Feel like disconnecting from the whole world for sometime...or may be more.

Movies: Michelin Star Dishes or McDonald's Burger?

There is an 'unnecessary' controversy that has been created over 'Indian' cinema and the 'National' language. Various actors and/or publicity-seekers are jumping into the dialogue. Some Hindi movie actors said that 'Hindi' is the national language and some South Indian actors said that Hindi movies are not the only ones that qualify as 'Pan-Indian' cinema as movies in South Indian languages are finding viewers across the globe now. 

As I mentioned at the very beginning, it is an unnecessary controversy and both sides should have refrained from getting into a social-media war. Lets look at what has been discussed;

Hindi is the 'National' language

That is incorrect. I do not blame the people who believe that as we were either taught that or were made to believe that. Hindi is the official language (along with English). Though I do believe that all Indians should know (and should be 'encouraged' to know) Hindi as that would help in communication across India but then, no one should be compelled to learn the language. India being such a diverse country, it is difficult to make that change happen in near future. If at all this happens, it can happen only through people initiative. It has been working so far and there is no 'need' for any change.

Hindi Movies Get More Importance

Now, lets come to the other side of the debate, which drove me to write this blog. Its about the 'Indian' cinema. Some South-Indian actors indicated that whenever 'Indian' cinema is discussed, represented or recognized, it is the Hindi cinema or 'Bollywood', which is taken into consideration. 

I am not sure if that is genuinely the case. While it may not be 'the' justification, lets look at the list of past winners of National Award for Best Feature Film. 

Since 1953, only 12 'pure-play' Hindi movies have won the National award. It excludes 'Ship of Theseus' (Hindi and English) and 'Court' (Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English). During the same period, 22 Bangla/Bengali, 12 Malayalam, 6 Kannada, 4 Marathi, 2 Tamil and 1 Telugu movies won awards. So, it may be unfair to say that only Hindi movies are being recognized. I agree that Hindi movies and movie stars get more media-attention and headlines. However, that is because Hindi movies are watched by a larger audience and includes some mega-stars. However, there is no biasedness or partiality as such. 

South-Indian cinema also has several mega-stars including Rajnikanth, Chiranjeevi, Mammootty, Mohanlal but except Thalaiva, others have not managed to create a significant fan-base or gain popularity outside India or their region. Of course, this is a comparative statement. I am not at all suggesting that Chiranjeevi is not popular. However, he probably is known to fewer people compared to say...Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Rajanikanth. It is a fact. This does not make Chiranjeevi a lesser actor. In fact, personally, I do not like most of the names mentioned above. In my opinion, list of best actors and most popular actors [in Indian context] seldom have common names. Among the current leading actors, I personally enjoy the work of Dhanush and Fahadh Faasil the most and I am not only talking about South Indian cinema!!

Which Movie Industry is Better?

Though it is not being said or discussed in as many words but the debate, comments and the arguments put forward seem to suggest that the 'stakeholders' want to comment on which movie industry [in India] is better!! This debate is again....unnecessary. 

If I talk about myself, I do not 'generally' enjoy Hindi movies but I end up watching a lot of them. Most of them are nonsensical formula-based movies. They do better (in terms of collections/returns/ROI) than the kind of movies I genuinely appreciate. Some of the popular South-Indian movies (RRR, KGF 1 & 2, Baahubali 1 & 2, Pushpa etc.) are also doing pretty well in terms of collections however it is important to understand that box-office collections do not necessarily mean cinematic brilliance [and vice versa]. 

If a movie is watched by more number of people, it does not necessarily become a great movie. Similarly, if a megastar is followed by a larger group of fans, it does not necessarily mean he/she is the best actor [or even a good actor]. McDonald's burger may be the most popular food item but is a McDonald's burger ever considered a great dish?? These days, almost every superhero movie sets the box office on fire but are they ever considered a genuine piece of art? 

In the field of art, popularity and sales volumes do not always mean brilliance. People watch nonsensical, formula-based masala movies because movies are watched with family and/or friends and people typically opt for pure-play entertainment for such events. For example, when I am watching a movie alone, I would watch something like 'The Lunchbox' but when I go to watch a movie with my 10-year old, I would end up watching 'Simbba' or 'Suryavanshi'. I watch a lot of movies - different genres and different languages (English, world cinema, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil....]. I look for good stories and good performances and do not restrict myself to a certain genre or language. However, for most people [even I select movies based on the mood], movies are a getaway from their regular, mundane life that is often filled with stress, depression, issues, burdens, frustration, anger. They do not want to see the protagonist go through similar emotions on-screen and would rather watch a nonsensical comedy/action!! They like to watch a hero that is larger than life...who can stand against villains, beat 100 people, romance, dance, make us laugh....and what not!! Such movies help the viewers come out of the theatre relaxed [not always though!!]. So both kind of movies are required. We need movies with a message, with a great story, with brilliant performances. At the same time, we need the nonsensical formula-based masala movies. 

We need the Michelin Star dishes but also the McDonald's burger!!!

Steps: 11th May

Could not finish 10K!! :(

Did some back and leg exercises in the gym and I could barely walk by the evening.

Steps: 10th May 2022

Steps: 9th May 2022

Steps Count: Off Track

Last fortnight has not been good from health point of view. I have been fairly irregular in all aspects, including steps, swimming, exercise as well as diet. We went for a week-long holiday and I always knew that it would impact the momentum - however, it was needed as I need to ensure that the interest of others are not always getting subordinated. My daughter's summer break is going on and a holiday was required. The kid has shown unbelievable patience during COVID as we have hardly stepped out in last >2 years. 

Holiday is done and the momentum took a hit. The body also went back to behaving like previous days and when I restarted the walking and exercise, I felt aches and pain everywhere. Moreover, walking in sand on the beaches put additional pressure on the knees and I developed knee pain. 

Now, most of the issues have gone away and I need to immediately get back to the fitness regime. From today onwards, I would walk at least 10 steps everyday. And would exercise at least once a day.

Happiness is...

...Making 4 mistakes and 6 blunders....and still winning!!!

Goa Trip: Some More Pics

Goa Trip: Some Pictures

First flight after >2 years!!!

Today's Swimming Session: 20 Laps

Today's Swimming Session: 31 Laps

Significant Improvement

The diabetes test results are pretty good and show a significant improvement. 

Target 1: To bring HbA1C level to less than 6.0

Target 2: To stop the medication

Today's Swimming Session: 27 Laps

Today, I couldn't spend much time as I had to rush back for diabetes test. Still a good session. In fact, from now onwards, I would target 20-30 laps everyday.

Last couple of days were not good. I missed most of the activities as I was unwell. Was feeling weak and also had some gastrointestinal issues. It was quite severe. As we also suspected that sugar level may have come down, I had fruits and proper food in past two days. I did have some junk food as well :(

Last evening, the situation was pretty bad as on multiple occasions, I felt that I would lose consciousness. May be I stretched myself a little too much.

Have got tests done to check the sugar level. Also trying some home remedies. Feeling better today. I did my gym session this morning and also went for a swim. Would complete my 10K steps walk in the evening. 

Hopefully the test results would be normal.

Swimming Trends

 

Today's Goals and Status

• 1 hour swim in the morning: Achieved
• 10K steps: Achieved
• 30-45 minutes of weight training: Achieved
• Day 1 of 3-day egg-fast: Achieved

10K Steps: Achieved

Today's Swimming Session: 52 Laps

To compensate for a bad day yesterday, I went into BEAST MODE!! 

Plan of Action for Tomorrow

Here is the plan for tomorrow...

• 1 hour swim in the morning
• 10K steps
• 30-45 minutes of weight training
• Day 1 of 3-day egg-fast

Will stick to the process. Results are not in my control but efforts are.

हमें कहना चाहिए था, 

मगर हम कह न सके....

उन्हें भी तो समझना चाहिए था, 

मगर वो समझ न सके...

A kick in the guts

Today was a bad day. And this blog is going to be exact opposite of my previous blog.

I got up at 5:10AM today to get ready for the workout session from 6-7AM. Though I had decided not to check the weight and concentrate on the process, I felt this sudden urge to check the weight today. I last checked the weight 5 days back and since then I have been doing everything 'right' and hence I hoped that the weighing scale would boost my morale. I was in for a rude shock. My weight has marginally increased in the last 5 days! All those strenuous exercises, hours of walking, weight training, eating light and hours of swimming meant nothing? 

It was truly a kick in the guts.

I felt so disheartened that I asked the trainer to cancel today's session. I did not go for a swim. I did not walk in the evening. And I had lots of unhealthy food today.

I am feeling DISAPPOINTED due to the weight gain. I am feeling CONFUSED as I do not why this happened. And now, I am feeling GUILTY for doing what I did today and not doing what I should have done today.

I would bounce back tomorrow.

(Pic Source/Courtesy: FriendlyStock)

Happy with the process

Good workout sessions in the past few days....

• Strenuous workout: 1 hour
• Swimming: 45 mins to 1 hour (25-30 Laps)
• Walk and/or Weight Training: ~1 hour in evening
• Also following healthy diet (low carb and moderate protein)

Not looking at the weighing scale but am happy with the process.

Today's Swimming Session: 33 Laps!!

Today's Swimming Session: 28 Laps