RIFLE RANGE BOY

A jocular Tamil proverb sarcastically portrays a man who denies losing his balance and falling flat on his face on the ground. He would show the people around him a clean moustache devoid of sand. The man hoped the others would believe he was a macho man who never fell. (குப்புற விழுந்தாலும் மீசையில் மண் ஒட்டவில்லை  - the said proverb.) This proverb has been playing in my mind over the past few days during the recently paused India-Pakistan War.  It started with a band of terrorists crossing over from Pakistan, killing 26 tourists just because they were not Muslims and retreating back into Pakistan. Pakistan vehemently denied being part of the killing or even harbouring any terrorists at all in their country. This heart-wrenching moment, especially the one involving a 6-day married honeymooning couple and a father shot in front of his wife and young son, stirred India to take retaliatory actions. Both sides flaunted their military toys, and the war games were flagged off. The...

BBC on Trial (Documentary; 2024) Produced by: Global Hindu Federation Remember when Malaysians depended on Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) for our news fix? If one remembers well, the headlines on each vernacular channel emphasised different topics to keep each ethnicity happy and give the illusion that their needs were being considered. They would have picked this up from their colonial masters, who perfected the art of diplomacy and ruling with the doctrine of 'divide and rule'. Goebbels is not the person who invented the propaganda. It was the British and their propaganda machine, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). In fact, the Germans learnt it from BBC, which was incorporated into its current form in 1927. In the 1930s, the BBC management was singing praises of the Nazi's attempt to clear off its enemies. BBC perfected the art of choosing the perfect word to sugarcoat a potential disaster. They broadcast 24/7 in 25 languages and three bandwidths to tell th...

Full River Red (China; 2023) Director:  Zhang Yimou 'Full River Red' is a patriotic poem written by Yue Fei, a Chinese general during the reign of the Southern Song Dynasty. There was a time when the Jin Dynasty overpowered the Northern Song Dynasty from the area now known as Manchuria. Yue Fei was assigned to recapture the northern capital from the intruders. Just as he was about to overpower the invader, he was told to retreat. The Southern King thought the released Northern King may have a claim to the throne. Yue Fei was called back to the southern capital, charged with trumped-up charges, and executed or died in prison. He was a victim of an internal political imbroglio. An established poet, Yue Fei wrote the poem to stir patriotic fervour among the people. It portrays his hatred towards the invading northern army and his frustration toward the peace accord with the Jin dynasty from the north. 'Full River Red' has become a masterpiece in the history of Chinese lite...

Malu apa bossku? Apparently, all the things I may have learnt from childhood may be wrong after all. Sometimes, I wonder whether I thought the wrong thing or may have been hoodwinked to believe obviously wrong things. Perhaps values changed while we were napping. I always assumed that when one loses any of his properties via public auction, he is said to have lost not only his wealth but also his dignity. The mark of a true man is his ability to acquire wealth and provide for his dependents; his inability to retain his finances is a colossal failure. At a time when pride was everything, abscondment and suicide were standard outlets. My legal eagle friends remain nonchalant about their clients or opponents declaring themselves bankrupt or their properties auctioned off. To them, that is a cost of doing business. Overlooking the inconveniences of bankruptcy, it remains a legitimate 'get out of jail' sort of card. Nothing Earth-shattering, they say, and definitely no shame. ...

The Vaccine War (Hindi, 2023) Written, Directed by Vivek Agnihotri This is a sort of victory lap, a valedictorian dance to celebrate their success, a pat on the back for a job well done. It is also a proud moment to have stayed resilient when no one had any confidence that India would survive the COVID-19 pandemic. It gives them the bragging rights to flaunt their success story in thumping the virus that took the world by storm. They persevered when the rest of the world shook their heads, disapproving and sneering at their moves. When everyone, including their own people, mocked their actions and shamed them via media and toolkits, they stood their ground.   Even though India had an excellent track record in the pharmaceutical industry, its experience in making vaccines was in its infancy at best. With the pressures of impending doom and possible annihilation of mankind, Big Pharma had all to lose by not selling its vaccines to the most populous country on the planet.   Maybe...

Born to Fly (Chinese, 2023) Written, Directed: Lin Xiaoshi The ending says it all. Anyone who invades Chinese airspace will be resolutely shut down. Some will label it as China's reply to Hollywood's 'Top Gun' and 'Maverick' while others would brush this movie as another of the CCP's propaganda projects. Thanks to the USA's brilliant plan to outsource, China has leapt by leaps and bounds. Trying to save on their budget, it appeared then that getting China to handle  military networks was a bright idea. In 21st-century China, she can send a rocket to the dark side of the Moon and match the US fighter and stealth planes. Hence, the silver screen is the best avenue to showcase their prowess in the sky. Hopefully, the offspring of the one-child policy families would be impressed to lose their sons to become fighter and test pilots. Surprisingly, after an initial screening, which drew record box office collection, CCP decided to withdraw the permit for its sc...

India. The Modi Question (2023) BBC Documentary (2 episodes) Around the late 1990s, when I was working in Johor Bahru, I enjoyed the BBC worldwide service radio transmissions from Singapore. At that time, what appears to be an alternate universe to think of it now, their discussions were fair and extensive and looked at topics from all angles. Undoubtedly, their fundamental role in modern society has been exposed over the years. Their reporting of the elusive Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq and their many shenanigans are now open secrets. Their job is to be a tool of the US and a lap dog of the military-industrial complex. A testimony of their rumour-mongering duty is this 2 part BBC documentary. It is an obvious case of biased reporting and ridiculing the choice of the citizens of the world's biggest democracy. Even though the BJP returned the votes with a more significant majority the second time around through what is deemed a fair election, the West cannot fathom the nation...