Why Indian celebrities are afraid to be political

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The Congress is not wrong when it asks Amitabh Bachchan to take a stand on the Gujarat riots of 2002. Bachchan spelt out earlier this week, in his blog, that taking on the role of brand ambassador of Gujarat tourism was to be read as an endorsement of Gujarat's rich cultural heritage and not of 'Gujarat - the state', 'Modi's Gujarat' etc. Bachchan is endorsing the Somnath temple, not the politics of Somnath. The two are entirely different things, from the way commercial Hindi cinema's biggest actor looks at it.

But when Narendra Modi, who's in the SIT's firing line for his role in the riots, sees a big celebrity coming on-board to represent his state at exactly the same time, isn't he the slightest bit emboldened? And shouldn't Modi's smugness and cheekiness when he faced TV cameras after his 5-hour interrogation with the riot probe panel at least make Bachchan re-look at the choice he made and the message he's sending out?

Yes, there's more to Gujarat than Narendra Modi. And one gory chapter in the state's recent history shouldn't mean the rest of us boycott all things Gujarati. Just the government will do. Amitabh Bachchan must remember that when he evinced an interest in promoting Gujarat tourism, it was Modi who seized the moment and personally made the offer. And when he, Bachchan, accepted, he was saying yes to Modi - a man, many would think twice about aligning with, being seen with. But not Bachchan. And I'm wondering why.

Why hasn't Amitabh Bachchan boycotted Narendra Modi? Why did he choose to be an ambassador, an ambiguous role, that could be interpreted as giving legitimacy to someone on whose word the police looked the other way when more than 2000 Muslims were being persecuted, raped, burnt, beheaded. His timing couldn't be worse. It doesn't make ethical sense, or good business sense even for someone like Bachchan. Here's a man idolised by millions. When they see him with Modi, not bothering to read the fine print of the terms and conditions of that association or Bachchan's blog, they think - the Big B is supporting Modi, if the Big B found Modi support-worthy then there can't be anything wrong with Modi, just like when the Big B endorsed Cadbury's Dairy Milk after worms were found inside a few chocolate bars.

I am shocked that Amitabh Bachchan, of all people, is not aware of the power of the celebrity! Which means that fans take your word seriously no matter what you endorse - the ball-point pens, chocolate bars, herbal oils, Gujarat tourism when Narendra Modi is chief minister. And what is this apoliticalness that celebrities talk about. Bachchan chose to be an actor, he became a celebrity. He didn't choose to become a role model, but he is. With great power comes great responsibility.

It's disappointing that celebrities in India shy away from taking a stand on anything which doesn't have to do with a forthcoming release, unlike their western counterparts. Like Richard Gere and his support for the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan cause. Like Susan Sarandon whose anti-W stand was loud and clear.

Artistes - actors, musicians, painters - the world over understand that the personal is political. Taking a stand on some raging political debate of the day - usually a war, a massacre, abortion- is almost fashionable in the West. There have been some exceptions in our past - big stars like Aamir Khan (supporting the Narmada Bachao Andolan), Shah Rukh Khan taking on the Shiv Sena, and others like Nandita Das, Rahul Bose, Shabana Azmi, Celina Jaitley. What is the worst thing that can happen? Your film will be banned on superficial grounds, armed goons will threaten to stall your film's release, beat up any diehard fan and cine-goer who shows up at the theatre to see your film.

But what a celebrity stands to gain is more admiration- that he had the guts to take on an off-screen criminal. No one's asking Bachchan to sit-in with the survivors of the post-Godhra massacre. Just don't be caught aligning in any way with the person who put them there. If only our biggest celebrity was corruptible by a good cause...