Cinema, Politics and the People

The year 2017 ends with a thumping start to movie “Tiger Zinda Hai” which is expected to smash many Bollywood records, a common trend for Salman Khan's films. On the other hand BJP finished this year by winning Gujrat elections for the sixth time in a row thanks to charisma of our PM Mr. Narendra Modi.

When we look at Indian Cinema ,it is largest Film industry in the world both in terms of number of tickets sold as well as number of movies produced. But what raise eyebrows over the quality of Indian Cinema, that despite of having so many films to boast of, Oscar prizes have eluded Bollywood for long. There is no denying that quality of Indian Cinema is inferior to that of Hollywood. Many accuses Indian cinema of being stereo type and producing vulgar comedies and love stories with almost no logics and creativity. After all, Movies are not only a way of entertainment rather they are also instrumental in shaping the minds of younger ones. I can still recall people going gaga over Salman Khan hair style in “Tere-Naam”, and college students driving bikes with new found skills after “Dhoom”, and the change of perception towards sports after “ChakDe! India”. So movie-makers can’t get away from their responsibility of creating a meaning-full cinema.

Talking of Indian politics which boast of being epicenter of Indian Democracy is often accused of being corrupt, non-performing and wicked. Increasing population, illiteracy, Crime rates, inflation etc are some of the key indicators of Indian politics, where the basic agendas food, cloth and shelter are successfully replaced by caste, religion and region. and I must say every party is good in these gimmicks. So, these politicians and their evil tactics is what stopping India from becoming a developed country. right?

If you will see closely Both, Cinema & politics run on the same framework i.e. exploit the feeling of peoples, they serve whatever pleases public for instances, there was a dozen of movies produced after the Kargil war in 1999 as the people were emotionally attached with the army. Similarly every party loves to talk about “Ram Mandir” issue as most of us are either emotionally attached or interested in it more than issues such as growing population and increasing poverty. Actually these people are not that vicious as much we accused them of, they are just delivering what we are ordering, If Box-office collections of Judwaa-2 is far more than of Newton, they don't have an option but to drift towards the former one. Similarly when people with criminal records wins it certainly discourages the people and political parties with cleaner image to contest the next election with changed value system.

Issue is We, the people of India show dual nature, we prefer voting to person of our caste creed and religion or the one who promises us the freebies and watches movies that shows either the nudity or their favorite stars with action scenes defying gravity, on the other hand we criticize these people after the elections of non performing and the movies of not being at par with the Hollywood.

We need to understand, We are the one that creates the monster within the society, We are the ones who loves to watch movies on basis of the songs and the stars rather than the script. We don’t evaluate our politicians and our film stars instead we start worshipping them and that’s the point where we go wrong, the very reason nepotism is prominent in Indian Politics and the Indian Cinema where Kapoors and Gandhi have rules since their beginning.

We need to understand our powers, and we also need to control ourselves in expressing our opinion. If any movie or a party is threat to any culture or community it will not be able to survive for long if the people of this country use their rights with unbiased minds. Sooner or later they schema of luring people will fail and they will be thrown out of the system. Sincerely hope that soon we will see that era and we will be able to see movies like “Bridge of spies” will not only be made in India, but also released with no protest and bans and elections will be fought on genuine issues like poverty, unemployment and environment. 

Happy New Year!

#7:Not Ok with PK....

It was spring of 2008....tomorrow was my maths board exam, I was preparing hard for it. I had completed almost all chapters. All there was left to do was revision. In evening I thought to arrange my box and started to collect all the necessary mathematical tools like divider,compass etc..Suddenly I realised that I don't have my admit card, and at the same moment I paled at the thought that what would happen if i couldn't trace my admit card back.I informed my family immediately and the very moment emergency was declared . Everybody explored the every corner of house but couldn't find that and in this process we were at dawn....I had an board exam after 3 hours.I started crying and praying to god and father asked me to dress up so that we can reach the exam centre early and find out alternate option. Somehow the center incharge was convinced to allow me to appear and in the mean time they would find my admit card. I gave the exam under the threat of being expelled from that room any moment. But somehow they found my admitcard in the exam center itself as I have left that in the previous exam. In the end all went good but in that moment of crisis who was there with me?? I was never a boy who worshiped a lot and went to temple before exam but when I was in exam hall sitting alone, there was only one thing that was convincing me that everything would be fine..and yes no prize for guessing that thing was so called hypothetical god..which are reported to be missing or you can say Laapata in our very own Aamir Khan blockbuster movie "PK".

I know he didn't wanted to hurt any sentiments, He wasn't even doubting existence of god. He was just unhappy with the rituals, and simply high lightning the malpractices going in name of religion. But I would like to know one thing, why we are showing the bad aspects of every religion?? why we are spreading negativity in our society?? Don't we already know how bad the other religion is....other than our own.

This is not the first movie to do so.we have another one "OMG" which shows the same thing. and we can digest one on the account of covering every issue in our versatile Bollywood. but we shouldn't make it a trend because you know people here are not so mature. they are only intelligent enough to laugh at the jokes but they seldom get the message conveyed actually. 

Another important aspect is that in every religion there are some debatable practices that doesn't mean we should abandon that religion and become atheist. This will be just like a person not happy with the government way of working is leaving the country because in this world nothing is perfect if you are not happy with it change it instead of telling others that look I found a fault in the system and creating havoc among people. I know the directors and the actor of movie are not the caretaker of country.they are just for entertainment but with crores of followers you people have certain responsibility, you have to carry that in a responsible manner.

Our world is full of problem's and negativity what I urge you people is not to highlight the problems instead highlight the solution and going by the history many religion have originated from time to time to make a better society, yet today all fall into the same category. So the solution is to repair the existing system, so that gap between poor and rich can be minimised and I would request the youth of the country to do a close study on their respective religion and to understand the basic teaching of that and I have deep trust that they will find a logic behind each and every ritual which were supposed to be performed by any person with all terms and condition. and if you don't want to use your mind so much I request you to don't make a conclusion out of movie likes "PK" and better start watching "Pogo"..:-)

                                                                                                  Gangeshwar Tripathi

#6:An Anonymous Student

Some times we realise that we didn't got what we deserved. I am sure that you would have also gone through that phase when you felt so low that you even put a question mark on your ability which once were the spinal cord of your success. This gruesome question crossed ma mind a few days back when a company visited and some students got selected at good package while some other students who had a habit of outclassing the latter bunch for the past 4 years were reeling at a low package firm.

Now they are brooding,what went wrong?? why they are suffering at the end of day??

first thing I would like to say to these people is "It is not the end of day".To be true its the starting of your life. it doesn't matter from where you start,what matters most is you speed. Sooner or later you will achieve what you deserve.Maybe he got lucky today that doesn't mean he will do better than you for the rest of your life.One thing everybody should understand that between two points you can always draw a line. what i am trying to convey is that there is always a way through which you can reach your goal from your current position. what you have to do is to find that way and start walking on that.

Comparing is the the second thing on which people should reappraise their views. You should compare only for getting what qualities you lacked than your friends. It should never be a source of depression or jealousy.Alas the latter case is abundantly found among youths. Somebody gets a better job doesn't means that he got lucky or you are a failure, it means that it was just not your day it also give you hint to you do some self assessment and find out what areas you were lacking.

See we have got a long life and since we are at the door of our professional world we should make sure that we have evolved not only technically but also mentally.We should be prepare to withstand the trauma of failure and the joy success with same ease. We have to understand that sometimes we don't get what the results we were hoping for, but that doesn't mean that we should stop working.

 Its a long journey one or two hiccups will not matter what will matter is the way we achieved it and one thing i can assure you that the more problems you faced, the more rejection you dealt with, will bring more suspense and happiness to your grandchildrens when you will narrate your life story to them. Imagine that day, I hope you will get the zeal and energy to stand and start walking towards your goal.

#5 Days Of Our Lives

I still remember those childhood days when we used to wish that "Please God Somehow cut the power",and being in 90s our wish was successfully granted by state electricity board and the moment light went off, a melodious roar of children from each and every house sums up to thank god and also to tell their counterparts that it's time to play our famous and favourite game like luka-chupi & ice-water. In those days moonlight was sufficient enough to help u say dhappi...We knew every child within two three streets as we used to play tournaments of various games ranging from Pithu to Chain to Cricket and even Posam-Pa on Sunday.


Talking of Sunday.There used to be situation like curfew at 9 am when "Krishna" used to be aired.Personally, my sunday morning used to start with the sounds of songs from rangoli. You can't accuse me that I keep playing all day in the evening, as when our parents (by hook or crook) force us to study we used to read champak by hiding it under social science book. The smell of a newly bought books had always been a inspiration to study.



School were also dangerous those days especially on monday and wednesday when everyone has to come in white dress. Although that wasn't the scariest part the hard thing was to keep your white shoes clean,as the ones who didn't come with the clean one used to apply a layer of chalk on it.In those times we used to respect teacher so much that even a scolding by them used to bring tears in our eyes.
Those lunch sharing moments,and the feeling after getting an excellent in the test will always remain cherishable.

In those times, we always wanted to be sick,so that we can get more attention than our siblings.
Stealing sweets were our favourite past time along with collecting cards which came free with center fresh. Barter System existed in those times as u can get one comics in exchange of others.Maybe social networking was not present still we used to have more than 20 friends, who kept inviting us in their birthday parties.Talking of Birthday,they were not so costly in those times as you can celebrate it with a packet of Kismi Bar with an added privilege of going to school wearing a colorful dress with no headache of homework.

Those were the times when the only serious problems we used to face were, when our ball got stuck in some sewage line or on the verandah of an arch-rival Aunty and when we used to forget our H.W copy in class.

There are so many things which remind me of that indelible great era in which we spent our initial days and also provoke me to wonder that, whether those days were the Best?? or Best is yet to come?. The answer to this eternal question can never be found. But I sincerely wish that every child in coming generation will go through all these "Choti Choti Magar Moti Bate" and will interact with his friends in the parks instead of sticking to the quite addicting video games and social networking sites.

                                                                                                Gangeshwar Tripathi

#4 Be The Change You Want

Nowadays everybody especially people of my age group are busy gearing up for placement battle ahead, those who got one are aiming for better one.Considering the calibre of these people and the companies expectation, I firmly believe that every one will get a job offer despite of India's unemployment problems.

So the real battle in a person's life is not to just join a company rather it starts after joining it. The whole boss scenario,of which we have been trolling so far comes into picture.That's how your corporate life starts, where you face the challenge of differentiating yourself from others so as to make some impact on your boss. I have seen many of my seniors who joined the company with enormous zeal and enthusiasm, but slowly with time they got bored & frustrated. I talked with many of them and discovered that these people are frustrated since they are not getting enough credits for their work.They go on to say that in some cases even we have got more knowledge than our boss or project head or lead, still they face the heat if anything goes wrong. If you observe closely, you will find that many people quit their respective jobs and start putting their effort in other directions like civil services,or starting their own business due to this aforesaid reason. But majority of people continue their disappointing corporate life due to their own reasons.

Now a serious question arises, whether this approach of disapproving your boss is right??, Since you and your boss are different person the contradiction of thoughts will definitely occur, and since he is at the higher level he will be the person to take the final call. Therefore its your choice to whether support his decision or to oppose him. A wiser would go on supporting, but some people would differ because of their moral values and ego.It's a minuscule problem. The situation goes worse when your boss gives promotion to your colleague instead of you,who actually deserved it, and the only reason you could figure out is that both share a list of irrelevant activities like gossiping,drinking,smoking etc.

So what an honest,skilled employee should do? I still think the best way to deal with this problem is to communicate more with your boss,I will also suggest to bend your values and ideology to a certain extent, it might hurt your ego. But you will be promoted and that is the big thing,the thing that matters most at that point of time. 

When you reach at your destined position then re-evaluate your past situation and there might be chances that you will feel differently and may support your boss behavior and gladly if not, treat the person under you,the way you wanted yourself to be treated. That way you will rebuilt the Boss image and will save a debutante from the frustrating life you had to face.

All this may sound a bit filmy.But the key point is that we keep on cursing people who are above us.But when we get a chance to be at the same level, we keep all our ethics,moral values aside and start behaving in the same way as our predecessors.

Hence what we should really do is control and preserve our anger towards the practices,proceedings going in the societies and should bend ourselves to face it so that we can reach our destination and after getting there we can use that anger and determination to bring the change, we wanted in our very own society. 

For people like us(students),who take interest and have views on our cricket team as well as our current political scenario, we need to bring a change in us. We are the people who have the time to discuss all these things because as we will grow up, we will be absorbed in our work . It's our duty to find the flaws in the society and make a note of them and when we hold a position we should eradicate that flaw from our society.

It will make our society a better place day by day.

                                                                                                       Gangeshwar Tripathi

#3: India Beyond Bangladesh

I still remember that day,I was watching Baba Ramdev's protest at Ramleela Maidan when a friend of mine called in the eve to inform me that AIEEE results have been declared. Since a lot was at stake on that result, I quickly took my motorcycle to nearest internet cafe. Results were not good, I got gloomy AIR 22696. Now I had to decide, whether I should join a state engineering college or opt for NIT brand. The latter option means I should be ready to go the so called remote area of our country i.e either J&K or Northeast India. At that time I reluctantly opted NIT Agartala.

Since then I never feel that I am staying away from home unless I go to my hometown Bhopal, where I am treated like I am living outside this country.Everybody keeps asking that how you manage there, how frequently violence occur there and no matter how much I tell them that it is quite a nice and peaceful place, they console me with the sympathy that don't worry just survive four years and you will do well for the rest of your life. And this is not just the case of neighbours. This witless thinking prevails from Vodafone customer executive to training officer of NHDC, where I completed my summer training.

Today after spending about 4 years in this place, I realised why people think that northeast is not a good place to visit, it's unsafe there.It is because that these people don't have proper knowledge about this part of country.

Just to crosscheck my blunt views,just go to the main part of India and ask any educated person if he wants to go to Tripura(or any north eastern state) for his studies or business purpose and I am quite sure that most of them will say that it is too far and too risky to go there. Then you just hand him the map of India and ask him to locate any place of northeast,again I can assure you that sadly they will not be able to locate the position of seven states.

So what I have been trying to convey for so long is that the condition in these remote area is not so bad as we think. Actually the situation and people living here are satisfied than many of the people in metro city.This ignorance about northeast is not the problem of common people only but it is also the thinking of media and politicians.Few people know that Tripura has the highest literacy rate among all states in India, still they go on saying that people living in northeast don't know how to live as their food habits are a bit different.

People argue that the geographical features of North East are a big obstacle in developing this area. But for your information the current meter gauge railway track was built by Britishers in 1899. After that it took us 115 years to make a decision to upgrade it. Here arises the million dollar question why the whole mass including government,media person doesn't bother to even think about the people living here.Why a chain snatching case in Delhi is more highlighted then the rape case of Guwahati ??, Assam faces flood every year due to mighty Brahmaputra how many people know that?? Lets ask the capital of seven sister states,do you think the people who are living in mainland will be able to tell even two?
People also say that it is hard to reach in those places since there are no means of transport then I would give a big round of applause to the telecom and beverages companies because you can find their product in every place of northeast even where population density is lower then 100 person per sq km.

What I would request my reader that we live in an era where gaining information is quite easy, Before really making an opinion about a place make sure that you know it well. The beauty of northeast is not from any angle less alluring than that of places like Kashmir and Shimla.

I know there are some burning issues in Assam and other part of north east but it keep happening in every part of country,but just by saying incredible India and doing nothing for these people, we can't achieve the integrity.We need to make sure that these beautiful people living here never feel that they are being ignored.

Ending this note with a wish that someday Indians will change their perception towards northeast and will accept these lovely people instead of calling them chinese & nepalese. As in northeast alone about 220 languages are spoken with about half of the floura and fauna variation found in our country comes from this place. It is even said that the fashion sense in Shillong is 10 years ahead of our bollywood,and who can forget the contribution of "Gorkha regiment" in all the wars India have been ever engaged in.Considering all these facts I think we need North East part of our country to be on same level as rest of the country so that we can move forward as "INCREDIBLE INDIA".

                                                                                                            

                                                                                          Gangeshwar Tripathi

#2 Being Ethical

Whenever a child leaves his home for the first time,most of the parents hand their wards a do's and don'ts list. Also when you are just about to leave your father will call you to give you his blessings and will utter a simple line"Never do anything which will bring bad name to our family" or we can say in short that do your work with honesty.

This same incident also happened with me and at that time i easily said yes father don't worry about it,have trust in me.Now after studying four year of engineering. Yesterday one of my friend Mr Arun suggested me to be ethical always.After that moment I did a self evaluation to find how honest,ethical,dedicated i am?
To my surprise i found myself a very honest person as i never did anything intentionally to hurt anyone,but at the same time when i look at it from other person perspective i find myself guilty in many occasions.So there arises a complication that what is the line which decides what is good & what is bad,up to how much level u can bend your values to make yourself suitable for the society.

People and books says that you should never do such things which will harm even one person in this world, and i totally agree with that but what about those cases in which the person committing crime doesn't know about the effect of his work. let me clarify my views with e.g of a person selling pirated cd's or a marketing person telling lie about his products. Are these unethical??

If we think they are unethical then take a close look and what you will find that they are just doing their work with full honesty. So what makes them a sinner?? Is it the fault they commit by choosing their respective jobs even in that case if they haven't opted for that job someone else would have gladly taken that job in a world full of unemployed peoples. If you are thinking of switching your views by going back and blaming those companies whose employee does that, sorry to say but in my opinion again you are wrong because they are MNCs they face a stiff competition from their rivals.
So whom we should blame, since something illegal,unethical has been done so someone should be judged responsible for that.Isn't it??

Lets come to reality now,all we were discussing earlier was theoretical. In practical world it's the values and the upbringing of a man that decides what is unethical for a person i.e if a orphan hungry child steals packet of bread from a shop it is not a sin but a clerk in government office even accepting a single penny in exchange of his service is unethical.This is how we should judge a person and should give them penalty, but unfortunately in this world almost all law follow a book in which those theoretical methods are applied to determine the level of crime.
This situation provoke me to wonder sometime that whether the monarchy system was better than nowadays democratic one. In those times the judge(King) declares his decision after understanding the thrust that inspired the person to that particular illegal act rather then just applying Indian Penal Code section 378 etc....

Well that is the problem at high level, we as person can't change it. But as a honest citizen of India we should ensure that we scrutinize our every work once in a day and make sure that whatever we do, we do it in the best interest of our family and the whole mankind.
                                                                                                Gangeshwar Tripathi