I am a huge fan of Rajinikanth. Twelve years back, a senior colleague at office said that he can’t stand Rajinikanth and his movies had no logic. I impulsively got into a fight with this person to defend my favorite hero.
Again, after watching Kabali movie, my brother in law who is also a huge fan said that movie was not Thalaivar’s type, the casting was bad and so many things. I again got into an argument and it turned out pretty ugly.
It’s been 10 years since all this happened. I feel ashamed of myself for both the incidents and I have also forgiven myself for it. I am consciously learning to differentiate between the art and the artist. The learning started when the “Me too” movement started. I adored Vairamuthu’s poetry, not just his movie songs, I have also read his books, “lndha kulathil kal erindhavargal” and “Indha pookal virpanaiku alla.” The accusations on him shook me as a fan. I am a woman and having been through so many situations like that, I stood with Chinmayi without any doubt but I felt ashamed for having liked this person for so long. I couldn’t see his art the same way I did in the past. And also I had an admiration for Bill Cosby who had a similar accusation on him and my hopes were shattered. I started doubting every single artist I liked.
While I was learning to navigate this, I noticed that I was judged when I said I did not like a movie or if I liked it. For example, I did not like the movie 96. I like the movie Super deluxe. I was judged when I said this out loud. I guess that is how karma works Anyways, the point is I started noticing a similar pattern on social media. When I say my opinion out loud, there would be a bunch of abuses from people with no display picture. Apparently, this abuser is the old me who got into a fight with a colleague and a family member for voicing out their dislike about a person whom I adored.
I am learning the art of differentiating between the art and the artist. One person’s art might look like a scribble scrabble to another. My videos on Instagram might be noise to some. Vairamuthu’s art is great but I am in no obligation to like him as a person. Prem’s 96 is not my cup of tea but his meiazhagan was and he is one too.
I also insist on calling the artists as entertainers rather than celebrities. They are good at their art and should be celebrated or criticized only for their art and not as an individual unless we know them as human beings. We are often misguided by their excellence at their art that we just adore them, defend them and also give them the power to rule.
When there is a national situation, we expect the entertainers to react to the situation. It has now extended to the social media personalities too to react to the situation. I think it is not right to give the entertainers that kind of power because they might just succumb to pressure and say something which they don’t even mean.
The media and journalists should not give them that much importance and let them alone especially when they are grieving. It’s is saddening to see journalists crowding in front of dead entertainers to give people the glance of their family members and make news and views out of it.
The power lies within the common people.
Still Learning,
Poorni
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