Social responsibility of popular arts in India



Indian arts face a constant battle of expression v/s sentiments
Art is the expression or application of creative skill and imagination, through a visual, audio, sensory or any medium which can be perceived by senses. Art per se, is a manifestation of the society. Since pre-historic times, art has always been a reflection of the times. The cave paintings of Mesopotamia, the carvings on the Asoka pillars, the old scriptures and holy books; all had an impression of the times that they belonged to. Art and society are two conjoint, symbiotic entities; i.e. one cannot exist without the other. Hence, both have a responsibility towards each other.

Artistic liberty is an often quoted and misquoted term in the art circles. As art is the expression of one’s true feelings; to display it in its truest form, one may sometimes lead an unconventional approach. For example a poet is given the liberty to distort the grammatical construction of a phrase or a sentence to accommodate his requirements of rhyme and meter. This liberty is taken to different heights in different art forms and in different cultures.

The popular arts in India primarily consist of movies, painting, music and literature. Amongst these, movies and music have a wide appeal and they reflect and affect the thinking of the society by and large. With the changing times the definition of ‘acceptable’ has seen a paradigm shift. What was unacceptable a decade or two ago has become commonplace. However, there is a very thin line between artistic freedom and obscenity. Many a times today’s movies in the name of reflecting a true picture of society show the darker sides of it. There are numerous scenes depicting violence and sexually explicit content. There is commodification of women in item numbers today, which is a despicable act. In a recent case, the singer Honey Singh was convicted with denigration of women with obscene lyrics. Arts is another such area where this liberty is sometimes taken too far. M.F Hussain was charged with obscenity for painting nude pictures of Hindu deities. Literature is not untouched either; Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses became an issue of outrage in the Islamic world and is still banned in India.

The above cases show flagrant misuse of one’s freedom to express. The artists must understand that they have a responsibility towards the society. India being a land of hero worship; people do not condemn their heroes but succumb to their narrow views. If a certain Honey Singh uses obscene language towards women, suddenly the same trend may become fashionable among school and college going children. Religious sentiments are hurt by the likes of M.F Husaain and Salman Rushdie in the name of artistic liberty.

 Freedom of expression is granted by the constitution of India in articles 19 to 22. However, this freedom has its limitations and rules to abide by. It also mentions that one’s freedom of expression must not overlap with the defamation of the other. It must abide by the moral codes of decency and must not incite other religions or sects. There must be checks on the kind of programmes on television before 11 PM. The content of a movie must be censored properly before its release and the movies must not be displayed to the age group for which it is not meant. However, in today’s age of internet that might not be possible; so, filtering of content on internet sites must be made mandatory.  Above all the society should mature as a whole to be able to rise above the patriarchal model which belittles the women. People must be made to realize that religion was meant to unite and not divide people. Literacy and awareness campaigns from the government could go a long way in serving this purpose. The celebrities must also convey such messages through advertisements.

Popular arts can also serve the cause of raising important issues concerning the Indian society. The village nukkad-nataks spread awareness of different diseases, regarding certain evils of the society like dowry, illiteracy, child labour etc among the masses. Amir Khan made one such attempt through his show ‘Satyamev Jayate’.  Amitabh Bachhan is frequently seen on TV asking the common man to take his kid to a polio booth. The effectiveness of such campaigns is for all to see; eradication of polio being a prime example. Arts and artists are serving the nation by their concerted efforts in their own fields and by taking up acts of social responsibility. As John F Kennedy famously said, “With great power comes great responsibility”; the Indian artists must realise their power and the responsibility that rests on their shoulders, to further their arts and to further the cause of the nation they would like to portray.
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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