"Only when the last tree has died, and the last river has been poisoned…will we realize that we cannot eat money".
It's a Cree Indian prophecy. I felt like crying the first time I read it. Perhaps because somewhere deep within, I accepted the truth in it. If there are any lessons to be learnt from the Kyoto protocol and the Bali convention, it is this: We are not going to stop polluting.
You can blame the US government for throwing the spanner in the works time and again, but there is not much hope from the regulatory side. The automobile and oil & gas companies lobby in the US is extremely powerful. Too powerful to allow any radical changes in regulation. It is the average US citizen who can rise to the occasion. The per capita CO2 emission in US is an astounding 23 tonnes! Even UK is less than half at 11 tonnes. India and China are piddly comparisons at 1.7 tonnes and 3.1 tonnes respectively. Even if you consider the top 10% population of India, who earn more than 30k per month, the figure comes to just 5 tonnes. I remember Bill Bryson taunting the nonchalant attitude of the Americans in "Lost Continent": I read once that it takes 75,000 trees to produce one issue of the Sunday New York Times – and it's well worth every trembling leaf. So what if our grandchildren have no oxygen to breathe? F**k 'em." If you want to get more depressed, read this.
Its high time we stopped. We have perhaps another ten more years. The only way is to cut down our consumption. I share Arthur C. Clarke's 90th birthday wish, that mankind reduces its dependence on oil and moves to renewable sources of energy. If this does not happen in another ten years, then I am going to follow my friends advice. Buy a house in Kodaikanal, and by the time of retirement, it will be a prime seaside property.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Dus Kahaniyan - Better read Dahl or O Henry
The problem with Dus Kahaniyan is that Sanjay Gupta tries to pack 10 stories, most with a twist in the tale, in a short duration of 2 hours. The tales are narrated in a stand alone style, with no common thread running around all the ten. For most stories, before you start comprehending the plot, and enjoying it, you are through with it. The director gives you little time to think, or form judgements, which are so crucial for tales of such genre.
The first story is a copy of Roald Dahl’s "Ms Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat". If you have read the story before, you would be highly disappointed. Mandira Bedi’s character is a far cry from Ms Bixby’s, who is a thoroughly scheming, conceited and sly wife of a seeminly innocent husband. Thats why the "Serves you right" twist is lost somewhere. If you havent read the story before, its an average entertainer. The plot saves the weak direction. The second story, "High on the Highway", reminded me of something that I watched on TV a long time back. I think the pathos in this story was lost because of the short duration of the story, and also because you have an idea of things to come. The character, played by Jimmy Shergill is a thorough hippy, compared to the one on TV, who was an intellectual with perhaps too much of idealism. The sad part of the story is that it fails to instil the sense of tragedy or helplessness that it should have. The two stories that I would rank at the bottom are "Lovedale" and "Sex on the beach". The former is like a music video, and the plot is not the least convincing. The story is something that would have been repeated a thousand times in magazines like "Grah Shobha". The acting also is horribly below par. As far as "Sex on the beach" is concerned, it is meant to be a horror story. But the horror never comes. You wait endlessly for a "jump in the seat" moment, but you just keep waiting. The start is promising, with Dino writing his name in an enigmatic book, but the story just fizzles out. In fact, the only three stories that are "paisa vasool" are "Zahir", "Puranmashi" and "Rice plate". The first has an outstanding shock value, and has the characteristic black humour of Dahl. It somehow reminded me of "The Visitor". Both Manoj Bajpai & Diya Mirza have acted well and you are able to relate with their characters. I liked "Puranmashi" for the simple reason that it had a rural flavor to it, something that would bring forth the memories of "Ek chadar maili si". The story is indeed poignant, and you wish it was shot over a longer duration. Amrita Singh acts well, and I would have loved to see more of the relationship between the daughter & mother. "Rice Plate" is supposed to be inspired from an oscar winning movie. But irrespective of that, the story is well directed and succeeds in communicating its message. "Gubbare" is somewhere in between. The story is predictable, but something saves it. Probably Nana Patekar’s acting, or maybe the last shots, which do convey a sense of loneliness.
To sum it up, you can go and watch Das Kahaniyan for the three stories. But keep your expectations low. The movie reminded me of "Katha Sagar", which used to make on-screen dramatizations of popular short stories from all over the world. But the execution in the case of "Katha Sagar" was better, and that made me thinking...isnt it a better idea to watch these stories as stand alone episodes on TV?
The first story is a copy of Roald Dahl’s "Ms Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat". If you have read the story before, you would be highly disappointed. Mandira Bedi’s character is a far cry from Ms Bixby’s, who is a thoroughly scheming, conceited and sly wife of a seeminly innocent husband. Thats why the "Serves you right" twist is lost somewhere. If you havent read the story before, its an average entertainer. The plot saves the weak direction. The second story, "High on the Highway", reminded me of something that I watched on TV a long time back. I think the pathos in this story was lost because of the short duration of the story, and also because you have an idea of things to come. The character, played by Jimmy Shergill is a thorough hippy, compared to the one on TV, who was an intellectual with perhaps too much of idealism. The sad part of the story is that it fails to instil the sense of tragedy or helplessness that it should have. The two stories that I would rank at the bottom are "Lovedale" and "Sex on the beach". The former is like a music video, and the plot is not the least convincing. The story is something that would have been repeated a thousand times in magazines like "Grah Shobha". The acting also is horribly below par. As far as "Sex on the beach" is concerned, it is meant to be a horror story. But the horror never comes. You wait endlessly for a "jump in the seat" moment, but you just keep waiting. The start is promising, with Dino writing his name in an enigmatic book, but the story just fizzles out. In fact, the only three stories that are "paisa vasool" are "Zahir", "Puranmashi" and "Rice plate". The first has an outstanding shock value, and has the characteristic black humour of Dahl. It somehow reminded me of "The Visitor". Both Manoj Bajpai & Diya Mirza have acted well and you are able to relate with their characters. I liked "Puranmashi" for the simple reason that it had a rural flavor to it, something that would bring forth the memories of "Ek chadar maili si". The story is indeed poignant, and you wish it was shot over a longer duration. Amrita Singh acts well, and I would have loved to see more of the relationship between the daughter & mother. "Rice Plate" is supposed to be inspired from an oscar winning movie. But irrespective of that, the story is well directed and succeeds in communicating its message. "Gubbare" is somewhere in between. The story is predictable, but something saves it. Probably Nana Patekar’s acting, or maybe the last shots, which do convey a sense of loneliness.
To sum it up, you can go and watch Das Kahaniyan for the three stories. But keep your expectations low. The movie reminded me of "Katha Sagar", which used to make on-screen dramatizations of popular short stories from all over the world. But the execution in the case of "Katha Sagar" was better, and that made me thinking...isnt it a better idea to watch these stories as stand alone episodes on TV?
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