The recent TikTok video uploaded by Kartik Aaryan on his Twitter account has attracted the ire of several netizens. The video, now removed by him, showed Kartik throwing his sister off the balcony for making bad rotis. It was singer Sona Mahapatra who took to Twitter to criticize the video in a long message without naming the actor. She openly accused him of promoting misogyny via these videos.
“It is a slap in the face of those women who are trapped inside their home due to the coronavirus lockdown, suffering domestic violence,” the singer wrote.
Well, many have come up with the rebuttal that this is how a relationship between a brother and sister is, that they fight but still support each other. But this video does not celebrate the bittersweet relationship.
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The video promotes misogyny
Sona Mahapatra tweeted multiple posts criticizing the video. In a note in Hindi, she indicated how the actor's career is built on misogynistic movies. And that it was not funny but ridiculous how he "throws his sister out of the balcony for making bad rotis". “It is a slap in the face of those women who are trapped inside their home due to the coronavirus lockdown, suffering domestic violence.”
"I have begun to believe that this is a new PR strategy for many. Put out misogynistic content or even hire a multiple #MeToo accused & then wait for the feminists to speak up & protest & thus amplify? Free ka publicity. Case in point Kabir Singh, Indian Idol & maybe this too," she further wrote on Twitter.
Many other social media users criticized the actor for this shameful act.
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Why do I think the video is problematic?
First and foremost, the video propagates the message that cooking is a woman's domain, and males are the ones to wait on the dining table to eat. It has been normalized to such an extent that this doesn’t seem to be a problem for many.
Secondly, it is not just about cooking and efforts, but about cooking well. Here the responsibilities on females double. In the video, the brother is seating well-groomed whereas the sister is in loose clothes, untied hair, and flour on her face indicative of the fact that she took efforts. But all her efforts went in vain went unappreciated because she could not please his brother.
Third, he catches her by her ponytail, spins her around, and flings her from the terrace. This is the scene that was supposed to be funny. But violence on aggrieved can never be funny. And when it becomes a thing to laugh about for some people, it is scary. It is noticeable that here the violence is done by the brother who is considered as the protector in the society.
Violence on aggrieved can never be funny. And when it becomes a thing to laugh about for some people, it is scary.
In the very end, the brother saves the belan and not his sister is indicative of the fact that the relation isn’t more important than the belan. It is all materialistic. A female as long as she does her duty (as assigned by the society) is valuable and when she fails she isn’t worthy to live.
It is not funny!!
It is high time that society stops finding humour in the plight of suppressed women. It is time that these film stars understand that their actions have a deep impact on people’s behaviour and thinking and so-called simple and funny videos for them can legitimize domestic violence for others.
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Saumya Tiwari is an intern with SheThePeople.TV. The views expressed are the author's own.
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