Dear sir,
I am sorry. For all the pain this violent opposition to your film must be causing you. Until the time the protests remained peaceful, it was okay- dissent, after all, is what keeps a democracy alive. When, however, in the evening news, I saw death threats being issued to you and Deepika Padukone, I was dumbstruck. Whatever happened to civilization? Humanity is at an all-time low.
This is not the India I grew up in. Today, our society reeks of intolerance, which is a pity. Unity in diversity – this is not merely an idea, but a value we strove to base our lives on. Exactly when did we teach ourselves that threatening murder and rape was okay? We should be ashamed of what we’ve become as a people.
Humanity is the cornerstone of any civilization. The moment we lose that, all our advancements in various fields are negated. Where we are going as a country and what image we’re projecting globally is a question we need to ask ourselves. What is unforgivable though, is the seeming complicity of the ruling political class. They need to realize that cinema is and will always be outside their purview. The lawmakers have become the lawbreakers.
When logic devoid, lathi-wielding goons go about vandalizing property, and we can only stare helplessly at the rampage, it spells a sorry day for the society. I’m sorry that my India has come to this.