Appointment
of Salman Khan as the goodwill ambassador of our Olympic squad has created
fissures within the sporting community. I have already talked about that in my previous post (Where the Ambassador needs some Goodwill himself). But in the current times when even politicians limit
themselves to 140 characters, it’s a good idea to have ambassadors for other
areas too. And who better than Bollywood to provide us with these knights? Here’s my choice of Bollywood worthies to promote India & Indianness.
Amitabh Bachchan: How can a Bollywood list begin without
the Big B? He may have been made the brand ambassador for Incredible India
campaign, but I feel he can be an equally good ambassador for the banking
industry. Remember Bofors case, where the Big B’s name cropped up along with
brother Ajitabh? That proved that Big B wasn’t just loitering around after his
shoots for Yashraj films in Switzerland. But Swiss banks becoming home to all
& sundry was not to his comfort & he moved to upcoming destinations like
Panama & British Virgin Islands, this time along with daughter-in-law. And
it was not just “me & my family” for Amitabh. He also made ordinary Indians
into millionaires through his TV show (KBC). Who knows he could be the messiah
that Indian banks need after being kingfishered.
Sunny Deol: If love for his wife made him go all
the way to Pakistan, imagine what would 125 crore Indians inspire him to
achieve. I would like Sunny to be made the goodwill ambassador for the
agriculture sector. He will then pull out all the hand pumps in Pakistan,
Bangladesh & China which would give some respite to our suffering farmers.
I am also sure that BCCI would be willing to shell out the expenses for a
smooth conduct of IPL-10. And yes, people staying in Arnab Goswamy’s housing
complex would be able to celebrate a wet dhuleti next year!!
Sanjay Dutt: There can be no better person than
Sanjay Dutt as the ambassador for our Police force. He not only glamourized the
gangster in his movies, but has also played many a memorable role as a cop. In
real life too, he made a guarded police premises his second home and the
policemen his extended family. Sanju baba is the one to champion the lives of
policemen. Of course, I am also hoping that this will also keep him away from real life gangsters & real life
guns. And that he will also not play Chatur Singh again!
Alok Nath: If the efforts of people such as Smriti
Irani & Yogi Adityanath are successful, we are in for a socio-cultural
revolution. But the left/commie/fiberal/sickular brigade is not playing ball.
More damaging is the fact that the image of India & Indians is getting
sullied abroad. So, who better than Alok Nath to showcase the values of Indian
diaspora in the global arena. With the social media frenzy that our Sanskari
Babuji generates, the decadent west may finally accept the traditional Indian
way of life. But there is a downside to this… Next time our popstar PM performs
at Madison Square, it would turn out to be bhajan sandhya. I am not sure
whether Modi will like it.
Sunny Leone: It is not just our traditions &
values, but also our culture & heritage that need a goodwill ambassador.
Today, the world knows us mainly for Yoga & Taj Mahal. What about the other
accomplishments of our ancestors in the field of arts, literature,
architecture? To promote & popularize past glory, we need a globally known
face & Sunny Leone has much more than that!! I don’t expect hordes of
tourists waiting for a glimpse of the treasure inside Khajuraho caves just
because Sunny is put on the job. But the world will definitely have more interest
& better awareness of what our forefathers talked, wrote & created.
Maybe, even the IIM’s would start a course in Sanskrit.
Do you have
someone in mind who can be added to this list? If so, pls let us all know about
him/her.
Picture credits:
Alok
Nath (http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/alok-nath-reveals-his-favourite-sanskar-joke/20140103.htm)
Amitabh
Bachchan (http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/screen/amitabh-bachchans-character-in-aankhen-2-will-be-neither-negative-or-positive/)
Sanjay
Dutt (http://www.bollywoodlife.com/news-gossip/is-sanjay-dutt-getting-better-with-age/#!1/sanjay-dutt-policeuniform-220113/)
Sunny
Deol (http://www.in.com/sholay/gallery-100-years-of-cinema-unforgettable-cinematic-moments-303498-50004622.html#21)