearly has the ear of the current political dispensation at the Centre. She should use her clout to start government-aided programs to launch outsider talent. Lobby with her friends in Bollywood to contribute to these programs. Ask filmmakers to make real commitments to those talent hunt shows on TV. What the contestants on those shows seek is an opening into Bollywood. More so than praise or a kiss or hug from a celebrity. As the media loves all news about Kangana Ranaut, she should get the media to publicize these efforts. The media can do better too.
And In The End…
Anyone who comes up the hard way has a choice to make. Ms. Kangana Ranaut does too. She can choose positivity. She can collaborate with her peers who achieved success faster. They can all get together to make the road smoother for those who come after them. In the process, she can earn the respect of her audience as well as her peers. Ms. Kangana Ranaut can become the news for all the right reasons. It’s a win-win proposition.
Or she can choose to hang on to her grudges.
Yes, Ms. Ranaut should avoid putting personal stories at the front all the time. I do agree. People do start with personal experiences as those are the only benchmarks that they have at their disposal to measure good or bad. But as one evolves, so should the benchmarks – sympathy to empathy to compassion.
But in the same vein, established actors of the industry who come from privilege should also speak up on matters that do not serve their agenda. A change can be spearheaded from both sides. Not that it really matters but for a country of a gullible billion, an actor is what it takes to drive home a point!
I hope for a better and less chaotic world with a real vision and better role models. Lights, BRAIN, action!
P.S: I am sure that Prof of yours must have had a lousy day :-d
Well said Asha. Hope your hope gets fulfilled.
I agree with ‘starting with personal experiences’. I start there too. I would say that’s the only place to start. I just don’t see personal stories and personal attacks as interdependent.
Regarding others speaking up, I am not sure if everyone’s cut out for that. But someone who is, like Kangana, can definitely put that skill to good use.