Ghalib in New Delhi- Play Review

 Reminded me of Adrak ke Panje by Babban Khan. That was in the 70s. I think Sayeed Alam acted as Ghalib. He was brilliant. Ghalib takes birth again in Modern Delhi, is the basic storyline. He asks God to give him rebirth in either Varanasi or Delhi. God says there is already a tough guy with a beard in Varanasi. So he sends him to Delhi.

It is full of jokes about politics, society, education, corruption, language and everything in between. And includes all that is happening, therefore topical and relatable. 

The best jokes were about Galgotias University, which was in the news recently. Also about Kejriwal, whose contribution was to give khaansi (cough) to the whole of Delhi.. and as a result, the IQ of Delhi went up (a joke about the current CM, who doesn't know the difference between AQI and IQ). 

Also, many jokes about Kangana, Language deterioration, Haryanvis, Gurgaon, Yamuna-paar Dilliwasis, Modi's travels, Chara ghotala of Lalu Yadav, removal of Mughals from history books, and so on.

He says, If Kapil Dev can learn English, anyone can.. 

It's in the form of 5-6 skits, including Ghalib's encounters with a paanwali, a drunk, two taxi/auto drivers, a Punjabi landlady (with jokes about Punjabis included), a police constable who thinks he's a terrorist, and a couple of ad agency executives who try designing a campaign to make him famous- through photoshoots with Mallika Sherawat or Kareena Kapoor.  Very engaging, a laugh a minute. Political and social satire at its best!

The Wall of Kejri

There are all kinds of walls. Mythical, historical, religious, virtual, ....

According to Wikipedia, Hadrian's Wall 'was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain, begun in AD 122 during the rule of emperor Hadrian'.

The Great Wall of China is a historic wall, and you can take a walk, albeit a long one, on some parts of it. We saw some of it in Chandni Chowk to China, the film with two Deepikas.

There is a sacred wall called the Western Wall in Jerusalem, sometimes called the Wailing Wall.

I have a wall (or two) of brick and mortar and also one that has neither brick nor mortar- and you probably do too- on facebook.

Then there are political walls- Kejri is one of those!

Zed Plus- Film Review

I like films that are rooted in our milieu, whether they are potboilers or realistic. This one falls into the latter category, and is a very smartly written film- more than I can say for a lot of films (either category). This one reminded me a lot of Peepli Live, but this one is actually better, I think.

A common man's life turns upside down when he accidentally hosts the Prime Minister at a Holy Place and the PM offers him a return gift. He complains about his neighbour, the PM mistakes it for a terror threat from Pakistan, and offers him Z Plus security.

Lots of funny incidents later, he wants to throw away his security cover. Does not succeed, though he comes close. Through the lens of this story revolving around his security status, the director succeeds in a satirical look at our politics, our society, the wasted years after independence, the plight of the common man, bad state of roads, and many things in between. But the tone of the film is still optimistic, and upholds the dignity of the common man. Dialogue is witty, and makes you laugh.

A must-see, is my view. The director is Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, known for the Chanakya serial many years ago. KK Raina gets a good role, and so does Mona Singh.

Election Speech 1

Potentially, there could be many for the upcoming elections. This is a first attempt, so please excuse glitches. I promise to get better with time-

Brothers and sisters (and all the rest),

I promise that it will be a never-ending party. I mean, India will never grow up. We will remain teenaged party-lovers, always -starting with Valentine's Day of 14th Feb fame. You are all invited, except for the owls and other party-poopers, I mean.

Our country has had a great tradition of parties- only, we suitably disguise them as family functions or religious occasions. Countless times, I have attended The Great Indian Wedding, which runs for days, and has costumes which would put erstwhile monarchs to shame. This is all for a good cause, lest you scream "conspicuous consumption." Our detractors may scream all they want, but think of the hungry weavers, spinners (no, not of our party yarns, the real ones), cotton growers and cloth merchants who are able to feed their hungry ones because of these.

I promise that we at our party will serve food that is cooked in pure desi ghee, again aimed at benefiting our home-grown dairy industry, and keeping the greedy multinationals away.

And of course, we will provide everybody jobs in catering to the Great Indian Party that never ends. Think of the impact on our doddering GDP growth! Thank you, and hope for your support.

Ullu ki Dum (Tail of an owl)- I mean, Jai Hind!