Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji trolled for laughing at funeral: Why Indians feel we should all look dead during condolence meet
Much before Twitter and Facebook happened to Indians, the two 'big main' ways to socialise were attending marriages and funerals. Apart from the tragedy befalling the immediate kin of the dead or the marrying couples, these occasions also gave us a great opportunity to dress up 'suitably' and bring out our finery.
Bollywood especially helped us with the dress code for death.
The flowing white, no-make-up look, with those other-wordly expensive eyes veiled behind dark glasses, concealing our emotions, if any.
The culture springing forth from the fountain of tradition taught us to look more involved than the actual stakeholders. Both in funerals and marriages — the dulhan ki saheli looking sexier than the dulhan (who anyway is expected to symbolise doom), the mourner looking more lifeless than the one being mourned.
In fact, we have been so professional in our approach that, in this land of many firsts, we were perhaps the 'first' ones to come up with paid mourners — rudalis.
So, after 87-year-old Krishna Raj Kapoor, the wife of legendary actor Raj Kapoor, died, we were waiting to find out the best and worst dressed mourners. But some celebs really disappointed us when they forgot to wear the most important accessory to any funeral — those 'glycerined' eyes and unmoving robotic lips. Some of the eminent members have instead been found guilty of smiling, even chatting among themselves.
And hell hath no fury like a twitterati scorned. Much to the mourning of netizens, Karan Johar, Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji were spotted laughing and smiling in several photos of the prayer meet. The moral guardians couldn't hold back and started speed-posting photos with comments like — "They are in a prayer meeting, why are they laughing?" and "Is this a funeral or a party?"
At the risk of ruining the party of trolls, what else is a funeral meet, if not a party? A get-together organised by the dead. Like any good host, the only thing the dead looks after is to make sure the guests feel anything but at home. Cursing under their breaths — look at the lucky tyke — but forced to praise the him/her anyway for organising that grand party.
One troll said, "These are the most fake people. See shameless Rani, Karan Johar. Rani thinks she is a big thing getting married to Aditya Chopra. Just hate her."
Since Alia Bhatt looked upset, some praised her for her mature behaviour during such situations.
But aren't funerals supposed to be an occasion to remind us of the realities of life — which also includes the truth that we all laugh and smile. Medical experts though have reasons to believe that some people especially crack up during funerals because thinking about "death and mortality can cause anxiety". When some of us get really anxious, we laugh (overwhelming anxiety) and the more we think it's inappropriate to do so, the more we laugh because we get more anxious.
Yes, hysteria, laughing hysteria.
The celebs who were trolled were not laughing, only smiling. But that was a crime in our eyes, which, until Krishna Raj Kapoor died, honestly could hardly recognise her. How she looked or how she was was something that entirely escaped our attention. "Really, I didn't know she was still alive" was a collective refrain from most outside Bollywood after they heard the news of her demise.
The real crime of these Bollywood stars was not smiling during such a 'oh-so-sombre' occasion, but the fact that they are such bad actors, they couldn't perform well even in the funeral box office.
They ruined our party for sure.