Mind u Read

In this age of short attention spans Sandeep Reddy Vanga has done the unthinkable with his latest film Animal—he has not only managed to hold our attention in the theatres with a film that’s three hours twenty one minutes long, but also managed to sustain that attention by turning the movie into a topic of intense debate that’s still going on.   Like everyone else I have an opinion too, rather opinions, and have been tweeting intermittently about them, but the film’s success as well as the criticism it has been receiving calls for deeper introspection.   Through this post I hope to touch upon some of the aspects that I found interesting about the film; both good and bad.   In the process I’ll also try and explain why I feel Ranbir Kapoor’s character in the film Ranvijay Singh Balbir is a feminist and not a misogynist. I suspect many others feel that way too but don’t realise it yet or are able to say it out loudly. Hear me out and then you can either agree or disagree wit...

We have been reading many stories about Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially since the emergence of ChatGPT—a generative AI tool that possesses immense human-like powers to consume and create content on the fly.   They say only those who embrace AI will thrive in the future, and that it will replace most jobs that humans can do today. There are others, like Elon Musk, who say this AI technology has the potential to go rogue and it needs to be regulated before it’s too late.   Whatever the verdict on that, and whether people choose to use these AI tools or not, one thing is for sure:   AI is going to impact all our lives at a very fundamental human level, and there’s no escaping that.   To illustrate my point, I would like to share three mini stories that I encountered recently.   These are simple stories; not about the wonderful things AI can do for us; but about our reaction to that as humans—leading to the discussion about the battle we all will find ourse...

When an event in the real world is inspired by a creative work, they say—life imitates art. It’s most often used in the context of movies influencing life. Have you ever heard of a movie influencing itself through its own art? The obvious thing to say would be—if the movie is good, then more people will watch it, and then it makes more money. That’s how a movie influences its own destiny. But…there’s a higher order ‘life imitating art’ event that I noticed recently. It’s with the Naatu Naatu song from RRR; thanks to its recent Golden Globe Awards win for best original song. I see that song as an extraordinary self-fulfilling prophecy which I am sure even the filmmakers did not see coming. Here’s my theory:

In early 2021 I wrote a blogpost called “The Age of Bhakti” . The summary or core theme of the post was this: When society and its institutions fail...we have no other option but to depend on the divine.   The recent Telugu blockbuster ‘Akhanda’ is a manifestation of the same concept in an over-the-top commercial format.   Most movies operate in the first part of the summary I shared — where society’s institutions fail and a do-gooder hero who is usually above the law of the land comes in to fix things.   In the process our heroes even break the laws of physics as if it is their birthright, and we accept it without questioning or wondering how such things are possible. The whole act of watching movies is a process of suspension of disbelief.   The legendary actor Balakrishna is known to do these gravity and logic defying acts in the most convincing manner and his two previous collaborations with the director Boyapati Srinu have been huge blockbusters at the box offic...

Everyone’s been going gaga over the new Cadbury Dairy Milk ad — a faithful recreation of its own iconic asli swaad zindagi ka ad from 1993.   The original ad evokes a lot of nostalgia for many of us and this re-creation milks that emotion very well. The twist with the gender reversal is the key point that made everyone fall in love with it.   I however feel there is one critical aspect of the original that the new one completely misses.   Before I speak about it, let’s see what the new ad does.   Here goes…

This post originally appeared in my weekly newsletter.  You can sign up for my newsletter here:   Mind u Read Weekly Digest . Too much content The Indian cricket team won a historic test match at the Oval last week. I caught bits of the match on the Sony Liv app. I had a doubt though and tweeted it out… Great win by India again. I have a genuine question. How do you folks manage to find time to watch test matches when there are so many other distractions all over the internet and otherwise? #INDvENG — Kartik Dayanand (@KartikDayanand) September 6, 2021 Most people confirmed my doubt — a majority of them watch it in small bursts when there is some excitement in the game. They get to know about it on Twitter or other platforms and then jump in to watch that segment of the match. This is very different from the way we grew up watching complete matches on DD. Without any other distractions except for power cuts and news bulletins. The choice and ease of access of content...

There’s one question on a lot of people’s minds these days: "Is the colossal mismanagement of India’s Covid-19 crisis going to dent Narendra Modi’s image…will his blind followers finally open their eyes?"   The short answer is: NO .   The long answer is complicated.   I said in an earlier blogpost that there are only two kinds of people in this world – those who love Modi, and those who hate him; there’s no one in the middle.   Back then I spoke briefly about those who love him unconditionally despite his many failings. I didn’t shy away from calling them Bhakts. That was more in the context of their anger against the Congress party. There are many other reasons too, but in this post, I am going to focus on what I think is the single biggest subconscious reason why someone turns into a Bhakt.   And mind you, I am not using the word Bhakt in a frivolous manner. I am treating this matter with utmost seriousness. I am intrigued by their condition, and you’ll know...

This blogpost is available as a video on YouTube as well as Facebook . It's my  first attempt at video blogging.  You prefer reading it the usual way; then here it is: Someone wrote to me recently on Twitter, saying he enjoys all my tweets there except for when I criticize Narendra Modi. His Blood Pressure goes up it seems. We both laughed…but I also realized that it’s not just his problem. I get pissed off too, when I see people blindly defending some dumb action of the government. Is it safe to say we both are in the same boat? Maybe – maybe not. It depends on whether we are looking at events in isolation or looking at the big picture. The CAA and NRC debate is a classic example of the same. Most sensible people could put 2 and 2 together and see what this combo could do, and they protested. Whereas others chose to only look at the narrow picture – a part of the issue – and they continue to ask - how does CAA affect any Indian? It is only for refugees of 3 c...

Our world is split into two – those who LOVE Modi, and those who HATE him. You know who you are. There’s hardly anyone left in the neutral zone anymore. I never had any serious opinion about him in the past. Was no fan of his ever, but I went ahead and voted for the BJP in 2014 in the hope that something good was coming our way. It didn’t take me too long to realize that I made a mistake. I wouldn’t say I hate him, but I just don’t like him anymore. My grouse with Modi arises from a very basic human level of consciousness and it’s different from most of the stories you read about the economy or other communal matters. A laundry list of complaints against Modi is a vast subject to cover but I will be narrowing my focus in this post to only what I feel most passionate about. The rest you are anyways hearing from the opposition parties, and I hope you’ll share some stories in the comments section too. Before I speak further, it is important to first understan...

"Oh no…one more Padmaavat article. That too so many days after the movie’s release" - I can practically hear you say that aloud. Maybe I am crazy, but I have no option other than to share my story with you before I go completely mad. I might also end up driving you crazy in the last section of this post. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. My story involves a bizarre paradox - a moral dilemma of sorts. It all started when I watched the film Padmaavat on the second day of its release. I loved the film. The climax choked me emotionally and this was the only time in my life where I wished I had seen a movie in 3D because those glasses could’ve hidden my tears at the end. That’s how much I loved the film. Putting aside the discussions about gender politics, Jauhar or the Hindu VS Muslim trope that’s been doing the rounds, the film and the climax appealed to me at a very basic level as a triumph in tragedy – where you feel sad that the good guys die at the end but als...

I watched the much talked about Malayalam movie Premam earlier this year, almost a year after its theatrical release. Though I didn’t understand a word of the language, I instantly fell in love with the film. Maybe it was the music, the locations, visuals, acting, chemistry, love, pimples, Java, or god knows what… the film was pure magic! Later, I came to know it was being remade in Telugu, my native language. I felt it was a bold move, maybe a stupid one too...Premam is a piece of ART, and ART is sacrosanct, not to be tampered with. Were the makers committing blasphemy? To find the answers, I waited with bated breath for the Telugu release. Caught the film during the first weekend, and then the unexpected happened. I walked in expecting to see a ‘copy paste remake’ but what I instead got was an ‘upgraded version’ of the original. It felt as if the original Premam was put on a treadmill and made to lose all the flab, in place of which it grew muscles – muscles calle...

Over the last few weeks Facebook has been bombarding me with notifications that my friends support the Free Basics platform. Then started the circus about how bad this is for all of us, with most people showing their concern on various platforms, by sharing videos and articles mushrooming by the minute, all trashing the Free Basics platform. In their opinion, internet is a democracy that shouldn’t be tampered with. They say Facebook is acting as a gatekeeper, a dictator, building an internet that is a silo of the larger internet, furthering its business interests in the garb of doing social good for an unsuspecting audience. According to them, Facebook is nothing short of an evil imperial emperor. I find most of their arguments very cute…they remind me of this line from the movie Seven Samurai: “What's the use of worrying about your beard when your head's about to be taken?” Forget the ‘about to be taken’ bit; in our case not many realize that the ...

I love Maggi noodles. Government says it’s harmful. Nestle's been saying it’s safe. Who do I believe? I was home alone, and hungry one night. A pack of Maggi stared at me from the kitchen shelf. Not knowing what to do, like a new age selfie kid (am I really one? maybe) I asked folks on Facebook to help me decide – to eat, or not to eat.  You can view that post here - click to read The answers were many. Some serious, many in a lighter vein, but all of them set to certain patterns. Patterns dictated by how seriously they took the threat of Maggi having an impact on my, or for that matter anyone else’s health. If I were to classify the answers into 4 broad categories, this is how they would seem. Pattern 1: Risky for your health. Don’t eat it. Pattern 2: You’ve been eating this for ages, nothing happened till now. Eat it. Pattern 3: You’ve been having worse. For instance Delhi air pollution. You are doomed anyways. Pattern 4: It is all...

What is this Dancing Car? That was one question my son was repeatedly asking while we were watching the movie ‘PK’.  Though old enough to grasp basics of the world around him, the concept of a dancing car in ‘PK’ was alien to him. No wonder, the child’s curiosity kicked in and the above question followed. There was no convincing answer to give him. Similar is the state of PK, our alien from outer space. His childlike curiosity constantly questioning the world around him; learning answers the hard way – much to his bewilderment and our amusement. PK questions many aspects of our world, but there is one thing I am particularly keen to explore further - the conclusions he arrives at during his quest to reach god. God exists, but a medium (religion & rituals) and messenger (god men) to reach god are unnecessary. Is PK right in saying so? Maybe…but his childlike innocence can’t be a good enough reason to completely believe him. How can ...

Ever since I watched the film “The Matrix” in the late 90s, I've often wondered if what was shown in the film could become a reality someday. It is highly unlikely, but for those who don't know what the Matrix is all about, here is a brief Wikipedia entry about the film: "The Matrix depicts a dystopian future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called "the Matrix", created by sentient machines to subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source." The Internet of today seems like a nascent version of the Matrix. We humans constantly look for validation and information online. We not only consume but also generate all of the data online via social networks and other means which are powered by corporations that now wield immense power over our lives – think Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. The Apple Watch seems like the next big logical s...

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemingway While I punch the keys on my laptop to write about the Telugu film Manam, my feelings are similar - instead of blood, I have tears in my eyes. Tears that refuse to stop long after the show got over. Tears that seem to emanate from a complex set of emotions triggered by nostalgia, sadness and joy - all at the same time. It is as if the movie has done some kind of black magic on me. The only way for me to make sense of all those tears is to write this blog post. Who knows, you might be feeling the same way too after watching the film. One basic assumption before watching Manam is that this is a film about glorifying the decades old ANR legacy which starts with Akkineni Nageswara Rao in the 1940s to his son Nagarjuna starting in the 80s and then onto his grandson Naga Chaitanya starting in the new millennium – all of whom star in this film. It is an easy temptation fo...

It will be a big mistake to underestimate Arvind Kejriwal's impact on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections! Ever since he started his political campaign,  Arvind Kejriwal has been two steps ahead of his competition.  Be it his innovative use of social media to reach young voters, banners on autos across Delhi city or the incessant radio campaign amongst other things - his political rivals were always playing catch-up and it showed in the results of the Delhi elections. Forty nine days after assuming power as the Chief Minister of Delhi, after creating one ruckus after the other, being labeled as an anarchist where everyday governance turned into a prime time reality show, Arvind Kejriwal finally resigned from his post. Fallout of this:  A major part of Arvind Kejriwal's educated fan base has deserted him but he still magically manages to find new admirers and fanatic followers. Free from the burden of the CM's chair, Arvind Kejriwal now seems to be in a h...

AAP and APP - One is a political party, the other a term used for mobile/internet applications. One might think the only connection between AAP and APP are their similar sounding names. The Aam Aadmi Party's name AAP is often spelled as APP by mistake. But the truth is - they have more things in common than one can ever imagine. For starters, both are new, disruptive in nature, upsetting the way things are run conventionally. I am going to list out in this blog post many more points that are eerily common to both. Here they go...

People laughed when I said I loved Krrish 3. They laughed even harder when I said Krrish 3 should break all box office records. But they laughed the loudest when I said Krrish 3’s success is as important to us as the success of Mangalyaan, India’s Mars Mission. Everyone thought I was joking. They still think so. Now that I am writing this blog post, I hope all doubts will be laid to rest. I will start by first speaking about the movie and then go on to Mangalyaan. Krrish 3 To be honest, I wasn't too enthusiastic to watch Krrish 3 despite all the pre release hype about the VFX and other stuff. Dhoom 3 which is to release in December seemed far more exciting. In 2006, Dhoom 2 overshadowed the hysteria around Krrish, and it seemed like a case of advanced deja vu already. However I was really curious to see how Rakesh Roshan strung the movie together. I think he has a terrific sense of screenplay and there is a certain rhythm and mathematical precession in the way...