The sanskaari Alok Nath memes still doing rounds on Facebook and Twitter might just take a U-turn since the ideal babuji of Hindi cinema has done something un-sanskaari. It all started with Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s appeal to his Mann Ki Baat listeners to post a selfie with their daughters using #SelfieWithDaughter. What followed was criticism and appreciation from all sections on social media along with, of course, many selfies.
One such critic Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association, tweeted, “Careful before sharing #SelfieWithDaughter with #lameDuckPM. He has a record of stalking daughters (sic).” Alok Nath, who played the righteous Kailashnath of blockbuster Hum Apke Hain Koun..!, might have posted a picture of him with his daughter but also did the unthinkable by calling Krishnan ‘a bitch’. His tweet, which he later deleted, read, “jail the bitch (sic).”
Twitter again stood divided with many siding with Nath while bashing Krishnan who might have gone a little overboard. But criticism also poured for the former from many including AIB’s Rohan Joshi saying, “But calling someone a bitch never solved anything (sic).”Bhavya Khanna wrote, “I for one am shocked, shocked that Alok Nath, being a middle aged Indian ‘sanskari uncle’, has little respect for women and dissent (sic).”
Some called him a ‘right-wing misogynist’ while many have already started posting hate memes of Nath. The Modi campaign aimed at gender equality was taken over by personal battles. Nath also drew flak for diverting the public attention from Krishnan who, according to many, should’ve faced the public wrath.
