Mediocre Perspectives

I am not a great fan of cinema on cinema. Primarily because it takes you through different aspects of film making and in the process demystifies the process of filmmaking itself, pretty much the feeling one would get when a magician after a good round of applause explains to the audience how he pulled off the trick.  Varshangalkku Shesham on the other hand brought up much more engagement and entertainment in the ‘process’ of explaining magic (Jigarthanda has achieved this before). The story follows the lives of two friends Venu and Murali who leave a small town in Kerala for the promise of making it big in Kodambakkam, Madras. Spanning over fifty years, it is more about the friendship between two contrasting individuals than the film industry itself.  The evolution of friendship between the two lead characters were established organically. Venu understands the prowess of Murali when the dashing smash-buckling musician saves a dull drama by a village troupe with only the ve...

Rarely do movies give you a sense of fulfillment when you walk out of the screen and Lucifer gave me that. It was the first Malayalam movie which I had watched on screen with Mohanlal in the lead and I definitely would not be able to understand the references to his previous movies. But watching the film brought me feelings which I experienced while watching  Petta . Mass The only connection between the two movies which were from different genres, directors and even language was the Super Stars who adorned the screen. In Indian Masala movies, there is a term which is used often but rarely defined - Mass . Mass is a status which most aspiring actors like to achieve. There are innumerable names who after a successful run of a dozen films try to make the transition to a Mass hero but only a few succeed. Mass is an element which represents the connection with the masses in general which only a few actors are above to achieve. An Experience The limitations of vocabulary negate...

A few days ago my friend told me that he didn’t finish the biscuits we had bought last night. Not owing to lack of appetite, but the act of finding an odd insect inside it usually found in swamps. Well, it was a major biscuit brand and hence things like this are not supposed to happen. But we just purchased another one of the same brands after carefully discarding the one with the insect corpse. This was not the first time that a so-called premium product has failed to live up to its expectations. I remember products marketed with extensive life unable to maintain durability beyond six months. But that doesn’t change the fact microeconomics works in India. We Indians have a high but false perception that only companies which can shell millions of rupees and get Miss World to market them are the only ones which could assure quality. I personally cannot vouch where this mindset comes from but I am pretty sure that such thoughts are ingrained from an early age possibly by the way ...

My friend had gone to Bengaluru for an internship a few months ago. When she was conversing on infrastructure arteries on Bengaluru she told me that Chennai’s traffic was bearable. I personally cannot vouch for this opinion as I have not been to the cosmopolitan city. But there is certainly one thing I could, as one who uses a cycle to commute in Chennai.  Indian metropolitan cities are unfit for bicycle transport. I do realize that I am not stating a Nobel-worthy scientific fact but having experienced instances of ‘road-bullying’ I am forced to repeat it. I believe I was gifted my first bicycle when I was 10. I vaguely recall it being fitted with miniature supporting wheels for balance which my parents did not have (kudos to capitalism). After I grew up, I got a new cycle which I used for several years in school and college. Having found employment I bought my third one to commute to my workplace. Though I have used a bicycle for several years for commuting to school in a Ti...

Having a nonvegetarian meal on a Sunday afternoon is one of the conventions of Indian life. Though I protest most conventions I never shy away from a good meal. It was not the first time I have seen someone using a tissue paper in the hand-wash section of the hotel, but it was not the usual sight too. The mother asked the child to drag the tissue paper from the suspended box above. It drew one for its left hand, one for its mouth and the last one for fun. The child cannot be above six years of age meaning the brain is still at a very nascent stage and attitudes and behavior register deeply in the neural networks. If capitalism wanted to promote consumerism for the next generation and induce growth it is definitely on the right track by molding the next generation by a simple tissue paper. The tissue paper is the manifestation of our use-and-throw behavior. A few weeks ago, I received a sympathetic stare for housing an ink pen in my front pocket. The stare conveyed that I belo...

There are times I wonder about the purpose of art. There are multiple perspectives on what art is supposed to achieve, the most accepted being a tool for making life worth living. Art could do this in two ways – either transporting one through a portal beyond reality or painting his mind using complex tools to reveal the harsh truths on life using different forms as reality is not hard hitting. Art has always seen challenges and the recent protests to prevent the screening of the movie Padmavati is only an extension of what it has faced since time immemorial. The protesters claim that the movie is disrespectful to the Queen Padmini. The irony lies in the fact that she never existed. The earliest fictitious account was by Malik Muhammad Jayasi which is dated to the 1540s, more than 200 years after Alauddin Khilji, the emperor of the Delhi Sultanate passed away. There is no historical account that Alauddin Khilji decided to conquer Chittoor lured by the beauty of Padmavati, who wa...

This is not a movie review. Yet Spoilers Ahead… I remember Director Mysskin’s talk in a reality show that a creator is one who uses a torch light to show the common man what he has to see or missed in his hazy observation. Globalisation has affected our lives so radically that we have seen its impact on our culture too. Kaaka Muttai by director Manikandan which talks about the aspiration of two boys who reside in a slum to taste a Pizza is my favorite. There were few other films which tried to capture such conflicts between the haves and have-nots. But I certainly believe that Director Ram’s trilogy is an important one. I don’t intend to evaluate the cinematic credentials of his movies which I am thoroughly incapable and incompetent of. The following paragraphs intend only to narrate what as a common man I observed in his movies,  what his movies tried to honestly convey, to see where he shone the light. The sharpest criticism which his three films face are on the rarity ...

Since childhood, we are subjected to a spell. The music played on the radio, editorials scripted on the newspaper, the principle of punctuality cultivated from school are just a few of them. It is a spell which you break when you find yourself standing in a contour which the society terms a misfit. The spell of the mainstream is the mightiest of all employed by the powerful. Pseudo-Globalization You are supposed to fall in line no matter what. The concept of mainstream became a powerful force after Globalization, or should one say Pseudo-globalization. The Anglo-American world controls almost everything you see, that you are fooled into believing that life is lived in the same way everywhere in the world. How many stories have we heard from the dry lands of Chad? The experience of a daily commuter in Chile, lost love in the ravaged land of Afghanistan, friendship in the island of Madagascar, brave soldiers from the lands of Russia are far away from our purview.  Sav...

I am pretty sure that most men and few women in India get to enjoy hanging out in the incomparable Tea Kadai (shop) . There isn’t a specific reason why I am inclined to use the word ‘incomparable’. Probably because the place could give you the same comfort as your home or maybe because visiting a tea Kadai could bring about incomparable nostalgia. I believe now the word ‘incomparable’ makes more sense. The two rupee biscuit, oily bajji, the versatile tea master who does juggling between tea varieties – tea, coffee, milk, black tea, lemon tea, ragi milk, horlicks, boost – and still maintaining the requested ratios – strong, medium, sugar and sugar less, the standard tea cup, the stained bench and the odd newspaper. All are part of a wonderful package. But along with them most men and few lucky women have to deal with another item which comes as part of the complete package. A complete Package Photo Courtesy: Pratap Sankar Smoke and the essence of the Tea kadai are qui...

New Year’s Eve in Bengaluru proved to be a nightmare for women who were out in the streets. The event termed as ‘mass molestation’ involved reports of men groping and assaulting women in large numbers. Following this, the usual series of chapters which follow such horrendous events played out. Few politicians blamed women for being in the ‘wrong place and time’. As expected, ‘western culture’ was blamed as the reason why such incidents happen. Newspaper editorials blossomed with administrative suggestions to tackle such ‘incidents’ if they happen in future. You would broadly find the recommendations under four major heads: gender-sensitive education, effective changes in police administration, dedicated courts for handling cases against women for speedy disposal, call for legislations with stringent punishments. The above-mentioned measures are indispensable if we are to progress socially but they miss something fundamentally important. The incident highlights that there is a...

When I was in school, I used to read the newspaper every day. Though I did not understand most of the issues I made sure that I at least skimmed through the headlines. The only exception to this was the ‘sports’ page which always had a special reservation. Though I lost the habit during college and lived the – I don’t care about the world – typical of college my aspirations brought me to the newspaper and has been reading them quite studiously for the last two years. But I have to admit investigating the newspaper beyond a point clearly reveals that the world is definitely not a nice place to ‘live’. Newspapers have such a strong affinity for negativity that reports and analysis mostly portray or relay news which are unhappy happenings. At one point one can’t stop thinking that the whole world is ‘moronic’. Photo Courtesy: Jon S Corruption cases which drag on for years, an ill-equipped law and administrative system, killings in the name of honour, recommendations from ...