No Smoking

The most panned movie of last year, hated by the critics, derided by the audience (most of them at least). And I, the gullible trusting soul almost believed them.

Thank God, better sense prevailed and I actually did watch the movie.

But the reason I am writing this mail is not to sing paeans for this wonderful work of art but about something which really made me think.

There is no background to it and context will be only for those who have seen the movie.

Ranvir Shorey losing his fingers (rather forcibly cut by Baba) and Baba restoring the finger later and Ranvir accepting it like a reward.

What an analogy?

Someone took something precious from you, something that never belonged to him, and not only takes away, takes it away as if it is his right and finally returns something which was always yours and never his as a reward and you accept it with gratitude at the benevolence.

Isn’t this exactly what the state does to its citizens?

A small scene, possibly missed if you blink twice but captures the intent of the film maker so beautifully - The eternal struggle of the individual against the state.

It’s not about the cigarette it is about free will.

Move your word

Have you ever played chess? If you have you will know what I am talking about.

It’s a beautiful addictive game. And people who play it love to play it every day, anywhere, anytime.

It is played in the mind but sometimes the mind also plays the game with the game.

If you leave the game once, for whatsoever short time, it is a very hard to start again.

Now if you would listen to me, I will share a secret - this our friend mind by nature is a lazy bugger- hates working, hates thinking – and if given a choice would rather sleep than exercise those grey cells.

So when the mind gets a chance to laze it gets practically impossible to raise it from the slumber.

Writing in that way is like playing chess, assembling your forces in the mind and then pushing your weapons forward, pushing a word here, hiding a metaphor there, tricking, weaving a perfect web where the reader will find no way of escaping your world and your logic.
So coming back to the original question, have you ever played Chess?

If you have you would now why I couldn’t write for the last so many days.

Checkmate, finally.

I win this time.

Film(s)y Heroine

People say a man is intrigued with a woman till they have sex.

So say people not I.

But what ‘people’ say seems to find merit for the Hindi film heroine. But the sex is not literal here but metaphorical and finds its expression in what every actor dreams of achieving atleast once in their career– a role that moves the audience, makes them love you, hate you, lust you, despise you or whatever the performance requires – the moment when actor transcends the threshold which the mortals aspire and the God’s trapeze.

But unfortunately this moment of perfect union of the actress and the audience is also the most tragic one for the actress. It is the end of the love affair. The beginning of the end of the career.

If you look from the wide angle, an actress’s career traverses a particular path and as we will see would hold good for any name, irrespective of the era.

There is particular movie in which the ‘man’ (audience) ‘sees’ her for the first time (and this need not be the first movie) and falls in love. Then the chase begins wherein she teases him, promising the world but still playing elusive and one day the moment comes when sex happens. A role where she gives her all – sweat all moment –orgasmic, perfect, pure.
In that moment the enigma disappears.

The smarter actress ensures she has a headache as long as possible and has a little more prolonged careers, than some who had it all but lost it in the heat of the moment – deceived by lust once again.

Now I get down to the brass-tacks – proving the hypothesis right.

Sridevi the seductress managed her career well but her moment of weakness was ‘chandani’. That is the role which catapulted her as the serious actress. Ideally ‘Lamhe’ should have been her moment of glory but the audience enjoyed that role but her moment of toasting was long over by then.

Rani Mukherjee after playing in the fringes for a number of years was discovered in “Chupke Chupke”, teased in her next couple of movies, her moment of glory was “bunty and bubli” and then it was curtains. You might see her around for some more years but the unadulterated adulation she received before would never be achieved again.

I can probably have multiple other examples, but you will find a similar chart everytime.

A career leading to that perfect moment, followed with a downward slope.

While male counterparts manage maybe 4-5 immortal roles, women at best manage 1. Two is an exception never a norm.

Sridevi – Chandani
Madhubala – Mughle Azzam
Madhuri Dixit - ????
Hema Malini – Sholay
Rekha – Umrao Jaan

One exception has been Kajol. Then when she first came to screen, she took the best possible persona that ensured her longevity – my favorite sister. So when she wore that white short short wet mini-skirt in DDLJ one was not aroused but rather disappointed. No wonder she attracts audience despite, the cardinal sin for a hindi film actress, being married.

How about the male actors?

There life is simpler - it boils down to straight hair.

http://mapsofmymind.blogspot.com/

Thank you for making my day.