Lunchbox? No, Thanks..

Men would be happy to have a woman cook tasty food for them, and I guess most of them would be happier if she is not his wife. Enough reason to fantasize an old-age relationship.

As for women, many women are still thriving to find a way to the man's heart through his stomach. Marriage or an 'affair', pleasing a man's taste-buds is the measure of her happiness.

'No, thanks' to 'The Lunchbox' -- somehow it gives me digestion problems.

The friendly matches of 'Kadal' and 'Devasuram'

Maniratnam's 'Kadal' reminded me of Malayalam 'Devasuram'. In both the films, on the surface it is a battle between two white men. However, beyond that surface we realize that it is only a friendly match between them, and it is the women who are untamed, the Muslim who has become rich and the fisherfolk who are 'uncivilized' and 'violent' -- who have to be tamed / shown their place / shown the path to god -- who are the real baddies. I think I understand why Rupesh Kumar said a Kadalakramanam would have been easier on him.

Feel good, feel good (Cheating Veating allowed)!

I watched English-Vinglish in its first week itself. It is not just a well-made movie. I felt it is awesome on the technical front. Sridevi, French artist Mehdi Nebbou and Adil Hussain do their job to perfection. The younger actors match up with their seniors if not outperform them -- especially Shivansh Kotia who plays Sridevi's son. The music and visual departments also gel well with the film. To its credit, the film also has an emotional premise that most Indians, men and women alike, could relate to. The family and the problems within.

And at the end, it is a feel-good film more than anything else. Like all feel-good films, it makes you go back home happy. With tears in your eyes if you are the soft kind.

Alas, it was a feel-good that requires you to erase from your memory almost everything that you saw till then in the film. It is a feel-good that deceives the viewer in me, just like how it deceives all the central characters in the film. Cheating, I wanted to shout.

Nobody has been complaining that they felt cheated, probably because people are happy feeling happy. Critics also gave their thumbs up for this movie, most of them giving it four stars or more out of five. Taran Adarsh of BollywoodHungama.com even called it an inspiring film with an overwhelming message.

So what is the message? That one should stick with one's family, no matter how humiliating it is? It is this 'inspiring message' that is packed in a feel-good speech from the protagonist Shashi (played by Sridevi) towards the climax, which masquerades as an address or an advice to a newly-wed couple.

Shashi, a very much married Indian woman who is confronting her attraction to a french guy during her short stay at New York, goes into a denial of herself and tries to defend her lack of choice with this speech. The essence of the speech is that family is the most important thing in one's life because (i) it is only in a family that two people can feel equal, (ii) your family would never let you down, and (iii) that your family members cannot be judgmental about you.

She appears to be telling that to herself and to the audience who are watching the film, than to the newly-wed couple. Because she knows that is not the case, and so do we.

Earlier in the film we have seen her family letting her down often, being judgmental about her and we know that she and her husband have never been in an equal relationship. As is the case with most of the families. But that is not what we have been telling ourselves. That is not what we want to believe.

Marriage and family are sacred institutions that we do not want to hurt. We want to make ourselves believe that our family is all that we have to fall back upon. That the family would stay with us even in the worst of times. That the family members would not let us down. So what if most of the time our family members let us down, what if they always take you for granted, what if it is never an equal relationship, what if they are almost always judgmental -- we will try to consider it all as an aberration rather than the rule. We want to force ourselves into forgetting that family is often the source of our unhappiness, and we want to feel good that we are with our family. Because there is no escape from it. (And those who are not married are considered a threat to the society.)

Through this speech, we can feel Shashi's desire for social security and familial acceptance surpass her guilt of having to reject her French lover who respects her as an individual. Her niece, who supported her 'free life' till then is also happy that she ditched that outsider (he's outside the family, outside the caste, outside the religion and outside the nationality) and chose to stay with her husband.

No wonder that it makes us all happy.

The husband who watches the film is assured that the wife would not leave him and run away, no matter how bad he treats her. He naturally feels good about it.

Children feel good that their mother will put up with all the crap they mete out to her and she would stand by them in any case. Yes, there is a chance that they are reminded how insensitive they are. (“When I was young, I used to be embarrassed by my mom's English too. The movie reminded me of how narrow-minded I used to be”, says a quote featured on English Vinglish facebook page). But that does not matter, because they can afford to be narrow-minded and can take their mom for granted. You could make it up all by taking her to this film. (“For all the times you have been rude to your mother, make up to her by taking her for English Vinglish”, goes another quote on the page).

Wives/mothers feel good that it is not only them, even a Sridevi cannot be honest to her own feelings, despite being in a city like New York. They make themselves believe that by sticking to their family despite all the humiliations, they are essentially standing for themselves. (“We all go through some or the other sort of humiliation in life. When our weaknesses become a source of mockery for everyone. A few of us succumb to such situations and others like Shashi fight and stand for themselves. Kudos to Gauri for giving us such a wonderful film”, says Roshni in another featured quote.)

I think that is where the film fails. It fails to capitalize on the potential to develop into a real path-breaking film, and it settles for a laddoo-for-all success formula instead. Yes, that is also where the film succeeds, and Gauri Shinde deserves credits for the same.

Song of the Coastal Lillies

Neythalin Paadal (Song of the Coastal Lillies), a music video by Pedestrian Pictures.

Some links below.

Why the Nuclear Liability Rules need to be modified Dr. A Gopalakrishnan in DNA.
(Dr. A Gopalakrishnan is a former chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of the Indian government)

Why The Media is Nuked, by P K Sundaram, a research student at JNU.

Koodankulam: Indian democracy under nuclear threat, also by P K Sundaram.

("When charged with sedition under the same section of the Penal Code in British India, Mahatma Gandhi said “sedition is the highest duty of the citizen”.

The government has resorted to slapping an 1860 vintage legislation (Section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code) against the agitating people in Koodankulam. In this colonial provision enacted by the British, “to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India” is defined as sedition. The cases, including 121 (waging war against country) and 124-A (sedition), have been slapped against 3,015 persons, including leading activists like Dr. S P Udayakumar, M. Pushparayana and Father Jayakumar..")

Starting Koodankulam reactor without sufficient backup water would be fatal, by R Ramesh, V Pugazhendi and VT Padmanabhan.

Koodankulam Anti-Nuclear Movement: A Struggle for Alternative Development? Srikant Pratibandla,  Institute for Social and Economic Change, 2009. 

Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Is Destined To Reset The Nuclear Priorities In India -- Buddhi Kota Subbarao, former Indian Navy Captain, Ph.D in nuclear technology from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

All about Belly, All about Magic

Ever since its release, Delhi Belly was being flaunted as bold, and a "ground-breaking and inventive" comedy (see Taran Adarsh's review). Nikhat Kazmi (Times of India) said that "it re-writes all the moth-balled rules of an ageing industry".

I waited for the film eagerly, and finally when I saw the film, it was not a complete disappointment. But is it really a path-breaking film? I had enjoyed Mithya (2008) and Sankat City (2009) (two other recent Indian comedies with mix-ups involving under-world / gangsters in the backdrop) as much if not more. (Delhi Belly poster had high resemblance of Hangover -- I guess it was intentional.)

In contrast, Salt n' Pepper was yummy overall (concept, execution both), living up to the accolades it received. One could smell the freshness. It hardly had any 'story' but it held the viewer's interest almost throughout the film. I'd have rated it a great film if it avoided:

1. The repeated laments about a woman's life being incomplete without a man,

2. The scene where the husband lifts the burqa and says "shubanallah" (I found the first burqa scene funny), and

3. The song scene in the second half -- it was plain boring to me.

I'd still rate it the best Malayalam film to have come out this year. Above Adaminte Makan Abu and Traffic.

(My friend Rajeev later told me the first Burkha sequence in this film was 'inspired' from Marai Porul, a Tamil short film by Pon. Sudha.)

Cheers to Aashiq Abu. Cheers to the writers, Syam Pushkaran and Dileesh Nair. Cheers to Lal, Shwetha, Baburaj, Asif Ali and Mythili. Many cheers to the producers and the audience.

[PS: I believe in Magic. I believe in the Deathly Hallows. I believe in J. K. Rowling.]

Seven Dead Husbands and a Live Film

Saat Khoon Maaf tells the story of Susanna and her seven dead husbands. Based on the story Susanna's  Seven Husbands by Ruskin Bond, Vishal Bharadwaj gives us a film that outperforms all his previous films.

It takes patience to sit through the first 10-15 minutes of the film. But that is true with any Vishal Bharadwaj film -- including the much celebrated Omkaara and Kaminey. I did not watch Omkaara in a movie hall, so I purchased a CD. I tried watching it several times, but it did not move beyond the first 20 minutes. For more than a year the film remained unwatched :-) (I first thought it was my problem, but later a friend shared a similar experience with Omkaara.)

But as one survives those initial hiccups, there is realization that it was worth it. What awaits us is an experience that we have not had on Indian screen yet. Priyanka does a great job as a woman who keeps seeking love, and so does her associates. Those who came to watch a serial killer Priyanka are in for a disappointment. Because she is not the kind of "killer" we are familiar with.

Her husbands do not have much screen length, but they also do their parts well. Niel Nitin Mukesh, the Russian actor and Annu Kapoor get the meatier roles among them, and they make good use of it. (Now I think I know why Mohanlal refused to act in this film -- he was offered the role of the husband who dies of Viagra overdose.) Irffan Khan's character could have been developed better. That one episode appears unconvincing compared to others.

The male viewers would feel jealous of Vivaan Shah's character. Susanna is in love with him -- so much that she never marries him.

In an interview given to Indian Express, Ruskin Bond had said that "My only regret will be, I couldn’t be cast as one of Ms Chopra’s seven husbands. Guess I am too old for that." He makes it up by playing a cameo in the film.

Bandini, Mother India and Ek Haseena Thi are three other prominent fictional Hindi films that told stories of women who kill others. It would be interesting to study Saat Khoon Maaf in contrast with them. 

Women Start Cheating in Kerala

"..It must have been in the beginning of twenty first century that women started cheating on their husbands in Kerala. There are references to such relationships in Malayalam films that came out circa 2010. While Cocktail (2010) had cheating as its central theme, Traffic (2011) has a cheating wife and a betrayed husband playing important roles. Another 2010 film Pranchiyettan and The Saint has a casual mention of Khushboo's character cheating on her husband.."

Cannot rule this out if one were to write history based on mainstream Malayalam films. With all the problems that I have with these three films, I think one must thank them for that one character that was almost non-existent till now in Malayalam films -- the cheating wife. We have had cheating husbands, though we could not imagine justice playing out in the form of having them paralyzed or the wife running them over with a car.

(Thanks to Devadas, Prasanth et al for the discussions on Google Buzz).

LSD and Ishqiya: Indian films come of age

This is not one of those year-end round ups. I am as tired of them as many of you are. For some reason or the other, I could not write about these two films that I watched in the early months of the year gone by. LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhoka and Ishqiya. I loved them.

There are many reasons why I love them. I do not intend to do an essay here.

Babban's question to Khalujan, "Aapka Ishq Ishq, Aur Mera Ishq Sex?" rips through our "divine love" hypocrisies, and the final shot of the happy triplet breaks the cliched notions of the pairs made in heaven. Provocative right from the title itself, LSD went one step further and did a tightrope walk on the thin lines between love, sex and deceit.

Exceptionally catchy "Dil To Bacha Hai Ji", racy "Ibn Batuta" (Lyrics: Gulzar, Music: Vishal Bhardwaj), crazy "Love Sex Aur Dhoka..", controversial "Tu Nangi Achchi Lagti Hai" (this was changed to "Tu Gandi Achchi Lagti Hai" in CDs) and totally mad "I can't hold it any longer" (Music credits: Sneha Khalwalkar / Dibakar Banerjee, Sung by Kailash Kher, Sneha) provided a complete musical feast. Dil To Bacha Hai Ji has been more or less a unanimous choice as the best track to have come out last year.

I'd rate LSD above Ishqiya for the form that we were not used to.

[Images: Film posters]

The Art of Copying, Sathyan Anthikkad and Values

Let me clarify first -- this not a post that make fun of copying.  Let us consider films for instance. I don't think a film is bad because it is a copy. I believe copying is an art and also a political act. It is also known in other names -- inspiration, adaptation. With due credits, or without giving any credits to the "original". (Whether the word "original" makes any sense or not is a different question. Every writer/film-maker gets an idea from somewhere. It could be some real-life events, a story they heard somewhere, or many such stories. Let us leave that part for now.)

So why is it that I don't consider copying a crime? If one knows the job reasonably well (and does it reasonably well), the viewers stand to gain. There is absolutely no point comparing that work with the original.

Take, for instance, some of Priyadarshan's early films in Malayalam. Most of the Malayali filmgoers that time did not have the remotest chance of watching One flew over the Cuckoo's nest. They saw Thaalavattom and enjoyed it. It was certainly one of the most entertaining films made in Malayalam around that time. Does it make any sense to compare Thaalavattom with One flew over the Cuckoo's nest, except may be for academic purposes? Similarly, I think both Bluffmaster (Hindi, 2005) and Gulumaal (Malayalam, 2009) were reasonably good rip-offs from a hilarious Nine Queens (Argentina, 2000). I watched Nine Queens very recently.

Forget foreign films. In fact, it does not even have to be from a different language. Consider Sreenivasan's 1998 movie Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala (also in Malayalam). It had an irresponsible husband and his wife as central characters. It made people laugh, made people think. More important, a lot of people watched it. Unlike K R Mohanan's Swaroopam, which had a similar theme and also had Sreenivasan in the lead role. Even as K R Mohanan denies it, many people believe that Shyamala was a commercialized extension of Swaroopam. And I think Sreenivasan deserves credit for taking it to a wider audience.

As long as there are no complaints or "conflicts of interests", I think it is good to have copies. A copy could also happen by pure coincidence. Recently, there was a mail making rounds that Avatar was a remake of Vietnam Colony. Hindi film Aamir had striking resemblances to Filipino movie Cavite, though the director said he had never seen Cavite.

But there are some copies that irritate. When one wishes that the director did not apply too much creativity of his own. For instance, take Sathyan Anthikkad's remake of Pursuit of Happiness (2006).  It is called Katha Thudarunnu, released earlier this year. The first is about a father whose wife left him has to raise his kid by himself, and the latter about a mother whose husband was killed has to raise her kid by herself. For a detailed comparison, see this post by Jo. May be he thinks that Keralites cannot digest a father bringing up a son alone. Or he is afraid suggesting such a possibility would damage our "value system" that is created for (and by) men for their convenience.

This is the Sathyan Anthikkad we have been seeing of late. One who makes only safe films, that are supposed to carry "social messages". In Bhagyadevatha he carried a message that paying up dowry solves all problems, including that of dowry. In Innathe Chinthavishayam, he showed the hero sending three women (who were living a happy life) back to their useless husbands, carrying home the message that the onus of "holding a family together" is on women. Vinodayathra was another nightmare, apparently copied from a Korean film. Worse, he got a best scriptwriter state award for that film. (Copy or no copy, I think we have had enough of Sathyan Anthikkad. Can't believe he is the guy who made Appunni once).

In an interview given to Deshabhimani Varika, I see him claim that women and children can go watch his films without worrying about violence. Unfortunately, violence in his films (especially on women) are worse than what we get to see in "violent" films like Chota Mumbai or Big B.

*  *  *

[This post is inspired by Jo's post "The story never ends" and the comments there and a discussion about Sreenivasan on a mailing list.]

Raavan, in times of (Chidamba)Ramayan

Govinda as Sanjeevani Kumar

All the shortcomings notwithstanding, I want to salute Mani Ratnam, Sharada Trilok and Shaad Ali (producers of the film, according to Wikipedia) for what they have almost done. To make a film on the Indian Government's Operation Green Hunt on the tribal population of this country, and release it at a time when the operation is at its worst.

The film has Vikram playing Dev Pratap Sharma, a dutiful police officer. He represents the state (just the way PC and the mythological Ram do) and is a symbol of all the supposedly moral values (which appear extremely immoral to many of us). Mani Ratnam is careful enough not to project him as an evil person per se, even as he does not mind attributing some villainy to his brother Lakshmana Pratap Sharma. All the nonsense that Dev does is part of his duty. That includes playing a drama of questioning his wife's chastity as a ploy to trace the path to Beera's den and to eliminate the "evil".

Aishwarya plays the Bahurani of Sharma family, a role that is not very different from that of the Bahurani of the Bachchan family. No wonder she naturally comes about as the stupid white woman. All that she has to do extra is some song and dance sequences, and we know she is not good at that. Let us forgive her.



Mani's current favourite Abhishek (I think his best performance till date was in Yuva) plays the title role -- of Beera Munda, a young tribal leader. The name holds heavy resemblance to Birsa Munda, a tribal leader who lived more than hundred years back in time. He was also young (he died at the age of 25, in the year 1900) and was a local hero. [Birsa Munda (1875-1900) was a tribal leader and a folk hero, belonging to the Munda tribe who was behind the Millenarian movement that rose in the tribal belt of modern day Bihar, and Jharkhand during the British Raj, in the late 19th century making him an important figure in the history of the Indian independence movement, says Wikipedia. Mahashweta Devi has written a novel on that story, called Aranyer Adhikar]


Birsa Munda

Beera is being presented to us as a strong, rugged beast of a man. That is how the character is described on the the film's website. The description continues: Anti-establishment, non-conformist, voice of the underdog, and fiercely protective of his people; He's the beacon of hope for the oppressed lot and the pride and shame of Laal Maati. Nicknamed after the mythological daemon Raavan, he is a saint and the sinner.

Oh lord, please forgive Mani Ratnam. This is what he and his urban middle class fan following can think of at best of a tribal hero. He has to be "a beast of a man", he has to be a shame of Laal Maati (I don't think the resemblance to Lalgarh is a coincidence), and he has to be a sinner. As an obedient actor, Abhishek constantly tries to put up a cruel face. Thankfully, neither the actor nor the director seems very much worried about making him look like a tribal. The 'beast of a man' reminds us more of a "cruel Jamindar's Goonda" stereotype.

One my friend said, had Birsa Munda been a cult like Che Guevera or Bhagat Singh (it is not difficult to figure out why he is not), Mani wouldn't have dared to do this.

The most interesting character in the film is that of the Salwa Judum. He is called Sanjeevani Kumar the forest guard, played by Govinda. He knows Beera is good and that he is a God to the people there, but he helps Ram in finding his Sita and in eliminating Beera.

Why does he do that? It is not just those thirty silver coins. That is the only way he can survive in this system, as he is very much part of the system. He is Hanuman. He is you and me. He is Mani Ratnam. She is Sharada Trilok. He is Shaad Ali Sahgal.

* * *

[I checked the web for reviews, and liked this one by Cath Clarke in The Guardian that calls the film plain sexist: "..May be it's the forest air, or a touch of Stockholm syndrome, but she takes a liking to her captor; heaven knows why since Bachchan hams it up like Toshiro Mifune at his most snarlingly crazy-eyed. Meanwhile, her husband (Vikram) gives chase, bearing down with the full weight of the law. Which is hardly surprising since flashbacks show what a cracking wife she is, fetching him his dinner while singing sweet songs and dancing alluringly.."]

* * *

[ Images : Govinda, Abhishek and Aishwarya in Raavan, from the film's official website.
Birsa Munda, tribals and the British forces, from Shaheedsmriti.org ]

Copy Left, Right and Centre

Sharat said that in the end titles of his film on Chengara. Salutes to the committed filmmaker who I never met.



[Photo: Irom Sharmila, Sharatchandran's profile photo on facebook.]

Khan Saheb, you better remain Rahul

Scene one: SRK and Obama

Shah Rukh: "My name is Khan, and I am not a terrorist."
Obama: "Yes I know that. Sorry for that airport incident."
SRK: "And my son in the film -- he is not a Muslim, he is actually a Rathore -- is also not a terrorist."
Obama: "I know -- I am sorry for him too.."
SRK: "But all other Muslims excluding my immediate family -- they are probably terrorists. And if they talk of Palestine or Israel, then you can be sure."
Obama: "Mm.."
SRK: "And yes, a terrorist has to be a Muslim, that everyone knows, right?"

* * *

Scene two : SRK and Shiv Sena

SRK: "My name is Khan, and I am not a terrorist."
Shiv Sainiks: "But we are.. and it is people like us who decide who should be called a terrorist. You see, we can even execute a series of riots in a communally sensitive atmosphere and make people remember only the blasts that followed.."

* * *

Scene 3: SRK and audience

SRK: "My name is Khan.."
Audience: "Sorry you better be Rahul. Otherwise we are not going to fill your cinema halls. No matter how much ever a good guy you try to be."

* * *

Scene 4: SRK and me

SRK: "His name is Karan Johar, and he is not a terrorist".
Me: "You want me to believe that, after Kurbaan and MNIK?"

* * *

[Related News: Sena terror prevails; MNIK not to be released in Mumbai
Let those who love Pak-lover SRK watch MNIK: Thackeray]

[Related fact: I went at 6:25 for 6:30 show on the opening day, and got tickets comfortably. The show was not full.]

[Related post: Where does Aamir lead us?]

[.. and a related e-mail]

Bewakufi in double role

That is what we get when Imtiaz Ali decides to play by the rules.

So let us count some of the rules.

Rule number one. When the hero and heroine break-up, both of them will make sure they will hook up with the dumbest woman and most boring man respectively.

Two -- Love happens once in life. (Proof: that dumb woman and the boring guy in rule one).

Three -- Rishi Kapoor has taken his second life as an actor to teach the younger generation the meaning of love. (Don't know how many more times we will have to tolerate him!)

Four -- Bewakufi is what characterizes real love. (The 'kal' hero says, "Mujhe pata hai ye bewakufi hai". The 'aaj' hero takes it too seriously.)

The count could go on.

On the plus side, Deepika has got a good smile and she knows it. She is awesome in happy scenes. Ok -- she is sad in sad scenes, but those scenes are sad anyway.

Saif shows glimpses of brilliance once in a while, both in happy and sad scenes. I particularly loved the scene where his pressure builds up taking to Rishi Kapoor Paji about Meera seeing someone in India.

And the film has got some wonderful posters.

["Imtiaz Ali, one of the most promising filmmakers in the country, is sadly down with blockbusteritis", one reader wrote in the comments section of rediff review page. When there is so much money running on his film, one can not expect a Socha Na Tha. But I expected a more sensible blockbuster, say something like an OSO.]

Between a Father and a Son

What is that? (Τι είναι αυτό)

Father and son are sitting on a bench. Suddenly a sparrow lands across them..

A greek short film, by Constantin Pilavios (2007).

Thanks to Bobby and Rajeev for pointing me to this film. Apologies to Resmi, who did not know about this film and was planning to make one on similar lines.

[The content may be copyrighted. The video embedded here is from youtube.]

Gabhricha Paus and Harishchandrachi Factory : Indian cinema is alive!

Indian films usually make one feel bad at festivals -- it is either intellectual crap served by the 'arty' directors or utter repetitive stuff from bollywood. So it was a pleasant surprise to catch two fresh, well-made, sensible films at one festival. It was Habitat film festival in Delhi, and both the films were in Marathi. (The only other film worth a mention at the festival was Dev D).

We are talking about Satish Manwar's Gabhricha Paus and Paresh Mokashi's Harishchandrachi Factory. Both these directors are from theatre and are new to film industry -- they have not studied at film institutes, and have not even assisted a film before.

I don't want to bore you with my commentary. I enjoyed watching both the films, and was impressed by the element of humour used in these films.

I can only say, go watch it!

* * *

[Visuals from Gabhricha Paus, from the film's website]

Happy for Rahman, Happy for Resul (and an Indian film to watch out for)

I'm happy that Rahman and Resul have been recognized at the academy awards.

Like many other Rahman fans, I also believe that he has done better compositions before.. But he did deserve to get into limelight at an international level. It had to happen some day or the other. I hope he will go on making good music.

With Resul it is different -- he is relatively in the initial stages of his career. I hope he will make it really big, and that it inspires more Indians to take technical careers in films seriously.

I am also happy for Sean Penn -- I had loved him in Dead Man Walking and 21 grams.

As far as Indian cinema goes, I am looking forward to Gabhricha Paus by my friend Satish Manwar. It has already bagged an award at Pune International Film Festival, and has got good reviews at Rotterdam festival.

Another review at Passion For Cinema says, "From the synopsis and the trailer, it can be made out that the film is not just “another tragic film on a tragedy” and that elements of black humor have been dosed in. In fact this reminded me of the korean films in which a tragic subject is taken and elements of black humor is sprinkled. I could also see a bit of Pather panchali and The Bicycle thief in it, and I mean it as a compliment."

cc2c rocks!

I loved Chandni Chowk to China.

This film is certainly not for those looking for "meaningful" drama. It takes off from where OSO left, and goes a long way. I mean, all the way to the great wall. With a lot more action (thanks to Gordon Liu and apna Akshay Kumar), and a lot more laughs.

Deeapika, as twins separated at birth, almost steals the show from Akshay. Meow meow especially was awesome.

Onam Release : Film on Chengara by Sharat

A film by C.Sharatchandran on the Chengara land struggle in Kerala. 36 minutes, split into four parts of nine minutes each. Music by another filmmaker K.P.Sasi. The titles running at the end (in part 4) says "copy left, right and centre."

Part One


Part Two


Part Three


Part Four


The film gives some insight into the cultural and historical background of the struggle. Some excerpts from the film below.

Some Historical Background

communist party held a convention at trichur in 1956 where they accepted the slogan 'krishibhoomi krishikkaranu' .. and thus came the land reforms bill.

the bill intended to distribute land to the tenants who 'leased' the land (പാട്ടത്തിനെടുത്തു കൃഷി ചെയ്തിരുന്ന കുടിയാന്മാര്‍) and to the dalits and others who were agricultural workers who toiled in the land..
for this there were two conditions in the bill: one, to give ownership to the tenants, with a ceiling of 15 acres per family. two, the surplus land should be given to dalits and adivasis.

if we consider the land distribution in kerala, it failed to account for the caste system that existed in that society, so the tenants and workers who could articulate better got the land.. there is no caste below ezhava which benefitted from this bill.. which meant the middlemen got the land.. they were exploiters of the dalit working class.. as a result, the dalits were naturally thrown out from the land..

when ems govt initiated the land reforms bill, the liberation struggle (വിമോചന സമരം) started.. in turn the central govt dismissed the state govt. the govts which came to power later diluted it.. the landlords approached the judiciary to protect their property.. this led to changes by the intervention of judiciary.. this process left the land reforms incomplete and majority of the population remained landless..

since majority of the lower caste communities were neglected in the land reforms, the govt introduced the right to shelter and decided to provide 10 cents in the villages, 5 cents in muncipalities and 3 cents of land in the corporations.. a large population was left out of this also..

the govt stopped this and later introduced 'lakshamveedu' (literally, a lakh houses) colony or the harijan colony, but still a significant percentage of this population was left out without any land by the end of land reforms in 1970. they are the people living in small huts as outcastes in the roadsides and on the wasteland..

the plantations in kerala have been exempted from the land reforms act around 38 years back.. not any single political or social agency demanded that the waste land or the govt owned land in the plantation sector be distributed to the landless people.

Reactions

നമ്മള് കൊയ്യും വയലെല്ലാം
നമ്മുടെതാകും പൈങ്കിളിയേ
എന്നുപറഞ്ഞ്‌ വോട്ടുകള്‍ നേടി
അധികാരത്തില്‍ വന്നവരെല്ലാം
തൊഴിലാളികളെ വഞ്ചിച്ചു..

(a slogan that recalls a famous communist song/slogan of the earlier days that says the fields that we toil on will become ours)

the leaders of communist movement took refuge in our huts in the earlier days..
we used to go for daily wages works (koolivela) and get tea or coffee powder..
we used to feed them with what we earned..

please don't think we are speaking shamelessly, it is a matter of our integrity and culture..
but thats how the dalits of this state have given their lives for the communist movement in kerala..
we had many hopes when they came to power in 1957..

they showed the black and downtrodden people of kerala the dream of getting a better life.. of getting land..
that is how the communist party came to power through ballot (for the first time anywhere in the world)..

അപ്പോ ഓണം ഉഷാറാക്ക്.

[earlier post and comments : ..to kill a struggle?]

Where does Aamir lead us?

Aamir is being celebrated as a brilliant film by many critics and common viewers alike. The film has also done very good business at the box office, rather unusual for an offbeat film like this.

I am not too concerned about this nor am I suprised at it, but I am worried when it gets labeled as a film that breaks the stereotype of Muslims in Bollywood, and in the psyche of the Middle class (majorly Hindu) India in general. I had heard some people talk of the 'sensitive portrayal of Indian Muslim' in this film, and then there was this article Beyond prisms of prejudice by Ziya Us Salam [The Hindu Magazine, Sunday 24 August 2008].

That is a matter of concern because Aamir in fact upholds precisely those very stereotypes.

Which is why I felt it was only natural for this film to have such a 'universal' appeal among the Middle class Hindu India.

In one line, the film's premise is that Muslims are out to terrorize the nation. 'Brothers' sending in money from all over the world, the kingpins misleading the educated youth by brainwashing them and using them as pawns, the ordinary poor Muslims on the streets silently approving of all this with a smile on their face that they know this is how it works. And we have an exception in the lead character of the film who turns from a victimized, helpless position to be a real Aamir (leader) by refusing to be part of it.

[If that weren't enough, the film tells us through its hero -- Aamir, the real leader -- that he has overcome difficulties by his hard work and become a doctor working abroad, and that is the way to go for the community to get out of the poverty and bad living conditions. Is it any surprise if it finds many takers among the anti-reservation warhead of the elite Brahman class?]

Honestly, I feel this guy is much more dangerous than a bearded terrorist Muslim villain of Bollywood. (We have seen this 'achche Muslims bhi hote hai' caricature also many times in mainstream Bollywood itself).

Aamir might have its directorial high points (I particularly liked the presentation of the villain), but let us not give it the sensitive film tag. This film takes the rotten path, feeding the most insensitive and unhealthy of the psyches precisely what they crave for. That is it.

If you want to catch a more sensible film on a similar theme, try Mumbai Meri Jaan.


Credits:
[Image edited from a poster at the film's web site]
[Thanks to my friend Bhakti who took me for Aamir]

My Blueberry Nights: A Wong Kar-Wai let down

Saw Wong Kar-Wai's new film My Blueberry Nights at a film festival. Was extremely disappointed. The only consolation for Wong Kar-Wai fans is that he has not lost his visual sense. Other than that, the director relies solely on some pretty faces and overdose of sentimentalism. Is it mandatory that all good directors have to do mediocre stuff once they are done with their best?

I had loved In the mood for love. Yet to see his other films (2046, Chunking Express..)