Gulal

With the Indian political drama heating up outside, students getting killed because of ragging by seniors, Gulal could not have released in a more appropriate time. If nothing else, the movie had its timing right. Was it a great movie? I do not know. If I need to get depressed, I would read the local content page of Newspapers. If I wanted to know the extent of the decay in the system, I would follow the election mania across News Channels. Gulal did both to me. It got me depressed and made me wonder. Gulal might be based on a hypothetical agenda but the point is which political party today has any concrete agenda? The General Elections 2009 is most likely to throw up a divided parliament and then everyone will ultimately lust for only one thing – power. And that’s exactly what Gulal portrays. The party workers will continue to work believing in the dream that has been weaved for them while the leaders play their own game.

Based on Student politics in Rajasthan, Gulal reminded me of the extremely complicated world created by Robert Jordan. When everyone is plotting against everyone else, you never know how everything comes together and of course you do not know of the unknown factor. When someone decides to break free and take a decision of his or her own. All plans fall flat on their faces and new winners emerge. May be in politics the reality is Veer Bhogya Vansundhara - the male chauvinist outlook on anything that symbolizes power. It might be women, money or politics. It doesn’t matter as long as the male ego is satisfied. Unfortunately the woman’s sense of power is no different. And it has not been different since the times of The Mahabharata.

Gulal has no positives or feel good factors to take back. Hence it is not our Mahabharata. At best it is an Animal Farm in the political heartland of India.