My Top Five Favourite Movie Moments

I was watching Munnabhai MBBS and saw one of my really favorite movie moments and was inspired to think about the really wonderful movie moments which have stayed with me over the recent years.

Number 5 – V for Vendetta

The protagonist V who is an freedom fighter/terrorist who breaks into the official news channel of a fascist British Government and ignites the minds of the masses who have been subdued by a dictator for several years now. It is not a well known movie so I am reproducing the dialogue for better context.

“Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.”

It is a fantastic scene, especially in the post 9/11 scenario, or even if you consider closer home, the mindset of certain politicians offering security and strong governance who vilify the Muslim community and take a us versus them stance. Secondly creating a campaign of fear,death and destruction. It is remarkable even the tyrannical dictators in the Muslim countries and the Taliban project the western world as a threat and brainwash the people by propaganda,fear,and control through censorship. The strong message from this scene despite all pressures, we must never lose ground and hold our political class accountable to us instead of the other way around.

Number 4 – Munnabhai MBBS

The Parsi Dr. Rustam's old father who has lost the will to live and gives up eating is brought to the hospital and is administered saline drips. Munna bhai and Circuit play a game of carrom to revive the old man's spirits. The touching message from the moment is that at any stage of life, its the will to live and something to look forward too in life which keeps a man going. The legendary dialogue being ..”carrom khelanu, juice piyanu .. Mazzani life !!”

Number 3 – Kal Ho Na Ho

I know it could offend some purists that a Karan Johar flick comes in my top 5 list, but the scene when saif is going to propose to preity, she comes and tells him that she loves SRK and if she is mad enough to think if he will accept. Saif says “koi pagal hi hoga joh tumse pyaar nahi karega abhi jao” with such intensity, that really stayed with me for every guy who has ever had a crush on a good friend and he had to tell her the right thing, that she go for the other guy. Friendship winning over personal feelings is so bitter sweet !

Number 2 – The Dark Knight

Although critics and fans rave about the Joker's performance and his anchary the character for whom I really felt strongly about in the movie was Harvey Dent, a sane morally strong man who is reduced to a n psychotic killer who loses all his faith and belief in the world and system.

“You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time. But you were wrong. The world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair.”

The solution which the batman could give the people was the need to have faith, and he takes the fall for the crimes committed by Harvey.

"Sometimes people don't need the truth, they deserve something better... they need to have their faiths rewarded."

The irony being Alfred his butler burning Rachel's letter telling Bruce Wayne that she loves Dent and wants to marry him and lets Bruce believe that one day Rachel would have come back to him underlying the fact even a superhero is vulnerable and needs faith more than truth was the fantastic climax to this brilliant movie. I wished this movie picked up more Oscars than it really did.

Number 1 – Lagaan

The villagers are upset with Bhuvan, that he pit them in this impossible match against the British and vow not to assist him in this foolhardy mission. Bhuvan and the young boy Tipu play the game in the centre of the village to attract the attention of the village folks. “Koi badi baat nahi Tipu,hum isle gilli danda kehte hai aur angrez isse crickut”.

He misses the ball twice, the entire village watches the 3rd ball, and the hopes, fear and tension of the villagers mount and Bhuvan sends the ball crashing to the temple bell and the mute guy Bhagga joins the team and slowly people's faith is won step by step. For me, that moment of gaining the faith of the people was a far more satisfying scene than the 1 hour plus cricket match climax.

So these were my favorite top 5 movie moments, the one which closely missed out the list was Forrest Gump, who goes back to save his friend Bubba in Vientam war zone. Bubba is fatally wounded, has a look at Forrest, smiles and says “I knew you would come back for me” and dies. The sheer beauty of true friendship and faith was conveyed so subtly by the director.

These were my favorite movie moments so tell me what was yours ?

The illusion of reality ….

Surf any channel you shall find reality shows for every possible genre song, dance,comedy,eating insects and worms,staying locked for 90 days, romance and even swayambar of Rakhi Sawant an item girl turned adarsh bahu. The latest to add to that list is the controversial Sach ka Saamna which even sent the Parliament in a tizzy.

When the saas bahu K serials ruled the roost, slient prayers by youth across the country yearned for something new and something refreshing. The channel owners hit upon the magic formula of Reality television,

There are people who are increasing finding the shows becoming more voyeuristic and making a bad impact on young children watching these shows. There is a group of member who believe in the freedom of expression and abhor any kind of censorship.

Song/dance Shows Indian Idol/ Sa re Ga ma

The first few shows were the simple harmless song and dance shows, people sing and you the audience can decide the faith of these contestants. Slowly this genre degenerated into asking for votes from the people of your region. Slowly the North East began to assert their presence in India by en mass voting. Then the hosts themselves would mention Bengal ke Debojit needs your votes, Punjab ke Sandeep needs your support etc. If that wasnt enough people started doing melodrama, crying fighting in order to create an impression, talent is not a prerequiste, it is the likeability of a contestant that matters.

So you have hearts of talents crushed and talentless singers getting their 2 minutes of fame and then fading away faster than they even ascended to the stars.

Roadies / Spiltsvilla/Big Boss

Nothing can be more infruitating that a show which says it potrays the youth of the nation, so you have a classic stereotype, a delhite fake english accent, lots of gaalis, tantrums and flirting on the show. You have a bald man, who thinks he is god's gift to humanity and the only thing he loves is run people down. Put people in situations, people fight and say hurtful things with a lot of beeps. Put the show at 7 pm prime time and repeat shows throughout the clock. The host/makers say that they respect women but the tasks and contestants reduce women to mere sex objects. These shows can impact the thought of entire tween generation, the pre teens who are trying to grow up too fast.

The myth called free will....

When there are any calls for regulation on these reality shows, the simple answer the show makers tell us is you can switch off the television. Easier said than done. The same shows run at different times, similar shows exist across different channels. Children cannot be supervised all the time, and temptation and curosity to explore some new stimulus often gets the better of common sense. The kids today are growing up too fast and infact the information fed to them isnt objective. The vices are packaged as style statements, being rude/crass is shown to be cool attitude. The loss of innocene in the future generation is what disturbs me a lot.

I am afraid that choice has already been made for the next generation by the consistent bombardment of voyereutic, consumeristic lifestyle choices. I know I may seem a tad old fashioned in this post but when I look back in the days of Doordarshan, I watched Fun Time an one hour cartoon serial slot from 12.00 to 1.00 in the afternoon during summer vacations and went teary eyed when the show wound up with the end of summer vacations. Now, we have maybe 10 dedicated cartoon channels but the kids today watch Roadies/big Boss or Spiltsvilla.

The truth is complex and rarely simple – Oscar Wilde I think battle between regulation and freedom of expression is far from over !!

Pointless things people say Part II – Shaadi ke Side Effects !!

The age of 26-27 is a very interesting period of life and a very challenging one. Your peer group begins to get married suddenly and suddenly the world becomes divided into the haves and have-nots. It does not matter which group you are in, you experience a weird feeling and are awkward how to talk about the topic regarding impeding marriage. The following are the few gems which you shall hear in conversations. What they say and What they mean.

You two make a great couple / You two look cute together


Even if the guy looks like a rhinoceros and the girl looks like giraffe who could be mistaken for a ladder, you have to say this statement because it is politically correct thing to say. Alternatively It is also a nice way of saying, teri aaukat ke liye this person is more than enough.


Who is the lucky girl ?


This is a line said with least conscience, especially when you know the guy is a drunkard, constant womanizer or he is very orthodox / boring. There is no way in life, you would want your sister or friends to marry this chap, still do you really think the girl is lucky. Shame on all of you who use this line without remorse.


Beta shaadi ke baad you are so dead !!


It is extremely ironical, it is always the single unmarried man who seems to know that marriage is a deathtrap. It has been passed on from generations of unmarried men to make fun of the guy who is going to get married. I mean what empirical proof exists that states that married folks are more unhappy than whining pining single clan ?


I have found the one....

I was given this unsolicited but extremely relevant advice by a thrice married and thrice divorced person that “ Get married early in life, then you get to choose, in case you wait too late you get chosen”.

Arranged or love marriages become a stressful experience after a period of time , if you have seen more and more people without success. At first you are idealistic, you have a role model about your ideal person. With more rejections on the way, then you think there is something wrong with you , so you are ready to compromise with your dream man/woman a little.

Eventually the little compromise ended up with you are just glad that he/she is human, off the opposite gender and for some wierd reason doesnt seem to dislike you unlike the rest of her/his gender.

The sentence should actually read as I have the found the one … ( perhaps the last one on earth so Hurry offer valid untill stocks last !! )


It happened so fast … I didn't time to tell anyone


I had all the time, I didnt have time to tell you even my my 3rd cousin from Alaska knew before you. I seriously hope you didn't fall for that one. The fact is I did not want to share it with you, at least now get a hint of your standing in my social circle you loser !!


Disclaimer – The comments are exaggerated liberally so don't take offense to them
Yeah right, I have said what I wanted to really say but now,with this disclaimer, I can shirk the responsibilities for my statements ;)

The Order in Chaos … that is India !!

I must admit, I have been a bit out of touch from posting on my blog due to certain other commitments in life, feeling a bit rusty so forgive the lazy writing to follow.

India the world's largest democracy, one the world's oldest civilization and second largest populous nation with a huge youth population does look forward to a very great and vibrant future. But many historians, economists and many citizens see it as a chronic under-performer and condemn it as though it is close to a failed state. Let us look at a few common criticisms India has faced in the past 60 odd years of independence.

Extended Socialism Tryst and Anti Business Attitude

To be honest, India had the scars of being victim of imperialism and being taken over by a very large corporation , remember The East India Company, all our leaders were in jail and faced oppression from the British Raj, so there was strong urge to break free from all Western. It was more a misdirected anger towards all things Western and capitalists who exploited India as a colony.

So I would say India behaved like an angry emotional adolescent who did not want to talked down anymore and wants to break from the past completely. A case of throwing the baby out with the water.

The Pro Russia Stance and Non Allied Movement setbacks

It is a fact, India still does not enjoy the best of relations of US in spite of being a democracy, the US with its regional interests still views Pakistan as a key ally and does not want to provoke China. In the 70's during Bangladesh war, the Americans were pro Pakistanis.

India was like Karan from Mahabharata, when faced isolation in the South Asia with the twin threats of Pakistan and China with US taking the opposite side, India chose to side with the Russians. India which had strong socialist leanings naturally sided with the Russians who eventually went on to lose the Cold War.

Caste based Reservations and politics

The only issue which is very close to my heart, that merit does not get its due in this nation due to a large proportion of reservations in college/government. In this case, I have two points of views to be objective, the scheduled castes and tribes did suffer extreme atrocities in the past. They needed some economic benefits to find their feet. The Congress party which had the mandate from the people from 1947 to 1977 – 30 years could not give a coherent solution to the masses. The 1975 Emergency was the last straw for the people of India and Congress party lost its first Lok Sabha elections. In 1978, the Mandal Commission was set up by the Janta Party Govt. which paved the way for wide spread reservations and the rise of the caste based parties.

My conclusion, I agree Caste based politics is detrimental to the nation, but it was the mistake of founding fathers of Independent India that they could not address this issue in the first 3 decades and finally it became an emotive issue for exploitation. The funny part is there are poor people in the villages who face the Maoists and rich people driving in cars who have a OBC certificate who keep get the benefits of the reservation schemes. It is flawed but even nations like the US have suffered from apartheid, India is not unique in its problems.

Conclusion

India has its flaws, but the fact is India is a vibrant economy which gives people the right choose its government, you have a free press which reports events as it happens, not like our neighbouring China which is ruled with an iron glove with extreme censorship, The crack down on Tiebetans and now against the Muslim Uyghurs is one such example. The world is silent about these events but I am happier India has made slower progress than China, at least we have an open free society. India is finally on the way to realize its dreams with an economy which is robust and has great potential. Indian entrepreneurs, Tatas, Ambanis, Mittals ( Sunil and Laxmi), Premji and Murthy taking India to center stage.

I would like to end with two points, US got its independence in 1776 and is 233 year old democracy and the UK gave women the right to vote only in the year 1928 after long and bitter struggle for equal rights. India despite a large illiterate population and a large diversity in religion, language barriers and regional aspirations has remarkably succeeded as a democracy.

There have been blemishes on occasions but I think for a 62 year nation it has done pretty well considering the constraints and the environment. Let us consider the first 50 years like birth pangs and adolescence phase during which our nation learned the ropes. The new India is mature and raring to go. India was founded on a noble ideas freedom, social justice and religious tolerance.

Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come !! That Idea is India. There is a method to this madness and an inherent order in this chaos.

From Angels to Demons …

Today MS Dhoni finally joins a very elite and prestigious club which has been graced by the former greats of the Indian cricket including Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Azhar, M K Pataudi and I guess almost all Indian Cricket Captains must be in that league. India's Most Hated . An extremely natural reaction of the Indian cricket fan who worships his/her cricketing heros and makes them demigods only to tear them down after their dreams are shattered.

Truly being an cricketing idol in the Indian Subcontinent has always been a double edged sword, no one better than Wasim Akram knows this who had stones pelted at his house, and the Pakistanis had to change the city where they were supposed to land at in order to avoid angry mobs. Remember 1996 World Cup, where the crowds became unruly and the defining image of a crying Vinod Kambli leaving the stadium showed the ugly side of Indian cricket fan.

Dhoni Today 09

So Dhoni went from the being Ranchi's poster boy to having his effigy burnt in his own hometown. Life does come a complete circle. The Captain Cool is now a boy scout and a petty squabbler with Virendra Sehwag and off course the Indian media. His every decision has been analyzed and postmortems conducted which labels him as an incompetent leader.

Dhoni Yesterday 07

A flash back, Its the 2007 T20 World Cup Final the dream match India vs Pakistan, Dhoni gave the ball to Joginder Sharma much to the horror of the Indian fans, and Misba hu Haq who till then had played a splendid innings played an extremely unnecessary reverse sweep which was held by Sreesanth to give India its second moment of World Cup glory and a hero in Indian Cricket was born. The boy from Ranchi, Jharkhand, and it heralded the birth of the new Indian Icon who would eclipse all the existing Indian stars.

What if ?

But just imagine instead Misba spanking it down the ground for a boundary, Dhoni's legend would have died a premature death and Joginder Sharma would have become a national villain like poor Ravinder Jadeja today.

Lessons

There lies the fine line between victory and defeat, glory and failure, fame and obscurity. That is indeed the beauty of sport, its unpredictability and the thrill it brings. Success and failure in life are always separated usually by a small margin but the repercussions always been more drastic. But there is a good news in this, life gives you a second chance, third and a fourth chance in fact, if you are ready to learn your lesson. The problem is we feel so gutted that we ignore the second chances to get back on track and some times meander in mediocrity without discovering our true potential.

Do we not back our friends, children or a close one when they fail, is that not our ideal role. So it is our time to be mature and stand by our team. Sure mistakes were done and the corrective steps must be taken but our heros do not deserve this kind of lynching. We must be more patient, less eager to put some one on a pedestal and later avoid baying for blood at the first sign of failure.

So where does MS Dhoni go from here, well after an introspection, he will reflect on 07 and 09 World Cup campaigns and he will probably realize that This too shall pass ...

I guess the Indian fans should realize this as well :)

Being a second class citizen in a first world country !

Oscar Wilde aptly put it “Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious”, although one can be proud of one's nation but the strong sense of identity should not extend so much that one hates other nationals. It is fairly ridiculous for me to believe just because I am born in a particular country, that nation becomes the greatest nation in the world and the rest are somehow inferior. The focus on racism has emerged in view of the recent attacks on Indians in Australia and some murders of Andhra students in the US couple of years back.

This kind of identity based ideology has always lead to ugly civil wars and genocides, may it be against the Jews, the Lankan Tamils conflict and the racism discrimination in South Africa of Blacks and Asians including Indians. Although these were really horrendous crimes against humanity, the current crisis in Australia is more a result of fear and mistrust rather than a deep seated racial bias.

I would like to raise a question if it is really racism or other factors at play. I believe it is more a case of xenophobia – a dislike/fear of some one different from oneself which is a subtle difference owning to one cultural differences and secondly the increasing economic recession which makes them hostile towards India, arguably the largest back office of the world.

It is indeed surprising in a first world country in the 21st century, where education levels are so high and countries which have better human rights records, why do such citizens of this civilized society demonstrate such base violent emotions. For a moment here I would like to play Devil's advocate, to understand why would people from the first world countries hate Indians.


Racial profiling post Sept 11 - Let us face it, post Sept 11 any Asian person in a public place who acts a little weird sends shivers down the spines of our Caucasian friends. The fear leads to anger and anger leads to hate which finally takes more violent proportions


Cultural Differences – Indians hang out in groups, dont really want to mingle in a bar and speak their own native language that is a criticism often laid on students here. I guess it must also be a result of discomfort they feel in a new country they kind of bond with their own to get adjusted intially. But my friends in the States, seem to have only desi friends not even good foreign acquaintances. ( I may be wrong here, people can correct me) This could be a factor why the two cultures do not assimilate comfortably.
But then Indians have always bad at inclusiveness, a group of Tamilians or Bengalis can isolate Indians from other part of the same country, where does an Australian or American have a chance to mingle in :)


Where does you loyalty lie Mate ? - It is ironic, when you watch a India- England match at Lords, all our NRIs come in smart blue Sahara India cricket shirts and cheer India beat England in their own country, they celebrate Rajini kant movies and the Pakistanis scream Pakistan zindabad in a must win match for England in the T-20 World Cup match. I am sure this kind of disloyalty is not going to win hearts in the home country.


Its about the money honey – No one really cares if immigrants live here, only when the sinking feeling beings to start that, we are getting marginalized in our own backyard leads to instant hatred towards the outsiders, The fact that the Australian GDP growth has dropped to 0.3% and people cheering Obama on when he imposes work permit restrictions while advocating free market economy for all other goods ( talk about double standards, perhaps better left for another blogpost )


These are perhaps a few reasons, why Indians aboard are hated, although any form of violence cannot be justified and it is condemnable in all forms. However, There is introspection needed on both sides to see how in this era of globalization, this sort of nation based identity can be diluted and we see each other as just as human beings. The world economy has moved irrecoverably wherein the boundaries between nations have been breached, so people need to break those boundaries in their hearts as well.

Although I do feel sympathy for Indians abroad, I do also believe we need to get our act together at home as well, wherein students from Bihar UP are beaten in Mumbai for wanting to appear in Railway Examinations, a shame considering we being villians at home and calling foul abroad. Kind of ironic isnt it ?

Take a Bow the Aam Aadmi !

At the outset of this post, I shall state that I have been a supporter of the ruling party partially due to the fact that my family have been traditional supporters of the Gandhi family but over the years I have found my own reasons to support the UPA. But this post is my attempt to objectively analyze the results and lessons for the various parties.

The Left

The biggest losers in this elections has to be the Left Front considering both the bastions of Kerala and West Bengal falling to the Congress. The loss in Kerala was on the cards considering the infighting and corruption charges, but West Bengal was the big surprise. The consistent high pitch attack on Manmohan Singh on the nuclear deal and the threat of not supporting Cong in the post poll scenario cost them big time.

The reasons which cost the Left the elections complacency in taking Mamta Banerjee and Cong lightly, secondly demonstrating rigidity in policy issues e.g. the nuclear deal and other economic reforms. Prakash Karat and company need to evaluate their political relevance and adjustments to their rather rigid political outlook.

Lalu, Jaya, Maya, Paswan, Pawar, Mulayam and all alleged king makers

The glorious dream for the regional parties that a hung parliament was smashed. The members of the third and the fourth front wanted to capitalize on instability and derive maximum power for self. None of these parties had a plan for the nation in terms of strategy or a clarity in addressing the key issues in the area of economy, foreign affairs or handling terrorism.

The nation has rejected these brand of politics, although regional parties retain relevance in the state politics as in Nitesh having a strong presence in Bihar and Naveen Patnaik in Orissa. The regional parties will keep the national parties in check.

BJP

The BJP made several tactical blunders, in an electorate which no long identifies with religion as a factor for determining self worth, condoning Varun Gandhi's hate speech was a big mistake. The second blunder L.K Advani targeting Manmohan Singh who has a clean image and consistently labeling him as a weak PM, ( it is tough to justify that when the PM risked his government and had a face off with the Left for the nuclear deal, a PM who removed the Home Minister post 26/11 ) and thirdly projecting Narendra Modi as the next PM candidate which was political harakiri. He may be the undisputed leader in Gujarat but his actions in the post Godhra riots, his venomous tongue in talking about his political opponents was not appreciated in most circles.

BJP is in great disarray with no fresh agenda to offer to the Indian people, no charismatic leader who can lead the BJP and NDA coalition to present a credible alternative to the Cong led UPA in the coming years. If they fall back on Narendra Modi as the next leader they will only alienate potential allies and the electorate in general.

Congress

The Cong should not fall in the trap of sycophancy of trying to elevate Rahul Gandhi to the top seat yet. The role Manmohan Singh played in builidng the credibility of the UPA is as significant to the victory as Sonia Gandhi's charisma. The Gandhi family taking a back seat, to let Manmohan Singh take the top job showed the maturity with which Congress is having a long term view to restore the party to its former glory. If the party wants to really shut out the competition for the future, they should give youth a chance, put in qualified ministers in place and ensure the connect with the electorate is in place.

Indian Voter

The rural voter is generally derided for being influenced by money/alcohol, or the urban voter is accused of not even exercising his/her franchise. The voter has sent a clear signal that he/she does not believe in hate politics or put his trust on small regional parties. A key note to reflect upon UPA has a mandate which is 10 seats below the majority mark, which is a warning to them that do not be too complacent, the Indian voter is watching you ….

Take a bow aam aadmi you showed the netas who is the boss !!