is my choice really "MY CHOICE" ?

Imagine your mother making out in your presence with your neighbor on the pretext “it’s my choice? Imagine your sister brining two boys at home in the night to do a three-some on pretext “it’s my choice?
It would definitely be hard for most of us to gulp such imaginations turning out to be a reality, no matter how much we cover ourselves under the shadow of fancy phrases –“My Choice”.
India has turned into a land of controversies from the land of superstition and the latest of those is a small video featuring Deepika Padukone and 98 other women. Deepika appears in this short film, urging women to consider certain choices as completely their choices from pre-marital sex to having extra-marital affairs, to love a woman or man, etc. etc. let’s analyses few issues one by one.

Cast-ing or Brand-ing
Garnishing of social issues and putting them into a glamorized package have become common for celebrities. Other than Deepika, the women who appear in the video are Zoya Akhtar, Anupama Chopra and few more from the bollywood industry. Deepika and her coterie fudged together a total mix of upper/middle class women to enterprise and spawn a new brand in the country- “ornamental feminism”. There may be some other women in the video from outside the industry to add some degree of collectiveness as I assume.

Target Group
The whole bunch of metaphors has been spoken in English. The short film has been released over internet and I assume it may be coming up on televisions soon or might have come but I am yet to watch it over television. India has a total of 243,598,922 internet users with a penetration of 20 percent.  70 percent of the Indian population resides in rural India where internet penetration is already devastating low. Out of this 24 Crore internet users, 17.7 crores are in urban India. So I am yet to understand for whom did Deepika and her Coterie make this shot film, for those 8 Crore rural living population with internet or 17.7 crores of urban internet users? (I am not considering the actual internet users, speed of internet, gender variations in the internet usage, etc). I didn’t take the pain of doing the analysis for T.V but putting my silly assumptions into this analysis – Will Doordarshan allow this short film to broadcast? If yes, then how many people in rural India are going to understand what Deepika tries to convey in Shakespearian English? You are free to put analysis.

Universal Values

The whole composure of the video rests at the design of Liberalism. While the belief in the possibility of progress is one identifier of Liberal approach to life, there are other general propositions that define the immense tradition of liberalism. The apt maneuver is to begin with a multi-dimensional definition of Liberalism- First, all citizens are equal and posses certain basic rights to education, access to a free press and religious toleration, second, a key dimension of liberty is the right to own property and productive forces, Third, the most effective system of economic exchange is one that that is largely market driven. When these propositions are taken together, we experience a blasted contrast between, on the one hand, liberal values of individualism, tolerance, freedom and, on the other, conservatism ( in liberal terms) or Indian Value system, which places a higher values on order and authority and is willing to sacrifice the liberty of the individual for the stability of the community.

 The short film seems to suggest the application of Liberal values in all and different value systems. Such energetic, market driven and exquisite empowering exercises can be calamitous and adverse especially for those who were to be the target audience while designing this short film.

Conclusion
The short film has ignored many aspects of Indian value system. No matter it has been designed to bring structural changes in the Indian society but this “cool” market driven methodology is an astray which has not hit the bull’s eye. Casting, Projecting, designing, language and all other elements in the short film are no doubt eye candies but what’s the use of it when they do not solve any purpose except a minute of cinematic glamour?

P.S – I have written this small piece in one go with complete virtue of “MY CHOICE”. Feel free to add more.