RIFLE RANGE BOY

Le Samourai (The Samurai; 1967) Director: Jean-Pierre Melville The film title card starts with a fabricated quote from Bushido, the moral code of the samurai. It says,  "There is no greater solitude than that of the samurai, unless it is that of the tiger in the jungle… perhaps". Miyamoto Musashi, probably Japan's foremost samurai swordsman of the late 16th century, is said to have said this, among other things. He describes the solitary path to success as being filled with loneliness. Solitude accompanies the path to success. He further goes on to say, in one of the books that he had written, that solitude shapes, moulds, and builds character all along our journey to success. Does this go against the grain of what we have been taught? We had been told that we are social animals and that a man is not an island. Social interaction is essential for mental health, and a child turns out to be developmentally stunted without the tactile stimulation of his loved ones. On the ot...

Amar Singh Chakila (Hindi, Punjabi; 2024) Director: Imtiaz Ali Whilst self-proclaimed intellectually minded individuals peruse the internet for minute-to-minute updates on the situation in Gaza, the masses are pretty contented sneaking into the WhatsApp communication between Aliff Aziz and Ruhainies, the latest two-timing pair of the Malaysian showbiz scene. Netizens feel for the wounded wife, Bella Astillah, who used to be Ruhainies' bosom buddy.   Neither party, the 'intellectuals' or the regular people, can do anything to change the trajectory of the event. In no way do these events bring them their bread or make their lives more fruitful. But it allows the masses to divert their attention from their mundane lives. They do not want their lives to be complicated, but they find solace in finding how much muck goes on in people's lives. And how virtuous is theirs, until, of course, the readers' own story becomes the topic of the day… Look around us at regions ruled ...

A Case of Exploding Mangoes Author: Mohammed Hanif On 17th August 1988, President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan was killed in an aircraft crash. Perishing together with him on the Hercules C-130 military aircraft were the President’s close assistant Akhtar Abdur Rehman, American diplomat Arnold Lewis Raphel and 27 others. In the rest of the world, a country owns an army. In Pakistan, however, its Army own the country. In 1976, Prime Minister Bhutto elevated ul-Haq to a full general. One year later, he deposed Bhutto and declared martial law. Bhutto was hanged for treason. Ul-Haq’s 11-year tenure as the Supremo saw him announce Pakistan as a nuclear nation, aided Afghanistan to fight the Soviets and secured himself as a prominent Islamist leader. In a way, he was instrumental in making Pakistan a theocratic country and the rise of global Islamic terrorism. The crash was extensively investigated by many quarters, but nothing was conclusive. The possible theories range from aircraft...

The Day of the Jackal (1973) Director: Fred Zinnemann It is like watching a sitcom re-run or a delayed telecast of a football game of which you already know the result. This movie describes an assassination attempt on President De Gaulle's life. History buffs would already know that is not how he died, and the attempt failed. Nevertheless, the excitement and anticipation of how the plan was foiled kept the suspense going. Charles de Gaulle became the President of France in 1958 when France had just lost one of their most profitable colonies in the East, Indochina. When the Battle of Algiers reached its peak, De Gaulle discussed the self-administration of Algeria with the guerillas. Subsequently, Algeria became independent, and many Frenchmen were expelled. Under the umbrella organisation OAS, sympathisers of French Imperialism and the military forces decided that De Gaulle had to go.   In October 1962, in a failed assassination, De Gaulle escaped a rain of 150 bullets that rai...

Nine Hours to Rama (1963) Director: Mark Robson This movie is based on a novel of the same name written by Stanley Wolpert. Both the book and the film were banned in India when they came out. Nehru and his government at that time thought that the story created a human out of Godse, justified his crime and did not give enough dignity to Gandhi. This was even discussed at the Rajya Saba level. Throughout our childhood, my sisters and I could not help but see an imposing statue of Gandhi in our living room. My mother had bought it from a Thaipusam fair to remind her kids to be a person who brings glory to family and nation. At that tender impressionable age, we took in all my mother's Gandhi stories of his tenacity and eloquence. We were reminded of his vow to his mother to stay vegetarian upon boarding the steamship to England, the land of beef eaters and gin. And staying true to his word, he allegedly stayed vegan, this Mahatma (great soul). Alas, when we grew, one by one, the onion...

Sardar Udham (Hindi; 2021) Director: Shoojit Sircar One always wonders how a cult started by a group of semi-literate fishermen at the fringe of the Roman Empire by the Sea of Galilee could eventually grow up to impress the whole of the Empire, including its rulers. This rebel's rhetorics soon triggered justified wars and legitimised usurping of lands to claim their hegemony. The belief system garnered potential believers because it targeted the oppressed or the persecuted. The marginalised and the dying were given the dignity to exist with others on Earth. In return, the converts were willing to trade in their lives (or, in their words, sell their soul) for the religion. Yes, martyrdom played an essential role in recruiting more new members.  As India goes on a spree to rewrite its national history, more and more heroes of yesteryears come to the fore. Sardar Udham Singh (@ Sher Singh @ Ram Mohammad Singh Azad) is one such example. He had been conferred the title Shaheed-i-Azam Sa...

Grahan (Eclipse, Miniseries E1-8, Hindi, 2021) Director: Ranjan Chandel,  based on the book 'Chaurasi' by Satya Vyas. I remember some workmates who were in India studying in 1984 during PM Indira Gandhi's assassination. They described it as scary times when many Sikh students took refuge in their non-Sikh friends' homes. Some have them actually had to crop their mane very reluctantly just to stay alive. A turban sticking out in a mob situation where Sikhs were targeted must be a chilling affair.  It was at a time following Operation Blue Star when Mrs Gandhi ordered the Army to march into Amritsar's Harmandhir Golden Temple complex to neutralise Bhindranwale, who stocked weapons there. His faction wanted to fight for a separate state called Khalistan. His endeavours were supported wholeheartedly by Pakistan Government. For desecrating the august temple with military boots, many members of the Sikh community were apparently hurt. So, when Mrs Gandhi's personal bo...

The Family Man (Miniseries, Season 1,2; 2019-21) Amazon Prime I would not have given a damn to this web series if not for the adverse publicity it garnered after the release of its trailer for the second season. Many people and leaders from the ruling party from the state of Tamil Nadu were up in arms and wanted the show to be banned. But, as they say in showbiz lingo, any news is good news. All that hoopla just piqued the interest of even those remotely interested in the turmoil perpetrated on India by its neighbours. Suddenly everybody took an interest and have become experts on India's strategic defence. Its detractors, however, say that it is India's uninvited meddling of their affairs that is at fault. But, perhaps, it is not so straightforward.  India, much like Israel, is surrounded by neighbours who try to correct their cognitive dissonance by shoving down their narrow and destructive ideologies across their borders. However, practising passive resistance or turning the...