For the past few days, television news time has been hogged by the statements of a septuagenarian loudmouth and its aftermath. Like on most other occasions where politicians cite national interest in their deeds, I chose to get around hearing what the activist junta of our land thinks about it. If you are wondering, I’m pointing to the same warmongers cum candle light vigil keepers lining the streets after the attacks in Mumbai. If you are one of them, then I suppose you wish you were not wondering!
Anyways what I gathered was a combination of ignorance and kneejerk-herd like reactions!
Before I go into what I make of the whole series of events here is a blow by blow account of it, assuming there might be more ignorance than reactions. Less than a week back, Union Minister and senior politician Mr A R Antulay, made a set of remarks on a martyred Police officer. Most of the political fraternity was aghast, the media did not quite know how to react and so had a bout of repeat-telecast syndrome while a family in downtown Mumbai quietly sulked at the thought of what was to come. The crux of the matter lies in these very reactions.
The way I see it, his remarks had two parts - a set of questions and a conclusion. If you judge by the letter, his statement wasn’t in contravention of any Indian law. The questions – “Why Mr Karkare went to Cama Hospital and not to the Taj or the Oberoi?” and “Who directed him to go there?” are not communal or inflammatory. They may be attributed to mere harmless inquisitiveness of an Indian citizen. But then he went on by concluding that because Mr Karkare was investigating the Malegaon blasts in which some Hindu elements were accused and because he was also facing death threats before the attacks, there could have been an ulterior hand in his demise – albeit at the hand of “Pakistani terrorists”.
It was here that he went wrong. He made his conclusions based on questions and doubts, not statements of fact. So the Minister was wrong in sending out such a communally loaded perception to the people of India. So the initial outcry in political circles is entirely justified. But the Indian media showed its ineptness at using the great power it wields. The headlines read –
“MARTYR MALIGNED” “KASAB’s ATTORNEY IS ANTULAY”
Such misreporting clubbed with the panic repeat-telecast syndrome – RTS made sure that the Pakistani establishment had a big fat stick to beat us with. This broke the crutch that was holding the “united polity” up. The opposition, which itself was instrumental in maligning Karkare a few days before his death, ironically, staged a ‘walkout’ in parliament. The government on its part sat on the rotten egg until it shared the slime. Then in a fit of delayed decisiveness, the Home minister called the episode regrettable, while the PM quipped – “To err is human!”
The opposition did not complete it - “To forgive Divine!” And hence they demand his resignation.
Not that I find the minister a fit case to run the country, infact it is quite to the contrary, but the point is, if he is sacked our detractors will say that the whistle-blower was silenced. That would mean giving them a chain and a pitchfork along with the earlier stick!! I suppose the only way out of this mess is to have Antulay say that the questions posed by him were answered to the fullest by the police and that his conclusion was unfounded.
Now in all this, that family I talked about, in downtown Mumbai, that of Mr. Hemant Karkare. The agony at the turn of events and the sheer irrelevance they must feel is beyond description. Maybe they've reconciled to the legacy of the man. When he was once asked why he chose to be a cop after doing engineering, he said his struggle in life was for fairness. Sadly, even in death the struggle is on.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
'DOSTANA' - Is Gay OK?
Hi you,
Its ironic that I, of all people, should start blogging with a post on a bollywood film, owing largely to my ignorance and lack of interest on the subject. But then, one has to start somewhere, so here goes.
For the past couple of weeks or so, my television set has been bombarded with snippets of the latest bollywood movie - DOSTANA. Switch from channel to channel, and all you get is in-your-face promotion of this 'big banner' movie. Dostana was much touted as a movie with a difference, for its progressive message and social responsibility. Considering all the hoopla surrounding it, i decided that i had to see this as a part of my social responsibility! Of course, it wouldn't be fair if i don't attribute this decision partly to a bunch of over-enthusiastic college buddies of mine, who coaxed me into it!
To cut the long story short, primarily because this isn't a movie review, the film disappointed me. It was akin to a b-grade skin show flick, from start to finish, be it the raunchy Shilpa-John intro, or the compulsive skinny dipping in the case of the lead actress - Priyanka Chopra. The plot is somewhat believable initially, but loses all realism towards the end. The acting was mediocre, but i wouldnt blame the actors considering the same people signed up for this film!
A word on our very own Bollywood making it globally. Though i havent seen too many movies to be a qualified critic, to my understanding, a film maker must improve with every film, and his latest work would have to be his best. Now, if anybody is going to moot the notion that Bollywood has come of age and is at par internationally, on the premise of 'great' film makers like Mr KJo,
then he needs to be strapped to a chair and tortured, albeit with special screenings of these movies!
Heres a brilliant scene from Dostana:
Priyanka gets overlooked for a promotion and gets mighty distressed. Kiron Kher (mother of abhishek) lectures her and midway through this, the roles reverse and now its Priyanka lecturing Kiron on the intricacies of life! And all of a sudden, a woman of 60 odd comes round, dumping a lifetime of dogma!
KJo and Tarun Mansukhani - what were you thinking??
Of course, if you havent seen the film. all of this wont make any sense to you, but then again, i wouldnt suggest you alter the status quo.
Now coming to the moral fiber of the movie. Quite bluntly, it is highly deficient of that! It shows a couple of grown men messing with the mind of a 5 year old, recking his dads love-life, and then setting everything straight, merely by locking lips in public! The depiction of homosexuals is stereotypical, with the effeminate, limp-wristed, wierdly dressed men who for some apparent reason seem to talk only with their fingers planted on their cheeks. Infact, every second guy you see on screen is gay or acting gay!
The taboo around being gay is not dispelled either, as the lead actors are shown to ACT gay as a means to an end, and are shown to cringe at the very thought of being it in public. Gay men are shown to be horny creeps who try to spank the posteriors of any non female in a 100m radius! The absurdity doesnt end there. It is taken for granted that being gay is a prerequisite for a male to become a fashion designer. The same gay jokes are prolonged through the entirety of the film. The argument that, the movie addresses sensitive issues such as this, through the medium of humour, is also ill founded, as the humour in the film revolves only around the ridicule of the 'gay' protagonists.
The only positive in this respect, would be the coverage given to homosexuality, in all forms of the media. Of course, the most potent message being, get yourself into shape courtesy John,Priyanka and Shilpa, along with a statutory warning of what if you dont courtesy Bachan junior. Jokes apart, if the film makers wanted to increase social awareness and stir the publics belief, then they'd better hope that people at large try to read up on this issue now that its fresh in their minds and consider it not as a problem but as a way of life.
Its been awfully long, and i might have bored the crap out of. But thank you for getting here, dunno how many readers i might have lost on the way!! (thats me being overly optimistic)
Anyways...I shall try to be more concise in future posts!!
Signing out,
Joe Jack
Its ironic that I, of all people, should start blogging with a post on a bollywood film, owing largely to my ignorance and lack of interest on the subject. But then, one has to start somewhere, so here goes.
For the past couple of weeks or so, my television set has been bombarded with snippets of the latest bollywood movie - DOSTANA. Switch from channel to channel, and all you get is in-your-face promotion of this 'big banner' movie. Dostana was much touted as a movie with a difference, for its progressive message and social responsibility. Considering all the hoopla surrounding it, i decided that i had to see this as a part of my social responsibility! Of course, it wouldn't be fair if i don't attribute this decision partly to a bunch of over-enthusiastic college buddies of mine, who coaxed me into it!
To cut the long story short, primarily because this isn't a movie review, the film disappointed me. It was akin to a b-grade skin show flick, from start to finish, be it the raunchy Shilpa-John intro, or the compulsive skinny dipping in the case of the lead actress - Priyanka Chopra. The plot is somewhat believable initially, but loses all realism towards the end. The acting was mediocre, but i wouldnt blame the actors considering the same people signed up for this film!
A word on our very own Bollywood making it globally. Though i havent seen too many movies to be a qualified critic, to my understanding, a film maker must improve with every film, and his latest work would have to be his best. Now, if anybody is going to moot the notion that Bollywood has come of age and is at par internationally, on the premise of 'great' film makers like Mr KJo,
then he needs to be strapped to a chair and tortured, albeit with special screenings of these movies!
Heres a brilliant scene from Dostana:
Priyanka gets overlooked for a promotion and gets mighty distressed. Kiron Kher (mother of abhishek) lectures her and midway through this, the roles reverse and now its Priyanka lecturing Kiron on the intricacies of life! And all of a sudden, a woman of 60 odd comes round, dumping a lifetime of dogma!
KJo and Tarun Mansukhani - what were you thinking??
Of course, if you havent seen the film. all of this wont make any sense to you, but then again, i wouldnt suggest you alter the status quo.
Now coming to the moral fiber of the movie. Quite bluntly, it is highly deficient of that! It shows a couple of grown men messing with the mind of a 5 year old, recking his dads love-life, and then setting everything straight, merely by locking lips in public! The depiction of homosexuals is stereotypical, with the effeminate, limp-wristed, wierdly dressed men who for some apparent reason seem to talk only with their fingers planted on their cheeks. Infact, every second guy you see on screen is gay or acting gay!
The taboo around being gay is not dispelled either, as the lead actors are shown to ACT gay as a means to an end, and are shown to cringe at the very thought of being it in public. Gay men are shown to be horny creeps who try to spank the posteriors of any non female in a 100m radius! The absurdity doesnt end there. It is taken for granted that being gay is a prerequisite for a male to become a fashion designer. The same gay jokes are prolonged through the entirety of the film. The argument that, the movie addresses sensitive issues such as this, through the medium of humour, is also ill founded, as the humour in the film revolves only around the ridicule of the 'gay' protagonists.
The only positive in this respect, would be the coverage given to homosexuality, in all forms of the media. Of course, the most potent message being, get yourself into shape courtesy John,Priyanka and Shilpa, along with a statutory warning of what if you dont courtesy Bachan junior. Jokes apart, if the film makers wanted to increase social awareness and stir the publics belief, then they'd better hope that people at large try to read up on this issue now that its fresh in their minds and consider it not as a problem but as a way of life.
Its been awfully long, and i might have bored the crap out of. But thank you for getting here, dunno how many readers i might have lost on the way!! (thats me being overly optimistic)
Anyways...I shall try to be more concise in future posts!!
Signing out,
Joe Jack
Baby's day out!
Hello you,
Well, i suppose the title must have given away the general theme of this post, but heres hoping it dint! This is my first attempt at 'penning-down' some of the goings on in the corridors between my ears. This blogging thing has been quite a rage for some time now and through the numerous invitations even coercions to join in, I held sway, often toying with the idea. But here I am, taking my first steps in the big bad world of blogging. And hence the 'baby' analogy!
So what changed....well for one it was a conversation I had today, with a childhood pal of mine with whom i generally indulge in heated discussions on a wide range of issues - often by choice! During the conversation, we figured, that there ought to be more people like us....somewhere out there, willing to widen our perspective. And so this ain't going to be an attempted bid on getting the next Booker.....but more an attempt at sending the message across, to you!
So, hold my hand through these first steps and let me hear from you on what you read - IF you read!!
Signing out,
Joe Jack
So what changed....well for one it was a conversation I had today, with a childhood pal of mine with whom i generally indulge in heated discussions on a wide range of issues - often by choice! During the conversation, we figured, that there ought to be more people like us....somewhere out there, willing to widen our perspective. And so this ain't going to be an attempted bid on getting the next Booker.....but more an attempt at sending the message across, to you!
So, hold my hand through these first steps and let me hear from you on what you read - IF you read!!
Signing out,
Joe Jack
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