Dhobhi Ghaat

I watched film DHOBHI GHAAT today.
This is one to watch. I am actually struck by a rather unusual way of story-telling. The protagonist is Mumbai, that’s obvious. The movie has no specific plot and the purpose is to showcase the life of Mumbai as it is with all its different shades and varying moods that at times intersect. All the way through, the movie is dotted with things that characterize Mumbai. Traffic congestion, slums and the elite, middle classes and their flats, people from all over India coming over to Mumbai for livelihood, young married women living lifeless life alone confined to their small homes after being dumped by their husbands, construction work, bollywood and the cinema culture and ofcourse the presence of the SEA and the refuge people seek in it from the hustle and bustle of the city life (Sure we karachiites know this very well).
The method which the writer-director Kiran rao has employed to bring forth all these aspects of the city is both refreshing and intriguing.
Aamir khan is at his usual best and other actors havn’t done badly either. All the characters have their due role to play in the movie and as I said the protagonist is Mumbai and not any one individual character. Special mention for the character Yasmin would be in order. She is profound and her monologues ring deep inside you. Moreover, the yasmin-imran-sis-bro- relationship is poignantly portrayed and all this without even having to introduce the character imran, excellent lesson for the aspirant film-makers.
Overall, an excellent exhibition of the art of film-making.
Usually I don’t weigh movies in numbers, either I like the movie or I don’t like it. But since I am at it, I give this one,, three and a half stars.

Let's face it......

Pakistan welcomes New Year by going hundreds of years back to medievalism. The murder of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer is the latest and perhaps the clearest manifestation of the reverse journey that Pakistan has embarked on. Even more worrisome was how the large section of our so-called urban educated middle class received the news without any semblance of sympathy for the slain Governor. They seemed to condone the murder and elevate the murderer to the status of a brave hero who has secured for himself a place in the heaven. Tuesday’s tragic incident and the ensuing debate about the propriety of the murder underlines the gravity of the situation which, if left unchecked even further, can soon bring us all to a point of no return, if that is not where we are already.


Let’s face it.


The enemy is within us and the evil is deeply entrenched. The cancer has metastasized and we have no one else to blame but ourselves. Years of erroneous policies marked by misplaced notions of national security helped create a Frankenstein monster of terror and extremism that has now come home to roost. Engendered by flawed security narrative and insular curricula, it is this radicalised generation of Pakistanis which is not only confined to the ungoverned tribal regions of Pakistan but also found in our cities, colleges and on facebook. The darkness, suffocation and stench have pervaded our society where Zaid hamid is an icon and I.A Rehman is little known. Surely, there must be something seriously wrong with us.

Dark abyss, where else...

Not everyone has condemned the murder of slain governor in unequivocal terms. Vast majority of people seem to be tacitly, in some cases even openly, approving the fate governor salman taseer met last evening. In no time, a facebook page has popped up in the honour of the killer qadri and it has garnered the fan-following of hundreds of users already.All this points towards some dangerous societal propensities where the heinousness of the cold-blooded murder ,as in case of the governor's, can be condoned by the vast majority of even so-called educated Pakistanis if warped with some dogmatic rhetoric. Reason and sanity have taken a back seat giving way to intolerance and madness. Where are we headed? Into a dark abyss, where else...

The evil is entrenched

The evil is entrenched.


Hardly 4 hours have elapsed since taseer's murder and i have seen, overheard great number of people without a semblance of sympathy for the victim. They think taseer deserved it, elevating the murderer to the status of a hero who has secured for himself a place in the heaven.


What a shame!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR....!!!!!

On the eve of every new year, i have traditionally had lot to say. Review of the year gone by and the resolutions for the year ahead have been part of an annual pratice for me for many years. This year too has not been without its fair share of sweet-bitter memories. I found a new friend and lost my dearest uncle. It also took me to my ancestral village and my childhood town after a long time. A year marked by exhilaration and exasperation all at the same time. Usually this day signifies an end and a new beginning. However,funnily enough, my whole year was so full of many small beginnings and ends that the symbolic significance of the last '10 sun setting on the horizon seems to carry not much meaning. Nevertheless, the fact remains that it is a new year night tonight and tomorrow is a new year.
So i will try to feel the newness.


HAPPY NEW YEAR PPL!!!

Whither Pakistan !!!

It is a cold sunday afternoon today. Karachi's temperature has plummeted to 7 degrees centigrade in the last couple of days afflicting cold, cough and flu to many including myself. Each season has its own pace and it is so infectious that everything around starts moving along at the same velocity. Winters are slow and quiet in nature and so becomes life in winter-slow, quiet, frozen and dormant. However, winters have not had much of an effect on the political horizon. International stage of politics looks as hot and happening as ever with no dearth of interesting and at times sensational news. Wikileaks saga is far from over while all the countries are huddled together at the cancun, Mexico, trying to reach at a hitherto elusive climate change agreement. India continues to flex its diplomatic muscle owing to increasing economic clout while the western world and some countries in the pacific remain ever so apprehensive of china's inevitable rise. New alliances are being formed and new partnerships forged as the balance of power in the world undergoes some significant changes. A new world order is emerging. China, India and Indonesia in the south and south-east Asia, Turkey in West Asia and Brazil in the Latin america are fast emerging as new centres of global power. Their ascendant global clout is underpinned by remarkable economic growth which in turn is a result of stable political system in these countries. On the contrary, Pakistan has remained in a perpetual state of chaos and political instability thereby ever on the verge of economic collapse. Notwithstanding this, the powers that be in Pakistan continue to look for strength and power at all the wrong places,in the strategic depth in Afghanistan, in our nuclear arsenal, in provoking war-hysteria against India and in our zest of matching bullet to bullet and missile to missile with India. Such skewed priorities have landed us into this mess that is Pakistan today with terrorism wreaking havoc all over and a poor economy making life unaffordable. Yet it seems we are not ready to learn any lessons. People remain a distant priority as ever. Aspiring to be a global player and having a say in the world affairs, Pakistan has to first start with ameliorating the lot of its populace. The real strength can be drawn from the people who are prosperous and happy.Investing in the people and their lives can make this country a land of healthy and happy people. This is when people become a resource and real engines of progress and change. Educated, healthy and prosperous Pakistan will also be a secure Pakistan. Pakistan that gives respect and dignity to its people will also be given respect and esteem in the comity of nations.

how true....

Action is the antidote to despair---Joan baez


This is very truly said..