An open letter to Hema Malini: You could have saved Sonam’s life

Sonam was laying at the accident spot for nearly 20 minutes and nobody bothered to take her to the hospital with you.

Sapan Kapoor July 10, 2015
Dear Hema Malini ji,

You may be a superstar but your tweets blaming the dead girl’s father for the unfortunate car mishap reeks of nothing but obnoxious arrogance of stardom on the silver screen, exposing the callous indifference of your ilk from Bollywood to the suffering of others.

I beg your pardon for my harsh words, but by my troth, I am hurt. Fie on thee for your remarks.

On Wednesday, you finally broke your silence on the fatal car crash in Rajasthan with your tweet:



Maybe your driver could have also followed the traffic rules. Nonetheless, it is no secret that Indian law is not blind. Verily, it is a slave of the rich. In this country, the rich and the powerful can get away with anything. I mean anything.

They can run their car over poor people sleeping on the footpath under the influence of alcohol, yet can go scot-free. No punishment.

The powers-that-be can slap fellow passengers in the metro, make them de-board the plane so as to make space for themselves and delay flights, causing inconvenience to hundreds of people. Who cares a fig about them?

Life is cheap in India (duh).

The bitter truth is minor vices show themselves only in poor people who wear old and torn clothes. The vices of big people like judges get hidden behind the robes and furred gowns they wear. The fact of the matter is that a sinner who occupies a high status in life, goes entirely unpunished while a sinner who belongs to a low and humble life cannot escape punishment. Sigh!

Let me also tell you, Ma’am, it was the fault of those wretched fellows that they were crushed by Salman Khan’s Land Cruiser on the fateful night of September 28, 2002. Why were those poor folks sleeping on the footpath in the first place? But, I am not the first person to raise this ‘valid’ question.

This is what Farah Khan, actor Sanjay Khan’s daughter, tweeted on the day of Salman’s conviction on the hit and run case:

https://twitter.com/FarahKhanAli/status/595860619724660736

It is another matter that she was given a powerful dressing down by the Twitterati in this regard. What was she thinking? If only people thought before tweeting instead of running their mouths, the world would be a better place.

Why did Salman flee from the spot of the accident, instead of helping the injured? That’s not all. When the Bombay High Court suspended Salman’s five-year sentence, the star’s delirious fans distributed sweets, exploded crackers and danced in the streets, crossing all limits of decency. That’s not being human.

Likewise, it is a pity, Ma’am, that Sonam was laying at the accident spot for nearly 20 minutes and nobody bothered to take her to the hospital with you. Was her life not worth saving?

Maybe you could have also saved her life. But now when Sonam has gone to her heavenly abode, by uttering such insensitive remarks, you are sprinkling salt onto the wounds of her family. Being a mother, you can imagine what they must be going through right now.

In my view, instead of running away from your responsibility, you should introspect and repent for inadvertently letting a little angel die.

Why do I think so?

Simply because in his autobiographyThe Story of My Experiments with Truth, Mahatma Gandhi writes:
“A clean confession, combined with a promise never to commit the sin again, when offered before one who has the right to receive it, is the purest type of repentance.”

The truth is we all need to look within and tame the evil inside us.

I rest my case here. May God bless thee.

Yours sincerely,

Once A Fan

This post originally appeared here.
WRITTEN BY:
Sapan Kapoor A history buff and India-based journalist, the author has worked with the Press Trust of India. He blogs at sehar-anawakening.blogspot.in/ and tweets as @dRaconteur.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (17)

Ahmed Ata Khan | 8 years ago | Reply I wonder what Hema Malini would have done if her own daughter was crushed under a vehicle ..... but this is something I can only wish for, and wishes of mango people are seldom fulfilled.
Guest | 8 years ago | Reply True. Accidents aren't deliberate (obviously). However, the response from Hema may lead us to believe that the Sonam was left on the scene deliberately by a self consumed Hema. I once had a collision with a motor byke. Stopping to help them, I was confronted with violence. I may have left them recovering in a hospital with a bloodied face but a clean conscience. No serious injuries on either side may have helped. But had I left the scene I would never have known their fate and suffered perpetual guilt. Hema doesnt have to wonder, she knows a little girl died. We can only pray for her soul.
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