By Jilawatan

As Anupam Kher says in Lamhaa, “When Aishwarya Rai is unable to see the moon, it makes news. But why don t the media report the plight of those thousands of Kashmiri wives who haven t seen their husbands for years.”
I ask the same question to you readers: Even as Bollywood boasts of turning liberal and bold, is it still so narrow-minded to miss out the real intention behind the dialogue that is creating some unnecessary uproar?
It’s being reported that Aishwarya Rai has been humiliated in the process. However, the intended purpose of such a line is to emphasize on media’s obsession with glamour over substance.

By Jilawatan

A dialogue mentioning Aishwarya Rai in the promos of upcoming film Lamhaa has caught the attention of many. But producer Bunty Walia and director Rahul Dholakia clarify that it does not mock her.

Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who plays a Kashmiri separatist leader in the film, says in one scene: “When Aishwarya Rai is unable to see the moon, it makes news. But why don t the media report the plight of those thousands of Kashmiri wives who haven t seen their husbands for years?”

This dialogue has raised eyebrows. But Dholakia says: “The dialogue in the film by the separatist leaders uses Mrs. Rai Bachchan as a metaphor to the Bollywood centric media who prefer covering the personal lives of icons and intrude into their private lives, making breaking news, instead of covering the real life poignant stories of Kashmiri half-widows. The comment is not a slur or an attack on the actress in anyway,” Dholakia said.

By Jilawatan

Sanjay Dutt is taking no chances. In Lamhaa, there is a scene where Anupam Kher (playing a character based on separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani who is known for his volatile dialogue) sarcastically refers to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

This when lashing out at the media for focusing on Bollywood glamour while Kashmir burned. Anupam’s character says, “When Aishwarya Rai is unable to see the moon it makes news. But why doesn’t the media report the plight of those thousands of Kashmiri wives who haven’t seen their husbands for years?”
Director Rahul Dholakia, aware that Anupam is close to the Bachchan parivaar, feared a Big B backlash to this dialogue. So Dutt took the trailer of Lamhaa to the Bachchans and sought their approval for this reference against their bahu. A relieved Dholakia said, “Mr Bachchan understood that Aishwarya’s reference is a metaphor for glamour and celebrity. Also, that dialogue was not born out of thin air. A Kashmiri separatist leader had actually said those words.”

By Jilawatan

Aishwarya Rai has nothing to do with the upcoming Bollywood movie Lamhaa. Sanjay Dutt and Bipasha Basu are the two leading characters of the movie. Just Rai’s name was uttered in a dialogue and Sanjay Dutt had to take the clearance from Amitabh Bachchan about the promo of the movie.
There is no hide and seek about the matter that Amitabh Bachchan is very sensitive about his daughter-in-law. The Bachchans were very unhappy with the kissing scene between Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan in Dhoom 2.
Anyway, Lamhaa does not contain anything bad about Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter in law. Just, according to Times of India, there is a dialogue like this:
“When Aishwarya Rai is unable to see the moon it makes news. But why doesn’t the media report the plight of those thousands of Kashmiri wives who haven’t seen their husbands for years?”