We human beings have a cruel sense of humour. We always tend to laugh at the most sensitive of issues, at someone's misery or someone's shortcomings. It is no wonder that most of our jokes are about physically or mentally challenged people who have no control over these unfortunate circumstances.
The humour in our entertainment has been replete with such sequences. It is very rare to see comic moments in movies that do not in any way ridicule any kind of people, race or religion. An excellent instance of a deviation from the normal, cruel and often extremely derogatory jokes was the movie Rang De Basanti. It had several light moments that may not have cracked you up, but definitely would have made you laugh. Situational comedy is a lost art in our media now.
In our very dear DMG, I have always been slightly miffed with the entire Sister Lovely-Atul track. However the person may be placed in terms of appearance, stature or intellect, the emotions are as real and as intense of those who maybe better situated in terms of the superficial standards of the world!! In that vein, it is indeed very obnoxious to use an overweight, albeit nice person, and her feelings to invoke laughter among a group of people who think obesity is worthy of ridicule. Why have I not spoken against this politically incorrect sense of humour is because I too made an error in judgment, dismissing it as an ancillary story line that need not get too much importance.
But now the use of Atul's feelings for Anjali in a similar manner is pushing my buttons too far!! True, Atul may not score the same as Anjali on a suaveness meter, she is debonair, confident, a woman of the classes. He, on the other hand, is a cute, adorable guy, of(f) the masses, who lacks the chic finish and polish of Anjali. He lacks confidence, thinks local road side cuisine is perfect for a date, while she shirks even Chinese food and prefers the more socially sophisticated Italian palate.
I am definitely not assigning merit to either character. But in defence of Atul he is emotionally twice the person Anjali is. Sensitive, caring and definitely more aware, he does not deserve this portrayal of a bumbling fool, aiming too high with his love and ardor.
Aren't 'disadvantaged' people as prone to real emotions as the rest of us? Is the pain and longing of Lovely or Atul any less than what the more socially, intellectually and visually privileged feel? Love is a visceral feeling which biologically and emotionally elicits identical responses in whoever has had the pleasure or misfortune of experiencing it. It is a chemical reaction not very different from a hunger response or a reaction to pain.
Why is the love of those who fit our moulds of the stereotypical hero and heroine more significant or more worthy of solemn treatment, while that of the others relegated to something worse than negligence (which by me is still acceptable) like ridicule. Are we that starved as an intelligent, conscientious, thinking people that we need such cruel forms of humour?
A point to ponder….
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