How they converge and diverge?

Lady in the Lake (Miniseries)
Season 1, Episodes 1-7.

An intriguing miniseries set at a time when Black Americans had an understanding with Jewish Americans. Even though Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to declare all slaves to be free, in reality, the Blacks still received the short of the stick. In so many instances, they were discriminated against. The law was not in their favour either. The Blacks had to prosper by themselves despite the restrictions. Some beat the systems and joined the mainstream, while others prospered through an alternative economic system. The evidence of their successes includes the Harlem Cultural Renaissance in the 1920s and the numerous legislative gains through the efforts of the NAACP (North America Association of Colored People).

Many of the African-American associations worked in tandem with many Jewish bodies. The Jews also felt the discriminatory vibes of the predominantly Anglo-Saxon majority of America. The earlier interactions between Jews and Blacks were not cordial. Many Jews became land owners and were ruthless businessmen who earned the wrath of the poor Blacks. Things changed later. 

During the Civil Rights Movement, many of the laws of the day, including the Jim Crow laws, were challenged by the movement with Jewish lawyers. Jewish leaders participated in numerous marches organised by Rev King and others. The 1955 to 1966 era is sometimes called the Golden Age of Black-Jewish relationships.

After 1966, the cooperation turned cold as the Jewish community moved higher in the economic class whilst the majority remained poor. Another possible explanation for this rift is the popularity of Islamic-based groups like the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X and the Panthers. The 1967 Six-Day War in the Middle East made many Black leaders and personalities, including Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, express solidarity behind the Palestinians and condemn Israel and the Zionists.

Set in the 1960s USA, this miniseries is mainly the story of two ladies trying to prove to themselves that they make something out of their lives. A 40-year-old Jewish lady who had to give up her writing ambition to get married and raise a child in a conservative, suffocating Jewish household gets an epiphany of sorts to break free from all this bondage. This happened after the much-published murder of an 11-year-old Jewish girl. She itches to investigate the case on her own accord. Through the episodes, we see the challenges she has to face to break from the mould of what is expected of a mother and a lady of the era.

In another parallel story, a young, ambitious black lady of about 30 tries to break from the clutches of poverty and the mob to make something out of her singing and provide a promising future for her kids. She needs to extricate herself from the crime-inducing society and the lure of the gangsters and their promise of a good future.

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Restart and Restart!

12th Fail (2023)
Directed by: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

I remember my parents, more expressively my mother, going through the same emotions as the elders in this family. They believed unabashedly that education was the only weapon they could use to break the shackles of poverty and hopelessness. Towards this end, they sacrificed their luxuries, comforts in life, and pride to show off to their peers what they had that their parents did not have.

I remember seeing the same expressions in my mother's eyes every time her plans were derailed by inevitable mistakes or inactions. She soldiered on, thinking everything would be solved once her children graduated. Rightly or wrongly, in her mind, a sound education was her panacea to all difficulties in life. With that single-minded determination, no mountain was too high to scale, and no river was too deep to sail. To the economically challenged, education is a more assured and level playing field way to prosper.

This biopic is based on an unbelievably true story of a student in Chamboli, MP, who failed his 12th Standard but went on later to win the coveted UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) examinations to become an IPS officer. He overcame abject poverty and the many obstacles to shine in the end. Coming from an area known more for dacoity rather than anything, the teachers in the school collectively volunteered the answers to their students to improve their scoring and, hopefully, a better life. Bad luck to Manoj Kumar Sharma. The year he sat for his 12th Standard examinations, an honest DSP was posted to his district. He stopped the whole examination as blatant copying was going on. So everybody in the school failed the 12th Standard that year. The DSP later became the motivating factor for living an honest life. Manoj passed the 12th Standard the following year and went on to Gwalior, aiming to be DSP like his hero.

His life in Gwalior was no bed of roses. Robbed of his luggage, pocket money and cancellation of the state government-sponsored public service examinations, he was left hungry and homeless.

His life took a turn again when he met Pandey. Together, they head to Delhi to try to sit for the Union Public Service Commission examinations to aim to become an IPS officer.

The rest of the story is an account of his adventures, including the ups and downs of his journey to finally be bequeathed the prized post of an Indian Police services officer.

Sailing through his journey, almost side by side, was his later wife, Shraddha, who became a Deputy Collector of the IRS. Currently, she is the managing director of the Maharashtra Tourism Board, and Manoj Sharma is the additional commissioner of the Mumbai Police.

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Between the prince and the pauper!

Saltburn (2023)
Written & Directed: Emerald Fennel

Growing up, we were engrained into our psyche as if being rich was sinful. The bedtime stories and the fables that were fed to us always put the rich guys as the bad ones. The poor guy will always come out tops with their ‘good virtues’. Stories will invariably end with the rich guys repenting or giving all their wealth to charity, which will put them on a pedestal.

The miser is a villain. The King who gives all his wealth is good, and the one who is a spendthrift is bad. The vagabond who gets thrashed around will have a good life. The underdog will prevail in the end.

We were taught that being poor is favourable and being ambitious is not favourable. We should have a humble and simple life. Wealth is meant to be divided. An individual should not keep too much wealth. Hey, does this not smell of communism?

Now, in its own quite bizarre way, this film is telling us what we were taught is all bunkum. Of course, we knew it all the while. Rich people are not trustworthy just as much as poor people are not. There are good people and bad people in both arms of the economic spectrum. The simplistic view that people of humble backgrounds are more trustworthy is simply wrong.

The film is in England at Oxford University, where Olie, an awkward but intelligent from a humble background, starts his stories with a scholarship. He meets an aristocratic boy, Felix, who is such a star that all the cool kids want to be around him.

The apparently shy Olie is seen slowly transforming into a conniving planner and provocateur into slowly befriending Felix. His sob stories (like the one about his dysfunctional family and his death) melt Felix’s heart. Olie is invited to spend the summer in Felix’s family estate, Saltburn. There, through his scandalous methods, he eventually comes to eliminate each of Felix’s family.

In our day-to-day living, many tell white lies to shorten conversations or to prevent personal embarrassment. Most of us will take what people say at face value and not dwell too much on its truth. They are mere fillers in our daily dealings.

We only realise that we have been taken for a spin after the effect. But then, we would just move on. Life is too complex to carry all that suspicion over people. We would turn up like a Scrooge, just persistently grouchy, carrying a frown and generally fed up with the world, making life a living hell for ourselves and others. We cannot be overcautious, neither can we let our shields be consistently down and vulnerable.

How often have we found ourselves in situations like these - where we, after reaching a certain place of comfort in life, want to pay back to society. Call it altruism or call it ‘rag to riches’ guilt for leaving others behind, we have gone out our ways to reach out to the less fortunate. Instead of receiving tokens of appreciation, we received a lesson in how not to be so naive. Scores of stories can be told of deceit, lies and double-crosses. It may be their way of leaping forward to greater heights by feeding on others’ gullibility. We are their ticket to their glitz.

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Finding wisdom where others find pleasure!

Sila ay Akin (They are Mine, Tagalog; 2023)
Director: McArthur C. Alejandre

Amongst the members of the lowest heap of the pecking order, it is said that the community self-regulates itself. These guidelines, called social mores or morality, are allegedly laid down to steer the community to a virtuous way of living. This would appease the Gods as it is the correct thing to do. Its payback can be experienced in the afterlife or the next birth.

Paradoxically, the masters' perceptions of good and evil are different. In the eyes of the slaves, their aim in life was to usurp as much wealth as possible and immerse themselves in hedonistic activities.

The slaves scorn their master's attitude towards acquiring wealth and their aissez-faire outlook to morality but justify their own fastidiousness as a decree from the divine forces.

The unabashed desire for wealth is ostracised as greed. To yearn for the sumptuous spread of delicacies is labelled gluttony, and unsanctioned wanting of sexual pleasures without societal approval is termed sin. The fear of God is imposed upon them to toe the line. Curiously, these laws do not apply to the master class. It is said that because of this, the master class can thumb down their slaves to stay in power and assert dominance.

What we realise is that the social norms that the slave community imposed upon themselves are potentially self-defeating. It stifles their personal development but ensures that the masters have a constant labour force supply. Slaves remain slaves.

So, if the social mores are removed from the equation, would the society prosper? Perhaps not.

In a way, this film asks the same question. The film could draw audiences more for its explicit nature rather than the theme and storyline; yours truly tries to find wisdom where others find pleasure. t is the curse of the profession.

The setting is in the slumps of Manila. A son, JC, returns home to his widowed mother's home. JC is returning after years of being away. This time, he returns after getting into trouble with a gang in Baguio. JC has a girlfriend of three years with him. At home, the mother lives with her first son, Pao, and his wife. She had adopted a mute girl, a rape victim whom she picked up from the streets.

The theme around the household is about earning money. The aged mother is a street vendor, and the adopted girl helps her. The elder brother is a male exotic dancer and moonshines as a gigolo by the side. His wife used to be an exotic dancer but stopped after coming into the family. JC is slowly inducted into the same profession. Money is trickling in. Everyone is happy.

The apparent thing around the household is their lax attitude towards morality surrounding sex. The mother curtained off a small part of the bedroom for JC and his girlfriend to sleep together, knowing very well they are not married. The family is okay with the job everyone is doing. When Pao's rich client, a boyfriend, promises him a free pass to the USA in lieu of employment and residence there, everybody is happy.

So with all the restrictions against wealth acquisition and sexual freedom lifted off the agenda, everything should be hunky dory, right? Perhaps not, as is subsequently seen as the story goes. Anger, violence, and the desire to dominate and control ensure the member stays put. Like crabs in a pail, each will pull the other down to ensure it is status quo for everyone. The loser will be content to get stuck in the slime and censure the occasional budding sprout from escaping the muck.

Can money really be the panacea to solving all problems? In the immediate future, it could be. Only when one reaches his destination and lets a sigh of relief would he realise that life is no park in the walk. Something would saunter in the name of the black dog, waiting to pounce upon the generation next! We are advised to stick to routines and follow religiously proscribed guidelines or cookbook recipes. We need the occasional outlier to push mankind to a higher level.

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To the naysayers

More than enough people are quick to sneer at India after Vikram's successful soft landing at the Southern Pole of the Moon. On one end, people were quick to say that the whole exercise was a hoax. It is an illusion. Then, others blurted that a country that cannot provide toilets to its citizens and whose population mostly live below the poverty line should not be sending rockets to the Moon (and playing with nuclear bombs). One even threatened to stop monetary 'aid' to India, conveniently forgetting any discussion on repatriation monies after years of looting from India. 

Firstly, everyone knows there is no way for everybody to prosper in sync before society moves up one notch higher. Things happen in tandem. There will be people who will have to do catching up, and there will be those who will lose out in the race for prosperity anyway. The only people who believe that the world needs equity are communists. Again and again, it has been proven that human greed surpasses any attempt at equity and even equality. Four-legged creatures elected to replace their two-legged oppressors will eventually begin standing erect on their hind legs. 

To be fair, India has improved by leaps and bounds since Independence. It has even overtaken its former colonial master as the 5th biggest economy by GDP after being left as the 13th poorest country on the planet when the British left their land. With regards to foreign aid, many quarters deny the usual foreign aid that first-world countries offer to a despotic basket-case government. Monies that trickle into India are investments from which investors hope to draw returns. Some are charity contributions by well-wishers with personal intent, e.g. evangelism and political donations.

With the 'Clean India' campaign in full steam, open defecation is a thing of the past. With many states having 100% access to toilets, open defecation is a thing of the past. 

Paradoxically, the country with the biggest economy must face the same problem. With its chiselled pavements and famous postcode 90120 that it sells to the world, even Los Angeles also has to deal with homelessness, drug addiction and cleaning up the sidewalks littered with human excrement. 

Karma often plays its game most cruelly. The colonisers who robbed their colonies blind now have to be content seeing their descendants being fed by the descendants of their subjects. The innumerable hungry, homeless and impoverished British regularly frequent Sikh soup kitchens for a square meal. 

Our experience from the 1960s space explorations has shown us there are many trickle-down benefits. Besides the numerous improvements in medicine and engineering, it also improves the life of the man on the street. Teflon was discovered. The knowledge to produce heat-resistant garments with adequate cooling technology becomes a game-changer in the day-to-day duties of firemen. Luggage bags with roller wheels have their origin in the space programme. At a time when the younger generation shows scant interest in STEM subjects, these types of ventures will surely rekindle their dwindling keenness. The Industrial Revolution and the subsequent leaps in civilisation did not happen because of economists and linguists but by scientists. Remember the economic opportunities that these ventures that offshoot from space travels. Money spent is not wasted but merely changes hands. Charity and social work can still go on. 

The West cannot handle the paradigm shift in the world order. For more than two centuries, people of the Judeo-Christian traditions held the chalice of power. This century is when the power transfer happens from the West to the East.

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Everything cancels out in the end!

The 4th Beatle? Paul is dead? 🐕

A successful Bollywood star was once interviewed for a podcast. The star had apparently struggled to climb the ladder of success without any connections or dynastic lineage to boost. He delved deep into his humble beginnings as he cosied up to the interviewer. Soon the whole conversation became up, close and personal. The Tinseltown star started reminiscing the times he grew up pathetically poor.

The family lived on the poorer side of town. Five family members, parents and three siblings squeezed into a tiny bedroom. A slight cough, hiccup or even sigh would alert the others to inquire whether things are alright. Besides pacifying each other, they would prepare some kind of concoction. Whether the home remedy worked or not, the love shared obviously did the trick. They were closely knit.

Jackie Shroff

Lady luck dropped in, and stars sparked brightly. With fame and fortune came a big mansion. Each family member had a private bedroom and attached fittings. The star was happy to 'pay' back to the family for standing by him through thick and thin. 

As cyclical as life is, life had its unexpected turn of events. Early one morning, the mother was found dead. Later, she had a massive coronary event the night before and succumbed to her condition.

The star then became philosophical. If only they had stayed together like before, when they were poor, one would have looked out for the other. The mother would have been rushed to the nearest medical facility, and appropriate treatment would have been instituted. 

But then, life is more complex. With minimal savings or medical insurance, expensive cardiac interventions remain a piped dream. With affluence, morbid conditions may be detected earlier and treated accordingly. To what extent should one give up the joy of living to worry incessantly with fear of dying? As Murphy's Law dictates, anything that can go wrong will go wrong if it is meant to. And Sigmund Freud chided Carl Jung for proposing something like 'Synchronicity'.

When we were young, we yearned for that plate of fat-laden juicy mutton varuval; we just could not afford it. Now, when possible, our cholesterol levels give a disapproving head shake. As the Tamil proverb goes, 'When there is a dog (and you need a stone), there are no stones; when you have stones, there is no dog in sight!'

Like the Epicureans, we have to rejoice in our wheat and water. And the Stoics, King Rama being the great example, troubles will pop up in torrents; we should face them valiantly and do the right thing to the best of our ability. 

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Behind the gentrification...

Kakka Muttai (Crow's Egg, 2015)

Story, Direction: M. Manikandan. 

Thanks to JT for the recommendation.

All they wanted was to eat pizza. All the advertisements convinced them that it indeed tasted heavenly. It must be valid since even their favourite movie star endorsed it. All the graphic images of fillings of the pizza and sticky cheesy must be an experience to behold, they thought. And they made it their once-a-lifetime achievement to savour one of those. For these two boys from the Chennai slums, paying ₹ 299 for a box of pizza is abominable. After all, for these slum boys, whose father is in jail and mother is at wit's end trying to get him out, it is just a flitting dream. The boys, nicknamed Kakka Muttai, cannot afford to go to school and scrap a living selling coal that drops off a moving train. On a good day, they manage to earn ₹15. 

They see their favourite playing ground slowly being cordoned off and transforming into a shop lot and a happening pizza parlour. They are intrigued by all the hype surrounding the place. Even their favourite movie star, Simbu, is seen dining there. And they keep watching the pizza advertisement repeatedly flashing on the telly. The boys resolve to save money, bit by bit, to lay their fingers into the coveted divine meal. 

In the meantime, slum boys are shooed from the pizza parlour. A security guard is placed there. It seems their presence is not welcomed. 

After getting a windfall, they managed to save ₹ 300. But when they arrived to buy pizza, they were chased away. They were not dressed up to patronise the place. The guard went as far as to assault the boys. A passer-by took a video of the event and viralled it. 

A comedy of errors ensued. A local goon, on being aware of the incriminating video, tries to make a quick buck extorting to sell the video to TV channels. A local politically connected man from the slum tries to earn brownie points when local dwellers plan a demonstration. The goon's sidekick tries to outsmart his boss by breaking a 'better' deal with a TV channel when in fact, his boss was trying to fleece him. 

In the meantime, when the pizza owner realises the bluff, they send their own people to apprehend the boy to do damage control… 

We see gentrification happening around us. We feel proud seeing the backwater backyard that we once lived, undergoing beautification, look whitewashed and refined. Suddenly we find our parents, if they owned the properties, boasting about their prized million-dollar property. Unfortunately, the whole exercise comes with a cost. 

A segment of the population would be left out in this rat race. If life is an F1 race, they would forever be the minion Minaldi, just to make the race, not win it! 

The displaced segment will be pushed more and more to the periphery. This group is the target of politicians and matters most for mass decisions. Their concerns are often highlighted to smokescreen the leaders' true intentions. 

The marginalised will stay marginalised. Wealth is a zero-sum game. It cannot be created from thin air. To make money, somebody has to lose. The same usual suspects repeatedly appear on both ends of the spectrum. The peep show may vary, but the stage remains the same.

(PS. When the brothers finally dug into the pizza, they realised it was all a letdown. The gooey feel and bland taste were a turnoff. They learned the experience was not worth their effort. That is marketing in modern times, turning unassuming humans, i.e. (m)asses, into ravaging zombies oblivious to what they actually need.) 

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