Saturday 11 April 2009

Uproar over movies

Recently there was an article in the news about how chick flicks are degrading the female population by a negative and weak portrayal of female characters. This came on the heels of the numerous criticisms about Slumdog Millionaire. I find both these issues stem from a single phenomenon; movie audiences today have lost the sense of reality in entertainment. I mean what is so wrong about showing the reality of some women who do indeed have shopping obsessions or those who desperately cling onto a man to feel complete? Also have the rich Indians today forgotten the slums that line the perimeter of their booming metropolitan city and the slum dwellers who exit side by side with them? It is very convenient to close our eyes and say these females or these slum dwellers don't exist and the movies are unfair portrayal of the "truth" in an effort to disgrace the female population or India.

I have seen 3 chick flicks in the last 2 months; He's just not that into you, Confessions of a shopaholic and Bride Wars. I am also a diehard fan of Mean girls and White Chicks. Does that mean I am on the side of the chauvinistic males who rule society and females alike? Not at all! In fact there are a lot of movies that portray men as the chauvinistic male pigs who couldn't give 2 hoots about using a woman's body and walking away. Now does that mean that is the typical man in the world? I certainly hope not. This man is just 1 of the many kinds of men who inhibit the world. So why then the uproar over the true portrayal of the "weaker" kinds of females?

The same goes for Slumdog Millionaire. The irony over the issue here is much larger since the majority of Indians live below the poverty line. Mumbai aka Bombay has the largest slums and a large, thriving slum dwelling population. How do you expect to deny this fact? What is so wrong with showing this to the world? In fact I applaud the movie for showing how a slum boy aka slumdog rose up in society to become a millionaire. Isn't that something to be proud of? Such stories though not the norm are a true fact of the Indian landscape. Stories of boys and girls coming to the big city with nothing more than dreams of making it big. These same people have gone to achieve amazing things. Indian should be proud to have such resilient citizens who dare to dream and dare to achieve those dreams despite such odds.

I enjoy chick flicks for the humour and the madness of the characters. I even use them as a reminder for myself to not lose my self-confidence and identity as a woman. I have certainly not ran amok after watching "He's just not that into you" looking for the perfect guy and then stalking him all in the hopes of falling in love with Mr. Impossible. Movies are made for entertainment but they usually are based on some kind of reality. This reality may not be the most predominant one but that doesn't take away from the fact that it is still reality.

Featured in the newspaper

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Lamhe- SMU Arts Festival 2009

This article appeared in the SMU magazine..
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Sunday 5 April 2009

8 X 10 Tasveer- movie review

The movie is really engaging and the suspense very thrilling. However the end part and the explanation for the murderer's motives are weak. These flaws hurt the effectiveness of the story as a whole. However the movie is enjoyable and fun to watch if you like to be thrilled.

Saturday 4 April 2009

Confessions of a Shopaholic- Movie Review


I love the movie! I can relate to the craze of shopping but can also distance myself from the magic of the plastic money. The story is fun, flirty and very real. I love the colours, the clothes, the gliz and the glamour. At the same time I love how the movie is real despite what the feminist are saying about chick flicks.

Wednesday 1 April 2009

As the end draws closer

4 years, 8 semesters, 39 subjects, uncountable projects and presentations, late nights in the library, rushing to meet deadlines, rehearsing in the concourse and SESS seminar 5.2.. As foreign as these may seem to you, to me they are reminders of the 4 years I have spent in SMU.

My experience at SMU is coming to an end and as much as I am thrilled to be finally over with my Bachelors, there is a sadness in leaving the university where I amassed a lot of memories. I was filling out my profile page for the yearbook when I came across the question "What is your fondest memory in SMU?". Needless to say I had a hard time pinpointing a single memory, there are too many for me to treasure for the rest of my life.

The times spent with friends simply chatting, having fun, drinking chai, laughing uncontrollably or the times spent frazzled in the library working till wee hours to meet an impossibly close deadline. I remember the 1st day of FA class when I 1st met Liz. Both of us were so out of place in an accounting class and were so relieved to find a friendly face in class. I remember we found each other during the class break and stuck together ever since. We literally slaved together for FA and MA, supporting each other through the horrors of the subjects.

I am going to miss each of these memories and much much more. More importantly I will miss all the people who have enriched my time in SMU, It is impossible to think about my university days without my friends and professors. I thank God for blessing me with such wonderful friends who have stood by me the past 4 years. I just hope we can continue to stay in touch and maintain our beautiful friendship.

I had always heard that university is the best time of your life and I totally agree. I loved my university days and am going to miss it a lot!

I think that what makes this rite of passage more bittersweet for me is the fact that I am as yet still unemployed. That means that once my exams end on the 18th of April, I have an indefinite period of nothingness. I have been working hard on filling this black hole of a period in my life with some meaningful activities. The obvious thing is trying to land a job for which the process is still in process. As would be expected this is no easy feat in the economic times of today. Keeping that in mind I have also applied for Master's studies in the UK. Other than that I have been applying for various short activities like volunteering with the Asian Youth Games and being a Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant for the holidays.

As the end draws closer I look forward to a new beginning while cherishing the many treasured memories I have of university days.