GHAJINI

Saw this movie FDFS (in our town) yesterday. The movie critic in me could not resist in writing a review. So here it goes.

Let me note the pros first --
1 - This movie is a remake of its Tamil namesake, so the story was well known. No surprises there. But still the storyline is a different from the routine ones.

2 - Asin plays the girl-next-door very well. She brings an instant smile. No nerves in her debut but with a nice filmography in the south, she is no newcomer either.

3 - Aamir displays the emotions, anguish and pain very well. At the same time, he portrays a corporate honcho and a sweet boyfriend so well. Especially, the switch between an MD and a average guy is handled very well by him.

4 - The romance between Asin and "Sachin" is handled very sensitively by the director. The part where he does not reveal his identity so that it does not influence her decision is superb.

4 - The director has managed the flow of story between the flashback and the present very well.

5 - The songs have been excellently picturized.

6 - Good comedy. Nice relief from the tension.

7 - Aamir the (ghost) director has shown his creativity and has dared to name the movie after the villain.

8 - And the happy ending makes the viewers leave the cinema halls on a happy note.

Now for the cons of the movie --

1 - Asin is charming in her debut but her persona does not create the impact that a Deepika Padukone did in her debut movie. This movie was ideally suited for her. Not sure how she can manage more demanding roles.

2 - Very graphic. But probably the storyline demands it.

3 - Support cast was a downer. Too many irrelevant characters. Jiah Khan can never play a medical student. A lot of characters could be done away with -- for e.g. the inspector.

4 - The villains were not up to the mark to say the least. A villain should be scary by their deeds and not by their appearance. The Rashid from Sarkaar was more scary by his stare than the villains here. Huge guys with crazy hairdo just are not scary.

5 - Common sense --
a - Total lack of CS and multiple instances of it. The villains go and kill anyone and everyone using guns. But in the climax, not even 1 of his guys have a gun.
b - Asin is in danger, but Aamir does not even think twice of calling the cops before rushing empty handed to her apartment.
c - The villain moves to his "fort" because he is safe there. But in the entire fight, less than 15 men confront Aamir. If he is a guy who can patronize a medical college, he better have more than 15 "troops" in his fort.
d - Guys way bigger than Ghazini are killed in one blow by Aamir. But, Ghazini can fight way longer than the rest combined.
6 - Too many and ill-timed songs. Probably, all but 1 (2 may be) could be done away with.

All said above, the movie has more good than bad. Especially, when you are not going anywhere in a 4-day long weekend. See it, unless u have better things to do.
MAHABHARAT -- a different view?

From the time I think I had the sense to analyze events, I realized one thing -- Victor writes the history. In any era, the victor survives to tell the tale from his point of view. Without a doubt, the loser is the villain.

Take any story from the legends -- there is a hero and a villain and the rest just take sides (for whatever reasons). The hero wins in the end -- or the survivor is the winner? The slain is the loser.

Check out any epic -- Ram-Ravan, Kaurava-Pandava, Shivaji-Aurangzeb, Hitler-Allies, Saddam-Bush, Steve Waugh-Ganguly, Ponting-Kumble.

For a moment, just think about a keenly contested India-Australia cricket match. An Indian sports writer and an Australian sports writer can come up with entirely different versions of the game.

That made me think, is Mahabharat the way it is (or the way Mr. B. R. Chopra presented it) really that way? Could there be another view to it?

Think -- Will any king ever name his sons as Duryodhan (Bad luck and wealth, It was Suyodhana) or Dusshasana (Bad ruler, it was Susshasana). Would any woman like to be termed herself as alms on the day of her swayamvara and shared among 5 brothers for the rest of her life? Can a prince who seems to know Dharma ever gamble on his wife? Weird!!!

Thats when I came across Prem Panicker's blog where Mahabharat is written from Bheem's point of view (okay, written by Prem thinking how Bheem would have written it).

link -- http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php (search tag = "Bhimsen")

And it gives an different view of the characters. Again note, Bheem was a Pandava, so Kauravas are going to be doomed as villains. But still, there is a entirely different version of himself (no doubt). A not-so-confident version of Arjun (worried about Karna). A very dark side of Yudhishtira (boring to be with, addicted to gambling, attracted to Draupadi) etc.

While this version is still a work-in-progress, it is very interesting. Makes me wonder if there was a version of Mahabharat from some survivor from the Kaurava side? Would make a very interesting read.
THE AFTERMATH

So, less than one week after all that happened in Mumbai, here are the steps taken by the government to improve the security situation in the country --

1 - Annual NSG budget was reduced from 118 crores to 117 crores. Annual VIP security budget was upped from 120 crores to 180 crores.

2 - Home minister gets the long deserved kick on the back. The second-best Finance Minister has been replaced by the best Finance Minister India has had. The incumbent gets the thorny crown on Home ministry for keeping the economy healthy.

3 - One CM insults a slain commando's family and refuses to apologize. Bowing to public sentiment (read -- Afraid of losing votes), his party spokesman apologizes.

4 - Blame games continues amidst international diplomacy. US continue doing whatever it has been doing forever -- nothing.

5 - Dawood is most wanted, India asks for him and is denied. All this while nothing is done to demolish his empire in Mumbai.

6 - Masood Azhar is asked for and is denied. All this while he himself was released during the plane hijack episode. And at the same time, no sentence is served to Afzal Guru when he has accepted masterminding the attacks on the Parliament.

7 - Advani demands resignation from anyone and everyone in the government when his party did not resign after the plane hijack episode and after the parliament attacks and after Kargil. All these were intelligence failures which led to many people being dead and India being attacked.

8 - Maharashtra deputy CM writes the happenings of the last week as "Bade Bade shehron mein choti choti baatein tou hoti rehti hai" ala SRK in DDLJ.

9 - Maharashtra deputy CM gets a sudden bout of conscience (read -- is made to resign) due to public sentiment (read -- Afraid of losing votes) and then Sharad Pawar demands "one wicket" from his alliance partner in the government.

10 - Maharashtra CM visits Taj hotel with his actor son and a very famous director. Plays it down.

11 - Maharashtra CM then catches the conscience fever (read -- is made to resign) after seeing a massive rally near Gateway of India.

12 - Resignation submitted --> Resignation not accepted --> CM will change --> CM will not change --> Resignation accepted --> Mr. A will be the new CM --> Mr. S will be the new CM --> Mr. N will be the new CM --> No, Mr. S --> No, Mr. A --> CM will not change, resignation rejected --> Resignation accepted --> Mr. S --> Mr. A --> Mr. N is furious --> Mr. S goes to Bhutan --> Mr. S does not go to Bhutan --> Mr. S --> Mr. A. --> Madam will take the decision --> Mr. S --> Mr. A --> Madam will take the decision --> Mr. N is furious and opts out of the race which he was never in consideration --> Mr. S --> Mr. A. --> Mr. A.

13 - Shivsena, the sleeping tiger, suddenly wakes up demands everyone's resignation. Forgot that the city has a Mayor from their own party. She need not resign by the way.

14 - ATS is suddenly dormant. No one wants to take charge of that force. No body cares.

15 - Bomb which was accidentally left behind by the attackers was enjoying the hospitality of Railway police for a week and then was accidentally discovered by the police.

16 - 1 bomb from the 10 brough in last week is still missing.

17 - 14 terrorists have landed (along with the 10 from last week) in Gujarat. No idea where they are currently. And yes, Gujarat's chief minister Narendra Modi is still demanding everyone else's resignation. Not to forget, he never resigned when Akshardham temple was attacked.

18 - Probably, 1 or 2 terrorists smoothly escaped from Taj and Oberoi along with guests. No one has any idea about it.

19 - Lalit Modi still wants IPL and Champions League to go through.

20 - Absolutely nothing is done to improve the security anywhere in the country.

21 - Mumbai comes back to normal. The spirit of the city keeps it alive and kicking.

To put it in 2 words -- Jai Hind!!!
RUMOR HAS IT!!!

This snapshot from http://www.timesofindia.com/ at around 4:22 pm EST on 4th December 2008.

The "breaking news" scrolling ticker says that firing has been reported in the New Delhi airport terminus and 6 terrorists have been shot dead and NSG commandos have been summoned and they have cordoned the area and blah...

And immediately below, it mentions that the Delhi airport is normal despite the shooting report. In that article, it even mentions that the shooting report should be blamed on the Delhi airport authorities and BBC who published the news.

Wow!!!