23 February, 2017

Dawood Ibrahim’s Progeny

Dawood Ibrahim is gone from India but he left his progeny behind in the form of All India Bakchod and TVF Pitchers. If he were born a few decades later, he could have easily been a part of India’s over-felicitated start-up breed. It would have been easy for him to legitimise his mafia business under the subterfuge of the start-up culture of Youtube yuppies. He would be invited to give leadership lectures to students in IITs, IIMs and other universities; he would appear on Indian version of Ted Talks to disperse his nuggets of gyan; on Quora.com he would be a lifestyle guru advising fellow yuppies on almost everything from parenting to quantum physics; he would be invited on Karan Johar’ Koffee With Karan and talk about his best kills and if Al Capone was hotter than Ted Bundy. All he would have to do is to start a Youtube channel like AIB and TVF, purport to be an admirer of highbrow cinema and American TV shows — thence he would become a darling of India’s yuppies. There isn’t much difference between Dawood Ibrahim and the likes of All India Bakchod, except that the latter are backed by politicians and intellectuals. Both use fear and intimidation to control others. Both are self-righteous and autocratic custodians of society. Both are loved by Fascists.

TVF Pitchers are a hipster version of Khap Panchayat. They decide what’s original and what’s not. When Aurag Kashyap gets inspired by Cat’s Eye, it’s called an inspiration but if others get inspired or even pay a homage, they are slandered as plagiarists. In one of their propaganda videos, they have asserted that Shankar-Jaikishen’s song from Janwar“Deko ab to kisko nahi hai khabar” is copied from The Beatles song (“I want to hold your hand”). Obviously those malicious, boorish, autocratic bastards don’t a know a thing about history. The Beatles visited India in 1960 and were deeply inspired by the spirituality; they became friends with Shankar-Jaikishen and Shami Kapoor. In return Shankar-Jaikishen decided to pay a homage to them through that song. It was an obvious tribute. They four men playing guitars were clearly dressed as The Beatles, making no effort to hide the similarities. There is a demarcation between plagiarism and homage. (There have been several songs that were plagiarised by other Indian composers in the ‘80s and the ‘90s, but this was clearly not. Shankar-Jaikishen and other composers of that era were of a different league altogether. Heck, even The Beatles loved it but India’s cinema police won’t accept it.) They tell people what movies to watch and now they also police people’s taste in music. What’s next: will they tell people how many children they should have? (“Every Anurag Kashyap fan should have at least five children so we can take over” would be indoctrinated to their gullible disciples.) 

An obvious tribute to The Beatles. But Dawood Ibrahim’s successors, TVF Pitchers, refuse to accept that. 
But obviously the likes of TVF Pitchers are averse to any reasoning or logic (unless it’s meant to flatter them). Why would they make such egregious assertions? They want control like mafia. They are the modern-day versions of rogues like Dawood Ibrahim. They consider themselves as the trend influencers, just like Shobhaa De, Karan Johar, AIB etc. This is the reason why AIB’s dictator Tanmay Bhat slandered Lata Mangeshkar in his propaganda video. They use fear and coercion to control everyone.

All Dawood Ibrahim has to do is to announce that he loves Breaking Bad. His image would change and he might even get a pardon from the brain-dead yuppies of Indian government. 

22 February, 2017

Ae Dil Hai Nationalist

Atul Mehndi, the teddy-bear lookalike, took a pledge, with his hand over his chest, to never watch any Indian movie featuring Pakistani artistes after the attack on the Indian army in Uri. Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil became highly contentious before its release since it featured Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. Atul Mehndi and his nationalist ilk criticised Johar and urged everyone to boycott the movie, lest they would be anti-national.

Karan Johar appeared in a video, double-chinned, gaunt and sombre, dark circles under his eyes — a perfect image for his morbid audience. He cried like a sissy, pleading his love for India. He implored the detractors, like a prayerful beggar on a train, to allow the release of his movie and promised to never work with any Pakistani in future.

Once the movie released, fawning reviews started flowing. As soon as it became apparent that Karan Johar had relinquished happy endings forever and that he had traded entertainment for darker issues surrounding the “first world”, he become a national hero. Atul Mehndi and his ilk not only watched the movie but extolled it with sheer sycophancy. All it takes is a sad ending to become a nationalist these days.

I won’t be surprised if it was another publicity gimmick to promote his movie. If people wanted to boycott movies with Pakistani connection, then why Raees came out two months later without any objection despite having Mahira Khan? (Interestingly, Mahira Khan had a significant role in Raees compared to Fawad Khan’s cameo in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.)

Karan Johar has become a darling of the liberals just because he expressed his loathe for happy endings. He often talks about his depression that inspired him to make Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. He is cunning opportunist. He looks down on happy endings (because his own life is glum), yet he says that he cannot travel in economy class. Just see his contradiction. In an interview to a sycophant film critic, he said that he once travelled in economy class when he was a nobody (in the days of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) and it was “very uncomfortable” for him even then. These “serious” filmmakers pontificate on the virtues of “sensible” cinema, depression and sad endings, yet they can never leave the comforts of business class. His idiotic fans justify him by saying that even though he cannot give up comfort, he compensates for it by making movies on the “first-world problems”; so that gives him the privilege to lead a lavish lifestyle as long as he leads a sad life. What a sick explanation by his equally sick, rabid fans!

By no means do I mean that he or anyone should give up affluence. It’s just the hypocrisy of these stupid movie buffs that’s laughable. If a lowbrow filmmaker had talked about his or her love for riches, people would have castigated that person for being thankless, as if the cure of cancer lies in the movies of Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap.

He bribed the self-proclaimed film critic Kamaal R. Khan to trash the rival film, Ajay Devgan’s Shivaay, which was releasing on the same day. Ajay Devgan even wrote about it on twitter.
People are judged by the company they keep. How can anyone who considers Kamaal R. Khan a film critic be called an intellectual? Johar has nexus with Fascists like AIB and TVF and harangues people about free speech, when in truth they are the most intolerant people in India. They police people’s taste in cinema, music etc. and get hostile when anyone criticises them. When Mohammed Rafi’s fans peacefully protested on the derogatory remarks about Rafi in the movie, yuppies chastised them. If a mainstream movie criticised an American TV show like Breaking Bad or any Hollywood legend, would these yuppies stay quiet? At least Rafi’s fans are peaceful. Aamir Khan once mildly criticised AIB Roast and the liberals nearly destroyed his career.

The brain-dead yuppies say that directors like Anurag Kashyap and the born-again auteur Karan Johar should stop making movies in India because Indian audience aren’t worthy of them. Since the neo-Nazis love Hollywood and Iraninan cinema, the duo should make movies in US and Iran. Karan Johar says that he can get arrested in India if he reveals his sexual orientation. So, one of the most powerful men of India claims that he can get arrested if he tells anyone that he’s gay. The man who hangs out with powerful people like Shobhaa De, Anurag Kashyap, Tanmay Bhat etc. fears prosecution because of his sexuality. It’s as preposterous as the politics of guilt he plays to get critical acclaim. Perhaps Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap should make movies in Iran for a more deserving audience and enjoy the “tolerance” of Iran’s autocratic theocracy. Homosexuality is punishable by death there. I am not suggesting that they should relocate to Iran but merely replying to their hostile supporters who claim that India isn’t worthy of them.

A movie buff can go any length to get critical acclaim. The pledge taken by Atul Mehndi and others was just empty twaddle — much like the “sensible” values of Karan Johar. When depression becomes a virtue and bliss becomes a sin, Kamaal Rashid Khan’s idiocy is here to stay. 

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