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Archives for October 2023

Indi(r)a’s Emergency review: Shows the period’s relevance today

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Filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane’s Indi(r)a’s Emergency, as per its name, throws light at the period where India’s then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency in 1975, which led to the curtailment of basic rights of the citizens and utter chaos. While doing that, the movie, which is produced by Applause Entertainment, also succeeds in indirectly stating that the dark period is relevant even today.

Narrative:

Indi(r)a’s Emergency is a documentary which is not at all narrated like a documentary. The film is, in fact, is as gripping as a dramatic thriller. Instead of showing different individuals merely speaking on the screen on the subject, the film, for more than 95% of its time, uses visuals from plenty of archival footage along with an impactful narration by lyricist-cum-actor Swanand Kirkire. The script is not only crisp and to-the-point but also filled with powerful and witty dialogues.

The film narrates the story like any other fictitious drama. Although Indira Gandhi’s tenure as the PM starts in 1971, the movie begins from 1942 onwards when MK Gandhi’s Quit India Movement is in full flow. After building the back story, the screenplay gradually brings Indira Gandhi in the picture.

The film, basically, shows the rise, fall and the rise of Indira Gandhi as the country’s PM. The character arc of the protagonist is finely created and this is what largely makes Indi(r)a’s Emergency much more than a documentary. Without making any actor play the former PM, the film triumphs in building her character like any other powerful protagonist who gradually becomes obsessed with power. The makers have wonderfully used animation to depict incidents for which no footage is available, especially the courtroom scenes.  

Boldness:

The movie doesn’t hold back when it comes to portraying the horrors of Emergency and how the then establishment made it look like a successful exercise. Madhur Bhandarkar’s feature film on the same subject titled Indu Sarkar (2017) had succeeded in throwing light on the atrocities by the then government, which have been brushed under the carpet over the decades, but Indi(r)a’s Emergency goes beyond that despite being a documentary. The whole episode of the government machinery literally wiping out the entire Turkman Gate locality is the boldest part of the movie. Similarly, the exploration of the character of Indira’s son Sanjay Gandhi forms a major part of the film.

Relevance in today’s times:

A major reason why Indi(r)a’s Emergency appeals to this extent is because of its relevance in the contemporary times, although the makers never spell this out. A number of happenings and incidents one sees in the film reflect the current situation in the country. Labeling failures as masterstroke is something we have been witnessing in today’s times along with the curtailment of the free press and witch hunting of the opposition, although not officially like during the Emergency.

Interestingly, the movie also features video opinions of the common citizens who had become fans of the then regime and started believing that Emergency was a blessing. But what takes the cake is a naïve citizen powerfully proclaiming that as the Emergency has managed to do ‘so much good’ for the nation, it should be imposed even more. If this wasn’t enough, the movie ends with a powerful quote from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar – “Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”

Overall:

Indi(r)a’s Emergency is neither for the fans of the previous or the current regime. It’s basically aimed at the citizens who are concerned for the nation and don’t want dark chapters of the history being repeated.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Indi(r)a’s Emergency was premiered at the MAMI Film Festival in Mumbai on October 28, 2023

When Australia DELIBERATELY batted slow in this WC match

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The 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup had a number of unforgettable moments, right from South Africa’s heartbreaking exit to India scoring a mammoth 373 against Sri Lanka to the one-sided final between Australia and Pakistan. But there was another significant on-field antic that has been forgotten over the years. This was in the league match between Australia and West Indies played at the Old Trafford, Manchester.

West Indies were put into bat by Australia. Their innings started on a disastrous note and continued the same till the end of their innings. They kept losing wickets and were 20/3 at one stage when Brian Lara departed for just 9. The Windies never recovered and were bowled out for a paltry 110. The dangerous Glenn McGrath was at his best as he had figures of 5 for 14 in 8.4 overs.

Wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs, who opened the innings, was the only West Indian to show any fight as he remained not out on 49. He became the first opener in World Cup history to carry his bat throughout the innings. Interestingly, the second highest contributor in the West Indian innings were the 22 extras.

In reply, Australia reached the target of 111 with just 4 wickets down. This sounds like a normal one-sided match but it wasn’t as simpler as it looked.

In the 1999 World Cup, the next stage after the league matches was the Super Six. The rules were such that if a team enters that stage and along with it the team they beat also makes it to that stage, the former will get extra points. In other words, if Team A beats Team B and they both enter the Super Six, Team A will automatically get extra points for having beaten Team B earlier. Similarly, Australia, which had to reach the target in 47.2 overs to qualify, had lost to New Zealand, so they didn’t want them to qualify. They wanted WI to qualify for the aforementioned reasons.

Once it was confirmed that Australia was going to win the match easily within the stipulated overs, this equation started playing in the batters Steve Waugh and Michael Bevan’s minds. Hence, they started batting as slowly as possible, so that the West Indies gets a better net run rate and would, hopefully, enter the Super Six. This would mean that Australia will get more points automatically in that stage.

The crowd at the Old Trafford, obviously, got bored and started raising slogans to see Waugh and Bevan batting at a snail’s pace. All of us, who were watching it on TV got bored too. I remember Phil Simmons bowling his gentle medium pace and the two batters blocking him as if they were facing a dangerous fast bowler in a test match. Australia eventually took as many as 40.4 overs to reach the target of just 111. Bevan remained not out on 20 off 69 balls and Waugh took 73 balls for his 19 not out! (See the whole scorecard HERE)

The Aussies faced flak from the media after that match. Matthew Engel of The Guardian wrote, “Some have thought the complexities of the qualification system unfathomable. Yesterday the Australians fathomed them, and the result was a dreadful and shameful game of cricket.”

But Australian tactics didn’t work as West Indies still didn’t qualify for the Super Six and New Zealand did. This didn’t affect Australia though. They went onto win the 1999 World Cup easily and everything about their match against the West Indies was forgotten.

The Australian batting brings back memories of the 1994 Wills World Series ODI between India and (again) West Indies in Kanpur when Manoj Prabhakar and Nayan Mongia didn’t even try chasing 63 in 54 balls. They kept blocking and eventually India lost! Of course, there is no similarity in the end result and what the two Indian batters did was more unfathomable than Waugh and Bevan’s actions. Prabhakar and Mongia were ultimately banned from playing any further matches in the series.

Also read: He was selected for ‘83 World Cup, but could play in ‘99

The Vaccine War review

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Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Vaccine War starts off just before the COVID-19 pandemic hits the world, starting in China. The movie is largely about a group of scientists at the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research), led by Dr. Balram Bhargava (Nana Patekar) and aided by a group of scientists and doctors (Pallavi Joshi, Sapthami Gowda, Nivedita Bhattacharya and Girika Oak) and others, who aim to invent India’s own COVID-19 vaccine.

The main aim of the movie is to pay tribute to all the scientists, doctors and medical staff who sacrificed a part of themselves to ensure that India makes its own COVID-19 vaccine. The Vaccine War achieves this motto. The film has various moments where we feel dearly for the scientists or soldiers, as they are called in the film, for their painstaking effort.

The Vaccine War

The performances of the actors also play a large role in achieving this. Nana Patekar is brilliant as a genius yet emotionally cold head of ICMR. Despite the serious nature of the character, there are little nuances that trigger’s laughter, all because of Patekar’s skill. The rest of the aforementioned actors too rise to the occasion.

The team of professionals had enough going in their professional and personal lives for a film to have conflict elements. However, as was the case with Agnihotri’s previous two films, he creates more conflict just to showcase his own personal political agenda and please the supporters of the ruling party.

To achieve this, The Vaccine War creates a cardboard villain in the form of a journalist Rohini Singh Dhulia (Raima Sen). She is vehemently anti-India, who just wants the vaccine to fail. But the film doesn’t stop at this. She is also shown as someone who is working on behalf of foreign interest against India. Her work involves following a ‘toolkit,’ a term very famous among the Right Wingers. To say that the film uses a poorly created character to achieve its political aim would be an understatement.

There is another moment in the film where a large group of journalists in a press conference are also shown to be anti-India. Disclosing the culmination of that scene would lead to spoilers but it leads to an unintentionally hilarious moment. By the time the film ends, it gradually becomes a cinematic version of a government press release.

Overall: The Vaccine War’s tribute to the medical faculty of India gets overshadowed by its political motive.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5