Bollywood: Does Arjun Kapoor Deserve His Stardom?

Films and politics are increasingly getting ghetto0ised. Kids of politicians enter politics (or sometimes films) and kids from film families becomes actors. In both cases, this career is theirs for asking – whether they deserve it or not. This is scary in politics where inefficient and undeserving people make decisions and pass laws that affect every person in the country (look where it has got India now). It is disturbing in films when there are so many truly talented people who cannot even get an audience with the makers who lap up film folk and thrust them on the entertainment scene – where people end up seeing whatever is available.

The latest in this long line is Arjun Kapoor. Looking at him always brings up this question: if he wasn’t Boney Kapoor’s son, would he have dared nursed ambitions about becoming an actor? If he wasn’t Boney Kapoort’s son, would he have ever had access to Aditya Chopra, Yash Raj Films and Karan Johar? The answer is always the same: unequivocally and most definitely not.

If someone else who looked like Arjun tried to meet Aditya Chopra or Karan Johar, they’d probably not even make it to the gates of the offices of these guys. If someone else was as fat was Arjun Kapoor used to be, there would be no Salman Khan to help them get into shape. They probably wouldn’t even have the luxury to time (a year or so) to just concentrate on losing weight. No sir. They’d have to go out to make a living. To make ends meet.

Arjun Kapoor is at best an average looker but honestly a bad looking guy. His height and the confidence of money give him a certain personality but that is about it. Arjun is conscious about his poor looks and has decided to imitate another bad looking, but privileged star-child: Abhishek Bachchan. Arjun’s style of acting, dancing, carriage – everything is a faithful duplication of junior Bachchan.

Looks-wise Arjun Kapoor is way below the “outsider” who is his contemporary, Siddharth Malhotra. Acting-wise he scores poorly against his co-star (also something of an “outsider”) Ranveer Singh. There is truly nothing to distinguish him. In his two previous releases (Ishaqzaade and   Gunday) his co-stars (Parineeti Chopra and Ranveer Singh) walked away with the thunder.

Isn’t it sad that in the past five years every single person (with very, very few exceptions like Siddharth Malhotra and Nargis Fakhri) who has been able to get a break in any aspect of Bollywood – action, music, scripting, direction etc. – has come from a film family. The accident of birth is the new Bhramin-isation of this era.

Politics: Rahul Gandhi: “BJP leaders Don’t Know What Poverty Is” – Do You?

Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay) was marked by poor attendance, a snub by their local “ally” Sharad Pawar of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and his usual foot-in-the-mouth-itis. The rally was to be jointly addressed by Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar. These are two biggies who cannot be ignored. But Sonia Gandhi pleaded ill-health and sent her ladla Rahul instead (allegedly it was her effort to push Rahul to the forefront in the most important city in the country). Pawar, who has made no bones about his non-acceptance of Rahul came to Bombay but refused to go to the venue. It sure was a game of snub-for greater snub.

Rahul started the meeting three hours later than the scheduled time in Bandra-Kurla Complex’s (BKC) MMRDA ground. This ground witnessed a three lakh turnout for Narendra Modi’s rally in December 2013. (It was probably also the time of Modi’s famous Rs. 5/- tickets for his rallies. The ticket fee had led to a hilarious exchange between Congress and BJP. Congress made a statement about how people had to pay to hear Modi speak to which BJP retorted that India had had to spend a lot of money for a Prime Minister who did not speak!). The long wait and information about Sonia’s and Pawar’s non-attendance saw the crowd dwindling. As per Congress there was a 1,00,000 strong crowd but as per the police the crowd was merely 35,000. (See this in the report in Mumbai Mirror April 21, 2014 @ http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/).

But whether speaking to one person (Arnab Goswami) or more, Rahul Gandhi is an unfazed rollercoaster of the absurd. In the 35-minute diatribe against Modi in the meeting, the person born in the most privileged family of the country said: “BJP leaders don’t even know what poverty is and they haven’t seen the pain of sleeping on an empty stomach…” Wow! Rahul of the First Family of Privilege of India knows about poverty and the pain of sleeping on an empty stomach? This concept is beyond the realms of possibility and plausibility. What more, he knows more about poverty than a man born in a small town, nay, village, who actually operated a tea stall at the city bus stand? Crown Prince knows more about poverty than a Chaiwallah? This is so totally beyond belief that you’re only left sputtering incredulity.

This is rich indeed coming from the same person who, on August 6, 2013 has said in Allahabad: “Poverty is just a state of mind. It does not mean the scarcity of food, money or material things. If one possesses self-confidence, then one can overcome poverty.”  This comes from a Party that had their Planning Commission declare that anyone who spends more than Rs. 33 per day in urban areas is above the poverty line and the then Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit claim that Rs. 600 per month is adequate to buy dal, roti and chawal for a family of five. (Applying basic mathematics will reveal that as per this claim, Sheila Dixit and Congress believe that Rs. 4/- a day is enough for one person. If the Congress really believes this then why all those scams?)    

Rahul went on to assure that if re-elected, Congress would take 70 crore people out of poverty (in what time span?) and then went on to add that they had already pulled 15 crore people out of poverty (does he mean in the last decade?).  The context of the statements made by members of Congress (including Rahul Gandhi and Sheila Dixit) during 2013 begs the question: did the 15 crores come out of poverty because “Poverty does not exist” or because Rs. 600/- is enough to feed a family of five for a month? Did the 15 crore people come out of poverty because they got work or because the definition of poverty got revised?

As a wit recently said: BJP and Congress are both saying the same thing: If Congress wins Rahul Gandhi will become the Prime Minister.  Think about this and decide whether Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi is a promise or a threat to you.

Politics: Narendra Modi Is Married – So What?

There has been a lot of debate over the fact that Narendra Modi officially filed his marital status as ‘Married” for the first time. So, he is a married man who has chosen to go away from his family to follow his dreams, ideals, ambitions; as the case might be. So what? How does this fact change any of his efforts and achievements in his career as a politician? Does it take away Tata from Gujarat? Does that stop making Amitabh Bachchan the brand ambassador of Gujarat? Does it take away the fact that Gujarat has made excellent use of solar energy? Does it take away all the development that has occurred in Gujarat in the past decade? It doesn’t change all that, right?

Modi is not a film star that his bachelor status earned him more fans or money. (In fact, marriage has never dented the popularity of filmi heroes.) Yes, he has asserted that since he does not have a family he has no need to be corrupt (not verbatim, but the essence is the same as his alleged quote.). Even now, knowing he is married does not take away the fact that Modi has always remained corruption-free. As far as having no family – Modi feels so. He left his home and marriage decades back. If he feels this and he hasn’t gone back – it is his truth. It is also a truth that his wife chose to follow the respectable profession of a teacher and live a life of silence and privacy. The mud-slinging on Modi defiles her more than him. Does being married make him corrupt all of a sudden? If that be the case, does it mean that if a politician is married s/he must be corrupt? Jayalalitha and Mayawati – two single politicians face allegations of very high corruption. How do you explain that?

Modi was married off before the age of 18. He was a juvenile. This is a country where juveniles are not held responsible for even heinous crimes that they knowingly commit. Holding Modi responsible for his marriage smacks of convenient double-standards.

Leaving his wife was unfair. Even if he was not responsible for the marriage (given his juvenile status) he could have and should have afforded her the dignity and grace of acceptance. On this, Modi is guilty. But leaving a wife to follow his calling is not something that is unique to Modi. Mythology and history have examples of such men. In fact, mythology and history speak of men who not only abandoned wives but also very young children. Modi is not the first person to have done this. He won’t be the last.

The hullaballoo over his married status revelation in fact reflects positively on the man. Until this election it wasn’t mandatory to fill this column of the candidature form. Modi chose to leave an optional section blank. At best, in this case Modi is guilty of lying by omission rather than lying by commission. However, as soon as it became mandatory, Modi abided by the law and filled the column truthfully. He gets points for firstly for being law-abiding; secondly for not lying and thirdly for not trying to pull rank to avoid the law.

Yes, Modi is married. Yes he left his wife and home.

But more importantly,

Yes, he is NOT corrupt

Yes, he has NOT perpetrated any scams

Yes, he has got investment into the country NOT taken away money out of the country

Yes, his election platform is development NOT division  

Travel: Must See India: Badami Caves, Karnataka (Photofeature)

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Politics: Advantage Congress Delivered Via Faulty Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)

At least two centres in Maharashtra reported a fault in Electronic Voting machines that captured all votes only for Congress. (Read: http://www.hindustantimes.com/elections2014/election-beat/defective-evms-transfer-all-votes-to-congress-in-maharashtra/article1-1209215.aspx ). This was attributed to a malfunction but sounds strangely suspect. How come in both places the votes were getting marked only for Congress? A malfunction across centres should have been more Party agnostic, right? Malfunctions were reported in two places. Is there any guarantee that this has not happened elsewhere?

The introduction and advent of EVMs was supposed to end the menace of booth capturing. Having already been in use for more than 5 years now such bugs shouldn’t exist in an electronic gadget anymore. Being the masters of jugaad Indians should have already found a solution to sundry issues that may have dogged the machines in the past. Why has this bug risen its ugly head in what is the possibly most critical election of independent India?

General Elections 2014 are truly a crucial election for the nation. We have had 10 years of mis-governance, inflation, scams and corruption. Safety of women is at an abysmal low. The nation put up a strong and spirited fight against corruption – a fight that led to the formation of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The country is fed-up with scams. The populace is voting against all these ills. Voters are voting for a change. For development. Every vote counts. And this very vote is being abducted by “malfunction”.

Exercising suffrage is probably the only real democratic right that an Indian has. After pressing the button on the EVM we go back to being ruled; to being silent; to taking anything meted out to us stoically and spending impotent anger in meaningless rhetoric. And now machines are stealing away even this small sliver of independence and democracy from us.

This is unacceptable.

The Election Commission needs to look into this matter. Additionally the Election Commission needs to be empowered to take action. As of now the Election commission is like a parrot faking to be a dog. Except for making a noise it has no rights whatsoever. So if they find that a candidate has lied in the form of nomination that they fill, the Election Commission is a mute witness to the fact. Disproportionate growth in assets – still no bite. Electoral malpractices earn a Show Cause at best. (As in the case of Sharad Pawar who urged people to cast vote twice by removing the mark after casting their vote the first time. This should have been a criminal offense or considered sedition.)

We need to know that machines are not capturing our votes at their will.

Politics: Is Priyanka Gandhi Congress’ Bhramastra?

Priyanka’s dignified presence and personality during her father’s funeral had captured the nation’s imagination. Her resemblance to grandmother Indira Gandhi was striking. Everyone who saw her at that time (which was the entire nation) believed that she would enter politics immediately. Her marriage was a surprise topped by her choice to recede into the background. And that is where she has chosen to stay despite frequent speculations about her playing a larger, more active and a more public role in national politics.

But changes seem to be afoot. As per The Times of India, Priyanka Gandhi was keen to contest against Narendra Modi in Varanasi. In an excellent lead article, the newspaper covered all angles around why she wanted to contest; why she was deterred and stopped from contesting and what her candidature would have meant. (Read the piece @ http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?publabel=TOI&city=Mumbai)

What is interesting to note is:

1. By keeping away from active politics, Priyanka Gandhi’s stature in the Indian National Congress has become much, much larger than life. This is the third time that post-Rajiv Gandhi Congress has attributed God-like powers to members of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

First Sonia Gandhi gained this status that had led experienced members of Congress appeal to her to lead them. She proved herself with the 2004 win. When she refused the Prime Ministerial post (it is alleged that she didn’t as much refuse the post as she was ineligible – she still had an Italian passport and hadn’t accepted Indian citizenship. Ah! The irony of the situation if this indeed was the fact – Congress with all its experience and career politicians had to get a foreigner to lead and rule them to rule the country!)

Then all hopes got pinned on Rahul Gandhi. No other person has had the delight of a ruling Party waiting with bated breath for his foray into politics. No other person with zero experience in politics and poor performance during his tenure has had the Prime Minister of the country going on record to say that he (the Prime Minister) would be happy to serve under him (the newbie – in this case Rahul Gandhi).

Allegedly, neither Rahul’s leadership nor the Congress election campaign featuring him have been inspiring. So now Priyanka is the Congress messiah.

2. If indeed Priyanka was keen on contesting from Varanasi, she displays immense confidence, guts and fearlessness.

Confidence: Priyanka couldn’t be immune to the Modi wave sweeping the country (despite the official Congress stance of denying and questioning it) but she believes that she has enough charisma, pull and power to curtail the Modi tsunami. If not winning she believes that she would fight a good fight. This is amazing and appreciable confidence especially since other Congress members – popular, experienced veterans – have been fighting shy of accepting the responsibility of going up against Modi.

Guts: As mentioned earlier (and in the piece in The Times of India) Congress has been having a hard time finding someone willing to contest from Varanasi for the fear of drowning under the Modi wave. Priyanka Gandhi seems to be the only person with mettle in the entire Party for wanting to go into the battlefield.

Fearlessness: This is possibly the most important quality that Priyanka’s willingness to contest displays. She shows that she doesn’t fear failure. The possibility of her losing would have been very real – but she was ready to take the plunge. It is truly admirable for a high-profile person to risk public failure to stick to their beliefs.

3. Either Priyanka is incredibly naive or hopelessly clueless about the damage that Congress has wrought in India in the past decade if she actually believes that Congress stands for any sort of ideals.

Be as that might, the fact is that by expressing her willingness to take on Modi as her maiden step into public as a politician, Priyanka has probably increased her value within Congress by about a hundred times. She has become a combination of a rambaan ilaaj and bhramastra for the Party.