I read Amitabh Bachchan's letter to his grand-daughters y'day and my 1st thought was all that he's written has been said several times over and so, I found it a bit trite and...yeah, patronizing. Then I wondered why someone who has always guarded his personal space fiercely would go out there and put out a very personal and intimate letter to his grand-daughters. And then I remembered that his film Pink' (a woman-centric' film) is due for release. Then I figured he's the ambassador of the Beti Bachao' campaign. So, perhaps, this is all very veiled PR for the film or the campaign or both. Or, who knows, perhaps I'm just being extremely cynical and he's just a grand-dad reaching out to his grand-daughters (albeit over the internet, just in time for the release of his film!) *cynicism kicks in again*!!!!!
But, what got me is he references the legacy of their paternal grand-fathers, no mention of the legacy of the grand-mothers (who were strong, accomplished women) and certainly no mention of the legacies that come from the maternal side of the family. Does his letter reek of patriarchal undertones? Of course it does.
Bachchan-ji, I'm a somewhat' fan of yours. If you'd really thought about this letter (even if it was for a PR exercise), you could've created something really and truly powerful, perhaps acknowledging your patriarchal roots (heck, we've all been raised in patriarchal times and we are trying to shake it off, trying to effect changes in our thinking and how we raise our next generation)and perhaps acknowledging how you got Aishwarya Rai to marry a stone (or some such inanimate object...i can't remember) before she could marry your son. Perhaps, then, you could've created something path-breaking and something worthy of being called a legacy.
Instead, you've succumbed to a mediocre submission which looks pieced together from various sources and you try and peddle it to your audiences. I'm now a really disappointed somewhat' fan.
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