Democracy Vs Mobocracy Vs Nationalism Vs Sovereign State Vs Capital punishment

Democracy:

A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives.

Mobocracy:

Rule or domination by the masses.

Nationalism:

Is a belief or political ideology that involves an individual identifying with, or becoming attached to, one's nation.

Sovereign state:

Is a state with borders where people live, and where a government makes laws and talks to other sovereign states. The people have to follow the laws that the government makes.

When 2014 results of Saffron party’s massive victory came in, it was termed in by the so called liberals as win of mobocracy, a majoritarian government which is in fact a threat to the very fabric of Secular fabric of this country.

The scenes were recreated a few days back with a baffling amount of interest by group of elitist people and human right activists to question hanging of a proven terrorist. There was a run from pillar to post to challenge the verdict and in a historic milestone created by the judiciary, they listen to both side of argument till dawn literally and gave logical conclusion to a never ending saga.

While I write strongly backing the verdict on this particular case, I don’t want to sound a nationalist while pronouncing my point of view. It’s critical that we understand the difference between nationalist mindset and a state of mind which believes in a Sovereign state to which I lean. One question in the pretext of this article of mine of which I never got an answer is: Why can’t I be liberal when I subscribe to Sovereign state?

Few reasonable questions that come in mind to argue against it are:

• Why the minorities are always on the eye of storm?
• Why they always have to bear the brunt of a political unsettling?
• Why the epitome of unfair justice’s sword only hangs over their head?
• Why there is a majoritarian view that they are the epicenter of all the wrongs happening in country?

To be frank, I also subscribe to most of above questions but I wish to strongly differ from the point of view of liberals which is: “The true test of democracy is its protection of minority rights.” My reason to not agreeing this is very fundamental, when you look at favoring a side for whatever reason, how could you provide equal voice and rights to everyone in a democracy? In my view it’s nothing but appeasement. Such motivated events unfortunately bring in sense of unrest in a mostly pluralistic society of India.

However, the crux of this article is not to question liberal point of view but to question the obnoxious run of liberals to save a proven convict to prove a democratically elected government and independent judiciary’s decision wrong. Democracy is sure going to allow plural point of view but that shouldn’t suppress the essence of being righteous. While one can definitely subscribe to a point of view of why people shying away from discussing what was the root cause of this event that led these blasts is not being discussed, like Babri masque demolition and riots that took place after that. There is very limited to none who were booked for that. I totally agree to that; however that doesn’t dilute the gravity of the Mumbai bomb blasts. One could also sum up Babri Masque being staged due to Shan Bano case till reservation based on caste which in my opinion one of the most pivotal death of democracy. How could "not convicting people responsible for riots" are given as an excuse to do away with an anti-national activity, BTW when said as anti-national, it doesn’t mean it’s a nationalist thought. It’s an act against a sovereign state and that needs to be dealt in the most defining way and judiciary took cognizance of that in the decision. There is no doubt that death penalty to an innocent man is the biggest miscarriage of justice but even those who support the convict in this case can’t stand by his innocence.  

Lastly, the point of death penalty doesn’t deter crime. In this specific case, the message one get from the same argument would be that it’s fine to collude with enemy state to conspire against own land and still brave out after serving a sentence of a decade or two and become role model for such anti national conspiracy. The notion of key conspirators being still at large and only small fishes facing wrath of nation is also misplace, it doesn’t bring down gravity of the co-conspirators crime. When you know the consequences and impact of the act and still becoming party to such heinous crime then you lose out on crying against made the scape goat. Those human right activists should also answer the question: How come these guys have right to live but not the poor victims? Those who are terming this verdict as state sponsored murder and leveling them to the same level as these conspirators are missing the most poignant point which is that in this case, both sides were given enough opportunities to defend their point of view and only when it was established as guilty and by taking cognizance of the nature of crime as rarest of rare the quantum of punishment was decided. Unless those victims in the blast were given even iota of these opportunities, you can’t level state at criminal’s level. I am sure given an opportunity of all them would run to the same battery of human right activities to save themselves.

In conclusion, democracy may be a failed affair but still remains the moral fabric of Sovereign state and as long as judiciary remains independent we will never fall prey to ultra-nationalism to which liberals are crying foul, of course mobocracy still remains a distinct and dim possibility.

PK: A poignant reminder of fear of religion (Not God) and how different fearists sell it.

One line is enough to summarize how two and half hours were (Well) spent. Trying not to spoil the movie's best kept secrets, the movie revolves around an amusing character who is far away from the civilization in which we live and he literally finds himself in an alien world. PK learns how to live with the limited knowledge of his surroundings and wins hearts with his honesty and childlike curiosity. PK relies on his learning quite literally and his actions are to the T which is not the way we live and hence at times he pulls a laughing riot and at some makes you question on your belief system. He shakes the ethos of many who are blind follower of the lines they have been asked to walk without taking any rational out of them and thus subjected to wrath of those who are blindfolded with their faith system. He unknowingly provokes questions which are seldom asked due to fear of backlash and gets people answer them in their discomfort.

Amir Khan minus PK stands for nothing. This movie belongs to him, there may be many characters but not sure why their story was not well constructed or may be PK was such an overwhelming character that while he was on screen you couldn't notice anyone else and that's the magic of Amir's class. My biggest let down was Bomen's no show. He was always one of the best written characters in Raju Hirani's movie but unfortunately he finds no bravo moment this time. For me he was completely wasted. Anushka was more or less similar to her chirpy image which she portraits in every other movie of hers. Other than her changed look I didn't quite find anything new with her this time as well.

While the movie was highly anticipated and was definitely top notch acting by Amir Khan for sure but I felt let down by the script which wasn't crisp and heavily relied on the spontaneity of protagonist. Parallels are to be drawn between PK and OMG and if I have to go by content and freshness then OMG is the winner. The analogy of being antagonist has been well played by Paresh Rawal and hence I wonder why Raju Hirani who is a class apart director went ahead with such lose content by his standard.

The movie tries to weave multiple issues like Indo-Pak, terrorism, Godmen, idol worshiping, religion in general and fail to capitalize on any except taking a dig over Godmen and their fake illumine. I surely don't find any content being objectionable for which outcry has been raised on net. Creative freedom is required for directors to objectify their view point and that was done with sincerity without any planned intention to hurt anyone's feeling. In totality I was tad disappointed with this one at the end.

Meri Aashiqui Bus Ab Tum Hi Ho!

While people will surely draw similarities between Aashiqui-2 and Abhimaan as the theme may be similar but the treatment is contrast. Here, the story revolves around how obsession pulls you down and importantly there are no ego clashes but a lot of love for each other that eventually gives strength to both for taking their final decisions.

In comparison to its contemporary Aashiqui, this one wins the race in all but the music department. I guess Aashiqui-1’s music can’t be challenged till date and it will remain a milestone forever. Having said that, music of Aashiqui-2 is no less than brilliant, I was humming the songs when I came out despite hearing them very first time so surely they are intoxicating.

Story as many would be telling is similar to Abhimaan, a super star musician RJ is rapidly declining from his stardom but he doesn’t care of it much. Amidst of this fall to disgrace, he comes across Arohi, a subtle middle class “Dream to catch Moon” girl. He is blown away with her vocals and gives her a dream of making big in music. He in the entire journey to her stardom stands next to her protecting and promoting her being immensely in love with her not caring his personal status. As they say, fame comes with fate. In this case Arohi’s rise to top brings happiness to the couple but society brands RJ as a fallen tree who is taking solace in the rise of Arohi. Arohi on the other hand holds together RJ not to fall completely apart, sadly unsuccessfully. The stigma of being the one who is pulling Arohi down from her rise, RJ part his way from her leaving her to become what he always dreamt for her.

From the cast point of view, both protagonists fit their roles to the best. Shraddha Kapoor as a middle class girl looks every bit of it, she looks ravishingly refreshing, not with lot of makeup her natural beauty does the charm all the way. Acting wise, I thought she could have done a better job but she was convincing in her role. My pick of the movie is definitely Aditya Kapoor. He has done few roles before this movie but nothing special to mention, this movie would make him a star he should be. His role of a drinking problem ridden vocalist has been revelation. The only thing which I thought was missing was a die for chemistry between both the leads. Mohit Suri needs pat on back for handling the story so well; this movie is surely director’s baby. Final acknowledgement to the singers of this movie, Aashiqui-1 made T-Series what it is today, similarly these new singers have made their mark by giving vocals in Aashiqui-2, I hope they will succeed the same way.

The real ghost lies inside -- Talaash

The real ghost lies within, if I have to sum up the movie Talaash. It’s been long seeing an intense movie and though the ending and most of second half doesn’t live up to the high expectations set by the first half, this sure is a great watch for 2 and half hours.

Sometimes, “what if” is a question that fills so much guilt in heart that it leads to complete ouster from real world. The same is story of protagonist for this one. He is filled with guilt of his past and that drives him to tear apart his family life but this was until he gets involved in a high profile mysterious accident of a rising super star. The events following take many bizarre turns and with adding piece to piece protagonist not only solves the case but also gets solace in tranquility. Although being severely criticized for his abnormal behavior by his subordinates in the process of solving the case, he finally comes in terms with the real world. His “Talaash” for inner peace ends when the final scene ends.


The movies is amalgamation of three “Talaash” in together interweaved, first protagonist’s troubled life, second being love and hate relationship of a pimp with a prostitute brilliantly played by Mr. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, he surely is a man to watch in future. I liked him a lot in Kahaani and he outplayed that in Talaash. Finally third story being quest of finding answers to questions which were buried deep inside and no one sadly had any clue of them being there. From the cast point of view Amir is at pinnacle of everything, I don’t think he can make any wrong decision while picking any character. He played a troubled police inspector’s character to the “T”, Kareena’s sultry performance definitely is oomph factor of the movie and she looks cheeky every time she appears in a scene. As a depressed and saddened housewife Rani essayed the role to the best, all three actors in the movie are so matured that it never occurred for a moment that there could have been any better choice for these three central characters. A big thumps up to the director Khatgi as she really dominated the feel of movie, she was able to maintained the tone of movie almost till the end which in a thriller genre a commendable achievement. Another person I would like to loud would be Ram Sampath, his haunting melodies really set the tune for the movie to the best, his approach to music is really different and refreshing to hear. It’s so hard to compare a “Bhag DK Bose” to “Jiya Lage Naa” and he does it all!

 And finally few lines for the cynics who went berserk over the concept portrayed by the narrative and director. I find them truly fit for brainless no brainer trend of comedy era in which we are living in. Even if they are condemned by the same people, I can’t think of any comparison between two separate genres. I can’t find their hypocrite approach to condemn when an Indian director is trying to use an imagination against going gaga over series like Matrix, Lord of Rings and even Harry Potter. I think audience need to grow up a bit and encourage directors coming with a fresh breath of air, even if it means fantasies.

 With flaws in most of second half, Talaash still qualify to a must watch for a gust of fresh air!

A New Star Is Born - RockStar

First of all, Rockstar is not a mere love story, for those people I saw drawing conclusion that this is just an extramarital affair which is justified by Imtiaz Ali, it’s much more than that.

When the character of protagonist was getting built, it was told to him that it would be pain that would get the star out of him; movie is journey of making of a Rock star who goes through pain of separation, depravity from society which makes him someone he was never meant to be but finally a Rockstar. A true blue eyed boy who was always away from any sense of pain in his life until he falls in love and tore apart life of his and love of his life Heer.

I am although not a big Rock music fan but got food for thought for those posthumous rock stars that lost their lives to depression and drugs. This film gives gray shades of their tainted life which is always open to so much of public scrutiny which perhaps helped me to recon with their hysterical behavior.

It starts with a young lad trying to make big in music but who doesn’t have soul to sell himself as a serious artist. He has shown a way through love and betrayal and he fancies his chances with the most admired girl of the town, little does he know that this would embark an endless journey of pain for both which would see it’s penultimate end being both leads battling for their survival literally.

I don’t wish to discuss movie dynamics in length as this is not about how the script has been written with/without conviction. The real sense of conviction in this movie comes through Ranbir Kapoor, he lives the character of Jordan and gives performance of his life time. Not in for a second you would think for the entire movie that he is a movie star, you would watch him struggle through his pathos. Kudos to him for pulling this off with such great ease, I couldn’t imagine anyone doing this role and leave the same impression. Nargis who is the leading lady in this movie, looks no less than an angel in movie and gives a performance for which any new comer can feel proud about especially against such a strong character played by Ranbir Kapoor.

Of all the loudest praise should go to two people, A.R. Rehman for his genius music and to Mohit Chauhan, this movie is as much a milestone for him as it is for Ranbir Kapoor. Both Mohit and Ranbir jells so well that it’s hard to believe that actually Ranbir’s voice is backed by a singer, it’s a compliment for both of them. Every song stands out and they all are superb.

I thoroughly enjoyed this journey of making of a Rock star. This movie is not about making a right statement to society and not to follow the footsteps of protagonist; it’s about how much pain it goes in making a real Rock star that makes everyone feel on the cloud when he couldn’t ground his foot correctly. Movie is dark in nature and this is about an anti hero Jordan who don’t have sense of righteousness and he vents out his anger in form of music, a picture perfect depiction of a rebel Rock star to the core.

Watch it, if you are in for dark movies. Don’t expect any Bollywood masala but an intense tide of emotions throughout.

Too Fast, Too Furious - Why?

“With great power comes great responsibility”.

Even though origin of these immortal words came from a motion picture but the meaning resonate to the fullest in real life as well.

Upraise of people’s power was the key word for year 2011. Fire started in Middle East but now it has engulfed entire world. The mighty US is also feeling the heat by the latest public outrage for Wall Street’s dominance over their survival. Our country, once called the largest democracy of world didn’t go untouched by this phenomenon. People against corruption have been the talk of town in country.

The poster boy for this campaign is a rather elderly person “Anna Hazare” who stood against the mighty government of India and emerged victorious. His ordeal of raising voice against government found many supporters from all age groups. Entire nation stood by this man who went on to fast unto die for 13 long days after which government had to give in for strict law against corruption, formally known as “Jan Lokpal Bill” Orchestrated by a group of self proclaimed “Civil Society” members. Anna as he is now fondly called in media and across the world pulled all the right strings which strike cord with common man and result was his overnight status of “New Age Mahatma” due to his approach to agitate using yesterday’s weapon “Non-violence”, his aura is so sublime that I wouldn’t be surprised if he is considered for “Nobel prize” for his crusader act. But this isn’t about all praises for this near impossible task’s success. It’s to see the flip side of it and aftermath which has already started showing its colors.

First my word of sympathy for the most corrupted government for their face saving act, they need accolades for their genuine try against all the guns blazing against them over corruption and all. Amidst volatility within government where top ministers are locking horns against each other, a Prime Minister who has lost all his hard earned credibility over his alleged no action taken act and being a mute spectator of the mayhem created by policy makers, government didn’t go down without fight. They at least saved the face of means of parliamentary democracy before bowing to the demand of civil society.

Parliamentary democracy has literally lost its meaning in last one year. Once the Mecca of law making for the country as designated by the Baba Saheb and other distinguish gentlemen by their wisdom, it did definitely delivered in prosperity and maintained law and order of country. There is no second thought about it was misused by our selected legislators for their own good and they made them selves “Cesar’s wife” who were above all suspicion but the so called “Civil Society” has ridiculed it with the same atrocity by quoting “Anna is above Parliament” I am marking the same words as I heard them from Arvind Kejriwal, he said it in context of people are above parliament as they have right to select members of parliament but in which ever way this sounds more like abuse of power.

Hisar is another example where “Civil Society” is flexing their muscle and openly asking people to vote against ruling government, they said it’s a gentle reminder that government shouldn’t forget to pass “their version of Jan LokPal Bill” else the consequence could be even grim. They would move their battle ground from Haryana to UP which in terms of power is the biggest stage. They would be continuing their display of dissatisfaction against central government’s passive snail paced progress over their demands.

Our country is no third world country which has dictator ruling it from decades and people are fed up of their atrocities, government got complete support by the same civil society few years back which brought them back in power. Government is not behind the recession going around the world and they can’t be held responsible for higher prices of commodities completely. If the top ministers of government are playing pacifier against this civil society how can they be expected to work on their routine work. There is no doubt about the dubious acts and involvement of high profile government ministers in large scams but matter is under trial of all the unearthed scams and with tighter laws coming in place would definitely take care of curbing corruption in country in future.

What is unexplained is the way civil society is trying to run parallel government. They use their popularity to challenge government at every step they take. They dare them to act the way they want else they would ask people to vote them out basically “It’s my way or highway”. They want all the bad elements to be removed from government by guiding them from outside. They won’t contest elections as they say its right of people of country to protest against injustice. How touchy and flattering.

I have great respect to the cause for which these few gentlemen gathered but now it looks like they are drunk in power and started misusing their popularity to manipulate and orchestrate government at their will. I am not a political person and I don’t endorse any particular political party but I personally think that “Doctor Octopus still doesn’t know exact amount of tritium required for a controlled chain reactor”.

Prepare for another roller coaster ride.

Die Another Day!

How beautiful a day looks from that window when those drops of rains drip on your face, I could still feel the famous rains in Mumbai when almost any effort to hide from rain was in vein due to its intensity. But there is another grim reality that brings haunting memories of these rains as I still remember 7/11 train blast like it was yesterday. I was on train the same day and while I got down at my station unharmed that day many others weren’t that lucky.

A city of dream for many including me has catered needs of all the classes but yet the wounds of this city have no healing what so ever. While the government has shown apathy towards the real security threat to the city even the people within haven’t learnt from their mistakes. I know for fact that 90% of metal detectors are non functional including the CST station which was the playground last time for Kasab’s act. The areas which are hot spots (Like Zaveri Bazar) for a terror strike have no logistical support from even locals otherwise how in such crowded places someone can reiki and plant bombs undetected like walk in the park.

As the rain lashes out the final nails in the coffin of the misery of a common man in the city, it again bring that cliché of spirit of Mumbaikars . To me it’s like a sickening sense of DejaVu with history to this glamorous financial capital of India. I feel pity on these high spirited Mumbaikar, people in the city have not learnt how life moves on after such incidents but they are fearfully waiting to “Die Another Day”

It’s been almost a year since I had written anything on my blog but then sometimes it’s the sovereignty of not only country but also to my most beloved city Mumbai that sinks me deep inside and emotions can’t be held back.