Slum cake in the eye of ethical storm
It’s a principal dilemma for the famous that to remain in public memory, they have to be in the public eye. For celebrities, the line between private and public has always been very thin. But increasingly, their privacy is being eclipsed by the over-zealous shutterbugs and public opinions.
Recently when actor Shabana Azmi turned 60, hubby Javed Akhtar presented her a cake designed as a slum, which, he says, was meant to honour her work for slum-dwellers. On the contrary, it sparked off debates ranging from the mockery of poverty and tasteless humour of the Bollywood elite.
For freelance writer Mubasshir Mushtaq, a bedroom is definitely a private space, but he refuses to accept a public place to be part of privacy. He says, “Shabana Azmi’s birthday party was celebrated in a posh Mumbai hotel. There were regular P3Ps and photographers. Javed Akhtar has every right to show his creativity. But he must do it in his private space.”
Whether it is Sachin Tendulkar allegedly cutting a cake with the Indian tricolour or Bill Clinton’s cigar episode, both showed quite clearly that being known publicly puts you under the scanner and brings with it the responsibility of acting with care.
We all would agree that if there is a part of our lives we want to keep discreet, we won’t let it out in the open. Designer Nisha Jamvwal feels the same and says that though it was a “cute” thought by Javed saheb, added care was needed since the cake depicted poverty.
“It never really hurts to be careful about what you do keeping in mind we live in a sensitive, hyper-reactive country and we need to think before we act, especially since what we wear, what we say is always subject to be quoted and subsequently interpreted. To be indiscreet is then our fault,” explains Nisha.
Stars are the spice in people’s lives. They live their dreams and aspirations through them. So, they think they can pass an opinion on our lives, laments director Raj Kaushal. “We should be more responsible and work towards more important things. None of those who objected to the slum cake have done anything for the upliftment of slums dwellers. So they ideally have no right to criticise a man who has applauded his wife’s hard work by epitomising her 60 glorious years in the form of her birthday cake,” he adds.
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