The cycle is a MacGuffin

Cycle (Marathi, 2017)

A Malay proverb goes, 'gajah mati meninggalkan tulang, harimau mati meninggalkan belang, manusia mati meninggalkan nama'. Literally translated it meant elephants die leaving bones, tigers leave their stripes and men leave their good name. Essentially it denotes that a legacy of a person is his deeds, not his materialistic assets.

It may all be make-believe and fabled narration - that the world is so good where it provides for everybody. Your deeds are the only that matter. That is the only thing that is remembered of you are your virtues. The material representations of you are not you but the mere reminders of your existence.

The movie set in 1958 rural India. Perhaps the innocence of Man that existed in the yesteryears is just a forgotten relic of the past. Modern Man is more self-centred and suspicious of the person beside him. Money has pervaded into everyone's life that it supersedes doing good or the right thing.

Maybe somewhere in the corner of our hearts, we still hope that humanity and all the traits that protected mankind through hardship over the years are still alive. People would yet be assessed by their virtues and not their bank balance. Material possessions are essential but not be-all and end-all of our being. 

The story tells about a decent much-loved astrologer, Keshav, who is placed in high regards by people near and far. He is gentle when speaking bad omen and sometimes tells his client the good things that they want to hear and sugarcoats the unpleasant one. His one much-prized possession is his yellow bicycle. It was bequeathed to him by his grandfather who received it from a British officer for his services. Keshav loves his vehicle too much, to the level of obsession. No one is allowed to ride his bike, strictly nobody. He even keeps it indoors.

During his absence, on a faithful day, Keshav's bicycle gets stolen by two bumbling thieves who had just robbed a house but were chased by dogs. A devastated Keshav goes in search of his machine.

Meanwhile, the robbers on their getaway, get the royal treatment from the adjacent villagers. They believe them when told, though they were initially unconvinced, that Keshav had loaned them his contraption. Long story short, the thieves realised they had stolen from a decent chap. Keshav also gets back his cycle, but by then, he realises his folly. He had emphasised too much on his bicycle but failed to see all the love around him.

In this unsettled world full of uncertainties, this movie could be a wake-up call for us to reassess our priorities. We should not be all rapacious in our zest for wealth acquisition but consider having a re-visit upon things we had wanted to do all our lives but never the opportunity to do so.

P.S. Learnt a new word - MacGuffin. It is an object or device in a film which serves merely as a trigger for the plot. It has nothing to do with the story. It was coined by Alfred Hitchcock. Asked in an interview, "what is a MacGuffin?", he replied, " It's an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish highlands."

The interviewer went on to enquire, "But there are no lions in the Scottish highlands."
He cheekily said, "Then that's no MacGuffin."

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Boon or Bane?

Credit: newmandala.org
Dr Mahathir Mohamad (b 10.7.1925)
A second chance to right the wrong?

It is my Prime Minister's birthday, and I have a dilemma. Just last year, he became the oldest man in the world to be elected as a country's leader at 93. One year on and he is still going on strong like an Energiser Bunny. 

The million dollars is not when his run is going to halt, but instead if indeed longevity is a blessing. On the one hand, on auspicious occasions, we wish each other hoping for a long life. We cling on to our dear lives averting dangers and seeking medical advice at the first sneeze. We plan things as if we would live forever. Some would say that being born as a human is our reward for our past karmic deeds. Hence, a long life must be a bonus. They are others who would vouch that life on Earth is a testing ground. A long life span means that they are more options to collect brownie points. If one only lives for the afterlife,  then there is ample opportunity to right the wrong.

On the other hand, there are those who swear, like they had been on the other side and heard it from the horse's mouth, that life on Earth is indeed painful. With so much physical and emotional pain associated with daily living from the cradle to the grave, death is a relief. Therefore, the continuation of life mark non-completion of misdeeds (sins) of previous births. Shorter life-spans mean less chance to make a goof of oneself, hence, the placing of prominent figures who experienced premature deaths in the annals of human history. The 'Club of 27' is one such example. P Ramlee, Elvis Presley, Sudirman and James Dean are others who left while they were at their prime, eliminating any negative perceptions of their feats on Earth.

So what is your answer, boon or bane?

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Everyone, their own.

Aramm (அறம், Deed, Tamil; 2017)


This must be one of few attempts of Kollywood at a disaster movie; one which delves into the procedural intricacies of a rescue mission. It probably goes in the vein of great Hollywood flicks like 'Earthquake!', 'Jaws' and even 'Apollo 13'.

On top of dealing with the nitty-gritty issues of rescuing a child trapped in a disused well, the film managed to bring to light many of the issues plaguing the common man in Tamil Nadu, may be in anywhere in the world.

It is the eve of the launch of a rocket in India. The euphoric mood is palpable everywhere, but nobody seems to know what the hype is all about, but they join the revelry, nevertheless. On the one hand, the country appears to be at the zenith of technological know-how. At the same time, the state fails to satisfy its citizens' fundamental necessity, water supply. The film then focuses the plight of villager plagued with extreme water shortage. In this urgent situation, a toddler falls into a 93-feet narrow disused well.

It would have been just another sob story of a child from the disadvantaged class of the community succumbing to the negligence of the people entrusted to serve the people if not for the dedication of an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer. Her non-swaying stand against the powers that be exposes the lackadaisical attitude of the administrative arm of the Government, the partisan stance and the kowtowing of the police to the political leaders, the corrupt practices of the elected leaders and the ugly nature of class politics. The media can sometimes be a double-edged sword when their practitioners become overzealous in trying to expose a scoop.

The film ends on a positive note. It sends home the message that we determine our future. Nobody can be trusted to do our dirty work. We have to fend our ourselves. There is only so much that can be depended on the assistance of the state. Above all, we must have our own safety nets. Everyone is on the lookout for their own skin.