"Comparing Apples and Oranges"

Last weekend I thought it is time I watched a movie at a multiplex. Wanted to play it safe and so invited opinions from friends and acquaintances on the ‘new’ film Rang De Basanti (RDB). True to the sense of contemporary Indian democracy where we the citizens do not give a clear verdict for any single party, the opinion on RDB gave confusing signals. A third of the opinions branded the film as horrible, the other third as excellent and the remaining had no clear opinion. It appeared to me that this film should not be as hopeless as the hyped Hum-Tum or as good as Amir Khan’s Lagaan. The challenge I concluded was ‘expectation management’.

Four hours hence, I was in the list of thousands who had watched RDB. The makers of the move wanted to try things innovative but somewhere there are gaps. AR Rehman as usual is at his musical best. An ideal weekend time passing film. No loss if you do not watch it and no gain if you do either.

I felt I should see a better move back-to-back at once. Always wanted to watch (understand rather) ‘Silence of the Lambs’ (SOTL). When the film was released I was in my early teens and could not decipher much. I had come of age now to watch the movie! Successfully hunted for a DVD as I need English subtitles to watch this English movie. Pulled out the latest Oxford dictionary and thesaurus and placed it next to me. Made sure that my mobile is in silent mode.  Pushed the play button on my player and let the Oscar greats enthrall me for the next 1 hour and 58 minutes. However it took me more than 3 hours to complete the movie. Several scenes had to be paused (to consult dictionary), re-played (to see the finer detail) and analyzed. Indeed a fantastic thriller.

For the next few days I was either re-casting the scenes from SOTL or humming the songs from RDB. That means that both left an impression in my mind regardless of the fact that the ‘intellectual’ in me wanted only Oscar winning SOTL in my brain and nothing of Filmfare award winnable RDB. I wore the manager hat of the new-age economy to mumble a soliloquy “Am I comparing apples and oranges”.

Tags: RDB, SOLTL,  bollywood

Losers of the Bush's India Visit

The actual losers of President George Bush’s visit to India are not Bush baiters. Bush clearly stole the lime light from some who certainly deserved their due.

First victim is PC Chidambaram. The week following the budget is usually relished by PC as he is wanted by every media in India and even some of them abroad. Channels like CNBC had concluded panel discussions on last year’s budget only sometime in January. This budget, thanks to Mr.Bush and some thorns in the bush (the leftists who are protesting the Bush visit); I did not see PC much on television. We really missed PC’s sexy impeccable English, his pure white mundu and full arm white shirt and the delightful sight of him slamming some journalists who try to act smart in the press conference.

Second is the Chief Election Commissioner. The announcement of assembly election dates for 5 states is sometimes covered live by some channels. This is followed by a series of discussions on the voting pattern as the weather gets harsh by May when the polls are scheduled. You will have ‘intellectuals’ from JNU and India International Centre deliberating on the impact that summer vacations will have on the voting pattern. The less confident political parties will demand change in polling dates such that rahu and kethu are separated at an angle of 60 degrees as prescribed by their astrologer. We missed all the drama this time.

Third is Cricket. I do not know how much of cricket would have hogged the limelight. But certainly Bush has taken away at least a small piece of cake from cricket commentators (certainly from Sidhu and Shrikanth). It does not really matter for our Indian cricketers as they got an overdose of media attention last month after the series in Pakistan and the India-England series has just started.  

Other losers are a few journalists of Times News and CNN IBN. This was the first budget they covered in the infancy of their channel. Correspondents skilled in state elections and economics must be execrating the timing of Bush’s visit.

Tags: Bush, Bush in India