Remembering Bhopal

In its quest to bring technology and economic bliss to the doorsteps of native Indians, in 1979 the US multinational Union Carbide commissioned its Pesticide factory in Bhopal-- right next to the residential area.




It was from this factory that on the night of Dec 3rd 1984, the poisonous MIC (Methyl Iso Cyanate) gas leaked into the streets, entered the doorless huts, marble tiled posh houses, lungs of those sleeping in the pavements, Railway station, and even the trains ;It raged on for four hours killing more than 3000 people --like pests and worms. Even worse was the plight of those who survived: 3,60,000 people were afflicted with various forms of disabilities--most of them lost their eyes within seconds of coming in contact with the gas. Some managed to die their own slow deaths during the years that followed, but the rest of them? They are still waiting--not for any relief but the angel of death who comes in painful installments.



Could this (the tragedy itself and the continued misery of the survivors ) have happened in any of the developed countries?



This is a classic case study for Third World exploitation.



Two years after the plant was commissioned, in Dec 1981, Ashraf Khan, a worker in the Union Carbide factory died while handling Phosgene, a poison gas. Dr. NP Mishra of Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal conducted a Post Mortem but the report was not released --even after the workers' repeated protests.



In 1982, because of leaks in pipes carrying Chlorine, MIC and HydroChloric Acid, 17 workers were taken unconsious. A few cattle were found dead after drinking the water from puddles around the factory premises. Panic has already spread in the city of Bhopal. The people of Bhopal started protesting.



Experts from the parent company of Union Carbide were flown in and safety measures were studied. But the reports were never published nor the remedial measures implemented. These were known only during the inquiries conducted after the Tragedy of 1984.



But in 1984 Nov, a series of cost reduction measures were suggested. The cost paid by the people of Bhopal the very next month was that of the lives of those Indians--those who died and those who failed to die.



Safety measures that could have prevented the leak, or minimised the death toll were found to be either malfunctioning or totally missing.



Even after the Tragedy, Union Carbide took an agressively offensive and misleading posture. Initially it failed to name the gas that was leaked into the night of Bhopal. Later on when they finally proclaimed the name of the killer gas, it was temed as "irritating but not deadly" . When the Government declared that 3000 people died on the night of the disaster, the company claimed that only 2000 died because of the gas. ( Maybe they felt that the death of 1000 people because of natural causes was not an unusual case in the underdeveloped Indian city.) While the Indian Government claimed that 3,50,000 people were affected, the company shot back that only 25,000 of these were eligible for any relief, whatsoever.



In order to ascertain the facts, Delhi Science Society, Madhya Pradesh Science Society along with Students Federation of India conducted a detailed survey among 6500 families living around the affected areas of Bhopal.



The results indicated that 2.3% of the people were permanantly disabled. 12.4% of the people had occassional inconveniences. 24.6% of them could not carry on with their day to day affairs. Most of the affected are in the 16-45 age groups. Women were more affected than men.



Worse is yet to come. The games played by the multinational and the Indian Government in the court rooms of India and the US were of the nature of ridiculing the affected people of Bhopal. Even after several court battles and verdicts, the misrey of Bhopal continues...



When a piece of land is threatened by an enemy our political masters are swift enough to send in the brave soldiers and redeem it at any cost. But when the basic rights of our people are threatened?



When a child is kidnapped or is killed, the society as a whole is emotionally aroused. But every year when thousands of children die because of non availabilty of medical facilties, we express a criminally indifferent apathy to the massacre. ------Fidel Castro.

I Remember....

I remember the falling Sky Lab.
the day Indira Gandhi was killed.
" Illustrated Weekly of India"
Short wave Radio
Trunk Call
Doordarshan
My dear Kuttichaathan
shrubs as boundary walls
Harshad Mehtha

Dilip Doshi
Lonely bus rides, rain forcing through the torn window curtains...
Ghosts under the chair
God up above
Black shoes, yellow gifts, nursery rhymes..
naive honesty
Perry Mason
Multiplication Tables (11 X 11 = 121)
Kerosene Lamp
Flowers of December ....

And forgot a lot others.

Bramaram , the BUZZZZZZZZZ

Brahmaran (The Buzz)

Quest of man to bring home truth . Or with a dash of pun, can be rephrased as “driving” home truth.

Truth, which lies forgotten deep down the paranoic rush hour needs to be dug out and brought home so as to establish one’s own identity.

What elevates the movie to a higher plane is the deft suggestion that each one of us is the seeker (as well as the one sought ?). Vishnu? Shivankutty? The terrorist who placed the bomb? The highjacker? The kidnapper? The murderer?

Or the prostitue trying to read it from Vishnu’s palm?

Only those with the highly disturbing inner drive (buzz deep down inside) can cut through the mad traffic!! Rest of us would miss the bag under the bed and follow false leads.

Through some excellent camera movements, and tight script work director Blessy starts by taking us on a feverish roller coaster ride of suspicions, insecurity , confusion and mis placed values of the modern day materialistic world. (Coimbatore under siege by terrorists is the back drop)

Subsequent pieces of journey mystifies as much as it unravels.

From the split second red and green world of stock exchanges, the movie shifts gear to the winding roads that take us to the virgin lands. The journey in which the movie maker forces us to accompany him has some definite intentions.

“My house lies shattered . It is your duty to set it right!”

“ Only those who have nothing to lose will be able to carry out a revolution!”

“I too have a family. Those with education and wealth think I should’nt have one?”

The movie ends in a remote Indian village with a message of love , shared by the new generation. What happens to the white Pomeranian puppy depends on how safe the carriers take it back home .. to the the city.

Blessy will come back again to tell rest of the story?

But next time, he should give his editor a more free hand so that portions like the silly song (even if its one line) unni sings can be edited out.Also the long drawn out fight in the roadside dhaba (macho image of the protogonist is other wise established – “njangade naattee ithine paambenna parayunne”)

Blessy, who broke many a rules should violate the 2.1/2 hour format of malayalam movies to make it crispier.

***

buzz

–noun

1.	a low, vibrating, humming sound, as of bees, machinery, or people talking.

2.	a rumor or report.

3.	Informal. a phone call: When I find out, I'll give you a buzz.

4.	Slang. a. a feeling of intense enthusiasm, excitement, or exhilaration: I got a terrific buzz from those Pacific sunsets. b. a feeling of slight intoxication.

–verb (used without object)

5.	to make a low, vibrating, humming sound.

6.	to speak or murmur with such a sound.

7.	to be filled with the sound of buzzing or whispering: The room buzzed.

8.	to whisper; gossip: Everyone is buzzing about the scandal.

9.	to move busily from place to place.

10.	Slang. to go; leave (usually fol. by off or along): I'll buzz along now. Tell him to buzz off and leave me alone.

"We won the war. revolution starts now"

Che Part 1

Theres so much information available about Ernesto Che Guvera . Books have been written, over and over again; movies have been made; his life and legacy has been discussed in many platforms …

So, what is new in one another movie about Che?

From the overabundant data available, what you choose to highlight and what you deliberately edit out will define the theme of the movie- not just the character on whom the movie is named.

And of course the way you present it matters too.

CHE Part 1 stands out with its element of contemporaneity . Eventhough the movie is structured as an interview with CHE himself, inerview portions have been carefully relegated to the bare minimum.Events from the past are not recollections by the protoganist, but are highlighted by the filmaker to illustrate the film maker’s reading / interpretation .Happenings are not linearly arranged- it goes back and front in time. In some cases, voice over and images are from different periods of time. It could be a deliberate attempt to re orient the audience and force them lose track of the concept of time.

Viewed from a “now” point of view, events from the past assume significant relevance.

Che made a briliant speech at the United Nations in 1964. Out of the long speech, limited portions are re enacted in the movie.

…our prime minister laid out the five points necessary for the existence of a secure peace in the Caribbean. They are:

1. A halt to the economic blockade and all economic and trade pressures by the United States, in all parts of the world, against our country.

2. A halt to all subversive activities, launching and landing of weap- ons and explosives by air and sea, organization of mercenary invasions, infiltration of spies and saboteurs, acts all carried out from the territory of the United States and some accomplice countries.

3. A halt to pirate attacks carried out from existing bases in the United States and Puerto Rico.

4. A halt to all the violations of our airspace and our territorial waters by U.S. aircraft and warships.

5. Withdrawal from the Guantánamo naval base and return of the Cuban territory occupied by the United States.”

While Che makes his above speech, images on the screen are of those where Che and his band of mercenaries battling it out in the jungles of Cuba a few years ago. Reference to USA leaving the Guantanamo Bay would toss the viewer from 1964 to the 50s and back to “now”!

In one stream of story telling, the narration ends just before Guevera and his army enter Havana. On his way to Havana, Che finds one of his army men riding in a costly car recovered from one of the captured towns. Che rebukes him and orders him to return back the car where he found it.

“you can reach Havana either by truck or jeep or by foot. Even if it belongs to Batista, you cant drive your way to Havana in a stolen car”

The movie ends with this contemporary message from Ernesto Che Guevera (or is it from the film maker? )

The movie attempts to enter the mind of a revolutionary, locate the source of his inspiration (“love… love for humanity”), aim (“yes, I know what I am fighting for”) and the battles he would fight in the present day world.

Colours of Slumdog and the Millionaire.

 Jamal, desperately trying to escape from the makeshift toilet where he is trapped, jumps into the pond of s**t. Unmindful of the dirty fact that he is fully covered in yellowy s*it runs to meet the film star. Even as the surrounding crowd is put off by the smell, the film star (clad in an yellow coat) reaches out to Jamal and obliges leisurely with an autograph. 

Apart from the obvious attempt by a firangi (foreign) film maker to poke fun at Indian film viewer's 's**hit standard' of appreciation and the 'naturally' obliging Indian cinema  stooping to the same levels, should the colour of yellow be taken so seriously while viewing the film?

Yes is my answer. 

Through out the film, a deliberate attempt of  two- colour composition is evidently displayed. 

One of yellow. And the other blue. Blue being the signature colour of the Millionaire reality show is a natural selection. 

At any given point, every frame is either given an yellow tint or a blue one. And in some exceptionally beautiful ones, a combination of both! Some of the frames are either horizontally , vertically or even diagonally split into these two colours.

Seemingly insignificant items of   irrelevance  are decoratively placed in some of the fleeting frames so as to maintain the weight of colour yellow . (Like the paper tray in police station, cartons in the hotel kitchen etc...). The beggar van is painted yellow on the outside and blue on the inside. Call centre, furniture in Javed's house etc are prominently blue. 

Not to talk about the dress- especially of the three musketeers (during various phases of the story line)  and the inspector! 

Ah! Yes! The child Lord Rama who makes his appearance exactly at the point when the children are made to shed their innocence. 

Like the sound, music , movements and dialogues, the colour pattern should be considered to follow the movie. 

The one character who weaves in and out of these two colours with ease  is the inspector.(like in his introductory scene where he enters a room from where streaks of yellow appear through the gaps in the door! ) I would use the word 'interlocutor' to define him. He is the one who seeks the answers (jnana). But he makes it clear that he has other set of (personal) questions- different from those which we as part of (and products of ) the massive reality game show are looking for!

 What is the movie about, after all? What are the questions being asked? And more importantly what are the answers?  OR WHAT IS THE ANSWER? 

Depends on how you interpret the colours and where you find the final denouement. 

Does the story (!) end where Salim kills himself , Jamal wins the game show and Latika joins him? 

The  way Jamal faces his moment of victory (in the game) with a sense of detachment, even reminiscent of the 'Gita' while those around rejoice is ample evidence to the fact that his goals lie elsewhere. (He even makes an explicit statement that he joined the game hoping to find Latika.)

Latika, while declaring that she doesnt know the answer for  the final question has her face glowing with controlled contention. 

Salim, as he dies in his grave of bank notes doesnt seem to have any regrets. (he has already atoned for his sins- "God forgive me , I know I have sinned!") 

But, are Salim, Jamal and Latika three different characters or manifestations of the same? 

More questions , more answers... 

The (cosmic) dance, Jamal clad in blue.. Latika with the yellow scarf.... dancers waving multiple yellow scarves..... 

Two trains chug out of VT station. One blue.. and the other .. yes you guessed it! 

foot note: Does all this exercise  result in a good cinema?  No. 

We have enough gurus here in our land to teach Danny Boyle a lesson or two in his chosen karma!

But then, "it is written".

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