Journalism of Courage
It was interesting to see Amitabh Bachchan and Shobhaa De share the same platform Tuesday evening at the inauguration of the her husband Dilip De’s digital art work exhibition titled ‘Celebration of Love’. Interesting because one couldn’t help but remember how Amitabh had responded to Shobhaa’s Olympics tweet by writing this, “India Rio, PROUD of YOU !! Do not dismay failure .. to them that lament loss, look around .. any of our neighbours seen anywhere ??”
Shobhaa had earlier tweeted, “Goal of Team India at the Olympics: Rio jao. Selfies lo. Khaali haat wapas aao. What a waste of money and opportunity.” Big B’s tweet was an indirect albeit befitting reply those who were mocking Indian athletes. But guess that’s the power of democracy. You can agree to disagree and still be friends. And Amitabh, on his part, recollected a time when he decided to meet Shobhaa and ask for her forgiveness. And those were the days when Shobhaa was the all-powerful editor of a film glossy.
Read: Shobhaa De slammed on Twitter for her ‘insensitive’ comment on Indian Olympians in Rio
Narrating the incident, Bachchan said, “When I came into the film industry at a location I was being thrashed by Shobhaa in the print media. So I decided to meet her and perhaps ask for forgiveness and she very kindly gave me an invitation to her home.”
The megastar was also pleasantly surprised to see the digital artwork drawn by Dilip using a Samsung mobile phone. Said Bachchan, “What has really amazed me is the fact that this exhibition that we are all here for has been done on a mobile phone and that is absolutely remarkable. I have suddenly developed a lot of respect for my Samsung phone.”
Saying so, the Piku actor fished out his Samsung phone just to emphasise the point. “This is a huge discovery. And this is very inspiring for people who are not aware of the fact that you can create art on a mobile phone,” added Bachchan.
Remembering the early days of his association with Dilip from the city of Kolkata where both used to work, Bachchan said, “There was a young man who used to look very officious, walking around with great speed through the corridors of his office. He always had a very determined look as to where he was going, what he was going to do and he kept this demeanour of his even when he used to meet socially. That was Dilip De.”
The exhibition which was opened at Jehangir Art Gallery saw the city’s swish set making a beeline to congratulate the De family. Shobhaa, on her part, looked unfazed by the prevailing controversy generated by her tweet and hosted the evening that saw a huge turnout.
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