Here's my two bits on a massive change that's swept India over the last couple of weeks. The first I heard of the 'demonitization' was through a forwarded WhatsApp message the husband read out while we were in Goa. My first reaction - it must be one of those fake forwards; ignore! Pretty soon, it became evident that the news was pretty real. This was around 9pm on 8th November.
The enormity of the change started sinking in over the next few days as we heard news and opinions about this change. (And of course the forwarded 'jokes' and images and GIFs!). The move has been politicized to no end, and rightly so, because above everything else it IS a political move. It definitely isn't the life saver, high moral ninja move that BJP would have us believe, but is it all bad?
Personally, I like the idea behind it. To make people accountable for the money they have. I do feel that it would - to some extent - start a trend towards discouraging demand for bribes. Some may say I am being foolishly optimistic. Quite likely, but I'd pick that over reflex cynicism any day.
Now about the flip side. I have witnessed and heard of the struggles people have faced in managing their work and lives in general due to the long ques at banks. I've come across people who claimed to be queuing up every single day for a week, only to be turned away stating that the bank was out of cash. People who have stood for hours waiting for their turn, while someone with 'contacts' flouts the que with no qualms. People who have struggled to fund the day's meal as they were out of cash and were only being paid in old currency. People who have had to miss work as they stood outside banks.
The idea of making our country and society free of corruption is a noble one. Sadly though, it seems to be failing because we are steeped in a mindset of entitlement and quick fixes. No one wants to stand in ques. No one wants to wait. So what do we do? We call up someone who knows someone to "arrange" for cash. We pay people to stand in line for us. We urge our domestic help to deposit our black money in their name.
So if you ask me, the demonitization is not causing all the trouble. It is us. The common people. If only we had the patience and discipline, this transition would have been way smoother! I understand that people dealing primarily in cash are struggling. I empathize with them. But I do not understand or appreciate people who have easy access to plastic money or online transactions, and are complaining about the "inconvenience". Since 8th November 2016, I have spent less than Rs.1000 in cash. And I have been alright.
So please, don't panic. Please don't add to the commotion. And for God's sake don't believe everything you hear. Go out, see what it's like for yourself before assuming the worst! You can actually contribute to reducing the panic! Please only withdraw as much money as you need. And spend it rather than hoarding!
And hey..change is fun! Enjoy the novelty of the 2000 and 500 rupee notes if you do manage to get hold of them ;)
Nov 2, 2016
Why "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" was a disappointment
More than anything else, this movie was a disappointment for the sheer lack of depth! Whether it was the lead actors or their love interests...for me, not a single character was gripping. And that's a shame because the story had potential. It was not a new story, though it looked at the 'same old' from a slightly different angle. Instead of looking at boy meets girl and they lived happily ever after, I believe the attempt here was to hero unrequited love...or 'iktarfa pyaar'!
However, there's a difference between heroing Raja from Saagar versus Rahul of Darr. For no matter how cute the guy is, no is a no. Perhaps the disappointment is so much more since Pink had helped us refocus on the all important discourse on consent. And here we are, back to square one! Whether it is a crude moneyed guy from Haryana or a jet-setting Londoner, no matter where you are, who you are, forcing another person to reciprocate, either physically or emotionally, IS abuse.
So technically, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil champions the cause of Ayaan - an emotionally 'vulnerable' 30 year old - who just won't take no for an answer. Not when the girl says she wants to be friends 'only'; not when she marries the man she loves; not when she tells him she will never feel 'that way' for him; not when she slaps him. So this man is either has a huge sense of entitlement and just doesn't comprehend the concept of rejection. OR, he is just really dense. Owing to my love for Dharma Productions and all things Karan Johar, I tried reallllyyyyyyy hard to give this movie the benefit of doubt. But bro, this isn't 1985! We don't live in that era anymore! (It was amusing to see the likes of Ritesh Deshmukh and Hrithik Roshan tweeting in praise of the movie and the "performances". Seriously guys?)
Despite all of this, the movie does pull off some lovely songs with great lyrics. And beautiful people in beautiful places wearing beautiful clothes. The Urdu dialogues took it a bit too far though. Sounded like they were trying too hard. A few here and there would have been charming, but the way Aishwarya Rai's character Saba spoke was pretty hard to follow!! Perhaps the only somewhat sensible thing that happens in the movie is her breaking up with Ayaan!
Despite my rant, I don't think the movie is BAD like some posts on Fb make it out to be. It doesn't manage to get you hooked like a KHNH or K3G, but well...you need Shahrukh Khan to be around for more than a couple of minutes for that to happen I guess :D
However, there's a difference between heroing Raja from Saagar versus Rahul of Darr. For no matter how cute the guy is, no is a no. Perhaps the disappointment is so much more since Pink had helped us refocus on the all important discourse on consent. And here we are, back to square one! Whether it is a crude moneyed guy from Haryana or a jet-setting Londoner, no matter where you are, who you are, forcing another person to reciprocate, either physically or emotionally, IS abuse.
So technically, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil champions the cause of Ayaan - an emotionally 'vulnerable' 30 year old - who just won't take no for an answer. Not when the girl says she wants to be friends 'only'; not when she marries the man she loves; not when she tells him she will never feel 'that way' for him; not when she slaps him. So this man is either has a huge sense of entitlement and just doesn't comprehend the concept of rejection. OR, he is just really dense. Owing to my love for Dharma Productions and all things Karan Johar, I tried reallllyyyyyyy hard to give this movie the benefit of doubt. But bro, this isn't 1985! We don't live in that era anymore! (It was amusing to see the likes of Ritesh Deshmukh and Hrithik Roshan tweeting in praise of the movie and the "performances". Seriously guys?)
Despite all of this, the movie does pull off some lovely songs with great lyrics. And beautiful people in beautiful places wearing beautiful clothes. The Urdu dialogues took it a bit too far though. Sounded like they were trying too hard. A few here and there would have been charming, but the way Aishwarya Rai's character Saba spoke was pretty hard to follow!! Perhaps the only somewhat sensible thing that happens in the movie is her breaking up with Ayaan!
Despite my rant, I don't think the movie is BAD like some posts on Fb make it out to be. It doesn't manage to get you hooked like a KHNH or K3G, but well...you need Shahrukh Khan to be around for more than a couple of minutes for that to happen I guess :D
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