By Sangeeth Sebastian
Not
long ago, in the days of Doordarshan monopoly, a curious prepubescent boy tried
to sneak a peek from the edge of his bed at the woodpaneled B& W television
- steaming with uncut and racy Heat
and Dust erotica. He was
reprimanded, told to face the wall and doze off.
Those days, the national broadcaster was bold enough to show and discuss sex. But the good ol'days didn't last long and the prudish censors in the I& B ministry decided to sterilize anything remotely associated with sex.
Our boy, now a testosterone-charged teen enjoying his anatomical changes, got his daily dose of titillation through cable TV (Baywatch and an obscure Russian channel TV6' s late night nude acts) and the morning shows in dank theatres screening Silk Smitha's voluptuous gyrations.
He illegally indulged in the hardcore dose, too, with a borrowed cassette of the latest XXX epic from the neighbourhood "video parlour" and, later, via the MMS sent by a friend or on the Internet.
Today, the boy wears a sprinkling of grey hair and charges his testosterone level with celebrity pornstar Sunny Leone - the 30- year- old jaw- dropping Indian- Punjabi- Canadian genetic hotchpotch - on his iPad. He is not alone. Scores of people around the world surf the Net or watch downloaded smut churned out by the multi- billion dollar porn industry on their personal gizmos.
That prompted
British budget airline Ryanair to make its recent announcement - pornography in
in- flight entertainment. Ahem! It's a move that raised many brows. Who will
stop children on planes from stealing a glance at the adult material? Then
again, who will check children from voting for Sunny Leone, currently the guest
diva in reality show Big Boss 5, and surfing the Net to get tutored about her?
These are pertinent points because sex is still a taboo in India
"We are living in a hugely contradictory and hypocritical society," author and historian Salim Kidwai says. "These are contradictions, which we have to face as a society. It is inevitable."
Brinda Bose, associate professor of English inDelhi University
"Using sleaze to boost TRP is a ploy as old as the hills. Allowing children to vote is a question that has to be raised with all adult shows," she says.
Adman Prahlad Kakkar says there is deliberate smuttiness when the TV channel roped in a pornstar.
"Porn is legitimate business in the West. Sunny Leone is a businesswoman owning a company. Yet the impression that is being conveyed is that some guy inside the (Bigg Boss) house will eventually get lucky with her," he says.
"We equate pornstars with prostitutes. We are not aware of the difference. A pornstar has the right of choice. She is not getting paid to sleep with a customer, but to act in movies. A prostitute does not have this right," he adds.
Do Indians understand this distinction? One can't be too certain about this uncertainty. The country's collective fascination for smut can be gauged from the latest Google Trends, which ranksIndia fourth, way ahead of the US
Amazingly,Delhi Pakistan Delhi , Bangalore US-
"We are living in a hugely contradictory and hypocritical society," author and historian Salim Kidwai says. "These are contradictions, which we have to face as a society. It is inevitable."
Brinda Bose, associate professor of English in
"Using sleaze to boost TRP is a ploy as old as the hills. Allowing children to vote is a question that has to be raised with all adult shows," she says.
Adman Prahlad Kakkar says there is deliberate smuttiness when the TV channel roped in a pornstar.
"Porn is legitimate business in the West. Sunny Leone is a businesswoman owning a company. Yet the impression that is being conveyed is that some guy inside the (Bigg Boss) house will eventually get lucky with her," he says.
"We equate pornstars with prostitutes. We are not aware of the difference. A pornstar has the right of choice. She is not getting paid to sleep with a customer, but to act in movies. A prostitute does not have this right," he adds.
Do Indians understand this distinction? One can't be too certain about this uncertainty. The country's collective fascination for smut can be gauged from the latest Google Trends, which ranks
Amazingly,
PETA already has a string of topnotch pornstars such as Jenna Jameson, Ron Jeremy and Sasha Grey as brand ambassadors.
"Experience has taught us that provocative campaigns make the difference," PETA's chief functionary in
So is porn finally going mainstream? "We are coming to terms with pornography. Right (through shows like Big Boss) now we are just acknowledging porn. It has a shock value and people are curious to see what pornstars do in a respectable atmosphere. Mainstreaming may happen in the future," Kidwai says.
If that happens, perhaps the tour guide in Khajuraho won't try to masquerade the ancient Kamasutra idols with a cheeky "Wife performing her nightly duties". For the record, sex was indeed considered a sacred "duty" in the Vedic era.
The article was
originally published in India
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