Narendra Modi as PM?

A friend recently suggested that I pen my opinion regarding Narendra Modi as a potential prime ministerial candidate. I’m sure most of us have thought on those lines and have formed our opinions. For me, I didn’t find it easy to reach a conclusion, pretty much like my predicament regarding voting. I’ve stayed in Gujarat for more than six years and there can be no denying the fact that it is one of the most comfortable states in India to live in. And it’s been more than five years since I left Gujarat and by all accounts, it seems to have become even better, at least in terms of infrastructure such as roads, public transport, low crime rates etc. For the educated urban middle and upper classes, the only yardstick for development is how convenient their lives have become, and roads and industries are visible and obvious manifestations of development, according to them. And it is this chosen few that controls as well as consumes popular messaging through mass media. Hence, this sudden clamor among TV channels (particularly English language) and social media regarding how Narendra Modi can be the panacea for the country, once he is at the helm.

It will be foolhardy to state that Narendra Modi has not done anything positive in terms of development, even though it is debatable if the development is inclusive across social, economic and religious strata. For the sake of simplicity, and for want of contradictory facts, let us accept that Modi has transformed Gujarat over the past decade or so, as his followers would like to believe. Anyway, the point is, even if we assume that Gujarat’s development has accelerated over the past decade, isn’t it a case of oversimplification to attribute it to one individual? I’m sure everyone would agree that Gujarat has never been a backward state, right from its inception in 1960. Finding reasons for it would necessitate making generalizations about the entrepreneurship of Gujaratis, the influx of NRI money etc. Popular opinion seems to imply that Modi has a somewhat hard-nosed approach towards governance, and quite evidently, he is a strong-willed persona, essential traits for a leader. By that reasoning, Modi does seem to have played a big part in Gujarat’s road to prosperity.

This assumption brings us to the proverbial thorn in the flesh for Modi and his supporters, the riots of 2001. If he is such an able leader who is always in command, why did he allow the riots to continue unabated across the state for weeks? As in, if Modi is the single entity responsible for Gujarat’s ostensible development, how can he not be responsible for the heinous carnage? Isn’t it scary that a reprehensible character like Babu Bajrangi boasts about how Modi got ‘three judges transferred just to secure bail for him’? Doesn’t it bother us that shady characters like Amit Shah wield such huge influence? Doesn’t the experience of someone like Mallika Sarabhai, whose Darpan academy was not allowed to run in Gujarat because of her open opposition to Modi reek of intolerance bordering on fascism? Isn’t it alarming that any criticism of Modi brings out vitriolic and abusive reactions from his supporters, who have this ‘you’re either with us or you are our enemy’ attitude? And aren’t those who deride Congress’s dynastic and personality cult indulging in an equally sycophantic hero-worship? And what about the undeniable fact that a significant proportion of the country’s population will feel insecure and threatened by Modi’s presence at the helm?

Personally, I would be happy if the roads of Bangalore were to become even a fraction as good as those in Ahmedabad, and if Modi can do it, fine with me. But again, I and people like me aren’t the only residents of this country, in fact, we are just a miniscule. If we go by socio-economic indicators available in public domain, Gujarat hasn’t fared much better than other Indian states in terms of inclusive development. In terms of public expenditure on health and education, Gujarat is below 14 other states in India, one-thirds of Gujarat lives below the poverty line. Closer scrutiny reveals considerable lacunae in the growth story as well, projects implemented or under implementation have fallen from 73 per cent in 2003 to 13 per cent in 2011. I agree that statistics are not a sure-fire indicator but Modi supporters often make tall claims based on stats. In fact, Narendra Modi himself has claimed on numerous occasions that the milk we drink comes from Gujarat, which really doesn’t make much sense because in terms of milk production, Gujarat is a distant seventh in the country.

Again, statistics don’t help much because for each one I place here, someone else might come up with two others to prove their point. The point I’m trying to make is that things aren’t always as black and white as Modi supporters like to believe. Maybe Modi as PM could be a positive development, but being so smugly certain about it is naivete.

Why I chose not to vote in the Karnataka assembly elections 2013

As has been the trend in previous elections, Bangalore Urban recorded the worst voter turnout in this year’s Karnataka assemble elections. And I have to admit that I contributed to the low turnout. Often, the urban educated electorate has been accused of being callous and indifferent, capable of only passing judgments but stopping short of doing anything about it. While there is merit in that argument, I believe there is another factor governing the lack of will to vote, the absence of a clear motivation to vote someone in or out of power.

In the past, I have exercised my franchise on most occasions since attaining adulthood. However, I chose to stay away this time around. And that was because I really don’t know who to vote for. I’ve encountered similar predicaments in the past as well but usually I was sufficiently clear on who I don’t want to come in power. This time, in Karnataka, I didn’t even have the luxury of choosing the lesser of the evils. At the national level, the Congress has set new standards in misgovernance, and instead of addressing it, all they seem to be capable of doing is achieving new lows in obnoxious sycophancy towards the Gandhi family. The BJP seems to be treading the same path now, with its Narendra Modi obsession. At the state level, I can’t find a single good reason to vote the BJP back to power. Most would agree that Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy are not an alternative.

At the constituency level, it is all the more difficult to make a decision because you are hardly ever aware of a candidate’s credentials. A solution could probably be public debates, or something more practical would be the promotion of a candidate’s achievements. Instead, what we get in terms of canvassing is huge cut-outs of Gandhi, Modi or any other leader to whom the candidate wants to pledge their allegiance.

So where does all this leave the voter. I personally decided that instead of making a half-baked uninformed decision, I’d leave it to the majority and hope that they have a clearer perspective than I have.

Best Hindi Movies of 2012

Here’s a me-too list, my take on the best Hindi movies released In 2012, in order of preference. I stress on released because there were quite a few unreleased works like Kshay, Supremen of Malegaon etc. which I haven’t included.

Gangs of Wasseypur-1 (Anurag Kashyap): The sort of movie that you need to watch multiple times to really appreciate its brilliance. Almost everything was perfect about this Anurag Kashyap masterpiece, except perhaps the needless voyeurism exploring Reema Sen’s body. The first half hour that depicted the history of Wasseypur was a lesson in story telling. A remarkably authentic setting, an apt musical score, and brilliant performances by Manoj Vajpai, Richa Chaddha, Tigamanshu Dhulia and the entire cast made for a memorable cinematic experience.

Paan Singh Tomar (Tigmanshu Dhuliya): In what was a good sign for Hindi Cinema, PST actually ended up being one of the most successful films on the box office for the year. The director Tigmanshu Dhuliya and the actors, led by a terrific Irfan Khan, captured the Bundelkhand setting and dialect to perfection. Lesser known actors, including an impressive Mahie Gill and Brijendra Kala as the diffident journalist, and an engaging screenplay made sure that PST was appreciated by a wide variety of movie-goers.

Vicky Donor (Shoojit Sircar): In Vicky Donor, Indian Cinema unearthed one of the most talented performers of recent years, Ayushman Khurana. An excellent depiction of the quirks of the city of Delhi, Vicky Donor was ably supported by some mellifluous music. Yami Gautam was a refreshing change from the typical plastic caricatures that play female leads in Hindi Cinema. Dolly Ahluwalia, playing Vicky’s mother, was a revelation.

Shanghai (Dibakar Bannerjee): A brave work, delving into the genre of political thrillers, largely unexplored in Hindi Cinema. Inspired by Costas Gavras’ Z, Shanghai did more than adequate justice to the original. Competent performances by Imran Hashmi and Abhay Deol were overshadowed by the brilliant depiction of an unscrupulous bureaucrat by Farooq Shaikh.

Gangs of Wasseypur-2 (Anurag Kashyap): Paled in comparison to GOW-1, but was nonetheless a great work. Highlights were brilliant performances by unknown actors like zeeshan quadric, Vipin Sharma etc. and some tongue-in-cheek humour.

Luv Shuv Te Chicken Khurana (Sameer Shrama): A feel-good movie, redolent of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s works. Huma Quraishi was the stand-out performer, more so for the departure from her earlier portrayal of a feisty Bihari girl in GOW-2. Equally impressive was the endearing Titu played to perfection by Rajesh Sharma. Probably a more capable actor than Kunal Kapoor could have helped.

Jalpari-The Desert Mermaid (Nila Madhab Panda): Following his earlier ‘I am Kalam’, the director made another brave movie, tackling the sensitive issue of female infanticide without being preachy and melodramatic. Notable were the excellent performances of the child actors.

English Vinglish (Gauri Shinde): The first and only time Sridevi looks beautiful and actually acts well, English Vinglish used a simple premise to come up with a reasonable depiction of the archetypal Indian homemaker. Thankfully, it stayed away from the stereotypes characteristic of such works.

Oh My God (Umesh Shukla): This movie touched upon the controversial subject of religion with a fair bit of equanimity, but only to a certain extent. Probably scared that a negative portrayal might result in a backlash, the director chose to introduce some needless diversions, and by the end of it, it suffered from over-cautiousness and populism.

Makkhi (S S Rajamouli): This was a Telugu movie dubbed in Hindi helped by some good special effects, not exactly matching Hollywood standards but still miles ahead of what we are accustomed to in Indian Cinema. There was nothing great about the script or the performances, just the fact that it was so different made it worth viewing.

Kahaani (Sujoy Ghosh): An excellent performance by Vidya Balan and an engaging script made Kahaani a watchable movie.

Barfi (Anurag Basu): In spite of the best efforts of Priyanka Chopra to destroy it, Barfi survived simply because of the performance of Ranbir Kapoor and the standout music score of the year. Ileana D’Cruz was one of the prettiest faces to adorn the screen in a long time, and in comparison with the dreadful caricaturish performance of Priyanka Chopra, was considerably better.

Some other movies that might have made it to my list had I watched them Gattu, Forest, Dabang-2, to name a few.