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Just Watched: Paa
After hearing a lot of praise for this film, I finally went and watched it with my family. My mother’s reaction expressed more or less the same opinion that I had of the film — it was nothing but a form of emotional blackmail. This, mind you, doesn’t mean that the film isn’t good. In fact, it is a very interesting watch. The problem with it is the wafer-thin script, where there was a lot of scope for improvement. The direction isn’t all that good. The best thing about this film is the acting. Amitabh Bachchan as the 13-year old Progeria patient Auro is outstanding, this performance only confirms the fact that the man is a genius. Abhishek Bachchan is top-notch but has some really weird dialogues. (“Thank God I wasn’t wearing a condom!” –Really now?) Vidya Balan is quite good but rather annoying at times. Paresh Rawal and Arundhati Naag are adequate in their roles. The kid who plays Auro’s best-friend is really nice. This is one film that needs to be watched at least once, for Amitabh Bachchan if not anyone else.
Personal Rating: 7/10
When India became independent from Great Britain in 1947, the princely state of Hyderabad was under the control of the Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nizam, a Muslim, wanted to retain his independence from India. The people of the region, however, launched a movement to join the Indian Union. After repeated attempts by the Centre to convince the Nizam to join Indian failed, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the first Home Minister Deputy Prime Minister of the country, decided to annex the state of Hyderabad and sent in the army, which defeated the Nizam’s forces to wrest control of Hyderabad. This is known as Operation Polo.
In an effort to unify the Telugu people, and preserve the unique culture of Telugu people, Potti Sreeramulu attempted to force the government to listen to public demands for the unification of Andhra based on linguistic lines. He went on a lengthy fast, and only stopped Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru promised to support unification. However, there was no movement on the issue for a long time. He started fasting again for attaining statehood for Andhra in Madras in October, 1952. The government of the day however did not make a clear statement about the formation of a new state despite several strikes and demonstrations by Telugu people. December, 1952, after having fasted for 58 days, Potti Sreeramulu laid down his life trying to achieve his objective. There had to be reactions to his death and the movement for separate statehood grew so violent that Nehru had to make an announcement about the formation of a separate state within a week of Potti Sreeramulu’s death. Andhra attained statehood on 1 October 1953, with Kurnool as its capital.
In December 1953, Nehru appointed the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) to prepare for the creation of states on linguistic lines. This was headed by Justice Fazal Ali and the commission itself was also known as the Fazal Ali Commission. The efforts of this commission were overseen by Govind Ballabh Pant, who served as Home Minister from December 1954. The commission created a report in 1955 recommending the reorganisation of India’s states.
The SRC was not in favour of merging the Telangana region with the then Andhra state. Para. 382 of SRC Report said “opinion in Andhra is overwhelmingly in favour of the larger unit, public opinion in Telangana has still to crystallize itself. Important leaders of public opinion in Andhra themselves seem to appreciate that the unification of Telangana with Andhra, though desirable, should be based on a voluntary and willing association of the people and that it is primarily for the people of Telangana to take a decision about their future.” The concerns of the people of Telangana were numerous. The region had a less developed economy than Andhra, but with a larger revenue base (mostly because it taxed rather than prohibited alcoholic beverages), which Telangana people feared might be diverted for use in Andhra. They also feared that planned dam projects on the Krishna and Godavari rivers would not benefit Telangana proportionately even though Telanganas controlled the headwaters of the rivers. The Telangana people feared too that the people of Andhra would have the advantage in jobs, particularly in government and education. Para. 386 of the SRC Report said “After taking all these factors into consideration we have come to the conclusions that it will be in the interests of Andhra as well as Telangana area is to constitute into a separate State, which may be known as the Hyderabad State with provision for its unification with Andhra after the general elections likely to be held in or about 1961 if by a two thirds majority the legislature of the residency Hyderabad State expresses itself in favour of such unification.”
The central government decided to ignore the SRC’s recommendations and established unified Andhra Pradesh on November 1, 1956. Hyderabad, the former capital of the Hyderabad State, was made the capital of the new state Andhra Pradesh. Kerala and Karnataka states were formed the same day in 1956, followed by Gujarat and Maharashtra in 1960. However, a “Gentlemen’s agreement” provided reassurances to the Telangana people as well to Andhra people in terms of power sharing as well as administrative domicile rules and distribution of expenses of various regions. This agreement is known as Gentleman’s agreement of Andhra Pradesh (1956). The formation of linguistic states is the single most important event in the history of South Indian languages, as it provided an opportunity for these languages to develop independently, each of them having a state to support.
In the following years after the formation of Andhra Pradesh state, however, the Telangana people had a number of complaints about how the agreements and guarantees were implemented. Discontent with the 1956 Gentleman’s agreement intensified in January 1969 when the guarantees that had been agreed on were supposed to lapse. Student agitation for the continuation of the agreement began at Osmania University in Hyderabad and spread to other parts of the region. Government employees and opposition members of the state legislative assembly swiftly threatened “direct action” in support of the students. This movement led to widespread violence and deaths of hundreds of people and students of the Telangana region. The movement, however, fizzled out.
The emotions and forces generated by the movement were not strong enough, however, for a continuing drive for a separate state until 1990s when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), promised a separate Telangana state if they came to power. BJP created Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarkhand states in 2000 as promised, but they could not create a separate Telangana state because of the opposition from Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the part which was in power in Andhra Pradesh and was also a coalition partner of the BJP, having helped them form the NDA government at the centre. It is at this point where the present Telangana movement was born.
K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) was then in the TDP and also served as a minister and later as the deputy speaker of the AP assembly. In 2001, he quit his post as well as the part and formed the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), a party which he proclaimed to be the face of the Telangana movement.
Cut to the General Elections of 2004 which also coincided with the AP Assembly Elections. The TRS formed an alliance with Congress and won 26 state assembly seats. The party also won 5 parliament seats at the national level. It joined the governments at both the state and central levels. KCR was even made a union minister. I don’t really like KCR and am not a fan of the Congress either. Chandrababu Naidu, the TDP chief continues to be one of my favourite politicians and the way KCR taunted him before and after the 2004 elections in way made me feel that KCR wasn’t exactly devoted to the Telangana cause despite he advocated it. Moreover, as there wasn’t too much discord in AP, I also felt that the movement shouldn’t have existed in the first place. While I can accept the movement now, I must admit that I don’t exactly support it.
My suspicions about KCR were confirmed when, in 2006, the TRS withdrew support for the central government on the grounds of indecision by the government over the delivery of its electoral promise to create Telangana, which was also put in the Common Minimum Program (CMP). The CMP clearly states that the Congress-led UPA government at the centre would “consider the demand for the formation of a Telangana state at an appropriate time after due consultations and consensus.” For this, KCR and his TRS should have had patience and not withdrawn support from the centre, something which, on most occasions leads to a lot of political turmoil.
As if that wasn’t enough, the TRS very conveniently joined the Grand Alliance, which had the TDP at the helm of affairs, for the General and Assembly Elections this year. The TRS contested for 45 assembly constituencies and won only 10 of them. This, quite obviously, was a major setback for KCR and his party members. I feel that KCR deserved the electoral thrashing because of his craving for power. Politicians like him are a shame for the nation.
I wasn’t a big supporter of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) either, but the mandate in his favour at the state level and the Congress-led UPA at the centre was nothing but a vote for stability, something which I can appreciate. Not only did YSR become the first Congress CM in AP history to complete his 5 year term, he also became the first person to lead a party to back-to-back election wins after a full 5 year rule in the state. YSR’s untimely death in a helicopter crash in September was something that hit the Congress leadership hard as there was a power struggle within the party’s state wing. KCR, being the opportunist that he is, has just taken advantage of this situation. YSR was the biggest hurdle for KCR as he never gave scope to the TRS while he was in charge, thanks to his strong leadership and great rapport with the central leadership.
Two weeks back, KCR decided to start a fast-unto-death demanding that the Congress party introduce a Telangana bill in the Parliament. Student organisations, employee unions and various organizations joined the movement. This set off demonstrations on college campuses and plunged Hyderabad into a political crisis. Several universities were shut down, students were jailed and thousands of police and paramilitary officers arrived after a two-day general strike effectively paralyzed the city which has a population of four million people. A number of people committed suicide too. With universities being shut for so long, the students will end up suffering as exams can’t always be delayed.
I, for one, was extremely surprised to see how the students of Osmania University were reacting during one of the bandhs in favour of the Telangana movement. Breaking windows of cars and tourist buses is something which I can’t understand as they aren’t owned by the government. I feel ashamed to think that I studied in Osmania University for a year. What gives these students the right to bring the government machinery down on its heels?
Even more surprising is the fact that the Union Government accepted KCR’s demand. I can understand when there was a debate in Parliament to request KCR to call off his fast but conceding to his ridiculous demand of statehood so that he breaks his fast is just outrageous. All the reactions to this decision can easily be justified by just this one point. The UPA had clearly mentioned arriving at a decision after discussion and consensus in the CMP and this decision totally defeats that purpose.
The backlash that has been seen by people not in favour of the movement is understandable as the announcement by the Home Minister, P. Chidambaram was indeed very rushed. This announcement was just made a few days back and this means that the city of Hyderabad is still in a very precarious position. KCR has reiterated time and again that Hyderabad should be the capital of Telangana. While I do understand this position, another opinion that has been doing the rounds is that Hyderabad is made a Union Territory following the Chandigarh model, which would also let it be the joint-capital of both– Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This is a view that personally endorse to a certain extent. Not only will the city be the place from where both these states will be administered, it will also enjoy a special position at the national level with the centre pumping in development funds. Chandigarh has many privileges in terms of development and it also has taxes that are among the lowest in the country. In fact, Chandigarh is the only place where there is no house tax.
Because of this, and the resignations of various MLAs, MPs and State Ministers, the Andhra Government may just fall. President’s Rule already seems to be the best option considering the current situation in the state. This announcement has also set a dangerous precedent to other movements for separate statehood in India viz., Gorkhaland, Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal, Kamtapur, Harit Pradesh, Vidarbha, Mithilanchal, Santhal Pargana, Coorg, Koshala and Saurashtra. In fact, some of these have already come to the fore with their demands after the Telangana announcement.
There are people around me who are in the mood for a debate and I can’t blame them at all but some of the points that seem logical are equally ridiculous. It is quite difficult to prove that more division leads to better efficiency. Actually the demand for carving states out of existing states is prompted by politicians who want bigger roles for themselves. What good has it done for Jharkhand or Chattisgarh or for that matter, even Uttarkhand. I accept that there has been a little development in these places but has it really been worth it? No! I find it very amusing to see that despite its flaws, this view is the one that is being advocated the most. While government apathy can be blamed for the rise of the Telangana movement, one must also take into fact that this movement isn’t as big as it is portrayed to be; this could be shown only if there was a way to gauge opinion in the twin-cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. If the TRS had enough support in Hyderabad, they would have fought the municipal elections and not backed out due to lack of support. The irony is that they want this very city to be their capital. The most important thing to take into consideration is the method; we need consensus and not dharnas and the like. One also can’t forget that the formation of a new state comes with its own share of trials and tribulations. Despite this, I do concede that the state government has failed to ensure the welfare of the Telangana people. In 1956, Hyderabad had a population of 5 Lakhs, now it is 90 Lakhs, Hyderabad is a microcosm of Andhra Pradesh and, if you look at the bigger picture, India, and hence, should ideally not be in the hands of separatists. Telangana has been projected as a solution by a handful as the means to end decades of ignorance. Smaller states cannot ensure better governance and can easily mean more in terms of expenditure in terms of ministers, bureaucrats, ministries, etc., thereby giving more room for exploitation. Why do we need a separate state to show what we can achieve when we cannot do the same in the current one?
As I have stated above, the more the states the more public expenditure towards the bureaucratic expenses, capital investment towards the construction of state capital and buildings and government offices, more expenditure towards security for all ministers and other VIPs of the state, new infrastructure etc. At the end of the day, who benefits from all this? People have to realise this and nip in bud the ambitions of such politicians. The behaviour of the masses that have been influenced by KCR can be explained from what my very learned room-mate wrote in his Political Thought term paper: “…in our day-to-day pursuit of happiness and material benefit, we are nothing more than a collected borrowed opinion, an aggregation of cascading follow-the-leader types.”
All this brouhaha has led to the success of KCR’s ploy. He is to Telangana what Shibu Soren was to Jharkhand. He was the one who came up with a slogan that said: “Telangana waley jago, Andhra waley bhago,” which loosely translates to “Arise people of Telangana, run away people of Andhra.” Yeah, right. I don’t have any qualms in saying that I doubt the very credibility of his fast. Now he’s only being smart in not commenting on the backlash and saying it is up to the centre to resolve the issue. He also went on to say that, “The Government of India is the Government of India. Once it takes a decision that becomes the prestige of the government to ensure that it is implemented.” Smart one Mr. Rao, good job!
The UPA government has mismanaged the entire issue. The best way for the Congress to wriggle out of the KCR’s was to announce the second SRC at this juncture, give the committee four years time to study the situation in depth. Instead it had yielded to a blackmailing politician like KCR who wants to put the clock back at a time when the country has a semblance of economic recovery and getting back on track. I don’t think it is too late as the SRC can be reconvened even now and this would also mean adhering to what has been put down in the CMP. All I can do now is wait and watch, as the fight for the city which I once called home cascades into a political mess.
On a lighter note, I want to quote a fake news headline that I came across on Twitter a while back:
“Problems of new states solved: Justice Liberhan to head a commission to look into the demands.”
Just Watched: De Dana Dan
Boredom makes people do the strangest things sometimes. Ventured out into Dehradun today and got so bored that I ended up watching this. The actual reason I watched this was to try the theatre out. Now, Dehradun doesn’t have any multiplexes, at least not one which is functional yet; there are just a handful of single-screen cinemas around. I had heard that New Empire Cinema was the best of them all and today after trying it out I have to agree. For a single-screen cinema out here, it looks quite good and the picture quality is excellent. In fact, thanks to digital projection, this cinema can actually give multiplexes a run for their money if they are to come up here. A thumbnail of New Empire Cinema is given below (Click for larger image)
Coming to the movie, well, let’s just say that Priyadarshan’s style hasn’t changed much. He starts in pretty much the same way, establishes numerous characters (most of which are unnecessary) and then creates a crazy climax which has people running after each other. This washes the laughter down the audience’s throats, quite literally. Despite its loudness, I must accept that it does manage to entertain though some of the jokes are very forced. The stars of the show are Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty (the Hera Pheri trio), who are hilarious. The other comedians (like Johnny Lever and Rajpal Yadav) are quite funny too. While Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy are just eye-candy, the former actually does a decent job and looks very pretty too (as usual). Neha Dhupia’s role doesn’t make sense like many of the other characters, but at least she tries (a little too hard, actually). The music is nothing special at all.
This movie can be enjoyed best when you are in the mood for something mindless yet fun. Decent one-time watch.
Personal Rating: 5.8/10
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