BBC Documentary on December 16 rape: We MUST watch this

The government of India has banned airing of the BBC documentary - India's Daughter - by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin claiming it "gives platform for the rapist to voice his opinion".

Leslee Udwin (Picture: Imtiyaz Khan /HT Photo)

Sadly, what the rape convict Mukesh Singh says is actually what a large section of our  society believes in. Despite countrywide protests and extensive media coverage and campaigning for justice for the December 16 rape victim, the fact remains that we continue to blame the conduct of the girl if and when she is raped. If half of our population takes to streets demanding better law and order situation each time a girl is raped, there is the other half that rants about the responsibilities of the girl and her family and how they could have avoided the whole crime. 

What is most ridiculous is the fact that we continue to defend the rapists. Instead of fighting and trying to imbibe a balanced & normal gender values in our kids, we continue to segregate women - we believe having more women in administration and police - that is a different issue my dear countrymen! Simply having women address reports of women crimes does not exactly help the cause. 

Our basic upbringing manners need a change. We cannot tell our sons that they are above our daughters, they own everything while the daughters are a financial burden on the clan and expect them to respect women they meet outside of our own families. We should avoid having different rules for our sons and daughters. That is where the whole power politics begins. If there are no conflicts regarding the power equation between a sister and a brother, there are little chances that a man would want to overpower a woman behaving 'too manly' for her existence. 

If we tell our kids that it is equally unsafe for men and women to be out on the streets late at night, they will not judge women who happen to be there at midnight and believe that they are 'asking for it'. 

In an interview to Hindustan Times, British filmmaker asked, "If you don’t understand the psyche of the rapist, how would you solve the problem." Precisely the reason why her documentary needs to be aired in India as well and (hopefully) the YouTube link will not be blocked. Watch it, face it and fight it instead closing the eyes to the shameful reality.

Q-tiyapa, an interview with The Viral Fever founder Arunabh Kumar

An interesting interview I did recently
http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/television/how-mtv-s-rejection-created-q-tiyapa/article1-1165973.aspx

R...Rajkumar: death of the mass entertainer

Critics may have panned movies like Dabangg, Rowdy Rathore and Boss but they went ahead too earn hundreds of crores, mainly because the action-comedy works with the masses. Prabhudeva's latest film, however, brings the Bollywood masala several degrees lower.


Watching Prabhudeva's R...Rajkumar, I thought what has gone wrong with Hindi film industry! 
Just because a Dabangg becomes a hit, we get a flood of similar films, only getting worse in the repetition of matter, locations and now even the actors (read Sonakshi Sinha). R...Rajkumar is the worst of the lot. 

Right from the beginning of the film, the characters and dialogues irritate you. Each moment in the plot is completely predictable since you have already watched things like Rowdy Rathore and other Prabhudeva remakes made by the master choreographer-dancer himself. 

Another mistake Prabhudeva seems to have made is that he has tried to portray Shahid Kapoor as an action hero, beating up goons ten-times his size. Now, what else do you call unconvincing? A lean, stout man - Shahid - beating up tens of villians at one go is such an unbelievable scene, you feel Prabhudeva has made a spoof of Hindi films. Dear Prabudeva, Shahid is no Rajinikanth, he ain't even Akki!

In films like Rowdy Rathore, Wanted and Dabangg, the saving grace was the comedy. The, worst of Hindi films are passable in the name of entertainment. Sadly.even a tag like masala entertainer does not work for this Sonakshi Sinha,Shahid Kapoor-starrer, The comedy here is irritating and an abuse to the comic sense of the audience. 

Even actors like Sonu Sood, who emerge wonderful performers from such antics have failed to save the movie. 
Perhaps, Salman Khan foresaw the insult Prabhudeva was preparing in the name of R...Rajkumar when the Dabangg actor said that such entertainers will die soon. Khan said, "This space will die totally. I think this was a beautiful format where we had films like Wanted, Dabangg etc. Now everybody has overdone it so much that it might die away." 

Boss Review

Boss Review

Akshay Kumar-starrer Boss releases in theatres today. Riding high on the success of films like Rowdy Rathore, Kumar is expected to entertain the masses with his latest venture. The movie also boasts of promising actors like Ronit Roy, Danny Denzongpa, Pankaj Tripathi, Mithun Chakraborty, Johnny Lever and Parikshit Sahni. Have they met the expectations? Read on. 

Anthony D'Souza utilises Akshay's star power to his best in his latest venture Boss. The dialogues are flattering to the actor. Having chosen to watch this movie after watching the trailers, you cannot possibly have expected a thought-provoking experience. This is a typical action-comedy that Akshay carries off with ease - one that entertains the masses. 

The film is a remake of Malayalam film Pokkiri Raja. Script-writers Farhad-Sajid, who have also written the dialogues, may not have presented us with an interesting story but they have given us some witty and sharp lines peppered well with humour. 

There are few funny scenes and a few that touch an emotional chord. In a sequence, Satyakant Shastri (played by Mithun Chakraborty) arrives at the doors of Boss (Satyakant's son whom he had abandoned almost several years ago and who has turned into a Robin hood style goon, essayed by Akshay Kumar). When Akshay is told his father has come to meet him, he stands in front of the mirror, combs and puts on a formal blazer over the typical-goon-style black kurta and jeans he was wearing. This one is actually a blend of funny and emotional... it's cute. 

In another comic scene, the guards that accompany Boss (Akshay Kumar) everywhere arrange themselves to make a giant sinhaasan (throne) sort of chair for the Big Boss (Boss's mentor and uncle, essayed by Danny Denzongpa). To add to the humour, the guards even make synchronised movements so that Big Boss enjoys the fun of a rocking chair!

  

The action sequences are impressive. 

There are two fight sequences that qualify for special mention for the fun quotient they add to the movie. At one point, Shiv and Akshay (who are brother) are supposed to fight in order to put the enemies off guard. Scared that he may spoil the act, Shiv says he does not know dialogues and Akshay retorts, "Yai to tum newcomers ki problem hai." (pun being in the fact that Shiv Pandit is actually a newcomer with only Shaitaan and Chashme Baddoor)

In another sequence, Akshay accompanies his father and brother (Mithun and Shiv) to a dargah in Delhi (apparently Nizammuddin) and their enemies decide to attack the trio at the dargah. To avoid the father's fury over violence, Akshay needs to fight off the enemies and save his family even as he ensures that the dad does not get to see the blood-shed.

The film has several sequences that are nonsensical and mindless, yet funny - sequences that Akshay carries off wonderfully.

As for the performances, Akshay Kumar takes the trophy but others actors score no less. While Akshay does his Rowdy bit to perfection, 

Ronit Roy effortlessly plays the utterly negative character of Ayushmann Thakur. His screen presence adds to the movie's charisma and he certainly stands parallel with Akshay's stature

For Aditi Rao Hydari, the film was a sheer waste of her talent as she did not have much to do.

In one scene, Aditi's misogynistic brother advises the girl to stay indoors and watch television. "Tata Sky has 200 channels," he tells her. "If you, too, have a DTH connection, stay home and watch AXN."  

One interesting dialogue Ronit mouths is worth mentioning. The actor says in a sequence: "Bharosa to mai apne baap ke baap hone ka b nai karta. (I do not even trust my dad to be my father!)"

You may not find a serious, intelligent plot here but you will certainly have fun watching the gravity-defying fight sequences. As Akshay claimed at a promotional event for the movie, "Boss is one of the best Indian action movies as there are no graphics or VFX that were used. Here, you see real, man to man fight." 

Watch it for Akshay's style, comedy and the other actors' performances. Watch it for fun, but if intellectual stimulation if what you are looking for, skip Boss. 

Sakshum has adopted a new school in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. This is the first school in northern India to be adopted by the NGO. 
Adarsh Prathmik Pathshala" in sector 21 Noida has 330 students. It is government school. 
To mark the adoption and celebrate the noble deed, Sakshum organises a programme on Oct 2nd, Gandhi Jayanti. 
Games and activities will be conducted for the children followed by prize distribution and refreshements. 

Before the adoption of the school, it had 4 teachers. All of the students come from the neighborhood, most of them being kids of daily wage workers in the region. The students were not being charged any fee and any child is allowed to register in the school any day throughout the year. The school receives a government aid that is too less to provide for the necessary facilities. 

Sakshum aims to work for improving the conditions of the school. For starters, Sakshum will get new carpets for school functions, toilet cleaning equipments to ensure proper sanitation and new vessels for mid-day meals.

The NGO also plans to incorporate computer teaching in the curriculum, bringing in the required trainers as well as the equipments. Sakshum will also set up a parents' helpline for the school. 

For further details, visit

http://www.sakshum.org/ui/page/AdarshPrathmikSchoolAdoption.jsp

बारिश

हर बूंद बारिश की एक आहट ले के आती है
एक बार यूँ ही प्यार की बारिश में तुमने मुझे भिगोया था
तब विश्वास दिलाया था की मुझे समझते हो, मेरे जज़्बात समझते हो 
और आज जब फिर वी बारिश आई तो तुम कहते हो यूँ भीगना अच्छा नहीं?
की युँ भीगती हुई मैं अच्छी नहीं......
इस बरसात ने मेरे रगों को छु कर कहा....अब वो प्यार नही रहा......न तुम ही वो रहे...न हम ही वो रहे...........

औरत की कीमत

उसने युँ ही राह चलते मेरी कामत तय कर दी....
मैं बीवी हूँ....मुझे किचन के काम में तोला गया....
हर वक्त के ईंतज़ाम में तोला गया....
मैं बहु हूँ......मुझे दहेज में तोला गया....
मैं बहन भी थी मगर मुझे वहाँ भी तोला गया...
और तब जब मैं प्रेमिका थी,......तब भी.....
अक्सर किसी मोड पर आ कर मेरी कीमत तय की गई....
मानों हर कदम...एक तवायफ और मुझमें......बस कीमतें अलग  अलग थीं.........
युँ तवायफ है भी क्या......मर्द की ज़रुरत का  सामान.....वो तो हर एक औरत है....