Getting Personal!

Happy to be Gay

2009-07-15T17:26:00.004+05:30

Make that happy and safe to be gay; lesbian; bi-sexual; creative heterosexual; the list can go on. Designer Wendell Rodericks my guest on `Beautiful People' this weekend makes it a point to point out that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that the Delhi High Court recently said violates Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution is not just a gay law. In fact if you go through the conclusion of the 105 page order, the statement says "We declare that section 377 of the Indian Penal Code so far as it criminalizes consensual sexual acts of adults in private is violative of articles 24, 15 and 14 of the constitution." So whatever you are doing privately and willingly is legit now!
All eyes are on the Supreme Court and how it responds to the petition that it will hear against the Delhi High Court's order. What will be even more interesting is to hear the government's official response. Will the government talk on behalf of an inclusive, open minded, liberal Indian society or will it speak on behalf of a homophobic, narrow minded and cruel Indian society, is the question.
In an aside I think when it comes to changing social attitudes and mindsets the role literature and other aspects of mass culture play will be critical.
I was in my teens, in college, when I read `A Single Man' by Christopher Isherwood, a book that was written in 1964. If you can access books like that when you are growing up, or see movies like Brokeback Mountain more recently, instinctively, you will know where you stand on this divisive debate. Interestingly some friends who belong to the LGBT community say a hit film like `Dostana' that was about two men pretending to be gay, pushed the term `gay' and the idea of a homosexual relationship, into middle class drawing rooms. And the fact that the mother of one of those men in the movie(played by Kiron Kher) accepts her son's relationship has insidously gone some way in helping people accept these relationships as normal. Hopefully like Wendell says in 20 years time this debate will be dead. May his words come true, sooner rather than later.

Different Questions about Michael Jackson

2009-07-08T15:58:00.010+05:30

Michael Jackson hasn't been on my radar for sometime now. For almost a decade I think. Of course as someone who grew up in the 80s, I know and enjoy his music immensely and believe he was a great entertainer, one of the greatest ever. A CD of his number 1 singles is in my car and I play it often. But that was about it. Even news of his comeback tour `This is It' stirred just minor curiosity.
So the global outpouring of grief at his death on June 25th came as a surprize. Especially when you go by the media coverage and references to his lifestyle in the past few years. His behaviour seemed to have become progressively bizarre and he was clearly alienated from common reality. And then there were those unproven but damning allegations that he was a child molestor.
So why then this overt, collective outpouring? Is Michael Jackson in death bigger, more powerful than Michael Jackson alive? Why is there this almost instinctive need to participate in a global televised memorial service? Is it about what we collectively, really feel for Michael Jackson or is it about the role assigned to all of us, one we willingly perform, in the age of mediated reality and celebrity? The role of the audience - of spectators - who participate real time as the drama of life unfolds before us? Are celebrities who live out and die exceptional, sometimes abnormal, lives in full public view the gladiators of the 21st century?
My final question is do we pity Michael Jackson and somewhere deep inside are we muttering a `thank you God', for our normal lives, or, do we envy him the power of his talent and the scale of his celebrity? And see his abnormal, mysterious and perhaps unhappy life as the tradeoff for the kind of talent,fame and money that he had had?

Bandra Worli Sea Link : View from my window

2009-07-08T15:18:00.005+05:30

Quick update on the Bandra Worli Sea Link. On Monday as the toll kicked in on the link, Veer Savarkar Marg (Cadell Road) especially the bit near the Hinduja Hospital, leading into the narrow one way stretch that goes past Mahim Dargah and connects to Mahim causeway, saw traffic density come down drastically. I live on that road so I can vouch for it. That's some good news. But the Bandra Masjid junction is a snarl - something needs to be done here. And the Worli end is a nightmare.
But if traffic on the bridge rises to the 45,000 vehicles expected daily - things should be even better eventually for the older roads. News reports say on day one 30,000 vehicles passed through.

Mumbai Sea Link: Much Ado About Simple Bare Necessities

2009-07-02T17:25:00.009+05:30

I am starved, like most Mumbaikars, for anything that will make living in the city just that little bit better. Something that will help Mumbai live up to its own expectations, to realize its potential to be a global city.
So when the Bandra - Worli sea link - the bridge that's become Mumbai's newest landmark - opened this week it was good news. Finally here's some new, improved hardware to support the city's software - its people and their spirit.
On Wednesday after an interview at the Taj Land's end, at Bandra, I took the bridge back to work in Lower Parel. Not the most rational thing to do. Bandra to Lower Parel via Mahim Causeway would have been the straighter, shorter, more efficient route, but like other Mumbaikars I found on the bridge that day, the decision was emotional!
The bridge, only four lanes of which are ready to use - two in either direction - was crammed bumper to bumper, cars packed with happy, proud Mumbaikars merrily clicking away on their mobile phones.
Stuck in traffic that day it struck me how easy we are to please, we have so little, that even the most basic amenity thrills us. The view is great but in a car, the railing obstructs it, so, so much for that. Parts of the part that is operational, are still work in progress. And it doesn't look spanking new ready to use. And while its a technical, structural achievment, anyone who has been on great bridges of the world - like the expressway that connects Hong Kong mainland with Lang Tau island - will tell you that that's relative.
And the Worli Sea face end - even after its regulated (when the toll gates open) will be a really nasty bottleneck. This is a good point to do a small lament for Worli sea face. Anybody who has done the North-South Mumbai drive will know how much fun it was to go by Worli sea face. To do the detour just for kicks. The broad road, a great view and with no shops - a stretch of Mumbai road that actually let you zip, is history. Thanks to the sea link - or the Rajiv Gandhi Setu, you can forget the fun drive or walk or butta evening at Worli sea face.
The worst part about the bridge, the politics. A day after the inauguration Shiv Sena protests the name and Congress banners with images of local M.P. Milind Deora and party bigwigs, hang on opportunistically. The most telling image - the digital signboard on the bridge that could have said Hello Mumbai, a day after the inauguration still said : WELCOME SONIAJI.

Date with Destiny?

2009-05-04T19:58:00.011+05:30

I belong to the 41% of Mumbaikars who voted on April 30th. I woke up with a sense of purpose. There was a decided spring in my step as I walked to the Bombay Scottish School where my polling booth was. It took me 3 minutes to get there and another 12 mins to find my name on the voting list, sign in my name, get my finger inked and press the button on the EVM.
It was all very ordinary and normal and almost boring. And yet, call me naive if you are cynical, but the act of casting my vote to elect the MP from the Mumbai's South Central constituency in India's 15th Lok Sabha elections was overwhelming. Mostly because of its simplicity. Because it was so damn easy. Here we were deciding the destiny of a nation for the next five years and it was possible with minimal fuss and pain. And because in that process and at that moment all those distinctions that we so diligently carve for ourselves, cease to exist.
No matter how much I earned, how I looked, who I knew, how educated I was, what language I spoke, I was equal to everyone else who had chosen to participate in the process. In this at least we were all equal. In this at least India has hope.
At a time when the debate is about who will form government, and the role of electoral mathematics and nature of political gymnastics, this ode to democracy in action, may seem oldfashioned and romantic. There is little premium on these qualities but I am proud to say I don't care. I voted. And I am I glad I stood up to be counted.
And yeah I was deeply disappointing that more than half of the city's registered voters didn't feel that way. I had expected the outpouring of public anger and protest after November 26th and the combined effort of the media and NGOs to create awareness would result in a higher voter turn out at the very least. There are many reasons why it didn't happen and its all out there in the public debate but the answers are far from definitive.
On a personal note and at a visceral level I think that maybe I fell prey to great expectations. Maybe the mission that the media went into overdrive to communicate ended up preaching to the converted. And worse still maybe the media is guilty of tracking other media more than real people on the ground.
And then maybe at the heart of the matter is that fact that most people simply didn't care.

RECYCLING OLD STUFF

2009-01-29T17:00:00.003+05:30

Pardon me. I know `The White Tiger' is old news now but here's what I think of it. I read it after it won the Man Booker prize in October '08. But since I am back on the blog after a long break, I am putting it up. And it did appear on MUST DO - the cinema, books, art, culture show, I do on CNBC TV18.

“The White Tiger” – Aravind Adiga

Now reactions to Aravind Adiga’s “The White Tiger” winning the Man Booker prize have been coming in fast and furious. I have finished the book, and here are my two bits.

Did I like the book? I have mixed feelings. It’s paced well, and it is easy to get through to the end. And that is saying a lot. But the writing doesn’t take your breath away. Its clever and racy but it doesn’t make you stop, re-read and savour literary art or craft. The plot is simple; the characters are not fully fleshed out. Atleast I don’t think so. The fact that its written from the point of view to someone who belongs to what Kishore Biyani calls India 2 or the serving class, a driver in this case, is the classic double edged sword. It sets the book apart but it also makes it weak. Balram Halwai, that’s the driver or the protagonist doesn’t quite resonate.

The book is at its best when Adiga turns the lens to the class he comes from himself – some of the sharpest bits are when Balram becomes the mute, almost invisible bystander to everyday conversation, behaviour and concern of the people in the backseat – the master and the madam. The book is subversive and I mean that as a compliment. If real life Balram Halwais read it, it well help change the social status quo.

But then I don’t think that is what Adiga wants. Adiga wants people like us to change. The White Tiger provokes and challenges equally our conscience and the modern professional ethos we subscribe to in most spheres of life. It questions the fact that in our dealings with hired help and people who depend on us we’re still as feudal as our forefathers – both as individuals and as a nation. Those who try to be different do it half-heartedly and ineffectually as Ashok, that’s Balram’s employer does. He raises great expectations, but doesn’t live up to any.

“The White Tiger” has a happy end – Balram Halwai, escapes what he calls the rooster coop. But it comes at a price, one that undermines the most basic human right – the right to live. So is “The White Tiger” a must read? Well, yes. Is it a book that will go down in my memory as one of the most evocative, insightful books that I’ve read? Well, no. But it's a book that makes you think. And that is always a good thing. I’m hoping Aravind Adiga will meet us soon because it’s a book that gets you talking.

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE IS OUT NOW!

2009-01-29T16:03:00.009+05:30

I popped into Crosswords to see what the 80% clearance sale had to offer. Not much. In fact I think most people like me were lured in by the sale only to pick up stuff that wasn't on sale!
But imagine my absolute delight when I saw THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE - the second in Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy displayed innocuously as a new arrival! And they had just unpacked them I believe. If you are wondering why this is such a big deal, scroll down read my take on the first book - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, that appeared first on the CNBC TV18 show, MUST DO. Next week I will tell you if the second volume was worth the wait.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Steig Larsson
(FROM MUST DO ON CNBC TV18, SEPTEMBER 7TH, 2008 )
I’m recommending a pacy crime thriller today. The book is called “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” by Swedish journalist Steig Larsson. First a bit about the author who died in 2004. Larsson was a journalist who spent a lifetime researching and fighting right wing extremism & racism in Sweden. He was the editor in chief of Expo, the magazine of the Expo foundation that was started by teachers, journalists, and artists to counter the growth of Nazism and white power culture among the young people in Sweden. Now Larsson died before his set of three novels were published so he didn’t get to see the worldwide responses his books are getting. Now “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” is the first of what is called the ‘Millennium Trilogy’. The English translation was published this year. It’s about Mikael Blomkvist – (I had a hard time saying the name on TV and hope I got it right) – who’s a financial journalist. He’s the publisher and editor of a magazine called Millennium that has a simple mission. Let me give you a sense of that mission…From Page 60,

"His contempt for his fellow financial journalists was based on something that in his opinion was as plain as morality. The equation was simple.
A bank director who blows millions on foolhardy speculations should not keep his
job. A managing director who plays shell company games should do time. A slumlord who forces young people to pay through the nose and under the table for a one-room appartment and shared toilet should be hung out to dry.
The job of the financial journalist was to examine the sharks who created interest crises and speculated away the savings of small investors, to scrutinize company boards with the same merciless zeal with which political reporters pursue the tiniest steps of out of line of ministers and members of parliament. He could not for the life of him understand why so many influential financial reporters treated mediocre financial whelps like rock stars."

But that’s not the story. The story starts when Blomkvist’s piece on a powerful Swedish financier is found libelous. Fined and sentenced to a few months in prison, his trust capital is seriously eroded and the survival of his magazine is at stake. The only option he has is to lie low and figure out how to redeem himself. Enter an old respected industrialist – the head of one of Sweden’s pioneering industrial houses – and a chance to solve a 40-year-old family mystery. A disappearance that maybe a murder.

The rest of the book follows months of painstaking research that helps Blomkvist solve the mystery, uncover horrific crime in the process, rescue ‘Millennium’ and most importantly for him, expose the corrupt financier he had failed to do earlier. The book is fast even when Blomkvist is all alone plodding through decades of records and notes on the mystery in a small industrial snow bound town ion the north of Sweden. The milieu and location is a refreshing change from the British and American settings we’re used to. Some of the images that get conjured up while reading are like those you would have seen in films like Run Lola Run or even the Bourne identity.

While it’s a crime thriller, it also ends up putting to test the journalist’s own ethics, and standards on journalism. Blomkvist is an attractive hero. As you’ll discover while you read the book – women like him. But the character for whom you must read this book is Lizbeth Salander. A 24 year old who the Swedish state has declared legally incompetent, and whose legal affairs are entrusted to a State appointed guardian. Now Salander lives on the fringes of society perpetually worried that she maybe institutionalized. She’s also a freelance private investigator, an amoral genius computer hacker and a loner who deals head on with all the punches life throws her and it throws her many. She’s the real hero of the book, rescuing Blomkvist from the villain, finding him the proof he needs to redeem his reputation and the character who gets to grow the most as the story unfolds. She’s the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Now the next book in the trilogy is the Girl Who Played With Fire, its going to be out in English in January next year. The trilogy is also being filmed, the first film is going to release next year as well. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next two books. Pity, I can’t read Swedish.

Funnily Deep or Deeply Funny

2008-03-03T15:38:00.006+05:30

That’s what last night’s (53rd) Filmfare awards telecast on Sony was. It was also of course glamorous, sexy and entertaining. But that’s the least you expect. What you don’t expect is for humour to be delivered with so much élan that it permeates everybody, putting them in touch with their liberal, tolerant selves.

Between Saif Ali Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, the hosts for the evening and two of the most sophisticated stars in the film industry, nothing remained sacred.
So there was a blue ballad to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya;
Saif Ali Khan was ribbed about his tattoo screaming his new love for Kareena;
Karan Johar acknowledged that women were safe from him;
Akshay Kumar was challenged to live up to his new hit machine status in real life;
And some provocative Hinglish that left no one in any doubt of how film critics are viewed, was spouted.

With this as the backdrop it was hardly surprising that a female star took openness to a new level, and with love and pride, acknowledged both her ex and current boyfriends. The film industry’s biggest star thanked Allah, God and his director and writer, for letting him prove he could act. And an actor who boycotts awards and didn’t allow his film clips to be used, won for best director.

The evening drove home a point - if mainstream cinema’s main job is to entertain, last night entertainers showed that their job is to keep pushing the envelope. To stretch the boundaries of what’s acceptable, of what can be said. And done.

Sixty Years Old or Sixty years young

2007-10-08T14:19:00.000+05:30

There was a TV commercial that played out a lot on Doordarshan. Late eighties I think. A trim, genial, `old’ man chivalrously gives his spot in the elevator to a woman. He takes the stairs instead, compelling, a younger man to follow suit. The `older’ man makes it effortlessly. The younger one is left behind panting. Admiring FVO: `Saanth saal ke buddhe ya saanth saal ke jawaan?’ Roughly speaking `60 years old or 60 years young?’ The commercial was for Zandu Pharma’s Kesari Jeevan.

The August celebrations of India’s 60 are just about winding down and if you were to ask marketers - `60 years old or 60 years young?’ the answer would be an unequivocal `60 years young!’ That’s because like the world, we are fixated on the 365 million strong 18 to 35 year olds - our future consumers and target audience. On the verge of starting their earning lifecycle, they are looking to start lifelong (inshallah) love affairs with brands. They matter because they have the moolah.

Yet marketers would do themselves a favour if they shifted their gaze just a wee bit. Look up and you will find a demographic that’s crying out to be serviced. At about 78 million the numbers the 60+ set doesn’t inspire as much drool as the youth but like the man in the Zandu ad, 60 year olds are 60 years young. It’s not about pity or social service. It’s about supplying a genuine demand. It’s about commerce. Life expectancy is up. Healthcare is getting better. Children are becoming financially independent a whole lot earlier. There are greater saving options and more financial freedom. But more critical than all this is the genuine urge most senior citizens have to engage with the world. To taste life in all its new fangled glory.
McCann-Erickson’s Mastercard commercial - young man treats his parents to a foreign holiday, business class travel, a limousine ride and a day at the amusement park - amplifies another key point - if the older generation wants to get a life the younger generation is most likely willing to pick up the tab.

Hindi films have already cottoned on to this trend. If four years ago Ravi Chopra’s Baghban articulated it, recently ad man Balki’s Cheeni Kum updated it. Amitabh Bachchan’s blistering real life career, coupled with increasingly adventurous reel life roles have made him its made-to-order brand ambassador. And if he is living life king size, there are scores of Mr. and Mrs. Wagles shedding deep rooted inhibitions and social constraints to take a shot at life. So grandmothers are getting net savvy to keep track of a globetrotting flock and older couples are forming even smaller nuclear families.

Go to public parks in the morning - and the majority of the people there are senior citizens. They are checking out new fashions even if they aren’t wearing them, debating news, swapping stories of their travels. Little surprise that M&M’s Logan was offering itself for a test drive early one morning in Mumbai’s famous Shivaji Park recently and Bisleri was handing out leaflets for returnable jars. While financial services and healthcare brands have traditionally targeted the 60+ there's an opportunity for everyone. They would be happy to use convenient food sensitive to their health needs; multiplex and restaurant discounts; security products; communications devices; travel aids; holidays, training schools, grooming products; media; networking sites; homes; the list is endless. Daada daadis and nana naanis are also more generous to sales pitches and can be co-opted into your sales team as they often advise kids on big ticket buys. On another note altogether brands grandparents trust become heritage brands imbued in equal parts with retro-chic and nostalgia.

While we are not yet close to where the USA finds itself, three fourths of its money is with the baby boomers, our time starts now. As India goes past 60, its time the 60+ consumer comes of age.

When A Man Loves A Woman

2007-07-17T20:15:00.000+05:30

It shows.

Taken by the legendary Henri Cartier Bresson, this photograph of Mountbatten, Nehru and Edwina - a personal favourite - has been all over of late. It has been pulled out to accompany reports on Pamela Mountbatten's (Mountbattens' daughter) just published book `India Remembered:A Personal Account of the Mountbattens During The Transfer of Power.'

Who cares whether Nehru and Edwina's love was platonic or otherwise. How does it really matter to anyone beyond these three people frozen in time. What matters is when you see a man wear just the expression Nehru's wearing - the jester, desperate to catch the woman's eye, trying to impress her, waiting for validation - you will know a man loves a woman.

The other thought that's just popped into my mind, if the papparazi would only get pictures that are so revealing....

We've come so far yet changed so little

2007-07-12T18:34:00.000+05:30

`I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.'
Voltaire

I am not prone to falling back on quotes. But now I know why its tempting. Someone just put it so damn well! What Voltaire said some 200 years ago is going to guide this blog. So I definitely don't like what many of you are saying but feel free to say it. (The comments that you see removed are auto-deleted by Blogger for spam or other abuse) Do remember though the more crap I need to wade through, the less I can engage in interesting, insightful debate.

Some clarifications:
When I said Cannes - I was referring to the Cannes Lions festival that's the advertising and marketing festival, has nothing to do with the film festival. Get on to the site see some of the really cool stuff that marketers from around the world are doing.

For some reason a lot of you think that I came up with that cartoon strip. Come on, tarry a bit, look before you leap.

Being Spoofed!

2007-07-11T12:10:00.000+05:30

First reaction to this - dismay - what a lumpy body to attach to my head!

(Click on pic for full cartoon strip ...)

Then the epiphany - my thoughts made them really mad.
A spoof, like a bright young colleague points out, needs to seen first and foremost as a joke. And last but not the least as flattery.
All the advertisors I meet at Cannes, racking their brains for a way to generate buzz and live a digital life, maybe there's a lesson here for you. No its not the bit about being intellectually honest and saying what you really think. Its about being interactive. Listening and then talking back and then listening again. Even if its only to pick a fight :)

Life After Sivaji ...

2007-07-11T02:26:00.000+05:30

Sivaji was out of my system after the response I had for all of you collectively. But I had underestimated like I seem to be doing consistently, the power of both Rajnikanth and the internet.

There is one consistent argument that many of you have put forward - and that is, that a personal opinion or blog needs to be posted on a totally personal blog site. I have mixed feelings on this one and so am bowing down to the feedback.

From now anyone who wants to know what I think about anything can ~~go to~~ come here http://senguptaspeak.blogspot.com

Let me warn you it may not be worth your while and my posts can be quite erratic. I write only when I am really moved to.

I am going to be gracious and let you have the last word.

If you want to know how I feel about that you know where to go come :)

Thank you Sivaji

2007-07-04T21:29:00.000+05:30

Thank you Sivaji. Wow! You helped me discover the joys of blogging. Overwhelming the sheer number and minute details in all the comments reacting to my previous post - Sivaji. The Boss. Of Crap. I have waded through, at last count almost all the nine hundred and sixty-five comments, when actually I should have been working. But what to do, its addictive! Since its impossible to get back one on one, I am hoping this works for you, collectively.

1. The blog was not a FILM REVIEW it was a PERSONAL OPINION.

For those who don't know, a FILM REVIEW is a CRITIC's INFORMED (hopefully) opinion that helps you decide whether or not you should watch a film. I am pretty sure I didn't ask you to be either a pig or a lion. My post was existential angst in response to current socio-cultural-political events, which is what a blog is meant to be.

2.Not pro Hollywood & Hindi films and anti Tamil films

Many of you have implied and assumed - thought you guys could read because you sure can write :) - that I believe Hindi and Hollywood films are better. Let me disillusion you. I am happy to say that the majority of films from both those spaces are also CRAP. So stop falling back on idiotic, petty and frankly outdated `regional language' fault lines. And that, my dears is a pun.

3.Rajnikanth the actor not equal to Rajnikanth the person

Grow up. Learn to separate an artist's work from his/her private person. If I believe an actor's latest work is CRAP it doesn't stop me from choosing to believe that he/she is a great human being.

4.Sticks and stones will break my bones

Come on all of you who said I should shy away from visiting Chennai and other assorted places teeming with Sivaji fans - threatening bodyily harm - I didn't know goons and thugs were educated enough to be on the internet. Silly me I assumed if you were educated you wouldn't be a goon or a thug, atleast not the type who beats up people. Thought Bubble: Get real Anuradha, fascism doesn't exist only in Gujarat.

5.Sivaji's made money so it can't be bad

That's what many of you have said and that's such earth shatteringly self serving logic that I can't even react. I can only wish people who believe that everything that makes money is good, all the best.

6.Being upfront about not knowing Tamil

Come on I needn't have told you that I don't speak or understand Tamil beyond Inge va, Teri yada and Teri Yum (ironically I learned the last two phrases watching Rajni's Thalapathi which was much better that Sivaji), Chaddi Pota Ko and Po. But do you honestly believe that I needed to have an M.A. in Tamil to follow Sivaji" You are kidding right"

7. Congratulations

If you guys feel so strongly about something you have loads of energy and passion. Want to see what you can achieve if you use it more constructively"

8. CNN IBN not equal to Anuradha SenGupta

All those annoyed with CNN IBN or ibnlive should understand that blogs allow professionals working with, ahem, the aforementioned parties, a chance to express their INDIVIDUAL, PERSONAL thoughts. So be mad at me, but leave the channel and site alone. Easy I would say?

9. And the prize goes to:

Someone who said I maybe a pig but I have balls. Thank you.

The Post That Started It All ...

2007-07-02T21:26:00.000+05:30

'Pigs go in herds, the lion walks alone'

That's a rough and ready translation of something Rajnikanth spouts in and as Sivaji. He says it mid-way through the film, I squirm in my seat. My membership of the porcine club was signed and sealed Thursday night. I drove after work on a rainy, slushy day to catch a late night screening of the biggest film to come out of Chennai in three years - Sivaji, The Boss.

No more proof was needed. I was part of the herd. I had squelched my sensibilities, curbed my natural inclinations, disinclinations rather, and had caved in to peer pressure.

How could I not go. Everyone was going and conversations for some time to come would be referenced to Sivaji. I could be in or out. I chose to be safe rather than sorry. Discretion is the better part of valour.

The media hype also did its bit. I mean this was Tamil Nadu's biggest superstar, India's biggest, bigger than Bacchan they were saying. The most expensive Indian film to date, one of Tamil cinema's most successful directors at the helm, A R Rahman's music etc etc etc.

TV rights were sold for Rs 5 cr and Kalaignar TV that bought it will will need to wait THREE years before they can run it! When was the last time you heard that about a Hindi film? Even heartland Hindi news shows got their minds out of people's dark sides, showing an unusual interest in a 'Southern' sensation, all clamouring to articulate the Rajni phenomenon.

I remember Rajnikanth from some very forgettable Hindi films of the 80s. Well the news is that he is still there. Stuck in the 80s that is.

The plot, the story telling, the antics, are so camp and ludicrous that you can only wonder that anyone can be so brave. And so narcissistic (Note potshots at other Tamil stars). And self indulgent (over three hours and self mythifying comments). And crass (see innumerable scenes wooing heroine in the first half).

The dialogues which I couldn't understand, the only Tamil I know is - Chaddi pota ko - and with no subtitles for help - I missed the nuances, and there seemed to be some. Of course one way of looking at it is see the whole film as a joke. Some of my friends raved about how what I thought was Sivaji's absurdity was exactly what made it deserve outside its language market, a cult following. I am afraid I think we are desperate and clawing to find legends and myths.

Except for some quirky graphics and some stylish sequences - one song in particular that I am going to refer to as the GORA song - which was crazy, funky and sarcy, Sivaji was the boss. Of crap. And I am the pig. Who followed the herd.