"When You Have To Shoot -Dont Talk"!!

We all love movies .Whether my generation or a generation before or after me .movies have always had a great impact on our lives .Actors and actresses have influenced the way we walk ,and the way we talk .And also the way we dress and romance !!Infact ,movies have been perhaps the greatest tools of educating people –either in a good or bad way .They do what dramas and plays did in the medieval times when there were no movie cameras .Entertain and educate .

I was a movie buff when I was young .I loved seeing movies ,though I must admit I was a bit overawed by English language films more than our Hindi ones .There were  reasons for it .We had come  back from Burma and were struggling with Hindi as a language .Infact I went through school studying what was then called “Elementary Hindi” .I missed out on the dohas of Kabir ,Rahim, and Surdas .I had to pass a paper which made me Hindi “literate” rather than Hindi “educated “ .So I preferred to see  English movies till I was about 13 or 14 years of age because I could understand English well .But in college I gorged into Hindi films .By that time I had picked up Hindi. I never missed the movies of the great Rajesh Khanna ,Dev Anand ,Dilip Kumar,and Amitabh Bachhan .I made up by seeing the old films  after they had debuted many years earlier but ,but which  I had missed .I cant forget Dilip Kumar prancing and dancing to the song “Urrey jab jab jhulfey teri”.!!Wonderful .But English movies had fascinated me for another reason as well –they had access to better technology .They looked more real .The sounds of trains ,horses appeared more authentic .The men never danced around trees .The women  never swam with all their clothes on (what a ruckus the world made when Sharmila Tagore surfed on the waterfront with a bikini in the film “An Evening In Paris” .Still cant figure out why anyone would object to seeing someone as beautiful as her like that ).It took me many years to figure out why Ameen Sayani used to say over Binaca Geet Mala, “Aur yeh geet gaya hai Mohammed Rafi ne ,auuuuuuuuuurrrrrr filmmmmmmmm haiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii “Sangam”!!!!.But wasn’t Rajendra Kumar singing it in the film ?I could not figure out the concept of “playback singing”!!

Some dialogues from films come to my mind immediately .I am just penning them down in the order they come.I haven’t given them much thought .So 4 out of the 5 are from English films .They have stuck in my mind .Let me start with the only Hindi dialogue that came to my mind when I picked up a pen and put down the dialogues in the order in which they came .

1.“Jo dar gaya ,so mar gaya”,from Sholay It made a huge impact on me as a college going student .I had dabbled in philosophy (I still do!),and analysis of fear was something I had always grappled with me .I had read many quotations about fear ,but Amjad Khan ,barking out the dialogue after shooting Kaliya ,made the point so powerfully .He who is afraid –is dead .!!Brilliantly enacted ,brilliantly contextualized ,the dialogue is still one of my favourites .And you have to coax me to deliver it when I am in a mood .I enjoy it ,and can do so with a lot of passion .Because ,I believe in the simple line .

2.The scene from Dirty Harry ,starring Clint Eastwood as a honest, fearless cop on the hunt for the deadly killer Scorpio.He pins him down ,and pulls out his gun as Scorpio wriggles in fear and with a heightened sense of survival .And read this dialogue

Clint Eastwood  “I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?”“ Well, do ya, punk?”.Its a brilliant scene ,with a lot of power and punch and we see a situation in which it just boils down to luck .Does Dirty Harry have the sixth bullet ?Life is like that –you never know till the end .!!What happens afterwards ?Well see the film .

3.”When you have to shoot ,don’t talk “The Movie: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 
Who says it: Eli Wallach as Tuco, the Ugly
The context: A one-armed bounty hunter (Al Mulock) breaks in on Eli Wallach,who is in a bathtub, and gives a long speech about the long, difficult hunt for him to track  Eli Wallach down ,all the while wasting precious time . Eli Wallach  just pulls out a gun and shoots him.The dialogue taught me ,that what one sets to do –one must do .And one must not waste time in trying to explain and get happy just when one is about to achieve his/her objective .Its a lesson ,I have never forgotten .

4.Kramer versus Kramer .Its a movie that made a deep impact on me .It starred my favourite Dustin Hoffman and Merrly Streep .It had the theme of husband wife discord leading to a breakup of their marriage .Infact ,so powerful were the actors that for some time I felt that marriages were inevitably doomed to  failure .There was one dialogue which stood out which made me realize how we owe so much to our children –if not to ourselves .Here is the dialogue .

Jane Alexander : Joanna is a very unhappy woman and it took a lot of courage to walk out of  this door. 
Dustin Hoffman : How much courage does it take to walk out on your kid? (Joanna is Dustin Hoffmans wife in the film and walks out on him leaving a young son for him to bring up ).

The movie made me realize that at many times we need to sacrifice for  someone else who we are responsible for bringing into the world .It is the classic dilemma of self interest over commitment ,but I would always choose the latter (God forbid if I have to make such a cruel choice ).

The last dialogue was from the classic “Lawrence of Arabia.”The dialogue brought out something which I could never dream of –killing being enjoyable .It also brought out the realization that some people may be killing because it gives them pleasure .It had a deep impact on me especially since it was spoken by none other than Peter O’Toole who was a living legend .When one is young ,one feels  that actors believe in what they enact .Though its not like that always !!Here is the dialogue

Peter O’Toole as Lawrence of Arabia.-“I killed two people. One was... yesterday? He was just a boy and I led him into quicksand. The other was... well, before Aqaba. I had to execute him with my pistol, and there was something about it that I didn't like. 
Jack Hawkins : That's to be expected. 
Peter O’Toole: No, something else.

Jack Hawkins : Well, then let it be a lesson. 
Peter O’Toole: No... something else. 
Jack Hawkins : What then? 
Peter O’Toole: I enjoyed it.

As I wind up ,let me admit that I longed for one dialogue and am sure is everyones favourite .Amitabh Bacchhan flaunting his wealth ,power and influence and asking a very innocent looking Shashi Kapoor

“Mere paas bangla hai, gaadi hai, paisa hai. Tere paas kya hai?”

“Mere pass ma haih”!!

I am sure all of us have the right to that very valuable possession of any human being .Sadly ,some of us lose it  very young  .But it is perhaps the most telling dialogue of a movie which explains life the best .And the role that women have played and will continue to play as they nurse civilizations .

Travel -What I Like And Dislike About It .!!

I love travelling .And I don’t miss a opportunity to do so .There are certain factors that  have helped me acquire this passion for travelling and seeing places .My father was a prominent Doctor and worked for a long time in Myannmar .I remember travelling a lot with him in our Landrover through Myanmar .He was apparently  fond of travelling because  I remember a lot of movement outside the home .We flew and came to India for holidays ,and I  also remember travelling by ship  .The habit of travelling was further accentuated because I used to accompany my brother and brother in law who were in the IAS,and travelled extensively around Punjab .There is not a single sub division of the state that I haven’t been to.While  they would hold meetings with the officials ,I would take off to explore the sites around the places where they had gone as public servants on duty .So whether it was Ropar,Talwandi Sabo,Faridkot,Nangal,Talwara ,and many times outside the state –I was always lucky to accompany them .We would travel in the wonderful white amabassador  cars ,speeding across the dusty trails of Rampuraphool or the mustard covered fields of Barnala or Samana.As a school master ,I used to trek a lot with the kids .It took me to places as remote as Mani Mahesh ,Kolhoi ,Pindari,Hemkunt ,Manikaran and many more .I took children abroad –to Hong Kong,Phillipines ,Indonesia ,Singapore .So travelling was bestowed on me by lineage ,a job,and luck .

I have been around a lot by any standards .Whether it is Paris ,London,Prague,Brussels ,Vienna ,Edingburh,Bangkok,(and now Vancouver ,New York ,Washington),-I have seen a fair amount of places .The best part is –I go to see and absorb .I don’t go to shop.Of course Gucci after shave and shoes (I haven’t been able to afford to buy their shoes !!)and a few things that one cant get in India very easily –A Swiss Knife,Lindt chocolates !!,Single Malt Glendifich-,I look for when abroad .But by and large ,I love to see places that are historical or scenic .So I took a trip to Carlsbad ,where the Carlsbad Decrees were signed ,I went to Runnymede where the Magna Carta was sealed ,I took a bus ride from Paris to Marseilles and onwards to Villafranca where a battle was fought between the French led by Napoleon the 3^rd and Austria in 1869,I went to Troy to see the place which is such a legend in Ancient Literature ,I went to Gordium  where Alexander cut the Gordian Knot instead of untying it .Of course ,I have been to Harrods and the Peninsula Hotel as well ,but by and large ,I like seeing places rather than shops and malls .I am never worried about getting lost in a new city or country .!!

However ,there are things about travelling which I don’t like .I hate flying .I love airports –they are a a mini world compressed into lounges ,shopping arcades ,coffee bars ,hamburger joints ,etc .You find Africans ,Japanese ,Chinese ,Russians ,Arabs ,Armenians ,Georgians ,Russians –everyone .They are the great melting points of the world civilization.I always like to check in early ,sit in the lounge ,and observe people .You come across celebrities ,the glitterati,the rich and the famous .Sometimes you come across people on wheel chairs going to some hospital for a final battle with life ,and sometimes you come across a starry eyed couple going on a honey moon .Many times you come across people who you haven’t met for decades .In short –airports reflect the essence of the planet .I love them .I love the Hong Kong Airport,The Singapore Airport ,the Airport at Istanbul .My favourite Airport is the one at Prague –beautiful –set amidst so much of green .And so compact and small .Like a lovely house .Its called the Ruzyne Airport .I hope they don’t modernize it –not until I visit it once again .

But that’s where my love for flying stops .I hate security check inns .They take so much time .They ask you to take off your shoes ,your computer from its bag .They ask you to remove your lovely Italian coat and expect you to put it into those horrible looking blue plastic containers .Its a long and dreadful experience .Once one is through security ,the real problem starts for me .Since I don’t fly first class ,I normally find it a bit cramped inside the aircraft .The air hostesses with their plastic smiles put me off –though I can understand their compulsions .Take offs  and touch downs  make me very uncomfortable .I remember that most mishaps occur during take offs and touchdowns !!But once at cruishing altitude –I am slightly more relaxed .I don’t like it  whenever there is a announcement saying  that the plane has hit turbulent weather and we should put on our seat belts .!!God –what is the pilot implying ?!!I seldom eat while flying .But I do take a small bottle of red wine .I  never use the bathroom .Yes ,I am going to be flying 11.30 hrs from Frankfurt to Vancouver in 3 days time –but I am sure I wont go to the bathroom .Not only am I agrophobic –but also clausterphobic .I feel very cramped inside the small toilet .And I don’t like the “gunshot” kind of noise which the flush makes when we use it !!(Something to do with pressurized cabin).I feel most  uncomfortable when flying over vast expanse of  water (yes I am hydrophobic also!!haha).I remember sitting on the edge of my seat ,and trying not to look into the monitor as I flew over the South China Sea as I flew from Manilla to Hong Kong .We never seemed to be able to traverse the Caspian Sea .!!And the Black Sea looked black because of a heavy cloud cover .Made it look even more frightening .Though I did seem to like flying over the English Channel from London to Paris .It was a beautifully clear day ,and the sun was out in all its glory .The Channel was shimmering in the rays of the sun .And there were white dots on  it .And many of them .!I realized they were boats and ships .And suddenly a thin transparent cloud floated over the Channel .It was as if a veil had covered it .It was a beautiful sight .But by and large –I don’t like travelling over vast expanse of water .I am going to be doing exactly that as I fly over the Atlantic for 11.30 hrs from Frankfurt to New York .!!

I hate travelling in different time zones .By the time I will be having lunch in Vancouver ,it will have been well past my sleeping time in India .Infact at 2 pm on Sunday at Vancouver ,it will be 2.30 am Monday in India .It disrupts my entire body  metabolism .And by the time I am adjusting to it ,I am in a different time zone .!!I find myself getting mentally lethargic at times –but then I can rationalize  it .I am paranoid about losing my passport when i travel .I carry it with me everywhere .!!I am also very tense about my credit and debit cards.What if they dont work ?My e-banking skills are limited .I dont carry much paper money !!

I am off on the 26^th .Shuffling from Ahmedabad to Delhi ,then Frankfurt ,Vancouver ,and finally New York .I am looking forward to seeing some wonderful  towns ,and meeting some great people .I am also looking forward to meeting up with my pretty niece Shrutima and my Harrison Ford  looking like  nephew   Kunal .Looking to eat Pizzas ,Burgers ,drink milk shakes ,sit and watch people and of course –to click some great snaps .So what if I have to go across  the Atlantic Ocean to do so .I think its going to be worth it .