Ok,
so
everyone
who
is
watching
No
One
Killed
Jessica
is
either
loving
it
or
at
the
least
liking
it.
I
am
yet
to
meet
a
single
soul
who
didn't
like
what
Vidya
Balan
and
Rani
Mukherjee
brought
to
the
screen
in
this
dramatic
affair.
No,
the
point
I
am
trying
to
make
is
not
about
how
the
film
is
wonderful
or
the
manner
in
which
Vidya
and
Rani
have
excelled.
The
point
is
something
else
and
that's
about
a
key
incident
that
happened
en
route
to
the
release
of
the
film.
The
Rani-Vidya
kiss.
And
it
set
me
thinking.
Was
it
really
necessary?
Let's
debate
in
this
week's
Reflections.
The
background
A
couple
of
weeks
still
remained
for
the
release
of
No
One
Killed
Jessica
and
the
promotional
events
were
taking
place
in
full
swing.
Rani
Mukherjee
as
well
as
Vidya
Balan
were
all
over
the
place,
and
rightly
so
as
the
film
was
in
news
from
the
day
it
was
announced.
The
making
of
the
film
went
off
peacefully,
the
buzz
was
on
a
constant
rise
and
gradually
excitement
was
building
up
to
check
out
what
it
was
all
about.
All
was
going
well
for
the
film
and
though
there
were
murmurs
of
Rani-Vidya
'dosti'
only
being
for
the
camera
rather
than
in
reality,
no
one
really
cared
because
stories
like
these
float
for
practically
every
film
which
feature
two
heroes
or
two
heroines.
'Big
deal',
I
said
to
myself
because
a
film's
fortune
has
and
would
never
be
dependent
upon
the
personal
equation
between
its
stars.
Nevertheless,
coming
back
to
the
point,
despite
all
the
stories
floating
all
around,
my
mind
was
basically
occupied
on
checking
out
what
this
film
had
to
offer
in
totality.
If
at
all
there
was
a
(pleasant)
distraction,
it
was
Amit
Trivedi's
soundtrack.
Even
though
the
film
promised
to
present
a
stark
reality,
I
wanted
to
hear
the
sound
of
'Dilli'
in
all
it's
frenzy.
However,
a
frenzy
of
a
different
kind
was
created
when
an
incident
took
place.
The
incident
This
was
an
incident
which
could
well
have
snowballed
into
something
severe
had
the
makers
and
its
PR
and
promotional
machinery
taken
one
false
step.
Rani
Mukherjee
gave
Vidya
Balan
a
kiss
on
mouth
while
being
on
stage
in
full
media
view
and
the
clip
played
in
a
repeat
mode
in
all
mediums
that
enable
video
streaming.
It's
a
different
matter
though
that
only
Rani
would
be
able
to
confirm
if
she
'indeed
kissed'
though
Vidya
did
give
out
a
cry
of
being
turned
'badnaam'.
Of
course
there
wasn't
much
provocation
behind
the
incident.
Though
one
may
give
the
two
women
of
substance
a
benefit
of
doubt
here
by
believing
that
all
of
this
may
have
happened
in
the
'heat
of
the
moment'
(no
pun
intended),
the
fact
remains
that
it
did
happen
after
all.
Also,
in
the
times
when
promotion
of
an
individual,
film
or
a
brand
has
taken
a
different
connotation
all
together,
there
is
a
sense
of
all
around
cynicism
that
has
taken
over
all
rational
reasoning.
And
the
cynical
mind
says...
...that
it
left
a
bad
taste
in
the
mouth
(again,
no
pun
intended).
Was
this
an
Ishqiya
being
promoted
where
Vidya
was
playing
a
rustic
seductress?
Was
this
a
Saawariya
being
promoted
where
Rani
Mukherjee
had
to
play
a
night
queen?
And
let's
not
even
get
started
on
comparisons
with
Girlfriend.
This
was
about
a
serious
film
which
told
a
serious
issue.
The
makers
(if
at
all
they
were
hands-in-glove
with
the
incident)
may
(in
silent
whispers)
argue
that
this
was
done
in
order
to
bring
some
excitement
into
the
proceedings
for
No
One
Killed
Jessica
so
that
it
doesn't
get
that
tag
of
'serious
cinema'.
'All
in
fine
jest',
they
may
say
but
the
million
dollar
question
is
-
'Was
this
the
only
option
available?'
A
morality
issue?
It
isn't
an
issue
of
morality.
Come
on,
in
an
ever
progressing
world
where
far
more
exciting
stuff
is
happening
on
or
off
the
camera,
a
playful
jest
of
two
grown
up
women
sharing
a
kiss
for
a
couple
of
seconds
should
by
no
means
lead
to
morale
brigade
raising
slogans.
The
issue
is
around
the
placement
of
such
an
incident
in
the
promotion
of
a
film
which
has
nothing,
actually
read
-
'absolutely
nothing'
-
to
do
with
the
film
as
a
whole.
To
think
of
it,
the
film
doesn't
even
feature
the
two
of
them
in
proper
interaction
with
each
other
more
than
a
couple
of
times.
Even
off
screen,
the
two
women
have
hardly
shared
any
relationship
beyond
the
one
which
belongs
to
the
formal
kinds.
They
don't
work
in
similar
kind
of
films,
their
paths
don't
cross,
and
they
don't
belong
to
the
same
camps.
Hell
what,
they
don't
even
eye
the
same
leading
heroes
or
film
makers!
Hence
the
reason
why
this
entire
Rani-Vidya
kiss
didn't
make
any
sense
whatsoever.
If
at
all
there
was
a
fight,
was
the
adage
of
'kiss
and
make
up'
being
considered
in
a
literal
sense
which
was
taking
things
a
little
too
far?
And
if
at
all
there
wasn't
any,
it
was
hardly
funny
to
have
audience's
attention
diverted
to
something
which
added
absolutely
no
value
to
the
film.
How
the
disaster
was
averted
Thankfully,
this
'tamasha'
stayed
on
for
just
a
couple
of
days
(or
a
little
more)
as
the
drama
dried
down
and
the
makers
too
brought
the
promotion
of
the
film
back
to
where
it
really
belonged.
The
private
screenings
started,
special
shows
were
organised,
the
team
of
No
One
Killed
Jessica
continued
to
travel
all
over
the
country,
Arushi's
case
being
closed
gave
'junta'
a
sense
of
deja
vu
as
the
cries
of
'No
One
Killed
Arushi'
made
the
essence
of
No
One
Killed
Jessica
even
more
topical.
Wonder
what
would
have
happened
if
the
activists
would
have
come
out
of
their
slumber
and
attacked
streets
with
anti-kissing
marches.
A
lesser
film
could
possibly
have
benefited
from
such
cheap
publicity
but
in
case
of
this
UTV
production,
there
was
better
sense
that
prevailed
which
means
no
further
'incident'
took
place
(via
means
of
protests),
whether
staged
or
natural.
The
end
result
Eventually
for
the
audience,
all
it
mattered
was
the
core
honesty
of
the
film
and
the
performances
and
that's
about
it.
At
the
beginning
of
'Reflections',
I
had
mentioned
about
'not
meeting
a
single
soul
who
didn't
like
what
Vidya
Balan
and
Rani
Mukherjee
brought
to
the
screen
in
this
dramatic
affair.'
Today
after
watching
the
film,
I
am
sure
that
ever
since
its
release,
no
one
would
have
got
the
kind
of
vibes
which
would
have
made
him/her
to
go
online
and
check
out
the
Rani-Vidya
kiss.
Or
did
you?