It was never about the bike, Mr. Armstrong.

Lance Armstrong’s public admission about doping during Tour de France will go down as one of the biggest moral frauds ever committed in the history of this world. The fraud is not a one-off mistake, committed in the heat of the moment. This is a mistake that was knowingly committed, with careful planning, in consultation with top doctors, in connivance with fellow athletes and most shameful of all, in tacit consent with his own family. While doing this clandestinely, Armstrong won 7 Tour de France titles, wrote books, launched Livestrong, got sponsorships, was hailed as a poster boy for cancer survivors, and made millions of dollars to become one of the most inspiring sporting icons ever.

And all this while, he steadfastly denied doping, successfully planned his escape through stringent anti-doping tests and investigations, regularly threatened and sued his colleagues, officials as well as journalists, and did whatever it takes to bury his biggest lie, forever. But one lie led to another, and then another. To counter this, Armstrong systematically positioned himself as a socially conscious celebrity and drummed up support from millions of followers across the world who treated him as an iconic superstar and who believed that he can do no wrong.

And then, one day, God said, “Enough is enough.”

People may say that Armstrong was a liar and a cheat and a bully. But beyond all this was the real Lance Armstrong, even more dangerous than all the above. Lance Armstrong was a man without Integrity. That is what he really was, and is.

What is integrity?
Integrity means doing what is morally right, under all circumstances – during day or night, whether in a group or alone, if someone is watching or not, whether it benefits self or not and no matter what the consequences will be. Its an unimpaired, unadulterated, or genuine state of being. It is not to be confused with honesty. As someone said, honesty is the truth that you tell others. Integrity is the truth that you tell yourself.

I attended a Leadership Training Program recently and the trainer asked us what integrity meant to us. Everything from honesty, trust, faith, etc. was shot down. Then he gave us an example of 2 Trapeze Artists in Circus. He said, “Imagine these 2 guys are standing on their trapeze bars about to start their performance. And imagine that both of them hate each other. So when their performance starts, what do you expect to happen?" We all laughed at that situation. The trainer went on to say, "Nothing happens. Even if one guy has an affair with the other's wife, nothing will happen. When the performance starts, the trapeze artiste will blindly leap into mid-air with outstretched hands because he is sure to find his partner's outstretched arms awaiting him at the other end." Thats integrity.

"Couldn't fix it. Refused Money." Thats integrity.

Here's what Walter Isaacson writes about Paul Jobs, the father of Steve Jobs - "Fifty years after the fence was constructed, Jobs showed it to me, still standing and recalled a lesson about making things of quality that he learned from his father. Touching the boards of inside of the fence, he said that “He loved doing things right. He even cared about the look of the parts you couldn’t see.” He said that his father refused to use poor wood for the back of cabinets, or to build a fence that wasn’t constructed as well on the back side as it was the front. Jobs likened it to using a piece of plywood on the back of a beautiful chest of drawers. “For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”"

Thats integrity.

Lance Armstrong had none of it. And that is what he is paying for. He looked so poor and pathetic in his interview with Oprah. He won all and he lost all. And he believes its because of his maniac desire to win at all costs. But that it is not. It was his lack of integrity. Had he had a bit of it, he would not have waited until all his colleagues testified against him and made it an open and shut case. He was the first one to dope amongst his team mates and the last one to accept it. This is not what great leaders do. But he did. Because he had no integrity. So all his discipline, fitness, hard work, social service, iconic status, sponsorships, hi-profile connections, etc. etc. had no meaning with zero integrity in his thoughts and actions.

While he spoke of his misdemeanors, his cat eyes, that looked so purposeful and determined earlier now seemed so fierce, cruel and perilous. It was Oprah who looked saddened and shocked with Armstrong's confessions, more than Armstrong himself. Maybe because, for the first time in her life, she must have come face to face with an iconic man without an ounce of integrity within him.

I feel dejected today. Many of us are. He was someone we looked up to. I just tried to re-read a few lines from his book, and I felt so overwhelmed with anger. The book deserves to be burnt. And it will be burned. If possible, I shall post a video.

The Pretense of Bollywood

Of all the protests that happened for the girl over the past 10 days, I was most amazed to see leading Bollywood personalities protesting against gender violence and rape. Bollywood should first protest the way their own community views and treats their women.

I was a part of the movie world for 5 years (1995-2000) and I can tell you with utmost conviction that a majority of men in Bollywood used to treat the women in their industry as objects of lust and desire. Women, on the other hand, routinely took advantage of such desperate men to further their careers to make money and become famous.

These "creative" men were so obsessed with objectifying women that they ended up creating superficial women characters that did everything that these men wanted their women to do in real world, but could not. These directors, scriptwriters, choreographers, songwriters, music directors, action directors, costume designers, etc. conspired together to create their woman characters as the ultimate object of submissiveness, lust and desire. I would call them the Gangs of Bollywood. They hunted in groups and the women in Bollywood had to give in to their demands.

Look at the imagery created by the members of these gang for characters like wives, mothers, sisters, girlfriends, and even side characters like sister in laws, mother-in-laws friends, vamps, maids, etc. The wives, sisters and mothers were always docile, obedient, accommodating. They would hold their husband's feet if they were being driven out of the house. The mothers would only be shown supporting their sons in all their misdemeanors or making "gajar ka halwa". The sister characters were either beaten up by her in-laws/husband or raped by the villain. Guys like Ranjeet and Shakti Kapoor spend their entire career in Bollywood molesting and raping women characters. I remember a particular scene from a movie where Anita Raaj is being raped by Shakti Kapoor. She cries, "Bhagwan ke liye mujhe choad do." Shakti Kapoor replies, "Bhagwan ke liye tumhe choad doon aur main kya khau? Prashad?" The entire cinema hall clapped and whistled at this scene. Mother-in-laws were scheming and cunning. Vamps were willing to do whatever their men wanted of them. No questions asked. I have never seen a fully clothed Padma Khanna. For us, in those days, Padma Khanna = Big Cleavage. Sad to see that while these Gangs of Bollywood men conspired, the women in Bollywood silently participated in this nonsense for years.

This was in the movies. Outside it, women in Bollywood were regularly exploited, especially the lower rung women like extras, dancers, etc. I have seen a well known action director sexually molesting an "extra" on a set while make her practice an action sequence. The entire set, including the film's leading lady was watching this, but never said a word. I have known male choreographers seeking sexual favors from female background dancers to make them stand alongside the lead actor in the dance sequence. Once a colleague of mine had been to a meeting with a leading film director, who happened to be drunk and tapped his leading lady on her backside. When he looked at him with a shock, the director remarked, "You want to try it?"

Some years back in a daring sting operation a reputed news channel had provided the proof of this appalling techniques of sexual favors and molestation undertaken in Bollywood. Actors like Shakti Kapoor and Aman Verma were caught on camera brazenly molesting new starlets. But all this was so routine in Bollywood that not one woman in Bollywood raised her voice against this molestation. They practiced the conspiracy of silence. Even when Shiney Ahuja was caught for raping a maid, some of these actresses agreed to work with him saying that he cannot be pronounced guilty since the matter is in courts. The guy is still dreaming of making a comeback in Bollywood.

So whether it is inside movies or outside is, Bollywood exploited its women. Maybe things might have changed now. Maybe women in Bollywood are now being treated with more respect outside movies. I do not know. I am no more a part of this business. But as far as movies are concerned, little has changed. Even today, our 47 year old superstars of Bollywood romance 22 year olds. A Vidya Balan has to combine a Kahaani with a Dirty Picture, or a Katrina Kaif has to do a ZNMD along with a Chikni Chameli, to stay in the race. Even a nobody like Poonam Pandey can aspire to be famous by announcing to drop her clothes for something as irrelevant as India winning World Cup. So if you bare, you are in the race. Tabu, who resisted such nonsense, has no work in Bollywood. Super actresses like Seema Biswas are given inconsequential roles in Bollywood. It is sad to see when our actresses shamelessly say - "Filmein sirf teen cheezon ki wajah se chalti hain... entertainment, entertainment aur entertainment."

The reason why women in Bollywood continue to bear this shit year after year is because of the powerful lobbies operated by these Gangs of Bollywood. They can make or mar their career. And women, who seek fame and success at any cost, are willing to compromise their ethics.

Bollywood was never like this until the 1960s. Women characters were strong and were never trivialized - if there were aberrations it was because of the innocence of that era. Cinema needs to evolve with time, but a majority of Bollywood refuses to do so under the excuse of audience preferences and demand. A hit is what they want, come what may. But hits existed even before the 60s, so what is Bollywood talking about? Audience tastes have not changed, it is Bollywood that does not want to get out of their habit of making carefree, careless and sub-standard cinema. That is the problem.

Therefore I was surprised to see people like Mahesh Bhatt and Anupam Kher protesting against the recent Delhi gang rape. Mahesh Bhatt represents a production house that creates some of the most sickening and vulgar women characters in Bollywood. In 2012, his production house produced Jism 2 with a pornographic star - Sunny Leone. When asked, he conveniently justifies his actions by saying - “films are a mere reflection of what is happening in the society.” How lame can that be? On the other hand, Anupam Kher, who has been actively speaking against rape, should not forget the rape scenes he enacted in several movies as a villain. Here's one of his filmi rape you can watch in a movie called Bhrastachar. This is supposedly toned down version which was censored by the authorities. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlxlTMRuLHo). What shocked me about Bollywood's hypocrisy is the presence of singer Mika, a man who had publicly molested Rakhi Sawant on TV. He was busy giving his opinions about gender violence to media!

So before Bollywood protests against sexual molestation or violence against women, they need to first put their own house in order. A Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini or a Shabana Azmi is powerful enough to do so, rather than publicly sobbing or participating in morchas and holding placards. They need to make women in Bollywood take a pledge against participation in roles and characters that objectify them. They need to protest against these invisible yet organized Gangs of Bollywood. These efforts should also be extended to TV, where women are equally regressively projected.

Women in Bollywood know the power of their medium. Movies and Media impact the way we think about the world around us. So women in Bollywood need to re-think about their portrayals and stop justifying them as harmless “entertainment”. They know it is not, and they need to show it through their actions and deeds in the future.

Here are some of my own suggestions, whatever they are worth:
1. Form a Committee of Ethics representing women in Bollywood.
2. Decide on criteria on which films should be accepted by leading women in Bollywood.
3. Ban directors/Cameramen/Choreographers, etc. who ill-treat or molest women in their professional and personal life.
4. Put a blanket ban on “Item Numbers”
5. Refuse to dance on lyrics that objectify women
6. Refuse to wear revealing outfits that are intended to unnecessarily sex up the character.
7. Promote more women directors
8. Train newcomers to adequately protect themselves from being taken advantage of in Bollywood.

Bollywood has tackled the problem piracy admirably. They have used the power of the medium as well as their contacts at the highest levels in the country to cut it down to size. I know, if they decide, they can do the same for the women in their industry. Until then, they have no moral right to protest against gender violence or rape. This is what I believe.

Beyond Item Numbers - Time to Rethink the Portrayal of Women in Media

Originally posted on Facebook on December 19, 2012. Pic courtesy: idiva.com 

Himanshu Sharma, 20, is a resident of Rohini. A placard hanging from his neck demands justice for the victim. Sharma's story is most interesting -Himanshu lives in Begampur, a village near Rohini, and is currently looking for a job. Himanshu confesses that he had been an eve teaser until yesterday. "I was an eve teaser, and I accept it. Mein aaj yahan apne paap dhone aaya hun." But he swears that he has never touched a girl. "I have passed comments at girls on the road. I was the leader of my gang," he adds. But something that happened a few nights ago changed him. "There was no power in our locality and my elder sister had not come home. It was a day after I had heard about this incident. I was so scared for my sister," he says."I decided then that I'd never indulge in eve teasing again and I will also not let anyone else do it," he says. - Rediff.com

The Delhi gang rape has been so horrifying for men, that for the first time I saw more men protesting on roads for women, than women themselves. For the first time, men have been genuinely rattled by this mindless and shocking assault on that girl. For the first time, men can see the face of their sisters and wives in that girl who is courageously battling for her life in Safdarjung Hospital. I have spoken to a lot of my male friends and they are not only shocked but ashamed by this act. It just make me believe that this gang-rape will change Indian men forever.

As much as men, this is also a time for women to ponder about a few areas which otherwise are never debated in an open and forthright manner.  While we all agree that these rapists need to be punished, jailed, castrated and hanged, we also need to re-look at how women allow themselves to be portrayed in mass media. The growing exploitation of women as a object of sex and desire to sell products and services is a matter of grave concern.

Everyday, viewers (read 'men') are bombarded with item songs, sex chats, online pornography, reality shows, advertising, etc. where women perform erotic acts to attract eyeballs, TRPs and subscription revenues. Unfortunately, in the pursuit of money, the lines of decency between eroticism and vulgarity have blurred. This content is systematically channeled to predominantly young male viewers who are forming opinions about the world around them. These men form a lucrative market as customers, and as the competition for eyeballs hots up, women in movies, TV, web and advertising are getting more and more risque and raunchy in this sexual jamboree.

Bollywood, specially, has not only been quite crass about this depiction, they have even aptly termed these sequences as "item numbers". Top bollywood heroines are vying to be called "item queens". Not only do they perform to vulgar songs and moves in the movie, but also repeat it at awards, private functions and events for hefty fees.

Unfortunately, amongst these viewers are millions of uneducated and mentally sick men who are incapable to comprehend the difference between fiction and reality. The unrestrained portrayal of women as seductive, submissive, vulnerable and buyable commodity across media is creating dangerous perceptions about them amongst such men in the society. Sadly, while these women earn money through organized titillation and live a protected life, it is the common women on the streets that bear the brunt of sexual harassment and rape.

We can argue that these men are wrong to behave the way they do and they should be punished. No questions about that. But to change the attitudes of millions of such 'sick' men or punish them for their misdemeanors looks like an impossible task for law and order in this country. While we do that, it is time women need to debate with some of their own folks about the impact of carelessly allowing themselves to be promoted in vulgar ways for monetary benefits. This needs to be curbed and controlled. I believe some of these women need be trained to control their own exploitation as a mere sexual object of desire and men should be trained to understand the difference between reality and fiction. Laws and punishment can deter men, but cannot stop them. Even if this logic does not hold good, I still feel that women need to rethink the way they allow themselves to be projected in mass media.

No woman goes out of her house with the intention of provoking men to rape her. Not even prostitutes do that. But men who rape are not provoked by women on the streets - they are already provoked by the vulgarity they see on TV, in films, on the web and over the phone. Women on the streets fall easy prey to this media-led provocation. While rape can happen to any woman irrespective of her economic status, most rapists tend to come from economically and educationally poorer backgrounds. Therefore, levels of decency and prevention need to be defined by women themselves and fiercely protected and implemented. A self-censorship mechanism is essential in a world where it is becoming dangerous for a common, working woman, to live and move around fearlessly.

There is a need for an honest debate about this aspect which has been conveniently side-tracked by one and all, mainly due to fear of angry and volatile rebuke from the women community. It is time women in India also question some of their own community's actions and crack the whip.

Check this presentation by Jean Killbourne on objectification of women in media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSTg_6N0G7w