Last week, when the photos from Ranveer Singh's shoot were released on social media, the actor might not have thought that he would be at the risk of facing legal action among other things. Now Mumbai Police has filed a First Information Report against him, he is being mercilessly trolled online and has made it to primetime news debates, thanks to his "bum". Is this truly a bizarre turn of events? Or should we stop expecting anything less from the media which has expertise in blowing up the most irrelevant issues plaguing the country?
On July 21, an online magazine published an interview of Singh, along with which were some stills for a nude photoshoot that the actor had done for the publication. While the actor's privates are duly covered in all the images, his derriere can be seen clearly in one of the photos. We will come to the bum-bit of this saga later but just a suggestion that the actor went completely naked for these pictures was enough to start a frenzy on social media.
Ranveer Singh Nude Photoshoot
While his fans came out in support, hailing the actor for baring it all despite knowing that these images might get him trolled, as expected, people couldn't stop cracking jokes about the shoot being a result of Singh's wife Deepika Padukone hiding all her clothes. The comments stemmed from Singh's gender-fluid dressing style, as previously he has been seen dressed in skirts, lehenga, et al. Many wondered if a woman would have gotten away with a similar photoshoot with what can be best labelled as the juvenile level of trolling. Can you imagine all the rape threats, moral policing and slut shaming she would have to endure? Now it feels that they spoke too soon.
Suggested Reading: There Are Bigger Threats To Women's Modesty Than Ranveer Singh Posing Naked
Ranveer Singh Nude Photos: Was this level of outrage necessary?
On July 25, a Mumbai-based NGO filed a complaint with the police against the actor, accusing him of "hurting sentiments of women". Soon after an FIR was registered in connection with the case. That was enough for the media to clear its table off any agenda that might be of national interest and instead award prime time to this controversy. And why not?
During a news debate on NDTV, the lawyer who had filed a complaint against Singh deemed it a "national issue" as she could see his "bum".
In Indore city, an NGO organised a drive to collect clothes for the actor as a mark of protest. The way things are going, it doesn't seem that the issue will die down in the coming few days. The media has tasted blood - it knows that these pictures have raised eyebrows and amused people to the extent that they are willing to watch discussions and debates on it.
To criticise Singh for this shoot is one thing, but to shame him, take legal action or engage in hour-long debates questioning what offends and what doesn't should raise alarm bells about how we are misusing the power of our attention and access to information. Our reaction to this controversy speaks volumes about our priorities. We love being offended. We thrive when there is a common call to police, troll or shame an individual. And we conveniently forget about the futility of such outrage.
Singh could care less about the backlash to his pictures. He can afford best of lawyers to help him with legal action against him. He will continue to dress and undress as per his choice. But what about the time and energy we have spent spinning this non-issue out of proportions? When will we acknowledge that we could have put our desire to object to better use?
Views expressed are the author's own.
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