When The Building Came Alive

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Kasturi Dhama Apartments — the play area where many evenings came alive. The lights would go out without warning. For a brief second, the entire building would fall silent. Then, from somewhere in Kasturi Dhama Apartments, a chorus would erupt. “Yayyy!” It is difficult to imagine children celebrating a power failure today. But in the Bangalore of the nineties and early 2000s, a power cut did not always feel like an inconvenience. Especially in the late evenings, it felt like permission. Permission to stop whatever we were doing, leave the darkness inside our homes, and step into the building outside. Before Kasturi Dhama became home, we had moved through a few different parts of Bangalore. My family had begun in Srirampuram and Vyalikaval before gradually cementing ourselves in Malleswaram for the next few decades. My earliest memory is of living in a vatara —a Kannada word loosely used for a building or a cluster of homes—on 15th Cross, near Karur Vy...

Aamir Khan't talk

It is surprising to see the recent spate of events surrounding Aamir Khan in connection with a series of political events. We all know him to be a popular actor, but he should understand that politics is altogether a different ball game, and it is no way close to reel life stunts. He came out in support of Medha Patkar led Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), opposing the construction of the dam which could provide respite to the millions of people in Gujarat. The whole issue is not about who is right or wrong, but if both the BJP and the Congress are up in arms against the actor, it really means that Aamir has ventured into this without even knowing about its pros and cons. The people of Gujarat are totally enraged by what is happening as increasing the height of the dam is expected to solve the water crisis currently engulfing this part of the country. If this is not enough, he has added fuel to the fire by getting caught in the Vadodara incident controversy by slamming the Modi Government. This hasn't gone down well with the people too. What is the result? Rang De Basanti was removed from the theaters and multiplexes, and it looks like Fanaa has met with destruction even before the start.
Maybe Aamir Khan expected to play the real life hero with not-so cleverly planned publicity stunts. The net result is that he is caught in a deep quagmire and I am not sure whether he has any chance of coming out of it clean. I think this is a lesson Aamir might learn the hard way, that filmdom and politics are totally different entities, and just by playing a rebel in the totally flawed movie of his, RDB, he cannot carry out the same intentions in real life.
The onslaught is still on...

Comments

  1. I think people in the public eye should think twice before taking a public stance. This time, probably has eaten "bisi tuppa" - cant swallow, cant spit now...

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  2. Dumba$$$ , tats all i gotta say.
    This thing was goin on for ever , wat did he think he will achieve anyway by expressing his opinion.
    Grow up aamir.... i mean it , u still look like a baby.

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