A string of episodes including the latest removal of Aamir Khan as brand ambassador of the Incredible India campaign point in this direction, say experts. Viveat Susan Pinto reports
If it wasn't for an right to information query, then actor Aamir Khan’s removal as the brand ambassador of Incredible India, central government’s popular tourism campaign, would never have seen the light of day.
At least not in the manner that it did earlier this week, with the government first denying and then confirming that the 50-year-old actor was no longer the campaign’s mascot.
But while the government was quick to replace him with veteran Amitabh Bachchan, Khan's ouster has raised a few questions: Is Bollywood the new battleground for political parties?
While Bollywood celebrities have in the past taken positions on either side of the political spectrum, this is the first time, say film experts, that the backlash has been fierce.
"I have not seen something like this since I began tracking Bollywood a few decades ago. If you have a point of view and it is not flattering to the government of the day, then you have to be ready to pay the price. That is the message that the Aamir Khan episode conveys, which is the latest in a series of events that have happened over the last few months. The worrying factor is that it is getting vitriolic, which was never the case earlier," says Komal Nahta, film critic, trade analyst and editor of Bollywood trade magazine Film Information.
Aamir's contemporary Shah Rukh, whose film Dilwale released last month following his comments on intolerance in November, suffered a revenue loss of Rs 25-30 crore thanks to a social boycott, Nahta said.
"This happened because views were so polarised. There was a feeling that he (Shahrukh) was speaking what he was because of his perceived closeness to a certain political party. It became ugly, which impacted his film," Nahta says.
Earlier, Bachchan found himself at the receiving end, notably, during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance, experts said. But some say that it was few and far between as opposed to now when the trend has been pronounced and fairly sustained.
"If you look closely there has been a pattern starting with the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as Film and Television Institute of India chairman, then the censoring of films by censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani, there have been episodes suggesting that Bollywood and politics appear to be getting increasingly mixed. I am of the view that wherever there is a mass following, politics will be there. And Bollywood celebrities attract that kind of mass following, which is why one is seeing this kind of a response," Kiran Khalap, founder of brand consultancy Chlorophyll said.
Santosh Desai, managing director and chief executive officer of brand consultancy Future Brands, says sharp reactions have been evoked in part due to social media.
"Twitter and facebook have given voice to a number of people, who didn’t have it earlier. The result is that perceptions are being formed instantly, which then leads to polarisation. My sense is that this could get worse as more people take to social media," Desai, also a commentator and social observer, says.
The mob fury then could get worse.
