Why Veena Malik, Pakistan's hot, blasphemous girl, deserves respect

"In Pakistan, it is a crime to be bold, beautiful and young. And I'm all three," Veena Malik had said in an interview back in 2011, when the woman was a household name in her neighbouring country, thanks to Bigg Boss 4. Like every season, Salman Khan's much-watched TV show had one person who put all others on priority: second, thanks to his/her - her, mostly - potential for cooking up a controversy here and fanning the flames of a fatwa there. Just that when Malik stepped on the Bigg Boss stage, no one thought she would turn out to be the centre of attraction of Season 4, what with her cooing shayari to herself in the mirror or cuddling Ashmit Patel, waving a thumb in front of the watchful eyes of her country.

Catastrophe, as might have been ordained, struck soon after. After her 12 weeks in the house, the Pakistani actress was seen on national news from across the border. Lashing out at a visibly angry maulvi, the actress said that what she does or does not do is her problem - between her and her God, and that Islam had other things to worry about than her blasphemous act of kissing and hugging a certain Hindu Indian actor. Mufti Abdul, on his part, maintained his stand of slut-shaming the actress despite, as he confessed, having watched any of the kissing and hugging in discussion. One couldn't help but feel respect for the actress' courage. In a country where most people treat the white-haired-white-bearded-Quran-referring maulvis' words as straight from the mouth of the Prophet, it was but a matter of luck that Veena got away with her teary-weary-fiery shouting on national television. No, she wasn't lynched by the mob. But she did manage to attract much criticism from Pakistan's extremely conservative circles.

Once all of these were laid to rest, a photo shoot of a bare-topped Veena laid bare all of her controversial past. The "ISI" tattoo on her arm, in addition to going topless for FHM made many an extremist in Pakistan bay for the actress' blood. Later, Malik sued the magazine with charges of tampering with her actual photo shoot. Notwithstanding the results of that, our neighbour erupted in "Hai! Hai! Veena" slogans yet again. Many conservative Muslims in the country screamed along. However, Veena's popularity stood only to gain from the fuss. And she debuted in a proper role in Bollywood with the film Zindagi 50-50. That the film sunk without a trace is something that doesn't need re-telling, but Malik went on to star in a couple of other films after that.

Let's not even get into debating the incredulity of it. That might attract the beheading of both you and me. But incredulous, it sure is. The fact that actors are more often than not soft targets, at the receiving end of bans and protests left, right and centre, is not exactly breaking news. We've seen innumerable cases of PILs being slapped on films and actors and directors and spot boys, and even erring cameras, for all you know. An actor smokes in public, slap a PIL. A film shows the LTTE in a neutral light, let's protest. A director has the chutzpah to make a one-sided film on Kashmir, burn his effigies. A character in a film is called Ram, raze the theatre screening it. And this is just India - where we take a bit of pride in being somewhat more open-minded than the people across the border. While we continue to ban and burn a form of mass media, will common sense never penetrate these rock-solid craniums? That the more you criticise something, the more it is consumed?

After all that people have subjected these actors and their films to, they have only prospered. One is reminded of a Marquez-esque society here; given the who-cares attitude that accompanies the report of some such absurdity. There is a certain amount of complacency that has come to dominate our lives now, whenever we hear the news of another PIL or another protest, especially those on religious lines. If your religion is so intolerant of a bit of satire, why bother to follow it? And as far as Veena Malik is concerned, here's hoping she's able to challenge the verdict in a higher court. If she's able to get rid of her designation as Pakistan's favourite punchbag; if some good comes out of the act, good for her. If not, she can continue to act in Hindi films across the border. One sure wouldn't mind seeing (or hearing) more of her, pun or no pun intended.