Students, We Need To Talk About Your Glorification Of 'Heroes'

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[{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1502267646611","data":"The glorification of actors to the point that they're seen as gods is something I've never been able to fully understand. Growing up with people around me who seemed to like a particular movie and exactly how macho the  'hero' was in that movie, which was apparently enough to form an emotional and personal connection with someone who didn't even know of their existence. This was my first stark difference between the children I grew up with: everyone had their flavour, their favourite 'hero', and I was the freak show that thought they were all dumb for liking someone just because they happened to twirl their moustache just right and said the right dialogues.<\/p>Because that is what the movie industry, the Telugu Film Industry more specifically since Bollywood seems to be adapting, is these days. A bit of makeup and movie magic to make yesteryear's has-been actors look young (and of course, failing spectacularly), with the same rehashed plot that solely exists to be filled by the actor's ego and give room for the actor to stand his ground and issue powerful dialogue written for them by their betters. <\/p>Of course, Bollywood is no stranger to massive ego trips, just take a look at the recent SRK produced and starring Jab Harry Met Sejal. The entire movie can only be described as a stroke to the 'King' Khan's ego, despite the fact that he plays a 37-year-old deeply sad man, but I digress. <\/p>Dhanya Rajendran, an editor with The News Minute, tweeted on August 4th that she couldn't stand even the first half of Jab Harry Met Sejal and that even Vijay's Sura had been bearable until the interval, which is when she left. Now, I need you to understand that Sura released 7 years ago, but that didn't stop Dhanya from being a victim of targeted abuse by the 'fans' of actor Vijay. <\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1502269476205","data":"598ad09c86dbe"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1502269509896","data":"This seemingly innocuous tweet was treated as a personal affront to the very lives of those who call themselves fans of the actor, so much so that they carried out a targetted campaign of harassment. Now, I do not intend to censor anything that was said to her: being in the public eye is stressful enough, but being a woman who simply dares to have an opinion (gasp, I know) in public is a whole different ball game. Take a look at the targeted abuse fans of Vijay put her through. <\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1502269661740","data":"598ad15457627"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1502269664303","data":"598ad16855acf"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1502269714477","data":"If you think there was nothing wrong with what Dhanya was put through, or even if you believe that what was said to her is not okay, but normal because fans are not exactly known to be smart, then you're part of the problem. Perhaps I'm being a little too accusatory and direct here, but the fact that one thinks such kind of sexual harassment is normal in itself is a failure of their education and displays a profound lack of empathy that, to be fair, the entire country seems to be missing in some issues. <\/p>What happened with Dhanya Rajendran is merely the tip of the iceberg. We've all heard about the fights between the refuse of society about which hero is better, there are entire pages dedicated to 'trolling' an actor they do not like. Their criteria for not liking a 'hero' is not their acting prowess or their ability to be nuanced with the emotions shown on the screen, but something as asinine as 'this actor is from another caste as mine,' or 'I don't like his face.' <\/p>Nowhere else in the world will you find such rabid fanboyism. Crazy fans have existed for celebrities across the world, but no other country on the planet normalises actor worship as much as India does. America does have their obsession with the Kardashians, god knows why they're still around, the Jersey Shores and other similar shows, but it simply cannot be compared to the fans of the actors here. Rabid would be the understatement of the century. <\/p>But more disturbing than the rabid worship of their favourite 'hero' is their reaction to the people who criticise them. Being from a privileged family affords me certain firewalls to stop sexist slurs against me. However, my mother and sisters are not spared the rape threats of the fans. The sad and sick reality of the fact that the fans threatening me, a man, with the rape of the women in my life is no coincidence: this is a society that still places value on a woman's 'honour', and from this society come the scum of the earth that sees toxic masculinity on the screen and decide, then and there, that they must defend it with their lives, no matter the cost. <\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1502270552736","data":"598ad7763180a"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1502270554687","data":"Your heroes are not gods, they're businessmen who know that their audience has no ambition for movies that challenge them to look at their surroundings in new light, businessmen who know that a slightly original story would be wasted upon the masses who merely want to see their 'hero' be masculine on the screen, which has come to mean delivering powerful dialogue, objectifying and stalking women and beating people up. <\/p>Some of the heroes of today are not even actors, Shah Rukh Khan is a fantastic actor but he is much more comfortable being a star than an actor by his own admission, and thus we get a movie like Jab Harry Met Sejal. Salman Khan, the less I say about him, the better. He is straight up not an actor, the man cannot act to save his own life, he is an entertainer through and through even though the kind of people that find him entertaining makes me worry for them, and yet they have legions of fans. SRK, I can understand, he has what it takes, just has a bit of an ego problem, the other Khan not so much. <\/p>I've always wondered how hollow and sad one's life must be to dedicate themselves to the extent of religious worship of actors with bigger egos than Mount Everest. Actors who only seem to do formulaic movies with no intent of improving because 'fans won't accept'. Make no mistake, I put the blame on the current state of the industry solely on the shoulders of the fans with no ambition to watch and demand better movies, but the blame for what happened with Dhanya Rajendran, I place on society, on the normalisation of stalking and rape threats. The movie industry is merely a giant looking glass at the rot that infects our society, filled with rabid fans and actors who have no interest in taming the monsters they have created.<\/p>"}]

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