Found this very interesting post on chutneyspears (oh, I love the name!) – Looking with one eye shut (the picture produced below is also from that blog)
Dominic Emmanuel, a Catholic priest from the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese together with the omnipresent Samaritan, Mahesh Bhatt, is leading the efforts to make a Bollywood style movie on HIV/AIDS. The main motto of this movie ‘Aisa Kyon Hota Hain’, full with song and dance flicks, is to communicate to masses that “The best way to evade AIDS is by avoiding promiscuous relationships”. The movie doesn’t ever mention the word “condom”!!!!!!!!!!!!
Forget ‘condom’, am sure the movie does not even mention the word ‘sex’ – after all, the censors might object. Think about our culture and ancient heritage.
What, you mention Konark and Khajuraho in this context? They were obviously the work of a foreign hand, a conspiracy to tarnish the image of India as a cultural superpower…
UPDATE : Maybe the movie is going to be called ‘Kya Fool Hain Hum’
Nice Cartoon..
And I corrected the link on my blog..thanx,Charu!!
Testing to see if comment gets posted.
Seems to be working fine, thanks so much 🙂
Nice cartoon 🙂 and nice blog too 😀
Now this seems like a movie to be banned 🙂
Nice post. When it comes to ‘media’ no one can disassociate it with an audience… and since we cannot satisfy all people at all times, we tend to choose the audience for the message.
Another thought…
Was AIDS as a disease non existent in the “a man can have more than one wife age?” when condoms were non existent or was it just that people did not realise it was AIDS? Does anyone know if there has been a research on traces of AIDS in our history?
OKAY!If the comment doesn’t work this time..i am just sending u an email.
seems to be working now! Well…i was just laughing heavily at the conspiracy theory line.Let’s blame the damn West for our truck drivers spilling their oats on the NH.I sure hope the movie has an item number by Malaika & Shah Rukh with a kool beat for the repeating lines “Dont Screw it” “Dont Screw them” 🙂
truman, thanks and welcome here 🙂
patrix, I can already see the protest marches and the theatre bombs -imagine talking about aids and sex and condoms – corrupting the minds of our innocent younger generation
CC, I think the AIDS virus is a recent discovery – it may actually have been in existence for a few decades earlier than when it was actually discovered – since a person can carry the virus for years without it blowing into the disease. but I dont think it has a history as such – but then I may be wrong…
Ramchi ! here after aaaages 🙂
actually I was thinking more abut Pakistan than the west. but then anything will do in the blame game – our culture is susceptible to the slightest hint of corrupting influences…
I think it has got less to do with “taboo” and more to do with uncomfortable. We don’t like things that make us feel uncomfortable and things that need to be explained.
Nice and sarky – just the right note for Bollywood. But it has its fans even in Singapore and Malaysia. And the fans include not just the local Indians but many Malays too.
Amirt, I am not so sure if it is just that – if the idea is just to avoid answering uncomfortable questions, then there would be fewer “wet in the rain” songs and thrusty dances in movies- I think Indians also have a misplaced sense of morality when it comes to many things – sex being on top of that list – and for no apparent reason.
welcome here, Rana. sure Bollywood has fans all over the world – like in egypt and russia too – and I am a major fan of bollywood too – mindless hindi cinema? lead me to it 🙂 but there is no denying the fact that it is mindless!