Facts n Fiction

Not that I was 100% sure but I had a feeling that Sanjay Dutt would be released soon. No, I am not proposing that he didn’t deserve such harsh punishment. In fact I was turning a little optimistic about the legal system in India and its judiciary. However, this optimism was very short lived. I was catching up with the news items about the melodrama and the hype that happened during Dutt’s trial and his subsequent arrest. Many views, for and against, clouded newspapers, news channels, and even conversation topics in buses, trains, offices, chai tapris, and so on. All through this while, I knew that he would be out in less than a year (I am not saying this because now that he is finally out, but that I am feeling more confident about expressing my feeling). So Sanjay Dutt is finally home through his journey from Arthur road to Yerwada, earning Rs. 204 on the way. The pretext on which he got bail is still very unclear to me (I am not a law person to understand it thoroughly). But clearly ...

Taj Mahal, Pratibha Patil, SRK, Sensex, Tatas, and so on, we have it all, that signifies in its own way a symbol of fame, equality, stability, and respect. And this is amongst the best ways to summarize India’s post independence period of 60 years. It was not quite long ago when India, world’s largest democracy, was known only for its snake charmers and cow dung. However, through all such negligence/ignorance and complexities, India has still managed to navigate and surface out as the fastest developing nation. Success or growth is usually a relative term and can be perceived in more than one way. Though there are many who crib about India’s pathetic status on many fronts, there are many positives that we can look at. Nehru’s leitmotif, “unity in diversity”, is still apt for our country, except few incidents that become easy victims of some motives of political agenda. India has maintained its syncretism and pluralistic attitude on cultural grounds and embraces all with equality. We ma...

I came across an interesting blog on the website of India’s one of the most popular news channel. I have almost forgotten the basic post but what followed later interested me the most. Let’s trace back a little to last month when “Sivaji” was the buzzword in Indian film industry, more specifically in the south. The film starred the demi-god of the tamil film industry, Rajnikant who has enjoyed divine status 100% of the times. The entire film kingdom and atmosphere was filled with all kinds of craze, hype, speculations, obsessions, and so on. And this is when the blogger, Anuradha Sengupta decided to go and take a first hand experience of the Rajni mania. Now this Ms. Sengupta is not so much impressed with the boss (Sivaji – The Boss) and puts across here ‘personal’ (yes, I put that in quotes, as there were many among the commentators who did not know the definition of a blog) views about her experience. She humbly conveyed that she did not like Sivaji, while nowhere making a derogat...

“Sivaji”, supposedly the costliest film ever made in India releases today. And it casts the south Indian celluloid’s biggest brand – Rajnikant. Yes, the iconic figure of the south Indian filmdom who unarguably has largest and loyal fan following. Almost every news channel has been broadcasting the ‘Rajni Phenomenon’ that has caught fire in the south. People wearing Rajni t-shirts, carrying Rajni handkerchiefs, participating in contests on who can imitate Rajni the best, and so on. I saw on one the news channel people standing in huge queues to get the show tickets and the bookings are full for whole the next month already. Tickets sold in black are seeing a price tag that runs into thousands. Fans have bunked colleges, offices, and even exams to catch the superstar’s show on the first day – simply amazing. The magic this man spreads with his flicks and stunts and dialogues is exceptional. And that is what probably makes a superstar who can stall a huge mass of people to an utter st...

I remember having taught since childhood that thinking only about self is not good and it is termed as selfish. One should think about others too and help them in every possible way. It brings more pride and satisfaction of having given someone else more important than your own self. Selfishness is a not a good trait to have and it indeed is true when we look at things around us. With bollywood stars, cricketers, politicians, and other professionals (read lawyers, doctors) getting caught under some or the other scrutiny of investigation authorities, it is evident that being selfish at some point in life is not as fruitful in a long run. However, I sometimes tend to differ and think what the harm is if you want to think about yourself sometime. Certainly, I don’t mean that we go out and get involved in scams and frauds or cause harm to people around us. I usually see people helpless at borrowing some time from their own life for themselves. They are busy shuttling between their work...

My long wait to watch a good movie in this year finally ended when I saw 'Metro' in this week. Undoubtedly, the finest movie of the year so far. The movie is adequately packed with right quantities of emotions, practical approach, stress, romance, passion, and humour. However, its not the usual ‘masala’ movie. The stories of different couples are neatly interwoven. I had also seen ‘Salaam-E-Ishq’ and I did find that both the movies run on similar themes – extra marital affairs, heart breaks, deeply in love, and so on. However, ‘Metro’ is a much bolder film with lays down things with more practicality. The actors have portrayed the characters exceptionally well, and Irfan-Konkona pair takes a major chunk of the praise. The Dharmendra-Nafisa couple seemed a little out of place but was required to justify that few good things are happening amidst all the negative impressions around. ‘Metro’ puts you through all sorts of pressurizing situations that can be witnessed in stre...

As a normal daily routine, I switched on the television to browse through the day’s news. Watching CNN-IBN has become a ritual and I usually prefer going through the news on that channel. Today I saw the news about the so called ‘Babas’ , ‘Sadhus’ or the ‘Godmen’ involved in money laundering and other such scams. These saffron clad and heavy beard grown personalities were actually criminals in disguise. While the sting operation is still to be authenticated, the thoughts about the need for such ‘Babas’ to come into existence stormed my mind. The sudden uprising of these ‘Godmen’ and their acceptance into the society is a big quandary. I have always wondered what makes people flock to such babas whom they fondly call gurus. I don’t completely disagree with the idea of having a guru. However, it is difficult for me to understand why these babas need to be worshipped, they can just remain content with the respect they receive incase they feel that they are doing some good. I have seen m...