Vir Das to AIB: Open letters are the next big thing

While there’s no right way to pen an open letter, some write them so openly it leads to follow-up letters, which, ultimately, ‘open’ up many hidden facts and suppressed emotions. Going by the frequency of open letters by celebs recently – Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vir Das and more recently, Anurag Thakur – it’s clear that they’re the new ‘it’ thing.
BCCI Secy Anurag Thakur’s open letter to N Srinivasan
The in-house feud within the BCCI took an ugly turn when board secretary Anurag Thakur hit back at ICC chairman N Srinivasan via an open letter.Excerpts:
“The BCCI has received intimation from the ICC ostensibly under your direction that I should keep away from one Mr Karan Gilhotra who is a ‘suspected bookie’. The intimation further states that the information is unverified. (...) You may also share this information with your family members whose involvement in betting has been proved.”
Wentworth Miller to Russia
The Prison Break star came out via an open letter. Miller – who had previously denied he was gay – turned down a Russian film festival’s invitation owing to Russia’s latest anti-gay laws, which he termed ‘unacceptable’. “Thank you for your kind invitation. As someone who has enjoyed visiting Russia in the past and can also claim a degree of Russian ancestry, it would make me happy to say yes. However, as a gay man, I must decline. I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government,” the letter read.
Kristen Stewart to the World

Perhaps the most straightforward of all, and sans any sarcasm too. Stewart’s 2012 revelation via an open letter clarifying that she did have an affair while she was dating Robert Pattinson, caused quite a stir in Hollywood. Her letter stated that she was “deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I’ve caused those close to me.” She went on to apologise directly to Pattinson saying, “I love him. I love him. I’m sorry.”
Charlie Sheen to Rob Ford
After a news story that said Charlie Sheen had called for Rob Ford, the then mayor of Toronto, to step down from his post, Sheen tweeted an open letter, which read, “Your personal life is and never would be, any of my business. I’m sorry for any grief this may have caused. If I can be of any assistance in any capacity in this media cesspool, please accept the noble offer of my steady hand and compassionate heart. Respectfully, Charlie Sheen.”
Vir Das to Abdul Kalam

Funny man Vir Das was recently stopped from performing in Delhi by the police when he joked about APJ Abdul Kalam. An anguished Das uploaded an open letter on Facebook. Excerpts:
“During the interval in Siri Fort, a gentlemen has walked into my green room, saying, ‘Excuse me... you CANNOT talk about Kalam’. 20 mins later, policemen have begun showing up. My crew is being questioned and taken away from their event duties. (...) This is in addition to the multiple policemen that have showed up through the day in Delhi and during the show in Chandigarh, saying, ‘Humare sahib ko ticket chahiye nahin toh show nahin hone denge,’ but the bribery and free pass system is another much longer open letter for another time. The fact that the police will back you up without any consequences is a slippery slope and a tool that’s prime for misuse.”
Vir Das’ open letter to Modi, Rahul Gandhi and Kejriwal
Last year too, ahead of the elections, Vir Das had penned an open letter. Excerpts:
“Dear Rahul Gandhi, I wish you weren’t gunning for a position that you are clearly not ready for. I wish your party didn’t have a track record of corruption and theft. I wish you didn’t play the youth card without understanding youth issues.
Dear Arvind Kejriwal, I wish you would stop playing the victim and start playing a leader. I wish your party dealt in vision and ideas, and not in others’ dirty laundry. I also wish you multiple Strepsils.
Dear Narendra Modi, I wish you didn’t scare the hell out of me. I wish you would realise that if you want to be my PM, I fully expect you to prove yourself as a human being, and that’s ok, that’s democracy. I also wish you better microphones at your rallies... too much yelling.
Dear Celebrities who are Endorsing Political Parties, I wish you would recognise that if you are an official party representative, that means that you have to improve your behaviour and your language.”
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s racist jewellery ad controversy

A group of activists for women’s and children’s rights penned an open letter to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan regarding her latest jewellery advert. Their letter accused Aishwarya of having “unthinkingly associated with such a regressive portrayal of a black-skinned slave boy juxtaposed with the extremely fair colour of her skin to sell a product”.
Aishwarya issued the statement, “The final layout of the ad is entirely the prerogative of the creative team for a brand. However, shall forward your article as a viewpoint that can be taken into consideration.”
Jada Pinkett Smith talking about her marriage

When Jada Pinkett Smith was quoted as saying her husband Will could ‘do whatever he wants’, many speculated the pair had an open marriage. Addressing the controversy in an open letter on Facebook, Pinkett wrote about trust and the bonds of marriage, with the declaration that ‘Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other to do so. This does NOT mean we have an open relationship... this means we have a GROWN one.’ But that, in turn, multiplied the speculation about their marriage being ‘open.’ So much so, that people asked her for another open letter so that they are not confused anymore!
Sinead O’Connor to Miley Cyrus
It began when Miley said Wrecking Ball was inspired by O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U video. Sinead sent an open letter to Miley, saying, “It is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent.” Things worsened when both sides hurled insults (involving G-strings and mental illness) at each other and what started as a compliment, transformed into an ugly public spat.
Kelly and Sharon Osbourne to Lady Gaga
When Kelly Osbourne passed a negative remark about Lady Gaga on her show, Gaga’s fans sent nasty letters attacking Kelly and even death threats. Later, when both Kelly and her well-known mother Sharon (a TV host) asked Lady Gaga to call off her fans, Gaga too treaded the open letter route. “Your show breeds negativity, and over the years has even become comedic in nature. It glorifies you and Joan Rivers pointing in the camera, laughing, and making jokes about artists and celebrities as if we are zoo animals,” wrote Gaga. Sharon then shamed Gaga for her meat dress.
AIB’s not-so-roasted open letter

After multiple FIRs, the AIB removed their roast video featuring Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor from YouTube and replied to the nation via an open letter. Excerpts:
“We managed to bring together consenting adults who were willing to be made fun of by other consenting adults in a crowd full of, well, consenting adults. And if we’re honest, it was a phenomenally entertaining evening. The video came with a clear disclaimer with several age and content warnings. No one was forced to watch it; we didn’t buy airtime on TV channels to broadcast it. Yet, we got over eight million views. With the Knockout, in our own juvenile, idiotic way, we wanted to push the envelope of comedy in this country. But then the envelope pushed back. We respect arguments that are critical, and as for the arguments we don’t, we respect your right to make them without impediment. It is a courtesy we wish worked both ways. (...) This Knockout shouldn’t matter. In a secure culture it wouldn’t matter. We were pleasantly surprised that people in power who we have made fun of in the past, including people from both the so-called right wing and left-wing, went out of their way to convey support to us. We hope to be part of an environment that supports that sort of expression without fear of persecution, intimidation and most importantly, annoyance. As always, in our own AIB way, we’ll continue to strive towards creating that very environment.” Their letter ended with the light-hearted PS, “Best of luck Virat Kohli. Sorry for the jokes. We love you.”
For latest Bollywood updates follow us on Twitter >>>@TOIEntertain
For the latest in Bollywood news, like us on Facebook >>>TOIEntertain