aditya kumar's weblog

Alright, for the few who have been following up with this blog, perhaps you did notice a little change, eh? Well, nothing much has changed. The WordPress version is now updated to 2.3. My loyalty to “The Journalist” WordPress Theme remains and I shall be ever thankful to Lucian Marin for creating it. The change in look, however, is a result of “upgrading” the theme to its latest version. It still remains true to its simplicity, I must say.

More later.

Verdict – 8/10

** No Spoilers Ahead**

Bollywood has felt the need for Child Themed movies as much as the fish needs the bicycle. Considering that, this movie comes as a fresh change, something that every movie lover could love forward to. Aamir Khan is his usual brilliant self but it is Darsheel Safary, the kid that steals the show all the way.

Taare Zameen Par is a movie every young couple should watch — Its a movie every parent with a teenage child must watch. Its a beautiful movie because it shows us how parents, with all the good intentions in their hearts, can still go wrong.

The reason why I did not give this a “9” is because I thought the parents role could have been a little more defining. Since for most of the first half, the family of the child plays a role of importance, one hoped that they could carry some of it, if not all, to the second half as well. But overall, by the second half, the story has a good foundation and the protagonist of the movie takes it off from there. The songs are well sequenced and not “just put there”. This has been an area that Bollywood has really improved over the last few years.

Aamir Khan impresses with his behind the screen antics and considering that he directed himself and a nine year old kid while working on a very sensitive subject that must have involved a lot of background research — all for the first time, I think he has done a brilliant job. I will not take away one thing from this man, who for all his brilliance, has often been misunderstood in the industry.

A few days ago, in conversation on the phone with a friend, talk revolved around the games available for playstation 2. Most of the games ported on video game consoles like the PS series are role-play. You are on the either side — The good guys or the bad guys. A terrorist on the run or a black commando killing robbers. Or a good earthling killing Martians. It boils down to one concept, the one of killing.

Honestly I am not in favor of letting a 13 year old use it because of the gore involved in the games. It is much worse than plain television viewing.

The concept of killing people with guns coupled with this modern amenity called a gaming console makes a combo that can be termed as trash of the western world. I got the console for myself when I turned, ahem, 26. Though I am sure I wouldn’t have picked up the gun but I shudder to think how would it be if I had got my hands on this thing 13 years ago.

The effects are for you to see. The School killings in America. Back home, a first incident of its kind, happened in Delhi a few hours ago. I am not suggesting that the people involved in these incidents were directly influenced by video games but I certainly see a pattern of some sort here.

Children carrying guns to school. This is the new face of the society we are living in.

What Modi did, when he made those comments about Sohrabuddin was that he provoked the little devil living in each man, in this case, the hindu front benchers who chanted “Kill him! Kill him!” when he raised up the issue.

Modi has been smart enough to show some state development on his performance report card. It would serve him right and because the Gujarati Hindu voter is always more than willing to give him that benefit of doubt because afterall, he views the CM’s efforts of development as perhaps, ten times of what has actually been done.

Whats disturbing in all this is that Modi saw it coming. He knew that his pro-Hindu (and Anti-Muslim) stance could turn on a backlash if he did not have real development figures to show up. So he had his figures ready.

In other words, this has been Modi’s stance — There has been development in Gujarat, I hate Muslims and I am the Extremist Hindu that you perceive me to be. Its all a part of the deal.

So, a large section of would-be-Modi voters need not worry about his remarks on Sohrabuddin. Why after all, there has been some work done and they need to vote for him. The real, unsaid reason is simple — His antics as Gujarat’s CM, the reasons we all know him for. The speeches ofcourse provoke that little devil in each one of them and the development figures are enough to devoid the voter of the guilt that he may have after voting for the man.

Congress’s comments on the issue have not helped the party; The muddy hands they have got now after all this mudslinging could put the busiest potter to shame. Perhaps it was wrong that Congress started the whole thing but then again, do two wrongs make a right? And don’t our leaders fear the law anymore — that they openly justify and advocate for the killing of a man who, though was accused by law of a crime, had not yet been convicted of it?

The third pillar of democracy, our courts are rotting. Our judiciary has become ineffective for the common man. Our politicians advocate killing people in election speeches. Democracy is being abused in India; we are bending it, breaking it to suit ourselves.

And here we are, hailing to our world of our Democracy. Politics has become such a crying shame.

All this, for the moment, happening in Gujarat — once known as the land of one Mr. Mohandas K Gandhi. I see him turning in his grave.