A protest meet was held by The West Bengal Motion Picture Artists’ Forum on 24th August, against the heinous rape and murder of a young lady doctor at the R. G. Kar. Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata recently.
We spoke with actor/activist/teacher of method acting, Bobby Chakraborty, who was present among other actors, about this gruesome crime and asked his opinion about the way he thinks we can counter this menace of rape and barbarism in our society.
Here’s what he had to say from the point of view of a social activist, who has been fighting a sole battle to guide the youth against all sorts of addiction and harmful social trends,globally, for nearly 15 years:-
“I have been fighting against every negative aspect of this incident, for years now… whether it’s alcoholism,addiction by and large, disrespecting others, pornography, men/women/children turning into animals, without any kindness, self-respect or shame, existing only with carnal instincts…etc etc…!
What I mean to say is I have been fighting and I will keep fighting from the GRASSROOT where all these vices start from…as a child…instead of suddenly waking up from slumber and going in for a protest march, when the damage has already been done!! These protests, these revolts,these candle light vigil, these slogans…much of which is sadly politically coloured, lacking the true purpose of the protest…will do nothing but to fill up the trp space of the channels, newspapers and some viewership of these gimmick thirsty faces, whom you see suddenly pop up in the crowd, when there’s a chance to be noticed.
Tell me…how many will gather if I call a protest march against, smoking /alcoholism/ pornography/being shameless online to gain viewership…against being disrespectful or abusive to others in the name of expressing yourself…against cheating in exams…against corruption etc. ? How many?I ask every member of the youth…will your parents send you to fight with me from the grassroot where it all starts from?? Will you voluntarily join in to fight these evils and stop such monsters like that/those rapists, corrupted politicians/educators right from the grassroot level as your social responsibility with me?? The answer is A BIG ‘NO’! My 15 years of experience in fighting social trends says that!! A BIG ‘NO’!
I face these features of LIVING IN DENIAL, in a hunky dory world, bypassing these evils of the society, turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the evils that have gone deep in a human psyche as a child, on a regular basis. I face this non-cooperation from educators, politicians, press fraternity, media personalities, students ,their parents etc. on a regular basis… for years…over a decade now…and I am not surprised!
I keep shouting in my awareness sessions to the children, to wake up from their sleep before it’s too late…before that boy or girl, who is the victim/perpetrator, is you or someone near you…WAKE UP!
To summarise …all the prevention and awareness should and must start with sensitising that CHILD…to live without the evils inside him/her…to bring him/her up as a human and not a street dog living with only basic instincts/carnal desires… to empower the child to fight against the dark forces which are hell bent to turn the child/the youth into vegetables…into addicts…into animals…before it’s too late…as we can see here in the tragic R. G. Kar incident and many other, over the years! To change the society and its evils, WE HAVE TO START FROM THE GRASSROOT.
May Justice Prevail.May Her Soul Rest In Peace.
P. S. How many of us remember the name of the J. U. student Late.Swapnadeep, who was ragged to death last year? Leave alone his name…how many of us remember the incident at all?? My social experiments in MY ANTI ADDICTION CAMPAIGNS in various educational institutions and at my acting/modelling classroom proves…hardly any!! SIMILARLY THIS TRAGEDY WILL BE FORGOTTEN SOON AS WE WILL LATCH ON TO SOMETHING MORE SENSATIONAL AND ENTERTAINING…!