The fervor of Rakta Charitra – A Blood-soaked Note!

Writer’s Note: Probably because I am directing a film or probably because I love intense films or probably the liking I have on creative stuff, I am writing this piece. But, more than any of such above reasons, a thinking viewer in me has pondered the plot of Rakta Charitra and here I am with this piece to satisfy that thinking viewer. Faint hearts are not advised to go through my post!

The film starts with two headlines:

“Revenge is the ultimate bliss” – Mahabharat

“In revenge lies one’s destruction” – Mahatma Gandhi

Out of these two statements comes my take - can revenge be a soul of one’s existence? Yes! That was my instant reaction after watching Ram Gopal Varma’s magnum-opus ‘Rakta Charitra’ (RC). RC is an intense violent story not between the good and the evil; rather, it is between sustaining the revenge and winning the feud as a result of that revenge, purely for pride and supremacy and for nothing else.

The expressions best define a person’s emotion in that particular instant. The intensity of that emotion results in an activity. The nature of the activity whether it is good or bad depends on how the people perceive it according to their perception. To be precise, an activity cannot be termed as good or bad. It is purely situational-based and is driven by a motive, the nature of which is purely subjective.

A film is a channel or a medium through which a film-maker envisions his/her vision on the celluloid. One’s day begins with executing an emotion in one form or the other, knowingly or unknowingly. Capturing that emotion on screen is the task of a film-maker. One such film-maker leads us to Ram Gopal Varma who is adept at portraying such visuals. The intensity with which he portrays his characters on screen is nothing less than a visual delight.

This film is all about the story, the characters and the intensity with which it was portrayed on screen. Perceptions of understanding the film are diverse in nature. But the film’s fate hangs on how well the film-maker conveyed his vision to the audience. And in case of RC, Ram Gopal Varma succeeds in doing so.

The quotient of violence shown in the film is undoubtedly ruthless. Men are bludgeoned with stones, axes and hammers; drills are driven through their heads, the sharp ended tree branches pierce into men’s hearts, the rats are jabbed into men’s abdomen, the arms are chopped off, the men are thrown into the wells, and their heads are hanged to the crowbars, smashed with the coconuts and kept in stakes. There is a relentless blood flowing throughout the film. As a viewer, one should refrain from watching such acts as the brutal violence portrayed in the film can always send wrong messages to the society challenging the very purpose of making a film. But from a film-maker’s point of view, there lies a onus on him/her to portray the facts happening in the society and no doubt, the way these scenes are canned are exactly the way they are happening in reality in such intense blood and revenge soaked killings.

To visualize the characters and the emotions they carry out through their expressions in essaying their roles is a wonderful experience as an audience. This topic isn’t over yet. The saga continues on December 03. Yes! You have guessed it right - it’s the scheduled release date of Rakta Charitra-2. But, still the story never has an ending as it is the part of a blood-soaked historical saga and a historical saga has no end.

The Euphony of 'Hari' in Rahman's Music

Yes, that's what my new article is titled and I am happy to announce that I have ventured back into my favorite field, i.e., Music with this release. The article primarily focuses on the spiritual aspects of music in Dr. A.R. Rahman's music and the way he is blending the ‘godly’ quotient in his music. Hope you all do have a good read! Cheers!!

My Dream Cricket Team

Probably inspired by the glitzy IPL (Indian Premier League), I was bent on picking my dream team of XI for any format of the game, be it a Test match, a One Day match or a T20. After so many additions and deletions at the back end, I am finally done with my XI. Here goes the list… vroom:

Virender Sehwag

Sachin Tendulkar (Captain)

Kevin Pietersen

Kumar Sangakkara (Wicket Keeper)

Mahela Jayawardane

Michael Hussey

Albie Morkel

Daniel Vettori

Doug Bollinger

Dale Steyn

Dirk Nannes

P.S.: Only the current players (i.e., as of May, 2010) have been considered (unlike IPL).

What were the other options that I have considered before zeroing on the above eleven?

Ideally I wanted to have a team with 6 batsmen (including a wicket-keeper), 4 bowlers and a hard-hitting allrounder.

Maestro Sachin Tendulkar and the dangerous Virender Sehwag are adept in dismantling any sort of bowling attack. While Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardane were the ideal choices, I had vouched for Michael Hussey for his formidability at number six. For the wicket-keeper slot, I have explored the options of Brendon McCullum, Robin Uthappa and Kumar Sangakkara. Eventually Sangakkara was selected because of his vast experience. For the allrounder slot, Albie Morkel got my nod ahead of the Aussie Shane Watson for his economical bowling rate on comparison with that of Watson. As for the bowling slots, Dirk Nannes, Daniel Vettori and Doug Bolliinger were the automatic choices while I have dilly dallied between the express quicks Dale Steyn and Shaun Tait. Finally, Steyn got the ticket for his more accurate line and consistency. So that’s how my eleven has been selected.

Garbage turns a Linchpin?

When one gets to have a look at the present crop of problems subsisting in the world, one can witness that there is a hue and cry all over about the usage of plastic. On the same lines, when one takes the situation in Nepal, one gets flabbergasted at the sight of the garbage flooding the mountain areas. It includes empty cans and loads of plastic material, which might just turn out to be a linchpin in the prevailing problems of the nation, if the saga continues.

One might end up with a plethora of causes if one explores the reasons for piling up of such huge amounts of garbage in the region. One of the driving causes for the outburst of plastic material can be attributed to the spurt in the number of tourists to Nepal over the years. Even the various methods employed to keep a check on these mounds of garbage did not bear the desired results. But sorry to say this, it is one of the most astonishing and cynical things the nation had been experiencing for years!

Bottom-Line:

The surveys conducted suggested that there is a need for prognosis in the mindsets of the people to refrain themselves from using plastic and its derivatives. Thanks to some volunteer organizations and media, there is a quotient of awareness instilled in the public. Yet, there is a need for radical change in the methodologies since there are some sections among the people who are absolutely oblivious of the fact that it is not the plastic bags that they are carrying but in fact they are inviting the tribulations hovering around the usage of plastic.

But a commendable step among all the black marks is that few of the market stores (Emerald Mithai Shop at Hyderabad) have stopped serving the goods in plastic bags for their customers. There is a crying need for such holistic approaches to be followed and one should take a leaf out of their notebooks and try to implement the same in a more refined way.

Can the Agony be replaced?

It all starts with one’s tendency to depend on others taking the shape of a big-wig on its way to become a routine or tradition, to that matter and it only ends after one’s doom! The issue to which I was pointing to is the rotten glitch in the human’s mind and the path to which it takes a human in committing the most frivolous things out in the world. One of them boils down to the deployment of children as their maids and daily workers in their houses.

If one goes by the real logistics then one’s conscience echoes that is this the way to behave with the most ingenuous and naïve people on the earth? The animosity they go through is inexplicable. It can only be witnessed if one keeps themselves in their shoes. Every now and then we witness children in almost every walk of life ranging from the act of sweeping roads to the act of lifting loads to the act of even working as couriers to the notorious criminals subsisting in this crooked world. Won’t there be any end to this inundating act of butchery? I used butchery because I mean it! It is nothing less than the meaning the word signifies going by the pathos the children suffer at the hands of these so-called dependable!

In the second largest populous nation in the world, one gets to witness innumerous children working literally as slaves ranging from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, without enjoying their sweetest childhood which they can’t get in their lifetime. A few sections of the people working for their well-being should be supported rather than discarding their valuable work. In a country like India, the so-called child labour acts are thrown to dumps way-back when I was born. Just think of this notion,

A sweet work a day makes you much sweeter in your sweetest life!

One who gets to understand the essence of the quote (penned by me) wouldn’t indulge in such frivolous acts! It’s a bit exaggeration but I still believe that atleast a fraction of the quotient called humanity is instilled in the hearts of the human-beings!

A Singer's State

A singer starts his/her journey into the world of singing with voice as his’ or hers only main weapon. One gets to face a lot of challenges before carving out a name or place for one-selves in the industry. Again in this, one comes across a rich variety of singers. Some singers sing only classical, some do only playback, some give only stage performances, some devote their voices only to religious purposes, etc. In a country like India, where there are different cultures and different forms of music, this is no strange thing to happen.

In a world where experts are speculating whether this advanced technology has become a bane or a boon to the common man, it comes as no surprise that this ever-surging technological wave has hit the conventional arts. Whether the hit is for the betterment or deterioration is the question of the hour!

One among these repercussions has hit the singers. Their voices can be manipulated according to one’s will with the help of technology which are given names like Remix, Rap, Modulation, etc! Moreover, the point is not about a singer’s performance in a concert in either olden days or in present. Irrespective of the time-frame, a singer should be a singer. There's no sense if he/she becomes an actor on stage and enthrall audience with their antics. There are actors for doing all that stuff but a singer should ideally be able to sing whatever might be the stage whether it is a recording studio or a concert or a show, etc. Am I right in saying so? There is no doubting that everyone has got one's own talent but to what extent they possess that talent is to be noticed (at least for the topic now).

Singers like Anupama, Vasundhara, Minmini, etc are all either one or two-song wonders. They are gone after that and no one remembers them. Dr. A.R.Rahman Sir is adept in making the voices of 'untrained' singers sound fabulous which is possible only with the usage of technical equipment otherwise their voices are not at all appealing. And this is the striking point which is to be compared with the greats of S.P.Balasubrahmanyam, K.S.Chitra, etc. Their voices can sound outstanding either with the usage of equipment or even without the usage of equipment. This is where the present crop of singers lag behind them by leaps and bounds.

More or less, the same monotonous process is being followed by most of the composers these days. They usually do not ‘find’ (?) singers with great voice and for compensating the quality in the voice, they heavily rely on technical equipment and give statements that they have used new instrument(s) for the film’s score. But it is ultimately the singers who are at stake as they will be given a wrong feedback about their voice. Carrying out that false eulogy, these singers resort to weird actions and feel as if they have attained the zenith in singing with just one or two songs. Their real talent is known only when they come before the people in a live performance and once they start realizing that it’s not going to work anymore, they start doing all kinds of antics which make people jump and laugh.

One more point to be observed here is why the singers who feature in Rahman's camp do not figure in any of the other music composers' camp? For that matter, every singer who features in Ilaiyaraja Sir's camp is a trained singer with strong foundation and is used by every other composer. By saying this, it's not that I am taking stand in support of Ilaiyaraja Sir. Whatever I have written here are facts and just facts. Don't you people agree on that? One can observe that the singers who perform for classical concerts will be reluctant to do the playback for they fear the usage of technical equipment dominates more than their voice, which is contrary to their learnt lessons and practice.

Finally what matters to the common audience is that irrespective of whether a composer uses technical equipment or not, the song should be appealing enough to listen. All the composers including Rahman and Ilaiyaraja strive to do the same. Some are successful in doing that and some are not. And if that is a live performance, people come to watch for the composers’ and singers' live performance and not for their weird actions.

Sa Re Ga Ma of Fashion

This is my 'much-hyped' magazine which was selected for Newsweek.... As it had not reached the readers I have intended it to, I am soon planning to do a modified version and re-launch the article by organizing an event.... Till then, you can enjoy the first version of Sa Re Ga Ma of Fashion and drop your invaluable comments!

Video directed by: Satish

Background Music provided by: Dr. A.R.Rahman

Mixed by: Praneel Shah