Sunday, April 26, 2015

My thoughts on Vogue’s “My Choice” video going viral

Gender equality in a male-dominated society has always been a sensitive issue to handle. The new wave of women empowerment which is sweeping the nation attempts to do just that. The short film titled “My Choice” by Vogue features Bollywood’s top actress Deepika Padukone in a good social initiative on women empowerment. Is she able to drive the message home? To an extent, Yes .. but not completely.

The video relies more on sensationalism to get the point across. I do tend to agree with some of the statements. “My body, My mind, My choice – to wear the clothes I like, even as my spirit roams naked” is a great start to the video. It says a lot about freedom for women, to lead their life the way they want and not be judged about the choices they make. The message was loud and clear, women empowerment is here to stay! Another thought worth a mention “You are my choice, I am not your privilege” perfectly echoes the sentiments of the women whose partners take them for granted and treat them as the inferior gender. Domestic violence and violence towards women in general, is an evil in the society which needs to be eradicated.

However, the short film continues to go overboard with opinions which seem feminist. Be it a man or a woman, there should be a place for morals and ethics in everybody’s life. Some of the comments made are just not in good taste. Promoting or glorifying adultery in such a manner is completely unacceptable.

The video completely fails to address the problems and hardships of the under privileged women living in the rural parts of the country. Just flashing few random images of villagers in the midst of other shampoo models is not enough when all the comments made in the video are completely irrelevant towards them! Gender equality is a lot deeper issue for these women than the women living a comfortable life in the cities. Although 2 minutes is too less, issues like female infanticide, illiteracy and domestic violence (which was touched masterfully in the “Boys don’t cry” video) should take center stage.

The irony of the entire situation is that both parties primarily involved in the making and presentation of this video, Vogue and Bollywood, have a history of objectifying women. Considering these obvious loopholes, this short film made with good intentions lacks depth of thought and execution. We need a slightly bigger film, because 2 minutes is not sufficient time to discuss about such a delicate matter.

I will summarize everything by saying “Having a choice is always a good thing, but if you don’t use it wisely, you will end up making a bad choice”.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Can the Kiwis stop the Aussie Juggernaut?

The monumental defeat at the hands of the Aussies has left fans all over India disheartened. Most Indian fans are now hoping that the Kiwis would avenge their loss against Australia in the World Cup Grand Finale. Actually, this is the 1st time New Zealand has made it to the WC Final. Considering the roll the Kiwis have been so far .. not losing even a single match till now, would make some of the cricket enthusiastics believe that this is NZ's world cup all the way. After all, NZ has beaten Australia already in one of their league encounters.

But, make no mistake about it .. Australia is still the odds-on favourite to become The 5 Time Cricket World Champion!

Australian cricket team is in a league of their own, establishing complete dominance over their adversaries for almost a decade. India halted the Australian crusade in 2011 when they finally stopped Australia from winning their 4th consecutive World Cup, after they had completed their hatrick win in 2007. Australia is now looking to claim back the ultimate prize in cricket.

Australia’s strengths are that they bat very deep and have 2 world class bowlers in their team. The two Mitchells, Starc and Johnson will be the Aussie trump cards.
Drifting apart from topic .. but personally, the best sight in cricket has always been watching the mighty pace and swing bowlers in the world display their craft. I have always been thrilled watching great spells of fast bowling by some of the legends of the game like Wasim Akram (my personal favourite). Starc is something special. His brilliant spell (6/28) had left the Kiwis shell-shocked in their previous league encounter. Johnson has also performed consistently for Australia over the years and has always been one of their keys to success.

Kiwis have a history of performing extremely well at home, but the final being played in Melbourne heavily favours the Aussies. Kiwis are the underdogs going into this match and I am not ruling them out. But, after it’s all set and done .. I feel, the Aussies will be too much for them to handle.


Please Note:  
This article was written 1 day prior to the 2015 World Cup Final.

My post-match reaction:
I told you so!