why the "firangi"craze?
I've always wanted to wear a long and elegent dress that flows down to your toes and narrates a story of its own with its lush colour and intriguing cut.You know, with the low back,low neck, low everything! Well tough luck!! ha ha.. You are indeed the nice, decent, well bred, religious Indian girl! Imagine the culture shock and the rift it might cause! A catastrophy of sorts! Good Lord! Ah well, there's always the mini skirt and the unbelievably short non-shirt. "WHAT??? Are you crazy?? Are you out of your mind? Do you have some sense??" is what i'll probably hear. Well, everyone is crazy in some whacky way. It's only how one perceives it. It's standard procedure in India to break the rules, so why the sudden mindset of scrutinizing a woman's clothing? I mean, does the world's existence depend on it? I think not.
In denfence of the 1 billion Indians (minus the whacky Indian girls)--Why the sudden infactuation with firangi style and fashion? A girl in a village in India with a "crazy" idea of style will indeed have to face the music from her parents after she's been humiliated by being gaped at by a bunch of jobless mongers with no apparent sense of decency. But you know what, if i wore a sari in another part of the world, where they have'nt had one glimpse of Indian clothing, i'd probably be stared at for quite some time too!
The sari is actally a very sensuous piece of garment. In certain places its outrageous for a woman to "expose" her mid-section. Um.. why is that? So.... what they're saying is that, their great great great great(and a lot more greats) grandmother, the first woman on earth was the most indecent and vulgar woman on earth. WOW.Now that is silly.
Maybe we're just tagging it.. "The firagi craze"I mean, anything new is exciting and hence the sudden craze. In a country like India, its bound to spread like wildfire. What's the crime in being adventureous and trying out a new thing or two?
I think restriction creates a spirit in you that makes you crave for something more. I mean, take a bollywood film. Guy meets girl, they fall in love, bla bla end of story. The much awaited kiss is left to our imagination. Because,its an outrage in India.Hush. No talking about love and mushy stuff. Why the restriction? Seems to me, the whole of India is love crazy because of the restriction. hmmm. Quite a thought. As for me, i remain the nice, decent, well bred, religious Indian girl. There are more important things on earth to fight over.
23 comments:
Yah, there are more important things to fight like cholera, snakes & fever in India.
only joking
Annette,
Variety is the spice of life. For some this could mean a new job, a new car, a new house, and for others it could mean breaking away from tradition and legalism. Such an attitude is innate in most of us irrespective of geographical, social, religious, and cultural boundaries.
An example that comes to mind is the whacky firangi who pursues the Hare Krishna movement, not because they were born with a vision to do so, but because they're sick and tired of what the Western world has to offer and want to try something new and different. Same goes for those indulging in mysticism. Same goes for the crazy Indian girl who wants to wear the long gown at her wedding. Afterall, unlike in the West, a wedding is a one-time event in life, at least in India, right? In defense of that crazy Indian girl, it's her life, her wedding, her story, and her prerogative. Let her wear whatever she wants on that day. She wants to be a little different from the usual. I say, go girl!
But I definitely hear your point on how the 'society' would give her a harsh time. And to that I say
Balls to the wall
To society and all
Paint her with warts
Else paint her none at all
After reality sinks in
To her, I'll begin my chiming
Baby, let's do this in two parts
One with and one without your warts
To appease this stinkin society
During part 1, wear the bloody sari
Part 2, I promise, will be a surprise
Uniqueness it will suffice
After all, variety is the spice of life
Ciao,
Robin Alex
P.S Btw...found this blog site thanks to Orkut
looks like you drove the point right in! sometimes this whole firangi thing gets on my nerves! i mean yea, what happened to the so called "freedom" that we're supposed to have?? It's sad that it has to come down to the clothes that we wear! Loved the poem by the way :)
well said.....about the bollywood stuff...nowadays movies are just hero meets heroine villain already loves heroine they fight over it then all of a sudden a song comes with semi naked people dancing just because the hero kicked 50 people with a single shot...to hell with em...
hey sharanyan ! its escapist cinema dude .... ya boy dus meet gal ... he dus kick 50 ppl and ultimately wins the hand of the gal .... but isnt that we all fantasise about ? being a do-gooder , go-getter , super hero , a babe , macho guy etc etc .... y shud i spend 60 bucks to see the hardships and realities of my life when i am already experiencing them eveyday ?? and you know what - "the so called creative cinema" remains within the walls of film festivals ormaximum reaches multiplexes .... whats the point? do ppl change ... or atleast get influenced by them? the max a film can do is to make you shed a tear ...
look am a ordinary middleclass guy ... i fantasise to be a macho guy , a super hero with all semi naked babes dancing around me but unfortunately (and fittingly too) i am not one .... but when i see someone do what i fantasise about - i am thrilled , i am excited , i am happy ... makes me forget the realities of life - atleast for the next 3 hours and i am willing to spend for it - its true that i am decieving myself watching all "illogical" stuff - but who cares - life itself is a deception - we never do what we want to ... we never pursue what we need to ... isnt tht illogical? think about it
ps - sry annette to bull**** in your blog but just happened to come across this piece so thought - mite as well share this .... and i like your poetry too though my docs have told me not to risk meningitis by trying to understand poems - tooo good for me ! lol!
Be fair man.......not all movies are that bad.Talking of Indian films, we dont have as big market as hollywood, so the budget must be comparitively small. The best we can do is make a love story in style(kal ho na ho was not bad).Its the south indian films that sucks. Anyways with wider market we could do better.
And I do believe films are only for entertainment. Its better not to have song sequences in films. But without songs sequences, the producer might as well not insure it. Like to see some films like 'Beautiful mind' in Indian cinema.
-Athos
well, i have to disagree with athos actually. i actually prefer some of the south indian movies to some of the bollywood "so-called -hits" I mean, Kal Ho Na Ho was almost too stylish with all of them donning clothes that gave me the impression that they were gonna walk the ramp any minute!! It was a almost surreal. And the overtly dramatised crying scenes just added to the whole package of crowd-pulling techniques. A sob story + hot actors and there you have it- A Hit! end of story. and Beautiful mind was an amazing movie.. kept me intrigued till the end- minus any devious strings attatched. It was a good story that must be applauded for. If Bollywood movies have to reach that level, they have to leave the "Rhona Dhona" (crying) mechanism out. Expressing less outside is what expresses more. Yes,but i guess we love drama,and we like to take inspiration from our heroes and feel like a hero for a day.
and Mr. anonymous,
Life is not a deception. How can it be? You have life. Life is something that is so beautiful that nothing can surpass what it has to offer.
"It's not getting what you want, But wanting what you've got"
From Sheryl Crow's song- I'm gonna soak up the sun.
Yes, life doesnt always turn out as "we" see it. Maybe we should just humble ourselves. We do not own the earth. It's ours to share, care for and protect. We are here for a purpose that has to be met. So, Live it up!
I donno why I liked 'kal ho na ho'. may be cos i don't understand hindi:)) (saw it with subtitles).
I dont agree 1% with anonymous. I'd rather watch shahrukh khan kissing a ninty year old than watch vijaykanth kicking 50 fellows( if that was heroism for anonymous). my idea of heroism is more like, "the incredibles". atleast i dont have to tolerate over acting. Matrix was one exception.
And to Gravity- name a good south indian film. I doubt if there is any.
alaipayuthe, kakha kakha, roja, anbe sivam -my favourites.
There was not much glamour in any of those movies. The acting alone was recognised.
ok I give up......I am a huge mani ratnam fan myself. my favourite is mouna ragam.Dont tell me kakha kakha does'nt have any glamour scenes.....wat do u call the song with ramya krishnan in it.And some of the dialogues were really pathetic( I know better. I saw kakha kakha with my dad in theatres). and even alaipayuthe too. the song 'september matham' was glamourous. wont comment on roja. 'kadhal rojavae' is my favourite tamil song. haven seen anbe sivam. i really cant comment on hindi films. I might have seen 15 films max.'hum apke hain kone'(cant spell it) was really good. 'dil chata hai' was not bad(but still i donno why they kept laughing for no reason at all in the title song). lagaan & munnabhai were not bad.liked 'koi mil gaya'(the first half-hour).
hey i kinda like this comment page of ur blog...thank heavens i started this debate...ok wait...first of all mr. anonymous guy life is not a deception. you obviously haven't read paulo coelho's alchemist or seen the movie forrest gump. as annette says or rather what sheryl crow says..life is wanting what you get and not getting what you want. YOu knw why indian films are this wya nowadays? The public has changed the ideas of the movie makers. Movie makers go after money. Money comes form the average hman being. The average human being , I'm sad to say finds it pleasurable to go to such masaala movies rather than getting emotionally involved in movies like "a beautiful mind" or "Road to perdition" for that matter.
@athos...you forget anbe sivam, nammavar, lagaan, etc etc
ok i gtg now..math sem tmw...phew almost forgot!!1 :P
yah i did.....thillu mullu and sathileelavathi are my favourite comedies. i think i deviated more than you man. dont think anonymous is going to turn up again. have anyone read 'the last don '-mario puzzo...nice book.dont miss on alexander dumas...he s the best.....especially the three musketeers....cant deviate more than this;/
//I'm sad to say finds it pleasurable to go to such masaala movies rather than getting emotionally involved in movies like "a beautiful mind" or "Road to perdition" for that matter. //
there lies the problem . we all consider ppl who watch "emotional rollercoaster - english flicks " as something cool and consider it to be "intelligent cinema" . now i cant deviate more than this - but lemme ask you this question to put my ideas forth more clearly ---- is dhoom2 intelligent cinema? its pure "illogical "to hell with em " bullcrap in your words - but what was the result - 35 crore record bumper opening week . So i guess ppl who watched the film are "all averagers" in your words - and the film was a box office super hit in A B C multiplexes etc etc .... it was out n out illogical stuff - 100% non stop illogical crap - yet 35 crores in 7 days - ! SO where lies the problem? is it with the audience .... no not really ... they got what they wanted !
never ever compare western cinema with indian ones just as much as u cant compare western culture with indian one . What you are really talking ( and so mr pathos err athos) is talking about is not quality of cinema - rather the genre of films you love to watch . never confuse quality with genre . emotional movies tell us their genre not their quality . prolly you like it not all ... our culture - right from epics ramayana and mahabaratha has emphasised only on 3 things - Good shall prevail over Evil ! Events in life will always be dramatic if not over-dramatic (rite from sitas kidnap to panchalis laughter - if one looks rationally it all looks "filmy" ! ..... and 3rd one - Inorder to attain peace - violence will play an inevitable role in life ....
so every indian film - if one were to look closely - will resemble these traits ...
so yeah - mr athos - i really like your taste - shahrukh kissing a 90 year old and saying..... heyyyyy prrrriayaaaaa ! and kicking ppl equates to vijayakanth .. i am sorry pls watch more tamil movies - i am sure we all know vijayakanth is a laughing stock and i find no point in discussing bout his genre of movies
and life is not all about wanting what you get - never be content with what you get .... be content by getting what you want and strive for it - thtz ambition - u live once - why not live to get what you want - and pursue ... true ! on most occasions we never get what we want to ... but its the pursuit for our wants that keeps us or atleast me going ....
yea - obviously again a huge chunk of bullcrap - but who cares when you hit 4 tequila shots and got nuthn to do - blogs are the best way to unwind and crap about without breaking tables and chairs in the process
enjoy ur weekend ! i give up!
good point man. These are the observations I made from ur comment.
1) Never post/comment anything as big as that.b'cos people tend to sleep half-way thro.(i am not the right person to tell u that;) )
2) And u really got a point. half the public are as pathetic as u(no offense meant)but it really makes sense to sell what they buy.
3) I am called a.t.h.o.s & if u want to call me pothos, I suggest u add an 'r' after 'po'-porthos(makes sense u know)
cheers man!!!well done!!!
Thought u wouldnt turn up:)
blah blah...this sums up this whole page
ok.. mr anon, nice point! But you know what? Maybe Dhoom2 got such a huge audience cos everyone thought it WOULD be nice!! The whole reason why I went for it! It was can i say, AN ABSOLUTE BORE. And it took a lot of my energy to sit through it. Had no story, had trash songs, bad costumes.. the worst ever. I mean, Hrithik wears a "STOLE" (in case you guys dont know what that is, it's what he weras around his neck! It's best on a WOMAN!!), he dances and smiles almost too much! I can TOTALLY get the whole "thief" role!! (sarcasm intended)
The movie was bad enough without aishwarya in it! She absolutely confirmed the trashy-ness of it!
Abhishek was a prop.
The movie had too many holes. One minute "A" is painted white, next minute he's all clean!! RIGHT
One moment he's disguised as a lady, next min he's on the train top, in his macho clothing + backpack+equipment!! Radicle!!
Peace all. This is just a discussion. NO harm. Good day! :)
ok ok.......i forgive u all....no need to apologize :))
Wont be blogging for a week or so. going for an I.V. to Bombay- Goa. So I guess no one is going to fight.
mr.anonym-no harm meant.
Merry christmas all!!!!!!
lolz ! .... anyways updates 2nd week box office - rs 23 crore ... u cant explain tht can u ? i am not categorizing it as good/bad cinema - just tht the audience seem to like it and when you are in rome be a roman ... as simple as tht
and who fought here - as said earlier blogs are the safest easiest way to express your thoughts without breaking tables and chairs - i respect and appreciate each and everyones comments ..... enjoy ur goa trip athos have a hmmmm..... HIPPY HOLIDAY ! and u too annette
Peace!
the rest is silence.....of course perspective's differ....it was kinda nice to argue.....happy hols eveeryone
yea. everyone has their own perspective. One man's trash is another's treasure. Life wouldnt be exciting if we all did the same thing and played by the same rules, would it? :)
Variety is the spice of life. And i like it. Keeps me sane.
Merry Christmas all!
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