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It’s quite interesting that in the week leading to the seventh anniversary of 9/11, we had three Hindi films releasing on the theme of terrorism, namely, ‘A Wednesday’, ‘Tahaan’ and ‘Hijack’.

As Naseer’s “Common Man” ranted passionately on his helplessness, his supposed impotence and his desire to ‘answer’ at the end of ‘A Wednesday’, I reflected on the progression of two graphs which it represented. Firstly, that of the “Common Man” – an image of whom is indelibly inked in our mind by the peerless R.K. Laxman. The “Common Man”, as an observer, with his bemused and often ironical view about the state of affairs had suddenly transformed to the “Common Man” as the playmaker who runs the game and holds a city to ransom. Secondly, ‘A Wednesday’ coming on the back of a surfeit of ‘terrorism linked movies’ in the year seemed to close the loop on what I consider …

23 hours in transit! I step out of the airport with visions of my bed floating in front of my eyes. I take the cab and prepare myself for the 55 kms journey home at the crack of the dawn. The cabbie looks at me from the rear view mirror and I give him my address. That one look should have alerted me. No, he didn’t look like an RGV extra. It was the look of a man warming up to his day and intent on making me a part of the same.

No sooner had I settled down than I was made painfully aware of infinite loops (this is, after all, Bangalore) and Nietzschian eternal recurrences through the mellifluous voice of Himesh “Naak Naak Naaking on Heaven’s Doors” Reshamiyya. I understood what I had seen in the cabbie’s eyes when he had stared back at me – aural murder. Being …

“South has a propensity to elect film stars as their Chief Ministers.”
- TV News Anchor, circa May, 1996

“Chiranjeevi is starting a new party; remember, South has a historical tendency to vote in favor of film stars.”
- Senior Editor, prominent TV News channel, 2 weeks ago

“Yeh film stars ko vote de dete hain. Aise state ka karoge kya?”
- Overheard during a discussion on TN politics

I greeted the news of Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi starting a political party of his own with a lot of enthusiasm. I am not a registered member of his fans’ association nor do I think, unlike his fans, that he has answers to all the problems of the state of Andhra Pradesh. Also, please discount those hoary five years between ’89-’94 when I saw every Chiru movie without understanding a word. Yes, my friends, my eyes have witnessed the Jebu Donga, Manchi Donga, State Rowdy, Gang Leader, …

A lot of discussion has happened on PFC pages about alleged pseudos kowtowing to Hollywood/World Cinema and assorted issues of sophistication and tastes. I think it’s time we start serious analysis of Hindi cinema to ensure an even keel in any future ‘Anatomy of Scene’ discussions on these pages. After umpteen requests from millions around the world, I, humbly, take the leadership role in this battle for restoring pride in Hindi cinema (this is where I and Rahul Gandhi diverge in our values who turns a blind eye to Arjun Singh’s requests).

Somewhere in the first hour of Iqbal Durrani�s magnum opus Khuddar (Govinda, Karishma), there�s a scene which has remain etched in my memory. A scene where my samosa clutching hand remained suspended in mid air as celluloid magic took over. Govinda, playing a tough cop, �Inispektar Siddhant� or something of that ilk, takes Karishma to task for dancing …

No! Wait a moment. Don�t judge this post by its title. The purpose of many a lives (and posts) is to make others look better. You ask for example? Ok, Tusshar Kapoor! My Wheel of Time posts serve the same purpose. Just as you are letting off some steam on the Roshans in one post and damning YRF in another, here comes this post which you can conveniently ignore. But you shouldn�t. Read it to understand how a post shouldn�t take itself too seriously or how to write a pedantic post. The purpose of all this is to let ordinary readers know that into each life some rain should fall. And they also serve who wait and bore. So, readership be damned, I have a greater purpose in life (God made me for a purpose et al) which is to dispense such wisdom to all of you. Here we …