In a video which has gone viral on social media, Samajwadi Party leader Firoz Khan was seen weeping bitterly at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October, Gandhiji’s 150th birth anniversary.
https://twitter.com/adityatiwaree/status/1179389181317042181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
At one point, taking a break from weeping, he even looked up to the statue and ‘talked’ to Bapu. “Desh ko anath karake, humein chhod gaye. Anath banake chale gaye aap. Itna bada desh humein azaad kara diya. Lekin humari tamanna jo thi sab khatam hoti jaa rahi hai, sab bekar hote jaa raha hai. Bapu aap kahan chale gaye? Itni badi uplabdhi de ke kahan chale gaye? Itna bada desh humein azaad kar ke, humare bachho ke liye… Aap kahan chale gaye? (You orphaned the country… Why did you leave us? You gave us independence and then orphaned us? Why did you leave us?)” he says even as his sidekick continues to wail.
In what appears to be a scene straight out of Bollywood film Lage Raho Munnabhai, Khan, even has his ‘Circuit’ who was also mourning Mahatma Gandhi’s death on his 150th birth anniversary. He even gives echo sound effect when Khan ‘talks’ to Bapu. The other supporters are unperturbed by what is happening and appear like the ‘extras’ in the 70s film who would gather around to have a look at the hero.
At one point, one of the assistants notices the camera recording the performance and without any regard for the scene unfolding in front of him, smiles at the camera. ‘Circuit’ also periodically looks into the camera to see if he is still in the frame before continuing to cry. The Oscar-worthy performance justifiably does not focus on the Gandhi statue as who knows, even he may be weeping from above.
Khan’s performance reminded me of the legendary crying selfie sequence ex-AAP MLA Alka Lamba posted on Twitter while mourning for kids in Syria last year.
https://twitter.com/LambaAlka/status/968527123588661249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Lamba had taken selfies while crying when she was watching plight of Syrian kids on TV and shared it on social media to show how she was mourning.
Firoz Khan, like his namesake Bollywood legend, seems to have a keen interest in dramatics. Earlier this month, after Rampur police imposed section 144, he dressed up as ‘groom’ and workers as ‘baraatis’ to dodge the authorities while trying to meet ‘land mafia’ Azam Khan to extend support. In a bid to evade being detected by the police, Sambhal president of Samajwadi Party became way too creative. The 37-year-old politician decided to dress up as a groom who was accompanied by his party workers dressed up as ‘baraatis’ to go to Rampur to meet Yadav.
He had also made sexist remarks against his former colleague Jaya Prada ahead of general elections. In a lewd and sexist remark, Khan had said that Jaya Prada would henceforth adorn the evenings of the people of Rampur as part of her campaigning. He said that residents of the district would stay entertained and their evenings will now be colourful as Jaya Prada would be visiting Rampur frequently to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.
Continuing to deliver filth, Firoz Khan had said that the people of Sambhal, an adjoining district, would also now like to spend their maximum time in Rampur since Jaya Prada would be present there. Firoz Khan further added that people of Rampur are prudent enough to vote for the Samajwadi party but they are also smart enough to make full use of this God-sent opportunity.