Tuesday 11 June 2013

AN ACCENT? *I* HAVE ONE?

No way! *said in a nasal twang*

The country woke up to a cringe-inducing clip on social networking sites recently, close on the heels of the Cannes Film Festival. Proudly starring in this video, courtesy some heavy duty PR machinery, was a wannabe starlet of Indian cinema who has migrated to greener pastures, in the belief that she has a bright and shiny career in Hollywood ahead of her. A blink-and-you-miss-it role in some production, another film that clearly even the editors of said film didn't watch... you get the picture.

However, that didn't stop the lady in question from spouting lines replete with rrrrrrolling Rs and a heavy twang that would make any Indian immigrant head for the hills. That the inanities dished out were beyond unimaginable were another story altogether. It was in horrified fascination that people watched, watched again and then almost passed out.

India, according to said twangy lady is a regressive, hypocritical society, where women get a raw deal the minute they open their eyes, how she was the first woman to kiss on screen (not true!!!), the first on screen to wear a bikini (rubbish again!) ... the insanity and ignorance were out of bounds.

Honestly, dissing the place you were born in, grown up in is so not cool. While things may not be perfect on various levels, thumbing down your country is not on. That you come across as an ignoramus is evident, but not that we care about that.

What's okay (even if you choose to shoot your mouth off) is sounding sincere, and not putting on a heavy, fake accent that you've apparently acquired while on sojourn overseas. C'mon, that's worse than putting on an accent after dropping a NRI cousin to the airport and returning home to the suburbs in Mumbai! 

All in all, that's an innerview (so she said; interview for the rest of us) that has raised the hackles of many, and with good reason. There's just so much nonsense that can be tolerated. 

No comments: