Nobel's Clarion call

The fairy tale for President Obama continues......Nobel Prize for Obama.

I am pleased with the honor the president received. After the excitement of this news sunk in, I contemplated on the other Nobel Prize winners : Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Albert Schweitzer and Norman Borlaug.......they have had lasting impression on many people, who draw inspiration from their work and life time. They left us to cherish ideals of courage to do the right thing, selflessness and an indomitable faith in human spirit.

The image of US is tarnished in the past due to so many aggressive, selfish tactics employed around the world. A soothing touch was desperately the need of the hour. Under these circumstances, came a beacon of Hope in the name of Obama. His skills of oratory, vision of change has inspired people around the world. His courage, vision and inclusiveness are reflected in actions....Some of his bold intentions related to international affairs, particularly, Muslim world in terms of his Cairo's address, Iran engagement, views on Palestinian, Afghanistan (Taliban engagement) etc., The intention is to establish peace, increase the cooperation and tolerance. In this world of divided by Race, religion and economic might, any vision for a different world order will be pre-judged by our parochial view of success. Let us, for a moment, set us aside our propensity to be rational, for the best of intentions may fail.

I do not expect he will succeed in many of the goals he has set himself to do. But, let us also give credit to him for thinking differently and help us all live and work towards loftier goals. The world has become very cynical and materialist with time, we tend to kill "Gandhis in the making" by being skeptical, judgmental and critical....thus slipping further into an abyss of divisiveness.

Obama will be remembered for his moral rectitude rather than the accomplishments of his Presidential term. The goals he has set out to do can not happen in his brief sojourn in the Whitehouse. It is a lifetime of work......or better yet, it is not even "his " work, but, work of all people of the world. That is a fine legacy!!

Our world is made of with many challenges that will threaten our very own survival : Global warming, energy crisis, world peace and nuclear proliferation. As predicted before elected, he is turning out to be a fine statesman. Obama now has to transcend his position; the call is now, for a noble self.

The message is also clear to rest of the people in the world - Be nobler!!

The Alchemistry of Spiritual ignorance

After having heard a lot, and a high recommendation of my niece, who fell in love with this book, I read laboriously through the 167 pages of this best seller which sold 65 Million copies. I know, I will be cursed by several of Coelho's admirers for writing this blog.

Although, I do not have any pretension of knowing the subtleties of allegorical writing, ignorant of profound meanings of spiritualism, oblivious to the deeper meanings of this book; My simple mind found this book utterly lacking in some sensibilities that are considered as 'civility' in the society. I would not disagree with the axiomatic premise of "follow your own heart", but, follow it...with a fatalist attitude - Maktub??? No proponent of "free will" would subscribe to this oxymoronic, paradoxical, contradicting spiritual point of view. Its stultifyingly absurd story to be narrated as a fable, where all the events are serendipitous ("nature conspiring for our protogonist's success").

But now, having made such outrageous remarks, and having an opinion contrary to a zillion people; gets me in an awkward situation. Coelho alludes the following ( some observations that have made me feel queasy).....

1. Let me follow my 'personal legend" at the expense of love, to get my material benefit.....
2. Believe that somehow, if I wish for something and follow my dream, the universe will conspire me to succeed. I do believe, following your heart with a commitment for a noble purpose, will open the doors of opportunity......
3. Be a sexist. Let the woman I love sacrifice everything...while I pursure my own selfish goal!!
4. Alchemy??? Ability of a person to talk to fundamental elements of nature? No matter what the spiritual advancement of an individual, the fundamental nature of these elements can not be altered. Simply because, I believe, spiritualism is a matter of heart/mind and has a different dimension. The manifestation of it can not be in the physical plane......Even Jesus Christ and Mohammad Prophet can not lay claims to such miracles...and they did not!
5. Follow the signs?? How do we follow the signs? Big Spiritual humbug.

6. Divisiveness......disregard the religious sentiments of arabian land to consume wine? It is utterly disrespectful, even it is done by an alchemist.

It baffles me to no end, about the popularity of this book. May be I am missing something....big time!! I felt, if someone needs spiritual enlightenment, study a Bible, a Koran or a Bhagavadgita......and not the escapist, psuedo-spiritual routes shown by new age book like this.

Magadheera : From Great to Good

Movies can influence culture, grab talk time and command mindshare. Telugu Cinema has seen two extravagant movies, studded with special effect and visual splendour; this year. Arundhati, a gory thriller and Magadheera, a story with "transcendence of love" theme with an intriguing script. Magadheera had potential to be a classic and a great movie, but for its compromise on some commercial pay-offs (producer's objective). In an attempt to ensure ROI, film makers have just lost an opportunity to make a great movie.

Is this a great Movie?

A great movie is flawless (both in story line and form), great acting, high artistic values, delightful, entertaining with an uplifting message. Magadheera is a good movie, because of the balancing act the crew did despite posturing and hoodwinking....but, it is skillful, clever and ingenious. Even the exposure of skin and mid-riff of the romantic interest of the protogonist appeared natural, looked tasteful, classy, yet achieve what audiences expect to see in commercial cinema. One of the rarities in this movie is creating proper context and interweaving several themes, following and closing threads that arised during the narration. Lyrical gymnastics, musical harmony and the appropriate translation on the screen is a master stroke! Although, the movies (stories) that deal with mixing things in the realm of rebirth and occult may have many logical errors, to a large extent, they were minimized.

Histrionics of both the protagonists is very apt, chemistry rightly achieved, expressions appropriate, sensual and finely blended. Ability to show expressions of anger, love, kindness, pathos, naughtiness, longing were very delicately handled and subtly acted. This is different than the "crass acting", usually seen in telugu movies. Unfortunately, Kajal did not get enough mileage as she deserves more than what she currently credited for! Charan's skills were tested at various places. But, for me, he stood tall in the episode, where he sacrifices his love at the behest of king's request ("fealty with love"). Its interesting to check his body language....all through the movie, he makes his body do the talking!

This movie would have become a classic but for some sequences that have diminished the stature of this film. Inclusion of these episodes made this film a good one instead of a great one. Some ineffective commercial pay-offs are :
1. Eight planetary alignment (sub-plot) is irrelevant to the storyline and it did not help the story narration...in anyway.
2. Entire Chiranjeevi's episode (play it to the garallies) is a cheap gimmick.
3. Brahmanandam's comedy scenes are in a very poor taste.
4. Entire Solomon's role is weak. Share Khan neither had a strong motive nor a passion to be reborn. A stronger motive should have been established well in the narrative. Have all other royal family members are reborn?

The Contrast :

The story is Contrasting and juxtaposition is dramatic and artistic. Although, there is inspiration from LOTR, 300 etc., the collage is not easy. It was finely thought through. This movie has several patterns and works at different levels - and works for mass to class markets and appeals to the most discerning of audiences.....Here are some themes I noticed :

Harsha Vs Kalabhairava : We will notice several character flaws in the Harha's character and  near flawless Kalabhairava's character. This is very contrasting (very intentional)....and shows the control of the director on the narration (and a clever screen play). Some of the flaws projected with Harsha's character are his admittance of affairs (innuendo), unnecessarily provoking the antagonist, recklessness and lack of control of anger eading to death of Indu's father). WoW! It is gutsy to portray a protagonist that way!

Girl vs. Boy : Princess pursuing bodyguard (girl seeking heart) vs. Rider pursuing a lovely girl ( boy seeking heart).

Past Vs. Present : Be it honor or values.....you will see the script/story writer jumping in and making commentary through Charan's dialogues.

Sawaal-Jawaab Panchadaara Bomma is a classic case of challenge and response. The lyrics are in Jugal bandis style (where two individual players of different competencies, coming together to produce a fantastic piece of music). These can be seen all through the movie : flower and sword, woman and Lion (art pieces in the udaygargh fort!), Suvana Hriya, Dilemma's vs. Duty, Love vs sacrifice. Good vs Evil, Contridiction vs Decisiveness, Cruety vs Fealty (even a crusader chages his heart, Share Khan appreciating the valor and courage of Kalabhairava) etc., You will notice the difference in music and lyrics as well - traditional vs contemporary. It is an admirable job to create such a script and achieve a harmony of the themes both in form and in content.

Logical problems:

Is Ranadev Billa evil?
The moment we come across Ranadev Billa 's character, we perceive him negatively. Why? Let us list down what he has done :
1. Throws his javaline  (in the introduction shot).
2. Expresses his desire for the princess. And why not? Although, this behavior is inappropriate, it is only, his woman. He would have the "right" to marry her. Forget the individual preferences of women 400 years ago. Those were the times, when Rajaram Mohun Roy was not yet born!
3. He dislikes our hero (so, we dislike him?). That is alright, our hero is not an ajathu sethru....right? That too when, he keeps tasting all the food items like Sabari.....before him in the pretext of protection! "C'mon Kalabhairava.....audience might like it, I dont"
4. His ideology is "I win/ you lose". He just says it. How many of us are any different?
5. He wears a disgusting mask...we don't like. (I think he hasn't considered the popularity survey results??).

He did not commit any offence against the state or his land.....and I believe he asked the right question about the rule of the kingdom, because he was not being heeded, all along. The punishment for asking the right question is extradition and that too, decided by a princess (who has no governing authority?).

Ranadev Billa is not evil, but a selfish man with no control on his desires. He is also foolish. But, why did we all feel he is evil? Beware, the mind trick by the director! Raghuveer is shown in the first half and as a lecher, murderer and a egoist monster. That is when the image of an actor/character is established with audience. When a character of the same actor reappears,  400 years earlier, our mind will perceive negativity (residual baggage attributed to that actor) , even if the character doesn't do all that negative :-)

Foolishness of Billa
1. After sensing the flirting of Mitravinda and Kalabhairava, he would not have the a beautiful princess ( his would-be) run into a body-guard. He will not let attracted, prime-aged opposite genders flirting and having fun at his expense. The risk is too much - one, losing the beautiful proncess, two, losing the kingdom as a result.
2. He should not have had this issue hanging in the air for too long. The betrothal must have happened way before ( a stitch in time, saves nine).

Our minds will not think this, because, we are shown the movie from only princess/kalabhairava's perspective and the romance is so enticing!

Foolish King :
Ignorance of the king not to plan for the battle even if he knows Share Khan is awaiting to capture the fort. His foolishness is displayed (the foolish kings/rulers are always our bane?):

1. Holding competitions rather than strategizing the safety of the citizens :-). There a threat looming large and Share Khan ready to lay sieze. In the middle of all this, the competition!! The succession discussion is not waranted at this time. Ranadev Billa is both angry and disgusted because, there was no succession plan by the king

2. Listening to a Raj guru's suggestions. This is the least/last the king can do (listening to a spiritual solution for a military problem). Particularly, when the Rajguru doesn't even know the extent of the threat that is looming (Noticed Rajguru enquiring about who Share Khan is?) Is it what a King does for an issue concerning national secuity?

3. A man capable of killing 100 well trained soldiers should be in the army and not as a body guard (is misallocation of resources). Just imagine the taxes those people are paying for the misrule of the king!!
4. Letting go of a Army general, when he is facing a war! The king hasn't read Ramayana, perhaps and particularly about Ravana and Vibhishana.....I thought Ramayana is 2000 years old!

Improbable Alliance :
Share Khan is powerful and doesn't need the Ranadev Billa to conquer Udaygargh. He need not have an alliance of any kind. This is just a ploy to weaken the antagonists' character.

The real Kalabhairava :

1. Beheading heads of the statues (don't know which sculptor/king would agree to it) in the initial scene is to establish his Valor.
2. Narration of the history of his clan by the minister, Man Singh of Share Khan ( which is only notional at that time).
3. Negative dimension to his character is his flirting with Princess, although he is a body gaurd. That behavior is unethical. And actually thinking that he can marry her! So, there is no need of sacrifice....Actually, he should have warned the lady that their love is "improbable".

All in all, this is a character appears that appears loftier (but has opportunist overtones).

I had my own wishlist after seeing the movie........
1. The comedy should have been more effective had it been a couple of "hide-n-seek" and 'cat and mouse" with Harsha and Indu and coincidental humor thereof... instead of using traditional comedy fare.

2. In the DVD version, I would expect alternative endings ( asking too much?). Had I been directing this film, I would make a small change in the ending. I would have borrowed "Cliffhanger"...which would be fitting for this movie of irony, coincidence and constrast. Since, in the first life, kalabhairava could not hold hands, in the modern life, Indu almost falls off the cliff, Harsha holds her hands dramatically, and saves her!
3. Need an extended cut in DVD...I can't get enough of this movie :-)
This movie is not set up for either a pre-quel or a sequel. We just lost an opportunity to churn out a big franchise.

Arundhati: Triumph of Form over Content

After hearing rave reviews, word of mouth and several discussions in the cafeteria about the movie, I was so tempted to watch it in a hurry. I got tickets in a Premier theatre using my "influence". Then I watched....not once, but twice! I have tremendously enjoyed every moment; both times.

Arundhati is gripping, smart, intelligent, tacky! Anushka's best performance and I doubt, if she can ever beat this ever again. But, one such role is enough in a lifetime! She is Majestic as Jejemma and a very contrasting, diffident Arundhati. Ravi Shankar who dubbed for Sanu Sood's Character of Pasupati/Aghora is easily recognizable best dubbing effort. Without a doubt, this movie will be a milestone in Tollywood. Clever direction, deft editing, jaw dropping special affects (by far the best in Indian cinema) and exceptional production values will earn this movie a permanent place in Tollywood history. I was told it is going to be a guaranteed all time grosser. Blockbuster, no doubt! There is no denying, why the movie did so well.....umpteen people have written, gossiped about it already. I can easily visualize many awards for these efforts.

Leaving alone the hype, I have this uneasy feeling after my second viewing. I wanted to share with you some of my observations. Sometimes, we may revel in fun, not knowing if it is good for us or not. For example, smoking is fun, we may enjoy it, but we increase the risk of a lung cancer. So, for me, it is essential to know the consequence of doing something...

Where do I start?

There is form and there is content. The form is the physical manifestation of content. The content is made up of a theme, objects or characters and logic. The form is made up of voice, art, costumes, location, sound, musical score, photography and other technical aspects. In this case, there aren’t many limitations of form.

Theme:

A classical good vs. Evil theme! A strong protagonist needs even stronger villain! This story spread across generations, thus increasing the breath for 'form'. Villainy is built up using up not only all social evil but involving paranormal (a lot of scope for special effects team :-)). The more powerful these two characters, the more graphic (blood shed) and explicit (rituals and rapes), things can be depicted. The pretext for FX team is quite solid and convenient for gruesome scenes. Indeed!

Main Characters:

Jejamma: By far the strongest character. She is brave, determined; possess strong conviction, confident, lofty, kind, generous. I did not find any character flaws....
Pasupati: Embodiment of all evil. Perfect villain and a complement to Jejamma…
Jejamma's dad: He is a wimp (who lets his second daughter boss around, while he is still alive and kicking). His reasons not to punish Pasupati are implausible, as Pasupati has already harassed several people before he is married. Everyone in the town knows his son-in-law’s atrocities. To get him to marry his own daughter at the behest of his sister is unfathomable. To top it all, to say, it is because of his daughter's future, he is keeping mum is even more irresponsible. Had he behaved natural (with normal logic), this movie wouldn’t have happened! This character is the weakest and walked on the thin ice.
Satyanarayana, may not have known his mother (Jejamma) that well, as he is shown as a small boy, when she left. It is debatable, as to how he related to his mom..... I am sure; he would have heard legends about his mom, while he grew up. Since, he is deprived of being raised by Jejamma; his admiration for her could be called into question. Certainly, the way, he treats his grand-daughter with respectfulness tickles my bones!
Manorama is a bridge between the generations. Apparently, she has seen both Jejamma and Satyanarayana jr’s relationship. That would make me assume her age to be when she can remember. Say, she is 10 year old (she also claims only she and Jejamma knows what happened 48 days after Aghora’s death). If 80 years have passed since, her age should approximately be 90! Did you notice, she never shows up in the flash back! Probably because, we haven't technologically evolved in animation/SFX to impersonate a younger Manorama J
Arundhati: Another weak character (from the story point of view). This is a result of irrationality of the story. How could Arundhati accept adulation given by elders, if she doesn’t know her place in the Samsthanam’s history? Jejamma has explicitly directed everyone that she is going to be reborn and directed them to first girl by her name. Doesn't she know her direct lineage? How can she not identify the Atman of Satyanarayana’s brother? She conveniently did not, because the logic falls flat and impedes the progress of the movie? If we were to assume that she is bought up oblivious to Samsthanam’s history…..it will put the entire story in logical complications!

Story and Logic:

Haunted House Mystery: History of the abandoned house (particularly, because, it is ‘haunted house’) should not have been a secret. There were a lot of witnesses to what happened when Aghora returned. The Samsthanam is abandoned....as there were a lot of gruesome murders....containment of Aghora and a deadly plague, subsequently. If there is a haunted house, how come Anwar not have a clue about this? There were so many “possession” cases Anwar resolves on a regular basis, stories about Satyanarayana’s brother appearances is also talked about….then, his warnings should also must have been known. As a whole, a thing or two the about the abandoned mansion should have been known.
Aghora’s Revenge: Why would he avenge only Arundhati? How does Aghori know that Jejamma is reborn (or will be born again?)? If he knows that Jejamma by some psychic powers, then why did he not make any attacks as soon as Arundhati is born? How would he know about her marriage? How could Aghora get his human form at the end? What evil did Aghora did in the 80 years? Does he have so much patience? Why did he fail all the years to lure a single person to have him released from the tomb? Is it due to the Satyanarayana’s brother’s atman only? When is he going to get Vimukthi? Didn't anyone try tresspassing into the mansion for 80 years...why only one who seeks his wife (suseela)?
Jejamma’s sacrifice and last days: To end the evil, Jejamma needs to sacrifice....but, there will not be any hurry! Because, it is not in this life that she can to end evil. Hence she could have lived till her first son’s marriage (die, hoping to be reborn to him). Since, she couldn’t have been able to stop anything Aghora must have unleashed. Apparently, after the great plague, Aghora hasn’t done any evil to the people of Gadwal.
Jejamma’s forgotten? Possibly, there would have been a lot of legend/speculation of the reasons why Jejamma never returned? Did the people deem her dead? Do they know Jejamma is leaving then on a sacrificial mission (people certainly behaved as if, she has going on a suicide mission) and forgot her?

Jejamma writes everything...but, why did not she give instructions to her family to educate Arundhati, if born again, that it is indeed her reincarnation? She must also have left these secrets to be shared with her…..because; it should be her mission to end evil. Things like this should be left to chance….it should have been well planned. Alas, it was shown that Jejamma is brave, doesn’t mean that she a great planner J
Killing of Aghora: How did he assume a human form? How does Arundhati know how to kill Aghora? Why did she stab Aghora after stabbing herself (apparently, she did not get the clue from Anwar)? The saint has said this only to Anwar or do we have to tacitly understand even Jejamma knew it?
Some Petty things:
The age of the Saint, who helped Jejamma? If we suppose his age at the time of meeting Jejamma to be 31 (age when Buddha has attained his enlightenment), add another 80? That is a real tough Saint who tests the limits of longevity!
Why did Aghora want Arundhati want her in Gadwal? Why did he not let her cross Gadwal? His power seems to be working nevertheless in Hyderabad where he scared Rahul?
There is always logical problem in creating stories that have not happened (fiction). The logical problems are even more, if we are dealing with non-existing realms. This story is just a classic example of the classic problem of socio-fantasies.
A note about Aghoris: When I was a growing up (early 1980s, when "tulasidalam", a social-fantasy also made a huge splash), I read a novel called "Muudo Purushaardam" by Chivukula Purushottam. He described Aghoris way of living vividly and how other people misunderstand their tenets. He claims them as saints. The wikipedia entry also suggests that this is a sect/cult with only handfuls of them are left in Varanasi. They are not evil doers; it is just that they may have ambivalence to living or dead, human or animal....can't argue too much about it. Demonizing them...saying that they involve in voodoo, witchcraft and sorcery is purely to create dramatic affect in the movie.
Enjoy the movie...but be cautious of accepting what you see. To me, this movie is a pseudo-fantasy thriller. We should reject regressive influences of such movies. I am not saying reject the movie...I am saying do not accept everything you see. Know and be conscious of what you should reject in the movie. Enjoy responsibly! Make no mistake about it...Arundhati is a great ride....still.