The formula game-II

Hi there! It's mind-day once more.Oops Monday! And time for my blog on Videshi serials. We have so many channels and so many serials to choose from. Comedy, crime, historical, fantasy, sci-fi- take your pick. One thing I must say about these Videshi serials. Even if they are giving us loads of fantasy or sci- fi their subject matter is well researched, their technology good, so most of their incredible scripts have an edge of credulity. Two things stand out about our English - American sitcoms.Their leaning towards the paranormal subjects -vampires, witches, werewolves,aliens, people with supernatural abilities-and their propensity to take off their clothes at the drop of a hat. I'm sure they think nothing of it (because clothes are not taken seriously out there- the less being better) but I belong to a generation who is quite not there yet in such matters. Oh! Oh! Does that date me? I can see our youngsters nodding their heads. But seriously dude or whatever you say these days, keep your clothes on! We are here to see you act not do striptease. If the scene demands a bikini and a bedroom scene okay go ahead. It would be weird to see a woman in a burkha or a sari or jeans trying to swim or a fully clothed couple making out in bed but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the dizzying rapidity with which our Videshi heroes and heroines fall in and out of love. The rapidity with which they exchange partners or jump in and out of relationships. Sometimes it gets difficult to keep up who is with who. Most of the comedy is sex centered. The jokes are lousy and the laughs are derived from jaded sexual innuendos. Some like the Middle are good. My favorites are the crime serials- Hawai Five -O on AXN, Elementary( modern take on Sherlock Holmes where Watson is a woman), 24, Mentalist on Zee Cafe to mention a few. Star World Premiere has a plethora of Sci- fi stuff. Helix and Strain being current ones. Reign just ended on Zee Cafe. It tells the story of Mary Queen of Scots. How far it is historically authentic I don't know but it was entertaining. More like a teen drama with pop songs(?) playing in the background. Even here Mary shuttles between two brothers Francis and Sebastian(!)- the bastard son of Henry. The Tudors was better. I haven't watched Game of Thrones(difficult to follow from season 7 or 8) but I've heard it's one masala entertainer. But the fact remains that West is fascinated with the paranormal and so are we.(we watch them don't we?) Stephanie Meyer has introduced us to civilized feeling vampires and vampires are here to stay. Hannibal Lecter- cannibal that he is- has his own fan following as did Dexter. And don't forget aliens and super humans. 

I have to say watching a load of black goo spilling out of alien life forms is heaps better than listening to an ear splitting Aaaa chorus on Colors or Star Plus or what have you.  But that is just my view. Most of the Indians prefer sari clad sob stuff. Okay folks! That's all for now. 
Next installment on whatever takes my fancy! Tada!   


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THE FORMULA GAME

So it's a Monday once again. And time for me to blog. I've decided to do it once a week. And since on Mondays I'm fresh after the weekend break it becomes my mind- day most of the time except for the rare occasion when I come up against a block. So today my topic is the idiot box- T.V. With my advancing years I've turned into a real couch potato- literally and figuratively. Physically I'm a zero size-all round like a zero and mentally I'm like a potato -loathe to exercise  frantically like I should be doing. So like I was saying I watch a lot of T.V. these days. A lot, meaning a lot. And not the educational channels like Discovery and National Geographic but our daily sitcoms. Our Hindi serials and our English ones too. And I've rapidly discovered there is a formula for most things. Especially, especially Romance. Universally romance has a language of flowers and candles peppered by frequent"I love yous"flying around whether it be English American or desi serials. 

Let's tackle our good old desi formula first. The way I see it every time it is necessary, no mandatory to make the heroine slip inadvertently and skid into the arms of the hero and remain in that suspended pose with her leg stuck in the air looking into his eyes for an interminable five to six minutes. And when you figure they've been frozen to death they move with the heroine casting her eyes down coyly and smiling. Draping the heroine over his arm in the classic RK banner pose is what heroes are required to do today. 

The next time it is usually the dupatta or the sari of the heroine which gets caught in the hero's watch or button while the heroine stands in frozen horror wondering who is at the other end of her dupatta only to discover it is caught. That is supposed to signify some bond if you please. If that was not enough you have songs from popular or new films being mouthed by our heroes and heroines in the most absurd dance sequences. The recent dance form endorsed by our Romance gurus is Salsa. I've nothing against it really but it becomes slightly too much to see the heroines being universally thrown into the air like a sack of potatoes(!) -pardon my obsession with potatoes. We watch enough absurd Bollywood movies please. Why not play the songs in the background? Better still have instrumental. 

It is marvelous really the way both Bollywood and Tollywood pay homage to each other. Before every movie launch you have the actors featuring in serials to promote their forthcoming films while Tollywood actors enact scenes from popular movies. But could we please have some innovation in Romance? Instead of the hero or heroine chasing after one another for declarations of love and doing absurd ridiculous things can we have some change please? Instead of red balloons candles pink teddy bears and silk cushions something else please? Instead of a flying dupatta landing on the hero's head and covering his face like a veil something like the scene from Swades perhaps where the heroine steps up to the hero and says in plain unadorned language that she loves him? Or the other way around?  Something more natural? Less absurd? More credible? T.V has more scope for development of plot and character than a movie which is restricted by three hours max. So why not take advantage of that to insert more credibility? Stop using a hashed formula and start doing your own thing. It might not work. Then again it might. TRPs might drop or not. Take a chance. Step out of the box. Stop being an idiot.  We are here. Your audience- for you to make that change. So go ahead and make it. We're waiting. 

About Videshi serials in my next blog next Monday. 

By the way Kudos to Yudh. So far Good! Keep it up! 

What I think

                                           What I Think



Pause. Stop. Reflect.  We go on and on about education, the benefits of it. The advantages. The sheer necessity of it. But what exactly do we mean by it? The dictionary defines education as "the process or art of imparting knowledge, skill and judgement' or "facts, skills and ideas that have been learned either formally or informally."
 To put it in a nutshell, it means acquiring a skill set or knowledge or ideas which equip us to secure jobs in society, earn a living. At least that is the meaning it has dwindled to represent today. We send children to school to learn subjects, to learn about the world around us, to function in a social milieu. They secure good marks or grades, go on to secure even better jobs, lead high powered lives. They learn to wish their teachers, interact with peers, say'Good morning or afternoon or evening" as the case might be. They acquire fluency in languages, be it English or Hindi, and learn to use their skill sets to earn a living. But is that all education should entail?
What good is that education if it cannot teach us basic values, reach into our minds and tear apart the roots of age old prejudices, change our mind sets? If we cannot progress in the real sense of the word? If an engineer or doctor or hotel management graduate can rape without a qualm? What good is that education if a woman feels that another has deserved to be raped because she has invited it - because of her clothes or behavior? Because some women are" like that?" What good is that education if an educated doctor has a family of five just because the first four are girls? What good is that education if an educated executive drawing a five or seven figure salary still believes in dowry albeit couched in polite terminology? What good is that education if we are still bound by the pettiest of superstitions and still think having one child is not "safe?" What good is that education if we vote and elect leaders expecting them to wave wands and perform miracles without realizing what little we do to make sure those miracles happen? What can Modi do? What can anyone do? Give us better cleaner railways? How long before we rip apart those seats, spit on the walls and corridors, fill roads and stations with our trash? Give us power 27/7? How long before we start misusing it? Leaving our taps open just because we have water?

Face it. If education means more money and better lifestyle then we're educated. Otherwise we're not. None of us are. In a country where a people's elected leader can condone rape and pardon the"mistakes" boys make don't you think something needs to be done? And the major change to my mind should begin from the cradle. Teach boys that they cannot make "mistakes" that can damage lives. Teach women it is "safe" to have just one child because our economy is overburdened as it is. So many things to change. So many ways in which to do it. Why not start now? With ourselves?

Make a tiny beginning- no matter how small. How insignificant.

It can be as simple as saying girl or boy one child is enough. Or I'm man enough not to want to subdue a woman by sheer force. At least show that reading all those books, learning about the world around us has paid off in some way. Because if you cannot change your own mindset you are no better than the uneducated lout who knows no better, no matter which brand of car or watch or gadget you might own, or how much salary you might draw. What do you think? This is WHAT I THINK.