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.
Vote for Mumboji Jumboji
February 1, 2007 | Filed Under Jumboji, Mumboji, Point of View | 12 Comments
Jumboji: So what’s your take on voting v/s not voting.
Mumboji: I don’t mean to preach but it’s foolish to not vote. If you don’t vote, you give up your democracy. You don’t care as to who comes to power and subsequently you relinquish your right to crib about the state of your surroundings. The right to crib is the best right to have. Most people can’t live without cribbing.
Jumboji: So how many people around you have voted today?
Mumboji: I work in an organization which has amongst the best educated youth in the country. Yet most of them are not registered voters. And a lot of those who are registered, didn’t vote today. These people are so involved in making money for themselves and for their country that they don’t really care who squanders their hard-earned money and how….
Jumboji: But aren’t all candidates who fight for power the same? Blood-suckers.
Mumboji: That’s a perception. It could be true but I would like to believe it isn’t true. There are people who might be good. And particularly for such people one can’t relinquish their vote.
Jumboji: But my vote is just one amongst thousands….
Mumboji: Your vote is not a minuscule entity. It is power. In a democracy the beauty is that the power is equally distributed to people in the form of a vote. You can’t do too much with this power but it is necessary to use it, lest someone else uses your power. We mustn’t waste that power we have.
Jumboji: Mebbe you are right.
Mumboji: I am right.
When Anush Ran
January 16, 2007 | Filed Under Jumboji, Mumboji | 3 Comments
Sometime back I had written a post called, Run Anush Run. Anush a friend of mine was running in the Chicago marathon. His birthday being today, I thought of dedicating another post to him.
He successfully ran the marathon and raised the money he had promised to for Ashanet. He ran the 26.2 miles in a little less than 5 hours. His practice times were much better, about 3 hours, but standing in cold Chicago before the race began was not exactly the best experience. He developed some blisters in the foot and I can imagine how painful it can be running with the pain.
I salute his spirit and wish him a very happy birthday. I think he turns 30 today. It is the age where most men attain half enlightenment and resort to drinking beer everyday.