


Dear Editor, I am sure old and loyal readers of SCREEN,like me,will be overjoyed to note that our weekly magazine will be celebrating its 57th Anniversary.HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS AND MAY SCREEN REACH MORE STARRY HEIGHTS TO THE DELIGHT OF ITS READERS. By the way,I am now a young man of 59 (Born in 1949).I have been reading Screen since I was in the 7th standard in my school days (1961 or so) I used to wait anxiously for my copy of Screen every Friday.My late father was a Ticket Collector in the Railways and he used to stand near the exit gates of a railway station in Gujarat (then Bulsar, now Valsad).There was an A H WHEELERS’ Bookstall just adjacent to the gate.The stall keeper was a great friend of my father and during his free time (when no train was expected to arrive ) he used to browse through the magazines on the bookstall sitting on a stool just near the gate.SCREEN was his favourite paper too.That’s how we developed the weekly Screen habit in our home.I remember how much I used to pester him on Fridays for getting SCREEN as early as possible in the morning—-fresh from the press with its sweet inky smell and flavour.I used to glance it hurriedly ,hide it in some secret place ( so that my other brothers and sisters may not find it ! ) and rush to school.After returning from school in the late afternoon much to my mummy’s chagrin I used to go through the entire issue even forgetting my lunch.I used to cut and keep posters of heroes and heroines and my classmates were often jealous of my collection.Well those were the days.I have grown up with Screen and it continues to be my favourite magazine till today.Even now,I stand impatiently in my house’s first floor gallery every Friday morning and wait for the newspaper wallah boy who throws it from his bicycle with such an accurate aim that I catch it in my hands without letting it fall.Thank you SCREEN and Best Wishes to your entire team on this joyous occasion. - J S BROCA NEW DELHI. |
E..N…J…O…Y !!
NOSTALGIA
Today I shall discuss a subject matter related to the super star of 70s and 80s-RAJESH KHANNA. STAR & STYLE Magazine had come out with a topic for controversy (Controversy NO:5) requesting its readers to submit their entries on the following topic:
“IF HE HADN’T MARRIED DIMPLE ,DO YOU THINK RAJESH KHANNA WOULD HAVE LASTED LONGER AS THE SUPER STAR ?”
As usual,I had submitted my entry to the magazine on 15th April 1980 ( 29 years ago ).This is what I had written then:
Rajesh Khanna came with assets like a strong emotional appeal,an enigmatic smile,a romantic image and a sense of total involvement in his portrayals.His un-photogenic face and common place looks were his liabilities but they won him masses of fans,who identified themselves in him.Success of ‘Aradhana’,’ Amar Prem,’ Kati Patang’,’Ittefaq’,’Namak Haram’,’Haathi Mere Saathi’, earned him epithets like “The Phenomenon”,”The Super Star”.
Having ridden the popularity horse,he turned egoistic and the horde of ‘yes-men’ made him their meal-ticket.”Kaka”,then a “somebody” ditched “Anju Mahendru” an insignificant starlet—a ‘nobody’.All sympathy was with her,who had been his source of hope and inspiration during his lean days of “Raaz”,”Akhri Khat”,”Baharon Ke Sapne”.
Dimple-Rajesh marriage was a ” she came,he saw, they conquered ” affair ! Dimple thought herself lucky to have hooked the darling of scores of female fans.Rajesh thought the marriage would give an upward boost to his sagging career,However,no miracles took place.”Anurodh”,”Mehbooba” etc bombed at the box-office.
In the long run,on self-analysis ,Rajesh realized that his own follies like irresponsibility,indifferent behavior,frequent flare-ups with Dimple and failure to compromise with changing trends of film-making ( eg multi-starrers) were solely responsible for this set back.
Thus,his marriage with Dimple has got nothing to do with his rise and fall from super-stardom.On the other hand,I feel if Dimple had not married at all,she would have emerged as the sensational super-star of the seventies.In short,the situation is best described as under: (with apologies to Humpty Dumpty)
“Rajesh Khanna sat on the wall,
Rajesh Khanna had a great fall,
His marriage with Dimple,and all his “yes-men”,
Couldn’t put “Kaka” on the pedestal again ! ”
Rajesh has also realized this and seems to have come to terms with realities.There’s a tough task ahead of him,if he hopes to re-capture his ex-status.Best of Luck to him.
J S BROCA
Baroda—————————————-
Dear readers, the above letter was not published by the magazine,probably because I had called a spade a spade and the magazine probably did not wish to attract his wrath !
Readers will recall that very recently,Rajesh Khanna had tried to make a come back with a movie titled :”Wafa- A deadly love story’.It was a dud ! Rajesh looked washed, puffy,paunchy…and a mis fit.His effort to comeback has failed miserably.He should realise that he has lost his charisma and his name will not fetch any returns to the producers.He should think of an alternative career—say becoming a professor/faculty member in any acting academy and teach (?) acting to aspirants.
Readers would like to know that Rajesh had married Dimple in 1973.He was 32,she was 16 .The marriage had been termed as ’ cradle snatching’ in the media then.He divorced Dimple in 1984.Dimple made a grand come back in 1985 with “Saagar” which was a super duper hit then.The couple has two daughters.Twinkle and Rinkie.Twinkle is married to actor Akshay Kumar and they have a son named “Aarav”.Rinkie is married to an industrialist named Sameer Saran.On the whole Dimple has been doing better compared to Rajesh.She has been quite selective and has done meaningful roles off and on.
For those who would like to know more about Rajesh Khanna ,they may go to the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajesh_Khanna
For those who would love to know about Dimple should go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimple_Kapadia
HAPPY VIEWING !!
If you wish to listen to a lovely song from Mere Jeevan Saathi picturies on Rajesh and Tanuja,then go to or click on the following link:
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=LbiUFiyc5Go
Unfunny
Danny Boyles’s award winning movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is in the news. It was released in India on Jan 23, 2009 with a dubbed version in Hindi titled ‘Slumdog Crorepati’. First it won several Golden Globe awards and amongst other things it has been nominated for the Oscars. Results will be known on Feb 22, 2009. The Director, producer, star-cast, story writer, child actors, lead players and of course music director par excellence A R Rehman- all connected with the movie are literally in the seventh heaven. Initially, Big B (Amitabh Bachchan) in his blog, had reportedly criticized the makers and the film for showing the murkier and seamier sides (like the earlier images of land of snake charmers, human beings working as rickshaw pullers, Asia’s biggest slum being at Dharavi in Mumbai etc) of our country to the international audiences. Later on, as usual, he said: “Main ney aisaa tau nahin kaha tha. Yeh media waale yoon hi twist kar detey hain..” or some such words to this effect. By now many of you must have seen the movie or read about the film in the newspapers and magazines. I have also seen it.
Overall, the film is quite riveting. However, I feel some of the scenes could have been avoided or shown with maturity. For example:a child sitting in locked make-shift toilet (young Jamal!), in his enthusiasm to get out to see Amitabh Bachchan his favorite super star, jumps into and wades out of a sewer full of human excreta and waste! He runs to the crowd of stargazers who twitch their nostrils due to the obnoxious smell, and somehow manages to get autograph of AB on a photograph.
Another scene is from brothel cubicles in the ‘red light’ district of Mumbai, where pimps and prostitutes are shown offering their ‘sevices’ in various downgrading degrees (of undress in case of sex workers) ( Some of you may say it is the ‘reality’ and a ‘fact of life’ and get away with it!).
The set of KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati) of AB fame has been well used as a background and of the quiz show. As a host, Anil Kapoor looks quite energetic. One of the twists in the tale is that during a commercial break and a visit to the urinal, Anil Kapoor acts as if he is obliging Jamal by giving
him some hints about the correct answer to a critical question (though in fact, it is the wrong answer). However, Jamal is clever enough to see through his con-act and manages to guess the right answer, much to the astonishment of Anil and others. Jamal has come up the hard way in life and luckily(?) all the questions asked by ‘computerji’ were somehow, related to his real life experiences and so, he comes out a winner. The film has a high excitement quotient (similar to the edge-on theseat-suspense till the last ball and the last run in ‘Lagaan’) and viewers enjoy it till the last and final question is correctly answered.
Lead players, Dev Patel and Farida Pinto, have given their best.They were virtually unknown faces till date but now with such exposure, they will not only harvest a rich bouquet of awards/ rewards but will also get a lot of other offers from Bollywood/Hollywood. The movie ends with a ‘Disco’ type song-dance on the railway platform. The words of this much acclaimed song of Rehman are “Jai Ho!” Forget ‘Jai Hind’. Say ‘JAI HO’ for the slumdog !
Funny
In a lighter vein, I feel the word ‘slumdog’ seems to have caught the fancy of the media and people alike. (There have been reports in some newspapers that some persons have gone on a ‘dharna’ to get the name of the movie changed as ‘slumdog’ as a word is felt nauseating and affects the sensibilities of some class of people.) I would say: “Every dog has his day” and “now it is the day of the slumdog.” Tomorrow, there may be a sequel movie or a book titled: “Slumbitch speaks thus !”
The other day, I saw an article in a leading financial daily, “Slumdog Entrepreneurs”. It highlights the success stories of people living in the slums coming up with profitable industrial/service ventures with the help of Government/Government Agencies/NGOs/Banks etc. Now words and expressions like: underdog, street dog, a stray dog, a dog’s day, dogged determination, let the sleeping dogs lie, barking dogs seldom bite, etc will take on new meanings if the word ‘slum’ is added to them.
To stretch the matter further, we may soon see a website titled : slumdogmatrimony.com, an enterprising person may come out with a plan to bring slum boys and girls together with the prospects of marriage. Savvy marketing people may soon come out with: Slumdog Posters, Slumdog Cards, Slumdog brand dog biscuits, slumdog leather leashes, “I AM PROUD TO BE A SLUM DOG” tee-shirts, funny vests with slogans like:”I AM NOT A SLUM DOG! I AM A PLUMP DOG!” etc. Even Archie’s may come out with their latest ‘LOVE is… posters. One such idea: “LOVE is.. a slumdog eating a slumdog vada-pau at SluMcdonalds and loving it.” Another pointer: “Love Me, Love My Slumdog”. I recall those good old days when the RK film ‘BOBBY’ was released. The hype and the hoopla connected with its craze had lead to: Bobby Combs, Bobby Purses, Bobby Belts, and a host of other items sold on streets. I even recall of a ‘BOBBY HAIR CUTTING SALOON’, as well as ‘Bobby Caterers’, ‘Bobby Pan House’, ‘Bobby Chaat Walla’. I think soon we will have a similar situation with “Slumdog”. Possibilities are immense.
By the way, those of whom would like to read poems on dogs (poems on slum dogs are still not available) may click on or go to the following site:
http://www-hsc.usc.edu/~cypert/dick/dogpoems.html
Those who would like to read a cute little poem, may visit the following site:
http://thoughtsfurpaws.com/dogs/the-forgotten-dogs-christmas-poem/
I also recall a sweet little poem from my schooldays about ‘A RAGGY DOG, A SHAGGY DOG..” I fail to recall its words just now. Maybe after a night’s rest I’ll think of it.
I think my pet dog Tommy is shouting : ‘Mujeh Bhi Slumdog Miilionnaire waali fillum Dekhni Hai. Bow! Wow!!” He must have heard about it from that dirty street dog near the street light post when he had gone there to do his morning ‘potty’. I pity him. He doesn’t understand the difference between a pet dog and a slum dog. I think I’ll take him for a walk tomorrow morning to a nearby “DDA’s JJ Colony”. “JJ” for those who don’t know, stands for “Jhuggi Jhopadi”. It is a little civilised word for a slum. Isn’t it?
Further to my recent posting about my article titled THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS from my college magazine Kalachandra of 1971,I now take you to another endeavor of mine,which was also published in the same magazine’s Hindi/Gujarati section.
One way to test ones capability for creativity is to see a photograph and write a poem or a story on it.This method is being used by various recruiting agencies,as well, these days.I have been using this method since I was in school.
I’ll tell you how it all began….We lived in a railway colony in Bulsar (Gujarat) (1954 onwards ) since my late father was in the railways.All the children of the railway families used to play together,tell stories,enact plays,fight with each other,do “Kitty” (friendship cancelled) again make up,by doing “dosti”(friendship renewed)..You know how children are !!
There lived in our colony,a lively person,also a railway man,who loved children.He was a confirmed bachelor and did not have any family or children of his own (as I now re-collect) He was every body’s Uncle.We used to call him “Kaka” (uncle in Gujarati).His name was Maken,so we all called him as ‘MAKEN KAKA”!!
When ever he was free,he would call the children to his house and make them tell stories,recite poems,play word-games,prepare paper toys etc.One favourite game of his was to draw an abstract figure with a chalk on a black slate and ask all the children to look at it for one minute and then,one by one,come up to him and tell in his ears,as to what he had drawn.A simple curly line drawn by him, would become a girl’s plait for one,while a snake for another,a flowing river for still someone else and a foot path through a field for another child. Finally,he would announce as to what exactly he he had drawn.The child who had guessed it correctly,would be rewarded with a toffee ! We all took turns to draw an abstract picture (a doodling to be exact) and others would then guess what we had drawn.This game helped us to develope our imagination.
This childhood game,later on, helped me in my creativity.I used to participate in writing and poetry contests in the college,and won many prizes.As soon as a topic was announced I used to close my eyes and start imagining and finally give a vivid meaning and form to my imagination.They call it “imagination running riot” these days.Then,it was just an effort at creativity.
One such poem,(which was written by me) born out of a vivid imagination,on seeing a colorful picture in some magazine,was published in the college mag Kalachandra.
Now,let me describe what that picture was about ?? It showed a beautiful,tall girl, standing all dressed up in her finest of clothes and bedecked with the most precious of all her jewelery,waiting for someone to come.Her eyes were gazing at the distant horizon.A “koel” (a cuckoo bird)sat on the branch of a tree just across her house.For whom was she waiting ? I imagined him to be her beloved.I gave words to my imagination and finally composed a poem in Hindi.It was perhaps one of my first poems.I have recited it in many Hindi poetry recitals in college and on Hindi Di was(Day) celebrations in the Bank and won some prizes and appreciation (“WAH ! WAH !”).
I’ll now make an attempt(first ever) to translate this poem of mine into English.I hope none of the original essence is lost in the translation.
Before I go further,let me clarify the meaning of the Hindi word ‘Virah’.It means ‘the pain of separation’(mostly from a dear one or say a beloved one!).It is exactly the opposite of “The Joy of Milan” (happiness felt on meeting a beloved one). “VIRAH ke Geet”-or Songs of separation,are there in many languages/cultures in India.Rajasthan is very famous for such compositions,as I understand ,but I don’t have first-hand information about them nor have I heard them sung somewhere.(Any of my readers who have knowledge of such sad songs,may please let me know.)
With the task of explaining the meaning of the title, being done with,let me move further:
THE BLACK CUCKOO IS SINGING ITS LOVE SONGS
IN THE GARDEN AND IN THE FOREST.
MY MIND IS IN A GREAT AGONY.
DAYS OF ‘SAAWAN’(Rains) ARE HERE.
THEY HAVE BROUGHT BACK
THE SWEET MEMORIES OF YESTER-YEARS.
I AM SUFFERING FROM THE PAINS OF SEPARATION
AS MY BELOVED HASN’T COME BACK AS YET !!
EVERY EVENING AND EVERY MORNING,
I EAGERLY AWAIT HIS RETURN.
I BEDECK MYSELF WITH THE FINEST OF ALL JEWELLERY AND MAKEUP.
FOR MY HEART IS STILL HOPEFUL OF A MEETING WITH MY BELOVED.
I AM SUFFERING FROM THE PAINS OF SEPARATION
AS MY BELOVED HASN’T COME BACK AS YET !!
THE CUCKOO CONTINUES TO SING A SWEET SONG
IN ITS LOVELY MELODIOUS TUNE.
SHE RE-KINDLES MY WORLD WITH THE MEMORIES
OF SOME LONG FORGOTTEN GOLDEN DREAMS.
NEITHER CAN I PASS MY DAY,NOR CAN I ENDURE THE LONG NIGHT.
I AM SUFFERING FROM THE PAINS OF SEPARATION
AS MY BELOVED HASN’T COME BACK AS YET !!
- Jitoo Broca
My dear readers,on second thought,would the title of this translation, sound better if I called it:
Your views would be welcomed please.
“LAUGH TRACK”
As I said earlier somewhere, I love reading,hearing and collecting humorous articles,poems,tit bits etc.
The bye-line of my blog is also amply clear-” Laughter is the Best Medicine.”
In this connection, I now go back to a letter of mine published in THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS news paper of 13th August 2000. ( nearly 9 years ago )
Sometime in June 2000, FE had reviewed a joke book published by Khushwant Singh.
Yes that ‘young’ novelist,journalist,humorist etc who is still actively involved with writing at the age of 94 !
I quote an opening para about him from Wikipedia :
Quote
Khushwant Singh : born 2nd February 1915 in Hadali,Punjab, (which now lies in Pakistan) is a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh’s weekly column, “ With Malice towards One and All ”, carried by several Indian newspapers, is among the most widely-read columns in the country.An important Indo-Anglian novelist, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit. He served as an editor of several well-known literary and news magazines, as well as two major broadsheet newspapers, through the 1970s and 1980s.
Unquote.
(Those who wish to read in detail about him,may click on the following link or cut and paste it in the address bar 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khushwant_Singh
Now,I happened to read the review of his joke book as well as the joke book itself,borrowed from a friend.I found that some of the jokes were stale and repeated from other sources.What took me by surprise,was the price of the joke book – Rs.250/- !!
At that point of time,FE also used to come out with a humorous column titled ” LAUGH TRACK” in its Sunday issues.
I used to read that column as well and cut out and keep the columns in my collection.
So,this is what I wrote to FE and it was published as under :
A Letter
Dear Editor,
This refers to the review of Khushwant Singh’s Big Fat Joke Book in the June 6 issue of FE on Sunday .As the erstwhile editor of The Illustrated Weekly Of India ( often dubbed as The Lust Rated Weekly due to Khushwant Singh’s penchant for such stuff ),he regularly included Sardarji jokes in his editorials and the Weekly’s joke page titled ‘Ha’ was very popular.
Singh has confessed somewhere that his joke books fetch him the highest royalty,much more than he receives for his other literary works.Hence,even at the ripe old age of 80 plus,he keeps pushing joke books to tickle the funny bones of his loyal readers.However,the price of the book Rs 250,seems to be a good joke in itself. There may be a few takers for this effort,which presumably is a rehash of old jokes hitherto often heard in various cocktail circuits or read in the humor columns of other magazines.
Frankly speaking, your ’ Laugh Track ’ column is more rib-tickling.With its witty collection of jokes,it is certainly the one bright spot in our Sunday mornings,which adds sugar and spice to our morning cuppa tea.
Say,why don’t you compile all the ’ Laugh Track’ columns and publish them as an accompanying supplement to one of your future issues ? For a change,send a copy to Khushwant Singh for his review !
As for me,I regularly cut,clip and keep ‘Laugh Track’ columns and on Mondays,during the lunch break,I share them with my office colleagues who have all become ‘Laugh Track’ addicts by now.Keep spreading the smiles.
Thanking you,
Yours laugh-trackingly,
J S Broca
Lucknow.
Dear Readers,what was so special about this letter,you may be tempted to ask!
What I liked was the following bye-lines printed below the above letter by FE:
This week’s ‘Laugh Track’ is dedicated to you,
Mr Broca ! May your tribe increase.
I now dedicate this posting to all the readers of this blog !
As a bonus, readers can see a short animation clip about a
person laughing if you click on or cut and paste the
following link in the address bar. ENJOY !!
THINKING POSITIVE
Author: Jatinder Pal Singh Broca Jan 30Let us ponder on these thoughts and I am sure we all will be better persons.