Movie Gringo

                                Movie Gringo is a complete entertainer. It is one of those movies that completely transforms your mood,i would refrain myself to put this movie in any particular genre. It's story is interwoven with almost everything, thus making it a complete masala flick.  I started watching Gringo with very little or with no expectations but it turns out to be a breath of fresh air. The main protagonist is the black man(David Oyelowo) who happens to be an innocent, a  righteous man hailing from Nigeria trying his luck to live "The American Dream". He is being exploited by his boss disguised as friend, manipulated and cheated by his wife,and,to top it all stuck in quagmire of wrong circumstances. In the utter confusion, it is interesting how the story unfolds creating funny situations eventually benefiting David. Rest assured in the last scene when David looked into the camera and smiled, i couldn't stop myself from reciprocating the gesture. This movie turns out to be a heart touching, funny, comic relief .

                          Charlize Theron and Joel Edgerton along with David Oyelowo were outstanding in their performances. The story does in between looks confusing but soon, all dots were connected.  One of the finest movie, its a must watch for movie buffs.

It's Not The Size Of The Dog In The Fight, It's The Size Of The Fight In The Dog.

                    In this article, i am discussing about a sensitive issue targeting a small section(around 3% by official estimates) of our population. Here, i would like to talk about "People with special needs" or as in our dialect we say "Disabled People" (DP) . I always believed and stand by my opinion that, Indian society is one filled with ruthless, self-centered and hypocritical people with cruel intentions. Firstly, our society generally treat the people with disabilities as outcast, they are not supposed to be smart, butt of joke with people trying to ridicule them at the slightest provocation .

                 There are few, who are brilliant in concealing their twisted mindset, the concern they portray lasts the moment DP shows disagreement or refuse to comprehend the terms dictated(usually unfavorable) and thus,he(DP) declines to put his foot down, this is when these hate mongers reveal their true identity. The usual discourse starts with trying to subdue DP psychologically by emphasizing "the big favor" he/she granted to DP which is exclusive thus making DP realize of benevolence shown by maniac and a subtle way of reminding DP his unfortunate condition. These nuts firstly, aren't doing any favor, you(DP) are bringing him business and he is after your money, lets be realistic, there's nothing more to it and it hardly matters to seller if the customer is physically fit or not as long as he shows the money. There is cut throat competition in this country, and people are too oblivious of one's misery, everyone tries to get better of DP and hence, finds it convenient to bully a DP into submission.

                      I am speaking from my own experience (17 years back, met an accident) as i move around, thankfully, I am financially well off so it obviates any need to struggle but i get disturbed to think of many more who aren't this fortunate. From my personal experience, i have encountered the sick mentality of our society. Perverts won't shy in passing sordid comments even at funerals, such is the travesty. As they say, only the wearer knows, where the shoe pinches, it is safe to assume no one will understand the struggle and challenges faced by a DP. On their part, DP shouldn't expect any generosity from others. At the same time, never accept things lying down. Your courteous nature, if is misunderstood as weakness ,its definitely not your fault, fight for things that's yours without being perturbed about consequences.

                        Don't harp on to emotional stuff, have thick skin, mark my words, people will call you names behind your back even your servants,don't be overly sensitive. Choose your battles wisely, and the one's of choice should be fought with everything at your disposal. Never, ever make compromise with your honor and dignity, respect others and demand the same without any dilution. Never allow others to belittle your achievements and never oblige to ridiculous proposals. You are not responsible for something that was beyond your control so you shouldn't be ashamed of something that has happened to you, it can happen to anyone, anytime.

                    Don't expect society to change anytime soon, ostracization of DP is a naked reality. The one's who consider you inferior will try to compete with you with frivolous excuses in hand as an insurance. The DP on their part, should learn to stand for them self, be assertive, and do not wilt under pressure. You are a gem in your own way, and there is absolutely nothing wrong in you and the non-believers are shit minds that needn't be taken seriously. 

Movies:- John Wick, Jack Reacher & The Equalizer

                                In this post, i am attempting to give reviews of five movies . As all the five are based on identical themes, so, it defeats the purpose of writing reviews for each one of them separately, besides this way, it wasn't taxing on my mind too. Starting with John Wick film franchise, it is an action thriller series, where a retired hitman grieving the loss of his wife, is forced to come out of retirement to neutralize bunch of different sets of bad guys in both movies. Here, the violent scenes are superbly shot, there isn't much in the story to scratch one's head. There is a portrayal of elegance, luxury and unhindered violence that grips viewers imagination. Keanu Reeves was exceptionally good in both the series, in fact after watching the second part,i got impatient and frantically searched for the first. A sleek and stylish action thriller, John Wick is an action movie series, brilliantly executed that it never becomes numbing and boring and a must watch for action genre viewers.

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                         Jack Reacher series also belongs to the action thriller category. There wasn't much in the screenplay, apart from the violent stunts performed by Tom Cruise that too  have now, become too repetitive and unfortunately uninspiring . This movie series, lack in everything from story to chemistry leaving a dry mediocre action flick. This is the third movie in continuity where Tom Cruise disappoints me, the earlier being "The Mummy" which gives an impression that Tom should work on himself as he now resembles a pale shadow of his earlier self .  I am a his big admirer and is anxiously waiting for his upcoming movie "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" to be released this week and would appreciate if he recovers .

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                        The Equalizer is the poor cousin of the above two action series i mentioned.  McCall (Denzel Washington) a retired army personal  comes out of his self-imposed retirement to punish bad guys for justice. The story was forgettable, the action scenes unrealistic and acting skills of some are questionable. This movie is ridiculously boring and a pain to watch. You can avoid your misery by not watching this blot on action genre movie.

Loneliness

                           Man is a social animal who normally strive for secure social environment to thrive. Right from the early times, man has survived in social groupings, from nomadic times (hunting) there after when started living a sedentary life. So, it isn't unusual that people are scared to be alone and there are numerous ways adapted by society to wane it. From our childhood we are programmed to find company. Friends in school to looking out for perfect partner during our young age is all considered and a well established normal process to search for a companion.

                      So is loneliness a disease that we all are obnoxiously possessive about? Even though our urge to be in company is innate or maybe inculcated from birth yet it would be silly to believe we don't feel lonely even in the best of the circumstances and in the company of our loved ones. Some of us always had solitary life by choice or fate depending on individual's perception. What and whether an individual feels lonely is also important, you could have people around you throughout the day or even be in a lifelong marriage, and still experience a deep, pervasive loneliness while a person may not feel lonely even when there is no one by his side.

                                Some of the finest works in arts, literature, science were performed by people who weren't exactly in the company of others. So why do we fight against loneliness? As mentioned before, it's considered prudent to find a right friend in childhood, then marriage and there too after a while, we become bored of each other and find salvation in kids. Fully aware the kids would grow up and eventually move out thus, again we are left alone. So is it true that like death, loneliness is our constant companion and grips us, the moment our determined or undiminished struggle against it gets weakened.

                             Isn't it worth to make peace with oneself and embrace life in its full colour with different shades, without fretting about the consequences. Enjoy the time you have alone. Schedule solitude. Literally. Mark off time in your day planner or calendar for spending alone with yourself. Any time that you can spend alone with yourself to reboot, meditate, focus, relax, create, produce, and/or think deeply is better than no time.

Movie Beirut

                              The first part of movie starts in 1972 Beirut, Mason Skiles (Jon Hamm) a U.S. diplomat, hosting a cocktail party along with his wife Nadia (Leila Bekhti) oblivious of the impending disaster in their lives . They have no children of their own, as yet, but treat 13-year-old orphan refugee Karim as “part of the family.” Karim projected himself as a Palestinian refugee with no family, the story starts and revolves around Karim and Mason, as the movie progresses it unfolds mystery about Karim. This period denotes the tinder box situation of 70's , when Lebanon was standing at the anvil of civil war, while Israel fresh from its victories was itching to go after PLO in Lebanon.

                            The second part of movie, starts a decade later in war ravaged Lebanon of 1980's. As CIA lost one of its spies, Mason was brought back from self imposed retirement and is entrusted the job of rescuing him. The story moves slowly, as this isn't  an adrenaline-pumping spy movie. It captivates audience with interesting story line laced with numerous twists. Beirut is an espionage thriller, which competently narrates a story without being biased or demonizing any faction. Jon Hamm is exceptionally comfortable in his role, at times one forgets that he is acting. Rosamund Pike too did justice to her role and has raised the bar through her acting skill. It's a treat to watch Beirut, although it reminds us of the miserable condition in that part of world where peace and prosperity remains elusive to this day.

Pakistan Elections

                              Elections are on the horizon in Pakistan when politicians gleefully accept jail sentences meted out by kangaroo (Army) courts disguised as civilian. So politicians throng to jails in alleged crimes, while terrorists have opened their shops in political mandi of Pakistan. Bizarre as it may sound, but this is the ideal time for Rawalpindi(Pakistan Army headquarters) to exploit the confusion, as Pervez Musharraf had neutralized Benazir Bhutto earlier, and General Qamar Javed Bajwa got rid off Nawaz and Maryam Sharif altogether smoothly now . So the stage is set for Army to muddle in politics through their stooges and thus we witness entry of Hafiz Saeed and suicide bombers party on one hand and on the other side an Islamist sex maniac Imran Khan. Here I haven’t mentioned, good for nothing Shahbaz Sharif or political joke Bilawal Bhutto , whose only noticeable work was sexual rendezvous with Hina Rabbani .

                          This is the golden opportunity for army as the major players are vanquished, and hence it is unlikely to be wasted by successful business enterprise of Rawalpindi. Not that it is the first time, when political parties and politicians are propped up by army, Nawaz n mandli are themselves product of largesse by General Zia. We can safely say that in Pakistan nothing has changed, history is merely repeating itself even players on the chessboard are same with added dimension of terror outfits also jumping into the fray with covert support from establishment.

                      There isn’t much to be excited about or fearful of these Pakistan new political entrants as the final authority still rests with Army. It wouldn’t be prudent to think these newly emerged parties won’t instigate people on emotive issues of Kashmir, Indus water treaty etc. As for India, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) is a deadweight better be discarded altogether without worrying much about the hollow intimidating outbursts by Pakistan.

                        Since 1960, India entered into a treaty that gave away the Indus system’s largest rivers as gifts to Pakistan in the naive hope of peace which still eludes us. All the generosity shown by India is rebuffed and has not altered hostile attitude of Pakistan towards us. Ironically while drawing the full benefits from the treaty, Pakistan has waged overt or covert aggression almost continuously and is now using the IWT itself as a stick to beat India with, including by contriving water disputes and internationalizing them.

                         IWT itself is a fraud and should be done away with as this treaty is extremely harmful to our interests. While no water treaty in the world is so lopsided as IWT, as India is entitled to just 19% share of the Indus basin water while Pakistan gets a whooping 81% share with the largest three of the six rivers were assigned to Pakistan. While the mismanagement of water resources aren’t deliberated upon in Pakistan, rather onus of water woos are mischievously deflected on India. By creating impediments on hydro power projects and seeking international mediation, Pakistan has displayed its greed and insatiable hunger, which can only be answered by revoking this biased IWT, and thus to catch its bluff.

                       Respective Central governments on their part showed their apathy towards IWT even as resolution had been passed in J&K assembly to abolish this treaty. World bank, the guarantor under guidance and influence of USA has thwarted attempts by India to utilize even legitimate share of water by us in order to please Pakistan. Despite Modi’s declaration that “blood and water cannot flow together” , the incumbent government also didn’t do much to alter the scenario which has resulted in Pakistan getting more than 10 billion cubic meters (BCM) of water yearly.

                    Even deriving maximum benefit out of IWT, Pakistan has time and again accused India of wrongdoings, continued proxy war and created impediments. It would be prudent of India to abrogate IWT, as this treaty has failed to meet its noble objective of ushering in peace. Learning from major powers, its not a crime to revoke International treaties if it undermine country’s interest as USA and China recently showed. In effect, Pakistan is offering India a significant opening to remake the terms of the Indus treaty engagement. This is an opportunity that India should not let go. All it needs is firm political will to renegotiate IWT in changed scenario and in a pragmatic manner.

                   India shouldn’t be hesitant in correcting the mistakes of past without giving much attention to emerging political scene in Pakistan. Pakistani Army( juggler) knows monkeys balancing skills very well and is skilled in taming its domestic pets. Apart from verbal jingoism, which is only going to be more shrill during election season, these pets won’t dare move an inch without approval from Pakistan army which as a true businessmen won’t risk war with India as it would be suicidal for its business interests.

हम लड़ेंगे साथी / पाश

Hum ladenge saathi — Hindi translation of a famous Punjabi poem written by revolutionary poet Paash (Avtar Singh Sandhu). The poem speaks of the undying, inspiring fight of the working masses. It delineates the moral imperative for joining the battle.

                                                           हम लड़ेंगे साथी / पाश
                                                हम लड़ेंगे साथी, उदास मौसम के लिए
                                             हम लड़ेंगे साथी, ग़ुलाम इच्छाओं के लिए

                                              हम चुनेंगे साथी, ज़िन्दगी के टुकड़े

                                           हथौड़ा अब भी चलता है, उदास निहाई पर

                                            हल अब भी चलता हैं चीख़ती धरती पर

                                         यह काम हमारा नहीं बनता है, प्रश्न नाचता है

                                                      प्रश्न के कन्धों पर चढ़कर

                                                               हम लड़ेंगे साथी

                                             क़त्ल हुए जज़्बों की क़सम खाकर

                                             बुझी हुई नज़रों की क़सम खाकर

                                             हाथों पर पड़े घट्टों की क़सम खाकर

                                                             हम लड़ेंगे साथी

                                              हम लड़ेंगे तब तक

                                              जब तक खिले हुए सरसों के फूल को

                                              जब तक बोने वाले ख़ुद नहीं सूँघते

                                               कि सूजी आँखों वाली

                                               गाँव की अध्यापिका का पति जब तक

                                              युद्ध से लौट नहीं आता

                                             जब तक पुलिस के सिपाही

                                             अपने भाइयों का गला घोंटने को मज़बूर हैं

                                            कि दफ़्तरों के बाबू

                                            जब तक लिखते हैं लहू से अक्षर

                                            हम लड़ेंगे जब तक

                                          दुनिया में लड़ने की ज़रूरत बाक़ी है

                                          जब तक बन्दूक न हुई, तब तक तलवार होगी

                                          जब तलवार न हुई, लड़ने की लगन होगी

                                          लड़ने का ढंग न हुआ, लड़ने की ज़रूरत होगी

                                          और हम लड़ेंगे साथी

                                          हम लड़ेंगे

                                         कि लड़े बग़ैर कुछ नहीं मिलता

                                         हम लड़ेंगे

                                         कि अब तक लड़े क्यों नहीं

                                         हम लड़ेंगे

                                        अपनी सज़ा कबूलने के लिए

                                        लड़ते हुए जो मर गए

                                        उनकी याद ज़िन्दा रखने के लिए

                                                  हम लड़ेंगे

*Image : Google

*Poem  : Google

Himalayan Blunder: The Curtain-Raiser to the Sino-Indian War of 1962 (Book review)

                             The author, Brigadier J.P.Dalvi was the commander of 7th Infantry Brigade in the North-East Frontier Agency Sector of Tawang. The 7th Brigade was destroyed, and  Brigadier J.P.Dalvi was captured by the Chinese Forces on 22nd October and repatriated in May 4,1963. This book is the memoir of the author, the first hand account, the real story of the biggest blunder in Indian military history. The book was banned in Indian almost immediately on its release as it pointed to the loopholes in establishment, flawed foreign policy, lackadaisical military preparations etc, however this ban was later lifted.

                            Himalayan Blunder is a fascinating war memoir of the 1962 Conflict between India and China in which India was humbled by Chinese onslaught. It was the watershed moment in Indian History when many political stalwarts who were living in their fancy lands had to bite dust. Such was the eye popping, hollow self confidence displayed by the morality preaching superstar politicians, that Chinese were also amazed by their naive foolishness. Although by the time this war ended, the rockstar politicians were begging for arms and armaments in front of same countries towards whom they showed scanty respect and were the target of their ire at international forums. The Indian military establishment on its part, didn't show the spine to stand firm against ever increasing public pressure and incompetent politicians. The result was, the ill prepared Indian army was thrown as cannon fodder before well oiled Dragon juggernaut.

                      Himalayan Blunder showed the treason with nation and people behind the debacle of 1962 Indo-China war. This book is the first hand account of what transpired during and after the period,as the writer dwells deeply into the circumstances which culminated in this humiliating defeat. The writer categorically reasoned, what  happens when an  ill-equipped, unprepared, confused, demoralized yet fiercely brave and patriotic soldiers were rushed into battle field against a strong adversary in an ad hoc manner because military decisions were influenced more by political prophecy rather than military strategy.

                   This book is a masterpiece and i recommend it to all. Besides being illuminating, the writer with his witty style captivates the reader. Brigadier J.P.Dalvi narrated the story and asked pertinent questions which needs to be answered honestly if we have to avoid risking falling into the similar trap again.