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Entertainment

We said it first, Mr.Chopra !

By: Runa :+: Under: Entertainment, Religion
On: ⋅ June 4, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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There is an old ,old cliche - great minds think alike. Ahem ! We are very happy to report that Deepak Chopra has come out swinging against those who are protesting Mike Myers’ “The Love Guru. We at UD were way ahead of him - see earlier posts 1,2,3.In an online essay,Mr. Chopra had some pretty strong words for the protesters.

“The premature outcry against the movie is itself religious propaganda,” Chopra writes, noting that the protesters based their views on the film’s 2 1/2-minute trailer. “As viewers will find out when the movie is released this summer, no one is more thoroughly skewered in it than I am — you could even say that I am made to seem preposterous.” (link)

Chopra does not miss the opportunity to take some more potshots at his bete noire - Rajan Zed, who has been widely quoted as a “Hindu leader” who expressed concerns at the movies portrayal of Hindus and Hinduism.

But Chopra, who cites various spiritual influences but does not consider himself religious “in the traditional sense,” said the film is all in fun and could increase awareness of Hindu culture. He called Zed’s efforts “a cry for importance” and “a sign of deep insecurity.”"It’s a sign that your faith has become a cover up for all your insecurities because you can’t even take a joke,” Chopra said. “Mike is bringing attention to some very profound truths and these people haven’t even seen the movie.”

Ouch!

I am no fan of Deepak Chopra but the man makes some excellent points. This is the hijacking of a non-issue by people who are unwilling or unable to find truly protest-worthy causes. Hinduism - like every other organized religion in the world- has plenty of ills that need serious attention- a Mike Myers movie is last on the list of stuff that should be protested. How about instead paying attention to casteism, dowry deaths, gender discrimination, manglik horoscopes, marrying trees, charlatan Panditjis , greedy tantriks , self -anointed godmen and the like? I am in no way implying that these issues are unique to Hinduism but if Hindu leaders must protest there is an abundance of issues at hand.

At this point a deep bow to the PR Gurus at Paramount. They have managed to create a buzz and generate immense publicity for a Mike Myers movie, abetted by the usual assortment of noisy protesters who can be relied on to create much ado about nothing.

We continue to follow this story and look forward to salvos from the opposite side.

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