JAI HO

















Pic. Madan Manik

Last evening, I met two lady-teachers. They were returning home after watching the Salman Khan movie – ‘Jai Ho’. I was a bit amused and asked them, “Did you like it?”

“Completely,” they both said in a chorus, “Paisa vasool!”

I was a stupid fellow to assume, that teachers like me alone carried ‘brains’ in their heads. I had forgotten, that a vast majority, out there, were very, very simple souls… They didn’t like to see life in complicated terms… They didn’t like to be too serious even when they went to watch a movie… That, they liked to sing along, laugh, whistle and come home a little happier and lighter… For them, it was a Rajnikant  or a Salman Khan movie that brought cheer in their hearts… For them, what mattered was: some pure entertainment, no matter how silly it sounded!

Ironically, in ‘Jai Ho’, the famous dialogue revolves around the same man – ‘the common man’ – who the typical Salman Khan movies cater to: “Aam aadmi sota hua sher hai…”

Perhaps, Arvind Kejriwal clicked in the Delhi elections for the same reason: he had echoed the feelings of the common man…

And, much before Arvind Kejriwal and Salman Khan toyed with the idea of the common man, it was the irreplaceable cartoonist, R.K.Laxman - who, each morning, for close to six long-decades,  had brought alive ‘the Common Man’, through his famous ‘You said it’ cartoon in TOI. For most of us, that ‘mute’ man in his checks jubba, doti and umbrella - who witnessed everything around him with bewilderment and wit, with hope and anguish – was the quintessential common man… the asli aam aadmi! Yes, for most of us, our day was incomplete and devoid of any sunshine without an early-morning glimpse of our fellow-man – the adorable Common Man!

Life of the common man – your life and my life – shall, always, remain a life of simple aspirations, hopes, dreams and frustrations… We shall, always, remain ‘paisa vasool’ fans in core of our hearts…

R.K. Laxman tells us that he started drawing cartoons at the age of five… Now, he is 92! For over sixty years, he brought smiles in our hearts through his Common Man…

Through his pot-boilers, Salman Khan has been doing the same for years, now...

Has our nation changed?

Has our life changed?

If a real smile in our hearts is all that, finally, matters… who cares?

“Jai Ho!” 






GERALD D’CUNHA
Video courtesy: YouTube

Comments

Beena Dharmani said…
Jai Ho!!!! Beena
January 31, 2014 at 3:03 PM
Anonymous said…
Brilliant! - John
January 31, 2014 at 5:14 PM
Philipose John said…
Dear Gerryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Sirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,
There is a reason why I have mentioned your name that way, I wonder if you even remember me, my name is Philipose John, Course Co-ordinator, Aptech (Ghatkopar and Chembur), You haven't changed one bit, the last I have seen you would be 1996, we are in 2014, I get to reach out to you eighteen years down the line, I am super thrilled. I have attended some sessions with you which have featured Prof T R Ramakrishnan and Swami Brahmavidananda. Uday Acharya shared your number with me. I have to speak with you, maybe I will call you sometime soon. My number is 9741017700. I am a New Employee Assimilation Facilitator with IBM Corporation in Bangalore. Looking forward to speaking with you soon.
God Bless.
Philipose John
February 1, 2014 at 8:57 PM
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