Tuesday, 11 February 2025
The end justifies the means?
Monday, 5 February 2024
It's good to be bad?
They said songs are a must, so be it. They handpicked heroes and heroines and defined what Indian beauty was. They ensured dynastic continuity by continually launching doyens' offspring's careers. More often than not, the juniors tanked at the box office. Nevertheless, actors with real talents lost out due to a lack of patronage. The paymasters, aka mafia, chose who would be the main star and who played second fiddle. Preferential treatment was the order of the day for heroines.
OTT platforms became a shot in the arm for second-rank filmmakers and actors not under the umbrella of the mafia. Movie themes became varied and more thought-provoking to accommodate Indians, who were clearly becoming more erudite and exposed to world affairs.
Watching 'Animal' reminded me of the Bollywood doyens who are still stuck in their own ways. Though outwardly Bollywood seems to promote literacy, women empowerment and liberty, they feel it is perfectly alright to shove thrash down the throats of those who still live smitten by the glitz and razzmatazz of the nostalgia of the yesteryears, when indeed the silver screen was in its golden era.
Being contradictory is an understatement. As India evolves to become the soon-to-be third biggest economy in the world, Bollywood stereotypes India as a basket base where law and order are non-existent. Ladies have improved their educational and economic standards over the years. Yet the filmmakers feel it is okay for a female character to lick the protagonist's boot to prove her love. Can anyone justify having an affair by quoting that that was the only way to save his father from assassins?
The filmmakers thought if 'Kill Bill' and 'Pulp Fiction', with all the senseless killing and gore, could do well, why not 'Animal'? The things they forgot are, firstly, they are not quite Quentin Tarantino. Secondly, the audience came to watch a mainstream Indian movie, which is generally family-friendly, not a fringe ‘artsy’ restricted offering. The fact that this film still sizzled at the box office baffles me.
Tuesday, 6 June 2023
Painting reality in words?
Who Painted My Lust Red? Book #2
Who Painted My Future Bright? Book #3
Author: Sree Iyer (2020)
Money determines everything. It lubricates, moves and generates more wealth. There is a dire need to push as the window of opportunity only opens briefly. Wealth needs to be accumulated in the short time power is handed on a platter. In the meantime, vultures and hyenas will hang around to scavenge or perhaps initiate the kill themselves.
In this fiction, Sree Iyer tells an account of a dog-eat-dog world of Indian politics. It is not all about Indian politics either. In an environment where everyone is yearning towards that one thing in life, money, nothing really matters anymore. The end justifies the means. All values held in high esteem in previous generations just go out of the window. Those who managed to scale the wall of wealth have it all. Once the Rubicon is crossed, everything else can go to hell - friendship, honesty, compassion, loyalty and humanity.
Hindus have an apt explanation for all of these. The great god-kings who appeared on Earth long ago were merely akin to what Plato would describe as philosopher kings. They were mortals elevated to demigods' status because they did what was right and just for the greater good.
Iyer tells of an unholy alliance between Indian bigwig politicians, cricket officials and players, Bollywood, entrepreneurs, the mafia and a significant number of shady characters who bring tremendous value to the association by fixing all loose ends from setting hotel suits to appointments with big-shots to discrete hawala money transactions with a minimal service charge. Money begets money. Money as a social lubricant beings on power. The mind wanders to yearn for other bodily pleasures when zeros on the currency do not really matter. People are so gullible. Put some pretty face with hunky cricketers with God-like followings; people are bound to be interested. In a cricket-crazed country like India, the cricket league is big money. Running the Indian league from a God-forsaken place like Dubai means away from the scrutiny of Indian enforcement. Dubai is only interested in your money.
Against this grain, some will still believe in righting the wrong. Traditionally, law and order is maintained by the various arms of the administration. The press forms the Fourth Estate to do further checks and balances. Unfortunately, when the whole machinery is corrupt, and self-interest supersedes national aspirations, more creative ways must be derived.
In the meantime, the goalpost of what is right is constantly shifted to suit the flavours of the times. Conversely, seven-century wisdom is spewed as the legitimate decree for humankind to follow.
India boasts of being a Visvaguru (global teacher) to the world, as it was before the 15th century. It was then the wealthiest country in the world, controlling more than half of its wealth while the rest of the world was in darkness. India, in its previous avatar, was a cultural icon. Everyone in the modern world then wanted to emulate Indians. Its culture transcended its borders to adjacent lands and beyond its shores via its extensive shipping lines.
If India is not just reminiscing its glorious past but instead to re-establish its former status before it was flattened by colonising powers, it has a long way to go. It should keep in check with its own backyard. The civil service is wanting of a long deserving facelift. There is an urgent need to erase corruption as an accepted practice. The courts need to get their acts to mete swift justice.
The book narrates a fictional account of everything the author has been broadcasting over his channel all these years.
Money makes the world go around. Money even makes a corpse move, it seems.
Book #2 @ 'Lust Red' takes readers to the world of cricket match-fixing, honey trapping. money-laundering, hiwara services to ease transborder money transactions, blackmails and a lot of horse-trading. Political leaders, Bollywood bigwigs, high-ranking government officials, the mafia and ill-defined creatures who fix anything called middlemen make their presence felt amidst all the dealings. They determine the outcome of matches and make a killing from the results.
Book #3, 'Future Bright' reveals the confusing web of Indian politics. Taking a swipe at current and past leaders, it also presents Pakistan as the villain whose sole existence is to destroy India. Like Will E Coyote's repeated failed antics to trap Road Runner, Pakistan again and again has muck on its face as the endeavours fail miserably.
The setting of the book is strikingly similar to contemporary events. There is no denying that the characters here are no different to current national leaders and figures. The greatest fool among all these is the average citizen who fails to see beyond what is shown. They remain clueless about all the backdoor arrangements and arm-twisting manoeuvres behind the scene by people entrusted by the people to lead the nation to a brighter future.
(P.S. It seems Kings of yesteryears were so good. Perhaps people looked at them as God's representation on Earth, hence, are infallible. Maybe they were the true philosopher kings that Plato advocated so much. From a Hindu cosmology point of view, we are in Kali Yuga, the decadent times. People are supposed to be degenerate and materialistic. The last time the world had good kings was Rama in Trata Yuga and Krishna in Dvapara Yuga.)
Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Money changes everything!
Miniseries (Netflix; 4 episodes)
Direction: Daniel Gordon.
We are aware of the Indian Congress Party, which the British Raj established to give the natives a false sense of control of their administration, who steered the nation towards self-rule and have, over the decades, become a self-destructive political party. In the 21st century, its place in society is suspect.
In the same vein, UMNO (United Malay National Organisation), which had a pivotal role in claiming independence from the British, is now a power-hungry, corruption-ridden tyrant out to mill the country.
Of course, naysayers would insist that these parties were connivingly handed the rein of the country purposefully. The British still wanted to hold the purse strings of their former colonies and exert a stronghold on how their economies should be steered whilst ensuring their own interest.
In the same way, FIFA started as a genuinely non-profit entity with the noble intention of wanting to improve football standards around Europe. Over the years, when money got intertwined in the equation, it grew too big for its boots. Soon everything had a price, from advertising to sponsorship to hosting to even a vote for a seat in the executive committee.
The path to hell is paved with good intentions. In 1974, a Brazilian industrialist, João Havelange, decided to incorporate business into this body. Their bank accounts became fatter and fatter. Other governing bodies (CONCACAF, AFC, OFC, CONMEBOL) from different parts of the world soon joined suit. With an obedient general, Sepp Platter, promoting the game to the remotest part of the world, their coffers grew. Contribution from the sponsors did not reach their intended targets but allegedly lined the FIFA officials.
In their zest to stay in power in FIFA, officials were bribed to buy votes. Over the years, investigative journalists exposed their shenanigans in the open. The coup de grace came to light with the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 hosting of the World Cup by Russia and Qatar, respectively. One by one, the ugly crimes of the heads of various soccer bodies were uncovered. FBI came into the picture. James Warner of the Carribeans, Charles Blazer of the USA and 14 executive committee members of FIFA were implicated in vote buying and widespread corruption within organised games.
FIFA is run like a Mafia-like establishment. Sepp Platter is portrayed as the godfather of what is supposed to be a charitable body to genuinely promote the game of soccer. At one point, Platter is even accused of having narcissistic tendencies, harbouring the intention of wanting to receive the Nobel Peace Prize!
Sunday, 28 March 2021
Modern love
Monday, 9 December 2019
Daddy loves you! It is what it is.
Director: Martin Scorsese

To be fair, even Alfred Hitchcock's and P Ramlee's movies were criticised in their days. There were said to be gruesome or too violent (Psycho) or crossing the social norms (Ramlee's Gelora). Even though the new franchises are said to be final products of market-researched and audience-tested, as well as a matter of supply and demand and giving people what they want, there is still place for good old storytelling set in reality.
'Irishman' is based on by Charles Brandt's book 'I heard you paint houses'. It is supposed to be a confession by the protagonist of the tale, Frank Sheeran. He admitted having killed Jimmy Hoffa, a unionist and a mobster. In real life, Hoffa is said to have disappeared since 1975 without a trace. Since then, many have come forward to vouch that they had killed Hoffa and had their versions too. Sceptics have accused Sheeran of making the last kill (money wise) for the family as he struggled in the nursing home counting his end of days.

As the story spans over almost 30 years, and they were utilising aged actors, the filmmakers had to use digitally de-ageing technology on them. MCU fans had a field day attacking Scorsese as it was in one of MCU films that this science was initially introduced - Michael Douglas in 'Ant-Man'.
This three-and-a-half offering tells about Sheeran, a WW2 veteran, who gets entangled with the mafia. He finds it rewarding to support his family. In the course and subsequent to this line of duty, he has to make many life-altering decisions. There is only so much of Mafia-related movies one can watch, the loyalty, the killing and all the coded talk. But still, there are some valuable points to ponder while watching the movie.
People can make a living or make a killing for a living. Ultimately we all work hard to ensure that the generation after us is not deprived of the things that we yearned and never got. We do not want them to go through the similar 'hardships' that we went through. But no, the offsprings will never appreciate this. They would look at the actions of their elders through a different prism quite contradictory to what the adults value. They (the youngsters) fail to appreciate the environment upon which their elders made the decisions they made.
Morality and kindness do not matter in desperate situations. When your next meal is not a given thing, your yardstick of what is right and what is not is malleable. This type of innovation can be seen in slumps and refugee camps. People become imaginative on how to survive, to fulfil their primal desires and acquire money. Somehow, money still remains the panacea of all woes.
This must probably be what Sheeran must have been thinking when he was sending his last few days in a home. All his friends and mentors were dead. He was the only person who would probably carry all his secrets to the grave. He was alone. His wife was dead, and his daughters shunned him for his association with the mafioso.
The question remains. Did he concoct the whole story for his children to savour the fruit of the returns of the royalty of his story? Even though Sheeran admitted in the book to have made the difficult decision of putting a bullet in the head of his mentor Jimmy Hoffa, many others claim to have done the same. Sheeran's story, it seems, did not collaborate with police records. Was the tale spiced up to show Sheeran making the difficult decision of following the orders of Russel Buffolini, his guru, versus killing Hoffa who was a thorn for the mafia? Haffa was possibly going to leak the secret of unionists monies being used to finance Mafia’s Las Vegas casinos.
The movie also suggests that JFK's assassination may have been arranged by the Mafia.
Wednesday, 8 November 2017
The dark shadows beneath
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Hypocrisy of man
The six seasons showed the life of a couple in their mid 40s and their two teenage kids. Their relationship go through thick and thin as they battled midlife crisis, depression, infidelity, troubles arising from raging hormones from the teenage kids who think they know better than their parents who were thrice their age.
It is surprising that even though the whole saga is fictitious, it ridiculously strikes a cord with parents of teenagers even in so called less developed parts of the world like ours.
With globalisation, traditional values have taken a back seat and the younger generation are looking common universal values like human rights, self centeredness, lack of respect for elders and sanctity of 'good' values. This forms an excellent platform to showcase how these sugar craving short-attentioned, instant gratified teenage punks' inertia and laid back attitude to challenges of life. Whilst their parents would embrace life head on for survival, their offspring tend to take things lying down, enjoying the finer things if life.
The adults' hypocrisy is highlighted in their overtly sinfully bad lives. The same hand that the guys use to cross their heart in the shape of the Holy Cross is the same one that pulls the trigger of the gun that is pointed to his foe's heart. After doing their clandestine criminal and extramarital acts, they religiously present themselves at church events. With all these going on, the adults expected their kids to be disciplined and God fearing.
The show takes a swipe at the our modern life's preoccupation with psychiatry rather than rationalise our stress to it. At the end of the day, the psychiatrist stopped seeing the protagonist after her contemporary's research which suggested that sociopaths use their sessions to justify their criminal activities. In spite of all the psychological pains in the family, all of it disappeared over time as the kids grew older and more mature spontaneously with passage of time.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
The twisted tale of a stressed out mobster!
It falls in a genre which is somewhere between the typical mafia flick and a comedy. To say categorically that it is a comedy would not serve justice to the laughs coming from the laughing machines. It definitely does not instill that 'off the edge' nail-biting gripping experience of 'The Godfather' trilogy. The series gives us the feel of being a parody of sorts looking at the psychological stresses that a typical Italian mafia would go through the lens of a series of psychiatrist-patient sessions between the protagonist Tony Soprano and Dr Melfi in a series of flashbacks. It also pokes fun at the typical paradoxical American family who does things which are generally accepted as wrong but still try to instill 'good' values in their kids! The failures and under-achievements are all blamed to their family line!
So far I have finished watching the first season of 9 episodes.
It starts with Tony Soliano having a panic attack. After exhausting medical investigations to ascertain the cause of his apparent loss of consciousness, he is referred to a shrink. Reluctantly and incognito, ensuring none of his circle of men are aware that he is psychologically unbalanced, he sees a lady psychiatrist (whom he also has erotic dreams about)!
The take home message that I got was that the Italian Americans depicted here ate, drank and behaved like hell. You can only blame so much to your genetic, upbringing, unresolved childhood issues. It may look like an escapist route to rationalisation and brooding but we all have to just grasp the situation at hand and make amends. If you are in the mob, however, it is easier said than done!
If you don't hit for them, they will hit you!
N.B. After the 2001 Twin Tower mishap, most American shows do not depict this icon in their presentations. Some studios even cut older scenes with the icon in the background so as not rekindle bad memories. In the Sopranos' opening credit, it is shown in Tony rear view mirror.
P.S. Why is it that there must be an psychological explanation for everything we do?
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