OMG - Brilliant is a severe understatement !

OMG, based on Paresh Rawal's play titled Kishan v. Kanhaiya, is an amazingly scripted movie with an even better direction and screenplay. There is not a single dull moment and you do not get a chance to bat even an eyelid throughout the 2 hour something duration of the film. Everything about the movie is just right.

The story revolves around one Mr. Kanji, a Gujrathi businessman and a self-confessed atheist who is surrounded by God-loving or should we say God-fearing people. He staunchly denies the existence of God and does not pay heed to what his wife or neighbours say. His actions are based solely on this denial and thus he repeatedly disrespects the Almighty. One rainy day of Gokulashtami, his son, instead of studying for his forthcoming exams participates in the local dahi handi, egged on by his mother. When Kanji comes to know of this he rushes to the spot and ridicules the customs and disrupts the proceedings. Just as he is about to leave, a minor earthquake jolts the city. Later, on reaching home, news reports show that the only one shop destroyed in the entire city is but Kanji's. Here begins his journey of proving whether God exists or not. In the process, he is ably aided by God himself in the form of Akshay Kumar, of course Kanji never really accepts this or does he?

 Akshay Kumar's entry as God is simply jaw-dropping and in those terse moments you barely breathe. Such is his awe-inspiring charisma here. He very effortlessly plays the role of God. And Paresh Rawal is at his quintessential best. The sound score does manage to hold your attention and there is some bollywood tadka in the form of a dance sequence featuring Prabhudeva and Sonakshi Sinha. At the risk of repeating myself - everything about the movie is just perfect.

The movie takes a satirical potshot at the ever increasing Religious ‘industry’. It somewhere makes you rethink your concept of God and even reassess your actions. The broad social message hits home hard. It lays bare the unscrupulous practices carried on in the name of God. And you know it’s true which is why it makes a stronger impact. I highly and strongly recommend this movie. I am even already considering watching it again!

 Rating - 4 / 5

Long live the Queen

When one witnesses the pomp and the galore in which people congregated, one cannot but feel envious of the United Kingdom for having a Queen, who has stood by them for 60 years. The attendance of over 6 million people and many more across the globe as they joined in celebrating the Queen’s diamond jubilee, reminds us of the power the Queen wields. The power to unite a multi-racial, multi-ethnic and a multi-cultural society like England’s is but a representation of the well-entrenched institution of the Royalty. All this despite the rains which though are a trademark of the city of London nevertheless are potential dampeners for any event.

The Queen has witnessed United Kingdom journey through the World war, the Independence struggles of her colonies and the subsequent fall of the Empire, the conversion of Britain into a multi-faceted power, the creation of the EU and the fall of the Soviet Union. She has been there throughout. Change always creates stress for those undergoing it. But the constancy of her reign acted as the pillar of support for the nation. She represented an ideology which every constituent of her realm could relate to and fallback upon when times were changing.

Many other countries as elements of the Commonwealth of Nations that the Queen heads also consider her as their monarch. Such a form of constitutional monarchy, to sustain in today’s information age and that too in so many diverse societies speaks volumes of the Queen’s superior accomplishments. She has dedicated her life to the service of her subjects. Her contribution might not have been obtruse but just that fact that she was there meant a lot to the Brits. Several countries including India, replaced the Monarch with the President to overarch above the parliamentary form of democracy. But the President, with due respect, never remained apolitical. On the other hand, the Queen has resiliently stayed away from politics – not even her shadow! But, this never deterred her from supporting causes which were for the benefit of the society. Her steady support to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and recognising Mandela even before he was elected as the President, lent a strong credence to the movement. Such is her character.

                Others who don’t have the good fortune of such a Queen can only rue the fact. In India, there is hardly anything that unites the country without there being at the very least, two opposite camps. Even in UK, the situation remains the same. But then, they have Queen Elizabeth II. Here in India, to rally the country in unison is as much a chore as uniting all the nations worldwide for a common cause. There will always be some opposition to any cause, good or bad. The diversity that we are so proud of never fails to not transform into the Unity our forefathers envisioned. There lies the fundamental difference.

The 4 day long celebrations marked by the 1000 strong flotilla and the numerous community lunches, fireworks, beacons evoke a strong sense of belonging not only amongst Her Majesty’s subjects but even in me. For I long the genuine care and warmth that the Queen has shown all along. Long live the Queen and may her subjects continue to prosper. We can only wish that we too are blessed with such a charismatic individual or cause to unite us in our need or maybe just the fact that we are all Indians is reason enough? Hopefully!  Understandingly there will be people who would find the celebrations, the instituion or the expenditure not worthy of any practical reason. But for once let us look at the bright side of things. We are arguably deprived of such joyous occasions in India given the current state of affairs. This occasion merely is a balm. Take it with a pinch of salt but do not avoid the dish altogether.

Long live the euphoria!

Disclaimer: Images used above do not belong to the author. The copyright if any rests with their owners.  The author shall remove the images if any violation of any patents/copyrights is brought to his notice.

How NOT to celebrate someone else's IPL win !

1. DO NOT hold the cup to your chest tightly as if you have won it yourself. Let the real winners share the limelight.

2. DO NOT call the owner of the team as a city boy from your city. He stays miles away in another city.

3. DO NOT treat the whole team as belonging to your city. You just lent it its name. There are hardly any players from the name-worthy city in that team.

4. DO NOT give away gold medals to the players when your state is under a huge pile of debt. Else, do not blackmail the centre to wave it off.

4. DO NOT become an event manager and puppeteer the crowds and the people on the dais to dance to the tune you want them to dance to.

5. DO NOT also become a policewallah and make people stand in a line. You are supposed to be leading the state not the parade.

6. DO NOT control the crowds. Let them have freedom of speech and expression.

7. DO NOT make the country feel people from this state have lot of free time. We toil day after night to keep the GDP afloat.

8. DO NOT use the occasion of someone else's IPL win to launch a PR campaign. Your image will only worsen.

9. DO NOT treat IPL as Olympics. They are but a mere private sporting event with negligible significance. Instead sponsor a few players so they can win us medals in the Olympics and make us proud.

10. And last but not the least, did you seriously fold your hands in a namaste position when the national anthem was being played? Bow down to thee O great statesman!



Disclaimer: The above is a work of pure fiction. Any resemblance to any person, dead or alive or place or whatsoever is purely coincidental. The writer of the blog does not bear any liability whatsoever.

The President is coming... but why the hullabaloo?

       India is an indirect democracy. We elect our representatives who in turn elect their leader or the Prime Minister to 'lead' the country. But as per the Constitution, the 'head' of the country is the President. The President is generally regarded as a mere titular head with the Prime Minister alongwith his cabinet colleagues wielding effective executive power. The President is aided by the Prime Minister and his council of ministers and his decisions are bound by their advice. Before the 42nd amendment, which was brought in by Smt. Indira Gandhi, it was a mere convention that the President would act in accordance with the advice of the council of ministers. Post the amendment, it was constitutionally mandated that he so act.

       So given this background and the understanding that the President is only and only a figurehead and that is how the legislative elite would want him to be, why this sudden flurry about who should be our next President? Nowadays, I have developed sort of a pessimism (which I am sure many would have developed too). I can't believe that whatever is happening is happening without any vested interests making it happen. And too much is happening for me to actually want it not to happen for the better. So this theory.

       The Congress, which is leading the ruling coalition has kept its cards close to its chest. It has been very discreet about the choice of its candidate and at the same time holding back-channel meetings with allies and like-minded parties. The BJP has been more vocal about its preferences. But, the what-could-have-been-the-coup-de-grace came from Selvi Jayalalitha. The TN Chief Minister went all guns blazing, after garnering support from a few other regional parties like the BJD and tried to portray a 'tribal' leader Mr. Sangma, as the next President. Mr. Sangma on his part too began openly canvassed for support. Never had the country seen any person so openly asking to be made the next President and that too because he was a 'tribal' leader. His party, the NCP, categorically maintained its distance from him and around 8-9 'tribal' leaders from the Congress recently denounced his nomination too. 

       But, the moot question remains. why all this drama? The President does not have much authority or real power right or does he? Article 74 would want us to believe that he does not. But there is a big weapon that the President carries. The Pocket veto! For a bill to become an Act and have the force of a law, it has to receive the assent of the President. The President can suggest changes but these need not be accepted by the Parliament. But, the President can also withhold his assent i.e. keep the bill with him for 'consideration' and let it be there for eternity or till the next President arrives. This way he can effectively checkmate the Government and stall any of its agendas. 

       Dr. Kalam became the first President to use another related power, the power of returning the bill to Parliament for reconsideration. He received the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification Amendment) Bill 2006 duly passed by both the houses of Parliament. It, inter alia exempted MPs from being disqualified for holding certain offices of profit under the government. He returned it with his suggestions under Article 111. This raised a big hue and cry and the real power of what a President is capable of was unravelled. So also President Pratibha Patil has withheld her assent to the Gujarat anti-terror bill thereby creating hurdles for it to become an Act.

       As seen above the President can wield immense power though he seldom chooses to use it. He can be a tool to keep the opposition-ruled states in check but at the same time he can keep the ruling party guessing too. It's not for nothing that the political parties are taking such efforts, staking their own reputations to get their own candidates elected. What the third-front has done by suggesting Mr. Sangma's candidature is to effectively try to have a say in the decision making at the national level which it presently does not have the legislative capacity to do. It is a very clever political ploy which if reaches fruition will usher a new era in Indian democracy where we would have a ruling majority, an opposition and a President representing the third front. What will happen to the nation is something that only time can tell. But one thing is certain. The President is coming.

       Rise all you old faithful men! The President is coming!

Why Congress should call early polls!

        The Political circus in India has taken a drastically new meaning. Scams, defections, crimes are but minor incidents now what with holding the Government to ransom and creating insurmountable obstacles for the State in the name of Federalism and protecting Minority interests being the order of the day. Actions when done in the name of a higher objective should pass all tests of probity and should embrace what can be called a deliberative approach - it cannot be my way or the highway!
        Global ratings agencies have and rightly so changed the outlook for India's sovereign rating to negative. It's the domino effect and this was just one of the last dominoes standing. Our external image has taken a massive hit due to the inability to project India as a land which welcomes investments and supports inclusive growth. India has been forced to hide its face due to the many policy rollbacks and failure to get legislation passed as originally envisaged or announced, much due to the hand-cuffing by allies and the opposition. Take opening of multi-brand retail, the rail budget, the war on tax havens, retrospective legislation, the Teesta water sharing pact with Bangladesh, etc as examples. The list is just endless. Without going into the merits of either incident what I wish to highlight is the lack of consensus and willingness to cut across party lines to act in the interest of India as a whole.
        Federalism is not bad. Nobody expects the opposition to be hand in glove with the ruling party. Safeguarding multi-party interests is not a faulty policy either. But what comes first and should always be our main focus area is India. India as a nation. India as one country. What is happening today is not only obnoxious but also tends to nauseate oneself. India is not your conventional federacy like the US or Australia. Article 1 of the Constitution defines India that is Bharat as a Union of States. We have forgotten that we are supposed to act like a Union and not like a gathering of states with vested interests.
        With due respect, if a Government cannot lead the country to greater good, cannot take policy actions, cannot but sit with hands folded and wait for its 5 years to end, then the time has come to put it in it's papers. And it would be for it's own good. 1.5 more years of self-inflicting damage will do no good. Instead it might result in lesser seats than now. Also, India cannot continue to suffer from vote-bank politics which will be the flavour of the season in these final months. From subsidies to loan write-offs to reservations to money to appeasing gullible sections of the society. No. India cannot continue to bleed. But nobody is blaming the Government here. What India needs is a single party Government and not a coalition with every constituent harbouring different agendas. Rather, it would most benefit India if Congress comes to power on its own strength rather than an UPA-type system. That would lead to faster decisions and an effective climate for growth. Sometimes I cannot but wish the Congress and the BJP should come together and lead the nation out of the rut. But then so much for wishful thinking.