Bangaru - The punching bag

I really pity Bangaru Laxman. Time and again, this fellow has been used as a punching bag by all and sundry in Indian politics. His crime was accepting a measly rupees one lakh, most probably for party fund. At least, at the time of accepting the cash, I think he believed he was being offered cash for party fund.  And everyone knows that all political parties accept ‘party funds’ from anyone, in any form, and at any time. And much, much larger sums than one lakh. The sting operator from Tehelka, who filmed the entire transaction clandestinely, had definitely used the phrase ‘party fund’, and then under his breath, he mumbled ‘New year party fund’ meaning to sound like he was offering cash for the ‘New year party’, meaning for the use for personal pleasure, meaning a bribe. Now, if it was a ‘Party fund’ cash, as I am sure Laxman understood it to be, it would not have amounted to bribe, and would have simply been liable to be penal taxed if not declared in the next year’s party’s IT returns. So, Tehelka guys simply stuck to their claim that Bangaru Laxman accepted ‘New year party fund’ from them, and hence it was a bribe. However, as far as the matter meant for Laxman, he was simply doing his job as a party president by accepting funds for the use by the party. I strongly believe that he had never intended to use it for personal use. He never realized he was being offered ‘New year party’ fund; he simply thought it was ‘party fund’ as in ‘Bhartiya Janta Party’ fund.  Immediately after the incident, no one cared to listen to this poor man; he was unceremoniously removed from the party president’s post and has virtually gone into a political oblivion since then, not to talk about the blitzkrieg by the opposing congress and other parties, as if no one ever received party fund in unaccounted cash in their lives! Now eleven years later, as the court pronounced its verdict, the punching bag is being revived once again. The congress is using it to counter BJP’s cornering them on Bofors issue and BJP is once again playing holier than thou by distancing itself from the poor man, saying that they had expelled him from the post and sent him into political wilderness long ago. So, in a country where scams worth thousands of crores are getting unearthed every day, an old man is being humiliated repeatedly for accepting Rs one lakh as party fund.  As it is said, everyone is a thief but only the one that gets caught is the one that gets crucified. 

Movie review- Tezz

It cannot be by chance that all the last three movies that I saw were of international quality in all aspects. Therefore, it is very safe to say that I have been choosing my movies well! LOL! Yes, I know, only about ten percent of movies produced by Bollywood are really watchable. When I say ‘international quality’, I don’t mean to say ‘Tezz’ is a flawless venture. Tezz has some great action sequences, on-the-edge kind of thrilling moments, wonderful performances, nice numbers, great photography, and has been very well directed. However, it has a major flaw in its story-line- The protagonist, an illegal immigrant to the UK from India, has been shown to be deserving sympathy despite his illegal occupancy of a foreign country, and working there without a work-permit; and, worst of all, despite keeping 500 passengers in a train hostage for ransom, and even getting the cash in the end! I mean, I am patriotic Indian, but I'd never feel sorry for such an Indian.

Aakash Rana (Ajay Devgan), an Indian citizen living illegally in London, married to a British citizen of Indian origin, Nikita (Kangna Ranawat), is forcefully separated from his pregnant wife and deported to India when the authorities discover his illegal status in the country. His wife is left behind who delivers a son. Four years later, he returns to London, again illegally, this time to take revenge on the country that separated him from his wife four years ago. He has help in the form of Adil (Zayed Khan) and Meghna (Sameera Reddy), both staying illegally in UK just like Ajay Devgan himself. Ajay had helped these two in settling down in UK while he was ‘settled’ running his wife’s business in UK, and they needed shelter and support in their initial tough days as illegal immigrants. With the help of Zayed and Sameera, Ajay plants a bomb in a Landon-Glasgow express passenger train, and then calls up the authorities telling them about the bomb on the train which would go off if the train’s speed dropped to below 60 mph (definitely reminding everyone of Keanu Reeves starrer Speed, but don’t worry, there are no more similarities). He demands 10 million Euros in cash in return of defusing the bomb. He has also planted a similar bomb on another goods train which he detonates just to show the authorities that he means business. The authorities have about 12 hours’ time before the train reaches Glasgow. To add drama and thrill to the story, the chief of railways in London (Boman Irani) has his teen-aged daughter travelling in that train alone (definitely reminding everyone of ‘The burning train’, but again there are no more similarities). Anil Kapoor, who has retired as the chief of the counter-terrorism command in UK, is requested to cut short his return journey to India and re-join his duty for just this case (Now, this is definitely reminiscent of many Hollywood movies).

The rest of the movie is a thrilling rat race between the UK police and Ajay Devgan, Sameera and Zayed. Though I have already mentioned that Ajay Devgan manages to get the cash from the authorities, but there are lots of whethers, hows, whats and whos..

Drama and thrill is enhanced by some anxious moments on a fast-moving train that cannot be stopped, and by adding a brother to Sameera Reddy who needs to be operated for a medical condition, and for which ‘a large amount of cash is to be immediately deposited’ in the hospital, otherwise they won’t operate upon him (I mean, c’mon, no hospital would do that!).

Performances are immaculate- I have always liked Ajay Devgan for his acting skills; Zayed Khan, Sameera have done their parts well as well. Boman Irani is as realistic as ever- a superlative performance from him. For the first time I could see some signs of ageing on the ageless Anil Kapoor’s face, but he has acted well. Kangna Ranawat is one of my favorite girls in Bollywood, so I enjoyed her presence on the screen and she isn’t a bad actor either.

Like I said, apart from the basic flaw in the storyline that asks the audience to feel sorry for an outright criminal, just because he is separated from his wife owing to local law, this movie is very watchable, especially for those who like the adrenaline rush thru their veins as they sit popping in popcorn.

The numbers are very hummable, I especially liked Rahat Fateh ali Khan’s rendition- Tere Bina. Then there is the inevitable item number filmed on Mallika Shrawat who looks very ‘different’ under loads of make-up, but the song itself is good. Over-all, a good movie, watch it once.

My rating: 2.5 on 5