Congress isn't laughing: party complains against Sholay parody video

The Congress has alleged that “Aaj Ki Sholay” parody on YouTube shows the party in a bad light and makes a “derogatory” reference to the party’s vice-president Rahul Gandhi. VIDEO

Updated on: Nov 23, 2013, 10:06:57 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The 1975 blockbuster Sholay has spawned hundreds of spoofs and parodies, both political and comical. In the ongoing election season, one such parody has sent the Congress complaining to the Election Commission.

The Congress complaint is the first by a national political party for the alleged violation of the election watchdog’s guidelines on social media.

The Congress has alleged that “Aaj Ki Sholay” parody on YouTube shows the party in a bad light and makes a “derogatory” reference to the party’s vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

The EC regulation issued in October brought social media under the ambit of model code of conduct and at par with other media platforms. It also intended to cover the content uploaded on social media by persons other than candidates and representatives of political parties.

In the movie, Jai, the character played by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, seeks heroine’s (Hema Malini’s) hand in marriage for his friend Veeru (Dharmendra) from the prospective bride’s aunt (Leela Mishra).

In the iconic scene, Jay enumerates every bad habit of his friend but in a manner that makes it seem he is extolling his virtues to better his prospects. But he only ends up infuriating the mausi (aunt).

In the parody video, the dubbed dialogue has Jay justifying corruption in the Congress he calls “the old party in the country” and with “hand as its identity”. The mausi, however, is looking for a “clean party”.

VIDEO: A parody of Aaj ki sholay

“Eik baar mili juli sarkar bana li tou niyat saaf ho jaye gi (Once a coalition government is formed, intentions would automatically become clear),” Jai tells the aunt, when she inquires about the manifesto of the party.

Jai goes on to defend corruption in the party by saying, “Kayi bar sansadoon ko khareedna padta hai. Mausi kya karein, kursi cheez hi aasi hain…eik bar mantriyo ko bhrashtachaar ki aadat pad gayi to us mein sarkar ka kya dosh (…many a time, MPs have to be bought. Aunty, you can’t help it, power makes you do such a thing; you can’t blame the government if ministers become habitual of corruption).

And when the aunt asks about the party’s future leader, Jay replies, “As soon as Rahul Baba says ‘yes’, I will inform you.” He then asks the aunt if he can count on her vote.

But the aunt is hardly impressed and blurts out in anger: “I will rather cut my finger than vote for this party. I am a voter, not a fool.”

The complaint filed by Congress’ legal cell in-charge KC Mittal on Thursday says the words used against the party are similar to the remarks made against the party by BJP leaders, especially its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Hinting at the saffron party’s hand in the video, the Congress alleged it had originated from Modi’s state of Gujarat.

The first complaint of its type has put the EC in a bind as it does not have the wherewithal to inquire into electoral violations in social media recently brought under the regulation.

The EC was caught off-guard as the complaint came before it could work out a mechanism with the help of the ministry of communication and information technology to regulate the content uploaded by the persons having no direct link with parties in association

The EC says the complaint is being examined and it is considering various options, including asking the government to get the video removed or direct the local police to investigate.

ALSO READ:

Cong knocks EC door over Modi 'khooni panja' barb
EC ticks off Rahul Gandhi, slaps notice on Modi
Rahul Gandhi tells EC he didn't violate poll code

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.