A recent showed that film stars wallow in self-love. Two Los Angeles psychologists (Mark Young and Drew Pinsky) measured traits like exhibitionism and vanity using a mathematical formula. Pinsky said: “Vanity is only part of it.
They crave attention, are over-confident of their abilities, lack empathy and can behave erratically. But they are often admired and well liked, especially on a first meeting, and perform well in public.”
Well, all this reminded me of politicians.
Sure, politicians may not be narcisstic in the true sense (vain about personal appearance) but they are certainly narcisstic in other ways. They often suffer from some kind of megalomania, which is several steps beyond narcissm! I decided to surf the net and get some quotes from India as well as the West which would reveal politicians delusive thinking and their self-obsession.
What I got is by no means comprehensive. If anyone wants to add any interesting quote they are welcome.
I ll start with what I heard Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh say after the Nithari serial killings - live on television (CNN-IBN ): Uttar Pradesh jungle hai to mai kya hoon?
Chuckles. Jungle ka Raja! Translated this means: If Uttar Pradesh is a jungle then who am I?
The king of the jungle!
Lalu Prasad Yadav, the railway minister of India’s favourite quote, Jab tak rahega samosa me Aloo, tab tak rahega Bihar me Laloo”, meaning without Laloo, there is no Bihar just as without Aloo (potato) there is no Samosa. (A samosa is a stuffed puff which is deep-fried).
Everyone knows that Indira Gandhi, India s Prime Minister for 15 years was an arrogant woman. It was difficult to get quotes however. All I got was this quote from :
All my games were political games; I was, like Joan of Arc, perpetually being burned at the stake.
Indira Gandhi.
The site had some quotes from an ex- PM of England. In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman.
Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher also said, I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.
If you wish to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing.
Adolf Hitler has a fair share of quotes which display not just his arrogance but also his twisted thinking. The victor will never be asked if he told the truth. Hitler also said, Woman s world is her husband, her family, her children and her home.
We do not find it right when she presses into the world of men.
And a wringer from Sir Winston Churchill. History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
Lenin and Nixon have some really abnoxious ones to their credit. A lie told often enough becomes the truth - Lenin.
When the President does it, that means that it s not illegal.
This one is by Richard Nixon. Nixon also said, I would have made a good Pope.
Wondering why we haven t got to George Bush yet?
Well, here we are. Got some nice ones from : We dealt with the danger, and as a result the world is a better place and a more peaceful place, and the Iraqi people are free, and a free Iraq is in this nation s national interest - George W. Bush reacting to a growing chorus calling for an independent probe into incorrect pre-war claims about Iraqi weapons.
A has a large number of quotes by Sonia Gandhi, the Italian Indian woman who is the President of the ruling Gongress Party in India. These quotes not only show her arrogant attitude but also her obsession with her family and with Italy. I picked few: Without the efforts of my madre-in-law, without my husband as the mainstay of his Indian subjects, without my son as the rising sun of our unhappy dark-brown people, continually starving since my family s rule began, Italy can never achieve full domination over my adopted madre-land.
The source of this quote is given as Signora Sonia s Evil Struggle Against Heathen Aggression. By Arun Shourie. Page 284.
Two quotes which show her obsession with her family: We must have faith in the son (i.e. Rahul Gandhi) and we must have faith in the daughter (i.
e. Priyanka Gandhi Vadhera). These are two cardinal principles.
If we doubt these principles, we shall accomplish nothing. The source of this is given as: Looks Do Matter. Selected Works, Vol.
IV, Page 422.
Our point of departure is to serve my two children whole-heartedly and never for a moment distance ourselves from the hopeful future of my grand children; also to proceed in all cases from the interests of the above-mentioned people and definitely not from one s national interest; and to identify our responsibility to the people with our responsibility to the members of my family. The source for this is quoted as: Cast Away Fears, Prepare for Struggle.
Selected Works, Vol. IV, Page 28.
Then this clincher: All men must die, but death can vary in its significance.
The great Italian writer Mario Puzo said, When a giant tree falls, the earth below shakes . To kill thousands of innocent people in retribution for the killing of a single member of my family is a loyal, honorable and a pardonable thing to do. But a failure in condemning the massacre of thousands of others, sliced in vendetta for the burning of those who were not my family members, is wrong and anti-secular.
This is from an introduction to Management Guru C K Prahalad s book Market Mantras. Page 5. (To be published)
And this: We should eat pasta and cassata, guard against self-introspection and independent thought, and serve the Gandhi family heart and soul.
This comment is quoted from Arundhati Roy s Madagascar Peace Prize winning essay The Merchants of Death in the Money Hungry World of Globalization and Renewed Empire-Building which was published in the Outlook Magazine. June 16, 2003. Page 54.
I think this quote is the funniest and reveals her rather limited IQ.
Another blog gave me a nice one on George W. Bush: Our enemies have made the mistake that America’s enemies always make.
They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness. And now, they see defeat.
Now let s see what the celebrities have to say.
Are they really worse than the politicians or are the politicians worse?
The man for me is the cherry on the pie. But I m the pie and my pie is good all by itself even if I don t have a cherry.
Halle Berry.
If it was something I really committed myself to I don t think there s anything that could stop me from becoming the President of the United States. Will Smith.
He also said, In my mind I have always been an A list Hollywood star. Y all just don t know it yet.
quotes Woody Allen saying, The first affirmation I need is really my own.
I don t look beyond that.
Our Indian stars can t be too far behind. Hollywood or Bollywood, they are all the same.
quotes Shah Rukh Khan as saying, Awards that ignore me are losers.
quotes the famous Rekha as saying, If I have a baby, I won t be able to focus on anything else. Then what happens to the babies all over the world with whom I m connected?
quotes her as saying, Yeah, I m getting my price. Producers are even willing to pay me more than what I ask. But unfortunately, I can t do every film.
So I have to turn down offers. (Laughs) Chalo, at least this way others get work.
Pretty mild when one compares these celebrities to hardened politicians huh?
So now let s wait for a study which reveals the dangerous narcissim of politicians!
The researcher Pinksy also mentions that “We have also found striking differences between the celebrities and their jobs —the more real-life skills they have, such as musicians, the less narcissistic they are. So I guess that explains why politicians and film-stars are so alike!
Hindi films may have made $78 million in the United States in the last 6 months of 2006, but as everyone knows - it s the NRI s who are watching the films not the locals. The reasons why they reject Hindi films are the same as why we watch them. Well, I guess I can t speak for everybody but I can speak for myself.
I watch Hindi films because:
1. I like certain stars (won t name them here as they are too many of them!) and enjoy watching them on the screen.
If I hear that a movie is average but it has my favourite star, I ll go for it.
2. They are musicals and I enjoy the lyrics
3.
Hindi movies can make me cry
4. They endorse family values (too conservative for westerners to digest)
5. They are about brown people
These are very reasons are why westerners cannot relate to Bollywood films.
But if some of us can relate to Hollywood films, why can t they relate to Bollywood?
Let s see why we like Hollywood films. Again, I will speak just for myself.
I like Hollywood films because:
1. They are technologically superior which makes for a slicker product
2. A large number of them have universal and more realistic themes
3.
Acting even by B-grade actors is generally good
So this means if Bollywood starts making movies which are technologically superior (which will need lots of money), cut out the song and dance, make movies with universal and realistic themes (Satya) instead of a family oriented tear-jerkers (KANK) then they will break into the Hollywood market?
But wait this doesn t mean the so-called crossover films like Black or even the English language Bride and Prejeduce . These films were far too Bollywood to be enjoyed by the western audience.
Hindi film directors efforts to cater to both markets haven t worked.
The only way that Bollywood films can gain a toehold in Hollywood is if they make a completely seperate product for that market by a director who understands the western mindset. But then such a film will bomb in India.
So what s the use anyway?
My respect for Brat Pitt has plummeted. Not because his and Angelina’s bodyguards allegedly pushed and abused parents in a school in Mumbai while shooting for The Mighty Heart, but because of what he said in a television interview to NDTV.
He said that if these things happen (bodyguards being arrested on several complaints made by parents), then other Hollywood productions might not feel inclined to come here to shoot! And strangely, his so-called ‘friend’, Bollywood actor Irfan Khan, echoed his thoughts.
Pitt is behaving worse than any Indian politician.
He thinks that just because they have money and clout, they should be above Indian law? Well, he should know that India does not need Hollywood productions, specially not productions like him. His unit has been dogged with controversies right from the moment they stepped into India.
There has been a report of a road accident concerning his driver, a report of his guard beating up a British reporter, the matter of an illegal plane landing and day before yesterday - the racial abuse. And now Pitt feels that all this should be excused just because they are an Hollywood production? 
Whether you are from Hollywood or from Timbuctoo, you have to stay above the law.
This is not some feudal kingdom that you had come to my dear Pitt. This is India, a democratic and civilised nation. If your guard called parents (who were trying to get a glimpse their children as they trooped out of school) ‘bloody Indians’ and assaulted them, it may not be a serious criminal offense, but if the police felt that the matter should be investigated and the guards arrested…well, it should be done.
And if the police investigation frightens off other Hollywood productions - good.
Every single day Brangelina is in the Indian newspapers and I’m not talking about the tabloids. It s the mainstream English newspapers who are constantly reporting on Brangelina s movements.
Either Brad, Angelina and their kids are lying low in The Meredian hotel, taking rickshaw rides in Pune, playing with their kids in a Pune park, having a grand time in Goa, relaxing with a Maharaja in Jaipur, scouting around for an Indian child to adopt, building houses for refugees with ex-President Carter or meeting ministers in Delhi it goes on and on.
But that s not all. Brad and family s minor skirmishes with the law are also being intensely reported.
Their bodyguards allegedly beat up a reporter outside The Meredian, one of the cars in their entourage allegedly knocked down a two-wheeler…and the every latest? Legal proceedings against the pilot who landed their plane without permission in the Maharaja’s palace grounds.
So what s the big deal you ask.
After all, Brangelina is a big brand. This kind of reporting is natural. But hey, this is India, and Brad and family can sight-see, work or whatever but why are they getting this much publicity?
Indian movie stars certainly don t. And surely, Indians are more interested in home-grown movie stars? We don t get to hear what Shah Rukh is doing every minute of the day, do we?
Certainly not by reading the mainstream papers. Thank God for that.
Perhaps this great interest in Brangelina could be due to their playing desperate hide and seek games with the press, unlike Indian movie stars?
Forbidden fruit is always more tempting. And I wish I knew what terrible calamity will befall Brangelina if they allow photographers to take pictures.
Whew, what a movie!
Even for a crime thriller, the pace of this movie leaves you breathless. Simultaneous action. Three major characters - Billy Costigan, the undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio), Colin Sullivan, the gangster’s mole in the police force (Matt Damon) and the dreaded, blood-thirsty gangster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) – all thrown in your face at once.
Directed by the celebrated Martin Scorsese, The Departed is apparently a remake of a 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller. Expectedly, in keeping with the director’s penchant for making violent movies, this one is packed to the hilt with not only gory, bloody scenes, but so much profanity (even a Hindi gaali!) that after an hour or so of this one just stops getting shocked.
And we in India are supposedly lucky. There’s evidence of the censor’s scissor, specially where the sex scenes are concerned. Is that why the movie seems to just tear ahead at an almost unbearable clip?
The story itself is fascinating. Colin, a brilliant and ambitious youngster with childhood links to the dreaded gangster Costello, gets into the police force and becomes their blue-eyed boy. On the other side there is Billy, a vulnerable middle-class kid (whose uncle was a hood) who is average in studies and who flunks the police academy.
He’s down, but not out. He’s offered a dangerous undercover assignment - to worm himself into the confidence of the gangster Costello. Billy does it with panache, playing the role of a violent, disgruntled kid who has nothing to lose.
With growing excitement, the viewer realises that Colin and Billy are set to clash – why, they even like the same woman – a police psychiatrist, Madelyn (Vera Farminga)!
Suspense keeps you on the edge of your seat. Each twist and turn in the story makes you wonder: Will the ruthless Colin get exposed as the gangster’s mole?
Or will the sweet Billy be murdered by the crazy Costello if he finds out that he is a cop? It s just lucky for Billy that Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Dignam ( Mark Wahlberg) try hard to keep the identity of their spy close to their chests. As for Costello, as the movie progresses, he is seen to be losing his mental balance.
A man who had always thought nothing of killing, he actually starts to enjoy it…and it sends a chill down our Billy’s spine.
The second half has Colin trying desperately to please his childhood mentor Costello by attempting to find the identity of the undercover cop. Billy is even more desperate to find who Costello’s mole in the police force is – because he knows that he has to expose the mole - if he himself has to stay safe.
All the actors did good. Matt Damon was convincing as the desperately ambitious guy who wants to keep it all – the promotions as well as his precarious father-son relationship with Costello. DiCaprio, who plays a character who has an intriguing mix of sensitiveness, decrepitude, and a desire to better himself, did amazingly well.
As for Jack Nicholson, well, he was predictable…typically Jack Nicholson. Slow-talking and theatrical (remember Batman?).
Vera, who plays a mental health professional torn between two men, acted very well.
In this movie some well-known actors have been taken for minor roles. However, the roles are very distinct.
Sheen for example has a lot of screen time, and plays a kind, fatherly, but very savvy cop. However, it s his second-in-command Wahlberg, who plays a foul mouthed and even cruel character, who leaves the strong impression.
This movie has surprises in store at every turn, and certainly some at the end.
If one has to sum it up – it s fast, it s slick (and sick!) and it s scary. It may not be a crime classic, but it s certainly one of the best crime movies I have ever seen.
Not a movie to miss, but if you are faint-hearted, well…forget it.
A good movie, slickly directed and edited and made to extract every kind of emotion in you…from anger and indignation to sadness, despair and just plain shame. The emotions are easily aroused because of the feel of the movie, simple, direct, and real.
Frighteningly real.
The movie is about racism guys. Racism in America against all sorts of people, from Mexicans, Chinese and Persians to the native black population.
It profiles a cross-section of amazingly diverse characters from these communities as well as from the white community. Drama and even humour, is brought out in the interaction of these characters. The movie has it all – cops and robbers, racists and sadists, heroes and cowards, husbands and wives.
Stereotypes are busted and the men and women in this movie are shown with all their complexities. A bald, burly coloured locksmith who looks like a thug is the best father in the world. A racist molester shows his brave, almost heroic side.
A struggling immigrant, an apparent victim, turns to the gun and almost kills a little girl. A thief is shamed into changing his way of life.
This movie is about people, and their hopes, dreams and fears, but mainly - it s about the way coloured people cope with the day to day racist slurs in American society, and how they have to live with the compromises they make and the indignities they have to face.
It also becomes clear as to why white people hate and fear the coloured people. Finally, the movie tells you what happens when the dam bursts.
There is no hero or heroine.
There is no story as such, just a delving into the most intimate moments of the various characters and this gives the movies it s drama and emotion. There are no boring moments. The characters breathe and live and that’s what makes the movie worth seeing.
The movie is quite an eye-opener for anyone who does not know what it is like for a coloured person to live in America. It will make those who live in our dear India very glad that they are living here, not there, in that alien land. From the movie it s clear that racism is so much a part of the American society that no one can escape it.
However, this is not a movie for anyone who wants to see an action movie or a movie with a strong story. Its a movie that makes you think though and its worth a see.
This is a true Sci-Fi Action movie guaranteed to glue you to your seat.
You won’t even feel like getting up in the interval to get your coke in case you come back a little late and miss a few seconds of the movie!
It opens with hordes of people in white uniforms living in some sort of ‘facility’ which is surgically clean. They are very well looked after but one wonders who they are and why they have to endure such a mechanical and boring life.
They are not even allowed to mate or form close friendships. In fact they seem to have no feelings of curiosity, no sex drive or aggressive feelings. They simply obey instructions and look forward to just one thing – going to a beautiful island.
They are told stories of the ‘contamination’ of the earth and the only place which is uncontaminated is this beautiful island. They all want to go there and and will get a chance to, if they live and win a ‘lottery’. This lottery draw happens regularly and someone or the other is taken from the group.
We know something is wrong with this right away. Lucky for us there is a hero Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) who feels the same way. He starts asking questions about the island.
No one wants him to find out the truth…but Lincoln manages to escape and meet up with one of the workers who helps run the facility. And he finds out the truth…that it s all a lie…the story of the contamination of the earth, the story about the island. The people in white have been brainwashed to believe these stories.
Lincoln stumbles on to a greater mystery and impending disaster.
It is a terrifying thought to come to grips with but Lincoln is determined to save himself and his friends from this terrible fate.
There is an evil corporation behind this mystery operation…a corporation which makes millions of dollars by doing what it does.
If I write more about why the corporation does it and what the mystery actually is, the plot will be revealed and I don’t want to do that.
But suffice to say - the rest of the movie is full of action and increasing suspense as we wonder if Tom will finally succeed in his goal of saving his friends. When he sets out on his mission he takes a girl Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johannson) along and there is some element of romance as they discover what love is all about.
As Lincoln and Jordan run from the evil people there is a lot of smoke, fire and explosions … cars flying over each other, buildings toppling, flying machines crashing and ofcourse exciting high speed chases across a future world of 2050. The car chase in the last half of the movie is sheer nail-biting suspense.
Thankfully there is not that much of blood and gore.
A lot is left to the imagination. The action has been handled with finesse and style by the director Michael Bay, who has also directed The Rock.
To sum up this is what one would call good popcorn entertainment with good acting and good action scenes.
But don’t expect a thinking Sci-Fi movie like the Matrix or even Minority Report or you will be disappointed.
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