After going through several negative reviews which in my view miss the point in their criticism, I intended to present my own positive view about the movie, ‘Animal.’
The new age filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga who has a panache for unabashedly presenting extreme ideas of toxic masculinity on the screen has been a target for criticism from his earlier movie Arjun Reddy, and its Hindi remake Kabir Singh.
I presume, because of such criticism, Vanga went on to make a return attack with his next film, by boldly naming it ‘Animal.’ And, this time, he might have thought the title itself would answer all the critics, as he would have free reign to portray the alpha male toxic masculinity without holding any bars, as he pleased.
But, the critics once again were not impressed. And I think the devil is in the marketing. Whether it was Sandeep’s idea from the beginning, or the producer’s or marketing team’s idea, the film was presented as a ‘toxic’ love story between father and son. While the screenplay tries very hard to show the same, it doesn’t make wholesome sense in the end.
And, the critics once again had a field day morally correcting the lead character at every point. Why should he say those lines? Why should he have an extra-marital affair? Why should he justify it like that? Etc. But, why shouldn’t he? Why can’t he be a morally degraded alpha male when he has all the might he has? Who said that he is an ‘ideal’ character to be followed? Once again, the title itself says ‘Animal.’ He is not to be followed if you want to be human, as simple as that. Why can’t you see the movie as a wake-up call to such people who do exist in society, but maybe not to that extravagant extent (but probably to a more conniving and dangerous extent) Don’t you know the story of a powerful politician’s son mowing down farmers with his vehicle in a barbarous manner only some time ago? Where do you think he is now? He is out there doing whatever else he can. There are such stories of powerful ‘animalistic’ sons doing whatever they can under the insane powers of their fathers. Why can’t you see the movie from that angle?
I guess, the answer would be that he was presented in such a nice ‘heroic’ manner in most of the things, and that people would get influenced by him. But, that’s how people are in the real world. They look nice with a mask doing all the good things in the face, keeping their animalistic nature for the right occasions and people they want to show it to. It’s just portrayal of such a deranged powerful person. You can say that without anger, or without questioning the director.
While I do agree that the protagonist’s actions always influence the ‘illiterate audience,’ I don’t think you can question the filmmaker’s right to do what he wants to show. While I am not sure whether what I said in the earlier paragraph was his intention, that's how I looked at it. And, I believe, the critics could have chosen a similar path to review it as a story of a corrupt ‘Animal’ of a person, instead of questioning the filmmaker for every ‘unfair’ or ‘unpleasant’ detail. Look outside. The world is becoming more ‘unfair’ every day. If you want to question, question the powers behind it in the real world. Don’t waste your anger on a ‘fantasy.’
With the increase of news sources these days, one might have imagined that it would get easier to get unbiased news. But unfortunately, it’s a bit complex than that, since most of these organizations or rather ‘companies’ are ‘profit-oriented’ than ‘journalism-oriented.’
I have — consciously at times and unconsciously some times — developed a method to eliminate most of these superficial news articles or organizations. I thought listing those ideas. So, here we go.
Luring/Tempting Headings:
This would make the reader/listener wait and stay on the article or program for it and read/listen through, they think. But, you are irritating/frustrating them. Where is the quickest delivery of news in these accelerating times? If you want to actually garner the attention of the reader/viewer and long-term readership/viewership, just do away with this nonsense, and tell it quick.
Owning Mistakes/Lies:
Even this is a widespread virus, among the mainstream news media from before these Covid times. Unfortunately, as an individual growing in our country, we are prone to a form of loyalty that is not only immoral but which often affects us badly. We keep the mistakes or lies that the people whom we think of as our own do. And it will go away and won’t result in anything bad, we think. But, what happens if you don’t repair a small leak? It would become a big drain. And this is where our country is in, in more than one way, draining out people through the big holes that we allowed to spread.
Objective Reporting:
Unfortunately, at this point in India, all the journalism-related viruses are widely spread. Hence, even this one. Instead of going to the roots and reporting from the ground, the ‘Tu tu main main (You, you, me, me)’ of politics has infected the news media, especially the TV news media. We have to agree to the fact that our innate curiosity to stand and watch something like the drama of a roadside quarrel and any pinheaded rebel lead to this. But alas, the questioning changed direction as the quarrels became cheaper and cheaper.
But, the point is a news organization that takes no effort to reach the place and put ‘valid’ or at least 'decent' questions, pre-judging the situation is no channel to trust.
Taking A Side:
If I plainly ask if a good journalist should take a side? Some of you may say no. That is correct to an extent, to the extent of listening to both sides of the argument and checking the specific facts and responsibilities with our bias. But, after that, if the facts don’t add up and the responsibility gets overtaken by rhetoric, that side has to be questioned. What happened in that other issue, at that time in the past? Where were you then? These are pointless tactics to divert the issue when one can’t defend their own argument.
These are also the times of social and independent media. But, even these same rules apply. Twitter is the quickest source, but only if you can browse through the non-sense. My most trusted ones are these (judge them after filtering your own ‘immoral’ bias): The News Minute, NewsLaundry, The Caravan & The Wire.
నువ్వు కవివా?
ఏమో, ఇంకా తెలీదు, ప్రస్తుతానికి భావిని.
బావివా?
భావి.
అదే, well, నుయ్యి?
నుయ్యి కాదు, ఇది ఇంకా లోతైన గొయ్యి (rabbit hole).
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Love is like Light in many ways. It is the Light that brightens your Life.
Love is light, as in it is delicate, sensitive, but also warm.
The sense of vision is very primal. So maybe it's easier to find light than love. Love is hard to find, of course, even otherwise, lol!
We got an unlimited supply of light from the Sun, but we developed our own sources of light as well. If you can observe, nature also gave us unlimited sources of love in terms of sustenance and survival, but more importantly as an experience, actually, the experience. But, our own sources of love? Well, we each have a source of love inside us and can bring it out, but only if we don't get overwhelmed by fear, greed, or ignorance.
Moving on, Love is like the light in even more ways.
Like we found a spectrum of light that a human eye can perceive, we can also consider a spectrum of love that we can perceive. Like we can see or focus clearly on the things we want to see when there is enough light, we can focus and see things objectively for what they are when our mind is filled with love (for this experience of life).
Let's delve more into two more properties of light!
We all have read about the dual nature of light, i.e., as particles as well as a wave. Similarly, in love, we have tiny lovely moments, as well as periods of love with the highs and lows (wave ).
And finally, coming to the refraction of light, we know light bends while crossing from one medium to another. But what can be the bending of love? What imaginary mediums can Love travel in? Well, Like many physical materials which allow light through (with little refraction/bending), or block it, or diminish it, there will be similar imaginary mediums of clutter for love in our minds. But light travels nice and straight in a transparent medium, and so does love. A transparent mind is the best medium for love. But when it gets filled with clutters of bias, hypocrisy, arrogance, or hate, love bends (becomes skewed) or diminishes.
Like optics manipulate light to change the size of objects, optics of clutter can manipulate love and change the importance of things.
So, try to keep your mind as transparent, i.e., honest and away from bias, hypocrisy, arrogance, and more importantly, hate, the solid that stops the light of love.
Happy Lightening!
One indisputable fact is that you are dying, may not be today, tomorrow, or the next year, but eventually.
Your days on earth are numbered. That's how it is. That's how much time you have to live while slowly reaching your death, or simply while dying slow.
What is living? What counts as living?
Technically, the many days from your birth to death, maybe.
But, you know that that is not it, that is not it at all.
Then what else? What else is living?
How about the moments that you actually felt alive, happy, or excited for experiencing something, simple or grand?
What can that experience be called?
What do you call it? Joy? Pleasure? Excitement? Or many synonyms there and forth?
How about the word, Freedom?
In those moments, can you say you were free from all your fears, insecurities, and responsibilities culminating into that experience?
If so, what if your life can totally be that experience? That is free from all your fears, insecurities, and responsibilities? Can that be called living?
How to achieve that? How to get rid of all the negativities that gobble up your mind and achieve that freedom that can make your life an actual ‘living experience’?
It's simple, but hard at the same time, especially in the backdrop of the society and patriarchal traditions that we have inherited!
Unfortunately, freedom is the last thing that our societal system has been offering! The freedom of a person has often been curtailed by responsibility insisted by others. It can be parents, husband, family, or society at large. It is evident in many aspects of, which has been our common way of life, like marriage or staying single, having children, education, career, and even death ceremonies.
The other aspect of this journey to freedom is related to your career and financial health.
In any battle, financial health is as important as mental strength. You have to develop skills that make you unique and creative in any field of your choice. Your passion for the field can be the driver.
If you can stand on your own feet, then it makes it that much easier to find your strength in your journey to freedom!
Good luck and bon voyage!
Find your feet and freedom.
Live it while you still have time before
dying!
వాడిని మాత్రమే వాడానే అని ఫీలవకండి.
దానిని అనాల్సి వస్తుంది కాబట్టి ఈసారికి ఇలా సరిపెట్టుకోండి.
Cheap ని చీప్ చేసేసినట్లే, Settle ని కూడా మనం మరీ ఎక్కువగా సెటిల్ చేసేసాం.
ఎంతలా అంటే జీవితం గురించి తెలుసుకునేలోపే సెటిలయిపోయేంత; ఆనందమొచ్చినా కూడా ఒక్క స్టెప్పు కూడా వేయలేనంత;
పోనీ ఇప్పుడు నేర్చుకొవాలని మహా తీవ్రంగా ప్రయత్నిస్తే, నాగ చైతన్యాలానో, నానీలానో కుదరచ్చు. అది చాలదా అంటారా? చాలవచ్చు! అసలు అదేదో సినెమాలోలా మనసు లోపలే డాన్స్ కూడా చేస్కోవచ్చు!
అయినా, మేమేమన్నా డాన్సేస్తుంటే వద్దన్నామా ఆపామా అంటారా?
మీరు డాన్స్ ఆపక్కర్లేదు! డామినెన్స్ చూపిస్తే చాలు!
డాన్సే కాదు చాలా ఆగిపోతాయ్!
మానసిక ఎదుగుదలతో పాటు.
వాళ్ళు ఏదైనా అడిగేది తెలియకనే అని మర్చిపోకండి,
'అదంతే' అని గట్టిగా అన్నారంటే చాలు, ఇంకంతే!
మీరు ఆపేది, ఉత్సుకతనీ, తెలుసుకోవాలనే తపననీ.
వాటితో పాటుగా వాళ్ళ స్వేచ్ఛనీ.
వాటిని ఆపేస్తే అక్కడే ఆగిపోతుంది ఎదుగుదల!
మీకు తెలిసినవి కావచ్చు, తెలీనవి కావచ్చు.
తెలియనివైతే తెలుసుకొని చెప్పండి. సెటిల్ చేసేయకండి.
వాళ్ళని ఎదగనివ్వండి. వాళ్ళంతట వాళ్లనే స్వేచ్ఛగా సెటిల్ కానివ్వండి.
The cricket world once again caught unaware with another unscrutinised rule from the game's rule book. While most of the game's oldies sang the sympathy song for the non-striking batsman, who caught off-guard, some sane opinions were seen as well.
The argument of these veteran singers varies from 'outside the spirit of the game' to 'Ash not coming to bowling stride and waiting for Buttler to go out.' Some pandits did point out that the rule is ambiguous when it says that, the non-striker leaving the crease can be ran-out, if he leaves the crease by the time, the bowler delivers (apparently, its not by the time he gets into bowling stride, as it used to be).
దాహం..
Some created good things, some created bad, but once life came to earth, it has been humans all along..
Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.
Why are we on earth for if not to make this one chance count by doing whatever comes to your mind as worthy of doing. After all, this is the only chance you get to live. Now, traditionally, the conditions around us were not ideal for such things as our conservative society has certain apprehensions on what, when, how and where we should do things that are important part of the life for each one of us. But, the important detail that has missed there was and still is the ‘why’ part.
But, most of the time, what we do is the opposite of that, we heavily depend on others to make decisions of our own, and we heavily indulge in decisions that are to be taken by others. Yes, we do have our parents and elders making decisions for us while growing up, which unfortunately continues too far. Parenting is not about making decisions for your child, it is about making him/her learn to take them for themselves as they grow into a man/woman. But, keeping on making them even after the young ones come of age makes things complicated for every one.
First of all, this circulation, which is producing lot of laughs, also shows some sort of hypocrisy that has been induced into each one of us. While mocking such stage dramas, which are merely showing, what most of us hope for and ask for in many of our daily prayers. While we are mocking the guy on stage, we are also mocking ourselves.
There are
two separate things that are being questioned now: one is the need to
interview criminals behind bars, which has
so much to do with the mindsets of people in our country - especially in cases like Nirabhaya - which has to be checked; and the second is on whether the documentary can effectively convey the message for the
betterment of our society or not, for which one has to see it first. 
