Sridevi: Chandni meets her creator leaving contemporaries in Sadma

Thousands came out on streets in Mumbai to witness Sridevi's last journey

At an informal lunch party that former Union minister Jaipal Reddy had organized at his Delhi residence in 2007 for journalists and some other people, he said that 1990 was the transformational year with which the Age of Innocence ended in India. 

Through silver screen, Sridevi led Indians from that Age of Innocence into the Age of Smartness.

Sridevi was the reigning queen of 1980s and the first female superstar of Indian film industry. She was unparalleled during those days in beauty, elegance and style in the film industry. Sridevi had the innocence of a child and sex appeal of a diva. She effervesced super hotness and coolness of a persona that charmed her in all roles that she played in a career spanning over 40 years.

Having played the role of child Lord Murugan at the age of 4, Sridevi was perhaps destined to be a superstar and darling of the Indian masses. She made her first adult debut when she was only 13 in a Tamil film, Moondru Mudichu meaning three knots. A year ago, she had debuted in Hindi films as a child actor in Julie that came out in 1975 half of India was yet to be born.

She made her debut in Bollywood as lead actress in Solva Sawan. She struck chords with the Hindi masses immediately. She cast a spell on the masses Hindi audience of 1980s films who not accustomed to such grace and sex appeal in one package, especially among the lead female actors.

When Solva Sawan came out in 1979, Sridevi was only 16. It was a remake of a Tamil film in which she had acted along with Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, two other superstars from the south. A couple of songs from the film are still among favourites of FM radio stations. 

pic.twitter.com/VNgw7FY9rF

— SRIDEVI BONEY KAPOOR (@SrideviBKapoor) February 28, 2018

Sridevi sent movie buffs in a frenzy with her dance sequences pairing with Jeetendra in film Himmatwala in 1983. With Mawali and Tohfa, Jeetendra and Sridevi became the most sought-after pair in Hindi cinema. And, Jaya Prada, now a politician, emerged as her rival.

Rivalry between Sridevi and Jaya Prada was such that despite giving superhit films together, they were not on talking terms.

The open cold war was so intense that even the opposite actors felt uncomfortable. With hope that Sridevi and Jaya Prada would end their fight, Rajesh Khanna and Jeetendra once locked them in the make-up room while shooting for film, Maqsad. But the ice was too thick to break. Sridevi and Jaya Prada didn't talk.

Sridevi's presence in films was a guarantee of success during the mid and late 1980s. She was credited for the super success of Nagina, Nigahen and Chandni even though these were multi-starrer films.

She played opposite Dharmendra, his son Sunny, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Anil Kapoor, Mithun Chakravarty, Akshay Kumar and all the top stars of her heyday.

She had a special relation with Mithun Chakravarty. It was rumoured (there are reports suggesting it to be true) that Mithun and Sridevi secretly married but somehow things did not take the shape they wanted.

Sridevi married Boney Kapoor in the late 1990s. In one of the interviews, Boney Kapoor said that he approached Sridevi for Mr India only because he wanted to get close to her. Sridevi's mother quoted an exorbitant fee of Rs 10 lakh for those days. Boney agreed to pay Rs 11 lakh.

There are several characters that Sridevi will be remembered for. But those played in Sadma, Mr India, Chaalbaaz, Chandni, Nagina, Judaai, English Winglish and MOM may actually never be erased from the memories of her contemporaries.

Today as she was consigned to flames and mingled with the mother earth, Judaai of Chandni, who tried to be the biggest Chaalbaaz, delivering dialogues mixing English Winglish, with the cutest shrill voice, left every Mr India in the gravest Sadma. Sridevi was a true Nagina of Bollywood.

#WATCH Mumbai: Mortal remains of #Sridevi wrapped in tricolour, accorded state honours. pic.twitter.com/jhvC9pjLMp

— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2018

Corrupt the corruption

Picture for representation. (Photo credit: @ACA_India https://twitter.com/ACA_India)

Corruption is the order of the day. Linguists say that the use of word “corruption” has gained momentum since 1985. The usage graph shows an accelerating trend worldwide.

Corruption simply means decay or deviation from what it ought to be. Certain words, concepts and thoughts undergo corruption through ages. But, such corruption does not bother living of humans. When corruption is effected by humans deliberately for personal gains through misuse or abuse of her/his official position, such a conduct is worrisome for the entire nation.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” He believed corruption begins in mind. My vision of a ‘Corruption-free India’ is an endorsement of Mahatma Gandhi’s thought. Such an India will not be governed by people, who would justify corrupt conduct in the name of “need of the family” or with answers like, “everyone does it”.

Schools and parents have the biggest role to play in building a corruption-free India. Parents and people in parenting positions are the first teachers of all individuals. They ensure continuity not only of the genes but also of societal behaviour.

"I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet." 

Mahatma Gandhi 

If a child sees parents telling a lie to evade some uneasy questions or to escape a situation what they perceive as embarrassing, she learns the same pattern of behaviour and thus gets her first training in corruption. This training may come from watching parents asking the kids to tell a visitor that “papa is not home” or when she sees them saying no to her demands on the pretext of having no money but buying groceries or vegetables the same evening for household.

The young ones are too immature to differentiate the value of money against basic needs like vegetables and a toy. She may grow up to learn the difference, but enroute she also got the training of how to feign corruption for a lifetime. Unfortunately, India is parenting millions of children for corruption.

An Indian poet-sage said that a fish should not be trained to climb a tree...

Schools are not designed to nurture talent of children. The curriculum is same for all children of different inclinations, interests and abilities. It is only in high school education, children are given some sort of freedom to choose subjects in bunches.

An Indian poet-sage said that a fish should not be trained to climb a tree and judged on the basis of its performance to climb the tallest vegetation.

...change will come through reverse-corruption...

Since kids are different but are asked to perform the same task, a majority of them turn to tweak the rules of the game called education to attain the desirable results. After all, no one loves embarrassment. Corruption saves them from it in schools and they don’t see using the same technique to succeed rest of their lives.

Corruption as a value system must change. This change will come through reverse-corruption. If corruption is the order of the day, this order needs to be corrupted by all – the parents, the teachers, the government, the politician, the bankers, the traders and most of all I.

I am a stranger here, I am what I am. RIP Shashi Kapoor

And, there lived one and only Shashi Kapoor. (Photo credit: Twitter)

Unlike his more illustrious elder brother and more popular co-artists like Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor did not own an era of Hindi film industry. Yet, he surpassed many of his generation and generations after him in many respects.

Born - barely a month after Subhas Chandra Bose brought a new energy in the Indian freedom movement when he got elected as Congress president at Haripura session- on March 18, 1938, Shashi Kapoor brought freshness in Hindi cinema with his carefree gait, relaxed dialogue delivery, effortless acting and mesmerising smile.

He was the youngest of the sons of Prithviraj Kapoor, the legendary theatre personality. His mother Ramsarni Kapoor named him Shashi, thus unknowingly created father-son pair of Earth (Prithvi) and Moon (Shashi). 

Defying the laws of gravity and nature as explained by greats like Newton and Einstein, romantic poets dream of an unseen love between the moon and the earth. That unseen love was the glue that bound Shashi to Prithvi.

It was Shashi Kapoor and not his elder brothers Raj and Shammi, who would fulfill Prithviraj's dream after he was done in by illness. Shashi was fiercely involved with the theatre group of Prithviraj Kapoor. 

Started in 1942, the Prithvi Theatre was a moving troupe of artists which Prithviraj wished to station at some place. Shashi Kapoor realised his father's dream in 1978 when Prithvi Theatre opened at Juhu in Mumbai, six years after Prithviraj's death.

Like many Kapoors, Shashi too began acting in films as a child artist. The most memorable of performances of Shashiraj (as Shashi Kapoor was cast as child actor to avoid confusion with another child actor named Shashi) include that in Aag, a film exploring a man's love for theatre since childhood. This was also the first film in which Raj Kapoor and Nargis appeared together. 

Shashi Kapoor played the child, Kewal, who was madly in love with theatre and Nirmala. The story, in flashback, resembles the story of Shashi Kapoor, who loved only acting/theatres and Jennifer Kendal. No other vice in life.

At the age of 23, having already assisted directors in a few films including Sunil Dutt's debut movie Post Box 999, Shashi Kapoor made his entry to Hindi films as Dharmaputra. Soon, he would go international with English films like The Householder and Shakespeare Wallah.

But, when India and Pakistan fought over land and in skies in 1965, Shashi Kapoor returned with Jab Jab Phool Khile to remove the gloom that the war brought to the country. It was the time, when India faced severe food crisis. 

Only a year later, India would agree to humiliating terms of the US for import of foodgrains before green revolution came calling. At that time, with over half-a-dozen melodies, Shashi Kapoor, paring with Nanda, gave romantic solace to the distraught commoner on the street. 

Shashi Kapoor would go on to act in more than 100 films after that and give memorable performances in Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhare, Sharmilee, Trishna, Aa Gale Lag Ja, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Chor Machaye Shor and lot more. 

He teamed up with Amitabh Bachchan to give hits like Kabhie Kabhie, make Deewar memorable with dialogues like Mere Paas Maa Hai, leave audiences in bursts of laughter in Do Aur Do Paanch and do a balancing act in Kala Patthar emerging as the only bright character in a film that portrayed dark shades of coal business.

Despite all hits and critical acclaim, there is one song from Jab Jab Phool Khile that defines Shashi Kapoor; he effortlessly screenplayed the melody as a Kashmiri boy to caress the strings of emotion in every Indian: Yahaan Main Ajnabee Hoon, Main Jo Hoon Bas Wahi Hoon (I am a stranger here, I am what I am). That stranger is now back in his own country.

(An edited version of this write up was published by the India Today Movies earlier today)

Narendra Modi's Independence Day 2017 speech: PM is either ignorant or incorrigibly optimistic

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Red Fort during his Independence Day speech today. (Screengrab: DD Live Stream)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his fourth speech from the Red Fort on the Independence Day 2017 today. Historically, the Independence Day speeches have been considered as occasions to showcase the policies of the government.

PM Narendra Modi took the occasion this year to enumerate the achievements of his government. He talked about reforms including demonetisation and GST. But, it looked a bit immature to take credit for launching Mars Mission in nine months. The programme had taken shape during the previous government led by Manmohan Singh.

Narendra Modi also talked about GST but it was also a work in continuation. Demonetisation and surgical strikes were his own completely. Though, many may point that surgical strikes had been conducted in the past as well. But, then no one ever offered any proof before. Narendra Modi government made a bold move not to just own a surgical strike but to shout it aloud so that the message is heard clear and straight both within and without.

Former Prime Ministers HD Deve Gowda and Manmohan Singh at Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort in New Delhi. (Screengrab: DD Live Streaming)

Narendra Modi talked about ushering a new India by 2022. His new India to have jobs, double income than the present for farmers - which would translate into at least twice as much earning for others as well given the nature and system of our economy, total sanitation, no corruption, no hatred, no filthy competition and almost everything that would make India an ideal nation and society.

Mahatma Buddha and Lord Rama also conceptualised such a society and nation respectively. No one is sure about Lord Rama's period but Mahatma Buddha tried this some 2,500 years ago in Bihar, where only recently a chief minister resigned from the post of chief minister to become the chief minister joining hands with a former chief minister with whom he fought an almost meaningless ego battle.

Even Mahatma Gandhi envisioned an India of his dream. He saw his dream shattering but still had hopes that it would not resurrect once the 'mad nations' woke from their slumber and stopped human slaughter. The Mahatma could not live long enough to endure the pain of his dream being crushed, trampled and consigned to garbage mounds by his own proteges.

Union Minister Smriti Irani at the Independence Day celebration at the Red Fort in New Delhhi. (Screengrab: DD Live Streaming)

For the New India of PM Narendra Modi's vision, his government needs to create 1.3 crore full time employment every year, healthcare facilities need to be modernised and made available 24x7 all the 365 days of the year, burden of judiciary should reduce so that the cases could be disposed in six months after filing, police should be able to complete investigation of a case in two-three months, more than 35 crore people need to get literate and educated, government schools should deliver high quality education across language barrier in every village and ward, Parliament should be debating in five years if the country needed a law dealing with rape as it would vanish from the face of India, women should face no discrimination in homes, at work and public places.

In 1947, a section of people thought with freedom their homes will become happy, corruption would end, police would behave, nepotism would end and suraj would come. BR Ambedkar thought after 15 years of quota, the Dalits would be able to cast away the burden of centuries. In 1974-75, a group of enthusiasts sought if the first freedom failed them another would not as it would be total revolution. In 2011, a handful Indians and TV channel studios made us believe that corruption would be the last things India and Indians want. Next year, similar bunch of street troopers tried to convince India that Indians won't stare at, stalk, harass, molest, sodomise, rape or brutalise a soul in future. So on and so forth. And, here 125 crore people stand waiting for another suraj, the New India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi deserves a salute for believing that India and Indians would bring in an India of his vision in next five years. Either he does not know his 125 crore people or his optimism has turned into an obsession without any cure.

PS: Do I need to underscore here that this blog is only a reflection of one of my brainwave?

As President, Ram Nath Kovind remains the same commoner even during oath taking: Curious things about swearing in ceremony

Ram Nath Kovind is the President of India. Like any other person who has entered the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Ram Nath Kovind too has quite a few firsts to his credit.

Ram Nath Kovind is the first RSS member to become the President of India.
Ram Nath Kovind is the first person from Uttar Pradesh to become the President of India.
Interestingly, Ram Nath Kovind has a couple of seconds also.
Ram Nath Kovind is the second Bihar Governor to become the President of India.
Ram Nath Kovind is the second Dalit person to become the President of India.

During the swearing in ceremony, Ram Nath Kovind looked visibly nervous. Ram Nath Kovind might have been overwhelmed by occasion.

The long journey from a Kanpur village mud house with thatched roof to the palatial and colossal building of the Rashtrapati Bhavan might have been running in his mind as a flashback film.

After having been administered the oath of secrecy by Chief Justice of India Justice JS Khehar, Ram Nath Kovind's predecessor Pranab Mukherjee shook hands with the new incumbent and directed him to his new seat.

At this point of time while Pranab Mukherjee looked emotional, Ram Nath Kovind appeared nervous. Ram Nath Kovind sat in the chair without signing on the oath papers. President's secretary had to tell him that he needed to sign in the register.

Ram Nath Kovind's hand was shaking profusely while signing on the register as mark of acknowledgement that he now held the highest office of the land. He completed the formalities for the top position in the country.

But, nervousness of the common man that he had been all through 71 years of his life was yet to subside. Ram Nath Kovind, after putting back the cap of the pen at its place, could not place his black pen with golden rings at its usual place at the top of his breast pocket.

Like a commoner, overwhelmed by the occasion, Ram Nath Kovind put his pen in his lower pocket on the right side of his executive coat. Just like any other commoner from Kanpur.

In his first speech as President, Ram Nath Kovind, too, remained the same old man. Among the nation builders, Kovind mentioned farm toilers. In the list, he burdened the tribals and ordinary citizens with the responsibility of saving humanity and life.

Kovind said, "Tribal and ordinary citizen striving to preserve our ecology, our forests and our wildlife is a nation builder." This is exactly what common man has been made to believe and think.

Ram Nath Kovind has come from the same stock of common man, who strives for life every day and keep one's life on track despite thousands of hiccups and hundreds of mini-rebellions of daily life-process.

As he represents and claims to be representing the common man in the most magnificent house for a head of state in the world, another common man in Kanpur or some other city, town and village would be hoping that Ram Nath Kovind will come of age as President of India and so shall the every other commoner in the country.

A Dalit must be hoping that when she walks out of her home next, she would be seen and treated as of the President's clan (and not vice versa).

A villager would be expecting that when Finance Minister of President Ram Nath Kovind frames his budge next time, a future President of India need not spend childhood in her thatched roof.

A farmer may be expecting that the next time a banker, a moneylender, a journalist, a district magistrate or a minister spots her tilling her farm must see her as a nation builder and bows.

A Muslim would like to believe that when Kovind referred to 125 crore Indians, she was kept in mind. And, the vice versa.

The Prime Minister, too, would be hoping that his party is no longer branded as anti-Dalit or Brahmin-dominated party.

And, Ram Nath Kovind may be hoping that he would be allowed to be a copy-book President and go by the rule book as he did as the Governor of Bihar.

Pakistan Army: News Notes 7.12.16; Indian Express

Pakistan Army chief takes charge. (photo credit: @AsimBajwaISPR)

General Qamar Javed Bajwa superseded four Lt Gens. He is the third successive Punjabi army chief. He is from Jat community from Ghakhar Mandi in Pakistani Punjab.

Punjabis constitute 56 per cent population of Pakistan.

In 1939, Punjabi Muslims formed 29 per cent of British Indian soldiers. They were preferred after 1857 revolt as they were considered more loyal than the recruits from traditional grounds in UP and Bihar.

Punjabis dominate Pakistani army. Pathans are the second most dominant ethnic group. Urdu speaking mohajirs have had larger share in Pakistani Army than their share in population.

First Punjabi army chief of Pakistan was General Tikka Khan, who assumed office in 1972- 25 years after its creation.

Seven Punjabis have occupied the office of Pakistan Army chief including Bajwa. Bajwa is the third successive army chief since 2007. Till then four out of 13 army chiefs were Punjabis.

Before Bajwa, 28 of 69 years of its existence have seen a Punjabi army chief.
There have been 16 army chiefs in Pakistan. Of the four military dictators, one was Punjabi- General Zia-ul-Haq.

General Zia ul Haq we born in Jalandhar and studied at St Stephen's College, Delhi. He ruled for 11 years.

General Parvez Musharraf was a Urdu speaking mohajir, who was born in Delhi. He ruled for nine years.

Two other military dictators of Pakistan were Pathans, who constitute 16% of Pakistani population.

There have been four Pathan army chiefs heading the army for 16 years. Field Marshall Ayub Khan and Punjab born General Yahya Khan were Pathans. The two ruled Pakistan for 14 years.

Gen Bajwa takes over from Gen Sharif. Photo credit: @AsimBajwaISPR)

Out of proportion share of Pathans has offset separatism in NWFP or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where sense of alienation was very strong and it predated the 1971 separation of East Bengal.

About three crore Pathans live in the area separated by the Durand Line from the Afhan Pathans, who including the Taliban don’t recognise it as a boundary line.

In total about four crore Pathans line on the two sides of Durand Line.

Pathans General Ayub Khan's appointment as army chief in 1951 coincided with the rise of separatism in NWFP. Seven years later, Ayub Khan led the first military coup. Ayub Khan remained Pakistan's ruler for next 11 years till 1969, when Indira Gandhi was gaining ground in democratic India.

During Ayub Khan's regime, Pathans got closer to Pakistani ruling machinery and held greater stake in the army instilling among them the sense of belongingness towards their country.

But, mohajirs' dominance in bureaucracy prompted imposition of Urdu as the sole unifying language that complicated the matters in East Bengal- ultimately destroying the two-nation theory.

Urdu speaking migrants comprise only six per cent of Pakistan’s population.
 Two Urdu speaking generals became Pakistan Army chiefs- Azamgarh-born General Mirza Aslam Beg and Parvez Musharraf. As army chiefs, they jointly commanded for 12 years.

The two mohajir generals aggravated Kashmir problem. Beg engineered Kashmir insurgency in late 1980s- 1989 is taken as a cut off date in general sense.

Musharraf planned 1999-Kargil war- a limited war with the aim to draw international attention and thereby internationalise Kashmir taking it beyond the Indian thesis of bilateralism.

No Sindhi or Baloch has headed Pakistan Army. General Muhammad Musa came from Baluchistan but he was not a Baloch but belonged to small Hazara community. He led the army for eight years.

Only 15 per cent soldiers of Pakistan Army belong to Sindh and Baluchistan. Baloch comprise three per cent of Pakistan's army.

Sindhis are the second most populous ethnic group in Pakistan. They are 17 per cent of total population.

Sindhis and Balochs are considered as non-martial ethnic groups. Of late, Pakistan Army has lowered the fitness and educational criteria to admit more Sindhis and Balochs.

PoK recruits comprise 6 per cent of Pakistan Army.

65 per cent soldiers are from Punjab and 15 per cent from NWFP and FATA (Pathans areas)
Pothwar region of Punjab proportionately dominates Pakistan Army in terms of soldiers. Pothwar's Jat, Rajputs, Awans, Gakkars and Gurjars are the main recruits in the Pakistan Army.

Three Pakistan Army chiefs have been Punjabi Rajputs- Tikka Khan, Asif Nawaz and Raheel Sharif.

Demonetisation rumours that you may have taken as truth

Photo credit: @saur008

After five days of demonetisation decision, queues were not to be seen outside banks and ATMs for a day on Monday in some parts of the country.

Not because the cash crisis is over, which will anyhow persist till the end of the year- even Prime Minister Narendra Modi admitted this.

The queues vanished because banks finally have a day off in certain states, which is celebrating Guru Purnima or Kartik Purnima.

In the meanwhile, rumour mill is running overtime. Cash crisis is genuine and grave, but there are rumours that you may have believed as truth.

Here are some of them:

1.      Delhi Police received 4,500 calls informing violence outside banks and ATMs. This is not true.Delhi Police issued a clarification about the calls 

@PTI_News Please refer to our clarification explaining the factual position in detail. pic.twitter.com/ffgh9lKkMv

— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) November 12, 2016 

2.        Some reports also suggested that stampede took place outside banks and ATMs in Delhi, which turned out to be false.

3.    DCP’s authorisation is required for exchanging or withdrawing money from RBI counters in Delhi. People were seen rushing to DCP South Delhi. Police were forces to issue another clarification denying such reports.

Advisory pic.twitter.com/kz2IfwGZe7

— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) November 13, 2016

4.    Transporters to go on strike. The word is there in retail markets that in the aftermath of the demonetisation move, the transporters are going on a nation-wide strike, which will lead to acute shortage of essential goods. (One such pic is attached obtained from Google) This has been denied by the transporters association and the road transport and highways ministry.

5.    Salt scarcity in the country. All over the market place, this sentiment is very strong that the country doesn’t have enough stock of salt. The belief is that the demonetisation would lead to crashing down of salt production in coming days. The food and supplies ministry has debunked these reports but the quintessential kitchen item was sold at over Rs 200 a kg not very far from the national capital.

6.    Shopping mall looted in Delhi. A video went viral showing some people climbing the stacks in an upscale grocery shop and grabbing bags of grains, sugar etc. The rumour has it that people were desperate as they were running short on cash and hence broke into the shopping mall. Delhi Police issued a clarification saying that the disorder in the self-catering mall located in Seelampur area was due to some miscreants.

News Update pic.twitter.com/YYTYs4Zfwl

— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) November 12, 2016

7.    

Photo credit: @NNaseemahmad071

What a photo this !!! Unbelievable ! https://t.co/TMaPSAkqBn

— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) November 13, 2016

Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha retweeted this photograph showing humongous queues. This tweet attributed the queue to cash crisis.This photograph has subsequently been many times aggravating the panic, the public is already in. In reality, this photograph was taken in 2013 during Kenyan presidential elections.

Rumormongers @JhaSanjay and @INCIndia use a photo from 2013 Kenyan election to create panic. pic.twitter.com/UBe4y6zpQa

— Spamnath Bharti (@attomeybharti) November 13, 2016

8.    (Three deaths (reported numbers have gone up now were reported due to rush for cash after demonetisation. In two of the cases, family members later clarified that the deaths were not linked to cash crisis. In Mulund, Mumbai the 73-year-old suffered from health complications, his family members were reported as saying. In another case, a woman jumped to death and it was attributed to cash crisis. But, the family members did not later link it to rush for cash. )