Why Mohalla Assi trailer went viral and what it says about Indians abusing like pros
Last evening, everyone asked me if I had watched the leaked trailer of Mohalla Assi, a forthcoming Bollywood film starring Sunny Deol and Sakshi Tanwar. My replies in the negative were met with utter disbelief, followed by an urgent nudge to watch it before the authorities could ban it and remove it from YouTube.
Not many knew (or till now know) that the plot of the film is set in the post-independent town of Varanasi, but everyone was excited about the fact that the actors in the film were hurling abuses in abundance.
Within hours, the video had gone viral and appeared on many a Facebook timeline and portals, all pointing to the fact that Deol and Tanwar were abusing like pros!
Needless to say, I watched the over-hyped video, but it did not leave me in awe. For, hurling abuses may be the trending news, but it is certainly not new to us - be it on the 70mm screen, television, YouTube or in our real lives.
On the big screen, we've watched films like Kaminey and danced to songs like "Bhaag DK Bose" - both subtle examples of our tolerance towards abuses. In the past, actors like Lalita Pawar secured a place in our hearts by enacting roles of mothers-in-law who use the choicest of words to communicate with their daughters-in-law. These days too film dialogues include an ample amount of play with abuses, very few justifying the plot, shot or role.
Talk television and the abusing gets far more serious. Roadies, a youth-based reality show, thrives on it. Currently in its twelfth season, the show is indeed a trendsetter when it comes to this newly-fangled way of communication. Its creators and judges - brothers Raghu Ram and Rajiv Laxman - are known for their USP of abusing aspiring contestants during the selection process. During the course of the show too, the swearing continues - partly to express the anger of the judges over the incompetence of the contestants, but mostly because it is the show's format.
Driving from its success mantras are shows like Bigg Boss where eliminated contestants and those from previous seasons, like Dolly Bindra and Sambhavna Seth, are brought back to the Bigg Boss house to generate excitement and rift - hence TRPs. YouTube, of course, is full of abusive content, the latest case of AIB's Knockout being one such example.
Yes. We, as a country, abuse on and off the screen. On busy railway stations, in air-conditioned offices, in the comfort of our homes, at big, fat weddings and more. On rare occasions, we do it out of anger, but many times we do it for fun.
Real drinking sessions see excited individuals abuse expressing revelry, and realistic depictions of male and female cops see them abuse. At dinner parties, parents share "hilarious" anecdotes on how their kids have picked up the words f*ck off by observation. Add to it the fact that many of us have grown up listening to words like Ullu ka pathha, khota, haraamzaada, etc - all expressing affection!
Yet, despite all this when trailers like Mohalla Assi reach us, we sit up and take notice, expressing delight at the "creative expression", getting a kick from dialogues reflecting the so-called modern India and cheering the makers for having the courage to project the "right" thing.
But it leaves one wondering.
Is abusing a sign of our new definition of freedom of expression and boldness? Why are we so worried about the banning of such content? Why do we get so excited about teaching a foreigner an abusive word in Hindi - get thrilled at their accented pronunciation of Bh*nchod? Why do we still giggle at the fact that we know the French equivalent of f*ck off?
Is it because we are unable to accept that abusing is a way of life for many of us, or plainly deny its existence?