Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Sex sells. Period.
This blog has been around since July 2002 and in this period I have made a total of 73 posts, holding forth on such weighty issues as Shaolin kung fu and swatting pesky mosquitoes. However, till Aug 16 I had just about .765 comments per post to show for my intellectual exertions. But yesterday, the unthinkable happened, within the first hour of posting “Rising ‘yes’, Rousing ‘no’” I received 2 comments, and by the end of the day it had reached double figures — a personal milestone! The post currently boasts an all-time high of 12 comments (and counting, hopefully)! The secret(s) of my “success”? Passion and hard work, obviously. A never-say-die attitude: Keep on writing even when you know in your heart that nobody gives a flying f**k about your impressions of the various authors you have met. Last but not the least, introduce words like “mammary”, “cleavage”, “bosom-heaving”, wherever and whenever possible. And see the eyeball-grabbing potential of your blog expand exponentially.
P.S. Ketanji, sorry for the rant against the “exposure” in your film. You have taught me an important truth, and for that sir I am eternally grateful!

Comments:
Mangal Pandey was not exactly revolutionary stuff and the playboy muscleman for all you know. On the other hand what little is known about him suggests that he was a dopey and abused opium. Rudrangshu Mukherjee has written a book on the "hero" and his research has dug up the fact that Mangal Pandey was under the influence of opium when he led the foolhardy charge with a musket in his hand and his dhoti billowing bellicously. Till then there was not a blot against his name. Now imagine: a man defying the chief of Behrampore Regiment by standing in front of a cannon and getting away with it. Incredible, isnt it?
PS1: I dont mind tinkering with facts while making period "historical" films. Sometimes is adds value and helps create a larger-than-life figure.
PS2: The banjarans were great. So much for the lesson you have learnt from Ketan Mehta.
 
That was enlightening! The truth, widely acknowledged as it is, is that we Indians are lousy as historians. As William Dalrymple writes in an article in The Guardian: "...it is still impossible, for example, to go into a bookshop in Delhi and buy an up-to-date and accessible biography of any of India's pre-colonial rulers, even of the most obvious ones such as Akbar or Shah Jehan, the builder of the Taj Mahal. Why is it that much the most popular biography of Mrs Gandhi was by Katherine Frank, an American living in England, and the most authoritative study of Hindu nationalism by a Frenchman, Christophe Jaffrelot? Why are there no Indian authors writing this sort of thing better than us firangi interlopers?"
So, my point is that though Rudrangshu Mukherjee may have been right, he would have to perforce rely on sources "unsympathetic" to the Indian cause for his "research". Might it not be that the same bunch of historians who tried to pass of the "rising" as a "mutiny", would find it in their interests to portray Mangal Pandey as a dopey? Truth be told, none of the major players involved in the 1857 "revolt" were acting on "altruistic/nationalistic" impulses. Each had his/her own axe to grind!
 
Here’s what happened after Mangal Pandey was hanged.
On 24th of April 1857, eighty-five soldiers in Meerut refused orders to handle the new cartridges. They were arrested, court-martialled and sentenced to ten years hard labor. On 10th May 1857, angry soldiers broke open the town jail and released their comrades. Indian soldiers poured into the cantonment where the Britishers lived, and killed many of them and marched towards Delhi.

Would have made a better film. Aamir – scent of a sequel?
 
Sex Sells. Thats an understatement. It doesn't need a Ketan Mehta to tell one that. It explains the survival and successes of the Mallika Sehrawats, the Neha Dhupias, the Deepal Shahs, etc...Lets be honest - we love to have, see, read, talk, dream the "coveted" three-letter word, then why shudn't the directors, producers, actors give us what we love???
Also, like the BJP used BAbri Masjid to rise to the Centre, the author has used "sex" to give his thoughts more "exposure". Way to go Tridip...May you rise and be aroused!!!
 
Blogisite: exactly what I was thinking -- that it wasn't fair to purport that you are making a film about the Mutiny of 1857 and then end it with Mangal Pandey's hanging.

What most people are unaware of is that mangal Pandey played a very minor role in the brewing of the revolt and its aftermath. Why? Because our history books have taught us that Mangal Pandey was an important figure in Indian nationalist history... and the less said about our history books the better.
 
Did you guys know that Mangal Pandey was in love with a woman trapped in a disturbed marriage?

Aamir broke his while doing the film. That's life I guess.
 
looks like its 17 and still going strong ...way to go bro !!!
 
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