12 Angry Men - Movie Review

Finally watched this highly recommended movie by the famous Sydney Lumet. It was incredible. How he held the story so taut with 12 characters in a single room, focussed on their job of coming to a verdict on a murder accused, is something one must see to experience. I was left with my mouth open at the audacity with which he made the film in one room (almost) with no names of characters and built a drama based on fluctuating motives and human frailties. Superb stuff.

12 jurors in a murder case are to decide unanimously whether a young man has murdered his father in a fit of rage. The movie opens directly with the judge telling them that they have to establish reasonable doubt and will need to be unanimous to pass the verdict as it is a criminal case. The case is established as the jurors, all men, discuss the arguments presented by the defense and the prosecution. the case appears kind of water tight, with one eye witness and another man who saw the boy running away from the scene of the crime. the boy has a weak alibi. That he is from a minority community does not help.

The jury it appears  can wrap it up in a few minutes. One man is keen to attend a match, another to get back to work. The vote has 11 men voting guilty and one not guilty. He holds his ground and tries to reason out all his doubts and discomforts about the case and gradually finds support from one and then another. As race, social standing, professions, nativity, prejudice come into play, more and more people join the one who proposed not guilty at the beginning, as he reasons with facts in hand, and tries to eliminate doubt that the murder did take place. He does cause the others to agree that the eye witness could have been mistaken and the old man could have been too and perhaps the boy may not have been guilty. I loved the way he concluded the last scene with the last man who stands for the guilty verdict breaking down, knowing that he has been too hard on his own son which is why he has lost him. It does not leave just teh 12 men in the room richer for that experience, but all those who saw the movie too. Forever Henry Fonda's character will be an inspiration for me when I am faced with a situation that I do not completely believe in. I will hold my ground and try to make sense of my feelings and my doubts and get them across but I will not vote for what I will not believe in.

Superb casting and amazing story telling. The guys look the part, you can actually guess their professions and personalities from their looks and behavior, their prejudices and the way it colours their judgment is brilliantly shown. Brilliant stuff and one that amazes you with how much can be done if you have a good idea and are willing to work on it. Must see for anyone.

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The Curious Case of Child Brides and their Education

I was reading this article in the newspaper about how a child bride was refused admission into school in Tamil Nadu at first, and later on admitted on the request of the officer concerned. But the officer had some reservations about it though. He felt that admitting child brides might send the wrong signals to society that we are encouraging child marriages. Some people feel that way he said. I am sure they do. I do laud his effort to get her admitted and also laud his honesty in saying what most do not. This is how our society thinks.

I find this an Indian way (I don't know any other way actually) that we punish the ones who have no say in the matter at all. If someone has been married off at an age when they have no say in that matter, how can you punish them by denying them education. As it is they are victims of a crime - and we compound the crime by punishing them. I find that it happens explicitly in many cases such as harassment, rape and goes all the way up or down to corruption and dubious business ethics. The culprits go free and the ones who are doing their dirty work, mostly forcibly, are arrested. Like you'd arrest the prostitute, and not the pimp. The clerk and not the officer. The officer and not the minister. The murderer and not the one who paid him the supari.

If child marriage is to be discouraged you pass laws to that effect. You hold those responsible for conducting them. You counsel the child and see that justice is done to her. You annul the marriage - or since it is illegal, do not recognise it. But no. What we do will be to catch the easiest target available which is the child and deprive it of whatever hope and justice she should get. We make her feel like she has committed the crime when she is the victim (just as rape victims are made to feel that they provoked the rapists with their behavior and the innocent rapists did what they are born to do, after that). We then tell her that she has no further access to education, a good life, because she is a child bride.

Can we grow up and become a bit more sensible? Can we understand who is the victim and who is the culprit? Can we do what is expected of us as responsible citizens and see that justice is done? If a child marriage has happened, it is the state's incompetence that has allowed it to happen. It has no further right to punish the child when it should actually be falling over to compensate the poor child. Come on fellows, get your act together. It's getting a bit tiring to see this charade going on everyday.

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Greg Chappell on Rahul Dravid's captaincy

It is interesting to note Greg Chappell's comments on Dravid's captaincy - where Chappell feels that if Dravid received the kind of support from his team that he gave others, he would have been a far more successful captain. One cannot but agree with that observation, though what purpose it serves, as it is perhaps, an opinion at best (other than raise a bit of a controversy). But I would wholeheartedly agree that Dravid has been the quintessential team man, the highest in that order almost, for the sheer load he carried and the variety of roles he has performed without a murmur for India. In fact if the army wanted a role model for a soldier who sacrifices his interests for the larger interests of the country, even at the cost of incurring the wrath of his popular colleagues, fought the toughest battles in the most extreme conditions and held ends up, bled hope out of the opposition so his other glamourous teammates could look good, they needed to look no further than the tall, upright and elegant figure of Dravid.

One decision that he made as a captain says it all. His decision to declare the innings when Sachin Tendlukar was crawling to a slow double century in a careful and deliberate manner. A lesser man might not have declared but for Dravid his commitment was for his  team and his country and as captain he did what was in the best interests of the team - at the cost of a controversy in a country which is obsessed with records, and Sachin, even to the extent of sacrificing the main interest of the game to support their illusion of greatness. A bit of mud flew, Sachin kept an injured silence, when in fact he should have come out and supported Rahul's decision (he should have gone for his shotsand completed his double ideally). Rahul was calm as ice. He knew what he had done was right and he would have done it irrespective of whoever was batting.

The way he quit captaincy after a successful English tour was another brilliant and almost unprecedented of act in the power hungry and egoistic land of Indian cricket. It is no secret that many aspirants in the Indian dressing room nurture the desire to be the skipper - most without as much as a clue of man management or strategy, one must add. Greats in the game but clueless about leading - from the brash youngsters to wise old veterans - everyone wishes to be the captain and not let go. In fact some seniors do resent the fact that others have been made captain and make life miserable by their taciturn and slightly uncooperative attitude - 'I am doing my job so what else do you want from me?' What a captain wants is wholehearted support, enthusiastic players who are willing to die for their captain, and not just performing roles woodenly. Rahul unfortunately, and this was his failing as a captain, could not elicit their support, nor deal with their egos.
To his credit he also realised that it is best that this era of egos and superstars now moves on, and in a classic sacrifice, after a stirring series victory in England's tough conditions, announced that the seniors would not be around for the T20 World Cup thereby paving way for Dhoni, India's Captain Fantastic in one  move. In that one single selfless act Rahul freed Indian cricket of a burden that it was needlessly carrying and would have carried for some more time.

If the first act is of courage and putting the team interest first, the second was of immense love for the country and the game where you sacrifice your own glory because you see the country needs a change of guard, a change of thought. And as always the change of thought requires a revolution, a violent end, and that was the price that was demanded of Rahul - a seemingly suicidal end to his captaincy. Akin to an army officer who sacrifices himself because he knows that his younger and more able bodied soldiers have a better shot at completing the mission and of securing their countries position.

But where I do not agree with Chappell is that in my mind Rahul was not yet fully evolved as a leader, primarily because he was not exposed too much to it. He was not the kind of a captain who drew unconditional support from his players. They respected him for his deeds, his thoughts, but perhaps found it difficult to penetrate the wall around him. In my opinion Rahul was a brooder, a thinker, a soldier who was best operating alone and in his zone, one who thought nothing about giving his all for his country. He knew his role extremely well and always fulfilled it. But he expected others to do the same merely because he was doing it. Here, as a captain, he had a failing of judging, perhaps, everyone by his high and seemingly perfect standards. It is not easy for most to identify with such high standards, such noble thoughts and such evolved actions and so the person who could have been India's most successful captain did not become successful because he never had the time to figure the trick of getting his team to die for him. A longer stint, and he, one who who is intelligent enough to, would certainly have got there. Captaincy as anything else, takes a bit of time, to understand unless you are a natural like Dhoni who brings such a clear head to the ground. Would Rahul have become the most successful captain? Yes, with more time because he needed to still develop the art of getting his players to believe that they were responsible for the team (as much as he was). Did he have the raw material to be the greatest? Yes, he had the stuff that legendary leaders have. Of courage, clarity, compassion and wisdom.    

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Science versus Nature - Higgs Boson

I like the way the Higgs Boson (whatever it is) story is unfolding. I am even more impressed by the CERN scientists and what they have done. But what they say is rather funny.

To begin with they said on finding evidence of game-changing discovery of subatomic particle.
'We have now found the missing cornerstone of partcile physics' said Rolf Heuer, Director of CERN. 'As a layman, I think we have it. But as a scientist I have to say 'what do we have?' Not too convincing huh after the 10 billion effort.

The report says that the leaders of the two CERN teams presented in complicated scientific terms what was essentially extremely strong evidence of a new particle.
'We can only call it a Higgs Boson, not the Higgs Boson,' was another conclusion.

But what took the cake for me was the final quip that drips with an arrogance that can only come from scientists 'Thanks, nature.'

You see, we got it all figured out! Almost.

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The Curious Case of Pinki Pramanik

I have not heard of anything as bizarre as this. An international female athlete middle distance runner from India, a Railways employee, who won a gold in the 4x400 m in Doha Asiad and a silver in the same event in the Commonwealth games in Melbourne, three gold medals in SAF Games Colombo in 400m, 800 m and 4x400m relay, is now being repeatedly examined to know whether she is a man or a woman (after a neighbour complained that she raped her). Several tests have been done and apparently they are inconclusive. Now they are doing a blood test to know her chromosomal pattern tests.

If this humiliation is not enough someone recorded an MMS of her test being done and circulated it. The tests are still inconclusive.

It is unbelievable. What is it with these people? Can't they find out a person's gender without so many tests? How come she has been on India and Railways teams and no one knew then? Are those officials to be blamed for not knowing her gender? And what of these MMS chaps? Where do they come from?

My question today is not so much about the outcome of the tests as the manner in which it is being conducted. If Pinki does turn out to be a woman as certified the competent (?) authorities, we can pretty much take the responsibility for her going suicidal (unless she is a very strong woman). What of womanhood being suppressed and being humiliated and all that? Forget womanhood - no human can be treated like this.

India's tennis ace Sania Mirza brought out the issue of how Indian sportswomen have been humiliated in last week's clash of super egos in our tennis arena. Here it is much more. And then we have cases of players being raped by coaches, harassed by selectors and administrators, driven to death (as the young tennis player  who died after being harassed by the Punjab police official who was also the tennis body chief). Before this malaise gets worse, it is time to get more vocal and and bring attention to these issues.

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Thought for the Day - Is Love the Antidote for Stress?

When one feels all stressed out and feels like one is going to pieces there seems to be no escape. It all appears to be hurtling down a one way street with no way to slow down. One is barking at people, looking at things to go wrong, situations to crop up and not expecting a single thing to go right.The BP is shooting through the roof and you don't see how you can stop it. Much less reverse it.

But if one flipped the perspective ( I tried this the other day) and instead of barking into the phone, actually speak with love, really feel it, there is a huge change in the way the entire conversation goes. Same goes with the way we approach things, situations, people. We stress things out with our own stress and we expect them to react normally. If we do approach life with love, I suspect there would be no stress.

Life through the trees (Pic courtesy Anjali)

Love, I believe, is the antidote for stress. Approach life with love. Not with tension, taut nerves and bloodshot eyes.

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Amazing Andhra Pradesh

I guess it could be the way with most other places but I also am willing to wager a bet that we in Andhra are ahead in most. For example we have a funny situation where most big wigs in society are all in jail. From the YSR Congress party chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy to IAS officers like Srilakshmi and B.P. Acharya to judges like Pattabhi and businessmen like Nimmagadda Prasad are all in jail. I might have missed out a few names. Most of these people somehow seem to be connected to either Jaganmohan or Gali Janardhan Reddy and we don't know who is involved and how and what. We have had the funny situation of a senior IPS officer running away like a petty thief to avoid being caught. We have had the biggest corporate fraudster in Satyam's Ramalinga Raju - now out on bail.

Everyday we have the cream of society here visiting the jail to meet these people. We have had President-to-be Sangma walking in to jail to meet a party chief for support. What if Sangma really wins tomorrow? But its winning the support that matters after all. We have also had a landslide victory for Jagan after he landed in the jail causing most to wonder what went wrong.

Now who else is there in the cooler and who is likely to go there? News was that Nagarjuna the actor went to meet Nimmagadda Prasad in jail. Our papers these days are full of pictures from the jail only. The jail might soon turn out to be the new status symbol, the hottest spot in town.

In days gone by (most youngsters would be actually surprised by this I am sure) politicians or ministers would resign taking moral responsibility if anything untoward happened in their ministry's purview. Most went to jail in support of a noble and public cause, fighting the public and not on charges of corruption, forgery, bribery and so on. It's truly amazing how our Andhra has managed to remain ahead at this game of corruption, low politics and unchecked greed.

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