Ben-Hur – A classic novel by Lew Wallace

Long before Amarendra Bahubali and Bhallaldeva fought for kingdom of Mahishmati in Bahubali movie, there were two friends in Rome – Judah Ben-Hur and Messala who clashed due to the difference in ideals. One favored Rome while other was proud to be a Jew. For Messala, Romans were powerful and Jews inferior. Apart from these two protagonists, there is a third protagonist – Jesus of Nazareth in this classic novel. Set during the times of Jesus Christ, this story begins with meeting of Messala and Judah. During the friendly meeting, Judah discovers that Messala has become egoistic and considers Jews a weak race. Both the friends part away. A tragic fate lands Judah Ben Hur in imprisonment, accused of killing a Roman official. Messala not only imprisons Judah, but also seizes his property, home and belongings. Judah’s mother and sister are sent behind bars on order of Messala. 

Poster of 2016 movie adaptation - Ben-Hur 

Here the story doesn’t end. Jesus is crucified and Ben-Hur is helpless to save his son of God from getting crucified. Ben Hur offers water to the bleeding Jesus and here he remembers it was the same saintly figure who had offered water to Judah when he was being taken to galleys. Judah Ben-Hur realizes that forgiveness is the biggest redemption of all as his lord didn’t even protest against the sufferings inflicted on him. Judah Ben Hur becomes the biggest messenger of Christ and lives his later life in helping the needy. 
Lew Wallace’s novel ‘Ben Hur’ is set during biblical era and it is an enlightening experience reading about Jesus in this fictional epic book. Ben-Hur was adapted into motion pictures and TV movies countless times. It is the 1959 adaptation that swept the Oscar. Ben-Hur has everything that you desire in an epic movie – Betrayal, Redemption, love, roman battles and breathtaking chariot races. Once you have completed reading Ben-Hur, you will definitely be curious to read Bible stories and the legend of Jesus Christ. I had read Ben-Hur in 2013 and found it an interesting epic. In the second time, I understood the spiritual philosophy and found the reading very enlightening. Along with Ben-Hur, I too realized that forgiveness is biggest redemption. Once you have completed reading Ben-Hur, you will also enjoy reading King Arthur and knights of round table, Ivanhoe, Three Musketeers and Man in the iron mask.

Judah Ben Hur is subjected to inhuman torture in galleys, rowing a gigantic slave ship. But good fortunes are on side of Judah. A pirate attack on the Roman ship gives an opportunity for Judah to escape from the Roman ship and seek refuge. With the help of his new allies – Simonides, Balthasar and Sheikh Ilderim, Judah competes against Messala in a chariot race. He not only defeats Messala but also leaves him penniless. After seeking his vengeance, Judah goes in search of his mother and sister. Here he meets the son of God – Jesus Christ and begins on a new mission to spread the greatness of son of God. Jesus heals the leprosy of Judah’s mother and sister and finally Judah finally reunites with his long lost family.

Morning show: adventures of youthful days

Today when I look behind the time, I regret for not trying the youthful adventures every youngster craved for – Morning shows. In late 80’s and early 90’s there were no multiplex theatres. Single screen theatres had their dominance. Apart from mainstream cinema (Bollywood), Single screen cinemas had a special morning slot for hot adult movies (both English & Hindi). In early 90’s there were neither adult websites nor adult foreign magazines which would thrill the youngsters (Magazines like Playboy & Debonair were too expensive). For middle class and lower middle audience, these morning shows were the only medium where they could unleash the wild side of their youthfulness. These adult movies were targeted for the raunchy audiences. Movies like ‘Junglee Jawaani’ & ‘Lady Tarzan’ (B Grade English movies) were in hot demand those days.

Sharon Stone's Basic Instinct attracted huge crowds in morning slots

Before the arrival of Sunny leone, bold actresses like Bo Derek, Ursula Andress, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone and Silk Smita ruled the silver screen with their adulterous moves. Majority of the students of schools and junior colleges bunked their special classes to watch ‘Basic Instinct’. Sharon Stone was craze at that time. Her bold avatar in Basic Instinct attracted more viewers in the morning shows and tickets used to get sold in black. Watching such movies was a sin for boys belonging to conservative family. Either it was fear or cultural upbringings, students of high class families never dared to watch such movies even if their heart craved for. Whether these movies were meant for sexual education or for spoiling our youthfulness will always remain a subject or debate. Students used to watch these movies because there was no medium available for them to get familiar about puberty, infatuation and the thrill of first romantic touch. Released in 1980, ‘The Blue Lagoon’ was a romantic movie set on a beach as a backdrop where a boy and girl discover the thrill of adulthood. This movie was a big hit in 80’s. Bollywood never came up such movies like ‘Blue Lagoon’ which would connect the youngsters about youthfulness in a matured way. In early times, grown up kids were too shy to discuss such things with their things with their parents. Due to age gap and parental fear, most of the kids found the solace either through these movies or in conversations with their close friends. Continuous viewing of such movies not only corrupts our minds, but also shows perception of love in a heinous way. Even James Cameron shot an exotic scene of Kate Winslet in movie ‘Titanic’, but the scene was shot aesthetically without any touch of obscenity. Even after several years, Kate Winslet is highly remembered for that memorable painting scene from ‘Titanic’. Indeed she looked sensuous, but not cheap. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. It depends in which mindset a viewer observes a beauty.

Today it is easy for youngsters to access adult videos on tablets, laptops and PC in privacy without feeling guilty, conscious or awkward. The arrival of multiplexes has lowered the scope of single screen theatres and brought end to the morning shows. Slowly, year by year, single screen theatres are getting shut down due to stiff competition thrown by Multiplexes. Even the posters of the adult movies are nearly non-existent. Gone is the era of morning shows. The seats of the single screen theatres are damaged and will soon be thrown away in garbage. Only the young masses of the 80’s and 90’s will miss the presence of the morning shows.

Scary movies!! Not scary anymore

Fear is not what scary we see; fear is what we can’t see. It’s all in the mind. 

Gone are the days when Horror movies scared the hell out of us. Haunted Havelis, Old temples, ruined post offices and forts were the residences of ghosts – Especially white gown was the favorite outfit of female ghosts J May be even ghosts wanted to stay in trend. Were these white gowns designed by Manish Malhotra?  The ghosts were categorized in various forms – the cursed ghost, the avenger ghost and the waiting ghost. The waiting ghosts are mostly romantic, waiting impatiently for their soul mate who has taken birth somewhere in rich mansions. The most popular of this category of movies was ‘Bees saal baad.’ It featured the gorgeous Dimple Kapadia as ghost waiting for her lover Mithun Chakraborty. She looked more as a model, less as a ghost. The scariest of them all was ‘Woh kaun thi’. Though it was a suspense movie, the settings and storyline looked spookier. Nowadays, even such female ghosts will be noticed, our young kids will ask for Wi-Fi password from her. According to the current trends, even ghosts have to stay net-savvy. May be, they too click selfies with their ghost friends in haunted bungalows and share it on FB. Earlier, the hairy ghosts in movies like ‘Jaani Dushman’ looked more like beasts. Maybe the appearance of these hairy beasts evolved into a mutant named ‘Wolverine’. The arrival of new horror genre with Ramsay Brothers changed the face of scary movies. It had sensuality, steamy songs, haunted bungalows, spooky faced servant named ‘Ramu Kaka’ and comedy scenes to add more entertainment value. Most importantly, the ghost had to be disfigured, grotesque and fearsome. The ghost preys on his victim mostly at nights. The night has to be ‘Amavasya’. Rest of the nights, the ghosts are working in haunted call centers J Ramsay Brothers gave several hit movies like ‘Darwaza’, ‘Purana Mandir’, ‘Saamri’, ‘Veerana’, ‘Tehkhana’ etc. These movies ran to packed houses in 80’s and 90’s. With the passing times, people got fed up of seeing the same disfigured ghosts in Ramsay Movies. More the ghosts tried to scare audience, more it started getting hilarious. Sad part is that Ramsay Brothers didn’t change their movie making according to current trends. Their movies looked more humorous. The most tragic part is that even kids are not scared of watching their movies.

Directors like Ramgopal Verma and Vikram Bhatt created their own horror movie franchise with movies like Bhoot, Darna Mana Hai, Phoonk, Raaz series, 1920 etc etc. The ghosts in these movies were caricatures of ‘Exorcist’, ‘Unborn’, ‘Conjuring’ and ‘Insidious’. The movie ‘Raaz’ was based on Hollywood movie- ‘What lies beneath’. 

The most fun-filled horror movie to date 

Majority of the Indian horror movies are copy of Korean horror movies. The heroines in Indian scary movies don’t do anything except screaming and running helter skelter. The funnier part is that the ghost can be killed only through some divine trishul, knife, or fire. To save his heroine from the spirit, our hero will go to any length to kill the ghost with the divine weapon.

Movies like ‘Conjuring’, ‘Insidious’ and ‘Ring’ have changed the concept of fear. May be there will be a time when these Hollywood movies will turn hilarious. No one will want to play the video cassette and wait for the wet ghost to arrive from TV. Our kids are brave enough to kick her back in TV. The recent movie that I watched was 1920: London. What a fun-filled spooky movie!! May be the makers will come up with more series like 1920 Bengal, 1920 Bihar, 1920 Africa etc. The recent movie to hit the theatres this month is ‘Raaz Reboot’.  How funny!! Was the director running short of ideas for the movie title?

It is time for Indian makers to re-invent their style of horror movies and give some scope for our desi ghosts. Like the tigers, even our ghosts are getting extinct. Please save our Indian ghosts :) 

Yeh Dil Maange More - Remembering Captain Vikram Batra

‘Yeh Dil Maange More’ – lines spoken by Captain Vikram Batra





These lines aren’t written by any advertising copywriter. These lines were coined by Major Vikram Batra which he used as a coded message after conquering every point from invaders. Captain Batra showed his dare devilry in Kargil War, facing the bullets and attaining martyrdom at age of 24. When civilians like me were pursuing degree to become a corporate slave, Captain Batra had already become a legend. Very few people are blessed to become war heroes and Vikram Batra was one of them. Batra’s code name was ‘Shershah.’ Military officers are given this code name to communicate with their senior authorities. Instead of opting for a luxurious government job, Vikram enrolled for army at Indian Military academy in Dehradun. His dare-devilry raised him to the position of Captain. In 1999, when Kargil was invaded by Pakistan, Captain Vikram Batra was assigned to recapture the peak 5140. Captain Batra with his team ‘Delta company’ ascended the highest peak 5140 confronting chilling cold, fatigue, exhaustion with only one goal in mind – free Kargil from the invaders. While climbing this peak, Batra and his team faced the bullets from the enemies. Despite all this, Captain Batra and his team reached the top and threw grenades. Captain Batra slayed three soldiers in deadly combat which left him seriously wounded. The mission of capturing point 5140 was successful. Along with his delta team, Batra went on to recapture several points – 5100, 4700 and 4875.

‘Every man dies, not everyone really lives’ – lines from movie Braveheart

Capturing Point 4875 and final martyrdom – This was one of the most challenging and toughest peaks to capture for Captain Batra and his team. Climbing a 16,000 feet high peak was highly impossible task for any ordinary person. Braving the obstacle of heavy fogs, Captain Batra and his team climbed the 16,000 feet high peak on 7^th July 1999. The delta team attacked the enemies and took control of point 4875. The large heartedness of Captain Batra was witnessed by his team when he took bullets on himself while saving one of his members from delta team. During the attack, he pushed aside his Subedar friend and faced the enemies’ bullets because he cared for his friend who had wife and children. This brave tiger of Kargil breathed his last while capturing the point 4875. His uttered the last words ‘Jai Mata di’. Operation Vijay wouldn’t have been successful without the efforts of Captain Vikram Batra and his delta team.

The Amar Chitra Katha Book - Paramvir Chakra featured story of Vikram Batra during kargil war

 Captain Anuj Nayyar was one more brave heart who laid his life in Kargil war along with Vikram Batra.  Captain Anuj Nayyar was recently engaged. During the war time, Anuj handed over his engagement ring to one of his friends to keep it safe till he returns. He never wanted the ring to fall in hands of enemies if he was killed. Sadly Anuj never returned back to get his engagement ring. He was the only child of his parents. It was very traumatic experience for his parents to bear the loss of their son. Unfortunately government never pays heed to the family of the soldiers who laid their lives for country.

Photo of late Captain Anuj Nayyar

Even Vikram Batra had plans to get married to his fiancée once he returned from war. But good fortunes were not in side of Vikram. He returned wrapped in Tri-color flag. Before going to war, he had promised his parents that he would return either by hoisting the flag on Kargil or come wrapped in ‘Tiranga’. His fiancée never got married. She devoted her life to teaching. Vikram’s gifts and letters were prized possessions to her.  Sadly, no one bothers to know what happened to a soldier’s family after his death. Batra’s parents were badly collapsed after hearing the news of his son’s death in Kargil war. They had twin sons – Vikram and Vishal. Vikram’s parents realized why God had given them twins. One would serve for country while other would take care of them. Vikram Batra was awarded ‘Paramvir Chakra’ for his sacrifice defending Kargil from invaders. 

On the 10^th death anniversary of Vikram, his twin brother Vishal Batra visited Leh Ladakh. He took a gaze at the high peaks of Kargil where Vikram Batra died fighting with the invaders. Vishal Batra in his interview with Barkha Dutt mentioned about the last letter of Vikram.

‘Life is at total risk. Anything can happen here. Take care of yourself and Mom & Dad. My picture has appeared in Times of India’. Keep a copy for me. I want to see it once I am back.” – Excerpt from the letter of Captain Vikram Batra to his brother Vishal.

The photo of Captain Vikram Batra featured on front page of Times of India on 2^nd July 1999. He was standing with an anti-aircraft gun and weapons in the photo.

Vishal Batra even met Sub Major Raghunath Singh, the survivor of Kargil war. He broke in tears when he saw Vishal Batra. Since Vishal was twin brother of Vikram, everyone saw the reflection of their commander Vikram in him. Raghunath recalled the moments of war. Actually it was Raghunath who was rushing to save a junior officer during the firing, but Vikram stopped him and took the initiative to save the junior officer. Since Vikram knew that Raghunath was a family man, Vikram couldn’t risk the life of Raghunath. In the action of rescuing the junior soldier, Vikram was fatally shot with a sniper rifle by the enemy. Even Vishal Batra had dreams to join armed forces, but later settled on to become a banker. 

A letter enclosed in an envelope is a precious gift for a soldier who reads this letter and even narrates the letters to his friends. He is far away from his family, friends but his heart is always close to them. Sadly, today’s youngsters won’t realize the value of letter because they are too busy messaging on Whatsapp. Only a soldier like Captain Vikram Batra can realize the emotions of words written in the letter.

The role of Captain Vikram Batra was played by actor Abhishek Bachchan in J.P.Dutta’s movie – LOC: Kargil which was based on Kargil war. Amar Chitra Katha released a comic book on Indian soldiers in which Captain Vikram Batra’s story was presented. Hope someday a full-fledged biopic is made on life of Captain Batra and his fellow soldiers – Anuj Nayyar, Manoj Kumar Pandey who died for nation’s pride.

This is a small effort on my side to remember Captain Batra and all other soldiers who freed Kargil from the invaders. Please do share this article with all your friends.

Jai Hind
Prashant Badiger

The Blue Umbrella – A Short Story By Ruskin Bond

“Some books are so familiar, reading them is like being home again” – Louisa May Alcott

Very few books have that charisma that appeal to both kids and grownups and Ruskin Bond’s short story – The Blue Umbrella is one of them. The above quote holds a special place in my heart because we like to read books where we love to relate ourselves. This short story – The Blue Umbrella belongs to that category, a memorable story whose magic will keep on enchanting the readers for generations. Published in 1980, this short story is written by Ruskin Bond whose stories are more connected to hilly areas like Himachal Pradesh. The premise of this story is set in a small village of Himachal Pradesh where a poor little girl named Binya is smitten to a beautiful blue umbrella owned by a rich family. She trades off her leopard claw necklace for the captivating blue umbrella. From that moment, the blue umbrella becomes Binya’s rich possession.

Slowly the umbrella becomes a center of attention among the people living in the village. Everyone in the village craves to own that umbrella. Especially Ram Bharose, a shopkeeper has his eyes set on the blue umbrella. He even requests Binya to sell her blue umbrella to him for a fair amount. But Binya refuses to part away with her prized valuable. Realizing that his master Ram Bharose won’t be able to gain the umbrella, his servant Rajaram plans to steal the umbrella for his master. But while stealing the umbrella, Rajaram is caught red-handed by Binya’s brother. When everyone in the village comes to know about Ram Bharose’s greedy intention of owning Binya’s umbrella, Ram Bharose is neglected by everyone in village. Later Binya realizes that she shouldn’t flaunt her umbrella to make Ram Bharose sad. Finally Binya happily parts away with her blue umbrella by giving it to Ram Bharose. Now everyone in the village borrows the blue umbrella from Ram Bharose for time being. Though Binya is sad for parting with her umbrella, she is glad that she has brought a smile of happiness on someone’s face.This short story was made into a motion picture in 2005 and was adapted as a comic story in Amar Chitra Katha.

I recently read this short story of Ruskin Bond and was so mesmerized by its simplicity that I couldn’t wait to share this story on my blog. This story is about joy of giving and sharing happiness even in sad moments. Though my writings can’t match the magic of Ruskin Bond’s words, I have made a small attempt to spread this story to all my readers, young and old. I hope that once you have read this post, you will definitely buy the original copy of “Blue Umbrella” written by Ruskin Bond.

Happy Reading
Prashant Badiger

The Godfather – A literary masterpiece by Mario Puzo

Novel – The Godfather
Author – Mario Puzo
Publication date – 1969
Genre – Crime
“Behind every great fortune, there is a crime – Balzac”

“The Godfather” novel is unarguably the best crime novel till date that has stood the test of time and has been hailed as the great masterpiece in the world of literature. Written by Mario Puzo, “The Godfather” revolves around the mafia chief – Don Vito Corleone who passes on his empire’s responsibility to his younger son Michael. Through this novel, Mario Puzo gives you a glimpse in the dark world of crime where every dishonest job is done with honesty and how the kingpins of crime keep law and politicians in their pockets. Inspired by actual events and people during America in 1940′s, Godfather is the journey of a Sicilian boy named vito who moves to America and how the incidents turn him from a ordinary grocery keeper into a mafia kingpin who on one side is a public enemy for the law while on the other side he is the savior or godfather of the innocent, oppressed and poor.

Fondly called as the ‘godfather’ in the arena of crime, Don Vito Corleone’s world turns upside down when he declines the offer to support illegal narcotics business and this is where other mafia groups come together to bring an end to the legacy of godfather. What rest follows is the series of massacre that leads to assassination attempt on don vito corloene and ruthless murder of his elder son – Sonny Corleone. This time Michael Corleone, the youngest son has to make his own destiny – either lead a happy life with his sweetheart or turn himself into a ruthless avenger and settle score with his adversaries who threaten to wipe out the existence of godfather. Michael ascends on the path of crime, turning himself into a dreadful vendetta for his foes and what price he pays to become the next godfather has been described very exceptionally by author Mario Puzo in his highly bestselling novel – The Godfather. 

This novel was adapted for motion picture and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Released in 1972, this motion picture bagged several Oscars and was hailed as the best motion picture in world of cinema. Actor Marlon Brando portrayed the title role while Al Pacino played the role of Michael Corleone.

No one could have justified the role of godfather with sheer magnificence as Marlon Brando did. He made this character larger than life with powerful performance. This novel became a great inspiration for several filmmakers to make gangster movies like scarface, goodfellas, once upon a time in America, American gangster , satya, dharmatma, company, sarkar and once upon a time in mumbai. Once you have completed reading “The Godfather”, then you should definitely read Hussain Zaidi’s book – Dongri to Dubai.

A walk to remember – An unforgettable classic

Hollywood Motion Picture: A walk to remember
Cast: Shane West, Mandy Moore
Year of Release: 2002
Genre: Romance
Author : Nicholas Sparks

“Love is like a wind, you can’t see it, but you can feel it” – lines from 2002 Hollywood motion picture – A walk to remember

Love is an invisible force which hurls us in the whirlpool of emotions, sensitivity, tears, happiness, separation and joy. No one can escape the force of this love. Some love stories end with happiness while some meet with tragedy. The 2002 motion picture – A Walk to remember is a mix of joy and sorrow. Inspired by a true story, this love story is about two people – Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan. Both are contrasted in their personalities. Landon is a carefree, mischievous college brat while Jamie is an introvert, shy and god loving girl who believes in volunteering for good causes, reading bible & helping every needy person. Initially, Landon makes fun of Jamie’s coy nature, but one day a school play brings Landon and Jamie together. As Landon starts rehearsing for the play with Jamie, he slowly starts understanding Jamie more deeply and feels that he knew her for ages. The play not only becomes a runaway success, but it also brings Landon closer to Jamie. Initially Jamie is reluctant to befriend Landon, but later she realizes that Landon has changed into a responsible, caring and sensible person. With the passing days, Landon succeeds to win the heart of Jamie, but this time Jamie breaks into tears and tells Landon to stay away from her. Landon finally comes to know that Jamie is suffering from terminal leukemia and has stopped responding to medicines.

“I am scared of not being with you” – lines from movie “A walk to remember”
Love changes a person, it really changes him or her, emotionally and this is what exactly happens with Landon too. Landon decides to fulfill every wish that Jamie cherished for her future. Finally Landon marries Jamie and stands by her till her last days of the life. After 20 years, Landon looks back to his life and realizes that the moment that he shared with Jamie are still fresh and her undying affection, compassion brought the best in him. Really, love is like a wind, you can’t see it, but you can feel the gush. Inspired by a true story, “A walk to remember” is movie adaptation of the novel with the same title penned by author Nicholas sparks. The movie featured Shane West as Landon Carter and Mandy Moore as Jamie Sullivan in the lead roles and this movie adaptation succeeds to capture the emotional spirit of the book. This movie was recommended to me by one of my friends and this movie is truly a mix of joy and sorrow. When you see this movie, you will instantly connect with it.

About the book “A Walk to remember” – This movie is an adaptation of the novel with the same title written by Nicholas Sparks, the popular author of best-selling novel – The Notebook. Published in 1999, this novel was a runaway success and was based on true story of Nicholas Sparks’ sister ‘Danielle Sparks Lewis’ who was very similar to Jamie Sullivan, the female protagonist of the novel. She also carried bible with her and volunteered for good causes by helping orphans and rescuing stray animals and birds. Nicholas Sparks’ sister died of cancer in 2000 and this book was a testimony of a brother’s undying love for his beloved sister who had few days to live. The story of the novel was set during 1958 while the movie was contemporary and was set during 1998.

“There are moments when I wish I could roll back the clock and take all the sadness away, but I have the feeling that if I did, the joy would be gone as well.” – lines from book ‘A Walk to remember” written by Nicholas Sparks

After “Dear John”, this movie has become my favorite ones because somewhere I feel that someone’s presence has brought a big change in me, intellectually and emotionally. I am not the person, I used to be. Though our natures are diverse, I feel that someday the person will reciprocate to my feelings. Even if we are not destined to come together, I will happy to cherish the moments that I spent with her. It will be a love to remember, a smile to remember that gave a new lease to my life.

If you loved really someone in your life, then you should definitely see this movie. After a long time, I have tried to pen down an emotional blog post that is very close to my heart and a story which is worth remembering. Once you have enjoyed seeing this movie, also checkout watching “Message in a bottle”, “The last song”, “The Notebook”, “P.S I Love you” & “Dear John”.

Regards
Prashant Badiger