The irony of Suhel Seth’s marriage

We know your world has been turned all topsy-turvy, and getting hitched is better than getting ditched, but you’ve made a rebuff look like last decade’s rebellion.

WrittenBy:Vrinda Gopinath
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What came first—the ring or the sting? It is indeed a delicious irony that the most supportive and obliging accessory that has emerged out of the #MeToo movement is none other than the Wife.

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Therefore, it’s not really surprising that the self-proclaimed “bon vivant” and “marketing maven”, the merely famous Suhel Seth, didn’t lose much time getting married—barely a month after stories of sexual violation and advances made by him hit the news headlines. 

Gosh! The situation must have been really grim for him to marry for love. And with that sacred vow of commitment and faithfulness, it’s a fairy tale beginning yet again for men, who suddenly leap from being the desperado and creep to being held in esteem and appreciation. Seth is now gallant and honourable, a hero to his bride and the rest of the world. 

This is not the first time that marriages have been made outside heaven; for centuries, families have arranged alliances to strengthen ties, merge empires and clans, and also for political as well as strategic purposes. 

In the 21st century, there’s nothing more auspicious than the skills of a marketing practitioner—and Seth seems to have followed the golden rule book of his profession with brass; of rebranding and marketing, and lessons on how to regain the public’s trust after undergoing a PR disaster.

There’s nothing better than a wedding to make an honest man out of yourself—that is if you believe that the archaic institution sends the right moral message even today.

It is also ironical that the gabby and swaggering Seth, a well-known brand consultant, had an unusual media-blackout wedding party, that too during the season of Great Big Fat Indian Weddings was peaking. It could have been a golden opportunity for Seth to have shone and dazzled with his crisis and PR management skills, and to come out and demonstrate how to—swiftly and efficiently—boost the image of a scandalous brand i.e. himself. Instead, he chose the path of discretion and prudence.

However, it has now become almost a ritual in the #MeToo era that when a man is accused of misconduct and misbehaviour, his wife appears alongside him as he defends himself. Remember Malikka Akbar, wife of a disgraced former minister in the Narendra Modi government, who vociferously challenged an accuser saying it was a consensual affair between the former and her husband? 

 There have been a string of wives who have come out to challenge their husbands’ victims of sexual abuse and misconduct. Actor Alok Nath’s wife Ashu has gone to court to file a defamation suit against her husband’s accuser and her once-upon-a-time best friend Vinta Nanda; Divya Khosla, the wife of T-series movie producer Bhushan Kumar, accused women of misusing #MeToo; Manjula Narayan, wife of journalist CP Surendran has derided the movement and attacked journalists who accused her husband.

But wives who stand by their husbands are now hit with a double whammy: not only are they seen as anti-women but are also shamed for a crime that they did not commit. When did it become not okay to help redeem their husbands and thereby save their marriage?

 If marketing rules say that getting ahead of the story is the first rebranding tact, then walking down the aisle is a ritual that warms the public’s heart—you are now serious, responsible and answerable to everyone.  Even the Shastras say: “He is only perfect who consists of his wife and offspring.” The institution of marriage is considered sacred even by those who view it as a civil contract.

 Dammit, Suhel Seth! We know your world has been turned all topsy-turvy, and getting hitched is better than getting ditched, but you’ve made a rebuff look like last decade’s rebellion. And seriously, making a wedding a fairytale for millennials, with their dating apps, turbocharged social media and hookup culture? Touche.

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