In the increasing din over awards, returned or otherwise, there is a new addition – the Nonsense Club. Led by Savita Bhatti, the wife of late comedian-actor Jaspal Bhatti, the group is demanding they be given some awards so they can return them and participate in the protests. The satire by Bhatti and gang has them singing 'give us awards' since the whole world seems to have them and their stock is still empty.
In response to a question in the video above, Bhatti says she and the members of the Nonsense Club have been working for the past 30 years but have won no awards. The specific demand from the government is to give them "surrender-able awards" which they will return immediately after receiving. The group then breaks into a song, "Jaane woh kaise log the jinko award pe award mila" (Who were those people who won so many awards?) Bhatti said she can't return the Padma Bhushan awarded to her husband and requested that the atmosphere in the country stay like this until they get their awards so that they look good returning them.
In the past few weeks scores of academics, artistes, and scientists have returned awards they received from the government to protest against the growing "atmosphere of intolerance" the now oft-used phrase for describing the environment in India after a man was lynched in an Uttar Pradesh village on suspicion of eating beef.
Savita Bhatti's husband, Jaspal Bhatti, is most famous for Flop Show, a satire on Indian society that first aired on Doordarshan in 1989. Savita Bhatti played a lead role in the series, and following Jaspal Bhatti's death in 2012, has taken on the mantle for his satire club.
The couple were always active satirists and have used the Nonsense Club to take potshots at governments in the past as well. The following clip is from the time when Dr Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister. Here Jaspal Bhatti demands that everyone is entitled a scam.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!