Bollywood's Queen

We are just three months into 2014, and have already had three mainstream movies from Bollywood that had broken the mould through its unconventional women characters. The women in Dedh Ishqiya, Queen and Highway are in no way the standard heroines that Bollywood usually demands us to be contented with.  But of the three, the movie that I personally feel has taken a step forward is Queen. While Dedh Ishqiya and Highway are important voices, the former stops short of playing with audience intellect and the latter, in many ways, is a problematized and reductionist account of class politics. Nope. This, in no way, means these are bad movies and dismissed. These are important films that have expanded the boundaries of content, characterization and, particularly, the roles of women in them. It is just that for me, personally, Queen scores a little better than the other two at certain levels. 

Dedh Ishqiya, is definitely a leap forward. Released immediately after one of the country’s retrograde judgment on IPC 377, the movie is a celebration indeed. But what the movie cleverly does is, at a certain level it discreetly takes the Bollywood’s long celebrated route of escapism to make it appealing to the masses. And with the response that the movie has received, it is quite evident that movie has managed to succeed in that. The same-sex relationship between the two women is cleverly hidden in the narrative, that it only winks at the audience. Thereby, it has become an art form that is appealing only to the well-read intellectuals of elitist circle. Of course, people who are familiar with Ismat Chugtai’s short story Quilt alone can make the connection and enjoy its context. By this, the movie is already eliminating a large chunk of audience in its reach. Well, this is still acceptable if the movie is only aimed at the niche circle of the audience. But, no, the intention of the movie clearly is to have a mass appeal that it is happy to present to the rest of the audience the same-sex love story as a platonic intense friendship between the women. And this is problematic! And the same-sex portrayal by itself is problematic is a different perspective that should definitely be discussed among the debates centering around queer relationships. 

Highway is a rare mainstream movie, that understands the power of visuals to convey the emotions and subtleties. But, it shies away being an incisive critique on the class division of our country. It takes quite a convenient path. But Alia Bhatt is quite an unconventional character that we definitely do not see often in Bollywood movies. 

Finally, coming to Queen, this movie has enjoyed more mass appeal than any of the other two. Definitely, this alone does not make it a better movie than the rest. But what makes it better than others is despite its clear intention of reaching out to the wider audience, the story is bold enough to take a stand. The stand that Queen takes maybe very basic. But given the context of the Bollywood movies that we consume, we have never had even this simple feminist statement made in our mainstream movies before. A clear statement that woman does not need a man to celebrate her own life and find happiness. The movies with such statements have either been those content with film festival tours or those that are very emotionally intense with no scope for joy and celebration.  We may have had a refreshing English Vinglish two years back. But the movie was very much stuck within the framework of family-based role for the woman. Even in Shashi’s final monologue, she advises the bride and groom to have a small family for themselves to keep their lives anchored. And she understands how to love herself only through a French man who quite predictable falls madly in love with her. Queen, on the other hand, goes a step ahead to tell its lead woman that she can anchor her life and celebrate it just being single. And she doesn’t have to have any romantic encounters with a man to discover or love herself. In the process, it trashes all the fairy tales that our women have been told time and again growing up. In a country, where most of the girl children grow up readying themselves in every little possible way to have good marital prospects,  this is a step forward. It may not seem revolutionary for feminists (including myself) and next generation intellectuals. For many men and women, who lack the privilege of spaces available to them in engaging with multi layered and deep intellectual thinking and discussions, it is definitely empowering. And that exactly why it is an important film that needs to be welcomed and not dismissed as a story addressing very basic issues with a lack of understanding of broader politics. 

Queen, definitely has many issues. And problematic too! To begin with, it is very simple. Too simple with a linear narration that lacks different shades of the characters including the lead woman. She is naïve. She is innocent. That seems to be highlighted more than few times in the movie. But, this at some level makes it relatable for many. But  again, don’t we have many women conditioned into embracing naivette and innocence as virtues of womanhood? Like the movie points out, we still live in a world, where a burping woman is considered to be ungraceful. In fact, we live in a country where women are told it is unwomanly to eat “large quantities” of food. Especially for a country that has strong track record of having more malnourished women. And, I consider this cinematic liberty that the movie has taken only to make an impact on the woman’s journey is pardonable in this context. Also, the movie never attempts to change the basic fabric of Rani’s character. In the end, she does not become a strong willed woman devoid of her innocence. She still makes a fool of herself by believing that she is funny. She is still the same with her naiveté intact. Just that, her perspectives and understanding about happiness and life are altered. 

And another glaring problem with the movie is its simplistic view on progressive outlook. The movie fails to understand that clothes hardly have any relation to one’s attitude and outlook. Rani is forced to wear ultra modern low-neck clothes. It is seen as though by slipping into such western outfit, one’s  outlook on life and issues can get an automatic make-over. What if she is just comfortable with the kurtas and churidhars that she has brought along from home? Does it, by any measure, make her journey less impactful? It reinforces the India’s middle and upper middle class’ mentality to assess a person’s character, outlook, attitude, strength, respect, worth, sexual orientation, gender and what not, based on one’s clothing. But surprisingly, the movie tries to take a dig at this mentality too in quite a contradicting way. When Vijay comes back to Rani just by seeing the photograph of her in a modern outfit, it highlights the mentality of our middle class and upper class men. Vijay sees her change as something that suits the tastes of the class he belongs to. But again, he wants this change be made only for him, thereby commoditizing and owning the woman and her life. Through this sequence, the movie highlights and addresses the level of patriarchy that is well prevalent in our society. 

Queen also has another disappointing dimension to it. Its mild contempt towards working class people! In the drunken moments that Rani tries to reason with herself regarding the unsuitable match with Vijay, she refers him to as someone who looks like a bus conductor or a street vendor. This is condemnable and one can imagine that such a reference makes it clear that the movie targets only the middle and upper middle class of the society. By this, we come to the larger problem of the movie. Its mass appeal only to the middle and upper middle class! In its outlook, it conveniently misses out on the problems and challenges faced by the marginalized sections of the society. What if Rani had been a working class woman? What if she did not possess the luxury of travelling across the oceans to a faraway land to discover herself?  What if Rani had belonged to a conservative household that is bound by the rules of patriarchy with a father who may have made a decision that her daughter travelling alone to the other side of the world is a taint on the family’s reputation? These are very likely and realistic situations that women find themselves more often than not. In fact, these are the same reasons why most of the women get trapped into the institutions of marriage irrespective of their choices. By setting the story in an affluent family, the movie ignores to address these important dimensions. But, one can hope, that by showing Rani’s story, despite her privileges, it can influence the mindsets of the society in at least a very small way. What is change after all? Attitudinal change is never radical that happens overnight. It is a cumulative outcome of many baby steps that we take as a society. And I would like to believe that Rani and her story is one such baby step towards a desirable larger outcome.

And there are many other issues that we may have with the movie. Such as the debatable racist attitude in a scene or two and the necessity of Rani’s brief and unimportant romantic encounter with the handsome Italian man. But the movie works despite these pitfalls, because of its larger theme.

Most important of all the specifics that makes this movie stand apart from rest of the Bollywood’s offering is its characterization of Viajayalakshmi. Well, she is half Indian and maybe the movie has, thereby, taken a safe bet here. But even then, when was the last time did we see a woman, that too a single mother, being unapologetic about her active sexual life? All we have had so far is a Deepika Padkone in Cocktail who realizes her unsuitability of being a wife, because she has been too promiscuous and regrets for the same. And Vijayalakshmi is never judged for who she is. Rani, who has not even had kissing as the slightest sexual encounter with a man before, is non judgmental and tries to understand life through her. Even when she meets a commercial sex worker, her questions to her as to why did not she choose any other profession is not judgmental but only seems curious to understand the story. Such portrayals definitely challenge the middle class (the class that movie largely addresses) understanding of virtues, culture and life. And another scoring point of the movie here is that someone who helps her in overcoming Rani’s heartbreak is not another man, but a woman friend. This is a significant change for Bollywood, because even in reality, men and women deal with their heartbreaks by only getting into another relationship. Through this story, the movie has reiterated the necessity of having an emotional space for oneself before getting into another torturous relationship. Love and relationship have been so far been too overrated in movies that this comes as a breath of fresh air. 

I am also trying hard to name another movie that had portrayed so beautifully the friendship between two women. The two women have their own time of drinking and fun. They do not discuss men in their lives. They party hard. They have dinner on top of the Eiffel Tower. For stressing the importance of such non-romantic  and non-sexual relationship for women, just for this alone, the movie can be termed as an accomplishment.

And most importantly, the message of the movie to women is quite clear. Celebrate yourself! It tells women that the tales they have been told about marriage and life so far are pure lies. A woman’s life is too precious to be wasted brooding over any man, deserving or not. By making this very simple and basic statement (I would like to believe it as feministic), this movie has a great potential to touch the lives of many men and women who are chained in the name of traditions and culture. And this has been achieved through a fun ride! Not through a regular fare about maligned women with bouts of sorrow and emotional tangles that we often see associated with feministic tales on screen. Feminism can be celebrative in nature too. It can be just pure joy, because of the very reason that it is empowering. And that is the power of this movie. It celebrates. The journey that Rani takes maybe simple and too idealistic as it is devoid of any encounter with real dangers of life. And at many times may be coming from a very privileged outlook. It definitely does not address many of the other issues of class, caste and race. But, it is definitely something that is joyful and celebratory. Not being radical, does not make it less important because a change has to begin somewhere. Though very late, it is a change that has to be welcomed. This maybe a sign of hope that a radical change is around the corner. Maybe, we can now expect more layered shades to the simple Rani in our next outing.

Heterosexism Takes Viswaroopam

Finally, when Kamal’s magnum opus, Viswaroopam, managed to see the light of day in Tamil Nadu, his fans thronged the theatres to watch this much-awaited and controversy stricken film. While, there will be a continuing debate on the movie’s representation of a particular religious community, it would not be surprising if those same critics ignore the movie’s problematic portrayal of another minority community. For the minority status of this community is not because of its religious faith but the group’s sexual and gender identities. Viswaroopam, apart from being totally one sided in its pro-American troops storyline, laughs up its sleeves, a misguided portrayal of the queer community.

Like has been the case with many movies in the past, Vettayadu Vilayadu, Dostana and Goa to name a few, it is very likely that any argument against Viswaroopam in favour of queer community will only be rubbished with furor by the mainstream audience. On second thoughts, it may also be quite an injustice to group Goa and Dostana under the likes of Viswaroopam, because the problem with these two movies has more to do with the heteronormative portrayal of the gay relationships and less about how “normal” they are. Coming back to Viswaroopam’s portrayal, it is much more dangerous and harmful just for the reason that it uses the word “normal” from an uncomfortable dilemmatic viewpoint in the dialogue rendered by the femme-phobic wife as an introduction to the effeminate Kamal Hassan. And few scenes later, when the wife realizes that he is macho enough and not as “umanly” as she suspected him to be, falls desperately in love with him. And this falling in love just happens in a scene in which he walks down the stairs exhibiting his machismo. While, this scene alone is heterosexist enough and portrays a nauseatingly shallow understanding about falling in love, the problem with the movie is much deeper than this. It goes back to the earlier introduction scene which indirectly questions the normality of any sexual identity other than heterosexual orientation. This outlines the movie’s strong prejudice against the queer community. It may be easy to trivialize the issue as too petty be taken seriously by the larger section of the audience. And we can be totally certain that such a trivialization is what we would be hearing in future, if at all this criticism gathers any momentum. But only the queer and queer-sensitized people would be aware of the potential of such a portrayal to cause a deep psychological scar in the minds of sexual and gender minorities. For years now, the queer community has been bearing a heavy burden of the labels such as “normal” and “abnormal”, which has been used as instruments to create hatred and prejudices against the community. At this juncture, where we have only taken few baby steps of success in bringing forward a change to the society’s larger mindset towards sexual and gender minorities, movies like Viswaroopam are an unfortunate hindrance towards the fight for equality and social justice. For the sake of few laughs here and there, it has become a recent norm in Indian movies to take a dig at queer community. But a movie like Viswaroopam goes a step ahead, and has gone back in ages by portraying homosexuality as a deviant beahviour. Well, yes, it is not explicitly told in the movie. But such indirect references portrayed by a mass hero will only reinforce the already prevalent hatred and prejudices against the much maligned sexual and gender minorities.

It is very clear that Kamal Hassan, in his efforts to showcase his acting prowess, has gone ahead and essayed this role of an effeminate man, as has the case been in his earlier movies like Dasavatharam and Avvai Shanmugi. He has sketched this initial part of the story to set a platform for such a character. And so the queer community ends up being exploited for him to exhibit his skills as an actor and director. This alone acts as antithesis to Kamal’s claims over his own intellectual capabilities in storytelling.

It’s time that we stopped expecting anything more than ordinary from his movies as this is proof enough that his stories can sink well below the standards of average masala movies to pull in the crowds to theatres. It’s a caveat for us to stop thinking that there is hope in the horizon for Tamil movies and audience. Movies like Viswaroopam are made often to teach us a lesson or two. A lesson that Tamil movies will continue to be hopeless as they are now!

The Stories I Tell, Share and Hide

I have many stories to tell. And there are many more that I can’t tell. The stories I can tell, I sit with people across the table and tell them with cinematic twists. Sometimes I add melodrama and spice to it. Some stories, I tell people with pride and joy. And there are many more which I tell them with the right mix of drama, humour and poignancy. Then I go back, earning their pity, love and friendship. Sometimes, I even return home with their admiration.
There are other stories that I pick and choose to hide it silently under the floor carpet that has been sprawled out in my living room. Sometimes, I take those stories and fold them neatly into tiny packets and place them under my sleeping mattress. And then I go about doing my daily chores pretending I have no stories of shame and guilt that lay silently buried under the mattress. And sometimes, I break them into tiny pieces, and drop them one by one on the streets I walk, imagining myself to be Hansel who has lost his Gretel and the broken bits to be bread crumbs. I also hope that the crumbs be eaten by a hungry crow so that those unbearable stories disappear without any trace. But the crows never come. And the stories patiently wait under the bed for me to return.
So, in the Ionely nights, I hear those stories’ husky whispers. Then, I scream loudly begging them to stop. But they never stop. They haunt my dreams and lives. And when the dawn breaks, I go about keeping them unnoticed. They are absolutely humiliated by my indifference. So every night, they return to haunt me.
And I have few other stories that I always carry within me. They are invisible. But they are present around me. But people never notice. And that is convenient. When I walk around laughing and chattering loudly, I have them trailing around me silently. I am conscious of them. But I know they will never get known to others. And so, I hold my head high and take them around with courage.
There are few other stories that I don’t see but others do. Others see through me and they know the stories that I am part of. I never get to see those stories. Those who see them, pity me. Sometimes they are repulsed. Sometimes irritated. And many times surprised. In other few times, they offer love. People do all sorts of things. But I never get to hear those stories. I know there are some stories around me and within me, the plots of which I will never know. I frantically look for them around me to know those thickened plots. I see them scattered all around me. But there are too many stories and too many fragments. It is not an easy jigsaw puzzle that can be solved in this life time. But I never give up on my search.
These stories are not solely mine. These are stories of my mother, my grandmother and great grandmother. Roots of many stories trace back to a forgotten time, probably to a time when the first generation of my family was born.
Those stories I can’t tell people, I share them with that black dog that comes running behind me every night when I return back home late. He comes running wagging his tail. I sit with him in front of the gate of my house and tell him the story. I tell him with high drama, that after a while, he turns and runs back to his home. He is simply not interested. Or perhaps, he thinks I am taking his love for granted. For the love he offers to me, I return it with a heavy and boring story that fails to impress him. He is disappointed with me every night. So, I stopped telling him stories.
Sometimes, when alone at home with my pet dog, I lie on the floor next to her and try telling her stories. Minutes after I start, she just moves away to the comfy corner under the table. She is just not prepared to hear all the drama. She knows the dram queen I am. Her life is filled with enough drama. Every day, she has to struggle through the cinematic rivalry with the street dogs in the neighborhood during her evening walk. That gives her enough dose of drama and she is not interested in the stories of humans that are unnecessarily melodramatic. So, I tell those stories to none.
Depressed and empty, then I run to the dark cinema halls to listen to the fictional stories instead. And in the darkness, amidst the sounds of popcorn crunching and Coke slurping, I let my emotions run wild. Then I return to the bed, under which lay those stories, silently, waiting to haunt me. And I listen to their whispers.

The Gloom of Yesterday

Many times, things go wrong just like that. Not any particular reason. But just like that. Not that your life has exceptionally been in order for this to come as a shock. But the pattern in which it unspools itself is pretty frightening. Anything you touch goes wrong. Just like that. Anything you get into is a blow on your face. Just like that. In those times, you may actually believe that Supreme Power does really exist, even if you are an atheist. Not because you have experienced many magical moments in your life. But the chaos in your life is so overpowering that you are very sure it is not possible without the intervention of any Supreme Power. How else can you reason out such perfectly choreographed messy situations in your life, as though it was a part of a well edited movie with taut screenplay?
And the fact that few people you look up to live far across the oceans does not help. And when the few others you have always relied upon for support are dealing with a lot themselves, you know this only will make it worse for them. So you keep it to yourself. But hope for a tomorrow. A Tomorrow that will bring sunshine. A Tomorrow that will boost your low self-esteem. A Tomorrow that may help you laugh at the chaotic and gloomy Yesterday. A Tomorrow filled with a bit of happiness and a bit of energy. At least, a Tomorrow that is not as gloomy as the Yesterday.

Liberative and Poignant

In a city like Chennai, it is very rare to come across stories with unapologetic portrayals of the lives of oppressed people. But when the play directed by Srijith Sundaram, Molagaa Podi, unfolded on the stage with the mesmerizing performances of its actors, it filled the air with elation as it offered a sense of hope that marked the arrival of a new momentum gathering against oppression. The play, presented by Kattiyakkarai theatre group, is based on a short story by the Dalit writer Bama that celebrates the rebellion against caste oppression through mockery and well-etched humour. Not to forget that Bama’s short stories and novels were the ones to mark a beginning of revolution of sort in the Tamil literature space. The revolution of Bama’s writing is not only in the stories that she tells, but also in the language that she usually employs. Her stories are written in the dialect of the same people whose lives she portrays. This renders tenacious strength to her story-telling. This, I call it a revolution, because the Tamil literature space has always been dominated by many self proclaimed mavericks, who lay emphasis on language rather than on the issue. And to write in a language of oppressed people that lacks the refinement and beauty of chaste Tamil, is definitely a victory that needs to be celebrated as a revolution.

The play that was staged as part of the Chennai Rainbow Pride events at Spaces in Besant Nagar, has elevated Bama’s story to a totally new level through its nuanced narration and portrayal. To those who have already read the story, the play would be an overwhelming experience, as it has brilliantly captured the core essence and the beauty of Bama’s short story. The original dialect of the story, the nuances of which have been handled well in the play, has enriched the overall experience of the audience. The format of narration was interesting, as it gave space for the actors to interact with the audience and in turn kept them engaged throughout. The trivial alteration in the play towards the end from the original story, has only added sheen to the story, as it offered some interesting perspectives to the viewers.

What is it about parai that its sounds make your nerves and cells reverberate with energy, hope, joy and a sense of liberation? The apt use of parai that reverberates along the story at instances of confrontation and resistance, heightened the spirits of viewers. The poignant lyrics of the songs portraying the plight of Dalits also added a definite strength to the story.

Another important aspect about the play, that makes it a class apart, is that many of its actors belong to a community of sexual minorities. Who else could effectively portray the oppression better than the ones who had undergone the agony of exclusion and marginalisation in real life? Oppression may be of different kinds, but the pain inflicted by any discrimination is largely the same. This was clearly evident when the actors portrayed the real emotions with overwhelming genuineness on the stage.

Two thumbs up for Srijith and his team who have delivered a power-packed performance and made the whole experience an enjoyable and insightful one!

Dark Nights and Fanged Teeth

It comes in the night
The past with its fanged teeth
It comes in my dreams
Not the same as I saw them
But in different contexts
Myriads of people and forms
Collage of this and that
Little from here
And a little from there

It comes in my dreams
The past with its fanged teeth
The ten year old boy with a smile
He tells me those buried secrets
They tumble out and lay there
Thumping their feet down
Demanding to look at them

Turning the face, I go back
Closing my eyes, I run
I can escape, I tell myself
But they lay behind me
Taking monstrous shapes
Chasing me till the end

I know I have to face them
Not today, but a day will come
A day from a distant horizon
With its scent of hope
And colour of rage in its periphery
Painted with streaks of love
It would be the day of closure
And a beautiful beginning of new life
Till then, I run

(This is my first attempt to write a poem. Christina, my dearest Akka (Hannah), Sridevi and Aniruddh are the ones who inspired me to pen down some of my thoughts as a poem. And to all of you, pardon me if it is sloppy or reads immature. You know I am bad at poems :))

Typically 'Ko'llywood!

When people, who rejected Vaanam claiming it to be boring and uninteresting, praised Ko for being innovative and packed with interesting moments, I should have known what to expect from the movie. Well not that I do not know what the yuppie Tamil movie goers and the elitist class of Chennai wants in a Kollywood entertainer. My friend and I just took a chance, like many of the stupid and highly risky chances that we have taken before when it comes to Tamil movies.

Well, it was not difficult to predict what kind of a movie that is going to be played on the screen, after the few initial scenes. Silly, contrived and predictable, the movie claims itself to be a political thriller. The movie is an unpalatable concoction of politics, friendship and love. Take a thread of extremely silly Utopian dream with narrow and limited understanding about corruption. Weave the thread with a triangular love story, in which one woman even while she yawns does it with extreme poise and grace, and naturally ends up being the best available choice for the courageous hero. The other woman lacking feminine grace and docility expected out of Tamil women, naturally becomes the sidekick for the hero and the heroine and obviously dies a brutal death because she is not someone cut out for any man (specifically Tamil man with high moral values!) to fall in love with, leave alone the hero. Well, what ending can you expect for a woman of such low morals and unwomanly behaviour in Tamil cinema? Then intersperse it with a pack of highly melodious romantic songs here and there, including the one which the hero and heroine sing unashamedly on the night immediately after the brutal death of her unwomanly best friend, even before she is cremated. Then, pepper it with one or two homophobic dialogues with judicious mix of anti women and politically incorrect jokes such as the ones about commercial sex workers. There, you have a heady mix of an innovative family entertainer that the Tamil audience would just lap up.

The movie could not have done any more injustice to the character of Pia, who has donned the role of ungracious woman. The character of Karthika is cliché’d, confused and fails to impress. Then you have Ajmal and Jiva, with another uninteresting subplot of friends turning foes. Phew! If you have not walked out by then, you would probably want to kill yourself for making you go through such a torture on a Saturday evening.

And if people say that Ko is a box office hit, it would not be surprising. After all, aren’t we talking about the same audience which lapped up Vinnaithandi Varuvaya with such joy and energy!

I Am Who I Am

It is one of those few movies that you would watch crouching in the seat, with your legs folded against your chest, not realizing that you have been crying through out its running length. It is also one of those very few movies that you wish you had watched it alone rather than with a bunch of three other friends in a half empty hall, even if they are the most sensitive and the best people you have ever had in your life, so that you could just cry unashamedly as the characters emerge on the screen to hold you against the things that you have been trying to escape all along! It is definitely one of those few films that tell you stories of people in its raw and unadulterated forms.

Real and on-the-face, I Am Afia Megha Abhimanyu Omar is a string of four short stories that give you glimpses into lives of people who were betrayed, marginalised, abused and oppressed in one way or the other. As the stories slowly unravel life’s brutality and cruelty through its central characters, you know you are seeing the world that you have chosen not to acknowledge so far. But, you know that one day or the other you ought to see the truth and come to terms with it.

I Am Afia, is a story of a woman, played by Nandita Das, who is in search of a sperm donor to have a child without the support of a man in her life. She has decided not to trust a man ever again in her life, after going through the worst betrayal from the man she had been in love with. And she has to put a face to the man who is donating the sperm. Does she get to meet the man? Is she ready for making such a big step in her life? Even though the story in a way tries to enforce the gender stereotype of yearning for motherhood, there is a strong subtext that cannot be missed. The woman’s loss of trust in a man. This is something many Indian women will be able to empathize with.

I Am Megha is a story of a Kashmiri Pundit, Juhi Chawla who had fled away from Kashmir during the religious riots. Religion has not only butchered the lives of the loved ones, but has also brutally severed the beautiful friendship between Megha and her Muslim friend, Rubina, the role of latter played by Manisha Koirala. In this story, you are left with questions. Not just any questions! Questions regarding your fundamental sense of justice and faith! Who is the real victim? The one who ran away or the one who stayed back only due to lack of choice? When does ‘us’ become ‘you’ and ‘me’? You don’t get the answers. You know, the answers do not lie there on the screen but somewhere deep within you. Are you ready to see the realities of life beyond your hatred and bias? Now, go and figure out for yourself!

I Am Abhimanyu, is the story seldom told on the screen with such rawness and realism. The success lies in the subtlety of the story that hits hard on your face. The story may be shocking to many. A victim of sexual abuse by his stepfather in his childhood, Abhimanyu (Sanjay Suri) chooses to get comforted by the incestuous relationship as love. Later, he cleverly chooses it as a tool to exploit the stepfather for his own benefit. His undecipherable dreams in which he is a girl are sequenced beautifully, that you shudder seeing the harshness of the reality. The constant mewing of the nameless cats through out the story, tell you not just his story but the stories of many other Abhimanyus scattered across the world. And when his mother refuses to believe him after the death of his father, he questions her if she never saw anything or she never wanted to see anything all these days? No answer again! You know that this is the same painful silence that many men and women out there in the world would have endured in their lives. And when his girlfriend, Natasha, tells him that they will take good care of his nameless cat, which is the fourth one after the first cat that was killed by his stepfather in a fit of rage and the two other that met with brutal death, you wish someone had hugged you tight together to hold your shattering self from breaking into pieces!

I Am Omar is a story more about Jai (Rahul Bose) than about Omar (Arjun Mathur). This is a story about the cruelty and oppression that people face, just for being different in a world that is obnoxiously homophobic. Being gay in India is not easy. And IPC 377 that was recently read down, had only been making sexually marginalised people’s lives intolerable and miserable. On the night Jai meets Omar (you later realise that Omar is a male commercial sex worker), they flirt with a beauty that only Onir can manage to capture on the screen when dealing with a love affair that is not straight. And they head to a secluded place, only to get caught by a cop who threatens them to arrest if Jai is not willing to part with a huge sum of money. What then unfolds may seem completely unbelievable and shocking to many as what Jai loses that night is more than a sum of fifty thousand rupees. You come to know that these are just everyday realities for scores of people living hidden in the society. It also showcases the hypocrisy of the system and the moral guards of the society. And then you realise that the sense of morality is what is abnormal and not the people. And also you come to know that it is something that has only been invented by the power mongers of the society to nourish their own lives.

Finally, when the screen goes blank after showing you the stories of people that you would have otherwise not known, you are scared that you may find your reflections in the images that you just saw. You also understand that those images may come along with you out of the cinema hall and continue to haunt you for a while. You may be the untrusting Afia, or you may be the cynical Megha, or you may be the abused Abhimanyu, or you may be the marginalised Omar! Or worse you may be one among the others who made these people’s lives a struggle. You may be the husband who betrays Afia. Or you may be the stepfather who had slowly killed the conscience of Abhimanyu. Or you may be the repulsive cop! Or you may be the silent and helpless spectator like the mother of Abhimanyu. Or you may be the caring and loveable Natasha, the girlfriend of Abhimanyu. Or you may be Rubina, equally tormented by the people’s hatred towards other faiths. Or you may be Siddharth who offers a glimmer of hope to Afia in an important decision of her life. Or you may be Abhimanyu as well as Jai. Or you may be Afia as well as Abhimanyu. You could be anyone among those people! Or you may be a random collage of all of these people. You may be someone running away from the past. You may be someone failing to see and acknowledge the people around you.

But this is a movie that will not let you go off the hook easily. This is a movie that will haunt you and compel you to face the truth, realities and harshness of life that you have been trying to evade all these days!

Avatar, an Alien World with a Message

Avatar is not just a technically brilliant animation movie that could give an out-of-the-world experience to the audience. The brilliance lies beyond its great special effects and its grand budget. It lies in its ability to capture the essence of the universal truth that is beyond the comprehension of many humans. In fact, the specialty of the movie is hardly about its overwhelming graphics. The USP of the movie is its underlying emotional quotient that would connect well with the environmentalists, nature lovers and people who stand against oppression of any form.

The movie is about the larger issue of the human selfishness that is destroying the entire world to its crumbles. It is about the overpowering majority and their oppression against the minority, whose souls are soaked in the elixir of nature. It’s simple. The Na’vi tribe lives in harmony with nature in an alien planet called Pandora. And there we enter, humans, to capture their precious resource. And how do we that? Wage a war against them. Destroy the nature, their lives and the planet and run back with the resource to save your dying planet.

This plot involving aliens is definitely not alien to us. Because, it’s a universal problem that every country in this world would have seen during their years of development. Closer home, we have been witness to many of the tribes and aadivasis being literally driven out of their own homes for a larger purpose, that is, for the benefit of the majority of the population. How many dams, multi storeyed IT buildings and shopping complexes have been built around our country over their destroyed lives and homes?

There is something deeper the movie talks about. The connection with nature. How humans chose to ignore the harmony between their species and nature! How it is important not to play with that ethereal connection of harmony, for it wreaks only havoc. When the heroine, a Na’vi herself, refuses to accept the thanks form the hero, as saving him has cost the lives of so many wild dogs, there is something that should snap in each of us. It should take us to the truths of our selfishness, far into the dark spaces of Jim Corbett park and Sunderabans Islands. Did you get it? If many of us not have wriggled in our seats with a sense of guilt, probably it is an indication that the world has come to an end because this is a proof that humans have gone far beyond in their utter selfishness. The heroine drills a message into the male protagonist’s human head that if he had chosen to understand nature and not have provoked it, he would have escaped the ire of the wild dogs. And since, he hasn’t done it, he became the victims of their feral attack which had cost their lives. Because we all know that lives of human beings are “far superior” to any other living creature, don’t we? So, now what has driven all those tigers in our country to extinction? What has made many of them man eaters and tread into the human spaces only to lose their lives? Well, we all know the answer!

However, there is a slight discomfort in which the movie has handled disability and the way the story unfolds. It is quiet conventional in the way in which the human-hero has to emerge and belong to the Na’vi community in order to save the tribe from the dangers of his own race. Are there a scent of racism and a message of superlative powers of human beings in the movie? Despite these, the movie delivers quiet a strong message!

But, yeah, the message of destroying the lives of tribes may not be driven back to the many of our homes. Because James Cameron has chosen to set it in a futuristic and a fictional world and, quiet specifically, in an alien world. After all, it is the story of a bunch of aliens who do not even exist! May be we choose not to link it up with our opulent lives. But the message is open out there. Whether the earth lives or not, relies heavily on how we act upon the truth!

One among a Thousand Indeed!

Unpredictable and surprising, the much-hyped Aayirathil Oruvan transcends the movie-watching experience to a new level and genre for the Tamil audience. This multi-starrer, which is a revelation of sort for the acting prowess of the movie’s leading protagonists, Reema Sen, Andrea and Parthiban, (Ofcourse, Karthi is the same as he was in Paruthi Veeran) lives up to its hype and sets a new level of standards for the genre of fantasy and adventure in Tamil Cinema.

The director, Selvaraghavan, by weaving in the interesting elements of fictitious history into the story line has managed to keep the interest of the audience sustained through out the movie. The characterization of the protagonists is another unique element which makes the movie interesting and intriguing, as all the characters are etched out in shades of grey with his or her own preferences and instincts for survival. For the first time in commercial Tamil cinema, the male protagonist does not resort to heroic efforts to save the women from the dangers, though the story line has ample scope for such gimmickry. On the contrary, the director has given him space to chicken out many a times in the movie, allowing the women to take the lead. This is his success indeed, the director’s courage and boldness to treat the character of Karthi differently with shades of realistic feelings of a normal human being!

Ofcourse, as is his wont, Selvaraghavan brings in the dimensions of sexual perversions to Karthi’s character, just to cater to the needs of his male audience. Though, this is the dimension that the many of the movie-goers would have found lovable! Moving a step ahead of his usual male characters in the earlier movies like Thullavatho Ilamai, Kathal Konden and 7G Rainbow Colony, the director has even managed to make Karthi seem like a dormant rapist who would vent out his sexual energies on Reema anytime in the best available opportunity. You couldn’t let go of your male fantasies of raping a woman in order to teach her a lesson, could you Mr. Selvaragavan? How could you let go of it when that is what keeps the entire section of the male audience going up in cheers in the auditorium? And do you know that such characters in the movie will only entrench the cruel minds of the men in our society with sexual violence and oppression that are already infested with male chauvinism?

However, this time, the interesting aspect of Selvaraghavan’s piece of work is the refreshing touch to his women characters which gives a breath of relief. Probably, this is the first Tamil movie in which the leading women drink and dance around with a bottle of alcohol. Something which even the acclaimed directors like Maniratnam and Gautam Vasudeva Menon would have flinched to show in their so called urban movies in fear of the negative reaction of the conservative Tamil audience. Very surprising and refreshing that Selvaraghavan has managed to achieve it with élan and grace! Also, the way both the women slap Karthi left and right is yet another unconventionality that has been handled well with poise by the director. In addition, the roles of Reema and Andrea have been portrayed unconventionally, though towards the end in the second half, one of the characters meander into the much beaten track and the other loses its momentum and screen space to the other important characters. The leading women have done their best to do justice to their roles. Where has Reema been all along in Tamil cinema? Reema makes a mark throughout the movie with her apt expressions and bold acts. Sad that the new version of the movie has many of her scenes deleted! The sword fight with Parthiban and the classical song about Tanjore and its lost Chola dynasty that are testimonies to Reema’s hard work have been removed from the movie. Were those deletions really intended, so as to give a booster to the role of Karthi by trimming down Reema’s role which otherwise would have had more prominence in the movie? Quite possible in the male dominated tinsel town! Andrea is quite a revelation in the movie. She has a significant role who leads the gang to the destination, warning them ahead of the possible dangers that exist en route. Her understated liking for Karthi and her revulsion towards him when he assaults Reema sexually have been portrayed with care and subtlety. This adds finesse to her character that is well etched too!

The technical brilliance shines through out in the movie barring few scenes. Be it the camera angles or the cinematography, these aspects have managed to deliver the mood and essence of the movie well. Although, in some of the scenes, the graphics employed has played spoilsport by giving an immature look to the movie, overall the movie has transcended beyond the boundaries set by Tamil movies. Another let down is the sets of Chola town that fails to look like the ruins of the lost civilization. Instead, it has the scattered gold shining, making the town seem like an amateur stage set. It does not even wear the looks of ruins to look like a place that is a decade old, leave alone several centuries old!

And after the story enters into the dark spaces of the hidden civilization that is at least eight hundred years old, the movie gains a different dimension and veers towards the game of hatred, vengeance and redemption. The stark realities of human civilization have been captured well in the movie. The hatred that would survive through several years and generations, only to be vented out at the opportunistic moment is portrayed well. Though, seems unbelievable at certain moments, it only proves the time tested cruelty of human minds. Another interesting angle of the movie is that it gives an opportunity to compare and contrast the ancient and modern civilizations in the same platform. The story line goes a step ahead to showcase the harsh reality that the ancient civilization has evolved into a modern and sophisticated only in its lifestyle, but the cruelty, oppression, hatred and the hunger for power have stayed intact in its raw form in the human society through its many centuries of evolutuion. If the other society that is stuck in times that trace several hundred years back releases its anger and hatred through brutal and cruel games, the modern society which plays with the lives of marginalized does not differ much from its ancient counterpart in its power games. The suffering of Karthi and his group of workers in the hands of the military men is a standing testimony to the unbalanced power equation in the society. Later, in the sequences where the captured Cholas are tortured and killed by the army people, the power equation gains a new dimension in the movie to portray the shocking reality that power is only a volatile thing.

The other interesting element of the movie is the language that is used to depict the Chola lifestyle. For years, Tamil movie goers have been cheated by the movie makers who have employed modern literary Tamil for the depiction of ancient tongue spoken by the kings in their movies. Especially in the ones that eulogizes the lives of kings and queens of Tamil Nadu such as Raja Raja Cholan and Veera Pandiya Kattabomman. Thanks to the in-depth research carried out by Selvaraghavan, we get to hear the real ancient Tamil not in its literary form but in a unique functional form. May be flawed to an extent, the attempt and the attention that the director has paid to the detail deserves an applause. Also, it may be the first of its kind movie in the history of Tamil Cinema which has had the courage to depict the darker sides of the Kings. Added to that, the way Selvaraghavan handles the story without taking sides to any of the kingdoms or any of the characters, enable the movie to rise above the conventions and norms that the Tamil cinema is used to. Rather the protagonists shape up themselves based on the situations and survival instinct forms the main element that aids in the development of their characters in the movie as the story unfolds. However, you wish Reema’s cahracer had been handled with little more care and elegance, as at times it gives a feeling that the director has done injustice to the character only because it is played by a woman.

May be, Aayirathil Oruvan is flawed and follows a safer path at many instances. And in some of the scenes it leaves you with a sense of déjà vu. It is clear that these scenes have derived its inspiration from some of the popular Hollywood movies. Despite these shortcomings, the movie is a must watch at least for its sheer experience. And if you are an ardent movie buff, then it is definitely one of those movies that should not be given a miss for its interesting story that is part fantasy and part adventure, and its unconventional characterization that is hard to be seen often in Tamil movies.

Kill the Animals, Who Cares!

When I recently got into a stifled argument about using animals for testing the ‘harmfulness” of cosmetics and a whole range of medicines to “human beings”, my mind just opened up to a wild spectrum of thoughts about selfishness of humans and their welled up anger towards anything that is nature.

Thanks to those animal rights activists (and to the dismay, arrogance and hatred of the self-proclaimed humanists who do nothing to improve the conditions of the human beings they stand for but sit in the corner of a well furnished and an air-conditioned MNC corporate facing a beaming Personal Computer all day long, probably working hard to fill up their bank accounts to own a car, hook up to a man or woman and buy a well-furnished house. Necessarily in that order!), the much debated issue of animal testing is now seeing a positive change in favor of much maligned animals of our planet. In Europe and US, there are many alternative testing methods and laws that have been established to protect the interests of the poor animals, which otherwise is taken for granted.

Few questions to that bunch of cynics and hypocrites who would just turn cold shoulders to the sufferings of animals (I just can see many flaring their noses and calling me names! It took twenty six years for me to understand that the words “animal rights” can evoke such hatred and from people!), do you even know what you are arguing about? Do you know what it means to give up your life to protect the lives of another alien species which has assumed a fake superiority over this world, all because this group of selfish and cannibalistic creatures can talk, walk on two legs, subjugate the females of its own group, create divisions based on class, creed and race and yeah can also moralize and stigmatize sexuality?

Can you understand how it feels to rub some toxic chemical on your peeled skin and be baked at a temperature that is definitely some 20 or 30 degrees higher than the normal temperature? Can you feel the pain? Oh anyway, why do you have to bother about that? Just go ahead with rubbing your newly purchased cosmetics on your face, legs, arms and anywhere appropriate! But, hasn’t it ever struck you that these tiny plastic bottles of colorful cream have done nothing to change the way you look. You still look the way you are, horrible or tolerable, whatever it is!

Do you know how it feels to have your eyes gouged out? If only those hundreds and hundreds of cats, dogs, rabbits and mice could talk! How would you know all these! All you would want is assume that false superiority over the entire planet and its magnificent nature. All you would want is to live under the false impression that you own the planet and you can do pretty much anything as you wish to destroy its soul.

And to those who would raise the questions like “Don’t you take tablets to kill the germs? How is it justified then?” just to counter argue and get a false kick by assuming that this stupid question could probably corner the opponent, may be you don’t know anything about the defensive mechanism that is necessary for any living creature. The very reason that you put both animal testing and bacteria-killing under one umbrella shows your lack of understanding about nature and the rights that every living creature is entitled to. This question closes all the doors of possibilities of any further discussion because either this inanity is intended as an effective tool to stop the argument or is a sign of your lack of ability to understand nature and therefore further argument is going to be useless.

Well, anyways, who needs your support! There is progress that is already happening. You can’t get away that easily after doing loads and loads of damage. And you are already facing the brunt of it. Melting polar ice caps, expanding ozone holes, pouring rains and submerging islands! And I can almost hear you all laughing out there. Laughing at my stupidity of talking about global warming and animal testing as though they are the same. May be they are not same. But both are the outcomes of the same attitude. Arrogance, selfishness, irresponsibility and power-hunger! Aren’t these the same qualities that made humans think that they own animals? And isn’t that this feeling of ownership which has driven us literally to the end of the world?

Anyways, those who have decided to turn deaf ears to people crying hoarse about the dying planet will continue to close their ears. They may just go that extra mile to kill the planet, just for the sake of it! Who are we to ponder on these things anyway? Let’s just carry on with our lives! So what if the polar ice caps are melting? So what if our tigers are disappearing? We don’t eat tigers anyway! So what if the frogs are killed just for the reason that they are ugly croaking creatures? I am not ugly, even if so, I know I won’t be killed (of course as long as I am rich, definitely straight , may be not a woman and do not belong to any of the uncouth tribal class) for this reason because that amounts to murder and we call it bigotry!

So what if there are nearly 186 languages in India that have gone extinct, taking a vast knowledge about nature? Let’s just go ahead and standardize English as the medium of communication because that gives us a hep image and probably gives our country an international recognition that we are so in need of! So what if there are hundreds and hundreds of tribes, like Banjaras in Hyderabad, who are being evacuated in the name of development? Let’s just work in those multi-storey IT buildings and earn as much as we can. So what if animals are tested in the science laboratories? Let’s just go about consuming those branded medicines (definitely not generic!) and cosmetics to make us look beautiful and also probably kinder by helping us to hide our ugly, sinful and demonic faces under that sticky mask that would have killed at least a dozen of animals!

Enough of Your Heterosexism!

When I came across a recent blogpost on why Abhishek and John Abraham should have kissed in Dostana, I just cannot stop wondering how the issue of fighting for the alternative sexuality has always been from a heterosexist point of view! The media, especially those sick television shows and the new genre of Bollywood movies have gone an extra mile to make sure the debate on this is kept rolling, mostly for their commercial purposes. Not that I mean commercial purpose should never be on their cards. But when money making becomes your soul aim, most of the times, the real issue in hand takes a distorted shape. Why take a critical issue as this to make money.? In the end, apart from making money, you end up misrepresenting the community. Worse, you steer away many of the serious political movements from their real directions to the one which is futile and devoid of any seriousness that is vital for these movements.

It is very clear that in the name of progressive attitude, Bollywood has begun to only unleash its yet another bigotry towards certain targeted community of the society. Even in its stride towards a more inclusive society, the whole industry is just attempting to standardize the lives of LGBT community in the heterosexist way! No wonder, of late, these “progressive movies” depicting alternative sexuality are being splashed on the screens of the opulent multiplexes of our country. And definitely Dostana and Straight have seem to caught the attention of debaters. Well what are we debating about? The real issue? Is the debate on whether Bachhan and Abraham should have kissed, any issue at all?

What did Dostana do to LGBT community? It only ended up reiterating the stereotypical image about gay men. Why should two heterosexual men kiss each other to prove their love for the woman! Come on, what do you mean by that? Do you mean to say that a man kissing another man is as ugly as I-don’t-know-what! Can you get more homophobic than this! And what are you doing this for? To cater to those heterosexuals by making this emotional statement on heterosexual love? Sick! Well, you could have very well told this heterosexual bull shit love story without even involving alternative sexuality!

And what is this about Straight? Could you even call this movie as an attempt that is “in favor” of gay men? This movie is too straight, or completely straight to talk about homosexuality as an issue at all. It is one of the movies that should be rated as highly homophobic to be even tolerated. Well, the protagonist jumps in joy after making love to a woman, because he has found out that he is not gay. Bull shit! This is a clear evidence of the screwed-up understanding that our movie makers have about sexuality. And this tirade about how love is not about sex! How even homosexuals look only for love and not sex! Can't you just stop this heterosexist bull shit-love thing. It is so sickening. We have had enough of crap about glories of love for ages now. Do not attempt to bring this sickening aspect of “yearning for love” into homosexuality and tire us more.

And the hero is never gay in our movies. It is only the supporting actors who are always gays! Would John or Abhishek play the role that Sanjay Suri or Purab Kohli played in My Brother Nikhil?

Give us a break! We are better off watching an ordinary complete commercial masala Tamil movie. Even if it has Vijay or Silambarasan playing the central role!

Purpose of Life

During a fierce moment of rage, I discovered the truth about purpose of life and existence. There exists nothing called purpose of life. It is created. It is created by people to add meaning to their everyday existence.



The relationships that I destroyed. Will I be ever able to forgive myself? Will I get a purpose in life to live for? How did I become the person I am now? When did things turn topsy turvy? I fail to understand. The complexity of human emotions is overwhelming. Overpowering. Has self-control become a non-existent concept of my life?



The emotional tide that has swept my closer ones into its strong undercurrent has left them scarred. Will those scars disappear? Or will it remain as adamant as a dark red blood stain to remind me of the things I lost and the things I will lose in my life?



What do I want? Redemption? Do I really need one? Where will I find it? How will I find it?



I am just lost. I just don't see a way out. Darkness. Hurt. Anger. Questions. Confusions. Tears. A melange of everything. A concoction of bad energies. Absolute lack of energy. Hopelessnes.



But, there is a way out. Narrow. Constricted. Claustrophobic. A long tunnel of darkness. Ligth far away from the sight. A difficult passage for an escape. Travel through the passage is not worth the living. You think so. But, no choice. Take it. Go through it. Squeeze yourself into the tunnel of darkness. There will be light. Somewhere down the long and torturous path lies the bright world. Live it. Move on. Get inside. It may take aeons to come out. But you will see fresh air at the end of the tunnel. Breathe in the fresh air. The smell of flowers. Colourful world. Live it. Create that purpose of life.

In the Name of Honour

Reading In the Name of Honour, a memoir by the rape victim, Mukthar Mai, in Pakistani village, I felt a pang of pain rushing through my heart. I was not able to digest the fact that gang rape has been meted out to a woman as a punishment for the "crime" committed by her younger brother by the village panchayat. This brutal punishment was carried out to dishonour the family for the crime committed by the young boy in the family. The ' crime' was that he had spoken to an upper caste woman which is a strictly prohibited act by the tribal law of that particular village.And this is not just one shocking story that has happened so far all these years from the day the "mankind" has come into existence. It so happened that a journalist who came to know about this gothic incident has reported in the international newspaper and the attention of entire world turned towards Mukthar Bai. By the time world came to know about this, Mukthar Bai has gathered all her courage and determination to fight against this injustice in her country. And one more encouraging factor for her was that she had the entire support of her family which is something uncommon in those villages.So, now the question arises in my mind. As Mukthar Bai was courageous and had the support of her family, she stood against the injustice caused to her by the men of her village. What about those millions and millions of women who suffer such brutalities silently? What about those women who commit suicide when her family and her tiny world abandons her for being a victim of such unruly attitudes of men? Not all women are courageous like Mukthar Bai! The truth is not many women know that it is their right to rebel against such attitudes because so many women live and die without even realising the fact that they too belong to the human species leave alone awareness of their rights. Because that is how men want the women to be. They have been taught from the day one they were born to be submissive, docile and silent. And many do not know that a world exists outside their homes where there is an ever ongoing fight for the establishment of equality between the sexes. Many live a secluded life by being locked inside their homes away from the outside world performing their womanly duties of serving the husbands in all the possible ways.I, the feminist, argue and shout about women's rights and equality to my friends and acquaintances whenever I get a chance. I talk about the woman's identity. I talk about breaking the stereotypes of women as wives, daughters, sisters and mere possessions of men. I argue. I shout. I yell. I denounce. Hoping that these would bring in some changes.But, suddenly I become cynical reading Mukthar's story. Would these things really bring in some changes? I am here in a Metropolitan City arguing with disgusting men about the identity of women when deep down in the villages of the country a woman is not even seen as a human being but as a mere chattel of a man. A woman who can be raped to dishonour men. A woman who can be exchanged as a penalty for the crimes committed by men. Men! Bloody men!Has the status of women really changed in cities atleast where we claim high literacy rate of women?To many insensitive men the answer would be probably "YES". If so, then what about the women who suffer domestic violence silently? What about the women who has to undergo rape by their husbands in the name of 'legal union'? When we are celebrating the new modified law of domestic violence, one fact cannot elude our minds that easily. How many women will come forward to lodge a complaint against their husbands or fathers or brothers who abuse them? Has the status of these women really changed? Why dont they speak out? These educated literate women! It is because the society does not want them to speak out.Mukthar Mai's case is not just the problem of Pakistani women alone. It is the problem that is common to so many women around the world. It is a threat to humanity. we cannot deny the fact that such a problem or brutality is so common with our country too! Haven't we heard of the stories of so many dalit women raped by upper caste men? Did they get justice? Stuck in the powers of politics, money and male domination these women lose their lives ultimately! Those unheard stories and unheard voices! Those silent tears and tortured lives! Those women! Those poor, uneducated, voiceless and powerless women!And these bloody men claim that women have established enough rights. They speak about Female Chauvinism as though they give that much space for a woman to be really of one such kind! They rubbish the issues of eve teasing and leching saying it is the natural instict for men to flirt and stare. They say staring would not hurt. Staring , according to them, is a way of acknowledging the beauty of women. Bloody shit! Hell with these men! They know staring hurts a woman in the centre of her heart. They know that it is a of way objectifying women as sexual objects. They do it deliberately. They cannot see a woman beyond these stereotypes. They cannot accept a woman as an individual!And my close friend who got acquainted with me in Hyderabad says that I, as a feminist, should emphasize on creating awareness amongvthese men about these issues rather than arguing and looking them with disdain. For god's sake, wouldn't they know that staring hurts? Wouldn't they know that eve teasing humiliates a woman? Is it lack of awareness that causes men to disrespect women as individuals? Men dont want to change. They know what is right and wrong yet they act in the same way as they do not want to lose their superiority in the society.And to that friend and others who think naively in the same lines as my friend thinks, I really pity your naivette. How long do you think it would take for me or any other feminist to change a man into a normal human being? 100 years, or 50 years? May be 10 years? Whatever may be your argument, definitely not less than six years to make him a complete 'human being'! So those six years time would help a potential feminist to empower so many women. Why waste time on such awful creatures?. Making women stronger is more important than changing men. It would aeons for men to change. So what do you ecpect women to do in the mean time? Wait for the men to change and suffer in the brutal hands of these deadly creatures called MEN? Total absurdity!I know what would be the response to this blog by all these men who I consider beneath my level even to reply. They would call me a sodomized man who has created a hatred for all men around! Or a gay who supports women blindly! Or a castrated man! Or a traitor who is a shame to my own gender! To those sick men out there, this would not humiliate me. Your comments would only make me feel stronger. It would make me more fierce. Your denounciation makes me happy. It gives me hopes and confidence. It makes me to live out of the guilt that I have nurtured somewhere in the corner of my mind for belonging to this deadly species of human kind which has been cruel to the other half of the human kind all these years. I appreciate and welcome your dirty comments. That is strengthening me further. Call me a traitor! No word can make me more happy. Because it gives me the feeling that I dont belong to your kind. It means i am a complete human being because i am not dirty like u! I am not a chauvinist like you men! I am not a lecher like you subhumans! Whoever has told me that I am a shame to manhood, did you hear this? I am so proud of your accusation! My heart felt thanks to you for boosting up my self esteem.As I finish reading the book, I cry out loudly. Tears well out of my eyes with ease and force. I cry for the brutality faced by Mukthar. I cry because I am happy for her courage and confidence. I cry because of her determination to provide education for her village girls. I cry for those millions of silent women. I cry for those unheard voices!Mukthar Mai is just an example of rebellion. And it wouldn't take long for other oppressed women to join her. Mukthar is a symbol of hope to women. And men would no longer find it easy to escape just like that from justice. Atleast I hope that day is not too far!

To know more about Mukhtar Mai and her schools log on tohttp://www.mukhtarmaiwwo.org/

Me, the Feminist!

Looking back, I am unable to trace my path. I did not realise the moment I became an aggressive feminist. Because it did not come rushing into me suddenly on one fine day. It grew up gradually inside me. When did I become one? Was it at times when my mother used to make compromises on her career, ambitions and health to fit exactly into the role of a mother or wife? Or was it at times when my insensitive father remained free and did not have any such pressures to fit into his roles? Or was it at those times when my neighbours around my place praised my father for our education, growth etc. while the truth was that my father had contributed nothing towards our (me and my sister) growth? Did I realise that my father was stealing all the credits that should have gone to my mother? Did my father really steal it or it was the previlige he was enjoying for being a man? Why wouldn't even the society atleast try to think that my mother's role also would have been an important factor for our growth? Why does it go unacknowledged even when she was the only person to work hard for the child's growth? Didn't my mother earn equally as my father? Then why does the society praise my father alone? Isn't that the height of injustice? Why should I have my father's initial before my name? why can't it be my mother's?What right does the society or law has to force me? Why should I be identified as my father's son always and why not my mother's?Why does even the application forms, be it for any purpose like opening a bank account or in the electoral office or in the college application form or any such government procedures, always ask for husband's or father's name? What an injustice is this? Why can't it ask for a wife's name? Is a woman merely a man's possession in all her lifetime? So do they mean to say that proprietorial rights are transferred from father to husband once a woman is married? Shouldn't the government be ashamed for it?So... then, I started thinking. I started thinking from the age of 8 or 9. I saw the gender discrimination in each and everything. Everywhere!In my childhood I was totally inspired and fascinated by Bharathiyar's "Puthumai Pen" song while all the other children around me were familiar with "Odi vilayadu paapa". I still can't remember where I picked up the song when we were not taught at the school! Did I, at that early stage, go in for a search to find something that defies general social norms?As I stepped into adoloscence I started taking the right shape and become more aggressive. I was teased among my friends for anything I argue against the general set up of the society because they found it odd for a man to speak on feminism. I remember once in my college, I delivered a speech on "Women as successful Enterpreneurs" and I made a statement criticising the general stereotypes that are being forced on women. And just As I ended, the whole class broke into heavy laughter and was applauding trying to make piss about me. "Oh God! what a pity!", I thought.My thought process was never disturbed by these awful creatures called men. Bloody blood sucking creatures! Are these men mentally crippled? I used to wonder what made them not to realise or not to think! But now I know the truth. It is not that they have a poor IQ. It is because they do not want to think. They do not want to let go of the privileges they have been enjoying in the society so far. They are threatened by the women's growth. And so to feel secure, these men oppress, harass, abuse and some pig headed men go in for moral policing too.I have a friend ( But I no more call him so!), my class mate who goes around campaigning to all my class mates who are girls about the right womanly behaviour. He advices them not to sit crosslegged in front of men and lectures on how submissive they should be. He says only this kind of a behaviour would bring them good life! And do you know what does a good life mean to him? Obviously it is nothing other than the bloody marriage! And he is not a villager who has come from the deep south of Tamil Nadu. He was born and brought up in Chennai Metropolis. He has had enough exposure that a normal human being needs to think. So, why does he refuse to accept? It is because this uncouthed creature doesn't want to think! Oh sick creatures!Sexism, discrimination and chauvinism! These are the key personality traits for Indian men no matter who they are or where they are! Oppression and oppression! Wherever you go! Everywhere around you! In colleges, in schools, in corporate world, in media, within the four walls of the so called homes,on the streets, in the buses, in the law, in justice... Shouldn't women live as individuals? Is it too much to ask for?

What's Your Bloody Problem?!

"Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, practiced no cruelties. Its battles have been for education, for the vote, for better working conditions.. for safety on the streets... for child care, for social welfare...for rape crisis centers, women's refuges, reforms in the law." (If someone says) 'Oh, I'm not a feminist,' (I ask) 'Why? What's your problem?'"

- Dale Spender, author of For the Record: The Making & Meaning of Feminist Knowledge, 1985

That Volatile Thing Called Life

Do you have a choice? Really a choice, when you realize that your life has literally tumbled down. No you don’t. But only left with a choice to wonder why it took such a long time for the realization to seep in. Why is that you have been cheating yourself that life is good, when in reality the tumbling down of your life had happened long time back. Probably, at the time when you really discovered yourself. Your preferences. Your choices. Your desires. Your wishes. Your favorites. Your anger. Your love. Your passions. Life had tumbled down actually at those moments when you realized all these inane yet defining things of life. It takes quite a long time to understand that life is in tatters, almost!

Do you have a choice? No. you don’t. Except to move on and embrace those same things that make you fall apart. How ironical! You actually hold yourself together by those same things that try to break you down into pieces. That volatile life!

I am Listening...

Few days back, when I came across the thought that women have the ability to capture multi-focused ideas in their writing better than men, I took it to be yet another stereotype that is just an outcome of generalised notions about women and men. But, to my surprise, when I came across the book Listening Now… by Anjana Appachana, I least expected that I would in a way agree with this idea.

Anjana Appachana clearly has the ability to draw interesting stories from the uniteresting corners of everyday life. And for millions of ordinary women, everyday life is indeed uninteresting for just being glued on to the mundanities of performing their womanly and household duties. So, you wonder what interesting stories that Anjana could probably tell about everyday life of women, to keep her audience hooked.

Well, then! As you move on gradually gripped by the flow of the narration and swallowed by the enormity of everyday life, you realise that Anajana has not contemplated stories but has tried to take a peek into women’s minds to read their thoughts and desires. Those unmet needs that lay entrapped in the crevices of mind, thickly insulated from the outside world, and in the process giving shapes to those suppressed voices through her beautifully picked words.

Although the story is a simple love story, it proves to be rich and complex and is told in perspectives of six different women. And these women narrate their own stories along with it and let out their suppressed desires, wishes, disappointment and their distant dreams that are totally unrelated to their lives in reality.

The narrative style is unique and piquant. Anajana has interwoven the essence of poignance with the stories of six women through out the story. This is a story that shuts the man’s world entirely out from women’s world. In her six complex stories, the men are generally viewed as insesntive people towards women’s pains and lives. Although it might sound like an “yet-another-generalisation-of-a-typical-feminist-woman” to many chauvinist and non-chauvinist men and also to many conventional women, in reality, it is not very far from the truth. The sensitivity with which Anajana handles the story is commendable and definitely leaves an impact.

Another important flavour of the story is the bonding of three women. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the book is richly textured and multilayered with too many stories that exude different flavours and intricacies of women’s lives. Be it the poignant friendship between the three women: Padma, Madhu and Anu or be it the ability of women to relate to each other like how Shantacca instantly finds out when she was narrating Padma’s story to Madhu and Anu, that those women were not crying for Padma, but in a way for their own stories. Or be it the hypocrisy of Indian fathers who hide behind the mothers to enforce conventional rules on their daughters making mothers as villains in the end. These rich stories also unveil the balatant truths about male chauvinism among fathers, husbands and brothers and how they affect and alter the lives of women. And then you realise, deep within you, that a major share of women’s tragedies and miseries in their lives are brought upon only by the men.

And in an effort to bring out the insenstive roles of men in women’s lives, Anajana, never tries to patronise and generalise women as “good and naïve”. Women in her stories are complex and varied as well. They come in different shapes and colours. They are strong, weak, caring, loving, conventional, liberative, villainous, catankerous and contemplating.

And each and every woman in the book leaves a mark on the reader as you come to the end of stories. Prabha, the rebellious daughter of Anu; or Sita, the woman who carries bitter secrets that she had known about her family since her childhood; or Prema, the naïve wife who lives through her suffering in silence and goes in search of the truth knocking at Rukmini’s door, each woman in the book is familiar and the book is filled with these women’s stories. Their tears, laughters, joy, silence, secret desires and their understanding of the male dominated world.

Listnening Now is a perfect treat for people who possess an insatiable hunger for stories. The stories that have never been told before, and the thoughts that have never been articulated! You find these poingnant stories part of many women you see in your lives. Yet you chose not to lend you ears. You never bothered to care.

But this book takes you through an ordinary world that has never before been explored with such finesse and intricacy. You don’t have a choice but to listen. Listen now… Your perspectives about life will never be the same again.