The "Aamir" of Bollywood

Watch any old hindi movie, especially from the time when India was still a socialist society, and you would not be alien to the popular theme of "amir" heroines falling in love with "garib" heroes. The hero would carry his "garibi" almost like sainthood and the amir "baap" would then relent to marry off his daughter to the hero. They would finally live happily ever after. I googled the word amir or aamir, and noticed that its meaning is not confined to "rich" or "prosperous". It also means civilised, or a person with the charisma of a "leader". In the 2008 film "Aamir" starring Rajeev Khandelwal, the protagonist, by his actions demonstares this maturity and courage of a leader, thus earning himself the name "Aamir".


If there is any actor today in the Hindi film inductry worthy of such title, it is Aamir himself, probably the greatest of the Khans . Personally I do not think any other Khan comes close to being great, but well, opinions differ, and the box office collections, if they are any indicator, prove otherwise.

Aamir's dedication to his profession, the high standards he sets for himself and his team, and the fantastic performances he has churned out stand testimony to his greatness. In his recent appearance in Aap ki Adalat, he told Rajat kappor about how he was training from 3 o'clock in the morning in the gym to appear right for a forthcoming role. Or that he sometimes spends upto 2 years after being convinced about the script to actually sign a film, especially with new directors, to be sure that a the project is actually feasible. Aamir not only has a natural talent for acting, but also invests long amounts of time researching a script and preparing himself physically and mentally for it. This has given him success in diverse roles, ranging from the college lad in Dil Chahta hain, to the dedicated police officer in Sarfarosh, a dyslexic teacher in Tare jameen par and again an emotionally disturbed police officer in Talash, to name a few.

In a recent article in a diwali issue of a marathi magazine, I read the story of the making of Satyameva jayate. Satyameva jayate is more of a philanthrophic venture(although it may have earned decent profits). The aim was not to find instant solutions, but make people sit up and start thinking of the numerous maladies facing our society today. According to the author of the article ( who was Director in the production team of the unit that made the series), they spent almost two years reseraching diverse topics before the show was actually shot. Sepcial effort was made to remove glamour from it so that people could focus on the issues instead. Expectedly it was a good success and evoked many reactions from the common people.


What is next? Only Aamir knows.. but it will be good for sure..

Whither India?

Many of my friends have settled abroad, especially in the USA.  . For them USA provided them with what India could not, a great working environment and rewards befitting their capabilities. Returning to India was not an option for them. Few tried, but some of them went back after a couple of years. I was myself in Singapore for two years and without a doubt I liked the disciplined living thoroughly. A nation where people respect each other, take pride in work and enjoyment and have achieved a significantly higher standard of living  

Why are these people not convinced about coming back? Why does the lure of Indian cultural values, of respect for the elders, frugal living, and the belief in the institutions of marriage and family, not strong enough ?  Why is this nation, steeped in rich moral values, not able to retain the best talent within India?

Well, it does not take much thought to figure out. 

I am travelling for a change, in the local transport buses. There are seats reserved for women. But they are already occupied by men. Some women protest, but the men refuse to budge. Is it what Indian culture teaches us? 

There is a 100 ft road proposed near our house. The only issue it it was proposed more than 5 years ago. Perhaps the local administration is waiting for divine intervention, they have heard the proverb: Man proposes, god disposes.

The mantralaya (government building for state ministers and bureaucrats) caught fire last week, but no one attempted to put out the fire. That reminds of the incident in history some 200 years ago, here in Pune, where the palace Shaniwar wada of Peshwa Bajirao II was burning and no one attempted to put it out. Perhaps they had lost faith in the sanctity of the office of the peshwa.   It made no difference in a state of utter lawlessness.

Khap panchayats are killing people in the name of caste and the law is looking the other way.People are killing the girl child in fear of dowry. What kind of institutions are these, that do not change in the 21st century?


Today, a significant percentage of our population lives below the bare minimum standard of living. What is a bigger crime for a society than not being able to provide the minimum food and clothing to its citizens? More than 60 years after independence, the government machinery is such a shamble that babus and netas are not ready to think beyond their own pockets. And that too when a significant portion of the food produce gets wasted because of inadequate storage facilities. Inefficiency, lethargy, despondency...

Today's episode of Aamir Khan's Satyameva Jayate was absolutely heart wrenching. The plight of dalits, especially those that pick up "night soil", has not changed since the last 100 years. The caste system which stiffles equal opportunity for all. 

Its time we came out of the hypocrisy of substituting everything the strong grip of traditional forces. Times have changed drastically. We need to adopt to the new world. The Industrial revolution put us back for 300 years, if we do not wake up now, the coming centuries may also go by in the same way!

Har Har Mahadev!

The great Shivaji maharaj needs no introduction , especially for a marathi person. We have heard and read a lot about Shivaji in history books, in Babasheb Purandare's lectures, in several blogs on the internet. I read the book Shriman yogi recently , and  was spellbound. Sriman Yogi, although relatively new to me, is really an old novel by Ranjeet Desai. Desai's strength is his dramatic language (rather than his knowledge of history) which touches your heart and transports you back in time to the very scenes the battles. Very less information is available about those times, and the author has painstakingly rebuilt the characters from "bakhars" (political accounts written by special writers of those times) of Marathas, Englishmen, Moghals,  and other research already done on the topic. Often the bakhars are heavily influenced by the writers, their limited knowledge of the political situation, and the natural human tendency to exaggerate. Desai has made an attempt to weave the complete story, right from his birth to the his "mahanirwana". What makes the novel "unputdownable" is the dialogues and the fast place (despite its 1000 pages) making it more exciting that a Frederick Forsyth thriller. Desai uses his skill and experience as an accomplished novelist fully, and that makes it stand out from other drab commentaries that perhaps only history students will be able to digest. The scenes of killing of Afzalkhan, the attack on Shaistekhan, battle of ghodkhind, escape from agra are still flashing in front of my eyes.

Shivaji stands out from other kings (especially the rapacious Mughals who looted their subjects and built lofty monuments, tretaed enemy captives in the most inhuman way and sold enemy women as slaves) in his vision to build a Swaraj (on the model of 'Ramrajya') where the subjects could live a life of dignity. He not only freed the territory from the clutches of the Mughlas, but also established an efficient governance and tax system. He abolished watandars, so that the revenue came directly to the crown and there were no middlemen to pockets commissions. He built a strong navy and forts like Sindhudurg to protect the kingdom from foreigners like Portuguese and English. He himself lived a frugal lifestyle. Crimes were punishable with heavy penalties, often severing hands and limbs and the dignity of women was never compromised. He employed the best people for the job and nepotism was totally discouraged. Everyone was free to practice his own religion. He pardoned his enemies and often built successful partnerships with them. He knew of his limitations (his kingdom and army were a fraction of the mughals) and therefore awas cautious in his ventures. In the style of "phantom rough on roughnecks", he dealt with treacherous people in their own language , but never compromising on principles. He had many muslims in his employment, sardars like siddhi hilal. Shivaji had probably never read Chanakya, but he practiced the principles thoroughly. Shivaji's ahered to dharma (dharma means principles, not religion) . Saints like Samartha Ramdas Swami has written words of great praise for Shivaji, describing him as a "Shrimant yogi"

In some ways it reminds of the jargon we use today in the corporate world today. Vision, Mission, values..institution building .. Swot analysis.. Professional attitudes, employee empowerment? Probably Shivaji would have been a very successful CEO in today's world.

The book succeeds in one more way in that it kindles your curiosity to look for more information and that led me to the book Sambhaji by vishwas Patil.Sambhaji is often projected as a villain engrossed in wine and women. But do we know that after Shivaji's death, Sambhaji defended the Maratha empire for nine long years, at a time when Aurangazeb himself came to deccan with an army of around half a million, which was more than three times the Maratha Army? While Sambhaji's rebellion against his father is well known, what is not is that he was probably driven to this situation by his step mother Soyarabi(mother of Shivaji's second son Rajaram, who was very young at the time of Shivaji's death) and some of Shivaji's ashtapradhan (council of ministers). AfterS hivaji's death in 1680 (speculated to be due to poisoning by Soyrabai) Sambhaji successfully overcame the rebellion against him with the help of Maratha army commander Hambirrao Mohite. Incidently Soyrabai was Hambirrao's sister
but he did not let the relation cloud his judgement. Sambhaji later sentenced the rebels Annaji Datto and Hiroji Farjad (his uncle, Shahaji's illegitimate child) to death. Sambhaji was a poet and an emotional person which sometimes against him, because being emotional is not useful in poltics.

Aurangazeb had come to the south (i.e south of Narmada) with an intention to defeat Sambhaji within a year. But he eventually had to stay there for 27 long years (See : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_War_of_Independence ) . Shivaji's great contribution was in reinstating the Maratha pride in the minds of the people and creating the institutional framework that lasted long after his death. Sambhaji fought for nine years. After his capture, people continued to fight, in whatever way they could. In the end aurangazeb died a sad man, having spent all his money and effort fighting a small kingdom, which refused to quit. The Mughal empire practically vanished after his death and the sun of the Maratha empire rose.

The recent marathi movie 'Mi Shivaji Raje bhosale boltoy" seeks to rekindle the lost marathi bana of the present days Marathas. It is the story of a Bhosale kulwant - Dinkarrao Bhosale (played by Sachin Khedekar) who is frustrated by his own and the situation of maharashtrians in general. He laments that maharashtrians have fallen behind others in all spheres of life and lead a life of misery and disrespect. they are nowhere in the business and political circles. Shivaji maharaj (played by Director Mahesh Manjrekar himself) comes back to earth and exhorts Dinkarrao to remember the golden days when the marathas had the throne of delhi under their belt (or sword if u may say ).
An interesting movie.

Har Har Mahadev!