25 Years of Dil Chahtha Hai

Bollywood has gone to the gutters. I cannot recall the last time I was in a theatre to watch a Hindi language bollywood movie; it was probably 3 Idiots , back in 2009. Its surprising that despite being the industry that makes the worlds highest number of movies, the bulk of what is produced is essentially garbage. Is there a hope for something better ?

Well, 25 years ago , a movie did release, which gave us a glimpse of an alternative future. It made us think, made us cry, made us laugh. But mostly it made us dream. Despite being headlined by 3, top nepo-baby actors of the time, and being the directorial debut of another product of nepotism, it captured lightning in a bottle. Showed us that it is possible to create simple movie, with simple themes, without the need for flashy commercial ingredients.

That movie was Dil Chatha Hai.

A slice of life movie about three urban, rich , college graduate friends living in Bombay, this movie was a breath of fresh air (especially considering it took place in the city). While staying grounded in the reality of the time, it also poked fun at contemporary cinema by playing in a few cliches ( Woh Ladkee hain kahaan comes to mind). And it surprisingly avoided the overused cliche of the love-triangle in storytelling. It featured strong, independent women characters, making their own choices, and are never sexualised in the movie. There are scenes set in clubs and touristy Goa, but there are no scenes of alcohol or drug abuse.  And it did not have a big, bad bad-guy villain , a typical role in Indian cinema of the time. Instead the obstacle the characters have to overcome are their own egos.

So it is sad that director Farhan Akthar gave us this one gem, and went back to typical indian movies with the rest of his offerings. And although the industry later gave us further movies about friendships in the city, none of them would ever come close to the nuanced story telling that is seen in DCH.

Substantial parts of the second half of DCH was shot and set in Sydney, Australia. At the time, I had no idea that I would eventually move to the very places we glimpse in Akash's loneliness. The Sydney harbour bridge, many train stations.. Martin place.. it was fun retracing those places in the city.

But the most iconic of shots and places in DCH is the chapora fort, a place relatively unknown till that time, and is now the most famous landmark of Goa.  And who can forget Akash's famous hairstlye with the goatie ?

Thank you, Farhan and team, for giving us this glimpse. And , its been 25 years, time to make another one.

Artemis - 2 : The Space Race of our time

I am just bookmarking this for myself.  

Also, this site provided the best live tracking of the mission.

https://issinfo.net/artemis

Starry Night

There is this scene from  the 2004 movie, Around the World in 80 days, where Phileas Fogg sighs that they are in the wrong place. "This is isn't science, this is art"

Some time later, he declares the Monique's work is far better than those of the other amateurs. And we get this scene:

Cracks me up everytime !

The movie might have been a box-office bomb, but for me it is one of those under-appreciated treasures from that time. It is based on a classic Jules Verne book , one which I enjoyed reading as a kid. It is an adventure comedy, which never gets serious, but does get emotional. It features star actors from the time: Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Jim Broadbent...and cameos from so many others..  Arnold Schwarzenegger , Kathy Bates, John Cleese, Owen Wilson. They got the start and the climax of the movie faithful to the original story, but everything else is just made up ! I don't think they were trying to make a faithful adaptation, but rather a fun, laugh in your seats movie very good just enjoy travelling the world in the 1870s.

But I find this particular scene extremely funny because that person in the last scene is supposed to be Vincent Van Gogh, who has put his famous painting "Starry Night" in the art museum. And I adore that painting.

That is probably the single painting every generation since the boomers will be able to identify today, simply because it is kind of everywhere now. There are cups, mugs ,t-shirts, pillows available in its design. 

And the reason this is not illegal is because the artwork is now in the public domain. Yes, Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night (1889) is in the public domain worldwide because the artist died in 1890, far exceeding the 70-year post-mortem copyright rule.

Now there are numerous paintings about the night sky, like Pissarro, Millet (who also painted a Starry Night), and Hopper's Nighthawks. But it is Van Gogh's interpretation that everyone knows of. He died the year after he painted his masterpiece, his wife apparently struggled to sell the rest of this work. It would take decades after his death for his work to gain recognition.

This is the joke that the scene in the movie above is trying to make; Phileas calling Van Gogh an amateur is point on, because at that point in history, Van Gogh's work  was yet unappreciated.

Now I am trying to recall where I saw this work and learnt about its doomed artist; I am going to venture a guess that it was in college. One of my roommates was an artist, he did pencil drawings, but he had books of great artists. He might have been the one who showed me the night. 

Neil degrasse Tyson is a fan of Gogh and the Starry Night.

       

And there are multiple songs titled "Starry starry night", my favourite being the cover by Lianne la Havas

And BBC's Dr Who had to have an episode only for Van Gogh, an episode that might have helped spread his fame among millenials.

It is clear that what captures everyone's attention is Van Gogh's distinct style, using those short brush strokes to create those circular patterns, which one cannot really see in a clear moon-lit sky. Its nothing special, its just the night sky. This is what he saw out of his little window that night, yet it is presented as a grand spectacle, using the simplest of strokes. Sure, anyone else could have done it, but it probably takes courage to break the conventional rules that others adhere to.

So tonight, when you get some time, look up at the stars, and try to see the beauty up there. 

...and also watch the movie. :D

LinkedIn is the worst social network. Here's a doco.

I quit all my social media more than a decade ago. But the place where I spent the least time online was.. on LinkedIn. Personally I felt it was the worst social media site ..ever. Having seen the linkedIn profiles of most of the folks I used to work with, it was obvious to me that their online profiles were all bogus. It is a place to brag about what you do, hoping to get your next big job.  And now , I hear the place has turned into an AI slopfest with fake jobs an fake applicants.

Someone else has took the time to make this doco, so here goes:

Remembrance Day

Nov 11 was remembrance day. It is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. Remembrance Day is celebrated with ceremonies, a one-minute silence at 11 a.m. on November 11, and the wearing of a poppy. People gather at memorials and cenotaphs, schools hold commemorations, and many tune into broadcasts of services to remember those who died in service.  

If one looks up the wikipedia page of remembrance day, it can be see that this day is observed by all commonwealth countries, which does include India. But while I was growing up there, I cannot recall this being observed any year. There is no news coverage either. The world's largest democracy is completely clueless to how close the world was to coming to an end the first time, the great war. India's flag day, observed on Dec 7, definitely has more recognition. Our history textbooks have little coverage of why this day needs to be observed too.

I grew up thinking that India did not really have any role in both of those great wars, we were too busy fighting our own battles with the British crown back then. It was only later, much later, that I got some access to books and articles on the role that at least some Indians played in both World Wars, albeit fighting for the Brits in a strange irony. Approximately 1.3 million Indian soldiers - Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and Christians - served in WW1, and 2.5 million in WW2. Participants from the Indian subcontinent won 13,000 medals, including 12 Victoria Crosses in WW1

By the way, did you know that there were already some Indians living in Australia before the First World War ? In June 1917, Private Nain Singh Sailani and Private Sarn Singh were killed in action on the Western Front. These men were among at least 12 Indian Australians who are known to have enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during the First World War. They were also the only Indian soldiers known to have been killed in action while serving as members of the AIF. Other men, such as Desanda Singh, made it through the war and returned to Australia. We may never know what motivated these men to enlist, but their stories add to the richness of Australia’s wartime history.

History is a strange subject. It is something that is always growing, as everything happening today will become history tomorrow. But the way the subject is taught in schools , especially in places like India renders it completely boring.  I remember our teachers used to prepare one line questions like : In what year did X attack Y ? Or when did this war start ? They expected the correct , once word answers, and expected students to memorise all those useless years. We are so focussed on the dates and places in history, that we miss out the real learning we should be focussed on: they mistakes people made, and what we can learn from them.

The world today would look drastically different had the wrong side won both those great wars. Anyone want to imagine a fascist planet earth ? What if the central powers had won the first world war ? That would have changed the language makeup completely. 

But the most important thing is this : We owe a un-repayable debt to those brave soldiers who marched bravely to battlegrounds , to fight on behalf of civilians all over the world. And this is why days like 11th November, and 2nd September matter. They died, so that all of us could live. And the world has learnt important lessons ;probably why we haven't had a 3rd World War yet.  

And it breaks my heart that most people alive today are so caught up in social media and news cycles, and have no idea that we can only enjoy our freedom today because many millions paid for it with their lives.

Read up on our history. So we don't have to repeat them.

https://theconversation.com/why-remembrance-of-indian-soldiers-who-fought-for-the-british-in-world-war-ii-is-so-political-86885

https://www.indianlink.com.au/remembrance-day-remembering-the-indian-australian-soldiers/