Re-living the magical experience of DDLJ.

On the eve of completing incredible 1000 weeks run in a single theatre, the movie ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ was released worldwide once again last week. I went to witness it once again and re-live the golden magic of DDLJ. And I was not disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie, partially due to my fading memory, as I had seen it in theatre before in 1995, the year it was released.

Following are some of my observations about this epic movie, which has cemented a place for itself in all-time Bollywood blockbusters.

The on-screen chemistry of SRK and Kajol was mesmerizing. It had a freshness, youthfulness, romanticism and what not. This pair can easily be compared with other classic pairs in Bollywood like Raj Kapoor – Nargis, Dilip Kumar – Vaijayanthimala, Dev Anand – Waheeda Rehman, Rajesh Khanna – Mumtaz and Amitabh Bchchan – Rekha.

The entire star cast has now changed with times. 20 years has changed a lot. Sadly, Yash Chopra and Amrish Puri are no more. Kajol is a happy mom with two kids. SRK is struggling to keep his stardom alive. Mandira Bedi, almost a newcomer in the movie, has come and gone into oblivion. Karan Johar, who played a cameo as sidekick of SRK, has established himself as a premium filmmaker. 

The film does not have a single kissing scene. This tells us about how the society has changed in the last twenty years. As the years progressed, in the name of being advanced or progressive, the sensuality has been lost somewhere.

The film has a dialogue, ‘Bade bade shahron me aisi chhoti chhoti baten hoti raheti hai.’  This dialogue had put RR Patil in serious trouble and cost him his home minister ship when he had wrongly used it after the tragic terror attack in Mumbai In 2006. However, this dialogue was deeply honored when Barack Obama mentioned it in one of his speeches during his recent visit to India.

The audience mainly comprised of people in their forties and fifties, some of them with their young children. The elders were excited to re-live the magic while the children were excited to see their parents thrilled. Conspicuously, there were no youngsters-in-groups in the movie hall. This could be because they might have seen this movie on television many times or simply, they do not value it enough to watch in theatre.

This was a cult movie, which later gave birth to several remakes with selective portions of the movie. It was very easy to relate some portions of this movie with plots and sub-plots of movies released subsequently, for several years. In that respect, it has retained its freshness and originality, even after twenty years.

In the last minute of the film, when Amrish Puri leaves the grip of Kajol’s hand and says in his deep voice, ‘Ja Simran Ja … jee le apni zindagi…’ it was as if the whole world had accepted the concept of true love. It shows a victory of love over everything else. If Yash Chopra has earned the title of ‘King of Romance’, then this film surely marks an important landmark in his achieving this coveted title for himself.

Overall, it was a great experience. I came home satisfied that I had enjoyed once again a masterpiece of a movie, which had stood the test of time. A whole new generation had grown up in Mumbai by watching its morning show in Maratha Mandir. 

5 reasons why AAP will not survive the full term in New Delhi...!

AAP has set new benchmarks in the history of India as far as the winning percentage in assembly elections are concerned. By any standards, this is an unprecedented victory and shall always figure in the top 5 list of victory margins for decades to come. The AAP cadre deserves to be complimented for their sustained efforts during the last few months for campaigning for their candidates.

With this verdict, the Modi juggernaut has symbolically come to a halt. The BJP may console themselves by saying that this was a referendum on Kejriwal and not on Modi government, but even a child will say that this is not entirely true. BJP faced its first big challenge post the general elections last year and they lost the contest very badly. 

Going ahead, the AAP will have unlimited power as the people’s mandate has been completely in their favor. However, will AAP live up to the people’s expectations? Can the Kejriwal government fulfill all its poll promises? Can Kejriwal bring the Moon, which he has promised, to the Aam Admi of Delhi during the campaigning?

Well, the road ahead for Kejriwal is not very easy. He has a challenge ahead of him, which is much bigger that what meets the eyes. Let us analyze the threats faced by Kejriwal at this moment of time, and see whether he can survive a full term of five years or again sacrifice his powerful seat, to satiate his inner need of doing dharnas and agitations.

Threat #1: No opposition

Kejriwal has achieved something, which neither he nor any of his ardent supporter might have dreamt of. He does not have an opposition in the assembly. He can virtually pass any bill, any resolution, any act without having to bother about anything. In fact, there would be no meaningful discussions in the assembly at all. The ruling party legislatures are stretching from the right side of the speaker to the extreme left side, a place reserved for the opposition party legislatures. How much debate can be held with the three members of BJP, who will appear and behave more like invitees to a marriage function that posing any serious challenge to the government?

This is not good omen for democracy, since the government tends to become complacent about its actions and likely to lose focus very soon.

Threat #2: Old habits die hard

Kejriwal has been an expert agitator while is efficiency as an administrator is yet to be tested. He has already squandered one precious chance last year. During his infamous rule for 49 days, he has initiated and participated in several agitations and dharnas, some of them on the roads leading to north block. He had not only threatened to disrupt the republic day parade, but had also openly incited the policemen to join the agitation. He also uttered those words ‘Yes, I am an Anarchist.’

If he indulges in any of these things now, he might be in trouble again. Moreover, this time, he has no excuse. The people have given him an enviable mandate. He has to govern, not agitate.

Threat #3: Difficult promises

Kejriwal has made several rosy promises to the people of Delhi. He may not find it easy to deliver on these promises. For example, if he is going to reduce the electricity and water bills for the people, and collect the money from people indirectly by way of additional taxes and duties, then this may not work for long. The electricity and water authorities cannot operate on losses. The government cannot grant subsidies to the people, unless they know where the money is going to come from, to cover the loss in revenue.

Similarly, roads cannot be built without collecting additional money from the public. 

Threat #4: High expectations on fast results

The mandate got by Kejriwal is unrealistic by any standards. People do not even dare to dream what he has achieved. Naturally, the expectations are running high and people expect the result of good governance to be reflected in their daily lives from day one. Every day brings more pressure to perform and any delay is looked upon with suspicion about the capabilities to bring about the changes. Unfortunately, he has many things in his agenda like bringing Delhi police under the Delhi government, statehood for Delhi, audits of power companies etc., which are not easy tasks. These changes require prolonged deliberations with different stakeholders, patient discussions, compromises and adjustments from one’s original stand etc. Unfortunately, the AAP leadership has not demonstrated so far any of these qualities while dealing with such issues. They instantly go on offensive and threaten a dharna. This only derails the process and brings down the trust levels between various parties.

Threat #5: Internal contradictions

By far, this is the biggest threat for the AAP. This is one factor, which could accelerate the process of bringing down this government before completing its term for full five years. The only thing common to all the elected representatives is that they are all clean, without any corruption charges against them. But then, that alone is not enough for ensuring a good governance. Even Manmohan Singh was clean, and we know what happened to him and his party. Moreover, all these legislatures are inexperienced in politics, principled and people with an opinion. Kejriwal is known to be autocratic in his functioning style and he is bound to ruffle some feathers among his own party members while taking decisions, small and big. It will be interesting to see how these legislatures accept the diktats form the high command without questioning and adjust to the dictatorial work environment.

Another big worry is that some of the inner coterie like Somnath Bharti and Rakhi Birla, who have been in controversies before for their unruly behavior. Would they unintentionally embarrass the government like before? Would they spread anarchism around again?.

Given these five challenges, it looks very unlikely that the Kejriwal government would complete its term of five years. The internal contradictions would bring it down faster than anyone can expect. This has been a roller coaster ride for the AAP. Now it will stabilize and continue to be like any other political party. 

We all have heard that absolute power corrupts absolutely … now we are going to witness it in Delhi in coming few months.