Don't mistake MSG for a film: It is just propaganda for Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singhji Insaan

After crushing aesthetics and rhinestones underfoot and having helped to dispatch an entire censor board, MSG - Messenger of God is finally at a theatre near you. If initial box office reports are any indication, then a lot of people want to watch this film. Cinemas have reported that the film has been completely booked in advance for as long as seven days. All this to watch on big screen, Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singhji Insaan, leader of a religious cult, accused of raping and sexual abusing his women followers, ordering the forcible castration of men followers, and murdering a journalist. Next to this list of achievements, it seems almost petty to point out that in MSG, Singh also claims to cure cancer and AIDS, restore sight to the blind, give voice to the mute, turn swords to rose petals and ride a flying, plaster of paris lion. If anyone needed an indication of what depths of desperation and tastelessness we’ve sunk to as a culture and a society, then MSG is it. Thanks to the popularity of Singh’s religious group and the controversies that surround him, we’re treating MSG as a film when it’s actually a simple, obnoxious and expensive publicity campaign for Singh and his cult. Sure, it’s hilarious to see Singh wagging his fingers to those who do drugs and drink alcohol when he himself is quite clearly himself hallucinating in MSG. What other than high-quality psychedelic drugs explains Singh seeing a Barbie doll on the ground and imagining the doll is speaking to him? But this sort of thing is best reserved for YouTube. As a few seconds of ridiculous stunts and godawful acting, MSG is funny enough. As a three-hour long preaching session by Singh that we watch in a theatre and pretend is a film, it’s just depressing. [caption id=“attachment_2097589” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] I’d like to imagine that in a culture that values aesthetics and creativity, the critical establishment would ignore MSG entirely. Singh has every right to make it, just as his fans and admirers have every right to see it. However, when we as critics consider MSG worthy of a review, we’re giving cinema a bad name. And it’s unfair because MSG is not a film. It’s propaganda. But caged as we are today by the need to follow trends and the conviction that growth is judged quantitatively and not qualitatively, MSG is a film. With each review that we write, we’re validating Singh, with his non-existent cinematic skills and dubious intents, as a film director. When we say that his film is laugh-out-loud funny, we’re unwittingly putting him in a category that includes real comedic talent and ranges from the silly slapstick of Padosan, the black comedy of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, the mischief of Chupke Chupke, the goofy stupidity of Andaz Apna Apna and the crackle of Hera Pheri. No wonder Singh grins at us leerily through his unkempt beard. Now there are more people who know him as a director and actor than as one accused of rape, murder and possession of illegal arms. Everyone who laughed at MSG, the joke’s on you. According to MSG, Singh has five crore followers (and he is ready, willing and able to use them to emotionally manipulate his audience). Add to that number a few hundred critics, bloggers and hipsters who can spot the humour lurking in MSG’s bad taste and kitsch. To cash in on MSG’s haloed status as a trending topic, we as critics are willing to subject our aesthetics to being bludgeoned by Singh, his visual effects team and the soundtrack of MSG. On one hand, we’ll bemoan the state of the arts in this country and on the other, we’ll be party to MSG being allowed into the ranks of what is considered culture. No wonder only critics take other critics seriously while most of the public rolls its eyes at us. Considering how juvenile comedy shows like AIB Knockout are being described as criminal conspiracies and criminals are making comedies to exonerate themselves, it might be time for all those who consider themselves part of the critical establishment in this country to consider the responsibilities that come with this profession. This is not a review because as far as I as a critic am concerned, MSG is at best a middle finger salute to good taste. I have no qualms in saying I walked out of the screening — not just because it was bad, but because as a critic, it is well beneath my dignity to be party to that obscene spectacle that doesn’t even pretend it’s not propaganda. Would MSG be less popular if it wasn’t reviewed, written about and considered worthy of the film sections of different publications? Probably not. Contrary to what movies suggest, critics have little power over the fates of box offices and popular trends. However, we do have power over what is considered culture and cultured. To quote one He-Man, I have the power. And this is me using it.