Free! Are We?

6o years of being free. That’s what we celebrated yesterday. But are we really free? Should we be going so gung-ho about our freedom? Yes, today we are a free country taking giant strides in the world economy. There is no power ruling us. Indian industries are creating waves around the world. We as people can move around anywhere we want. But are we as people really free? Do we as people have all the freedom in the world? Do we as people have the basic rights, which the word freedom grants- freedom of speech and freedom of expression?
If we call ourselves a free country, a person should have the freedom to expression his/her opinion. It could concern any issue. Every person can have his/her take on things in life. After all he/she is living in a free country! And along with that others should have the tolerance level to take this opinion in the right spirit. So, why is it that we always witness protest marches and vandalism following a book release or film release, which reflects our culture, religion and tradition in a different light? Why do we have to resort to violence every time a person expresses his/her opinion concerning a particular issue? We as a country are taking the right steps in the right direction when it comes to business and commerce. But unless and until free our minds from the shackles of religion and culture, all these steps will be of no use. Till we exercise the basic rights that freedom guarantees, calling ourselves a free and democratic country would be a farce.

Gandhi:My Father

Of late my posts have been limited to film reviews. And here's one more.
In recent times, our filmmakers seem to have re-discovered Gandhi. The latest venture Gandhi My Father is more to do with the human aspect of the Mahatma, or so was the intent. Though made with an aim of showing the relationship between the Mahatma and his son, the movie has somewhere lost the essence. The director had a perfect cast, a good cinematographer and a producer like Anil Kapoor. But Feroz Abbas Khan has (in IT lingo) not managed to utilize his resources well. He has managed to get stellar performances from all the actors. But at the end of the movie, you are left with no feelings for either the father or the son. The film lacks emotional content. Except for a couple of scenes, Khan has not managed to portray the emotional upheaval of Gandhi for Harilal or Harilal trying to move out of the shadow of his father.
The cinematographer has captured some frames beautifully, but some of the locations seem unrealistic. The direction of some scenes leave a lot of questions unanswered.
Another place where the movie takes a beating is the editing. A good edit would have worked wonders for the film. Also the duration could have been shorter.
But due credit must be given to all the actors. Especially Shefali Shah. She brought Kasturba Gandhi to life. The film is of Mahatma and Harilal. But Shefali Shah has stolen the show. All said and done the film is worth a watch for all the performances.