What Hrithik-Kangana spat tells us about a changing Bollywood

In an earlier era, a heroine wouldn't dare to take on a superstar

Sixteen years ago, a green-eyed boy in a sheer black T-shirt sang about coming and leaving this world empty-handed. India swooned. Women went hysterical and a superstar was born. The perfection of Hrithik Roshan was a running theme that continued to loom over Bollywood for the next fifteen years. Much like that irritating neighbor's child who always came first, never disobeyed his parents and also excelled at athletics, Hrithik Roshan set a new gold standard for what a Bollywood superstar should be. He should look like an underwear model. He should act well. He should dance like a dream. He should churn out blockbusters. He should have the picture perfect family. He could have pedigree to boot as well. Like Raymond from the sitcom, Everyone Loved Hrithik.

Well, not everyone, as his recent feud with Kangana Ranaut proves. But this is not about schadenfreude. No one really needs to know details of the private lives of the rich and famous, and they are entitled to their privacy as much as you and I.

However, this particular spat is different. Most Bollywood gossip is inane and inconsequential. But this one is playing out entirely in the public domain, with tweets and legal notices. We have two huge stars and consenting adults fighting it out legally and the subtext is ground-breaking in its implication. In fact, risking grave cinematic blasphemy and the wrath of cinephiles, I would like to proclaim that as interesting as Airlift, Aligarh and Neerja were, this year the really interesting churn in the Hindi film industry is happening off-screen.

Sometime towards the end of January, Kangana Ranaut gave an interview to Pinkvilla.com where she responded to rumours that Hrithik Roshan had her dropped from Aashiqui 3 after their relationship soured with the statement: "Even a dumb ass can tell where these rumours are coming from. I don't know why exes do silly things to get your attention. For me that chapter is over and I don't dig graves." Basically, she shrugged and said, "Move on". This should have been the end of it, except there was a massive male superstar ego on the other side.

A bruised Hrithik took to Twitter to say: Ther r more chances of me having had an affair with d Pope dan any of d (Im sure wonderful)women d media hs ben naming. Thanks but no thanks.

That this whole episode has been precipitated by something so innocuous is just laughable but don't let the mangled English throw you off. That tweet is classic Old Bollywood. Entitled. Quick-to-take-offense. Whiny. And male. And it is a perfect revelation of how coddled and thin-skinned A-list male superstars are when they are stripped of minders and image managers who watch over them like hawks. So hurrah for Twitter for giving us a scandal truly tailor-made for these times of social media. And hurrah for Ranaut who's been making something of a habit of routinely puncturing Bollywood norms.

Of course, because over-reaction is the name of the game, Roshan didn't stop at the tweet. He also sent her a legal notice, asking her to retract the "silly ex" comment and submit an unconditional apology. Which brings us to the second amazing thing about this episode.

The fact that Kangana Ranaut is fighting back. This would never happen a decade ago when a heroine's career would have been too dependent on "goodwill". She would have shut up. Or given a couple of more interviews and gone back crying to her entourage with what is left of her 'reputation'. But not anymore.

Ranaut countered Roshan's first legal notice saying that at no point did she actually say that the silly ex in question was Hrithik, leading to another backlash. Roshan filed a complaint alleging that he never had a relationship with Ranaut and that someone impersonated him by creating a fake email id and corresponded with Kangana.

Since then Ranaut has refused to be 'summoned' by the Mumbai Police and has hit back with her own complaint accusing the actor of circulating her images without her consent. As the accusations and counter-accusations pile up, the end looks nowhere in sight but hopefully some good comes out of all the dirty linen that is being aired and Bollywood learns that s**t-shaming is no longer acceptable and maybe it's healthier to get over a breakup like the rest of us. By heading to the nearest pub. Or swiping angrily on Tinder.