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The following short story teaches us the value of those few enjoyable moments in the life of all the Special Children, who simply need a few caring thoughts from the rest of the entire blessed world and nothing else…….
At a fundraising dinner for a school that served children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended the event. After praising the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:
'When not interfered with by any outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.’
Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do………So where is the natural order of things in my son?'
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'
Then he told the following story:
Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father, I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play….. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. But in the end, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat.
Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make a contact.
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over.
The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!'
Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have again easily thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he rightly understood the pitcher's intentions and he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.
Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'
Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero, who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.
'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both the teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.
Shay didn't make it to another summer……… He died that winter…….., having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
That was how few kind hearted boys at the field helped Shay live one of the most memorable days of his short gifted life.
The story emotionally teaches us that in all the busy days of our routine lives, each one of us has thousands of opportunities every single day to help the special people amongst us and realize the 'natural order of things in nature.'
A wise man once said, “Every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.”
So may we all get the message from this touching story of Shay and………
May your day, be a Shay Day.
(Thanks to Pramod Ji, for sending this truly inspirational story in a mail.)
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Multiplex culture has opened new avenues for many talented film makers, who have great ideas in their minds, waiting to be executed on the screen within a smartly planned budget. It’s a welcome trend for sure, but sadly very seldom we get to see a thoroughly enjoyable flick in this particular genre, wherein a director successfully is able to transform an interesting idea on paper into an equally interesting movie on the celluloid.
Chandan Arora’s ‘Striker’ also falls in the same category in which the subject of an exceptional carom player seems to be far more exciting than the actual final product in the theaters. The story of a young unemployed boy, who is great at playing carom and wants to go to Dubai to earn a lot more, had surely got some box office potential in it. But the end product completely fails to win over the viewers mainly due to its repetitive scenes and too lengthy narration. To be straight, the game is new and the treatment is right but a lousy script with many unwanted angles and subplots simply turns a potential good movie into a below average one.
Unexpectedly, ‘Striker’ keeps hanging between different story plots, taking the viewers attention away from its novel concept of a carom gambling racket. Deliberate insertion of 1992 communal riots of Mumbai, further ruin the movie, which otherwise could have been much better if the director had kept his focus on the game and its gamble alone. The movie starts off well with the story moving around characters living in the slums and its small illegal clubs. But soon with the introduction of more undeveloped characters on the screen, it loses its way completely. For instance the love angle in the first half finishes off just like that and never returns back, the 1992 riots come into the narration from no-where without any specific purpose to fulfill and the lady owner of a small hotel is added in the script only to provide a little eroticism on the screen. Moreover the time span of the movie which keeps shifting between flashbacks of few years, also becomes confusing for a while.
The casting too, forcibly involves few well known faces of Bollywood, who are there only to add some more commercial value to the project. Like, Anupam Kher has nothing great to do in the movie as a Police Officer and his part could have easily given to a lesser known actor. Vidya Maldave does not look like a poor young girl living in the slums. Seema Biswas is completely wasted in a tiny role. Anoop Soni as the elder brother performs a similar act close to his ongoing T.V serials and Aditya Pancholi plays the bad man exactly like he did a few years back.
However there still exists a shining silver line in the black clouds which is represented by the brilliant performances by both Sidhharth as Surya and Ankur Vikal as Zaid. Siddharth delivers a fine natural act, but also gets caught doing it over the top in a few scenes. As Surya he surely gives a competent performance on the lines of his “Rang De Basanti”. But the real act comes from Ankur Vikal, who is simply superb in the role of Zaid, Sidhaarth’s childhood friend. After few initial scenes he quietly goes on impressing the viewers with his brief dialogues and comes out as a clear winner of them all.
The songs are just fine as they don’t become an obstacle in the movie but background score catches your attention more. Cinematography is great capturing the slum ambience in the right way. Actually editing is the main culprit here, resulting in a 2 hour (still) lengthy movie with many repetitive and seen before sequences in the story. In reality the game of Carom lacks the nail biting essence of an electrifying sport. Therefore it becomes a little boring after the few initial scenes and as a result hampers the beauty of an otherwise new sport on the screen.
To sum up, Chandan Arora, thought of a good subject which did have a novelty value associated with the game of carom and its gambling clubs. He certainly excels in the few sequences depicting the conflict in the life of young unemployed boy. But with a spineless script in hand, he could not turn the novel subject into a great movie for his viewers. Personally I enjoyed his earlier projects a lot more than his latest one.
Rating : 2 / 5
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A hard hitting RGV kind of a movie was long due from the experimental director Ram Gopal Verma. And with “Rann” he strongly strikes back with his own kind of cinema, wherein he only believes in telling his stories as they are, irrespective of their expected prospects at the box office. Hence, you may love it or not, but “Rann” has something to tell to the wide unaware population of the country, who just go on believing whatever they see on the small screens playing in their houses.
The movie is based on the news channel networks in the media and talks about the unhealthy competition prevailing within the industry to get higher TRPs than the rival channels. RGV in his own unique style blatantly reveals the hidden truth behind the so called Sting Operations shown on the news channels, which are capable of generating a massive reaction among the general public. With “Rann”, he tries to enlighten the viewers with the real purposes of these cunning & deliberate operations tried by one party of a country against the other.
As it should be, RGV straight away comes to the point in the first 15 minutes itself and does not waste time in establishing his artists in their respective roles. The viewer simply is given the hint, that this is not a usual kind of drama comprising some unwanted romantic angles inserted in the storyline and a few song sequences to ease him out. So, the director makes his intentions very clear right from the start.
But as expected, “Rann” is not a media bashing movie. Instead it’s a movie more interested in showcasing the underground nexus existing between the clever politicians and media networks who are helplessly dependent upon the mercy of these policy makers. It tries to awaken the general public with the fact that today, news is not being reported truthfully, but it’s being created tactfully in order to survive in this tiring competition. So, everything seen on the news channel may not be true and hence the public has to take the right decision with its own intelligence and instinct. Otherwise the common voter is nothing but only a puppet in the hands of this combined group of corrupt politicians and media men.
However, “Rann” does not entirely focus on the negative side of the topic. RGV rightly shows both the positive and negative sides of the people involved in the nexus and has his lead characters in the storyline, still having their truthful conscience alive and kicking. Moreover, very insightfully, the director shows Three kinds of mindsets prevailing in a society. Amitabh & Ritesh are the two protagonists fighting for their true spirits of a sincere journalist. Paresh Rawal, Rajat Kapoor, Sudeep, Mohnish Behl and Suchitra Krishnamurthy are the ones only interested in the wrong side of the game. But the third section is full of people like Gul Panang, Neetu Chandra and Simone Singh who are neither interested nor willing to participate in any such activity on the social front. Sadly these are the kind of people who constitute a major part of our huge population and let the bad people continue with their ugly tricks of the trade.
“Rann” commences slowly, comes to the main point directly and starts making an impact. It leaves you thinking with an interesting intermission and then goes on to reveal the darker side of the greedy personas on the screen dressed in all white. The climax comes up with a well written and superbly rendered speech by the one & only Amitabh Bachchan who is ashamed of himself being a part of the game played on his own channel unknowingly. Amitabh is once again superlative in his brilliant act of a sincere owner of a news channel who wants to run his channel on his own moral principles. But surprisingly, he hasn’t got many scenes in the movie apart from the main climax. In fact the movie majorly revolves around Sudeep, who plays Amitabh’s son and performs brilliantly in the role assigned. He manages to impress, standing in between the giants of Indian cinema (Amitabh & Paresh Rawal). RGV once again gives the Industry a rather unknown actor who has got the talent and capabilities to handle tougher roles as proved in “Rann”.
Paresh Rawal, returns on the screen as the main villain and proves why he is considered as one of most talented actors of the current times. Ritesh Deshmukh surprises you with his superb portrayal of a calm and sincere journalist, who refuses to accept the unhealthy norms of the trade and is willing to quit. Mohnish Behl is great as the owner of a rival channel. Rajat Kapoor fits to his role of an Industrialist as a T. Suchitra looks ravishing and acts well as the in-house spy. Gul Panang looks delightful on the screen. Both Neetu Chandra and Simone Singh are just fine and Rajpal Yadav does bring some relief moments in the tense script.
Interestingly, Censor banned the use of “Jan Gan Man” composition in one of the songs in the movie, but quite amazingly missed out on the lyrics of all the other tracks used in it. Try to hear the cruel remarks made in the songs running in the background. Cinematography is of top rate especially in the climax speech of Amitabh. Dialogues are sharp and hard hitting as expected from an RGV film made on social issues. Background score is well arranged and adds to the tension created on the screen.
The movie has its own drawbacks as there are very few relief moments in its narration, becomes a little slow in the second half and has a basic plot resembling with Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Corporate”. But it’s unarguably more thought provoking and relevant in the current scenario. Ram Gopal Verma is right there visible in the entire film and impresses you the most in the scenes where Paresh Rawal is interacting with his silent mother, Amitabh is explaining the irrelevant difference between a Hindu and a Muslim, Sudeep trying to cope up with the extreme pressure of being successful, his suicide scene and the well written climax where the truth prevails in the end.
Here, it must be noted that many viewers may find it hard to digest and unentertaining as they may argue that they don’t buy a ticket for getting preached. But for that section of the viewers I would like to say that Cinema not always should be a means of entertainment alone. At times it’s the duty of the intelligent film makers to come up with films which are capable of starting a debate especially among the younger college going generation, who have the power and enthusiasm to bring the desired changes in the society.
In the past, “Ankush”, “Yuva”, “Rang De Basanti”, “Swades” and many more such films were made by the thoughtful film-makers on the similar grounds of starting a debate. With “Rann” RGV contributes to the same new age wave and keeping the box office results aside, I hope it is able to burn a new candle in the dark lives of our directionless youngsters.
In the end, I would like to add that in our Film Industry, where everyone is more concerned about the financial prospects of a venture, only Ram Gopal Verma and no other film maker in the whole Bollywood could have dared to attempt a movie like “Rann”. It’s a must watch for all who have a thinking soul and know the value of that one single vote you have in your hands which can make all the difference.
Rating : 3.5 / 5
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Vishal Bhardwaj initiated his offbeat Tarantino style movement in India with the much acclaimed “Maqbool” which also had many commercial elements incorporated in it. But with “Omkara” & “Kaminey” he revealed his clear intentions of following a different path altogether on the similar lines of Quentin Tarantino & Guy Richie kind of cinema. And with “Ishqiya” directed by his associate Abhishek Chaubey, Vishal comes up with another movie contributing in the said movement following the same formula of surprising the audiences with its realistic characters, on-screen abuses, bold language and expressive sexual sequences.
In real terms, “Ishqiya” straight away won over the viewers before its release, with its brilliantly compiled, earthy and sexual promos supported by few well composed songs, just as “Kaminey” did a few months ago. But as seen in the case of “Kaminey”, due to some major serious issues, “Ishqiya” may also witness a divided box office result between its critical acclaim and the actual universal response in the coming weeks.
The movie revolves around the story of two conmen who are running to save their lives from their boss and find shelter in the house of a young and attractive widow. During their extended stay, the lady starts flirting with both the men, as she has a hidden agenda to get a task done by the two, which is revealed to the viewers after a good one hour in the film. So, “Ishqiya” does have an intelligently chosen and interesting story plot, told in an amusing style with some soothing and melodious songs to enjoy. And no doubt, it’s well directed by the debutant director Abhishek Chaubey who never gives you any glimpse of a first time project.
But the main drawback in the movie is that its starts too slow and picks up too late. In fact it actually starts coming to the point just before the intermission and till then the viewer desperately keeps waiting for something explosive to happen on the screen as expected. Surprisingly, the real interesting plot of planning the kidnapping of a rich industrialist starts right after the interval. In other words the film shows everything in store for the viewer only post intermission and that too in such a hurried pace which further leads to many confusions and chaos towards the climax. The love triangle plot in the script, left with an open end in the last scene, also may find less takers among the viewers in the smaller centers.
However, the best part of the movie remains its performances, where every character enacts his part in a highly realistic and amusing way with just the right lingo, style and attire. Naseeruddin Shah gives a splendid performance as a lonely one sided lover and impresses the most. Arshad Warsi is simply brilliant with his earthy language and freaking out style. Vidya Balan once again delivers a winning act after “Paa”. She also dares to give her most intimate kissing scene on the screen with Arshad which is a well directed one too. The rest of the cast is also a treat to watch with everyone playing their parts with sheer conviction.
Musically, it has a great soundtrack to enjoy with gems like “Ibne Batuta” and “Dil To Bachha Hai Re” in the incomparable style of Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar, together as a team. Still, I felt the song picutrisation could have been better at some places. Cinematography adds value to the project and the overall earthy look of the movie has been well worked upon.
But the project leaves many questions unanswered such as:
1. Why the movie was promoted as a Vulgar Language movie when there are hardly any dialogues (very few) of such sort?
2. Why it was projected as a witty and interesting comic venture when in fact it was not a comedy but a dark and slow crime thriller?
3. Why the actual interesting kidnapping plot starts after the intermission, where as the film has got nothing great to showcase in its first hour?
4. Has Vishal Bhardwaj decided that all his produced or directed films will always have a pre- release hype dependent on vulgarity, abusive language and sexual scenes?
In short, if you are expecting to see a highly entertaining or light comic movie as projected by the well designed promos of the movie then you are sure going to be disappointed to a great extent. All the humorous and enjoyable comical scenes which were there in the promos of “Ishqiya” are scattered here and there in the film which fail to generate a collective entertaining impact as seen in the 3 minute trailer of the movie before its release. On the contrary it’s a slow paced and dark thriller which will surely get appreciation from the section of viewers who loved Vishal’s “Kaminey”. But a unanimous appreciation from all the centers is quite questionable.
To sum up, from a film-maker or film student point of view, “Ishqiya” is not perfect but still good work done. But from a common man’s viewpoint, who is there in the theater to get entertained as promised by its trailer, the movie leaves him unattended.
Rating : 2.5 / 5
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At a fundraising dinner for a school that served children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended the event. After praising the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.
The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
“Rann” commences slowly, comes to the main point directly and starts making an impact. It leaves you thinking with an interesting intermission and then goes on to reveal the darker side of the greedy personas on the screen dressed in all white. The climax comes up with a well written and superbly rendered speech by the one & only Amitabh Bachchan who is ashamed of himself being a part of the game played on his own channel unknowingly. Amitabh is once again superlative in his brilliant act of a sincere owner of a news channel who wants to run his channel on his own moral principles. But surprisingly, he hasn’t got many scenes in the movie apart from the main climax. In fact the movie majorly revolves around Sudeep, who plays Amitabh’s son and performs brilliantly in the role assigned. He manages to impress, standing in between the giants of Indian cinema (Amitabh & Paresh Rawal). RGV once again gives the Industry a rather unknown actor who has got the talent and capabilities to handle tougher roles as proved in “Rann”. 
However, the best part of the movie remains its performances, where every character enacts his part in a highly realistic and amusing way with just the right lingo, style and attire. Naseeruddin Shah gives a splendid performance as a lonely one sided lover and impresses the most. Arshad Warsi is simply brilliant with his earthy language and freaking out style. Vidya Balan once again delivers a winning act after “Paa”. She also dares to give her most intimate kissing scene on the screen with Arshad which is a well directed one too. The rest of the cast is also a treat to watch with everyone playing their parts with sheer conviction.