[s.prashanth]

guys it is a show, scripted enjoy it. Why make it political. He is pad to be obnoxious, thats how they make money. He makes fun of all the celebrities on the show, straight at them .where has our funny bone gone.I cant wait to see the episode.

[Samir Taheer]

Originally Posted by lurker

For God's sakes, just ban BBC from this country and get it over with. Haven't heard a nice word about India from BBC like . . . ever.

So their point is .. London doesn't have a gutter . . or when Londeners take it out in the morning it goes right upwards to heaven and comes down as rose petals.

So naive! You think the media in India or any other country is not the same? The y will create a hype about things no matter where they originate from. You may not get to see them, but the BBC does (maybe occasionally) churn out some of the best documentaries.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

However, if you actually went head to do something to fix "hind", it would require your


Time
Money
health
Energy

JAI HIND!!!!!

A bit of topic: Doing a bit of charity work for your country makes a difference and you don't have to spend any money or energy. A small bit of work can make a big difference, even if its in a single persons life. And i mean real charity, not putting money in a box and walking away.

Anyways the crux of the matter is that the BBC received 23 complaints out of the millions that watch the episode. This shows where the minority lies!

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by s.prashanth

guys it is a show, scripted enjoy it. Why make it political. He is pad to be obnoxious, thats how they make money. He makes fun of all the celebrities on the show, straight at them .where has our funny bone gone.I cant wait to see the episode.

Precisely!

He is a comedian in a Auto-Journalist avatar. So is Hammond and May.

If you're going to take offense to jokes, it means to things:

- They have rubbed a raw wound. You know it's true.

- You can't take a goddam joke!

Originally Posted by Samurai

Exactly, they started the show by poking fun at the British PM. Can you imagine this happening in India? Head will roll even at a perceived insult to the PM if it happened.

Effigies will be burnt. Buses will be torched to a crisp. Stones will be pelted. There will be a 'Bandh'. Anti-social elements dressed as party supporters will demand pictures and symbols of their respective parties on vehicles, or else..

Originally Posted by Samir Taheer

So naive! You think the media in India or any other country is not the same? The y will create a hype about things no matter where they originate from. You may not get to see them, but the BBC does (maybe occasionally) churn out some of the best documentaries.

+1.

What world are we living in, for such people to have such insecurities. I mean, seriously. Are you that offended about something that's actually true? I can understand if they're blatantly making stuff up and actually feeding the World with ideas of India being a World of snake-charmers, with a near 100% of the population suffering from poverty and hunger even now. It's not true. They did not go there. They did not exaggerate. They showed the World what we would see in with our own eyes, on a day to day basis.

If I had to travel from Mumbai to Delhi and head further up North, my views would not be entirely different.

[CLS_55_AMG]

I cannot understand why there is so much Hoo Haa happening over such a petty issue.

The Indian High Commission has actually sent out an official ''Complaint'' to the BBC!! What a high level of immaturity we display! complaining because we cannot take a joke? I honestly hope the BBC chooses to ignore and not reply at all! Lets face it - toilets in this country ARE dirty and DO STINK! ( at least 99.99% of our public toilets ) and most of our population does travel by trains which, frankly, are appalling by world standards. Does the truth really hurt us so much that our High Commission has to send out official complaints? It clearly shows that we have nothing better to do.

Someone mentioned banning the BBC entirely! Guys - we are a democracy, this is not the Taliban! Dozens of people on forums all over the internet have criticized Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, The BBC etc. How many of them have even watched this episode? They speak about how India has rich Culture, Heritage etc. Yes we do..so should we paint it on our foreheads and strut all over the place? Did they not watch the part where India is compared to Switzerland? or about how efficient our Dabbawallahs are?

Face it guys - we have shown the world that a raw nerve has been touched. And that we cannot take a joke. And that we are touchy about anything said against us. The episode is in no way going to tarnish the image the world has about India. Neither can we spoil the image and reputation that Top Gear has amongst its fans by critisizing it.

I for one, cannot wait for the next season of Top Gear. I wonder if and how Clarkson is going to react! Until then, I'll watch the Christmas special a couple of more times and have a good laugh!

[lurker]

Originally Posted by Samir Taheer

So naive! You think the media in India or any other country is not the same? The y will create a hype about things no matter where they originate from. You may not get to see them, but the BBC does (maybe occasionally) churn out some of the best documentaries.

there is only one problem with this. You felt I am naive when I criticized BBC, but you feel Clarkson is justified when he shows India as a toilet bowl. You are very understanding of Clarkson's 'right' to show India the mirror. You are very understanding of BBC's signing some bond with the Indian govt and breaking it the very next moment. Understanding should go both ways.

I wish the GOI is equally funny and seeks Top Gear sponsorship for building toilets, and they could write on the doors 'Gift of Britain', 'Product of Britain', 'Welcome to London' and so forth. Please to understand my sense of humor too.

[Animesh]

Too much brouhaha about nothing. TG is just a TV-show at the end of it all. You watch it if you like it. Ignore it if you don't.

Clarkson and others (to some extent) take a dig because they can. It is what they are paid for. Sometimes there attempts aren't in the right direction (subjective) and at times they are hilarious.

I love Top Gear and this particular episode was a downer. And it wasn't a downer because of stuff unrelated to cars that he said. It was a let down because this particular episode was least about cars.

Awaiting airing of next episodes of this fresh season. May they review the Duster.

[narayan]

Just now downloaded and saw the full episode. as usual downloaded from finalgear.com

not sure whether they have edited - dont think so

all though the episode was absolutely boring like a few other past ones where they take this " cross country" trip too seriously and totally lose focus on what we the audience are tuning in for, i found nothing offensive about this show on India !

comon guys, if showing the truth hurts, then we need to keep our eyes shut while venturing out into our streets and not ban top gear or seek an apology from BBC!!

as usual, there was a lot of dramatisation and an overdose of stupidity from Hammond and Jeremy ( as with past episodes ), i personally did not find anything offensive.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by lurker

For God's sakes, just ban BBC from this country and get it over with. Haven't heard a nice word about India from BBC like . . . ever. Have been watching that fake little channel (afterall they showed a tower collapsing during 9/11 even before the first tower had fallen .. oops) for more than 2 decades now. They exposed themselves with lies and plain lies and more plain lies during each war fought by the Anglo-American combine. No comments on that ever. Entire wartime news broadcasts by BBC were filled with disinformation.

Well said, dude! I can't help going OT. During the 71 war with Pakistan (I guess most of you were not born) most of us relied on BBC Radio to get reliable information, rather than swallowing the tall claims made by All India Radio and Radio Pakistan.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Allow me to add another item to your list of complaints about my national broadcasting channel: They can't speak English properly!

This one takes the cake, Thad!

[Thad E Ginathom]

... Americans say that: we say, "takes the biscuit!" Absolutely no idea why the difference

But, that brings me to what I was going to say. I do know American Individuals who do get a bit touchy, and often did during their periods of presidential laughing stocks, but can anyone imagine America reacting in such a way to every bit of satire and ridicule that hurled their way during the Bush years?

Having said that, I am frequently annoyed at the BBC's coverage of, and attitude towards India. But you have to take what I say with a pinch of salt, as it is well known that "there is no bigger fanatic than the convert!"

[Turbanator]

Some news on subject -

Did not insult India, insists BBC Top Gear

[noopster]

Am following this thread (and the whole "controversy") with amusement. I like Top Gear, have been following it off and on for years and think Clarkson is an amusing if opinionated old coot who is at the end of the day hosting an entertainment show that features cars.

He insults everybody and everything but always does it in a way that makes you laugh. The Nissan Leaf controversy is one occasion where many insist he is wrong and perhaps he is- but that is his viewpoint and needs to be respected.

Originally Posted by Samurai

...I don't really watch TG. In fact, I had only watched one full TG episode (the Artic drive) until this one. Otherwise, I have only see bits and pieces on Youtube, and find Clarkson to be a very rude man. So I don't care to watch TG.

Simple solution eh? I wish more of our countrymen adopted this attitude. For example, I can't stand the sexist nonsense that passes for prime time entertainment on most of our Hindi TV channels, so do I write letters to my corporator or expect apologies from Ektaa Kapoor? No! I just change the channel. Believe me, the stuff that housewives, old people and children lap up there is far more offensive (and damaging IMO) than any crap Clarkson and gang pull.

Never at any point I felt the Indians were being ridiculed. In fact, I expected it thanks to the initial reaction I had seen in this thread. But I was pleasantly surprised not to find ridicule, but only typical British slap stick comedy. It looked like Clarkson was really restrained from making any racist comments.

I have yet to watch this particular episode. I will at some point and my feeling is I will treat it as just another Top Gear episode: funny in parts and irrelevant otherwise. The reason I share your opinion without even watching it is that racism is a dirty word for the Western world in general and anything that could even be remotely construed as racist would either NOT be aired by the Beeb, or an apology would have been immediately forthcoming.

I have lived abroad long enough to see what racism is all about. In fact, I returned 8 years back to get away from it all. In my opinion, there was no racism or such ridicule in this TG episode. This is just storm in the teacup.

Well said. The person making the loudest noise over this so-called slur is Keith Vaz who is an Indian-origin Labour MP in the UK. Not that big a stretch to deduce that he is probably pandering to his constituency (wondering how many of them actually care!)

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Its much easier to should patriotism, than do anything.
When you shout Jai hind, it gives you a high. There is no risk of failure unless you cannot pronounce jai or hind, and the energy expended does not even burn a few calories.

However, if you actually went head to do something to fix "hind", it would require your


Time
Money
health
Energy

At the end of it, there is a good chance you will fail, because the 1000 people saying Jai hind for you won't help at all.

So after actually doing something, and failing, you will feel bad, dejected, poorer and less sure of yourself.

But being patriotic would make you happy and energetic.

So its an easy choice. And this is why India is a third world country.

JAI HIND!!!!!

What a post! completely. Wish I had thought that up. Take a bow, Tanveer!

Originally Posted by Samir Taheer

Anyways the crux of the matter is that the BBC received 23 complaints out of the millions that watch the episode. This shows where the minority lies!

Exactly! I expect they get more complaints for reruns of Fawlty Towers

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Some news on subject -

Did not insult India, insists BBC Top Gear

Can't see the video from work, but why are they wasting their time? The BBC must know by now that taking outrage and demanding apologies from all and sundry are the national pastimes of India!

[zebo]

I have been following top gear since it began in the ninetees, I musy say that the program has deteriorated since. Jeremy and his nonsense does not amuse me anymore.

Tiff Nedell is the man most missed and his driving skills are unmatched for. I sometimes wonder if 'The Stig' is actually him.

[mayankk]

Read this?

BBC TopGear Magazine India Blog - James May on driving in India

[shankar.balan]

Putting it simply, we are a privately clean people but publicly dirty. It would be nice to learn to laugh at ourselves without takings things too seriously. This is truly a storm in a tea cup! We are cribbing so much when a Clarkson makes stereotypical comments about Indians. What about when the Bollywood boys make stereotypes of the 'typical' South Indians? Should we begin another storm? Possibly in the tea pot itself this time?
Let us learn to lighten up a bit chaps! Life's too short to join the placard carrying brigade on non-issues!

[SmartCat]

Sadly, the top gear presenters & the producers of the show got scared of the "190,000 deaths on Indian roads" statistics and hence took a train instead of driving. They only took to the roads the way they usually do once they reached the Himalayas (less traffic, less pedestrians). Wouldn't blame them though - if had one of the presenters got involved in an serious accident involving a pedestrian (for example), it would have probably ended their careers. That's why, there was less of cars/driving & more of goofy antics.

The reason why many of us did not find their antics exceptionally funny because we are too familiar with our roads/people/culture. I'm pretty sure anybody who is not familiar with India would've laughed their asses off. The reason why we found Vietnam/ Bolivia/ Middle East specials interesting was because these countries are new to us.