Deepika Padukone plays Shanya D’Costa, a Christian girl, in Pathan.

That is to perhaps to justify her roaming around in bikinis, desperately thrusting and gyrating her body in crassest possible manner, faking coital convulsions, being grabbed and thrown around by the Pathan as if she is ‘unaccompanied baggage’ or ‘street trash’.

This is typical Bollywood characterization as per which Anglo girls are libertine, and Pathans are veritable stallions.

A Pathan character in Bollywood has the license to play a lust-laden marauder, although his heart would be made of 24 carat gold. You cannot break that stereotype, even if the Pathan is a Pakistani major. Commie-written history backs this abject role-play. She is given a Christian identity only so that she can play a sexy-siren without any restraints. Bless the Rosies, Julies, Ritas and Helens. This is the depth that Bollywood can plunge to.  Deepika could not have played a Pathan biwi for then she would then have had to don a burqa or a burkini. In this time and age, the makers could not have dared to bestow her with Hindu identity. Anti- Love Jihad brigade would have torpedoed this Urduwood vessel and sunk it with glee.

But, seriously, what is wrong with this girl? I’m not judging her for the exposure, for frankly, I like what I see on screen, the bare flesh, I mean, what is there not to like. I like the physical part of the show on offer, but this not transcend to sensuality. This is what had affected Deepika’s performance in Gehraaiyan as well. She tried too hard to steam it up, but the result was lukewarm, even stifling. Some thing, somewhere seems broken and wont repair by itself. Agreed that Deepika has more class as a person and talent as an actor, to be reduced to the mere essence of her body, but then this is what she is asking of us, so what can we do but play the game?

She had gone full despo’ in Gehraaiyan. It was her overplay during the intimate scenes that sank her co-star Siddhant Chturvedi’ s character, and undid the film. If she were a little less eager to dominate or sizzle, if she had underplayed a bit, his character, their chemistry, and the film might have worked. But DP knows no chill. Remember her desire to gift a pack of condoms to Ranbir Kapoor. Or her eagerness to delve into her battles with depression whenever a film release is round the corner.  Who can forget her visit to the JNU in a bid to promote Chhapak? She always seems eager to go full throttle, hence the wild heaves in “Besharm Rang” do not surprise.

Blaming the colours is all fine but how about taking some semblance of responsibility onscreen. Even her husband is out of control. His nude was quite a turn off. Hers would be welcomed, but she should avoid falling down to Ranveer Singh’ standards. Girls, young and old, emulate her. You don’t want bad influencers getting socially legitimized. Left to them, date rape culture would be the in-thing.

Coming back to the song, the lyrics suffer from abject poverty of ideas. Imagine having to fall back upon a hackneyed line from an old number to begin your marquee song. Writers Kumaar and Vishal Dadlani have smartly substituted Ishq for Husn in ‘hume to loot lia milke husn walon ne’. Is this enough to turn this act of blatant plagiarism into due inspiration Can we term this as incremental innovation?  Bloody chew my ear to keep me awake, says even SRK, in the video.  He looks sleepy and bedraggled, is perhaps on acid trip, and seems forlorn and disinterested, so much so that even Dipu’s convivial flesh-show fails to ‘jagao any armaan’ in him.  Total shite show, the song, except that Shilpa Rao has sung it well in her controlled, husky voice. I hope they had gone with Neha Kakkar. Then ‘Besharm rang’ would have been the Titanic disaster of 2022.

Coming back to the objections being raised regarding the film, I’d say Dipu has the right to go half or full monty to sell her wares. It’s the market, you see.  Jiska demand hai, wo bechna hi padta hai. If not you, someone else shall. Better the Padukone than the Pandey girl. Even SRK has the right to play a dopey Pathan, masquerading as a spy. He has the good sense not to parade his begum naked in town, but makes some excited floozy dance to his tunes. The problem is not with ‘rang’ either. Gods should not be allowed to appropriate colours. Someday they might stop me in the market and ask me to remove my green shoes and undies. The problem might lie in the imagery – an overaged Pathan being seduced by an importunate hussy, who after showing some reluctance succumbs to her charm, then ravishes her with gay abandon, before moving on with his ‘mission’.

He is a spy, lest you forget.

She is the reward, but also potential distraction.

The sight of this unshaven, withdrawn Pathan, making mincemeat of nubile, young women with scarce concern for anything temporal, presents a devastatingly accurate historical picture of how invaders from the Middle East used to behave, and their left-overs still do or wish to do. That is what pokes at the injured parts, and leads to complaints, objections and calls of boycott. This is why there is such hullabaloo. SRK and Big B have spoken out against hate and boycott culture on social media, but shied away from talking about negativity in Bollywood. They should know that ‘boycott’ is as much democratic as their right to expression.

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