The Tiatrists of yesteryears had little money but more class; their songs were timeless and entertained even while they delivered good messages and are enjoyed even today across generations. In sharp contrast, today`s Tiatrists are pretty wealthy but the songs are of poor quality – often no better than the songs composed and sung extempore by the padekars (coconut pluckers) of yore.
The Tiatr stage, apart from conveying social messages also offers an excellent platform to critique public men and women for their misdeeds in office and not surprisingly a new genre of in demand singers called political singers have taken centre stage here.
Political songs and satires are well received by the public, the popularity of which is actually a reflection on the public frustration and anger against the establishment. As long as the criticism and lampooning remains confined to public men and their public life all if well and fine – those politicians who cannot
tolerate criticism can always shut shop and stay at home! But now some Tiatrist have begun to over stretch and over exploit the right to freedom of expression… Onstage slander, onstage washing of someone dirty undergarments is becoming the order of the day and if allowed to continue will only drag the respected Tiatro to the level of a Zagor!
Sugar is sweet, it provides our bodies with energy, but too much is not good…. Nowhere in the civilized world is the right to free expression allowed to be exercised without responsibility. If Tiatrists have the right to free expression, public men also have a right to private life and privacy. It’s not for the Tiatrists to sit in judgment on the private lives of others in the name of artistic freedom. At every election a politician comes to the people`s court, let the people decide how much their private life is relevant and vote accordingly.
As a Tiatro lover, it makes me feel very sad to see our Tiatrist brothers playing into the hands of those who want to censor our age old, free flowing , Bold and Beautiful Tiatro. A world of caution to them: Please resist the temptation to overexploit the right to free expression for short term TRP ratings!
