Express News Service
KOCHI: “Many are scared to open up their minds and speak in society,” actor Indrans told The New Indian Express in an interview last December. “Unlike in the past, now the one who speaks out his opinions will be interpreted in many ways. It is better not to speak out, as the one who does so will rot.”
His words turned out to be prophetic in his own case. Some days ago, the actor joined the Express Dialogues team for a freewheeling interaction. He shared his views on the abduction and abuse case involving actor Dileep, and also the Women in Cinema Collective.
Frankness cost him dear. Some of his statements were culled out and highlighted on social media. Soon vigilantes of political correctness pilloried Indrans. And he was forced to clarify and apologise. “I only said that it was difficult for me to believe that one of my colleagues had committed a crime. I consider the actress like my daughter. I am with her in her pain,” he said.
Recently, ace filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, too, was billed as casteist and misogynist for some of his comments and statements in a controversy involving K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Sciences and Art’s former director, Shankar Mohan.
Shankar had been facing allegations of caste-based discrimination. Adoor, who eventually quit as the institute’s chairperson, appeared to defend the beleaguered director. Adoor dismissed allegations, and asked: “What is the logic in assuming that a well-meaning man would have a problem with people from marginalised castes?”
And while responding to queries on some of the institute’s cleaning staff complaining about Shankar, Adoor retorted: “These women think they are stars before television cameras. They go around fully decked up. They dress up as they are members of the WCC.” From social media to TV debates, the statements were dissected. And Adoor faced a barrage of criticism. Some termed his comments as a result of “internalised casteism”.
Actor V K Sreeraman, too, had a similar experience last year for a Facebook post in jest on ‘banning’ kuzhimanthi. He was forced to apologise. “We all have the freedom to express our likes and dislikes. But I understand that my dislike has angered and saddened some people. I am sad that I became the reason for it, and express my regrets,” he wrote in a clarification post.
Just a couple of days ago, actor Mammootty was pummelled for making allegedly racist comments at a promotional event for a film. In a video that went viral, Mammootty tells Aishwarya Lekshmi, who termed him ‘chakkara’, that he prefers being called panjasara (sugar).
“Chakkara is karippetti (palm jaggery). Would you like it if I called you karippetti?” he laughingly asks Aishwarya. Was it just a harmless joke? Or, blatant colourism? Social media went abuzz with discussions.
Incidentally, Mammootty had recently apologised after he was accused of body-shaming director Jude Anthany. “He [Jude] may not have much hair on his head, but he is an intelligent man,” Mammootty had said at an event. Not all found it funny.
A couple of days later, Mammootty said he would try to avoid such comments while praising someone, and thanked everyone who “reminded” him about political correctness. These are just a few examples from the celeb world. But by no means is the rigidity over political correctness limited to public figures. From office discussions to friendly banter, issues over political correctness are capable of causing friction.
Political correctness has been a subject of discussion and debate across the globe. For instance, a Harvard Business Review article titled ‘Rethinking Political Correctness’, notes: “A white manager fears she will be perceived as racist if she gives critical feedback to her Latino subordinate. A black engineer passed over for promotion wonders whether his race has anything to do with it, but he’s reluctant to raise this concern lest he is seen as ‘playing the race card’.
A woman associate who wants to make a partner in an accounting firm resists seeking coaching on her leadership style; she worries that doing so would confirm the notion that women don’t have what it takes to make partner.” The article calls political correctness a “double-edged sword”.
That leaves us with a few questions. Is there a case of increasing ‘hypersensitivity’ to political correctness? Does political correctness vigilantism stifle freewheeling, organic conversations? Or does it help us evolve into a better society?
‘A tool for social lynching’
C Ravichandran, atheist thinker and writer
Though very limited, political correctness has some educational value. It creates awareness about the words and terminologies that should be avoided. However, now we are going through an overload of political correctness. We have a lot of people virtue signalling, nitpicking. Sometime political correctness plank is used for social lynching. It is a great tool to destroy people you hate. And, slowly, it will reach a stage where people will hesitate to speak out.’
‘Hypocrisy is evident everywhere’
Rekha Raj, writer and Dalit rights activist
I am suspicious of this demand to be always politically correct. It just asks people to be politically correct on social media or in public, while in their private lives, they continue to be as usual. This hypocrisy is evident everywhere. In the case of Adoor, he was the director of a govt institution, so he had to be called out.
‘Who are we to point fingers’
Unnimaya Prasad, actor and producer
One thing to consider while discussing political correctness is that people come from different situations, backgrounds and places. Take our own parents. They may not be up-to-date on such concepts and discussions. How they grew up, what they saw around them, and the issues they faced in life were all different. This can be applied to people around us. Who are we to point fingers at them?
‘Let there be discussions’
Vijayaraja Mallika, poet
There is a gap between people who know about and understand political correctness and those who don’t. We need to fill that gap. Let there be adequate discussions between the two sides. For example, increase dialogues on casteism or gender issues at schools and colleges. Also, we should curb the tendency to make public figures idols. Then, every single mistake they make becomes a huge issue.
‘Fear is good’
Aleena, poet
Political correctness simply means don’t hurt others, especially in this very unequal society. Those who say it is being imposed on everyone are basically those accustomed to privilege. The social benefit of calling out wrong statements may be felt, perhaps, 10 years down the line. Many people learn from public outrage. An element of fear is good.
‘Calling out helps’
Aparna Mulberry (Inverted Coconut)
Abuse and name-calling are just a part of life here, and we should be able to handle it without getting offended. Colourism, for instance, is so ingrained here; we don’t even realise when we hurt people. Same with bodyshaming. That is why it is important to call out. To make people aware of what they are saying is wrong.
‘Don’t cancel, give space’
Jolly Chirayath, actor
Political correctness has both positive and negative effects. It questions and makes us think about the rights and wrongs of our current social structure. We are unlearning and rethinking. However, on the flipside, we are losing our liberty to look at things and speak organically. Instead of cancelling people, we should allow them space and time to understand and evolve.
‘Anyone who has not made a mistake?’
Kiran Thomas, techie & social media observer
Where do you think all these people who ‘correct’ others come from? The discussions of political correctness started among US on social media back in 2010. We made many wrong statements, never realised how casteist or sexist our movies were. Gradually discussions and corrections started. And we took our time and became conscious. Now, what we see is the same people (including me) accusing those who haven’t gone through the process. How can we accuse Mammootty or Indrans, who never had a chance to make mistakes and correct them, be judged so severely? Let others also have the privilege of correcting themselves before attacking them.
‘Keep learning’
S Saradakutty, author
There was a time when we weren’t very aware of casteism, gender equality, etc. These were part of our daily jokes. We never thought of political correctness; we were blissfully ignorant. But as time changed, we are learning that many things we considered normal are wrong. Now we take the effort to be politically correct. Yet, sometimes, we slip. That is what happened to Mammootty. Society will keep reminding us when we err. And celebrities will have to apologise and mend their ways.
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