The much awaited Swades movie is generating lukewarm response from “We, the people”. No, I am not commenting on its entertainment quotient or comparing it with Lagaan – which now enjoys almost iconic status. I am trying something more boring.
Though almost like documentary and at times overdoing it, Ashutos Govarikar touches issues we generally ignore. A random thought crosses my mind… In this age of Globalisation, he talks about ‘your lamp giving light to neighbour’s house’. We all (me included) laughed at it in the movie…but did we not laugh at ourselves???
Don’t know how relevant the theme is in the current context when it is a bit old fashioned to talk about doing something for Swades. But I do know one thing. All we are doing is growing fodder for the developed nations – Be it growing potatoes and selling 'them' at Rs. 5 per kg (and buying chips made from the same potatoes at Rs. 90 per kg). Or producing IT engineers in unbelievable numbers to work - at times even as bonded labour - on products for which 'they' own the patents. Time we go up the value chain…create value not produce commodity!
Once one of my friends passed a comment on me, “99 IITians are in US and 1 is stranded here..” I really fail to understand the way we have come to define success. If you are an engineer then you must be going to US to be called successful. In a B-school, your only claim to fame is a foreign placement. The situation is no different for our writers or even academicians – we need white man’s validation to be branded successful – be it in Bookers or Noble. Incidentally, even Ashutos Govarikar wants an Oscar.
A personal statement here: Still, I feel proud to be involved with mega projects like Delhi metro and Golden Quadrilateral which are changing the face of mera gaon, mera desh. I hope I continue to be the one stranded IITian…
I know it's a one side account and there is a debate on what I am suggesting...but there is no debate on this one: Gayatri Joshi is a drop-dead beauty.
Pity, every Christmas, hundreds of NRIs comeover and marry away such pretty girls :(
1 Comments:
I think that a prime responsibility of the state is to take care of its citizens. And this includes taking care that they don't sleep hungry or don't remain naked because of poverty. When you talk of we providing fodder in terms of IT skills or potatoes to western world, I think that it's important we realise that a "khali pet" can never think of self-esteem. If an act of the citizens of the country is bringing in money which, becaue of the multiplier effect helps in development the country at large, it should be strongly pursued and supported. And I don't see any degradation of our self-esteem happening. Especially, when we need to pick our standards of living.
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