When you find yourself in times of trouble… Let it be?

Parking (Tamil, 2023)

Written & Directed: Ramkumar Balakrishnan

You lead your life thinking that you are doing it all right. You assume that your austere way of living is the way to go to combat against future eventualities. You follow the way you think is the best way to salvation. You secure a safe space for you to do your things. Then, somebody pops in and bursts your bubble. This creates dissonance. All your lifetime understandings of things come crumbling down. Your whole existence is a question mark. How would you respond?

Do you accept that there is more than one way of doing things and get alternatives? Are you justified to stand your ground to nurse your bruised ego? Do you make the other understand your point of view? Or just let it be?

The same thing happened to Ilamparuthi, a near-retirement middle-level government official. A new tenant moved into the duplex he is co-renting. The new tenant is a young IT professional, Eshwar, with his pregnant wife. Things were cordial between the families as Ilamparuthi and his wife and young adult daughter treated them like family. Ilamparuthi notices that the young couple are quite spendthrift with their expenditure. While he tries to save as much as he can for rainy days, the younger generation generally does not save. Problems brewed when Eshwar decided to buy a car. The porch space is a wee bit too tight for Eshwar’s car and Ilamparuthi’s motorbike.

M S Bhaskar

It started with the bike grazing the car. A tiff, an exchange of harsh words, and before both realised it, it snowballed to something of a mammoth scale.

The thrifty Ilamparuthi buys a car with cash to compete for a parking spot on the duplex porch. All hell breaks loose as common decency, respect and humanity are clouded by bulging ego.

A well-made drama with excellent acting and a nice pace to build the suspense. Kudos to MS Bhaskar, as the stingy, domineering and frustrated middle-aged civil servant who single-handedly carried the weight of the film. The supporting actors, too, did a decent job of carrying on. Just overlook certain boo-boos (or Easter eggs) that are pretty glaring to police procedural or murder mystery enthusiasts; they nicely put a poetic end to the story.

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It's not your life?

Reader discretion is advised.

Thanks to JM for starting this conversation.

They tell you that you are worthless, that you are flawed, and that you are the product of the original sin. You are a disgrace and living off God's Grace. God's Grace is the only one which is going to save us at the end of days.

You are worthless, a sinner, a good for nothing. You who have nothing do not even have possession over your life. This soiled life is a total ownership of God. He has exclusive rights over you. You have no right to take it away. Even when one's dignity is lost, his existence may burden himself and those around him; nobody has the right to take it away.

It is better that he suffers and makes others' lives a living hell. Life has to go on. God has plans for him, and these hiccups are part of his grander scheme of things. Our role is to be herded through and let Him do His mysterious work. We must be herded by the shepherd. It is not our position to ask whether the shepherd has our interest at heart or whether we are being fattened for the slaughter?

The biggest thing a human being can get is the ability to live life. From a time when living life would mean conforming to the masses laid down by the community and prospering with and for the community. Any deviation from this social norm will render that individual an outcast. He will lose his right to live in the commune of people who live in a symbiotic manner. Losing his right to be accepted into the commune, he would probably end up as a hermit, living off alms and handouts.

Over time, this arrangement has lost its mojo. Society became self-centred. The idea of each man for himself crept in. The talk of the town now is individual development and human rights; no more progress of a society. Everyone wants to mould his life and live it however he wants.

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A thing well done is worth doing!

Annapoorani (Tamil, 2023)
Writer-Director: Nilesh Krishna

Some flashbacks from my childhood. You go to the Indian barber. He has an opinion on everything. He proudly boasts that everyone bows down at his command, and he has his clientele by the throat. Sure, people do that when they need a haircut or a shave. What he gets is insider information from the horse's mouth.

Then you go to your neighbourhood 'teh tarik' joint. Again, the shop owner knew everything. He knew about last night's football results, why Malaysia failed miserably, about inner dark secrets about Malaysian cabinet ministers, you name it.

These two people knew everything: how to run the country, how to schedule garbage collection, and even how to win an election. One thing neither can do is what they set up shop for, to cut hairstyles that they claim to be able to do and make a decent tea respectively.

A thing well done is worth doing.

When my OTT algorithm suggested the above movie for viewing, I gave it a pass. The idea of an Indian Master Chef did not excite me. Reading the summary, I could predict the storyline. Brahmin girl, vegetarian, daughter of a temple priest going rogue, savouring non-vegetarian food, upsetting family and proving everyone wrong by swimming against the currents and sharks.

Talk about the Streisand effect. The movie hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. A complaint was raised in Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh against its filmmakers for hurting religious sentiments and promoting love jihad. I had to watch it.

Two scenes in the film were a concern for the complainants.

The aspiring chef grew up enjoying the aroma whiffed from stalls selling non-vegetarian food. When she takes up cooking in school, she breaks her vegetarianism to make the best biryani. Trying to justify her meat consumption, somebody mentions that even Lord Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, hunted for his meals during his 14-year exile, as written by Valmiki in Ramayana.

Her love interest is a Muslim who positively (or negatively, pick a choice) influences her in her setbacks and endeavours.

Surprisingly, nobody raised any alarm seeing this same Brahmin girl donning a hijab and bowing deep in Islamic prayers before starting the seminal dish that finally won her the coveted 'Best Indian Chef' award.

The complainants allege that the film's release timing is carefully curated to coincide with the inauguration of Ayodhya Ram Mandhir on 22nd January 2024.

Annapoorani is the Goddess of food and nourishment. She is the manifestation of Parvati. After going through multiple famines throughout their existence, Hindus realise that food is sacred. Offering food during auspicious functions is revered and is assumed to be blessed by Goddess Annapoorani. And we know how critical sattvik diets play in Ayurveda and Hinduism. It also includes the concept of ahimsa (not harming living beings) in it.

So, to cast a Brahmanic priest who gave up all the lure of a high-paying job to become a cook at a temple in Srirangam, to serve Lord Vishnu and to have a daughter to break the mould to dig into chicken biryani and offer namaz is in poor taste. Perhaps the makers should have been more sensitive. Imagine if it were a Muslim and it involved haram stuff; all hell would break loose.

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Higher the call, so is the fall!

Man On The Run (Documentary, Netflix; 2023)

Director: Cassius Michael Kim

We all know the drill. We have heard it all before. The Government started a novel project selling government bonds to buy oil fields in Central Asia. With the returns, the Government, via its subsidiary, 1MDB, would pour money into the country, which would help improve the living conditions of its citizens.

The trouble was that the same who applied for the money from the Government approved the loan, executed the loan, received the loan and received the returns were all the same person. Najib Razak is the 1MDB Chairman, Minister of Finance and the honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia. And there were no oilfields that were bought. Still, the whole exercise saw many people making loads of money, enjoying obscenely decadent parties, and the Malaysian taxpayers paying exorbitant amounts of money as interest to international players.

Even though the local journalists kept crying foul and were brave to publish the shenanigans, the powers that be managed to keep a tight lid. People in enforcement and investigation positions were hushed. A young prosecutor was even buried alive in a concrete can. Things only started moving when the US Department of Justice charged Goldman Sachs with foreign bribery.

With a provocative title like 'Man on the Run', I would like to find new scoops on Malaysia's most infamous fugitive, Jho Low. Nothing. He was nowhere to be found, without an interview or anything new about his whereabouts. With extensive narration from The Edge owner Ho Kay Tat, ex-MP Tony Pua, former AG Tommy Thomas, Clare Rewcastle of Sarawak Report and whistleblower Xavier Andre Justo, nothing new actually surfaced. Perhaps the most ridiculous interview was given by the big kahuna himself, Najib.

In an interview three months before his guilty verdict, he is comically seen lamenting the fact that he had been victimised. In a system where he is supposed to be protected, the system lets him down. He griped that the officials appointed to protect people like him did not do their job well. They, instead, should be the accused, not him. I thought Najib was losing the plot. He is not a monarch who inherits the post by birth. For heaven's sake, he is a leader of a democratically-elected government selected by the people to serve the people. The power that was wielded to him comes with specific responsibilities. A politician only lasts until the next election. Can he be so naive? Does he don the Emperor's clothes? Is he surrounded by sycophants who boated his ego so much that he thinks he need not be accountable? The whole 'speech' reeks of entitlement. Accountability and responsibility do not fall into the equation. It is mind-boggling to see so many who still think he is innocent and is a victim of political sleight of hand.

The whole imbroglio paints a very bleak picture of the Malaysian democratic process. It is as though we are a banana republic where law and order are only for show. The high-heeled can scoot off with millions right under everybody's noses. There is a glaring lack of checks and balances in the system. Too much legislative powers are given to the ruling party. The executive powers are too timid to carry out and enforce laws. The national coffers are made to be like the leaders' kitty. The judiciary arm and even the fourth estate are toothless.

The presentation needs to be more comprehensive in its coverage. Many of the key players and beneficiaries of 1MDB refused to be interviewed. That would include the self-proclaimed First Lady of Malaysia, Rosmah Mansur, representatives from Goldman Sachs, and the makers and cast of the movie 'Wolf of Wall Street', who were paid from proceeds of 1MDB.

Is this the watershed moment of Malaysian politics? Will its citizens awake from their slumber to ensure such blatant abuse of trust does not repeat? From the recent turn of events after the last elections, I seriously doubt it. Too many schisms and fractures have developed in the country, once earmarked as another Asian tiger. Look at it now. It is just a paper tiger lantern that could be engulfed by the fire ignited within its confines.

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No change?

WUSA (1970)

Director: Stuart Rosenberg

The idea of critical race theory came about because of this observation. The constitution enshrines that everyone is equal in the eye of the law and is innocent unless proven otherwise. Day in and day out, the disparity between different groups is apparent. Disproportionately high numbers of people of a particular group occupy the prisons and fill up the low socioeconomic strata of society. Proponents of critical theory insist that they are victims of systemic discrimination in society. Even though the law paints an image of fairness, in reality, the system is biased. The disadvantaged people will always stay disadvantaged. The system makes sure of that. 

The perception of the people is easily swayed. The public can easily be zombified to tell a particular narrative with all the communication tools at the disposal of the powers that be. This idea was initially mooted by the left-leaning Frankfurt School and perfected by Hitler's propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels. The widespread of social media and the rampant algorithmic manipulation in creating echo chambers are proof of this.

This 1971 film tells the narrative above in its own way. The setting is somewhat different, though. Set in the 70s Confederate town of New Orleans, it speaks of a meeting of a radio announcer (Reinhart, Paul Newman), a social worker (Rainey, Anthony Perkins), a preacher and a job-seeking recently widowed 30-something lady (Geraldine, Joanne Woodward). Rainey discovers that the research results handed to him are all fake. The powers that be in town have no interest in improving the state of the downtrodden. The white supremacists in town are pretty happy with the status quo. The radio station helps to paint a rosy picture of the bleak situation of the poor. Rainey confronts the radio owner but is just turned away. As a radio DJ, Reinhart knows very well that his job involves spreading false information and carries on anyway for the money. The preacher in it to escape his demons and sway towards where the power lies. And Geraldine is confused about the whole thing, especially so after having her husband gunned down by one supremacist. 

Things take a turn for the worse when the head of the radio station sponsors a white supremacy rally. Pandemonium struck as Rainey tried to assassinate the radio station owner during a performance as black militants demonstrated outside the venue.

Half a century after this movie, we still debate the same issues. We talk about equality, equity, justice and fairness but agree on which is what. When we do not have anything, we think communism and socialism are the way forward. When we have attained a certain comfort in life, when our hard work pays off, we do not want to part with our hard-earned money. We tend to think capitalism is best. If we can pull ourselves by our own bootstraps, why can't others?

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Man's best friend!

Dog (2022)

• Directors: Channing Tatum & Reid Carolin

• 
  Many years ago, a close relative was going through a rough patch in his life. One of his family members was slogging it out with malignancy. Melancholy was the mood around the house, understandably. Even though the best treatment option available in the country was at their disposal, the anxiety was still hitting the roof. Somebody introduced them to a saffron-robed God-Man to treat their unseen demons lurking at every corner.
  
  After listening to their story, the first thing he asked them to do, after the usual prayers and appeasing the stabilising powers of the Universe, was to get a dog.
  
  A dog? Everybody thought. A dog is not known to be the cleanest of animals, as some see it with their outdoorsy propensity and drooly nature. At the end of the journey, after giving the coup de grâce to the crab, it turned out to be the best decision they ever made. The family became a dog lover and has had many dogs after that.
  
  The dog gave them comfort and happiness through their antic and diverted the owner's attention from the thrills and spills of day-to-day living. Because these furry friends do not speak back, argue, or demand, they are easier to deal with. That makes dogs better than humans. There is nothing to compare between dogs and cats. Dogs think you are God, as they show up all excited, tails-waggling, soft barks, jumping about ashamedly, showing their pleasure. However, cats are only seen if you need to feed them. Cats know the master is not God. After spending aeons with royalty like Cleopatra and having been painted on Egyptian walls, they think, maybe they know there are Gods!
• 
  
  This movie shows how two combatants from America's numerous just wars, suffering from PTSD, find themselves recovering after interacting with each other. Jackson Briggs, who had a head injury and is still on medication for headaches and seizures, is trying very hard to return to duty. His superiors are not too keen, however. He is instead given the responsibility of escorting a military dog, Lulu, who also has PSTD (it seems that dogs also suffer from PTSD!), to his handler's funeral. The long, eventful journey from Washington to Arizona proves therapeutic. After starting on the wrong footing, they soon discover common ground to heal.
  
  A dog remains Man's best friend.

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