Kangana Ranaut’s open letter to Saif Ali Khan shows real talent doesn’t care about genes
It’s not for nothing that she’s dubbed the Queen of Bollywood. On DailyO.in, we had once called Kangana Ranaut the “Arundhati Roy of Bollywood”. We stand by it. She is, isn’t she? It takes a Kangana Ranaut to turn the industrial genetics of the Hindi film industry on its head.
While in a puerile letter, mascot of Bollywood “eugenics”, Saif Ali Khan, had paraded his quaint interest in words that have controversial, blood-stained contexts, and while he, along with Karan Johar and Varun Dhawan, star kids who got the first break on a silver platter, screamed in unison “Nepotism rocks!”, we have the golden girl of the silver screen, Kangana, giving it back to these spoilt brats of celluloid — showing the world how it's done.
In an “open letter” to Sail Ali Khan, Kangana has underscored what it means to be a true artist who is committed only to the fountain of art and its inspiration, to real creativity, without caring two hoots about sickening barriers such as pedigree, gene-pool, inheritance, surname, wealth, family status, social stature, and their fascist biopolitical derivative: eugenics.
Khan and Johar foolishly and arrogantly defended their ridiculously tasteless stance, their collective dig at Kangana for speaking her mind and dubbing Johar the “Bollywood mafia”, “flag-bearer of nepotism” – and rightly so – that too on Johar's ubiquitous show Koffee with Karan. Both went to extreme lengths to spruce themselves up, explaining their utter condescension towards outsiders. In fact, they tried to make a virtue out of nepotism, and that was the big show IIFA 2017 all about.
They were justly panned by all and sundry. Did they really think that their display of cliquishness would be accepted in a country where millions are below the poverty line because they were born into it?
Incredibly upsetting as it was, Khan and Johar trying to put a wool on their misdeeds was even more stupid.
This is why Ranaut’s open letter is so heart-warming. Absolutely without malice, but full of sharp insights, great ripostes and a generous rallying cry for art and only art – in any form – this is the subject and matter of Kangana Ranaut’s philosophically uplifting letter. While Ranaut calls out Saif Ali Khan’s idiotic comparison of artists with race-horses, she underlines the democratic nature of art and talent, which doesn’t give two hoots about gene-pools and inheritance.
Hence, Khan’s ill-thought of quips about eugenics and genetics were exactly that: pure bullsh*t. Art doesn’t shine in a genetic hoarding of ideas, even though the powerful and wealthy try their best to control art, culture and production of knowledge. But control isn’t creativity. Art pierces through those barriers and still makes its presence felt.
That’s why Kangana, daughter of a farmer, is who she is today: a risk-taking, plain-speaking, bold and brave artist of true grit and compassion, enviable beauty and unparalled talent.
Kangana writes: “The last time I was deeply pained and upset about this issue was when Mr Karan Johar wrote a blog on it, and even once declared in an interview that there are many criteria for excelling in the film business. Talent is not one of them. I don’t know if he was being misinformed, or simply naïve, but to discredit the likes of Mr Dilip Kumar, Mr K Asif, Mr Bimal Roy, Mr Satyajit Ray, Mr Guru Dutt, and many more, whose talent and exceptional abilities have formed the spine of our contemporary film business, is absolutely bizarre.”
Kangana’s examples are stellar because she goes back to the basics, to the true pioneers of the film industry, who helped make it, not merely perpetuate its latterly acquired talent to invest in “gene-pools” and filmi families.
That’s why she says: “Even in today’s times, there are plenty of examples where it has repeatedly been proven that beyond the superficiality of branded clothes, polished accents, and a sanitised upbringing, exists grit, genuine hard-work, diligence, eagerness to learn, and the gigantic power of the human spirit. Many examples, all over the world, in every field, are a testimony to that.”
Kangana is light years ahead in her intellect and her aspiration, indeed her craving for the wonders of art, that no finishing school or polished accent can provide. Her letter is brimming with the beauty of the enlightened mind; she is really not bothered by the engines of small-time jealousies, the “campism” that Sailf Ali Khan talks about and indeed enshrines in his silly letter.
Moreover, Kangana refuses to accept that “nepotism” was about just the trio on stage or her alone.
She writes: “Nepotism is a practice where people tend to act upon temperamental human emotions, rather than intellectual tendencies. Businesses that are run by human emotions and not by great value-systems, might gain superficial profits. However, they cannot be truly productive and tap into the true potential of a nation of more than 1.3 billion people. Nepotism, on many levels, fails the test of objectivity and rationale. I have acquired these values from the ones who have found great success and discovered a higher truth, much before me. These values are in the public domain, and no one has a copyright on them.Greats like Vivekananda, Einstein and Shakespeare didn’t belong to a select few. They belonged to collective humanity. Their work has shaped our future, and our work will shape the future of the coming generations.”
This is a lovely display of intelligence and wit, but without a shred of malice. She’s sharp and incisive when she calls out Khan’s utterly bizarre love for “eugenics”, or controlled breeding of the human race. This is what the RSS wants to do with its Garbh Sanskar programme, what the Nazis did in their race laboratories.
What was Saif Ali Khan really smoking?
Kangana writes: “You talked about the relationship between genetics and star kids, where you emphasised on nepotism being an investment on tried and tested genes. I have spent a significant part of my life studying genetics. But, I fail to understand how you can compare genetically hybrid racehorses to artists! Are you implying that artistic skills, hard-work, experience, concentration spans, enthusiasm, eagerness, discipline and love, can be inherited through family genes? If your point was true, I would be a farmer back home. I wonder which gene from my gene-pool gave me the keenness to observe my environment, and the dedication to interpret and pursue my interests. You also spoke of eugenics - which means controlled breeding of the human race. So far, I believe that the human race hasn’t found the DNA that can pass on greatness and excellence. If it had, we would’ve loved to repeat the greatness of Einstein, Da Vinci, Shakespeare, Vivekananda, Stephen Hawking, Terence Tao, Daniel Day-Lewis, or Gerhard Richter.”
That’s why Kangana is Kangana. She not only looks up to the best and the brightest in the world – not in terms of wealth or power, but the best of the minds, of art and of sheer creativity, she breathes their essence. One of the finest actors of her generation, she’s perhaps the boldest that the industry has ever seen. Her politics is one of pure courage, and she risks everything every time by speaking up what she believes in, no matter who’s against her.
Kangana writes: “Our creative industry gets this love from our countrymen, because we are like a mirror to them — whether it’s Langda Tyagi from Omkara or Rani from Queen, we are loved for the extraordinary portrayal of the ordinary. So, should we make peace with nepotism? The ones who think it works for them can make peace with it. In my opinion, that is an extremely pessimistic attitude for a Third World country, where many people don’t have access to food, shelter, clothing, and education. The world is not an ideal place, and it might never be. That is why we have the industry of arts. In a way, we are the flag-bearers of hope.”
She’s not lecturing, or talking down when she says what she says. She believes in it with all her heart. Her democratic spirit is one of enquiry and experimentation, of expanding the horizons of art and culture, and not sucking up to powers that be.
There’s not a fibre of genuflection in Kangana’s body and mind. Though she herself says that one day she too might fail to live up these values, but these values would still be the measure of the world and its worth. What a fine person Kangana Ranaut is!
When will Bollywood become worthy of her?