Saturday, 8 April, 2010. Rajniti Press Conference, Hotel Marriot, Mumbai, 6.15 PM. The presscon was called to inform the media about how Rajniti, a film by Prakash Jha, was going to be promoted across the nation.

However, the 'youth icons' were candid enough to admit that they knew very little about politics. Ranbir said his understanding of politics is confined to voting in elections. When asked if the film is a serious comment on the politics of the country, Prakash Jha said that he did not want to give any message and he had made an engaging entertainer. Obviously, questions about his political forays were asked and he said he had bid his final adieu to active electoral politics and had never subscribed to the political ideology of any party, even though he was an LJP candidate in the last Parliamentary elections.

However, the throng of students who will turn up to enjoy the close proximity of the handsome Ranbir and the beautiful Katrina will never know this reality. They will be made to believe that the film is a serious attempt to make them politically aware and cleanse the politics of the country, and they will apparently be told that good people should join politics to reform and improve our political situation. And all this will be a big lie, a charade, a deception, being perpetrated by filmmakers and stars to promote a politically inconsequential film in their own words. This only finds a parallel in Tata Tea ad campaign against corruption. Does the aam janta know that Tata companies in Assam pay crores in tributes and bribes to ULFA, while their ads talk about fighting corruption?

At the press conference a film short was shown in which the entire cast of the film was singing Jan, Gan, Man, some with folded hands in front, and some behind, all wearing white clothes. The film will be distributed in theatres freely as a tribute to the National Anthem and to arouse patriotic sentiments among cinema-goers. This is another hogwash. In reality, it is a barefaced attempt to promote the film, which actually amounts to a brazen abuse of our National Anthem.

Prakash Jha does not think it is wrong and reprehensible to indulge in these sham shenanigans, neither do the rest of the star cast that also includes names like Naseer, Nana, Devgan, and Vajpayee. They stand proudly singing the Anthem and get filmed while doing it, knowing it well that it is a PR subterfuge. The production houses involved with the film, UTV and Walkwater Media, and their media partner Star News do not find anything wrong with perpetuating and propagating such bunkum and ‘bazaarukaran’ of the Anthem.

They are all liars, and that is what gets my goat

Of course, whenever there is a discussion on politics and polity, a politician is presented as the villain of the story who never tells the truth and is corrupt to the core. What are these people doing, people like Prakash Jha? They are lying without accountability to the whole wide world about their (spurious) patriotism, and about their (fake) concern for social issues just to promote their films.

What has happened to their personal integrity and sense of shame? Have they got so involved with their role-play as to lose all sense of morality and fair play? What kind of upbringing do they have that they can find no fault with lying and behaving like hardened criminals, thugs, shoplifters, and conmen, who can comfortably tell a hundred lies without any qualms and with a straight poker face?

An artiste is entitled to absolute freedom of expression because he is essentially in constant pursuit of truth. Hypocrisy is not his forte or raison d'être. The moment he indulges in it, he loses the privilege of calling himself an artiste. Prakash Jha and his ilk think otherwise. Can they be called true artistes? I don’t think so. They are anything but that and are worse than corrupt politicians, who always lie for bigger stakes. They are small-timers, chutbhaiyaas, who tell lies to promote their tawdry twaddle for marginal PR gains. They have no sense of honour. And it is all right if they do it. A small-time crook has the right to be a small-time crook. However, it also gives people like this writer the right to call him what he is. The sad part is that almost everyone in the filmmaking community is turning into a small-time liar and a crook. This is the reason we have been making insipid, irrelevant, and third-class films and thus shaming our art and profession.

Here is another interesting must read conspiracy angle to the shameful story

During the presscon, in response to a question, Jha suddenly started singing paeans to Sonia Gandhi and her sacrifices and almost made it sound as if she were Mother Teresa, the Second. This was a bit surprising and I was immediately reminded of a meeting I had with a guy from JNU who is part of the Group of Nine, known as G9, that has been entrusted with the responsibility of creating the bubble of greatness around an idiot who happens to be the son of Jha’s newfound mother - MT, the Second. This G9 stooge needed my help to develop TV serials that would subliminally promote Rahul Gandhi.

The guy was to be inducted into Prasar Bharati to do the needful as part of the grand plan. Of course, he was knocking on the wrong door unknowingly. In the process of our discussion, he also boasted as to how the film Swadesh had been supported by the Congress Party since it promoted Rahul Baba subliminally. Jha’s uncalled-for high praise for MT, the Second, makes me suspect that his film may be a promo-tool to advance the cause of the Maino family. Somebody mentioned that Jha has been meeting MT, the Second, in Delhi for her blessings and golden touch.

If what I suspect is true, Jha has also compromised his integrity and honour as a filmmaker and has earned the infamous and ignominious khullamkhulla sobriquet – Filmfaker. This also means MT, the Second, will stop at nothing to control the destiny of India on behalf of her Western masters, and filmfakers like Jha will be more than happy to wash her feet and drink the dirty water as Charnamrit.

RKS