See a red door, paint it black!

Hotel Mumbai (English/Hindi; 2018)
Indian-Australian co-production.

You say Islam is a peaceful religion, and these terrorist activities do not represent the true essence of the faith. But, why is it that the cry of an enraged suicidal jihadi bomber and the prayer of desperation and helplessness of his intended victim who is at the cusp of death is one and the same? And it is too numerous to a dhimmi's comfort. There is a huge problem, and the believers have to do a lot to resurrect the right image of the religion. Pussyfooting around it is wrong for PR.

This is what goes through a kafir's mind when he sees a scene from the movie where a terrorist is about to execute his hostage point-blank on her head. He is confused as she recites the Islamic prayer usually gets a mention at the time of death.

'Hotel Mumbai' is an Indo-Australian production which tries to re-enact of one India's worst nightmare when coordinated shootings happened around Mumbai. It was the 26th of November 2008 when ten young Pakistani men landed assumingly alighted a dinghy at a secluded fishermen's wharf. With them, they had automatic rifles and explosives. In a coordinated fashion, as if they had planned this all their lives and with constant communication with their Pakistani contact, these Lashkar-e-Taiba members proceeded on their shoot at six over avenues, Hotel Taj, being one.

Ajmal Kasab, the only captured

perpetrator of the attack.

The city was unprepared to such coordinated attacks, and their police force was ill-prepared for this. They had to wait for the Special Forces from New Delhi for assistance. So, the guests and staff of the hotel had to fend for themselves, dodging the bullets of four gunmen on a shooting spree. Only ten hours after the first shot, did the rapid-action personnel slide down the roof from a helicopter to put an end to the mayhem.

The screenwriters fictionalised three or four characters based on real people who were caught in the hotel. It revolved around a waiter, Arjun Singh (Dev Patel), the chief chef, Hemant Oberoi, a haughty Russian businessman guest and a husband-wife couple with a newborn baby and nanny. It is an extraordinary gritty tale of how ordinary people rose to the occasion to become heroes. It was done in a down to earth manner minus the melodrama of Bollywood and the display of heroic rescue often associated with international pictures. Even though the viewers knew how the siege would end, the element of suspense was held until the very end.

More than ten years after the disaster, many old wounds remain unattended. The ease in which these Pakistani men slipped into the Mumbai fishing wharf is a puzzle. The local fishermen, who by nature are protective of their turf, did confront them of their intentions but were told to 'mind their own business'. A police report made about them by the fishermen remained unresolved.

The attackers were in contact via their mobile lines with their puppet masters in Pakistan all through the siege. The young gunmen were given a minute to minute instructions and even given moral support to stay true to their divine missions. Despite their evil, destructive planning and execution, their ringleader in Pakistan remains at large. Pakistan who admitted playing a role in the attack seems apathetic towards amending their caustic relationship with their neighbour and continue exporting or sponsoring terror activities.

The Indian Police and the previous Indian government administration had a lot of questions to answer for their lack of urgency, inefficiencies and mismanagement. In an interview, Ratan Tata, the Chairman, mentioned that the police had received advance warning of the attacks and that some countermeasures had been taken. Obviously, it did not bear fruition.

1908 Taj Hotel
symbol of strength and resilience of the Indian people

At least 170 people perished in the attack. At least 50% of the victims were the employees of Taj Hotel. It is said one of the reasons why so many employees died is due to their work culture. One of their work ethe is 'guest is God'. Tata employees are said to have a profound attachment to their work, much like how its Chairman, Ratan Tata, treats all levels of his employees - like family. He is easily the richest man in India but does not appear in the who-is-who list of India's most affluent. He gives a huge chunk back to society.

It is ironic that even though Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving perpetrator, had one mind of giving up his life in punishing the infidels who squandered the wealth of his people, he went against all the odds to escape execution. He failed his appeals and clemency from President. His last helpless words were "I swear by Allah, won't do such a thing again". In a single sentence admitting his guilt and regretting his actions.

The often unspoken reason for their mindless activity is poverty. Religion is just a tool to hoodwink the helpless with the promise of monetary assistance to their families and a blissful afterlife in heaven. In this particular episode, there is a hint that even the promised money did not reach the family. The ecstatic afterlife? What a deception?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

People will keep saying something!

Sanju (Hindi; 2018)

That is the problem with modern living. With the plethora of information at their disposal, people think they have everything they need to know at their fingertips. With this knowledge, they believe they are in the best place to make a balanced decision. True, in most situations, the various angles of looking at an issue are laid bare for scrutiny. In other cases, however, the news is generated to keep the writer relevant, so that the publications stay forever in the limelight.

A case in hand is the use of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in the management of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infections. Keyboard warriors who before this did not know the difference between a bacteria and virus can now rattle out the pros and cons of each modality of treatment. Equipped with the little knowledge gained from anecdotal studies, they are quick to bring down institutions that have been handing down management guidelines for decades.

They immerse in meaningless banters over social media trying to prove a well-organised world conspiracy to dupe the human race. No matter how much counter-arguments are raised against their assertions, they stand steadfast defending their conviction as if that is their last mission on Earth. As if their ranting is going to change the way how doctors are going to manage their patients. Doctors and nurses have to follow specific clinical practice guidelines when they attend to their patients.  They cannot just modify their approach based on what they had read on WhatsApp.

This movie is a biopic of famous Bollywood actor, Sanjay Dutt, son of Bollywood's thespians, Sunil Dutt and Nargis. Growing up under the spotlight of prowling reporters and parental expectations must have been hard for a young Sanjay Dutt. All the affluence, wrong friends, and partying could not have helped either. Early in his life, he was already trapped in the world various addictive intoxicants - he ticks all the boxes in a questionnaire in a rehab clinic! And the number of girls in his life - some with tragic ends. I was surprised that the often his tabloid-gossiped affairs with Madhuri Dixit was not mentioned in the film.

The show focuses primarily on his substance abuse, his relationship with his parents, and his protracted brush with the law. It was around the time of widespread riots surrounding the destruction of the Babri mosque in 1993. Sanjay Dutt was charged under the  Terror and Destructive Prevention Act for possessing firearms which were linked to the underworld networks and the Bombay bombing. Ranbir Kapoor gives a sterling performance of Dutt, complete with gait, mannerisms and tics.

The presentation may be viewed as a public relation attempt to paint Dutt's  (?whitewashed) version of the turn of events surrounding his arrest. He blames the fiasco solely on the press. He accused the media of accusing in a subtle way and insinuating in the most creative way to influence public opinions. Every day, to keep the gap between paid advertisements relevant, the media moguls employ cocksure self-proclaimed super experts on the most mundane field of expertise to rant repeatedly their undisputable error-free decrees on cable channels in an undisguised stage called trial-by-media. Before the respective lawyers register their cases with the courts, the public opinion is already made. They are the judge and jury. When they become the executioners, that is when all hell will break loose.

The take-home message here is that people will always keep saying something. It is just noise. We should not take it personally. They are just feeding the public's appetite. It is their rice bowl. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Justice done?

Phantom (2015)

Of late, if one were to notice, Bollywood seems to be churning out movies which are patriotic in nature. At a time when nationalism spirit in all countries is at a record high, and when India-Pakistan border tensions are equally high, this genre of movies appear to be topping the box office.

The conventional wisdom is to love one other, embrace your brother, love thy name and do unto others as you would do unto them. And that 'an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind'. Unfortunately, the world is not a kind place. Experiences in 1962, lethargic after fighting two world wars, Nehru, in his great wisdom, must have thought hard about his country's relationship with China. With his 'Chini Chini Bhai Bhai' slogan, he probably told China, "let's all be together and feel alright!" Unfortunately, China construed this holding hands and singing kumbayah gesture as a weakness. They cooly walked in and occupied Tibet.

India, with that humiliation, managed to salvage some pride a decade later (1971). Parties in West Pakistan had failed to win a majority to rule the whole of Pakistan. So, when the Bengalis of East Pakistan retaliated, the West Pakistani army moved in to quell the resistance and initiate a genocide. Refugees in millions started pouring into India. Pleas by India to the international community fell into deaf ears. India thought it would be cheaper to go to war with Pakistan. Pakistan, gung-ho with their nationalistic jingoism gave the first salvo by attacking Agra. In a blitz, the Indian Army forced the Pakistan Army to get on their knees to sign a public Instrument of Surrender. A Jew, Major General JFR Jacob, managed to hoodwink the Pakistani Army to lay down their arms.

Like to brotherly squabble between Ishmael and Isaac which has gone on for aeons to win their fatherly love, the clash of brothers of the same genetic makeup across the Indo-Pakistan border took a different dimension with the spread of Saudi-sponsored Wahabbism. Now, Islamic terrorists make it their life mission to conquer and spread their perverted form of violent Islam.

Lashkar-e-Taiba is one such organisation. They have been identified as a terrorist group based in Pakistan with the primary mission to 'liberate' Kashmir' from India. They have been implicated in the 2001 Indian Parliament bombing, the 2005 Mumbai attacks and recently the Pulwama attack on Indian Armed Forces.

This film is based on a fiction which centres around the 26/11 Mumbai terror. In keeping with Bollywood's style, a lone-wolf (but with the blessings of RAW), disgraced and court-marshalled Indian soldier singlehandedly (with a little help from a pretty informant) infiltrates into an American prison, Syria and Pakistan to track down the planners of the attack and mete appropriate justice to them.


[N.B. A recent addition to the growing list of patriotic Indian films would be 'Kesari'. The movie is based on the greatest battle in the world history, the Battle of Saragarhi, in which 21 Sikh soldiers of the British India Army fought valiantly against a massive force of 10,000 Afghan tribal warriors. 

Great Britain had halted their parliament during proceedings to give a standing ovation to those 21 fallen Sikh soldiers for their courage and bravery. In fact, none other than Queen Victoria herself had said at the time: “It is no exaggeration to record that the armies which possess the valiant Sikhs cannot face defeat in war. 21 vs 10,000.”

The only reason that the world today knows about the details of the Battle of Saragarhi is because of heliographic messages, which were communicated between the Sikh troops and Lt Col John Haughton at Fort Lockhart and Major Charles Des Voeux in Gulistan. The heliographed details of the heroism of those 21 Sikh souls had been telegraphed to London by a journalist, which led every newspaper in Britain to report it on the front page. In 2017, a group of 12 senior Army officials from England visited Saragarhi memorial to pay tributes to the brave souls. Saragarhi memorial day is observed in Britain as well.]

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.