Ali’s Notes

THE WAIT FOR RAJESH KHANNA
The man who millions of women once worshiped and called “God” and who tried to become some kind of “God” in politics almost failed in politics too. He is back to films again- not as the “God” he was, not as one of the greatest romantic heros of Hindi cinema but as an actor willing to play any powerful role “where I can once and for all prove that the Rajesh Khanna people saw in the 70’s and 80’s was only having fun, playing romantic roles with some of the best heroines and also working with best directors of the times. I am now out to prove that there is another Rajesh Khanna to myself. I am going to prove as an actor who can play the toughest role in the easiest way possible. I know people will not take me so seriously, just now but just give me some time and you will see the resurrection of Rajesh Khanna II.”

The one-time and all-time phenomenon proved that he was still very good when he played his first character role after his come back in Rishi Kapoor’s Aa Ab Laut Chalay. He then got busy with politics again but once again politics failed to fascinate him as much as his first love, films did.

Chances are he may still go back to politics (due to highly influential political pressure) but the acting bug has come to live with him and will not leave him soon or so it seems. The urge to act is so strong that he has even agreed to play the central character in a television serial called Batwara. The big timers of his time and his detractors see it as some kind of a frustrated step for an actor who was once king. Says Rajesh :‘I don’t care what people say about me. I have never cared about other people have said about me at any other time. Rajesh Khanna has always done what Rajesh Khanna wanted to do and Rajesh Khanna will always be Rajesh Khanna. And I am sure that Rajesh Khanna will never change, Rajesh, who still sits like an emperor in his office looks out side his window from the fourth floor and looks up at the sky and I can feel him thinking musing of those glorious days and waiting for the day when he will fight back and when people will once again scream, “Dekho Rajesh Khanna Aya, Dekho Rajesh Khanna Aya” and then turns back takes his seat and says: Rajesh Khanna Aate Hai Aur Phir Rajesh Khanna Kabhi Jaate Nahi”. So much like the good old Rajesh Khanna, . millions were mesmerised by his mere smile once.

let him be like he wants to. There have been others, friends, advisers , well -wishers and fans, who have tried to change him but have failed it is useless advising him now. So let’s not advise him but encouraging him because after all he was “the phenomenon”, the kind of phenomenon who will all probability never happen again.

COME, LETS KILL FEAR
How much fear can man live with? Why should innocent men who have slogged and sweated it out to make a living under fear of all kinds, live under a blazing canopy which has caught fire and has and can collapse at any time? What about the families of these men and women who live under constant fear, the fear of losing their men for their only sin of making some more money than some others? How can some of the best creative men, men whose minds work for the betterment of cinema work when they are living under the shadow of fear which can if left free lead to the end of the world for them any time? How can the showman talk about his Yaadein? How can J.P. Dutta relish the fragrance of success when he has already been threatened once and has been living under threat ever since? Have you seen the face of the ever- so -genial Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs after destiny refused that bullet the permission to leave the killer’s trigger? Have you seen the only Nightingale we will never ever have again, Lataji, sitting like a criminal about to be led to be hanged? What kind of human beings are these men who love to hate, men who take great pleasure in killing another precious human being, a father a brother a son just for a mere Rs.2000 ?

This industry can not thrive in this atmosphere of fear. What is the way out? Fight fear? Yes, We will have to fight fear. But who will lead the fight against fear? if we have to live because if we are not killed, fear surely will kill us because fear has no feelings , fear is humiliating, frightening an ultimately killing. Man in the last millennium has suffered from the after effects of fear. Man will have to do something desperately drastic if he has to save himself. Where are all our brave men? Or should we ask our delicate women in their Kancheepuram sarees, salvar kameezes and Jeans to take over? What do you say MAN?

THE MAN WHO CAN
And among all those big, brave and courageous men and women who never knew nothing about fear once there are some who are still very brave, men know how to face fear, to fight fear, to finish fear, if possible.

There is Sunil Dutt M.P. who was the first to request the government to take off all the security arrangement made around him. He was not scared. He had never known fear. He feared for the fear filled in the minds of his fellow beings. I have reached a stage when I don’t know how to fear. I am not saying this out of fear but the time has come I feel when man has to finish fear or fear will certainly finish man. The battle is tough. We will have to fight man to man till we succeed or die deaths which are only designed for cowards. I gave up my security when I was appointed M.P. for the first, time because I couldn’t tolerate some sturdy looking men with heinous-looking revolvers looking all around me, may be even listening to all that I say in my car or wherever I am. I was feeling suffocated. I could feel my soul, my heart and my mind tied up in chains. I requested the government to break free my chains. I asked them for my freedom back. I couldn’t live in fear all my life”, Sunil Dutt said.
There was double the fear when Dutt fought the Lok Sabha the last time. People who love him (and who doesn’t love him ?) pleaded with him to ask for security, but the Panther roared: “I don’t need any protection. I have my God with me and I have my people with me. Where do I have the need to fear any one”? he asked. Fear followed his message seriously and feared to come anywhere near him.

FLY HIGH,FLY OFF
Have you seen
The chrysalis of a butterfly
How it grows day by day without letting you
Feel or know
Without letting you even dream about what
Colours it would take
How many many-splendoured colours
Some of the most beautiful colours created by God, the Almighty painter
How they grow till one day they fly
And then they know
They know the whole world ahead
A world they see,then add colour
To a drab and dreary world
I have had the privilege
Yes, I have seen butterflies being born
Taking colour and then flying
Flying far, flying the whole world
Flying against all odds, all monsters,
They were inspired beings, flying against al
Monsters in their way.
Growing into stars-and mega-stars -like-but
Terflies, a rare species
Just last week, I saw not one but two
One from the family of the Bachchans
His name, Abhishek Bachchan
He was instantly crowned by the people
The butterfly I had seen before he could say
Paa or maa
Had grown in to a tall and talented star for
Tomorrow
The new exostict lady butterfly flew around
Every heart
Her name was Kareena, her face was a
Winner
The two young butterflies are now flying
All over
They are rare butterflies
The normal butterflies fly away when you go
Near them
These two butterflies have made every heart
Their home
I hope they keep soaring and discovering
New territories, new skies
I hope and pray that these two butterflies
Till recently little ones of giant butterflies
Fly higher and reach heights
Which give Jonathan Livingston Seagull,
A complex
And lead other butterflies to learn
That they can, if they wish, beat Jonathan or
Any other ambitious bird
The sky is yours, Abhishek and Kareena
The world is yours, the people want to be
With you,They want you
They will, till you in your flights make some
Wwrong directions
Don’t do that and no one can dare do any
Thing to you, no one can.

MANEKA, THE SAVIOUR!
Little did Manisha Koirala know the kind of trouble she would have to face for her playing with a little baby elephant in Raja Ki Aayegi Baarat. Trouble started when the Union Minister for Forests and Environment, Ms Maneka Gandhi, saw the film and flared her nostrils in anger. She was so delicate, she couldn’t tolerate Manisha playing nasty games with the baby elephant. Her anger didn’t stop there. She decided to take action against the producer, director and Manisha, ofcourse, Manisha, the chief culprit. Ms. Gandhi’s anger led her straight to her office and came out with a series of guidelines to safeguard the interests of animals and birds in films. The guideline coming form Ms. Gandhi reads as follows: ‘Elephants/monkeys doing tricks to be stopped. Wild birds like Parrots, Bulbuls, Mynahs in any form of captivity like cages, tigers, leopards,lions not to be ill-treated. Any reference to eating banned items of meat like partridge (bather, the delicacy of the rich is illegal). Using snakes in any form, showing the catching and killing of deer, rabbits etc., whipping of animals, bullocks, buffaloes or tripping them to fall, throwing up birds like pigeons in any manner or showing them fluttering around in a song too is taboo. Any activity that causes chicken to flap their wings and run around is not allowed as this is a sign of stress for chicken according to Ms. Gandhi’s findings fighting in chicken coops, showing of fish tank, smashing with the fish falling out, showing dogs or any other animal chased or harmed by bigger dogs, staging fights showing animals as props. And showing the killing and mutilation of any animal goes against Ms. Gandhi’s guidelines, making her emerge as India’s first patron saint of all animals, birds and fishes. Incidentally, what about patron saints for human beings who are tortured mauled, molested, mutilated and even killed in a much more henours manner. What will the future be only Madam Gandhi knows and only Madam Gandhi will show what she knows and what she is going to do about it. So beware all you human beings the animals, birds and fishes have found their saviour. who is going to save you, one “animal” who needs more protection than animals themselves.