Simmering couldron

Fact sheet:

The medical students and junior doctors from the top 5 colleges in Delhi have been on hunger strike for almost 3 days now. Sitting under the canopy raised in front of the AIIMS teaching block, the 'youth for equalty', as they call themselves, have made sure their voice is heard loud and clear. Their demand: to roll back the extra-reservation. In a recent notification, AIIMS faculty has supported the cause of their pupils.

"We don't want extra-reservation. Roll it back," cry the placards and the sound box placed at the protest area. Posters that read "We will fight till the end. Your end," "We are left with no other choice. U.S and U.K here we come," "Teach a man how to fish and he will make a living, but give fish to a man and he will eat, drink and make merry," were spotted at the protest area. The demands of the medical students and junior doctors include forming a judicial committee to look into extra-reservation issue and taking action against the police involved in brutal action against the protesting students in Delhi, Mumbai and other places.

While Arjun Singh, the union minister for HRD isn't budging from his earlier stance of implementing 27 per cent reservation for the socially and educationally backward class (SEdBC) students in all central educational institutes, the protestors are getting support from various quarters. Medical students all over the country are now showing their support to their Delhi counterparts in some way or the other. Wearing black badges, boycotting classes and medical duty, strikes and rallies have been reported from Mumbai, Ahmedabad and other places. It is a known thing that even some cabinet colleagues of Arjun Singh are against SEdBC reservation. Kapil Sibal, union minister for Science & Technology has earlier stated his misgivings about the reservation move. In fact India Inc leaders too seem to be disinclined towards the government's proposal.

Amidst a massive protest by medical students, certain political quarters and industry, it is to be seen how much the government will stick to its reservation plan. It is now considered certain that a committee will be soon formed to control the damage happened so far and to appease the striking doctors.

My take:
Lost cause and caught in the crossfire

It is really amusing to see things the way they have been unfolding in the recent past. I must say, I was just one of those many people who have been caught in this crossfire. Nevertheless, I think I was lucky to see things from such close quarters. Staying at AIIMS, I was at the frontline where I could see the unfolding drama right from the wings.

It was 2 months ago that Arjun Singh told media about his plan to implement the second part of Mandal Commission's report. Very soon everyone was worried. 27 per cent reservation in premier institutes, some felt, would lead to degeneration of our institutes' standards and credibility. Some were worried that eligible graduates from general category would be on roads causing dissent and turbulence in the society. Some thought this move to be a political gimmick, a rabbit from the magician's hat shown to lure voters. (incidentally, 5 states were going to assembly polls at that time) Some cried foul and some fainted. Mainstream media kept carrying stories that showed how unfair reservations were. TV channels had a field day. Popping up at shopping malls and shoving mikes into people's faces, an anchor would question a wayfarer, "Pro reservation or anti-reservation?" Some reporters were even quizzing students who were on their way to the examination hall!

And then as things were getting boring for the media, few zealous medical students thought it was the right time to start a protest march. AIIMS medicos thought of meeting Arjun Singh 'personally' and submit a memorandum against reservations. But Mr. Singh thought differently. Well, there was a bit of confusion about how 'personally' one could submitting a memorandum. Hundreds of students marching towards his house was certainly not a 'personal gesture' for Mr. Singh, and the police, as usual eager to get a piece of action, started wiggling their batons. The constabulary didn't realise that they just made history and possibily would become history. Their strectching their arms with batons in their arms was not treated kindly by the students, and soon the students were on strike. Though what was their chief cause, whether it was the protest against reservation or against the brutal police action was lost in the war cries and candle light ceremonies (Thank you RDB, you have saved the candle making industry).

Soon the junior doctors thought it only fair to extend their support to the students. So, they stopped looking after patients and joined the holiday..err..hunger strike. Delhi was soon supported by Mumbai and other places. Senior doctors and consultants who were holidaying in those cool hill stations in Himalayas, were called back to take care of patients. Many cursed their fate but came back. It appears that they can't take it any more, (ahem!! I meant the reservation policy of govt. not looking after the patients) so they have notified their support to the movement. Possibly they too will join the movement. As for the patients, they are just folks caught in the crossfire! And for the media, it is simply going for the kill, and of course celebrating the mercurial TRPs.

I find it really hard to understand how 'youth for equality' suddenly sprang to action when the reservation proposal was made. I can't help but consider it as a reactionary move of an elite group trying to protect its interests. The confusion starts when they start claiming munificence and equality. It is a known fact that not even 5 per cent of these medical students come from SEdBCs. It is also a noted fact that the majority of manual labourers and workers in these deemed institutes are from the lower castes (lower classes?). Then, how can they claim they are fighting for equality? If only they can see the 'maya' of 'merit' and come out of it. Sometimes, I wonder if they are just rebels without a cause. It is really inspiring to see these young kids standing together and taking the government headlong. The protest area with their zealous slogans and songs like "Hum honge kaamiyaab.." (We shall win..) shows how much convinced they are about the righteousness of their path. If only they looked 180 degrees to get the other perspective. If only they cared to know that 54 per cent segment doesn't even get 5 per cent of seats in the educational institutes. If only they cared to know merit is nurtured and depends on various things, and that sometimes objective judgement is fallacious. If only they cared to know that the recent move will only help the SEdBCs get their just desserts.

The conspicuous absence of a pro-reservation lobby of students is another thing noted in this mega event of the year. (or the decade?) Where is the alternative voice? Are the SEdBCs who managed to get into these institutes against reservation, or silent, worried that a pro-reservation stance might raise eyebrows, or simply silenced? One would never know it, but the absence of protests from Delhi University and JNU (the socialist bastion) students at least shows that not all student fraternity is against reservation. They are just silent for the moment but hopefully they will come out soon to support reservations. Another noticeable fact is the serene South India, unfazed by the Capital's happenings. South India which already has reservations for SEdBCs in educational institutions seems to have already come to terms with reservations. And there is 'The Hindu' which has made sure it stood up and set the facts straight regarding reservations.

One feels that it is a matter of national concern when a segment of community has been ostracized for hundreds of years and still grappling to come into mainstream. It is the responsibility of government to ensure social welfare and reforms. The previous committees Kaka Kelkar (1955) and Mandal Commission (1980) have found it a need to reserve seats for SEdBCs in educational institutions. It is a pity it has been delayed so far. If reservations are considered a political ploy, it is high time one gives it a thought and think alternative ways of ensuring affirmative action rather than burying the skulls in the closet. It is high time the cause isn't lost and none are caught in the crossfire.

Saving Kaavya Viswanathan

"Well, to each his own. I chose my path, you chose the way of the hero. And they found you amusing for a while, the people of this city. But the one thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying. In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually they will hate you. Why bother? "
-- Green Goblin to Spiderman in the movie Spiderman (2002)

The recent rise and fall of Kaavya Viswanathan as shown in the news media has made one wonder whether it is all about plagiarism or if there is something more to it. The story had all the right ingredients right from the beginning. A teenage success story that it was, talking about a young Harvard undergrad and how she makes it big in the bad bad world of publishing with her first novel - a chick lit - it very soon moved into much murkier waters. The same media that opulently praised Kaavya for her maiden success, savagely went for a kill after the rumours and confessions of plagiarism in her work.

In a story that appears too familiar and too obvious, one is awestruck by the way people's lives are ripped apart by the media, though initially to put them on a high altar, but only to be torn into pieces later. The glory and the ignominy go hand in hand. Nothing is spared by this juggernaut that crushes identities; identities that were initially created by it to be desecrated later. No doubt one wonders if Kaavya really deserved all this ignominy? Did she become a pawn used to attract eye-balls and sell copies of newspapers? Did she become an object to be used and thrown away as a piece of gossip in a boring party?

I guess no one deserves such a ruthless behaviour. It's time public images don't get into private lives of people and respect individuals' right to privacy. It's time media behaves sensibly and understand the kind of trauma a person might personally undergo because of all the bad publicity. At the same time what's now being termed Kaavya-Gate fiasco also shows how one's vanity that might cause one to allow media to tresspass that thin line between public life and private life can only lead to disgrace at the other end of the tunnel.

The problem with idol worship is, idols get broken.

---

A blessing in disguise

Photo courtesy: fotosearch.com

It is really disappointing to see how things are going these days. Not that I am ever satisfied with anything. But, one look at the local television channels and one will understand what I am saying. If you thought I was alluding to those monstrosities called "soaps" that come 24*7 on television, well..you are god damn right.

After almost 4 years, I happened to take a long vacation (read 4 weeks) home. Of many things that I wished to do back home, the most important was of course taking the strategic control of the television remote. That choice of being able to flick the remote and loaf in the sofa in almost all of the yoga postures, while ordering mom to make this and that delicacy..mm..the taste of it, I was all set for nirvana. Well these were my thoughts when I boarded the train from Delhi to Hyderabad. In fact my joy knew no bounds when my younger bro said he can't come home this time around as he had project work to finish at his college. Well..how can I stay calm when everything was turning to my favour. I almost laughed with joy, but managed to present a disappointing look to my brother..though now i wonder if I saw a derisive smirk on my brother's face. Well, anyway I was in no position to understand what was in store for me back home this time.

Everyone has certain wishes. Certain fantasies and imagined situations one craves for, and I was no different. But this time home I realised that not every wish is wishful thinking. It happens that almost always I keep hearing my friends say how they are completely sucked into watching those melodramatic Telugu soaps at home, as their moms and sisters kept glued to the television. Though I thanked my stars that I got to see all my favourite shows, as my mom wouldn't care much for those soaps, there was this tiny wish that my mom too saw those soaps like the rest of the moms, even if it only meant that I got a chance to participate in those long tirades against the soaps that kept popping up in our gang's debates. Well..here was my wish being answered and I no way knew what I was into.

So as usual is my style..the first thing i did after reaching home was to head towards the couch and take control of the remote. As I was browsing the channels, it took me time to sink when my mom happily asked me to put channel 8. I did it in an inconsequential spur of a moment to sit facing a soap in Gemini TV! There was no way my mom would see a soap..or did she finally get transformed? No, no, it can't be. There must have been a mistake somewhere! Did I come to my home or did I mistake someone else's mom as my mom. I almost said sorry, took my bag and was leaving my home wondering whether one can even forget one's home and mom too that I heard a voice too familiar. That course baritone and omnipresent cough. It was my dad. I was shocked to see my dad and I blurted out, "Dad, how can you do such a thing?" All I got in response was a confused look and another cough. I tried to explicate, "Dad, after all these years of happy married life, how can you bring another lady home?" Well..I was still not convinced with my mom's assertiveness to take control of the television remote. Though I kept reading how the new wave of feminism and women's assertiveness of their rights was becoming a common thing in suburban India..I wasn't prepared for this happening to my mom. My dad replied after a beat, "Huh! I tried that too..but there are offers to get a new television set for a older one but none for moms!" I could see desperation in my old man.

Sometime back I read somewhere that taking control of family's finances meant taking control of the family. Not too far back in time, women used to struggle with their mensfolk so as to get the month's salary in their hands. This way they would have an edge and be on top of the power ladder. Well that's history now. What's happening now is the struggle for television remote. Television remote is now not just a means of watching your favourite shows but has become a means of dominance and asserting one's supremacy and individual rights. If a couple is having a bitter fight what do you think classifies one as the winner of the tussle? Shouting at the highest pitch?..well no one can beat a woman's tone, winning a verbal fight?..forget it if you think you can beat a woman's vocabulary of choicest words..they have an entire collection of them worth an encyclopedia, and don't even think of winning a physical fight..why do you think women grow nails for? Well, slamming the doors won't help either. Gentlemen, the only thing that can bring victory to your forefront is the control of "the remote". It represents everything that has to do with power. There is a recent gossip going around. If DMK has promised colour televisions for households if it wins the Tamilnadu elections, you have no clue what Jayalalitha is secretly promising the womenfolk. The television remotes! Now, no prizes for guessing who will win the race. I guess only a woman can manoeuvre such a move and Jayalalitha is such a strong woman. Thank god she didn't make it big in Telugu movies..or else we Telugu men would have become loosers for life.

So here I was..with so many hopes and aspirations of watching those fashion TV babes, AXN fear factor to HBO blockbusters and Zee Cafe friends. And there I was sitting with my mom watching A to Z of Telugu soaps. You name it and I saw it. Chakravakam, Sravanthi, Gokulam lo Sita and what not. One month of viewing and I feel like a pro, a walking treatsie on the Telugu serials. I am serious, I someday intend to do a PhD on Telugu soaps, if not make one. I guess this is what these soaps are meant for, to boost one's confidence levels. If you have never watched these television soaps you must certainly watch them for the following reasons...
1) You will be assured that you will be able to watch them 24*7 for rest of your life! In a world where nothing is permanent, you will be part of something that will go on for eternity. Your one chance to be part of history. Something you can pass on from generation to generation. When you grow old and don't know what stories to tell your grandsons and granddaughters, you can simply recollect the past episodes of your favourite serial and recount them. The kids will relate to this more than anything else. Just forget it if you think you can entertain them with Panchatantra ot Jataka tales. They will be "K" generation kids (Courtesy: Our K serials)
2) Even if you miss an episode..it doesn't matter..b'coz as a rule each episode has just one dialogue that contributes significantly to the story. Well there is anyway no plot!
3) If you are really frustrated and need to know that one dialogue, just eavesdrop the conversation of two women. Not only will you know the dialogue but also the dresses and sarees worn by the ladies in the episode, the food they ate and as a bonus..the recipe for those delicacies. Statutory Warning: Don't eat food at home that looks different. It is no doubt made from the recipes told in the television serials.
4) There will be peace at home. Ladies will be busy with the television, as the serials go on 24*7 and won't mind you coming home late. No more late night quarrels.

Also there are certain things you must know before watching them..
1) Don't worry if the characters change overnight. The writer was unable to get on with the story and has fastforwarded the story by 20 years.
2) Don't confuse the actors which you will invariably do if you watch all the serials. Don't be too ambitious or greedy to watch all serials. Limit yourself to only 3 or 4 serials. Recent scientific research has found out that owing to superior mental abilities of women, they can process information faster and efficiently and can watch unlimited serials per day, but men can do it only at their own risk.So, don't blame others if you start seeing the actors in your dreams and daily life.
3) If you still feel greedy and want to have more..watch 4 serials for a month max and take a break. You can now switch to another 4 serials for this month. This way you keep alternating and can see 8 serials. Don't worry about the story, assured you won't miss anything except for recipes for few tasty delicacies.
4) Put your mind in deep freezer before watching the serials. Watch the serials for the state-of-art-technology used for sound affects, high-end camera work, and the oscar winning reactions of the actors zoomed and shown close-up especially for you. Never mind the story line. Be more artistic and enjoy the melodrama. I say, there is nothing more funny and hilarious than our soaps. A hearty laugh keeps the doctor away.

Though at first I felt pity for our mensfolk, very soon I realised the sinister plot our men are up to. This metaplot completely bowled me over. Television serials were like a bait. It's the highest level of negotiations and bartering I have ever seen. It is something like give and take. You give women television serials and you make them believe they have won the game. But far from it, you remain the winner. Now you can go out as you wish and spend more time with your friends. Your days are peaceful and nights blissful. Also, you are spared from attending all those long marriage ceremonies and stuff, as your womensfolk themselves aren't keen on going out and missing the television serials. Thus soaps are a blessing in disguise for men. As soon as this revelation dawned upon me, I started seeing the secret smiles on the faces of men, though there still remains this desperation of missing out their favourite shows - somewhere down the line every man wants to have his private space to watch FTV and MTV. But I guess this is a compromise every man is willing to make. Peace at home and a beer outside. Its bliss, FTV or not! I am sure you will agree.

PS: This essay has been an attempt to tickle the funny bone and was not intended to deride anyone. My apologies if anyone is offended.

If I die tomorrow...

If I die tomorrow, don't ask me why
I did nothing to stop this war
'cos I am a nomad in no man's land

If I die tomorrow, don't ask me what
I did in my life that I can show
'cos I remained neutral till it hit me

If I die tomorrow, don't ask me who
made me die a slow painful death
'cos none is to be blamed, but me

If I die tomorrow, let me tell you this
you will be the next to join the ranks
'cos none is spared, political or apolitical

Viplava kavi

A Telugu poem

Kavitha raase viplavakaari
kalam pattuku saaguthavu,
Chetha kaaka, paata paadi
cheyyi dhulupuku pothavu

Raithulele rajyamantu
rajaneethi palukuthavu,
Gundelona aggi vunchuku
manchu pogalanu vadhuluthavu

Kalla mundu kaduluthunna
drusyameedi chuudanantavu,
Saamyavaadam sadhyamantu
aayudhalanu pattanantavu

Janam hithavu koorukuntu
Eemi cheyaka oorakuntaavu,
Chetha kaaka, paata paadi
cheyyi dhulupuku pothavu

-- oka viplava kavi
---

Convoluted means for a contrived end

Review of 'Rang De Basanti' -- Dir: Rakyesh omprakash Mehra

When a movie transcends a cinematic experience to take a preachy and patronising tone, it is always an agony to the viewer, especially when the message isn't properly delivered. Rang De Basanti (RDB) by taking the route of a 'movie with a message', joins the league of those could-have-been-a-great-picture movies. The recent additions being Prakash Jha's Apaharan and John Mathew Mathan's Shikar. (Note: Earlier, Prakash Jha's Gangajal and Mathan's Sarfarosh did a wonderful job of what a 'movie with a message' should be like!)

RDB's first half is so promising that by the interval time audience anticipations are very high. But any aspirations of leaving the cinema hall with a smug feeling are dampened in the second half, as a very unoriginal way to solve the 'problems of a great nation' are unfolded. What starts as a film grasping the pulse of today's youth, starts drifting away into fathomless mediocrity when a panacea to the nation's ailments is proposed. As the movie continues with many of those cliche`s that are being nourished by Bollywood, it leaves lot wanting to classify it as a great picture. Yes, RDB is lot better than the banal stuff thrown at us these days, but it is certainly not what it is being hyped to be.

This review might appear a tirade, but to give a fair picture I must acknowledge that RDB certainly has some flashes of brilliance. The way the story of pre-Independence revolutionaries is juxtaposed with the life of protagonists is really a delight to watch. Mehra did justice to today's youth, when he showed the fears, cynicism, rising fundamentalism, and aspirations of the young graduates. The scene where Aamir Khan expresses his innermost fears in a drunkard's rambling is really good. Even though he completed his graduation years ago, he is unwilling to leave the college campus, as he fears that coming out into the real world might make him a nobody. He fears that he can't live up to the expectations people and he himself have on him. This helplessness of not being able to do anything once one comes out of college into real world strikes the chord with today's graduates. The brilliant cinematography and youthful music adds to the aura and leaves behind a charming memorabilia.

Where RDB recreates the mood of the youth and the nation today, it fails in building upon it. It tries to fit in a Dil Chahta Hai and a Yuva into a single space, and misses out on both the counts. It tries to provide a solution to the youth's angst but ends up giving something which the film itself declares ain't a solution but just a wake up call. This wake up call whimpers, lingers for a while and dies. If RDB wanted the audience to do something, it should have shown what it thought was that something to be done. But saying all the while that something needs to be done and not showing it certainly leaves the film incomplete. The movie ends with a message that youth join IAS, police or army and do good to the country! Thank you, but then why didn't it show how IAS, police or army did that something. Why were the audience shown antics, which can only be termed youthful brashness at best and utter foolishness at worst. RDB miserably fails at its message, if there was one in the first place.

Talking in terms of a cinematic experience, it has lots of cliche`s in it. To name a few..
1) The introduction of an English woman in the theme, one can certainly draw an inference of inducing potency from outside, if not our recent fashion with angrezi actresses in Bollywood.
2) Our filmmakers' fascination with Punjab. I have started wondering if non-punjabis are second rated Indians after all..
3) IAS, Police, Army..as the only national saviours.
4) Intense hatred of anything that is political. Politicians depicted as corrupt.
5) Bangles, sacred threads getting untied certainly means that something misfortunate is going to happen.
6) Muslim families leading their lives on edge. (Maybe it is justified in the movie as it wanted to get a gross aggregate picture. But still?)

Well, inspite of all these...the first half is certainly youthful and fun. All one can say is..
If u want a youthful movie..DCH was lot more fun.
If u want a pre-Independence revolutionary movie..Legend of Bhagat Singh is well researched.
If u want a message-movie..Yuva fits the bill.

You want all the three..go for RDB. But don't expect it to be the best. It has all three but certainly not the best of all the three.


--------


Also visit: Tera naam kya hai...Basanti?

The frog and the princess

1) The Original
(i,e the story I heard long back which I now tried to recollect and compose after storing it in my whacky brain for long years. Don't blame me if the end seems so contrived, 'coz I always fell asleep when a story came to its end.)

Long time ago there used be a king, who was admired by the people and envied by the neighbouring rulers. The king used to treat his subjects like his children. There was happiness everywhere in the country except for the king's castle. It so happened that the king had a daughter, who spent her days gloomily in the garden of eden, which had a pond adjacent to it.

The princess was gloomy because she was eighteen years old and didn't find her loved one. She was introduced to many a handsome gentlemen. Few courted her and some tried to flirt, but alas! the princess didn't find anyone interesting. She waited to find someone who would move her heart. Young princes from neighbouring countries and even from far off places came to woo her, but no one was able to touch her heart. This made the princess depressed and she found herself looking at her own image in the murky water of the pond everyday for hours and hours, when all of a sudden one day a frog jumped out of the pond and started staring at her.

The princess was shocked to see such an ugly creature and began to panic. The frog got worried that the princess might kill her and screamed at her,"Princess don't be in a haste to kill me or call the guards. I appear ugly, but there is a handsome me inside."
Princess revolted, "Ugh!!"
"Well, give me one kiss and find it for yourself," shrugged the frog.
Princess thought about it for something like a nanosecond before she said, "No way!"
Not bestowed with much brain power, the frog decided to do the best it could do. It made a gaint leap to the princess's lips and smacked them.
Well! Surprise...the frog turned into a handsome bloke with whom our princess fell head over heels in love. (err..why didn't she fall in love with any of those handsome chaps earlier? Why NOW. Maybe she loved the long leeeeeeeeeap.)
So..they got married and lived happily ever after.

--
Now comes the interesting twist to the tale. It was such a cool story, many people wanted to make a movie out of it. Of course, if Cindrella and Snow White became widescreen experiences, why not our rustic love story between the frog and the princess? How romantic, isn't it. So varied people made various versions adopting it to suit their genres...

2) Hollywood Studios:
Big sets of the pond and the garden were created. As a matter of general principle, they decided not to shoot outdoors, though it would have cost them less. The movie was made three long hours. It had 7 Ball dance sequences, 17 songs. The frog had a bald head. The princess was very pretty. The kiss scene too boring. The end too melodramatic.

3) French New Wave:
The king was shown, the queen was shown, the king's retinue was shown, the people of the country were shown. Their births were shown, their lives were shown, and their deaths were shown. Everything was shown but the princess's gloom wasn't. Then suddenly the princess cried. Then a frog jumped out of the pond and the movie ended. No story was shown. No end was given.

4) Film Noir:
Seeing the princess gloomy, the king hired a detective. He started spying on her and he fell in love with her. One day trying to hide from her, he fell in the water. When he came out of the pond, the princess screamed seeing him all covered in muddy water and weeds. The spy kissed her and wiped out the dirt from his face. Bad luck for him, the princess had multiple personality disorder. The baddie came out and killed the spy. The good girl came out and wept.

5) Westerns:
There was no place for a lovestory! Instead they made 'the good, the bad and the ugly'

6) Hollywood horror:
The princess was acting weird. She would always stay in the garden and stare into the pond. Every night a frog would come and seduce her. The exorcist was called, but he failed. Then one day, the king thought the water in the pond was too dirty. He dried the pond and the frog died, and the daemon left the princess's body! Well, you are mistaken. The frog was now sharing the princess's body. Film ended. Time for part two.

7) Hollywood Sci-Fi:
The princess was gloomy and always sat by the pond. The pond was the gateway to all the aliens who took the shapes of frogs to come into this planet. The princess fell in love with one such frog. But no one would agree. She started hiding the little frog in her room. Eventually, she realised the frog was dying and let it go. Then new technology came and the frog came back to live with the princess. Well! it's another thing, the princess had another boyfriend now. The frog went back and then there was a war. The king declared an independence day and wiped out all the frogs! The people lived happily ever after, without frogs and without aliens.

8) Hollywood Romance/Action:
The princess was gloomy. The neighbouring king declared war. The neighbouring prince decided to sneak in the castle thro' the secret passage and came out of the pond. The girl saw him and both fell in love. Now they both wanted to stop the war but the war continued. The prince's elder brother was killed and the boy had to fight. The princess's father was killed in the war and she too joined the battle. There was war, war and more war in the day. Love, love, more love in the night. After we had enough, the film ended.


9) Bollywood istyle:
The hero refused to act in a deglamourised role as a frog. The story was changed to 'the stallion and the princess.' Our hero was also not happy why anyone would refuse to love him? So the princess fell in love with the stallion. The hero was also not happy with having only one heroine. So now there was a sister to the princess. Both loved our hero who was a stallion by day and a man with a paunch in the night (well..our hero is 50 years old you see) Then six songs were shot in foreign locations. All were done on roads with fantastic cars as the background. Well..they were all dream songs and our chaps dreamt the future! Anyway, the story went on and on. Thankfully it ended. Our hero married the two girls, became the king and lived happily. He was still a stallion, but now by the night!


PS: Coming soon, what various directors would have done with the story.