An Enigmatic Half-Lion (Thoughts on book 'Half-Lion')

"He's a hero that Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So, we will hunt him. Because he can take it."

A resemblance, however hyped and uncanny, on Batman from the film 'The Dark Knight' keeps coming to my mind as I read about India's former Prime minister, PV Narasimha Rao in Prof. Vinay Sitapati's 'Half-Lion - How PV Narasimha Rao transformed India'.

Time and again, I self-checked rather guiltily, whether I succumbed to the traps of Caste and Region in admiring a wily politician, genius and polyglot, of whose paradoxical life - I never understood beyond the basic sketch and that too, first in my home, after his passing away in 2004. Reading the Half-Lion, thus, out of fascination was a great experience in knowing about perhaps India's Greatest Prime Minister, as yet, given the practical constraints he faced.

Dealing judiciously with various events (Liberalization, Babri Masjid, Repeated No Confidence Motions, Nuclear Bomb, Relations with Nehru-Gandhi family), the book vividly describes Rao (who famously 'suffered with lack of ambition') surviving and thriving full term as a Prime Minister,despite a plethora of problems. How this Monk turned Monarch was responsible for a great deal of change in the garb of continuity, reacting as 'Lion/Fox/Mouse' a la Chanakya, Machiavelli is an interesting read.

He had his flaws, and some of his decisions did come to haunt him, but unlike many other transformational leaders like Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Deng Xiaoping, he did not had to face crippling odds. Salman Khurshid laments, 'Rao is remembered for so much that went wrong, and for nothing that went right', but as Natwar Singh rightly pointed, 'Vinay Sitapati has resurrected Rao'.

Today India is a nuclear power and an economic heavyweight, miles away from an India that was deficit-financing driven and politically unstable in 1991. Thus, the legacy of the enigmatic Half-Lion lives on!

Book - HalfLion - How PV Narasimha Rao transformed India by Vinay Sitapati

Arjun Reddy

నా పంతం ఎంతా? ఈ విశ్వం అంతా! 

How do you judge a film in India? Should it confirm to the model standards of morality set forth by the society, whatever they are and indulge in message orientation to an already exasperated and unwilling audience? Should it mimic the mundane aspects of everyday life, the celebration of living? Do films inspire people to commit crimes or indulge in vices like drugs, drinking etc?

Beyond all the questioning and brouhaha, aren't we just forgetting the basic element of watching a film ? Aren't they just a source of enjoyment, however intelligent and inspiring they purport to be?

And then comes 'Arjun Reddy'. What a film it is! The 3 hours! While I would never dream of being or mimicking an angry young man like that, there are elements of the film which offer a raw, undefined connect. Despite the unusual positive end (our obsession with 'Subham cards'), the film delves deep into issues which are rarely scratched in films. While it indeed is a love story, it mirrors the frantic frustration in a bold way, when life does a U turn for us, taking away all the things we deserve and desire.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga, I shall remember the name. Martin Scorsese is famous for combining pleasant and popular music with violent scenes, and you did remind me of that effective technique. When all the hype surrounding the rather bad-taste speech and drugs and alcohol dies down, Vijay Devarakonda got his best role, which he aced with elan. Especially the eyes - hate to do it, but comparisons will be surely drawn and already made, rather unfairly, but nevertheless, with Al Pacino in the Godfather, especially the dining scene in the later film. The cast did an assuredly good job, especially Shalini Pandy and Rahul. And, what of the music & BGM score - haunting!

And, isn't it time for me to check the new app where i can print my name in the film's bold red in the black back ground style!

Film - Arjun Reddy (Telugu) (2017)
Link (Wiki) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arjun_Reddy

13 Reasons Why....

Teen Suicide dramas never appealed to me. Better yet, I should say, I've never been aware or am completely ignorant of their very existence. Until....

One of the chat web sites I was active with was overflowing with the users swooning over the new netflix series '13 Reasons Why'. Like many great shows, it was based on a book. So, it was this book that I delved into on a return journey to home by rail. Just curiosity? Succumbing to popularity? Something appealing in an unorthodox subject?

At it's core the subject is that a teen girl (Hannah Baker) explains why she had to take the drastic step of committing suicide, in 7 audio cassettes, blaming 13 friends, class mates, acquaintances - call it whatever or whoever they are. As the train chugged with inconsistent pace, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, contrasting the 'snow ball' effect of Hannah Baker and the sheer helplessness of Clay Jenson (One of the 13), I was amused at the story and reasons at first.

But by the end, the book did show a refreshing perspective, tackling the subject of suicide. I could go on to say, maybe if she's a little brave or 'if onlies' and 'for buts', but one's suffering should never be a cause of ridicule, whether real or perceived.

There's a raging controversy about the netflix series, as it allegedly encouraged a few teens to commit suicide across the world, but I can not judge as I did not watch an episode of it.

As for the book, it was anything but suicide-inspiring, fast paced and unputdownable!

Book - 13 Reasons Why
Author -Jay Asher
Link -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_Reasons_Why