You have stars behind each eyelid,
And a galaxy in your soul,
That draws people to your endless heart,
Like the pull of a black hole,
You are made of earth and fire,
Of wishes cast on shooting stars,
You are a brand new solar system,
Unlike the ones we’ve known so far,
With constellations ever changing,
No one can memorize your skies,
No one can transcend your dreams,
You are a myriad of colors in a monochrome world,
Spreading joy and happiness,
Like smell of fresh rain,
Or a warm chicken soup for the soul,
You will always be on my mind,
For my mind is in search of an eyelid…
Listen to her…
So much she wishes to say,
Feels like she needs to scream to be heard,
Afraid she won’t be able to articulate it well enough,
Afraid I would desert her if she does,
I pacify her and put her to sleep,
Sing a lullaby, if only to temporarily soothe her pain,
She warned me this would happen,
For she understood me better than I did myself,
She advised me against doing what I did,
She knew she had little chance of reaching out,
She didn’t care; she tried as hard as a human could,
She was disappointed in me but she didn’t dare to say it out loud,
She left me signs to discover it myself,
I kept ignoring her,
Just another figment in a cacophonic mess I thought,
She stopped speaking after a while,
I wasn’t concerned but mildly curious,
Years passed but I haven’t heard from her,
I’ve missed her voice every moment of every day,
The way she made me think from another perspective,
I tried to silence other voices in a hope of finding hers but in vain,
I tried everything in my power; at least I thought I did,
Till I decided to drive off the cliff,
I was at the brink of letting go,
When I could hear a distant voice through all the clutter;
I continued to drive towards the edge and the voice got clearer,
“You could either do what you are about to or start listening to me”, she said,
“I’ve missed your voice. What’s your name?” I asked,
“You can call me reason”, she replied.
Happy Independence Day India
I’m grateful to live in an independent country where:
Being born a girl or a boy or into a caste doesn’t make a difference,
A person has the right to choose his own faith and question his religion and its practices,
A person has the freedom to choose his/her field of study,
People who decide to pursue arts aren’t judged till they make a name for themselves,
A person has the freedom to question political authority and live to tell the tale,
A person can exercise his/her freedom of speech and expression without being called an outlaw,
A person can expect basic services without having to bribe someone to get it done,
A woman is free to study and pursue a career of her choice with equal opportunity and pay,
A person’s liberties aren’t questioned in the name of patriarchy, tradition or culture,
A person’s food choices aren’t questioned by the state,
A person gets to love another regardless of borders, religion, caste, sexuality or orientation,
A person gets to choose if he/she wants to get married and to whom,
A couple gets to choose when and if they should have kids/ go for adoption,
An artist gets to put across his/her point of view without fear of work being banned or asked to leave the country,
A filmmaker gets to put out a piece of work without second guessing the community or a fringe group that might take offense,
A journalist can follow a story to its logical conclusion without fear of getting disappeared,
A comedian can make fun of the Prime Minister and everyone has a laugh about it,
Universities are empowered enough to encourage critical thinking/ free speech,
A person gets to question the working of the armed forces without being branded an anti-national,
Being a minority doesn’t make you a malleable tool to influence a political narrative,
People entrusted to rule serve the people’s interests and not an archaic communal/ religious ideology.
Happy 70th Independence Day.
Ten Hindi films you should’ve watched this year (till June 2017)
Here’s a list of 10 films that are worthy of checking out. This list is complied based on the films released from Jan-June 2017. The list is not based on either the budget or box-office numbers but my own viewing sensibilities. Your comments are most welcome.
10. IRADA:
Irada starring Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah in important roles deals with water contamination that can lead to serious diseases like cancer. Constructed on the lines of A Wednesday, Irada tries to look like a thriller but fails to sustain the initial momentum as many sub-stories cross paths. Its head-on take on the overuse of natural resources should be considered an alarm bell. The epidemic can spread to other places even before we realize and if it is in our hands to restrict the menace, we should better act.
Also, in today’s times of theme-driven films, Irada has a strong one which needs our attention.
9. Sachin: A Billion Dreams
Sachin: A Billion Dreams faithfully chronicles every major milestone in the career of cricketing god Sachin Tendulkar, from his debut at 16 in international cricket to his retirement from the sport four years ago. It’s a journey that’s been obsessively followed and documented, hence not a lot of this is stuff you haven’t seen before. Then there is the matter of Sachin’s reluctance to address the controversies you’re interested in.
The film’s real treasure is the footage of Sachin Tendulkar in his private moments: holding his baby daughter Sara for the first time, holidays with the family, hanging out with his friends, training with his son Arjun. It is unguarded moments like these, many accompanied by revealing interviews of family and friends that help piece together the jigsaw puzzle that is Sachin, the man behind the legend.
No matter how many times we’ve seen the clip, it’s impossible not to cheer at India’s 2011 World Cup Win, or choke up while watching Sachin deliver that heartfelt retirement speech at Wankhede. Sure there’s a lot more this film could’ve been, but it coasts along on the strength of nostalgia, familiarity, and our collective love for a man who’s name we turned into a chant.
8. Rangoon
In Rangoon, Vishal Bhardwaj strives to pull off what may well be his most ambitious film yet. He places a bold love triangle against the backdrop of India’s freedom struggle, but it’s layered with all the sly nods, delicious dialogue, and rollicking music that one has come to associate with his cinema. Vishal makes an ambitious attempt to deliver a sweeping epic, but on a scale of Saat Khoon Maaf to Maqbool, this one sits somewhere in between. The music by VB is some of the best you will hear this year.
Watch it for Kangana Ranaut’s stupendous performance and the depth she manages to bring to her character Julia.
7. A Death In The Gunj
A Death in the Gunj, directed by Konkona Sen Sharma, is a keenly observed drama, rich in atmospherics, brilliantly performed, and yes, it has a slow-burning rhythm. But it’s never boring. The unhurried pace, in fact, is entirely fitting for the world she transports us to.
The film benefits from Konkona Sen Sharma’s perceptive and assured direction. It’s one of the best films of the year, and one that you’ll find hard to shake off in a hurry. Its deliberately paced which lends itself an old school charm; an entity hard to find in most of the films that come out of the Bollywood mills. The ending is open to one’s interpretation which is one of the signatures of an intelligent storyteller.
6. Haramkhor
If you had even the tiniest doubt or uncertainty about Nawazauddin Siddiqui’s place in the pantheon of great Indian actors, you only have to watch him in Haraamkhor. He plays a selfish, manipulative teacher who begins a relationship with an underage female student, and it’s a performance steeped in subtlety and complexity.
The film benefits enormously from the convincing performances at its heart. Shweta Tripathi is in good form as the confused, ignored young teenager who can’t help making all the wrong choices and the supporting cast feel authentic and real. It’s a compelling story and for the most part it’s well told.
5. The Ghazi Attack
Got to hand it to first-time director Sankalp Reddy: he sure aims high. He merits full marks on that score. It combines the time-tested generic conventions of the Hollywood submarine movie with a sweepingly constructed indigenous mythology of war that sails on waves of unalloyed patriotic fervor.
Much water has flown down the Bay of Bengal since the 1971 Indo-Pak war changed the face of the subcontinent, but the PNS Ghazi mystery, at best a 1971 footnote, persists. This film does not do much to increase our desire to dive deeper and learn more about that obscure chapter.
Even so, do watch The Ghazi Attack. We haven’t, for sure, ever seen anything quite like it in this country.
4. Poorna
There’s not a lot to complain about in Rahul Bose’s moving biopic of Poorna Malavath, a 13-year-old Adivasi from a small village in Telangana who became the youngest girl to summit Mount Everest. It’s an inspiring story of overcoming the odds and finding one’s purpose in order to take on – pun intended – a Himalayan challenge. But admirably, Bose, whose second directorial outing this is, scratches beneath the surface to give us a sense of the real achievement behind the headline.
Bose chooses silences and quiet interludes over booming background music to highlight these bits, and it’s a wise choice. Because while Mount Everest may be the reward, it’s Poorna’s journey overcoming poverty and patriarchy to find her wings that the film is actually about. Don’t forget to listen to “Poori Qaayanat” composed by Salim-Sulaiman. It is undoubtedly one of the best songs I’ve heard to this year.
3. Trapped
From his debut in Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex Aur Dhokha, in which he played a misguided shop attendant who makes a sex tape with an unsuspecting young woman and sells it to get out of a debt, to his role as a poor migrant in City Lights who turns to desperate measures to provide a better life for his family, Rajkummar Rao has brought nuance and layers and unmistakable grace to the various iterations of the ‘everyman’ that he has built his career playing. Few actors have revealed such a gift for taking nondescript men and turning them into memorable characters.
Trapped is a wholly involving drama that you become quickly invested in. The bulk of the credit for that goes to the film’s incredible leading man who delivers his finest work here.
2. Hindi Medium
Hindi Medium directed by Saket Chaudhary, is a satire on the uniquely Indian obsession with English, and the sense of entitlement and higher social standing that is associated with proficiency in the language. But it is as much a comedy about the admission process in Indian schools.
The film is never unwatchable and benefits enormously from a winning performance by Irrfan Khan who makes his every moment on screen count. From his hilarious wooing of a mother-daughter pair of potential customers at his shop in the film’s first half to his earnest amends on discovering his conscience late into the final act, he has you eating out of his palm. Saba Qamar stands on her own and complements Irrfan very well which is an achievement in itself. The tracks “Suit Suit Karda” and “Oh ho ho ho” with Sukhbir are cherries on the cake.
1. Baahubali: The Conclusion
SS Rajamouli’s epic saga Baahubali 2: The Conclusion comes across richer and more fantastic. There is a lot more in this fairy tale world — a new city, a moonlit war, cattle with fire in their horns and Disney-esque palatial ships. Baahubali is a delight for all those who enjoy cinema as a visual medium
Baahubali 2 has better special effects and bigger battle sequences but its success lies in Rajamouli’s ability to turn a frankly standard story of sibling rivalry and courtyard politics/ revenge into an entertaining and consistently watchable film. Despite its running time of 2 hours and 47 minutes, you will never be bored.
The film is a triumph in terms of the audacity of thought, scale and execution. In times when traditional Bollywood studios and producers are blaming the advent of digital medium and platforms like Amazon prime and Netflix for reduced footfalls, Mr. Rajamouli with a regional film has captured the imagination of the nation and forced them to look at things in awe. It would certainly be a tall order for another film to achieve the cult status Baahubali managed to achieve.
So this is my list of top 10 movies for the first half of 2017. Let me know what you thought about them in the comments section. Cheers.
The Millennial Monk 