Rana's Corner

Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi: Review

2005-09-13T22:47:00.000-07:00

The couplet by Ghalib from which the film gets its title forms the underpinning of this film, for it's a film about the thousand aspirations of its three main characters, who in the process of pursuing their individual dreams fail to see what they have and be content with it. It's a concept that Somerset Maugham so wonderfully explored in The Moon and Sixpence, where the title refers to the human instinct to chase after the reflection of the moon in a bucket of water rather than the sixpence that lies at the bottom of it.

The love quadrangle between Vikram, Geeta, Siddharth and Geeta's IAS husband, later to become estranged, is simply symptomatic of this restless pursuit. The characters are all more in love with the idea that the object of their love represents than the object itself. This is best exemplified by Siddharth, a student leader in college who is more in love with the ideal of bringing about social revolution than the people this revolution is supposed to sweep up in its wake. As he becomes increasingly involved in subversive activities, the activities themselves become more important than the goal, and he ends up being a rather self-centered character, who is not only unable to sustain his relationship with Geeta and their out-of-wedlock son, but also thoughtlessly abandons Vikram at a very critical juncture.

Geeta, too, is restless, pursuing Siddharth, then marrying an IAS officer, then pursuing Siddharth once again, then adopting his struggles as her own, until Siddharth's abandonment of Vikram irrevocably changes the latter's life and hers.

Of all the characters, it is Vikram who's the most steadfast. He was in love with Geeta right from their days in college together, and despite his life having meandered in a direction opposite to the ideals he shared with Geeta and Siddharth, his love for Geeta remains constant. Throughout the film he pursues her and valiantly attempts to prove himself to her, and in the end in an attempt to save Siddharth, he becomes the sacrificial lamb, although his sacrifice is more due to things having gone horribly wrong than a deliberate Sidney Carton act.

The film does a rather good job of exploring the complexities of the relationship between these characters. But the early part of the film, when these characters are introduced, is a little muddled. It is reminiscent of the deliberately obscure art films, which often passed off poor narrative, acting and editing techniques not only as a virtue, but as high art, aping the avant garde movement of French cinema rather superficially without absorbing its intent to depict the complexities of the postmodern world. Thus the early scenes of the film lack fluency, something that is never completely achieved throughout the film, but vastly improves as the film progresses.

The film also brings to the fore questions about social justice or the lack of it in rural Bihar in stark scenes that are at once both disconcerting and illuminating. But despite the politics and the eventual violence, it is a film about personal relationships, angst and the pursuit of happiness.

Despite the increasing number of Indian films that are bold enough to attempt new themes and new narrative structures, very few are truly different. While Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi is not revolutionary in any way, it does succeed in being quite different and quite refreshing. And while it is a good film, and in parts quite remarkable, the fact that it is being hailed by a lot of critics as pathbreaking speaks more to the paucity of good cinema in India than to any inherently exceptional qualities of the film. We need more films like this one, and more films that are even better. In the meantime, this film has raised the bar a notch or two for others to follow suit.

Yet Another Final Loss

2005-09-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

Indian cricket fans are probably the most forgiving and -- perhaps consequently -- the most abused in the world. We're like faithful dogs who come back wagging our collective tails and hanging out our slobbering tongues to our abusive owner for scraps of food right after receiving a senseless hiding from him.

Every time the Indian team puts up a half-decent performance we wag our tails. And right after that comes the senseless beating, which goes on for a few matches, till again the team decides to put up a decent performance just to break the monotony of bad ones.

It doesn't matter that the team won against NZ once and against Zimbabwe a couple of times. One or two matches does not contitute a recovery. The trend over the last year and a little longer has been a spiral downwards, and even the most ardent apologist for the team would find it difficult to put a positive spin on it.

It doesn't matter that Yuvraj scored a century against a team that's no better than a second tier Ranji side in an inconsequential game. It doesn't matter that Sehwag gave India a rousing start in the finals. Or that he bowled well when all the others were displaying a level of profligacy that's unusual even for this side. Or that Ganguly progressed beyond the single digits. Because none of this helped win the match, or even come close to it. Dileep Premachandran, in this article on Cricinfo, rightly asks what if Sehwag had not got out to a bad shot, or if Kaif had not got bogged down after scoring his 50. I would go farther and say that it wouldn't have mattered if Sehwag had got out to a rash stroke to the first ball he faced or if Ganguly had been unable to open his account. These would have made no difference to the result of this particular match or the larger trend of the misfortunes of this team.

The team needs men of character, not boys with flash having fun with their toys. And it starts with the captain. Defeat would be far less hurtful if only he stood up and accepted his responsibility instead of repeatedly blaming the rest of the team for the problems. Sure, it's easy to appear a brilliant captain when the team is doing well and a dud when it isn't. But Ganguly is neither brilliant -- as some commentators would like us to believe -- nor is he a dud, as his virulent critics claim. He has severe personal and leadership challenges to face, and if he does not see himself making a big difference soon, he and his legacy would be best served by making a graceful exit when there's still some goodwill left.

Defeat would also be far less hurtful if the team went down trying hard and took these defeats to heart. Neither of this appears to be the case with the team. After a few days of lying low, the stars of the team are going to be back on the ramps, parading the latest watch and activewear or in front of the camera peddling biscuits and colas. And for this, we, the fans of Indian cricket, are to be blamed. We are the ones who turn these flashy, impetuous, spoilt boys into stars. We are willing to forgive a year of unprofessionalism at the sight of a single sixer or a cartwheeling wicket, even if it is against a team that does not deserve to play in international cricket. We are willing to make heroes of mediocre men and lavish praise and riches on those who hardly deserve them. We are willing to hold these men up as representatives of our hopes as a nation, allowing our collective fortunes and sense of well-being to rise and fall with their vagaries on the field. Our cinema isn't the only thing that's escapist. So is our cricket and we get what we deserve.

India-New Zealand

2005-09-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Now that the Indian team has finally won a game convincingly after a long time, it is tempting to forget their past failures and start praising the team and claim that it's on the ascendant again. We fans of Indian cricket tend to be as fickle and easily distracted as a two year old. One good game and a year of shoddy, unprofessional cricket is forgotten and forgiven. Conversely, a couple of failures, and we all start baying for blood.

Let's look at this morale-boosting win against New Zealand. The pluses are:

1. Kaif seems to have found form, at least temporarily
2. The other batsmen showed the intent to stick around and keep the scoreboard ticking
3. The team chased a fairly competitive total.

But all of this still doesn't answer or lay to rest fears about several trends in the team's performance.

1. Inconsistency: The team is full of inconsistent players. Enough has been said about this, so I won't elaborate. We as fans have to start demanding consistency over an occasional flash of brilliance. Otherwise, nothing is going to change. In other words, let's not read too much into this Kaif innings. If he deserves a place in the team he has to perform consistently.
2. Brittleness of the batting: Time and again the team has crumbled under even a hint of pressure. It's a team of dominos. We need players of character more than mere talent and prospect, players who can stand tall to weather a passing storm or squall.
3. Ganguly's form and place in the team: If you haven't yet met a Bong critic of Gangs, meet one now. Ganguly has stopped being useful to the team. Nobody can take away what he has done for Indian cricket, and he has done plenty. But now he is a passenger at best and a liability at worst. Why can't we Indian stand aside in grace when we see the writing on the wall, Srinath being a notable exception? Ganguly does not deserve a place in the team. His captaincy has diminished to such an extent that even the Mike Brearley argument doesn't hold. Time for Dravid to take on the helm and give him time to settle into this new role. It is also time to start identifying and nurturing the captain who's going to take over after Dravid, whenever that's going to be.
4. Sehwag: He needs a huge kick to his backside. So much talent, and wasting away. What has he done in a long time? Another one of those players who's resting on past laurels. If he doesn't start producing results soon, he will have to sit out, hopefully only temporarily, though.
5. Yuvraj: He has done even less than Sehwag in the last year. An occasional knock is simply not acceptable. He needs to be out of the team. Now. Till he starts taking responsibility.
6. What the hell has happened to Harbhajan Singh? Is he being persisted with because he's the best spinner we have? If so, this is indeed a sorry state of affairs.
7. Agarkar: One decent performance does not mean he has turned the corner. This ought to be his last series if he does not show consistency.
8. Yadav: I have hopes that this guy will be around and do well for a while. He seems to have only modest talent, but is a real trier. That's what we need in the team. More hard-working players who want to prove themselves.

YAB or yet another blog

2005-09-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Indians around the world are increasingly turning to blogs. And they've created some great blogs out there to discuss films, sports, books, gossip, poetry, share stories, media criticism, social work, technology, you name it. I'm constantly amazed at how informative, perceptive, funny and poignant so many of them are. They're often better than our traditional media outlets. I regularly read them and will be linking them to my blog.

So now I've created my own. It will be a place for my thoughts and ramblings on a few topics: cinema, books and cricket. This blog will simply be a means to share these views with whoever cares to read.

If you've just dropped in to visit the blog for the first time, it would be great if you leave a comment and tell me about your blog if you have one.