Tickling your Activist Bone

All India Bakchod, East India Comedy, pretentious movie reviews, #Superwoman have all become a part of our daily references for conversations ranging right from the most retarded films you must watch from the eccentric 80s to what a celebrity fancies on his free time on the pot. But this bunch of people has realized their social responsibility as soon as they hit mainstream. And just like that, we now reckon with these names to get some perspective on some of the most grilling social issues, especially surrounding women. A rather crude, brutally honest and pretty darn funny perspective!

Let’s look at some campaigns that simply nailed it:

All India Bakchod’s “It’s YOUR fault”:

If there was an award for politically correct hate speeches, behold, this video is it! White background, juxtaposed with happy women in colorful attires and moods, statements made by public figures’ notions about the causes of violence against women sauntering perkily into the screen. The video is anchored by Icons like Kalki Koechlin and Juhi Pande, disturbingly complacent with the circumstances, narrating how it is their own fault that they wear just about anything, work late, step out of their homes at all- or even the fact that they are responsible in giving birth to men in the first place. The amount of scorn in that satire laced frame, induces a chill down your spine.

All India Bakchod’s ‘The Times of Boobs’:

And, take the concept of subtlety in the previous example, reverse it 180 degrees, and you have our next exhibit! Comedy has to its advantage, hurling the choicest of insults at the individual/ institution at fault in a way that even the subject of the joke can’t help but laugh over. Times of Boobs does just that. The way this comedy company rushed to Deepika Padukone’s aid, when The Times of India blew up her cleavage in a photo, was genius. They took that incident as a cue to expose pretty much all the algorithms mainstream media uses to get more hits on their articles. In an edit meet taken by the marketing head, he yells “Bable seedha Page 9 pe? Pehle 8 page ke bable KAHAAN HAI?” in utter, beautifully sarcastic disappointment. Not too far off the mark.

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East India Comedy’s “I’m not a woman, and I apologize”:

Rajit Kapur, Neil Bhoopalam, Meiyang Chang and Sorabh Pant, some of the most known faces in comedy and entertainment, break into a monologue. Word by word, they state some of the most obvious elements of a “modern society” that are still unfathomable to our populace- Girls and boys can be friends; girls must be allowed to do everything they feel like etc. And the video embodies a darker shade, when these 4 men, in their disbelief over how much it “SUCKS” living in India for a women, delve into the concept of rape.  In such situations, they encourage victims to destroy the man’s genitalia- using enough crass sexual innuendos in one minute that would last a gentleman his entire life. While the video comes across as a rant, it’s still reassuring to finally see men losing their screws over the injustice.

Pretentious Movie reviews by Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan:

Now this YouTube channel releases a series of film reviews on films that could be the templates of the collective two-pennies of the majority, less tastefully done Bollywood film-making: patriarchal trash garnished with exaggerated stereotypes. While the concept of their scripts doesn’t necessarily have the discrimination against women peg, they are sure to raise guerilla hell, whenever they chance upon any regressive idea that the film subliminally sets in motion. Allow me to elaborate. Prem Aggan, where Fardeen khan has been asked to describe his first sexual encounter, to which he divulges something to the effect of, “Woh ladki foreigner thi. Hamare desh ki ladkiyaan toh kuch KARNE hi nahi deti.” And that set our two unlikely critics off. “I like how he says ‘karne nahi deti’- like it’s against the girl’s will,” they point out, as they clasp their sides, HOWLING, amused frowns and all, as if to say, “SERIOUSLY?”

Indeed, there is no better way to communicate the gravity of an injustice, than by coating it with hyperboles and euphemisms, packaging it with humor, and serving it to the audience angry-hot and ready to eat.