Social-media figure Orry (Orhan Awatramani) has insulted one of India’s greatest icons. Orry, who attended singer Falguni Pathak’s show, misnamed venerated singer Lata Mangeshkar as “Lata Mangeshwari,” calling her the “Queen of Garba” on social media.
On the same day (October 13), a contestant on Junior KBC, named Ishit Bhatt, went viral on Twitter for his arrogant behaviour on the hot seat in Thursday’s episode. Ishit began his startling, highly cocky interaction on the hot seat by telling host Amitabh Bachchan not to read out the rules of the game to him. “Mere ko rule pata hai, isiliye aap abhi mere ko rules samjhaane mat baithna (I know the rules, so please don’t waste time explaining them),” said the boy to the stunned host.
Ishit then went on to rudely interrupt Mr. Bachchan even before the host could complete his questions, while the boy’s parents looked uncomfortable in the audience.
While Orry is being condemned across the internet for his peacocky arrogance and sheer disrespect for an artiste whom Indians worship, the response to the child’s innocent cockiness is mixed.
While many netizens are criticizing not only the child but also his parents for his poor upbringing, others feel the trolls are being way too harsh on the child.
Says veteran actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, “Insulting national icons like Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan is totally inexcusable. Whether you are 10 or 25 or 60 or 75, you have to be respectful towards these names.”
Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a diehard fan of both Lataji and Mr. Bachchan, feels it is best to ignore such attention seekers. “It is not possible for any Indian to not know the name ‘Lata Mangeshkar.’ Therefore, if someone is misrepresenting it, he is doing it deliberately to get attention. God bless him. As for the child, spare him. If Bachchan Saab handled it so coolly, and didn’t take offence, everyone should just calm down.”
Filmmaker-actor Amole Gupte, who works extensively with children, says targeting the child for disrespecting an icon was probably unintentional. “Come on, the child is 10! He probably doesn’t know what it means to be ‘Amitabh Bachchan.’ Give him some slack for ignorance at that age. Hounding him like this could scar him for life.”
Singer Udit Narayan, who was recently trolled mercilessly for pecking female fans on stage, feels celeb bashing is a past-time in our country. “I feel someone, or some people, have a lot of time in this world to try and tarnish the image of those more successful. Instead of wasting time trying to malign others, I feel people should focus on their own lives. Celebrity bashing may be fun for some, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”
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