Yann Martel's Life of Pi

It is by chance that I got the e-book – Life of Pi.

Think I missed reading about this book until I heard that the movie is going to be shortly released. What interested me was an article that mentioned that it was partly shot at Munnar (mainly in Pondicherry). And now that I finished reading the novel, I just cant wait to watch the movie directed by Ang Lee. It may not be as arresting as the book but I am looking forward to it.

Ang Lee

I did not want to stop reading the book since the story was very interesting. There were times when it turned horrific.  But the entire tale though surreal, I somehow wanted to belive that it was a true story. While the author never really tells us if it is entirely fictious, I would really love to know the truth.

The protagonist of the novel Mr. Patel or Pi as he wanted himself to be called instead of Pissing is an interesting character. I liked the way he discovered the three major religions in India at the age of 16 and how he ended practicing all three. The people who introduced him into each believed that he had become one of their own. This was proved wrong when all of them meet together. 

After the "Hellos" and the "Good days", there was an awkward silence.

The priest broke it when he said, with pride in his voice, "Piscine is a good Christian boy. I hope to see him join our choir soon."  

My parents, the pandit and the imam looked surprised.  "You must be mistaken. He's a good Muslim boy. He comes without fail to Friday prayer, and his knowledge of the Holy Qur'an is coming along nicely." So said the imam. 

My parents, the priest and the pandit looked incredulous. 

The pandit spoke. "You're both wrong. He's a good Hindu boy. l see him all the time at the temple coming for darshan and performing puja." 

My parents, the imam and the priest looked astounded.

Then ensued a war of words between them and they slaughtered and  slandered each other’s religion while exhorting his own. Finally it was decided that one cannot be a Hindu, Muslim and a Chrisitian. This is when Patel  answers thus.

"Bapu Gandhi said, 'All religions are true.' I just want to love God," I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face.

How true!

For most of us religion is another tool to exhort favours or to exert power but seldom to love God. If only religion was used to love God and in turn to love what He created lovingly!

The author also writes the following about religious strife.

And that wasn't the end of it. There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence, were something weak and helpless. These people walk by a widow deformed by leprosy begging for a few paise, walk by children dressed in rags living in the street, and they think, "Business as usual." But if they perceive a slight against God, it is a different story. Their faces go red, their chests heave mightily, they sputter angry words. The degree of their indignation is astonishing. Their resolve is frightening.  These people fail to realize that it is on the inside that God must be defended, not on the outside. They should direct their anger at themselves. For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out.

The main battlefield for good is not the open ground of the public arena but the small clearing of each heart. Meanwhile, the lot of widows and homeless children is very hard, and it is to their defence, not God's, that the self-righteous should rush.

It is when Patel is cast away in the ocean with a man eating tiger that the novel grips you truly. From there you can do nothing else but finish the tale.

http://3euro2010lfpondy.blogspot.com/

RIP Thilakan

Yesterday one more giant passed away.

Picture source: The Hindu

It is sad to see the favourites bid adieu to this world we know. Selfish as we are, we want them to entertain us forever.

Thilakan was one of a kind and can never be replaced. He survived solely on his skills and his passion for acting. Like Murali, he needed no props nor a God Father. The cinema wanted them and it had to fit them in. I remember the days when Thilakan was hounded by the Malayalam film industry. Though one did not enjoy watching the drama, It provided an opportunity to see the ugly side of many of our actors. They might be comedians, lovers or heroes on the film screen but in real life they were as ugly as the villain on the same screen. It was also during the same time that a film call Dam 999 was to be shot. A big trumpeting started before the shoot and curiosity led me to their website. Thilakan was supposed to have a good part in this movie. It was all about dams and the disasters it can bring and based on a true incident that happened in China which claimed the lives of 250,000 people. Yes.. it was a big cause to fight for. But soon I chanced to read on their site that Thilakan is being replaced since various associations, mainly AMMA and FEFKA threatened them with dire consequences. The people behind the movie cowered under the threat and Thilakan was replaced. I remember writing to them and asking them how they intend to take such a big cause like dams if they cannot face minor hurdles like casting an Actor of their choice.

But the movie did not run well and Thilakan moved on to other pursuits mainly his first love – drama. It did disappoint his fans but soon to the delight of the true cinema lovers (not the mad fan associations) cinema was forced to bring him back. He was at his best in Indian Ruppee and many others but if not for those silly association, I continue to believe that we could have seen more of Thilakan. Now he is no more and we saw the crocodile tears and meaningless eulogies on TV. We saw how even his death was used to hog the lime light by many.

It is at times like this that one misses the true cinema artists like, Prem Nazir, Murali, Cochin Haneefa etc. Prem Nazir used to be evergreen lover but when age overtook him he gracefully withdrew and accepted roles that suited him. We saw him in dignified roles unlike the current superstars who never seem to age except in the eyes of the audience. I wish some of them would take heed of what Thilakan himself said.

I have high regard for Mohanlal. He is a brilliant, natural, flexible actor. Problem with Mohanlal is the company he keeps.

Mohanlal continues to be a favourite and I am sure there are many more roles that he can do to mesmerise his fans but he continues to blunder away his time with heroines as young as his daughter.

Thilakan also told about the various lobbies that worked within the industry and specially mentioned the Nair lobby. I am sure there are Christian lobbies too. If a place like Kuwait can have them why not the Cinema Industry. If you join these clubs, one can have an easier access to jobs and to the society in general. I am sure there was a lobby that catered to Thilakan’s own caste too.

Whatever, I wish his death would brush away at least a bit of murk away from the industry.

I know we shall never see them perform again but let me post this tweet that caught my eyes.

#IfIwasGOD I would bring back Thilakan.