Russell Peters (Pic: www.russellpeters.com)
Comic Russell Peters is an apostate who has committed both blasphemy and sacrilege. No wait, he is a blasphemer who has committed sacrilegious apostasy. No wait, he is a sacrilegist who has committed blasphemous apostasy. No wait, he has committed apoblasacrilege. Yes, that’s the word I am looking for.
The Canadian comedian of Indian extraction is feeling some heat these days after he said the following about Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, described by the international media as the world’s most beautiful woman.
The Indian media has quoted Peters as saying this about her: “Aishwarya is the biggest example of bad acting. She has proved it time and time again that in Bollywood, people can become superstars just by having a pretty face.”
He is also reported to have said, “She hasn’t become a better actor. She is still good looking, isn’t that good enough?”
Peters then compounded it all by also reportedly saying, “Oh good job Abhishek, you finally knocked her up!” That was in reference to the fact that the younger Bachchans are going to be parents soon.
If there is a better example of apoblasacrileging someone, I cannot find it. In the coming days Peters will discover what it means to state the obvious in the Hindi film industry. He will also discover that there are many sacred cows in that world which graze on gushing and uncritical praise. For someone used to eating sacred cows (metaphorically, of course, because I do not know if Peters eats beef) it may be hard to understand what all the fuss is about.
Someone please tell Mr. Peters that in the Hindi film industry it is about doing the exact opposite, that is stating everything but the obvious. He will discover that his international comic license is not valid in the world of Hindi movie stars. He will also discover that Hindi movie stars do not take kindly to anything approaching criticism and their fans do so even less.