…and The Dark Knight Rises in the End

You must fear death.

Lovers of Nolan and fans of Batman will, at once, appreciate the beauty of this fair statement which makes Bruce Wayne the Batman of Gotham in this finale of the Batman series. Nolan’s way to translate the past into the present is yet another example of cinematic excellence without juxtaposition of conceptual characters from the film’s prior two parts. No, there is no development in the characters, not an inch from scene zero to scene final. They look the same till the end and mind you, looks are deceptive! They are obvious in excesses and your superhero will disappoint you in most part of the narrative. But before you draw a conclusion out of it, let me tell you, the circumstances are so framed that your mathematics might fail to calculate almost all the equations. Oh well, if you’re not a Batman/Joker fan, don’t even try to read the film text.

The film text. Well, it so appeared that the storyline would have been incomplete without the prodigious background score. For once you might find yourself lost within the “Inception” of the background as “The Dark Knight” appears and disappears. Moreover, if you remember the five minutes climax of both these hits, you might get reminded of a few kicks and a ship, one after another. Again, a Nolan fan will read them better. However, a lot of credit lies with the dialogue writer who has strung the several loosely hung threads together leaving you in an awe each time you try immersing deep into the changing colours of the characters. A wisely done writing, I must appreciate. And the genius lies in the even subtle cues given to those who read the characters of Inception in depth. They will easily solve the ultimate equation just by analyzing the style of dialogue delivery of few characters borrowed from the film. However, the connection remains unexplained.

Returning to the colour codes used, the colour black has been one of the dominating colours perfectly matching “The Dark Knight” mood. Not only in the characters and shots but also in the dialogues that might make you pity Batman. And you would love doing so if you are able to collect the definition of the black mask, repeated several times in the film. But, by the time you understand the repetition, it will end in an excessively obvious manner which is one of the oldest characteristics of American cinema. No surprises when it ended that way. But wait, not totally! Moving on, what might surprise you should be Bane. Or maybe not. But Fox, for sure will win hearts as Morgan Freeman always does with his perfect timing and believability even in a fiction!

Another notable character should be Alfred’s. Interestingly, there are several Alfreds in the film. It will be totally your choice to identify or to overlook each of them. Alternatively, you may overlook Kyle: Anne Hathaway towards the end. The choice won’t be yours this time because upon reaching here, amidst his flying machine, people of Gotham, the police force, guns, an atom bomb and the ocean, Batman completes the trilogy making more sense than ever and The Dark Knight rises.

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O Womaniya explained (Meaning, Music and Singers behind the gem)

Gangs of Wasseypur changed many things. One among them was the way songs are written, recorded and sung in the mainstream Bollywood. While we got to listen to many weird gems in Gangs of Wasseypur I (including Hunter and Bhaiyaa -The Musahar of Sundarpur), There was this song which registered itself as an altogether different anthem, by the sheer tune, words and music of it.

O Womaniya.

While we keep waiting eagerly for the release of Gangs of Wasseypur II, I can’t resist myself from digging deep into the way this bubbly song has been written and sung. It incidentally is the first song review at aS.

Meaning: This song is sort of a mischievous teaching from the elder women to the younger women, regarding how to handle their men. And it gets naughty. When you read the literal meaning of the lyrics below, do read between the lines. :)

तारे  जो  बबुना , तरती  बबुनिया  | When the boy stares, the girl stares back too.

बाबुना  के  हाथे  न  चढ़ती  बबुनिया  | But the girl doesn’t get in the hands of the boy.

ओ वूमनिया

आ हां वूमनिया

(from here the actual teaching begins)

मांगे  जो  बबुना  प्रेम  निसनिया  | If he asks for a sensual favor (a love bite)

बोले  जो  थोड़ी , कट्टी  हो  कनिया  | then lean over and just nibble his ear.

बदले  रुपिया  के  देना  चवन्निया    |  If he asks for a rupee, give him a quarter.

सैयां  जी  झपटे  तो  होना  हिरनियाँ  | And when he lunges,  flee  like a deer

रह  रह  के  मांगे  चोली  बटअनियाँ   | Your man would ask for your blouse’s buttons again and again

जी  मे  लुकाये  लोट   लोटनियाँ  | And in his heart he would have a bigger plan.

चाहे  मुह -झौंसा  जब  हाथ  सेकनिया   | When the bastard tries to warm his hands, (Incidentally, Muh-jhaunsa is a very crude but adorable way of swearing at a male in Bihar; it literally means the one with a charred face)

कन्धा  में  देना  जी  दांत  भुकनिया  | Dig your teeth in his shoulders

बोलेगा  बबुना , चल  जयइहो  पटना , | He will offer you a ride to Patna,

पटना  बहाने  वो  चाहेगा  सटना , | and with this excuse, he would want to get real close.

दैइहों  ना  पहुना  को  टिकेट  कटानिया … | Don’t let him buy the ticket all the way (to Patna)

पटना  ना  जाना  चाहे  जाना  सिवानिया … | Don't go to Patna, even if you choose to go to Siwan. ( Both the districts are nothing but metaphors. Think about it. ;))

ओ वूमनिया

आ हां वूमनिया

Music: Sneha Khanwalkar has used traditional folksong (lokgeet) of Bihar. I still wonder how did she manage to make a Bollywood song out of something which is fast getting erased from a population so clueless and largely ashamed (Sad, but true) of its traditional culture that it has been fast adopting anything and everything (including Beiber’s and Gomez’s songs, for God’s sake).

To understand another side of what I wrote above, type in ‘Bhojpuri songs’ and see what you get on youtube. Bland vulgarism with busty-babes-chasing-crazy-fast-heavily-aututuned-excuse-for-a-music. Gone are subtle naughtiness of words and playfully soothing music. Or not. Listen to Womaniya. Though not actually bhojpuri, you get all the regional flavors correct.

The beats of dholak go wild after every paragraph while the weak harmonium continues in the base and chorus women sing along the lead. It creates an environment unparalleled while you keep on musing at the naughty lyrics and giggling all the way. The chorus giggles with you, for sure.

Singers: Both Rekha Jha and Khushboo Raj are underdogs in the world of Bhojpuri songs with some songs here and there. While you would succeed in finding some other songs of Khushboo Raj, Rekha Jha seems more of a fresh discovery by Sneha and her team. Sneha herself admits that Rekha had come for the audition in Patna to sing in chorus. Her voice was of a different genre altogether, perfect for the type of song they were having the auditions for. Hence the lead.

Overall, the Songs of Wasseypur including O womaniya, Bhiayaa, Hamni ke chhodi ke, Bhoos etc. have opened some new doors for the folk songs of the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh belt (Khushboo Raj is from Benaras). In the Bollywood industry where a folk song is essentially a Punjabi song or a hindi song with some Punjabi words (no offences to the Punjabis!), songs like these are like a breeze of freshness.

And Sneha Khanwalkar, kudos to your efforts in generating the music for GoW. I understand that your music is heavily ‘inspired’ from the traditional folksongs and is nothing new or of your own but how many music directors of Bollywood do some actual research before deciding the music of their own?

Alok K.

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A Cocktail of Orthodox Ideologies!

Mix a Parwati bhabhi, a Pallavi and a nagging mother in law as good as Savita bahu with a topping of son Mihir Viraani and you would shake a perfect Cocktail! Raising a toast, I wonder what the director would have called it, had the scriptwriter added an immortal Baa to the worthless drama! A Mock Tale? No seriously, I was taken back to the Ekta era of never ending soap operas, scene after scene, as the film refused to progress at all! The only good thing about the film is Dimple Kapadia  who continues to take your breath away with her flawless acting.

But that is not my concern, specially after Rowdy Rathore and Dabang did a “reasonably” huge business on the box office. The most astonishing aspect of this commercial film that left my right eyebrow raised up throughout the sequences lies in the portrayal of women on the celluloid in this particular reel of orthodoxy. Scales have fallen down to the level where one of the opening shots of the film shows a newly wedded Indian woman- a typically submissive, shy and a giving lady who is too meek to speak: Meera (Diana Penty) - “The Indian Woman”. She has come to London after marriage and portrays the bechari biwi abandoned by her husband. You would see her covered head to toe in salwar kameez and accessorized with half a dozen bangles and danglers and voila, Veronica – “The Indian Vamp” welcomes her with: “accha, toh aap hindustan se aayin hain?!” Veronica(played by Dipkia Padukone) is loud and peppy, dresses skimpily; is charming, smart, and drinks heavily. She buys a carton of beer cans as the two ladies exchange their life stories. A ridiculous contrast. A huge disappointment on the filmmaker’s part. Mister, you lack perspective certainly!

       

Decades have passed since the nomination of the classic Shaheb Biwi aur Gulam for best film was withdrawn from the academy awards race just because “The Indian Women” couldn’t be shown drinking on screen. I was thunderstruck to realize that filmmakers have not grown up with time. Why a smart woman typically becomes a vamp and a tragedy queen is the natural option for the female lead? And, the vamp always drinks and smokes! But that’s not the only issue which this film has reinvented. Cocktail possesses the potential to disturb your thought process in multilayers. The next is, the male lead- Gautam played by Saif Ali Khan. He does exactly everything that Veronica loves to do; smokes, drinks and is shown having sex with random women and still plays the lead! Aren’t alcohol, tobacco and polyamory bad for both? Then, why this discrimination?

Coming back to the film, the spoilt brat then makes out with the rich bitch Veronica and they rejoice together in the weeks ahead. Towards the climax, Gautam falls in love with Meera who lives in the same house with the other two. Why? Because, she is a perfect homemaker and perhaps has long straight jet black hairs? Also, the rich “bitch”, develops this enchanting desire to become a “desi girl” in a local pub for guess who? Why, Gautam! Because he is “different”. I don’t understand this. Why the Indian vamp is always very rich? What do filmmakers have against rich and independent women? Anyway, how Gautam becomes different all of sudden has not been explained. C’mon now! Not everything is supposed to be explained, right? You have to read between the scenes! And by now the Parwati bhabhi in Meera has already overpowered her blissfully to gift away Gautam to the vamp, as if he was their shared hair dryer! You can easily predict every next scene while getting frustrated. In the end you may try to figure out why Veronica becomes another Meera: supposedly “The Indian Woman”. While Meera, who is the perfect angel marries the badass Gautam and hell, she is totally in love with him. Frankly speaking, I don’t buy this melodramatic discrimination.

If this is how you’d project the image of women of our country in the world cinema, then I am sorry there is something seriously wrong with your research. Please Mr. Filmmaker, grow up! 

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The Majestic Himalayas and Serene Ladakh

It takes either an adventurous mind or a crazy mind to go to the Himalayas, to an elevation of 18ooo ft and almost touch the China as well as Pakistan borders. All in one week. But yes, it was decided and before I knew it, I landed in Leh -- the capital of India's Cold Desert.
The first two days went in resting. Very crucial, mind you, since the low oxygen levels in the air can take a toll by the following day and you can be immediately deported! All you can do is to admire the wooden insulated ceiling of your hotel room.

 
The people of Ladakh are extremely friendly and energetic. You can almost see their feet running on the snowy roads while you battle the slippery ground with your Nike shoes. Stock yourself up with the Chinese flask that is commonly available in the Tibetan market for your daily supply of hot water. For, once your journey begins, you won't want it to stop!

In this scenic place where all you need is a camera with a never ending entourage of memory cards, there is a lot to see. The Khardung La is a pass that has the world's highest motorable road. Go there and beyond to the Nubra valley. Ride on the double humped camels in the desert sands. Feel yourself get lost in the magnificence of the hills on both sides.



Most of the people are Buddhists, so there are several Gompas whose tranquil air instils a priceless peace that can't be bought even by Master card.




Flowing all through Leh city is the Indus river. Nearby, it has its sangam with Zanskar and proceeds downwards.

On one side is the Pakistan Border, and on the other, we have the Chinese. In Ladakh itself, everywhere you go, there are military vans and soldiers. It is a mutual co-existence. Civilians and the army. Stories of wars won and battles fought have become a part of the folklore, so to say. Even as check-posts control entry into the passes, its these very armymen who come with dozers to clear off the routes for the people when the snow displays its fury.


 
Not to forget, you can see the Pangong Lake and the Druk School where the famous movie 3 Idiots was shot. You can also say HI to Pashmina goats as they graze on the nutrient-rich grass.


While driving whole days into the desert, on roads that don't exist and purely trusting your driver's intuition, you develop a sense of humility in this place. maybe its the grandeur of the mountains or the beauty of how life manages to survive even in such harsh conditions. But in the end, the trip leaves you seeking for a higher goal in life than your run-of-the-mill mundane life back home.







If you really want to take a bite of this spectacular landscape, see with your own eyes a spark of Earth’s beauty; f you are a nature lover – Go to Ladakh. It’ll be a trip you won’t regret.

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