NSG should be applauded, some politicians bashed: Karan Johar

Filmmaker Karan Johar is aghast over the "soulless and emotionless" reactions of the Indian politicians over the audacious Mumbai terror attacks that killed 183 people.

"The NSG (National Security Guard) should be applauded. The media should be praised. Certain politicians should be bashed," Karan posted on his blog.

"Politicians, soulless and emotionless, were addressing the country while reading off of tele-prompters. Can you not feel anything? Can you say nothing to make us feel just a little more secure in your hands?" he wrote.

"Poorly conducted 'press conferences' announcing the death and casualty toll for foreigners with the speaker unable to successfully read a list from a sheet of paper, confusing Austria for Australia and generally making us look like illiterate idiots to a global audience. It left me embarrassed and struggling to find pride in our government," he added.

Like many others across the nation, Karan said he was glued to the TV screen since late Wednesday night when security personnel battled the terrorists in the city for 62 hours.

Karan Johar, who has made films like "Kuch` Kuch Hota Hai", "Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham" was in New York when the news about the terror attack broke out. The news was "shattering" for him as he was born and raised in city itself.

He looks back at how as part of a regular routine he visited the Tiffin restaurant in the city's Oberoi Trident Hotel, one of the two high-profile landmarks that was under attack by terrorists.

"We now feel unsafe in our cars with tinted windows and our buildings with multiple watchmen. We now feel what a section of the city's lower-middle class felt on July 11, 2006, when their security was threatened," Johar said.

"Affluent members of society now prance around panels claiming Mumbai is no longer safe. This city isn't safe now, nor was it safe two years ago," he grimaced.

Last updated on Dec 1^st, 2008 at 17:06 pm IST--IANS