Farouk Gulsara's Blog, page 107

The light does not shine forever...

Admit it. One cannot remain in the limelight forever. Everyone has their temporary sojourn in the hall of fame, after which they would have to relinquish their baton the next Johnny-come-lately. One cannot stay perched on top of the pecking order forever. Professional decline generally happens in all professions, some earlier than the others. Athletes commence their declines quite early, whereas teachers, writers and researchers lose it much later. Peak performances of many professionals rarely happen at an advanced age.

Not everyone takes the dimming of the spotlight gracefully.

Charles Darwin 1809-1882Charles Darwin was just 27 when he returned on the Beagle with his discoveries in botany and zoology. From that time, for the next 30 years, he was the go-to scientist who published the famous 'On the Origin of Species'. After 50, Darwin hit a brick wall. Not keeping up with mathematical calculations that were so important in later researches, he became irrelevant and depressed.

On the other hand, Johann Sebastian Bach was also a musical prodigy early in his career. New artistic trends and excellent classical compositions by his children (Carl Phillipe and Johann Christian) made his Baroque-style music passè. Instead of plunging into melancholy, Johann Bach became an instructor and diverted his attention to other areas. He enjoyed the prestige.

Cognitive and performance decline is inevitable after a certain age. The question is whether one is going to embrace it like Darwin or like Bach? Be like Darwin, and you will be the grumpy old man who whines about everything and sings praises of the good old days. Be a Bach, spread your wisdom to the younger generation and be a hip and happy senior citizen.


REF: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/07/work-peak-professional-decline/590650/

(P.S. Apparently there are two concepts of intelligence, the fluid and the crystalline one. The fluid intelligence is the raw intellectual horsepower that reasons, analyse and solve novel problems. It is abundant in innovators and entrepreneurs. It peaks early in adulthood only to diminish after the 30s and 40s. Crystalline intelligence, in comparison, involves the ability to use past knowledge. As knowledge increases with age, historians, writers and poets find their voices late in life.



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Only for the die-hard!

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

It may be a thrilling experience for a diehard MCU fan. For an average viewer, however, it may just be another a superhero movie of a young boy with too much raw power in his hands. How many times have we been confronted with a superhero with the dilemma of doing the correct thing with the unique ability that he had been conferred? And in how many outings have we seen Spidey's wooing of his beau, Mary Jane? This time around, the story writers had taken us to a time when Peter Parker was still in school before his stint as a part-time journalist with the Daily Bugle and his daily tiff with his editor J. Jonah Jameson. 

In keeping with the sensitivities of the times, MJ is no more the blue-eyed, high cheek-boned orthodontist-treated wannabe blonde actress but a fellow classmate of the member of the minority group. For good measure, the producers had resorted to race-swapping to pacify all quarter. A hijab-clad fellow student and an Oriental-looking sidekick are the cast.

To spur comic enthusiasts, in every little part of the movie, the possible sequelae of the story is slowly teased. The writers try to put its timeline as happening after Avengers: Endgame, with Iron Man dead. After Stark's demise, Parker is honoured the possession of his glasses - a Google-glass-like contraption with AI capacities (EDITH) which controls Iron Man's satellite and weaponry. Along come Nick Fury and Maria Hill (whom we later realise maybe appearance-altering Krulls who could have fallen to the ploy of Mysterio, the villain), to hint that Spiderman may be taking over as the head of MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

Now that Disney has acquired the rights of Marvel Studio, it looks like Disney is trying to incorporate an earthy character like Spiderman into their intergalactic superheroes adventure. To get the interest going, the studio seems to tease its fanbase with clues of what may be in store for the next MCU adventure. The shrewd devotee picks up these cues like they were matters of fact. He sees licence plates that appear on the screen as references to the specific comic editions where information about that scene can be found. These Easter Eggs include #616 (where Mysterio appears), #883 (Earth proper where Marvel adventures happen), #199996 (the fictional Marvel Cinematic Universe) and many more.

One confusing thing that is obvious in this film is that Peter Parker does not need to hide his identity. It seems that everybody knows him, including Mary Jane. Perhaps the writers are just want to keep with the trend these days. Nobody can hide anything from anybody anymore. Nobody reads newspapers anymore; hence, the daily bugle has a webpage as seen on an advertisement banner. J. Jonah Jameson is seen here like an Alex Jones type of a filthy loudmouth rather than a cigar-chomping one. In another city-ad bill, there is a suggestion that maybe Fanstatic-4 may join the next line-up in the upcoming movie. 

I miss Uncle Ben. Apparently, Aunt May is an eye-turning hottie who is still in the market for companionship. She had been widowed sometime now. But wait! What happened to the previous outings where Uncle Ben departed the highly emotional scene after being mortally wounded by robbers? - The one after famously uttering pearls of wisdom about how 'with great powers come great responsibilities'? All is not lost. There is a reference to him in a scene. A briefcase is shown with initials B.F.P. - who else but Ben Jefferson Parker!

Verdict: Nothing new. It is just a tale of teenyboppers of the 21st century with raging hormones caught in a psychedelic display of make-believe illusions. Only the die-hards would appreciate... 



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Houston, the Eagle has landed!

Insignia of Apollo 11.It all started as squabbles between brothers. Much like Kane and Abel, both brothers thought their respective brand of economic reforms was the way forward. One believed in freedom and liberty whilst the other insists that discipline and order bring the best in people. The world soon became divided into two blocks - the vibrant capitalists and the red communists. 

Who said competition is terrible? Did it not surge to dominate over the other? Both tried to showcase their achievements; USA and USSR became the leaders of their respective sects. Industrialisation was viewed upon as the clear proof of success, and soon, the craze of space exploration became the next in-thing.

At one time, it appeared like the Russians were winning with hands down. They had managed to send Laika, the space dog to outer space in 1957. Soon they managed to send Yuri Gagarin (1961) and Valentina Tereshkova (1963, a female cosmonaut) to orbit Earth.
View of Earth aboard Apollo 8 on
Xmas eve 1968. 
This made JFK, in 1962, famously put a challenge to America to land a man to on the Moon by the end of the decade. His seminal speech, given at Rice University boldly proclaimed, "We choose to go to the moon... not because they are easy, but because they are hard..." awoke a nation to singlemindedly venture into space. 

With a chest heaving with hope and accomplishment, the baby boomers, after having fought a world war for a second time which killed off and incapacitated a right proportion of their men in their productive years, raised to the occasion.


Laica, Space Dog (1957)The Herculean task was dangerous, with many technicality difficulties. So many things had to be sorted out - propulsion forces, complex mathematic calculations, life support, insulation, lunar landing and safe return of astronauts. If that was not enough, faulty electrical wiring caused a fire in Apollo 1 even before launch killing all three crewmen, put a damper on the whole Apollo project. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Americans slowly sprang back into action. Subsequent launches sequentially took crafts to space, to orbit Earth, to navigate around the moon and finally set up a dress rehearsal before finally landing Man on the Moon on 20th July 1969.

After the launch and separation of the spacecraft from the rocket to enter the lunar orbit, the most significant challenge happened in the last thirteen minutes of Eagle's (the Lunar Module) descent onto the moon. 

The computers which controlled the lunar mission were primitive. Humans were just dabbling with computers. In fact, most of the engineers involved in the endeavour were clueless of the word software in computers. The concept of digital portable general computer was alien but was installed in the spacecraft. The data of information carried in the two computers sent in Apollo rocket is comparable to present-day mobile devices. As Armstrong and Aldrin were on their descent, the fourth astronaut (i.e. the computer) gave an unknown alarm - 1202. The third astronaut was, of course, Collin who was in the mothership Columbia orbiting the moon.

Communication between Mission Control and Apollo was painfully inadequate with a lot of static. 

After a moment of uncertainty, it was determined that the computer was screaming out that it had too many commands to respond. That was all. The interesting fact about the engineers assigned at the Mission Control in Houston was that their average age was just 27! Imagine these young punk deciding the safety of the astronaut and shouldering the whole of NASA's dreams.

Then it came to their attention that there were boulders on their planned landing site. Armstrong had to steer the vessel skilfully calculating the descent on the window panel - digital assistance was still primitive. Then he realised that he was running dangerously low on fuel as he found a suitable landing site. He was left with 18 seconds amount of fuel only at docking. 

The drama came to a joyous ending as Armstrong announced, "Houston, the Eagle has landed!" The rest is history as Armstrong laid his foot on the lunar soil to proclaim the now immortalised statement, 'a small footprint for man, a giant step for mankind!'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07grkvh

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Get Back!

Aruvi (Tamil அருவி; 2017)
This is a compelling sociopolitical drama which must have surely been written by a card-carrying member of the socialist/communist party. Who else would paint such a bleak picture of modern life and the self-defeating trappings that line every aspect of our lives? Human values take a back seat. A pre-set path is made for us to follow and feel contended. Any deviation from the norm is frowned upon. The whole purpose of life is to promote consumerism, be awed by materialism and to fatten the multinational conglomerates.

This is an absorbing saga of a young girl, Aruvi, who acquired HIV most unconventionally - at the roadside coconut vendor as she savoured a probably contaminated freshly cut coconut! Long story short - she falls seriously ill, is diagnosed, hurled abuses of promiscuity and is chased away by the previously loving family. She wanders around, living with friends and working menial jobs. At every corner, the men in her life misbehaved. They demand sexual favours in return for help.

Lakshmi GopalaswamyAruvi befriends a fellow HIV victim, a transexual, Emily. Together they plot an act of appropriate revenge to expose the hypocrisy of the society, the wolves in sheep's clothing in community and the foolhardy of the people in the business of peddling news who are more interested in sensationalism than actually highlighting the plight of the people.

Aruvi and Emily walk into a television studio in the pretext of exposing the plight of the society's transgender population. Cleverly, they hoodwinked a self-absorbed talk show compère and took the studio staff hostage at gunpoint. 

It takes a swipe at a TV reality-justice talk show of the Tamil little screen,  'Solvathellam Sathyam'. It works along the same line as 'Jeremy Kyle Show' and 'Jerry Springer Show' where people wash dirty linen in public. The movie, even though, uncredited is supposed to be based on an Egyptian 2011 film, 'Asmaa' as alleged by some critics. It is obviously not copied as we will find out later.

A refreshing story with completely fresh faces and a debutante director. 4.5/5.

Also, see: on Asmaa https://www.riflerangeboy.com/2019/07/walk-mile-in-her-shoes.html 
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Choices and Confusions

Fleabag (Comedy, Miniseries, 2016 -2019)
Created, Directed and Starred: Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Fleabag is a dark comedy about a 30-something single lady who is trying to make it her life mission to fall in love and settle down. But it is not easy. In the background are the memories of her business partner who committed suicide (or is it an accident?), her high achieving neurotic sister, her alcoholic brother-in-law, her widowed father who is sort of arm-twisted to remarry with a conniving and eccentric painter and the plethora of suitors who are equally clueless about their purpose in life.

Society has evolved over the generations to educate the fairer sex to give an equal place in the sun. Sometimes we wonder if this empowerment makes things more difficult for them to decide what is best for them. Entitlement, not wanting to be shortchanged in their choices of life partners, brings them to the brink of insanity. The options are too many, and nothing satisfies them any more. So why bother with the formalities when the sweet nectar of the fruit can be savoured without purchasing?

People are so lost on the purpose of life that they meander aimlessly oblivious of their intentions, just looking around for the unattainable using pleasure as their yardstick to success. That is why generations before us thought that it would be prudent to invest in the cookbook of life, which would make it easy for the unthinking Man to manoeuvre the boat of life. 

Long ago, chastity was given a sacred status. It was protected with the women's life until a responsible suitor is found. It, however, also subjugated women to submission to laws of society.

A better understanding of human biology and equality to both sexes turned the table. Sex is no longer looked upon as a mysterious divine gift but a mere social contact, much like a handshake or a bear hug. Women, now in better financial conditions, able to stand independently, sometimes in better bargaining positions, hold the chips and call the shots. They are in a position to pick and choose their partners and decide when they wish to be a gravid container for continuity of their progeny. Can this be the right way to do things? 

Making decisions listening to the heart and using happiness as a gauge had never been found to be the right way.
Masam Masam Manis (1965)
The main character regularly breaks the fourth wall (the imaginary wall that separates the actors and the audience) to explain her decision to the audience and in a way to get approval to her mischiefs. It reminded me of 'Garry Shandling Show' and P Ramlee in 'Masam-Masam Manis'. Interestingly, in this show, the Catholic priest who is the protagonist's love interest realises her interactions through the fourth wall. It is as though the pastor has the ability to look into another dimension- much like how the miracles and acts of divinity happen in another plane.

(thanks SK for introduction and input)

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Book Review: Inside the Twisted Mind of Rifle Range Boy

http://literaryjournal.in/index.php/clri/article/view/297
CLRI
Contemporary Literary Review India Brings articulate writings for articulate readers. eISSN 2394-6075 | Vol 6, No 1: CLRI February 2019 | p- 181-187     

Book Review on Farouk Gulsara’s Inside the Twisted Mind of Rifle Range Boy
Prof Shiv Sethi


‘Inside the Twisted Mind of Rifle Range Boy’ is a melange of profound thoughts penned down by Farouk Gulsara. Hailing from a family where everybody perceives that there is only a single way to deal with the things either black or white whereas the writer is inclined to have an altogether contrary viewpoint. As he advances in the years and grows mature, he becomes aware of the harsh reality that the family of his parents has innumerable blood-curdling tales to narrate because they had witnessed the seamy side of life during the turbulent times of early Malaya.

Farouk Gulsara makes the most of that opportunity and begins to write his own blog known as �Rifle Range Boy�. There is no denying the fact that we the people very conveniently bend rules and regulations to cater to our own whims and fancies. Brahmins are normally considered as the propagators of vegetarianism, but the Brahmins dwelling around the Bay of Bengal and Kashmir have not set such prohibitions for them and they place fish on their platter as their staple diet. Thus, Man is basically a bundle of contradictions. The writer renders twelve years of his services as a Government employee. But he is badly disillusioned and thinks of himself as an idiot for his unwavering commitment to work when he observes that others are being paid lucratively without toiling hard. The varied cultures, diverse civilizations and religion have dovetailed with one another and everything has become a religious event. Indian mythology and festivals have been cherished with unshakable faith, but no one is keen to give heed to the similarities among these different fiesta.The author appears to be deeply agitated at heart when people question him over his ethnicity or look upon him as an Indian Malaysian. His parents belonged to Malaysia and so does he. Though he has never even set a foot on the Indian soil and evidently specifies in the book that he has no intention to visit India. For he is least interested in beholding the spectacle of poverty ridden people for that he need not pay visit to india. He can have that repulsive glimpse in his own backyard. And a big No to temples , as God is omnipresent for him. Farouk Gulsara has his distinctive views about Hinduism, India, and Bollywood. He holds Late Shammi Kapoor in derision by equating him with a fat monkey, but makes frequent usage of Manoj Kumar’s dialogues for reference in another anecdote. He sheds light on the various cuisines of India, but he has no desire to try Indian food because the menu of Malaysia comprises a vast variety of umpteen delicacies and he is fully content with his life in his native land and its foods. The author poses to be a sentimental fool whereas a discerning reader will take this with a pinch of salt.The downside with the book is that at some places it is marred with prolixity, superfluousness and repetition and one of chapters has been translated into French which is beyond the ken of most of the readers. Undoubtedly,we aspire for perfection in life contrary to that our life has many imperfection and some of which we can never do away with. We whine, we cringe, we fret and fume, we grumble, we demand and we assert our rights but eventually the reality dawns upon us and we come to terms with the fact that we are mere pawns in the hands of the mighty forces of destiny. Here I am aptly reminded of a famed Victorian writer Thomas Hardy who gives much credence to the philosophy of Determinism and Fatalism.
The writer of this book also throws a flood of light on the legal system of Malaysia and its economic state of affairs. Here we come across several stark similarities between India and Malaysia. In both the nations in the name of development poor people have to bear the brunt of displacement and are bound to lead nomadic existence. The education system is in a shambles and they still require interpreters just like their ancestors required some five decades ago. The so-called modern-day parents are shown dancing to the tune of the snake charmers' flute blinded with abominable superstitions.They are unbothered for the dreams and aspirations of their children and in a way suffer from peter complex.
To lend a concrete shape to one's pent-up thoughts has not been very popular practice in literature with no specific genre. But soon the writer listens to his inner voice and gets convinced that many roads do indeed lead to Rome, and there is a divine power up there righting the wrong, but still, we have a host of instances of misdeeds committed by the Church and a long lost legacy of the renowned figures. We as humans are capable of inspiring a person to an extent only. Beyond that it is entirely up to his genes or nature whether he succeeds in reaching his place in space on time or not. If a person fails to measure up to certain expectations, it does not signify that he is a failure. We all have to be stretched in order to grow.
In our pursuit to growth and edification rigorous discipline is of paramount importance. Which caste one belongs to does not matter at all. As the author alludes that Hindus would resort to hard penance either through self-imposed starvation, self-flagellation, self-piercing, and observe countless other rituals and customs before Mahatma Gandhi proposed Satyagraha. It is all deeply ingrained in the Indian psyche. The author narrates different stories of the people who arrive in his life and to whom he is all available to lend a helping hand and offer his shoulder to cry on and achieve their Aristotelian cathartic bliss.
The writer is exasperated with the fact that the little cherubic children will be unable to fully bloom into the majestic swan that they always hanker to be. The Asian attitude to life believes in producing a generation of studious book worms only. Nobody bothers if the children have earned enough of life experiences and optimal professional qualifications coupled with the sufficient emotional maturity to match with. Once the formal degrees and material comforts begin to rolling, people here get a semblance of contentment and start believing that now everything will fall in place. Alack! the modern folk dwell in an illusion or a shambolic world. Much to the writer’s chagrin, they are heading towards a cultural bankruptcy as they have lost their connect with their moorings.With great power comes great responsibility. Information is the power and the unquenchable thirst of mankind for knowledge seems insatiable. Some theories are accepted as pure Gospel; while others are debatable. The Government lies to people in the name of National Security, and it creates more curiosity and restrictions to self-expression. In our daily lives too, we see many able bodies leading miserable life.
The world is fraught with hatred and fissiparous tendencies around us. Even amongst apparently homogeneous societies, there is suspicion and desire to dominate over the other. There is West, East, North, and South, Hindus, Christian, and Muslims, the fair skinned and the dark-skinned, indigenous people and immigrants, moderates and conservatives, all exist with their dichotomous ideologies. The list goes on. But still, people flock together and put their resources during the disasters like earthquakes and tsunami. It reflects the humanity is not fully dead yet.Farouk Gulsara makes use of the allusions of Arnold Schwarzenegger to Steve Jobs and Lord Shiva. Though he does not provide any solutions about the different worldly problem, but only offers his opinions, and twisted thoughts of his deviant mind. Therefore, this works emerges as a refreshing and eye-opening read. The language is lucid. The narration is flawless. The author also takes recourse to Hindi and Malay languages at many places in the book. . His spontaneous thoughts spread all over the canvas of the book. There's no dull moment and It is an unputdownable work.


Title: Inside the Twisted Mind of Rifle Range Boy Author: Farouk Gulsara
Publisher: Inside The Twisted Mind of Rifle Range Boy 
Available: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=MwxDDwAAQBAJ


Contemporary Literary Review India | eISSN 2394-6075 | Vol 6, No 1: CLRI February 2019 | Page 186 Book Review on Farouk Gulsara’s Inside the Twisted Mind of Rifle Range Boy Prof Shiv Sethi

Prof. Shiv Sethi (Reviewer)Prof. Shiv (Ph D, M Phil, four times MA) is the Head of the Department of English language and Linguistics at Dev Samaj Post Graduate College For Women Ferozepur for the last 17 years.
His research articles have been published in various journals of international repute including The Tribune, The Hindu, The Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, The Deccan Herald, The Hitavada, and The Daily post and in several newspapers of neighbouring countries like Nepal and Pakistan. He has presented his papers at various universities in India and abroad. He is a guide for research scholars for M Phil thesis.

Contemporary Literary Review India | eISSN 2394-6075 | Vol 6, No 1: CLRI February 2019 | Page 187
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Boon or Bane?

Credit: newmandala.org
Dr Mahathir Mohamad (b 10.7.1925)
A second chance to right the wrong?It is my Prime Minister's birthday, and I have a dilemma. Just last year, he became the oldest man in the world to be elected as a country's leader at 93. One year on and he is still going on strong like an Energiser Bunny. 

The million dollars is not when his run is going to halt, but instead if indeed longevity is a blessing. On the one hand, on auspicious occasions, we wish each other hoping for a long life. We cling on to our dear lives averting dangers and seeking medical advice at the first sneeze. We plan things as if we would live forever. Some would say that being born as a human is our reward for our past karmic deeds. Hence, a long life must be a bonus. They are others who would vouch that life on Earth is a testing ground. A long life span means that they are more options to collect brownie points. If one only lives for the afterlife,  then there is ample opportunity to right the wrong.

On the other hand, there are those who swear, like they had been on the other side and heard it from the horse's mouth, that life on Earth is indeed painful. With so much physical and emotional pain associated with daily living from the cradle to the grave, death is a relief. Therefore, the continuation of life mark non-completion of misdeeds (sins) of previous births. Shorter life-spans mean less chance to make a goof of oneself, hence, the placing of prominent figures who experienced premature deaths in the annals of human history. The 'Club of 27' is one such example. P Ramlee, Elvis Presley, Sudirman and James Dean are others who left while they were at their prime, eliminating any negative perceptions of their feats on Earth.

So what is your answer, boon or bane?


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Walk a mile in her shoes!

Asmaa (Egypt; 2011)

Even though many armchair critics adamantly allege that the 2015 Tamil movie, 'Aruvi' was copied from this Egyptian movie, after watching it one can realise that it is all a fabricated lie. The only little thread of similarity between the two films is that AIDS and TV interviews form the backbone of the story.

It is a realistic drama depicting the plight of an HIV-positive single mother. Because of the social stigma that is attached to the disease, she has to keep illness a secret, even from her daughter. The society is quick to judge the victim on their sexual behaviour and quickly determines that their affliction is their own doing.

'Asmaa' is based on a real event.

Asmaa, an airport cleaner, is harassed by her employer for her medical report. After dodging it for quite a while, she has to cave. Her contract is terminated. Her finances dwindle. She has a daughter to educate and her medications to buy. In between all these, she has now to gallbladder problem that needs urgent surgery. She is on the operating table. She decides to do the conscientious thing by revealing her HIV status, which is not known to the surgeon. Hold behold, the surgeon cancels the surgery and sends her home. She continues to suffer from her bouts of colic.

Through her support group, she comes across a TV channel that wants to highlight her plight for a fee. She wants to find a doctor who would be willing to operate on her. The catch of the thing was that she could not hide her identity. After yoyoing on this, she finally appears on TV without revealing her face (but she did show it later on!). 

Interspersed between the film are the flashbacks of her life story. We are told of an energetic, self-confident young lass growing up in the village who falls for the village hunk. After a market place squabble over a business area, she is slapped by a male trader. Asmaa was selling home-woven carpets. Asmaa's husband came in her defence, and a fistfight ensued. The Assailant died, and Asmaa's husband goes to jail. He acquired AIDS whilst in prison.


Quite a gripping story in the way that it is realistic in their approach to storytelling. In the real event, Asmaa never revealed her identity but had the surgery done overseas sponsored by an overseas donor. In the film version, the TV channel anonymously gives her funds for the operation to be done abroad. Her appearance on TV gives her newfound courage to face the public. The public perception never changed, but it gave her the self-confidence to meet the challenges. Somehow, what others felt did not matter anymore.

A review of another classic Egyptian movie 
https://www.riflerangeboy.com/2015/07/what-lurks-beneath.html


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Intelligent Designer or Pure Chance?

They are both from the rodent family but people's perception of both these furry animals are worlds apart. One receives awe of cuteness when seen roaming around the garden whilst the other received shrieks of panic.

One has a fluffy springy tail whilst the other has a slim tapering tail. Both had their bodies evolve over generations to suit the environment they live and their need to survive. The squirrel's furry tail may aid in the balance as it jumps from branch to branch. The tapered rat tail helps escape through tight fissures.


The bushy tail of the squirrel has its own added coincidental benefits. Being around flowering plants, the hairs on the tail aid in pollination.

Certain internal traits could have evolved over time as and when the environment demanded. Other incidental features, like the fuzzy tail, performs accidental purpose to the survival of other species. Who decides on this? Is there a higher power who plays the role of an intelligent designer who, for the kick of it, in a single brush decide to paint creations as He likes?



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Loyalty, only so much!

Viswasam (Loyalty, விஸ்வாசம், Tamil; 2019)

I was ushered into this movie through word of mouth. The ardent Tamil movie fan who recommended this film allegedly cried through many scenes and promoted it as a good Fathers' Day promotional film as well as to showcase the love between a daughter and her father.

It appears that I am either emotionally blunt or that I have watched way too many movies to appreciate any new ones. It seems that all storylines followed three and four pre-set time-tested formulas. In intermingling plots and changing setting and actors, the moviemakers think they got a winner. Something must be wrong with me. Even though I do not think highly of this film, apparently the film is a certified blockbuster, broken box-office and is approved by the Broadcast Audience Research Council, an organisation that owns and manages a transparent, accurate, and inclusive TV audience measurement system as surpassing many records!

Is it just me or has this story been told and re-told in many presentations generations over? That two people of contrasting background should tie the knot only for one party to discover that mistake has been made. With a child to seal the relationship, later on, they go separate ways. Circumstances require re-kindling of bonds. Ego comes to picture to prevent each party to admit mistakes. Tragedy in the form of threat to life binds all together. This happens with and in spite of humanly impossible feats. We just have to accept the fact, without question, that an oversized greying man could do flips and fight scores of known bad-ass gangsters, be fit enough to wrestle hoodlums despite being in ICU just minutes before the encounter and the jumbling up of time and space in the perspective of the story! The audience is becoming an educated lot. With the ease of information at their disposal, they are becoming well-versed with what the rest of the world has to offer. Loyalty, like the title of the movie, only lasts as long the fun quotient lingers on. 

Using the same melancholic tunes, using a soft lens in filming to stir nostalgia and sad, helpless facial expression to kindle emotions only can work so much. The fan base will get fed up and start looking elsewhere for thrills.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.