It has been quite a while since I have been bored with the routine weekend hang outs. Two weeks back a friend invited me to the 'Tri-Continent Film Fest' at Bangalore. Though many people think it crazy, I absolutely love watching contemporary parallel movies & movies with a strong sense of direction. About 20 award winning movies were screened during those two days
Alliance Franchise, where the movies were screened, is an Indo French collaboration centre. It has a terrific ambience with a tranquil garden and aesthetically furnished interiors. Most of the crowd over there were social activists, media students & a surprising number of foreigners. Felt like being transposed to a different world inside Bangalore; where people sat in groups, sipping piping hot tea & discussing social issues.
Some movies succeeded in striking a chord deep within me. One such movie was ‘Hearts and Minds’- a 1974 academy award winning documentary on Vietnam war. It captures the most powerful images of a devastating war carried out by the US.
The US war planes whizzed past, carpet bombing the Vietnamese villages and ejecting toxic gases that resulted in massive killings. Many US war veterans & pilots when interviewed, initially told how they enjoyed bombings the targets; but later on many broke down seeing the devastating effects they created . One pilot commented how he felt as if he were playing video games, when the deadly bombs hit the target. In the national cemetery an elderly woman wails and tries to jump into her son’s grave to get buried; a child pathetically weeps and falls on his father’s grave.
The movie derived it’s name from US president President Lyndon B. Johnson’s notorious speech “The ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there." Glorious words used to cover up the senseless occupation of Vietnam.
US soldiers brutally harassed the civilians, set fire on their houses & dehumanized the Vietnamese prostitutes . The war footage shows children screaming and running in pandemonium. A little girl Kim Phouc, horribly burnt ran out screaming while the shells exploded against the back drop. This picture that appeared all over the world , pricked the conscience of the entire world .The movie succeded in putting forth a strong anti-war message.
There were a few other movies worth mentioning: John & Jane is an Indian movie on the woes of call centre employees, as they tries to cope up with the virtual world they live in. Shake Hands With The Devil looks through the eyes of Romeo Dallaire, the once UN Force Commander to Rwanda, when the country went through a heinous civil war & genocide. It’s the story of a nation abandoned by the world & even by UN who withdrew it’s peace keeping forces at a crucial time. Say Amen an Israeli movie, comically picturises how a gay man is being forced by his large conservative extended family to commit to the institution of marriage.
I think I have seen enough movies to last atleast a month. Cant take in any more!!!!
PS: I might not be politically correct here. These are just a chain of images drifting across my mind
January has whizzed past. This has been a month of partying - party at office, party at hostel, and one back home at our residential association..
Now the New Year party at office was a helluva one. Though the invitation revealed nothing explicitly, it soon became an open secret that it was a pub party. It was in Regalis- Cloud 9 at Lavalle Road. Now I always had this curiosity to know what really brews inside a pub. The bouncer thugs guarding the pub & the blaring music have always intensified my curiosity. "Curiosity kills the cat". But, I was not that curious a cat to waste some bucks on such stuffs and quench my curiosity. But this pub was exclusively reserved for our office and hence it turned out to be a pretty decent party with the managers hovering over us (!!). So I guess, I missed the real yo-man-yo dudes & dudettes:) in action . *** sigh*** So, instead ended up seeing the same monotonous faces of my colleagues **sigh** (incase anybody of you are reading, dont kill me..kidding)
The initial feelings on entering the pub were that of partial blindness & deafness imparted by the dazzling light & ear-splitting music. As soon as my sensories regained their functionality, I joined the gang. All around were a bevy of glasses. Now somebody informed me that soft drinks are available.Ok... So after all, I get something to drink. And I really dont know what got into me, when I went and asked the bartender "Can I have juice?" The horrified look on his face said "where the hell did you drop in from?". The moment I really wished the earth would open up and swallow me!!!! Heheee..So I ended up drinking pesticide (sprite), something which I never used to drink these days.
For some time, just stood there drinking pesticide sprite & watching the colleagues on dance floor. This soon proving to be boring. I felt like another brick in the wall. That is when I and a few pals decided to hit the dance floor. Soon we were having a whale of a time. Then out of blue, somebody in an energetic dance move, crash landed the heavy sharp heels onto my toes.Aaah..Instantly, I could feel warm blood sprouting around my toes. I thought, yo man yo ,I dont care and resumed with the activities. After some time, yo man yo didnt feel so cool about it. Toe was hurting. So went out of the room to inspect the poor mashed up toes & got it bandaged
Soon it was time for the most crucial event "dinner". Hogged the dinner & went on to collect the office T-shirts. So as usual, the unlucky me didn't get any small sized t-shirts. Only medium sizes were left, the small ones being grabbed by the early birds. I am just not destined to wear office logo t-shirts. So as usual, my t-shirts will be donated to my fathers collection. Hmmm..My father is getting real trendy these days with all the t-shirts :)
The toes got infected and after a long have healed now. But the poor toe nail still remains a deep bluish-purple. Guess I should get a purple nail polish & paint the remaining nails purple too. That would indeed be a smart way of living with it !!! yo gal yo !!!! :)
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