Not a nice post

I am always on the lookout for criticism of Shabana Azmi because, quite honestly, it's a pretty rare thing for me to find. The filmi press handles her reverentially and never dares utter a word against her, conferring a kind of immunity to which it seems even Amitabh Bachchan is not uniformly entitled. I would think that in political commentary it is easier to find the occasional barb, but if they're out there they don't, for whatever reason, turn up in my daily Google searches.

Thankfully there's always the world of fashion, whose cattiness sheaths its claws for no-one. Have a look at this post at Saree Dreams, which not only decries Shabana ji's sartorial choice as "fugly" (I agree it's not her best), but also accuses that Shabana ji's famously arch expression is enhanced by botox, and suggests that Rekha has aged more gracefully.

Rekha!

Now this is all a matter of opinion and I respect it, but I certainly can't agree. I have no idea whether Shabana ji has tried botox - my own guess is absolutely not but that's all it is, a guess - but how anyone who saw Om Shanti Om can favorably compare that frightening painted wraith to the splendor of milady is a vast mystery to me. I've never really been on board the Rekha train - as a young woman she was too creepy and ephemeral to ever strike me as beautiful - and today I'd advise her to put down the make-up trowel and pick up a sandwich.

As my father would say, that's why there's horse races - we all don't pick the same winner. But cattiness breeds more cattiness - if it weren't for Saree Dreams's ugly comments, I wouldn't have been inspired this morning to add my own ugliness to the blogosphere. Perhaps if I am in a foul mood in the future, the subject matter of this post will find its way into a bitchy poll or two. For now, though, I'll look for something cheerful and upbeat to cleanse SLP's conscience - this is a terrible way to celebrate Javed sahib's birthday.