The furore caused by Tannishtha Chaterjee who walked out of the sets of a popular TV Roast Show recently got me thinking. Now ‘Roast’ is not ‘Chicken Roast’ that we are talking here but, a program where celebrities willingly come to the show to get their legs pulled -literally…. no I mean it ! The entire premise is based on satire – the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people, particularly in the context of their work. So what happens if during the course of using humour we just make fun of a well established prejudice ~ Skin Tone or colour being the major ruse out here.
For starters mainstreaming a particular prejudice is not Humour but downright sign of disrespect. Unfortunately the creators of the TV show and the people who enjoy similar humour are unconsciously blind. “Cross my heart; we never intended that”. Well sure, the issue here is not about the intent but the bias which is prevalent and which everyone needs to own up to. The ‘dark skin- toned’ bias is a quality which is shared by an estimated 80% of the people in country. So satiring it is not humour but, plain bullying.
I am sure there are enough red flags which would have come up by now, saying if we are making fun of a physical attribute where the person herself is ok then it should be okay ! A case in point ~ Comedian Bharti Singh who is physically on the heavier side, and makes fun of herself on national television about her weight. Bharti has a choice to be on the heavier side and she is happy being there, but what about millions of people who do not have that choice ?
Being born with a particular skin tone is not choice but pure buy cheap doxycycline 100mg genetics. Imagine the plight of an infant once he/she opens up her eyes demanding a fair world of opportunities. But is left to fight continuously home and outside, cause the entire world is obsessed in making you fairer …somehow. There is this full machinery involved from ‘ubtans’ to fairness creams makers who are making a killing in their efforts to making one fairer. Every newspaper has large matrimonial ads shrieking out – ‘Wanted ‘Fair’ bride(or groom’).
Even our folklores sing “Radha tu kyon gori aur main kyon kala”. Prejudices leads to stereotypes and stereotypes lead to Labels. Once something gets labelled to a particular category, it does not amount to choice.
This is reflective of the society that we live in. Satire in its essence is ridiculing and making fun of power. Unfortunately that’s the opposite which seems to be happening here. It is easy to attack a newbie lower down in the power ladder to influence and make fun. But it will be ‘harakari’ to get a dark skin toned established actress or even any of the Khans invited to be roasted on the same shows. It’s plain power dynamics and associated shenanigans.
We live in an equal society where everyone is entitled to his or her view. I thank Tannishtha for the maturity in taking a stand not because she didn’t want to be roasted or she did not have the right attitude for it. It’s because she understands the fine line between humour and reality. We need a mindset change that is free of inequality with a fresh layer of thinking. In this context, roasting is a counter to a toasting, so highlighting a relevant toast in the form of humour will be a welcome change.
Till then I await the real roasting to happen on Indian television.
