Wanted

From the film 'Nafrat ki Aandhi' (tr. 'Gale of Hatred). Composer Bappi Lahiri, lyrics: Indeevar and Anjaan.

...

ही मैन, ही मैन, आए ऐम ही मैन 

चाहिए... ही मैन ही मैन ही मैन 

 चाहिए... ही मैन ही मैन ही मैन 

मज़बूत बाहों वाला, 

प्यार करने वाला, 

मुझपे ही मरने वाला,

अरे प्यार करने वाला 

टुल्ल लुल्ल लू, टुल्ल लुल्ल लू, मामा चूमा वाला 

टुल्ल लुल्ल लू, टुल्ल लुल्ल लू, मामा चूमा वाला 

ही मैन, ही मैन, आए ऐम ही मैन 

इज़्ज़त पे मेरी बन आएगी 

जब छेड़ेगा रूप का चोर मुझे 

दुश्मन से कैसे बचाएगा 

उस वक़्त कोई कमज़ोर मुझे 

चाहिए... ही मैन ही मैन ही मैन 

 चाहिए... ही मैन ही मैन ही मैन 

...

He man, he man, I am he man

Needed... he man he man he man

Needed... he man he man he man

The one with strong arms

The one who loves

The one who'd die only for me

Oh the one who loves

Tull lull luu, tull lull luu, mama chuma wala

Tull lull luu, tull lull luu, mama chuma wala

He man, he man, I am he man

Imperilled will my honor be

When the thief of beauty accosts me

From my foe how will I be saved

That instant by some weak knee

Needed... he man he man he man

Needed... he man he man he man

...

Further Recent Mega Acquisitions

Featuring:

1. मन हिंडोला (विनोद त्रिपाठी)
2. My Brilliant Friend (Elena Ferrante)
3. The World of Hrishikesh Mukherjee (Jai Arjun Singh)
4. A Death in the Family (Karl Over Knausgaard)
5. Goodbye, Columbus (Philip Roth)
6. I Married a Communist (Philip Roth)
7. Mason and Dixon (Thomas Pynchon)
8. Every Love Story is a Ghost Story (D T Max)
9. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (John le Carre)
10. सीन: 75 (राही मासूम रज़ा)
11. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (Jai Arjun Singh)

Evermore Miniscule Musings

(Universal) Basic Income for the Soul

In a fabulous longread at reason.com, Peter Suderman observes the expansion of a new demographic in the US:

Since 2000, men in their 20s without a bachelor's degree are working considerably less and spending far more time engaged in leisure activities, which overwhelmingly means playing video games. Over the same time frame, this group of men has also grown more likely to be single, to have no children, and to live with parents or other family members.

The surprising thing about the stereotypical aimless young man, detached from work and society, playing video games in his parents' basement: He's actually happier than ever.

The unemployment rate in the US is quite low however, but it merely masks this effect:

The economy has rebounded since the great recession, and national unemployment now sits below 5 percent. But that figure only counts people who are actively seeking work. Even as the unemployment rate has dropped, labor force participation—the number of people who either work or want to work—has dwindled.

One would expect that such a lifestyle exposes its adherents to a lifetime of dissatisfaction and extreme unhappiness. 

You might think that this would be demoralizing. A life spent unemployed, living at home, without romantic prospects, playing digital time wasters does not sound particularly appealing on its face.

Yet this group reports far higher levels of overall happiness than low-skilled young men from the turn of the 21st century. In contrast, self-reported happiness for older workers without college degrees fell during the same period. For low-skilled young women and men with college degrees, it stayed basically the same.

And further...

Research has consistently found that long-term unemployment is one of the most dispiriting things that can happen to a person. Happiness levels tank and never recover. One 2010 study by a group of German researchers suggests that it's worse, over time, for life satisfaction than even the death of a spouse. What video games appear to do is ease the psychic pain of joblessness—and to do it in a way that is, if not permanent, at least long-lasting.

A vast army of young, unemployed males hardly bodes well for social stability of a country, in particular since males exhibit more extreme behavior more frequently than females. 

... men are more likely to exhibit extremes of character and behavior, both positive and negative. A whole generation of men obsessively playing video games during their prime decades of life may not be ideal, but most would agree that it is preferable to riots.

Indeed, a lot of commentators are now floating ideas about universal basic income (UBI) in anticipation of large numbers of people who will presumably be displaced from their jobs by advanced AI. As Suderman remarks, the main conflict lies in human notions of joblessness and its economic and social consequences. Some economists suggest that many such displaced people may turn to video games since they instill a sense of purpose, progress and accomplishment. 

Even the most open-ended games tend to offer a sense of progress and direction, completion and commitment. In other words, they make people happy—or at least happier, serving as a buffer between the player and despair. Video games, you might say, offer a sort of universal basic income for the soul.

Such novelty features make gaming a complex social phenomenon since they increase the opportunity cost of both work (since jobs need to be "good enough" for people to quit gaming) as well as revolution (organizing against your meatspace overlords is far harder than nuking fictional ones).

Yet, one doesn't need to peer too hard to see the irony: "A game provides the sensation of mastery without the actual ability."

"It's a simulation of being an expert," Wolpaw says. "It's a way to fulfill a fantasy." That fantasy, ultimately, is one of work, purpose, and social and professional success.

What's happening in the US is yet-another by-product of technology reorganizing the marketplace in ways no one anticipated. Indeed, in a way, this isn't a new phenomenon at all — just like the Simpsons, Japan already did it — witness the continued relevance of the otaku and hikkikomori subcultures over there.

A fascinating read overall — do read the whole piece in full! Highly recommended.

Master of None: The Soundtrack

Much ink has been spilt on the excellent new show Master of None on Netflix and Aziz Ansari has richly deserved the tall praise heaped on both him and on the show. For the recently concluded second season in particular, the ending of "The Dinner Party" (S2 Ep5) stands out for being a stunning scene in itself. It's a single long continuous take of Aziz's solitary cab drive set to a killer background melody weaving itself seamlessly into the narrative of his dejection.

And so it's really gratifying to see Zach Cowie — the DJ cum music producer get such good press recently for an incredibly eclectic soundtrack that is in many ways, the soul of Master of None.

Here are some recent interviews with Vulture and the BBC. Even the impossible-to-please Pitchfork applauds. 

Bravo!

Even Pitchfork Swears By It

In a brilliant, incisive, all-over-excellent piece, the incredible Rob Sheffield celebrates Kid A's 15th birthday in Rolling Stone. Here's the full article: How Radiohead Shocked the World: A 15th-Anniversary Salute to 'Kid A'.

It's a terrific essay and thank heavens that much like pornography, you know great writing when you see it.

Examples: Here's the confusion that swept over devoted fans:

Whether you loved or hated Kid A, it gave undeniable entertainment value. All through the miserable fall of 2000, the debates raged on. Is it a masterpiece? A hype? A compendium of clichés? Will it stand the test of time? Why aren't "Knives Out" or "You and What Army" on this album? Where'd you park the car? Is Al Gore blowing it on purpose? Why didn't the umpires toss Clemens after he threw the bat? Where's "Pyramid Song"? Who let the dogs out? When is the second half of this album coming out — you know, the half with the actual Radiohead songs? How did they get away with that in Florida? Is this really happening?

Understandably, there was initial bewilderment and backlash: 

The funniest review came from Select, the best Britpop mag of the era: "What do they want for sounding like the Aphex Twin circa 1993, a medal?"

However, only Radiohead could pull it off:

That was part of the romance of loving Radiohead — this band always did have a tendency to over-egg the pudding. I mean, if the trees you're singing about are "plastic," you probably don't need to add that they're also "fake," least of all in the title. But it's that hyper-adolescent overstatement that makes the "fake plaaa-haaastic trees" line — and the song title, and the song — so emotionally powerful. "Fake Plastic Trees" would have been easier to take if it had been called "Green Plastic Trees" or "Blue Vinyl Trees" or something — more subtle, more adult, more intelligent. But it would have been a lesser song... 

At that point, it seemed like Radiohead were the only Nineties band left who still wanted to be a Nineties band —

The entire article glows with several such rare gems and has been casually, effortlessly sprinkled with deep observations about the then ascendant alternative scene.

Do read the whole thing.

(Those who know NF personally, are probably aware that he's a massive, massive fan of Radiohead in general and Kid A in particular. Indeed it was Kid A that personally got NF through six weeks of his only foray into real life inside a Fremont cubicle. (He'd listen to it on a loop and would often gaze longingly at the clock, willing it to tick faster.)

Sadly though, Radiohead is his only favorite band he hasn't seen live yet. (GY!BE check, Mogwai check, Pixies check.) Circumstances seem to be conspiring to make this permanently so. Boo.)

This is how journalism is meant to be. Read the piece and feel its pulse. It's alive and it'll kick some serious ass yet.

लाला के लिए

I just finished revisiting Jani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani and have revised my estimate of this film. I must admit that I was taken aback and was compelled to write to you. I beseech you, implore you, simply beg you to rewatch this film at the earliest. Be cautious though, for you may laugh so hard that Michael will need to call 911. There is more per frame WTFuckery in this film than I ever recall. Per. Fuckin'. Frame. And the megastarcast and their massive indifference to fate of this woebegone adventure is an experience to remember.

Please Lala, you have to do this.

 

Yours,

कुर्सियां!

NF has just gotten off binge watching four season 1 episodes of the web original, overnight IMDB phenom, mini series: TVF Pitchers, and boy, is it stunning! 

The show is about the much vaunted startup scene in India, in particular around Powai, Mumbai (wouldn't Bangalore have been a better choice? Oh well...) and not only does it look real and is very funny (the first episode: Tu Beer Hai (tr. You Are Beer) being a great example); it can also flaunt dramatic complexity and nuance when it wants to. Here's a longer, more in-depth review at Huff Po India: The Viral Fever's New Web Series Is About India's Frenzied Start-Up Scene.

It's also stylish, slick, and looks really fuckin' cool. 

The main actor is that same writer boy from Sulemani Keeda, which, come to think of it, occupies a very similar space in recent Hindie ventures. Its casting (including a very edgy, intense cameo by the ever awesome Rajesh Sharma), acting, writing, production values etc. are far beyond what you'd expect from a web original - in fact, it looks and feels better than anything on Indian TV. 

And of course, any self respecting series about engineering graduates must have a Sourav Mondal character  - and what a great campy, fun Saurabh Mandal (from IIM Indore lest you forget) we get to see! 

@ Ra and SatyaVrat: You guys've got to comment on what's your take on this!

It starts here on Youtube. Do, do watch!

गुड गौली मिस बौली

नंफ़ : जैसे हिंदी फिल्मों में अक्सर हीरो, हीरोइन से प्यार करने का नाटक करते करते उसे सचमुच चाहने लगते हैं, मैं बॉलीवुड के बारे में बिलकुल वैसा महसूस करता हूँ.

... : ...

When an Unstoppable Force Meets an Immovable Object

The funniest 4 minutes you will experience in this life: an absolute must-see for fellow Gunda fans - I give you... the Gunda Hobbit. I laughed so hard that tears gushed forth from my eyes, ears, nose and miscellaneous other orifices.

सुपरमैन...मालेगाँव का मैं सुपरमैन

Finally watched Supermen of Malegaon - a beautiful, brave, heartwarming documentary. Cannot recommend it enough.

Here's the link to the documentary on Youtube:

Bravo!

...

Here's an eight minute highlight of the original film, Superman of Malegaon:

From the Malegaon production house, here are the trailers of Koi Mil Gaya Malegaon,  Malegaon ka Ghajini and Dhoom Malegaon - those with fond remembrances of Ramgadh Ke Sholay will cheer at the low-budget-yet-big-hearted spoof production that folks from Malegaon are undertaking. 

The Indian Onion

Millions of Indian engineering students well up, shed quiet tears and switch their allegiance to Salman Khan after hearing his claim of being a fellow virgin. (Link.)

मोनू के सौजन्य से

नॉएडा की फ़िल्म सिटी में नागराज का पदार्पण!

(विस्तृत फ़ोटो देखने के लिए इमेज पर क्लिक करें।)

(When) Is It OK To Be A Luddite?

NF has mixed feelings towards Battlestar Galactica. The first episode, in its undeniable brilliance raises hopes and expectations quite unlike anything in recent science fiction film/TV series memory (with the obvious exception of District 9). The initial few seasons are able to carry the drama well enough on their shoulders (the ending of the first season is again, quite unexpected and masterfully well realized) but the series sags under its own bulk later on with many plot holes looming over the horizon and some major irritants thrown in for good measure (the next time NF sees a flying object in space making a 'woosh' sound as it hurtles past, or hears the 'sound' of a deadly explosion ripping apart a spaceship, he promises he will just fucking smash the TV screen (sound needs air to travel, space is vacuum)). All this however, could have been forgiven and forgotten, since the delicate treatment of its complex storyline and impressive character development would've made such kvetching sound just grumpy and mean; and while NF is often pedantic, petulant and very demanding, (probably) one won't quite characterize him as mean. 

But it's impossible to ignore the brazenly evasive and just plain embarrassing last episode when the writers reveal themselves to be unapologetic Luddites who scurry to take refuge in occult supernaturalism to (not) explain why things happened the way they did. 

One wonders whether it was just bad, lazy writing or if there had been a quasi religious, subliminal, new-agey-spiritual-mumbo-jumbo-laden secret agenda being surreptitiously peddled all this time.

Full Stop Top Cop

Jagdish Raj, the "you are under arrest" actor of Hindi cinema, passes away. Here's the full story. 

A Portrait of the Mathematician as Hattori Hanzō

Think of the mathematician as Hattori Hanzō - the master swordsman/swordmaker in Kill Bill masquerading as a sushi chef in Okinawa - as a maker of katanas that the Uma Thurmans of the world - the scientists and sometimes even engineers and economists - employ to slay the Crazy 88 - the far too numerous demons of hillbillyness and general intellectual destitution. But the analogy runs its course here. Much unlike the real, rather badass samurai, The Mathematician, at the prospect of an encounter with the Crazy 88 (or pretty much any part of the real world) will promptly let loose a warm loaf of wholesome turd in his pants and hide under the skirts of our Uma Thurmans.

Comparative Advantage lets loose upon this world some rather awkward superheroes.

खूंटियों पर टंगे लोग

या दूसरे शब्दों में, सत्य साईं बाबा, ऑर्लैंडो के हाउस ऑफ़ ब्लूज़ में

कान के पीछे की भभूति से लेकर 

अमरीकी दीवारों की खूँटी तक

बाबा का मैजिक 

बाबा का मैजिक

वटवृक्षनुमा बाल से लेकर 

डिज़्नीवर्ल्ड की चाल तक 

बाबा का मैजिक 

बाबा का मैजिक 

D

Dongri to Dubai, is a fast-paced, riveting read, narrating the rise and fall of Gangs of Mumbai since Indian independence and charting the rise of Dawood Ibrahim - the son of an honest, well respected police constable - as he destroys his competitors left, right and center to emerge as the superstar of the Mumbai mafia. The stories have a journalistic edge to them, the narrative pace never slackens and there is no dull moment at all in the tales of revenge, domination and territorial pissings of the mafia kingpins. In the meantime, the writer S Hussain Zaidi (a veteran crime reporter and the writer of Black Friday - the book on which Anurag Kashyap's fabulous film is based) also finds time to write about the old gangsters Haji Mastan (whose legendary fight with the goons on Bombay docks would go on to inspire moments of pure cinematic magic in Amitabh Bachchan's fight sequence in Deewar) and Varadarajan Mudaliar (on whose life the great Mani Ratnam directed Nayagan) and how their reign was supplanted by the cunning and muscle of Dawood.  The latter part about Dawood and Chhota Rajan and how their rift led to another intense underworld rivalry and especially the part about how the Indian intelligence agencies are allegedly propping up Rajan to take on Dawood's gang make for a delightful, exciting reading. It is easy to see how Vikram Chandra in his brilliant book Sacred Games, imbibes these stories generously and weaves them into a very satisfying coherent plot. (Chandra has written the foreword for the book and has, on numerous occasions spoken about Zaidi's invaluable help in writing Sacred Games.)

Now on to the irritating part. The standard of writing is pretty low and sentence construction is clumsy and lazy. The style is too hurried and there are many fact checking problems (RSS is claimed to be "Rashtriya Seva Sangh" ...(really?)) The chapters are not very well organized and there is often a propensity to just mention events without really documenting them. The current state of Mumbai mafia post Dawood's departure to Dubai and from there to Karachi, is not well explored either. In particular, we really don't seem to understand why from the casual shootouts during the '90s, Mumbai has suddenly become so tranquil, so much so, that it has earned the "safest city of India" moniker. The ending seems abrupt as well. A pity Zaidi doesn't seem to care for or display the literary skills of his close friend Vikram Chandra.

For those who, however, value information about the underworld and want to have a little historical peep into the mafia's workings (of a more voyeuristic nature albeit) this book is perfect. It's a wonderful afternoon time killer or as in the case of NF, the instrument that slayed the eternity that airports are. 

Recommended!

डायलागबाज़ी

लिंक

...

कादर खान मरा नहीं।

कादर खान मरते नहीं।

अथ नंगा फकीर उवाच

आज प्रेम चोपड़ा की बड़ी याद आ रही है!

What is Dead May Never Die

Alfie Allen is a fuckin' gangster! Cheers to Theon for stealing Tyrion's glory!

Better Late Than Never

Shishir had described it as The Lord of the Rings meets The Sopranos. One month and five thousand pages later, Nanga Fakir nods his assent (though he's only vaguely aware of what The Sopranos is).

A Song of Ice and Fire - the epic fantasy series that everyone who walks on two feet and displays vital signs has read and critiqued - is very much what people have claimed it is, and more; a great, deep, wonderful, complex, layered, savagely intelligent fantasy series with a rider: it's for adults and adults only. (So if you're thinking of a gift for your little niece who's into Harry Potter and Twilight, you might want to skip gifting her this one.)

A major criticism of Tolkien and the fantasy movement he pioneered was that of lack of complexity of characters, simple bifurcation of the world into those who're good and those who've gone to the dark side and the sacrifice of realism for an over-abundance of high fantasy. Nanga Fakir agrees with such criticisms but still has deep regard for Tolkien in general for having single-handedly created such a high art form. In retrospect though, such oversights were rather obvious and the genre was waiting to be rescued by someone who'd add a dash of realism and complexity to the high fantasy narrative.

George R R Martin has done just that! A Song of Ice and Fire is mostly medieval fantasy - with a very large tract of the (very complex) story taking place as it could've been set on a (say) 14-15th century Europe. (On a slightly different note, it's very tempting to see the Dothraki being fashioned after the Mongolian hordes; the continent of Essos, on the Arabic and Egyptian civilisations while the continent of Westeros is mostly our 14th century Europe/decaying Byzantine Empire.) There is a hint of magic though, barely enough for most characters to deny its existence and yet significant enough for the more imaginative kind to entertain the possibility that it exists.

The masterstroke though, is treating the high fantasy universe as if it were the brutal, nasty and horrific era our medieval history actually was. And so you wouldn't see George R R Martin shying away from taboo topics like rapes, prostitution, incest, coarse, foul language; graphic, detailed portrayals of very gory violence; moral ambiguity, opportunism and yes, deaths of very many central characters. All these were a strict no-no for the genre starting from Tolkien and spreading from his work to that of his emulators (Christopher Paolini and his Inheritance series is a good example (although it tries hard to avoid some standard criticisms, it doesn't totally absolve itself of all sins that the genre is accused of having committed); in fact Chandrakanta - the very popular Hindi medieval/high fantasy series written in the 19th century suffers from these same defects, although being the pioneering work it was, one must learn to appreciate it for what it did given the time at which it was written). Women of common birth, for example in these traditional novels of high fantasy, are not treated as carnal objects, nor is the description of violence serious or detailed; descriptions of torture are almost entirely skipped. (One notable exception is the manga Berserk whose incomplete anime adaptation left NF raging in exasperation for days on end.) Such details shift A Song of Ice and Fire into the realms of Dark Fantasy and Historical Fiction.

And of course, no one who'd ever review the series would forget the complex, morally ambiguous characterisations that are the crown of the saga. The wonderful characters of Tyrion (played by Peter Dinklage in the HBO series, who eventually went on to win both the Emmy and the Golden Globe for his performance); Daenerys, Jaime, Jon Snow, Cersei, Varys, Littlefinger - there is a brilliant array of excellent characters populating the universe of the novel throughout. Add to it the dense and very detailed, complex plotting, and you get the greatest fantasy book NF has ever read!

Bravo George, bravo!!! 

...

PS: Although Nanga Fakir loves the HBO series, what he's really rooting for, is an anime adaptation by, perhaps, the great Shinichiro Watanabe.