CHENNAI: As New Year approaches, spirits run high. Bengaluru, however, is divided over one particular New Year Eve performance — Bollywood star Sunny Leone’s. Members of youth political party in Bengaluru threatened to commit suicide if Sunny performs, leading to the cancellation of the event. The issue is now scheduled for a hearing on Thursday. The artiste community, on the other hand, sees this issue as mere obstruction. Speaking to various players of the industry — including performers, audiences and event management companies — CE sheds perspective on the issue.
Whose loss is it?
Vikas Palkala, CEO and founder, Gig Monk Events, who earlier were a part of the organising team (ticketing partner) of an event featuring Sunny Leone in Hyderabad, points out that if the idea is to impact the artiste in question, then the protestors are failing. “The event organisers have already paid the advance and the other expenses. The performer especially a star like Sunny will lose nothing. In fact, some organisers may cash in on her blocked dates for other promotions,” he explains.
Meanwhile, the audiences who will be affected by what the Yuva Sena calls “obscenity” is far more pragmatic. “As an audience, particularly on New Year’s Eve, I would be more bothered about the party than the performance. If Sunny Leone won’t be performing that night, it will be some other performer. But it won’t stop the party. Also, the audience is not stupid to expect some obscenities to ensue on stage just because the star is Sunny Leone,” says Srujan Shashanka, a musician from Secunderabad who plans on celebrating the New Year’s at an event in Hyderabad.
Third party interference
While the Government earlier issued permissions to the organisers for the event in Bengaluru, the protests led to the police to cancel it citing “law and order concerns”. This situation raised questions among citizens. As far as I know, the event was within the legal guidelines. The government’s permissions were taken and the performer too was clued in regarding the acceptable terms. It seems like a third party entity barged in to hold a whip and dictate terms on others’ lifestyles,” says Srujan adding with an afterthought, “This has never happened before. Not when Sunny performed for 2015 New Years’ or during other events. Lately, it has become a political agenda to be offended.”
New Year’s events like these are planned not just with one star performance, but many other musical and dance performances. Selling tickets cashing in on the showstopper isn’t a concept unheard of. “Tickets are sold using the star’s popularity and their pull over the audience. Event organisers base their shows on the star attraction because that is their selling point. She already has a huge fanbase and cancelling this show won’t change that. Moreover, any event organiser would want to book an artiste because they will ensure an audience; not to attract a scandal.”
Respect artistes
Most Chennai-based artistes support Sunny and believe that an artiste shouldn’t be denied creative expression. Kuzhali Jagannathan, a dancer says, “An artiste cannot be banned or excluded from performing based on a group’s moral policing thoughts. The film industry, including Kannada, showcases ‘women in skimpy clothes’ to sell their movies. This is simply an act of glorified patriarchy where certain groups want to hide their skeletons in their closets.” She also believes that performances like these help them earn their livelihood. “Singling out an artiste and banning them will only make the artistes lose their livelihood,” she avers.
Pianist Anil Srinivasan says, “As a nation we need to seriously reassess our identities. They do not depend on any individual performing or not performing. I think that performances are self selecting. There is an audience for everyone. It is sad that we are hypocritical when it comes to moral policing.”
Story so far
Sunny Leone was scheduled to perform for New Year’s Eve along with many Kannada bands and artists in an event named “Sunny Night”. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Yuva Sena held protests saying the event is against Kannada culture and heritage. The event was thus denied permission by Bengaluru police stating “law and order concerns”. The organisers have henceforth filed a petition with the High Court to reinstate the event. They stated that it was planned well within a legal framework, with all formalities followed. The petition will come up for hearing on Thursday.
(With inputs from Roshne Balasubramanian)