Re:anonymous

Hi friends,

Antara is back to her windowpane after weeks. Hope you all are doing fine.

This blog is with reference to an interesting question posted by an ‘anonymous’ soul as a comment to my first blog entry –‘ On Bollywood’. Here goes the question : “…who is the hero of the film?...in its true sense.....is it daya?...is it akash!!....who?...n why?” Yah you have got it right, it is about the movie ‘Gangster’.

A tricky question Mr./Ms. Anonymous ! And the answer depends on how you interpret the word ‘hero’.

Taking ‘hero’ to be synonymous with the protagonist of the movie, it is none other than Simran… not only because we see the entire story through her eyes, but also because her yearning for a ‘ghar’(home) is what takes the movie forward .. it is ‘her’ dreams that get fulfilled, shattered or taken advantage of by the other characters through out the course of the movie.



However if we are more particular about the gender, things becomes all the more confusing. ‘The Little Oxford Dictionary’ defines ‘hero’ as ‘the man admired for great or noble deeds’ or the ‘chief male character in poem or story etc’. So, who’s nobler? The criminal who risks all in a hostile world for the sake of love, be betrayed and yet forgives his love – or the dutiful man who resorts to ways not too noble to achieve a noble cause –that is, the security of his fellow citizens? Friends, I don’t know the parameter for evaluating nobility.

Judging from a different angle, Daya seems to be the more deserving candidate for the designation of the ‘hero’, for the hero of a movie is a person who the viewers can identify with (at least during the span of the movie).This applies to Daya. The movie ‘Gangster’ is woven in such a way that the ending evokes our sympathy for Daya; whereas the glee of achievement in Akash’s heart doesn’t touch our sentiments. In fact the viewers are hardly allowed any access to the mind of Akash throughout the movie.

These are the days of real democracy … and a poll decides all. So my vote goes to Daya.

So, did I do justice to your question ‘anonymous’? Thanks a lot for taking interest in my blog. I wish you had left your name/email address with your comment – I was at a loss as to where I should answer your query. Waiting for your next yorker…

And take care friends… beware of catching a cold as the summer is retrieving fast and the monsoons are creeping in…

Bye,

Antara