The curious case of Akshay Kumar's 'Rustom' naval officer's uniform: Much ado over a costume auction?

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has continuously done his bit for several charitable causes without seeking any attention. That he has been batting regularly for the Armed Forces is well-known. There have been media reports on his donations to the widows and children of martyrs. He also inspired Indians across the country to stand up for their jawans with his initiative, Bharat Ke Veer, towards which any Indian from anywhere can donate any amount for the families of armed forces personnel who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

But what came as a shock to Akshay and his socially-conscientious and sensitive wife Twinkle Khanna is the fact that when she asked her husband to donate the costume (the naval officer’s uniform) that he wore in his 2016 film Rustom (for which he won the National Award) for an auction, they were met with trolls and stiff opposition.

The proceeds of the auction were going to be used for the cause of animal welfare and rescue, but a couple of days later, one Lt Col Sandeep Ahlawat posted on Facebook a ‘rebuttal’ to Twinkle’s tweet and called her idea of ‘auctioning the costume’ for raising money for her NGO as ‘sick’. He stated that Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) wives do not auction their husbands’ uniforms.

He concluded his post saying he would drag her to court if she made an attempt to auction the costume, and if she touched their honour, ‘we will give you a bloody nose’.

The following day, Twinkle responded on Twitter, saying, “As a society do we really think it’s all right to threaten a woman with bodily harm for trying to raise funds for a charity by auctioning a uniform used in a movie, a piece of film memorabilia? I will not retaliate with violent threats but by taking legal action! # JaiHind (sic).”

While Lt Col Ahlawat responded saying he was only using ‘giving a bloody nose’ as an idiom, he reiterated that “Improper And derogatory use of word “auction” of Original Naval Uniform, which I reassert can’t, repeat, can’t be commercially sourced by unauthorised people leave alone auctioned (sic).”

After Hrs spoke to a BSF (Border Security Forces) Officer and a filmmaker and here’s what they had to say...

AMIT LODHA,
IPS Officer, currently posted as DIG, BSF, in Jaisalmer

There’s no controversy. It’s as simple as that — except for the word ‘uniform’, which too, I don’t think is such a big issue. I’m in the IPS (Indian Police Service), so we call it a uniform. If Ajay Devgn wears a costume in Singham, I will still call it a uniform. Though, for a filmmaker, it will be a costume. Or for that matter, Salman Khan’s shirt unbuttoning in films like Dabangg, it’s the filmmaker’s perspective.

It has been cleared by the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) and the board’s officials are better aware of the finer details and nuances.

People like me, who have served in the services for a long time, know that if itni si cheezon se hil jaayein, then it’s pointless. Most films show police in poor and bad light, but we know it’s not true. If the police would be so inefficient, so corrupt, then the system would collapse.

As far as Akshay Kumar is concerned, it’s only memorabilia from the film. It must have been lying somewhere. JP Dutta has been making war films, so many people wear police and army uniforms. Have we bothered to know how they are kept? Akshay’s outfit from Rustom is being auctioned for a good cause. If you don’t want to buy it, don’t buy it. Why give importance to unnecessary controversies? Does it serve any argument? A uniform is beyond these things.

By that logic, filmmakers should stop showing any person in a uniform as bad. All ranks are shown wrong. What not is shown in the movies! Sometimes, a policeman is shown being slapped in public. Ultimately, all wrongdoings are shown as misdeeds of the police, as if they come from another planet.

During 26/11 (2008) terror attack in Mumbai, three senior IPS officers laid down their lives for the nation. They could have stayed back at their homes. If they sacrificed their lives for the country, why show police in a poor light?

I won’t deny corruption and wrongdoing, but that doesn’t mean you paint everyone black. I know Akshay for over four years now; he is concerned about the jawans. He would never do or say anything that would insult the uniform or hurt armed forces personnel.

He has done more than what many people have done for the armed forces. If we start protesting against everything, things will come to a standstill. He’s auctioning his film costume for the cause of animal welfare and there’s nothing wrong with it.

Talking of auction, Vijay Mallya bought the sword of Tipu Sultan, somebody else bought the pen of Mahatma Gandhi. We don’t know how they are being used. At least Akshay has brought out a memorabilia out of the closet and is using it for a good cause.

My personal thought is that trolls don’t have a life. Anyone who has something worthwhile to do, won’t bother. If Akshay was wrong, Indian Army and Navy would have taken a strong stand against him. It’s just a piece of costume, a memorabilia. I don’t think we should make a big issue about it.

ASHOKE PANDIT
Filmmaker

Whatever is happening is not right at all. What one should understand is the intention behind the move. A person like Akshay Kumar has been a forerunner of all social causes and this initiative by Twinkleji is for the animals. It’s not a uniform that a soldier or an officer has worn. It’s just a costume and Akshay has just enacted a role, he is not a naval officer. Then, it’s being used for a noble cause. If cricketers can auction their bats for some good work, what’s the problem here? The main issue is that the film industry has been a soft target for everything. Abusing Akshay and Twinkle just gives you publicity.

We must not forget how much Akshay has done for the society and for the army in general. He has come out on the ground to talk about health and hygiene for women and making sure ladies take part in sports and karate. He doesn’t have to do all this, but he still does it. It’s high time we respect such people rather than abusing them and making fun of them.