Social message from Dabaang

Yesterday was my 2nd viewing of Salman starrer "Dabanng". The quintessential hero as Salman personifies - "Robinhood" aka chulbul pandey was an adorable character for little less than 150 minutes. While watching this movie for the second time, I felt that Chulbul Pandey was crying loud seeking audience's attention to the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh (UP), the largest state in terms of area and population of India is well known for having nurtured India's political whizkids but has been a distinct laggard in terms of growth across all paramaters : employment, social equity, industrial and agricultural productivity to name a few. For decades now the state has been ruled by mediocre politicians, who in their quest for political longevity have ensured that progressive development of the people remain in cold storage!

The movie highlighted the dilapidated state of the police force in the state. Years of political slavery has jaded the foundation of integrity, agility and responsiveness of the police. The crime rate in the state has catapulted to the highest level in the last 40 years. "Jungle-Raj" as the political warlords call it! Who is listening to the common man? Where is all of this leading to? Is there a Robinhood pandey who will take onus of the common man's plights?

There cannot be simple answers to these set of questions. UP by far has the best talented set of people, a few of my very close friends who belong to this heartland. I wonder then.. will we imbibe the message of Dabaang, which means "Fearless" in Khari boli dialect and initiate the process of change in India's heartland UP!