In the past, I was somewhat snarky when it came out that Aishwarya Rai, before her marriage to Abhishek Bachchan, agreed to marry a Peepul tree because of her “Manglik” status. 
The New York Times had a story recently (thanks, Jamie), which described how Aishwarya Bachchan recently dropped out of a Hollywood project with Will Smith in order to be home in Mumbai to celebrate Karva Chauth.
For those who don’t know, Karva Chauth is a traditional Hindu festival where wives fast for a whole day without food or water as a symbol of their devotion to their husbands. I have many women friends who object to the festival as regressive, though I also know one or two people who do observe it out of a sense of loyalty to tradition. (Perhaps not too surprisingly, the women I know who observe it are NRIs, not ABDs. Are there any ABDs out there who observe Karva Chauth?)
Here is the quote the NYT gives regarding Aish’s decision to return to Mumbai for Karva Chauth:
Ultimately Ms. Bachchan chose to return to Mumbai and starve with a smile. National television channels covered her first Karva Chauth as headline news. Two months later she shrugged off her loss in an interview. “You do what you have to do,†she said. “Feeling torn and thereby unhappy, confused or guilty is not something I want to feel. So you make your choices and go with it. You get some and some you don’t.†(link)
What to say. From what I can tell, everything Aish does outside of her acting seems to reflect a pretty sincere traditionalism. One has to presume she’s observing Karva Chauth because she really wants to, not because anyone put pressure on her to do so. So, if we accept that the festival of Karva Chauth isn’t inherently sexist (and the case can be made that it is), here I’m inclined to give props to Aish for putting tradition over her career. It certainly beats America’s celebrity culture — which has lately just been depressingly bad, what with Britney losing her mind, and Amy Winehouse smoking crack…
On the other hand, the Indian media loves this kind of thing, so it may be that sacrificing a romantic comedy with Will Smith might actually help her Bollywood career — and she can have both. Jodhaa Akbar, anyone?
On the other hand, the Indian media loves this kind of thing, so it may be that sacrificing a romantic comedy with Will Smith might actually help her Bollywood career
By chosing not to have romantic lead with a blackman, helped her Bollywood career, sad as that sounds is.
I find this weird. Despite being an ABD, I lived in India too and rarely heard of women fasting a whole day for their husbands. I just asked my cousin about it and she has no idea about it. And I wonder if Aish has led a very chaste life and followed every single Hindu traditional practice regardless of how silly it may be. All of a sudden, she throws up a good movie opportunity for a freaking fast for a husband day?
Anyway, it’s her personal wish to do how she pleases. But I do not see it as an indication of character just because she is blindly following some tradition.
I am glad the most beautiful Indian actress / super star decided to not appear in a a “romantic comedy” opposite Will Smith. Will Smith a major star but not at the same super star level as Aishwara Rai. This would have destroyed her image.
Apparently, there are ABDs who fast for Karva Chauth: http://www.abcdlady.com/2007-01/art4.php
Perhaps someone can explain. In my family of Kashmiri Sikhs, none of us have ever celebrated Karva Chauth. We know Punjabi Sikhs, however, who do. Why? Cultural tradition rather than religious tradition? Of course, we Kashmiris seem to do everything wrong, what with our meat-eating pandits!
obvious typo. I meant “gives up” .
I know plenty of people (including myself, my mother, and plenty of friends) who celebrate Karva Chauth. Of course, our husbands fast with us as well. Far from regressive, it’s just a way for us to appreciate each other.
another question. Does the tradition specify where you need to be during the fast? Why couldn’t she fast for a day in Hollywood?
Of course, our husbands fast with us as well. Far from regressive, it’s just a way for us to appreciate each other.
That’s great — but isn’t it a bit of a diasporic twist?
Are you being sarcastic? I’m not sure I see the logic of this. Indian celebs are better because they subscribe (albeit sincerely and of their own volition) to regressive norms? While I hardly endorse American celebrity culture, I don’t think Aishwarya Rai deserves praise for her sincere commitment to regressive traditional values. While putting family over career is praiseworthy (and not necessarily the ‘right’ option for everyone), and may well be Aishwarya Rai’s personal preference, doing so out of commitment to inherently sexist norms is not. Now, it is definitely up to Ms. Rai to follow her conscience, and practice whatever she likes. It is not my place to criticize her actions. It is certainly sad though that educated, accomplished, and apparently intelligent young women in India are consenting to marry peepul trees to propitiate the Gods of destiny. Certainly, this could be a canny move on her part wrt getting props from the Indian media. Who knows if her Hollywood negotiations were falling apart anyway, and this was a face-saving maneuver for all involved? On another note, I’m sick of Bollywood repackaging its regressive conception of an ideal woman in a sexy outfit and candy-floss visuals, and trumpeting the arrival of the ‘modern’ and ‘liberated’ heroine.
Wow, and I thought Americans were insular. Ash may be a huge star, but on a global level, I’m not sure one is any bigger than the other.
While I am hesitant to make assumptions about people’s reasons, I can’t help but wonder to what extent our parent’s generation (and worse, many from our own) would have been crushed at seeing India’s perfect little angel in a romantic lead role with a black man.
That said, I really, really wish it would have happened and I don’t think I’m being paranoid to suggest that this “holiday” may be being used as a big F’en excuse to keep it from happening.
With all due respect, the latter part of that phrase was completely unnecessary. First of all, I am pretty sure she’s British and second of all, people’s addictions to drugs shouldn’t be compared with their religious traditions. Religion is way more dangerous.
why is all this regressive?
Brown NYC: I think it’s sweet that you and your husband fast together instead of you fasting alone.
I read the original NYT article……….it is just wishy-washy, brouhaha.
First, Will Smith and Ash have been talking about doing a movie together for a while. Will Smith visited India last year, and has invested in a recent Bollywood movie.
Movie deals are not made or broken over a few days absence – They are more dependent on business decisions, and rate of return for people behind them. A recent example is Woody Allen could not get Robert Downey Jr for a movie since the underwriters for that particular movie (not the producers but the insurance company that insures the produces) would not let him in the cast because of RDJ’s past substance abuse, and risk of not movie being completed.
Eventually, Will Smith and Ash will make a movie.
This article is more a PR for Ash how even though is a global brand (with all the cosmetic adverts around the wold) but still traditionalist at heart.
i think all this hype abt hindu tradtions is because of that Mr Sooraj R. Barjatya and his melodramatic and glamorous movies. But one can argue whats life without some style and glamour.
Question:
Why are folks at the Sepia mutiny so fascinated with Ash? Not that there is anything wrong with it, I am just curious.
Totally agree with Port, these husband-worshiping festivals like Karva Chauth are the very definition of regressive. and one of the reasons I am not a big fan of Hindi movies is this Pati Parmeshwar nonsense that they perpetuate.
3 · ben said
Not at the same super star level? (Rolls eyes) Please, Will Smith is a two-time Oscar Best Actor nominee, a successful actor who fills the seats in theaters and a tv/film producer. Not to add more racial taboos, but I have to disagree about the level of stardom of Will Smith in comparison to Aish. Now if Aish’s leading man was Martin Lawrence, THEN I could see why she would bow out.
I’m not the closest follower of celebrity culture (because i’ve blocked TMZ on my browser and don’t watch TV) but because you really can’t escape the ‘news’ it generates, I can kind of understand what you’re driving at–however smoking crack doesn’t appear to be part of ‘celeb culture’ (i would say it’s more a part of F**&-up culture than anything else) and bipolarism has nothing to do with celeb culture in particular either.
I never really appreciated Amardeep’s initial snark on the topic of tree marriage but I find this even less appealing–what is exactly ‘sad’ about the women that go through with the ritual? That apparently well-adjusted young women are following their mothers in a fairly silly but otherwise harmless (no unilateral fasting) tradition? That they are ‘defective’ because they seem to ascribe to an inherently sexist norm?
I let my mother (who underwent the tree marriage ‘ordeal’ as well) apply burnt cow-dung to my forehead and throat (among other strange and possibly debasing rituals like rolling around temples in devotional positions) every single time I visit her house because i wish to humor her and keep the peace (as an atheist in a very religious family)–why are we not exploring that possibility in this case? It’s not like she really needs the Will Smith movie to remain fiscally solvent, emotionally secure or healthy in general.
that being said, it definitely does matter if her hubby will be fasting as well–it can’t quite be sexist if there is mutual suffering.
This is an entertaining story and post, but that statement gets pretty close to crossing the line into gross exaggeration. Turning down role opportunities is something that actors do all the time for a variety of reasons, and as you say, it’s debatable how much impact this will really have on her career in the long run (my guess is not very much at all).
Then again, who knows: with actions like this showing her commitment to “tradition,” maybe someday she’ll be top celebrity spokeswoman for the BJP.
The article was a condensed version of the interview which she did with Anupama Chopra on TV. During that interview she mentioned that the reason for turning down the role with Will Smith was because Teji Bachchan was critically ill (passed away in December) and she did not want to be away from home at that time. So, the reason was not just for Karva Chauth.
I hate organized religion but respect other people’s choices. BTW, Amithabh has mentioned fasting for Jaya during Karva Chauth so they are not as regessive as some folks think. Finally, the marrying a tree story has been explicitly denied by Amitabh and Aishwarya yet some folks still insist on believing a media lie.
Will Smith was in Mumbai recently and said he has offered her a few roles but because of scheduling isssues they have not been able to work together yet.
Right on Huey, Will Smith is the definition of a megastar – remember a few years ago when he owned the July 4th weekend for three years? (see, I understand American holidays)
As Kush says, Smith and Rai have been rumbling on about a joint project for ages. I think it will be bad, not for any racial reason or anything like that, I just think the on-screen chemistry will be woeful. WOEFUL!
My thoughts exactly.
And I do think that this is just a PR stunt for Aish, nothing more. Bollywood stars need to be more responsible abt their actions since it does affect many youngsters who idolize them. What kind of vrat she keeps, when and for whom is a very personal thing and not something that you tell the whole world.
I first read this as: “…here I’m inclined to give props to Aish for using tradition to further her career.” Do other Bollywood celebs promote their religious practices/choices?
etc. by chetna, yogi and port.
hey! it may not rock your boats, but if it works for some why consider it a affront to your individual senses. the ‘regressive’ opinion seems prejudiced. so what if thsi person is an actor, she’s entitled to her personal faith.
Oh, and can we not define the ‘Western’ celebrity culture and Indian celebrity culture in such one-dimensional ways? Britney is hardly representative. Amy Winehouse maybe more so. Messed up musicians are universal, at least she has some genuine talent unlike a lot of other Western and Indian celebs. Likewise Ash is not representative of Indian celebs. Bollywood is a filth-infested shagfest much of the time and you guys in the US are lucky not to be exposed to the second class celebs, TV stars etc. One showbiz is not purer than the other.
Which leads me on to kusala’s point. Many ‘traditionally’ minded stars use the celebrity status reinforce regressive views. Leave aside religion, people like (forget her name, the woman from Ekta Kapoor’s soaps, Tulsi?) are famed for their staunch BJP views. They’re nationalists.
I agree. I vaguely knew of Ash until a few years ago. And even then, I had no idea she was such a megastar until 4 years ago. And she can’t match Will Smith when it comes to acting talent. And you know what, I don’t even think she is the hottest Indian actress, let alone world actress. All this hype about her being the most beautiful woman in the world.
“Do other Bollywood celebs promote their religious practices/choices?”
In my opinion, indian celebs have always been fairly traditional/religious, no matter what religious background they are from. the media glare is more intense now and covers their actions in a quite intrusive fashion. i think it’s unfair, based on this article, and on the background that carol gives above, to accuse her of promoting her religious practices/choices. i don’t see them doing it any more than say, a salman khan or sanjay dutt, who suddenly become ostentatiously religious for their court appearances – even though they probably are religious anyways — or a bipasha basu who is featured on tv, along with other celebrities, celebrating diwali for the media cameras. and whether she married a tree or not, or chooses to fast for her husband for a day, how is that any more sexist than women taking their husband’s names after marriage, or referring to God as a he, or any more regressive than merely entering a temple, mosque, church etc and indulging in all sorts of mumbo jumbo? marriage ceremonies/customs around the world themselves are regressive. is a woman jumping out of a cake at a bachelor party progressive? and so what if her husband may not have fasted for her? is he beating her up? because being beaten is more sexist, yet when she alleged this, she was the one who was vilified.
Keep your personal faith personal and do not tell the whole world abt it.
So, on the same lines, would you say that the SRK’s ad for the Fairness cream for Men is OK ? Then according to you – its SRK’s opinion that fair skinned men are better, right?
Wasn’t calling Aish regressive, she can do whatever she likes, I don’t particularly care.
I was calling the tradition of the husband-worshiping festivals and the whole Pati-Parmeshwar business in Hindi movies regressive.
25 · Pravin said
Hmmm…which blog was born four years ago…damn my exhaustion-induced brain fog. 😉
Re ben #3
Seriously??
Let’s count the worldwide distribution and gross profit of Will Smith’s movies versus Aishwarya Rai’s movies. Will Smith averages way over $100 million PER movie (more than Tom Hanks!), not to mention that his movies are much more widely seen than any of her movies are– plus, add in the fact that the man is a Grammy-winning musician AND producer. Aishwarya Rai is extremely lucky if she even bags half as much.
Seriously.
This worship of her is rather extreme.
Oai!who is this srk dude. LeKhoof walks alone. the rest of the world can take a flying leap into a pit of shit for all he cares. twirls his mootch, scratches his bum
Leave aside religion, people like (forget her name, the woman from Ekta Kapoor’s soaps, Tulsi?) are famed for their staunch BJP views. They’re nationalists.
Dude, Bong Breaker welcome back.
But,
Ash, and the whole Bachchan clan are direhard Samajawadi Party (a party of dalits from UP) people, and Ms. Jaya Bachchan is a Rajya Sabha member from SP. They have nothing to do with BJP.
Now,
Religion and Nationalism in entertainment media is universal. Some examples:
Elvis Presley = While he himself was a drug addict, he was the drug czar for US administration. He was also anti-commie symbol, and attack dog Ingrid Bergmann = Was declared persona non grata by US Senate since she played nun in movies but became pregnant in real life Jimmy Stewart and all = Being active in WW 2 was used by Hollywood to the max Nixon era = Hollywood actors and all were blacklisted for supposedly “red” views Tom Cruise = Has scientology tent installed on sets when he acts on moveis recently Mel Gibson = Bankrolled Passion of Christ. I guess you know his and his dad views on Jews Beatles = John Lennon’s view on JC almost derailed their earlier tour, and they later left US for a while since FBI did not like their “Back in the USSR” and socialist views.
Ingrid Bergmann = Was declared persona non grata by US Senate since she played nun in movies but became pregnant in real life to another married man while she was married herself
I meant: in real life by another married man while she was married herself
I think clinging to these traditions is a way in which otherwise very westernised Indians can still feel they have some ‘Indian’ left in them. These customs (good or bad) give you a culture and an identity…and I think that’s something America’s celebrities lack. So there probably is a psychological basis for people like Aish to follow this.
26 · Whose God is it anyways? said
Apparently, everyone here is determined to ignore my message.
During the interview with Chopra, she did not once mention religion. The topic of Karva Chauth came up when Chopra posed a question regarding the intrusiveness of the media. Apparently it was covered in the national media as a news event.
Why are folks here determined to paint this women in a bad light? Who has she harmed? I’m curious. She is not a great actress but then I find most actors and actresses to be on par. Let her live her life.
See, how you feel? And SRK said it in a ad for the whole world to see. And that’s why the Bollywood stars need to be more responsible abt their actions. The reason why this whole Aish incident hurts is b’cos now there are going to be a lot of in-laws who will be giving Aish’s example to their Bahu and asking them to do this vrat. It angers us women.
And it’s interesting, isn’t it Kush, how the view of religion has changed over time in Western media? Elvis could sell millions singing gospel music then but not now. Celebs like Mel and Tom – who openly state their religious views – get vilified in the media. Just observing that’s all…
Thanks, whose Godiia, for taking the time to answer.
Hmm this sounds like it came from a tabloid more than the NYT. Who cancels an entire movie because of a one day religious/cultural commitment? This woman is a jetsetter and flies around the world like nobody’s business – I’m sure it wouldn’t be tough for her to take 3 days off from filming to fly to India and back. Normally I’m all for celebrity gossip, but this is just stupid.
le khoof: i said she is free to do whatever she likes, but i’m also allowed to think it is sad, and allowed to say it is not behavior which should be emulated.
Did you mean Aishwarya is using tradition as a prop to further her career?
What can you do? People, People who need peepul, are NOT the luckiest people in the world.
carol, not sure, but i think you misunderstood my reason for quoting you. i referred to your post because i agreed with it and you gave a wider and more accurate context/background. i have to say that i do think that aishwarya rai and the bachchans, though, like any other celebrities, they do use the media, also take a lot of unnecessary flak from the media and on here at times. they are criticized for being regressive for doing things that millions of Indians, including other celebrities/politicans/business people in India, do all the time, but the word “regressive” seems to be thrown at them more for some reason.
take cricket, tendulkar goes to temples to get special blessings and pujas to ward off certain bad times or to seek special blessings. robin uthappa crosses himself on the field. irfan pathan/munaf patel/all the pakistani players pepper their speeches with inshallah and begin each post-match interview with an invocation, sreesanth does a medley of multireligious gestures derived from hindu and christian practices and others probably, they all look to the skies after scoring tons etc. i’ve never heard anyone refer to them as regressive, or ask what god has to do with sports. when shah rukh peppers his speeches on stages with inshallahs, no one calls him regressive. that’s because, except to the really “progressive” who sneer (and sometimes they sneer with good reason, but unfortunately they are not exactly fair or equal opportunity in their sneering of religion), these public gestures and religiousity are no big deal in india and just part of people’s lives in a mostly innocent manner. this is not to say that there aren’t excessive uses of religion and promoting of it by some, but in general it’s just people’s customs. i think some of the aversion here is just the product of looking at it from a westernize, overly sanitized diasporic point of view.
ENOUGH ALREADY – READ THIS BEFORE PASSING JUDGEMENT
The article was a condensed version of the interview which she did with Anupama Chopra on TV. During that interview she mentioned that the reason for turning down the role with Will Smith was because Teji Bachchan was critically ill (passed away in December) and she did not want to be away from home at that time. So, the reason was not just for Karva Chauth.
I hate organized religion but respect other people’s choices. BTW, Amithabh has mentioned fasting for Jaya during Karva Chauth so they are not as regessive as some folks think. Finally, the marrying a tree story has been explicitly denied by Amitabh and Aishwarya yet some folks still insist on believing a media lie.
Will Smith was in Mumbai recently and said he has offered her a few roles but because of scheduling isssues they have not been able to work together yet.
THE END
I saw the interview on NDTV recently.
dalits is probably a typo; OBC would be more accurate. See here
I personally can’t see Karwa chauth and the romanticisation of it as positive, having grown up with it (and am amused to note otherwise progressive men think it’s sweet), but just to throw in some information – it’s primarily a north Indian observance, women from Maharashtra, Gujarat and presumably Ash’s own community have not traditionally followed it, and very few Bombay women I know keep the fast, even though it’s been popularized in Bollywood films in recent years of course. One can presume there’s at least a little bit of a desire to please the North Indian hubby and in-laws in her decision. And if she felt, in her own words, “torn,” “confused” and “guilty” about whether to stay on in the US or not, then it clearly wasn’t a cut and dry thing. Anyway, what others have said about a film decision not hinging on a few days makes sense, and perhaps that was just a small part of the story the media picked up on.
I think Karva Chauth is a useless custom. Why is my woman standing on the terrace and using a sieve to look at the moon when she should be using it to make rotis in the kitchen?
so did she observe karva chauth for abhishek? or for the peepul tree? i’m confused
Rahul, man, she’s going to be throwing that sieve at you.
Karva Chauth is performed by women whose husbands are still alive to ensure their longevity. So, she couldn’t observe it for the peepul tree. The main point of the tree marriage is to fool the omnipotent, but slightly dense, gods/planets into thinking that the tree is the husband (I believe consummation is also required) so that when the tree is chopped down and killed, the Manglik prophecy is fulfilled. And then she can marry the wooden husband of her choice without fear of any interplanetary repurcussions.
Carol, please chill out a little.
The problem is, the transcript of that interview on NDTV isn’t currently available anywhere. We are discussing the New York Times piece, because that is the coverage we’ve seen in print.
Also, how do you know the NYT didn’t do its own, fresh interview with Aish for this article? They have certainly written about her before.