Nurture yourself to be sensitized - not sensitive

Nurture yourself to be sensitized  - not sensitive

The Pandemic Co-Vid 19 has positioned people of my age in a quandary, for we are sandwiched between those who carried us on their shoulders; and those whom we carried on our shoulders.  We don’t know if we have to deal with the depression of the qualified yet unemployable young at home, or venerated unemployable at home, keeping aside our own depressions, anxieties, concerns, apprehensions and worries.

In a situation like this, when frustrations of a successful actor - befitting the position of a role model, ending in his suicide, is definitely a misguiding signal to the youth, making our state of affairs more complex.  At the same time, the elderly at home, especially those with terminal illnesses, would then any day endorse euthanasia.  The thought of loss of either of them, is a big blow to deal with for the rest of the family. 

All this would be valid, if death were the established source of end of existence.  Maybe, it is, but, unfortunately, it is not so for the family, because every death leaves behind a trail of agony, anguish and rancor for those who have to live through it.

Any amount of research done on the cause for such a drastic step seems to have been in vain, especially keeping mind the case of Sushant Singh Rajput, who had his fair share of name, fame, money, position, and all that we think complete our circle of life expectations.  What therefore could be the reason for such a ghastly act? 

My take on this is - our high expectation of wanting more than what is doled out to us and the reality thereof falling short of these expectations.  For all practical purposes, he was a successful actor with a fair share of fan following; and he was just in the entry mode; hence, in all probability, his high expectations betrayed him.

Permit me to say that a person considering suicide as the best solution is being very selfish because he is so blinded by his own feelings that he becomes un-empathetic and inconsiderate towards the feelings of the rest of the family, the pain and sorrow that they have to go through.  A poignant scene in the epic movie 3Idiots sensitizes the audience to this reality.

Situations, posers, hardships, are all a part of the grind that all of us have to go through, how we deal with them is in our hands.  Speaking to friends, relatives, mentors, counselors, professionals, can any day augur well for the individual.  Above all, being compassionate and considerate about the rest of the family, will definitely allow the individual to think of alternate options to deal with the situation differently.  We cannot control the nature and behavior of the other people in our life, however, we can change the way we react to it.  If we stop being over sensitive in reacting to people around us, then I feel that battle is won.  

Prakash F Madhwani

17^th June 2020

Amitabh Bachchan - Perseverance Personified

Amitabh Bachchan - Perseverance Personified

The Big B Amitabh Bachchan, came into entertainment industry in 1969-70, the time when he had to play second fiddle to the greats of those years.  Then with Zanjeer, he broke all shackles and zoomed to stardom ruling the industry with almost every movie being a big hit

Misfortune struck when he met a Near Death Experience while shooting for the movie Coolie, he was out of business for a while and almost written off; but he bounced back and how!  The secret again was - Tremendous grit and perseverance indeed.

Then ABCL happened, and people wrote him off, looking at his huge losses, debts and controversies.  He may have gone through his share of woes, till KBC happened; and once again he was back in business, rising from the ashes like the legendary bird Phoenix.  With his perseverance he repaid every rupee and regained the glory that was the middle name of Big B.  He justified the legendary song, “A man and his will to survive”.

From Zanjeer to Gulabo Sitabo, he has had a long journey of over 5 decades; failures must have been there, but undeterred; he just moved on, accepting roles all and sundry, not knowing what appeals the audience. Probably this dialogue from his movie Sarkar sums it up for him; Mujhe jo sahi lagta hai main karta hoon, fir chahe wo bhagwan ke khilaaf ho, kanoon ke khilaf ho ya pure system ke khilaaf.

Today, at the ripe age of 78, he is one of the busiest actors with assignments of movies, TV, Commercial ads, Social Message Commercials, OTT movies and all that is needed for screen presence. Here, I would like to quote his dear friend Shatruji, from one of his interview -“Iss umar mein bhi Paa, Pink aur Piku jaisi picture sirf Amitji hee kar sakte hai, aur koi nahin.” How true indeed.  From the stern faced Narayan Shankar of Mohabatein to the young at heart Dattatraya Vakharia in 102 Not Out, he has been a man who intrigues every spectator with his versatility, and as I mentioned earlier, Perseverance.

His long fleet of cars, his assets worth thousands of crores, and all that one would aspire in life, he proudly possesses, but his greatest trait is - humility; willingness to work with anybody and everybody, and respect for his co-artistes.  All this apart, his unconditional love and respect for his parents, is a lesson for all of us to emulate; as he has often quoted this to be his secret for success. 

Big B is indeed Perseverance Personified, and even after 50 years in this entertainment industry, his dialogue from 1981 hit Kaalia, “Hum jahan khade ho jaate hain, line wahi se shuru hoti hai”, holds good.  He still is a force to reckon.

The grit, determination and perseverance of Big B is a lesson for all of us.  Long live Amitabh Bachchan ji.

Prakash F Madhwani              21^st June 2020