- 26 Jan 2011
Baiting Veena Malik - 26 Jan 2011
No sense of proportion - 25 Jan 2011
A case of two extremes
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Doublespeak and double standards
Both Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri and Veena Malik are examples of absurd extremes.
The writer is an Islamabad-based journalist whose reports frequently appear in The New York Times [email protected]
As a friend pointed out the other day, what can one say about a society that gets consumed by either Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the assassin of Salmaan Taseer, or by Veena Malik, the talented but tainted movie and television actress? Both are abhorrent and are examples of absurd extremes. To make matters worse, our reactions to both of these personalities and their actions also exhibits moral bankruptcy and bigotry.
Veena Malik did not go to participate in “Bigg Boss 4” as a representative of Pakistan. That is a fact. Whatever she did, and no matter how undignified or vulgar her behaviour was, she did it on her own, individual capacity. She herself acknowledges that she went there as an entertainer. She is a person who is already dogged by controversies and scandals. Expecting her not to cause a ruckus is rather naive and foolish and is akin to expecting the nature of the proverbial beast, so to speak, to change.
So national honour should not be sullied and those who think that it has been trampled upon are only making fools of themselves. But then, context is important. Ms Malik does owe her identity to Pakistan and, more so, to the country’s abysmally bad film industry. Did she expect that the show she was on would be viewed in a vacuum and that some people in Pakistan wouldn’t judge her behaviour through a prism of nationalistic fervour?
But what I find more interesting is that for the sake of the show, and in self-defence, she is now throwing mud at an already very-stained Pakistani film industry. Her tirade against Syed Noor and Kamran Shahid in January 23’s episode of “Frontline” on Express News made interesting television but was very self-serving and misleading as well.
Similarly, one cannot fault or stop people — who are, by and large, offended by the way she conducted herself on “Bigg Boss” — for speaking out against her. After all, whenever something comes in the public domain, it does become a subject of public discussion. Tongues will wag. Fingers will be pointed. Conclusions will be drawn.
But mostly, whenever such a stirring does take place here, it becomes more a reflection of the double standards and hypocrisy of our society than anything else. As for Veena Malik’s critics, one needs to ask them how they would explain the massive demand for — and hence widespread acceptance of — Indian movies in every nook and corner of Pakistan. If going to India and appearing in a film or a reality TV show is deemed objectionable, then so should be the import and screening of Indian movies and dramas.
Pakistani actress Meera received pretty much the same kind of treatment when she appeared in a Mahesh Bhatt-directed film some years back. Why, then, blame Veena of wanting to become an object of desire, when songs like “Sheila ki Jawani” and “Munni Badnam Hui” have a massive following here? These tunes are hummed by all and sundry and some of our politicians use them to convey their points! Why, then, blame Veena Malik for exhibiting her ‘jawani’ and wanting (and perhaps glowing in) the ‘badnami’?
She has made a good point in that she has questioned the doublespeak and double standards of moralists and reactionaries on this side of the border. But for that, should she have a carte blanche to do whatever she wants to do?
Published in The Express Tribune, January 26th, 2011.
Reader Comments (32)
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I must point out regarding the above quoted lines. She was cornered, and someone cornered in the way she was, would obviously charge back. She didn’t return from India with aim to dishonour Syed Noor and this industry. Syed Noor’s behaviour was outrageous and flithy–reflecting his own character and the crap he produces. Acting like an intellectual film-maker cannot fool the wiser awaam.
I must remind of 2 points mentioned by Syed Noor and Kamran Shahid which were classic examples of our national duplicity.
When Veena justified sharing a blanket with Ashmit, Syed Noor said that:
To which Veen replied;
Kamran Shahid, whose journalistic credentials are at stake ever since this episode, as he’s in great panic because every other hour people post arguments against his behaviour on his facebook page and he in his delusion removes them.
SO much for journalism and patience for opposing views. The poor fellow doesn’t know he’s stabbing himself revealing his true picture.
He said to Veena something to the effect
to which Veena took strong offence and denied.
I’m no one to comment, but Pakistan has no shortage of people to comment on the lifestyle and piety of Kamran Shahid’s background.
If bigotry knows no bounds, nether does duplicity.Recommend
Qadri is a criminal. Veena is a brat. Please do not compare the two.Recommend
@The Author
And what can one say about a supposedly ‘liberal writer’ who spends the entire column on Veens bashing, after promising to explore ‘double speak and double standards’.Recommend
At least Veena Malik has provided us Pakistanis a much needed respite from the gory news we are forced to hear, see, discuss and even dream for months now -and its getting worse by the minute. As far as her ‘individual act’ in Bigg Boss is concerned, she was quite free to flaunt all her attributes on screen for all and sundry, and make attemtps to bag a juicy role in the Indian cinema. Aren’t all our showbiz people doing that? Not just actors, but singers too? Its only a case of ‘washing dirty linen in public’ that we as a nation object to. As long as such acts stay behind closed doors in nearly every area of our country, we are willing to forgive and forget and keep on the facade of being proud citizens of the Islami jamhuria pakistan.Recommend
Syed Noor, if I am not mistaken, had wanted Veena to wear a salwar kameez on big brother and do the namaaz (with dupatta odhke and all). He then went on to say that even if people call him a hypocrite, he will say that when any tina, mina, rina goes out of the country (sarhad parke) she should stay within the cultural norms of pakistan. I personally find these reality shows embarrasing and click the channel change button if I accidentally come upon such programmes. But if Veena or our own Rakhi sawant wants to use such shows to propel themselves into the big league I say kudos. Because I dont have the guts to do that. And most women dont – that is why we are mostly a sea of boring women with dupatta odhke. Conformity comes to us naturally, when someone rebels against the norm (however shocked I am) I cannot but admire them for their sheer guts. Sadly the women seem to be coming down on Veena more strongly than the men. Recommend
Kadri yes, he should be hanged for murder. Veena no, she was baited and the mulla asked for it. She should be protectedRecommend
Salman, It’s a well written article, but please allow me to disagree with the base of it here:
“Veena Malik did not go to participate in “Bigg Boss 4” as a representative of Pakistan.”
Albeit as you say is the case that she did not participate as a representative of Pakistan but let me tell you that she managed to stay on a show this long just because of the fact that she is a Pakistani Muslim and behaving a bitch (excuse my French) to an Indian Hindu. Otherwise with makeover she is an average looking aging B-class actress, not competing with any young Indian girl on merit.
Until now Bollywood has a record of producing films with Indian guy and a Pakistani girl or a Muslim girl and a Hindu guy. You can never see it the other way around, even when Khans rule the industry. What does that represent? You may not be able to understand as you live in Pakistan and as overseas Pakistanis we get to deal with Indians all the time and understand their psychology better. (It’s shocking to see how they are so Pakistan phobic–a country, size of a nut. Imagine if we were bigger than them).Recommend
Artist represent their country,but veena not… She is not an artist?
Second, reality show is something different and film or dancing on a film song is different. You will never find kartina wearing “sheela ki jawani type dresses in “reality” life/shows.
Veena role was most volgur in that indian show…other all participants were indian, india is that country which make those songs which you refereed.Recommend
@Zubair:
Dear Zubair,
I am a pakistani living in a foreign country too but unfortunately I disagree with your views.
i agree that probably some Indians have pakistan phobia but trust me the whole world has it. the image of pakistan has been so tarnished that now not just Indians but everyone has a really bad view about pakistanis. It is not something that you should feel proud of… it something we should be ashamed of….
I live in France where there are Indians and pakistanis too and ask me how difficult it is for me to work here….you have no idea how many security restrictions are there on me while the Indians face no such problem here….
it is high time that we leave our insecurities behind and concentrate on pakistan’s development rather than trying to bring India down….let them be….Recommend
@ Zubair – totally agree with you – great point about Indian films – the girl is always Muslim and the guy Hindu – never the other way around – reflects their insecurity.Recommend
@M M Malik,
well said, Qadri is a criminal and veena is a brat. Brats are entertaining and add energy to life. Qadri mindset is dangerous and is a cancer.to life and society.Recommend
@ STY….Sir we are really trying hard to make Pakistan a better place, so that you can have it easy in France. You have problems in France, buddy we live in Pakistan we have problems too and we are living with them so man up!!!!!Recommend
@Zubair
The last such film I redollect is ‘Veer-Zara’ which was relesed way back in 2005. Given the fact that thousands of films are made in India one film in 5 years is indeed a ‘record’ of sorts. Now, coming to real life, Shah Rukh Khan is married to a Hindu, and so is Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, Salman Khan’s brother is married to Malaika Arora.Can you imagine a Pakistani Hindu marrying a muslim woman without converting and living to tell the tale.
And just google Amitav Kumar(writer of Huaband of a Fanatic and Passport Photos), who married a Pakistani muslim after converting. The bride’s grandmother was really thrilled about the bride securing her place in heaven, having successfully converted a kaffir. Tells you a lot about mind sets , doesn’t it.Recommend
a good article but the fact is when a celebrity takes part in an international program, they are looked on as representative of their respective countries. Shilpa Shetty in Big Boss UK left with a commendable image of respect and dignity. She too is an actress and she too could have been vulgar but the truth is in spite of anything said, vulgarity is abhorred.Recommend
@Caesar:
Agreed.Recommend
What a pathetic article!!! It begins by mentioning Qadri, Salman Taseer and Veena Malik, purporting to highlight the two extremes. But only Veena Malik was bashed in this article. How about Mumtaz Qadri, his screwed up morals/logic and those of his supporters and the lawyers who throw petals at him? Murder and unabashed support of murder versus Taseers’s justified criticism of the despicable law and Veena Malik who, while vulgar, is not doing anything out of the ordinary.
Well done mate!
Pulitzer prize winning stuff this is not!!!Recommend
@observer:
That is what I tried to point out that even when the reality is other way around you can never see Muslim guys with a Hindu girl on Indian Media…I have my personal experience and observation that Indian girls like Pakistani/Muslim boys (and I am not flushed away with patriotic emotions here!). Dude that’s called Hypocrisy….!!
How often do you see this thing happening in our society and Media?
@Hassan: Great Point man!!Recommend
The funny thing is that we celebrate death and defame publically any individual while talking about morals and islam.Recommend
@Caesar. I completely agree with your view.Recommend
I cannot believe that so much is being written about this issue, and yes, i’m aware that by commenting i am participating in this pointless exercise. Veena is in “show” business, where the philosophy of “no publicity is bad publicity” is the norm. So her motivations were pragmatic. May be she can land a bollywood movie or whatever else, as long as it makes her some money. The self appointed custodians of our morals,”the mullah brigade” are obligated to chime in on this issue, to assert their social and political relevance, and of course syed noor had to make his presence known, may be to promote himself or may be out of sheer envy. And then there’s Kamran Shahid who is fast becoming the “veena” of journalism, since there are no facets of journalistic integrity he is not willing to compromise for ratings. So what we have is, multiple parties all looking to enhance their self serving agendas. Is it hypocritical, certainly… sexist, may be…an embarrassing for Pakistan, only in the sense that we are still talking about it. What should have been dismissed with a look of disapproval or a disappointed shake of the head or at most, “can you believe her nerve? how vulgar”, type of comment, and followed again with a disappointing, disapproving shake of the head is becoming a national debate. Besides the fact that her actions were that of an individual not representing the country in any official capacity, and not withstanding the more disturbing presumption on the part of her critics that they have any right to subject her to an inquisition, as if she was a traitor, is the simple reflection, that if veena is the standard bearer for our image and her behavior deserves this much of our attention, then we’ve already had it, and might as well pack it in. Let’s move on to something else, not like we can’t find anything else to huff and puff about. Someone once said and i quote,” you can judge the magnitude of a man’s character by the size of things that upset him”, we have bigger things to be upset about, let veena make money how she sees fit, and stop watching Kamran Shahid till he decides to act like a journalist and not a reality show participant himself. I know i have.Recommend
@observer
Ditto!Recommend
@Zubair
I think you understand Indian psychology as you are also having same psychology :)Recommend
@STY
You mentioned that a lot of people have an unflattering view of Pakistan and Pakistanis and that Pakistanis should be “ashamed” of it. You strike me as someone younger than myself so at the risk of coming across as patronizing, let me offer some advice to you and other young Pakistanis living abroad who feel the same way. You should feel concerned not “ashamed” of Pakistan. There are a lot of things that you cannot control, global politics, main stream corporate owned media, lack of education and incompetent politicians etc., but what you can control are your own actions. The only thing you need to worry about, is the impression people take away about Pakistan and Pakistanis after having inter acted with you. You are not responsible for the actions of 180 million but only yourself. And if someone confronts you about Pakistan, tell them the same thing, be professional, honest, polite and respectful in your personal dealings with people and it will have a lasting impact on them and their opinion of Pakistanis. Recommend
Yes the writer is thoroughly right that Qadri and Malik are two extremes of our society. As far as Veena Malik is concerned our so called moralists have become mad. Where do they go when people enjoys the vulgar theaters, Pakistani and Indian films in cinemas?. Considering Veena the representative of Pakistan is totally foolish. Seh went to India on her own behalf. Who made her the representative of Pakistan. She was as popular in Pakistan as other vulgar actresses. So what is point in giving air to the fire. A complete talk show where a Mufti Sb was invited with Veena Malik was a stupid act. It is just to rage the extremism in the society. Recommend
@Zubair
Think about youself first…..you are no one to comment on Indian psychology. There is nothing called Indian psychology….It’s too big to generalize and even if it is you are included :) its indian subcontinent psychology. Are we that different :) hahahaha Grow up!!Recommend
good writeup. ppl who r defending veena malik like crazy now are same who wouldnt even watch any of her pakistani movie..would they defend her dances available on youtube in the same way?Recommend
Pity that there is so little real entertainment that such non issues are blown out of proportion.
One thing though, one does expect T V moderators to be neutral…referring to the Veena / Mufti discussion. These are the people and discussions that are further polarising our society.Recommend
very confusing article, started off well, lost me in the middle and contradicted it self in the endRecommend
@Kamran A,
I second your advise. . In US where I live, we have lot of doctor whose background is from Pakistan. They are very well respected in local. Eventhough It is midsouth & white area. They earn their respect with profession & best demeaner. Majority doctors are from India or Pakistan. Every person from Indian subcontinent is professional or businessman in this area. We celebrate both 14th & 15th Aug, Eid or Diwali together. We don’t have any enemity toward each other, but kudos.
It is very painful to read when youngman or women from both side of border try to pull down each other in mud with utter non-sense. Living in past will lead to Nowhere.
On different note: If ET can also publish in Local language so masess can read or write well thought debate.
Only education & person to person contact will bring peace & wealth.
thanks
SinghRecommend
@Meera Ghani:
Well Said ! :-)Recommend
@ Singh..
Yes, well said.. Thanks for speaking up with some sense! I could only understand your view. The rest was Greek and Latin to me :(Recommend
I agree with @Caesar Whatever she did/said was a Reaction- she was not just cornered but humiliated in every which way. She is NO Saint and wasnt Representing Pakistan in any capacity. People Like Veena Hunt for scandals thats how they earn more bucks. Recommend