Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.

This is just a random post. Nothing much has been happening except work and more work. Watched Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. Though it was a fun movie and definitely worth a watch. For a first time director, this was a fair attempt at walking the middle ground. Shabana and Boman as usual were phenomenol in their portrayal as the elderly couple on their honeymoon. But my favourite were the Bong couple: Kay Kay and Raima. Kay Kay's Partho as the quintessential Bong guy (intellectually open yet traditional in outlook) was a treat to watch and so was Raima as Mili. I liked the touch of feminism in her as she rediscovers herself as a free spirit. The only jarring note was the so-called "Super hero" couple!!! They were just downright silly. The gay theme seemed a little forced. It seems to have become mandatory for progressive film directors to include gay characters (whether they are needed or not)! I have always wondered what happens if a guy is attracted to a straight guy. How does he deal with it? Hopefully, with all the experiments that are going on in Bollywood, some director would take it upon himself or herself to explore this theme. The rest of the characters were adequate (Amisha Patel as Pinky the spoint Punju brat, Dia Mirza and company). Hope to see more of this type of fun cinema...may their tribe increase in Bollywood!

On Shaoli Mitra's "Nathaboti Onathbot"

After a long time, watched a really interesting Bong play. A play called "Nathboti Onathbot". Its a well known play (at least among Bengalis) by Shaoli Mitra (daughter of Shambhu and Tripti Mitra, the doyens of Bengali theatre). The play is a feminst interpretation of the life of Draupadi. It questions many established orthodoxies:
(a) Why did Kunti allow Draupadi to be married off to her five sons? Although the popular myth is that she did not know what her sons had brought, she could easily have rescimded her order. She did not because she realised that Draupadi was too beautiful to not awaken desire in all her sons which could lead to conflict. Instead of treating Draupadi as a human being, she allowed her to be treated as a thing, a pice of meat (to put it crudely).
(b) While the decision to marry her off to all five brothers was being made, no one even thought of asking her what did she want!!! Although, Hindus tout the Swamvar as a sign of women's emancipation (in those times), the very fact that she had no choice in this matter shows the hollowness of the claim.
(c) Was Yudishthir a real Dharma Putra? Although the shastras forbade games of chance such as dice he agreed to play the game. Not only play the game but decided to put up not only wealth and kingdom but also his brothers as collateral!!!! When he lost all of them (including himself), he pledged Draupadi (obviously without her permission as she was considered his property) and lost her too! When Draupadi was dragged to the court by her hair, he never raised any objections....neither did any of the other brothers except Bhim. The only people to have protested were Vidur and Vikarna (one of the Kaurava brothers).
(d) Was the Kurukshetra war a dharm yudh in the true sense of the term? Both sides played tricks on each other, unfairly deceived their opponents and killed them. While it is understandable that Kauravas would resort to such tactics, the fact that Pandavas also do them with equal panache shows that in reality there was nothing to distinguish between the two.
These are some of the main issues that she raises through her acting and its amazing to watch. For nearly two hours one is mesmerised by her performance.
I just had one small problem. While she has highlighted the plight of Draupadi extremely well, she is not as perfect and blameless as she has been portrayed. Bringing these points up would not have detracted from the story one bit. Instead, it would have humanised her a bit from just being a victim of circumstances and male avarice.
Although she mentions it in passing, Shaoli never explains why Draupadi did not want Karna to win the swyamvar. Now, one can question the very nature of a swyamvar saying its demeaning for a woman to be seen as a prize to be won after performing a task. On the other hand, if that is the rules of the game (winner gets the princess) then she did not play fair. She did not want to marry Karna so even though he was capable of passing the test, he was not allowed to take it. This actually soured Karna towards Draupadi. So, while it is true that he played a pivotal role in her humiliation, it was not totally without basis.
Also, she could have learnt the art of protecting herself rather than depend on her husbands to do so all the time. That might have given her more confiedence. Now, this might sound to some like too much new age feminism, however, it was not entirely unheard of. We have the story of Chitrangada who was not beautiful but was adept at the art of warfare. So why not Draupadi?
Anyways, Shaoli's performance was fantastic and the questions she raises about the role of a woman, a wife and a mother remains pertinent even today.

On Mani Ratnam's "Guru"

Watched Guru today. It was entertaining in its own way but one expects something more from a director of the calibre of Mani Ratnam. I have not watched his Nayakan which everyone has assured me is one of his best ventures but I have watched his other movies like Roja and Bombay. While both movies were good, there is something simplistic about his stories. The characters were generally unidimensional and he generally had one central theme that he flogged endlessly.

Now coming to Guru. I don't know why I had expected it to be a little different but seeing that a movie like Guru is essentially targetted at a multiplex audience I would have thought that Mani Ratnam would make the movie with a little more sophistication or depth. Earlier, mainstream Hindi movies were extremely pedestrian so anything a little more sophisticated won a lot of accolades. But the past few years have seen the rise of an emerging new class of directors who are ready to make good cinema. They are on interesting themes, not preachy like the previous "art house" movies and deal with a lot of middle class issues. Therefore, the audience have also started expecting a certain standard, especially from good directors. We don't expect anything other than silly candy floss romances from a Karan Johar (although his Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna did try to break the mould of the happy "bhartiya parivar" a bit) or a Suraj Bharjatya or a David Dhawan. But Mani Ratnam is a cut above these guys. So the expections are also higher.

First, the songs. They were a complete misfit. The problem with them was not that they were bad. The problem was they were inappropriate. They neither moved the story forward nor were situational. If the essential theme of the movie was the romance between Guru and Sujata then they would still be acceptable. However, the theme was much more complex. It tried to highlight the essentialilty of a businessman in a country.

Second, the movie is supposed to be about the life of Dirubhai Ambani (although Ratnam has been denying it steadfastly!!!). I can't comment on this aspect as I don't really know much about Ambani's life except the most superficial information. Based on that there does seem to be a resemblance. However, one thing struck me. The movie's uncanny resemblance to a book by Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead. In the book, Howard Roark, the hero wins a case in court by refusing to refute any of the charges against him. The movie also has a scene where in an inquiry against Guru's so called questionable means, Guru refuses to put up a defence and ends up winner! The reason both Roark and Guru refuse to put up a defence is because both in their own ways thought the system itself was flawed and to succeed one had to break those rules. Now, Rand's books are generally set in a fictionalised U.S. on the verge of communism. The movie however is a very real and strong statement against India's license-raj system. That to me was a huge surprise. The importance of the movie lies there rather than whether it was Ambani's lifestory or any other businessman's life story. It was I think the first movie that explicitly denounces the license raj system and implicitly absolves all businessmen of their wrongdoings since apparantly it was the system that made them give bribes, break tax laws, import quotas etc. And all this was being done to empower the common man as sharesholders (which the common man could buy through public issues). In the process, the movie made the rest of the characters opposing Guru seem either naive (Madhavan as the journo) or stubborn (Mithun as the editor) or plain corrupt (the IAS officers).

If Guru is seen as a movie to promote economic reforms it does a good job. However, if it is supposed to be a story of a real businessman, it does not do the trick. Are businessmen as virtuous and great as they are shown? Are they as courageous as shown? Is moving towards a capitalist system such a great idea or should we have a welfare state? There are lots of questions the movie leaves unanswered...

Party Pooper

I could already feel a headache coming on. Parties, I decided for the umpteenth time, was not my cup of tea. The combination of loud music, the smell of smoke, high pitched laughter of overly made up scantily dressed girls and the sight of strutting men always made me feel out of place and old.

As I stood in a corner near the door waiting for an opportunity to catch my friend’s eye so that I could tell her I was leaving, someone whispered in my ear, “Should we sneak away from this madding crowd?” Startled out of my wits, I turned around and gazed into a pair of chocolate brown eyes gleaming with mischief. Flustered, I said slightly incoherently, “I..uh..sure let’s go out.’

The blast of cold air that hit our faces felt good after the oppressive heat in the room. Initial small talk gave way to more meaningful conversation as we found out each others likes and dislikes. The man was witty and interesting, a distinct change from the typical party going crowd.

My watch seemed to have finally heeded my urgings and was moving with amazing speed. The man offered me a lift home and I accepted unhesitatingly. As we neared my place, an uneasy silence filled the space inside the car. Neither of us wanted the evening to end but somehow nor did we have the courage to take the next step.

What happened next was a blur. One moment I was stepping out of the car the next I was sprawled on the pavement. The roar of a bike grew fainter by the minute. I had been mugged and robbed, my gold chain and locket torn from my neck.

He was perfect in the role of knight in shining armour to my damsel in distress. Of course outwardly both of us acted shaken and angry at the incident but inside there was a sneaking sense of relief. We wanted to spend time together without breaking the conventional dos and don’ts and it seemed fate had handed us the opportunity on a platter.

That’s how I met Sam, my future husband. We were married after a month in spite of a lot of misgiving from my friends. Both of us were ecstatically happy that we had at long last found love. After our honeymoon, we settled into comfortable domesticity. There didn’t go a day when I didn’t thank the Almighty for bringing the two of us together. I felt it was our fate, our destiny.

I found the envelope quite accidentally. I must have brushed against it inadvertently while cleaning up my side of the cupboard. Oh did I forget to add he was obsessively neat? Everything in its place and a place for everything was his motto. Almost without realizing what I was doing I opened the envelope and took out the piece of paper. There was my detailed biography on that paper and at the end the word trust fund was underlined in bold. I had never told Sam about my trust fund which my grandmother had set up before she died.

The envelope slipped from my nerveless fingers and slid to the ground. Out of it slithered a gold chain and a locket. The same one that had been stolen on the night I had met Sam.

My bubble of happiness was well and truly burst.

In Pursuit of Peace...

I scaled the heights of mountain tops
And plumbed the depth of seas;

In search of that elusive dream called peace
But never could hold it within my grasp;

As I returned weary at heart
My eyes lit on a blade of grass;

Glistening with a single drop of dew,
Streaked with bright rainbow hues,

My feet stopped on its own accord,
As I drank in the wondrous creation of God,

A tiny voice whispered in my mind,
"Is this the peace you were searching for?"

It dawned on me then in a lightning flash,
That all the world's beauty lay reflected in a tiny splash,

Likewise, the peace I was seeking so desperately,
Lay within my heart if I could but feel it.

Let's start blogging

Finally got around to creating my own blog. The impetus was partly boredom and partly a desire to try out this new medium of communication. Let's see how often the writer's bug strikes!