Gerald D'Cunha

“Believe in yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice  but to believe with you.” - Mufasa O n last Sunday, when my wife and I walked into the cinema hall to watch ‘The Lion King’, the house was almost full… And, it was the second week, mind you! There were grandparents, young parents, young ones and little ones… And, like most of them, my wife and I, too, had watched the original version (1994). And, like, most of them, here we were - dying to watch this one, as well! ‘The Lion King’ is a great story – a story with a heart. What else explains the reason for our ‘dying thirst’ to watch it? We, as human beings, live not on ‘bread’ alone. The body needs bread; agreed. But, our hearts need great stories to keep going. Hence, our spiritual books are, essentially, supremely-told stories… Take ‘The Ramayana’ or ‘The Mahabharata’… Take ‘The Old Testament’ or ‘The New Testament’. To me, they are powerful stories… stories wit...

E very great epic is a simple story, told very, very well. So, from this yardstick, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Iliad, Old and New Testament – are, first and foremost, are well-told stories, And, imagine the kind of shelf-life these stories have had and continue to have! One reason why I loved the latest Hindi movie ‘Raazi’ is for its brilliant story-telling. It’s a traditional – time-tested – way of story-telling. As I was coming out of the theatre, after watching ’Raazi’, my mind went back to some of my favourite movies, both Hindi and English… ‘Sholay’, ‘Deewar (Yash Chopra), ‘Shakti’, ‘’Munna Bhai’ (Both), ‘3 Idiots’, ‘Lagaan’, ‘Black’, ‘Jurassic Park’, ‘Ten Commandments’, ‘Ben Hur’, ‘’Enter the Dragoon’, ‘The Sound of Music’ and many more. I had loved these movies for the way their stories were told.   In fact, years later, the stories have lived in my mind… With ‘Raazi’, young director, Meghna Gulzar, has carved a permanent place for herself in the league o...

Pic.: Anima D'Cunha I am never tired of telling our young boys and girls, even little kids, during the PD sessions, that everything they tell in the class - be it on stage or in groups – is a story. “Everything you tell here is a story… everything can be told as a great story,” I remind them, “and you are a great story-teller.” I, also, remind them, “Our life starts and ends with stories…. As little kids, we listen to stories told to us by our parents and grandparents… Then, when become parents and grandparents, we tell stories to our little-ones.” Stories sustain life… They give meaning and hope to our existence! L ast evening, my wife and I watched the latest edition of the movie ‘The Jungle Book’. Like almost everyone around us, I, too, have watched the earlier version of ‘The Jungle Book’ many times over. I have read the book, too, several times…  And, yes, the story doesn’t cease to fascinate me… Such a simple story… but, how timeless!...

My dad was a die-hard fan of these three: America, Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Muhammad Ali. It was in the Sixties and early part of the Seventies; and, it was in our native town, Mangalore. In those days, we had no electricity in our house; and, though a transistor (radio) was in existence, we could not afford one. All news reached our dad through the local Kannada dailies, which he would read to the last letter, after his work, at one of his favorite shops. There, half a dozen men, including the shop-owner, would heatedly discuss and debate on the current affairs. Those were the days of Vietnam War… America, the Super Power as my dad would call her, was criticized and even hated for the Vietnam mess…  But, not my dad. For him, America was the ‘Greatest nation on earth’… and, so it remained till he died in 1984… Her stories and legends kept us enthralled and inspired till his last day! For some strange reasons, our dad also loved and ad...