Twenty-three-year-old Laishram Devraj Singh from Imphal hasn't heard of Munni or Sheela. But you ask him about Ku Hye-sun, he is so familiar with the South Korean actor-director's oeuvre that he can name all the films by her. There are many like Laishram in this northeastern province, who live a life without Bollywood, thanks to a blanket ban on Hindi movies and television channels throughout the state for a decade and a half now by a militant outfit.
But Manipur has been talking Hindi film of late as a biopic on the state's proudest daughter, Mary Kom, is soon to be released with Priyanka Chopra in the lead role. While some are eagerly awaiting the release, others are holding the makers in the line of fire for choosing a "mainstream" Bollywood actor for the lead role and not someone from the northeast. Over and above the question of looking similar and speaking the same accent, people of the northeast are finding a clear politics of prettiness at work here. The social media is abuzz with posts and comments for denying the northeast a chance to represent itself.
"Was Priyanka, a Punjabi and former Miss World, chosen because someone from our province may not look Indian enough to attract the audience all over the country? Then, all the business of Priyanka needing to use prosthetic eyelids and extensive make-up to look "deglamourized" enough to play Mary Kom is a slight, first of all to the athlete, and in a broad sense to the physical features of people of the northeast. This is clearly racist," says N Joykumar Singh, a student of Manipur Institute of Technology.
This assumes significance because representation in the media is hugely important in today's world. And the northeast is one region which is hardly ever depicted in popular culture, except through some cliched stereotypes. The general feeling is that casting Priyanka Chopra and the makers of the film going to town about how she managed a deglam look will only perpetuate the already mucked up standards of beauty, of which the northeasterners are a victim. "People from the northeast are abused today in New Delhi and elsewhere because they are still considered an 'other'. Such attitude will be encouraged by the film which seems to be sending out the message loud and clear: If you do not want to be harassed, look mainstream," says Ever E F Sancley, a resident of Shillong and researcher at North Eastern Hill University.
While Manipur's biggest cultural icon, theatreman Ratan Thiyam reserved his comment till he watched the movie, playwright Mahesh Dattani thinks criticizing the film on such grounds would be too much."Acting is a difficult craft to master and it is natural for a good director to prefer artistry to authenticity. I hope Priyanka surprises us with a great performance. I believe she has worked hard on the role. And why take Bollywood so seriously?" he asks.
Manipuri film director Oinam Doren, who won the Rajat Kamal for his film titled Songs of Mashangva under the Best Ethnographic category at the 58th National Film Awards, says, "At least two actors from Manipur contacted Mary Kom herself for the role. She told them it was not up to her. The producers understandably thought about the business prospect. Priyanka Chopra is a big name. But artistically, I think the project lacks honesty. It was not even shot in Imphal. The locations in the trailer look so foreign to us, who are from Manipur. A lullaby in the movie has two lines in Manipuri, even there the pronunciation is so funny. I do not support this."
In an interview with TOI on Wednesday, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has backed his decision to cast Priyanka Chopra is these terms: "PC is a fantastic actor and intuitively, I felt that she looked like Mary Kom. In terms of spirit, every human being has a certain aura and a vibe and somewhere, when you see Mary Kom and Priyanka, there is a spirit the two girls have in common. They are both very happy and funny with great comic timing. Both are very girly with their lipsticks and makeup but both have this ability to search for excellence. Mary has gone through so many stages in her life to search for excellence."
The acclaimed filmmaker seems desperate to drive home his point but is clearly missing the bigger argument. Today, much of the northeast does not welcome Bollywood as the rest of the country does. By casting an actor from this part of the country, Bhansali could have gone a long way towards ending this indifference and brought about a turning point in the history of Bollywood's interface with the northeast. In thinking about Priyanka Chopra's bankability as a star, he missed the bigger picture.
Mary Kom releases on September 5. But it seems the verdict is out even before that. Even if the film does well in the Box Office, it would be at the cost of the sentiments of our fellow citizens from the northeast. By casting a Manipuri actor, Bhansali could have affected history by making a bold and timely statement about cultural inclusion. But the opportunity has gone a begging.
Source: Times of India
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