RIFLE RANGE BOY

2018: Everyone is a Hero (Malayalam; 2023) Written and Directed: Jude Anthany Joseph This must surely be the first successful full-length disaster movie ever done by filmmakers of Indian cinema. Unlike the usual endeavours where the final outcomes appear inferior to an average B-grade Hollywood flick, this one is for real; it looks it anyway. It is India's entry to the 96th Academy Awards under the Foreign film category. It tries to recreate the 2018 significant floods that hit Kerala. Monsoon was particularly bad that year, with unusually high rainfall that resulted in the worst floods in the century. 483 people died, and 15 went missing. In the aftermath of the floods, Keralites realised and feted not only the government-sanctioned rescue teams but also the role of the general public in helping each other out. The fishermen were particularly mentioned for rising to the occasion with their fishing boats. This movie is also to honour these people. Everyone is a hero when he acts se...

Credit: topdocumentaryfilms.com We all know the drill - that up to 70% of our body is filled with water; that 70% of the Third Rock from the Sun is covered by water and that it is the elixir of life. We also accept oxygen and hydrogen molecules could be alien visitors who landed on Earth via meteorites that reached here. Scientists agree that water is indeed a strange chemical. With its composition, it should be in a gaseous state, not liquid as it is. Unlike other solids, water in a solid state is less dense, encouraging lifeforms to live and prosper under an iceberg. Capillary action ensures that water reaches the highest leaf of the giant redwood and the minuscule of the body organs. I will not do justice to the WhatsApp that my childhood friends and I share if I do not divulge some of the new things that were brought to my attention through them. Water has memory. Having been around for so long on this planet, it only makes sense. The same water molecule that was drunk by a...

The Shape of Water (2017) Okay, this movie is a sci-fi romance flick which won an Oscar. It is modelled after 'The Beauty and The Beast', about a young cleaner-lady falling in love with mysterious scaly water-creature in captivity, initially captured in South America. There seems to exist more mystery behind the story of this mute orphan who lost her vocal powers probably after a neck injury. She spends a long time in her bath and gets an attraction to this creature. She spots the reptilian being in the laboratory, as he is being tortured. The story goes predictably as she and her band of misfits try to kidnap him from the science facility. They discover each other and live happily ever after. Of course, it is made more interesting than that. The setting is 1960 Baltimore, in a government lab. It boasts of colourful characters, all with flaws in them. The mute protagonist, her colleague who has been through multiple poor judgements in relationships, a talented but unsucce...

Billions in Change (Documentary 2015) My brother from another womb sent me a teaser that introduced me to this Indian American millionaire, Manoj Bhargava. He moved to the USA as a teenager with his family. He dropped out of Princeton University after freshman year to live amongst monks in India for twelve years. He made his money through his caffeine-plus-vitamin elixir, a '5-hour Energy' drink. His nett wealth worth is said to be USD 1.5 billion and was Forbes' listed. In 2015, he pledged 99% of his wealth to the half of the world population who are immersed in poverty. Billionaire Philanthropist Manoj Bhargava He recruited a group of same-minded scientists to invent simple, cheap and long-lasting simple devices to pay to society. The primary target of his selfless endeavour is the rural poor of India. Through his company, Billions in Change, he and his team have come up with simple devices which could potentially be the game changer in their lives. It is intri...

Back home in RRF, money was always hard to come by. Many a times we, as children, wished that those frequent squabbles of our parents over money (lack of) never arises. As part of economising and savings, Amma used to ink down a monthly budget for the family. Sundry goods were always enlisted and bought in advance from a particular shop, with cash of course. Amma made it a point never to buy on credit as she believed that it would always spiral out of control. She learnt her lesson well, thanks to her father who singlehandedly burnt off his whole family fortune in a single generation! When I look at the budget that she had penned, it would appear as money was just enough. No place for unexpected misfortune or malady. Of course, she would supplement her income through her sewing skills. Pretty soon she carved a name for herself amongst the occupants of RRF. When the coffer started welling, never overflowing, she would give out loans to pathetically poor and uninitiated inhabitants...

Freud's suggestion that human beings are irrational creatures was proven true by the turn of events this weekend. The ushering of spring, which was initially celebrated with pomp and splendour by pagan farmers was given a religious perspective by including some event in the scripture. Whereas, some quarters sneer at their behavior for they were referred to as 'April Fools' as they were thought to be oblivious of the creation of the Gregorian calendar and were unaware of fast forwarding of days!   Evidence of irrationality came to fore during the recent colorful event of Holi. People who were particular fussy about getting any part of their body wet or soiled, decided to forgo their stance. If normally they would run away from the rain, this time around they decided to hire a container load of water to splash water on them. If appearing neat, fair and presentable was their forte, this time too, they dirtied themselves with stashes of brightly hued colors so much so that the...

We all live in uncertainty. Nobody actually knows what is going to happen next. We are all just trailing along like a school of fish with no leader, no direction and no purpose. Any few months ago, the drinking water levels in my state became dangerously low. This is ironic as we are living in a tropical country with way too much abundance of rainfall. There is lush greenery everywhere, even in the gutter of the roof. Then there was talk of looking at alternative ways of harvesting drinking water like ground water drilling. Then the politicians moved in saying that it is not the supply but the distribution. The management unit grumbled that their earlier suggestion to build adequate infrastructure was not heeded, hence the shortage. The Meteorological Men moved in to warn that the worst of the dry weather to yet to come with the ever-changing weather patterns. Just as soon as they said that, the following day, down came the rain in vengeance like in Noah's story. B...