Just a couple of days back I was discussing success with a friend of mine. During the course of our conversation I uttered this line, "If you are happy with what you have then you are successful." The line has stayed with me ever since.
As the old Hindu saying goes, "Aadmi apne dukho se itna dukhi nahin hai jitna doosron ke sukho se" -(TRANS: A man is more sad about the happiness of others than his own worries). Success is a combination of luck and efforts. Some people have both and become the objects of envy for most. For others it's a combination of the two or none.
We should realise the fact that every individual is different, and that is our biggest strength. Let luck not affect your efforts. You may or may not succeed but at least you will always take pride in the fact that you gave your best shot to realise something. The secret is not to compare yourself with others but with what you 'were' and where you 'are' now.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Look who is Complaining!
It was pretty amusing to listen to Manoj Kumar's rhetoric against 'Om Shanti Om.' I failed to understand how the wars we had and his visit to Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (the 'asli' khan to him) had any relation to his (Manoj Kumar's) depiction in the movie.
People should age gracefully, actors should be no exception. The movie itself was a take on the cinema of the 70s and the director made it clear right from the start. There were duplicates of almost all the major actors of that period. To me it was a fun filled tribute to that glorious era. Can't imagine what would happend if somebody else take all those duplicates to court.
I think Mr Kumar should not have taken it so seriously. It wasn't a historical account of cinema.
Interestingly International Reporter had something else to say:
Manoj Kumar plays stunt of publicity at cost of Om Shanti Om?
MIL, Nov 16, 2007. Shashi Kala
New Delhi: November 16, 2007 - Irrespective of what Manoj Kumar, Bollywood Bharat and star of the yester years and his supporters’ bitter feelings about Sharu’s Om Shanti Om, where he claims to have been hurt, it is important to bring to his attention on his own film ‘Kalyug Ki Ramayan’, wherein he had insulted Hanuman Ji.
There were several cases against him and one of them was Swamy Raj Baldev, who filed a case against him in New Delhi, on behalf of Academy of Krishna Philosophy for banning the screening of his film ‘Kalyug Ki Ramayan’.
People may call Manoj Kumar as Bharat of Bollywood, but Swamy Raj, who fought against the mud that he had slung and tossed on the Hindu Divine Beings, says that it is not a serious matter of the altitude that Manoj has taken upon himself.
When Swamy Raj Baldev had instituted case against him for banning of his film “Kalyug Ki Ramayan’, he instructed his distributors to purchase Swamy Raj Baldev, and they did contact him, but Swamy Raj rejected the offer and got the objectionable scene screened in the court itself.
However, Manoj Kumar managed to purchase some advocate to delay the proceeding, so that he could continue screening his picture in cinemas in Delhi and New Delhi. But Swamy Raj, who is also a spiritual figure, and a greater Astronomer and Astrologer, could predict his downfall.
Manoj Kumar insulted Hanuman Ji in his picture ‘Kalyug Ki Ramayan’, where had his sense of dignity then gone?
Swamy Raj Baldev is not an ordinary man, he is man who has been invited by various Heads of States on official invitations. He is also known as Dr. Raj Baldev, he is internationally known as Cosmo Theorist and Chairman of various national and international organizations, including National Integration Assembly (NIA). Even he has been the Member of the Press Council of India, he knows law, he has been a man of letters, with journalistic background.
We requested Swamy Raj Baldev to see the picture ‘Om Shanti Om’, and comment. He concluded that the case of Manoj Kumar is just a case of jealousy, since the picture was not serious but an entertainer. As regards the pointer to Manoj Kumar, it was just a character and not actual Major Kumar, the film has just a casual mention doesn’t mean that Major Kumar was insulted.
Om Shanti Om has surpassed all other entertaining movies because of various factors including Shah Rukh Khan’s own super acting, and participation of 23 Bollywood stars appearing in this great movie of the day.
The grand success of this movie had naturally to make millions jealous of this unparalleled popularity and in this movie, Manoj Kumar, the star of the yester years, whom people call Bharat of Bollywood, has come out that he has been hurt and humiliated in the film and would like to sue SRK and Farah Khan, it is a big joke, he could get good publicity, which has been missing for years.
If Sharu in a drunken state says he is Manoj Kumar, will he become the real Manoj Kumar, perhaps not, since it is just a character having a name of Manoj Kumar in OSO.
Swamy Raj said, “It is a stunt of publicity of Manoj Kumar, who disgraced deities in Kalyug Ki Ramayan’. People should not take serious what he says. If he sues SRK or Farah Khan, I shall stand witness and expose what Manoj Kumar is and how hypocrite he is? If Manoj Kumar insults Hindu deities in his picture ‘Kalyug Ki Ramayan’ there is no objection from his side, but when SRK used only one name similar to his in his picture OSO he has brought hue and cry to gain cheap popularity.
In fact he is a senior artist and should not have acted in this undesirable manner and take the scene of the picture in good faith”.
People should age gracefully, actors should be no exception. The movie itself was a take on the cinema of the 70s and the director made it clear right from the start. There were duplicates of almost all the major actors of that period. To me it was a fun filled tribute to that glorious era. Can't imagine what would happend if somebody else take all those duplicates to court.
I think Mr Kumar should not have taken it so seriously. It wasn't a historical account of cinema.
Interestingly International Reporter had something else to say:
Manoj Kumar plays stunt of publicity at cost of Om Shanti Om?
MIL, Nov 16, 2007. Shashi Kala
New Delhi: November 16, 2007 - Irrespective of what Manoj Kumar, Bollywood Bharat and star of the yester years and his supporters’ bitter feelings about Sharu’s Om Shanti Om, where he claims to have been hurt, it is important to bring to his attention on his own film ‘Kalyug Ki Ramayan’, wherein he had insulted Hanuman Ji.
There were several cases against him and one of them was Swamy Raj Baldev, who filed a case against him in New Delhi, on behalf of Academy of Krishna Philosophy for banning the screening of his film ‘Kalyug Ki Ramayan’.
People may call Manoj Kumar as Bharat of Bollywood, but Swamy Raj, who fought against the mud that he had slung and tossed on the Hindu Divine Beings, says that it is not a serious matter of the altitude that Manoj has taken upon himself.
When Swamy Raj Baldev had instituted case against him for banning of his film “Kalyug Ki Ramayan’, he instructed his distributors to purchase Swamy Raj Baldev, and they did contact him, but Swamy Raj rejected the offer and got the objectionable scene screened in the court itself.
However, Manoj Kumar managed to purchase some advocate to delay the proceeding, so that he could continue screening his picture in cinemas in Delhi and New Delhi. But Swamy Raj, who is also a spiritual figure, and a greater Astronomer and Astrologer, could predict his downfall.
Manoj Kumar insulted Hanuman Ji in his picture ‘Kalyug Ki Ramayan’, where had his sense of dignity then gone?
Swamy Raj Baldev is not an ordinary man, he is man who has been invited by various Heads of States on official invitations. He is also known as Dr. Raj Baldev, he is internationally known as Cosmo Theorist and Chairman of various national and international organizations, including National Integration Assembly (NIA). Even he has been the Member of the Press Council of India, he knows law, he has been a man of letters, with journalistic background.
We requested Swamy Raj Baldev to see the picture ‘Om Shanti Om’, and comment. He concluded that the case of Manoj Kumar is just a case of jealousy, since the picture was not serious but an entertainer. As regards the pointer to Manoj Kumar, it was just a character and not actual Major Kumar, the film has just a casual mention doesn’t mean that Major Kumar was insulted.
Om Shanti Om has surpassed all other entertaining movies because of various factors including Shah Rukh Khan’s own super acting, and participation of 23 Bollywood stars appearing in this great movie of the day.
The grand success of this movie had naturally to make millions jealous of this unparalleled popularity and in this movie, Manoj Kumar, the star of the yester years, whom people call Bharat of Bollywood, has come out that he has been hurt and humiliated in the film and would like to sue SRK and Farah Khan, it is a big joke, he could get good publicity, which has been missing for years.
If Sharu in a drunken state says he is Manoj Kumar, will he become the real Manoj Kumar, perhaps not, since it is just a character having a name of Manoj Kumar in OSO.
Swamy Raj said, “It is a stunt of publicity of Manoj Kumar, who disgraced deities in Kalyug Ki Ramayan’. People should not take serious what he says. If he sues SRK or Farah Khan, I shall stand witness and expose what Manoj Kumar is and how hypocrite he is? If Manoj Kumar insults Hindu deities in his picture ‘Kalyug Ki Ramayan’ there is no objection from his side, but when SRK used only one name similar to his in his picture OSO he has brought hue and cry to gain cheap popularity.
In fact he is a senior artist and should not have acted in this undesirable manner and take the scene of the picture in good faith”.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Saawariya versus 'Om Shanti Om'
Watched the two big Hindi movies of the year this weekend, back to back. We couldn't get the tickets for OSO so had to watch Saawariya. In fact, my wife was pretty keen on Saawariya.
I was pretty disappointed with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. If lavish, eye soothing sets is what cinema is all about then it's a great movie. Unfortunately, that's not true. The movie is a fairytale without a soul. Among the cast the only weak link is Sonam Kapoor. If Bhansali couldn't make her act nobody could. Ranbir Kapoor is charming and has put in a lot of effort to make his character look real. Bhansali tried a desi adaptation of 'Moulin Rouge' but couldn't translate it on screen.
The very next day I saw OSM, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's 3 hours of pure entertainment. Deepika Padukone is the girl to watch out for. She looked completely at ease with her characters in the movie. And to top it, she looked quite pretty! But, the real surprise of the movie is Arjun Rampal. Farah Khan couldn't have given a better tribute to the villian of the 70s. Rampal looks an icy cool villian. As for Shahrukh, he can sleep walk through such roles.
A word of caution for Farah Khan, she needs to bring in a little more substance to her movies.
I was pretty disappointed with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. If lavish, eye soothing sets is what cinema is all about then it's a great movie. Unfortunately, that's not true. The movie is a fairytale without a soul. Among the cast the only weak link is Sonam Kapoor. If Bhansali couldn't make her act nobody could. Ranbir Kapoor is charming and has put in a lot of effort to make his character look real. Bhansali tried a desi adaptation of 'Moulin Rouge' but couldn't translate it on screen.
The very next day I saw OSM, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's 3 hours of pure entertainment. Deepika Padukone is the girl to watch out for. She looked completely at ease with her characters in the movie. And to top it, she looked quite pretty! But, the real surprise of the movie is Arjun Rampal. Farah Khan couldn't have given a better tribute to the villian of the 70s. Rampal looks an icy cool villian. As for Shahrukh, he can sleep walk through such roles.
A word of caution for Farah Khan, she needs to bring in a little more substance to her movies.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Blood Brothers
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”
------------------------Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
M.J. Akbar's Blood Brothers is a nostalgic account of an Indian Muslim family against the backdrop of the partition.
The novel revolves around a sleepy town of Telinipara (near Kolkata), which took pride in its cordial Hindu-Muslim relations. Such was the love of humanity greater than anything else that a certain Wali Mohammad, a tea-stall owner, adopts a hindu refugee Prayag. With time the boy gets so overwhelmed with love that he becomes Rahmatullah, a Muslim. That boy was the grandfather of MJ Akbar and a big exponent of Hindu-Muslim unity in that area.
The focal point of interest is the Sufi Islam that binded the two communities together. A dervish who came to Telinpara shares the origin of Sufism in India -
The same dervish questions the violence in the name of religion -
There are numerous incidents in the novel which makes one ponder over the state of affairs in India today. One such thing which stands out is the Muharram procession. Some 100 years back it was a joint effort of the Hindus and Muslims in Telinipara.
A generation later the Hindus started to stay away from it as it became a Muslim thing. Maybe during the same time the first Shia-Sunni riot broke out in Lucknow over the Muharram procession. So much is the divide today that the involvement of Sunnis in such processions is decreasing by the year. What constitues as 'shirk,' and what as 'biddat,' has further divided an already divided community, what to talk of Hindus and Muslims.
The creation of Pakistan and the division of India was one incident that affected the Hindu-Muslim relations more than anything else. Those Muslims who stayed back in India were fortunate enough to continue living in a neighbourhood which had both Hindus and Muslims. The scars are deep but can be healed with regular contact and inter-faith diaglogues. I pity the Hindus left in Pakistan. What more can one say about a country where not even a Muslim, praying in a mosque, is safe. Inspite of a overwhelming Hindu majority India is a secular democracy, and I'm proud of it!
Akbar's account is not just his own, it is exactly what every Muslim family went through during the partition of India. Some lost homes and hope, so they left for Pakistan. Some lost both, and their lives too, in the carnage. And some, like Akbar's grandpa returned or stayed back in India. Not because they had faith in the system but because they had people like T.P. Singh and Bhagwan Singh (charachters from the novel) around them. There are similar tales of bravery and brotherhood on the other side of the border. And that for me is what humanity is all about!
I would recommend this novel to all the Indians out there. We have seen the worse of times, surely we can survive the religious fanatism of today.
------------------------Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
M.J. Akbar's Blood Brothers is a nostalgic account of an Indian Muslim family against the backdrop of the partition.
The novel revolves around a sleepy town of Telinipara (near Kolkata), which took pride in its cordial Hindu-Muslim relations. Such was the love of humanity greater than anything else that a certain Wali Mohammad, a tea-stall owner, adopts a hindu refugee Prayag. With time the boy gets so overwhelmed with love that he becomes Rahmatullah, a Muslim. That boy was the grandfather of MJ Akbar and a big exponent of Hindu-Muslim unity in that area.
The focal point of interest is the Sufi Islam that binded the two communities together. A dervish who came to Telinpara shares the origin of Sufism in India -
"My spiritual lord is Syed Muin al-din Hasan al-Husain al-Sijzi Chishti, born in Ispahan in the first half of the twelfth century. He was nearly fifty years old when he travelled to Mecca, where, in a dream, God commanded him to show the people of Hindustan the way, the tariqa. And so, resplendent in the cloak of poverty, he journeyed from Mecca to Baghdad and then to Delhi, sleeping in cemeteries along the way. He reached Delhi in the reign of Maharaja Prithviraj, one year before the armies of the Afghan, Mohammad Ghori, defeated the Rajput king. Rajas and sultan play games of war. Muinuddin was the emperor of hearts; his titles, Nabi al-Hind, and Aftab-i-mlk-i-Hind, the messenger and radiance of India, were given by the people."
The same dervish questions the violence in the name of religion -
"Our Prophet gave us a religion of peace. He said, 'If a man rejects war when he is wrong, he will go to paradise. But if a man rejects war when he is right, he will sit beside Allah!' Why then do some Muslims seek war in the name of their faith?
Allah has ninety-nine names: Al-Rahman, the beneficient; Al-Rahim, the merciful; Al-Salam, the peaceful; Al-Haq, the truth; Al-Wadud, who loves me; Al-Mubdi, the creator... Not one of ninety-nine names describes Allah as a warrior. Allah is a creator, not a killer."
There are numerous incidents in the novel which makes one ponder over the state of affairs in India today. One such thing which stands out is the Muharram procession. Some 100 years back it was a joint effort of the Hindus and Muslims in Telinipara.
"And so my (M.J. Akbar) grandfather and Grija Maharaj took equal ownership of the Muharram procession...Hindu fakirs arrived, their mouths sealed with locks that would be opened only after the taazia had been immersed. On the seventh day of Muharram, men gathered for the dupahariya maatam, the afternoon atonement, and beat their bare breasts to the rhythm of ancient memory: Ya Ali! Ya Husain!"
A generation later the Hindus started to stay away from it as it became a Muslim thing. Maybe during the same time the first Shia-Sunni riot broke out in Lucknow over the Muharram procession. So much is the divide today that the involvement of Sunnis in such processions is decreasing by the year. What constitues as 'shirk,' and what as 'biddat,' has further divided an already divided community, what to talk of Hindus and Muslims.
The creation of Pakistan and the division of India was one incident that affected the Hindu-Muslim relations more than anything else. Those Muslims who stayed back in India were fortunate enough to continue living in a neighbourhood which had both Hindus and Muslims. The scars are deep but can be healed with regular contact and inter-faith diaglogues. I pity the Hindus left in Pakistan. What more can one say about a country where not even a Muslim, praying in a mosque, is safe. Inspite of a overwhelming Hindu majority India is a secular democracy, and I'm proud of it!
Akbar's account is not just his own, it is exactly what every Muslim family went through during the partition of India. Some lost homes and hope, so they left for Pakistan. Some lost both, and their lives too, in the carnage. And some, like Akbar's grandpa returned or stayed back in India. Not because they had faith in the system but because they had people like T.P. Singh and Bhagwan Singh (charachters from the novel) around them. There are similar tales of bravery and brotherhood on the other side of the border. And that for me is what humanity is all about!
I would recommend this novel to all the Indians out there. We have seen the worse of times, surely we can survive the religious fanatism of today.
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