Lage Raho Munnabhai
February 14, 2007 | Filed Under Jumboji, Mumboji, Point of View, Theatre & Movies | 3 Comments
Jumboji: Why Munnabhai out of the blue?
Mumboji: I wanted to remind people something about the movie. I have known people who have loved and hated the movie. But sometimes I wonder if people realize why it’s probably amongst the best few hindi movies made.
Jumboji: You think so?
Mumboji: Don’t you?
Jumboji: It doesn’t matter what I think, you tell me what you do.
Mumboji: If you don’t mind, let me just tell the plot in short.
Jumboji: Must give spoile warning then…
Mumboji: The story is about a man who falls in love.
Jumboji: So that’s why you are writing it on Valentine’s day?
Mumboji: Ehh! No. But anyways, so he falls in love with a radio jockey (with her voice i am guessing). The guy is a goon and the girl apparently is having a contest with her listeners. The contest is a quiz on Gandhi and winner gets a chance to meet her. Obviously this is the chance that Munnabhai (the goon) is waiting for. He manages to win the quiz with a little help from “friends”. Munnabhai gets to meet the love of his life and now is absolutely floored by the dazzling beauty. He has to get to know her and moreover get her to like him. The only way being - knowing everything about Gandhi, Munnabhai has no choice but to read up everything on the life and principles of the Mahatma.
Jumboji: hmm…
Mumboji: The plot thickens here, spending day and night in the museum dedicated to Gandhi, the ghost of Gandhi manifests before him. It’s this ghost that helps him throughout the movie in achieving seemingly impossible things. Things that are out of the box and extra-ordinary and extremely funny coming from a man who has been a goon all his life and can’t talk with anyone politely…
The movie is light-hearted and fun all throughout but there comes a moment that makes you respect the story. In one scene Munnabhai is questioned by a psychiatrist. The q/a session occurs in a press conference and it is systematically proved that Gandhi’s ghost doesn’t really exist. It is probably some kind of delusion. But what is remarkable is that the scene reveals much more than it actually does.
It tells that Munnabhai has actually gone the distance in understanding Gandhi and has subconsciously accepted his principles and is following them. Just that the man is still wearing a goon’s body and there is an inertia in the transformation. The only way probably is through hearing the same things the mind says through a holocaust image of the eyes. I like how the movies says this without actually saying it.
I also like how the psychiatrist is portrayed in the movie… focusing on the problem and not the individual, which also seems to be a reality in our society (i am generalizing, there could be exceptions).
After the scene, everything in the movie seems less contrived and one can’t help but feel for Munnabhai.
Jumboji: I agree.
Mercy Killing
February 13, 2007 | Filed Under Mumboji, Point of View, Travel | 2 Comments
Jumboji: What do you think of Euthanasia?
Mumboji: I don’t have any great views on it. But I think it should be given to everyone who stays in Bombay. Everyone who tolerates Bombay. Everyone who goes through hell to earn his bread and butter here. I stepped out of my house and there’s a traffic jam. I go about 50 meters ahead and roads are dug up. The road has been like that for about a year now. It’s all for a better future it seems. I don’t know when this better future will come. Just about a week back hutments along a road nearby were razed to build a road. While I am not a big fan of people constructing houses on roads illegally, seeing the homeless people was not a happy sight.
Some people were staying open roof and some were sleeping on their razed houses. When I look at people like them, I realize how blessed I am. I still have a cozy room and a nice bed to sleep on. In fact I have much more than that. But I am guessing when one is poor, one doesn’t care too much about the law. I think even the rich feel the same. I think people who care about the law can be counted on fingers.
Jumboji: Do you think, you can leave Bombay?
Mumboji: Vicious city, isn’t it? First I thought I love this city, but I guess my love is more of 29 years of dedicated staying in it. I haven’t seen too many places outside it and whenever I do, I’m overwhelmed.
I visited Pushkar recently and I was floored. The place has a serene feel to it. (Some people would think serene is my favorite adjective as I use it everywhere I can even remotely attribute it to.) Here, have a look at this panorama, doesn’t it give you the feel of serenity?
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| From Jaipur - Ajme… |
And then have a look at this sunset….
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| From Jaipur - Ajme… |
And imagine seeing the sunset everyday. With probably a nice cup of tea (alcohol is prohibited in Pushkar). Yeah things have their pros and cons.
When I was there I went on a 3 hour camel safari along with a friend of mine - Harish. It was splendid, I even bruised a part of my body that is seemingly impossible to bruise. Lots of things happened on that camel ride. They warrant a separate blog entry so I will refrain from it at the moment. I have had a tiring day at work, I was absconding for about 9 days and things have piled up. But the trip was worth it.
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| From Jaipur - Ajme… |
That’s the camel I rode on. Splendid animal, extremely cute. Large well built and loved rolling in the sand. The guy apparently had a fear of moving vehicles. Whenever he saw one coming, he would get all panic-stricken and try to veer away as far as possible or stick his head in another camel’s butt. He was called Moti and I have decided to name the fear of moving cars after him — Motigo. Apparently after arriving in Bombay, I feel like the fear has become mine and I suffer from Motigo too.
If at all you ever plan to visit Pushkar, a very good person to get in touch with is Himmat Singh - +919414300143. He has a web site that’s under construction - http://www.hotelvenuspushkar.com/ but there are more phone numbers there that you can use.
And if you intend to go on a camel safari, you can get in touch with Raju - +919982338600. He is a nice fellow and has working knowledge of a few foreign languages including English. But if you are not able converse with him, you can always contact Himmat Singh and he can help you with most things around Pushkar.
Dry Cheeks
February 10, 2007 | Filed Under Poetry, Travel | 6 Comments
what have I lost?
what have I gained?
i washed my soul, mamma,
when the other day it rained.
i wanted to cry
but the desert was dry,
way too dry for any leaf to grow,
but the thorns didn’t prick
and the sun didn’t wane.
Kismat is a devilish woman,
she sometimes comes and seduces the man,
and he leaves his virgin bride, mamma,
leaves her but takes her pleasures away.
mamma, the other day,
a beggar woman was asking for alms,
she asked not for money, not for food,
she asked for medicines, mamma,
her child was suffering from tubercolosis,
i gave her medicines,
i did right, mamma, didn’t I?
i have lost something in the desert, mamma,
I need to go back again….