Must Watch: Mary Kom

Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, known to the world as just Mary Kom is arguably India’s most successful athlete. Wold Championships, Olympic medals, Padmashri, Padma Bhushan, Arjun award...the list of her awards and achievements is very, very long. Her autobiography, Unbreakable, was published by Harper Collins in late 2013. So far, Mary Kom has received seasonal celebrations each time she has won on the international stage. But the celebrations get over rather quickly because, let’s face it, India seems incapable of sustained celebration of any athlete other than cricketers.

But Bollywood is giving cheer to neglected sports and ignored sports people of the country. First Chak De India did a great deal for the sport which is the official national game: hockey. Then, the biopic, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag brought the story of the Flying Sardar to all of us. Both these films were massive box-office successes. Both have been declared blockbusters based on their total revenues. In 2007, Chak De India was the third highest grosser with domestic revenues of 676.9 million. Bhaag Milha Bhaag became the fifth highest grossing Bollywood film worldwide in 2013, besides winning almost all film awards in the country.

Now Sanjay Leela Bhansali has turned the spotlight on Mary Kom with her biopic which is scheduled for release on September 5^th.  The trailers really draw focus on the struggles that this gild from a village in Manipur must have faced to slowly climb her way into a sport which is not particularly encouraged as a career choice for girls.

Request everyone to see the movie – not for the producer, not for the actress (Priyanka Chopra) – but for the athlete, Mary Kom.

A Firm Message To The International Community: We Will Deal with Pakistan About Kashmir Ourselves

Ever since the swearing-in ceremony and Narendra Modi’s firm conversation with his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, there is a whiff of hope that the insidious infiltration by Pakistan into Indian Territory will finally stop. One conversation may not put an end to an imbroglio spanning decades but it is a start.

Most new maps of India released by different parts of the world (particularly USA and China) show a country that is quite different than what it is taught in schools (http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/large-color.html). Also compare 1882 http://images.nationmaster.com/images/motw/historical/india_1882.jpg with 2012 http://www.rediff.com/news/report/pic-new-india-map-on-us-website-sparks-controversy/20120103.htm). Not a year goes by without “friendly firing” (what does this phrase mean, anyway?) or “skirmishes” which claim the lives of Indian jawans. Not a year goes by without bickering over the changed borders of Kashmir.

The international community has been involved in the Kashmir dispute ever since the British left the sub-continent but apart from saying, “You guys need to sort this out,” they have done precious little.  When there is infiltration, they say, “Both countries need to abide by the Shimla Accord.” When Pakistani terrorists attack India and are caught (Bombay attacks and Kasab’s capture being a landmark case to prove this point), the international community wags its finger at both countries and said, “Listen up both of you, this cannot go on.” (At times, USA has also followed this up with offering Pakistan various subsidies, grants and funds). This cannot go on, even we know that, thank you very much. In fact we know that better than anyone else in the world because it is our country that is steadily being truncated.

July 11^th saw a quiet little news item from Associated Press: India asks UN Military Observer group to vacate Delhi office. This was thrilling to read. It meant that India is gently but firmly taking charge of diplomacy that has been a spectacular failure. Basically for 40 years, this UN Mission was occupying a bungalow in prime Delhi locality (around the corner from the Supreme Court – where the cases of Kasab and other Pakistan bred terrorists like Afzal Guru and Gilani, responsible for the 2001 attacks on the Indian Parliament, were heard – free of rent.  The mission in Delhi is supposed to represent the group in India and Pakistan. They also have an office in Srinagar.  As the name indicates, this group merely “observes”. Seriously, what good is such a mission doing? In what way is it contributing to maintaining peace? Over the years it has surely “observed” the infiltration that is altering India’s map. It must have “observed” terrorist attacks in India that are gleefully claimed by outfits like  Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed based in Pakistan. It must have “observed” that the most wanted home grown terrorist of India, Dawood Ibrahim, lives life king style in Pakistan. In any case, being merely a body that observes, recommends or issues directive guidelines, the UN is a magnificent failure in terms of real effect or action (George W Bush’s attack of Iraq despite UN’s best efforts is a blot that the agency will never be able to remove. It conclusively proved that the UN was useless in such matters and should stick to social service activities.)

For a long time now India has disapproved of international interventions in the Kashmir problem but has never taken any steps to actively discourage the interference. This is the first time that an official action has been taken to express India’s displeasure albeit it rests on a fairly tepid excuse that the mission has no right to occupy rent-free premises. Though the mission is seeking to retain its presence in Delhi and looking for alternative space that they can rent, this is a firm message sent out by India. The beauty of this action is that it is assertive without being aggressive.

So far Pakistan maintains that as far as Kashmir’s status is concerned, the move to ask the UN observers to move out is inconsequential adding that as long as the dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan is not resolved, the UN Security Council mandate stays in force.

The last time India had a Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) led government, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken the bold step of making India a nuclear power despite international pressure against the move. It had led to “sanctions” being placed on Indian by the United States of America (the self-appointed conscience of the world which has caused more devastation around the globe than any other country – Iraq being its latest victim). The sanctions notwithstanding, that was the time of Vibrant India. A decade thence India once again has a BJP governing the country. If this government is able to end the stand-off with Pakistan and contain constant attacks from this troublesome neighbour, it will be a monumental achievement indeed.

Must See India: Pangong Lake, Ladakh (Photofeature)

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Singham Returns

Singham returns roaring like before. The Singham franchise is something like James Bond movies...you know what to expect; the story is mostly predictable and yet you can enjoy them thoroughly.

Singham Returns has almost the same story as Singham. An honest cop dies and is under a cloud of corruption. His family is long-suffering and pitiable. A corrupt politician is at the root of all evil. In this one he is joined by a fake, god-awful Baba (God man).

However, this time round Bajirao SIngham (Ajay Devgan) does not have to deal with lackadaisical underlings and subordinates. In part 2, SIngham is already established as an honest, fearless leader of his dedicated team of cops right from the beginning. So much so that he is almost like a don. He even has the trust of his seniors in hierarchy without having to undergo the whole nine yards of proving himself.

In Sngham Returns, Bajirao SIngham is posted in Mumbai. This movie is a dedication to the Mumbai Police Force – and truly this beleaguered outfit has had no better advertisement than this movie. The kudos that the movie gives them is very, very well-deserved by the Force. At the start, the movie lays out some facts: Mumbai has a population of almost two crores. The police force is 47,000 strong. The numbers highlight the odds.

In typical Rohit Shetty style there are plenty of fights with cars and people flying, cars overturning, cars jumping and crashing, cars bursting into flames, incredible strength in people et al. The novelty in the fight sequences is the introduction of two fights that have only gunfire exchange without any fisticuffs. That is a departure from Shetty’s norm – but mindless entertainment as always. Shetty has never claimed to make deep films or claimed to be anything but an entertainer out here to make masala movies that will bring in big moolah. He plays to the gallery and the gallery responds – and how! Singham Returns should easily touch or cross the 100-crore mark in the weekend itself. But despite himself, Shetty manages to convey a message of honesty in Singham Returns.

As in Singham, SIngham Returns also has a climactic scene where the entire police force unites to mete out justice on the wrong-doers. (However, the villains in SIngham Returns are more caricatures than menacing. Shetty seems to be a little stuck in his Chennai Express period. That is unfortunate because Singham is an entirely different genre.)   

Singham Returns delivers the expected. Ajay Devgan is perfect as Bajirao SIngham. In the three-an-a-half scenes that she has, Kareena Kapoor as his lady love, Avni, is funny and fine. All others fit their roles well. This is a good choice of sheer mind-free entertainment.

Image: By Deepak Mehta 6699 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Narendra Modi’s Epic Speech on August 15, 2014

It’s been three months since the nation voted Narendra Modi as Prime Minister in a humungous display of faith and trust in a single man. India believed that for the first time after Jawaharlal Nehru we had a “leader” in the true sense of the word. But ever since his victory speech in Vadodara after his record-breaking and record-making victory, the verbose Narendra Modi fell silent. This was quite unnerving for all those who had become used to hearing him almost 24 x 7 across all TV channels for close to six months (give or take a few months to this number). It was Modi’s vision that India believed in. It was Modi’s mission that the country had voted for. It was Modi’s clarity and direction of development that the nation overwhelmingly supported.  

It is the norm that the Prime Minister addresses the nation on the Independence Day, August 15. People were waiting eagerly to hear him again. What was expected was a litany of projects undertaken or executed in the past three months.

On August 15, Narendra Modi gave an epic speech on from the Red Fort to the country. His speech of impressive, invigorating and inspiring. All those who were getting disappointed after three months of the election results were filled with hope and belief once again. Modi belied expectations. In an eighty-four minute speech (the second longest address by a Prime Minister on Independence Day – the longest was Nehru’s speech), Modi spoke about safety, women, gender ratios, e-governance and many other issues, including, and very importantly, cleanliness. He appealed for a change in mindset from parents towards the girl child and also enlisted parents in creating a safer environment for women by keeping a check on the boys. He sent out an entreaty for the end of violence. He officially announced the end of the dinosaur, The Planning Commission.

It is not possible to capture everything he spoke about but it is possible to capture the mood it gave going by all the posts on Facebook and in other social media – people felt rejuvenated with hope – once again. The effect has been electric.

This brings me to a moot point: Modi really needs to engage with the country more often. To sustain the belief that has been reposed in him, Narendra Modi must address the Nation at least once a month. In absence of communication from him the mood dissipates rather quickly.

Image:  Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Narendra_Modi_addressing_All_India_Conference_on_Livestock_and_Dairy_Development.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Narendra_Modi_addressing_All_India_Conference_on_Livestock_and_Dairy_Development.jpg

Was Nirbhaya’s Death in Vain?

The Indian government recently announced that juveniles will be tried in regular courts for crimes like murder and rape. This is a long needed change. A change that was being demanded by the country since December 2012. In that fateful month, a young girl was brutally raped and gruesomely injured internally. She was then thrown naked on the streets. The nation was shocked out of its collective stupor and took to the streets. Nirbhaya died. But she remained a rallying figure for all women. All women without exception face various crimes committed against them. Nirbhaya’s heroism and the huge public involvement opened doors for women to report crimes against them. The numbers galloped.

Safety of women became an important focus area for politicians. During their campaigning all of them spoke about creating a safer environment for women. The Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government is taking some measures to deliver on this promise by increasing the police (especially women police) ranks etc. Yet this is not enough.

In Nirbhaya’s case, there was one juvenile involved. He was the one who lured her into the bus. He was an active participant in the horrendous deed. And most important of all, she said (Note, the girl, Nirbhaya herself said) that he was the most brutal of them all. He is the one who inserted a rod into her (thus destroying her intestines) saying “mar (die)”. There was nothing innocent about him. There was no indication that he was being led by anyone else. There was nothing “juvenile” about him except his age (under 18). He got away with just three years.

Amongst the Shakti Mills multiple gang-rape accused there are two juveniles. Also completely aware of what they are doing. They too were tried as juveniles.

Now this new law reduces the age of a “juvenile” from 18 to 16.

But this law seems to be a de-toothed tiger. The judge in the juvenile court will decide whether the person should be tried in a regular court depending on the gravity of the crime. This doesn’t seem a good enough method of segregating who will be tried in regular court. The crime should be treated standalone. But this can still be passed over.

What really takes away the bite is the fact that “juveniles” cannot be handed life or death even by regular courts. So the person involved in Nirbhaya’s rape and murder will still walk out after a few short years. There is something not okay about this rider. Neither in its conceptualization not in the justice it will hand out.

Also, cases on which judgement has been passed cannot go back into trial or have retrospective effect of the law. So the most brutal of them all has gone practically scot-free.

The government needs to make stronger laws with serious punishments for crimes against women to at least be contained if not totally erased.

Image: By Deval Kulshrestha (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons