Much deserved accolade for Rahman

If you read the paper and/or watch TV there is no way you could have been insulated from the current topic of discussion - Does AR Rahman deserve the Oscars for his score for Slumdog?

Before I go any further I must confess to being a huge Rahman fan. In fact although I look down upon people who make a fuss about celebrities, there are four people who I might grovel in front of, should I ever be fortunate enough to meet them - Rahman is one of them. His creative genius is spectacular - it is unimaginable what he can do with a few vocals and a host of instruments. Anybody who criticises his music is obviously churlish and envious of his talent.

Coming back to the Oscars and whether Rahman deserves it for "Jai Ho" I feel that Rahman definitely deserves it but maybe not for this particular song. He has composed far more superior songs with complex melodies and rythms that have continued to enthrall listeners despite the test of time. In fact I think some of his best work is in his earlier albums. Of late he has been far too tied up with Hollywood projects and Andrew Lloyd Webber to really focus and give his all to Indian cinema.

However I believe that Life is a little absurd in its ways. Sometimes you toil and sweat and give something your all and it does not fructify and sometimes things happen with a mere push. Call it luck or destiny or whatever but thats the way the cookie crumbles. I think sometimes our credits build up over time till they reach the highest point and then the deluge bursts at the addition of a mere drop. Maybe thats what happened with Rahman. He has been biding time giving us listeners masterpieces after masterpieces but it took a Slumdog to bring him to the international stage. And now a million people bask in his reflected glory. Suddenly everyone wants to be associated with him - they were in his band, they have worked with him and so on and so forth. It is amazing how success attracts fireflies in hordes.

So let us not take away from his win. It is truly deserved and long overdue.

Parents, Leave the kids alone

The last two weeks have been so hectic that while I had a million thoughts that I just had to pen down I was unable to do much about it. Luckily I have a breather today and here goes..
While we were watching Madagascar 2 the other day (hilarious movie, I must add) we caught the trailer of two upcoming Indian animated movies. Since my husband and I have dabbled in animation earlier, we have a keen interest on the subject. We were floored by the quality of animation that is currently in vogue but I had a view that funnily was also shared by the TOI review of one of the movies. Not that I need coraboration of an idea, but it seemed uncanny that I should have given a verdict that was mirrored by a supposed expert on the subject.
Well both of us thought that the movie lacked immensely on the fun quotient. The laughs were just not there. The whole movie revolved around morals, issues, mythology etc. but no riotous moments that tickle your funny bone, no witty dialogues, no crazy escapades - nothing to woo the kiddy audience that the movie is really trying to attract.
Which brings me to the real crux of the issue. Are we too preachy with our kids. Are we all too bothered about them learning all the right things through every medium possible. If it is a game - what kind of cognitive skills is the child learning, if it is a story - what is the moral, everything has become a teaching tool. A jigsaw puzzle doubles up as a mathematics teacher, a board game trys to teach you how to match and count - the list is endless.
Why dont we let our children have more FUN
I remember when we were kids we werent always hounded with information. We were let alone to just potter around, read what we wanted and generally fool around. But now my mother never leaves my daughter alone. She is always trying to teach her something. Even painting becomes a lesson on primary and secondary colours. I cant say I am entirely blameless either. I do tend to play word forming games, guess the spelling, who much does it add upto etc.. whenever I get a chance.
Mind you I am not saying that this is not required. I am just wondering whether there is an overdose at a far younger age than needed.
Why is there this drive amongst us to create prodigies or over smart kids - the smug look on the parent/grandparent's face is unmistakable when their ward has proven him/herself innaturally intelligent. No harm I must say as long as it is not overdone.
Maybe we need to let our kids laugh more often and romp about while they still have the time. Maybe every movie does not need to have a message. Maybe every game does not need to teach them something. Good fun should also be part of the agenda. Else we will have geniuses who cannot see the lighter side of life. And what a pity that would be!

Dont judge a movie by the review

My husband and I follow movies with a passion that sometimes serves as a lowest common denominator for our relationship - translated that means that even when we are at loggerheads on all other subjects movies and books are the two things that can keep the fabric of our marriage intact. Even when we are in he middle of a fight, the discussion about a book or a movie immediately serves to thaw the ice and bring back the comraderie.

We have our own parameters to gauge a movie to decide whether it merits watchng. This many times is in direct conflict with the popular opinion of most cinemagoers - but we are kind of used to it by now. We are wedded to certain directors and actors and creative teams and no one, definitely not some two pennies worth critic can keep us out of the cinema hall. Which brings me to the topic of critiquing a movie.

Have ypou ever wondered who decides that a person is worthy of critiquing a work of art - be it cinema, music or art. What gives them the credibility or moral authority to comment on some body else's work. Have they any masterpiece to their credit? Have they accomplished anything noteworthy in that field that they have presumed the right to comment on some body else's work. Every work of art has untold effort, innumerable tortuous hours of toil that have been sunk into it - it embodies a million aspirations and countless dreams. No one ever goes half measures while creating something. Of course not all of us are maestros. So some efforts become masterpieces while others stay mediocre.

However while one can make an informed opinion on a movie, I do not think one has the right or authority to pan something and decry somebody's efforts. Not unless that person has personally proven hinslef in that same field. They say that begruntled people turn into critics. I am inclined to agree. When one does not have it in him to perform he derives joy in deriding the guy who dares to try.

And what is even more pathetic is that the common man ascribes undue importance to one person's opinions, one person's taste without giving the craetor a fair chance. How many times have I heard people writing off a movie just because the review is not good. I have been pleasantly suprised scores of times when I have chosen to disregard somebody else's opinion.

Ayn Rand had classified people as first person and second person individuals on this same trait. Those who only rely on their opinions belong to teh first class. Needless to say they are the ones who blaze their own trail while the others merely follow other's footsteps.

Tackle terrorism at the grass roots

The recent Mumbai blasts shocked us all. We followed the action minute by minute live on television - perhaps the only time when the TV was on at our house all day. What was most disconcerting were the perpetrators of terror - no longer were they fanatic looking Muslims, bearded with turband in dish-dash. Now they were well-educated, urban looking youth - around 23 years old speaking fluent English. These could be guys whom we meet at super stores, who could befriend us and invade our homes. How do we then identify them in a crowd?

A nameless fear crept into our hearts as this could be a story that could be retold anywhere and anytime and we could all fall prey to this nameless fear that could strike at our backyard. People started pointing fingers at each other and ways were discussed to somehow eliminate these weeds from society. But since there is no foolproof way of identifying these weeds from the blossoms, any blanket method will definitely be kneejerk and far from effective.

Which brings me to the crux of the issue. Where are these weeds spawned. Where do regular Muslim guys become fanatic jehadis. Not at the local school or the playground or the hobby classe. Here they are merely taught to explore their talents and meet with other youth from different backgrounds.

However Madarsas are a different story alltogether. It is here that they are taught to differentiate themselves from the others around them. Here they are taught the tenets of their religion and taught to think of themselves as Muslims. It is here that the lessons of hatred are taught to them and their hearts are festered with the wish for revenge. What are they trying to avenge they know not - only that they have been indoctrinated to fight and die in the process. They have been brainwashed that true happiness awaits them in heaven and they shall be blessed by Allah if they kill all those who are opposed to their kaum.

Their state is much like the addict who percieves everyone as a threat to his existence and is willing to obliterate everything in his path.

What I want to know is why these schools of hatred and religios bigotry are being allowed to flourish when definite evidence has been found to their being hotbeds of terrorists. Why cannot the law be rewriiten to make them illegal. If the RSS and the VHP can be banned as organizations that spawn killers, why cannot Madarsas be banned as well.

If we snuff out the roots of these weeds we can at least try and contain the menace that will otherwise blot out our very existence.

Violation of privacy at its best

The other night out of sheer boredom and in order to stay awake for my nocturnal husband, I was surfing on the television. I cam across star world which used to be my favourite channel during the days of frasier Crane, Friends, Whose line is it anyways etc.. A sense of curiosity on what was currently happening on this channel made my stop and watch. There was a reality show going on and I decided to give it a dekho since there was no concern about continutiy. There was a suited man sitting opposite a lady dressed in a severely low necked dress looking rather ill at ease. The crowd was hooting at something she had just said that had supposedly won her a considerable amount of money. I then gathered the name of the show - "Moment of Truth" which supposedly tested how honest you were and how far you would go to win a 100 thousand dollars.

The questions asked were as intrusive as they could get and all desired to produce one effect - salacious pleasure for the audience to sate the voyeur that lurks in most of us. That a channel should try to pander to the peeping top- gossip monger in people stunned me. How far would they go for TRPs, i thought. They had interspersed the show with "highlights" of other shows where people were being asked if they had cheated on their girlfrieds, slept with people and every possible outrageously personal question you could think of. And undoubtedly the answer was scandalous. Yes people had cheated, yes they had slept around.. So we get to peek into the fetid underbelly of society. But to make an open confession out of it and in the presence of the very near and dear ones who the confession will devastate the most is ridiculous. There were actually live reactions of these people reacting to these "truths". You had a heart broken father listen to his daughter dosowning him, a sister who had to listen to her sister refusing to have her as her bridesmaid should she get married and that was supposed to be worth a hundred thousand dollars

What are getting to? Are we saying that emotions are calculable, can be valued with money and that breaking people's hearts is actually a sign of strength that requires rewarding? I think the entire thing is just a sign of how materialistic and self centered we have become as a society and how instant gratification and salacious fun is now justified by any violation - be it one of privacy or values

Nature the perfect balm to all your worries

Life has been pretty hectic the last month so have not had a second to write. Many thoughts slipped over each other and disappeared into the vast sea of consciousness, never to be expressed. How many times have we had a beautiful thought, an observation that desperately wanted expression but due to absence of an audience or a willing ear, it just fades away into the mundanities of day to day living. What a pity. Wish I had a recorder embedded in my brain to save these thoughts..

Normally my husband is my confidant, my sounding box who has to listen to my every thought but he is so busy of late that it seems criminal to disturb him with a passing thought.

When I used to be younger and life was less complex, I would retreat to the water tank at every opportunity. I would sit with my back against the wall of the water tank and look at the senset and converse with the gods. I have always believed that if there is a God then he resides in the sunrise and the sunset. Such beauty could only be possible by the master artist himself. And what would surprise me is how original each masterpiece would be..no two sunsets are the same. Sometimes the sun is in a hurry to slip away from the world and all its weariness and some other days he takes his time, painting a myriad colors on the canvas of the sky. As the skies were streaked with tongues of fire and the horizon took on an orange haze slipping into vermillion and then finally azure the stars would suddenly make their presence known, one by one. Isnt the fact that the stars are always there in the skies but visible only at night a classic example of Maya- an optical illusion.

The other sight that never fails to calm me is the sight of the waves crashing on the shore. I can sit for hours on the beach and listen to the sound of the sea. The sight of the frothing waves, the sound of the mighty walls of water beating down on the shore can drown every worry every sorrow and make your issue seem so insignificant in the general scheme of things. Issues that seemed mammoth in proportions can suddenly shrink to oblivion when we see things in proportion. The problem is that when we are in the issue it is quite like the frog in the well. The issue assumes collosal propotions and significance and threatens to blot everything else. However nature has the ability to set things back into perspective, to help us realise that we are only a small part of the great scheme of things.

True teamwork

Being wedded to a producer/director is sometimes great fun and sometimes a drag. It is impossible to plan anything with him involved as I never know his schedule. It is maddening when he sometimes wakes up to a supposedly free day and by mid day he is swamped with calls and sudden urgent meetings. What is worse is when he needs to travel at the drop of a hat with no known date of return.
But let me instead talk about the better aspects of my life. Thanks to him, I was able to sit through a shoot of his serial which features some of the biggest names in the Kannada film industry. I had this once in a lifetime opportunity to watch Dwarkesh, Chandrashekar and Mandeep Rai on the sets, as they were giving their shots. To say that I was excited was putting it mildly. I was not quite sure of what to expect, but nevertheless I was very suprised by what I got to see.
Despite being a huge name in the industry and a favourite amongst the masses, I didnt see a trace of ego, pride or for that matter any starry airs in Dwarkesh's behavior. Instead he was working very hard to improve the performance of every body else on the sets. He gave them tips, coached them on their dialogue delivery and more or less took over the direction of the scene from my husband's hands. He truly raised the bar and elicited sterling performances from the other senior stars - something that my husband could not have done without bristling a few egos. As for his part, he was superb. All he needed was a few minutes. He would close his eyes, rehearse his dialogue and then go for it. His shot was invariably fine at the first take. Such dedication and pursuit of perfection was enthralling and inspiring.
However what really amazed me was his desire for the project to succeed, the complete lack of insecurities and pettiness that sometimes makes people want to outshine others and stand out in a crowd. This was what sets perfectionists apart. They want the product to be perfect and they are mature enough to understand that the chain is as strong as the weakest link. So they try to plug all the holes and strengthen all the weak links. Their aim is not to stand out and perform alone but to perform as a team. Therin lies the sucess formula of any team. And cinema is possibly the biggest example of team work where everyone needs to excel for the project to be successful. It is not enough for the actors to act well, the cinematography, music and rerecording, the story and screenplay, the dialogues, direction, editing everything needs to make the grade for the film to be successful.
It is hence quite tragic that a film gets panned in a second without any due thought for the untiring efforts of all the unsung heroes behind the screen.