RAJNI- The Superstar

I initially wanted to call this piece -‘Sivaji-The Boss’. But lest people misunderstand and come to their own conclusions about whom/what I am talking about and for the underlying fear that I have developed for Airtel since the Lakshmana Kailash episode, I have referred to the protagonist of this piece by his popular name. (Airtel - Please note that I do not use your internet service :) )

Since my childhood, I have grown up on a staple diet of Rajni flicks. It is mind numbing to imagine the craze, excitement and euphoria that this man can generate among people (within and outside of both his fan community and our country).
I was in Boston when his latest blockbuster - ‘Sivaji’ was released. I was amazed when I learnt from one of my colleagues (who is a native of Boston) that even 15 days into its release - he could not get a ticket to the movie and that the first few days saw tickets being sold in black for about 5-10 times its cost! I was also surprised at the amount of national press and air time that was devoted to his movie. No wonder that the movie’s release was termed a festival of sorts in Tamil Nadu and his fans went into a tizzy.

Rajni is a mega brand. He sells across all ages, genders and continents. You do not need to understand the language to understand or enjoy his movies - his gravity defying stunts, fire power in his shoes, feet that possess tornado creating abilities, a bullet that retraces its path/ a bullet that can be sliced into two by a razor, the flick of the cigarette, the tossing of the coin, the revolver changing hands ala a Hrithik dance routine, his muscle power, his dance sequences are enough stuff to keep you hooked to him. And for those who understand the language - his dialogues, his action and his comic timing is enough feed for entertainment.

I still remember the goose bumps :) that I got while watching one of the scenes in his movie - Padayappa. It was the post-interval scene where Rajni goes to meet Ramya Krishna (the antagonist) to ask her nephews hand in marriage to his daughter. Before he comes into the living room, she has all the chairs removed. The director evokes a momentary sense of anticipation/suspense as to where would Rajni sit. Then, Rajni enters the room, looks around, walks a couple of steps, uses his shawl and pulls down a bundled up “joolah” and sits on it like a king on his throne (all this accompanied by an exhilarating background score by Rahman).
One of the other things I enjoy in his movies is one of the first slides - where the letters ‘RAJNI’ come flying by accompanied with stars and a theme that sounds straight out of a ‘Bond’ movie.
I also remember a fellow student who distributed sweets in our hostel mess on the occasion of the release of one of Rajni’s movies.

His movies may not necessarily appeal to the artistic, thoughtful or critical set of movie goers; the underlying theme in all his movies may seem similar, some may have no element of logic or may not be realistic. But all this not withstanding, he still is the ‘Superstar’ - he can influence thousands, entertain millions and ring crores at the box-office.

Let me end this piece with a typical thalaivar style punch dialog- “Rajni is an experience that you don’t want to miss. You have got to feel it to know it!! “
or "Pera keta chumma adharadhu ille!" :)

HEY RAM!

A few months ago, Bangalore played host to an event where a congregation that was a few lakh strong had convened. Ram Bhakths from various localities of Bangalore had to take out a procession from their respective zones towards the meeting area. The city was abound with saffron flags and banners as well as life size cut outs of the Lord. But the ‘RAM’ I saw in those cut outs were not the ones I am accustomed to seeing in temples: the one with his consort and brother on either side and his devotee at his feet. This was “RAM-The Warrior”, well armored, prepared to avenge the wrong doings of his enemies and his façade replete with anger and restlessness. I happened to witness the procession that was winding through the main streets in my locality and this is what I noticed. The so called devotees, their foreheads resplendent with vermillion, sporting saffron headbands, with high decibel chanting of ‘RAM’ and occupying the entire road were being led by a ‘sword brandishing’ zealot. The procession made me feel terribly insecure. The militant aggressiveness that was wrought on the faces of the people taking out the procession produced an air of uneasiness and tension. If I, an entity who according to this society, happens to belong to the same clan as ‘RAM’ could feel so insecure, what about my brethren who do not belong to the same tribe as mine? How much more insecure should they feel?

Now, let me present the context. Saddam Hussein, the erstwhile dictator of Iraq was executed in his homeland. In a place called Bangalore in the distant lands of India, political activists belonging to Saddam’s community had organized a meeting to condemn his killing. After the meeting, enraged and saddened by the fate met out to their hero-Saddam, his followers vent their anger by destroying the saffron flags/hoardings/banners that were put up by another community for their conclave scheduled to happen a few days later. The “maa-ke-doodh piya hua” people that we all are, retaliation is a part of our natural instincts and we never seem to let go of any such opportunity that may come our way. So, fight back it was. The deal that was settled for was - a reply to every burnt/destroyed saffron flag/banner/hoarding would be a burnt vehicle/a ransacked shop/a terrified household of the other community. Well, the vicious cycle of attack/counter attack by the two communities in question continued for a few days until a combination of the iron fist of the law (really??) and the upper hand of the saner elements of both communities brought things to a relative state of stability and control. Nevertheless, tension and anxiety were writ large on the faces of people belonging to both communities.

Given this context, how could the establishment (Government/Police et al.) allow one of the communities in question to continue with their planned procession/conclave to be executed as scheduled? Why should the procession be allowed in those areas that were communally tense just a few days ago? Common sense would tell us that this would open another Pandora’s Box. But the procession, with all its vigor and communally/emotionally/fanatically flared tempers did happen and no surprises in the end result - another series of attacks and counter-attacks.

Well, we have seen similar drama unfold in its various avatars and intensities at various times and places in our country. Looking back at these events, I thought that there could be several reasons for this - lack of education, decaying moral fiber, bubbling resentment on the lookout for a vent, inequality or political motivation.

You don’t need to go to school to learn that you should not hurt another living being; No scripture teaches you to hurt others; Your abject situation will not improve by causing harm to others; Those who use you as pawns in their games will have the last laugh - it is you and people who are similar to you who will suffer.

Our constitution proclaims that we are all alike in the eyes of the law-irrespective of race, religion, caste, color or gender and we boast of our secular credentials to the external world. If this is the case, why do you have a column that reads “Religion” in most application forms; including that for admissions to a nursery class? Why do you have to publish census results that divide people on religious lines? Why should religion be a basis for anything at all -except for the fact that you are born into a family that believes in a certain celestial force with a certain identity?

RAMA or AMAR - we are all alike; Let us be human’s first, religious followers next; If the Lord were to be amidst us and looks at what we have done to ourselves, he himself would exclaim ‘HEY RAM!!’

Mixed Doubles

Feature these events that have unfolded over the last couple of months…..

Shilpa Shetty goes to the reality show ‘Big Brother’, a certain ‘Goody’ gets “jaded” with her and throws tantrums at her with a liberal sprinkling of “beeped” phrases;
Subsequent Action --> An entire country awakens from its slumber, cries “foul” and “racism” gets a makeover.

A bomb explodes in the Samjhauta Express killing scores of people and leaving hundreds injured and devastated.
Subsequent Action --> A probe is ordered; Countries hurl/deny accusations; Compensation given to the kin of the dead; the world joins in the ‘We hate terrorism” chorus;

Now compare the above events with these…

Members of a family are brutally raped and burnt down at Khirlanji village in India, the biggest democracy on the face of the planet for the sole reason that the family belonged to the so-called ‘out-castes’ or Dalit fraternity.
Subsequent Action --> A probe is ordered; The remaining members of the family are threatened of dire consequences; The guilty are still at large.

The students from backward sections of the society are shunned by the other classes at even premier institutions like the AIIMS;
Subsequent Action --> The Dean orders a probe; Students confuse their anti-reservation feelings with this; The student from the backward class is left to fend for himself.

A 4 year old kid gets mauled by a pack of dogs at Bangalore and is killed.
Subsequent Action --> The BMP goes on a stray dog culling spree.

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Each of these events seem to portray a character that is inherent in most of us- what i prefer to call ‘Chameleonism’ – the trait of having double standards in things that we profess and things that we do. What is applicable to another man – another family – another race – another country – another species is not applicable to you – your family – your race – your country – your species.

Casteist feelings are still prevalent in 21st century India – more so in the rural hinterland than the urban localities; Haven’t we often come across situations where a person is identified/recognised by his caste/religion/class/profession rather than his name/individuality?

Our pseudo patriotism/ solidarity seems to find no bounds…We tend to become hyper sensitive for trivial issues (the Shilpa episode being a case in point where she ended up as the sole winner – richer by a few million pounds along with global empathy and recognition) while serious issues seem to be getting a miss (the problem of immigrant workers in UK, the Khirlanji killings, the Godhra’s, the Ayodhya’s and the like)

A few stray dogs kill a kid and the repercussions are felt by the entire population of stray dogs;
A few terrorists/ anti social elements kill a few hundred people and the repercussion being the rhetoric, “We shall teach these anti social elements a lesson”. Well, when/how is it going to happen, if at all?

If Shylock were to be alive today and if he were to be a victim of these terrorizations,
this is what he would have probably said

“Do I not have eyes? Do I not have hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Am I not fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a terrorist is? If a terrorist pricks me, do I not bleed? If a terrorist tickles me, do I not laugh? If a terrorist poisons me, do I not die? And if a terrorist wrongs me, shall I not take revenge? If a dog wrong a human being, what is the human being’s humility? Revenge! Cull the species out!! If a terrorist wrong a normal human being, what should his sufferance be by the example of the dog? Why, revenge it will be!
The villainy the terrorist teaches me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.”

Well, when we can take a tough stance against the menace of dogs, why cannot we do the same against terrorists? Its simply because the resistance you might face or the effort/will required to eliminate the dogs is negligible when in comparison to weeding out human irritants from our society.

All this is a manifestation of the larger attribute inherent in the human personality – the capability to play “Mixed doubles” – where we have multiple facets to our personality – choosing to highlight that facet/ mix of facets that is most beneficial to us in a given setting while the rest go into hibernation.