Satyagraha - A Commentry

Satyagraha hits the theatres today! Prakash Jha has said that film is a dialogue with the youth of today. The director picked a rather new (as compared to last week's critically acclaimed  political thriller Madras Cafe) subject for Satyagraha. Prakash Jha's latest take on What Ails The Nation.

The movie shows the real time scenarios of the failing present system as a whole. Thus if it is happening in the real life, we not require a cinema version of it. Especially a version which doesn't add anything of significance to the narrative: it's all been-here-seen-this-and-that before.

Saibal Chatterjee writes for NDTV, "Prakash Jha's Satyagraha is a political film that, for all its well-meaning bluster, neither stings nor scalds. It fails to hit the core of the truth that it seeks," and further elaborates, "Unfortunately, Satyagraha barely skims the surface of a complex theme, leaving many a crucial question unanswered. As a result, it can hardly be expected to shake a vast nation and its somnolent rulers out of their torpor." 

Mahatma Gandhi may have been the original satyagrahi, but two years ago, there was Anna Hazare, the man who threatened an indefinite fast unless the government agreed to his demands to enact a law against corruption. The image of Anna is still so strongly etched that even when Amitabh Bachchan channels the Mahatma (a classic scene has Bachchan drape his arms around two young girls and walk, in almost the same pose as the Mahatma did, all those decades ago), we instantly think of the man who colonised Jantar Mantar. And when we see Ajay Devgn, who plays Amitabh Bachchan's trusty lieutenant, we think of Arvind Kejriwal, the man who has broken away and formed his party against corruption, and which is readying to fight the elections in 2014.

The various other scenes like boy setting himself afire and few more are taken from real life incidents.

When it comes to cinema, its truth is equally divided amongst the three monkeys - story, acting and direction. What the movie lost out in story and direction, it made up for with acting.

The characters in the film are well defined and justified with an exception of TV journalist Yasmin (Kareena Kapoor Khan), is most puzzling: is she an objective recorder of events for her TV channel, or a part of the crusade against corruption? She keeps criss-crossing the lines, depending on what the scene wants her to do. Devgn's part could have gone somewhere. As the guy of today who wants to use technology-driven social media — Facebook updates and Twitter posts fly thick and fast — to bring about change, but who is a pragmatist, even befriending the bad guys as a means to an end, Manav could have been a well-rounded character. But, after a few sketchy flourishes, he also reverts to type. And the end is chaos, very far from the non-violent satyagrah that the film propounds: gun-toting hooligans and cops run around the town, ending predictably in noble deaths and lectures on morality and goodness.

"A problem that has beset Jha's recent films is back to haunt Satyagraha as well. The principal characters do not converse like you and me. They make speeches from a rostrum. When they are not letting out hot air from a pedestal, they deliver grand statements of intent to each other and everyone within earshot. It is an approach that is better suited to street theatre than to the big screen." 

The film would have become interesting if the story had allowed for some nuance. A few more ups and downs in the characters as well as in the plot which went plain and sober most of the time, but this would may have made the movie bit complicated and who wants complications in a movie! 

In turn it left lot of questions unanswered. No doubt that the movie upbrings the issues which seek importance on a common man's grund, there had to be more into it than a abrupt and a calm ending.

Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara - A Commentary

I was 10 when Dil Chahta Hai was released. But I saw it much later. The movie marked one of the most important stages in my understanding of cinema. It gave me something that I had never seen before. It glorified friendship without romanticizing it, it chose banter and quick-wit over slapstick comedy and told a simple tale of three friends, without being a captive of comedy, romance or any other genres that were prevalent in Bollywood, with such effortless ease and honesty that the movie went beyond what any Hindi film had previously touched, it and remains, to this day, as one of my, if not the, all time favourite movies.

I am not sure if Farhan Akhtar gave us Dil Chahta Hai or Dil Chahta Hai gave us Farhan Akhtar but Hindi film industry would be indebted to both Dil Chahta Hai and Farhan Akhtar for giving it so many things it was deprived of till 2001.

Well, I am undoubtedly a fan of Farhan Akhtar and at the same time have always believed that Farhan could never touch within himself what he did while making that gem of a movie back in the day. However, he has been close to brilliance in Lakshya, experimental in Rock On and acceptable in Don. Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara, the movie this article is supposed to be about, is perhaps the closest he and his sister Zoya have come to the legend of Dil Chahta Hai but the comparison of, and the similarity between, the two movies would be the toughest challenge ZNMD would have to face.

The brilliance of the movie lies predominantly in its gentle character and lovely screenplay. The performances, along with the ravishing locales in Spain, embellish the movie to a spectacle. Farhan Akhtar is spontaneous, funny and a live wire as Imran, Hritik Roshan puts forth the best performance of his life after Lakshya to create an Arjun who is both stylish and materialistic for a reason. Abhay Deol's Kabir is not as fantastic as his other two friends but he adds an element of sobriety that compliments well to the crazy scenes created by the other two leads.

The adventure sports, especially free-falling, are awesome and really enthralling. One of the greatest achievements of the movie is that while the three friends look fascinating together and their humour is of the kind one can easily relate to, their personal stories and troubles - which we can call subplots - are captured with great care and grace. May it be Arjun's silence after meeting a quarantined part of himself after the sea-diving incident or Kabir's memory of a marriage proposal that happened by mistake, all the subplots are respected equally. Yet, the best to me was the one that features Imran's search for his real father. The meeting between Imran and his father Salman (played by Naseeruddin Shah with remarkable grace) is one of the most influential scenes in the movie.

The small flashbacks - a trademark Farhan Akhtar style - are used as effectively as always. Zoya Akhtar extends her talent from Luck By Chance (which itself was a good attempt) to direct with greater freedom. Imran's poetry, written by Javed Akhtar, appears at apt moments and reads very well to the poetic ear. Katrina Kaif looks beautiful as Laila and is marginally better than the dull actor she has usually been. Kalki is decent as Kabir's fiance. The music flows well through the movie. Dil Dhadkne Do and Senorita are particular nice tracks. The effect of Der Lagi Lekin is enhanced by its fantastic timing in the movie. The stallions running parallel to the vintage blue Mercedes seemingly compete with the beauty of the latter in that obscure, surrealistic, extravagant location in Spain.

Overall, ZMND offers a type of sanguinity that it can justify. It is an honest attempt to glorify life without glamourizing it senselessly just like the masterpiece of Dil Chahta Hai was in a certain way. Although Dil Chahta Hai still remains, and perhaps will always remain, the best movie Farhan Akhtar was part of, ZMND can very well come second, and being a Rahul Dravid is no small feat in a system where ranking starts from second.

Food Security Bill – Combating Hunger!

A huge percentage of the Indian population lives below the poverty line where getting one square meal a day is a challenge. The food security bill aims to satisfy this basic want and in that sense although it encourages welfare economics, the intention is noble. This is what would need to be weighed against other roadblocks.

Before we comment or discuss the bill, it is indeed very necessary to understand the Food Security Bill.

The Food Security Bill is a bill for consideration before the Government of India. The bill aims to provide subsidized foodgrain to around 67 percent (75% of the rural population and up to 50% of the urban population) of India's 1.2 billion people. As per the provisions of the bill, beneficiaries would get rice at INR 3/kg, wheat at INR 2/kg, and coarse grains at INR 1/kg. These rates would be valid for three years. Every pregnant woman and lactating mother would get free meal during pregnancy till six months after child birth. They will also get a maternity benefit of INR 6,000 in installments. Children in the age group of 6 months to 6 years, the Bill guarantees an age-appropriate meal, free of charge, through the local anganwadi. For children aged 6-14 years, one free mid-day meal shall be provided every day (except on school holidays) in all schools run by local bodies, government and government aided schools, up to Class VIII. Children who suffer from malnutrition will be identified through the local anganwadi and meals will be provided to them free of charge “through the local anganwadi”.

The Bill states that central and state governments “shall endeavour to progressively undertake” various PDS reforms, including: doorstep delivery of foodgrains; ICT applications and end-to-end computerisation; leveraging “aadhaar” (UID) for unique identification of entitled beneficiaries; full transparency of records; preference to public institutions or bodies in licensing of fair price shops; management of fair price shops by women or their collectives; diversification of commodities distributed under the PDS; full transparency of records; and “introducing schemes such as cash transfer, food coupons or other schemes to the targeted beneficiaries in lieu of their foodgrain entitlements” as prescribed by the central government. In case of non-supply of foodgrains, states will have to pay food security allowance to beneficiaries.

The central government has pushed the Food Security Bill with amazing alacrity. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) that rules India, has got the Bill passed by an ordinance, not through the usual parliament route. Within six months from the date of promulgation, the government will have to seek the approval of this Bill through parliament to avoid the ordnance falling through. 

NSSO surveys show that the proportion of hungry people fell from 15.3% in 1983 to 2% in 2004. By now, it is probably 1%. So, forget the notion that hungry Indians are crying out for cheap grain. No, per-capita consumption of cereals has fallen steadily in all income groups, including the poorest. They are shifting to superior foods: proteins, milk and tea.

Besides, the NDA launched the Antyodaya programme for the very poorest back in 2000, providing wheat at 2 and rice at 3 per kg. The Bill simply repeats the dose - nothing new at all for the poorest.

The main problem for the government is the resources for implementation of the bill. Can we produce such a large amount? Once the cheap food is available, people will consume more and more increasing the burden on supply side. Can we store such large quantities of food supply? India presently has provision only for 30 million tons but this act will need 60 million tons of storage. In order to meet the increased requirement of foodgrain for PDS, export of cereals should be stopped immediately. If basmati rice is to be exported, an equal amount of ordinary rice must be imported. It is highly unethical to export foodgrain when our own people are dying of starvation. And we congratulate ourselves on record foodgrain exports at a time when the per capita food availability at home is declining — and we lose money on every tonne that we export. 

Secondly, actual distribution cannot begin unless the eligible households are identified. The Bill does not specify criteria for the identification of households eligible for Public Distribution System (PDS) entitlements. The Central Government is to determine the state-wise coverage of the PDS, in terms of proportion of the rural/urban population. Then numbers of eligible persons will be calculated from Census population figures. The identification of eligible households is left to state governments. The allocation of foodgrains is arbitrary and is neither based on population nor poverty. The final results of the Socio-Economic and Caste Census will not be available for all the states, especially the larger states like UP, Bihar and Tamil Nadu, until the beginning of 2014.

Thirdly, The Bill encourages states to reform the PDS, including doorstep delivery of foodgrain, end-to-end computerisation; and leveraging "Aadhaar" (UID) for unique identification of entitled beneficiaries. The progress is extremely slow, though not in all states. Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan have undertaken state-level reforms by extending coverage, improving delivery and increasing transparency. The best results are seen in Chhattisgarh. Here, private dealers have been replaced by panchayats, commissions have been increased and more than 80 per cent of the families have been covered under the scheme (as opposed to only 40 per cent who are officially recognised as being Below the Poverty Line or BPL under the Central government). A regular monitoring and grievance redressal mechanism leads to swift action if foodgrain does not reach the people. The fear is, unless something miraculous happens to inject life and energy to the PDS, it will get bogged down under the bigger load to serve many more customers. The result will be chaos of catastrophic proportions.

Most importantly, buying such huge quantities of food at higher rates and selling them to consumers at very low rates will need government subsidies. Already the huge food subsidy has weighed down India’s public finances pushing the budget deficit to unmanageable proportions. When the Bill’s intended provisions are rolled out across India, the food subsidy burden of the government will jump three times. It will run to Rs. 125, 000 crores per year. Even a school boy would say that India simply does not have so much money. How will the government manage to keep the subsidized scheme going?

The BJP condemns the Bill as a pre-election gimmick. But it will surely fail. Many states already provide cereals more cheaply than the Bill. Tamil Nadu provides 20 kg of free rice to poor families. Other southern states provide rice at 1 per kg. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are going to have state elections, and all three now offer wheat or rice at 1 per kg. So, in several states, the additional subsidy of the Bill will not mean cheaper food for consumers, simply less subsidy at the state level. The Bill may mean cheaper cereals in some states, like Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. But the Public Distribution System (PDS) is in terrible shape in these states. To the extent the PDS improves, the chief ministers will get the credit. 

So looking at this we understand that the bill may be brought on with a noble cause but need lot of reforms and a very strong planning commission in order for rightful implementation of the bill. Lets hope to watch if Rajya Sabha brings light to this aspects of the bill in its session.

In the ultimate analysis, the constraints to food security and hunger are rooted in bad policies, faulty design, lack of appropriate monitoring and evaluation, poor governance and lack of political will. Action is needed on all the fronts.