inspired by my friend Rahul Anand

kyun is kadar hairaan hai tu?
anginat khwabon ka ashiyaan hai tu
khaak nashin ham tujhe dekhte hain
hamari har aas ka aastaan hai tu

Om shanti Om and employee satisfaction

The movie has made it to the hit list and the movie buffs would agree with me though the mafia may not. Only those with really high resistance levels (or those with highly obsessive aversion for SRK as well as the "i don't watch hindi movie" kinds) would not have seen it by now. That is fine with me of course. I don't get paid for promoting Farah Khan movies anyway (thats not such a bad idea though, i like the proposal already ;), what say FK? ).

The reason I'm making my readers go through this torturous blog entry is to share an observation i made when i went to see this movie with friends. Noone who's been watching hindi movies in the last few years would be surprised when a complete music video greets them at the end of a movie. Its a new trend that has been picked up by movie makers to make people sit through the end credits. Maybe they figured that if they made that one good song/video for the whole movie, the precious few who bought tickets to the film might just endure it till the end to be able to watch that song. Maybe its their way of thanking cine goers for coming to the movie theater and not watching the movie on pirated DVDs. or maybe they think they will be able to cover up for a lousy ending by mitigating any ill-will generated. Guess this is their way of saying, "Smile please, atleast we have the lead actor dancing with hot women in bikinis for you".

You obviously know by now that I'm going to talk about the end credits of "OM shanti OM". Those who've seen the movie may point out that there are no babes in bikinis in that song. Those who havn't seen the movie may check out the video on youtube and then be quick to point out that there are no babes in bikinis in that song. All you have is the entire cast and crew dancing their way down the red carpet wearing their sunday best. Those who've seen Farah Khan's previous directorial venture (Main Hoon Na) wouldn't have been surprised at all. She did this in that movie as well.

"Geez! Is that your observation? Great going Dewy!" Of course I have to say "Of course not!". Only this time I mean it. Did anyone spot the spot boys? or the dress crew or the light men? or the sundry other characters associated with a film crew? You know the kind of people you don't even know about? Did you see the look on their faces? Assuming of course that you sat through the entire video to watch the "invisible" men of the film industry. Can you for a second imagine what must be going through their minds while they danced down the carpet like movie stars? Ecstacy? Jubilation? or just pure Thrill! What do you think they must've done when they went home after the shoot? Probably told their entire neighbourhood to go watch Om Shanti Om cause it has them staring in it!!! Wouldn't you? What can be cooler than being on screen to be watched by thousands of cine-goers?

But that isn't my observation either. My observation is that there should be a case study on organization behaviour on Farah Khan. I think the lady nailed employee satisfaction/motivation right on the head. I would be even more impressed if I learn to find out that she knows what she has achieved by this move. She made even the smallest member (in terms of work load & impact on the project) of the crew seem as important as a star of the movie. She acknowledged their contribution in front of the entire nation (or even the whole world). Which organization can boast of that? With this promise she gained the loyalty of her work force. She made everyone dedicated to their job and give their best to the project.

The cream of the cake is that, while she did all this, she also made the maximum use of the age old way of film promotion - word of mouth marketing. Its incredible how, with the help of every single member of her crew, she has been able to penetrate all the stratas of the Indian society, from the billionaire to the kickshaw puller. That has to draw crowds if nothing else does.

(This is not to undermine the importance of the dard-e-disco dance number or the special appearance of the entire film industry in the deewangi song.)

Opinion maybe divided on what made this movie do so well. Re-incarnation? Spoof on all the movies of that last 30 years? Karz relaoded? or SRK? Some would say this was one of the silliest movies they've ever seen. Some would call it downright crappy. But all that doesn't matter does it? As they say पिक्चर HIT है भाई! (the movie is a hit man!) Project is successful. The producers made a lot of moolah. The director and the bombshell Deepika Padukone got the cheers. They all featured in Koffee with Karan (although they would still have come on the show even if the movie was a super failure).

I would love to know the answer to one question though. Did Farah Khan know what she was doing when she did this?

and then i danced

People listen to music, I feel it. I experience it, I live it, I dance to it. My body takes over, I stop thinking. I lose my inhibitions, I lose control. I live in that moment, I exist.

God made man, man made music, and music inspired lives. I am inspired too, in ways I can't even comprehend.

They say that in you life you have to seek out your guru. I seek my guru, the one who can understand what I experience and nurture it. I want to thrive on it.

I'm still looking for my opportunity, I'm looking for my purpose. I hope to find it before long.

why do I want to stay?

I know not what i am
I know only that i can never really be
what i want to be
or set out to see what i want to see

i seek salvation
i seek admiration
i know i cannot get them
both in unison

i want someone
who can understand me
i need someone to
come and save me

sometimes i want to get up
and leave everything behind
sometimes i want to embrace
the world and everything in it

I think it through
I wonder everyday
I want to go away
But why do I want to stay?

The things people say...

Passing by a group of people, you can't help overhearing a few words here and there. Incomplete statements or stray phrases heard out of context can turn out to be very amusing. Especially when the person saying it is also in a state of animation. Such instances give you a lot of insight about people in general. Most of the times the conversations are light hearted, mindless banter. But sometimes you end up hearing something really nasty. Things get worse if the statements happen to be about you. What should you do then? You can't ignore it. You can't act as if it never happened. And you sure can't forget about it. What must you do then?

I say we ought to make the most of the opportunity. You found out something about yourself that you weren't aware of. It gives you a chances to analyse yourself. Maybe, without realising it, you have developed a habit or behaviour that does more harm than good. Or one which needs to be modified. That criticism can be handled.

Now for the next question. What can you do if what you've heard is something you don't have any control over? Some say why worry about something you don't have any control over? But then it does sadden you to know how people form opinions about other people blatantly disregarding their abilities (or inabilities). They openly bad mouth the person or make fun of them. It saddens you to know how insensitive people are towards people who are not like them, or are unlike anything they have ever seen or met before.

Why must we all fit into a known mould to be accepted or appreciated? Why can't we tolerate diversity?

Why am I an Athiest?

Why am I an Athiest? is a famous essay written by Shaheed Bhagat Singh while he was in prison in 1930. Its a long essay but worth a read. Those who cannot decide why you need to be spiritual or even if you are spiritual, or even those who need to reaffirm their faith.

The Mahatma or the Martyr?

With whose principles of freedom struggle would you agree more: Mahatma Gandhi or Bhagat Singh?

I came across this question recently and was forced into a situation where I had to answer it. I pondered over it for a long time before attempting to write down my thoughts. A lot of us would be stumped if they had to choose. They were both radical in their own spheres. Both of them put their country before anything else. Both were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country. How then will you choose?

The principles that drove Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh were similar, if not same. The differences in their actions were governed by the choices they made. The differences in choices were in turn due to the difference in their backgrounds, basic personality and most importantly, age. The outcomes of those differences were results of circumstances.

Bhagat Singh attempted to kill the police chief who'd severly beaten Lala Lajpat Rai during the protests against the Simon Comminssion. He ended up killing J. P. Saunders, the Deputy Superitendant of Police. His decision to assassinate in response to Lala Lajpat Rai's death was prompted by anger and frustration, typical of the youth and driven by his take-action personality. He probably did not allow himself to think of the repercussions of his actions and its possible impact on the larger freedom struggle. When on trial, he admitted to the assassination which shows his conviction towards truth, a well known Gandhian principle. Also Bhagat Singh went on a hunger strike while in jail, a tool largely attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, to fight for prisoner rights.

On the other hand, Mahatma Gandhi's insistence of non violence was a result of a more mature outlook and a better understanding of the people. His "Discovery of India" is a shining example of that. He was known to do extensive research on any subject before adopting it as a principle. It was after such extensive research that he closed on the concept of non violence.

Circumstances forced both these men to modify their principles from time to time. Mahatma Gandhi on one hand called off the Non Cooperation Movement after the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922. On the other hand he did not stop the Quit India movement despite individual acts of violence in 1942. Bhagat Singh was, likewise, driven by circumstances from non violent non cooperation to more radical ideologies.

The Jallianwala Babh Massacre did not occur in Gandhiji's community when he was a child. Similarly, Bhagat Singh was not sent to London during his impressionable years. To me therefore, both these personalities are an essential part of the freedom struggle. They both, together, completed the picture, a wise old man on one hand and an enthusiastic, often impulsive youth on the other.