Dolly Bindra talks only in expletives, taking reality TV to a new low and ratings to a great high.At Bhoomi Classic at Versova, where she stays, her neighbours advise their children to steer clear of Dolly Bindra, says a MidDay report.
At the nearby beauty parlour, patrons prefer slots when Dolly is in the house because, always, but always, she will get into a loud, brash and abusive phone conversations while getting prettified, which are invariably entertaining.
For over 20 years, Dolly Bindra has skated on the periphery of Bollywood, first as a glorified extra in B-grade films, then as an “event manager”- dark rumours swirl about the sort of events she manages, but no one, given her vituperative tongue, is willing to stick their necks out to go on record.
About three weeks ago, when season four of the high-voltage Bigg Boss began to flounder, someone at the channel had the brainwave of introducing Dolly into the programme. She arrived, flashing her girth and her crassness.
Fellow inmates were abused, shown the finger, shouted at and bullied around. At a time when we are trying to put anti-ragging laws in place in schools and colleges, Dolly Bindra has emerged as the nation's favourite bed-time girl.The TRPs of the show have gone up by 50 per cent.
“Women like her might not be attractive or too successful but they bring about a certain style of personalised violence to shows like these - violence in terms of language or actions that people can only dream of.
“She is what you would like to do to a bad neighbour,” says sociologist Shiv Vishwanathan. “If you have observed her, she gives out the persona of an exaggerated perpetuator-cum-victim.” Dolly shot into infamy when she once alleged that fellow actor and last year's Bigg Boss contestant Raja Chaudhary had tried to make a pass at her in a dimly-lit pub.
The two got into a scuffle after that. They were not enemies for long though. Raja claims that she even called him to act in a Bhojpuri film, to be shot in Malaysia four months ago. “I went there, did not like the set-up and came back. She used to be drunk through the day,” says Raja, adding for good measure, “She is a psycho.”
Others state that she likes to be one of the guys in the industry, and thinks of each one as her 'bhai', Salman Khan being her choicest pick. “She has been cleverly scripted into Bigg Boss 4; look at the way people have started watching the show after her entry,” says the source.
Maithili Ganjoo, JNU sociologist fuels that thought. “Watching Bigg Boss is like looking into a neighbour's flat. And what does Dolly do on the show? She passes these middle class moralistic judgements and archaic thoughts and gives juicy details of the person she takes panga with.” As in any neighbourhood Dolly is the catalyst that makes the plot move. She picks fights with other people and provokes them. She propels the plot,” says Ganjoo.
“The success of such shows and people like Dolly represent the confusion or churning of the value system. Earlier we had the middle class values that fitted with middle class economics. But now the economic infrastructure - with its emphasis on individualism and capitalism - is determining the social infrastructure,” adds Ganjoo.
Dolly's husband, Kaizad Kermani, who owns Starzshows, an event management company, that organises shows with film stars abroad, particularly Malaysia, is currently basking in her reflected glory.
The media's curiosity about this woman has made him a sought-after figure. He does not watch Bigg Boss and feels that his wife is a much misunderstood person. “She gets aggressive only when instigated,” says Kaizad.
About the shows the duo organises, Kaizad's secretary is emphatic that they deal with only A-list stars. When asked to name a few, he mumbles, “…Salman Khan…. And er…. Mahima Chaudhary…. Only A-list stars,” he says.
Dolly herself never quite made it to any list in Bollywood. Her husband says that she “always wanted to become an actress”. And she did - in bit parts in such films as Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi, Gadar, Tara rum pum pum, Na tum jano na hum, Janwar, and more films in that genre.
That's quite a shocking line-up from an actress who claims to have acted in over 180 films. Her website, curiously lists only a handful. The pictures that grace it are proud ribbon cuttings for an obscure TV channel in Patna.
Such is the showbiz reality that Dolly presents, although her sister Nonie prefers to pitch her aggressiveness to their 'army background'. “Dolly was always a tomboy, since the time she was in school at St Anne's in Malad. She cycled around the neighbourhood with the boys and played cricket with them,” says Nonie. “The way you see her in Bigg Boss is the way she actually is.”
Dolly's mother, Jaswant Kaur, notes that she became brassy after the death of her father. She used to be his favourite, of the three siblings. Her father died of a heart attack even before the family could get him medical help.
That was evident in one of the episodes of the show when she got into a tiff with one of the actors, Manoj Tiwari, when he said 'tere baap ka kya jaata hai'. Dolly immediately took umbrage to the comment and picked up a huge fight with him on the reference to 'father'.
Be that as it may, for the ordinary viewer and the industry, she has got what it takes - the ability to entertain.As Vishwanathan says, “She provides the availability of scandal which moves the plot.In the industry, if you can go from gossip to scandal and back to gossip you have arrived. Dolly is Brand Trouble. What is the IPL next to Dolly?”
Dolly's Antics
Hurr Hurr A favourite term with her when she's shooing away the other inmates.
Saamne Aake Baat Kar Whenever she sees two people huddled together. She says the same in her building too, say the residents.
Khusur Pusur Kya Kar Raha Hai Tum L Ho (she gestures with her fingers a L)
Dhajjiyan Udda dungi An oft-used threat by Dolly when she's in her moods. The maximum beeps in the conversation happens when she talks.
Inka performance dekhne ko mila Dolly never misses an opportunity to needle Ashmit Patel on his infamous MMS with Riya Sen.
