Part 2 - #IndiasDaughter looks to social media for change

This is continued from India’s Daughter – A landmark occurrence on social media

It was interesting to see that on social media, more men have supported the cause of the documentary and voiced their angst against the government and the views of the rapist and lawyers. Director-Actor-Singer, Farhan Akhtar very aptly tweeted that the film is not a statement against India, but only an opportunity to introspect.

The truth is #IndiasMan cannot be generalized because there are many of us who love, adore, protect and worship our women. It’s depressing that all men in India today our tagged indecent until proven decent because of what the media and feminists have projected us to be.

I really do hope more and more people get to see this documentary and what a landmark occurrence it has become in our socio-culture landscape. I hope it allows us to re-look into our cultural set-ups and deal better with problem of rape.

To elaborate a little more on the filmmaking aspect, I do believe the film deserves a pat on the back. But you cannot miss that efforts have been taken to dramatize it. The course of questioning seems to have demanded retorts that would be very shocking when not in context of the question. For the filmmaker, it should be something that BBC would endorse, that channels would love to show for high viewership and advertising gains. Thanks to social media, this film has had no real investments in marketing but has become a global talking point.

I also see this film becoming the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ of the documentary world. While the art of making it is appreciated, the culture it depicts suffers the consequences. Several times in my travels post Slumdog Millionaire I was asked about traveling on top trains, hanging out with snake charmer and living in slums. I wouldn’t be surprised when I am asked about how we men like to rape in India and how we treat our women the next time I go traveling.

The real #IndiasMan will always respect and protect #IndiasDaughter.