BENGALURU: When actress Sunny Leone visited Kochi this August, to launch a mobile phone, the streets could not contain the millions of fans. She was on an open stage, waving and smiling at her audience who were crowding terraces and balconies, and even clambering on to transformers. The actor left the city beaming, tweeting later that her car was caught “in literally a sea of love in Kochi”.
In Bengaluru, the now-cancelled show was meant to be in a closed auditorium with a few hundred in the audience. Yet, the city police said that they could not guarantee her safety. Harish, Managing Director of Time Creations, the event management firm that was organising this show, says that this experience taught him a lesson.
‘I'll ask Vedike, next time’
“There are about seven or eight permissions to seek from the police to organise a show, but next time I will first get a clearance from Kannada Rakshana Vedike or any other such group,” he says.
Artists, who either reside in the city or visit here for performances, have mixed responses. Sandalwood’s actresses respond with caution saying that her safety comes first and that the police may be right. But others say it is shameful and could affect other performers.
Safety first
Actress Harshika Poonacha says, “For a woman, safety comes first. Even when I go for performances, I have bouncers around. Despite that I have been assaulted… Sunny has done the right thing by cancelling the performace, she's just trying to stay safe.”Senior actress Sudha Rani agrees with Harshika and says, “Even at regular New Year's parties, there have been so many incidents in which women get hurt. I'm a little conservative and don't see the need to party for New Year, all that is just a fad.”Singer Lucky Ali says that we need to have a “practical” response to this. "Every person, irrespective of their profession, is responsible for what they do. The police might find it tough to control a drunk crowd on New Year's Eve".Perhaps last year’s New Year mishap is what is making the city police extra cautious, says Sharmiela Mandre. “This is a good thing. I have had performances where the crowd has just gone crazy, so I understand.”This is just a one-off incident, dismisses Hariprriya.
‘Censor my legs’
Comedian Sorabh Pant, who performs regularly in Bengaluru, is merciless with his humour. “I usually wear shorts in many of the shows, especially open mikes. I show my bare legs to the crowd and it is disgusting, might as well crack down on that."Safety of its people is a government’s responsibility, says activist and theatre personality Prakash Belawadi. The cancellation is a “shameful admittance of incompetence by the government”. He adds, “It is very unfortunate that such protests are being encouraged”.The protestors themselves were not sticking to Indian side of culture, observes writer, comedian and media personality Danish Sait. “They were wearing jeans and T-shirts, these aren’t Indian… They don’t even even know what the event was about. It's not like she's going to have sex on stage, she's just going to be dancing."
Sunny was here before, why no protests then?
What about the performers who were to share the stage with Sunny, asks Sandalwood actor Vinayak Joshi. “No one has the right to intrude into another person’s profession. Other artists were also part of the show, they too have been hit. The entire episode has given unnecessary publicity to people who do not deserve it,” he says.
“Sunny Leone has come here earlier and has even acted in few Kannada films. Why is there a problem now,” asks playback singer Chaitra HG. “People who can afford the tickets will go. If someone tells me not to sing because they find it offensive, I will dismiss that as ridiculous. A small group of people have hijacked the narrative for an entire state.”