Bob Biswas (from Kahaani) has
become a cult figure. As the media notices this trend they also seem puzzled by
it. He is neither young nor styled to be good-looking. Badly-fitting obvious
wigs are not the latest fashion trend. The 6-pack abs, tough guy stance and
smart stunts are missing. So what gives? How does a character become this
popular without the obvious ingredients required for popularity, as defined by
Bollywood pundits?
Notice the popularity of Dexter and
there seems to a parallel trend on TV. Dexter Morgan’s vigilante status and
better looks aside, he seems a kindred spirit to Bob Biswas. Both are unassuming,
not likely to stand out in a crowd. Yet the simmering undercurrent of violence
is easy for the common man (or woman) to identify with. The likelihood of being
overlooked, underestimated or dismissed that might enrage the rest of us is
what these men use to their advantage. Rather than make them feel ordinary it
reinforces their sense of being different, and therefore special.
Bob & Dexter deal with
everyday insults and onslaughts with humble ease because they have an outlet
for the anger and impatience engendered by the stress of modern living. The rest
of us seem incapable of shutting off the frustrations of daily toil in overcrowded,
polluted, high speed cities. Few of us have opportunity to vent in the right
direction. So rage at being overlooked for a promotion is taken out on a
hapless domestic employee or family frustrations are relieved by aggressiveness
at the grocery store. For those who drive, the most common outlet are the roads
– dangerous maneuvers to get ahead of everyone, honking irrationally at the
slightest delay and refusing to ever give way to another driver, a pedestrian
or even a red light.
Perhaps the fact that we are not
psychopaths is excuse enough. Or is it?
While Bob & Dexter are the
kind of people we might not want to encounter in an isolated setting, the
adulation we feel for them suggests we do not fear them. They do not fit with
our conventional beliefs on what makes someone a villain. Violence itself is
not sufficient to determine villainy. Bob & Dexter bring us that rare
quality which is increasingly disappearing from our daily interactions –
courtesy. If someone treats us with unfailing politeness we’re ready to forgive
them almost anything. Villains are branded as such by their failure to be
polite. The lady who elbows past you in a queue, the driver who cuts you off on
the road, the retailer who is unnecessarily rude – these are the real villains
in our lives.
That’s why we love characters
like Bob Biswas or Dexter Morgan. Even if they do kill us, at least it will be
done with kindness.
