The Professional and the Personal
Why it is important to make that distinction and appreciate each for what it is...
by: Samiya
- aishwarya-forever.com
It is impossible to deny that Aishwarya Rai has been a favorite topic of discussion among scores of people. Besides her fans who adore her and the critics who support her work, there are many others who take immense pleasure in bringing her down. In a sadistic, disturbing way, their vile tongues wag ceaselessly in anticipation of her downfall, even when they know they’ve got the facts wrong or their arguments are based on nothing but white lies. They aren’t even ashamed to keep arguing despite all that. On message boards and forums, there is as fair a share of ‘Ash-bashers’ as there are Ash supporters. The irony is that they follow her every move, they watch her incessantly, keep up-to-date with her whereabouts, just as her adoring fans do, or even more. Like an obsession. Could it be from so much hate or repressed adoration they are keeping in denial? Perhaps Dr. Freud might know better. Although Ash has experimented with different mediums of film that have garnered her much critical acclaim in Indian and International circles, it seems that it is her fellow country men who are more hesitant to acknowledge her talents and appreciate her efforts. It’s a certain strata of the Indian media that delight in bashing her and their most recent accusations are backed up by two ‘scary’ claims: Ash’s moving to Hollywood (and thereby facing the issue of ‘kissing’, an act considered taboo if done in public in Indian society), and her sensual role in the upcoming movie Shabd. Also starring Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan and directed by Leena Yadav, it's a movie in which her character carries on an extra-marital affair with a younger man. Here’s how some of their arguments run: she is a hypocrite who pretends to act and talk like a ‘conservative’ Indian woman while doing the opposite in film, she shows too much skin and dresses like a slut, she agreed to play the role of an ex-prostitute in an up-coming Hollywood movie, rumors about her stripping on screen, rumors that she’d play the next Bond girl and how could she escape the ‘exposing scenes’ that come along with that privilege, doing bold scenes where she appears like she is kissing Dutt in the Shabd promos, how she can’t escape kissing in Hollywood..etc..etc.
I could do nothing but laugh. However, underneath, these accusations make me question how people who possess the capabilities that allow them to argue so passionately could also willingly shut their minds to the larger picture, allowing their hate to consume them just because. It is not that their opinions about kissing or showing too much skin matters any less, but what is striking is that that they seem to confuse doing such acts on film with Ash as a person or her personal beliefs. In a crude way they mix-up the personal and the professional while also failing to be open-minded, denying that differences of opinion can and would exist (for example that ‘showing too much skin’ is subjective depending on each individual’s comfort levels).
I am full of questions for them. I wonder, aren't such people educated enough to enjoy the artistic/aesthetic aspect of a movie? Can't they separate the character an actor plays or the way she plays her role in the film from the actress in real life? Can't they enjoy art for art's sake? Because if they don't then there’s a LOT they’re missing! I am truly sorry for them if they can't see that the realm of Art can be different from the realm of the real world. Film is Art and EVERYONE involved in it are artists doing a collective masterpiece and it is not fair to blame just one of the actors (who conveniently happens to be female, smart, and famous and one a lot of them out there love to hate, in this case) for simply doing her part of that Art because she could not do it alone (she was with a man in all the scenes she is being criticized for). Instead of bashing actors by intertwining their personal and professional lives, why can't people give constructive criticism about the film or the work of the actors as actors or artists? I am suspicious if they are even capable of intellectual stimulation.
Regarding Ash, I think she is a wonderful actress, immensely talented and dedicated to her craft. And I also like her very much as a person. However, I'd like to keep the two separate, i.e. her personal and professional life. What she does in film could be very different from what she is in real life-and film is mostly meant to be that way. So even if she were to strip in a movie, I'd know she was doing it because it was necessary to that particular movie. I won't want to confuse that with her as a person or her personal beliefs. I would watch such a movie because it is a movie and because it is art if that kind of art is appealing to me. After all, she is an artist and film is art.
Just like art, it is also very important to value individuals for being who they are. I wonder why people can't appreciate Ash for her individuality. Isn't there such a thing as originality or ingeniousness in one's craft? Should people not be credited for trying to break "established" boundaries in their crafts (acting in Ash's case)? Ash deserves to be respected for how much effort she is exerting in trying to evolve not just as an actress in her own merit but affecting the realm of cinema in both the Western and Eastern Worlds. And there’s always freedom to break the "rules" of established norms in film (or art for that matter), and grounds for exploring one's CREATIVITY!!! Without that, there will be no progress...in art or anything else! Plus an argument based on the premise of "exposing herself too much" is, I think, very lame because "exposing" is a very subjective statement. Instead, people should just appreciate CREATIVITY in any forms or if they do argue, give an intelligent, well researched valid argument that is supplemented with enough evidence.
I for one adore Ash unconditionally. I accept her for all that she is and I trust and respect and value her for who she is and for whatever she does. Again, whatever she does in film is not a barometer for measuring what/who is she as a person. She is after all flesh and blood, like you or me. Ash wouldn’t be Ash if she did anything differently from what she is doing, if she was different from what she is. In busying themselves discussing whether Ash is skanky in this film or that, or debating whether or not she apparently said something that would now make her a hypocrite, people forget the larger picture: the role she plays in a film even if it is "skanky", looking into the complexity of the character, the strength of the story/screenplay, her acting talents, being open minded to differences of opinions, and valuing film as a medium of art. And this is where the real shame lies. Yes, more shameful than the relative "skankiness" or "hypocrisy" is people willfully blindfolding themselves to knowledge or reality so they can’t discern the light of the larger picture, the truth. When there is so much to be seen and learnt and so much beauty in creativity, why seek delight in baseless accusations? Why devalue our selves? Our talents? Our contribution to art? To the world?
The truth is Shabd or no Shabd, skin or no skin, art or not art, Ash is Ash and ought to be respected, admired, and valued for all that she has done and all that she is: both professionally and personally while keeping the two separate. The truth is Ash is an Indian, she is a woman, she is a person. She is also an artist. And film is art, art is beauty, and the world, never getting enough of that, will only be more than happy to embrace it.
