Lively People

Foreword: It's that time of the year again. Indians all over the world stop refilling plastic Coke bottles with "filtered" water and remind each other of the fact that they are independent. As in free, from foreign rule. Then, we go back to bribing the traffic constable and pissing in the streets. That's all good, only it's not that much fun. I'm here to tell you what is.

A couple of times on this blog, for those of us who care, I have talked about movies. I'm going to do that one more time. I spent what was Independence Day in India in a cinema in the USA watching "Peepli (Live)" (hence the title, get it?). I've rarely been blown away by movies (except, maybe, by those starring Angelina Jolie) but this time I was. "Peepli..." was witty, non-preachy, non-partisan and most importantly, naach-gaana free. I was reminded of "Jaane bhi do yaaron" by the easy satire and lack of pretense. The part I liked best was that the director offered no solutions, just showcased some problems. In an hour and forty-four minutes, Anusha Rizwi (and possibly Aamir Khan, behind the scenes) told a crisp and engaging tale, one I highly recommend. Enough said.