The Female Humpty Dumpty

"Woman woman sat on a wall,
Woman woman had a great fall.
Four-score Men and Four-score more,
Could not make woman where she was before."

After all how could they, when they are the ones who perhaps photographed the 'fall' (the first four-score) and consumed it too (four-score more and more). Or maybe not. Katrina Kaif's bikini pictures with her alleged beau Ranbir Kapur are all over the print and television media today. Why do I get a feel that her bikini has a bigger role to play than anything else- holiday in Spain or even Ranbir Kapoor? The angel-faced actress, who we easily forgave for being Sheila and Chameli (though we cheered and leered), sporting a bikini on a private holiday is surely a big thing. How could she! And if she could, we are very well within our rights to bring it to the world- thus spake the unidentified photographer and the team of Stardust and other media. 

Kaif is completely justified in being upset at the invasive nature of media. But we the people and media do not want to allow her that either. Just because she is an actor, female at that, puts her in a doubly disadvantaged position. She is not supposed to separate her public and private selves: each aspect of her life is up for consumption. She must deal with the voyeur in each of us, for she chose to be an actress. We, the voyeur, have an upper hand always and she must submit. Laura Mulvey of Visual and Other Pleasures clearly states that "Voyeurism has associations with sadism: pleasure lies in ascertaining guilt, asserting control and subjugating the guilty person through punishment or forgiveness." So yes, we may 'forgive' her, but she remains guilty. 

As a female actor in the Indian film industry, Kaif clearly is devoid of the power that another victim of this low breed of journalism the Duchess of Cambridge wields. A formal investigation has been initiated against the publishing head responsible for the French edition of Closer magazine and two photographers for Kate Middleton's topless photographs published last year. Many things are in favour of the Duchess: she is, well, a British Royal and she was holidaying with her husband and not an alleged beau. I doubt, therefore, if any such investigation or even an advisory will come the way of Kaif's photographers and publishers. Alas, Katrina Kaif, you are no queen. Not even of our hearts. You are perhaps just a female humpty dumpty. Your 'fall' makes us laugh.