Uttama Villain What a Mess ... Glorious, Noble and Compelling though !

Over the weekend, I was in Chennai trying hard to get tickets to the latest Kamal Hassan opus "Uttama Villian" which off course didn't happen with the finanical issues and the state government capping ticket prices to INR 120 only, if you book a ticket online, with service tax the princely amount goes to INR 150.  Damn I feel ripped off in Bangalore when even a morning show costs you INR 200.


Coming to my thoughts about the movie - SPOILERS AHEAD ! ( it is really a character driven movie rather than a coherent plot)

Synopsis 

Kamal Hassan plays Manorajan (Entertainment)  who is a sell-out superstar who makes masala movies for a living, drunkard, callous and also unfaithful having an affair with a much younger doctor Dr Arpana (Sacrifice) played by Andrea, married to a woman for 20 odd years just for the money aptly named Varalakshmi (Goddess of Wealth) played by the marvelous Urvashi.

On the same day, he gets two game changing news, he has a daughter from a previous affair and brain tumor which does not allow him many more days to live. So he decides to take control of his life and goes back to make a movie with his former mentor Margadarshi (Advisor / Guide) played by real life mentor and directorial legend K Balachandar for one last movie from the heart and not purse strings.

The names of characters do seem to be on the nose on their motivations but it does work rather well.

What Does Not Work 

• The movie is very slow at 2 hours and 52 minutes, I believe it has been trimmed by 15 minutes already. 
• The screenplay is so self indulgent with Hindi, Mayalam, Telugu and Pure Tamil been used interchangeably even the more bi-multilingual audience member will miss several scenes due to loss in translation (Hey Ram once again)
• Although the portions as part of Movie in Movie set in the 8th century was supposed to be rocking comedy, you barely get few smiles on the jokes if one is charitable 
• K Balachander due to bad health couldn't dub his lines so it clearly shows a disconnect 
• Too many songs
• Ramesh Arvind though credited as director seems completely seems ghost directed by Kamal Hassan

What Does Work    

• Kamal delivers a knock-out performance which acknowledges his age and the banality of 50+ year super-stars romancing young girls in dude masala flicks 
• Lots of self referential jokes on his own career, in a way its an ode to the wonderful relationship between Kamal and his mentor K Balachandar
• Hard hitting reality of how one reconciles to impending death and how priorities change so quickly 
• The juxtaposition of Manorajan who is dying in real-life while Uttama played in the movie within the movie is an Immortal (Mitrunjaya) is an beautiful irony 
• There are several scenes which can best be described as poetry in motion, the use of mirrors, metaphors of removing make-up during a key revelation , looking at his family from a window and a game of catching the ball during a difficult discussion with his son. my descriptions cannot do justice to the scenes so I will not even try.

What will stay with me ? 

Will the movie make money, probably not but this is a master-class acting by Kamal Hassan who can conceive, execute and bank-roll this venture. 

The complexity of a lout / sinner (villain) who finds his Uttama (Nobility) in his dying days just opened my eyes how we view life and suffering as life-long but the life-span of a human is so short and we really do know what our priorities are. 

Love is complex and each relationship has its own ups and downs but what matters is expressing it on time before its too long.

Life is short and none of us are immortal but what we achieve in life can and will make us immortal, so make each day count 

How Twitter killed the blog star Or How Social Media affected the millennials

Well first off, it is fairly appalling I return to my blog after about a year and half however in the interim I have been dabbling in more corporate blogs on Linkedin and give out doses in shorter forms via Twitter ( Damn who thought 140 characters could be so addictive)

Coming to the topic on hand, honestly blogging as a medium has lost its shine but some things do bounce back so quick recap of social media trends and how we desi's responded over the years.

The fun of being a millennial ( born in the 1980s) really gave us a range of technologies to experience. you know VHS tapes, audio tapes (Side A and Side B), Floppy Disk and off-course Yahoo messenger

2000-2003

I guess most Indians got online and experienced hot mail, yahoo messenger on dial up connection ( the speed was nothing to speak about however the telephone bills escalated quite fast)

People still had secret identities so folks had email ids like loverboy_27 or angel16 as user names :)  and crumby desktops where you always had 2 fingers on the  "Alt-Tab" button to maintain your privacy

2004-2008

I know Facebook and Orkut released around the same time but Brazilians and Indians really took to Orkut like Fish to water, every one who had a net connection was on it and the things which mattered -  No of scraps, No of Fans and No of testis --- monials that it :P

Orkut was the first time people let their guard down, engage in private conversations on the scrap-book (wall for Facebook junkies) which really changed how one reacted to electronic medium ( the word social media didn't really catch on)

Yahoo Groups - By 2008, it was no longer cool to have secret identities and social discussions happened via groups.  It was a radical thing to share email forwards even at work.

Facebook was catching up but it was still for the cool kids ( NRIs, or MS students) not true blue desis who were seeking Fraanship

2009-2012

As smartphones began to evolve and better internet speeds + Wifi, the internet truly became personal , you didn't need to fight with a sibling to get online

Facebook got better and addictive, Google didnt do much for Orkut so it died. thankfully it was pretty fun having friends on Facebook, folks on Gtalk - ( This was Facebook before hyper fast news feeds and attack of Famville and Candy Crush requests)

This was the time every one had blogs and people who would religiously get and monitor comments :) - I quite liked that phase to be honest.

2012-2014

The attack of "Selfie" - This truly marked the Phase 3 of social media where the focus of interaction moved from one to one to actually one to many .... all emotions conveyed through sappy status messages, pics of self  (imagine a giant head with pimples and all with a small effiel tower in the background) and this is where the disconnect actually began.

People had more than "800-1000" friends on the network but would speak to less than 10 on a regular basis. since people keep broadcasting their lives on Twitter and Facebook, there was liite incentive to even catch-up

Blogs also a causality, then you get addicted to social media, you lose the urge to write in the long form, I really believe our future generation kids will be ADD (attention deficit disorder) because we are always online but not really connecting with people in the ways of the past.

Now people are so bored rather than communicate how they feel, i guess they did just post a "sad selfie" on Facebook or Snapchat.

2015 & beyond 

With the older folks (Parents, Uncles and neighbors) coming online and invading facebook, the youth are retreating to new technologies like Whatsapp, Viber etc.

Whatsapp groups are the new yahoo messengers and I am also seeing the resurgence of blogs on cooler sites like Medium / Quora and Tumbler.

Video is becoming a strong medium - Vine, Youtube, Meerkat & Periscope ( Video selfies - ugh :P )

The  "Dark Social" is pretty much Social Media Phase 1 on the mobile which only reinforces the fact - what goes around comes around.  
The only casualty in this evolution is the ability to communicate in long form - from letters, email chains and long chat conversations is becoming short form, statuses and pictures 

Aadmi Aadmi Party , Hobbits and an unexpected journey !

It has been a while I blogged and a greater crime is that I took over 10 years to finally watch the Lord of The Rings Trilogy and recently the 2 Hobbitt sequels. So only folks who had read the books or watched the movies might enjoy this post.

It is an interesting world of Middle Earth which has Orcs, Wizards, Trolls, Elves, Dwarfs who are much more capable, political and even have the ambition to rule Middle Earth, yet to overcome the Evil, its the hobbits who come forth to take the burden, a race of 4 ft tall beings who never want to venture out their comfortable town of Shire.

The Aam Aadmi or the Indian middle class are much like Hobbits, very content and self centered around their own life, eking out a simple living and hardly wanting to step out of the comfort zone and not involve themselves in politics and civil life. They did rather bribe a police man or govt. official than take a stand, forget about standing for elections, even voting was a luxury for this folk.

What changed all this, the rampant corruption and apathy of governments finally led to a breaking point, where Arvind Kejriwal & team ( i admit I was a skeptic) decided to take the plunge into electoral  politics  and actually won power in the very first time a party was formed. off course we can debate till the cows come home whether Arvind and team are any different from BJP and Congress but for that we need to give them time.

Coming back to Middle Earth analogy, although the Hobbits were creatures who punched much above their weight, they also had to bear the cross of "One Ring" which was evil and was always looking for every opportunity to lead him astray.

The post of Chief Minister is such a double edged sword - it offers power to Arvind and Team to make a difference or fall prey to power and perks to become just like politicians before them. I truly believe in the race to get power, the older political parties have become like "Gollum" obsessed with power and not really remember why they joined politics at all.

This Delhi govt led by AAP will be a true test if politics in 21st century can take a turn for good or bad, but kudos to the middle class in Delhi who opted for a change and gave a fledgling party a chance to rule.  The next 6 months before 2014 general elections will determine if this movement is a fire or mere flame based on their performance.

As JRR Tolkien wisely said it is foolish to expect one man can change the nation, may it be Modi, Rahul or Kejriwal it has to be the collective actions of the common folk each and every citizen to make a difference.

Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay - Gandalf ( The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)

Censorship and abdication of the state !

It is off course old news, the ban on Kamal Hassan's movie and the outrage news media has moved on since to the VVIP helicopter scam, as of 24X7 is like a genie which needs new and new challenges and does not really have the time to linger on the past.

The spectacle of a movie cleared by the censor board and even released in other nations and states but is banned in the home state of TN because the CM says she does not have the security to guard each cinema hall.  In a clear abdication of her responsibilities  she goes on to give a mathematical calculation of the police constables available and she cannot protect 550+ theaters. By that logic none of 1 billion Indians excluding VVIPS and industrialists are safe in this country.

 In a country where a facebook status update can get you arrested or girl band can be bullied into submission by a fatwa and threats in social media and a government which does little to curb the fringe elements across religious lines only creates a social where the majority prefers to be silent and watch freedoms been curbed.

A society where law enforcement is limited, a police force which is intimidating and court cases which takes years to be taken to resolution, there is little hope but rather more cynicism and anger on the system. this was  seen in the aftermath of the Delhi gangrape case, instead of engaging the youth the government instead used water cannons and lathi charge on the crowds.

How curious is that, the government finds it easier to terrorize the slient majority than take action on the fringe elements. If a veteran actor like Kamal Hassan can be bullied into re-censoring a movie then what chance does the common man have ?

As it stands, there is little hope left, the middle class is so helpless, they are ready to follow any voice which will take on the system which can represent a radical change, i.e. earlier the support for Jan lokpal and now the fascination for the iron leader from Gujarat, in a way looking for a easy way out of the mess.

Every time we step back with a movie ban, facebook & twitter related arrest or remove paintings from a museum, we are only digging ourselves into a deeper and darker pit.

"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably - Star Trek TNG

The churn but just the beginning ...

The recent uprising of the Indian middle class especially the youth in protests against the Delhi gang rape case and earlier the Janlokpal movement shows an interesting shift in the social consciousness of modern India. Media pundits and sociologists are describing this as a final change in the typical Indian apathy driven mindset. If you are following Indian media and news papers reports, a lay man would form the following opinions:- 

• The Indian government has failed in the Indian state and there is complete breakdown in law and order, Indian women are not safe anywhere
• The Indian middle class has completely awakened and this is Indian equivalent of Arab Springs 
• The misogynistic views made by certain religious and political leaders are been condemned across the nation
• The accused should be given severe punishment like Arab nations or castration 

Although the above statements are true in partial measure, there are shades of grey in all aspects of the points discussed, although the Indian government has failed in protecting the victim in Delhi and many other cases, but unlike the Arab nations which deny many freedom particularly to women.

The Indian govt. definitely missed a great opportunity to connect with the youth and instead resorted to water cannons and lathi charges which only helped in reducing their already limited credibility to further shambles and in the current social media and sensationalist news media had a ready story in hand to exploit. 

Although the middle class has shown a change and shown signs of participation, it is still an urban camera friendly protests which only identifies with the causes close to its psyche and cannot identify with causes like caste discrimination and vast social inequality or even  crimes against women in rural India.

Although I cannot agree with most of Mohan Bhagwat's statements but definitely there is a Bharat and India emerging which share the same geography but heading towards different economic opportunities available to them. The misogynists and old age view held by many draconian minds will not change over night , it will require sustained focus by the people. 

The media has as an invested interest in the social protests and state of unrest, it gives them ready fuel and drama to run a 24X7 news channel and their true interest is only tapping into the unrest of the Indian masses and not in actually solving any real problems.

The churn in the youth has began which is encouraging but it still needs further direction and also reconciliation with the rural India to have an effective pan India movement which will drive true change. The Indian constitution has enough freedom and laws to enable this change but this requires a new kind of leadership needs to emerge from civil society and ordinary walk of life to make this happen. 

India's "Beta-cracy"

Just yesterday I was watching Karan Johar's latest movie Student of the Year starring the Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan the kids of Mahesh Bhatt and David Dhawan respectively. In this movie, there was another character who had a decent role, a chubby bespectacled kid Parsi boy who had pretty strong lines and scenes considering the usual scope of a supporting role like that of the hero's friend.  I felt happy at-least Kjo had a heart to give lines to a non-star kid. 

Turns out that Parsi kid is Kayoze Irani, the son of Boman Irani another star son launch. DAMN. 

It is not just Kjo giving an easy platform to the star kids, there are plenty of examples of Kapoors, Deols and  even Bhagnanis where it just matters what your surname is. Very few outsiders can even hope to break in the clique and even if they do they did need to work twice as hard to maintain their position.

Even looking beyond Bollywood, look in the corporate industry or politics, you will see several examples of seats been kept warm for the scions. Even in media you have several star sons and daughters, Barkha Dutt is the daughter of leading journalist Prabha Dutt. Rajdeep Sardesai is the son of cricketer of Dileep Sardesai. Sagarika Ghosh is the wife of Rajdeep. Prannoy Roy is the brother in law of Prakat Karat.  

There is not one field in India which are not run by select group of well-connected families. I remember reading in an article few years back, the Pakistan legislature is controlled by 200+ families, I suspect the Indian Parliament must also show similar trends.

The reverse question which people will raise is, if begin a star son a disqualification and speak about the services rendered by the previous generation and qualifications they have acquired. Whilst this is true, the fact is this, it is only a reflection of a feudal mindset where the masses give control of their lives to benevolent landowners or Kings.

Thats why even though I do not really endorse all the following people, I really appreciate the rise of Mamata Banerjee, Narendra Modi, Kejriwal, NRN, Arnab Goswami, John Abraham. India definitely needs change in all fields be it politics, business world, civil service, news media and entertainment.  There needs to be a clear break from the "Beta-cracy" which is plaguing our nation.

The question is will this makes a big difference, will the new blood which will replace the old guard make a difference or will it remain the same. 

The same fiery Bal Thackeray and Karunidhi who drove the Congress dynasty to the ground in the 60-70s are battling with a large dynasty of their own. The vicious circle of nepotism rears its ugly head. The un-holy nexus between politics, business and government is what leading the country to the un-heard of levels of corruptions. 

As the Joker says in The Dark Knight - " The city deserves a better class of criminals" 

Gangnam Style, Kolaveri and Innocence

If you have an existence on social networking sites, you could not have missed a portly Korean man prancing around in extraordinary goofy style which is now "Gangnam Style" the most viewed and liked video in the history of Youtube.  

Some time back, another video sung quiet off-key by Southern Actor Dhanush "Kolaveri Di" was  the talk of town, this very ordinary piece of singing reaching a far greater reach than imagined.  Clearly in this era of the highly networked world, an Internet connection and social media channels like Twitter, Facebook and Youtube, ideas both good, bad, ugly and funny can resonate across the world. 

Takes me back to the song Friday by Rebecca Black which was derided by people all over the world, imagine the kind of rejection the poor girl would have faced.  Still the criticism stayed virtual or the trolls who hound celebs, journalists with vulgar and crude language. 


Sadly another video found a much larger audience than it should have, "The innocence of Muslims" a disparaging video made by mischievous elements with extremely poor production values and the voices overdubbed so even the actors were taken for a ride. 

Such an ugly video, found credence and has been circulated by the same social media channels which promote so much of mirth to become a weapon of hate, leading to deaths and damage to people and property. A mob killing an envoy, bomb killing Russians and South Africans in Afghanistan and attacks on Norwegian embassies and protests worldwide.

The Innocence of Muslims is not the only ugly video on the Internet, there are lots of hate videos against Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. 

The violence has promoted many nations to block social media sites. Censorship will only take the world on a slippery road, and violence over hate speeches and thoughts will only increase the fault-lines in the society. 

Social Media is not the cause of unrest but only an medium for amplification. I hope in not so distance future only Kolaveri ( Murderous rage) is reserved for the likes of Dhanush and people learn to take things in stride and live life "Gangnam Style".

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. In fact have the wisdom to reject hateful thoughts.