The Eloquence of Ajinkya Rahane

As soon as he brought up his hundred, he looked at the sky and raised his bat. People are certainly not used to such kind of celebrations these days. The leap in the air, the pumping of fists is the kind of the show that we expect and get these days. But not Ajinkya Rahane.
Perhaps, one of the last of the quintessential member of the esteemed Bombay School of Batsmanship, Rahane’s face did not show that kind of exultation. It was just a meek smile that showed signs of relief.
How, you wondered, would this almost meek boy survive in this team of superstars and superstar-size egos, when he first came into the side. But Rahane has grown by quite a measure in the previous overseas tours. Underneath the soft exterior that Rahane presents, lurks a very solid Indian Test batsman.
He does not have the magnetic personality of Virat Kohli, the eye-catching stroke play of Rohit Sharma or the discipline of Cheteshwar Pujara. But what Ajinkya possesses is fluency. He made a pretty nonchalant looking century under some pressure, but he did it so seamlessly that when you just glanced at the scoreboard, you were amazed to see him playing on 78.
The way he motored to his second Test century was brilliant. Punches down the ground and some exquisitely controlled pull shots propelled him to the Lord’s honours boards. The most striking shot of the day had to be the delightful loft over Anderson’s head to get him half-a-dozen runs. No brutality, sheer timing. Vijay Merchant would certainly have approved of that.
It was very agonizing to see the back of Rahane as soon as he stroked the ball through the covers to the boundary. Jimmy Anderson snapped the reflex catch to end the fluency of Rahane. Even as he was walking back to the pavilion, Rahane showed hardly any signs of misery. It was as if he felt that he would really offend the entire cricketing fraternity if he put up a more emotional face.
Maybe that’s the way he is. Shy, reserved and inarticulate. But with a bat in his hands, his eloquence is perhaps the most endearing to watch.

Sholay: The greatest story ever told

How many times have you seen Sholay? Perhaps, this question is irrelevant. Sholay has been a classic and remains to be one since the past 4 decades because everything related to it; the direction, the acting, the story, the dialogues, the music; seems to conquer perfection.

But this perfection didn’t come easy to Sholay. Sippy and his entire crew toiled hard to get right every small bit of it. The story tellers Salim-Javed threw the audience such a plethora of characters and situations that it was irresistible not to revisit the movie again. The characters were made so as maintain the balance of the movie. For every Jai, serious and unassuming, there is a Veeru, jolly and fun-loving; the stark silence of Radha contrasted by Basanti and her continuous chatter; the gritty police thanedar Thakur and the clueless “angrezon ke jamane ka jailor”. And finally, the duel of good versus the evil. Gabbar Singh in his own menacing ways tries and almost wins the battle against all the good hearted people connected to Ramgarh. Along with such vivid characters, comes a revenge saga and perhaps, the most touching love story of Indian Cinema, Jai and Radha. Oh, and add to that the deep bond of friendship between Jai and Veeru, which was so epic that it truly and fully deserved a song for itself.

With a story so rich, came in the dialogues. Dialogues with such intensity and ferocity, that the entire 207 minutes of dialogues were recorded into a cassette and were sold like hot cakes in the market. As a drunken Veeru goes on the top of the water tank and shouts, “iss story mein emotion hain, drama hain, tragedy hain”, you also tend to think that he not just talking of his own love-life, but also of Sholay in general. And you shudder when Gabbar says “Jo darr gaya, samjho mar gaya!” And when Jai finally decides to stop Basanti’s chatter and quip, “Tumhara naam kya hai Basanti?” there is mirth of laughter echoing in the theatre. Such is the effect of the dialogues, that they have made such an impact on our lives and have even found a way in our daily interactions.

Complementing the story and dialogues, is the simplistic acting. Acting that defines the 70s era of Indian Cinema. Jai was cornerstone of Amitabh Bachchan’s career, whereas Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri carried their roles with such aplomb that the audience fell in love with their character. The acting and the bonding of Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra was so brilliant that the chapter of their on-screen friendship is still spoken of in mythological proportions. Even small roles done by Asrani (Jailor), Hangal (Imam Chacha), Leela Mishra (Mausi), Viju Khote (Kaaliya), Sachin Pilgaonkar (Ahmed), Jagdeep (Surma Bhopali), Satyen Kappu (Ramlaal) and Keshto Mukherjee (Hariraam) offer a lot of depth to the story. But the most influential character on-screen is Gabbar Singh played by Amjad Khan. Amjad Khan faced a lot of ire and negativity in the pre-release phase of the movie and was even called a miscast. How could a debutant be a cold blooded dacoit? But Amjad Khan proved why he was the best choice for the role and played it in such a menacing manner that Gabbar is remembered as one of the best villains in Indian Cinema.

The background music given by R.D. Burman is another great facet of Sholay. The background scores, whether it is a gang of goons trying to loot a train or it is Gabbar walking on the boulders, are honed so well that they do not require any company to convey the mood of the situation. The songs barring “Yeh Dosti” are perhaps, the only department where Sholay cannot match the intensity of the story and hence, was perceived as, probably, the least perfect segment in the film.

Thus, even if it is 4 decades old, Sholay is one of the most exhilarating experiences of our lifetime. A movie that was criticized initially, garnered such adulation in the coming days, that it became the mother of all Bollywood movies. Now as fans, we need to answer only one question: Why has Sholay gained this cult status? Some of us might say that the story makes it what it is; some would vouch for the acting while some might staunchly remind us that the dialogues are the greatest reason due to which the country reveres the movie. Amidst all this claims, we forget to notice the coherence between the music, acting, dialogues and story that made the movie truly epic. If not for this coherence and direction from Ramesh Sippy, the entire story telling would have been a futile exercise for everybody. And maybe, this is the major reason why Ram Gopal Verma failed stunningly in making “Ram Gopal Verma ki Aag”, a movie which will not only be remembered in history as the worst possible remake of an epic but also as an attempt to tarnish the legacy of a legend.

This is, indeed, the lesson than many Bollywood movie directors should take from Sholay that only pyro-techniques, mindless action and dialogue delivery combined with shallow storylines are not going to win them any accolades. They might break statistical records, but become legends? NO.

Is Sholay 3-D a worthwhile decision, you ask? Well, as Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in the name? That which we call a Rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Sholay is that beautiful Rose. And despite of endless reruns on TV, endless reruns on your laptop or remaking it in 3D, Sholay will never cease to be “THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD”.

Autobiography of a Bat

They called me the Excalibur. They did. And he took it as the biggest compliment that he ever got. I never knew what the fuss was all about. After all, I was just a bat. “Just a bat? Just a bat?” he asked. “You are not just a bat”, he announced, “You are my totem. Without you, I would cease to exist. What would I be if not for you?” Maybe he was right, maybe not. We defined each other. But I didn’t say it loud that day. I didn’t need to.

For him, I was his tireless and faithful companion. For me, he was the superhero and I, his weapon of choice. Some thought that we were inseparable. Well, that was justified given the way we behaved on tours. He took me to the room where he stayed and we would have endless discussions regarding match tactics and players. Contrary to what everybody thought, we had our differences. We did. But on the field? NEVER. I seem to remember a certain sunny day in South Africa.  In the shadow of Table mountain, we were facing The Fast One. Calling that guy a genius would be highly unfair to his skills. And that day, the fast one was in his in the mood. Swing, what prodigal swing! That day, the ball seemed to obey its master rather than the laws of Physics. Such was the ferocity. I was cowering in fear, but the one who held me was unflinching. He asked me to endure. Many-a-times, I asked him to counterattack. But he knew better. He probably had braved someone like The Fast One earlier. He whispered “Let us not attack now. Right now, he is too hot for us to handle. We will need some luck and I promise, I hold you softly so that the nicks don’t carry.” And thus sensibility prevailed. And then in the next 2 sessions, the 50-odd deliveries I faced off The Fast One are, perhaps, one of the most enduring memories in my lifetime. No counterattack, we buckled down. Anything outside the off, even marginally was left. Anything on the stumps by The Fast One was blocked. Something that Rahul, the batsman approved of. I could see him applauding me. That makes this memory even special. We prevailed, yes we did. But The Fast One was smart enough to wipe off the other side. Eventually, we managed to provide our team with a slender advantage but the day’s honours were evenly shared. Perhaps, the most thrilling day in the modern day test cricket. Later, I came to know that The Fast One was known as Dale Steyn.

Our companionship also led him to be protective of me. One day, when he was talking to me about the new flick through the midwicket he was trying to develop, Suresh and Yuvraj barged into the room. They were on their way to bat in the nets and they wanted to bat with me. That thought spent a shiver down my spine. After all, a surgeon’s scalpel when placed in a butcher’s hand is going to be rendered into a blunt tool with zero effectiveness. Even he realized that, and instead of me, Suresh and Yuvraj got my newest peers. You could not possibly imagine the happiness on their faces. The Master’s bat, they thought. And that idea was enough for them to play out the session with all the glee and enthusiasm they ever had experienced in their lives.

His protectiveness for me also showed when I started to age. With the number of balls that we struck daily, that was bound to happen sooner than later. But he couldn’t just digest this fact. He couldn’t just bear to lose me. Such were the memories. The patching kept going on. The taping on my shoulder and my toe was so dense, that it was almost threatening to wipe out the existence of the sponsors of my face. He kept loving me and could not part with me despite me blackening all over the face because of the tiny layers of wood peeling off.

Finally, one day when we were back in the country, I asked him to let me go. Perhaps the most painful sentence I have ever said to him. He left me on the bed and sat there on the chair reliving all the old memories. And then there was a knock on the door. It was Rahul, not the batsman but the voracious reader. He had just read a newspaper article and he found a quote in the article to be very interesting. So he said it out loud “Batman puts on a cape, Spiderman needs a costume, Superman sheds his normal clothes to reveal his true self. But Sachin Tendulkar only needs to pick up a bat in hand to be a superhero.”

And Sachin Tendulkar turned around to look at me. All he could do is muster a smile but the eyes were glistening.  

The Master, his Totem and the ageless masterstroke.