When the boot is on the other foot....

Last week I saw "The Party", a 1968 Peter Sellers comedy.Sellers plays an Indian called Hrundy Bakshi, a film extra who is invited by mistake to a big Hollywood party instead of being fired. Sellers looks incredibly Indian and speaks with a very convincing accent too.
I sat in horror for the first half an hour, feeling completely outraged by what was happening onscreen. It was a horrible caricature of Indians in general and I felt it particularly distasteful.
In fact I think a movie like that wouldnt get away scot free today, without charges of racism surfacing.
And one of my good freinds here pointed out that Hindi movies are no different. And I agree with her.I have lost count of the number of times I have seen Tamilians(South Indians) being stereotyped in a highly ridiculous manner( esp the Late Mahmood).And nobody talks like that !!!
Of course having lived in a hostel with people from all over India,I do know none is spared-Bongs,Mallus,Punjabis,Biharis,Gultis et al-you name it!!
But I never found that as offensive or irritating, perhaps because they are Indians too (and also because everyone gives as good as they get!:-)
Maybe its my ego being hurt at the slight from a foriegner.Or I have become more sensitive about these issues after leaving India.
Infact that reminds me of another thing-the vision that people here have about India being an 'exotic' land of snake charmers and the like.And one of the professors actually told my room mate some drivel about Calcutta being a city with lots of snake charmers!!Now thats new!!
The general knowledge in this part of the world is practically non existent-but wait- I wont start on that now-lets save that for later.
When I went to the local Mall here I saw an "Indian shop".It sold things like wooden snakes and, hold your breath, "Hemchampa Agarbathee" and the humble old "Mooda"(now extinct bamboo stools:-)Well, thats the vision that they have of India!!
Coming back to what I was saying, whatever the reason, I do realise now that its not much fun when you are at the wrong end of the joke. I must be honest enough to admit that I would never have thought so much had the lead character been of some other nationality.
In retrospect I am glad that I saw that movie. Sometimes you need to be on the other side to get a better perspective.
It has made sure that next time I start a joke about that Sardarji, I will think twice.
(As an after thought,I must say Sellers is a brilliant actor)

Read for yourself

It makes me feel sick, but being a man I suppose I have to face up too-to the realities that abound. I find it shameful that not passing lewd comments, or misbehaving with women in public, is by itself now a virtue.
http://www.anniezaidi.com/2006/03/streets-stories-strategies.html
No more words,they dont help at all.