Of Corrupt Ministers and Uncorrupt Love!

A.Raja is yet another minister in this ever-growing list of corrupt leaders and I am awestruck at the levels of corruption that has pervaded public life. BJP thinks that it has at last got something to cling on to remain in the spotlight of Prime Time TV by organizing protests before coming face-to-face with Yeddyurappa’s unabashed nepotism. A parliamentary democracy is in danger if the chief opposition party does not have the moral grounds to take a stand against a tainted regime.
Raja’s crimes feel trivial compared to the raucous reception given to him at the airport. The placards with lines like “What if you are not the minister anymore? You are our Raja (King) forever!” showcases enormous wit but no sense of the supporters. Even this pales in comparison with the smiles and hand-raising gestures of Raja as if he had won us an Olympic gold.
Where did our leaders learn these shameless acts of corruption? Why has the standard of politics fallen to such alarming depths? Where are the Nehrus who taught us that a clean public life leads us to the gates of greatness? Why are so many supporters behind such politicians with low moral standards? When will good and clean governance become a trend? When will people wake up to the realities?
It is even more saddening that Mahatma Gandhi is unabashedly smiling in all those 1.76 lakh crore rupees notes. He should jump out of those notes and run back to Raj Ghat. Or atleast stop smiling. Of all crimes, getting Gandhi involved in it is the gravest.



A whiff of distracting fresh air amidst all this muck: “Mynah” employs all clichés prevalent in such madly-in-love movies. Halfway through the movie, déjà vu sets in. Realization sets in that the couple in love will meet a painful death. Robbing the audience of an “all is well” climax has become a sadistic pleasure of the movie-makers. The director must still be lauded for weaving a magical yarn within such a predictable template.
The scenes supposed to make us emote did not work for me. (That scene where Suruli pedals a bicycle furiously to power a lamp for Myna’s exam preparation.) The other little stories sprinkled across the movie impressed me better.
1. The pain of a policeman to get to work when everyone else is celebrating Diwali is a sweet short story.
2. That incongruous dream song sequence compensated by a beautifully innocent question from Myna.
3. Those four brothers doting over a Hitlersque sister seemed irrelevant initially but the way things come to a head at the end is definitely shocking.
4. The story of composer Imaan who has been composing for duds right from “Tamizhan” proving his mettle is another revelation. Naresh Iyer sizzles in “Kayya pudi”-a classic heart-melter.
Unintentionally, “Myna” reminds us that even Manmohan Singh can be corrupt but not love.