DOES anyone remember the 1992 movie ?The City of Joy? directed by Roland Joffe. The film was based on a novel by the same name authored by Dominique La Pierre who rose to fame with the book ?Freedom at Midnight? which he co-authored with Larry Collins.
Well, the Communists and the neo-liberals in India have this inherent quality of selective amnesia. They do not like to be reminded of the controversy associated with the production of the film The City of Joy. The Marxist goons in Kolkata demolished the sets and assaulted the crew of the movie since they saw red in the story line which projected the real stuff with which they are made of. The movie centered on the trial and tribulations of Hazari Pal (played by Om Puri), a small time farmer from Bihar who was forced to migrate to Kolkata in search of a livelihood. Hazari, who fell prey to the evil machinations of the blade mafia ( money lenders) in Bihar lost his land and shanty house when he could not repay the loan. Life in Kolkata was much worse for Hazari who had to crawl at the feet of the local don Ghatak, played by Shyamanand Jalan.
Jalan is supported by the Marxist leaders of the city. Hazari manages to get a job as cycle-rickshaw puller. But when Jalan learns that Hazari has made friendship with Dr Max Lowe, an American doctor who has set up a shanty medical clinic in his fief, it is all over for the poor rickshaw puller. His rickshaw is taken away and his teenaged daughter Amrita is raped by Jalan'sson. The story goes like this. La Pierre wanted to project Mother Teresa and Christianity as the only options left for the poor in north India. Since he projected the comrades in poor light, hell broke loose and the whole of Kolkata saw wildcat strikes. Later on I read somewhere that director Joffe shot the remaining parts somewhere in Bihar or UP. Let it be so?
The controversy following his remarks about Sardar Sarovar Dam is uncalled for. People saw in channels and newspapers that it was the Congress brigade in Gujarat who demanded the banning of Aamir Khan'smovies immediately after his outburst on Sardar Sarovar Project.
It was quite natural for the Hindus to get annoyed when painter M.F. Husain drew the nude images of Hindu gods and goddesses like Saraswati etc. But the Hindus did not unleash any terrorist attacks on the hapless citizens of the country. The leaders like Bal Thakre demanded the immediate withdrawal of the paintings by Husain. This painter who does not find mention even among the first ten artists in Asia has a knack for being in the news always for wrong reasons. He tried to gatecrash into the Wellington Club of Mumbai flouting the dress code and etiquettes formulated by the club authorities. When the security guard politely denied Husain the permission to enter the club, the Human Rights industry in the country shouted from the rooftops that it was an act of fascism. Husain walks around the country with impunity even after disgracing the Hindu gods and goddesses. But strangely enough, he has not dared to draw the picture of Prophet Mohammed! Husain draw the dressed paintings of Fatima, Mother Teresa and his mother, why? Because he knows which side of the bread is buttered.
When the Kaveri river issue was at its peak, political parties in Tamil Nadu demanded the banning of Kannada films, especially that featuring Raj Kumar, the matinee idol of Karnataka. The Kannada politicians retaliated by demanding the banning Tamil films starring MGR and Shivaji in Karnataka.
When the Kaveri river issue was at its peak, political parties in Tamil Nadu demanded the banning of Kannada films, especially that featuring Raj Kumar, the matinee idol of Karnataka. The Kannada politicians retaliated by demanding the banning of Tamil films starring MGR and Shivaji in Karnataka.
All of us sat silently when Islamic fundamentalists went on a rampage all over the world following the publication of some cartoons of Mohammed by a Danish daily. Is it that the Muslims and Christians belong to the elite clubs and could not be portrayed? Had the cartoons of Mohammed were drawn by some Hindu artists, My God!! This country would have set ablaze by the ?secular? Islamist terrorists. Yes, Islam and Christians are the only secularists in the world! They have the company of the likes of Carrot and Beetroot who cry for the blood of the Hindus at each and every opportunity.
Coming to the point now. The Aamir Khan controversy following his remarks about Sardar Sarovar Dam is uncalled for. The TV viewers saw in TV channels and newspapers that it was the secular Congress brigade in Gujarat who demanded the banning of Aamir Khan movies immediately after his outburst on Sardar Sarovar Project. The Human Rights industry led by the Patkar women and the mobile free republic Arundhati Roy just jumped into the bandwagon condemning the BJP'sdemand for an apology from Narendra Modi. But the Human Rights terrorists, Medha Patkar, Roy and their associates are silent about the demand by the Congress.
Isn'tit the same Amir Khan who endorses Colas? NAB Patkar and Mobile Free Republic, are you people listening?
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