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Movie Review

Bharat (2019) Movie Review

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I got to see Bharat (2019) in the Amazon Prime Video OTT. This movie is underrated per IMDB. I would put it at a much higher rating than above average, likely 8 or 9 out of 10.

Who would not like this movie? It is pure fiction and has a larger than life story with strong emotions covering the whole spectrum from sadness to happiness, death to life before and to life after, from patriotism to atrocity, from poverty to richness, from dependence to independence, from childhood to old age, from non violence to violence, from fantasy to reality, from existence to non-existence. I would count this as Salman‘s best movie ever, that I have seen.

Placing the Tiger in the background and working in and around untouched domains

Coming from the hangover of the YRF Spy universe. Bharat, makes me think of this as a precursor to the Tiger. Almost completing the Tiger’s background story, which could have easily sat between pre-Tiger to Tiger. With similarly bold character of Katrina Kaif holding up and performing beyond expectations of a stereotypical Bollywood heroine. This also fits well with the Salman Khan’s zone of movies with the premise of India-Pakistan making this one also a true pan sub continent movie of Bajrangi Bhaijan. Complete with the Pathaan and upcoming Tiger Movies, this almost demands at least in people’s mind to give Salman movie fans to make these attempts a redeemer of whatever faults the human has and keeps the hope of negating the differences and unifying the broken hearts of both countries.

Bharat the redeemer

Coming back to Bharat the movie, at some Katrina’s character also knocks out the superhuman of the character making it very human. This must have been a truly humbling experience for the fans. As for the actors, they are just acting, it is for us, that it matters more.

Bharat and work

That scene of getting himself and his team a work visa was funny, unrealistic and stupid, nevertheless entertaining. Going through tough times of Partition of the sub-continent to formation of different countries, the effects of which were shown with good intent and effectiveness, Bharat stands out. Taking us through numerous jobs that the titular character undertakes and gives his best, it is a reminder for anyone who is willing to succeed, to also be willing to put in the effort. As we grow up we relate to different aspects of a movie. A working class person, someone in the working age, hopes to get to work and live a work life, accepts a VIP orAla Vaikunthapurramuloo or The Pursuit of Happyness at a much more realistic viewpoint. On a parallel, Katrina’s character also goes through work life, of immigration, public broadcasting and reality TV, a natural evolution resonating with the macroeconomics of the country of India.

Bharat and immigration

As a southerner, the effects of partition are not known much in the south, only history testbooks and interests in geopolitics would draw a curious mind towards this forgettable but important nation creating moment. I would have to use much imagination on top of the excellent writing of Kushwant Singh in his Train to Pakistan, to fill the gaps of humanness and the lack thereof. Bharat also goes through ambitions of the unemployed, how they wished to build their family first, reminding an average Mamootty fan of Pathemaari. Pathemaari was a serious take on poverty, helplessness, economic immigration and immigrant workers. Similar immigrant worker stories of which we heard and read in the recently concluded Qatar world cup 2022 as well. So many years have passed, but history repeats itself. Bharat particularly touches the immigrant’s nerve when it talks about hopes. Destroying someone’s hope is worser than death. In Kerala, a related proverb goes like, “Give an elephant, but never give hope”. Sometimes as immigrant and/or worker, we give hopes to ourselves, some of them may need a reclassification as a false-hope, to satisfy our ego and give ourselves a really hard footing. Don’t hopes drive us? Don’t we give ourselves hopes to live on and live by? Sometimes winning, sometimes losing and having a lifetime of experience to reflect upon.

Going through different jobs, posing different situations and the associated struggle and fun, it sits well with me as an economic immigrant working out of home country. The fun side of which reminds me of yet another great movie – The Forrest Gump. Salman portrayed an emotionally less aged character in the hit Bajrangi Bhaijan, whose innocence, just like Forrest Gump captured the heart, this one in and as Bharat combines the best of both worlds, and includes a whole universe of characters, emotions, situations and struggles, which is yet another surprise in a Bollywood movie, especially one normally expected out of Salman. Dealing with even pirates, on his own style, who would not want to be Bharat’s friend. It is his friend in bad times, that kept with him, and even this aspect of friendship was explored,in addition other relationships with siblings, parents and extended family with much importance in the movie.

Overall, Bharat was an interesting experience, of laws and lawlessness, ambitions and complacence. It is a wonder for someone who went through The Forrest Grump and Bajrangi Bhaijan to see that even within a standard Indian movie duration, Bharat could offer this much, and keeping a coherent narrative with effective visualization. Like other Salman movies, this one too, stands ground on hit movie songs. Bharat was a refreshing experience, and thence for once putting this particular movie well above my average ratings for an average Hindi Movie.

There was only one instant where I felt the movie could have improved. During Bharat’s near death experience in the underground work place, an otherwise stopped watch should have started working, to show us that this was unreal times, where his whole life flashes before him, and the watch should have stopped, when he recovers, indicating that we are back to normal where the watch never worked.

Bharat also pays good reference times for the legends Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Amitabh Bachchan.

Sidenotes

As someone who worked for a Pakistani Origin CEO, in a company which had significant footprint in Pakistan, USA and office in India. Going to a sponsored vacation trip with all Pakistani people in an unknown country, was a unique and memorable experience for me. Thanks to the USA for letting us do that.I would confidently claim that time has been proving over and over again of no much difference between humans, their needs and emotions. And people of all countries gel well when they are outside of their homes. So I would encourage everyone to get out of the comfort of home, and go and see the world. To shine lights on the darkest corners of our brain, to open up and bring in a true acceptance of the world we live in.We need to do more of that between these two beautiful countries and many other countries as well.

Footnotes

I could not end this without relating this movie to my own work life and visa experience as an economic immigration, though not as exciting and entertaining, it has its own ups and downs captured as related posts here.

Work in the USA

Bonded Spouse, by chance

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H1B comes with the wonderful option of bringing your family in to the USA. According to the USCIS Family is only spouse and children. Parents, Grandparents, Brothers, Sisters, Uncles, Aunts do not count. Suddenly your family has shrunk. If you like to learn about one country that officially recognizes a family in its fullness, see my previous post.

H1B stand alone is heaven, you are always on the toes, ready to pack and move, share accommodation, sell and buy decisions everything depends on one person and is easy to make.

Options Check

With marriage it is supposed to be more full/complete and happy. However, would there be anything more punishing than not letting the spouse work by providing a work permit on H4. H4 EAD is only available with I-140 approved. However, without reaching I-140 approval, that spouse is going to be a sitting duck at home. It is ok for some people to spend time in learning, studying, taking care of home and rest of the dependents. However, that is not the aim of anyone on H1B who is already highly skilled specialty occupation qualified, and by middle class norms we can safely assume the spouse also would be eligible for such a category provided there was an equally competent H1B sponsoring employer in the location in the field of interest.

Option A : Follow Passion and further your career

Now, what if the spouse comes with a degree that is restricted by licensing, example dentistry. Then the spouse has to clear all the requirements for international dental program. Which has a very small intake compared to the general public of the USA. What if spouse cleared all the exams, attended all the interviews and still did not get selected? Try again. What if on retry too there was no option available and no admits given to pursue there career further.

Option B: Try something else

Try something, anything, like Google Maps aunt says take any lane and keep going forward, beat depression and hang on. Engage in something random. Binge on TV, food and music. And think, wishfully of an upcoming future that is bright and shiny.

Option C: Study something else for the sake of visa and future job

This is the appropriate middle class action for any H4 who is half decent in studies and ethically, morally middle class and want to support the family. So in hunt of this path, H4 is let in and given admit but cannot get funding, cannot work in research in certain healthcare. Then you need F1. For F1 visa you can change status or do consular processing. For change of status wait for a long time and then join the course. Ready for more wait times . Read more employment gaps. Or consular processing to F1, which the USA will accept because they bring in the money and spend in the USA, compared to an employee, who apparently takes money away.

In fact, I had a bad experience with a co-worker, to whom during my small talk and networking effort, I conveyed my country and work visa status, for which he said that I am taking all the salary home, as if he does not. At sometime, I had to communicate this to the HR and stop talking with the co-worker altogether.

Option D: I will not talk about this because that is actually not an option.

Optionless choice, by chance

The impact of restrictions on the H4 has impact on the H1B. Afterall it is more often that H1B is depended on H4 for taking care of all the non-work work. See Immigrant Talks YouTube video where Omkar says how to put it to the employer, the manager how this is affecting the work. However, I did not know this at that time. So my default answer for “How is it going” was “Bad”. And coworkers would not understand why I am saying that. When I say I became bonded labor and my spouse is even more restricted, as if I am a slave and she is slave of slave. Nobody understood this. When American co workers discussed their stupid red vs blue politics, I would interject and ask if they wanted foreign influence, I being a foreigner would be able to influence their decisions! I signed up for a job that for the first time in my life, on paper called me officially alien, at the time of part time paid research through the state university of new york research foundation (SUNYRF). Now, since I have been alien I was ok with that status. I would even tell coworkers that I am officially alien and there is no need for space travel to moon and mars to see one. So what would I expect out of Alien’s wife. This is probably not the best title to give a newly wed partner. But if jokes are in, let’s put everything in to make a soup. And as alien’s with appetite for humor we could digest it at home, with some bitterness. My Indian origin H1B batchmate coworker would say to this “We would not understand the some of the American coworker’s joke, and they would not understand ours”.

This type of dependent visa is available in some other countries of the GCC. With more restrictive rules. However, the way it is implemented does not suit the values of the USA. However, more than once they have gone back in their own ethics. American Revolution, I studied in my kerala state syllabus school, was based on “No taxation without representation“. However, for the H1B, especially on a backlog, there is a long time, a very long time of taxation only and absolutely no representation, if there is a lifetime backlog. There is no shame in taking taxes for the services, and people have to pay taxes in the H1 or any alien visa. This is by rule. This is excellent. I would want this if I was running the country. But then it is a U turn on the very foundation, of the USA. This is intellectually alienating ideology as well.

Uncategorized

The publicity question on creativity

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In the question of passion, many have lost and gained jobs. Employment being the least resistant path to earn money comes and goes. Once we have gone into the cycle of joining and quitting, the next relevant question is monetary benefit. It is normal to jump jobs, earn experience, take corrective action to reach our target goals, benefits and financial matters. Is there a limit to this ?

We seek creative avenues that give provide freedom of thought and action. And when it merges within the cradle of an employment, with a cushion that provides along with responsibilities. It is very hard for some to imagine this, and they keep up their employment and stash their dreams of passion.

I feel this is more common in developing economies where the business cash flow is inwards and labor workflow is outward. In this mode of easy money through employment, the developing economies may find it difficult to attract enough talent for creative approach to solving problems which could be read as startups and new business ventures. Creativity is at its peak in some economies especially India in the form of stories, plays, poems, movies, digital art and so on. It is no wonder that most Hollywood movies go to India as one of the famous destination for artists with this calibre.

It is obvious from the customer viewpoint that we cannot assume any developing economies throwing the risks into the wind and jumping in the pursuit of creativity. It takes a leap of faith to create publicly perceivable, sustainable, value for creativity. Why is this hesitation misunderstood ?

Such as Steve Wozniak says here https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/indians-study-hard-and-get-mba-may-be-buy-mercedes-but-lack-creativity-apple-co-founder-steve-woz-1177668-2018-02-26. 

I can see this as a misunderstanding of the cultural, developmental and sociological situation prevailing in India. The understanding of which takes more than being a tech company experience.The article also lacks in being specific with a title of generalizing all “Indians”. Even Indians do not do that. This is again evident from the Shashi Tharoor speech which says that the whole landmass was called India from outside of India. And the natives of India had not given such a name to themselves as Hindu, Hindustan or India.

One thing that USA does extremely well is publicity and marketing. By acquiring all “national” brands “.gov” domains, most American companies listed on the Internet can have assured exposure to the larger market beyond its borders. For example National Geographic is not limited to the nation of the USA, similar is the case with the National Public Radio. While the same national public radio of India, if you will, is named ” All India Radio”. While rest of the world’s Government establishments have to add their country domain to “.gov” domain, such as “gov.in”. USA got the “.gov”. It is not “.gov.us” for whatever reason it is. Value of the USA as a brand , otherwise called “brandequity” is thus proven to be very high.  There is no brand bigger than a nation. No business better than running a country.

In the USA the venues for publicity is high. Even at a personal level, the interaction is mostly positive and spreading a good vibe in the USA. So, it can be assumed without prejudice that USA has mastered the marketing skills and it also has population with largest consumer pocket. Thanks to history and Richard Nixon that American consumerism is still on high and products , new products and technically advanced products can be sold at a premium. This is in contrast to developing economies where the price should be maintained as modest and the product has to prove, rather than sell, to be worth the price. This paradigm shift in the marketing thought process makes the advertisement industry in India highly creative and competitive.

It is also noted that the trend in developed economies is to sustain the cycle of buying and selling, keep the money rolling, as maintenance fees, even for living – also called as taxes and insurance, while in many developing economies these are optional and one may choose to live without these. This goes in lines of a great author, whose name escapes me, who said “An Indian’s frugality is often mistaken for poverty”. So in such economies, lesser marketing, lower impact on economy, lower cost to live all thrive well. This should naturally be extended to decluttered life and higher quality of living. Aren’t these the fads of developed economies too ? And in here, especially for low carbon footprint projects, zero waste and total waste recycling projects we see such technologies that enable people to live simpler, happier, without shameless self promotion.