Mardaani 2- a Review

Not many films are made involving serious crime detection. This one is an exception, and also because it has a female protagonist at the helm of affairs. What starts out as a rape case turns out to have many twists, including a 'supari' (hired) assassin, who is inured to crime, and thinks nothing of either killing, or raping, and is extremely creative, and daring.

His identity is revealed at the beginning, so it's the cat and mouse game between him and the female cop that sustains interest. Alfred Hitchcock used this approach successfully in his films- focus on the how he got caught rather than on Who did it.

It works, because the film is gripping. I had only one small problem. The protagonist relied too much on her hunches, and did not give enough thought to where the killer could be found when some signs pointed towards her immediate surroundings. No mention of any fingerprints, surprisingly, when they may have helped solve the crime much earlier.

The acting is good, on both sides. The direction by Gopi Puthran, even better.

Soaring Temp and Elmore Leonard as Antidote

The temperature is rocketing to hitherto unknown heights. Apparently Delhi touched 46 degrees- boy, I am glad I am not there. But Indore is at an audacious 43 too, reminding one of Nagpur, and Ramagundam from the good old days. I hear the new capital of Seemandhra will be an equally hot Guntur.

I read a book called "Be Cool," by Elmore Leonard, to survive the heat. And survived, and enjoyed the book. It is a twist on a whodunit, with a movie producer watching things happen, and wanting to make a movie around those things that happen. Quite a lot happens- a murder by a wig-wearing Russian, a wannabe singer who makes it big after escaping from the clutches of a small-time manager into the hero's hands, a Samoan body-guard who specialises in throwing people off high-rises and wants to act in films, a botched murder of the killer who is waiting to kill the hero, and yet another one of that  murderer.

The characters are interesting, the pace is good, and the atmosphere is built up well. Reminded me of the James Hadley Chase days. Though I don't chase him too often nowadays.

Jail Bharo Andolan (Fill the Jail Revolution)

Sometimes I get  the idea after watching the mainstream media (or is it 'mainSCREAM'  media?) that our national objective is to jail as many people as possible. So, in line with this new objective, I propose that we invent new 'crimes' that will be treated as non-bailable offences. We can then cancel all mid-day meal and employment guarantee programs, because everyone (eventually) will be in jail either as a criminal or as a jailer watching over that criminal. The new list of crimes would include (the list is suggestive, not exhaustive)-

1. Being unemployed
2. Being sick
3. Having a terminal disease
4. Not being able to afford medicines
5. Being married
6. Having children
7. Being a journalist (ha, ha)
8. Being unmarried
9. Being a Facebook user
and
10. Being a blogger.

Chow. See you at lunch in a jail near you.

Arresting Stuff

Arresting has many meanings. But the one meaning that's become popular these days refers to the thing that cops do to you. Used to be that we thought arrests are for crimes such as murder, rape, burglary, and what have you. Or at least cheating. But no. Events are proving how outdated we are. Like with everything else, arrests have evolved.

Now, if I don't like your face (book) I can have you arrested. And the cops are only too happy. I empathise with them too. Who would want to be in the company of cheaters and murderers all day, every day? They also deserve to spend some time with nice folks such as you and me (an important assumption is being made, I know).

But what beats me (an avid mystery reader at that), is this. How did the non-friends find out what was meant for the eyes of 'friends' only? Can anyone solve this mystery for me, please?

Independence and Us

What is it that we should seek independence from? Here are a few possibilities.

Ignorance

Greed

Nepotism

Fraud

Crime

Grime

Guilt

Low self-esteem

Cowardice in thought, action

Discrimination

Exploiting others

Insulting behaviour.

I know it's a long list, but we have been at it for a few years, if we are able to read this.

Raving and Ranting

There is a rave party going on, with everyone raving about how cool (not temperature-related coolness, but fitting-in type) it is. No global warming warnings can affect them. But all of a sudden, a police squad swoops down on this group of cool dudes, and they end up in the cooler. How cool can you get? Now, you feel pretty cool (not temperature, but feelings-related) towards the organiser, and everything to do with the rave.

Now, blowing hot or cold about it is not really my cup of (hot) tea, but what I would really like to know if the amount of time and effort that law-enforcers spend on turning on the heat on these raving lunatics (according to the enforcers) cannot be spent on something more worthwhile, like reducing petty crime from the streets of whichever city. Burglary, Chain snatching, petrol-stealing (that's a new one) or even not following stop signs on traffic lights, can actually harm common citizenry far more, and may be worth doing more of. Particularly when resources are limited. In general, I think every one should ask himself this question about his time- am I making the best possible use of it?

Anyway, to slightly twist the words from The Charge of the Light Brigade, I suppose,

Ours not to reason why,
Ours but to to rant and cry.

Jai Scandinavistan

There is a new book on the bookshelves. It's called 'Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan', and it's a a rather gory whodunit with bodies being barbecued in a tandoor and so on. But what is novel about the novel is it is a takeoff on all things Indian- and a few things Swedish/Scandinavian.

Set in Gothenberg, now renamed Gautampuri, it has a Sweden that functions like India, because it is an Indian colony, with chai shops, idli joints, Dr. Ambedkar University, and the like- the Red Tape too. Wonderful takeoffs on India abound throughout, which actually become a sub-plot. So we have a hero called Philumappa Ishtarjee shooting his potboiler in the middle of the investigations, near the scene of an actual crime. There is also an ashram with a nudist population brainwashed by a guru, and a non-violence class for the cops which teaches them Buddhist meditation as well.

The winters have actually turned warm and snow-less, due to global warming, and sand blows in to the town now and then. Autorickshaws are a common mode of public transport. The streets at night are full of violent teenagers, and streetwalkers and their customers, who include the police chief.

The scenario the Swedish author paints is like a black comedy, rather than a classical whodunit. Very interesting and satirical. The hero is Swedish and the heroine, Kumkum, an Indian, like the gori-mem and native Indian romances in British India- in reverse.