RIFLE RANGE BOY

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (2018) Jordan B. Peterson Life is easy when you are living it with your eyes closed. For an idiot, life is a bliss. He does not analyse or overanalyse things that happen to or around him. He lives for the moment. There is in the now and the past; no future to worry about. In his eyes, everyone is good, and they mean well. In reality, life is not so straight forward. Inherently, we build a hierarchical pyramid. The occupants at the top perpetuate their positions by merely being there. Their positions ensure continuity of power and status, much like the analogy of lobster that Peterson often quotes. The hierarchical order in any society is exemplified by our crustacean friend. The lobster, a remnant of our ancestral past, illustrates how any societal structure works. The higher up a hierarchy a lobster climbs, this brain mechanism helps make more serotonin available. The more defeat it suffers, the more restricted the serotonin supply. Lo...

The Forgotten Army, Azaadi Ki Liye (For Freedom, Hindi; 2020) Amazon Prime. 26,000 Indians had died under the banner of Indian National Army (INA) while fighting for Independence of India. Their actions triggered the Royal Indian Navy mutiny, which nailed the coffin of the British occupancy in India. The plea for Independence and the spirit of Indianness were supported by the diaspora outside India just to be sizzled out by the historical turn of events. They say that history is written by the victors. This is one clear proof of this statement. History had vilified the efforts of INA and had labelled them as traitors. Their agitations had been marked, not as nationalism but as treason. Flag of  Azad Hind Their rebel yell, Dilli Chalo (Let's go Delhi), was not in keeping with the narrative of the day then, as dictated by the Father of India and supported by the Congress Party. These people wanted India to be a British dominion to be given crumbs by their colonial masters...

Settum Aayiram Pon (செத்தும் ஆயிரம் பொன்,  Even after death, worth a thousand sovereigns, Tamil; 2020) Netflix We paint our faces to make them presentable to the outside world, just like how we dress our dear departed as they leave on their journey to the other side. A make-up artist does that to make the actors look desirable. The undertaker does the same - to showcase the deceased so that the mourners can only see a pleasant looking corpse; devoid of the pain and misery of the tail end of his life. In a way, life and death are the same. A make-up artist and an undertaker do the same job, masking the unpleasantness of reality. Like a birth which is celebrated with revelry, so should death. The joy of the cry of a newborn child is comparable to the wailing of the aggrieved mourners. In most Eastern cultures, deaths are noisy and long affairs. The graphic display of emotions and rituals are actually ways to help the relatives resolve the separation issues and put cl...

U-Turn (Tamil, 2018) We think that rules only apply to others. We simply break the rules without batting our eyelids. We want the lawmakers to just close one eye, give leniency or forgive with a slap on the wrist. Somehow when the same law is broken by others, we are quick to throw the full might of book at them. How many times have we seen drunk driving and the sequelae of such acts? How often have we seen friends cajoling their buddies to have 'one more for the road'? This must be what is meant by the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This film is a sort of drama with a social message - 'Don't take things for granted!' It is a public service announcement to remind us that every single, seemingly useless regulation means something in the long run.  Many road users take an illegal U-turns atop a flyover by moving the laid-out concrete slabs. After making the intended turn, they do not re-adjust the concrete layout. Many accident...

Two (1965) Director: Satyajit Ray In 1964, renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray was asked to create a short film for ‘ESSO World Theater’, a cultural showcase presented on television and funded by the American oil company Esso. Asked to write and direct the film in English, Ray opted instead to make a film without words. The result is a poignant fable of friendship and rivalry. As he did for many of his movies, Ray composed the music for the film, including the haunting tune played on a flute. After Satyajit Ray was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1992, the Academy embarked on an ambitious endeavour to preserve the works of the Bengali filmmaker. “Two,” also known as “Parable of Two,” is part of the Academy’s Satyajit Ray Collection ( http://www.oscars.org/film-archive/co... ), which includes 18 feature films directed by Ray and preserved by the Archive. (Youtube) It is ironic that film without words can make one speechless. One can say so much by not speaking at...

Krishna and His Leela (Telugu, 2020) Netflix Even though this film has just been released, it has kicked up such a storm over the cyberworld. Hashtags like   #BoycottNetflix  and #KrishnaAndHisLeela are trending. People are calling @NetflixIndia  Hinduphobic, citing many of its latest productions apathetic to the Hindu sentiments. Films like Sacred Games, Bulbul, Ghoul, Delhi Crimes and Leila have allegedly denigrated the Hindu deities. In this offering, is it a merely by chance that the main character's name coincides with the protagonist of the epic Mahabharata? Krishna in the movie is an indecisive chap who conveniently two-times his two girlfriends whose names just happens to be Lord Krishna's two of His eight queen-consorts, Radha and Satya. There is a third girl whose name sounds similar to Rukmini. The fact that the protagonist pushed the boundary of public 'Indian' decency that ired viewers more. In most Indian movies, the story of a hero is only allowed ...

Zodiac (2007) Growing up with an 'over' exposure to many crime dramas, I used to wonder if there were any real people who find intense pleasure in murdering people. And I am referring to a select group of psychopaths called serial killers. And that they did what they did with high precision, covering their tracks well, intelligent chaps who would tease the police with crumbs of clues and laugh all the way to carry on with their next crime. I started wondering why all these killers were all whites and are all centred in the USA. The concept of serial killers only became popular in the 1970s, but in reality, the Germans through the 1929 silent movie 'M', introduced the idea of a pedophilic serial-murderer. The first modern serial killer, according to criminologists, must surely be Jack the Ripper in London. Generally, serial killers carry out their crimes in a particular fashion, maintaining a high degree of control over the crime scene, having a solid knowledge of ...

He Even Has Your Eyes. (Il a déjà tes yeux , French; 2016) Netflix It is used to be that bringing u a child was 'child play'. My maternal grandfather's philosophy was thus. Mother Nature has it all for us. Like the trees in the forests and God's creations in the wild, somebody will sow the seeds, and someone else will come to water or feed them. In times of crisis, every man (and child) is on his own, scavenging and struggling towards sustenance. They soon learn survival skills and street smartness. It used to be that families with way too many mouths to feed willingly give their barren relatives their child to take care. The offspring would grow, knowing very well who the biological and adoptive parents are. Issues of abandonment or neglect and psychological scarring attached to this were unheard of. The whole village would nurture a child. Such a set up seem so alien now, like almost happening in an alternative universe. We are living in a hostile environment,...

Omphaloskepsis! (Omphalo = umbilicus, skepsis = act of looking) Just how often have we seen people who appear almost in a stuporous state, unarousable by external stimuli? Viewed from this side of the table, it may look like he is self-absorbed or awestruck at the sight of his own genitalia. A clinician may diagnose him to have narcolepsy. In Western Africa, the doctor may give him the spot diagnosis of Trypanosomiasis @ Sleeping Sickness. A man of the clergy would assume that he is engaged in sincere prayers, engaging with a plea with his Maker bargaining so that everything will be alright.  Of course, the correct explanation is none of the above. He is merely immersed in his own digital devices. Being in an almost trance-like state, he insists that very much in touch with the present and that his generation excels in multitasking, something alien to my kind, he asserts. Navel-gazing? © Amethyst Aziezéé A few years ago, a series of pictures used to appear...

Rangasthalam ( రంగస్థలం, Theatre, Telugu; 2018) You think he is alright as your leader. He seems well composed to hear things out. He exudes an aura of confidence. He always has people around him who love him. He gets things done. He must be doing something right. He is even to be personally partaking in religious functions. He appears charitable enough. The same divine forces that govern your life must be the same one that runs his. The Ruler of the world must have sanctioned him to rule over this piece of land. Then you realise one or two things do not match. It does not seem fair; not proper. You pass it off your own naivety. After all, a person with so much public support and approval cannot be wrong. Then it hits you. Your liberty is snatched away. You scream injustice, but then it dawns upon you the whole administrative machinery has been turned to suit him. You and the ones wronged by the once thought to be the saviour of the land is actually a wolf in sheep's clothing....

Bad Education (2019) They used to say that education was the only left to us to come out of the rut that we were stuck. At least that is what Amma made us believe when we were forced to burn the midnight oil even during festivities. While others were busy getting ready to usher in the festival in full spirits, in new garments and air of celebrations, we were made to cramp in facts about biology and Newton's law of gravity. She impressed upon us that at the time of reckoning when our future endeavours were at stake, our knowledge and quick thinking that would pull us through interviews and promotions, not stories of merrymaking and feasting with friends. Then we grew up. The years in the School of Hard Knocks showed us that Amma was only partially correct. True, education would help to lift you up by your boot-straps but 'whom you know' will skyrocket you to greater heights. Knowing people helps to cement transactions and grease you out of difficulties.  We all unders...