Will the real Dhurandhar please stand up ?

Arrival of “Uri” in 2019 – directed by a first timer - Aditya changed something in Hindi film industry.  It was technically brilliant, had great music, entertaining, but more importantly fused facts and fiction seamlessly with the narrative tilting towards the “ political dispensation” of the time.

This set the cat among the “progressive” pigeons. Here was someone with the craft to narrate the story of the other (Right – pun unintended) side. It didn’t matter that the “”facts” shown were accurate, what triggered the liberals was the unapologetic nationalistic tone. How can someone be so openly nationalistic in a “Secular” nation !

“Article 370” again being factual, depicted a fictionalized version of the whole process of the abrogation. Subtly but firmly toeing the government’s line, it was technically adept, engrossing cinema. To top it , the protagonists were female, with both in positions of power and agency. How can patriarchal, misogynistic, right wing can produce such a movie. This is not the “DEI and feminist” India that the liberals envisioned. The murmurs of propaganda grew louder when they realized that Uri was not a flash in a pan.

2025 has to be the year where the Overton window has firmly shifted. “Baramulla” with its metaphorical, layered story telling and usage of meta-physical horror to enhance the real life horrors experienced by a large community showed that the Right now has mastered the art of subtle messaging that the Left had monopolized for decades.  Nothing could be faulted - the story, screenplay or the technical aspects. Praise – though begrudgingly and back handedly – had to be accorded.

With Dhurandhar, another bastion too has been breached. The mainstream masala– the rags to riches, henchman to the mafia top boss, spy saving the country – genre has now been appropriated to tell a “Right” wing story and the way it does has truly rattled those who extolled ISI helping RAW to thwart a terrorist  attack (where the villain is disgruntled ex-Indian spy) as peak cinema. Again it doesn’t matter, Dhurandhar when its being factual it gets all the facts right, does it skillfully, subtly highlights the cost paid by the country due to the “inefficiencies” for previous political masters and roots for a regime which cares for the nation. Most “critics” and the “liberals” are now in panic mode. Here’s some one who can beat them in their own game has truly arrived. Hence the comparison to Leni Riefenstahl.

When the protagonist in "Dhurandhar" declares, "Unke ghar mein ghus ke maarenge," it's not just the character speaking but Aditya himself. He infiltrated the high temple of secularism, learned the tricks of the trade, and used them against the very people who had long dictated what the masses should see and what constituted the moral fabric of society. Aditya has firmly established himself as the true "Dhurandhar."

Thoughts on Overlord

So, this much-hyped sequel to a surprisingly decent masala star vehicle—one that had enough substance to keep even non-fans interested—has finally been released.

Addressing the Bajrangi (pun intended)in the Room

For those who grew up in the eighties and were educated the way we were, the opening of the internet in the 2000s was a literal eye-opener. Exposure to the vast expanse of information—far beyond what we were fed—led many who considered themselves liberal, secular, rational, and centrist to realize just how skewed those terms had become. Suddenly, they found themselves labeled as Sanghis.

As a result, people today are so sensitized that they detect conspiracies and propaganda everywhere, primed to scrutinize everything for bias.

So, when scenes of the train burning and the subsequent riots play out on screen, viewers will inevitably interpret them through either saffron-tinted or 'secular' lenses, drawing their own conclusions. The filmmakers certainly play loose with facts, portraying one side as the clear aggressor. The imagery and music only enhance this bias.

The titular lead speaks exclusively in riddles, quoting scriptures (of the secular kind), without uttering a single normal dialogue. Meanwhile, the uncouth, illiterate goon vents his anger in cruder language.

There is an attempt at (monkey) balancing with token characters from both sides making inane statements about their gods saving each other. Later, another attempt at balance comes in the form of a terrorist shouting Death to Kaffirs.

Beyond this, the film touches on various themes: the North vs. South divide, Hindi imposition, a northern party gained prominence in a western state while attempting to break into God’s Own Country, central agencies (caged parrots) being used by the Centre to suppress state voices, and a single party standing as a bulwark against communal violence to protect the people. The villian mouthing words to the effect of, 'I don't like colour green'.

Anyone outraging against this is as entitled to their reaction as those who did the same against The Files and The Story that came out earlier.

Intellectual or Pretentious?

With Kerala’s mundu-lifting, Inquilab Zindabad-shouting politics thrown into the mix, the film attempts to weave in geopolitics, globe-trotting intrigue, deep state conspiracies, Axis-Nexus theories, drug and human trafficking, and terrorism. The filmmakers want you to believe that your intellectual side is being engaged, while your craving for mass masala entertainment is also being satisfied.

It’s Just a Movie, After All

Does it boast a scale never before seen in Malayalam cinema? Absolutely. In fact, it almost feels like a calling card for Hollywood.

Ummm... But...

A paper-thin story, embellished with highfalutin dialogues, stretched out to a painfully slow pace as if playing at 0.75x speed, and to top it all off, every single shot of the star treated as an introduction shot—slow motion, gun-toting, shades-wearing foreign extras striding like stormtroopers. Symbolism and imagery are crammed into nearly every frame.

One hot mess is what it is.

Intentional or Unintentional Takeaways

What is a liberally secular person’s wet dream? 

Stephen and Zayed saving God’s Own Country from Bajrangi.

Unsolicited Advice to a Scion of Political Royalty

This isn’t your cup of tea. Hand it over to your sibling and stand behind her in support.

Final Word

One can't deny the fact that it is excellently marketed to create FOMO

If you don’t intend to watch it, you are smart. And for those waiting for the OTT release—hope and pray that it lands on a platform that allows you to increase the playback speed.

As for the 3rd part, there are enough indications that it will be more of the same.

Office Move

We just moved offices. The new location is your typical IT park set up at the outskirts of the city with every builders worth their salt have built towers of either offices or apartments. When you enter the area from the highway, its like entering a jungle albeit a concrete one.

The old office was located  between a Jail and a Mental hospital - which was very well cause in the industry I work for you have every chance of ending up in one of those two places.

There was greenery every where - thanks to a defense establishment and airport nearby which has dissuaded the builders from encroaching the land for their ugly erections. There was a great view of both sun rise and sun set from the office floor.

The surroundings were buzzing. A ground where kids played cricket, shanties which started illegally - later legitimized by local politicians for vote banks, food and cigarette stalls which were thronged by techies. Periodic ' raid' by the municipal authorities, demolishing these stalls , only for them to crop up the next day after suitable greasing of the government machinery with lubricant called bribe. Water logging during rains. In short, it was a perfect microcosm of life.

There was a wide and long stretch of road in front, which I used to take every day to reach office on foot. That road had  more character and life than the entire locality where the new offices are situated.

Kids taking a dump on sidewalk oblivious to a snake slithering away nearby. People from the shanties performing their morning ablutions by the road side. Street dogs establishing their dominions and going crazy when dog parents getting their child pets for their walks. Cows and Pigs sauntering in the middle of the road. Health buffs running, walking , performing calisthenics. People sitting and consuming desi liquor in mineral water/soft drinks  irrespective of the time of the day or those with expensive cars , drinking beer or imported whiskies. The addicts who rolled up joints and lighting them up. Couples talking sweet nothings, arguing, giving vent to their hormonal urges. And not to mention the quintessential Pune traffic, whic ia akin to playing Russian roulette.

At night it was a place for people to perform black magic (given it was a junction where three roads met and all that mumbo jumbo). You could see the remnants of  this in the morning, strewn on your path with the hope that someone would step on them and take all the bad luck with them.

All these will be missed.

Why Kalki should win?

 For long , Indian (especially Hindi) film industry has been trying to recreate the Hollywood movies in India and failing for most of the times They have often ended up being all glitz with no soul. Even though the budgets, the technology have increased over time, the movies have always been cheap copies of the west.

But down South , a director named Rajamouli seemed to have discovered the DNA of a summer tentpole blockbuster. Through his initial movies he ensured that he honed his desi masala creds and slowly amped up his ambitions, culminating in the Bahubali and RRR juggernauts, which straddled the desi masala  and western technical wizardry and epicness admirably. 

He also has inspired a generation of young film makers who have now dared venture out to tell stories which wouldnt have been possible few years ago. While KGF, Salaar told stories which were at their root typical Indian masala tropes, movies like Karthikeya, Hanu-man had a wider vision, blending mythology in to the story. 

That brings us to the latest offering from the Telugu - Kalki 2898AD. For someone who has been exposed to all the sci-fi, Fantasy, super hero movies of the west, one can see bits of every such movie in Kalki.

A dystopian future world, a despot ruling with iron fist, oppressed people, a rebel faction, a prophecy, the coming of a saviour, a happy go lucky hero with a golden heart becoming The Chosen One. You name it, Kalki has it. 

But before you dismiss it as another clone of the west, its vision and scale takes you by surprise. The way the threads from our mythology, ancient epics dovetails in to a sci-fi world really takes some imagination. There is also a big leap in technology (though at some places it could have been better - or may be the 3D conversion messed up some of the CG effects). The detailing of the dystopian world, the gizmos, costumes fit in beautifully.

Its not without its flaws. Forced humour, a sparkless romantic track which doesn't go anywhere, a song and dance sequence out of nowhere bogs the movie down. 

Understandably the first half is slow with all the world building and character establishment. The second half picks up with  action set pieces and the revelations. The climax inevitably leads to a cliffhanger, setting up for the sequel in this Kalki cinematic universe.

Performances, Amitabh makes you feel the weight of the guilt he is carrying and the redemption he is seeking. The technology makes him kick ass and sending people flying all over. Prabhas, disappointingly is one note. Deepika has one expression through out. All the celebrity cameos are fun as standalone, but in the overall scheme of things they are a distraction.

Despite it succumbing to the various pitfalls of the Indian commercial film making, Kalki is an achievement. It has a vision,  blends in mythology with sci-fi efficiently and has epic written all over it. It should succeed, not just for the production of the sequel (the story is incomplete), but for it shows that the Indian directors are now not only  ready mine our own mythology, epics, history (which has thousands of such stories) but also mix them up with sci-fi to come up with modern epics.

Clarkson's Farm - Modern day James Herriot ?

 

When I was young, James Herriot took us on a journey in to the world of British farming.

His vivid description of the farming , the animals, the ups and downs in the life of farmers made me feel I am with him experiencing what he was describing. Being a vet, his chronicling of the experiences in treating farm animals more often than not bought tear to your eyes. 

I now posit that Jeremy Clarkson is now doing  the same to the reels generation. His Clarkson's farm (3 seasons) gives me the same experience as Herriot's books.

Though light in tone and hilarious in parts, it provides a window in to the modern British farming.

The show highlights the trials and tribulations of farmers in Britain (Many of it applies to farmers everywhere too). The finicky weather and climate change wreaking havoc on the crops, the rising cost of everything - seeds, fertilizers, farming equipment, rules and regulations. Jeremy shows genuine concern about the state of farming and farmers. The show also tries to highlight new methods of sustainable farming, 

Add to this, Jeremy's mis-adventures with the tractors, his banter with Kaleb, Charlie and Gerald, his run ins with the council to protect his farm shop and restaurant, attempts at rearing animals, creating new avenues to maximize the output from his farm and failing spectacularly makes it such an entertaining watch.

More importantly, every initiative, attempt that Jeremy undertakes is solely with the motive of maximizing the revenue from the farm. There is no pretension that farming is a social service enterprise, feed the nation - which is an important lesson to farmers elsewhere.

Also who knew that the Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear and Grand Tour,  can get emotional and tear up at the sight of his farm animals being sent to the abattoir or dying at birth !.