Nobel lollipop for US poster boy Obama

Bo, the birthday boy (I mean the dog) is both happy and sad. Reason: The White House darling is elated over his master Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize feat. But now he wants more. He wants one for himself too. So, the Swedish Nobel Committee is giving a serious thought to initiating the Canine Nobel Peace Prize from next year. And no prizes for guessing who’s going to win it.

Nobel panel has cited Obama’s work in nuclear weapons elimination and international diplomacy as the primary reasons for giving him the coveted award. However, there are no takers for this (ill)logical argument. In nine months of his presidency, Obama has merely unveiled his ‘VISION’, the concrete work is yet to be done. Hence, a Nobel Peace prize for him at this stage is like handing over a merit certificate and a report card (bearing the ‘passed with distinction’ remarks) to a new entrant in a classroom.

While Bapu, Obama’s inspiration, was denied this honour, how could he be given this prize, simply on the basis of his brilliant oratory?

Being a complete Bollywood buff, I can’t help compare this situation with SRK winning Filmfare Award for almost every Yash Raj trash he has worked in. Hey, don’t think I am after this guy’s life (as I wrote a critical blog on him earlier). I love SRK for his oratory and charm and his self-made route to superstardom. But being charming doesn’t mean you deserve award almost every year, especially while Filmfare panel dares to put the likes of Naseeruddin Shah as nominees in the same category.

Anyways, coming back to international diplomacy, Obama’s visionary statements and proposals are undoubtedly impressive, but for God’s sake, the Nobel panel should have at least waited for the implementation.

Obama says he is humbled by the Nobel honour and thinks he doesn’t ‘deserve’ it. Well, we may not agree with his hollow VISION of a nuke-free world, but we surely agree with him on this one. Boy! You better pull your socks (and everything else) up and get going. A lot of work needs to be done. Being awarded with an A+ grade at the beginning of your presidential session means you better live up to the hype now. Enjoy the moment, but gear up for greater challenges ahead. As my friend Nadim puts it, it is scary. All eyes are glued on him.

One mistake and…no he won’t be out. The American fools will elect him for a second term in vain hope that the TDH hunk (tall, dark and handsome) will do something in another four years.

Coming up: UN Secretary General post for Mrs Obama, two mini Nobels for Obama daughters and of course, a Canine Nobel for Bo.

King Khan Kaun?

Remember the dimple-cheeked ‘Fauzi’, who crossed the ‘Dil Dariya’ to carve a niche for himself in the TV ‘Circus’? He later went on to achieve superstardom in the B-town through an amazing blend of talent, charm and luck. From apni Dilli’s boy-next-door Shahrukh Khan, he became the King Khan.

“I never wanted to eat chaat-papdi and golgappe on Delhi streets as an unrecognized face. I am proud of what I have achieved and where I have reached. I always knew I belonged to this place. I don’t miss my privacy. I love my super-iconic status,” says SRK abashedly. And we have always loved him for not being a hypocrite like other ‘superstars’, who now long for ‘privacy from prying fans’. He has a say on anything and everything under the Sun. Be it his ‘off and on’ race with Big B and AK to prove who’s a bigger star, his so-obvious tiffs with Dada or his unfounded remarks on the Little Master (Sunil Gavaskar), this Pathan knows how to court trouble.

When Emran Hashmi tried to fetch undue publicity by raking up the religious issue, he was quick to slam the attempt. But it is ludicrous to see Bollywood’s self-proclaimed clown trying to adopt the same tactic for promoting his upcoming flick ‘My Name is Khan’. He and his NRI-obsessed buddy Karan Johar now want to try their hand in serious cinema after a series of mindless a la-Rahul movies. But, after making the audience diabetic with heavy doses of candy-floss cinema, it would be really difficult task for them to convince the audience (and of course the critics) that they actually mean to do something ‘meaningful’. A God-sent opportunity came and they lose no time in minting it.

SRK was detained for 2 hours (as he claims) by the US airport authorities recently for questioning and he alleged unfair treatment. The airport officials clarified that they only questioned him for 66 minutes over his missing baggage as per the rule there. But King Khan was ‘deeply hurt’ by their behavior. Dropping the M-bomb, he said he was targeted as he belonged to a particular religion, thus creating a perfect publicity background for his upcoming movie which also deals with the post-9/11 scenario in the US, which reflects west bias against the Muslims.

The coincidence is far too much to digest. A ‘visibly upset’ SRK now threatens to avoid going to the US altogether due to this unfair treatment. It is a different matter that he has always put US at the top of his holiday list, a perfect location for carrying out his Temptation tour. It is one of the biggest markets for his movies. And the best part is that he has always taken so much pride in the fact that even the non-Hindi speaking audience, have loved his performances (if there have been any real ones). Suddenly, just some months ahead of the release of his movie, all this has changed for him.

He is calling American airport officials ‘biased’ just because they refused to recognize his superstar status and decided to treat him at par with others. It is a huge blow to his ego and has provided him a great opportunity to promote the theme of his movie through a ‘real experience’.

Gosh! When will SRK grow up? He must learn to stop treating his fans like fools through such tactics. And he must also learn the bitter lesson of humility and allow at least somebody to ask him King Khan Kaun, without feeling offended.