Monday, January 25, 2010

Aman Ki Asha!

Quite an initiative, though it interested me the least as I said earlier. However, why am I mentioning this again is...though artists of both the countries are performing on the same stage across borders (initiative taken by TOI), The Pakistani cricketers are not playing in IPL this year... I am not going into the details of why or why not they are playing in IPL and blah blah... but all am I saying is an "unrealistic" project like "Aman Ki Asha" is waste of everything mortal...time, energy, resources and hopes!

You pay the artists they sing and dance for us, they give lofty speech and take accolades away. And then we have news on border terrorism every alternate day, we have news on Pakistani players not playing in IPL and all such thing...in the same newspaper that advertises their concerts and events...tell me, tell me, where is the "Aman"...or is it only "Asha" which will stay an "Asha" forever?

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Housewives and Homemaker

In the 70s, our mothers were all "housewives" (not a hmemaker, since hat term not yet come in vogue then). They were busy caring for us toddlers, and take care of the household activities. They also used to host parties for their husbands' bosses and colleagues, not because they loved it all the times, but more because they had no choice. Their husbands would call them and declare, "my boss and 5 other people coming for dinner tonight"...not a request but more of a command, and the next thing you know the wives are busy planning, shopping, scrubbing, polishing, decorating, cooking, and stressing out. Naturally, none of this work is compensated in any way. At the end of the dinner party, the husband's boss turns to the housewife with a condescending smile and says, "This was really quite a spread that you put on. It's nice that you have something to keep you busy."!!!

If you are born in the 70s, you would have seen your mother be at her husband's beck and call for massive unpaid projects such as this. And you would become a feminist early on because, even as a little girl, you would be sick and tired of seeing your mother being regularly treated with an enormous lack of respect. And not only hosting parties, so many rituals our mothers were supposed to do just based on their gender. Now that I am a 34 year old married woman juggling my career and family, I wonder why one part of the society would always be the victim of "lack of respect". Now, a lack of respect is probably inevitable when a class has no money, no power, and no public voice. But our mothers...many of them have had a good educational background, came from respectable families but then why, just because they were women, even worse, housewives, they had to go through millions of big and small humiliations? So much so, that most of them probably didnt even think of them as humiliations? Women being taken for granted became inevitable in and around the 70s when they were simply doing something they had little choice in.

My personal observation is that the status of "housewives...homemakers" has improved with the rise of feminism in our country (note, am talking mostly about the educated, middle/upper middle class society). Even the relatively modern term "homemaker" evinces a recognition that women who cook and clean and sew and decorate and budget and care for children are more than just wives who stay at home. Today, homemakers are more powerful than ever before. They are more organized, more outspoken in the public sphere, and more likely to have educations and careers that make them less dependent on their husbands than in the past. They are less likely to be disregarded or excluded from the conversation or treated condescendingly if politics or other Important Subjects arise. They are less likely to be taken for granted since they have other options. So things are definitely getting better for women. I know of certain aunties who, despite having good education, could never have a career of her own as her husband was worried about the chilren's upbringing in the "absense of their mother at home". I know of an uncle who proudly states at each and every party that he attends that he has never let his wife work because he could always "afford" whatever furnitures his wife wanted to buy! (as if aunty would have worked only to buy furnitures)...

I am glad that I am born in an age where people dont raise eyebrow because I am a career woman (even if they do, it hardly matters as my family supports me thick and thin). Today homemakers are much more than housewives... they are like this juggler who balances everything with great ease. In todays age, there are planty of stay-at-home mothers for whom such a decision is entirely voluntary and not being forced upon. All I am trying to emphasize on, here, is that the furtherance of women's equality in all spheres of life will help to make homemaking a truly voluntary choice and will thereby also raise the status of all women. And this has happened to a great extent, thanks to the rise of feminism. After all feminism is not any extremist operation. It is just a way of socially upgrading the status of women and helping them realize their true value and potential.

Womanhood is a celebration...so celebrate it. Embrace it with love and dignity... and stop taking things which your heart doesnt allow you to. Break free... Homemaker or a career woman...it is and should be "your choice" and not imposed on you by any third person singular number!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Emotional Atyachaar

My morning begins with Times Of India...well actually it begins with a yawn, followed by internal Shakespearrean conflict of "to get up or not to get up"...but after I get up...or pushed from my bed literally...my day begins with TOI. And when I began my morning on the first day of a new decade, my eyes fell upon the first page of the TOI, I chancedupon the announcement of a new initiave : Aman ki Aasha (read, emotional atyachaar)

I dont drink, so I really dont know what a hangover on the 1st of January is, but am sure it could not be any different from what I was going through reading that page. Accepted and understood that we entered a new decade, accepted and understood that we need to be different. Accepted and understood that life moves on and that "to err is human and to forgive is divine"...but the past decade that witnessed so much of terrorism, started with the attacks on our Parliament and ended with 26/11 and with so many lives getting affected, I want to move on but dont want to "forgive". I respect Gandhiji, but dont agree with giving away my other cheek for free to slap if someone finds me worthy of slapping!!! I may not slap back, agreed...but I will definitely remeber his slap forever unless I suffer from what Amitabh Bacchan suffered in "BLACK". Also Aman ki Asha, and bridging gap between the two countries...well atleast I dont have the guts to talk about these infront of Khushboo Jha or say the Kashmiri Pundits. I didnt quite find it interesting or even worth reading... rather my mind was more concentrating on what could have been saved if Aman ki Asha was not there.

First and foremost, we could save our environment...look at the amount of paper we are wasting on this "initiative". I have nothing against Pakistan, "the people". The people there are just like me. Infact I have a Pakistani colleague of mine and we were even friends on Facebook (till I defunced my FB id for some personal reason). But this Aman ki Asha or whatever, is pure waste. So my earnest request to TOI...dont waste paper on this at such a large scale please.

Secondly, its like playing with our emotions... give us a break. What you are asking us to do is forget the past and the present for a "dreamy" future"...sorry boss, thats not possible.

Am sure TOI is spending huge amount of money and resource in this initiative. They can utilize them for more pressing and urgent cause...they can infact open a camp for educating our "politicians"

And last but not the least...they can stop this "Emotioanl Atyachaar"...

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

3 idiots - Review

Well, where do I begin from? The common stand is that when you review anything, you just rip it off! But then since this movie is all about breaking the common rules, what better way to implement the same than writing a review and going ga ga over the movie!
Honestly, there is not a thing about this movie that I "didnt" like. Before starting this post, I googled and read a lot many reviews of this movie. Most of the reviews were positive, though like experts, and still afraid of breaking the common path may be, each of those reviewers wrote negative stuffs as well...
Some said every time they saw Pia (Kareena) they wished they could see more of the 3 idiots together on screen than this 4th one! Well, I thought I would also write this,and why not...I dont like Kareena at all! But couldnot make myself hate Pia, no matter how much I hate Kareena. I loved here presence in the movie just as much as her elder sister (played by Mona).
Some "Chatur" and "Virus" sometimes over did their part. Well, thought would write about this...but then again couldnot... Chatur Ramalingam reminded me of atleast 3-4 such real life characters in my own life, right from the school till the University days. How can I not believe in that character, when I know atleast 3-4 Chaturs in my own life? And forget school, college or university, you get "Chatur"s in every age of your life...
Virus... well Boman Irani is a sweetheart... even if he "overdid" I can never criticise him...but then how do I say he overdid? He reminded me of atleast 1 prof from College days and 1 from the University... and at times I see many "VIRUSes" around me.
Some even said Aamir at 44, didnt look like 22...to which I say...Just shut up!
Amitabh, at 66, if decides to do a 13, and gets away with it with all the truckload of make-up then Amir did a better job without make-up...only with his body language... Rancho is the cutest 22 year old student I have ever seen!!! My husband did try to make a point by saying that he has done plastic surgery and blah blah, to which I said...Just shut up!

So, a very few negatives that I got reading those reviews...I couldnt just accept them. So, following Rancho, I am defying the norm and standing apart...a review of a movie...where I just didnt find anythingnegative to comment upon. So what if they showed 2000 AD but showed use of mobile phones in college campus that too the small and sleek ones, not the huge Motorola sets, if at all...it doesnt matter. It also doesnot matter if they show webcam delivery! That was informative...(yes, my 10 year old daughter proudly told me that now she knows what "normal delivery" is!). Am ready to overlook all these and much more to get 3 hours of absolute bliss! Am ready to accept every overdose of acting, if at all... for priceless on-screen moments like the suicide of Joy Lobo, or the suicide attempt of Raju, or the love and the bonding between the 3 idiots!
I am ready to accept the histronics of Chatur any number of time, for that famous speech of his on the teacher's day! I am ready to tolerate VIRUS for his 7.5 mins power nap. I am more that willing to sit through all the negatives mentioned above and more for a dailouge like "you are sad when your best friend flunks, but you are the saddest when he...tops!!!"....3 hours of LOL moments with enough touch of sensitivity, emotion, and socially relevant message...All in all...3 idots rocks!!!
My respect for Raju Hirani increased manifold... hope to see many more of his offerings...
A must must must watch for everybody...irrespective of caste, n creed. Aamir Khan lovers, Aamir Khan haters, Chetan Bhagat fans, please line up...buy tickets and watch this movie... it would be even more fun, if you go and watch this movie with your buddies.....

Monday, January 4, 2010

Chetan Bhagat, FPS...and 3 Idiots

This is tough for me...I love them all. When you love both the gangs@war, its tough to take a stand. But the brighter side is, when you love both the gangs...you will never be biased...you will just speak your mind, and this is exactly what I intend to do here.

One honest confession of Aditi (the reader)... I love Chetan Bhagat. Yes he is a cool dude who has given us Indians (specially the youths) something to look forward to in a Novel by an Indian author. I am conservative when it comes to reading. I prefer Agatha Christie, Sydney Sheldon, Paulo Coelho, P G Woodhouse etc etc. Indian authors?...hmmm, never sort of excited me much - not their fault though, it is my conservative attitude that needs to be blamed. Amitava Ghosh did help a bit...but only a bit. And then came Chetan Bhagat in my world -I mean not literally, though wish ;-) Initially when my cousins mentioned FPS (when it was first launched) and went gaga over the author I just snapped them off (being 6 years elder to them helped). Kept hearing about this cool IIT-IIM-turned- banker-turned-author but never felt like reading his offerings. To make matters worse, oneday I just chanced upon 1 night@Call Center...and I didnot like it. So Chetan Bhagat chapter ended in my life...atleast that s what i thought then.

A couple of months back a friend told me about 2 states...also since these books cost 95/ only (thats another good thing about his books) thought let me read it, I have only 95/ bucks to lose. Man, I just loved his book this time. I mean, yes, I agree he is not an embryo of a Nobel prize winning author , but he is cool...his style is fun...his humor is witty...and he did have a message! I loved 2 states and then, as if in a flash back mode, I read FPS (I just loved it), and 3 mistakes of my life (nothing great but liked his style of humor, and again with a message)...but all these were enough for me to fall in love with Chetan Bhagat and his books. So as I said in the beginning, I love Chetan Bhagat against all odds in my life.

Honest confession of Aditi (the movie-watcher)...I love Raju Hirani (not with the same kind of emotion that I have for Chetan Bhagat, but nevertheless, I love him). I mean I dont wish I was Mrs. Raju Hirani in even my wildest dream, but I love his work...oh he, as a director, has a magic touch. I loved all his movies...Munna Bhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and was eagerly awaiting 3 idiots...why?...well the reasons are
1) Raju Hirani is the director
2)the story is loosely adapted from FPS (this is what I knew)
3)Aamir Khan is thr - another man I just respect too much
And yes...the team bowled me over again. I read the movie made 100crores business in the openning week...well out of that 2000/ is my contribution. Loved the movie and am planning to break my record of watching Maine Pyar Kiya 50 times with this one.
Amazing movie...and then saw/read/heard about the controversy...heard my sweetheart Chetan Bhagat is upset about the credentials?! I was shocked, and ashamed...and yes, once again I thougt...wish I was Mrs. Chetan Bhagat...i would have stopped him for stooping so low for sure.

So I thought i would write an opne letter to him, only to tell him, how his fans are feeling right now with all this monkey dancing around the press....

Hi Dude,

I feel sorry for you that you have got a meagre amount of 11,00,000/ from the Producer when the movie has crossed 175 crore business and is still going strong. I can relate to it... I feel exactly the same when I read the quarterly profit report of my organisation (IBM) and compare it with my salary slip! But there is not much we can do about it right? Common dude, take this as a "lesson learnt"...better bargain well next time, but atleast stop being a "Chatur Ramalingam" yaa... Your pointing scene by scene in the media! God, Chetan, grow up! People who have read your story and watched the movie, know exactly whats being taken from your book...and who denied that? But the "story" of 3idiots...story of "Rancho"...is not yours...they have adapted some part from your story and they have paid you for that...the payment may seem less now, but thats something you guys mutually agreed upon, right? then what is this fuss all about?...dont be a kiddo...I agree, our education system should change...otherwise an IIT-IIM grad, doesnt understand this basic minimum?
Dude, you said you have problem that they put your name at the end? So whats the fuss about? there are so many movies when the credits roll out in the end only... stop crying baby...next time put this in your contract...details with when you want your name, what should be the font size etc ok? we learn from our mistakes, dont we?
Then I read you were upset bcos your mother was upset because she missed your name in the movie. Ah, you know Indian mothers na? Remember Krish's mother? (2 states)...she would cry even when bhindi masala burnt! Our mothers are very delicate, and beyond a certain age limit they lose their eye sight as well... so may be a tight "jaadu ki jhappi" alongwith an eye-appointment will make your mom happy...
Like an ardent fan of yours I felt proud to watch this movie which is loosely adapted from your FPS. I cheered when I saw your "punches", witty "one-liners"...and told my husband excitedly about how they are actually your contributions...and am sure many like me felt proud... but dude, you have let us down with your "Chatur" act. to quote VIRUS... "Main tumhe sympathy de sakti hoon, support nahin"

The story credit is not entirely yours, and The production house has done everything that is mentioned in the contract...so stop fussing and move on in life... take this as a learning expereince...I will, as well...we must use our bargaining power to strike a better deal, dude! not cry and make fun of ourselves...

Love,
Aditi