GEORGE FERNANDES A TRIBUTE 11 february 2019 / rS 50 GUNS AND ROADS IN BASTAR KANGANA RANAUT STRIKES GOLD w w w o p e n t h e m a g a z i n e c o m Sanjiv Mehta Akash Ambani Ritesh Agarwal STA R S A N D S T R I D E S O P E N - R E P U B L I C T V AC H I E V E R S AWA R D S A C e l eb t i o n o f t h e G re a t I n d i a n D re a m E Sreedharan Mary Kom contents 11 february 2019 50 LOCOMOTIf GuTS & baLLS The last street fighter SuperNovak By S Prasannarajan By Aditya Iyer 32 54 14 fOrM & refOrM 46 Prayagraj and Kumbh reIGNING STarS aND faLLING TreeS Being both an insider and outsider at the Jaipur Literature Festival By Bibek Debroy By Amrita Tripathi 16 58 LOST & fOuND HISTOrIeS A river runs through it Of CHeeKS aND SLaPS By Ranjit Hoskote 20 OPeN eSSay The conditions under which force may be used against government injustice and what India’s historical experience tells us about resistance By Siddharth Singh 24 Guardians of democracy By Navin Chawla 60 54 DuTIfuL DIreCTOr 24 OPeN-rePubLIC Tv aCHIeverS awarDS 60 A celebration of the Great Indian Dream By Nandini Nair After a blockbuster run in Tamil cinema, filmmaker Pa Ranjith is all set for Bollywood By Shahina KK 64 DeLHI CONfIDeNTIaL 32 Ivan Ayr’s story of two female cops in the capital gets international acclaim GuNS aND rOaDS After nearly two decades of violence, Bastar now has a semblance of normalcy but this has more to with individual choices than ideological leanings By Siddharth Singh 38 By Divya Unny 66 NOT PeOPLe LIKe uS 42 freeDOM frOM babuDOM 46 How BJP has become a suitable enemy for the Andhra Chief Minister Leprosy continues to resist being wiped out in India because the battle against it was called a victory too soon By V Shoba By Rahul Pandita By Madhavankutty Pillai 11 february 2019 By Rajeev Masand THe faILeD eraDICaTION A technology platform introduced in Haryana is transforming the government’s interface with citizens Can it be replicated elsewhere in India? DeSPeraTeLy NaIDu Moving on from the Khans Cover by Saurabh Singh www.openthemagazine.com open mail editor@openmedianetwork.in Editor S Prasannarajan managing Editor Pr ramesh ExEcutivE EditorS aresh Shirali, ullekh nP Editor-at-largE Siddharth Singh dEPuty EditorS madhavankutty Pillai (mumbai Bureau chief), rahul Pandita, amita Shah, v Shoba (Bangalore), nandini nair crEativE dirEctor rohit chawla art dirEctor Jyoti K Singh SEnior EditorS lhendup gyatso Bhutia (mumbai), moinak mitra aSSociatE EditorS vijay K Soni (Web), Sonali acharjee, aditya iyer, Shahina KK aSSiStant Editor vipul vivek chiEf of graPhicS Saurabh Singh SEnior dESignErS anup Banerjee, veer Pal Singh Photo Editor raul irani dEPuty Photo Editor ashish Sharma aSSociatE PuBliShEr Pankaj Jayaswal national hEad-EvEntS and initiativES arpita Sachin ahuja gEnEral managErS (advErtiSing) rashmi lata Swarup, Siddhartha Basu chatterjee (West), uma Srinivasan (South) national hEad-diStriBution and SalES ajay gupta rEgional hEadS-circulation d charles (South), melvin george (West), Basab ghosh (East) hEad-Production maneesh tyagi SEnior managEr (PrE-PrESS) Sharad tailang managEr-marKEting C letter of the week Roderick Matthews’ essay puts the Brexit-Partition comparison in proper perspective (‘Absolutely English’, February 4th, 2019) The mess that Britain finds itself in is part of the rising global clash between the haves and those who think they deserve—rightly or wrongly— what the former have Having fallen for ethnocentric rhetoric, those unable to change tack to benefit from an increasingly connected world want to crash the boats that a rising tide of globalisation has lifted Their complaints might not be unjustified, but the working classes need to realise how they are hurting themselves by trying to pull the world back into ‘national’ cocoons The comfort of an enclave is only psychological, not material This has absolutely nothing to with the politics that led to the partition of India and Pakistan, which later also gave birth to Bangladesh Partition was not a conflict between classes for influence, which Brexit is Despite superficial similarities, the two events require different interpretations The dream of separation that Brexiteers are selling does not hinge on any real cultural and political insecurities The European unity project is of a recent vintage, lacking a historical background like the debate around the two-nation theory on the Subcontinent that eventually led to the cataclysmic break-up of 1947 Zainab Namdar Priya Singh In the pre-General Election frenzy, we have got fixated on grand coalitions, quotas or assured income for the poor, prime ministerial candidates, and so on Why does no one demand a ban on criminals contesting elections when every third MP has a police case pending against him? What sanctity laws made by such legislators have? Shanmugam Mudaliar chiEf dESignEr-marKEting champak Bhattacharjee cfo anil Bisht chiEf ExEcutivE & PuBliShEr neeraja chawla all rights reserved throughout the world reproduction in any manner is prohibited Editor: S Prasannarajan Printed and published by neeraja chawla on behalf of the owner, open media network Pvt ltd Printed at thomson Press india ltd, 18-35 milestone, delhi mathura road, faridabad-121007, (haryana) Published at 4, dda commercial complex, Panchsheel Park, new delhi-110017 Ph: (011) 48500500; fax: (011) 48500599 to subscribe, Whatsapp ‘openmag’ to 9999800012 or log on to www.openthemagazine.com or call our toll free number 1800 102 7510 or email at: customercare@openmedianetwork.in for alliances, email alliances@openmedianetwork.in for advertising, email advt@openmedianetwork.in for any other queries/observations, email feedback@openmedianetwork.in Disclaimer ‘open avenues’ are advertiser-driven marketing initiatives and Open takes no responsibility for the consequences of using products or services advertised in the magazine volume 11 issue for the week -11 february 2019 total no of pages 68 bars and barbs on a wing and priyanka By bringing Priyanka Vadra Gandhi formally into the party, the Congress has fallen back on its ‘first family’ (‘Enter Priyanka’, February 4th, 2019) This only gives more ammunition to the BJP in its rhetoric against its dynastic mentality To become a serious contender for power at the Centre, the Congress needs more than just charisma That groundswell of support can be created by elevating its young leaders, as was seen in the recent assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia played crucial roles India is a young country with about 65 per cent of its population under the age of 35 The Congress has missed yet another opportunity to change its stripes Who will save this party? It is astonishing that despite the Supreme Court order to allow dance bars with reasonable restrictions, the A Bhuyan Maharashtra government is coming up with ordinances The Nehru-Gandhi family is to circumvent the order banking on Priyanka to save (‘Dance Barred’, February not only the party, but also 4th, 2019) Since when did Rahul from a possible disaster governments become arbiters in the General Election this of individual choice? Mahesh Kapasi year She has little political experience beyond the party’s singapore squabble safe seats in UP Apparent ‘qualities’ that she might have Sunanda K Datta-Ray’s essay on the apparent and actual inherited from her grandgoings-on in Singapore’s mother, Indira Gandhi, politics was revealing will not be enough to see the (‘Family Feud in Paradise’, party through Her formal induction into the Congress is February 4th, 2019) However we judge its too little, too late Sadly for the party, the Nehru-Gandhi democratic credentials, Singapore remains a model dynasty does not appeal of efficient administration anymore to Indian voters Mahesh Kumar Velassery T Sebastian 11 february 2019 LOCOMOTIF by S PRASANNARAJAN The Last Street Fighter L ong before george fernandes, there was another revolutionary who was schooled in a seminary Christ couldn’t save Joseph Stalin from the terrors of the communist mind He built an empire, bigger than the Church of god, more ambitious than Heaven on earth, and dedicated it to the gospel of unfreedom george fernandes’ journey from a seminary did not end at the helm of a godless imperium; he rejected the gods of the book to fight the ones he thought were ranged against his socialist ideals He played out his revolutionary zeal in the mean streets of the metropolis, and in the end, there were no ideals left for him in a cheerless world There was no empire to protect He struggled alone in a void The street shaped george fernandes, and the streets were angrier in the 60s, when the beatles sang and the youth defied barricades The poet Philip Larkin captured the zeitgeist: For the dissident unshackled, the passage from the romance of struggle to the realism of power is the painful part It is the beginning of normalisation, and then the inevitable banalisation 11 february 2019 saurabh singh Sexual intercourse began In nineteen sixty-three (which was rather late for me) – Between the end of the “Chatterley” ban And the Beatles’ first LP fernandes found his cause in the streets of bombay A socialist subversive with fire in his belly and freedom in his words, he became the champion of the working class He was the non-communist who added drama and tension to communism’s original slogan on the city street; he was trade unionist as folk hero folk heroes concentrate the national mind when they are adventurers least constrained by the demands of power They gain their halo when the struggle is against power, not for it They are freedom fighters forever They can’t exist without an enemy worthy of their anger fernandes got his in Indira gandhi And so there he was, raging against the totalitarian temptations of the supreme leader The underground rebellion, the fugitive on the run, the attack on railway tracks (the railways somehow provided him with a metaphor for the state versus the workforce), and the denouement of a hero in captivity—the vintage fernandes did fit perfectly into the script of resistance The abiding image was of the rebel in chains facing up to his tormentors, and dedicating the chains to a country under siege in the high noon of the emergency In the general election that dethroned Indira in 1977, fernandes won from the constituency of the prison This revolutionary did not win an empire; he did win the conscience of an India that survived for the dissident unshackled, the passage from the romance of struggle to the realism of power is the painful part It is the beginning of normalisation, and then the inevitable banalisation As Industries Minister in India’s first non-Congress government, fernandes was still angry The rage didn’t die down He became an anti-globalist before globalisation became a free Market mantra His war on Coca-Cola, capitalism’s energy drink, was a desperate socialist’s last attempt to remain a street fighter even in power The fight was sustained by the misplaced loftiness of self-reliance He still wanted enemies, and this time he found them in fizzy imperialism The socialist’s sense of Indianness was more north Korean than Indian, more Juche than Swaraj Power always remained a picaresque for the Indian socialist As fernandes shifted allegiance with remarkable ease, idealism wore off, recklessness ceased to thrill—and ideology was made an item on the bargaining table When we last saw him in public, he was a man defeated by power and its accompanying pathologies, abandoned but still consoled by some of his old comrades The horn-rimmed glasses were still there, the kurta was as crumpled as ever, but the erstwhile action hero of Indian politics was left with no cause except his own relevance Perhaps he was another socialist who lost the India that lived in Lohia’s mind The highest guru of anti-Congressism too lost his argument for India—only traces of idealism and recklessness remained for Lohia, it was english; for fernandes, it was Coke Cultural variations of the same irrational rage And both were made redundant by time Though caste was evil for the guru, it kept India’s shape-shifting socialists alive, whether in bihar or in Uttar Pradesh only their backstory retains the romance of resistance once upon a time there was a george fernandes, too, the fighter who eventually lost the street www.openthemagazine.com open diary Swapan Dasgupta I n about a fortnight, just after the truncated budget Session of Parliament ends in mid-February, formal campaigning for the General Election will begin of course, for all practical purposes, the battle for 2019 began nearly a year ago However, the code of conduct, the announcement of the election schedule and the process of candidate selection gives the whole process of electing a government an extra urgency and a huge sense of national excitement Elections, the old India hand Professor Morris-Jones used to say, are one of those things “Indians well” after tn Seshan, Indian elections have lost much of their carnival-like atmosphere Certainly, the noise levels have decreased exponentially one of the noisiest elections I ever encountered was the 1991 General Election that was, in northern India at least, very much the Ram election that election witnessed the participation of sadhus and sadhvis who travelled from village to village whipping up support for a temple in ayodhya Sadhvi Ritambhara’s impassioned speeches attracted large crowds, particularly of women who rarely attended rallies earlier but then these were ostensibly organised by religious bodies and there was never any explicit mention of voting for the bJP there were also a large number of songs and poems composed for the temple agitation and loudspeakers all over uttar Pradesh blared these out in market towns the opposing side had their own cassettes and the result was a noisy chaos that persisted till the late hours of the night these days, there are severe restrictions, and in West bengal, there is a blanket ban on all loudspeakers till school exams are completed this March-end I guess Prime Minister narendra Modi will be the star draw this election and his meetings are expected to be very well attended, as they were in 2014 Modi has the habit of doing one round of meetings before the formal campaigning starts and he began this process in December by the time the code of conduct is imposed, the Prime Minister will have covered nearly every state in the country, including places where the bJP is not seriously in the contest He wants to create a national mood that will lay the ground for the final slog overs when he becomes extremely combative this election, his efforts will be complemented by those of amit Shah, who is fast becoming an accomplished campaigner Yogi adityanath is also much in demand, but his appeal is mainly confined to committed bJP voters the problem with the Congress is that it is short of star campaigners Rahul Gandhi is very pugnacious these days, but he still lacks Modi’s drawing power this is where the Congress believes Priyanka Vadra Gandhi will fill the void So far, we have seen Priyanka relating very effectively to small crowds at village meetings in Rae bareli and amethi Moreover, her appeal has been based on a sister soliciting votes for the mother and the brother In small village meetings, the personal touch works well but once she moves out of the familiar surroundings of the Gandhi pocket boroughs, she will need to address hard political issues She will be a beneficiary of people’s curiosity, but will she be able to satisfy their political appetite? Congress workers are sold on her, but what about the electorate that has never experienced a Gandhi at the helm? also, if all the interest is going to be centred on Priyanka, it will—perhaps unintentionally— detract some attention from Rahul on paper, a brother-sister duo sounds appealing, but how it translates on the ground is well worth considering but let us not forget regional campaigners such as akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Mamata banerjee and MK Stalin they will have their assured audiences in their home states What will be the impact when they step outside their comfort zones, if they do? In 2009, Mayawati campaigned intensively outside uttar Pradesh She even projected herself as the next Prime Minister However, the postmortem of the results suggested that it was her spirited campaigning that invited a backlash against a third Front government and helped the Congress garner a lot of votes, particularly in urban areas, that should have gone into the bJP kitty Every election throws up a series of unintended consequences that have a big bearing on the outcome I wonder what these will be in 2019 Will it be a straightforward gaffe by one of the big campaigners or their associates? Remember how an innocuous comment by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan bhagwat altered the complexion of the 2015 bihar assembly election? no election is ever won until it is actually won n 11 february 2019 openings NOTEBOOK The Death of a Relentless Rebel D uring the emergency, george Fernandes (1930-2019) used to refer to indira gandhi as “that woman” it was in mid-1976 that her government finally caught up with the rebellious trade unionist, the poster boy of resistance to her authoritarianism he was nabbed in calcutta, rushed to Delhi, stripped naked, interrogated wrapped in a blanket, and then bundled off to hissar jail Both his brother Lawrence and Snehlata reddy, a fellow socialist traveller and accused in the Baroda Dynamite conspiracy (as it came to be known), had already been put to torture and questioning by the police in a bid to have them reveal Fernandes’ whereabouts he had eluded their clutches in various guises—as a fisherman, a mendicant, and as a turbaned Sikh At hissar jail, as coomi Kapoor wrote in The Emergency: A Personal History, he saw indira gandhi’s photograph and told the jailer, “you are following the orders of this woman, but i tell you, tomorrow this woman will be in jail.” From there, he was moved to tihar Jail in Delhi it was a measure of his stature as an anti-emergency activist that Socialist international took up his case the ‘Free JP’ movement in London organised a protest to draw attention to the suspension of civil liberties in india, and world leaders such as Willy Brandt and Olof Palme called the indian Prime minister and warned that she would be held accountable if anything untoward happened to him By the time Fernandes and his fellow conspirators were produced in court, it was early October 1976 the chargesheet, reportedly 3,000 pages long, accused them of plotting to overthrow the government it referred to an alleged attempt to blow up the dais on which gandhi was to speak in Varanasi they were also charged with unlawful possession of dynamite sticks, subversive literature and inciting people against the state the accused accepted trying to free the country of indira gandhi’s rule, but denied all other charges images of Fernandes in handcuffs and chains, his fist raised in defiance, struck a chord with those suffering excesses of the emergency, and while he got bail, he was re-arrested rightaway under the maintenance of industrial Security Act in February 1977, in a deposition before the chief metropolitan magistrate of Delhi, Fernandes asserted, “Dictatorship does violence to the spirit of man it is neither legal, constitutional or even moral it leaves people with no legal and constitutional means to fight it And even then, to fight it remains an inalienable right of all men, of all those who believe in the sacredness, dignity and freedom of man… gandhiji said, given a choice between cowardice and violence to resist evil, he would not hesitate to choose, and he recommended that the people choose violence While my belief in non-violence is a conviction, inherited from one of the greatest thinkers and humanists, Dr ram manohar Lohia, i also believe, as gandhiji believed, and no doubt Lohia himself believed, that injustice and evil should be fought wherever it raises its head.” maintaining that all ‘evidence’ against him had been “cooked up”, Fernandes said that the prosecution could not accuse him of having caused even a single death Fernandes was a leader who stood by his word he wanted to boycott the 1977 general election for fear that it might legitimise indira gandhi’s actions it took much persuasion, even a gherao by citizens and morarji Desai landing up at the trial court with nomination papers for Fernandes for him to agree to contest the polls from jail he won the muzaffarpur seat in Bihar with a margin of some 300,000 votes Appointed industries minister in the Janata Party government, he forced foreign companies out of india After the congress returned to power, he launched a tirade against corruption, the brunt of his attacks borne by the rajiv gandhi government that succeeded indira’s under the VP Singh regime that came next, he was railway minister, with the initiation of the Konkan rail project to his credit Later, he became convenor of the nDA As Defence minister in the later Vajpayee government, Fernandes made a record 18 visits to the Army’s Siachen outpost to boost the morale of troops there today, Fernandes is remembered as perhaps independent india’s only political activist who could bring the country’s financial capital to a halt in Images of Fernandes in handcuffs and chains, his fist raised in defiance, struck a chord with those suffering excesses of the Emergency 11 february 2019 until, of course, a 36-year-old chief of the taxi union stood against Patil All opposition parties supported him his first task was to take down the aura of Patil’s invincibilty Posters, banners and taxi stickers spread the message that ‘Patil can be defeated’ A cocky Patil told the media, “Only god can defeat me.” Fernandes’ retort: ‘god does not vote, you Only you can defeat Patil.’ By end-1973, Fernandes had become head of the All india railway Federation, a union of the world’s largest group of workers, and as a Socialist, he joined the JP movement against the congress the 1974 railway strike that he led made his sway among workers clear, and the threat that he posed the indira regime was met with a fierce crackdown ‘One of the main aspects of george Fernandes’ personality was his strong opposition to the nehru-gandhi family he believed that the nehru-gandhi family had harmed the nation a lot and that is why he could shake hands with anyone against that family he chose his way between two extremes he couldn’t be a communist, he couldn’t be in congress BJP was the alternative he chose around 1996,’ writes ram Bahadur rai, a journalist who was among his close associates When some leaders asked him to put the emergency years in the past, Fernandes is said to have retorted that he could never forgive or forget what happened to JP’s kidneys and to his brother Lawrence, nor the death of his ally Snehlata reddy Asked if violence was a valid tool to save democracy, he reportedly replied, “everything should be done to save democracy.” While still in the Vajpayee cabinet, Fernandes’ failing health was apparent Jaitley writes, ‘ministers were scared of facing the wrath GeorGe Fernandes of his attack when he was in the Opposition But (1930-2019) eventually his health took better of him the slowing down of his mind and various faculties could be seen towards 2003-04 he still had full protest, as he once did in the 60s had history taken a different comprehension but that aggression was lacking.’ Fernandes turn, this ‘giant killer’ would have been a catholic priest in a had a bad fall in the bathroom of his residence while washing seminary in his hometown of mangalore But he was put off by clothes, and he had a brain surgery later, but he could never fully the chasm between the precepts and practices of the church, recover his withdrawal from politics went alongside a descent as he put it, and preferred to look for work in Bombay, even if it into Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease as he aged he began meant sleeping on pavements and chowpatty beach during his treatment at Baba ramdev’s ashram in 2010 even as a bitter search By the 1950s, he was heading the city’s taxi drivers’ union fight broke out in his family over his property the Samata Party, Arun Jaitley narrates this story of the 1967 South Bombay poll, as which Fernandes founded in 1994 with nitish Kumar, was to told by Fernandes himself ‘that election would be an education merge with JD(u) in 2003 for any student of psychology or politics,’ writes Jaitley ‘S.K Patil Few of india’s youth recall the force he was once ‘the evil was the unquestioned leader of mumbai, then Bombay he was that men lives after them; the good is oft interred with their a union minister and congress party’s treasurer he had won bones,’ wrote Shakespeare not in the case of Fernandes n his South-Bombay seat several times by large margins nobody By pR Ramesh believed that Patil could ever be defeated.’ 11 february 2019 www.openthemagazine.com openings POrTraiT Kangana ranaut Queen regnant A different kind of stardom T here is a clichÉ—content that king—that almost every Bollywood personality spouts, but nobody really believes in content is of course not king On the chessboard of a movie’s essential components, it may be a rook or a knight, maybe even a pawn But it certainly isn’t a king a hindi film’s success is dependent on a vast array of other things, from the way a film is positioned and marketed when it is released, to the way the film’s star projects him or herself Perhaps nobody understands this better than Kangana ranaut, the star of Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi Films not work because great actors star in them it is because brands and ranaut has been working on her brand, at least for half a decade ever since her break-out film Queen released; that was arguably the first female coming-of-age story in Bollywood, where a naive girl embarks on a journey of self-discovery after her fiancé calls off their wedding One can perhaps argue that by the end of the film, it isn’t just the lead character, rani, who finds herself even the actor playing her, Kangana ranaut, does There are two ways you look at the phenomenon known as Kangana ranaut There is ranaut, the fearless feminist The talented woman from a small town who may have no industry godfathers but is unafraid of calling saurabh singh out the hypocrisy and nepotism in the industry People don’t want her in the industry, she tells us, because she is an outspoken woman Then there is the other view as Karan Johar once said, “You cannot be this victim every time and have a sad story to tell about how you’ve been terrorised by the bad world of the industry.” she has built a church on stones nobody has really flung at her some of her recent collaborators claim she hijacks projects The truth is probably somewhere in between ranaut is an outsider who has made it in one of the most competitive and protected industries on her own she is also smart enough to know that the only way you can win here is by breaking rules she has converted what one would imagine could serve as impediments in the film industry—her accent, the fact that she has no film connections and hails from a small indian town—into advantages and weaponised them it is not her fearlessness that has brought her here, or her talent it is her smarts and being smart sometimes requires being duplicitous Bollywood is at an interesting point The end of three Khans appears to be near (they have begun delivering turkeys) and there is a bunch of young stars vying for super stardom What few appreciate is that ranaut is also gunning for it she, of course, has disadvantages Big names in the industry will probably stay away from her projects hence, the need to also direct her own films ranaut has a long list of people who think her comeuppance is long due and in recent years, most of her films failed This probably explains why despite having a following among liberals— feminists, for instance, and media columnists who write in her favour—she made a strategic shift to the right end of the political spectrum, cosying up with godmen and politicians, and dissing liberals By all box office evidence, the shift appears to have paid off Manikarnika has reportedly made over rs 50 crore in the first five days in india and about rs 11 crore overseas cumulatively, it is gradually inching towards the rs 100 crore mark But the story of her stardom is not just about numbers hit films by some male superstars sometimes make four times that amount Unlike the other films, which are made by the cream of the industry, Manikarnika (despite the loud protestations of its co-director Krish) is almost all ranaut it reaffirms the unique space she occupies in the hindi film industry That’s what makes her success different n By Lhendup g Bhutia 10 11 february 2019 books getty images Jaipur literature Festival, 2019 Reigning StaRS and Falling tReeS Being both an insider and outsider at the Jaipur literature Festival By Amrita Tripathi colson whitehead aJ Finn 54 germaine greer 11 february 2019 i was as quietly excited to attend the Jaipur literature Festival this year as i was quietly relieved to leave on sunday evening, bounding out of Diggi palace to reach the airport well in time the airport is like the final stretch; you could spot anita Nair heeding the last call for her flight to Bengaluru, Pulitzer Prize-winner Colson whitehead headed upstairs with coffee, and any number of travellers looking ready to crumble after four days at the festival, which cut-to-cut is a five-day-six-night affair there is a festival hangover, as writer Bee Rowlatt puts it, and i had at least a day or two of post-JlF trauma flashes the trepidation and anxiety around crowds, fear of bombing at a panel discussion, slight panic at having to speed-read my way through four-five books (that always reach later than planned), and the inevitable imposter syndrome that pops up when one is surrounded by talent luckily, it all pretty much culminated in surprisingly good sessions, lively conversations, general goodwill towards humankind… and then one long blaaaank moment of utter fatigue and feeling tapped out while on stage that’s the worst, i think there’s nowhere to hide Brain starting to pound, smile starting to fade and systems just slowly shutting down there are now books on how to get published in india, how to get ahead, and so on, but there really should be a guide on how to deal with boredom and panic whilst on stage if you’re a speaker, i think it’s still fine, but as a moderator? i sometimes have that fake-smile rictus, that’s not-quite-butmaybe-somewhat related to what sharmila sen writes about in Not Quite Not White, though she’s describing the pain of smiling till your cheeks hurt while performing ‘whiteface’ all very well, you might say, but then why agree to moderate in the first place? especially when you’re not being paid, not even managing to flog your own books, nor being able to market yourself/your brand—something authors need to be on point with these days (yes, this is a thing and authors might also want to think about hiring brand managers, judging by some audience questions.) i admit, i don’t quite know why i agree, except that i get the invitation and polite request, and usually say ‘Yes, sure, why not?’ this year, that extended to helping moderate a press conference for Jeffrey archer, moderating four live audience panels, and the ‘first digital’ panel for twitter’s Powerof18 initiative i realise if i’m not jobbing at the JlF, i wouldn’t know what to would i even attend? the jury’s out, though the FOMO would probably get me, i reckon Now, the upside of the moderating gig is i get to talk to a few talented, eclectic writers like aJ Finn, the bestselling author of The Woman in the Window He was eloquent and engaging— responding to questions openly, flaunting his fairly sardonic wit and leaving the audience enthralled this was one of my favourite conversations of the festival Finn—the pseudonym used by Daniel Mallory—delighted us with the (slightly truncated) story of his journey as a debut writer, including submitting his manuscript anonymously to the publishing house he worked at, and the process of accepting what’s called an ‘exploding offer’ 11 february 2019 apparently (where one has to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ immediately) to a $1-million payment for the movie rights! it was also human (and powerful) of Finn to acknowledge his own battle and journey with depression, which helped inform the character of protagonist anna Fox, the unlikely hero of the book and eponymous woman in the title, who suffers from acute agoraphobia but is also witness to what seems to be a crime My session with psychologist shelja sen and author shabri Prasad singh on their books Reclaim Your Life and Borderline, respectively, also felt meaningful, given the importance of demystifying mental health disorders and illnesses, and the need to talk more about them But the thing about the programming is if you’re doing one thing, you’re missing another—a condition peculiar to the JlF you feel like there is too much to see, then you’re paralysed by indecision, torn between sessions you land up at one, only to run out of steam and collapse into a corner, revived by copious cups of coffee (the Blue tokai stall this time was a winner) or kulhad chai on the front lawn S O wHO weRe the stars this year? unlike 2017, actor Dominic west sadly did not make a guest appearance i’m not sure if there was a similar cynosure this time we had heard Neil Gaiman was planning to make it this year, but long before January rolled along learnt (quite deflatedly) he would be nowhere near the Pink City anna Burns, author of the fabulous Milkman which won the Booker Prize last year, also skipped the event, to our collective disappointment there was a packed house for the keynote address by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Venki Ramakrishnan, author of Gene Machine acid-attack survivor Reshma qureshi was quietly courageous and inspiring there were crowds of people lining up to get books signed by andré aciman (author of Call Me by Your Name); crowds gathered for Jeffrey archer as well Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri is now a JlF veteran and remains a favourite Mary Beard, yann Martel,alexander McCall smith and Reni eddolodge were also popular; Germaine Greer was a draw, despite many (moderator Bee Rowlatt included) disagreeing with various opinions Manisha Koirala, unsurprisingly, was the Gulzar this year, with fans flocking to her the reactions to JlF are as varied as the audiences and participants—from international writers (yay, love it, even if it’s a bubble) to publishers (work is work is work) to the press and aspiring authors, to the folks moaning and groaning a year in advance a lot of the grumbling has nothing to with literature, but more to with who’s been invited to which party, which party has food, which parties run out of alcohol and more of the same unlike years past, i didn’t hear as much grumbling this year about the Dry Day in the middle, but it’s hard to complain when you’re at amer Fort listening to music and a dramatic reading by Ben Okri while being fed piping hot food it was lunch that dominated festival headlines this time, more specifically, a big tree falling at lunch, leaving a person badly injured He got 12 stitches (but thankfully no concussion), and was www.openthemagazine.com 55 books mary Beard Bee rowlatt discharged from hospital and sent home the same day But really, also the ludicrousness of life is revealed when you hear that those sitting next to him at the site of the massive tree crash refused to move in all the chaos, because ‘where would we eat?’ that’s the festival in a nutshell is it possible to be a festival regular (‘festival furniture’ even) but not a festival insider? i don’t know But yes, there are folks who love it, folks who love being seen at Diggi, and folks who love the parties and the scene as much as the literary festiveness of the fest there are also friends (frenemies?) who want to compare how many sessions you’re doing versus how many they’re doing Moderation of panels as a competitive sport? you’re probably winning this dubious race if you’ve got just the one or two panels, with other people moderating your conversation then there are those who gratify your ego by remembering you from when they saw you, or how your book launched at the JlF some years ago at times, these chaps also pinprick that ego because sometimes they’re the ones who notice when you don’t get invited there are the well-wishers who come up to talk to you and then the penny drops and oops they meant someone else! But wait, let’s take a selfie as well, in case! Best of all are schoolchildren, who are still there, like every year, walking up to folks along with their well-meaning teachers for messages of inspiration and ‘blessings’, with no idea of who they’re talking to the whole festival was cashless this time, perhaps prompted by the time someone tried to run off with the entire cash register at a book store/tent i’m told they were caught later, having tried to hide the cash box under a ghaagra there are also regular complaints of people trying to steal books who knew people were still reading or trying to read at literary festivals? Most people seem to be here for selfies and the sun though there are those glorious moments when you can listen to the speakers and feel you can connect with them, which is when you remember why you like this festival in fact, now that it’s over, i definitely think it’s worth it to attend: where else would we get to hear some of these incredible writers in person? and then there’s the shiny potential of dis56 venki ramakrishnan covery My first book was pretty much commissioned at the JlF many years ago, and i see and hear from other aspiring writers in attendance there’s also a business-to-business track for publishers running parallel to the JlF, with the Jaipur Bookmark series of conversations at the venue the JlF is doing something right, no doubt, because organisers announced a footfall of around 400,000 over the five days the weekend didn’t break us this time and while there was a bit of a crush on sunday, it wasn’t as overwhelming as it has been in recent years the festival insider-outsider twitter account @JLfInsider gave a lot of people a lot of heartburn, and worse, as soon as they waded into Metoo conversations i have no idea who runs the handle (or even if it remains crowdsourced, as they indicate) but it kept up that wave of critique and snark that festival regulars have grown to expect, with writers tweeting they checked the handle de rigueur post-session Metoo accusations apart, what is interesting is how many people check the account— perhaps a cathartic release somewhere, given how polite and smiley we all have to be in public? after all, in the incestuous world of writers-publishers-reviewers-journalists, who apart from an anonymous account is really going to say anything contentious? as long as you’re not the one being roasted, it remains amusing Freedom of speech is something we all seem to love until we’re in the crossfire and let’s be honest, there is a particular kind of pseudo-intellectual who thrives in this environment Oh wait, maybe that’s just me! Given all those snarky comments on how Delhi’s Khan Market empties out during the JlF, i propose a panel discussion to elevate the next edition of the festival: ‘Khan Market: Overrated or Vilified?’ Points for discussion: Possible to like existentially but not be a Khan Market-type? Possible to be a Khan Market-type but not lutyens’ insider? Possible to be a true patriotic indian and not know what Khan Market is? n Amrita Tripathi has been a JLF regular for too long, a cynic for even longer, and is the author of two novels, the sibius Knot and Broken News 11 february 2019 books Romancing the Distance Around the world in a literary relay race of sorts By Sanjay Sipahimalani T o look at a flight map of the earth is to see a web of connections these lines link people from all over, with the same baggage of desire and disappointment, of pleasure and pain David Szalay’s new book, Turbulence, casts a light on 12 such lives to show that what we have in common is greater than what divides us In Rana Dasgupta’s debut novel, Tokyo Cancelled, 13 passengers stranded at an airport during a snowstorm tell each other stories to pass the time these fantastical tales aimed to be a modern Decameron, a human comedy for an age of globalisation While Szalay’s Turbulence (no relation to Samit Basu’s SFF novel of the same title) is also a series of stories linked via plane journeys, the intention here is to loosen ‘the tightly packed fabric of the world’, to reveal the similarities underlying the warp and weft of differences Szalay’s earlier Man Booker-shortlisted All That Man Is also comprised connected short stories (are there any other kind nowadays, one sometimes wonders) these dealt with masculinity and its discontents, featuring men from youth to old age in differentEuropean cities, each one facing a personal crisis Turbulence takes this template and enlarges it considerably: here, there are men and women across the globe, all undergoing some form of instability Each is connected to the other primarily, but not always, by means of a brief interaction on an aeroplane or on the ground Sometimes, information pertaining to Turbulence David Szalay Jonathan Cape 114 Pages | Rs 860 one character is withheld in a story, only to be revealed in the next the structure, then, is a literary relay race of sorts among Szalay’s disparate cast trying to bridge distances are an elderly woman flying from london to Madrid and facing the prospect of her son’s demise, a businessman arriving in Dakar to find that his driver is withholding a piece of tragic information, another woman in Hong kong contemplating leaving her husband for a younger man, a New Delhi ne’er-do-well returning to a fraught relationship with his father after a golfing holiday, a gardener from kerala involved in a socially proscribed relationship in Doha… and onwards, until we circle back to london again as such, it brings to life the words of John F kennedy that appear framed on a wall in one of the stories: ‘For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet We all breathe the same air We all cherish our children’s future and we are all mortal.’ It’s a slim book with an ambition that belies its size Instead of walking a mile in these characters’ shoes, we travel only a few metres; yet, this short distance is enough to render them particular admittedly, though, some stories work better than others the one where the woman in Hong kong dithers over starting a new relationship is particularly well done, for example, while the one with the Senegalese businessman unaware of life-changing news is more workmanlike Szalay’s prose is pared down, sometimes even choppy: ‘She was in a window seat She looked out at the low sunlight on the grey tarmac the plane started to move then it stopped.’ too much of this can grate; fortunately, the pace of the narrative makes for a relatively smooth journey Similarly, there are only a few environmental details of the locations the stories are set in (the weather, the traffic), with much of the action happening indoors Delhi’s air quality gets a mention, though, with one character walking through the city’s ‘sultry, particulate fug’ a few years ago, a survey found that the average number of pages in bestselling and other notable books had grown by 25 per cent over the last 15 years It’s a relief, then, to be reminded that the flashes of light that illuminate characters don’t need to be prolonged to be revelatory n saurabh singh 11 february 2019 www.openthemagazine.com 57 books Of Cheeks and Slaps The conditions under which force may be used against government injustice and what India’s historical experience tells us about resistance S uppose that on your way to work you notice a effort trying but failing to identify that property’ (page 78) policeman beating a person on the road even if the man It is an interesting question made even more so after is a criminal—and the policeman is no one to judge Brennan tries to debunk accepted theories of the state; for that—can you forcibly stop the policeman, say, by throwing example, those based on consent between the rulers and the a stone at him? Legally, of course, you will be in trouble for ruled that go back to the english philosopher thomas hobbes impeding a public servant, but morally you have as much right In these and other theories, it appears that Brennan’s objection to stop the policeman as you have to stop a private citizen in a lies in the obligation part of the consent: Why should people lissimilar situation ten to a government or heed its commands even if they have conIt is a provocative idea, but one that has been elaborated at sented to give it authority? one answer to Brennan’s question is length by Jason Brennan, a prolific academic at Georgetown historical: at any point, as long as a significant fraction (and that university, in his new book When All Else Fails: The Ethics of does not necessarily mean a majority) of people in a jurisdiction Resistance to State Injustice (princeton university press, 2019, continue to obey a government, then its authority persists If Rs 1,988) But Brennan makes it clear quickly that he is not in not, then there’s violence and political upheaval this is not a favour of anarchism (even if he finds the idea interesting), philosopher’s answer, but it has worked well for a long time the ‘strategic linkages’ or civil disobedience and, finally, actions other answer, one that goes back to philosophers of absolutism, taken after some time in an attempt to rectify injustice the is that all great political phenomena, including the formation latter is revenge, he says In effect, his is a ‘here and now’ theory and persistence of states, are mysterious at their core once that has a distinctly libertarian flavour It is another matter again, this is a claim that is at odds with the modern search for that injustice at the hands of governments is often too complex the authority of a government But perhaps it makes some sense to be remedied quickly Reading his book makes one feel that after all: religion and belief have predated state forms by much he wants governments to be fair and just but does not want to longer If political phenomena are transformations of religious prescribe remedies that away with ideas, then it is not too hard to see why their powers the result is a rather people behave the way they narrow domain to take governments Brennan’s theory is an interesting to task way of looking at the world even Brennan makes an interesting with his clearly specified injunction assertion: ‘the belief that governthat his theory does not extend to ments enjoy authority is widespread; civil disobedience, Gandhi’s agitation even people living under illiberal and in the first two decades of the 20th highly corrupt regimes tend to think century are instructive from this their governments are legitimate and perspective In The Nonviolent authoritative nevertheless, if governStruggle for Indian Freedom: ments indeed have authority, it 1905-1919 (hurst & Company, 2018, seems like there should be some morRs 3,275), historian David hardiman Why should people listen to ally relevant property or set of properlooks at the tangled web around the a government even if they ties that explains why governments idea of ahimsa or non-violence both have authority (everyone agrees that as a religious creed and its crossing have consented to give it it can’t just be that “the property of over to the political domain at a time authority? One answer is being a government” is what confers when organised mass mobilisation historical: as long as enough authority.) If there is such a property, had just begun in India his is, of people obey, it persists The then it seems plausible that people course, a theory that believes in the should be able to identify it But over idea of ahimsa on its own and without other is that all great political the past twenty-five hundred years, any rationalisation on the basis of phenomena are mysterious a large number of highly qualified other theories the book starts with people have spent a large amount of ‘passive resistance’ during 1905-06 in 58 11 february 2019 PROSE & POLITICS By siddharth singh Courtesy Champaran Satyagrah gandhi in champaran, 1917 Bengal and ends with the Rowlatt satyagraha in 1919 During this phase, the results of Gandhian resistance were a mixed bag the Rowlatt satyagraha was by any measure not successful: not only was the draconian Rowlatt act passed, but its aftermath in amritsar in april 1919 was violence that had not been seen in British India since 1857 there were, however, successes as well Gandhi’s agitation in Champaran in 1917 is one example the two events make for an interesting comparison What explains the relative success of Champaran and the ‘failure’ of Rowlatt agitations? It was, for example, well known that farmers in Champaran had been exploited for a long time by British planters, who literally forced people to plant indigo Yet it was only in 1917 that the agitation became possible one reason were the dire economic conditions after World War I British historian Judith Brown has noted the shortage of rolling stock in 1917 only one-fifth was available for rail traffic and moving goods in and out of a district like Champaran became difficult Due to this bottleneck, farmers in the district could not send their crops to other parts of India and in turn it became difficult to get necessary items such as salt and fuel the result was soaring prices of necessary goods and a fall in those of farmers’ output Far more than the longstanding exploitation of farmers, it was this adverse movement of prices that gave Gandhi the opening he required of course, the Mahatma never looked at the terms of trade before launching agitations 11 february 2019 so was Gandhi exacting revenge in Brennan’s terms? after all, he acted on behalf of these farmers long after it became known that the latter were being treated unjustly In Brennan’s narrow sense, the answer is yes But take a pause and think hard: it is obvious that ‘revenge’ is not only an inappropriate expression here, but one that makes little sense the mere fact that one waits for an appropriate time to act does not detract from the substance of injustice or make the remedial action vengeful In the real world, there are plenty of obstacles on the path to justice to insist on taking action here and now is not only counterproductive at times but futile the Rowlatt satyagraha falls in the latter class though hardiman does not go into the reasons for the failure in the political sense, it is clear that the satyagraha did not have sufficient traction In punjab it took a violent turn, while other parts of India were too distant from the centre of events (punjab) to have made any difference to an imperial regime the mechanism of action and response under such rule differs from that under a democracy Brennan’s book brims with clever ideas and forces one to think about the nature of government authority But in the end, it is a narrow theory of what persons can in the face of injustice often, the forces of injustice operate on different time-scales and what is needed to counter them requires more than just individual or narrow collective action that, in the end, is the limitation of libertarian political theories n www.openthemagazine.com 59 cinema dutiful director After a blockbuster run in Tamil cinema, filmmaker Pa Ranjith is all set for Bollywood By Shahina KK P roudly AmbedkArite, the director of new-age tamil cinema Pa ranjith is all set to make his bollywood debut His recent hits Kabali (2016) and Kaala (2018)—both starring rajinikanth— has set off a new trend in tamil cinema, one that is a departure from the old tamil cinema has been known for being political; it preaches dravidian politics and tamil nationalism A few young filmmakers are following a trend started by ranjith in their advocacy of a caste-free society All his films, from Attakathi (2012), which he wrote and directed, to Pariyerum Perumal (2018), which he produced, advance the cause of the marginal and condemn castebased oppression ranjith’s Neelam Productions has also produced the tamil documentary Ladies and Gentlewomen, about the untold stories of the lGbtQ community An established name in tamil cinema, ranjith will enter bollywood with a film on the life of birsa munda, a tribal leader from Jharkhand who stood up to british colonial oppressors in the 19th century He has nurtured this idea for over seven years Speaking in Chennai, he says, “i came across the tamil translation of Aranyer Adhikar (a bengali novel) by mahasweta devi i decided that i would make a film based on it as soon as i finished reading the book.” He adds, “i have been doing 60 research on these stories [about birsa munda] for quite a few years they are very fascinating ” He is yet to finalise the actor for the lead role ranjith agrees that it is going to be a challenge, as birsa munda (18751900) was young when he died the director, however, is not looking only at north indian actors to fill the role of this tribal leader who is an icon in bihar and Jharkhand even today “there will be actors from south indian cinema too,” he reveals ranjith has helped create an entire ecosystem of serious cinema the double-storied madhuban Villa in egmore, Chennai, where his team has set up office, has become an adda for young film aficionados Cinema enthusiasts are encouraged to walk in and partake of the food, conversations and space to dream but film aspirants are not the only ones walking into madhuban Villa it has also become a refuge for those swimming against the tide during our conversation, a young couple walked in they were from a village near tiruchirappalli, belonged to different castes, had fallen in love, and wanted to get married the girl was dalit Given tamil Nadu’s record for ‘honour killings’, it was hardly a surprise that the two had chosen to elope the bride, who has little connection with cinema, explained why she’d arrived at the filmmaker’s door: “We are getting married All inter-caste pa ranjith at his studio in chennai marriages happen only at the registrar’s office We want a proper marriage and we want him to solemnise it He is like a leader for us.” thirty-six-year-old ranjith’s directorial debut Attakathi (Cardboard knife) was a light-hearted romantic comedy which won critical acclaim for its honest and realistic treatment of its subject ranjith shot to fame with his second movie, Madras (2014), which was about a brutal political rivalry it was also the film that impressed superstar rajinikanth in a hierarchical film industry, newbie directors seldom get a chance to meet rajinikanth, let alone cast him in the lead role but rajinikanth was fascinated by Madras and wanted to work 11 february 2019 with this new filmmaker, which led to Kaala and Kabali ranjith has carved a niche for himself by bringing social and political realities of contemporary tamil Nadu into mainstream cinema His is not the cinema of the art house “i love all kinds of films,” he says, “but i really believe in making films that entertain people and reach out to ordinary folks.” His films not compromise on his politics and show a natural progression of political discourse on the life of dalits and other marginalised communities Madras, for example, depicts life in north Chennai For ranjith, a place is not a mere setting for a movie instead, location must be woven into a film’s 11 february 2019 theme every place has a story to tell So does north Chennai, the place ranjith belongs to He hails from karapakkam near Avadi “the people of north Chennai are often portrayed as criminals in tamil cinema When a city grows up, some locations and places are destined to be the graveyard of development in fact, the people of north Chennai have worked hard for the development of the city.” the right to land has been a central theme in his films “People have an emotional relationship with the place they live in Now we all say ‘We live in Chennai’, but when i was shooting Madras (which was initially named Kaali), i noticed that people refer to the city only as ‘madras’ and they maintain a relationship with that name.” Madras tells the story of a wall and how two political parties lay their claim to it the right to use a wall is not as simple as it appears the realism of the film is its strength, as it shows how this locality lacks basic amenities like water and electricity the protagonist is kaali, a young man aspiring for a life free from exploitation and oppression Without being preachy, ranjith’s politics and desire for an Ambedkarite nation come through What is subtle in his early films gains momentum in Kabali and becomes a force unto itself in Kaala, a movie which resonates with the politics of darkness, not only through the euphoric dialogues of rajinikanth, but www.openthemagazine.com 61 cinema through the subversion of dominant narratives of colour the colour scheme of the movie is an assertion of blackness, in defiance of stereotypes where darkness is considered villainous and white heroic Nana Patekar, who plays the role of the villain Haridev ranjith Abhayankar, is dressed directs in white throughout the rajinikanth film, in contrast to ra(left) jinikanth, who is always charming in black Pariyerum Perumal, watching movies at festivals it actudirected by mari Selvaraj and produced ally changed my perception of cinema by ranjith, is a hard-hitting statement itself there were screenings at the on caste, and creates a new kind of German consulate, Alliance Franỗaise hero the movie depicts the gruesome and Film Chamber i was a regular at ‘culture’ of honour killing, prevalent in all these places All these places were tamil Nadu it tells the story of a dalit very elite i was, probably, the odd one law student who befriends a female out.” but ranjith was not bothered by classmate of a higher caste—and so elitism “my only point of attraction begin their troubles kathir, who plays was cinema i was a mute spectator the protagonist, doesn’t revolt against Nothing attracted me other than the the upper caste; instead he falls deep movies screened there.” into sorrow and depression ranjith by the time he had graduated, says with affection for the director, ranjith had chosen his path He started “Probably, it is not my kind of movie.” out as an assistant director in films though dalit politics is a recurring like Saroja (2008), directed by Venkat motif in his films, ranjith protests Prabhu in this role, he learnt the techniagainst being slotted as a ‘dalit filmcalities of cinema, but soon grew disillumaker’ He says, “i am an Ambedkarite sioned He says, “it was a great learning for sure but you should not categorise process, but i realised that it is indeed my films as ‘dalit films’ What is our a challenge to manifest my idea of perception of Thevar Magan? we political cinema.” ranjith believes that count it as a thevar film?” the 1992 the entertainment factor should not be film starring kamal Haasan can be compromised “Cinema should comseen as statement of ‘thevar pride’ municate with the common public in (a dominant obC community historithat aspect, the commercial success of a cally seen as hostile to dalits) ranjith cinema is very important,” he says is not against making films on any Having watched global cinema, community, dalit or upper caste “A ranjith is quick to name films that film narrating the tale of a community have made a lasting impression on is well and fine, but glorifying caste is him, such as the Soviet silent film the problem,” he says Battleship Potemkin (1929), the historical war film The Battle of Algiers (1966) and iNemA WAS Not a childhood those of the mexican legend Alejandro passion for ranjith, who used González iñárritu, such as The Revenant to skip the Sunday movies and roam (2015) and Babel (2006) around and play with friends instead the music band the Casteless He got into cinema quite by chance Collective is yet another unique “i studied fine arts in college,” he says, venture launched by Pa ranjith His “i wanted to be a painter i started organisation, Neelam Cultural Centre, C 62 “I am an ambedkarIte for sure but you should not categorIse my fIlms as ‘dalIt’ fIlms” Pa Ranjith, filmmaker collaborated with the label madras records, to form the 19-piece band comprising four rappers, seven instrumentalists and eight Gaana musicians, a popular folk style in tamil Nadu He says, “this is a collective without caste, which aims to eliminate caste and religious discrimination through music.” A 19th-century social reformer C iyothee thass urged dalits to identify themselves as casteless tamils, instead of registering as ‘Hindus’ His philosophy inspired the band’s name, which starts its recitals with ‘Jai bhim’ chants the latest hit of the band is I am Sorry Ayyappa in the wake of the recent Sabarimala controversy their other hit number is Bhim Rap on the life and work of Ambedkar Madrasin Magizhchi about the many joys of living in madras despite hardships that might come one’s way is another online sensation With his foray into music and entry to Hindi cinema, Pa ranjith’s blend of art with politics seems set for wider appreciation n 11 february 2019 cinema Delhi Confidential The story of two female cops in the capital gets international acclaim By Divya Unny T here is a scene in Soni where a senior police officer casually shares a story with her subordinate about her grandmother over a cup of morning tea This, after a long night shift where they were forced to police two constables who were indulging in mindless moral policing she recounts that her grandmother was once suffering from an ear infection that needed surgery, which required shaving off a small patch of her hair The grandmother refused to let that happen, and eventually died since the infection spread to the rest of her head The writer here is trying to communicate the dire need for change in society india’s latest Netflix offering, Soni is riddled with scenes such as this, which tell us much about our society without being shouty about it This is restrained storytelling at its best, which neither patronises nor intimidates the viewer, but leaves her hooked instead Soni, which released online recently, not only starts conversations, but bleeds into our consciousness and stays there a film about two women cops dealing with everyday power struggles and crime in Delhi, Soni has a unique quality, missing from much of mainstream indian cinema subtlety For a film about women in positions of power who are highly 64 vulnerable to patriarchy, it simmers quietly through the lives of its protagonists, laying down their situation and letting us decide how affected we want to be by it after being hailed as one of india’s finest Netflix films, we can say that we finally have a film that’s global not just in its reach and intent, but treatment too Soni’s writer and director ivan ayr tells us the story of women in india without embellishments, reminiscent of the cinema of satyajit ray and Mrinal sen it is a movie that reflects our times and the ferment in gender interactions without being preachy “in 2014 (two years after the Nirbhaya case), i was watching a news debate where they were discussing steps being taken to make the city safer for women strangely, a policewoman was missing from this discussion it’s when i started to think how we never think about them i met many female cops in the capital, and i realised how as policewomen they cannot detach themselves from victims because they understand They are susceptible to the same crimes they are fighting because of their gender it was a tussle of emotions there, and that’s when i felt i want to tell the story of a policewoman who has trouble separating her own feelings [from] the job,” says ayr Director ayr, and the two protago- nists played by Geetika Vidya Ohlyan (soni) and saloni Batra (Kalpana), have lived much of their lives in and around Delhi Ohlyan, who plays the title role, is from a liberal household in haryana, but was conscious of the gender disparity around her she says, “i grew up without the restrictions and inhibitions part of a regular girl’s life i would sit and talk to a number of girls in school who would tell me how they sensed behaviour towards them was different Discussions about the length of the skirt, women’s bodies and hair being controlled by people in the family, was a regular for me in third and fourth standard i was brought up to be a smart and strong girl, and never a shy and beautiful one But i realise that the vulnerabilities of being a woman stay with you, irrespective of who you are and what you When you are in a position of power, like soni was, you can initiate change But it’s that power that put her into trouble as well.” Batra plays iPs officer Kalpana— the toughest and the most restrained character in the film—to perfection her performance is one of the strongest recent female debuts we’ve seen in india she says, “i’ve experienced things myself in Delhi even if it was a lane away from home after dark, nothing is safe While living in Delhi, i had never felt the power 11 february 2019 I met many female cops in the capital, and I realised how as policewomen they cannot detach themselves from victims because they understand” ivan ayr director, Soni and fearlessness i experienced playing Kalpana Being on the streets at such odd hours, and that i had the power to put a man behind bars, and teach him a lesson for his misdemeanours and sick mindset was truly empowering.” almost every scene in Soni has been shot as one seamless take by cinematographer David Bolen his camera follows the lives of the characters, never invading it, making us, the audience, observe without judgement There is no background score in the film, proof of how the scenes stand by themselves, without external stimulation The artwork is minimal and colour palette spans blues, browns and blacks, effectively painting the seething world that the film aims to create ayr, who has been influenced by the cinema of Jafar Panahi and abbas Kiarostami, wanted to control the inherent impulse of being aggressive in a film like this he says, “The school of cinema i come from, it’s important for the 11 february 2019 characters to have that dignity of a human being, for the audience to empathise or want to stand up for them i did not see any policemen or policewomen behave in a very aggressive manner unless they were on the street, and to assert themselves it wouldn’t have worked if they were exploding all the time They were doing these ‘heroics’ anyway, and their reactions hence had to be minimal and internal Plus nobody in the film is a superhero They are complicated humans who make mistakes and i wanted the audiences to question how they would react to similar situations.” soni fights casual sexism and eveteasing, while Kalpana struggles to maintain the dignity of work in an imbalanced professional environment The film clearly belongs to the two female actors who are sincere and transparent in their portrayals it is to the director’s credit that the actors seem endowed with so much power “it was emotion- ally exhausting to play soni she has no family support, or no gratification of simple needs, be it desire for food, or the bodily desire of being embraced The character was so isolated in so many ways, yet was fighting at every single step how you not break down in a situation like that? That was my biggest challenge,” says Ohlyan The standout feature of the film is that its approach to gender and power is not black and white empowerment in movies such as Veere di Wedding and shows like Four Shots Please is simply reduced to sex, drugs, alcohol and male hating in Soni, the idea of empowerment is far more nuanced You see that men can also be victims of stereotypes and conditioning Ohlyan says, “soni is a girl who is in these dire circumstances, and is not clinging on to the man in her life it was difficult to justify that choice she makes because it doesn’t happen so often in my life, when i experienced an unwelcome touch for the first time, i remember my mother and grandmother saying that every man is a predator it was much later that i realised that it’s not true, and i believed in the intrinsic goodness of people, unless they prove otherwise.” Women from across the globe have written to the makers of Soni that the film has touched them, proving how a local story can have global appeal in a world where we only talk about punishing the perpetrator or saving the victim, Soni encourages us to look at every individual and situation with a sensitive and sensible eye Once the shoot was over, Ohlyan spent a couple of days close to her alma mater Delhi University “i spent isolated time there in the room, all alone, wore my old comfort clothing, took walks in the campus, looked at people, policewomen, observed them after this experience i think i have learnt to express my opinion more gently with more compassion because fear or ferociousness or anger weakens the person who is trying to make a point it is stimulating people’s minds rather than titillating them it makes me feel really proud of my film,” she says n www.openthemagazine.com 65 NOT PEOPLE LIKE US RAJEEV MASAND Moving on from the Khans The drama over Saare Jahaan Se Achcha, ad-filmmaker Mahesh Mathai’s proposed biopic of Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian who travelled to space, is never-ending First Aamir Khan committed to the project, then dropped out to develop Mahabharata as a seven-part series He convinced Shah Rukh Khan to take the gig, but last week we reported that the Zero star had more or less walked out of the film, choosing instead to Don In barely a week, there are more developments Cornered by journalists at a screening where he was asked to comment on SRK’s exit from the film, Aamir hinted that he wasn’t sure that rumours of Shah Rukh’s departure were true He said we ought to wait for an announcement from the actor before jumping to conclusions Does that mean Shah Rukh might still be doing it? Well, not if news coming out of producer Siddharth Roy Kapur’s company can be trusted Word is that the makers have decided to ‘go younger’ with the cast, following all the drama with the older Khans Insiders reveal that the team sat down and figured it might be a better idea to rope in one of the younger actors since they’re likely to be more committed to the project Rajkummar Rao’s name has been tossed around, reportedly Then, when Vicky Kaushal was spotted leaving Kapur’s Khar office last week, industrywaalas put two and two together and deduced that the makers had approached Vicky to take the job, given his recent success with another patriotic-themed film, Uri: The Surgical Strike The josh is indeed high with this one New Look for Saif Saif Ali Khan’s younger son— and the internet’s boyfriend— Taimur visited him on the sets of Sacred Games earlier this week, and naturally the paps had a field day training their zoom lenses on the 2-year-old Saif told me his son wasn’t confused or even the least bit surprised on seeing him in his Sartaj Singh avatar, complete with turban and a 66 bandaged hand “It doesn’t seem to bother him He also came to set when I was playing a Naga sadhu for Navdeep Singh and I had the dreadlocks and the beard…but nothing,” Saif said “I think he doesn’t like to see his mother wearing make up, but he doesn’t seem to care so much in my case.” Currently wrapping the second season of Sacred Games in Mumbai, Saif said the show is much faster paced this time around, “and you really get to understand the implications of the ‘sacred’ in the title” He’s found an easy rhythm with Masaan director Neeraj Ghaywan, who has replaced Vikramaditya Motwane as the director of the Sartaj Singh track:“He has a calm way of working, which suits me well.” Asked about his leaner frame this season, the actor said, “Well, so much has happened since,” and sadly stopped short of blurting out spoilers Crude Intentions Those who know this soft-spoken, mild-mannered male star insist that the painfully shy image he’s cultivated is a hoax His inner circle is baffled by the ‘man-of-few-words’ reputation that he has managed to acquire, when they clearly know it is far from the truth He gives the impression that he’s devoted to his gorgeous girlfriend, but according to gossip from the sets of his new film, he’s got a ‘side thing’ going with the second lead who’s paired opposite him in the project At a party hosted by the film’s producer recently, the pair had to be practically separated from each other in the balcony, eyewitnesses have claimed Another young actor was shocked by the star’s complete lack of grace when he asked him if rumours that he’d broken up with his actress girlfriend were indeed true so he could make a move on the lady in question, with whom he was shooting a movie at the time The thing is, the language he used to describe his intentions were anything but gentlemanly n 11 february 2019 Cancer is one of the most devastating non-communicable diseases (NCDs) Proton Therapy is a bold, decisive step in India's fight against cancer A milestone in Apollo Hospital's commitment to tackle the tsunami of NCDs It is a moment of pride for every Indian as we welcome the first Proton Cancer Centre in South-East Asia Dr Prathap C Reddy Founder Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group For 25 years, Apollo Hospitals has been a pioneer in integrated cancer care and now, with state-of-the-art Proton Therapy, it will stand at the cutting-edge of cancer management With the prowess to treat a wide spectrum of cancers, Proton Therapy has gained tremendous momentum globally Its high-precision capability greatly enhances treatment in challenging cancer sites with minimal side effects to further enhance cancer survival, to improve quality of life Apollo Proton Cancer Centre stands as a beacon of hope for over 3.5 billion people in India and the region 1860 500 2850 www.apolloprotoncentre.com ... www.openthemagazine.com open mail editor@openmedianetwork.in Editor S Prasannarajan managing Editor Pr ramesh ExEcutivE EditorS aresh Shirali, ullekh nP Editor-at-largE Siddharth Singh dEPuty EditorS... metropolitan magistrate of Delhi, Fernandes asserted, “Dictatorship does violence to the spirit of man it is neither legal, constitutional or even moral it leaves people with no legal and constitutional... defeated.’ 11 february 2019 www.openthemagazine.com openings POrTraiT Kangana ranaut Queen regnant A different kind of stardom T here is a clichÉ—content that king—that almost every Bollywood personality