"I am the easiest guy you can have. I am the fixer..." Yes thats Michael Clayton for you. With George Clooney in the title role, this film promises a lot, and to be honest, the beginning, is as intriguing as it can get.
The opening strikes you, because a set of seemingly unrelated images keep playing to a voiceover narrative, and even the narrative hardly seems to make any sense. The opening,perhaps, is the strongest element in the film. The fragmented narrative adds an additional dimension to the film. The fragmented first half foreshadows the second, where the characters reveal themselves. The characters, their lives, are fragmented and flawa. The protagonist is a 'fixer' who mends the holes in the seemingly fluent fabric of an affluent law firm. But the man cannot mend his own problems...cards. Yes.cards are his problem.
The use of cards is yet another piece of clever symbolism by the director/scriptwriter.The three main characters in the film-Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson and George Clooney form the Queen, King and the Jack of the fast crumbling enterprise.
The film to an extent questions the dichotomy between sanity/insanity. Tom Wilkinson plays an ageing janitor who is defending "UNorth", a GM food corporation, against a class action. But as the case unfolds, he realises that he is on the wrong side of the fence.ANd his seemingly insane actions become a sore point for the corporation. Much in the same fashion as Toba Tek Singh ( Toba Tek Singh, Saadat Hasan Manto), the janitor, through in seemingly insane actions brings to the fore the corrupt nature of 'normal' men. Wilkinson pulls off a stunning performance, in a film that seems to be tailor made for Clooney(George Clooney was also the Executive Producer for the film!)
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A note of apology
The review is incomplete, and too late! Readers are welcome to append!
The blue sky slowly melted into a murky black
and the stars shivered in the distance
the wind howled as if in a trance
and as the dew drops seeped in through the cracks
I chased your shadows in the streets
and to the winds, whispered your name
everything is, as it was
everything is kept the same.
I really loved you,
and i think, you did too.
So, would you pay a 150 bucks to watch a saas-bahu saga unfold over a four hour long period. I doubt you would. Ashutosh Gowariker's magnum opus is just that, if not worse.
The film begins with the great Mughal dynasty in turmoil, and the young 14 year old Akbar is entrusted with the responsibilty of realising his father's dream- establish a 'hukumat-e-hindustan'. With Berham Khan as his mentor, the young mughal, begins his campaign...The Battle of Panipat. Inspired from The Gladiator, the battle sequence neither has the magnitude nor the grandeur of the former. The same can be said of the climax, when Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar takes on his 'baaghi' brother-in-law Sharifuddin, in a one to one fight. With Hector-Achilles duel, forming the inspiration, this sequnence too promises to light up a rather dull film, but hardly manages to create a second of tension. The sequence fails because of its foregone conclusion, and this is true of the entire film.
Perhaps, that is what is surprising...Yes, the film fails to surprise you throughout its four hour long run, a clear indication of the weak screenplay. The wicked (god) mother in law cannot tolerate the the King getting cosy with his Queen, and so she sows the seed of jealousy in the King's mind. Akbar spots his beloved Jodha with a stranger, and orders her to go back. Then the good mother in law comes and unveils the truth, which is followed by wooing game, or should I say, a duel. Jodha has to come back at the end of a celebration, and happy moments have to be followed by tragedy...the 'dava' and 'dua' formula...the Queen has to come when her brother is dying and so on... This film is full of cliched sequences, and the dialogues are a hangover from the early 80s.This film is as 'filmi' as you can imagine.
The Director, in his numerous interviews, had made it clear, that this film is his interpretation of that period, and in his attempt, to break away from the 'historic' mould Ashutosh Gowariker finds himself in no man's land. This dilemma is best exemplified by his use of 50s style wipes, which co-exist, with some shoddy special effects (The bolt of lightning from the sky...The mirror lighting up etc...)
This duality is also visible in the treatment of characters especially that of Akbar, whom , Gowariker tries to portray as a modern man in a medieval age. Akbar, cannot decide whether to put on a stern face and behave like a king, or portray himself as 'uber-cool, metrosexual man'. This love struck king cooes like a dove and yet roars...ah, not really...barks like a greyhound! Probably,for the first time Hrithik's good looks do not serve him well, or perhaps, it is our stereotyped notion of a macho king, that fails to recognise that even the greatest of all Kings is as human as the rest of us. But what is really astonishing is that the character of Akbar is not allowed to develop beyond that of a Romeo. In that respect, Jodha's character is better sketched, and Aishwarya pulls off a stunning performance.
Most of the characters fail to portray the intensity of the roles assigned to them. Berham Khan fails miserably to pull off the role of a merciless soldier. And Ila Arun, as the scheming(god) mother-in-law is worse than her counterparts on the boob tube. The film has a huge ensemble of character artists who come and vanish. Sonu Sood is as plastic as he was when debuted, and the villians look like mere caricatures.
Apart from Akbar and Jodha's costumes, the rest seem to have been made from cheap quality plastic...the wigs are attrocious ( Raza Murad looks ludicrous!) and the much hyped Agra Fort, to be honest, looks very fake. The voice-over commentary is not needed, and the cinematography is brilliant but only in patches.
So is there any reason, why you should watch this film? None whatsoever. But if you have nothing to do this weekend, and have loads of money to spare then leave your thinking mind behind, and along with it all expectations of seeing a grandiose movie, then Akbar with his charms might just win your 'Dil'!
As she slowly melts in my lips
The aroma fills the air
And the smoke slowly crawls through my hair
Titillating
My senses
As the parched earth sizzles
When the first drop of rain trickles
Down the broken window pane
My mind floats in rings
My breath cries in pain
But it seems to sing
The verses
The notes float in the air
As if they don’t care
About the past
Nor the future
Just these moments that last
A few memories
Darkness illuminates the mind
I have left the moon and the stars behind
Searching …
Words cling on like leeches
As the world slowly screeches
to a halt.
Like that lonely grain of salt
I float in the sea
Trying to see
Trying to hear
but I have turned deaf
and blind too
Like the drifting autumn leaf
The wind blows me
Through sifts of time
From the sick to the sublime
but I know them too
Like the edges of the shattered crescent
And the dust that gathers
On the ruffled feathers
Of the stuffed pheasant
That sits in the corner of my room
Waiting …
Oh it’s magical!!!
Let me start with a confession, I am a very reluctant writer. The written word carries with itself a legacy...the word becomes more important than the ideas they are meant to communicate. Language, which came into existence because of the need for communication, has lost its ability to communicate, more so, when the written form precedes the spoken one, which surprisingly has become the primary mode of communication. Writing was invented to supplement the spoken word, and not vice versa. But today, the primary mode of dispersal of information is the written word, even when a slew of television channels stare us in the face, 24X7. (Most of the 'words' spoken, are actually written words...merely being read out!) Yes, to come back to the point, what prompted me to write this post? A recent 'status msg' of a friend on 'GTalk' (ah! that reminds me, we "talk" by writing!). It said 'YFE march on such and such date. Be there to support our cause'. YFE, if you don’t know stands for Youth for Equality, a forum, by their own admission, by the students of 5 medical colleges of Delhi, to bring together the 'Youth' who feel strongly against the 'Populist' measures of reservation. Lets start with the name itself. 'Youth', the first word itself, is such a loaded term. To begin with the meaning of the word 'youth'-it stands for the condition of being 'young'. Yes, India is a young country. Approximately, 60 percent of the country lies in the age group of 15 to 59, and 16 percent lies in the age group of 7 to 14. Thus, India is a primarily a young country, with a shrinking aging population. So, as they say, the future of the country lies in the hands of the YOUTH. (Although, I am using the word as singular, its plurality is beyond the comprehension of most of us). And this organization proclaims to be a representative of the dominant ideas within this group. But the word that is of prime importance, and perhaps, which defines the aim of this forum, is, EQUALITY. Yes, Equality, as the dictionary defines it the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability. This forum claims to bring together the 'youth' who stand against the 'Populist' measure of 'reservations'. That brings us to the next word, ‘Populist’; the word originates from very specific historical context. The word referred to the Populist Party, organized in 1892 to promote the certain issues and rights of farmers and workers. However, the word lasted beyond the party, and came to represent the views of the masses. So, Youth for Equality (hereby referred to as YFE) stands against the 'populist' measure of reservations. Let us come to 'Reservation'. Reservation, in the broader sense of the term, implies holding back or setting apart something. So equality and reservations seem to be from two extreme ends of the spectrum, and thus one is anti-thetical to the other. And this is the belief on which this 'forum' is 'organized'. To come back to the words 'populist measures ' means measures being demanded by the masses. The forum does not want to yield to 'Populist measures', thereby communicating that the 'forum' stands against the demands of the masses. They do not want to ‘concede’, and would fight 'forcefully', with 'courage' and 'conviction'. Something which strikes immediately about these words-its a WAR cry! There are two sides contesting this 'battle', 'us' and 'them'. And since it’s a battle, then one would have to perish, for the other to survive. Which somehow tends to blunt the idea of equality, because 'equality' cannot be achieved under such circumstances, and even it is, then those granting ‘equal’ status to the other would define the terms. Equality in such a condition would be something like the state of carnival, where the law can be overturned but only in terms defined by the law itself. For a moment lets look into the composition of this forum. Formed out of 'five medical colleges in Delhi. (SEC A city, medical colleges courting the ‘cream’ of the students, which translates into a young rich and upper caste crowd) Two things come to the fore immediately- One; the founders’ angst derives itself from the fear of loss of identity, and is very similar to those who reprised Civil rights movement in the USA or give an analogy nearer home, the aggressive behavior of the upper castes when 'untouchability' was being abolished. The loss of territory for the upper castes has been a cause of concern for the group, and every measure of social empowerment has met a stiff resistance. First the loss of titles, then land and now it seems even education is being taken away. Upper castes have and will always pride themselves on their educational qualifications. It is education that itself forms the basis of our caste system. Thus, the Brahmin occupies the highest rung in the Caste ladder. Post independence, education, remained the upper caste's last bastion. And as a result, they have been trying to save it with all their might. Be it the reactions of the early 90s or the more recent protests by the YFE, any attempt at democratization of this institution, has seen violent protests. Since they cannot demand an outright ban on all kinds of reservations, YFE, is talking about reservations based on financial status, rather than caste. In other words, they want a class based reservation, rather than caste. Perhaps, anywhere else in this world, this would have had formed the basis of any kind of affirmative action, but India is a special case. The society here is divided on terms of caste, rather than class. Caste carries with itself a greater stigma than class. The class ladder is transcendable, caste ladder cannot be. A person born in a particular caste, cannot escape the realities of that caste. Thus, the Supreme Court had to proclaim 'Caste is Class'. Reservation, thus should be viewed as an attempt at social empowerment through the means of providing education, and jobs. It is just first step of a journey of a thousand miles .The premise on which reservation is based, believes that economic empowerment would lead to social empowerment. And yes it has failed, but the question, here is why has it failed? It has not failed in making higher education more accessible to the unprivileged sections of our society, rather it has failed in empowering them socially. Precisely because the movers and shakers of this society, still belong to the upper castes. Their inaction gives s a forum like YFE the chance to raise claims about the inefficacy of Reservations, and demand a reversal of such actions. It is important to realize that this is a two fanged attack by the upper castes to restore whatever has been lost.
Those protesting Reservations, also bring up the question of ‘merit’, and how reservations have diluted the quality of these esteemed institutions. And any further step would certainly lead to doom. The question of merit is yet another feeble attempt at justifying protests. It’s a fallacy that students with lesser credibility are able to qualify, than those with higher marks. In this case, it is very important to realize that ‘merit’ is as much a social phenomenon, as any other social norm is. The merit that upper castes boast of, comes from the social status that these castes enjoy. Being socially empowered these castes have been able to focus their energies on cultivating their academic skills. This is not a privilege that the lower castes enjoy/enjoyed. And yes the gap is slowly being bridged. For a state like Tamilnadu, which put social reforms into practice much before any state in the country, the merit gap has been bridged. The difference is not more than a percent or two. Thus, its just a matter of time, before this gap would be bridged everywhere else.
Another demand, that catches attention- rollback of all proposed reservations in the ‘private’ sector. Yes, the ‘private’ sector is a private matter of the upper castes, and no one can mess with it. Afterall, it is the private sector, which has made India what, is it! And it is due to the hard work of hundreds and thousands of laborious and meritorious students who slogged their nights to gain admission into prestigious institutes and then labored twice over to turn these companies into corporations. How can anybody share the fruits of their labours? Perfectly, justified demand. How can anybody refute this claim?
And yes, before I end, the reduction in reservation is happening, earlier it was 100 percent and now it has been reduced to 77.5 percent!
