Thanks for all your comments on the Rang De Basanti post. What my friend xFreakx said finally was quite interesting -- "you don't expect anyone to go watch a movie and get awakened to those levels ... its finally entertainment!"

And entertainment it is. Which is why I'm wondering why people (and that includes the production team) didn't just call it another time-pass flick in the first place. I realize now that the so-called message was only intended to be ancillary to everything else. So take away the cinematography and the music, and what you're left with is-- a flop! (unfortunately even good acting cannot rescue a watery storyline).

Fair enough. And that is why I fully agree with Patrix when he says we shouldn't bother sending our films to the Oscars anymore. Because obviously the jury there expects more from a film than just its ability to provide its viewers with time-pass.

xFreakx also said something about a kind of subconscious awakening. Is a subconscious awakening really an awakening? Frankly I'm not too sure.

I remember how after watching that Karate Kid movie when we were kids, the first thing I wanted to do was sign up for karate classes. Hell yeah! I would be the underdog who'd surprise the bully's in school by kicking the shit outta their ugly asses when they least expected it. But did I do it? Well, I did take up karate in school but that didn't last long; and soon Karate Kid was history.

I guess in a way we are all wannabe Karate Kid's - you and me. And movies like Rang De Basanti make you believe that you could be that Karate Kid if you wanted to ... that you could make everything all right again by throwing a few punches here and a few kicks there. But in reality it is an entirely different story.

But y'know, having said that, I remember something our michelle once said to me: I watch movies to get away from reality. Why do you watch them?

:)

***

They say an unextinguished cigarette butt can set off a forest-fire covering thousands of acres. That certainly seems to be the case with the worldwide protests we're seeing over some caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed that were published in a Danish newspaper and reprinted in many other countries. The Danish publication says they never expected the repercussions to be so widespread and so violent. And now it is quite obvious that the cartoon issue is being used as an excuse for violence on other things that the Islamic world is pissed off about.

I do not understand why religious leaders do not stop their followers from resorting to violence at the slightest provocation .... why not talk some sense into people who look up to you for guidance instead of inciting them to go on the rampage. And why can't religion just stick to being a personal set of beliefs instead of turning into a collective nuisance?

I know I wouldn't be the slightest bit peeved if someone said or published anything about Jesus or Mary, the reason being that for me they will always continue to be Jesus and Mary. Nothing anybody says or does will change that. And I am sure there are many followers of the Islamic faith who feel the same way about the Prophet.

Peace, love, and not so many lost sheep.