When a man is desperate, when his next meal is an impossible dream, any form of work that comes his way is God-sent. He will be grateful that the Divine forces are responsive to his pleas to meet his biological need. When his position is a bit stable, he introspects. He wonders whether his line of duty may irk the Creator. He feels guilty. He knows that his line of work is not sanctioned by the religious leaders who delved into this type of theological matters. He knows he has himself knee deep to retreat. His dependents, who by now are quite used to the good life start demanding. He would set his own modified rules, cherry picking rules and regulations to justify his illicit trade. He draws his boundaries, area which are a no-no and would defend his modified predilections to the core. Deep inside, he knows of his ill actions. To sanitise his 'sins', which actually do not appear in his psyche anymore, he immerses himself in philanthropic deeds and in the quest to uplift society in a Robin Hood manner.
This are some of the thoughts that went through my mind as I viewed Shah Rukh Khan's latest offering, Raees. The formula of the storyline is nothing new, just the time test money churning flick of rags to riches ala-Godfather style, only the settings are different. This time the Prime Minister's state of Gujarat which had outlawed alcohol sales since 1949, after the demise of Gandhi, under the Bombay Prohibition Act.
Legally Gujarat is a 'dry' state, as no one wants to stir the sentiments of the public as the abhorrence to alcohol is started as a mark of respect to his assassination. In reality, moonshine is still available, sometimes cheaper from other states as the merchandise is adulterated and no taxes need to be paid.
Even though, the filmmakers deny any resemblance to any living or dead characters, the film is said to to be loosely based on a criminal named Abdul Latif, a Mumbai gangster linked to many criminal activities including supplying RDX explosives in the 1993 Mumbai blast. The movie follows a predictable pattern with all the winning formulas of tear, gore, revenge, blood, love and emotions to drive home the point that a life of crime does not pay. And that even ruthless gangster have a soft spot and code of conduct.
N.B. Time and time again, it is evidently clear that Prohibition of alcohol does not give the desired effect. Conversely, it gives a paradoxically opposite response. When this strategy was implemented in the 1920s in the US in response to ill effects of alcohol, what was achieved was not abstinence but bootlegging, complications of adulteration, gangsterism, senseless killing and a corrupt police force! The correct approach may be the way the British thumbed communist activities in Malaya in a propaganda that "wins the heart and mind". Sadly, we are still in want of such a strategy!
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