Girls, just dont exist

A young girl of 23 years old was gang raped and brutalized in a moving bus in the capital of the country we today label, very proudly, as the upcoming superpower and with much gusto tell each other and others how we are finally leaving behind the ‘developing’ and the ‘third world country’ tags.

Are we?

A country where there is no fear of law, there is no purview of our own perversions, where victims are punished instead of the perpetrators of crime – are we a developed or even a developing country? In fact can we even be called a society?

I don’t think so.

As a woman, as a human, as an identity I don’t think so.

The woman who is fighting for her life in Safdurjung Hospital today has sustained injuries the doctors don’t even want to share, injuries which they have just described as horrific even by what all they see, that woman was not out alone. She was with a male companion and yet…

Which makes me rethink all the guidelines the good people of this society we ‘live’ in mete out to woman for their own safety or so they magnanimously declare –

        A. Don’t go out alone at night, or day time for that matter.

      B. Don’t wear revealing clothes.

      C. Don’t take public transport when alone.

      D. Don’t use private transport when alone late at night.

      E. Don’t stand up for yourself when treated with perversion as it may escalate the anger of the perverts.

      F. Don’t get angry.

      G. Etc etc etc

I have a suggestion…lets add “Don’t live” in the list and solve the problem for once and for all.

Because that’s what we are suggesting through all these amazing helpful words.

Today I would like to ask why are the victims being asked to keep a check on their INNOCENT actions?! Why are they being treated with iron gloves?! Why are they being asked to change their INNOCENT ways because it may INVITE the wrath of the sick assholes this society cant do shit about?!

Why shouldn’t the guidelines be for men? Why shouldn’t they be asked to stay at home? Why shouldn’t they be asked to clean their thoughts? Why shouldn’t they be asked to discard public transport? Why shouldn’t they be made to vacate roads at night? Why shouldn’t they be asked to feel ashamed when they do perverted actions and use perverted words?

The day we are able to answer this question, the day we are able to punish the criminals instead of the victims, maybe then we can call ourselves humans.

The day the “intellectuals”, the “beacons of hopes and leadership”, "the fighters for 'equality'", of this country decide to ask and entertain these questions, maybe we will actually have a light of hope because right now they are too busy either monitoring girls and their behavior (the good old restriction on timings of girls hostel for their own safety of course while the boys who hamper this safety can participate in the night life of this city for all its worth as there wont be any breasts or vaginas to tempt them) or being “politically correct” (“Arrey isko isliye pakda aur usko nahin kyonki yeh toh iss jaat ka hai aur woh uss jaat ka!” or “He is getting punished because he is poor! What about those rich perpetrators of such heinous crimes who live in mansions?!”).

For ONCE, think as humans and not as statues of screwed up righteousness and skewed morality. Just once. Or just add “Girls shouldn’t exist” to the good list you give us and put an end to the charade.

A disturbed 21 year old girl who cannot travel from her University to her house alone without being extremely aware of the fact that she is alone.

Were you stunned today?

There are umpteen times I am stunned in a day.

For instance when I realize I slept with my headphones in my ears.

Or when I am told that my brother ate all the chicken leftover from the night before.

Or when I see a chipkalli sitting on my desk.

Or when I watch on news the complete shameful disgrace of our democracy by the people who are supposed to guard it.

Here I was today, merrily having my dinner of karela (I happen to like it – you may have your stunned moment of the day) when I watched on the news how our parliamentarians made a complete mockery of the words (seem to be just words to them) – Freedom of Speech and Expression.

They were ‘incensed’ (like I was at their sheer thick-headedness) at a particular cartoon (by Shankar) in the NCERT Political Science text book of Class XII which depicts Babasaheb Ambedkar (Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee) and the Prime Minister (Jawaharlal Nehru) both brandishing a whip at the snail pace at which the constitution is being written.

Now, the caption beneath this reads and I quote – “Cartoonist’s impression of the ‘snail’space’ with which the Constitution was made. Making of the Constitution took almost three years. Is the cartoonist commenting on this fact? Why do you think, did the Constituent Assembly take so long to make the Constitution?”

Now the answer to this as far as I can remember was that it was taking them so long because of the intricacies of India’s cultural character and the history with which he had emerged and the will to make a comprehensive constitution with an in depth study of those of other countries like France and the United States…but of course who cares that the answer was in support of the constitution drafting committee…the most important thing there is the whip.


Now here BOTH are brandishing whips and asking the 'snail pace' to hurry up, there is NO question of Nehru being a slave driver or Ambedkar being one. If either is portrayed as that, the other automatically falls in the same ambit.

The point made out here is as Miss. Mayawati (who at the time of writing this seems to be getting embroiled in an ‘Elephant scam’ where she seems to have done massive funds blundering in the task of decorating UP with elephant statues) eloquently puts – “Reacting to the controversy, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said, "Dr Ambedkar is a towering personality, who framed the Constitution of India and the Parliament is running on it. This is an insult on Indian democracy. The government should intervene and take strong action against those, who are involved in this. If it failed to do so, we will wait for two to three days or else our party will not allow the House to run."

The point behind such strong words, you ask?


Err...I don’t know. I doubt anyone does. It is the case of the missing point it seems because whatever point could have been about Nehru threatening Ambedkar seems to have vanished into thin air because Ambedkar too holds a whip, and both are using their respective whips at the snail...

Except of course creating misunderstandings and stupidities galore and not to mention move attention away from other pressing matters like her ‘Elephant scam’ to talk of one...

Anyway, my point with this blog post is to basically praise these books and so here I go –

These two books (Contemporary World Politics and Politics in India since Independence) were the best books in my 14 years in school and certainly in high school where text books matter a lot more than they did before. I remember reading them with so much relish that my mother got suspicious because none of my other books ever got that attention from me. I still have them with me and they are filled with notes I took down during class and otherwise, cartoons filled with little tidbits of analysis as we debated them out in class and basically the sign of a student actually engaging in class...but I guess thats just not required or maybe even frowned down upon – what good could it be for anyone if God forbid, someone engaged in a debate and did not just stage a walk out?

Maybe instead of designing a book which encourages free flow of thoughts and creativity and a will to study and know more and which increases our curiosity level, Prof Yogendra Yadav, Suhas Palshikar and the team behind this book, should have designed a book which directs our behaviour and thoughts and teaches us to choose the way of escape any chance of debate and building a character.

For the way they have been treated with attacks at Suhas Palshikar’s office by a bunch of illiterate goons to them resigning from the post of being advisors to NCERT to the sheer shame of Kapil Sibal, HRD minister, apologizing for the cartoon and vowing to withdraw the book from next year, I just feel terribly sad and scared for the India we seem to be fast creating – always incensed with no sense of intelligent debates and a will to allow dissenting opinions and to talk them over and one which is fearful of standing up against such blatant ignorance and violation of the constitution they seem to think they are defending. A book shouldnt by no means be one which the student likes studying or a teacher (in my case a brilliant one - Mrs. Charu Kalra Singhal) like teaching...no not at all! We will vehemently oppose all such aggressive dangerous acts, wont we?


This is unfortunately not a lone incident, freedom of speech and expression and the idea of creative freedom has been run down again and again and again over the recent times – the removal of AK Ramanujan’s essay on Ramayana from the Delhi University syllabus, arrest of a professor in West Bengal for making a cartoon of the residing CM and Trinamool Chief – Mamata Banerjee to not allowing Salman Rushdie to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival 2012 to ones in the past such as driving out MF Husain, fondly referred to as India’s Picasso – because no one here had the will to stand up for him even as he took his last breaths away from the country he loved so much, not even a citizen of it as he died.

And sorry too to all those who fought for this country to be free and create its own thoughts.

At the time of writing this, I went on the NCERT website and opened the web version of the book, only to find it printed across the pages – NOT TO BE REPUBLISHED.

I was stunned again.

Its a sad day indeed.

A picture of a typical page in my copy of Contemporary World Politics (I cannot find my copy of the other book...if unable to find it, I will surely buy a copy before it gets lost in selfish politics) –

Aarakshan - Quite Easily Dismissed (Q.E.D) PART II

Aarakshan (2011) PART II

(Part I - the post below)

Moving forward, the ‘evil’ people succeed in their little (evil) plot to get Prabhakar to resign and take over the college and turn it into a money making, ass licking institution. But they don’t stop there (since when did they have a personal vendetta against Prabhakar Anand? Sad to say, I don’t have an answer to this either…side note – this film is making me feel stupid), Mithilesh Singh has managed to get the family that Prabhakar helped (rack your brains back to those whirlwind of the first 15 minutes) to turn on him. He has opened his coaching centre in the house Prabhakar loaned to them and because of the bank guarantee being involved is legally allowed to have that place for two years. No explanation has been provided for this turn of events.

Cut to the Anand family moving into a hotel where Prabhakar refuses any kind of help from friends and is admonished by an emotionally charged Poorvi who accuses him of being too holy for his own sake, the only sensible moment in the film. And it is done pretty great by Amitabh and Deepika (with Amitabh hardly having any dialogues…the eyes and the body do all the talking). And it is here that you realize two things – a. Deepika is finally showing some form of talent which is pretty great. She looks great and if she can get herself to act…whats better than that? and b. Tanvi Azmi as Anand’s wife gives a disappointing performance. She is like a ruler. No bending, no emotions.

Now, finally we are taken back to Saif (Deepak) who had left for America (having been accepted into some university in what respect…I have forgotten or perhaps it wasn’t mentioned) following the furious exchange of words with Prabhakar and consequent break up with Deepika (Poorvi). It is perhaps the most hilarious moment in the film (it isn’t meant to be so) when Deepak is sitting with this white guy in some university of USA and discussing his work and relating how great Prabhakar is (ummm…what? Didn’t you just accuse him of being a casteist?) does he get to know what has happened (thanks to Yahoo! India…don’t ask me how that opened as the yahoo mail page for an American in America…or maybe it was the US version only which would still be strange because what was the news of a principal being sacked in a private Indian university, something which the chief minister of the particular state will confess ignorance of later on, doing on front page Yahoo! USA?).Deepak surprises Poorvi by returning home and pledging support…Once again inexplicable change of character feelings happens with Sushant suddenly turning over a new leaf (that is reverting back to his original, but improved, self and burying the hatchets, the origin of which are still largely unexplained, with both Poorvi and Deepak) and the director realizes that he should work towards some sort of conclusion.

Hence, what seems like a scene being lifted from Viruddh, Amitabh Bachchan decides to enact out a scheme which is basically starting a free and fair rival institute just opposite his house (which has been taken over by KK coaching classes) with his students being the poor children living in the tabela (stable) owned by a faithful servant (Yashpal Sharma as Shambhu gives a charming performance). Lo and behold, the numbers grow and people join in to help him out – Deepak, Sushant, Poorvi etc and finally he has succeeded in creating a major nuisance for KK coaching classes and his detractors (why they are STILL his detractors after getting him out of STM and running it as they see fit, I know not).

The film in its ending tries to ape the revolution feel and treatment as say in Lagaan, the Munnabhai series, Chak de India, Rang de Basanti but fails miserable because of its nonsensical storytelling and basic lack of plot, not to mention contrived situations and sequences. Therefore, as the good doers stand in a huge crowd and stare obstinately in the face of evil, you feel irritated and frustrated and basically tired out of your mind and not energized, adrenaline rushed, bright eyed as you should.

The situation by the climax scene has gone absolutely haywire. Mithilesh Singh has actually lost his mind and can be seen dancing around in fury in full public view, screaming out orders at the police force to demolish the tabela classes (that’s what it is called and no, I am not joking. Sadly) who by now has lost every semblance of credibility. This is not it though because Mithilesh Singh snaps out his blackberry and calls up the State education minister (a typecast Saurabh Shukla) and they both start yakking out all of their ill intentions in full public view.

In walks, out of nowhere, Hema Malini – the woman who owns STM who until now had retired into the forests to live the life of an ascetic – and calls up the chief minister (who confesses ignorance of the entire thing…seriously?! It was in the news as shown extensively in the movie!) and basically puts everything right…which we know because in the next scene everything appears to be alright with Prabhakar being appointed principle for life of a remedial institute for poor and weak students.
There is absolutely no, and I mean NO, indication of whatever may have happened to Mithilesh Singh, the tainted ministers, the evil trustees, the strange policeman etc etc. They are simply forgotten.

Where is reservation in this?

Exactly.

Coming to the finer points of film making…nothing good to report here either. The dialogues are contrived, uninspired and forced and so is the dialogue delivery. The dialogues seem to have been written with the sole purpose of being punch lines and that never helps and are further ruined completely drab dialogue delivery (for instance the much publicized exchange of words between Deepak and Mithilesh…in a canteen full of students, I might add).

The acting, as said before, is done only by Amitabh Bahchan (whose eyes seem to have mastered every emotion) and Manoj Bajpai. Deepika Padukone springs a surprise, a sweet one. Tanvi Azmi is disappointing and Saif is well just there. But the most surprising is the performance given by Prateik…and not in a good way. I had high expectations from him which tanked beyond trace. He is uncomfortable and does nothing to hide it. You can see the workings of his mind in each scene…like when he walks, you can see his mind going “One two. One two. One two” or when he talks, you can feel his mind going “Start. Pause. Next. Stop.” and that’s never a good thing. His character is bad, but so is everyone else’s, and he does nothing to save it which can probably be attributed to the him being extremely new and the fact that he has done good work in other films like Jaane tu ya jaane na and Dhobhi Ghat makes me think that the fault lies with the director. There seems to be nothing happening between them – no chemistry between a director and his actor with the result being an awful performance.

The camera work is once again drab, even by the standards of today which largely holds no poetry but still believes in exhibiting some form of skill. Here nothing happens. Its like a box shooting…you give a steady and generally aware of what its doing hand a camera and ask him to shoot in a circle and use no sort of creativity at all. At least that’s what I felt as a viewer who has no particular training into this stuff but is speaking from what appeals to the eyes and to the brain and to the heart. Here it is general and not really worth talking. Same goes with the musical score, which save for one song (‘Saans albeli’ sung by Pandit Channulal Mishra) is forgettable to say in the very least.

What is the most disappointing in this kind of cinema is the pretention it comes with – of being an intellectually charged film with a proper issue at its helm. Pure bull crap. This film is not it, AT ALL. I watched 40 minutes of Bodyguard in the afternoon of the same day and honestly I felt much better at the end of that then this! Why? Because it came with no pretentions. It was supposed to be a brainless brawny Salman Khan senseless movie and it delivered just that unlike this ‘intellectual issue based’ film. I have seen two movies of Prakash Jha – Rajneeti and Arakshan – and I cant say that I am too happy…I mean how is it possible to turn a mix of Mahabharata and Godfather into a drab, annoying experience? There is obviously something very wrong but because I haven’t seen his other work, I shall reserve my judgment here.

Coming back to Aarakshan, it can be described in three words (the short form taken from the movie itself, one of the favourite expressions of Prabhakar Anand as a teacher, but with the long form being tweaked to suit my view of the film) : QED – Quite Easily Dismissed.

Cheers
Ritambhara aka Rae aka RitambharaA

Aarakshan - Quite Easily Dismissed (Q.E.D) PART I

Aarakshan (2011)PART I

Direction – Prakash Jha

Story – Prakash Jha and Anjum Rajabali

Starring (in order of acting talent as exhibited in the movie)– Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpai, Deepika Padukone, Tanvi Azmi, Saif Ali Khan and Prateik.

I saw this film last night as it was telecast on Sony Television and this was my first viewing of the film and quite safe to say my last viewing too. I did not see this movie in the theatres because I seem to have decided, quite subconsciously, to strictly avoid paying for those movies which did not appeal to me at the first glance and waiting for them to hit the TV channels…and this seems to have worked quite fine for me till now with me having avoided wasting money on treasures like Kambhaqt Ishq, Chandni Chowk to China, Mere Brother ki Dulhann, Bodyguard to name a few.

Anyway, I heard a lot of divergent opinions on Arakshan but being the self assured in the sense of not really bothering too much about other people’s opinion person that I am i.e. I am assured only by myself, I decided to wait until I myself watched the film to form any sort of opinion on it. Hence I sat down last night and watched it with all the good intentions that I mustered up as an impartial viewer.

And the following are my observations. As I always say these are my opinions and you are most welcome to make your own.

I found the film to be extremely ill paced. The first 15 minutes are a whirlwind with absolutely EVERYTHING happening from the establishment of the godly nature of Prabhakar Anand (played by Amitabh Bachchan) to the (potential – in most cases proven) kameena-ness of everyone else to the establishment of side track of Prabhakar helping out a friend’s family to the establishment Saif’s character (Deepak Kumar) and his love relations with Deepika (Poorvi, Prabhakar’s daughter) to the establishment of Prateik (Sushant) as the ever so slightly bigrail bachcha but a good friend of Poorvi and rival but friend of Deepak to the establishment of ALL side characters …so yeah, there is a LOT of establishment, all crammed within the first 12 minutes and the remaining three minutes are donated to a forgettable romantic duet.
Anyhow, this extremely fast pace then gives way to a slow forgettable journey which is the movie. There is hardly any continuity in story. Manoj Bajpai’s character of Mithilesh Singh is quickly introduced as the worst kind of teachers who although seem to know their craft are more interested in minting money out of it by way of expensive tuition centers (KK coaching classes in this case) which cater more to learning by heart (or rattafication) then imparting knowledge for real. He is the one who seeks to commercialize education and is hence in direct contrast to Prabhakar Anand to whom education is a way to a brighter future for all and hence believes in free (as much as possible) and fair education to all. The crux of the story is this. The title is hence misleading because the concept of ‘reservation’ is used only as a vehicle for this basic plot, which would not have been a problem had it been sold like that.

Why I say this? Well, the film sets no basis or foundation to the advent of the policy of reservation. It comes like a torrid wind and…that’s about it. It comes, it changes stuff…and it disappears. The director wastes no footage on actually debating out the issue. The three main points regarding reservation are put forward, no beginning or conclusion provided – a. Reservation is the birth right of lower castes in view of the years of humiliation and abuse they have faced; b. Merit should be given importance and not reservation of any sort and c. The personal point of view “why should I support those who are taking away my son’s/daughter’s seat because as it is they come first for me”. There is absolutely not even a try to make sense of the issue. It is just presented as in textbooks (worse than that actually) and left there. No debate, no discussion and absolutely no conclusion.

But yes, it changes everything. How? I doubt anyone knows the answer to that. Mithilesh Singh, along with the evil trustees of the college (STM) where Prabhakar is the principal, decide to get rid of him in lieu of his absolute disregard of any sort of recommendation. Here lies another major problem of the movie. There is no sense, not even a semblance of it, of the concept of ‘duniya daari’ or the ways of the world. Everyone does EVERYTHING in full public view with all their emotions and feelings displayed right out. For instance, Prabhakar openly dismisses all recommendations, even if they are by a minister. I am not saying that there is a problem with that but there is a deep sense of unreality in the fact that such dealings are engaged in the presence of others. It seems like no one in this screenplay has heard of the concept of ‘behind closed doors’, not even the otherwise master schemer ministers and trustees and police officials. This is brilliantly unsettling to any viewer if this is meant to be ‘realistic’ cinema. Second issue is how everyone changes in a matter of few seconds and for no visible reasons which should have been pretty darn visible for such massive change of hearts. Example, Deepak Kumar who till now had been vouching for Prabhakar Anand’s sincerity and true nature and owes basically everything to him, and not to mention is courting his daughter, accuses the same man of being a casteist following a brief, again unexplored and brilliantly abrupt, scuffle with Sushant. Or how old students of Prabhakar who basically treated him like a God just a few scenes back (or in the police officer’s case literally a few seconds back) turn their back on him (or in the police officer’s case turn truly ‘evil’) following his one statement in a newspaper in support of the idea behind the policy of reservation (or in the police officer’s case for no reason at all)…no care about the context or his situation.

Such situations and errs make this film an irritating watch and if it had not been for Amitabh Bachchan’s strong performance (in another wise weak role) and Manoj Bajpai’s good performance (in an otherwise unexplored all black role), I would have abused the film for two minutes (for wasting my time till this moment) and switched off the TV but they gave good performances which managed to calm my nerves and keep my itching hands off the ‘off’ button. A small note here – Manoj Bajpai is by no denial a great actor but it is sad that he seems to have been typecast as the kameena ghatiya villain. Hopefully, sense shall prevail and he shall get a chance to expand his horizons.

And as we move on, we realize that to make Prabhakar Anand’s godlike status and principles more and more visible, the creative team goes all out to make everyone else flawed with no explanations given for any sort of change of heart (for the worse or for the better). This is a fundamental flaw I have been having with certain films – why do we need to make a character ‘God’? Why isn’t it enough that he is a good guy? For instance, if we take the example of My Name is Khan (which to add is a terrible movie and had entirely missed the editing table and would have been intolerable had it not been for Shahrukh Khan’s brilliant performance), why does Karan Johar (and team) need to make Rizwan a God by making him save an entire village from a hurricane etc etc etc. Why isn’t it enough that Rizwan is a great guy, end of story. Sigh.

Read Part II for the rest (the post just above this...if this link has opened in isolation, then just click on 'cine me' at the top) :)

(Thanks to Asmita for this suggestion)

- Rae

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.