CHEAP TRICKS AT 53RD FILMFARE 2008

How many of you stayed glued to the TV on Sunday night watching Shahrukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan pull cheap tricks at all and sundry at the 53rd Fair One Filmfare Awards 2008? I did. Well, who can resist watching Shahrukh performing live? He does it so well, even pulling cheap tricks and being absolutely “crass and vulgar” (in his own words!). But Indian audience (well, for that matter any audience in the world) cannot resist our favorite actors on live TV. So I sat through and witnessed entertainment at its ethically worst, unless if we take it all very sportingly like Akshay Kumar did when he was called a very rude name by our classy Shahrukh in front of millions of audience. I wonder if it was all scripted and they took permission from Akshay that he would be called such a name at the ceremony. If that is the case then how far are we willing to take it in the name of entertainment? I don’t know about others, but I was embarrassed. But if the case is otherwise and our enterprising Shahrukh added his own little witty two lines about Akshay Kumar, then, I wonder if Akshay had a little tête à tête with Shahrukh after the awards function!

Television is the medium of mass culture, what we see on TV is a reflection of our culture, if that is so, then, we are a little wanting in decency and reserve. I don’t know why I was surprised but I was, when the trio (Shahrukh, Saif and our omnipresent Karan Johar) did a little skit about much hyped Saif-Kareena affair. Saif turning all shy and Shahrukh pulling-up Karan for calling “Kareena bhabi” “HOT” “HOT” “HOT”, just before Kareena Kapoor’s “hot” number in her teeny-weeny shorts. Now, her “hot” dance number was really nothing, by now we have accepted such skimpily-clothed, hip-jerking performances a usual at family shows like the Filmfare Awards function.

There was a saving grace though, when Rishi Kapoor was awarded the Lifetime Achievements Award and we witnessed his close knit family so happy and overwhelmed. It feels good to see on-screen romance becoming real-life one and surviving un-dented for so long. But why did they choose Dimple to hand-over the award to Rishi? Was it another cheap trick, considering their unrequited romance of the past? I mean there were great veterans like Ramesh Sippy and Yash Chopra present at the ceremony they could have been plausible choices!

All in all, it was entertainment and what we are ready to accept in its name is something we, the audience, have to decide. Every time we cross the thin line between crass and funny, we raise the threshold of indecency and then nothing is too indecent to mention!