Et tu, Shafqat?

An obviously unintentional gaffe doesn’t make Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan a lesser patriot

After losing in the India-Pakistan World Twenty20 showdown, Pakistan turned its ire on one of its own — the legendary Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan. So the man who shot to fame in Bollywood with Mitwa, made a human error (which he attributed to audio and technical glitches) while singing the national anthem. But unleashing vitriol against the performer is not only unfair but smacks of intolerance. Nobody is perfect. Everyone has a bad day. If Amitabh Bachchan had cocked up, I assure you that India would not have shamed and disgraced him the way Pakistan has, in the name of patriotism. The anathemas heaped on him were largely over-reactions, ranging from calling him disappointing and shameful to suggesting that he be deported.

He tweeted: “I am deeply hurt by the little faith that my fellow Pakistanis have in me after all these years of living and breathing the spirit of my country into my music.”

Take it easy, people. We’ve all fumbled on an important day. Such hyperbolic outbursts are unfounded. An obviously unintentional gaffe doesn’t make him (or anyone, for that matter) a lesser patriot.



Tailpieces

1) Saturday was an unannounced national holiday. #IndVsPak dominated all conversation. India’s victory predictably triggered fireworks and waving of the national flag in public places — a fervent outburst of patriotism I haven’t seen even on Independence Day and Republic Day. The euphoria ended up scuttling the unfortunate news of a soldier trapped in a Kargil avalanche. Commendably, there was candid admission from the Pakistani side of the poor show put up by the team. Sharmila Faruqi summed it up in her tweet: “Patriotism aside, our team played pathetically, bad selection, poor batting, dismal fielding.”

2) Sadly for the attention-seeking Qandeel Baloch (the Pakistani counterpart of Poonam Pandey), her offer to strip dance for Shahid Afridi if Pakistan won the match against India, was mercifully flushed down the pot. I hadn’t heard of this cheap publicity enthusiast till I read about her offer, an obvious gimmick to derive desperate eyeballs. In one of her many embarrassingly hideous videos, she, ironically, attacks a certain VJ Waqar Zaka for resorting to crass stunts to gain publicity. Hasn’t anyone told her that she’s doing just that, in fact, worse? This is one conquest that Lala would not be proud of!

3) Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s World Culture Festival held in Delhi took place at the expense of farmers displaced from the site. What’s worse? After staging some obnoxiously spectacular programmes, it left boundless heaps of garbage behind. And, I didn’t mean just literally.

4) A big shout-out to the Sindh government for declaring a public holiday on Holi. Very gracious indeed! We observe Eid, Ramazan and Muharram in India so the reciprocal gesture was long due. I hope the holiday gets implemented in other provinces as well. It’s time for Pakistan to show the world that it is a pluralist society and respects other faiths!



5) So, dirty Madonna exposed a teenage girl’s breast on stage and leeringly invited her to grab her. Madonna looked old enough to be her grandmother. The excited Madonna-struck fan did nothing more than giggle at her modesty being violated. Madonna, love, when you act grubby and trashy in public, how do you blame your son for doing a runner on you?

6) Don’t miss Kapoor and Sons, the third sparkling Bollywood outing this year after the hugely inspiring Airlift and Neerja. A real, serio-comic look at a dysfunctional middle-class family, this one will surely warm the cockles of your heart.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2016.

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