Woh zindagi ka saath nibhate chale gayye...

Dev Anand passed away on 3^rd December 2011 at the ripe age of 88. I got the news as soon as I woke up, thanks to Twitter updates and as I rushed downstairs to the TV, I couldn’t help but think how could this have happened? A question which may have seemed strange considering the age we are talking about…but its Dev Anand, and age does not apply to him. I am 20 years old which would mean I am 68 years his junior but I have no qualms in admitting that I have been harbouring a crush on Dev Anand for at least the last 6 years…ever since I saw Bambai ka babu…but why? That my friend is the question...or is it really?

Dev Anand exudes charm. He was unbelievably good looking...if you see some of his black and white movies, you will know what I am talking about. Those eyes...they spoke volumes and that swagger...it made your heart beat to the music. In those black and white days, his one smile could infuse in colours of the brightest hue, his confident manners and his ever so pleasant baritone...wow. They could make you stand still and thats what they did to me...when I was all of 14 or maybe even younger. And he could switch from the tormented lover (Din dhal jaaye from Guide) to the one chasing after his girl with cheekiness galore (try Hai apna dil toh awara from Solva Saal and you will know what I am talking about)...from ultra confident to lamenting and melancholy (Kabhi khud pe kabhi halaat pe rona aaya from Hum Dono)...his expressions in "Achcha ji main haari"...hayye! Kya bataayein! He could give you all the gyaan you want and you would want to follow it too! (Hum hain rahi pyaar ke from Nau do gyara or Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya from Hum Dono) and the same guy could convince you of his naughtiness in Chod do aanchal! Such versatility!

I was surfing through the channels when a beautiful melody caught my ears and a man came gliding into the screen…the song was Dekhne mein bhola (Bambai ka babu) and the man was Dev Anand, sauntering the way only he could.

I was hooked. The film was beautiful and deeply touching and now that I think about it, it could not be made today thanks to the extremely low on sensibility (and sensitivity) audience and flashy is best brainless film makers.

Khair…chodo…yeh post unn donon tarah ke jeevo ke baarein mein nahin hai...this post is about the man whose sheer charisma, sheer intensity and sheer sensitivity got a 14 year old to stop all work and get immersed in “boring” black and white cinema. Dev Anand’s films, specially the earlier ones, were blessed with two things – a very good and interesting story and brilliant musical scores and Bambai ka babu is no different. Two of its songs can make me sad and melancholy just thinking about them – Chal ri sajni ab kya soche and Saathi na koi manzil.

I must have watched a number of Dev Anand movies when I was younger but they were from the days of his later colour cinema and did not appeal to me much…maybe the story could be different today but we shall have to wait for a verdict on that.

Anyway…recently I watched Guide and as a student of philosophy (even if a reluctant one at that…and not too bright either) it appealed to me on a whole different level. The ending of the movie can put you in deep thinking and if you are willing to ask yourself some tough existential questions, do watch that movie.

Guide was once again not only a visual and a mental treat…its songs are classics – from Gaata rahe mera dil to Tere mere sapne to Din Dhal jaaye and finally Wahan kaun hai tera musafir…an album which comes probably once in a decade (if you are NOT Dev Anand, that is...because most of his films could boast of such brilliance in music).

Today I watched Solvan Saal and Tere ghar ke saamne back to back and fell in love all over again...Dev Anand looks like a million bucks and can make your heart race like you have never known before...the swagger...oh my, the swagger! And as soon as I post this, I will be watching Nau do gyaarah and the magic will surround me once again...the magic of Dev Anand...

This article may appear scattered (trust me I know it is) but I cant help it…my thoughts are as scattered…is he really gone? The man who had been around for so long that it seemed he would be there forever is actually gone? Can it really happen?

Perhaps…no, not really…his films are around and God knows the music is and the jest to live shall forever be around as an inspiration to have for all…I never once saw him in a wheel chair...heck! I never once saw him as anything but standing straight and upright and being ful of life. Dev Anand se jeene ka jazba seekho, yeh seekho ki usne kabhi parwah nahin ki ki tumne kya kaha…woh chala kyonki usko chalna tha, woh thama nahin kyonki koi aur chaahta tha…he lived life on his terms and he lived life like it is supposed to be. He continued making films, knowing no one really cared anymore, because he wasnt really making films for them anyway. He was making them because he wanted to and he was content with whatever limited audience he may have had. He was so kissed by success in his heyday that these so called 'failures' mattered little to him and rightly so...after all he was not in any need to impress anyone anymore, at least not explicitly. He was comfortable with all that he had achieved and that is something everyone should learn - be comfortable in your own skin and live life like you want to. Dont give a rat's ass to what other people say or think cos really they dont matter...not that much anyway.

He entertained millions, he swayed millions and he left us with a million memories…

“Aaj main kitni azaadi mehsoos kar raha hoon…jeevan aaj jaise muththi mein hai aur maut jaise khel hai…main aatma hoon, amar hoon – na sukh hai, na dukh hai, na deen hai na duniya. Na insaan na bhagwan…sirf main hoon, sirf main.”

Alvida Dev Sahab…aapne sach mein zindagi ka saath nibhaaya waise jaise nibhaana chahiye…shukriya aur alvida…we shall hum along...for always. :)

(1923 - Forever)

- Rae

Hip Hip Hurray! - A show with messages galore but limited bullshit.

Hip Hip Hurray!

This is not an expression of jubilation as used here but rather the name of a show which used to air when I was around 9-10 years old (I am 20 now…so yeah, it was a long time back…)

This show was directed by Nupur Asthana (who went on to direct Mahi Way for Yash Raj Television…a brilliant show again) and it was about this group of 12^th Standard Kids at a school called De'Nobli High.

I was 10 but I knew that this show would be remembered by me for a long time to come and the fact that I am writing this today obviously points out that in the affirmative. But the point here is a ‘why?’ and I shall try and answer that.

Hip Hip Hurray! appealed to you because of how realistically it portrayed teenagers (at least Indian teenagers) and their confusions, complexes, issues, frame of mind on topics ranging from sexual awakening to physical relationships to the sheer frustration at how things are around us to trying to understand relationships without them getting over shadowed by external considerations like being less materially affluent or having a side job at a place frequented by one’s friends to the appeal of drugs to trying to prove yourself to be the best in all situations even when pitted against friends…and it did so without being over bearing, without the ‘lecture’ feeling and conversely also without giving way too much leeway to the phenomena called teenage years.

It was unlike ‘God knows what it means to portray!’ shows like the new 90210 and the likes because it never focused on the glitz and glamour but instead sought to portray a likeable set of teenagers doing likeable and unlikeable things and learning from their mistakes (much like the most of us). The cool quotient on Hip Hip Hurray was very subtle…for instance, I can remember that the characters used to fold the sleeves of their uniforms and would converse in Hinglish (but only as much as was required…hence staying clear of looking fake and obnoxious).

Coming back to the show matter…it basically had everything…from lightly touching on sensitive and often brushed under the carpet adolescent issues to larger issues which frustrate us…nibbling away at our insides with apparently no way to express our anguish to little light moments with romance, pranks, exams etc etc etc – everything basically which makes up one’s life. I really don’t know what else to say or rather how to explain it all– not because there is precious little but because it was diverse and done giving equal importance…so what I am going to do is to note down some of my favourite moments (a difficult task, trust me…I loved every moment!) –

1. For some reason Raghav sharing his fear of heights in an episode where the school has taken the children camping really touched my heart…and it was done beautifully! Raghav, the school sports captain, the guy always at the forefront is scared of something and he confesses this to his best friend, Mehul, ironically the guy who seems to be at the back of all things…

2. The whole issue between Kiran and Mazhar because of Mazhar taking up a side job as a waiter in a pizza parlor gave some great moments and insight…what would you do if your best friend turned out to be working at a place you might consider low class (as an occupation choice)? Would you abandon him/her or try and understand their situation? I know the answer is quite obvious (does not take a genius to figure that one out) but the fact that one would ask such questions is what the whole game is about…

3. The part where Manjeet starts taking drugs and consequently lie and get all shady…the interaction between the characters was once again fraught with different sides of the same question, making you wonder about such situations and the whole action in itself.

4. The whole situation where one of the teachers gets pregnant without being married, her being shunned by parents in fear that she will be a bad influence on their children and their own children standing right there by their teacher’s side very lightly and in a passing manner and not to mention sensitively put it inside their young viewer’s mind that bullshit like this is not really of any use. A person’s character is one complex thing which cannot be judged using such incidents in isolation if at all.

5. Etc etc etc

So there I recounted a very few of my favourite moments from this much loved, cherished and remembered television series – moments which without even my explicit realization made out of me a better and more aware person, moments which I carried with me through all these years with little explicit knowledge and moments which I shall continue to carry with me with the same level of ignorance.

And that my friends, is what made Hip Hip Hurray! a fantastic concept and it became a fantastic show because of the brilliant team work – conceived and directed by Nupur Asthana with dialogues by Vinay Pathak, who also played the much loved and revered Vinny Sir.

The cast was brilliant with each actor more or less living the role – Vishal Malhotra as John, Nilanjana Sharma as Mona, Peeya Rai Chaudhari as Kiran, Rushad Rana as Raghav, Mehul Nissar as Mehul, Shahrukh Bharocha as Cyrus, Zafar Karachiwala as Rafey, Candida Fernandes as Alisha, Samantha Tremayne as Samantha, Purab Kohli as Mazhar, Kishwar Merchant as Noni, Kuljeet Randhawa/Shweta Salve as Prishita and Vinay Pathak as Vinny Sir, Suchitra Pillai as Alaknanda Ma’am and others whose name I, despite much tries, cannot find.

So here is from a hardcore Hip Hip Hurray! (Season 1) fan a hearty thanks to the whole team for teaching me values without pushing me away with an overbearing and obnoxious attitude.

Hip Hip Hurray!
(Now indeed used as an expression of jubilation…and save your breath and energy to say ‘how cheesy!’ because I know it. So now you are better equipped to think about it and maybe even comment, energy wise, although I don’t expect much of the latter at least…)

And here is to the countless channels – bring it back if you wish to regain a lost section of the audience. Shows like Hip Hip Hurray! are much needed today…not only because of the general trash content on TV but also because it would fashion young sensibilities much better than its apparent counterparts. And to Rajshri.com who until recently had the complete show but now have a strange website where the search engine does not work - Get it back (the show and the search engine).

Cheers.

Rae

A red moon, a violet sky...

This is a diary entry which I wrote on my second last day in Mumbai...

21st January 2011 (approximately 9.00 PM)

A red moon in a violet sky...framed by golden lights which shimmer in the dark dark water...

Thats the view of Mumbai I was blessed enough to witness this fine night...Sahyadri guest house shall forever remain in my heart and I shall be forever indebted to it because it gave me this scene which has so enthralled my soul. Its so pretty, so alive, so dreamy...it can make you cry. Zindagi mein ek baar Mumbai toh zaroor aayo, it will make you fall in love.

Mumbai - the city of dreams, the city of love, the city...just THE city.

This city calls you to be one of its own, enchants you like no other and you are bound to it forever and ever with no complaints, but with stars in your eyes...this city demands of you to make yourself someone who may live here, share its sky and sea. This city calls out to you and you, you cant wait to answer.

Marine drive or the queen's necklace, as it is called, is a hub of people from all walks of life as they come here to rewind...talking in diverse languages and in diverse styles but they still stand united - one identity, thousand principles. Wahan chalte chalte, 18 se lekar 60 saal ke logo ko saath baithe dekh, ek khayal mann mein aaya - Jab kabhi bhi pyaar par se vishwaas uthh raha ho, marine drive chale aana. Issi khayal ke baad, mann ko yeh maloom chala ki khud ko 'hopeless romantic' kehne wali main bhi kahin na kahin ek pessimist banti ja rahi hoon. Dukh hua par phir ek nazar fairayee apne chaaron ore, dekha unn saare logon ko apni hi tarah kissi na kissi cheez mein doobe hue aur ek halki si muskaan ne apne dastakhat diye aur moofli moonh mein daal, main phir Mumbai ke jaadu mein beh gayee...

"I am in love" - these words were what I said as soon as my best friend picked up her phone - "I am in love with Mumbai and I am sad to be leaving this place..."

The reason - the people of Mumbai and their warm and polite and unique nature (no where else have I heard this expression - "Sir ko ek malaai wali chai maariyo zarra"), the breeze, the trees and the thousand and one dreams...floating around waiting to be caught...and I cant wait to catch mine, I cant wait to watch it unfold and I cant pray enough that I be able to wait...

...Mumbai, the city of dreams...the city of a red moon in a violet sky which rises steadily up...framed by stars and dreams.

Difficult to speak, impossible to be silent.

"An event has happened, upon which it is difficult to speak, and impossible to be silent."

~ Edmund Burke on the Impeachment of Warren Hastings, 5 th May 1789

I write this in complete and utter desperation. In my 19 years of existence, I have never felt more hopeless when it came to my country.

The last few weeks have spelled nothing but disgust in my heart and mind for the one's who run this country and I feel sorry for India and for millions of its citizens like me.

First, I would like to apologize. Apologize to my nation and to my ancestors and to my descendants for not being able to do anything as a bunch of hungry mongrels ravish this piece of flesh called India.

I switch on the TV news or I read the newspapers or I listen to the radio or I log on to the internet or talk on the phone or listen and take part in discussions in person and nothing but anger and shame engulfs me.

2G scam, the Reddy brothers, the sham called Naxalism/Maoism/Crap-ism, Adarsh society, CWG bullshit yada yada yada...

Reading the above (never ending list, it seems...), what and how do you feel?

I felt hopelessness of the worst kind which propelled me to watch news and cheer on discussions which bought the culprits of the above crap-fests in the dock and then...then the following happened...

The media lost all its credibility, morality, professional ethics, reputation and their whole 'holier than thou' perception - all of it - when they blacked out the Barkha Dutt-Vir Sanghvi tapes released by the Open Magazine (Barkhji ki baatein - http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/tell-me-what-should-i-tell-them Vir Sanghvi's transcripts - http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/what-kind-of-story-do-you-want) recently, which have them virtually acting as 'dalals' (middlemen) for various political parties and corporate houses, hence completely and irrevocably damaging their whole image as "free and fair" journalists.

And what does the other sections of this "free and fair" media do? Black out this raging piece of information and go on with attacking other people, peacefully blind to this black spot on their own community.

WOW!

So does the 'independence, freedom, fairness etc etc etc' that the media keeps on howling about in ALL other cases go to HELL when their community is concerned?! Does the 'right of the people to know' gets eliminated when the said knowledge is related to one (or in this case two) of their own?! Is it only the country's responsibility that the media gets all its freedom and right to report but nothing is required on behalf of this very media that they show the truth and not curtail the people's right to know when the news is not exactly in the favor of their own selves?!

These are questions demanding answers...can I expect them or will I continue to stare into this blackness?

Anyway, lets evaluate what exactly are we facing today as a country...here are the people/community being questioned presently in various issues -

1. The PM (WOW, again.)
2. Politicians (No biggie...really...me writing this is and should be one very sad thing in itself but well who the HELL cares in this time and age, right?)
3. Army (Trust you me, this one is actually painful to write...)
4. Bureaucracy
and the grand edition to this list of who's who (quite literally...) -
5. The Media (sorry...the 'free and fair' media...)

Last question, who can be trusted?

(PS - Till now, I have seen the report on the media crap in only two Indian print media publications - Mail Today and Outlook...still waiting to see it on the 'idiot' box...)

Cheers.

-Rae

And it all started because I did not feel like writing my paper on Schumpeter...Why?

I am supposed to be writing a paper on Schumpeter’s take on the classical doctrine of democracy but as it quite evident I am not doing that…

Why?

Because I don’t feel like doing it…

Why?

Because I am not able to get myself to read his essay on it…

Why?

Because I am too lazy to get my ass to my room and get the essay and then to get the laptop and continue from where I left it…

Why?

Because I seem to be stuck in front of this screen and seem to be lost in a virtual world…

Why?

Because it seems to me that the virtual world is a better place than the so called real world I am going to be forced to be a part of every second of my life.

Why?

The real world is fraught with weird problems which seem to have no solution, which seem to be a jumble of shit spun over a lot many years with no bloody sensible solution coming out at all! At least virtually I can manipulate myself into believing that someone cares and actually talks about it...(this someone includes myself)

Why?

How the FUCK am I supposed to know that? What I know is that I am 19 years old and India has been independent since 1947 and the human world has been in existence for I don’t even know how many years and still we can hardly say “This (anything AT all) is alright.

Why?

I am in my car and I see children, who should be in school, begging at streetlights.

I am at my home and I see that douche bag (one among many others) blatantly being engaged in CWG corruption.

I am anywhere and I have to endure constant India bashing which most of the time seems to stem from half baked idiotic notions and the other times is genuine but leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

I am in the metro and I see people getting up to offer a higher middle class lady with a young kid a seat but the same chivalry is not extended to a poor woman with a baby or her young son.

I try to get off at my stop but the completely and unbelievably stupid people on the station think it is just right for them to barge in pushing people left, right and centre.

CWG shit happens and for that the citizens of the city are indirectly told to stay in their houses on the opening and closing day cos NO bloody market would be open AT all.

CWG crap seems to be only for foreigners because if you’re an Indian citizen, then you may be standing in line for 1 hour but you still wouldn’t get the damn ticket because some ‘mehmaan’ will be made to break the Q and get it.

The Naxals, Maoists or whatever crap they prefer to be called will spread violence everywhere and then defend it and people will actually agree! Please explain to me how beheading cops, harassing teachers and marking students is linked to their so called revolution.

Modi, Sajjan Kumar and the likes will march on unharmed by anything after committing the crimes that they have.

A good enough side walk will be broke, remade and then broken again to be made the same way as it was originally.

People can be unlawfully hanged for the heinous crime of loving.

Among MUCH more.

Why?

Exactly.

Hmmm…This seems to be the right way!

Well last Friday I watched the season finale of a hatke show and well I behaved a little hatke after that…but sadly that isn’t my topic matter…

The show was Mahi Way and its hatke because the protagonist is –

1. Not ‘perfect’ in a physical sense.
2. She isn’t the moorti of an emotionally intact in all-possible-situations person.
3. She does not act like the brightest tube light in the world at all possible times.
4. She is normal. Yes, normal like a normal person…with quirks of course…but that’s what normal is – just like you and me.
5. She does not get a makeover at any time.
6. And she is independent just like most of us girls are – in the sense that we may be living with our parents and soliciting their advice and all but we still have a mind of our own and a decision making mechanism which actually functions.

She makes mistakes and she pays for them and she learns from them – just like any of us. There are awesome people in her life and there are the not so awesome people in her life – just like our life. She acts like a complete moron at times and she acts completely selfless at times – just like us. There seems to be no incongruence between our lives and the life of Mahi Talwar, albeit the problems may not be the same but the character traits – all of us possess them.

What I liked about the show (other than the above and in continuation with the above) is the fact that I can connect with her, I can hate her, love her, be amused by her, be livid because of her and at some corner of my heart know that all these emotions of mine may very well be directed towards that person in the mirror and I do not have to necessarily feel horrible while facing these feelings.

Mahi Way’s other characters too leave an impression on you – be it her quirky Dadi, her weird Mum, her awesome Dad, her sometimes annoying brother, her khatti-meethi sister, her pillars of support – her friends, her not very nice choice of men and Shiv – her ‘chaddi buddy’ whom we all want to see as her significant other.

The show provides you with an outlook of life and people and how easily we judge them or take them for granted. For example, I for one hate Ishan but in the last epi…I did feel sorry for him and questioned by dislike towards them – sure he did some wrong stuff but maybe he really changed and I was not willing to accept it – maybe that shows what’s wrong with me – I don’t want to trust him again till the very last moment and then too just as a passing comment. Or maybe I took a Shiv for granted somewhere in my life and well…I may be missing him/her but my ego stops me from calling out to them again…hence Mahi Way steps beyond just being another show and makes you gently question certain things, reflect on some things…

One more thing I love about this show is that there was no makeover which resulted in Mahi transforming into a Kingfisher model! This kept the theme real and did not mislead the viewers in the sense that they started off believing that physicality is not the only consideration in life and its your nature which attracts people to you but were actually at the end of it slapped in the face with the story that well physicality matters over everything else. For this I am eternally grateful to the writers of Mahi Way. They did not make up a sense of personal comfort in their viewers just to shatter it later on.

Coming to the acting aspect – the whole cast was brilliant and very aptly selected. Pushtiie as Mahi Talwar was fabulous, confused when need be, unconsciously something akin to vicious when required and cute, adorable and helpless when there was a demand and unbelievably headstrong and fearless when the opportunity arose. Viraf Patel as Shiv Desraj made a place in every girl’s heart, whatever be their age. He seems to be the perfect choice for the sweet, selfless, adorable and supportive dream that Shiv is. Waiting and hoping to see him in a new show very very soon! Siddhart Karnick as Ishan was again excellent. He made the viewers sufficiently loving and sighing and angry and disgusted and confused and finally sorry towards and for his character. Monica and Mark as Mahi’s friends were awesome! Sufficiently quirky, supportive and sometimes as irritating as required…audiences shall remember the awesome twosome for a long time! The other people were great too! Amrita Raichand as the sister was extremely lovable (at times) and hate-able (many a times! Lol!).

The production values were beyond excellent and the use of actual Delhi locations made the Delhiite in me very happy!

In conclusion, I would like to thank Sony Television and Yashraj Television and the whole team of Mahi Way for giving us this one great show in which the values it had started with did not change in the end, instead it made us richer than what we, as audiences, started with. And heres hoping that we shall see a second season of Mahi Way soon because 1. I want to have some sensible Hindi show to watch on TV with good production values and real characters and 2. The romantic in me wants a proper end to Mahi and Shiv…And heres also hoping that we see more shows such as this one which enrich our thoughts and attitudes without being preachy!

Cheers!

-Rae 

Shashi Tharoor - the 'new age' politician

Mr. Tharoor received the NDTV New Age politician award amidst much appreciation and applause and perhaps he deserved it if 'New age politician' means being completely irresponsible about what leaves one's mouth, media savvy to the hilt and having a sense of history not going back to more than five years (and that too seems a stretch).

He is Minister of State for External Affairs but the only place where he 'brainstorms' is Twitter and there too its mostly about the various incidents where he was misinterpreted or misquoted or even both. The amount he has been misinterpreted makes one stagger in disbelief but then the fact that he is actually holding that post does not really help matters much in the first place.

The Honorable Minister, it seems, believes that India and its citizens will follow his verdict even when it overturns sixty years worth of Foreign Policy maybe because he has an easy smile and apparently is pleasant on the eyes...sometimes it seems to me that Mr. Tharoor is a classic case of good looking models who open their mouth just too much to take even if as just a joke. Why? Because Shashi Tharoor seems to take everything as a joke which one must tell him that the majority does not really get but then they are the 'cattle class', right Mr. Tharoor?

The PMO is said to be deeply 'unhappy' about Tharoor's newest case of verbal diarrhea and is considering matters...but that does not really leave you with a bright picture of the future because for some absurd reason Tharoor is too much of a dear to the high bosses and why not?! Hes handsome, brilliant in English, a Stephanian and he was in the UN! The perfect bio data!!!! So one should not hope much because it may be disappointing but as many say without hope the world wouldn't run...and if not of a bright future, we can at least hope of some more misinterpretations to make us all agitated with the sodden state of affairs once more....