Lying is the ultimate truth, writes Sajid Khan

Is black the ultimate white? Can North be the ultimate South? Can chalk be the ultimate cheese? I guess not. So how can lying be the ultimate truth? It is, if you truthfully think like a liar. Or if your day begins and ends with what your heart tells you is the truth, but your brain knows it’s a lie.

When the truth’s a paap

Jhooth bolna paap hai. We have been taught this since childhood. But the true lie is that in today’s day and age, sach bolna aur bhi bada paap hai.For example:  You’re invited to your boss’s house for dinner cooked by his wife. The food sucks. Your boss and his wife both look at you and ask you how was the food. What are you gonna say?

A. The food was horrible

B. Please hire a cook

C. Always order out

D. (The preferred answer) It was very good. You should write your own cookbook.

Now, had you believed ki jhooth bolna paap hai, you would have probably lost your job. Even though all three of ya’ll know that you are lying. So what if it’s a harmless lie?

Harmless lies

Film trials, premieres, events, parties, the Twitterati, social media where actors are praising other actors, filmmakers doing the same for others of their ilk, are also filled with these ‘harmless’ lies. But the truth is, they all know that most of them are lying. And when the praises for each other’s movies start on Twitter, or the ‘I Stand By’ hashtags come along, they know that they don’t really mean it. But you don’t. You believe it. Why? ’Cause it’s written. The truth is only a handful of actors are not insecure about another actor’s success. And I mean a handful only. The same also goes  for makers. If one filmmaker praises another’s film, then please refer to the headline of today’s column.

Jhooth ka silsila

We actually don’t realise how much we constantly lie. Our parents kept on lying to us (‘If you do this, good things will happen’, ‘If you do that, bad will happen’). And the result in life was always the opposite.

Teenagers constantly lie to their parents, till they’re caught. And then the silsila of lies starts all over again. Of the parents to the kids and the kids to their parents.

Loving the lie

Love is also a beautiful lie. When you say ‘I love you’, you don’t realise that you actually don’t love the other person, but you love yourself with the other person. You love how you feel when you’re with the other person. When you ask ‘do you love me’, you’re basically asking for a self-approved approval from your partner. Now even if he or she doesn’t really love you at that moment, the lie is the ultimate truth for you.

No truth

So the truth is, there is no truth. It’s a modified lie. The courteous lie. The harmless lie. I’m sure some of you may not agree with what I have written today. But you don’t have to. Just think of it as a lie.