Heroes vs villains

We like our heroes clean. Noble, honourable, and faultless. We turn them into Demigods, then want them to pay the price for our adoration. They are not allowed any vices. Our love is conditional. As long as they live like saints, we will bow in devotion. We worship a Sachin Tendulkar because he is such a good boy. Sure, he is world-class player and deserves all the adulation, but our revering of him has to do with something over and above his game. He is a perfect son, father and husband. And if he isn't, we don't want to know.

We are willing to believe what we see, and ignore the occasional whispers. He is politically correct; on and off the field. The image is clean, so he is a hero. That's all we really want/care about.

Where am I going with heroes vs villains saga? Yuvraj Singh. We have collectively decided we don't like him anymore. He had it coming, you see. He is often photographed with these model types, with a drink in hand. He dates actresses, dances at parties and often hangs out at bars. How dare he? We "tolerated" him as long as he was performing well but now that he isn't, the verdict has been passed. It's because of all this binging wine and women. Never mind that he has always been a party boy, and that never affected his magic on the field.

We didn't let Vinod Kambli get away with his "wayward ways" and now we want to teach Yuvi a lesson. He was dropped from the Asia Cup.

Actors have it worse. You will never even see a Hindi film hero do "bad things" like drink alcohol or smoke on screen. We allow the leading man an occasional puff and a swig if there is a strong justification: death of a loved one, going brankrupt, or losing his girl. We take herogiri to ridiculous levels, and question actors who smoke off-screen as well. Anyone who parties too much is labelled "irresponsible." We don't even allow them freedom of expression. We make them beg for forgiveness for innocent statements made (SRK on the proophety), and inappropriate behaviour (Richard Gere-Shilpa Shetty kiss) Rahul Gandhi gave up his phoren girlfriend for the love of his deshwasees. An actor with a clean image, who fell in love with his co-star, finally stayed with his wife for fear of being rejected by his fans for this un-hero like behaviour. Now everywhere he goes, the wife is by his side.

So Yuvi, if you want to win everyone's hearts again, this is my advice: Never touch a glass (or a girl) in public, lose some weight (binging is a weakness), take up a charitable cause, get clicked with some children and senior citizens, and give an emotional interview pouring your heart.
And oh, do score some runs.