This and That aka Daily Musings

How does one classify the Tamil language movie Super Deluxe? The name doesn’t hold any clue to the contents and a viewer chooses to watch the film solely on reviews and the stellar starcast. Super Deluxe has morality at its core and the viewers are forced to think about the situations unravelling on the screen. This movie is a roller coaster journey across multiple genres like sexuality, gender discrimination, gender identity, fidelity, lust, science, religiosity and faith. It is funny in parts (also has dark comedy), violent at times (not physical, very cerebral where we feel the characters mental anguish), and also philosophical at some places (it carries the message that we are all one yet different). With four parallel story tracks which converge near the end, Super Deluxe packs quite a punch.  We have an arc in which a transgender grapples with his emotions when he returns to his family after disappearing for seven years. In these seven years he comes to terms with his sexuali...

Dealing with Mortality (10/5/23) Two recent events illumined a dark corner of my mind. They shed light on the impermanence inherent with human lives.  The first involves Vidula’s septuagenararian uncle who has been unwell for a few years. Cancer has ravaged his body completely and no succour is in sight. Consequently, Suhas Ambardekar has now been shifted to Shanti Avedna at Bandra where palliative care is administered to terminally ill patients. I accompanied Vidula to this hospice a few days ago to meet her ailing Kaka . These are perhaps our last few interactions with him. Vidula feels for her kaka because of many happy childhood memories. Despite our best efforts Vidula drifted away from her kaka after our marriage. Admittedly, Suhas Ambardekar was not the easiest man to get along with, but he always had a soft spot for his niece. Vidula will remember her kaka as a lively and somewhat rambunctious person. Life has been a rollercoaster ride for this gentleman but now at the fag ...

9th January 2023 Lathe Joshi – An Allegory for Evolution I have wanted to watch the Marathi movie, ‘Lathe Joshi’ ever since Aniket Joshi recommended it many years ago. However, this film had a limited release, and it was soon pulled out of theatres because of poor viewership. I finally got the chance to watch ‘Lathe Joshi’ this Saturday on Zee5.  ‘Lathe Joshi’ has extremely competent, though not so well known, faces playing pivotal roles. Chittaranjan Giri as the protagonist is amazing. One can feel his angst and helplessness in every frame that he inhabits. Ashwini Giri, who plays his wife (Chittaranjan and Ashwini are husband and wife in real life too), is shown to be ebullient and enterprising. She lends a hand to the family’s coffers by running a cooking business. This lady is open to experimentation and is willing to go the extra mile to keep her clients satisfied. She is fastidious about her work and her work ethic keeps the clients happy and her career graph rises throughout...

11th November 2022 Kantara (mysterious forest) A week has elapsed since Vidula and I saw the Kannada movie Kantara. Ignorance, lack of curiosity or even a linguistic bias had prevented me from watching south Indian movies. I had never heard of Rishab Shetty, the film’s writer, director, and lead actor.  OTT provided me with easy access to Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam movies. Being oblivious to South Indian cinema was my loss. I am now slowly getting acquainted with the works of Vijay Sethupathi, Fasil Fahad, Vijay, and many others. Hindi movies now appear distasteful and unrelatable. Kantara left me speechless. Rishab Shetty has given Kantara a very ‘raw’ look. All the characters seem relatable. There aren’t any glossy, well-groomed heroes and heroines. We find ordinary, everyday people creating extraordinary work. Both, the hero (Shiva) and his love interest (Leela) appear genuine and have played their parts with elan. Leela, played by Saptami Gowda, hasn’t got much to do but stil...

1st November 2022 Aai would have turned 79 today. Seventeen years have elapsed since she made her exit, and her demise was too early and unexpected. I tried to be all grown up and philosophical when my father and mother passed away within a span of 15 months. I failed miserably. Trying to think rationally does not help. Inevitable and laborious comparisons with others muddles up our mind. It is human tendency to rationalise important events but as a consequence we slip and tumble while trying to grapple with our emotions. Men suffer this folly as it is considered ‘unmanly’ to open up or even cry. In most cases, bonds with biological parents are deep rooted because of proximity, love, and constant interactions. The quality of bonds thus created depends on a myriad of factors.  My parents, Yashwant and Kunda, have three offspring. Alkatai, Harshad and me. As I perceive things, the three of us had varying affinities towards each of our parents. But by and large, despite the heated arg...

Carpe Diem – from Roman Poet Horace’s Odes (23 BC) is one of the greatest maxims ever penned. It is loosely translated as “Seize the Day”. The dictionary definition is ‘to urge someone to make the most of the present time and give little thought to the future.   The Latin phrase – Memento Mori – is closely related to Carpe Diem. It literally means, ‘remember that you must die’. Both the aforesaid aphorisms are connected and our lives can be fulfilling if we are able to decipher how. What does Horace mean when he advises us to ‘seize the day’? He advocates ‘making most of the present time and give little thought to the future’ . He doesn’t imply we need to be reckless and live only in the present without any thought of the future. This will lead to undesirable consequences. Horace advocates making most of the available opportunities in the present so that we have a happy future.  Now a little exercise in maths. Assuming a lifespan of 80 years for a typical city dweller, he...

19th August 2022 उपभोगशून्य स्वामी! I just finished watching Naveenchandra Hegde’s (Guruji to us) one hour long conversation with Major Poonia on YouTube. It was enchanting to watch two extremely fit individuals exchange thoughts about fitness, philosophy and giving back to society. Both had unique styles of speaking our national language. Guruji, a Kannadiga by birth and upbringing, had a lilting accent while the Haryanvi Major spoke with a robust Punjabi twang. Major Poonia proved to be a very good host as he gave ample time to Guruji to share his thoughts. The questions were perceptive and unobtrusive while the answers were delightfully frank and to the point. Most individuals have a memorable childhood and Guruji was no exception. He got exposed to sports very early in his childhood and perhaps this ignited the spark to be associated with some kind of physical activity later in his life. The story of his efforts to save 5 paise was fascinating. Guruji’s journey from his school days...