A show that had me wanting something more out of it- Satyamev Jayate

Now I have been a huge huge advocate for this show. It has been a show which has had its heart in the right place from the word go. I remembering feeling immensely hopeful and positive after watching its very first episode in the previous season and then the subsequent ones.

As for Aamir Khan, the man behind this show, he is someone who has earned my respect for the sheer way he has chosen to use his celebrityhood in the right manner. For someone who has made a brand so bankable out of his own name by the movies he has done, he could have gone about using his stardom to endorse a cola here, a satellite TV network there, perform at a wedding here or do an item number there. But he has chosen to use his name, his star-power to set an example of a different kind, a more inspiring kind, IMO.

By touching upon some of the most pressing issues plaguing our country today, through his programme, Aamir has done his bit of shaking, if not all, but a lot of us from deep within our conscience and make us come face to face with our society’s crippling mindsets.

And for that alone, he deserves a pat in the back!

So, to come back to the show, when the promos of the second season started to show up on channels it was obvious that I was looking forward to it with some fair bit of expectations.

It ran its first episode yesterday. Oh no, I wont say that I was disappointed. But I certainly wished by the end of it that it had something more to offer. Unfortunately I could not catch the whole show. But I did watch it enough to make me wonder if focusing on so many rapes and retelling the horror stories was all that necessary, if by the end of it there was hardly any solution given.

Dont get me wrong. Yes we are well aware that women are not safe in our country. We have umpteen incidents to back that up. And I am glad that more and more survivors are coming out in the open to talk about the brutalities they had to endure. In fact I am all for bringing all those stories out in the open and making everyone of us aware.

But the show that I saw yesterday mostly seemed to focus more on feeling sorry for the rape victims and on wondering further as to why such incidents were on the rise, than finding answers to those questions. The show had me feeling sorry for the girls who had been mercilessly raped and left to die for, sorry for the families who had been tortured by the police time and again because they went to complain against their daughters’ rapists, sorry for the girls and their families who were harassed by some doctors who insisted on conducting some sickeningly intrusive tests repeatedly.

I wish that the show had also focused as much, if not more, on how to make the country safer for women instead of just drawing out statistics about the alarming number of rape cases registered, and some 89000+ cases still pending with the police. I wish they had, for instance, suggested about including a basic self-defence class in schools and colleges, or maybe introduced a martial-arts institute in their show, like how they introduce other charitable organizations, so that parents could be driven to send their daughters for a self-defence class. Or they could have provided a helpline number which anyone could access to when in trouble. I’m being pretty vague in my suggestions I know. But this is just to give an idea about what I was hoping to see come out of the show.

I wish, instead of zooming in on the rape victims’ families and their traumas (not to mention the teary eyed faces of the audience each time a terrible incident was being told), they had tried to capture shots of those culprits too who were responsible for those traumas. And by culprits I dont just mean the rapists. I mean each and every policeman, each and every doctor, each and every lawyer who went all out tormenting the girls and their families.

Let us not be vague in pin pointing blames on some random nameless doctor who insisted on the intrusive test or an unknown lawyer who had the most uncomfortably personal questions to ask the girl while ‘claiming for justice’ in the court or some faceless policeman who refused to attend to a complaint. If the show aims to make a difference, I’d urge them to bring that doctor out in the open, so he can be barred from practicing further, I’d urge them to divulge the name of that policeman who refused to lodge an FIR in the first place, so he can be stripped off his uniform. Bring that lawyer to the fore and disbar him.

Frankly I am tired of hearing about the sufferings of the victims and feeling hopeless and helpless. For once I insist on the focus getting shifted to the criminals, shaming them publicly and tormenting them in the most deserved manner.

Anyway I hope the forthcoming episodes will have something more conclusive to feel hopeful about.

Politics never looked so promising..

is what I said to Smitha after reading her post. And I mean it!

The way the recently held elections culminated in Delhi with Aam Aadmi Party emerging with a never-before-found sincerity and accountability tells me that we are in for some exciting times ahead. Finally here’s a party that truly gives the common man the say of the matter! Here’s someone who truly understands the pulse of the common man as he is one too, and works towards a single minded goal of wiping clean the corruption that has crippled the country.

As I was telling some friends while having a discussion on this topic, I had never really cared about politics in my life up until now, probably because, I was disillusioned by the way our politicians had been exploiting our country for their own selfish gains, failing us each time with their false promises. But with Arvind Kejriwal and his team of members coming to the fore, making all the right noises, saying things that I have always wanted to hear, finally getting around to doing things that mattered, I am beginning to feel a lot more hopeful than ever before of my country’s future. It heartens me to see so many of us sit up, and take genuine interest in the politics if our country.

When Arvind Kejriwal says, while taking the oath as the Chief Minister, that it is not just him but all the people of Delhi who are taking that oath with him, he makes every common man and woman feel responsible for the functioning of the country, in my opinion and belief. And THAT makes me feel empowered. Can you remember a politician or a party give the common man/woman such empowering say before? I cant! Yes we have had leaders act as our representatives and ‘promise’ to address our concerns, only to end up addressing their own gains. But no leader has made me believe as though he/she is serving the people or country. The perception, at least in my eyes, has always been of the elected representatives on a pedestal while the common people snubbed low on to the ground! And now here’s a party who turns the table! Here’s someone who finally puts the common man’s basic concerns over his. Here’s a party who assures that the power to keep the country functioning lies on the common man and woman just as much!

Now I don’t want to comment on how successful they are at the helm in Delhi for the simple reason that it’s too early to gauge yet. Although, to me they seem to me making all the right moves till now. And what I also want to believe is that AAP’s honest, upfront attitude is succeeding, to some extent, in making other parties tread their path. The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, has cut down on her security, another leader has urged the CM of Maharashtra to slash the power tariffs, to cite a few examples. Not to mention the Vice-President of the ruling party talking about adopting an intolerant policy towards corruption! Much as I’d like to laugh at this remark since its his very party that has been siphoning off the tax payers’ money and taking us all for a ride, the very fact that they seem to be getting influenced by AAP’s line of thought is a welcome sign.

Whether they have the credentials to make it big at the coming general elections is for time to tell. So all those of you, dismissing them…please wait before you write them off entirely! Give them a chance and give yourself a chance to feel positive about. For now though, the party’s intentions seem to be in the right place. I hope they continue to stay driven and focused about their policies! I hope they don’t get swayed by the dirty conniving games of politics.

Politics which never really helped the people in general, has come to mean all about people! Thanks to AAP, the focus is back on us, the common people. So let’s celebrate that, let’s ride along this wave and help ourselves!

Happy New Year everyone! Here’s to a new beginning, a new wave of hope!