TAMASHA IS OVER…may life go on as usual!

Oh no I’m not referring to the festive weekend just gone but I mean the far bigger spectacle that encapsulates us once every few years reminding us that we live in a democracy and we supposedly have a say in it! The Elections!

Maharashtra was one of the states that held its elections for the State Legislative Assembly which in turn would mean determining the party that would rule the state for the next five years.

There were new and vibrant elements this time around. Funds were spent in crores as opposed to lakhs! Media and other PR (Public Relation) channels were very creatively used. Advertising took to new dimensions as each candidate extended his/ her reach by entering the voter’s life through television, radio, mobile phones, hoardings, brochures and lastly by physically entering the homes!

Meanwhile some things remained the same…none of the parties seemed sincere enough to care for the voters’ interest and city’s development! Opponent bashing took up most of their energy. This time around they even had an available issue to embark upon which was the security measures for the city post 26/11 but so busy were they in pursuing their own goals and agenda that they could not even hold and emphasize the details around it.

While at one corner two cousins fought amongst themselves for the vote of the Marathi manoos, there were others severing their decade old relations with their parties and walking across party lines in order to get a ticket to contest the elections.

Finally nothing unexpected has happened. The same government will continue and the same people will oppose it for the next five years. I believe this has nothing to do with competence or lack of it but it’s simply people’s loss of all hope in trusting anybody and simply going with the flow. It’s like surrendering between devil and deep sea knowing fully that neither is going to be any different so might as well play along.

The biggest attention seeking draw is Raj T. establishing his presence and that one can largely attribute to his brilliance in oratory and tapping on nerves that have already been throbbing and will continue to do so for a while. One thing is for sure though- amidst the crowd of petty thieves vying for your attention with wry smiles and corny eyes, it is this roaring bandit that seems glorious and magnetic!!

It can thus be said safely that one party one because the other was a disaster and the one that lost was imply because the former won. Someone else benefited…the voters as usual lost….now that the tamasha is over…life will go on and on and on…

BLUE...Directed by Anthony D' Souza

The only reason i did not expect anything when i went to watch Blue was because i realised that all along the makers and promoters of the film talked about everything regarding the film except its content and story!!

It was the costliest Magnum opus in the history of Indian Cinema!! It was India's first under water film!! There were killer sharks and dare devil stunts!! International pop sensation Kylie Minogue was making her first appearance in a Hindi film! Lara Dutta- the female lead- learned swimming in three months for this under water adventure flick! An entire house was blown apart in a sequence!! A trailer truck carrying Mcguils was to fall lopsided on an expressway in one of the sequences!! Phew!! Phew!! Phew!!

You see what i mean? The film had all of the above and it looked fantastic but as i have always believed a little moderation of the above 'cool' elements and subsequent attention to the 'age old' screenplay would have caused no harm!!

The film is about a treasure that is on board a sunken ship. Akshay K wants the treasure and only Sanjay Dutt- a very paunchy, old and unfit guy on the island- the best under water diver around can get it for him!! Sanjay Dutt has never looked so bad in any of his films before! wonder how Mrs. Dutt allowed it? Zayed plays Sanjay's young and hot blooded brother...Lara is there because she has to be there as an element! Nothing happens till the interval. For a film as short as under two hours they could have done without an interval and people may have not realised that the first half was completely uneventful but alas the economics of popcorn!

The film thus is nothing without all the marketing elements and one would be satisfied seeing the underwater sequences on Nat Geo or animal planet. They did make more sense!

Why are we getting carried away with the western style at the cost of content, I fail to realise but of course The whole thing is that ki bhaiya....

But even then the masses don't care who Kylie Minogue is!!! Why then??