Anwar (2007)

I typically don't write about movies that I like but this one had to be the exception. More so, because everywhere in the web, the diatribe against it includes phrases like loose plot, direction less direction, good songs but slow to death etc. What I am going to contend here is that the movie is in fact a strong plot and artistically directed.

I'll start with a cliche sentence - Anwar grows on you. The movie is about love and that's it - only love. Hindu-Muslim tension, farcical media and hypocrite politicians are just peripheral wings of a masterfully crafted core story or stories as you may call it. To enjoy the full glory of it, don't see it as a conglomeration of multiple distinct stories but look for pattern that emerge from each story. The central theme of each story is Love (sic). And the salient points that emerge from them are:

• It is basic human desire to be loved and love. The strongest of the emotion craves for a subject on whom to shower all that it has. Master Pasha: Pyaar karo anwar, pyaar. Pyaar ke bina jindagi kitnee neeras hai.
• And love, as much as it is pure, is also impartial in residing among human's heart. Be it a swine or an innocent lad, a hypocrite politician or a cunning journalist, it finds a place in each heart.
• Howsoever basic or universal this emotion may be, it is a taboo in contemporary indian society. A feeling that is to be felt shameful for. Ironically though, given that the myths and legends of India has been full of love display. An overused mythological couple, in this movie and at many other places is Krishna and Meera as a symbol of pure love.
  
• Coming back, movie also comments that harboring this emotion has its flip side as well. It can bring unimaginable pain. And this is where I find movie's strength lies. It has taken up this point so indifferently and yet so frequently that it is hard to miss it. Going where other bollywood flicks tremble, Anwar shows that this pain is caused when our love blinds us to see any imperfection or any limitation in the subject of our love. A relegation to apotheosis as one may call it. And soon this dream shatters, coz we are, in the end, mere mortals ! Be it Mehru's unfaithfulness, deepti suddenly seeing a bhikhari (bum) in Master Pasha or refusal of love by Miss DM to Minister, it all shows what humans are made up of - an idealism fancying beast with feet cuffed to ground.

So is there a hope ? To be in love and yet to be far from pain. I may be accused of over stretching here but I see hope in the imagery of love shown so beautifully and colorfully in Krishna's leela with Meera. If the object of your love becomes Divine Himself, as Meera chose it to be, then Love doesn't hurt. This, I felt, is the passing remark of Anwar.

Besides, the background flute music (another reference to Lord Krishna ?) and rhythimic camera work gives a poetic expression in movie's narrative. Needless to say, I fairly enjoyed the movie and if you have been accusing Anwar of loose plot, this might be a good time to revisit it!

Mood: Contemplative and romantic. Should watch my favorite ghazal now.

Recommendations for a Loser

"Some are born Losers, some achieve, and some have it thrust upon 'em"

-Lokzpeare

Yet Another Night !

If you are one of the last two i.e. a neophyte or an epiphany-realized loser & are wondering on how to survive for the rest of your life, this post is for you. Ya, you may be wondering what qualifies me to speak for you. Well, my brethrens, I have been in this game since birth & I bring to the table 22 yrs & 6 months of loserapa experience. I have seen it all & now mastered the guerilla tactics of survival in the worst cirsumstances.

I know you get distraught when you see young guns like you embracing arms of the opposite sex, enjoying life cheerfully & merrily. Comrades, as one of the most influential self help guru Stephen R. Covey says, the problem is not out there but you. To change the world, you will have to change the YOU. We all live in a microcosm & as a behavioural psychology study recently proved we all seek competition with persons around our social/friend circle. You will have to change your perception of the world, your microcosm & the YOU & soon the problems will vanish.

With the bull$hit said, now follows the meat. To change the perception of the world, you will have to be careful on what you see from the world. This will define the world for you. Here is the list of things that I will earnestly recommend you ..

Movies:

• A clockwork orange (Dir. Stanley Kubrick):- So you thought that you are the only loser. Check out these guys & you will have a reason or two to feel pride.
• Pyaasa (Dir. Gurudutt) :- Your talent alone cant take you too far !
• The Obscure Object of Desire ( Dir. Luis bunuel ) :- The masterpiece & a must must recommendation for every loser to walk on the planet earth. Never before or ever will such a loser tale be captured through lense.

Books:

• Thus Spake Zarathushtra ( Friedrich Nitzsche ) :- For moral support & to give you a vision for your loser life.
• Crime & Punishment ( Fyodor Dostoevsky ) :- Cheer up ! you havent seen the worst part of life yet.
• The Stranger ( Albert Camus ) :- Indifference is the key !
• Catcher in the Rye ( J. D. Salinger ) :- The world is phony, you alone are the truth.

Art/Paintings:

• The persistence of memory ( or infact anything from Salvador Dali) :- The melanchony & barren lands can engross you for hours & you will feel one with them soon.
• Guernica ( or infact anything from Pablo Picasso ):- Ever wanted to see hallucinations without opiating yourself ? You can also continue looking at them since they wont make any sense for loooong time.

Music:

• Metallica : Some really depressive stuff fuelled with guitar & a hopeless voice. you will cherish !
• Slayer/Megadeath : No words !

Well this is just the begining my comrades. Be comfortable, there is enough material to keep you busy rest of your life & you will never have to see the light of that happy cheerful world again !

P.S.: Incase you have something to contribute, please feel free to do so. It is a collective responsibility to help our brethrens.

where do I fit in ?

As an author puts it, to say "I Love you", you have to recognize "I" . Spinoza, among other mysteries, confronts "where do we fit in?" in his most acclaimed work - Ethics. Nice questions, but where do these chaps get time to think of humanity ? I, for one, am too much concerned with myself. & Ironically enough, these are the same people who are driving me nuts.

This interview gave me goosebumps. The extent of imagination & thought that this scientist has is overwhelming. Rob Carlson, an EE deptt. Prof. at U. Wash religiously writes his personal blog to discuss almost everything related to Biology & industry.

& when I see these stalwarts through my small eyes, I am all set to be haunted by a single question - "Where do I fit in ?". In the world that has already seen greatest of the greats, where does a simple man with big dreams ends up ?

& more pertinent, where does a simple man with big dreams who ponders "where he fits in ?" ends up ?

An asylum, may be ??

Mental Masturbation

How many of you spend more than a fraction of your day dreaming of events otherwise unlikely to happen in real life. Well, I do. No, the content of these events dont have to be amorous. Infact, they DONT have to be.

I spend a large part of my mental energy dreaming of unlikely encounters, how I would respond to them, how this will make others feels etc. I think I was born with this weakness, coz I cant think of any time in my life when I didnt fall for this temptation. For a long time, I wasnt even aware of this. Hindu yogis warn that this can make me mentally weak & my will power will hit its bottom low. I try rescuing myself from this never ending surreal experience, but before I realize I have already gone too deep in this tar pit.

May be meditating more will help fix my mind more.

Escapist 

This is my first post. I can feel my head heavy as innumberable thoughts are competing to get penned down.

Since I am bad with words, I rather take the easier way out. I upload this image & let others do the thinking. I liked it the instance I saw it. Blame it on my testosterones, you perverts, but I call this creativity. If only I could have played the violin !