Neeraj Chopra’s Olympic gold medal win for India has been met with a warm response from Indians, but some people in their appreciation may have taken it a bit too far. Red FM Radio jockeys, Malishka Mendonsa and her female colleagues on Thursday sparked a row following a clip of them dancing for Neeraj Chopra during their interview went viral. Neeraj Chopra scripted history by becoming the second-ever Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics, and the only Indian to win a gold medal in Tokyo Olympics 2020. The 23-year-old farmer’s son from Khandra village near Panipat in Haryana produced the second throw of 87.58m in the finals to stun the athletics world and end India’s 100-year wait for a track and field medal in the Olympics. This was Neeraj Chopra’s first appearance at the Olympics but his journey towards clinching an Olympic berth has not been easy, amid a few injury setbacks hindering his goal.
While his win became the talk of the country, Malishka Mendonsa’s moves during a videocall to interview him, have majorly been deemed inappropriate. In the 45-second video, Mendonsa and some if her female colleagues were seen dancing to the song ‘uden jab jab zulfein teri‘ from the Bollywood movie Naya Daur. In the clip, Mendosa is also seen carrying a flower, which she gestures towards Chopra. Sharing the clip on Twitter, Mendonsa had written, “Ladiesssss..Yes I got the hard hitting, deep answers too but..Take the first 4 secs before the cam moves to the zoom call to guess who we are dancing."
Ladiesssss..Yes I got the hard hitting, deep answers too but..Take the first 4 secs before the cam moves to the zoom call to guess who we are dancing for😇 😉 #udejabjabzulfeinteri and then tell me I did it for all of us😄 #gold #olympics #neerajchopra @RedFMIndia @RedFM_Mumbai pic.twitter.com/SnEJ99MK31— Mumbai Ki Rani (@mymalishka) August 19, 2021
She also offered him a ‘Jaadhu ki jappi’ (a hug) virtually, to which Chopra looks visibly uncomfortable.
She: Jaadhu ki jappi,abhi😒 **uncomfortable smile by #NeerajChopra ** followed by sensible reply"Ji aisey hi dhoor se & folds his hands🙏" this show is 101 ways to make your guest uncomfortable. FYI: He is a world class athlete+ArmyOfficer+India's 1stGold medalist(F&T)Olympics pic.twitter.com/xaXEkBhMI6— Siri (@shasiri17) August 19, 2021
Calling their act ‘disgusting,’ ‘cheap’ Indians on Twitter didn’t mince their words on calling out their inappropriate behaviour. Some Twitter users even apologised on behalf of the RJs, pointing out how the dance made Chopra feel ‘awkward’ and somehow disrespected someone of his stature. One user also asked the RJs to ‘stop romanticising male players’ adding that they were ‘much more than a sexual object.’
I don't have anything to do with this but I still want to apologize to @Neeraj_chopra1 for this.— Ashutosh Bhatt (@roguedoga) August 19, 2021
Ugggh! Cringe max. So basically you are perpetuating the stereotype that the man is the real achiever and women are mere mujrewalis dancing to get his attention! How sick and sexist is this. Also, you guys can’t dance to save your life.— Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) August 20, 2021
If you want to see real torture, watch this.Sorry @Neeraj_chopra1 you have to go thru this.
— Gaurav Mishra🇮🇳 (@IAmGMishra) August 19, 2021
Can you please stop romanticising male players? They are much more than a sexual object. I hope red fm takes note of this.— Dr Smoking Skills (@Smokingskills07) August 19, 2021
Quite a few people pointed out that if the genders were reversed, this ‘move’ would have had a lot more serious consequences than just backlash or flak.
Just reversing the genders and imagining the furore this would have created.Taking informality & “bajate raho”too far with a visibly uncomfortable and conscious interviewee.
Why is this considered funny and entertaining beats me.
— Monica Jasuja (@jasuja) August 20, 2021
Sad to see you guys doing this and even sad is the fact that @RedFMIndia is allowing you all to do it.I mean, what if the genders were opposite in this case? Had @RedFM_Mumbai allowed that too?
Very sad !
— Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) August 19, 2021
Not just the gestures. Language. "Hard hitting deep answers" If any female athlete was subjected to iota of nonsense that @Neeraj_chopra1 is being subjected to, by females, the ladies dancing here themselves will be coming on Live debates on News Channels talking about "SEXISM"
— Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj (@DeepikaBhardwaj) August 19, 2021
Not just the gestures. Language. "Hard hitting deep answers" If any female athlete was subjected to iota of nonsense that @Neeraj_chopra1 is being subjected to, by females, the ladies dancing here themselves will be coming on Live debates on News Channels talking about "SEXISM"
— Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj (@DeepikaBhardwaj) August 19, 2021
If a male anchor leaned in to simulate on-screen kiss for woman sports star on video to show appreciation for achievement, esp if she indicated discomfort, it would not be ok. Consent remains same for all. Violated much more for women & gender minorities, but does not exclude men— Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) August 20, 2021
It also brings up a very valid point — that objectification isn’t limited to females only. Neeraj Chopra’s win had people searching for all sorts of things about him, but whether he had a girlfriend or not was one of the queries people wanted to know - perhaps in a breach of his personal space. In a recent interview, Neeraj Chopra was asked about the attention he is receiving from female fans and what the thinks of it.
“It is good but to tell the truth, I am focusing on my game," Neeraj Chopra said in an interview to Times Now.
When prodded further if he has a girlfriend or what his plans are regarding the matter, he said: “Will see later, now my focus is on my game. There is no one now."
“It is great that I am getting so much love. The coming year is important with the Asian Games and the World Championships, and then other tournaments leading to the Olympics again. So I want to focus on my game."
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