B-towners are swearing like never before – is Aamir Khan to blame?
The perfectionist Khan was touted as the game changer after his film Delhi Belly got away with linguistic murder, leading the way for other films like Shahrukh Khan’s RA.One to elude the Censor Board’s vigilant eyes
The Censor Board has always been blamed for being partial towards films that starred the Khans or were were made by influential production houses like Yash Raj Films. This means that some of what is normally not looked on favourably by the pundits of correctness is allowed to go through to the big screen, without any watchdogs watching out for it. Consider Shahrukh Khan’s latest superhero film RA.One – the character played by Kareena Kapoor is doing a thesis on Indian swear words, despite the fact that it is a film aimed at children. In the Rockstar promo, Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri are heard flinging swearwords at each other. Govinda’s latest film Loot is under the scanner; he is seen mouthing double meaning dialogues in the comic caper. This sudden rise in the use of swearwords in Bollywood films is being credited to Aamir Khan, who set off the trend with his home-production, Delhi Belly. During the promotional activities of the film, Aamir never lost a single opportunity to employ the cloaked version of a profanity. Perhaps that encouraged other filmmakers to liberally use abusive language in their films, something we can only speculate on. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has said, “All of a sudden the moralities of the audience flew right out of the window just because it was an Aamir Khan film. For me, Delhi Belly is a game-changer because it has extended the moral boundary of society. It makes our lives as filmmakers easier, because now we have a precedent. I think Aamir is the real revolutionary, rather than me.” We aren’t sure how happy Aamir would be hearing these words of wisdom, but kids are surely going to pick up bad words at the cinema in the coming times. And we could swear to that one!
First Published: 11.00 AM IST 11.02.2011
Stuart
Posted at 12:19 PM on September 6, 2012
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Sanjeev
Posted at 2:26 PM on November 2, 2011
Aamir’s film was an A rated film unlike SRK’s U-rated Ra One! And profanity has been there in films since ages. Don’t forget Kareena’s abuse-a-thon in Jab We Met and Golmaal 3! Why blame only Aamir? At least he doesn’t insert such elements in mainstream films and honestly warns audience beforehand and only seeks A certificate for films that have profanity.
AJIT
Posted at 5:42 PM on November 2, 2011
U R RIGHT SANJEEV