charm or a curse?

Dreams woven in the fading lights of dusk resurface full-bodied in the harsh afternoons of reality.
Simulated to perfection, they rob you of any ambition you might have harboured to turn them in to reality.
The pleasure, the allied emotions and the consequences, they are all there.
How then is one supposed to not give in, stop day dreaming and get to work?

Her brain came with an add-0n: a free but potent nonetheless simulation software.
One could be tempted to secretly smile and turn green at the good luck; I was, but no more.
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What democracy? What rights? What justice?
Blood riles when one hears stories like that of Ruchika's.

You are a 14 year old studying in 10th standard. You are molested by a top cop.
You dare to file a complaint with the support of a friend.

What follows seems to be taken straight out of the worst possible nightmare.

The cop ofcourse uses his power and position to manipulate facts and evidence with the help of his lawyer wife. Meanwhile you and your family are threatened and tortured to the point of moving out of the city. Your friend and her father are threatened for supporting you. You are expelled from your school of 13 years for 'loose character'. You repeatedly refuse to give-in and take the charges back. You brother is beaten up, booked under false theft cases and tortured. You break and commit suicide.
CBI takes up the case. Rathore tries to influence the CBI officer heading the investigation. No charges of abetting to suicide make their way into the chargesheet.
19 years on, he is handed a 6 months sentence for 'outraging the modesty of a woman'.
He comes out of the court smiling and says he will appeal against the verdict.

The actual crime in question is rendered almost irrelevant by the horror that has followed. I just don't know what to say.

referendum kavali adhyaksha!

In any Telangana debate things inevitably get to a point where the following question is asked:
"But do the people of Telangana really want a separate state? If they did, then what can possibly explain the drubbing that TRS received in the recent elections?"
Things start to get murky here onwards.
Why is a 'no' to KCR/TRS construed as a 'no' to Telangana? If people rejected TRS outright in the elections, then why does the reason have to be anything more than a distrust on his administrative capabilities. After all the elections were for the Assembly weren't they?
Now things would have been a lot more clearer if a simple and straightforward referendum was put forward.
Ask people a direct question with just two options - Do you want Telangana? Yes/No.
Why do you have to resort to reading public opinion from Assembly elections? It makes no sense.
Like someone said on a recent TV debate - its just shows that we don't have the confidence and maturity as a democracy to ask for referendum.

Drama Rama Telangana

After a volatile 11 days, full of fasts-unto-death, suicides, suicide attempts, bandhs and rallies led by students, Chidambaram announced yesterday at 11.30 PM Govt's decision to kick-start the process of state division.
KCR calls off hunger strike. So-called celebrations ensued.
Cut to today morning and the whole state wakes up to a series of crazy events unfolding.
MLAs, MPs and MLCs from Andhra and Raayalseema, across the board from all parties - Congress, TDP and PRP resigned. Students took to the streets and bandhs were called.
93 MLA's quit protesting Govt's 'yes' to a seperate Telangana state.
Makes me go.. you asked for it bro!
If KCR's hunger strike, burnt RTC buses, student protests are taken to represent public opinion and manage to succesfully arm-twist the Govt into granting a state, then its only a matter of time before the other side shows it is capable of all these too.
If OU can students can go on rampage, then so can AU and SVU students. If KCR can go on a hunger strike(in other words.. plain black mail), so can others. If you can burn buses, stone shopping malls and raze down an innocent man's hotel, so can they. Its crazy. Stupid and dangerous.

A special mention about Chandrababu Naidu. When an all-party meet was called just a day back.. all the political parties announced that they were in favour of passing the Telangana resolution. And today Babu wakes up to find his party half-empty.
To turn around and accuse the congress for not taking consensus is so mind-zapping.
If it shows anything at all, it is this - that ALL the parties including the Congress failed to read what was going on in their own backyards.

The ensuing weeks promise full-on political action. As if having a badly divided Andhra Pradesh was not enough, requests for some 9 new states have comeup. In such a bind - what will the Congress do?
I would have been rubbing my hands in anticipation were it not for all the voilence and high passions involved.
But wait.. is it really as simple/convoluted as it seems? Or are there time-tested political brains at work behind the curtains and pulling the triggers and whilst we simple mindedly get all worked-up about it?

I need the guts...

To quit,
sans the comforting security of a back-up plan or a better offer.
Guts,
to jerk off the notion that - holding on is being strong.
Clarity,
to believe that I am not being foolish.

all in a day's work

Towards the end of the trailer there is a shot where Auro looks up, says Paa and then lets a shy ha-ha escape his mouth. Thats it. It was in those 3 seconds that Balki sold me the film. I fell for it and booked the first available tickets.

Balki got the childhood part bang-on. Auro is endearing because he is just what you'd expect a 12 year old to be. Progeria, the medical condition that Auro suffers from is just incidental and as explained by Balki himself, was used as an excuse for the role-reversal of father and son.

So Auro is a happy and much loved kid, surrounded by people whose treatment of him is not coloured by his condition. And this allows him to be a regular, confused, little-spoilt, witty, popular at school, awkward kid about to step into his teens. What fun afterall, is a kid who can't throw a good tantrum!

The kids at school are potrayed as uniformly accomodating and loving of Auro. Yes, all of us are aware that kids in school can be really cruel. But it is quite charming of the film to retain this innocence.

There are unnecessary subplots like Abhishek's rant against the media that just doesn't work. And I found the movie a little slow. But what lingers in one's mind after stepping out of the theatre is the good stuff.

1) Amitabh as Auro.

There is just nobody else like him and I doubt there will ever be. His persona and acting prowess aside, the man inspires awe just for having retained the hunger and drive fit for a 20 year old, after all these years. He has such magnificient roles written for him, especially in his second innings - Mohabbatien (if for nothing, atleast for being his big comeback), Sarkar, Nishabd, Cheeni Kum, Black and now Paa. Each time he essays a superb role, I am entertained yes, but I also feel very happy for him. The guy must be having the time of his life. To have somebody say that of you, and after a career spanning decades and seeing dizzying heights of stardom - is so rich and wonderful. What a Man!

2) Vidya as Auro's mom and Arundathi Naag as Vidya' mom.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Vidya tells her mother about her pregnancy. I also liked the little details like how Vidya always sits in the same little corner in her veranda whenever she is troubled. And she looks absolutely stunning in the movie.

3) Auro's best friend Vishnu.

His frustrations about his father, studies and everything else. The kid is totally adorable. Vishnu's character gives some of the most funny moments in the movie.

4) The Gum Sum Gum tune in the movie - trademark Ilayaraaja.

pet insight

Past and Failure have been subjected to unspeakable abuse since the beginning of time, in the hands of 'Quote' makers. My heart really goes out to these two.
The first email I usually check daily is inadvertently titled - 'Thought of the Day'.
And today it says "You can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures."

We've heard countless others proclaiming the importance of learning from our failures and past mistakes.
Makes me bang the desk infront of me and go... One doubt Adhyaksha!

To learn from the mistakes and still practice the indifference preached by 'let go of your failures' - How easy is it?
Tell me whether to care or not. Don't ask me to indulge in the subtle dance of not knowing how far to go and when to hold back.