How a real hero lost out to a lip-syncing star

He came. He sang. He didn’t conquer. A popular comic made khichdi of the Brat Boy of Pop. Which was most unfair — to the khichdi. I mean, khichdi is India’s number one comfort food. Going by some of the accounts of the suckers who paid serious money to attend Canadian singer Justin Bieber’s much-hyped ‘Purpose’ concert, his performance left a worse after-taste than stale samosas. Frankly, we deserve it. Who the hell is Justin Bieber? Come on. It’s fair to ask that question to anybody above the age of 10. Why did we fall for the hard-sell? Why did parents who should have known better, indulge their kids and buy those absurdly priced tickets only to get short-changed by a singer who didn’t bother to sing? It’s really the worst insult to hurl at die-hard fans who waited for hours in the muggy Mumbai heat to listen to their idol perform live.

When you look at the Rs 3-crore bandobast and security for Bieber, you can’t but help wonder about the failure to protect Ummer FayazWhat did he do instead? Made a few listless moves and lip-synced to the chart-busting hits that have propelled him to the top of the heap in the highly competitive international music industry. Lip-syncing is the worst sin to commit for any performing artist. By doing that Bieber conveyed just one thing — he really didn’t give a damn for India or his desi fans. And you know what? We asked for it. To use a delicious colloquialism: “First you chadhao someone, then you pachhtao.”

So what does the Justin nightmare tell us about ourselves? A lot! And it is pretty revolting. I think of over-indulgent (or over-bullied) parents who thought nothing of shelling out Rs 36,000 for a ticket, so that their brats wouldn’t feel ‘left out’. 36k is one hell of a lot of money! Imagine those 10 -year-old Beliebers bragging about the concert to other kids with far more sensible parents who had not fallen for the emotional blackmail. Imagine the psychological ‘haalat’ of parents who simply could not afford to spend a large chunk of their salary to please their demanding children. This is getting so ridiculous, one wonders where and how it will stop.


Justin Bieber performing at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. (Image: BCCL)

The summer vacations are upon us. God help parents who have not invested in a ‘going to phoren’ trip for their kids. All of it is connected. The Bieber-isation of India includes this obsession with all that is foreign and expensive. Having a cold coffee at a cafe in Mumbai, I couldn’t help but overhear a giggly, animated conversation between a couple seated next to me. They spoke ‘brands’ and nothing else for one straight hour. It was either her giving him a crash course on what’s cool this summer, or the young man trying to be one up on her by boasting about owning indecently expensive luxury wear. When they weren’t comparing watches and shoes, they were discussing who had worn what at the Bieber concert! No mention was made about his songs. It was as if his brand — not band — was the main reason for attending.

People tell me this is today’s India. Is it? I refuse to accept that glib generalisation. The truth is dramatically different. Millions of pre-teen Indians are not dreaming of Bieber tickets but about acquiring basics — food, clean water, sanitation and clothes on their backs. They dream about getting a good education and finding jobs. So why are we fed this Bieber garbage, and made to believe our youngsters are craving for more and more of this form of entertainment and escapism. It is simply not true!



And yet, the sort of coverage, the 23-year-old Bieber received from the moment he arrived in India to the time he fled in a hurry, was enough to cancel out the enormous tragedy of a 22-year-old who had been abducted and brutally murdered while attending a family wedding in Srinagar. When a Justin Bieber is treated as a bigger hero than the late Lt. Ummer Fayaz of the Rajputana Rifles regiment by our media-manipulated youngsters it is time to rethink our priorities and ask where the hell have we gone wrong? Why should anybody care what Justin Bieber ate for breakfast, or where he stopped for a coffee. When you look at the Rs 3-crore bandobast and security arrangements for Bieber, you can’t but help yourself from wondering about the failure to protect Ummer. Why not acknowledge intelligence and security lapses? Let’s not whitewash the truth.

Meanwhile, let’s hope the purposeless Bieber ‘Purpose’ tour teaches us to be far more selective while manufacturing and aggressively promoting heroes and icons for our impressionable young to look up to. Indian fans are right in asking Justin Bieber to say ‘Sorry’! And not lip-sync it this time.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.