Monday, 2 June 2008

The Gold Rush [1925]


Gold Rush was the movie that Charlie Chaplin wanted to be remembered by. And, considering that Chaplin was perhaps the greatest filmmaker to have walked on this planet, you realize that you are on to something very special even before you actually begin watching this movie. Based on the gold hunt in 1898 Alaska, the movie is arguably the greatest adventure of the iconic Little Tramp. Filled with acid humour, slapstick, gut-wrenching pathos, burning social satire and searing human drama, gold rush presents loneliness, desperation, heart break and even madness in a bitter-sweet sugar coated pill. The movie comprises of some of the greatest sequences in cinematic history – shoe-lace feast, bread roll dance et al. Brilliant performances by the inimitable Chaplin as the Lone Prospector, along with a motley of superb characters like Big Jim and Georgia, mesmeric narrative flow, brilliant set pieces – these have ensured that of all the amazing movies that Chaplin made in his prolific career, this would bloody well remain the movie that every moviegoer worth his salt will always remember this little man, albeit a huge genius, by. Incidentally, this was also the favourite Chaplin movie of Satyajit Ray, who too was a huge admirer of cinema's greatest screen comedian.









Director: Charlie Chaplin
Genre: Social Satire/Slapstick/Black Comedy/Adventure
Language: Silent
Country: US

Sunday, 1 June 2008

Fight Club [1999]


A dark, visceral, hyperkinetic and violent psychological drama/thriller about the duality of human nature and the seedy underbelly lurking beneath an otherwise placid and manicured society, Fight Club was undoubtedly the best work of David Fincher – an important director to emerge in the tinseltown in the 90’s. The serio-comic tone of the brilliantly stylized movie is unmistakable, as is the apocalyptic stance of the characters. The fact that people hit each other in an underground fight club just to feel good, to purge the soul of stress, frustration, wrath, hopelessness, boredom and inactivity, feels like a thousand ton brick crashing on one’s head. Edward Norton, as the bored and mild natured man of the society, is in his elements as usual. However the show is dominated by Brad Pitt who has delivered the most defining role of his fine career as Norton's psychotic, domineering and cocky alter ego, who takes to violence as a vampire takes to blood. The climax of the movie was shocking enough to give a hard kick at the butt of even an ardent cinephile like me.









Director: David Fincher
Genre: Psychological Thriller/Urban Drama/Black Comedy
Language: English
Country: US

Sunset Boulevard [1950]


Sunset Blvd. wasn’t just the greatest creation of the majestic quintessential American director Billy Wilder; it is also arguably the best movie ever made on Hollywood as well as the cruel, self-obsessed world of movie stars. Billy Wilder launched a vicious assault on the hollow, amoral, narcissistic movie industry in this acerbic, sarcastic, and brilliantly twisted thesis on the dream factory – where more dreams are shattered than made. This is the tale of a down and out screenwriter for B-movies who gets a golden opportunity to reap rewards in the form of a forgotten former screen idol. The movie becomes all the more engaging due to stellar performances by the lead actors - William Holden, as a cynical, ambitious out-of-luck writer, who recognizes an opportunity when he sees one; Gloria Swanson, as a faded film goddess trapped in a cruel time warp; and Erich Von Stroheim, as a former silent movie director who has had a drastic change of profession (movie lovers wouldn’t miss the irony). Watching this movie one can realize what dizzying heights can be achieved by a genius at the peak of his prowess. Bleak pitch black humour, fascinating black-and-white photography, riveting narrative laced with dollops of unsettling insights, cold cynicism and fatalist nihilism, a fantastic curtain-raiser that immediately hooks by revealing the impending doom, and an unforgettable climax – Sunset Blvd. is a masterpiece of the very highest order.








Director: Billy Wilder
Genre: Drama/Satire/Black Comedy/Film Noir/Showbiz Drama
Language: English
Country: US

Stranger than Paradise [1984]



Directed by Jim Jarmusch, instantly recognizable thanks to his wild white hairdo, Stranger than Paradise is an offbeat low-budget indie classic that attained cult status among the art house aficionados, and has influenced a generation of new-age underground filmmakers. Shot in static grainy black-and-whites, the movie evokes the sentiments propounded by the Beat Generation, and ends up being a terrific road movie. The character-driven movie chronicles the experiences of a Hungarian immigrant who has embraced the American dream, his New York buddy, and his cousin sister who has come to Uncle Sam from Budapest, and who too is ready to go the American way. The cool detachment of the characters, the stark documentary like depiction of the travel from the Big Apple to Florida via Cleveland, the deadpan humour, the boredom, the poker games, the minimalist treatment, and the understated chemistry between the leads, have combined to make it, which begun as a short and emerged as feature (courtesy some old stock provided by Wim Wenders), one of the most influential New Wave movies of the 80’s.








Director: Jim Jarmusch
Genre: Drama/Road Movie/Buddy Film/Comedy/Avant-Garde
Language: English
Country: US

Rounders [1998]



An engrossing and highly entertaining film, Rounders takes a close look at high stakes underground poker games. What director John Dahl brings to the movie is lots of cool moments and well delineated array of events. Matt Damon delivers a smooth performance as a man stuck to a profession that’s just not him. He is studying law, has a drop-dead beautiful and loving girlfriend (Gretchen Mol), sympathetic professors, and a promising career ahead of him. Unfortunately for a guy trying to live a conventional life, his interest lies elsewhere. He is a genius in poker games, and supports his interest with logic and ambition. Edward Norton plays a memorable second fiddle. He too is a poker enthusiast, but is everything that Damon is not. He is brash, street smart, and a cheat. John Malkovich is the perfect villain as ‘KGB’ – he owns the poker joint, is ruthless in his dealings, and speaks with English with such heavy Russian accent that it is almost comic in its impact. Go for Rounders if you are looking for two hours of non-stop unbridled entertainment.








Director: John Dahl
Genre: Urban Drama/Thriller
Language: English
Country: US

Chungking Express [1994]


Chungking Express is the most celebrated movie made by the master New Wave Hong Kong director Wong-Kar-Wai. The stylized, visceral, eccentric, and irresistible off-beat drama, laced with a pinching dose of black satirical humour, might just be the cinematic rendition of The Beatles’ legendary song Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Urban alienation, loneliness, and the wish to come to terms with them are explored by the hypnotic, super kinetic depiction of two separate stories of lovelorn cops and their chance to redeem themselves – with a mysterious femme fatale in the first, and a cute, estranged young lady in the second. The movie is presented in a blaze of blinding, garish neon lights (courtesy in large parts to the visually stunning cinematography of Christopher Doyle), and catchy pop track (Mammas and Pappas’ California Dreamin’ has been superbly used in the second story) which marvelously juxtapose the exuberance without and the hollowness within, thus managing to capture the fascinating character of the city of Hong Kong. In fact, the fascinating city of Hong Kong is almost a fifth character in this absolutely terrific piece of work, which, as a critic aptly stated, is a near perfect fusion of form and style. This movie also provided a great platform for the charisma and acting of Tony Leung.








Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Genre: Urban Drama/Existential Drama/Avant-Garde/Experimental
Language: Chinese (Cantonese/Mandarin)
Country: China (Hong Kong)

Chinatown [1974]



Chinatown wasn’t just the finest work of the iconoclastic Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski, it has also established itself as one of the best film noirs ever made (a fantastic achievement considering the stupendous movies made in this genre) – even though it should more accurately be referred to as a neo-noir, and one of the most talked about movies of its era. It is a complex, hard boiled tale of human corruption, deceit, betrayal and murder, and culminates in one of the most fascinating climaxes ever composed for the silver screen. Jack Nicholson, as the edgy, cynical private eye Jack Gittes, delivered an absolutely terrific performance with ease, panache, wicked charm and the kind of volcanic energy only he's capable of displaying. Faye Dunaway, as Gittes’ love interest and the vulnerable damsel in distress harbouring a very dark secret, was also memorable. Despite, or perhaps because of, the Byzantine plot, cold portrayal of a sordid world, and dark nihilism, it is impossible to escape being awed and mesmerized by this iconic one-of-its-kind crime-drama.










Director: Roman Polanski
Genre: Film Noir/Post-Noir/Crime Drama/Private Eye Film/Mystery
Language: English
Country: US

Omkara [2006]


Maverick Indian director Vishal Bharadwaj followed up his much acclaimed Maqbool (based on Macbeth) with an Indian variation of Othello. He has taken Shakespeare head on, and has done a terrific job in placing the bard’s play in a gangster/political milieu in rural India without loosing any of the subtleties and complex textures of the original piece. Omkara is a pitch black, gloomy, and a heavily noirish tale of power politics, jealousy, lust, and betrayal, peppered with a plethora of the choicest and nastiest of slangs ever heard on Indian silver screen. The haunting scores composed by the director himself set the tone for the grim darkness to follow. The movie is well acted by its ensemble cast. But the stand-out performance is delivered by Saif Ali Khan. His portrayal of the complex, violent, volatile, scheming, cold hearted and foul-mouthed Langda Tyagi is nothing short of tour-de-force which will, in my opinion, go down as one of the greatest on-screen performances in the annals of not just Indian celluloid history but even world cinema. Shakespear has been adapted innumerable times to cinema, but I reckon the bard would have been especially proud of this one.








Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Ensemble Film/Crime Drama/Psychological Thriller
Language: Hindi
Country: India

Saturday, 31 May 2008

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 Luni, 3 Saptamini si 2 Zile) [2007]


The gritty and much acclaimed Romanian movie 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a marvelous slice of life from the oppressive regime of Ceausescu – one of the most hated dictators of modern times. Set in Communist governed Bucharest, just before the end of cold war, the movie captures just a single day in the life of its protagonist – a young female student whose roommate wants to have an abortion – which, by the way, was illegal in Romania. Laced with unflinching realism, and structured as part political commentary, part introspective human drama and part tense thriller, the movie is a near flawless work of art. The film saunters from the topic at hand to various seemingly inconsequential actions which play a holistic role in defining and detailing its very well-etched characters and the world around them. Minimalist in composition but profound in its effect, the movie does what good art should do – it is philosophical, disturbing and thought provoking, without being judgmental or corny. Very aptly titled (the irony of the title wouldn’t go unnoticed once you’ve watched the movie) and extremely well enacted, watch this immensely powerful movie if you are into good, serious and no-nonsense cinema.







Director: Cristian Mungiu
Genre: Drama/Urban Drama/Slice of Life
Language: Romanian
Country: Romania

Das Experiment (The Experiment) [2001]



Undoubtedly one of the most intense, disturbing and unsettling movies that I’ve seen, the bleak psychological thriller Das Experiment is a nihilistic study on paranoia, voyeurism, violence and the unleashing of the inherent darkness in human psyche. The movie focuses on a mock prison simulation to study the characters of inmates and guards – all chosen from different walks of life. However, as might have been expected, things soon start spiraling out of control as the situation gets horribly wrong and murky. The alter-egos and suppressed identities get released with even seemingly docile people getting converted to sociopaths. Sadism, brutality, rape, torture and murder abound, and an edge-of-the-seat cat-and-mouse game ensues as the extreme, volatile thriller heads towards an explosive climax. However as a footnote, I would strongly suggest viewing discretion as this movie is certainly not for the squeamish or the weak-hearted.










Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Genre: Psychological Thriller/Prison Drama
Language: German
Country: Germany

No Man’s Land [2001]



A caustic and bitingly sarcastic movie, filled with lashing, black humour – No Man’s Land is one of the finest movies made on the absurdity and futility of war. Interestingly, the movie doesn’t show any live action. Rather, the entire movie is filmed in and around a trench in no man’s land between Serbia and Bosnia, during the long and ugly Balkan war. Soldiers from both sides get trapped in the trench, and the ensuing movie covers their plight, confusion, and prejudices, as well the hypocrisy and double standards of the “neutral” forces (and journalists) who are there apparently to prevent damage and impartially capture the reality, respectively. The morality espoused, especially the brilliant irony of the climax, is subtle, yet its impact is profoundly moving. If anyone ever has any doubts as to abolishment of war cry, he must begin his education with this apparently simple yet immensely powerful movie.










Director: Danis Tanovic
Genre: War Drama/Black Comedy/Satire
Language: Serbo-Croatian/French/English
Country: Serbia/Bosnia

Red Violin (Il Violino Rosso) [1998]



Red Violin is a visually arresting and emotionally binding epic tale of an exquisitely crafted violin’s spectacularly eventful journey through various times, regimes and personalities. The violin, which starts its outlandishly unique three century musical journey at a small village in Italy, travels across England, Communist China, and ends up at a present day auction at Montreal, deeply touches and changes irreversibly (for better as well as for worse) those who have come in its contact. During the course of its travel it witnesses everything – love, loss, joy, anguish, genius, apathy, virtuoso performance, devastation, selflessnessness, hypocrisy et al. Stunning cinematography, fluid narrative, deft editing, haunting score and memorable performances by the actors, especially by the incomparable Samuel L. Jackson (cast against his type), make watching this movie a memorable experience.










Director: François Girard
Genre: Drama/Epic/Period Film
Language: English/Italian/Chinese
Country: Canada, Italy

Friday, 30 May 2008

Who's That Knocking At My Door? [1968]


If anyone has any doubt regarding Scorcese’s place in the pantheon of cinema’s greatest directors, one need not look any further than the American auteur’s first feature after graduating from film school. A low-budget, deeply experimental New York-underground docu-feature, shot in grainy inexpensive black-and-white film stocks, and relying more on ad-libs, improvisation and pulsating sound track than on a well-defined script, the powerful human drama has managed to achieve high artistic value and realism. The movie comprises of themes that would recur in many of his later masterpieces, viz. religion, moral ambiguity, guilt and redemption. Hervey Keitel, as the Italian-American protagonist and the director’s alter ego JR, who has clear moral demarcation between "broads" and the girl he wants to marry, has given a sterling performance in his one of his earliest efforts. Despite the dream sequence containing graphic nudity that the distributor forced the director to include, for cinephiles like me the movie will always remain special for kick-starting Scorcese’s fascinating cinematic odyssey.








Director: Martin Scorcese
Genre: Drama/Urban Drama/Experimental
Language: English
Country: US

Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di Biciclette) [1948]



One of the most heavily laurelled movies and of high historic importance, The Bicycle Thief, directed by the Italian maestro Vittorio De Sica, ushered in a new era in filmmaking – Neo-Realism. Shot in natural locations, enacted by amateur performers, and portraying the simple joys and tribulations of human existence, the movie inspired a generation of filmmakers, including the great Satyajit Ray, bent on depicting life and realism at its purest. Set in the impoverished post-War Rome, the movie is a near-poetic chronicling of a man’s frantic search, along with his young son, for his stolen bicycle without which he would loose his job. The movie is a lyrical commentary on father-son chemistry and the mundane emotions of an everyday man, told with brutal honesty and painted with a subtle concoction of humour and pathos.

p.s. This is an earlier review. The review from my latest revisit can be found here.










Director: Vittorio De Sica
Genre: Drama/Neo-Realism/Slice of Life
Language: Italian
Country: Italy

The Asphalt Jungle [1950]


The Asphalt Jungle wasn’t just one of the most definitive films of the crime genre, it remains a landmark American movie and one of the greatest film noirs ever made. It was one of the earliest movies to show crime from the perspective of the criminals, who have been presented here as otherwise decent people – a thing that was severely prohibited by the draconian Hayes’ Codes. The plot revolves around Doc (Sam Jaffe), a veteran thief, who upon his release from prison, gets together a team to execute one last caper. John Huston, who was a master in depicting the seedier and darker sides of the society, hit bull’s eye with this moody, bleak and deeply nihilistic presentation of crime and the various ironies of life, where the smallest of deviations can separate freedom from incarceration. The Doc, a professional in his field, finds his brilliant heist go awry courtesy some minor blemishes in the characters and actions of those involved, including the mastermind himself. Marilyn Monroe, as a sultry blond seductress, made one of her earliest appearances in this iconic film noir.

p.s. My recent review of this film can be found here.










Director: John Huston
Genre: Crime Drama/Thriller/Film Noir/Ensemble Film
Language: English
Country: US

Utsab (The Festival) [2001]



The Bengali auteur Rituparno Ghosh is famous for his sensitive portrayals of simple human relationships, and this great skill of his is at its pinnacle in Utsab. The auspicious and happy times of the Durga Pujas is chosen as the apt occasion for the congregation of family members at their once aristocratic ancestral house. The feelings of celebration and gaiety, however, are ensconced by a lingering sense of doom and simmering tensions because of a carefully wrapped secret that is trying to burst through the otherwise façade of geniality and joy. Meanwhile a beautiful but dangerous love story is building, evoking memories of a similar event that happened many years back that had nearly broken the family into fragmented individuals. Terrific performances by Mamata Shankar, Rituparna Sengupta, Prosenjit Chatterjee (in a wonderful cameo as an alcoholic underachieving husband) et al, and an unhurried, mesmeric narrative have established this unforgettable film as the highly talented director’s most personal effort.








Director: Rituparno Ghosh
Genre: Drama/Family Drama/Ensemble Film/Romantic Drama
Language: Bengali
Country: India

Thursday, 29 May 2008

Ace in the Hole [1951]


One of the greatest movies ever made on journalism (yellow journalism to be precise) and also perhaps one of the most scathing attack on it, this Billy Wilder masterpiece paints an acerbic, caustic and exceedingly bitter picture of news hungry journalists and the public’s insatiable desire for sensationalism and circus at the expense of others. Kirk Douglas plays the complex role of an unrelenting, heartless cynic and opportunist, who has a knack for creating news out of thin air, with supreme ease in what is regarded as the greatest role of his endearing career. The protagonist’s belief, that “there’s no news like bad news”, neatly summed up the morality, or lack thereof, espoused by the film, much to the chagrin of people who feel that the world is a good place and life is beautiful after all. A classic anti-hero movie where evil triumphs over good, and where hopes and niceties are thrown out of the window like garbage – this is a world that evokes memories of Wilder’s Sunset Blvd., and forms a perfect counterpoint to the world we live in.










Director: Billy Wilder
Genre: Drama/Film Noir/Social Satire/Americana
Language: English
Country:US

Wednesday, 28 May 2008

Film Appreciation

It would be very easy, and need i say tempting, to say something as hackneyed and inane as "I've been in love with movie for as long as i can remember", but i have decided to refrain from doing so. That's because, the statement is not true. Not that I'm upright or puritanical; rather i remember quite well since when this love affair kick-started its journey. In fact i wouldn't be prevaricating if i state that the year was 2001.

There are two kinds of movie lovers. I like to call them movie buffs and film aficionados, respectively. The former prefer to watch run-of-the-mill mushy oh-so-cute rom-coms or histrionics-laden melodramatic tear-jerkers or hyper-macho dialogue-deficient blockbuster action flicks or intellectually-handicapped pokingly unfunny two-dimensional comedy trash or something as devoid of art as these, over a handful of popcorn and a glass of cola. I'm not saying its right or wrong, its only that these so-called movie buffs are missing out on the real thing. And that brings me to the second group. Now, its but appropriate that i qualify myself to this latter camp having uttered all the above acerbic statements, which i will. In fact i like to call myself a cineaste as well, though that's open to debate.

Coming back to what I had begun in the first paragraph, but was cut short due to some phony intellectual gibe - let me elaborate on what transpired in the year after the 21st century came into being. That was the year i went to high-school; that was the year some personal upheavals occurred; that was also the year i devoured a book called "Our Films Their Films". Comprising of a number of essays written by Satyajit Ray, who i like to call the greatest genius of post-independent India, the book is a lucid and fascinating treatise on cinema and its various players. Having being written by someone who had dedicated his life and love to the captivating world of movies and with a terrific hold over the queen's language, the book covers a host of luminaries, from Chaplin to Ford to Godard to Kurosawa to the great man Ray himself. I've read the book twice since. But it was the first read that sufficed in changing my complete outlook towards cinema, or to be more precise, film appreciation.

I wouldn't be fabricating if I utter the bold statement that I've watched more movies (the good, the bad, as well as, the ugly) than most. You might say the statement was a tad on the boasting side, but what the hell, I'm not saying I belong to the echelons of Roger Ebert or A.O. Scott. Its just that I'm a cinephile; I love Quentin Tarantino's hyper-kinetic and devilishly wacky motion, Coen brothers' quirky off-the-cuff humour, Billy Wilder's acerbic portrayal of life, Wong Kar-Wai's style, surrealism and visual implosion, Chaplin's farcical take on the bitter side of humanism, Ray's lyrical narrative and cerebral explorations, Scorsese's devastating depiction of brutality and alienation, Godard's iconoclasm and redefinition of idiom, David Fincher's convoluted depiction of loneliness, Gus Van Sant's quiet minimalism, Park Chan-Wook's deliciously dark storytelling, Rituparno Ghosh's sensitivity and underrated genius, Mrinal Sen's strong political attachments, and so much more.

So let me stop blabbering and come right to the point. I present to the world (provided any damn soul cares to be presented with something... anything) short critical analyses of films that have ingrained themselves into my mind and my conscience. The main criteria for selection for analysis would be the film's unchallenged artistic credibility. Consequently the chosen films would comprise of universally recognized classics, brilliant independent efforts, underrated masterpieces, fascinating out-of-the-box pieces, even some acclaimed mainstream films, as well as some not-so-acclaimed pieces which have nevertheless managed to endear themselves to me.

Enough of story-boarding. Its time the curtains are raised and the reels started rolling.

p.s. the summaries provided would be in no particular order.
Ratings would indicated the following:
5 - Masterpiece
4.5 - Brilliant
4 - Very Good
3.5 - Good
3 - Decent
For now I've decided to include movies which have the propensity to at least get a rating of 3.5 or 4 out of 5.

Monday, 25 February 2008

Introspection

Its 00:04, thats what the digital clock at the bottom right corner of my laptop says. I believe it. So its already Monday. A few more hours, and I'll be at office, at my cabin, staring at my machine like a frigging professional, cos thats what we all are supposed to be, irrespective of what we actually are. And suddenly, at this odd hour, when the city is busy preparing for a slumber to freshen up its mind for the long week ahead, I am strangely reminded of a movie that I saw couple of years ago - Little Miss Sunshine. A quirky, delirious, offbeat, bittlerly sarcastic, humorous, utterly black comedy. A dysfunctional family, comprising of unforgettably atypical characters - a motivational speaker who fails to motivate himself, a gay suicidal genius, a Nietzchean who has taken a vow not to speak, a junkie profane grandfather, a confused, irate and restless mother, a bespectacled girl trying to compete in a reality show for kids called "little miss sunshine" - who decide to bury the hatchet and undertake a cross-country trip to the venue where the event is to be held. I'm not a member of a dysfunctional family. But the sketch of an ordinary family at trouble with itself isn't a hard thing to find, and for some reason is refusing to leave my mind. The characters, too, for reasons unknown to me, are hovering in my mind. Maybe because I too have a lot of peculiarities like them. Maybe I too am searching for an identity inspite of all its futility, hopelessness and unnecessity. I'm not suicidal, gay, motivational, irate, profane, junkie, etc etc. Yet each of the characters seem to represent some being or other of mine. And perhaps, the cross-country trip has striked somewhere deep inside me to begin my journey. I, perhaps like any other person on this planet, comprise of states, thoughts, rationalities, beings, each in contrast to the other, at times even in conflict with the others. A dysfunctional array of alter egos trying to bury the hatchet and undertake a journey to recover their existense, to find a collective identity. I'm not suffering from any personality disorder, I'm not a troubled and disturbed mental hotch-potch. But i'm not trouble free either. I have my difficulties, wounds, guilts. I dont intend to be perfect, for in imperfection and gray I identify myself. Perhaps thats why images from the movie are visiting me. Perhaps thats why I'm speaking banter while the lazy Sunday is melting into the industrious Monday. Time to take a nap. Thats one thing I've realized, the easiest way to get rid of your demons, blues and all that shit, is to got to sleep. Though it never cleans up the mess, at least it washes away everything from the surface. Looks thus continue to be deceptive.

Sunday, 24 February 2008

The Other Side of Nature




Behind every successful man is a surprised woman”

Women will always be women. You may love ‘em, you may hate ‘em; but try what you may, you can not avoid ‘em. But know what, I sure like ‘em.

Let me start from the beginning. And well, what better way to do so than with a nice little story. Long, long time ago there lived a man and a woman. Before proceeding further let me clearly specify that by ‘lived’ I meant ‘lived’ and not ‘lived together’. After all, god (whoever he is) said so. Anyway, they were happy doing, well, nothing. Now, how long can a man control his temptations, especially with no competition around? Nonetheless he seemed to manage.

And then came Doom’s Day. The lady decided it was high time the man learnt a lesson for not ‘taking proper care’ of the lady. She casually cajoled and out-maneuvered the love-struck guy to commit the sin of all sins. So, the poor chap ate the apple and took the plunge. And the world wasn’t the same ever after…

…Man has been dancing to woman’s tunes ever since.

Circa 2006. The world has undergone such tremendous progress that even the mythical god might never have foreseen. He (assuming god is male) is the same person who could not even foresee the intentions of a single female. (Isn’t that pretty normal for any male? However, god should have been an exception). Or maybe the latter was, or to be more politically incorrect, is (considering incidents like these are not supposed to be as commonplace as George Bush searching for terrorists), an aberration. But, whatever might the explanation be, it has never been an easy task to look into a woman’s mind.

Right from the time the two sexes evolved into human form from their hairy ancestors, the female brain has always been an enigma for their male counterparts. And why not? There in front of him was another human being, but so conspicuously different from him. The physical distinction was enough to startle these primitive men. The fact that there wasn’t any education at that time, leave alone biology, did not help matters.

So, before long, men were at awe of the females. Females spoke differently, walked differently, and most important of all, thought differently. They were intelligent, yet at the same time sentimental. They were cautious, yet carefree. They were controlled, yet at the same time indulgent. In fact, to be precise, women were a concoction of contradictions.

Women could sing in the most captivating voice, yet talk with utmost firmness. They could dance effortlessly to the tunes of music, yet fight if need be. And, lets not forget, she could not just think for herself, she could also sway male opinion according to her whims and fancies. It seemed she could do wonders. She could, as the saying goes, ‘float like a butterfly and sting like a bee’.

Bur a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. So the male community had no other option but to call for a revolt and a forced capture of power. Man realized that it was easier to order a woman than to understand her. Hence, they used shackles to tie down the fairer sex and proclaimed that it is a man’s world. And maybe it was a wise thing to do, a fine instance of realpolitik.

Tagore had once proclaimed, it is better that this world is ruled by males. Men rule by chains, whereas women ruled by hypnosis. While the former takes away the capacity to act, the latter takes away the ability to think as well. Therefore, the act of taking control of the human fraternity was indeed a prudent move, a move that allowed him to concentrate on building the planet instead of deciphering his pretty neighbours.

But today is part of a new world order. The shackles are fast breaking, and before long they will be in complete shambles. The men might always argue that they are now looking forward to a strategic partnership. But I reckon the females have carried out a brilliant counter-attack, the perfect coup d’etat. And this was but inevitable. Women, who can melt even the hardest human heart, must surely have had the capability to melt the chain that had curbed their freedom. It really was a matter of time so to speak.

Females complain that men always think about sex, while males complain that women never cease to remind them about sex. But, love, they say, precedes love-making. While the latter might still continue to be a taboo subject, though procreation is a rational necessity even though the purists might think otherwise, the former is certainly still the most famous four-lettered word (when compared to ‘hate’ and even, f***).

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa does not represent just another woman. She is man’s holy grail – symbolizing a never-ending pursuit. Painters to poets, thinkers to writers, to (with all humility) yours truly, have spent (or shall I say wasted?) countless moments trying to figure out exactly what prompts one to love a woman (I always maintain it takes one to know one), admire her faculty, dream of her touch, blink at her charm, and ultimately, drown in the ensuing hotchpotch which is but (unsurprisingly), nothing short of Marijuana.

Women have this uncanny ability to inspire extremes in men. They, with a single smile, can catapult men to dizzying heights; and with a single frown, can lead even the strongest souls to nadir. The same lady can be one’s elixir of life, as well as, one’s nemesis, in a matter of moments. And it goes without saying that the man does not get the option of choosing his fate.

I wonder what is it that distinguishes the two sexes (if you are not sure which two genders I’m talking about, then you are at the wrong place altogether). Is it man’s predictability and woman’s unpredictability? Or perhaps it is man’s quietude and woman’s chatter? Or maybe it is man’s candour and woman’s coyness? Wait a second, I think I know the answer (why didn’t this strike me before?) – Men are after all from Mars, while Women are from Venus!

Indeed, they are from two different planets altogether, residing at a third planet. Consequently, one complements the other, even though the identity and the uniqueness of either never get lost in the process.

Now I’ve arrived at the most crucial juncture one might come across – imagine a world sans women. It is quite understandable that, that would surely cause a dramatic collapse in the porn industry business; and not to mention an uncomfortable existence for straight men like me (though of course the Elton Johns of this world would be on seventh heaven). Let me speculate in a manner befitting a gentleman.

The day women cease to exist, many others too would follow suit. Poets, philosophers, dreamers (read – lotus-eaters), adventurers, song-writers, painters, warriors – they all and innumerable others will disappear en masse the day the females choose to return to their former abode. And well, I guess it is understood, that not just love, quite a few other four-lettered words, too, will get erased from the dictionary. Lexicographers, therefore, would be the only ones who would, in the afore-mentioned hypothetical scenario, have a field day.

As I have mentioned earlier, females might have led many a man to their Waterloo. However, in spite of that, it is impossible to theorize a world without women. Sweetheart (not just of the guy whose gal she has chose to be; more literary and artistic masterpieces have borne out of unrequited love than perhaps everything else combined) is a word present in nearly every man’s vocabulary.

The world of ours has never experienced any dearth of wise men. One of those countless wise guys had once famously stated that no man ever dies with an open grievance against the female-race.

Hence, I would like to repeat a previously mentioned statement of mine verbatim (well, not quite) …

… Women will always be women. You may love ‘em, you may hate ‘em; but try what you may, you can not avoid ‘em. But know what, I sure love ‘em.
p.s. this is again an old piece, just like my alleged autobiography. Wrote durin my college days. I guess thats understandable, cos only a college student gets time enough to 'compose' such trash. But i like the piece nonetheless.