Avishek Ganguly
Once in an interview I was asked “what’s your favorite pastime?” “Watching movies”. “What kind of movies?” “From Eisenstein, Ray, Chopra to hard core porn”, I answered. And lo, the very moment, I could see a disgustingly astonished look on everyone’s face. What is this guy saying, must be a senile or lech” that was the expression like. Well, this is what I exactly want to talk about. Why do Indians behave in such a weird disdainful manner when they hear about pornography? What’s so abnormal about it? Is porn really a sin?
I guess you have already understood that I don’t nurture any inhibition or disrespect about porn and rather support it as a genre of creative art. No other form, I guess glorifies or describes the feeling of lust like porn does. Like love, lust too is a basic human feeling and we all should accept this fact. Agree or disagree, pornography is a form of human expression and yes, to a great degree, a huge form of entertainment and pleasure. Well, if you think or consider it as pervert, let me tell you that perversion too is part of human nature and form of enjoyment.
And talking about expression, unlike our common concept, it’s not so easy writing or filming porn. In his essay, ‘Inside the Whale’, which was actually a review of Henry Miller’s book ‘Tropic of Cancer’, George Orwell made a wonderful statement when he said “it is rather the fashion to say that nothing is easier than to write an obscene book (in our case movies), that people only do it in order to get themselves talked about and make money, etc., etc. If there were easy money to be made out of dirty words, a lot more people would be making it.” In fact there have been and are lots of ‘good’ porn films that are made, which have excellent cinematography, scripting and acting (well it takes guts and skill to act in porn, not everybody can do it). Click on the AVN Awards site for knowing more.
In India (a land of 330 million Gods), where society is greater than human freedom, its common that people will shudder at the name of porn, where sex is portrayed vividly. I somehow do not like this ‘S’ word, I’ll rather prefer the term ‘making love’. That’s more aesthetic and pleasing to hear. So if making love is a fundamental natural human feeling, what’s the harm if you show it on camera? Mahesh Bhatt had once suggested that special halls be made for watching porn movies. As always, our so called ‘moral watch dogs’, posing as “watch gods’ created huge furor. Some even went to the extent of calling Bhatt a pimp. Anyways, they had to be loyal and keep up their’ Bharatiya’ spirit, even if it is filled with thousand hypocrisies. You judge it yourself- who is a better human being. A guy who watches porn but protests against eve teasing or someone who acts virtuous but ogles at a woman’s bedroom.
I guess it’s not getting too boring, just one more para left after this. Coming to the money part. Porn is one of the most lucrative industries across the globe with $10 billion to $14 billion annual sales. It is the second largest economy in Las Vegas. An average porn actor earns around $100,000 to $250,000 yearly. Forget high flying economics, ask your local CD vendor and you will know how popular the demand for porn is. If one stands at a busy road and yells “porn, porn”, the CDs will sell like hot samosas. I can guarantee that.
Then what’s the harm with something which is so popular and so talked about? Just like anything, it too is just a form of entertainment. Whether you wish to watch porn or not ultimately depend on you. There’s nothing so derisive or despising. And if anyone thinks me to be a pervert after reading this blog, I pity his or her mental abilities and wish a speedy mental recovery from the well of ignorance and foolishness.
Once in an interview I was asked “what’s your favorite pastime?” “Watching movies”. “What kind of movies?” “From Eisenstein, Ray, Chopra to hard core porn”, I answered. And lo, the very moment, I could see a disgustingly astonished look on everyone’s face. What is this guy saying, must be a senile or lech” that was the expression like. Well, this is what I exactly want to talk about. Why do Indians behave in such a weird disdainful manner when they hear about pornography? What’s so abnormal about it? Is porn really a sin?
I guess you have already understood that I don’t nurture any inhibition or disrespect about porn and rather support it as a genre of creative art. No other form, I guess glorifies or describes the feeling of lust like porn does. Like love, lust too is a basic human feeling and we all should accept this fact. Agree or disagree, pornography is a form of human expression and yes, to a great degree, a huge form of entertainment and pleasure. Well, if you think or consider it as pervert, let me tell you that perversion too is part of human nature and form of enjoyment.
And talking about expression, unlike our common concept, it’s not so easy writing or filming porn. In his essay, ‘Inside the Whale’, which was actually a review of Henry Miller’s book ‘Tropic of Cancer’, George Orwell made a wonderful statement when he said “it is rather the fashion to say that nothing is easier than to write an obscene book (in our case movies), that people only do it in order to get themselves talked about and make money, etc., etc. If there were easy money to be made out of dirty words, a lot more people would be making it.” In fact there have been and are lots of ‘good’ porn films that are made, which have excellent cinematography, scripting and acting (well it takes guts and skill to act in porn, not everybody can do it). Click on the AVN Awards site for knowing more.
In India (a land of 330 million Gods), where society is greater than human freedom, its common that people will shudder at the name of porn, where sex is portrayed vividly. I somehow do not like this ‘S’ word, I’ll rather prefer the term ‘making love’. That’s more aesthetic and pleasing to hear. So if making love is a fundamental natural human feeling, what’s the harm if you show it on camera? Mahesh Bhatt had once suggested that special halls be made for watching porn movies. As always, our so called ‘moral watch dogs’, posing as “watch gods’ created huge furor. Some even went to the extent of calling Bhatt a pimp. Anyways, they had to be loyal and keep up their’ Bharatiya’ spirit, even if it is filled with thousand hypocrisies. You judge it yourself- who is a better human being. A guy who watches porn but protests against eve teasing or someone who acts virtuous but ogles at a woman’s bedroom.
I guess it’s not getting too boring, just one more para left after this. Coming to the money part. Porn is one of the most lucrative industries across the globe with $10 billion to $14 billion annual sales. It is the second largest economy in Las Vegas. An average porn actor earns around $100,000 to $250,000 yearly. Forget high flying economics, ask your local CD vendor and you will know how popular the demand for porn is. If one stands at a busy road and yells “porn, porn”, the CDs will sell like hot samosas. I can guarantee that.
Then what’s the harm with something which is so popular and so talked about? Just like anything, it too is just a form of entertainment. Whether you wish to watch porn or not ultimately depend on you. There’s nothing so derisive or despising. And if anyone thinks me to be a pervert after reading this blog, I pity his or her mental abilities and wish a speedy mental recovery from the well of ignorance and foolishness.
Kamasutra was India's gift to the world and our moral policing people cannot deny it.....We are perhaps the only country which celebrates a god who has been described as the epitome of flirting....we need to grow up and let people do what they want to.....No laws and moral policing will ever help in curbing this industry even if people believe so
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