'Mujhe gorey nahin, kaale log pasand hain': Rani

Rani Mukerji is from a proper Marathi family, the only difference between her and the rest of her Marathi sisterhood is that she has fallen for the handsome Prithviraj Sukumaran, who is Tamil.

Bollywood will enter new frontiers with Aiyya, the first movie out of Mumbai to call a South Indian man ‘sexy’!

Now, that’s something to rejoice about, we’d think, but online forums are erupting in protest, especially over a line from the trailer where Rani says, “Mujhe gorey log nahin, kaale log pasand hain.” Angry protesters in these forums claim that the line borders racism and mirrors the long-held stereotype — all South Indians are dark.

We watched the trailer and we loved it, but several people, many from our own city, don’t seem to think so. The trailer for the Rani Mukerji — Prithivraj Sukumaran starrer, Aiyya, seems to divide the city into people who hate it and people who love it and DNA decided to speak to some of the most popular voices in the city to find out what they believe is Bangalore’s verdict.

“I don’t see why this is an issue. We’ve come a long way and while I do agree that the stereotype exists, when was the last time someone said that white is superior? Just because some people think it is, it doesn’t make it that way, does it? I don’t think we should get offended in any way and instead celebrate the different colours we have, that’s the only way out,” says actor Divya Spandana, more popularly known as Ramya.

Model and filmmaker Karan Rao seconds her. “I’ve been a model for a long time now and yes people often assume I am not South Indian, because I am fair. Mumbai was a different experience though. Everyone knew I was from Bangalore and so, while the stereotype exists, I don’t think it was meant in a bad way here, not racist for sure. That said, come on man, not all Marathis are fair either...” Karan explains.

Bangaloreans seem to have taken a rather disinterested look at the trailer, but a few tell us why exactly it does not matter what Bollywood does. “Honestly, it’s Bollywood. Everybody in Bollywood combined has the overall IQ of one and so I don’t see why this needs to even be considered, let alone, fought over.

Bollywood has always been racist and they will continue to be so, it’s just that they’re not sophisticated enough to hide it, like the rest of the civilised world,” jests Rubi Chakravarty, popular comedian and actor.

Ashvin Mathew, comedian and actor, chimes in, with an opinion across the spectrum. “At the end of the day, let’s tell Bollywood exactly what they’ve been telling us for ages — hum kaale hain toh kya hua, dilwale hain... and that’s the truth! They can say what they want, but hey, who’s the sexy man in the movie, huh?” concludes Ashvin and we heartily agree.

Just look at Prithviraj in the film and you’ll know why Meenakshi (Rani Mukerji) prefers the kaale over the gorey. Touche, indeed!