Life of Pi

This film explores the most difficult concept with the child like curiosity and succeeds completely. Everyone must watch it and reflect about it for some days if not for months. Watching it itself an experience of great importance.

Hero’s father is a rationalist, mother a devotee of Vishnu, and his elder brother is a normal guy. But he is a seeker of different realm. Hero’s original name is Piscine Molitor Patel, since friends in the school nick name him as pissing Patel, to avoid further humiliation and ridicule he renames him as Pi, and gives a convincing mathematical explanation. This act alone defines his character, not running away from the problem but encountering it with creative solution.

He is a real chip of his father. His dad avoids all religions, and he falls in love with all religions. The only way to experience the reality is either reject all believe system or embrace all. Wearing just one glass will make us color blind.

The real drama is displayed, when the ship wreck happens, Pi is the lone survivor, after the 227 days ordeal in the ocean. How did he survive is the main story of the film.

In fact, he narrates two stories to a writer. One is shown to the viewer, where he along with the tiger, spotted hyena, an injured zebra, and an orangutan. Hyena kills the zebra and orangutan, and the tiger kills the hyena. Finally he is left with tiger that is waiting to kill him for food, and he has to safe guard himself from the hungry tiger and the furious ocean. This is story of love, courage, intelligence, compassion and above all hope.

The second story, that he literally narrates and not shown as visual, takes place and gets over within 5 minutes. It is a normal ship wreck story where a decent human being learned to do the barbaric deeds for the sake of his survival, that is kill rather getting killed and consume the human flesh to continue to live. Four people are in the life boat – Pi, cook, sailor with broken leg, and Pi’s mother. The cook allows the sailor to die of injury, and then kills the mother when he tries to kill Pi, Pi accidentally kills the cook, then consumes for his survival.

Both stories have many things in common – there is a ship wreck, the hero loses all things and all his family members, suffers for 227 days and survives and both stories do not answer why the ship wreck took place.

After the narration of both stories, he asks the writer (also the viewer), which story do you want to believe? The writer answers that he like the first story, and the hero says that is the way to find god.

Events and facts are meaningless; it is the interpretation what matters. How do we see the life? Is it a story of love, compassion, courage, intelligence and hope or is it story of survival of fittest and dog eats dog narrative?

God lives in the interpretation and not in events and facts.

If you do not like the theological undercurrent of the film, do not worry, the visuals are breath taking, so you will not regret watching it.

Spring summer fall winter and spring

I wanted to watch this film from the time I heard about it, but could not get it with English subtitle. Watching a film without understanding what is spoken is a dangerous endeavour, glorious misunderstanding happens by default.

When I was studying at 5 std, I watched the film “Sholey” without knowing Hindi, and mistook gabber singh for a Naxalite, the guy without hands as the villain, the exploiter of the people (what to do, police has such a reputation), Dharmandera as the comedian and Amitab as the deaf and mute, then narrated the story to my friends. They believed since they did not the film. How true is the statement - among the blind, one eyed becomes the king.

That time on wards I decided not to watch a film if I do not know the language. Finally I could get the copy of the film with subtitles.

The Movie is a Visual treat. It touches your heart effortlessly. A soul searching film with the aesthetic of high order. Symbols abound, and the interpretation is left to the Viewer. The film is like a poem, leaves you to come up with your own meaning. The director narrates the story without any imposing anything. No beginning, No end everything is Cyclical.

Life is being explored with different Seasons. Every season has its own pleasure and pain. Joy produces pain for others, Lust produces pain for the self, Attachment produces pain for all, and Wisdom produces Compassion and the end.

Life is the hero; Time and change are the villains and Friends. We constantly live in the Twilight Zone, Can move towards light or dark. Neither darkness is familiar nor the light, Yet we have to make the choice. But take the responsibility and Pay the price, explanation, Justification are waste of time and energy.

Having a master is not enough; he can guide but can't live our life. The tragedy of life is that Wisdom flowers only after the experience. Going through the hell and heaven is the only way to go beyond them. A true master allows us to be in hell with compassion and in heaven with understanding. He never gives up the hope in us, even if we have given it up in the film, In the first Spring, the child ties a fish frog, Snake with a Stone. In the second Spring, the child feeds fish, a frog, and a snake with a Stone. Cruelty Increases with each new generation. What is not shown is that Mastery too increases with each new generation.

Don't miss this movie. If you don't know Korean, make sure that you get the film with Subtitles. 

Black Swan

It was advertised as a psychological thriller, I had purchased the DVD long back, was waiting for the right time to watch the film. It was worth the wait. Brilliant story that deals with the psychology of perfection and achievement motivation. At the present day, when the achievement motivation is on rise and the world more complex and globalized, a film of this kind act as a warning signal. it deals with the peril of innocence when it meets the desperate desire for perfection and competition.

Innocence and corruption are two poles of a spectrum. What happens when one has to display both to win the race?

Nina’s mother is a failed dancer, like most of the parents she wants her daughter to succeed where she failed. At the same time, she wants her daughter to always remember the sacrifice she had made for her. So Nina seeks perfection in all she does especially in dance. Her role model is Beth, the reigning super star, who has perfected the dance of swan queen. The time changes and Nina is selected to play the main character. Beth who is the symbol of perfection and glory for Nina, is devastated and attempts to commit suicide, but survives the attempt and lives a miserable life.

The dilemma in front of Nina is: if I do not succeed I will be like my mother who sees herself as a failure and lives a life of misery. If I succeed like Beth, one day I too will lose the top position and live miserably like Beth. If you succeed you are doomed, if you fail you are doomed. Classical case of catch-22.

What a way to look at life, pessimism at its best. The mind is hard wired to notice negative things, since it helps us to avoid danger and ensures our survival. But when it is out of control, life can become a torture. If you enjoy, you feel guilty. If you are miserable, you feel bad. Nina has to play the role of swan Queen in the play. And the swan queen too faces this dilemma, and swan queen solves the problem by embracing death. Does Nina too follow the same fate? Director ends the film in a most ambiguous manner, letting viewer to conclude the story.

Angel Heart

Few movies disturb you, and linger around the mind for a long time. Without a question, Angel Heart is one of them. Keep away from the film if you are addicted to happy ending and can’t stomach hard hitting realities – blood, murder, incest, betrayal. It is a supernatural thriller with a gripping story line. Symbolism is used to the hilt. Every scene is open to multiple levels of interpretation.

It is not a new film, I happened to view it recently by chance. Performance by all actors is top notch, in a way everyone has lived his or her character. It is a dark film and deals with the dark side of us.

Our good intensions are often colored by primal forces. Good person is the one who is not aware of his dark side just like the evil person who is not aware of his good side. At the right moments, at the right place one is capable of doing anything – act of great sacrifice, cannibalism, incest etc...

Soul is used as a symbol of one’s own interior positive self. We know not the importance of its presence till we lose it. Once we lose it, we try our best to redeem it. Since short cut is what we seek to achieve our most cherished goal – power, fame and glory -, we invariably seek redemption too in short-cut. In that process, we complicate our life to the extent we know not who we are and what to do, in utter confusion we swallow and swallowed by our miseries, sorrow and self-pity.

If you are weak hearted, afraid of dark do not watch this film.

The Iron Lady

Simplicity is the beauty of this film. Starts with the hallucination of Margaret Thatcher in her old age. She instructs and corrects her husband who is no more in this world. The director mingles her present with her past brilliantly. She redeems her present with the memories of the past, just like John Nash used his logical thinking to overcome his hallucinations.

The film is narrated in a non-linear style. It is in the form of flash-back mode. The critical incidents that shaped the life and the leadership style of Thatcher are breath taking.  Intelligently chosen events tells us the story convincingly.

It is always the unique talents which separate a person from others elevate her/him to the leadership position. It is these talents which attract other people to support her/him. At the same time it is these very talents which bring her/him down eventually. Every talent and strategy comes with an expiry date. Unless a leader is aware of this predicament, she/he will live longer only to become villains.

Thatcher was a woman of great substance and conviction. Her fresh and bold approach to the ailing Brittan brings hope and a sense of purpose to the people of that nation. Her no-nonsense style of taking decisions makes her the only man in the parliament. The journey to the top was smooth and fast in spite she being the only woman among the elected representatives. As she produces results, critics take back seat, and she moves from being bold to bolder and boldest. Then the inevitable takes place, her strength becomes her weakness. And like most of the high achievers, she too fails to notice the dissent among her loyal supporters.

It is an irony; when something does not work, we repeat the same approach harder and longer, blissfully closing our eyes and heart to different alternatives. Thus Thatcher’s glorious era come to an abrupt end.

The film is a must for every aspiring leader in any realm of life.

Pirates of the Caribbean: the curse of the black pearl

The movie belongs to the mythological genre. Myths are not factual but they are real. It does not deal with facts but it deals with truth. Myths bring out the deeper meaning and the collective archetypes controlling us.

Let me just highlight two myths which are prominently present in the movie.

Myth 1: Girls in general love bad guys. And it usually applies to good looking girls. Elizebeth Swann loves the pirate William Turner and not the well groomed and high achiever Norrington. Historically there are many examples, in recent history – Manthagini’s relationship with Dawood, one law student (girl) who played a key role in the escape of Charles Chopraj etc. Now the million dollar question: Why do beautiful girls get attracted to rogues and gangsters? May be they are more interesting? The good guys are boring and monotonous. May be the risks involved? May be the raw energy they exhibit? Or May be the need for protection? When we were living in the forest, It is the macho man (usually bad guys, good guys go to library not to gym) who could protect women from others . The same instinct might be active in this phenomenon too. There is no conclusive answer; if you are not a rogue and have a girl friend, then you need to live in the constant fear of losing her. The tragedy is that good girls like bad guys and bad girls also like bad guys (Femininist should not take it seriously, take it as a joke - may be a sick joke). Or the other simple solution is that good guys must become priests (There are many ashrams in the country)

Myth 2: The curse of Aztec gold. It is the myth about greed and the effect of greed then the greed to overcome the greed. The curse of Aztec gold is insightful. You can buy anything you want – food, drink, and women – but can’t drive pleasure from any of those. Nothing can kill you, though you can kill anyone, in brief you have ultimate power but you can’t taste the fruit of the victory.

This is the irony of life. The movie is the analogy of power and greed. If you are obsessed with them, then life becomes a curse. Immortality is not a blessing it is a curse. The purpose of life is death; it means that the glory and crescendo of life is death.

Greed and desire for ultimate power kill life and death with one shot, leaving you to survive in eternal boredom. Boredom is the result of losing the ability to enjoy things which excited you once upon a time. Only the memory of the past happiness lingers around, and the ability to experience the reality is vanished into the thin air.

Misery without the memory of happiness will not be miserable at all. What makes the misery more miserable is the fact the other poor mortals are happy and I have lost it even though I have everything.

American Beauty

The movie is situated around the life of present middle class Americans. But the message is universal and it is presented without any compromise.

The film brings home the eternal truth that looking closer at the ordinary things brings in the extraordinary experience. Meaning of relationship emerges in the acts of betrayals, and the essence of the life is tasted at the door steps of death.

‘Metanoia’ (change of heart) is the theme of the film. Each character is entangled in the given relationship and tolerates one another for the sake of social status. This film is not for a person who gets shocked seeing the reality in its original form without any makeup. Try to go beyond what you see on the screen. Music is top notch, and movie is filled with symbolism.

The feeling ‘rejection’ is dealt with authenticity. The extent it changes human behavior and to the extent one is willing to make sacrifice to prove to oneself that one is wanted are highlighted powerfully.

When a person truly immerses with the life force, he becomes incapable of hating others. He becomes so sensitive that he understands not only what is conveyed but also the silence that accompanies.

It is a strange love story, which breaks every rule and formula of love stories ever told.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Life style of upper middle class youth of our country is pasteurized well in this film. Three friends– Kabir, Arjun and Imran – and their interactions with Laila and Natasha form the backbone of the film.

Kabir stands for the Epimethean spirit of temperament – duty, loyalty and belonging - willing to sacrifice personal choice for the sake of others.

Imran portraits the Dionysian temperament – fun, humor, joy- live dangerously but have fun at all time. Every humorous person is covering up some personal tragedy. They are seen as fun loving persons without any serious outlook in life, but the truth is they are the most serious people; they have masked their serious issues with jokes and humor. Humor is the only way through which they can relate and tolerate the tragic nature of life. Funny guys are actually crying through laughter.

Arjun is Promethean in every sense of the word – feels the world has wronged against him, he is out there to prove a point, it is money you value, let me have it more than you can dream of. He is the over achiever, willing to let go relationships for the sake of success in his career.

Their friendship is not like the veer and jay of sholay – who are willing to kill or to die for the sake of friendship- it is a modern day friendship – it is OK to fall in love with the friend’s girl friend. They care for one another in a practical manner, idealism is kept far away, their relationship is fragile yet strong, betrayal is present yet loyalty overrides the equation.

The film is a journey of these three friends with different temperament discovering the need of opposite side of their temperament, in order to reach the required balance in their life. The film agrees with the dictum of Buddha, “Virtue lies in the middle.”

The statement, “Live in the present” is promoted in the film. But one has to take it with care and concern. Living only in the present, can be dangerous. It is also the core of criminals’ and drug addicts’ personality structure. One need to sincerely plan for the future, but should not be obsessed with it. Not at all worrying about future and past will eventually land you up in a prison or in some kind of asylum.

Delhi Belly

Erotic comedy is a well known genre in Hollywood movies, but toilet comedy is a very rare phenomena. People were not sure whether toilet comedies will be appreciated or it will create repulsive reaction. Seeing the response this movie is receiving, it is clear that public has truly moved far away from Victorian morality code – toilet is too personal for the public display or discussion. That is the words like bullshit could not be used in the academic circle, to protect the sanctity of the place, even though it is used freely in day to day language, anyway now we are coming of age as human beings.

Sigmund Freud had long back analyzed the importance of toilet training in his personality development theory. According to him, this stage plays important role in defining a person either to become orderly or chaotic, generous or stingy.

Delhi Belly breaks the myth that a film must have strong story line. It just takes one event and narrates its implications in the life of 3 youngsters. Toilet plays a major role in the film, and it is the mover and shaker of the story. Basically it is a David Dhawan type of film - feel good film- but told in a background of modern life with post modern approach to film making. The best thing about the movie is that audiences somehow connect with the film fully.

Even though toilet is a main aspect of human life, for long we shied away from discussing about it in the living room, now Amir has done it in a style.

I AM

It is a hard hitting movie and deals with issues we are cautious and embarrassed to discuss in public. We believe in the dictum that by closing our eyes, things will get sorted out by themselves. Modern problems are diagnosed with guts and dignity; the director should be saluted for highlighting the disturbing realities. Four characters, four stories, and four issues tied together with theme called betrayal and the personal journey called ‘identity formation’.

The movie can be analyzed from many perspectives; let me look at it from “the perspective of betrayal”.

Nandita Das: Betrayed by her husband falls into the trap of hating male species. Unusual encounter with a sperm donor brings her back to the reality and truly feels at ease with her identity.

Ethical Issue: artificial insemination

Juhi Chawla: Betrayed by the silence of neighbors, her family was forced to migrate from Kashmir. Martin Luther King said, “What we remember is not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends”.  Few days in Kashmir with her childhood friend reopens the old wound and heightens the frustration and anger, the interaction eventually helps her to reconcile and find her true self.

Ethical Issue: Terrorism

Sanjay Suri: Betrayed by the step father, becomes the victim of guilt and shame. Not able to share the issue with mother, shelters at Bangalore. Understanding and the support of his girl friend, helps him to face his mother and discusses the issue with great maturity.

Ethical Issue: Pedophilia

Rahul Bose: Betrayed by a gay partner and the police system, experiences helplessness, humiliation and anger. Pays the heavy price for hiding his sexual orientation, and reconciles with the reality and self.

Ethical Issue: Homosexuality

Journey towards identity formation is not a bed of roses but full of thorns (borrowed phrase). If we do not run away, the fire of betrayal melts false ego, the mask and reveals our identity.

All of us at some point of time might have been betrayed and also might have betrayed. We should be grateful to the people who have betrayed us; they are the devils’ advocates who take us closer to truth. Holding on to anger will betray their courageous act of betrayal. And at the same time, there is no need to burden ourselves with guilt and shame when we betray others; in fact we are waking them up from the slumber of illusion.

Up In the Aire



The movie has the backdrop of downsizing of corporate America. Main character, who prides himself of being alone, makes living by helping corporate to fire people efficiently and gently.

There is a young girl (of present generation), who believes in relationship, and who had made major sacrifices for the sake of relationship, finds herself dumped by her boy friend, yet continue to believe in relationship. But bit confused.

There is a middle aged man (of previous generation, most likely my generation) who gives damn about relationships (blood or water makes no difference), who avoids permanent commitment by all means. He meets a lady who has similar values, and falls in love. Then of course he finds himself kind of cheated because the lady is already married. He falls back to square number one, but bit confused.

What is relationship? Is it an avoidance of being alone? Is it a processes self discovery? Or finding completeness? Or exploring meaningfulness?

Just like life, the film gives no answers.

Life is a mapless territory. Promoted destinations invariably bring in disappointments.

Keep travelling, you may find the goal or you will get used to the journey. Life is a win-win situation, if we do not try hard to complicate it.

As Richard Bhandler points out “suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem”.

7 Khoon Maaf

It is a psychological thriller. It explores the dark side of female psyche. The film puts forward a progressive message, “Killing is much easier and more convenient than getting divorce". May God help the married!!!

The movie is disturbing, frustrating and above all frightening for the men folk, but for the women it is exciting, enriching and above all empowering.

I recommend the movie to one and all.

If you are happy then go and see this film, your happiness will be evaporated within no time. If you are sad, then also watch the movie, your sorrow will be nothing in comparison to watching the film.

I took 7 days to watch the film, each day I could stand only one husband getting killed.

All men must watch the film, since it's your life that is at stake. All women must see it along with their men; you will be thrilled and surprised seeing fear on the face of your man. If he quarrels with you latter, all you need to do is quote some dialogues from the movie.

If you dislike someone recommend this movie to him, if you positively hate someone then buy the DVD and gift it to him. You can’t think of a better revenge as of now.

After seeing the movie I was happy that I have made the right choice in becoming a priest.

Some reflections on the film:

When expectations are thwarted

Hope gets shattered – and

Betrayal is gifted

Innocence will be poisoned - and

An insatiable monster will come alive.

The basic substance of

Smile and cry

Fear and anger

Love and hate

Misery and merry

Unity and division

Is one and the same.

If one is frozen

The other blossoms with vengeance