Casual Sex, Flings et al

Flipping through film glossies not only makes me nostalgic, but also ecstatic. A part of a lot of reading that formed my growing years, Stardust, Filmfare and other film magazines were the only source of information and juicy gossip for cine buffs in the pre-internet era, and I quite unabashedly admit to enjoying every bit of this reading.

A few months ago, however, my joy seemed a little short-lived, while I was reading through... An interview with a wannabe pin-up boy, an ex boyfriend of a former Miss universe, revealed a promiscuous past. The young man reveled in saying, "Casual sex and murder are much the same. You do not know what to do with the body once the deed is done". Wow! Was I appalled. was I hallucinating?! And was this an aberration I wondered, till I bumped into another issue of the same magazine a couple of months later, where another dishy young hunk from a politico family says, "See, I may be aware that I might be leaving the country in the next six months, but that doesn't stop me from entering into the relationship and having fun...blah..blah..wall-to-wall sex and stay connected". Great! Now, what exactly is the point here? We read malicious gossip about stars even in our growing years, and yes, stars themselves were supposed to have called journos and dished out quotable quotes, even those days, but this was like stretching things a bit too far. why would a glossy stoop this low, banking on the quotes of starlet-type young actors? tch, tch....wall-to-wall sex? Which clearly means, film glossies are now using casual sex and one night stand quotes from these desperados as a clear ticket to selling copies. Bollywood movies too seems increasingly open to the idea of showing flings...a la desi boyz (remember, Akshay Kumar with that white woman in an unhappy marriage?)and justifying the whole thing!And again, there are double standards. We still do not see the young girls in the profession accorded with the same 'privilege' of bragging about their sexual escapades. Woe betide, ladies, you would be branded the next hot slut in town if you so much as dared breathe about your colorful trysts.

Coming back to the point, it is indeed none of anybody's moral right to step in; all I am suggesting is some restraint in public forums while advocating licentiousness, (I am sorry, but this does amount to advocacy)which are clearly lapped up by impressionable minds, especially if it comes from celebrities. it would do well to remember that Bollywood is religion in a country like ours. It is no rocket science or new revelation that the lives and lifestyles of stars, and yes, their quotes do have an impact on the lives of the man on the street. Lives which are led based on informed decisions are well, nobody's bloody business, but can freedom of speech actually run wild, amok, and extend to debauchery in speech? I rest my case with this.