The fine art of ‘acting’ and the techniques of film making have constantly evolved and transformed beyond recognition since the beginning of motion pictures in 1888. All this is subject of research for those who study & understand the craft of film-making but as audiences become more discerning, the challenge to makers is to innovate and engage with newer themes, contemporary stories and methods of enacting the characters with realism with roles and content which offers a combo that’s  entertaining, exhilarating & educating. In that sense, there is a perceptible shift from big-budget films screened in cinema halls to the OTT offerings of films and web-series of diverse genres.

As seniors we’d connect more with movies of the 1960s-70s that were often based on famous classics and works of great authors and characters that were created by them, played with the passion by renowned actors. I’d cite examples of  ‘Sahib Biwi Ghulam’ (Hindi-1962) and ‘Gone With The Wind’ (English -1939) – outstanding and celebrated films of all times, among hundred others. Great actors then would follow the ‘method acting’ style as opposed to ‘natural’. For a long time, loud melodrama flourished in most films & not just in costume dramas, period films. Actors often got type-cast in certain moulds !   

Recently we caught up with an old film (1966) on OTT, a super-hit for it’s foot-tapping songs, but who’s name shall remain undisclosed, for it may hurt the nostalgic connect it had with 60’s generation. However, we were a bit appalled at the contrived, over the top mannerisms of the popular lead actors, also called ‘hamming’ and what now seems like ‘overacting’ compared to the effortless, natural style we witness with many new actors. Many big stars remained trapped in their image rather than get under skin of the role !

Mature cinema buffs love natural or realistic acting as it involves an actor attempting to portray a character like a real person & not just figment of a writer’s imagination. It tries to accurately and convincingly reflect human actions and emotions and focuses on sensitive and nuanced characterization of characters, frequently drawing inspiration from real-life observations. Since cinema is a medium of the ‘Director’s’ expression, it took likes of  Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, Hrishikesh Mukherji, Shyam Benegal and Basu Chatterji to create films that had actors who truly became the characters…

Let’s remember that early Bollywood also produced classy actors but stylized acting was much appreciated with popular stars and ‘larger than life’ images were created for them.  The 60s also saw the rise of natural actors like Balraj Sahni and Ashok Kumar (among male actors) while the 70s brought in ‘new wave cinema’ and creative genius of Shyam Benegal with actors Naseer Shah, Om Puri and a host of others. In the last decade we’ve had likes of Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajkumar Rao & Pankaj Tripathi !

What’s heartening is the newest breed of actors mostly seen on OTT platforms who live the parts they play. It’s said ‘Dramatic ability is a natural gift, that can hardly be taught’ ! But trained, Yes !

In those good old ‘Lucknowi’ days of homilies and colloquial phrases, one popular one for young school going children was ‘Padhoge likhoge banoge Nawab, kheloge kudoge hoge kharab’ or simply put, if you read and write (and study) well, you will become great and only play will make you bad ! Many years & about five decades later these words seem to have lost their significance despite the fact everyone, meaning parents, educators and institutions feel the need for imparting proper education to the youth.

Building strong academic foundations through developing proficiencies in ‘Reading, Writing, Arithmetic (three basic R’s in schooling) are not really needed to secure high marks in most exams & have been replaced by use of clever apps, mobile binging and computer gaming as leisure activities for kids of today. The joys of reading ‘classics’ in different languages such as ‘Treasure Island’ ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘Gone with the Wind’ (English), delightful Munshi Premchand stories (Hindi) or Tagore’s poems (Bengali), and writing long essays and showing off one’s keenly acquired vocabulary (to parents, teachers, friends) is past prime time, as artistry of Test Cricket is by advent of  T20s !    

Good writers are what they are because they can write fiction as well as expound on relevant contemporary subjects. So prolific author and commentator, Chetan Bhagat’s brilliant centre-piece in yesterday’s TOI comes as a breath of fresh air as he candidly lays threadbare the growing chasm in the academic armory of our educated youth and also relates shortcomings inter alia to worrisome decline in reading habits in general ! Humorist Mark Twain famously said “Classic is a book people praise and don’t read.”

Is everyone out of touch with reading books ? Surely there is a class of ‘book-lovers’ and readers of all ages (and we don’t mean book-worms !) even if they are elite in a sense. We can recall that as young students we would frequent book stores to find the right book & wrap it up as a friend’s birthday gift but that’s a bit passé now. Imagine our surprise when on our Anniversary our Son and daughter-in-law presented us with two beautifully bound English Classics. They knew for sure that at least two die-hard literature buffs like us would read them (second time over) ! It’s such a fine thought …

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go” said Dr. Seuss, American children’s author, poet and, animator. One way to encourage our young ones (apart from being a good Grandma/pa who can  tell bed-time stories ) is to gift them great books and show a world that’s got hidden !

It was an inexplicably subliminal performance by an otherwise formidable side that seemed to have done in by left handers on both sides. LSG Star opener Quinton Decock failed yet again with the bat and two lefty batters, Narine from KKR and Head from SRH dealt crushing blows (in sixes and fours only !) in consecutive matches that exposed weaknesses of  Lucknow’s inept bowling attack ! After a stunning debut in first two LSG matches, Mayank Yadav is facing fitness issues and not in the playing squad & poor KL Rahul finds it difficult now to enthuse his bowlers against such batting onslaughts !  

You don’t have to know Charles Dickens to say ‘It was the worst times ..and summer of discontent’ if one were to empathize with the plight of Captain KL Rahul as his team LSG was routed humiliatingly by SRH and clips of the dressing down he was getting from the LSG Team Owners in public after that huge loss by 10 wickets, that went viral. T20 Cricket and specially the IPL format is heavily tilted towards big-hitting batters and ‘impact’ players rule and best teams find it tough to be consistent across all matches – LSG had it’s saddest days in office but can bounce back in next two games !  

The LSG Bosses firing the Captain on the field reminds of the line that our trainers in the Bank exhorted in management classes ‘Praise in public and reprimand in private’ . There are days when a unit leader and his entire team is down in the dumps, unable to come to terms with a debacle and a sub-par performance, it is the Top Management that should support them with morale boosting words rather than chastise in full view and undermine their self-belief. Bosses over eager for success and unable to back their boys in their hour of defeat, end up with teams that go into disarray instead of recouping after the losses.

The loyal fans of LSG  may want to send an unsolicited quote from Robert Kennedy for Sanjeev Goenka, LSG Team Owner for his arrogant and thoughtless actions ‘Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly’ ! And a quote from Bob Marley for the beleaguered LSG skipper, KL Rahul ‘You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice’ ! In T20 cricket, one big defeat can be followed by a big win and KL Rahul has seen it all !

Lovers of Hindi film music would know from the invaluable treasure house of songs written by great poets and lyricists and rendered by iconic singers of the golden era of the 1960s to the 1980’s, that these songs had a special place and meaning in those films and lent poetic meaning and philosophic content to them through their beautiful words. Significantly, there are about two dozen songs from the yester-years which became classics in their right for their depth of thought, which started with the word ‘Zindagi’ or ‘Life’ and gave different hues, views, colours and perspectives on what life meant to us.

Fortuitously, the versatile Kishore da became the voice of Rajesh Khanna after his first super-hit ‘Aradhana’ and sang many unforgettable numbers that began with the word ‘Zindagi’ but none more poignant and heartrending than the title song from 1970 film ’Safar’ ! The beautiful, soulful lyrics were penned by versatile writer, Indivar and the song was masterfully composed by the maestro duo composers, Kalyanji Anandji.

‘Zindagi Ka Safar, Hai Ye Kaisa Safar

Koi Samjha Nahin Koi Jaana Nahin,

Hai Ye Kaisi Dagar, Chalte Hain Sab Magar

Koi Samjha Nahin Koi Jaana Nahin …’

The song’s tune which also served as the background score in the film ‘Safar’, remains an all time classic for its superb rendition by the incomparable Kishore Kumar !  

‘We all lose friends…we lose them in death, to distance, and over time. The key is to keep them in your heart’ and remember the wonderful moments & happy experiences you shared that often form part of your ‘better’ past. As Amy Marie Waltz continues to say ‘for friends lost over the years, when the time is right, you can pick up the friendship right where you left off.  Even the lost find their way home, when you leave the light on’ !

Despite his untimely passing away at the very young age of 28, I always cherish the 15 years of deep bonding with late Suneel Singh (IAS of 1977 Batch) ! Another person, who became a dear friend, ironically through Suneel, was Deepak Bhandari, originally from UP but later settled in Mumbai. Deepak went through a rough patch unfortunately and succumbed to illness in mid-life only. The pic below has both on them standing, behind me and another close childhood friend from school, Alok who later became a Doctor.

Dr. Alok Rajvanshi is an orthopedic surgeon based out of India for many years now, in Australia. Distance and long gaps in communication had our friendship fading away till it all got rekindled when my wife, Tandra fortuitously came face to face with Alok and Durgesh at a friend’s son’s wedding in India and a great reunion took place. Alok wants us to visit them in Australia & we await their next trip here. When will the twain meet ?!   

The ‘wow’ thing about OTT is you can revisit a film or series or promptly catch up with them because ‘netizen’ friends incredulously ask – ‘Don’t tell us to haven’t seen it yet’ ? We then proceed to discover a real gem a bit lost in a maze of viewing content. Basing on reliable reports, Tandra has been vociferously rooting for web-series called ‘Gullak’ on ‘Sonyliv’ which has completed 3 Seasons & into it’s 4th ! ‘Gullak’ has since entered our sitting room & we’ve fallen for it nearly every evening !

It’s about the happy and sad, nonsensical and ironical side of life and times of a ‘middle’ middle class family of four (and distinct from the lower & upper, many types of middle tiers now exist in society !). Each episode is a slice of life event or incident encapsulated into 30 mts time of a roller coaster trip- emotions, egos, struggles, tussles through their endless barbs and banter & moments of small joys that bind an Indian family like glue.

Many films in the past have dealt with time-tested middle-class syndrome where moral values and family traditions come in conflict with aspirations of the gen-next and peer pressure from neighbours and close relatives ! ‘RK Laxman’s’ genre of the middle class has his daily struggles faced with dry humour and a tenacious will to regroup for better times. ‘Gullak’ has relatable characters who make you laugh & tug at your heart-strings.

In one episode, the flamboyant Annu, family’s elder son, fails to qualify the SSC exams and is crestfallen, unable to face his parents who desperately want him to succeed. To his surprise he finds his parents taking it in their stride and asking him not to lose heart, as failures are also part of life. I recall being heart-broken when in 1971, I had missed the 1^st Div in BSc by a few marks. Dad gently consoled saying you can’t keep a good person down. I bounced back in MA Eco and secured a Univ ranking. But that’s another story.  

Possibly most heartening thing about ‘Gullak’ is the complete absence of stars and the emergence of four brilliant actors. Of these, Jameel Khan who superbly plays the genial, sporting ‘Mishra Family’ figure head is a known face but only figuring in negative roles. The doughty matriarch Shanti is played by Geetanjali Kulkarni to perfection, as she tries to keep the ‘man-power’ (husband and two sons) in check and always succeeds there.

But the real scene stealers are the two sons, Annu and Aman, portrayed with effortless conviction by Vaibhav Raj Gupta and Harsh Mayar. The sibling rivalry yet their untold bonding, the elder brother exercising domination and the younger one rebelling look so true, if you’ve brought up two sons of your own ! Their fights appear stupid yet so nostalgic ! This and the simplicity of narrating the middle class highs & lows, is pure ’Soul Curry’ !    

           

Some say it’s only the beginning but those who’ve endured it for years know ‘if it’s hot, it must be summer’ because no one’s experienced a cold one ! However, what portends is instead of the progressive hot, hotter and hottest in the next three months, ‘weather’ pundits are making claims like ‘hottest day in the last 20 years’ for certain parts of the country. Add to this there’s plenty of ‘garma-garmi’ generated in the ‘heat and dust’ of political campaigns, yet the weather has been given credit for the low voter turnout !

For those who grew up in the plains of Northern India, one prepared for the on-set of summer soon after Holi was over and woolens went back into the trunks with mothballs. In the pre-global warming times and pollution crises that hit some of the big cities, we as students in the 1960s-70s actually loved this season for the two month long vacation and many fun activities lined up. Trips to ‘Mamar-bari’ in Kolkata would be planned & if   didn’t materialize for some reason, we had cousins and friends coming over for the hols.

The summer had it’s intense blazing heat with dry,hot winds called ‘loo’ sweeping across through better part of the day, sunny skies would be bereft of clouds and Moms would try to keep us indoors in sweltering afternoons. But ‘young boys will be frisky boys’, we couldn’t be house-tied and would slink off to meet friends, play cricket, seven tiles and ‘gulli-danda’ in nearby parks or even our own garden. Those were the days of frugal fans and earthern pots (later room & Khas coolers and fridge entered lives). AC for us meant ‘Alternating Current’ as opposed to DC ! Luxuries like modern day ACs didn’t exist but one didn’t feel need for it, not strangely as we loved the open skies and braved the heat !

Watching wonderful films during the summer vacations was also adolescent ‘coming of age’ for us. Who from our time would forget ‘Summer of’42’, the 1971 classic where like the young protagonist, we all idolized someone much older and ethereally beautiful. As the story goes, Hernie a 15 year old boy goes to Nantucket Island on a summer vacation. However, he meets lovely Dorothy there and falls in love with her while she’s amused with him. The drama takes a twist when she gets news of her husband’s death in WW II ! 

It now seems like the summer is time to take a vacation abroad or to a cool hill resort ( for the affluent) & even the ‘mango man’ wants to take refuge to cooler climes if he can afford it. But indoor home time is so valuable for the family and for one’s own calling : finish books you started, learn a new craft, catch that film or complete that painting, creativity has no limits !    

 

I am 69 now, going into the 70s, Maybe it’s time for the chill-pill,

Old friends that I, at times meet, Tell me I’m still young and neat,

Modestly, to that I must Agree..

Nothing comes from nothing, And surely, nothing ever could,

Somewhere in youth or childhood, My elders thought of me as good,

And the blessings remain with Me..

Every day is new day for learning, Wonders still continue to amaze,

There’s much left to see & know, Time ticks on, with it we all flow,

Live today, future’s not ours to see..

Birthdays come and go every year, Yet best gifts are being reminded of, 

Wonderful family, friends who care, And the loving wishes they all share,

I’m blessed, people still think of Me !

Somnath Sinha

18^th, December, 2023

One doesn’t have to be a selector or cricketing expert to understand the some of the logic in the WC T20 squad announced by BCCI. Virat has truly ‘run the talk’ and bagged the ‘orange cap’ in on-going IPL’24 with brave performances, but even Rohit’s avid fans will agree that he’s no longer his old fluent self (both as batter and fielder) in T20 format, by quality standards he’s there to provide leadership to the undercooked rookies. But then the original ‘master of the game’ MSD would also do a great job as a Captain !

Since MSD at 43 wasn’t a serious contender, selectors understandably relied on the vast experience and maturity of Rohit and Virat being ‘wise old men’ serving Indian Cricket for decades, and therefore these two seniors don’t invite any real debate ! To us as keen observers, there’s a real toss up between the openers and Jaiswal scores over Rituraj and Shubhman Gill, being a left hander. For the future, Rohit’s place can be taken by a solid right hander like KL Rahul, Gill or Rituraj in T20s !  

Moving on, a real shocker comes with Hardik Pandya appointed VC, who’s on-field show hasn’t inspired anyone (other than the selectors) and set the Mumbai stands on fire with protests in this IPL. Not contributing as an all rounder, with his lack luster leadership, MI is facing an ignominious slide and finds now it very difficult to revive its fortunes ! It’s tough to fathom why the persistence with Hardik, where IMHO, his brother Kunal contributes better as an all-rounder to the LSG team. As VC how is Hardik going to be the bedrock in mid-order ? Other all rounders are Jadeja & Axar and to an extent, Dube.

Also while Sanju Samson by virtue of his fireworks in this IPL deserves a crack at the WC, he hasn’t got the international exposure and composure of KL Rahul, who has also proved his credentials as a WK ! Being a left hander the team balance needs us to go for Rishabh Pant but his fitness should be monitored. Another old weakness persists in that most of the specialist bowlers chosen can’t bat, barring Kuldeep Yadav to an extent.          

BCCI did a lot of juggling from the ‘problem of  plenty’ of  batters but have fallen short of acquiring skilled all rounders unlike the stronger Aussie and English teams. To buffs like us we hope that out ‘Men in Blue’ make the  best of  what’s served, including Hardik !

As students in the 1960s, our English teachers were not only particular about grammar & pronunciation but encouraged liberal use of idioms & phrases like ‘all that glitters is not gold’, ‘melted into thin air’, ‘there’s method in the madness’ or ‘dead as a doornail’ and many others for enhancing the quality of our essays and compositions. We didn’t know, such gems mostly came from the genius of Shakespeare, ‘The Bard of Avon’ !

Litterateurs, writers, academics, researchers, English literature students and a legion of  readers follow the incomparable style and immortal literary works of most widely read & translated storyteller, writer, playwright, philosopher, thinker – ‘William Shakespeare’, who’s birthday (born in 1564) is celebrated on 23^rd, April though the actual date is not recorded. But why does he still cast such an indelible impression on minds of even those like us who were students of science, maths and economics and not of literature. As one sagely stated ‘If ever anything good was said, it must have been said by Shakespeare’ ! 

My first brush with the ‘Bard’ as a boy were through Dad’s musings as he would often quote to us lines (from the tragedy ‘Macbeth’) with eloquence ‘Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow… Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more…’. Whatever they meant at that time, they seemed profound and beautifully melancholic. Elder sisters would loudly prepare for school elocutions in front of their mirrors ‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears…! All this was grand & theatrical and I got weaned on Bard quotes without actually reading his works !

Through uncanny gift of foresight and understanding of human nature, he could express the deepest emotions we could apply to all stages of our lives. In our growing up years as adolescents the first crush could never go beyond silent admiration for the fair maiden & we all felt ‘The course of true love never did run smooth’ ! However, when friends got married one after another the question arose ‘To be or Not to be ?’ Fortunately for me, my Mom definitively settled the ‘partner’ issue with her firm stamp of approval ‘To be’ !

On becoming a young Bank officer observing my peers scheming around in workplace, it slowly dawned on me with discomfiture ‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them’. However, it was about smartly grabbing opportunities ‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life, is bound in shallows and in miseries’.

The Bard had not just a thing or two to say about romance, music and love: ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on ‘ and ‘If music be the food of love, play on.’ And the pangs of separation that lovers must endure in their journeys – ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow’ ! There is also the futility of ambition ‘It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing’ !

Finally, there the philosophy of life beautifully summed up by the Bard ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.’ Who could have said it better ?!