My Name is Khan: No, it didn’t work for me!

Posted: February 14, 2010 in Uncategorized
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It could have been the expectations. There were big statements by SRK and KJo about this being bigger than anything they have done, and what not. About it being a labor of love. And stuff of that kind.

And then the whole SRK-Sena fracas and the question about the possible release of the film in Mumbai. And about how people in Mumbai might be deprived of seeing a masterpiece.

All of this could have been part of the cause of my disappointment.

But only a part. The film just did not deliver and my disappointment came because of that.

But before I get started with my crib sheet, let’s put the good stuff up front. The film was all Shah Rukh Khan. And he does a wonderful job, playing a character with Asperger’s Syndrome. As one with the affliction, the role demands special delivery, and SRK delivers. It is good, it is impressive, as only a role like this can get out of him!

Having said that, if we have to compare with other special characters in films, I would list the following for comparison: Aamir in Ghajani, Hrithik in Koi Mil Gaya, Darsheel Safary in Taare Zameen Par, Ayesha Kapur as the young girl in Black. And I’d believe that all of them did a wonderful job, and SRK in MNIK was somewhere in the middle of this group, certainly not the best there.

But what SRK does well is to constrain his usual style, and put in a tremendously retrained performance as demanded by this role. And which is good.

Kajol looks awesome. Just wish she’d do more films. She has a magnetic personality on screen, and she stands out. Although her role is far smaller than that of SRK, she made it worth seeing the film!

No other character is seriously developed as all of them are bit players compared to SRK. Which is where I start with my crib sheet!

So here’s the exhaustive list of the issues that I have with the film:

1. The point of it! Other than creating sympathy for one suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome, I don’t see the story having any other point. This whole business of all Muslims not being terrorists, I believe, does not need to be told, and when it is told here, appears like one big sermon. For me, the character of Hrithik, and what he had to go through as a city bred Muslim, post Mumbai riots, in the film, Fiza, told a better story! And there must be others like those. MNIK was just one more lecture, of the type you hear from politicians post any terrorist event!

2. The whole point of randomly walking around or going in buses, from one place to another in the US, again without much purpose, also made no sense to me. Ok – what are we trying to prove?

3. Also while I grant the filmmaker, some liberties of stretching facts, when he names places (and he could have easily named other places!), there has to be an understanding of geography. People seem to hop into small town Georgia, all the way from California, or wherever, like it was a 2 hour drive away! Let’s just understand what this distance is like?

4. The scene in the hurricane in Georgia is the most astounding.

– First, in the middle of that hurricane, SRK manages to reach there, like in a hurry, from wherever he was,

– Then, Mamma Jenny asks him to go away! Travel out in that hurricane, back to safety. And like, if he could, why couldn’t they??

– Then the Indian crew of PBS and interns from Star News also wade their way through. And in that hurricane, shoot scenes and project it on live TV. And that’s like the first that the world sees of Khan’s heroices.

– Neither has any kind of official government aid still reached, nor has other mainstream US media reached there. Yet, the place is evidently reachable, as later you see many individual helpers also wade their way in. Including folks from across the country, in California.

Like this place was not a town in modern day USA, but was a small village in Africa, which nobody cared about?!! A little bizarre, I thought.

All in all, there was not much of a story, and these wild extensions were made, to stretch the product to 2.5 hours. Maybe Striker or Road to Sangam drive a better story about the Muslim being, in current times. I haven’t seen either, but have read the storylines, and they seem better. Or a US story with Muslim characters then, is better depicted in thriller, Kurbaan. My Name is Khan does not seem to go anywhere at all!

So except for Shah Rukh’s acting as one with Asperger’s Syndrome, and the rare opportunity these days to see Kajol on screen, there was nothing for me. So much so that I was fidgeting away, tweeting thoughts even while the movie was on. Something I did not need to do in Kurbaan or Harishchandrachi Factory or Ishqiya in recent times. I had gone on a Sunday afternoon, post lunch, with 4 others. Two of them dozed off, for parts of the movie. All this tells me that it did not engross us!

For once, I would propose to those who have not seen the film, that you can safely give it a miss. No, I would not recommend even seeing it once!

Harishchandrachi Factory: Story of the awesome Dadasaheb Phalke

Posted: February 5, 2010 in Uncategorized
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When I saw Harishchandrachi Factory, I was reminded of Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian who sailed all the way to the South Pole. Legend has it that when they started off, everyone thought they were going to the North Pole. Only Amundsen knew that he wanted to go to the South Pole, since the North Pole (far nearer to Norway) had already been conquered.

Such are the adventurers of the world, the pioneers, those that go into unchartered waters and create new pathways for the world to follow.

Dadasaheb Phalke, who was India’s first filmmaker, was one such maverick. And the story of his life, Harishchandrachi Factory, is a story of inspiration. To any individual. To a filmmaker, who can owe it to him, to have accelerated the advent of the film industry in India. And most of all, to an entrepreneur.

“Entrepreneur?”, you question?! Yes, indeed. Check my tribute to Dadasaheb Phalke, in terms of the great entrepreneurship learnings that we can pick up from him:

For more information on the movie, check out the official website, and for more about Dadasaheb Phalke, check the wikipedia link or his details on IMDB.

Would love to read your comments on the subject.

Ishqiya has stamp of Vishal Bhardwaj all over..

Posted: January 31, 2010 in Uncategorized
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Here are my views on Ishqiya directed by Abhishek Chaubey, produced by Vishal Bhardwaj:

And I refer to Gulzar and the music in the film. The best one clearly is ‘dil to bachha hai’. So here are the lyrics and the song.. enjoy:

Jealousy Factors Among Indian Males: My First Video Blog Attempt

Posted: January 26, 2010 in Uncategorized
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Ok, I am more excited by the method than the content. I was experimenting with video blogging, and this is the result. My first video blog. Done in one take, without a written script. That has made it long.. like my written blog posts..LOL.

Will be happy to get your feedback. And I will improve. I promise!

Oh, by the way, this post is about jealousy factors amongst Indian males, and how these lead to unnecessary stress.

So what do you think? Tell me.

3 Idiots : Excellent Cinema, Go See It!!

Posted: December 26, 2009 in Uncategorized
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So the title of the post says it all. 3 Idiots is a wonderful, wonderful movie, and I recommend it to one and all. So if that is all that you wanted to know, read no further.

But if you’d like to know more, here’s the first clear message. That in Rajkumar Hirani, we have one of the finest story tellers in Indian cinema today. From the Munnabhai series to 3 Idiots now, we see Hirani’s films combine some fascinating elements: light-hearted comedy which does not need to be slapstick and yet generates the guffaws in the audience, emotions that manage to wet your eyes, a message to the society, and in the end, a fantastic feel-good factor. As you come out of his movies, you have a smile on your face, which says that it was time very well spent there, on the cinema seat.

Yes, that seems to have become the trademark of Rajkumar Hirani, and which is certainly how 3 Idiots is too. And I am sure that Vidhu Vinod Chopra has a big role to play as well. I suspect that he is not a typical money-providing silent producer, but rather a keen team player shaping out the details of the film, and in that respect, the Hirani-Vidhu Chopra combo is one of the best things going in Indian cinema today. Cheers to them, and may they keep brings good films to us.

3 paras done, and I have not even mentioned the name which is the only name, otherwise read everywhere else, where 3 Idiots is being written about. Yes, Aamir Khan. Undoubtedly, he is brilliant, and the film completely rides on him. Which in some sense, is a shame. I mean, Rang De Basanti was not called 5 Rebels or Dil Chahta Hai was not called 3 Great Friends, and yet Aamir shared a lot of the screen space with others. And here, a film is CALLED 3 Idiots, but for most parts of the movie, it is 1 Idiot, and then perhaps another couple of quarter idiots, making a total of 1.5 Idiots on the whole!! This is just an observation. But from the narrative point of view, or from our enjoying the film itself, it does not matter at all. Aamir works, nay, he rocks! As usual!!

If Rocket Singh celebrated the Salesmen, 3 Idiots celebrates Engineers. As an Engineer myself, the entire education system shown is so completely identifiable. It was almost nostalgic in that sense. The extremely quirky character that was built around Virus or Viru Shahastrabudhe (Boman Irani) seemed exaggerated, but rest assured, in all engineering schools, some such highly quirky characters exist, in the garb of faculty! Boman of couse, is another great member of Hirani’s team, a fabulous actor, and he does a great job.

Madhavan does not get many moments to excel. In a far shorter role, he had made an impact in Rang De Basanti, but here, he appears almost like a hero’s buddy, hanging around with him. Sharman Joshi, the 3rd Idiot, does have his moments. A few high charged scenes show his innate ability on screen, and we wish that he gets better roles to showcase his awesome talent. Kareena, for most parts, is good eye candy, and which is fine with us. If you must have eye candy, get the best available one in the industry today!

3 Idiots has its genesis in a book of Chetan Bhagat’s (which I have not read) but I believe Rajkumar Hirani has taken off from there, and built an amazing story with plots and sub-plots nicely woven in. In fact, this is another Hirani trademark that you see in the Munnabhai movies as well. For those who do not remember, the character and the story of Jimmy Shergill in Munnabhai was not trivial, and in fact, an excellent sub-plot, with its own climax before the real climax! Likewise, Hirani brings in sub-plots here as well. The delivery of Mona Singh’s baby, and what it takes to make it happen, is one such climax before the real climax. Keeps you glued to the seats, and does not allow the story to meander.

Likewise, Hirani has the uncanny ability to create symbolisms that the audience carry with them beyond the film. If it was the “jadoo ki chappi” in Munnabhai, here it is the “All is well” chant. Yes, it has left a mark, and if proof is needed, one has to only check my Facebook wall, to see how many have combined this phrase with their Christmas greetings!!

In conclusion, I would only say that my respect for Rajkumar Hirani has gone up multifold. Yes, the world is talking about Aamir Khan, and he does drive the movie. But I see this even more as a Hirani film, the masterful story telling, the simple and effective manner to entertain, without needing to resort to slapstick, without needing item numbers or unnecessary schmooze, or violence. Without needing to go to Switzerland (like Yash Chopra) or without needing half the industry best in his film (like Karan Johar). Yes, indeed, Hirani delivers in the way cinema should. With a good story. Told and shown well. Simple, but touching the heart, making you laugh, and making you cry a bit as well.

Cheers to Rajkumar Hirani!!

A microblog summary of the TiE Entrepreneurship Summit 2009

Posted: December 25, 2009 in Uncategorized
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I attended the TiE Entrepreneurship Summit 2009 (#TES09) at Mumbai recently. For a change, I shared my thoughts and observations of the event, via a series of “microblogs” rather than a full blog post. Here’s the compilation of these tweets. As in any blog, to make sense of the sequence, read from bottom to top 🙂

  • Ok,so that about summarizes #tes09 for me.. oh, met a LOT of people. So starting new contacts, new connects on LinkedIn.. lol..
  • Food was good, chai and ccd coffee, goli vada pav with his variants, cookies, biscuits, bottled water.. arrangements were all good. #tes09
  • Attended a Social Media round table for charter members at #tes09 – interesting. Think there is a huge gap in “understanding” SM all over!
  • Conspicuous by their absence at #tes09.. delegates and charter members from US, whom I hv seen in much larger nos previously.. #recession ??
  • The hottest event at #tes09 was surely the R D Burman special evening, with Pradeep Udhas, Manohari-da etc. (check http://bit.ly/emZMm)
  • sorry.. I mean, Ratan Tata – Narayan Murthy inaugural  interaction with Shekhar Gupta #tes09
  • Damp squib event of #tes09 was the Ratan Tata-Nilekani interaction by Shekhar Gupta. Blame it on Shekhar though. Didn’t draw them out much..
  • Other good talks (for me) were Nilekani on UID, Devdutt Patnaik, desi jugaad of Venky (Goli Vada Pav), Kunwer (Su-kam), Nirmalaji.. #tes09
  • The rockstar speaker was Kishor Biyani. Cuts to the chase, knows India, knows consumer, speaks his mind. Very impressed. #tes09
  • Speaking of Ghajni though, was impressed by the style of 1 entrepreneur. After intro, he took pic with everyone he met. Neat. #tes09
  • There was one guy, Marshall, who took the cake. Stuck his hand EIGHT diff times, to make an intro. Ghajni, what? No memory?!! #tes09
  • Good to see mgmt students at #tes09 except at times, they barged in. Wud interrupt a discussion to get yr card. Like #telemarketing 😦
  • In fact, know a few first time visitors who were completely bowled over by the event. #tes09
  • First time visitors to a TiE summit enjoyed the range of the speakers. For regulars, speakers at #tes09 were like – seen them, heard them.
  • So hair fall is a big issue for sure. Not seen so many balding heads under one roof ever as seen at #tes09 lol..
  • The most common word used at #tes09 was jugaad. Already feeling sick of that word.. bit much, but then it trended there!!
  • The attendees at #tes09 were a real mixed bag. Mgmt students, medical docs, strategy advisors, fin cons, besides usual suspects – IT, dotcom
  • Bazaar style road attempt with vada pav, chai, sing-chana, etc. was good. But space was cramped. Not much room for offline meetings #tes09
  • So #tes09 was in MMRDA, in an air-con large tent. But challenges here – uneven ground, non-uniform cooling, temp (though good) toilets..
  • Would have been good to have had #tes09 in a hotel, but I guess, attendee nos. were too high. Oh, for a great Convention Center in Mumbai..
  • #Tes09 in the end, was very well organized, kudos to Sreedhar, Manak, Zee and the rest of the TiE Mumbai gang!
  • Considered doing a blog to summarize observations of #tes09, but think Twitter is better! So here goes..

R. D. Burman – Pancham – he was GOD!!

Posted: December 24, 2009 in Uncategorized
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This blog used to have a different link, before I converted it to http://sanjaymehta.me. The earlier URL still works in fact, and it was and is: https://rdfan.wordpress.com.

To make it more clear, let me write it again, for your benefit at http://RDfan.wordpress.com.

Yes, indeed.. RD-fan..a die-hard fan of R D Burman. That is who I am, and as you can see, I wear my fan-dom on my sleeve.

So when today, at the TiE Summit, when the surprise entertainment program of the evening turned out to be an R D Burman special, I was absolutely thrilled. But to my very pleasant surprise, the thrill was shared by at least half of the 1000 plus audience that seemed to be present there.

So there is obviously a magic about the man, Pancham-da! Even before the program started, the images of Pancham on the big screens created that anticipation and hope that it may be an R D Burman special. And then the program started with an Audio-Visual. Which in fact, showed some of the musicians who were in RD’s troupe, talking about him. As it turned out later, when the lights came on, we saw those same musicians on stage. The ones who had worked hand-in-hand with Panchamda, were to perform for us, right there. That itself was enough to give me goosebumps!

RD’s songs bring back so many memories. The popular numbers that were sung reminded me of Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosale among singers, Zeenat Aman, Helen, Rajesh Khanna, Randhir Kapoor, Jaya Badhuri and others, amongst the stars on screen. It was truly a time for nostalgia.

Pradeep Udhas, a TiE charter member and a corporate head honcho showed that he had many aces up his sleeves. He sang many a number, in a style akin to Kishore Kumar’s. There were another two singers, one male and one female.

The lady especially picked some of the hottest RD numbers, which not only got people to sing along and tap their feet, but had many of the audience to start dancing, either on their seats or going down towards the open area near the stage.

The numbers that created such magic included Piya Tu Ab To Aaja, Dum Maro Dum, I Love You, Ek Mai Aur Ek Tu, among others.

So what is it about these numbers that people of all ages found fascinating. There were many a young MBAs, who would be no more than 22-23 years of age, and then there were industry veterans, perhaps in their 50s and upwards as well. There were men and there were women, some from outside India as well. I do not believe that even a single person in the hall could stop from tapping his / her feet, and enjoying the great music.

The ‘rock star’ of the evening was an 80-year old!!

Manohari Singh was part of the original troupe of R D Burman. He is all of 80 years of age, but has lungs that would do a 20-year old proud! He plays a mean sax, and he showed his skills aplenty.

There were two exclusives that he led, without support of vocals. Both were huge hits with the crowd.

Specifically, his ‘Gulabi Aankhen Jo Teri Dekhi’ was the biggest hit of the evening, and the audience insisted on getting it more than once. He alongwith his accompanist on the trumpet, had no choice but to bow to the wishes of the audience, and we were able to enjoy that number from him, one more time.

With due respect to all of the various music composers who were contemporaries of Panchamda, or who came after him, it is clear that he stands tall amongst them all. The most number of popular numbers, slow and fast, melodius and zippy, all belong to that one school, that of Rahul Dev Burman. Check out any “purani jeans” type of program on FM radio, and you will see that the most played and repeated songs come from the R D Burman archives, and that is proof that he lives amongst us, and will live forever. Oh, God took him away from us, little too early…his swan song, the masterful 1942 – A Love Story showed that he had much more left to give to us still.

Here is leaving you with a number that had all of us in the hall, rocking away on our seats, and I am sure you will enjoy this one too:

Cricket and Politics, T20 and Telangana: A Knee-Jerk Story??

Posted: December 13, 2009 in Uncategorized
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A comparison of two scenarios to drive home a point:

Imaginary Scenario1:

Where:
In the middle of a T20 match between Indian and Sri Lanka

The key players:
Dhoni, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Kirsten and the rest of the team

The scene:
Dilshan has gone hammer and tongs after the Indian bowling. Lot of runs have been scored against the pacers. Indian team at a loss as to what to do now.

The discussion:
“Man, this guy is trouble. How do we stop him?”
“Yeah, really miss Zak at such times.”
“Arre, shall we try spin?”
“Pata nahi whether it will work at all?”
“Yaar, try karke dekhte hai. At this time, we have little choice.”
“Ok, let’s give the ball to Bhajji, then.”

** Off-topic discussion in between **
“Yuvi, where’s your birthday bash yaar?”
“At the Sixer Lounge…; but what if we lose today?”
“Arre yaar, win-lose to hota rehta hai.. after all, it’s cricket. Can’t stop partying because of that!”
** Off-topic discussion over **

What follows:
Bhajji gets Dilshan soon.
Team celebrates.
But in walks Sangakara, the best batsman of spin bowling.
And what follows is a spectacle of unabashed hitting of the spin bowlers. All over the place, fours and sixes galore.

Frantic discussion again:
“Oh my God, where did we land?”
“Yeah, Dilshan gone, but now Sangakara is smashing away!”
“Fours and sixes everywhere. How to stop these?”
In a resigned tone, “Well, we’ll just have to wait for the 20 overs to be completed..sigh!”

And the run feast for Sri Lanka continues.

 Not-so-imaginary Scenario 2:

Where:
In the highest political echelons of Delhi, between top cabinet ministers

The key players:
Pranab Mukherjee, Chidambaram, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and the rest

The scene:
K. Chandrasekhar Rao is on an indefinite fast for the demand of a separate state of Telangana. Situation volatile. Huge support. Few suicides already.

The discussion:
“Man, this guy is trouble. How do we stop him?”
“Yeah, really miss YSR at such times.”
“Shall we allow Telangana?”
“Pata nahi whether it will work at all?”
“Yaar, try karke dekhte hai. At this time, we have little choice.”
“Ok, PC, go ahead and announce it then.”

** Off-topic discussion in between **
“So, what plans for daughter’s wedding?”
“Booked the Taj..; but what if this AP matter intensifies?”
“Arre yaar, these things will happen in a country. After all, it’s politics. Can’t stop family affairs because of that!”
** Off-topic discussion over **

What follows:
PC announces that Telangana will happen.
KCR breaks his fast. Telangana supporters rejoice. Random suicides, protests stop.
But now anti-Telangana supporters erupt. What follows is a different mayhem. Resignations, more deaths, large scale protests. More lives lost!

Frantic discussion again:
“Oh my God, where did we land?”
“Yeah, KCR taken care, but now rest of Andhra is erupting!”
“MPs, MLAs, resigning, and lots of lives lost too. How to stop these?”
In a resigned tone, “Well, we’ll reverse the announcement, and wait for matter to fade from public memory…sigh!”
And meanwhile, causalities continue.

The cricket scene is probably imaginary. There is in all likelihood, more strategy that they use. And when they still fail, it is only a matter of a win or loss on cricket field.

The political scene is probably more real. Unfortunately. In a high command led dictatorial regime full of sycophants, political mileage is the only motivation. Even at the cost of random slicing of the country into states, notwithstanding public opinion. And when such knee jerk movements from the centre do not work, it is a serious matter of loss of lives. But then are Indian lives any more valuable to a politician than 4s and 6s on a cricket field??

Are we wrong to expect from our politicians, more responsibility of action, more foresight, some concern for the country and its citizens, and less for their personal political gains??

A visit to a PSU Bank : A reality check on the real India!

Posted: December 3, 2009 in Uncategorized
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Yeah, the title of the post sounds like a school child’s composition topic 🙂

But really, there is no better way to describe the roughly 1 hour that I spent at the Syndicate Bank yesterday.

Nowadays many of us have started banking with private banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and others. Also we are accustomed to Net Banking and do not need to walk in to the bank as much. I also have the privilege of help, so for routine matters, I am able to send a person who takes care of depositing cheques etc. So visits to the bank are rare. And when these happen, these are at plushly decorated private banks, with smart tellers and loads of credit-card and loans-selling salesmen hovering around you.

So the visit to Syndicate Bank yesterday was a different experience altogether.

I do not bank with them, but had some money to collect, against a bearer cheque issued to me, for some old dues. Rather than send someone, I decided to stop by on the way to work, and do the honours myself!

So here’s the scene first.

Unlike my HDFC Bank, I do not see any systematic queues or structure here. There are many tellers sitting behind glass covers, but people are generally hovering around counters, as they please. Obviously the regulars are more familiar. There are complete walls filled with elaborate explanations about banking matters. From who can open a current account, to the requirements for FDs, and including their email address of the ancient form that I had first seen in 1997, i.e. xeebom.mail.com.. or something long and drawn out, like that. Yes, the large walls serve as notice boards. Except that the instructions are mostly in English (and which is not what their target group will read, as I discover in some time) and the fact that most of those are painted, and so I wonder how often do they change these, considering the fact that bank facts change all the time!

Anyway, getting the scene in, I asked for where I needed to go, and was directed to a particular window. There were few people already around that counter, and I tried to create a semblance of order, by standing behind a person, and making an official queue. Couple of people who came after that, I guided them behind me, to stand as a queue. Was a little strange for them but they complied anyway!

The queue was slow moving, but which  enabled me to look around and observe the scene.

It was clear that there were many people from the lower and middle income group that banked here. I am not sure if it is the bank charges or the airconditioned environs or the perception of private banks being richer people’s banks, but it appears that the lower and middle income group has stayed with the PSU banks and continued to be in their comfort zones there (wonder if it is true for kirana vs organized retail, and for similar reasons?). Old people with sticks in their hands, gingerly led by their younger ones, many Maharashtrian bais, ladies in burgas and the like, were seen all around.

As the queue moved ahead, I could also see the transactions happening ahead of me. Demand drafts to send home, small amounts deposited, small amounts withdrawn were the typical transactions.

The tellers seem to know familiar faces. Even while giving out small cash, they wanted to be sure that the person had updated her passbook. I guess people must live close to the brink, in terms of maintaining low balance!

While depositing cheques and cash of people, tellers would ask for passbooks. Just to validate the account numbers. Obviously mistakes of putting in incorrect account numbers must be common!

The tellers were not the most efficient, but that was due to slow computers, lack of support systems etc. They all appeared to be genuinely helpful to the customers, and either had a slight smile on their faces, or a neutral face. At least not a grouch that I have seen in other banks!

I needed to validate the balance and then withdraw cash. So when my turn came, and just as I asked for this detail, their systems went down! Knowing how computers work, and realizing that the bank will not shut down for the day, I expected the systems to come back up again, in sometime. So I hung around. But I was standing right at the counter, waiting for the systems to come back.

Meanwhile, the teller continued to service other customers, the kind who did not need the use of the system. For example, those who had cash to be deposited or small cash withdrawals (here the teller just asked the question to the customer, ‘have you checked passbook – balance is there, no?’) to be done.

As I waited there for the next 40 minutes, there were very interesting observations.

Many people were depositing cash like Rs. 300/-, Rs. 700/- and amounts of those kinds. There were withdrawals also of Rs. 250/- or numbers like those. There were drafts being made for sending to home towns, for amounts like Rs. 500/- or so. There were small amounts being deposited with questions that they have some cheque already given, and will this deposit ensure that the cheque does not go back (perhaps some EMI?). The people there, the numbers being mentioned can be a reality check for many in our society, who are used to seeing and dealing in far larger numbers!

In between you would find the small businessman, who speaks English (for a change) and who is also familiar with the tellers, coming and chatting up. That he has got used to net banking, and is able to see so-and-so details. And the teller and the customer both have smiles. And there are the real regulars who know their way around. They find it easy to walk to the inside part – where the tellers are sitting – and move from one table to another, to take care of their work directly at the respective tables. From the inside, they will hand over their slip books to deposit cheques, or take larger chunks of their cash for the shop, for example.

There is an entire method to the madness. One can be aghast looking at all this, but there is perfect peace with the way these things work, and nobody questions any of this!!

There was one particularly amazing incident where a Bai walked to the counter. Looking at her, the teller said in Marathi, that “why did she come in so drunk, early in the morning?”. The bai mumbled something. There was a lot of pain and trouble in her voice. She mumbled about problems at home. She was standing right next to me, and she was smelling of the liquor that she must have had, she was old (60+), she was staggering and her speech was all garbled. But she knew what she was there for.

She needed to withdraw cash!

She gave a passbook. By this time, the systems had come up. And although I was waiting for long, the teller could sense that this lady was in trouble and it was best to get her done and sent off. She looked up her balance. And conveyed that it was a little over 700/-. The look on the face of the lady was one of extreme disappointment. She had no idea, but she was obviously hoping that there was more money there. The teller asked the lady to get a slip and bring. The bai was in no position to move around. She mumbled something, but had a look of pleading on her face. The teller understood. She got up, went somewhere and brought back a slip. Filled it out for 700/-, put a stamp pad and asked the bai to put her thumb on it. Somehow the bai managed. And 700/- was given. The bai asked how much more is there. The teller advised that let the balance remain there. It was only another 70/- more. The bai had a look of helpless plea / request. As she mumbled away. She so badly wanted even that 70/- to be taken. She could do with whatever cash she could get that time. The teller advised against it. The bai accepted the suggestion. But then said that she was headed to the hospital. And not sure if she would return back at all, or conk off from there. The teller asked her not to talk like that, and she will be back soon. The bai then proceeded to push her hand inside and profusely bless the teller several times, like she was her own daughter. She proceeded to give blessings likewise, to the teller on the next table.Before she walked away.

I was amazed by the scene. This is the real India, I guess. This is what those sentimenatal bank advertisements are about. Which talk about the relationships that bankers have with the customers. This is the real India, of small money, or survival, or being hand-to-mouth, so often!

A reality check for anyone who is not tuned into this world.

Go, spend a few hours in your local PSU bank or a cooperative bank, or even at your post office, where money orders are being made and sent. Even living in a city, you can get a view and an appreciation of life on the other side of the fence. We will also complain a lot less about our state, once we see this.. !

Amol Palekar and the Age of Innocence

Posted: November 29, 2009 in Uncategorized
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A couple of weeks back, on a casual churning of television channels, happened to catch the old Gol Maal, of Amol Palekar. I picked it up in the middle somewhere, but spent the next couple of hours or so, watching it. And thoroughly enjoying it.

I had a very high regard for Amol Palekar, the actor. And if not for Paheli which he directed and made a disaster of, I would have retained that old respect and regard for him. I must find a way to erase the memories of Paheli, and retain the Chupke Chupke, Chit Chor and Gol Maal of Amol Palekar.

What amazed me about Gol Maal in particular, and that cinema represented by the Amol Palekar touch that time, was the simple innocence involved. Where a real boy-next-door or girl-next-door could be the hero-heroine and the film would still run to packed houses. No larger-than-life, no whirlwind romance, no international locations. Just a simple day to day life story, which a large number of middle class Indians could completely identify with, and enjoy.

Of course, popular cinema is truly representative of the mood of the nation at that time. And in earlier days, mood was also morose, and we had tear jerkers that became hits too. Am glad that those times are gone!

But I repent the loss of those innocent Amol Palekar times. You shave a moustache, go see an India hockey match, get together with friends in a simple garden and sing songs, and go and put in a hard day’s work, and be blissfully happy with the 800/- salary + 200/- conveyance that you get. Ahh.. the good old days!

What’s happened now?

Just far too many books to read, movies to see, video games to play, friends to meet, restaurants to go and eat at, pubs and lounges to try out, new beers to chill with, fascinating destinations to visit, cars to drive, groups to participate in…. list is endless.

And yet.. and yet.. one thing has not changed.

We still only have 24 hours in a day.

And this insane obsession that we don’t want to miss out (if we can help) on that one more book, that one more restaurant, that one more place to visit, that one more television program..

So while I would be perfectly happy in spending say, a good 4 hours, just listening to Panchamda’s music – and doing nothing else – and find immense enjoyment and satisfaction in doing so, do I do so?

As long as I have the mobile phone with me, can I control the urge to go check emails or look at my Twitter feed, for something interesting that might have come in?

Constant multitasking.

Somewhere in that, we have lost the Amol Palekar innocence and put ourselves into the Matrix mould.

I want to be different. Watch this space.. 🙂

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