Paris Hilton as Mother Teresa, Kitsch as Art

Forget automobiles & breweries, the finest German contribution to world culture comes in the form of certain unique words with probably no parallels in any other language. One such irreplaceable phrase is kitsch. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “art, objects, or design considered to be excessively garish or sentimental, but appreciated in an ironic or knowing way”. Extravagantly loud and excessively gaudy, kitsch is what determines our popular culture from movies to fashion, sports to literature. And guess what, we can’t have enough of it.

At a basic level, kitsch, for those in urban India, operates in its most vulgar form in front of our eyes on a daily basis through Page 3. Nondescript photographs of irrelevant get-togethers, made-for-print smooches, flea market designers, socialites with too much money and too little taste, all of them cloud our mornings, vying for our attention. And, you and I, along with a new class of wannabe paparazzi with an unending appetite, feed their fantasies. C’mon, we all love the daily display of who’s revealing how much. And at a global level, nobody better fits the description of kitsch than the heiress of the hotel empire, the wooer par excellence, Madame Paris Hilton.

The darling of US tabloids and the diva of late night television, she even had her own reality show, along with her off and on best mate Nicole Richie. With only her surname as her resume, Ms. Hilton continues to court attention wherever she goes and whatever she wears. And you could’ve never guessed the nationality of her latest admirer. T. Rajeevnath. But Rajeevnath who?

National award winning Malayalam director T. Rajeevnath, wants her to play the title role in his next movie on Nobel Peace laureate Mother Teresa. That’s right people, you read it right. According to news reports, “the director was impressed when he read a report sometime ago in which the hotel heiress said she had refused to pose nude in Playboy magazine and decided then to shortlist her.” Ms. Hilton refuses to reveal her tangible assets for some ready cash and she merits the role of one of the most selfless individuals in human history. Not a word about her acting abilities, if any. Not a word about her resemblance to the Mother, if any. Not a word about her selfless services, if any.

But then again, that’s kitsch. “Excessively garish… but appreciated in an ironic… way.” We know she’s tasteless, we know she’s crass. But we want her there, just like her numerous co-stars. Because at the end of the day, her vulgarity can be matched only by our voyeurism.