The Deol Logistics

When I first saw the officially released promos of desi-aping Hollywood phillum Dhoom (Part 1), I couldn’t get my eyes off the scantily dressed, Esha Deol lustily emerging from the Goan waters. The very first thing that came to my mind weirdly was Madonna’s one time super hit, with a slightly tangy taste, (imagine Esha singing to Dharmji) – “Papa don’t preach, I'm gonna keep my baby bikini”.Not that any Bollywood lovers are complaining, I mean come on, from a short pudgy frame the woman transformed (or should I say slogged) herself into a lean mean machine. A body so well-toned, enough to give bade bhaiyas Sunny and Bobby a major inferiority complex. With the overall success of Dhoom, there has been no looking back for the dusky lass; she continues to look thinner, fitter and skimpier (when concerned with her wardrobe).

But what truly intrigues me, is Papa Dharm’s views on his daughter’s cloth per inch career graph. Now don’t get me wrong, I sincerely adore the Deols – my very first meal at home, during my university break had to include a Deol film, packed with alloo paratha and aam ka aachaar.What I precisely mean here is that, it is a well-known fact in the industry that the Deol men are very private about their family matters and more so about their women. Over the years there have been numerous occasions, be it at award shows, film releases, etc. where Deol men have publicly bonded with one another but not once and I mean, not even once have their women been included in these joyful moments.I once saw an interview of Senior Deol on Tele and Papaji’s annoyance was much visible every time the interviewer quizzed him over his daughter’s filmy presence, skimpy clothes and alleged romance – thankfully the dude never ventured too far or else, you know “Jab ye dhai kilo ka haath kisi par padta hai, to admi uthta nahin, uth jata hai”. So one wonders, how and why daughter Esha Deol was handed such liberties when the family is so staunch about their views on “culture” and “ghareloo naris” – I guess Mama Hema has a major role to play in this and then again it isn’t all about “star children” if one looks at the competition, these days.

However if one peeks closely, I guess the Deols are no different from countless other Bharitiya Khandans, where hypocrisy rules the roost. While discussing the same, a friend from the industry abruptly stated – “The daughter shouldn’t be involved so what if the family men have a history of s******* around”. Very true, if you go by Papa Dharm’s extramarital affair with the dream girl, Bhaiya Sunny’s alleged link-up with certain Ms. Crowning Glory and now apparently chote brother Bobby has joined their ranks too.

So while the men take the luft of multiple rendezvous at home and work; the biwis, the betis and the bahus, all are expected to lap it all up behind the four walls of their ghar grahasti.For a perfect end to this, I am reminded of a very old and equally sleazy Hindi phrase – “Apni aurat…aurat, aur dosare ki aurat…….”