By: Subhash K. Jha,
IndiaFM Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Ask the intrepid Mahesh Bhatt if he's cowed down by the terrorist threat he received on Friday, and the prompt answer is, "It's nothing but a cowardly act of an aspiring goon. He wants to intimidate me by terrorizing my daughter. This is a sorry reflection of the times we live in. Does the fearless expression of our belief lead to this?"
Mahesh says he and his daughter won't stop making a socially conscious film like
Dhoka. "I like to speak up about the persecuted people, and I'll continue to do so in my films and outside them. I've spoken about the Kashmiri Pundits and faced the wrath of Kashmiri militants. I've spoken about the brutal murder of Khwaja Yunus in custody and faced the consequences. Listen, we all want the world to be a better place but are not willing to take a stand. It's time to go beyond rhetorics and translate your values into action."
However Mahesh says including his daughter in the threat net has made a difference. "Now I don't just fear for my own life. Threatening my brother and daughter who don't have anything to do with my social concerns, is a cunning ploy to muzzle me. But Pooja is unfazed. She has inherited some of my traits. She has written to the Prime Minister, the National Minority Commission and Human Rights Commission. If merely making a movie about the minorities is going to make her vulnerable to a bullet, how can we hope to deliver justice to that community? The freedom to address her indignance so fearlessly to the State is possible on India."
He feels the attempt to terrorize him is a warning against touching certain sensitive issues in films. "This is a cunning way of telling me not to touch communally sensitive subjects like
Dhoka. This is what alarms me. This is censorship beyond the official censorship. If the terror network succeeds in reining-in themes like
Dhoka then our film industry will continue with 'safe' themes."
Strangely the alleged gangster made no direct extortion threats to Mahesh Bhatt. "The money was only an after-thought. He didn't mention money to my maid or daughter. During one incoherent conversation with my servant he told my staffers to flee from the office because their boss is going to die. There he mentioned money. He has never spoken to me although everybody has my number. I'm so accessible to the world. Why hasn't this individual called me directly? Never in my life have I received any extortion calls from anyone. My brother was asked for money way back in 1997. Maybe this individual is trying to terrorize other business persons by pretending to get money from me. I think he should be treated with contempt."
Mahesh remains unfazed. "I'm further emboldened. I'll speak my mind even more vociferously. If speaking up for my fellow human beings make me a target, so be it. I'm ready to face the outcome."
The calls started coming in the morning on Friday. But Mahesh was asked to keep quiet so as not to give the accused any publicity. "But then the goon went on air because television channels find such people attractive for the TRPs. Then I had to speak up. Otherwise my silence would've been construed for possible guilt. The intention of the individual is to stigmatize me so that whenever I stand up for a particular community motives will be attributed to me each time."
Amidst this bleak babble of bullying Mahesh Bhatt got a warm call from
Sanjay Dutt. "Sanju was very concerned about me. I told him I'm as concerned about him. The ghosts of 1992-3 hover over both our heads in different ways."
Tags: mahesh bhatt, dhoka, sanjay dutt.
