While India is busy battling terrorism from various prominent groups like Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Toiba, a new form of terrorism has bred in the soils of the country itself. They prefer to be known as the “Indian Mujahideen”. Originally, operating under an Islamic student organization, widely known as Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the members have stated that their chief aim is the “liberation of India from the Western Materialistic Cultural Influence and to convert its Muslim society to live according to the Muslim code of conduct”. SIMI was banned by the Indian government, shortly after the 9/11 incident in 2001 for its asserted involvement in terrorist activity in India.
The SIMI had its foundations in Aligarh Muslim University Campus, Uttar Pradesh. Professor Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddique is the pioneer of the formation of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), one of the early names of SIMI. This group adopted an extremist line to bring a radical social change in India. April 25, 1977 marked an Islamic revolution in India and today SIMI claims to have 400 registered members and nearly 20,000 supporters. SIMI published various magazines in different languages describing their ideologies and propaganda, out of which the major ones were Tareek (Hindi), Movement (English), Rupantar (Bengali), Sedhi Madal (Tamil) and Shaheen Times for Children. Started as a peace movement, SIMI took an armed rebellion under the leadership of Safdar Nagori (who denied responsibility for any terrorism acts).
After the enactment of “War On Terror” by the US Govt., SIMI was officially banned by our govt. and has labeled it a “terrorist organization” since. Since, it is a renowned organization, it could not be involved in any indisciplinary activities. Thus, the Indian Mujahideen (IM) took a step forward and came to be known as a “shadow amalgam of the SIMI”. It was a pretty good idea on behalf of the SIMIs because the top leaders could escape incarceration or interrogation of any sort. The IM came into the limelight after taking responsibility of the 30th October, 2008 Assam bombings. The police assumed that most of its leaders and supporters lived in India. The major leaders of this organization are:-
1. Abdus Subhan Qureshi (A.K.A Tauqeer) : The 36 year old mastermind behind all of the terror activities monitored by the IM. Named as “India’s Bin Laden”, Tauqeer is a software engineer from Mumbai and an has consummate experience in hacking and bomb making. He is currently the most wanted man in India.
2. Safdar Nagori : Currently under arrest. One of the major prime movers who designed the transformation from SIMI to IM.
3. Usmaan Agarbattiwala : A 25 year old PG diploma holder from Vadodara in human rights.
4. Alamzeb Afridi : An unemployed 24 year old from Ahmedabad. He purchased bicycles and then planted bombs in them in Ahmedabad. Claimed responsible for the 26 July, 2008 Ahmedabad Serial Blast which resulted in 56 deaths and 200 injured in a span of 70 minutes.
On 23 November 2007, India witnessed the havoc created by the IM in Uttar Pradesh. Six consecutive blasts within a span of 25 minutes created pandemonium in Lucknow, Varanasi and Faizabad courts in early afternoon. This draconian act claimed the lives of 18 innocent lives and injured 81 other. Soon after the bombings, the IM send an email to some private news channels declaring that the Jihad in India is in retaliation against the injustice to Muslims over the years and also this avenged the demolition of Babri Masjid and Gujrat Riots. In addition to that, they also took responsibility of the 29 October 2005 Delhi Bombings and 25 August 2007 Hyderabad Bombings. The email was traced eventually and some top members of the IM were arrested.
The turmoil of IM’s terrorism continued to destroy hundreds of families, countless women widowed, children orphaned, while maiming innocent people forever, in however a small span of four months. One of the most grueling attacks ever made, the IM decided to step up to a whole new level by claiming attacks in four major cities of India. These included the 13 May 2008 Jaipur bombings, 25 July 2008 Bangalore serial blasts, 26 July 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts and 13 September 2008 Delhi serial blasts. These four months was one of the most shocking span of time, claiming the lives of over 200 people and injuring more that 600. The signature move of IM was the real time e-mails to various media organizations. This was one of the e-mails carefully drafted four minutes prior to the 2008 Ahmedabad bombings.
"... Here we are back - the Mujahideen of India - the terrorists on the disbelievers - the radicals of Islam - after our triumphant and successful assault at Jaipur, once again calling you all, who disbelieve in Allah and His Messenger Muhammad to accept Islam and bear witness that there is none to be worshipped except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Accept Islam and save yourselves.
O Hindus! O disbelieving faithless Indians! Haven’t you still realized that the falsehood of your 33 crore dirty mud idols and the blasphemy of your deaf, dumb, mute idols are not at all going to save your necks, Insha-Allah, from being slaughtered?
We call you, O Hindus, O enemies of Allah, to take an honest stance with yourselves lest another attack of Ibn-e-Qasim sends shivers down your spines, lest another Ghauri shakes your foundations, and lest another Ghaznawi massacres you, proving your blood to be the cheapest of all mankind! Have you forgotten your history full of subjugation, humiliation, and insult? Or do you want us to repeat it again? Take heed before it is too late!
So wait! ................ Await now……….! Wait only for five minutes from now! .... Wait for the Mujahideen and Fidayeen of Islam and stop them if you can - who will make you feel the terror of Jihad. Feel the havoc cast into your hearts by Allah, the Almighty, face His Dreadful Punishment, and suffer the results of fighting the Muslims and the Mujahideen. Await the anguish, agony, sorrow and pain. Await, only for 5 minutes, to feel the fear of death...".
This explains the macabre of the home bred indigenous terrorist organization and their ideologies. Since then, several such emails have been send to different cities prior to the bombings. They affirm Hindus as “an enemy of Islam” and the innocents are the targets of this new mindless brutality unleashed by an Islamic organization lurking as a silhouette. It has morphed into a leading endemic terrorist outfit, whose fingerprints are evident in most terror attacks like the 2010 Pune bombings, 2010 Jama Masjid attacks and supposedly the recently occurred 13 July 2011 Mumbai serial blasts. Although, there are many wild conjectures popping up regarding the people responsible for the attacks, IM is under high suspicion by Delhi police. I sincerely hope that the culprits of such a heinous act be brought to justice soon.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
DEMANDS FROM THE PEOPLE’S WAR - IS OUR GOVERNMENT TOO OBSTINATE?
For nearly 45 years, the Naxalites, also known as the “PEOPLE’S WAR GROUP (PWG) have been thriving to become the most successful revolution ever made in Indian history. Our government’s indifference towards the demands has made us pay a lot more than the usual speculation. The PWG have certain demands from the government, which are not entirely absurd. Some are righteous while others are highly outrageous. Here’s a list of the demands made by the PWG and according to the Frontline, the demands have been categorized under 10 different categories. They are as follows:
A. A democratic atmosphere should be created in the State. The government should respect people's right to fight for their democratic demands.
The government should not prevent agitations, peaceful demonstrations and meetings.
• According to me, India is a democratic country, where people have freedom of thoughts. So this demand should be accepted by our government.
Lift the ban on the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) P.W. and other organizations.
• The Communist Party of India is just another political group like any other. Lifting the ban on them is clearly one of the prudent steps. The government cannot simply disband them if they agree to stop the rebellion.
Scrap the system of rewards on workers of P.W., People's Guerilla Army and other mass organizations.
• Like I described before, our govt cannot ignore them completely! This demand should be accepted.
Scrap Grey Hounds, Special Security Forces, and the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) and withdraw the Central paramilitary forces.
• The Grey Hounds and SIB are specially trained to tackle the Naxalite rebellion. I don’t know, whether it is discreet or not, but if the PWG keep their end of the deal to drop arms, maybe, the government can comply to their request. I don’t think this demand should be fulfilled to assert the safety of civilians.
Release all political prisoners.
• We can’t accept that! Some political prisoners are in fact labeled as “terrorists” and we can’t risk sinisters on the loose.
Scrap the system of giving acceleratory promotions and unofficial incentives to police officers who kill naxalites in fake encounters.
• Were the Naxalites out of their mind while making this demand? The police force takes all the necessary steps to control terrorism, be it internal or external. The govt will never accept such an exorbitant demand, because that would mean the end of vigilance and morals of the govt.
Scrap the informant network in villages. The government should end the practice of winning over P.W. workers and using them as covert agents.
• I think that its fair to accept this demand. The govt cannot meddle in the affairs of the tribal people and use them against their own community. That is a harsh thing to do.
Control `lumpen' gangs such as Green Tigers, Kranti Sena, Palnadu Tigers, Tirumala Tigers and Nayeem Gang.
• It’s very hard for me to believe that Govt is simply wasting the funds in creating private armies to fight the Naxalites. Accepting this demand is a more cautious way of dealing with the problem, as, the PWG can be persuaded to join our side instead of hunting them. Private armies can prove to be a weird complication later on.
Order a judicial probe into all fake encounters and punish the police officers responsible.
• My decision remains stoic towards this and as I have stated earlier – COULDNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Lift all cases registered against workers of mass organizations and other revolutionary parties.
• An arduous decision, perhaps! I don’t think that the government will ever bend to that. The threat seems moderate and it’ll probably take some time for the government to take the righteous decision whether to accept this demand. Thus, I am against the PWG in this criterion.
B. Implement reforms in the agricultural sector.
Implement land reforms. Handover to the occupants the endowment, government, and forest land and lands belonging to landlords already occupied by people.
• I am with the Naxalites on this one, because, I believe that the Zamindari system has caused a ton of problems for the impoverished. The poor should have the right to acclaim their own land and settle peacefully. TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE.
Implement the Land Ceiling Act.
• Land Ceiling act is a highly retrogressive act as it hinders urbanization. This act should never be implemented again, since, our economy is a burgeoning one and it relies mostly upon industrialization. We cannot go back to the Dark Age. COULDNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Complete all pending irrigation projects. Farmers should be given irrigation facilities and supplied adequate power.
• I don’t need to elaborate on this point, do I? The demand speaks for itself and govt cannot be so indifferent about this.
Waive all private loans taken by the farming community to stop suicides by farmers.
• Now, here comes a real one. Farmer suicide is a burning issue today and certainly the government isn’t doing anything to stop it. Waiving private loans is next to impossible, but, the govt can come up with a rural credit plan to stop the farmer suicide issue. HAS TO ACCEPT.
Prepare a permanent and integrated plan for tackling the drought situation.
• Hard to believe that our govt has waited 50 years to decide for this demand!
Scrap corporate agriculture.
• Agribusiness should not be curtailed. Rather than having adverse effects, it has some positive repercussions towards education, research and public policy. Scraping this would mean a huge blow to our economy. CAN’T BE ACCEPTED.
C. Implement policies of industrialisation and other schemes based on local resources in place of the liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation policies being followed now.
Withdraw all World Bank projects and schemes supported by imperialists.
• The govt cannot stop globalization in order to minimize an internal threat! SHOULDNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Stop the retrenchment of workers and the privatisation of public sector enterprises (PSEs)
• Privatisation has always exploited the poor and the underdeveloped, but, it has a major hand in contributing to the annual GDP. Public sectors have proved to be socially acceptable but has been inefficient in the development process. CANNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Protect small- and medium-scale industries from competition by multinational companies (MNCs) and revive cooperative and other PSEs.
• MNCs are the bridges to development and thus accepting this demand will be catastrophic. COULDNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Withdraw user charges on drinking water, education and health services.
• SHOULD BE ACCEPTED. No doubts conceded on this one.
Scrap all agreements with the World Bank, MNCs and other countries.
• I shan’t speak no more. NOT ACCEPTABLE.
D. Recognise the tribal people's rights on forest.
Announce autonomy for the tribal people.
• This seems more of a request than a demand. The tribals have their own way of living and we should let them be. SHOULD BE ACCEPTED.
Implement the "1/70 Act", which provides protection against the alienation of land held by tribal people in scheduled areas to non-tribal people. Stop settling of non-tribal people in areas inhabited by tribal people.
• This is a wise demand and it’s good too. Govt should alienate the forest area and let the tribals live in there. This could be helpful alternatively, as, the tribal people will help conserve the forests.
Initiate steps to develop and support tribal languages.
• We should definitely support the tribal languages and their ethnic culture. Preserving them would be a highly appreciated piece of work.
E. Form a separate Telangana State.
In my honest opinion, formation of a separate state for the Naxalites could prove highly improvident. The Naxalites must learn to live together in an integrated manner. SHOULDNOT BE ACCEPTED.
F. Formulate an integrated plan for the development of backward regions of North Coastal and Rayalasseema areas.
We should not delay to grant this demand. Isn’t this supposed to be one of the goals of the govt, development of backward areas?
G. Punish those who belittle the self-respect of Dalits. Take action against police officers and upper-caste members responsible for attacks on Dalits in Karamchedu, Tsundur, Neerukonda and Vempenta.
It is an awful thing to disrespect any member of any caste, be it the Dalits. But, taking action against the police officers is not a valid option. I think I had made my point earlier. SHOULD NOT BE ACCEPTED.
H. Equal property rights for women.
It’s a never-ending issue. Women have been demeaned and dominated, time after time. Each time this topic occurs, the govt does nothing but make hefty speeches to advocate equal rights for women. When will the govt man up and take some serious measures?
I. Recover money from the affluent who evade taxes.
This is not only the demand of the Naxalites alone, but the whole country itself. SHOULD BE ACCEPTED.
Out of the above demands nearly half of them are acceptable. Isn’t this enough for a start? Some demands seriously needs to be looked upon, whereas others can be sorted out later. It’s not that difficult as it sounds, but, it’s never too late for anything. Or, does our government likes to take inane decisions, like engaging in a war with the Naxalites and annihilating them? It’s time to let go of the stubborn attitude and start taking some holistic approach.
I hope that this article elucidates enough for the understanding of the increasingly menacing situation. You are welcome to differ in the comments section.
A. A democratic atmosphere should be created in the State. The government should respect people's right to fight for their democratic demands.
The government should not prevent agitations, peaceful demonstrations and meetings.
• According to me, India is a democratic country, where people have freedom of thoughts. So this demand should be accepted by our government.
Lift the ban on the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) P.W. and other organizations.
• The Communist Party of India is just another political group like any other. Lifting the ban on them is clearly one of the prudent steps. The government cannot simply disband them if they agree to stop the rebellion.
Scrap the system of rewards on workers of P.W., People's Guerilla Army and other mass organizations.
• Like I described before, our govt cannot ignore them completely! This demand should be accepted.
Scrap Grey Hounds, Special Security Forces, and the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) and withdraw the Central paramilitary forces.
• The Grey Hounds and SIB are specially trained to tackle the Naxalite rebellion. I don’t know, whether it is discreet or not, but if the PWG keep their end of the deal to drop arms, maybe, the government can comply to their request. I don’t think this demand should be fulfilled to assert the safety of civilians.
Release all political prisoners.
• We can’t accept that! Some political prisoners are in fact labeled as “terrorists” and we can’t risk sinisters on the loose.
Scrap the system of giving acceleratory promotions and unofficial incentives to police officers who kill naxalites in fake encounters.
• Were the Naxalites out of their mind while making this demand? The police force takes all the necessary steps to control terrorism, be it internal or external. The govt will never accept such an exorbitant demand, because that would mean the end of vigilance and morals of the govt.
Scrap the informant network in villages. The government should end the practice of winning over P.W. workers and using them as covert agents.
• I think that its fair to accept this demand. The govt cannot meddle in the affairs of the tribal people and use them against their own community. That is a harsh thing to do.
Control `lumpen' gangs such as Green Tigers, Kranti Sena, Palnadu Tigers, Tirumala Tigers and Nayeem Gang.
• It’s very hard for me to believe that Govt is simply wasting the funds in creating private armies to fight the Naxalites. Accepting this demand is a more cautious way of dealing with the problem, as, the PWG can be persuaded to join our side instead of hunting them. Private armies can prove to be a weird complication later on.
Order a judicial probe into all fake encounters and punish the police officers responsible.
• My decision remains stoic towards this and as I have stated earlier – COULDNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Lift all cases registered against workers of mass organizations and other revolutionary parties.
• An arduous decision, perhaps! I don’t think that the government will ever bend to that. The threat seems moderate and it’ll probably take some time for the government to take the righteous decision whether to accept this demand. Thus, I am against the PWG in this criterion.
B. Implement reforms in the agricultural sector.
Implement land reforms. Handover to the occupants the endowment, government, and forest land and lands belonging to landlords already occupied by people.
• I am with the Naxalites on this one, because, I believe that the Zamindari system has caused a ton of problems for the impoverished. The poor should have the right to acclaim their own land and settle peacefully. TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE.
Implement the Land Ceiling Act.
• Land Ceiling act is a highly retrogressive act as it hinders urbanization. This act should never be implemented again, since, our economy is a burgeoning one and it relies mostly upon industrialization. We cannot go back to the Dark Age. COULDNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Complete all pending irrigation projects. Farmers should be given irrigation facilities and supplied adequate power.
• I don’t need to elaborate on this point, do I? The demand speaks for itself and govt cannot be so indifferent about this.
Waive all private loans taken by the farming community to stop suicides by farmers.
• Now, here comes a real one. Farmer suicide is a burning issue today and certainly the government isn’t doing anything to stop it. Waiving private loans is next to impossible, but, the govt can come up with a rural credit plan to stop the farmer suicide issue. HAS TO ACCEPT.
Prepare a permanent and integrated plan for tackling the drought situation.
• Hard to believe that our govt has waited 50 years to decide for this demand!
Scrap corporate agriculture.
• Agribusiness should not be curtailed. Rather than having adverse effects, it has some positive repercussions towards education, research and public policy. Scraping this would mean a huge blow to our economy. CAN’T BE ACCEPTED.
C. Implement policies of industrialisation and other schemes based on local resources in place of the liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation policies being followed now.
Withdraw all World Bank projects and schemes supported by imperialists.
• The govt cannot stop globalization in order to minimize an internal threat! SHOULDNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Stop the retrenchment of workers and the privatisation of public sector enterprises (PSEs)
• Privatisation has always exploited the poor and the underdeveloped, but, it has a major hand in contributing to the annual GDP. Public sectors have proved to be socially acceptable but has been inefficient in the development process. CANNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Protect small- and medium-scale industries from competition by multinational companies (MNCs) and revive cooperative and other PSEs.
• MNCs are the bridges to development and thus accepting this demand will be catastrophic. COULDNOT BE ACCEPTED.
Withdraw user charges on drinking water, education and health services.
• SHOULD BE ACCEPTED. No doubts conceded on this one.
Scrap all agreements with the World Bank, MNCs and other countries.
• I shan’t speak no more. NOT ACCEPTABLE.
D. Recognise the tribal people's rights on forest.
Announce autonomy for the tribal people.
• This seems more of a request than a demand. The tribals have their own way of living and we should let them be. SHOULD BE ACCEPTED.
Implement the "1/70 Act", which provides protection against the alienation of land held by tribal people in scheduled areas to non-tribal people. Stop settling of non-tribal people in areas inhabited by tribal people.
• This is a wise demand and it’s good too. Govt should alienate the forest area and let the tribals live in there. This could be helpful alternatively, as, the tribal people will help conserve the forests.
Initiate steps to develop and support tribal languages.
• We should definitely support the tribal languages and their ethnic culture. Preserving them would be a highly appreciated piece of work.
E. Form a separate Telangana State.
In my honest opinion, formation of a separate state for the Naxalites could prove highly improvident. The Naxalites must learn to live together in an integrated manner. SHOULDNOT BE ACCEPTED.
F. Formulate an integrated plan for the development of backward regions of North Coastal and Rayalasseema areas.
We should not delay to grant this demand. Isn’t this supposed to be one of the goals of the govt, development of backward areas?
G. Punish those who belittle the self-respect of Dalits. Take action against police officers and upper-caste members responsible for attacks on Dalits in Karamchedu, Tsundur, Neerukonda and Vempenta.
It is an awful thing to disrespect any member of any caste, be it the Dalits. But, taking action against the police officers is not a valid option. I think I had made my point earlier. SHOULD NOT BE ACCEPTED.
H. Equal property rights for women.
It’s a never-ending issue. Women have been demeaned and dominated, time after time. Each time this topic occurs, the govt does nothing but make hefty speeches to advocate equal rights for women. When will the govt man up and take some serious measures?
I. Recover money from the affluent who evade taxes.
This is not only the demand of the Naxalites alone, but the whole country itself. SHOULD BE ACCEPTED.
Out of the above demands nearly half of them are acceptable. Isn’t this enough for a start? Some demands seriously needs to be looked upon, whereas others can be sorted out later. It’s not that difficult as it sounds, but, it’s never too late for anything. Or, does our government likes to take inane decisions, like engaging in a war with the Naxalites and annihilating them? It’s time to let go of the stubborn attitude and start taking some holistic approach.
I hope that this article elucidates enough for the understanding of the increasingly menacing situation. You are welcome to differ in the comments section.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
PEASANTS IN ARMS – A DISILLUSIONED REBELLION?
History may have witnessed many insurgencies throughout, but there is none like the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency. Started in 1967, as the Naxalite movement, preceeded by the formation of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), the revolution has spread like a wildfire since then and is now considered the “longest continuously active conflict” worldwide. Before I can judge anything about the naxalites, I would like to brief the history of the uprising.
The term Naxal is derived from the name of the village Naxalbari in West Bengal, where the movement had commenced. Their ideologies trace back to the Maoist political sentiments from the Chinese Revolution. They are considered far-left radical communists and claim to be supported by the poorest of the rural population, mostly backed by the local Adivasis. On May 18, 1967, a violent uprising backed by leaders, Charu Majumdar and Jangal Santhal occurred in the Naxalbari village. Their basic motive was to thwart the government and the upper class by force, whereas, distribute land to the landless. On May 24, when a police team infuriated by the plight caused by the revolutionaries arrived to take control of the scene, they were brutally executed by a hail of arrows from the angry peasants. This revolt marked the formation of Naxalites, which went on to become one of the greatest revolutions ever in Indian history.
The then leader Charu Majumdar claimed to be inspired by the doctrines of Mao Zedong (leader of the Chinese revolution) and his ideologies proved to be a firm foundation for the Naxal movement. It also bears resemblance from The Cuban Revolution (1953 – 1959), backed by Fidel Castro and inspiring revolutionary, Ernesto Che Guevara. The rebellion started to end the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Guevara fought for the oppressed and was a Marxist himself. Leaders Jangal Santhal and Charu Majumdar were heavily inspired by Guevara’s ideologies. An amazing aspect of the movement is that, apart from involving the oppressed, it attracted support from the urban elites as well as the students, especially in West Bengal. Over the years, the revolution has grown strongly currently they monitor about 40% of India’s territory, covering nearly 92,000 kms (also known as the RED CORRIDOR). Today, they have become legal organizations like Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and Communist Party of India (Maoist) which actively participate in parliamentary elections, whereas being engaged in armed guerilla struggle. Main Naxal prone areas include Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Assam.
I appreciate the efforts of the peasants to put forward their demands in front of the government and stay adamant to the revolution, but, estimating some of very recent events, I’d rather say that the revolution has lost its path. The Maoists should revise their leitmotif again and shed some light upon their original idea of “fighting for the people”. Instead of fighting for the people, they are using people to claim their demands. This certainly was not the motif of Charu Majumdar, neither did he describe such methods in his doctrine. Frequent killing of villagers, illegal mining activities, using women and children as human shields and recruiting children as young as 6 years in the armed rebellion has questioned the credibility of the Naxal maxim. You may all remember the day of April 6, 2010, marked in the calenders of history – the biggest assault in the history of Naxalite movement. A force of about 1000 Naxalites had a well planned ambush on two separated battalions of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and killed 76 of the policemen while wounding 50 other policemen in the forest of Dantewada district of Chattisgarh. This insidious act by the rebels brought them in the limelight and pictured their extent of brutality. Till date, over 59 maoist attacks have occurred in India.
Usually, at the onset of a revolution, one envisages a balanced society giving equal rights to everyone. But as it proceeds on to gain attention, the civilians get harmed the most. I was horrified to look at the death toll since the onset of the rebellion from 1980s. Here are some of the statistics:-
- Over 40,000 people have been displaced since 1980 to 2006.
- The armed rebellion violence has taken a total of about 12,000 people, out of which, over 6000 are civilians, 4000 policemen and 2000 insurgents.
- More than half of the above mentioned death toll has occurred in the past decade.
- There is still no reports about the innumerable deaths of children who are continually being exposed to injuries, time after time.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has conceded that the burgeoning Maoist insurgency is the “single biggest security challenge ever faced by the country. He also admitted that the Naxalites have gained influence among a larger section of the Indian society, including the tribal communities, the intelligentsia and most importantly, the youth. He added that “Dealing with the left wing communists requires a nuanced strategy – a holistic approach. It cannot be treated simply as a law and order problem.” But, the government is not taking it seriously and the “holistic approach” described by the Prime Minister is certainly not showing any effects. Time is slipping out of their hands and the more they delay it, the more grueling consequences will start to show. In my opinion, the most prudent option is tackling some of the basic demands of the rebellions, while make a deal with the preposterous ones. Otherwise, the government should start making a new army of paramilitary troopers to face the rebellion, which would result in more bloodshed as we have witnessed earlier. I wish the government should take enough measures to ensure the safety of thousands of innocent civilians, both from the rural and urban population.
The term Naxal is derived from the name of the village Naxalbari in West Bengal, where the movement had commenced. Their ideologies trace back to the Maoist political sentiments from the Chinese Revolution. They are considered far-left radical communists and claim to be supported by the poorest of the rural population, mostly backed by the local Adivasis. On May 18, 1967, a violent uprising backed by leaders, Charu Majumdar and Jangal Santhal occurred in the Naxalbari village. Their basic motive was to thwart the government and the upper class by force, whereas, distribute land to the landless. On May 24, when a police team infuriated by the plight caused by the revolutionaries arrived to take control of the scene, they were brutally executed by a hail of arrows from the angry peasants. This revolt marked the formation of Naxalites, which went on to become one of the greatest revolutions ever in Indian history.
The then leader Charu Majumdar claimed to be inspired by the doctrines of Mao Zedong (leader of the Chinese revolution) and his ideologies proved to be a firm foundation for the Naxal movement. It also bears resemblance from The Cuban Revolution (1953 – 1959), backed by Fidel Castro and inspiring revolutionary, Ernesto Che Guevara. The rebellion started to end the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Guevara fought for the oppressed and was a Marxist himself. Leaders Jangal Santhal and Charu Majumdar were heavily inspired by Guevara’s ideologies. An amazing aspect of the movement is that, apart from involving the oppressed, it attracted support from the urban elites as well as the students, especially in West Bengal. Over the years, the revolution has grown strongly currently they monitor about 40% of India’s territory, covering nearly 92,000 kms (also known as the RED CORRIDOR). Today, they have become legal organizations like Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and Communist Party of India (Maoist) which actively participate in parliamentary elections, whereas being engaged in armed guerilla struggle. Main Naxal prone areas include Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Assam.
I appreciate the efforts of the peasants to put forward their demands in front of the government and stay adamant to the revolution, but, estimating some of very recent events, I’d rather say that the revolution has lost its path. The Maoists should revise their leitmotif again and shed some light upon their original idea of “fighting for the people”. Instead of fighting for the people, they are using people to claim their demands. This certainly was not the motif of Charu Majumdar, neither did he describe such methods in his doctrine. Frequent killing of villagers, illegal mining activities, using women and children as human shields and recruiting children as young as 6 years in the armed rebellion has questioned the credibility of the Naxal maxim. You may all remember the day of April 6, 2010, marked in the calenders of history – the biggest assault in the history of Naxalite movement. A force of about 1000 Naxalites had a well planned ambush on two separated battalions of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and killed 76 of the policemen while wounding 50 other policemen in the forest of Dantewada district of Chattisgarh. This insidious act by the rebels brought them in the limelight and pictured their extent of brutality. Till date, over 59 maoist attacks have occurred in India.
Usually, at the onset of a revolution, one envisages a balanced society giving equal rights to everyone. But as it proceeds on to gain attention, the civilians get harmed the most. I was horrified to look at the death toll since the onset of the rebellion from 1980s. Here are some of the statistics:-
- Over 40,000 people have been displaced since 1980 to 2006.
- The armed rebellion violence has taken a total of about 12,000 people, out of which, over 6000 are civilians, 4000 policemen and 2000 insurgents.
- More than half of the above mentioned death toll has occurred in the past decade.
- There is still no reports about the innumerable deaths of children who are continually being exposed to injuries, time after time.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has conceded that the burgeoning Maoist insurgency is the “single biggest security challenge ever faced by the country. He also admitted that the Naxalites have gained influence among a larger section of the Indian society, including the tribal communities, the intelligentsia and most importantly, the youth. He added that “Dealing with the left wing communists requires a nuanced strategy – a holistic approach. It cannot be treated simply as a law and order problem.” But, the government is not taking it seriously and the “holistic approach” described by the Prime Minister is certainly not showing any effects. Time is slipping out of their hands and the more they delay it, the more grueling consequences will start to show. In my opinion, the most prudent option is tackling some of the basic demands of the rebellions, while make a deal with the preposterous ones. Otherwise, the government should start making a new army of paramilitary troopers to face the rebellion, which would result in more bloodshed as we have witnessed earlier. I wish the government should take enough measures to ensure the safety of thousands of innocent civilians, both from the rural and urban population.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
HAZAARON KHWAISHEIN AISI - EPIC OF THE DECADE.....
The film starts with a prologue of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech of India’s freedom:
"Pandit Nehru made a horological mistake.
At the stroke of midnight, when India awoke to “light and freedom”, the world was not asleep. For instance, it was around 2:30 p.m in New York.
Anyway, my father’s generation loved him and wanted to believe in him and that we had a tryst with destiny too. I did too.
By the time when my elder brothers and sisters (not that I had any) went to college in the late sixties, Nehru had died and his dream had soured. The baton had passed into the hands of his daughter, Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
This is the story of my imaginary sibling’s lives in those times, when India was being pulled in a thousand directions."
This opening is breath-taking because there are very few works of fiction in Bollywood, that have centered around the Indian Emergency period. Set in 1969, 1973 and 1975, the plot encircles the life of three youths of seemingly different backgrounds as they discover their youth and try to focus upon what they want to achieve. As I have researched upon the 70s era and the messy politics contaminating the country, I never had the opportunity to experience it so closely. The dark background of the movie provides a very threatening context of politics and social problems. The title is adapted from a couplet from famous Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib, which says :
Hazaaron khwaishein aisi, ki har khwaish pe dum nikle.
Bahut nikle mere armaan, lekin phir bhi kam nikle.
Siddharth (Kay Kay Menon) is the son of a retired judge, born and brought up in affluence and privilege. Yet he wants nothing to do with his parent’s establishment and is allured by the communist movement, especially the Naxalite movement of West Bengal. He ferments a student communist group and later on moves to Bihar to work with the Naxalites. He is appalled by the social injustice around him and believes that a revolutionary movement is the only path to solve the problems of the nation. He splurges his wealth on smoking weeds and listening to Western rock music and admires Fidel Castro and revolutionary Che Guevara for bringing about a change in Cuba.
Vikram (Shiney Ahuja) is another character with a similar path going in a very opposite direction, also not believing to follow the same path as his father. His father is a middle class Gandhian who is also an idealist. His father believes that he has a responsibility towards the nation and he cannot back out when he sees danger. Vikram is potrayed as a highly ambitious young guy who wants to be successful in any possible way.
Geeta Rao (Chitrangada Singh) is a link between Siddharth and Vikram. She returns to Delhi after growing up in London. She is the most subtle of all the characters as her aim is neither high ended as Siddharth nor a businesslike attitude as Vikram’s. She also comes from a South Indian middle class family. She is in love with Siddharth and his fiery charm. But later on she is torn apart between her love for Siddharth and his revolution, since she is not sure she could take part in one herself.
Though, the whole film is narrated by Vikram, we see the story proceed with Geeta’s standpoint as she has three set of diverging paths in front of her and the choice will decide her future. The title is aptly chosen because each character had ample scope to think, react and transform clearly and we can imagine the thousand desires of such citizens during the 70s era. Life is grey at the best; sometimes it is very dark. Revolution always starts for the best interest of the people; the revolutionaries always try to make things right in their own way. But as time passes on, it gets cloaked by corruption and viciousness of politics that bends it over to its insidious desires. The ideals upon which a revolution is based looks like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This movie takes an agonizing path to exhibit how politics changed the life and ideals of the citizens of our country.
After twenty minutes or so, the story starts become appalling, when the group members of Siddharth start backing out, claiming that the thing they are getting into is “too dangerous”. Even when there is a police scare, everyone scatters away, including Siddharth, leaving behind Geeta, who is least concerned about it. Later on we realize that Vikram possesses secret love for Geeta which she fails to reciprocate. Throughout the whole movie, we get to observe that Geeta goes back and forth to Siddharth and Vikram, not being able to cling on to a decision because she gets two different types of comfort from the two different characters. Initially, she follows Siddharth in Bihar to support the poor and the oppressed, but eventually comes back to Vikram momentarily as he provides her the one thing that Siddharth fails to provide; mental calm and security.
The only thing that despises me is the volatile nature of Siddharth. We witness him as a very adamant revolutionary who has sought to work things based on his ideologies, no matter what obstacles he encounters in his path. I had real admiration for the character, but, in the end, it all comes back to square one. He decides to abandon the revolution, because according to him, “the people are not ready for such a drastic measure". He eventually leaves India to study medicine in London, while completely altering the lives of two people. I hate Siddharth for leaving behind Geeta and Vikram in their shattered state. But, then I realize that when one chooses the path of politics, other things seem so trifling.
Overall, the movie is a real epic, a masterpiece conceived so artistically that it introduces us in this whole new aura. The music is exquisite, but, I think that the background music is a bit inefficient. Though Shantanu Moitra has composed uber-awesome songs like Baanwara Mann and of course the title song, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, the background score was not entirely apt. There were many scenes in the movie which required some condiment, like a good background music. But, I guess, the movie was so dazzling that even such minor breaches in etiquette were blinded. I cannot say another word about this movie because I feel like a balloon filled with hot air and might burst up anytime. The characters seem so real and full of life that I want to try and live my life with my mind and heart focused, pondering about other people while I try to figure out the best version of myself. I rate it an 8.5/10.
I hope that this article has been useful to you and certainly you won’t mind giving it a try!
Monday, July 4, 2011
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM AND JACKSON POLLOCK - AN AMERICAN ART REVOLUTION
During the 1940s era, Paris had the cutting edge for arts and was considered the “World’s Center of art”. Artworks like Renaissance, Neo-Classicism, Impressionism and Romanticism were influential and dominant during the period of time, until, modern art started making a striking 
transformation in the world of art. A new pioneering state-of-art emerged in the late 1940s, primarily in America, where a small group of affiliated artists created an eloquent diverse body of art and diverted the art world’s attention towards a whole new standpoint. The “abstract expressionists”, such as Jackson Pollock (1912–1956), Willem de Kooning (1904–1997), Franz Kline (1910–1962), Lee Krasner (1908–1984), Robert Motherwell (1915–1991), William Baziotes (1912–1963), Mark Rothko (1903–1970), Barnett Newman (1905–1970), Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974), Richard Pousette-Dart (1916–1992), and Clyfford Still (1904–1980) introduced advanced authentic inventions for an expressive content.
Abstract expressionism was a post World War 2 movement, which was the result of the self denial of various German
artists towards the figurative aspect of European art culture. The Abstract Expressionists' goal was a raw and impulsive art. What mattered were the qualities of the paint and the act of painting itself. It accompanies the image of a rebellious, anarchic, highly idiosyncratic and occasionally nihilistic mood. The expressionists felt ill at ease with conventional subjects and styles, neither of which could adequately convey their new vision. In fact, style as such almost ceased to exist with the Abstract Expressionists, and they drew their inspiration from all directions like surrealism particularly created by the subconscious mind. These artists valued ad-libbing and spontaneity and resisted stylistic categorization. This unique style of contemporary art clustered around the emphasis on a dynamic and energetic gesture in contrast to a more reflective approach on more open fields of color. The best part I felt was that the imagery was purely abstract, even when depicting images based on visual realities.
The most important contributor of the American art revolution is Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956). Regarded as a major reclusive artist with a volatile personality, Pollock’s unique style of painting characterized by free – associative gestures, known as, “Action Painting” brought a momentous change in history of modern art. What makes his style so unique is he placed a large canvass on the floor instead of using the traditional easel frame. He painted with forceful, hasty, instinctive brush strokes or by splashing the paint directly into the canvas. His method of painting came from his deep interest in primitive art and followed the Native American Navajo modus operandi. He describes his way of presenting art as an attempt to evoke the “rhythmic energy” of the nature.
Pollock’s paintings were an inspiration from great artists like Pablo Picasso, Miro, David Alfaro Siquieros, etc. He
first encountered the use of Enamel Paint in 1936 from an experimental workshop in New York by Siquieros. He was stimulated to try the unorthodox style by flinging the paint and pouring it to gain spontaneous effects. His technique was highly innovative because he approached his art from every angle. He was the first person to add a new dimension by being able to view and apply the paint from all directions. As he started to gain attention for his paintings, he gradually moved away from the figurative representations and challenged the Western tradition of using an upright frame and brushes. He not only used his hands to paint, but his whole body moved rhythmically like dancing to a tune. Due to his style, he was sometimes referred as “Jack the Dripper”.
Apart from enjoying the process of painting, he
rather preffered to be immersed in the painting himself. Often times, he would continuously move around the canvas while splashing down different colours from every direction for hours without stopping until he got what he wanted to see. Various critics have also commented that Pollock was so
immersed in his paintings that he wouldn’t even notice anything going around him. He cared more about expressing his moods and emotions rather than making a picture look more real. Some mathematicians have also claimed that Pollock’s technique exhibit the properties of a mathematical fractals (rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole). They even speculate that Pollock may have had a premonition of the nature of chaotic motion, an attempt to form a mathematical chaos, while the CHAOS THEORY was proposed more than ten years later.
Jackson Pollock never believed in assigning names to his paintings, because, according to him, names always gave a preconceived idea of what a viewer is looking for. Instead he numbered his paintings to give the art a more passive look and make the viewer receive what the painting has to offer to him. He also claimed that by numbering his paintings, he preserved the eloquence of abstract art because it always depended on the person and his method of judging the art. Each one would interpret differently because their mood is reflected in the paintings itself.
Since we are quite familiar with the
adage, “Behind every successful man, there is a woman”, Pollock was attained success because of his wife, Lee Krasner. Krasner was an another influential abstract expressionist during the early 20th century. She married Jackson Pollock in 1945 and was known for her stringent self-critical personality. Her critical eye was instrumental in judging Pollock’s work. When Pollock was not an acclaimed artist, it was Krasner who boosted him reassurance and support. They together fought a battle for legitimacy, impulsiveness and individual expression which challenged the then old fashioned and despotic culture unreceptive to those values.
On August 11, 1956, after having a long time struggle with alcoholism, Jackson Pollock met with a fatal car accident while driving under influence of alcohol. He died at an early age of 44 and is buried in Green River Cemetary in Springs besides his wife. Pollock’s work was highly appreciated and recognized worldwide. His legacy of action paintings were extensively followed and he thus created a monumental alteration in World Art. In 1970, the CIA saw abstract expressionism as a “haven of free thoughts and free markets” as well as a defiance to both the social realist styles and the dominance of European art markets.
The expressionism revolution is one of the important transformations of the culture in America and the rest of the world because of their introduction of a new artistic vision and vocabulary. The newly adopted painting techniques were idiosyncratic, unpremeditated and temperamental. A new form of art which would display human emotions rather than believing what the painting suggests to believe was the element responsible for the noteworthy transfiguration. In fact, this revolution is responsible for the free thinking attitude of the Americans today.
transformation in the world of art. A new pioneering state-of-art emerged in the late 1940s, primarily in America, where a small group of affiliated artists created an eloquent diverse body of art and diverted the art world’s attention towards a whole new standpoint. The “abstract expressionists”, such as Jackson Pollock (1912–1956), Willem de Kooning (1904–1997), Franz Kline (1910–1962), Lee Krasner (1908–1984), Robert Motherwell (1915–1991), William Baziotes (1912–1963), Mark Rothko (1903–1970), Barnett Newman (1905–1970), Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974), Richard Pousette-Dart (1916–1992), and Clyfford Still (1904–1980) introduced advanced authentic inventions for an expressive content.
Abstract expressionism was a post World War 2 movement, which was the result of the self denial of various German
artists towards the figurative aspect of European art culture. The Abstract Expressionists' goal was a raw and impulsive art. What mattered were the qualities of the paint and the act of painting itself. It accompanies the image of a rebellious, anarchic, highly idiosyncratic and occasionally nihilistic mood. The expressionists felt ill at ease with conventional subjects and styles, neither of which could adequately convey their new vision. In fact, style as such almost ceased to exist with the Abstract Expressionists, and they drew their inspiration from all directions like surrealism particularly created by the subconscious mind. These artists valued ad-libbing and spontaneity and resisted stylistic categorization. This unique style of contemporary art clustered around the emphasis on a dynamic and energetic gesture in contrast to a more reflective approach on more open fields of color. The best part I felt was that the imagery was purely abstract, even when depicting images based on visual realities.
The most important contributor of the American art revolution is Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956). Regarded as a major reclusive artist with a volatile personality, Pollock’s unique style of painting characterized by free – associative gestures, known as, “Action Painting” brought a momentous change in history of modern art. What makes his style so unique is he placed a large canvass on the floor instead of using the traditional easel frame. He painted with forceful, hasty, instinctive brush strokes or by splashing the paint directly into the canvas. His method of painting came from his deep interest in primitive art and followed the Native American Navajo modus operandi. He describes his way of presenting art as an attempt to evoke the “rhythmic energy” of the nature.
Pollock’s paintings were an inspiration from great artists like Pablo Picasso, Miro, David Alfaro Siquieros, etc. He
first encountered the use of Enamel Paint in 1936 from an experimental workshop in New York by Siquieros. He was stimulated to try the unorthodox style by flinging the paint and pouring it to gain spontaneous effects. His technique was highly innovative because he approached his art from every angle. He was the first person to add a new dimension by being able to view and apply the paint from all directions. As he started to gain attention for his paintings, he gradually moved away from the figurative representations and challenged the Western tradition of using an upright frame and brushes. He not only used his hands to paint, but his whole body moved rhythmically like dancing to a tune. Due to his style, he was sometimes referred as “Jack the Dripper”.
Apart from enjoying the process of painting, he
rather preffered to be immersed in the painting himself. Often times, he would continuously move around the canvas while splashing down different colours from every direction for hours without stopping until he got what he wanted to see. Various critics have also commented that Pollock was so
immersed in his paintings that he wouldn’t even notice anything going around him. He cared more about expressing his moods and emotions rather than making a picture look more real. Some mathematicians have also claimed that Pollock’s technique exhibit the properties of a mathematical fractals (rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole). They even speculate that Pollock may have had a premonition of the nature of chaotic motion, an attempt to form a mathematical chaos, while the CHAOS THEORY was proposed more than ten years later.
Jackson Pollock never believed in assigning names to his paintings, because, according to him, names always gave a preconceived idea of what a viewer is looking for. Instead he numbered his paintings to give the art a more passive look and make the viewer receive what the painting has to offer to him. He also claimed that by numbering his paintings, he preserved the eloquence of abstract art because it always depended on the person and his method of judging the art. Each one would interpret differently because their mood is reflected in the paintings itself.
Since we are quite familiar with the
adage, “Behind every successful man, there is a woman”, Pollock was attained success because of his wife, Lee Krasner. Krasner was an another influential abstract expressionist during the early 20th century. She married Jackson Pollock in 1945 and was known for her stringent self-critical personality. Her critical eye was instrumental in judging Pollock’s work. When Pollock was not an acclaimed artist, it was Krasner who boosted him reassurance and support. They together fought a battle for legitimacy, impulsiveness and individual expression which challenged the then old fashioned and despotic culture unreceptive to those values.
On August 11, 1956, after having a long time struggle with alcoholism, Jackson Pollock met with a fatal car accident while driving under influence of alcohol. He died at an early age of 44 and is buried in Green River Cemetary in Springs besides his wife. Pollock’s work was highly appreciated and recognized worldwide. His legacy of action paintings were extensively followed and he thus created a monumental alteration in World Art. In 1970, the CIA saw abstract expressionism as a “haven of free thoughts and free markets” as well as a defiance to both the social realist styles and the dominance of European art markets.
The expressionism revolution is one of the important transformations of the culture in America and the rest of the world because of their introduction of a new artistic vision and vocabulary. The newly adopted painting techniques were idiosyncratic, unpremeditated and temperamental. A new form of art which would display human emotions rather than believing what the painting suggests to believe was the element responsible for the noteworthy transfiguration. In fact, this revolution is responsible for the free thinking attitude of the Americans today.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
ROMAN POLANSKI - A TRULY INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKER
Roman Polanski is a Polish – French film director producer, writer and actor. He is one of the very few filmmakers who has directed critically acclaimed films all over the world.
He was born in Paris to Polish Jew parents and is a survivor of the Holocaust. When World War 2 broke out, he was separated from his parents in the Krakow ghetto by the Nazi invaders. As a child, Polanski witnessed the ghettoization of Krakow Jews and subsequent deportation of the Jews to the concentration camps. The six year old Polanski managed to escape the Krakow concentration camp after witnessing the execution of an old woman by a ruthless Nazi officer. A Polish Roman Catholic farmer gave him shelter by hiding him in one of his outhouses and changed his name to Roman Wilk. He was often abused by the Roman Catholics. But, he never stopped fighting for his existence and usually remained in the Catholic Churches under many different aliases, learned to recite most of the prayers by heart. But he often failed to assimilate among the Catholic groups and one day he was disbanded by the community.
He suffered for many more years, slipping through the Krakow sewers with gangs of Jewish children to steal food for their families. This went on to become even darker when he was used to hide in several non-jew families for a fee, days in starvation and while being forced to play sadistic games by Nazi Officers, where he was made a target for their shooting practice. All these events occurred before age twelve. In 1945, when the war finally ended, with over 3 million Jews executed in cold blood, Polanski was re-united with his father and then moved back to Krakow.
In the meanwhile, he was involved in visual arts and was helped along the way by Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda, who encouraged him to take admission in the Lodz Film School. Eventually, it became apparent that Polanski had found his medium, the short films which me made there were critically lauded. Polanski described that he was obsessed not only with the movies, but also the aura surrounding them. More than anything, he was fascinated with the actual mechanics of the process.
In 1962, Polanski released his first feature-length film, Knife on the Water which was the first significant Polish film that didn’t have war as its theme. This film would become what is called a “Pure Polanski” work; a moody, ruminating, smothering piece of art which explored the dark side of the human psyche and the dilapidated underbelly that confutes human contact and relationships. It was almost all shot and set on the spatially controlled environment on a boat. The movie proved to be an international success, even garnering an Academy Award nomination for the best film in a foreign language the same year.
After having an international acclaim for his works, Polanski moved to England, to start working on what is popularly known as “The Apartment Trilogy”. He collaborated with Gerard Brach and stated writing original scripts for his upcoming
projects. He refused to be influenced by what was in vogue and was not attracted by the stylistic freedoms of the New Wave filmmakers. Instead he opted to introduce psychological thrillers with surrealistic influences on its sleeve. His name came up with great horror directors like Alfred Hitchcock and John Cocteau. His first film of the apartment trilogy was Repulsion (1965) starring Catherine Deneauve and Yvonne Furneaux. The plot centered around a young Belgian woman who comes to live in her sister’s apartment in London and eventually experiences delusional hallucinations. The audiences were dazzled by his hypnagogic storytelling capability and unconventional special effects. Polanski’s work, this time had marked the start of a new era in cinema history.
Shortly after the film’s success, Polanski directed a nihilistic tragicomedy, Cul-de-Sac, which was not as popular as his previous works. He then continued on to work on his next film, The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). It focuses on a buffoonish professor and a clumsy assistant who travel through Transylvannia in
search of vampires. This was a parody of the vampire movies. This film is best known for its highly ironic and macabre ending and is considered a classic Polanski ending. It was even his first feature film to be photographed in color with the use of Panavision lens. It was declared as a success.
Polanski had then decided to move on to America on the request of Paramount Studios, to takeover the script of Rosemary’s Baby (1968), which was initially refused by Sir Alfred Hitchcock. This movie was the defined as the finest film made by Roman Polanski till 1968, thereby establishing his reputation as a major commercial filmmaker. The plot centers around a young housewife Rosemary (Mia Farrow) who thinks is impregnated by the devil. It was nominated for eleven Academy Awards that year, but managed to win only one award (Best supporting actress, Ruth Gordon). Rosemary’s Baby is the best horror film by Roman Polanski till date.
On January 20, 1968, Polanski fell in love and married actress Sharon Tate. A
terrible tragedy was to befall on Polanski’s life when on 9 August, 1969, his wife Sharon who was eight months pregnant with their first child was brutally murdered along with four other people by members of Charles Manson’s cult ‘The Family’. Emotionally devastated, Polanski gave away all his possessions and returned to Europe, broken hearted, where he made even more serious and violent movies like Macbeth (1971) and What (1973), until he finally landed on Chinatown (1974). Polanski refused to sway away from his styles of filmmaking and used wide angle lenses, bright lights and precise framing but the film was a wolf in sheep’s clothing; it was pure noir, launching a scathing attack on the American Dream. It was one of the most important films of the era, it was nominated for eleven Academy Awards. It won the Best Original Script (Robert Towne). It is still considered as one of the greatest films ever made.
Polanski again returned to work on the “Apartment trilogy”, to continue what he had
started a long way back. He came up with The Tenant (1976), which was not as acclaimed as its predecessor. Nevertheless, it became a cult hit and was a commercial success. Polanski was deeply moved by the death of his wife Sharon Tate and his grief was reflected in his movie Tess (1979). Initially, it was Tate who had suggested Polanski to read the story and thought that it might make a good film. This film not only emulate Polanski’s love for Tate, but nuances of his terrifying childhood were also witnessed. Tess was nominated for six Academy Awards, out of which it won in three categories (best art-direction, cinematography and costume design) and once again Polanski’s star remained undimmed. However, after Tess, Polanski disappeared from the film game for seven years and when he returned, made critical and commercial disasters time after time.
His bad filmmaking continued, until when he thought breaking his pact of not making a war movie. He came up with the idea of The Pianist (2002), a biographical war film, based on real life musician, Vladyslaw Szpilman. Szpilman’s experiences as a persecuted jew in Poland, during World War 2, were reminiscent of Polanski and his family. Polanski returned to the horrific ground and terrible memories of his childhood in Nazi occupied Poland during World War 2. It is in fact one of the greatest films made on World War 2, because of its explicit portrayal of the extermination of Jews and the ghettos. Eventually Pianist received worldwide critical acclaim and was nominated for seven Academy Awards, out of which it won in three categories; Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood) and Best Director (Roman Polanski). It was the first Academy Award received by Roman Polanski, but was not able to attend the ceremony because of his extradition issues with America. After the announcement of the Best Director Award
, Polanski received a standing ovation from most people present on the venue.
After getting relief from making such an epic movie, he intended to direct a
children’s movie, Oliver Twist (2005). He said in an interview that he always wanted to make a children’s movie and that the life of the young scavenger mirrored his own childhood, fending for himself in Poland during WW2. Recently, he had directed a thriller named The Ghost Writer (2010) which is based on Robert Harris’s poular novel of the same name. The audiences applauded his work in this movie and some critics have exclaimed that it is the return of Roman Polanski.
Polanski has been a controversial character in his whole life. He has been married
thrice and twice divorced. He is also infamous for his sexual assault case of 13 year old Samantha Geimer during a photo shoot of the French Vogue magazine on 1977. He was ordered to undergo 90 days of psychiatric treatement at Chino State Prison. After his release from prison, Judge Laurence J. Rittenband was unsatisfied with his behavior and demanded more prison time. Upon knowing the changed plans of the
judge, Polanski fled to France who denied extradition to the American Government. Thus Polanski recides in the countries which donot extradite him to the US government.
Apart from his social issues, Roman Polanski is one of the great filmmakers that the world has ever witnessed. I love watching his films, especially his idiosyncratic storytelling capabilities and exceptional photography techniques.He is still regarded as "The Most Wanted And Desired Man in America".
Friday, June 10, 2011
MY TOP TEN BEST MOVIE SCENES OF ALL TIMES!!!!
1. SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993) 
Starring – Ralph Fieness, Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley.
Directed by – Steven Speilberg
Schindler’s list has been my personal favourite movie of all times because of a heartfelt, unsparing and fact – based epic of the nightmarish holocaust. This movie is a treasure of many gripping moments, but, the one that I’d specially like to recall is the climax scene when the war comes to an end and Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) is preparing to leave the country. Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), Schindler’s long time accountant and business partner hands him the gold ring with an inscription of a Hebrew adage, “Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire”. Schindler breaks into tears and berates himself for not being able to save more lives. The amazing background score by John Williams was like the necessary condiment. Throughout the whole movie, we observe a businessman streak in Oskar Schindler, but in the end when he sees the faces of the jews he saved, he is ridden by guilt and remorse. This movie couldnot be made better and I think it is the magnum opus of director Steven Speilberg.
2. BRAVEHEART (1995)
Starring – Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Angus Macfayden
Directed by – Mel Gibson
This epic historic drama based on legenday Sir William Wallace is a masterpiece. Actor, Director and Producer Mel Gibson has proved his talent by making such a movie. It’s a tale of love, betrayal and a strive for the freedom of Scotland from the cruel king of england, Edward the Longshanks (Patrick McGoohan). William Wallace’s speech to the fellow scottsmen during the Battle of Stirling is one of the most inspirational speeches I’ve ever heard.
“You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?...Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live - at least awhile. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade All the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take OUR FREEDOM!”.
Even towards the end, when Wallace is captured by Longshanks and tortured by the english army, he courageously shouts “FREEDOM” as his last words. This scene will definitely bring tears to the eyes of the most cold-hearted human being. Wallace’s execution is witnessed by his oldest and best friend Hamish (Brendon Gleeson) and quasi – bodyguard Stephen (David O’Hara) and they close their eyes when they hear “FREEDOM” as the last words coming out of Wallace. Braveheart is unquestionably one of the greatest movies ever made.
3. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (1997)
Starring – Roberto benigni, Nicolette Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini
Directed by – Roberto Benigni
People usually refuse to watch foreign movies and I don’t know why! But, its sheer stupidity if you have missed a movie like Life Is Beautiful. It’s a complete entertainment package combined with the darker side of the Nazi concentration camp. Roberto Benigni is funny and charismatic actor who potrays a young Italian Jew. His romance with a local school teacher, Dora (Nicolette Braschi) is quite adorable as well as humorous, especially when Guido exclaims, “Buon giorno, Principessa”.
Yet, the most gripping scenes of the movie is the moment when Guido tries to imitate the guard taking him away, to protect his son from being spotted by the Nazi guards. The look of the little kid’s face while watching his father imitating the guard and letting out a suppressed laughter. Little did he knew about the sacrifice that his father made for him. I admire Roberto Benigni for his exceptional acting and direction and being able to narrate a very simple story with a dark façade.
4. AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999)
Starring – Kevin Spacey, Thora Birch, Annette Benning, Wes Bentley and Mena Suvari
Directed by – Sam Mendes
This movie is an absolute bliss to watch. American Beauty is a stunning masterpiece as well as a debut film by director Sam Mendes. Kevin Spacey has been one of the notable actors of the Hollywood after making some great movies like Se7en and The Usual Suspects. But, it is surprising that no one could have better played the role of a depressed middle aged man and his life in a stage of disorientation and transition. And the most notable thing about the movie is the magnificient background score which blends with the moments perfectly. Anyways, my favourite scene from the movie is the climax, where Lester takes a smiling look at the photograph of his family and a gun shot sounds with his blood spattered on the wall.
“I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time... For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars... And yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined our street... Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper... And the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird... And Janie... And Janie... And... Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday.”
This very speech as well as the extremely shocking end has moved me more than any other. Seriously, you need a lot of guts to watch such a movie and to feel the story.
5. TITANIC (1997)
Starring – Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates.
Directed by – James Cameron
Lo and behold for the greatest epic romance and distaster movie ever made in the history of Hollywood! A budget of over $200 millions for the reconstruction of the spectacular RMS Titanic made it the highest grossing movie till Avatar. Since, every scene in this movie is phenomenal, I had a pretty hard time deciding my favorite scene. I loved everything in the movie, from the set to the music. The chemistry between Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose Bukater (Kate Winslet) is simply mindblowing.
My favorite scene from the movie as I recollect is the heart-breaking moment when Jack encourages Rose not to give up while floating on a large piece of debris.
"Don't you do that, don't say your good-byes. Not yet, do you understand me?....Listen, Rose. You're gonna get out of here. You're gonna go on and you're gonna make lots of babies, and you're gonna watch 'em grow. You're gonna die an old... an old lady warm in her bed. Not here. Not this night. Not like this. Do you understand me?...Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you and I'm thankful for that, Rose. I'm thankful. You must, you must, you must do me this honor. You must promise me that you'll survive, that you won't give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise.”
Titanic is great because of the exceptional acting from both DiCaprio and Winslet. Even Celine Dion’s “My heart will go” is a classic. Another favorite scene is the final dream sequence in which the young Rose imagined herself meeting and kissing Jack at the top of the elegant grand staircase surrounded by an applauding audience of all those who died on the ship – toghether forever.
6. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)
Starring – Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton.
Directed by – Frank Darabont
This in an example of an impressive, engrossing piece of filmmaking from director/screewriter Frank Darabont who adapted from Stephen King’s “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”. The inspirational, life-affirming and uplifting work of art is a combination of prison/dramatic film and character study.
“Fear can hold you a prisoner. Hope can set you free”. These are the words illustrated on the official poster that illustrate the liberating, redemptive power of hope and themes of freedom and resurrection.
The scene where Andy Dufresne boldly asks Captain Hadley to provide his co-workers with beer is the most gripping scene for me.
“And that's how it came to pass, that on the second-to-last day of the job, the convict crew that tarred the plate factory roof in the spring of '49 wound up sitting in a row at ten o'clock in the morning, drinking icy cold Bohemia-style beer, courtesy of the hardest screw that ever walked a turn at Shawshank State Prison...The colossal prick even managed to sound magnanimous. We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men. Hell, we could have been tarring the roof of one of our own houses. We were the Lords of all Creation. As for Andy, he spent that break hunkered in the shade, a strange little smile on his face, watching us drink his beer...You could argue he'd done it to curry favor with the guards, or maybe make a few friends among us cons. Me? I think he did it just to feel normal again, if only for a short while.”
That was Red’s (Morgan Freeman) speech after Andy’s shocking decision to help the fellow guards in some legal paperwork for free.
Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins are majestic in their performances. It still upsets me that this movie was nominated for seven academy awards, but failed to win none. It was overshadowed by Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction, both commercially and critically. At least, Morgan Freeman should have received an Oscar!
7. INTO THE WILD (2007)
Starring – Emile Hirsch, Catherine Keener, Hal Holbrook.
Directed by – Sean Penn
A biopic of a free – spirited, idealistic, young college – grad adventurer named Christopher Johnson McCandless (a.k.a Alexander Supertramp), Into the Wild is a spellbinding examination of a young man’s journey across America, to Alaska, in search of happiness, after forsaking his estranged family and many friends.
I always valued Sean Penn’s acting talent, but his directon is breath-taking. Penn carefully stuck to his subject and gave the movie as much thought and power he could provide. No one could have been a better potrayal of Chris McCandless than Emile Hirsch.
The best moment in the movie is when an elderly leather worker Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook) proposes paternistically to adopt Chris which he ultimately refuses to accept.
“From the bits and pieces I've put together, you know, from what you told me about your family, your mother and your dad, and I know you've got your problems with the church too, but there's some kind of bigger thing we can all appreciate, and it sounds like you don't mind calling it God. But when you forgive, you love, and when you love, God's light shines on you”.
The above dialogue is said by Ron Kranz in this emotionally stunning scene. My other favorite scene includes the final dying scene, where Chris scribbles his last and final words in his journal, “HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED”. The accoustic guitar solo by country singer Eddie Vedder is one of my personal favorite songs of all time. This movie is highly recommended for the ones who love adventure and have the ability to think differently.
8. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
Starring – Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhal
Directed by – Christopher Nolan
This is by far the best Batman movie ever made (The previous ones were so awful that it nearly made me puke!). Christopher Nolan strikes back with another promising work by directing The Dark Knight. The film centers around three characters; Batman (Christian Bale), Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) challenge a mysterious and extremely ingenious criminal named The Joker (Heath Ledger). A deep personal struggle commences between Batman and Joker in which The Joker forces him “to confront everything he believes”. Darker than its prequel, it is one of the very rare sequels to have received a greater acclaim. Riveting dialogues and first – rate performance by late Heath Ledger has brought this movie in the history books.
The best scene is during the final confrontation between Joker and Batman, where he finally reveals that Batman is incorruptible, so he manipulated Gotham’s “white knight” and brought him down to their level.
The Joker: Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You are truly incorruptible, aren't you? Huh? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.
You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!.
The background score by Hans Zimmer is a masterpiece. It is dark like the haunting and visionary setting of Gotham city. It is a fast paced, pulse – pounding action movie with splending special effects and a nail biting twist. In the end I’d like to say just one word that totally describes the movie….. “WOW!!!”.
9. 127 HOURS (2010)
Starring – James Franco, Clemese Poesy
Directed by – Danny Boyle
It is an incredibly true story of Aron Ralston, an American mountaineer who became trapped alone under a boulder in Blue John Canyon, Utah and finally cut his arm off after 127 gruelling hours of struggle. It is yet another masterpiece of director Danny Boyle and his best work after Trainspotting. James Franco’s potrayal of Aron Ralston is prodigious. From beginning to the end, this movie has energy, creativity and fun especially the desperate efforts displayed by Ralston in his highly frustrating position. There are many scenes, most of which are hallucinations of Ralston. But the best part is just before the climax scene, when Ralston becomes highly delusional and sees his unborn son through a premonition (which turned out to be true later on). The sensational timing of the song “If I rise” during Ralston’s premonition nailed it. A R Rehman shows his talent again by composing one of the background score of the year. My favorite dialogue from the movie is when Aron comments about the boulder under which his hand is trapped.
“You know, I've been thinking. Everything is... just comes together. It's me. I
chose this. I chose all this. This rock... this rock has been waiting for me my entire life. It's entire life, ever since it was a bit of meteorite a million, billion years ago. In space. It's been waiting, to come here. Right, right here. I've been moving towards it my entire life. The minute I was born, every breath that I've taken, every action has been leading me to this crack on the out surface.” – Aron Ralston.
10. UDAAN (2010)
Starring – Rajat Barmecha, Rohit Roy, Ram Kapoor, Aayan Boradia.
Directed by – Vikramaditya Motwane.
This magnum opus is the directorial debut of Vikramaditya Motwane and yet another dynamite by producer/screenwriter and my inspiration, Anurag Kashyap. It is a movie that gives you a hope to choose whatever you want to become and live a dream. This film has everything in it; a touching storyline, skillful performances by small screen actors, riveting dialogues and impressive direction. It’s a movie to be experienced rather than watching with a box of popcorns. Rajat Barmecha stars as Rohan who after being abandoned by an authoritarian father for eight years, returns back to Jamshedpur to find that he has a younger half-brother who he didn’t even know existed.
It is a highly inspiring movie. The protagonist, Rohan is not a weak character; instead aiming to become a successful poet, but constrained by his domineering father. Electrifying performances by Rajat Barmecha, who, I suppose, completely blended in Rohan’s character makes the movie one of the best Hindi movies of the decade.
My favorite scene from the movie is when Rohan punches his father hard in the face, finally able to release his deep – rooted frustrations, followed by the incredible running scene where Rohan is being chased by an infuriated Bhairav Singh (Ronit Roy) but unable to catch up with the rocket like speed of Rohan. This scene was the greatest moment in the movie and made me sprang to my feet! The background music during the chase and the smile on Rohan’s face by finally defeating his father in the chase and becoming free is mindblowing. I seriously recommend this movie to everyone. 10 out of 10!
To end with, I’d like to conclude that these movies are a personal favorite of my own and they deserve to be in the top ten. Feedbacks would certainly help. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article and wish that you’d help me make an ever better list!
Starring – Ralph Fieness, Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley.
Directed by – Steven Speilberg
Schindler’s list has been my personal favourite movie of all times because of a heartfelt, unsparing and fact – based epic of the nightmarish holocaust. This movie is a treasure of many gripping moments, but, the one that I’d specially like to recall is the climax scene when the war comes to an end and Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) is preparing to leave the country. Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), Schindler’s long time accountant and business partner hands him the gold ring with an inscription of a Hebrew adage, “Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire”. Schindler breaks into tears and berates himself for not being able to save more lives. The amazing background score by John Williams was like the necessary condiment. Throughout the whole movie, we observe a businessman streak in Oskar Schindler, but in the end when he sees the faces of the jews he saved, he is ridden by guilt and remorse. This movie couldnot be made better and I think it is the magnum opus of director Steven Speilberg.
2. BRAVEHEART (1995)
Starring – Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Angus Macfayden
Directed by – Mel Gibson
This epic historic drama based on legenday Sir William Wallace is a masterpiece. Actor, Director and Producer Mel Gibson has proved his talent by making such a movie. It’s a tale of love, betrayal and a strive for the freedom of Scotland from the cruel king of england, Edward the Longshanks (Patrick McGoohan). William Wallace’s speech to the fellow scottsmen during the Battle of Stirling is one of the most inspirational speeches I’ve ever heard.
“You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?...Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live - at least awhile. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade All the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take OUR FREEDOM!”.
Even towards the end, when Wallace is captured by Longshanks and tortured by the english army, he courageously shouts “FREEDOM” as his last words. This scene will definitely bring tears to the eyes of the most cold-hearted human being. Wallace’s execution is witnessed by his oldest and best friend Hamish (Brendon Gleeson) and quasi – bodyguard Stephen (David O’Hara) and they close their eyes when they hear “FREEDOM” as the last words coming out of Wallace. Braveheart is unquestionably one of the greatest movies ever made.
3. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (1997)
Starring – Roberto benigni, Nicolette Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini
Directed by – Roberto Benigni
People usually refuse to watch foreign movies and I don’t know why! But, its sheer stupidity if you have missed a movie like Life Is Beautiful. It’s a complete entertainment package combined with the darker side of the Nazi concentration camp. Roberto Benigni is funny and charismatic actor who potrays a young Italian Jew. His romance with a local school teacher, Dora (Nicolette Braschi) is quite adorable as well as humorous, especially when Guido exclaims, “Buon giorno, Principessa”.
Yet, the most gripping scenes of the movie is the moment when Guido tries to imitate the guard taking him away, to protect his son from being spotted by the Nazi guards. The look of the little kid’s face while watching his father imitating the guard and letting out a suppressed laughter. Little did he knew about the sacrifice that his father made for him. I admire Roberto Benigni for his exceptional acting and direction and being able to narrate a very simple story with a dark façade.
4. AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999)
Starring – Kevin Spacey, Thora Birch, Annette Benning, Wes Bentley and Mena Suvari
Directed by – Sam Mendes
This movie is an absolute bliss to watch. American Beauty is a stunning masterpiece as well as a debut film by director Sam Mendes. Kevin Spacey has been one of the notable actors of the Hollywood after making some great movies like Se7en and The Usual Suspects. But, it is surprising that no one could have better played the role of a depressed middle aged man and his life in a stage of disorientation and transition. And the most notable thing about the movie is the magnificient background score which blends with the moments perfectly. Anyways, my favourite scene from the movie is the climax, where Lester takes a smiling look at the photograph of his family and a gun shot sounds with his blood spattered on the wall.
“I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time... For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars... And yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined our street... Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper... And the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird... And Janie... And Janie... And... Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday.”
This very speech as well as the extremely shocking end has moved me more than any other. Seriously, you need a lot of guts to watch such a movie and to feel the story.
5. TITANIC (1997)
Starring – Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates.
Directed by – James Cameron
Lo and behold for the greatest epic romance and distaster movie ever made in the history of Hollywood! A budget of over $200 millions for the reconstruction of the spectacular RMS Titanic made it the highest grossing movie till Avatar. Since, every scene in this movie is phenomenal, I had a pretty hard time deciding my favorite scene. I loved everything in the movie, from the set to the music. The chemistry between Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose Bukater (Kate Winslet) is simply mindblowing.
My favorite scene from the movie as I recollect is the heart-breaking moment when Jack encourages Rose not to give up while floating on a large piece of debris.
"Don't you do that, don't say your good-byes. Not yet, do you understand me?....Listen, Rose. You're gonna get out of here. You're gonna go on and you're gonna make lots of babies, and you're gonna watch 'em grow. You're gonna die an old... an old lady warm in her bed. Not here. Not this night. Not like this. Do you understand me?...Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you and I'm thankful for that, Rose. I'm thankful. You must, you must, you must do me this honor. You must promise me that you'll survive, that you won't give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise.”
Titanic is great because of the exceptional acting from both DiCaprio and Winslet. Even Celine Dion’s “My heart will go” is a classic. Another favorite scene is the final dream sequence in which the young Rose imagined herself meeting and kissing Jack at the top of the elegant grand staircase surrounded by an applauding audience of all those who died on the ship – toghether forever.
6. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)
Starring – Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton.
Directed by – Frank Darabont
This in an example of an impressive, engrossing piece of filmmaking from director/screewriter Frank Darabont who adapted from Stephen King’s “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”. The inspirational, life-affirming and uplifting work of art is a combination of prison/dramatic film and character study.
“Fear can hold you a prisoner. Hope can set you free”. These are the words illustrated on the official poster that illustrate the liberating, redemptive power of hope and themes of freedom and resurrection.
The scene where Andy Dufresne boldly asks Captain Hadley to provide his co-workers with beer is the most gripping scene for me.
“And that's how it came to pass, that on the second-to-last day of the job, the convict crew that tarred the plate factory roof in the spring of '49 wound up sitting in a row at ten o'clock in the morning, drinking icy cold Bohemia-style beer, courtesy of the hardest screw that ever walked a turn at Shawshank State Prison...The colossal prick even managed to sound magnanimous. We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men. Hell, we could have been tarring the roof of one of our own houses. We were the Lords of all Creation. As for Andy, he spent that break hunkered in the shade, a strange little smile on his face, watching us drink his beer...You could argue he'd done it to curry favor with the guards, or maybe make a few friends among us cons. Me? I think he did it just to feel normal again, if only for a short while.”
That was Red’s (Morgan Freeman) speech after Andy’s shocking decision to help the fellow guards in some legal paperwork for free.
Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins are majestic in their performances. It still upsets me that this movie was nominated for seven academy awards, but failed to win none. It was overshadowed by Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction, both commercially and critically. At least, Morgan Freeman should have received an Oscar!
7. INTO THE WILD (2007)
Starring – Emile Hirsch, Catherine Keener, Hal Holbrook.
Directed by – Sean Penn
A biopic of a free – spirited, idealistic, young college – grad adventurer named Christopher Johnson McCandless (a.k.a Alexander Supertramp), Into the Wild is a spellbinding examination of a young man’s journey across America, to Alaska, in search of happiness, after forsaking his estranged family and many friends.
I always valued Sean Penn’s acting talent, but his directon is breath-taking. Penn carefully stuck to his subject and gave the movie as much thought and power he could provide. No one could have been a better potrayal of Chris McCandless than Emile Hirsch.
The best moment in the movie is when an elderly leather worker Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook) proposes paternistically to adopt Chris which he ultimately refuses to accept.
“From the bits and pieces I've put together, you know, from what you told me about your family, your mother and your dad, and I know you've got your problems with the church too, but there's some kind of bigger thing we can all appreciate, and it sounds like you don't mind calling it God. But when you forgive, you love, and when you love, God's light shines on you”.
The above dialogue is said by Ron Kranz in this emotionally stunning scene. My other favorite scene includes the final dying scene, where Chris scribbles his last and final words in his journal, “HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED”. The accoustic guitar solo by country singer Eddie Vedder is one of my personal favorite songs of all time. This movie is highly recommended for the ones who love adventure and have the ability to think differently.
8. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
Starring – Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhal
Directed by – Christopher Nolan
This is by far the best Batman movie ever made (The previous ones were so awful that it nearly made me puke!). Christopher Nolan strikes back with another promising work by directing The Dark Knight. The film centers around three characters; Batman (Christian Bale), Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) challenge a mysterious and extremely ingenious criminal named The Joker (Heath Ledger). A deep personal struggle commences between Batman and Joker in which The Joker forces him “to confront everything he believes”. Darker than its prequel, it is one of the very rare sequels to have received a greater acclaim. Riveting dialogues and first – rate performance by late Heath Ledger has brought this movie in the history books.
The best scene is during the final confrontation between Joker and Batman, where he finally reveals that Batman is incorruptible, so he manipulated Gotham’s “white knight” and brought him down to their level.
The Joker: Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You are truly incorruptible, aren't you? Huh? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.
You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push!.
The background score by Hans Zimmer is a masterpiece. It is dark like the haunting and visionary setting of Gotham city. It is a fast paced, pulse – pounding action movie with splending special effects and a nail biting twist. In the end I’d like to say just one word that totally describes the movie….. “WOW!!!”.
9. 127 HOURS (2010)
Starring – James Franco, Clemese Poesy
Directed by – Danny Boyle
It is an incredibly true story of Aron Ralston, an American mountaineer who became trapped alone under a boulder in Blue John Canyon, Utah and finally cut his arm off after 127 gruelling hours of struggle. It is yet another masterpiece of director Danny Boyle and his best work after Trainspotting. James Franco’s potrayal of Aron Ralston is prodigious. From beginning to the end, this movie has energy, creativity and fun especially the desperate efforts displayed by Ralston in his highly frustrating position. There are many scenes, most of which are hallucinations of Ralston. But the best part is just before the climax scene, when Ralston becomes highly delusional and sees his unborn son through a premonition (which turned out to be true later on). The sensational timing of the song “If I rise” during Ralston’s premonition nailed it. A R Rehman shows his talent again by composing one of the background score of the year. My favorite dialogue from the movie is when Aron comments about the boulder under which his hand is trapped.
“You know, I've been thinking. Everything is... just comes together. It's me. I
chose this. I chose all this. This rock... this rock has been waiting for me my entire life. It's entire life, ever since it was a bit of meteorite a million, billion years ago. In space. It's been waiting, to come here. Right, right here. I've been moving towards it my entire life. The minute I was born, every breath that I've taken, every action has been leading me to this crack on the out surface.” – Aron Ralston.
10. UDAAN (2010)
Starring – Rajat Barmecha, Rohit Roy, Ram Kapoor, Aayan Boradia.
Directed by – Vikramaditya Motwane.
This magnum opus is the directorial debut of Vikramaditya Motwane and yet another dynamite by producer/screenwriter and my inspiration, Anurag Kashyap. It is a movie that gives you a hope to choose whatever you want to become and live a dream. This film has everything in it; a touching storyline, skillful performances by small screen actors, riveting dialogues and impressive direction. It’s a movie to be experienced rather than watching with a box of popcorns. Rajat Barmecha stars as Rohan who after being abandoned by an authoritarian father for eight years, returns back to Jamshedpur to find that he has a younger half-brother who he didn’t even know existed.
It is a highly inspiring movie. The protagonist, Rohan is not a weak character; instead aiming to become a successful poet, but constrained by his domineering father. Electrifying performances by Rajat Barmecha, who, I suppose, completely blended in Rohan’s character makes the movie one of the best Hindi movies of the decade.
My favorite scene from the movie is when Rohan punches his father hard in the face, finally able to release his deep – rooted frustrations, followed by the incredible running scene where Rohan is being chased by an infuriated Bhairav Singh (Ronit Roy) but unable to catch up with the rocket like speed of Rohan. This scene was the greatest moment in the movie and made me sprang to my feet! The background music during the chase and the smile on Rohan’s face by finally defeating his father in the chase and becoming free is mindblowing. I seriously recommend this movie to everyone. 10 out of 10!
To end with, I’d like to conclude that these movies are a personal favorite of my own and they deserve to be in the top ten. Feedbacks would certainly help. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article and wish that you’d help me make an ever better list!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)