I am very saddened by the passing away recently of the greatest contemporary Bollywood film-maker of our time, Mr. Yash Chopra. He was the king of Bollywood as we know, and i have grown up watching his genre of cinema; DDLJ, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Darr, Veer Zaara… all of them are very close to my heart as they were milestones in a way. Growing up overseas, his genre of fare appealed to the post liberalization expat kid, who wanted Indian emotions but served up in glossy up market gourmet restaurant format.

His cinema connected us with our romantic inner self  Kabhie Kabhie and Trishul along with Deewar are film of which the folk lore of the Bollywood mythology are made of. The romance which i have missed in my life.  I identified with the obsession of Darr as well as the romanticism of Dil Toh Pagal Hai when SRK comments ‘ Mujhko Meri Maya Nahin Mili Hain’, struck a chord with me. And the iconic line of  Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayemge which Yash Saheb produced ‘ Baadi Baadi Desho Main Choti Choti Baatein Hotein Rahetein Hain’ is something is etched in the memory of cine goers.

The charm of escapist cinema is that it transports us in to a plane of consciousness which takes us away from the dreaded daily lives of drudgery.  The protege of the same Yash Chopra school of Cinema is Karan Johar whose film Student of The Year is almost a tribute to his work accidentally as the film release a few days prior to his demise.

It is ofcourse not a art form taken easily by the critics, nor is it World Cinema. But, what is it is Uniquely Indian, in character, in ethos.  Very Bollywood, the Bollywood that i worship.

Yash Saheb. RIP.

Dear Ms. Perfect

I am pretty normal guy, from a middle class family who has worked hard to make it here, well not exactly have made it from scratch to call ‘myself’ a self-made man, which makes a huge difference to your psyche that ‘he does not consider his fathers money’ to be his. I am not a ‘Mahatma in that context, my parents have worked hard to give me a good education and i have done decently myself academically to land myself a good job to live a decent existence in a megapolis. Yes, i live in my parents apartment, but does that hurt my self esteem, the answer is a big no as this is the place where i grew up.

I am not shy from taking risks, as i understand that i person who does not take his chances in life, fails at that very moment. One does not have to be all sorted all the time.’ Getting my priorities right’ has never been my forte, but i do well in whatever i do as i am versatile enough. Life is a story written in present tense and not the past. Things dont have to be in picture perfect mode, life is messy and sometimes things do get edgy but i aint apologetic about it. 

The society and the media socially constructs a picture of a ‘man’ which is splendid challenging to achieve. When you see Siddharth Malhotra from Student of the Year flaunting his six pack abs, you drool and hence this particular physical aspect becomes a part of your dreamy ‘check-list’. One has to be dressed like a Calvin Klein Supermodel all the time, speak like Amitabh and be smart as a University Physics Professor, and ofcourse be rich as an Investment Banker to pay for your shopping expeditions. Which Utopia are you living on?

And oops i forgot, one has to have a sense of humor and wit and smell Hugo Boss all the time. Just Brilliant.

Well, I don’t know how to drive a car or a bike, hence i cannot take you on your long rides where the wind can be felt through your locks. I am sorry, but driving through Indian roads is not a great proposition to me atleast.

Well, what one is a person who cares more than oneself, is supportive may be mundane but genuine in this actions.

With Love and Prayers

Normal Guy

 

There has been three major trends in the popular mass media: FDI, a challenge to pluto-democracy by civic society activist turned politician- Arvind Kejriwal and the Sanitation hooplah over Jairam Ramesh’s comments saying that India had more temples than toilets. The Hindu Right was affronted by such a sacrilegious statement, saying that the Congress is concerned with hurting the sentiments of the majority community. For anyone who has watched the years most understated bollywood film: OMG on the commercialization of organized religions, would see where the debate is heading. Jairam Ramesh is a skilled , wily technocrat who used a simple literary device of a comparative to shock and awe to force through effective change communication. Shame can indeed be a powerful, transformative emotion to drive change. Our religious places are spic and span but our streets and squatter settlements are not, is cleanliness not next to Godliness as the primary school moral science sentiment goes. Well, we are a nation which keeps over houses clean, but dump garbage and pee openly on the streets as we dont have enough public toilets and open defecation is still morally within the spectrum of acceptance. Normally i would have to enter a shopping mall or a restaurant to visit the loo, which is a significant detour if someone has a tight schedule. No wonder, we are a nation of urinary tract problems, and as we have a diabetics epidemic where would we visit the washrooms. 

Sulabh International has been doing extraordinary work over the decades to manufacture the culture of sanitation. If they can do it, our Government is following a good workable model. Sanitation is intertwined with other systemic variables like climate change as in it being associated with public health. 

Finally a politician has raised a developmental matter, can we not communalise a topic for a change?

One of the comments once mentioned by the Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has stuck on in my head that, more than fifty percent of leadership is communication. How important is that in the era of 24×7 media beast where every second is churning content which is predominantly worthless, and where every pause that one stops in a speech is psycho-analysed and criticized.  Leadership is about presentation now a days. Tough decision making is a part of the repertoire of leadership, but conveying that message is even more important.  Spin Doctors make or break ones leadership campaigns. Mamata Banerjee’s Poriborton wave to unseat the Left in Bengal was amplified by a supportive regional language and national media.

Let in bring in two contrasts: The Indian Prime Minister is a man of few words, and the other top leadership in India is pretty aloof as well choosing to interact only on selected platforms. In the midst of a crisis of confidence in the Nation, if the top leadership does not speak to the masses on a regular basis, it simply does not breathe confidence in their ability to lead. Communication is of the essence in a moment of crisis. Just think of the the young queen’s address during the Blitzkrieg in 1940, when her palace was bombed quipping that now she would be able to see Eastern parts of London better. Now how many Indian leaders can inspire that spirit in us today.

Barack Obama epitomizes the essence of effective Political Oratory. Bill Clinton is another charming communicator along with his ideological colleague Tony Blair who know ‘how to close the deal’.  Obama, a Nobel Peace Laureate infuses confidence  by communicating stuff  which matters to its stakeholder community.  His Berlin, Cairo and Jakarta addresses are stuff which dreams are made off.

Can India have a ‘Yes We Can’ moment?