Politics Of Global Warming

In 1969, when US President Richard Nixon initiated to make environmental topics (such as Acid Rain and Greenhouse Effect) to be treated by a third and civil pillar in NATO, it was seen as American attempt to regain international terrain after the lost Vietnam War. It is ironic that when some serious steps were required to be taken (much later though), USA stepped back. To continue with the development of environmental concerns, it took another decade for first World Climate Conference to happen. The main concern of 80s was depletion of the Ozone layer caused by a class of chemical compound called Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC). The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program, to assess the risk of “Human induced climate change”.

The major development in 90s happened in Kyoto, Japan with the adoption of a Protocol (known as Kyoto Protocol) in 1997 which came into force in 2005. Under the protocol, 37 industrial countries commit themselves to a reduction of four greenhouse gases (Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Sulphur Hexafluoride) and two groups of gases (hydro fluorocarbons and per fluorocarbons) produced by them, and all member countries give general commitments. As of November 2009, 187 countries have signed and ratified the protocol. The most notable non-member of the protocol is the United States of America which is responsible for 36.1% of the 1990 emissions level.

The major contributor to the greenhouse gases are the industrialized, developed countries along with few developing ones. If they cut down on the emissions level, there is a fear that their economies would be in jeopardy. This is the same reason US has been reluctant to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. For developing countries, if they stop industrialization the economic growth would slow down. So no one wants to trade economic growth with environmental concerns. Usage of renewable energy is still minimal. For instance, China’s energy sector is reliant on coal by 70%.

On the other hand, the poor countries are majorly financed by the developed countries. Hence the developed countries would have more bargaining power when negotiating reduction of emissions level. Implicitly, the decisions have to be taken by the developed countries. The European Union has consistently been one of the major nominal supporters of climate issues, negotiating hard to get wavering countries to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

However, there is complications as per as setting emission level is concerned. China’s emission level is high along with the countries like USA, Russia, Germany, Japan etc. But it also has one fifth of the world population. So the per capita emission is much lower than the developed countries. Moreover, many developing countries are being industrialized in recent times to produce goods which are eventually exported to the developed world. Studies suggest that nearly a quarter of China’s emissions result from production of goods exported to developed countries. Who should take responsibility for that?

Presently, the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference is under way and many hopes are pinpointed here as Kyoto Protocol had objective till 2012. A new protocol or understanding has to be reached as the climate change is visible all around. The decisions have to be made, and fast enough.

Rocket Singh - Salesman Of The Year

Director: Shimit Amin

Producer: Aditya Chopra

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Gauhar Khan, Prem Chopra and few good actors.

The team of Chak De India makes a comeback not with a sequel though. But the subject is as novel and fresh as their previous one. The film undertakes to explore the lives of salesmen, a manifestation of modern business, to put broadly. The film san the trappings of Bollywood film, is a brave attempt at making a good film, which in turn may become commercially successful too. However, commerce hasn’t been given much importance as per as treatment is concerned.

It is the story of Harpreet Singh Bedi (Ranbir Kapoor), an average graduate, who want to make a career in selling as other avenues seem unattainable to him. He starts with a job in a computer selling company, who mainly assembles and sells to end consumers. However, he soon gets acquainted with the shoddy side of business, where deals are done under the table, all that matters is profit. Morals and Ethics may be damned. Young idealism lands him in trouble and he is pushed to the back office. The rest of the film is about how he comes out of that and writes a success story with the help of the ‘frustrated’ engineer, hot receptionist, the office boy and a corrupt salesman in the office.

The film is great in the first half with some true depiction of real life situations. The way sales people work, office politics, bias towards woman (“Booze would be from the company but no women, so bring your own” the boss announces once amidst the presence of female employees). The story of the underdog really touches you and when he resolves to make it big, you eagerly await for the intermission to end. But the film does not keep the promise post interval and the writing (Jaideep Sahni) is to be blamed. For every successful narrative there are few steps in order – Introduction, Conflict, and Climax. The film is introduced very well but the conflict seems very unconvincing. Harpreet starts his own business and becomes successful. Why does he still operate from the same office knowing well that if caught, they will land up in trouble? When the conflict is not convincing, it does not lead to exciting climax either. The hawkish boss’ sudden change of heart is not well explained either. Had the film found a different, solid conflict it could have been another Chak De India with all its glorifying moments.

Ranbir is terrific. He gets into any character with great ease. Rocket Singh would be another great addition to his CV. But Gauhar Khan takes charge of the film whenever in frame. The role is flamboyant and as potent as a rocket and she does with great panache. The rest of the cast do their parts effectively too. It has three songs which are good. But since music was released just a week ago, it has failed to register with most cine goers to make more concrete impact except the couplet “Pocket Mein Rocket”. Visuals are great as well. Yashraj is perhaps the only production house which can make low budget films with great production values.

Overall, Rocket Singh makes a statement about business practices. With all its failings, it has its moments as well. Though not the film of the year, it deserves a dekko for its novel subject and treatment and some good performances.

Stories We Need To Live

I am saddened by the way Media, Bollywood paid tribute on 26/11. The day which will go down in history of India as a tragic day when there was barbaric assault on a civilization; a day which will always remind us of the failings our security system. However I am more troubled because this particular day was chosen to remember. There were lives lost but this is not the only occasion when we lost innocent lives to terror. It has been happening from quite some time. There is guerilla war going on in the jungles of Central and South India where hundreds of lives get lost every month. In North-east terrorists blast bombs as if it’s Diwali (as much as 19 bombs go off in one single day in Assam). The big cities are not spared either. The blasts in Sarojini Nagar, Jama Masjid, Mecca Masjid, Bangalore, Mumbai local trains… the list is endless. But why don’t we remember those dates as well? The number of deaths is more sometimes? Were their lives any less important?

The reason is we live in our own stories. The protagonists in those stories are not the common men who die in the endless list I mentioned. Rather the protagonists are the ones who can afford The Taj Hotel. Suddenly when our protagonist become vulnerable, we sit up and take note of the direction the story is taking. If the rich and powerful is not safe, how can we be? We think. But we don’t realize that we were never safe. We have been dying these unknown deaths like the background scene of an epic battle in a film. Just that no one cares to know our names because we are not important to the narratives.

My contention is if we don’t want to forget 26/11, we must not forget other dates as well. And attack on Mumbai by a bunch of hooligans sent by some maniacs from Pakistan was total security failure. As common man we can’t fight terrorists. That’s why chose a government to give us security. We pay taxes to maintain an Army, Police, and Intelligence. But we are still not safe. We are as much vulnerable to a terrorist attack as we were prior to 26/11. Instead of writing a date on our twitter page, should we not be changing the system which has been failing us constantly?

Girl-friends

I was a cute kid and was a favourite with women – my father’s students or my mum’s friends, my cousin’s classmates etc. Over the years I have had wonderful women in my life. But the surprising thing is that apart from my family, they all have been strictly my friends. I am just wondering about that. I have closest of friends who are women and are indispensable part of my life. Also I have always famously got along with women of all class and creed. Still how come I have always miserably failed with the girls I loved! Not once but many times. It’s the biggest paradox in my life perhaps.

If you fail once, you can put the blame on other side. But if it always repeats eerily the same way, not the highest optimism can save you. Say you believe that every time you choose the wrong girl (By ‘wrong’ I don’t mean bad), the fault is still yours that you choose them or rather fall for them. I have finally realized this fact. Now I am not being able to figure out the point where the problem lies. Do I transform when I fall in love? Do I no longer remain myself? But the truest form of love is when you cease to be yourself. Does it mean true love is never appreciated?

I am not troubled. I am just wondering. I guess I do fine with my girl-friends.

Remaining 'The Other'

Growing up in the Muslim part of Assam, I was like any other Muslim child not doing things that was forbidden. The two things which were prohibited and most emphasized were Pork and Alcohol. These two things were not even available in my part. After I went to school, I started to live in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. By 11^th standard my non Muslim friends started drinking. Since it was done secretly I never really came across alcohol. My first encounter with alcohol happened in Delhi University. Then I would refer to it as wine not knowing there were so many types of alcohol. During my college days, despite my unwillingness to attend those drinking parties, my friends would insist that I accompany them. Though I showed that I didn’t like it, secretly I loved the gesture. It meant I was important in their lives. But no matter how much they made me feel home, the feeling of ‘the other’ was still there. The culture I was acquainted with in Assam was poles apart from what I met in Delhi. It was like the other end of the spectrum. During my stay, the gap was definitely narrowed but some still remained intact. Not drinking alcohol is one of them.

Calcutta is much more conservative than Delhi, so I don’t meet people who give me does-this-kind-of-species-still-live-on-this-planet kind of look when I say I don’t drink. My MBA friends never insisted me on accompanying them to clubs. Even if they did I guess I managed to escape. Recently a close friend wanted to celebrate her birthday and it turned out quite an adventure. We went out to dine but it stopped with wine only. Then we moved to another part of the city to dine. The drama that happened in between was hilarious to say the least. A different self came out in everyone. After dining we went to lounge bar and danced till they closed shop. In college, though I saw friends getting drunk I didn’t see much of drama which I saw here. Though I was having all the fun, I could not deny that I was still the other. I have almost forgotten to live in a culture that I completely belong. Even back home I don’t fit in completely because of my ‘urban-ness’ and here because of my conservatism. Also people back in Assam don’t exactly believe that I have remained as I was.

But I never felt the urge to be like ‘them’. At times it is a bit lonely to be the ‘other’. But most of the times it feels special to be unique.

Sibling Revelry

My siblings are much younger to me. Rocky is five and years younger while Rasna is eight years. Both were very young when I left home 13 years ago. Rocky being closer to my age did spend some time with me but I could hardly spend any time with Rasna. Over the years we stayed together only during my vacations with maximum 2 months at stretch. Being the youngest child Rasna would accompany our parents during my parents’ days. But she ended up spending more time with my girlfriends than with me. She is all grown up now and studies in the same school. Though I make friends easily, she is one person I am yet not been able to be friendly with. May be in time to come we will become friends. Rocky on other hand has always been very pally with me though he is least like me.

In our separate lives, there were hardly any moment we lived ‘together’. However the time is soon coming. Rasna will appear for her class X exam; Rocky for class XII and I will appear for my Masters Degree, all early next year. With our separate lives, hundreds of miles apart, we will finally live the same life. For a little time may be; but we will live our moments together.

Another Year Goes By

I am at a very interesting phase of my life. In less than a month I will complete my 25 years on this planet (Not a day less ‘cos I have never been out of this planet). Twenty five years is seen as the official age of adult though general theories would say by 20 you are no longer a teenager. Whatever, but you become an adult by 25 even if you grow at a slower rate.

Changes are all around me. The way I look at life, my priorities, my goals everything is changing…rather rapidly. I have mixed feelings about it though. I am sad that a great phase of life is going to end and I am happy that a new life is about to begin. Over the years I have realized that whenever you compare your lives at different stages nostalgia always wins. So I would rather not compare. Life has been wonderful till now.

When I look back into the 25 years, the thing I miss the most is the time I lost to spend with my father. The time that I most cherish is also the times I spent with him. The person, whom I have always looked up to and loved the most, is also the one who guides my way at every crossroad. Today (11 November) will be 13 years since I came away from him. But it was an inevitable aspect of the life. He has become more precious for that, perhaps. Other things come to my mind from my childhood are the wonderful seasons of Assam (may be another post for that), my trysts with different aspect nature that I came to discover.

Coming back to the changes I feel today. The most important one would be the feeling of love. The meanings change with age. At one point or rather most of life, love meant stealing a glance of her. Now it’s no longer like that. Companionship is so important to be in love. Earlier I could never believe why people break after going to different places. May at this juncture I would understand better.

Of the last 25 years, I spent almost half with my family and half with my friends. Who would I chose? Family. Over the years friends whoever I loved have substituted my family by becoming an alternate family to me. Today, they are no less important than family to me.

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

Director: Rajkumar Santoshi

Star Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Darshan Zariwala, Smita Jaykar, Zakir, Upen Patel and a Superstar in a very special appearance.

Till couple of years ago Rajkumar Santoshi claimed that he never repeated a genre in the films he made. But he can no longer do that as he goes back to comedy after 15 years of making the cult classic “Andaaz Apna Apna”. Well, comparing APKGK with the Salman-Aamir starrer would be blasphemous, but the present film is hilarious and will make you roll with laughter.

The film is about Prem (Ranbir Kapoor) a happy go lucky guy in a hill-town who runs a Happy Club with a bunch of funny morons. He has an adorable family. Jenny (Katrina Kaif) is a simple girl who shifts to the town and Prem falls in love at the first sight. However, the man who helps lovers unite is quite unable to express his own feelings and soon discovers that his lady love already belongs to someone else. However, Jenny does not have a hunky dory love story either because of dushman-zamana. The rest of the film is about Prem’s efforts to put Jenny’s life in order and see her happily married to her beloved.

The film is a welcome change from the crude comedies that have been served in recent times. APKGK is a clean comedy and in our times making a comedy without any innuendo is almost unimaginable for which the director should be applauded. It is a mix of both situational as well as slapstick which results in non-stop laughter. The villains den, kidnapping the heroine – it has everything with super hilarious climax. The film also takes the Bollywood setting to a small town, which is very rare in this multiplex-era. The town has a lot of innocence and purity which makes a great backdrop to the unrequited love story of Prem. All praise to the director. Though he has been making great films, box office success has often eluded him. Perhaps APKGK will end that.

Ranbir Kapoor has pitched in a great performance. He is funny and adorable at the same time. Till now I thought of him as an overrated star but he is the big star material. Katrina Kaif is superb. Finally the girl has ‘learned’ acting. In couple of scenes she will move you to tears. She is convincing as the de-glam girl. But when Prem wants to transform Jenny into ‘Katrina Kaif’, she actually turns super hot in a song sequence. She is in her best form. The rest of the cast has ably supported them.

Music by Pritam is terrific as it is already climbing the charts. Cinematography finely captures the beautiful location.

Overall, APKGK is a hilariously funny film with a sweet romantic track. The film is an ode to a superstar. If you can’t figure out who I am talking about from the title of the film then Go watch it and have a great time. At the box office, the film is gonna rock. Another hit on store.

BLUE - Movie Review

Director: Anthony D’souza

Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Zayed Khan, Rahul Dev and Katrina Kaif (Spl App)

Anthony D’ Souza is a first timer who dons the cap of directing one of the biggest films in recent times in terms of canvas and star cast. The expectations are bound to go high and that’s what goes against the film and most importantly the director. The same thing happened with Kambakkht Ishq which showed that only packaging does not make a film great; you need to have a competent director as well. To Akshay Kumar’s woe the phenomenon gets repeated here. Anthony D’Souza needs to learn a lot before he can handle such huge project.

Post India’s independence its treasure kept in Bahamas, a British colony, was supposed to be returned to the home country which gets lost due to ship wreck. Come to present, Akshay Kumar owns a fishing company but his main goal in life is to find that treasure apart from womanizing of course. But he needs Sanjay Dutt’s (his employee) help to unearth the hidden secret. Both have their secrets and a connection to that treasure. How turn of events lead these two to go for treasure hunt forms the rest of the story, which you will figure out very easily due to poor writing and direction.

D’souza fails to extract even decent performances from Dutt and Kumar who can deliver when required. The climax is abrupt and is quite non happening. The treatment is ordinary. The flaws of Blue are because of flaws of the director.

Coming to the good part, Lara Dutta is super hot in her bikini scenes which are quite a few. A R Rahman’s music as well as background score is outstanding as usual. The canvas is huge and cinematography is excellent but the best part is action. Done by a Hollywood director, action is the USP of the film. Though under water sequences don’t offer much due to the story, the surface action is at par with Hollywood and sets new standard for action films in Bollywood and the film deserves to be seen just for that.

Among actors, Sanjay Dutt’s character needed a much younger actor, younger to even Akshay. At 50, Dutt is anything but convincing as a struggler, who is yet to settle with his girlfriend. Akshay is good but not outstanding. Zayed is still stuck on his Main Hoon Na days and Lara does not have much to do except showing her well toned body which a treat.

Overall, Blue does not belong to its actors or to the director. It belongs to the technicians. Since the length of the film is lower than 2 hours, there is not much scope to get bored despite its mediocrity. For a regular moviegoer it is definitely recommended! It’s a visual treat.

***1/2

WANTED - Movie Review

Star Cast: Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia Azmi, Prakash Raj, Mahesh Manjrekar, Inder Kumar, Manoj Pahwa, Mehak Chahal and Vinod Khanna.

Director: Prabhu Dheva

Story: Puri Jagannath

When your all time favourite actor and actress decide to come together for a film, immediately it becomes the most awaited film for you. At the same time, you would be apprehensive whether or not the film is going to be a memorable one. But if it’s a remake of one of your favourite films, then you are pretty sure about the outcome. So you can’t resist watching the film even if your end term exams are underway!

Wanted is story of Radhe (Salman Khan), a mercenary goon who soon graduates to a criminal working for the infamous Mumbai mafia. With his fearlessness and effective strategy, he soon becomes the dependable man for the Don as he single handedly eliminates his enemies. Jhanvi (Ayesha Takia Azmi) is a middle class girl who works to earn bread and butter for her family of mother and a young brother. After couple of chanced encounters, she falls in love with Radhe despite the fact that he does not fit her dream boy’s bill. But before she could commit herself, she discovers the ruthless side of Radhe. As her repeated attempts to change him fail, she also fails to stop herself from loving him. To add to the mayhem, there is a lecherous cop (Mahesh Manjrekar) who wants to take advantage of Jhanvi’s family condition, there is an over-aged landlord (Manoj Pahwa) pursuing her relentlessly.

But not everything is what it seems. There is a well kept secret which when revealed will bring endless destruction. Sacrifices have to be made. The question is not whether it would happen or not. The question is when!

The film is a wholesome entertainer with a potent mix of action, romance, comedy and tragedy. A great reminder of the films of yore which was all about heroism but done in a very contemporary, slick way without using much of the clichés. Though action is predominant throughout the film, it has a beautiful love story imbibed within and Ayesha Takia makes it much more lovable! It has few beautiful moments between the top actors that you savour much after the film gets over. While action gives the thrill, the comedy laughter, the romance brings the sensitive part of the story. The dialogues are witty and there are plenty of ‘whistle’ moments. Overall, it is a fast paced film which takes you for non-stop entertainment.

Salman Khan hits back after a slew of mediocre films in past two years. He just has to be in the frame to be the character. He looks fabulous, dances great and perhaps this is his best action role till date. When he beats up 20 guys at one go, it is actually believable – the only aspect where Wanted did better than its original. Though the action is same as the original just that he makes it more believable by his sheer presence. He romances Ayesha Takia well too. But in the later part of the film, he shows the same ‘angry look’ which he reserves for his rivals to Ayesha as well which I think didn’t work for the story. There are few emotional scenes and he carries them really well.

To me Ayesha Takia is the best actress ever born and she always stands up to the expectations. Though she is better in subtle scenes, she carries her ‘masala’ part well too. She brings the much needed balance to the film, an opposite of the violent and arrogant Salman Khan.

But the scene stealer is Prakash Raj as Ghani Bhai. The two time national award winning actor is the main villain in the film and he is unlike any you have seen before. He is comical and menacing at the same time. He is the only actor who is part of all three films. Perhaps no one else could have done the role except him. The significant change made is Wanted is that Prakash Raj’s role has been extended and he is effective to say the least.

Mahesh Manjrekar as the lecherous cop is good. Inder Kumar, Mehak Chahal and Manoj Pahwa extend able support to the film. Vinod Khanna in his brief role does the best scene in the film. In fact the pre-climax scene is sure to give you goose pimples.

The person who needs to be applauded the most is Puri Jagannath, the writer of the story as well as the director of Pokiri, the Telugu original. The script is foolproof. The fact that it became super hit in Tamil and now in Hindi gives enough testimony for the script. As a film too, it’s a scene to scene copy of Pokiri which talks volumes about Jagannath’s directorial abilities. Prabhu Dheva did make some changes and he is quite effective in that but it’s too less and insignificant to give him the credit. The film is essentially Puri Jagannath’s dream.

The music by Sajid-Wajid is ordinary. Except Dil Leke, there are not many tracks that you would like to take home though you might enjoy them at that moment. The background music by Salim-Sulaiman is subtle unlike the original which is great. The action is raw and well executed, though a lot has been copied from a foreign film. Choreography is of top notch which is obvious when the director is the best dancer in the country.

Wanted may not be a great film per se but it’s one of the best films made in its category. The tender hearted people might find some action scenes hard to see, but there are plenty of beautiful moments to compensate for that. For action buffs, it’s a sheer delight. Above all, if you want to be entertained, go watch Wanted. The film comes with an invisible tag line – satisfaction guaranteed!