Say "Chess" please

Chess is not a continuous game that can resonate with the masses in India or the rest of the world. It is a discreet game where two players trained to put a poker face and an impenetrable facade play with thirty-two pieces in two colors that even TV manufacturers are no longer interested in making. Excitement happens on the board where the players are moving pieces in tandem but it is not the same excitement for the crowds who can sometimes read a book or clean their bowels in between two moves. It is, therefore, quite audacious of Madam Jayalalitha to  take the lead, outbid the Russians and  host the FIDE World Championship Match between Vishwanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen. This will make even the busy upcoming December concert-season seem like a passing cloud as the first match got played yesterday amidst unprecedented glitz and glamor (with the likes of AR Rahman, Shobhana and Veena Gayatri performing for the opening ceremony). 

From the buildup to the match so far, Chess fans are in for a fabulous fare with a youthful Carlsen,  challenging the hegemony of Anand who has been holding the crown since 2007, having won it five times since 2000. Anand is 43, Carlsen 22, a situation almost similar to the great duels in the game, between Anand and Karpov, between Bobby Fisher and Boris Spassky. 

Anand is probably, India's best-known sportsman after Sachin Tendulkar, even though chess is played in more countries than cricket. He is a Padma Vibhushan, the first Indian sportsman to be conferred that honor and is one of the richest too with brand endorsements running into crores of rupees. As NIIT brand ambassador, he is responsible for most kids contacting chess at an early age. Since 2002, the NIIT MindChampion' Academy has fostered 15,600 chess clubs. It covers 1.5 million students with video tutorials, instructional software, multi-lingual approach and online matches, teaching children not just chess strategies but the fundamentals of analysis and logical thinking. I had interacted with one of the kids my wife taught a few years back, the kid and his brother not only play chess exceptionally well, they are also shining in academic performance. As Anand himself says, "Chess forces players to think spatially and keep stepping back to look at the big picture. You have to plan strategy, think ahead, engage in abstract reasoning and, you need to work your way into your opponent's head. This is quite remarkable for Anand despite plonking a critical mass of his wealth in a vast suburb in Spain. After Bobby Fisher, Anand takes the credit for firing the imagination of millions of young people the world over to take up a game, originally invented by the Indians, but masterfully pivoted by the Russians. 

Today, promising chess players have begun to emerge from China, Armenia, Norway and Israel etc. Anand's adversary, Magnus Carlsen is from Norway and is already the highest ranked player - the most basic being 2200 for an International Master. He has been a GrandMaster at the age of thirteen, the third youngest in history. In a televised demonstration of his abilities, Carlsen once played ten opponents simultaneously in speed chess - with his back turned to the boards. That is something even Anand attempted in a game which he termed as blitz. Playing at this level, both Carlsen and Anand will have to remember and instantly and automatically refer to thousands of games stored in memory. According to one researcher, a champion will have to remember 50,000 to 100,000 chunks of games and openings about the game. This is itself staggering and belies the magnificence of what a human brain is capable of remembering. It is probably more challenging than writing an equivalent of ten statistical tests of an Actuary examination - considered the world's toughest computational challenge.

The difficulty of remembering so many games and the repertoires of strategies to counter the openings and its precise unfolding is what takes a toll on the players. I have three apps on my Ipad which combine an equivalent of 20,000 games. I have never been able to beat the App because I do not have such long-term memory with instant recall. Even if my brain is not exactly filled with sawdust, the task of recalling a Chigorin's Defence or a Dutch defence and then playing stonewall variation or Flank openings requires a monumental memory. I read somewhere that the exact number of combinations and permutations from any one move in Chess Game can be as high as 10 raised to the power of 120, that is, 1 followed by 120 zeroes! Thats why I surmise after the smashing first match between Garry Kasparov and IBM Deep Blue (the supercomputer wired with algorithms on chess games) which Kasparov won, Deep Blue beat the former hollow second time onwards. Nobody since then had the temerity to take on a computer in a well-publicised match because this is one game where the human brain, arguably, has lost it to the mega memory machines that man invented.  So a computer can beat a human brain because it is programmed to outplay and has the counter-intuitive arsenel in the form of powerful algorithms to navigate the variations of play available compared to just a lakh or so of chunks of information in a human brain. If you allow me to make a detour here, I must also say that the days of human dominance on some games like this are already numbered after that fateful day on May 11, 1997 when Deep Blue defeated the reigning world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game match. Today, games like checkers, Othello, poker, bridge, backgammon, scrabble and even Sudoku can by played by computers with algorithms that will overwhelm any human player, however dexterous and intuitive. The short answer to that is that the more iterative and complex a game is, lending itself to a playing mixture of memory of millions of legal moves and rational responses, the more easy it is for Artificial Intelligence experts to build a machine that trounces Man.

For the record, there are several books written about the inside stories of the memorable campaigns by the famed IBM team that prepared to defeat the greatest chess player of all time. But it took about 12 years, an equivalent of an exile in Ramayana to outclass a champion. Kasparov's fall came quite soon after that debacle and Anand became the new world chess champion in 2000, the first time. Unlike now, Anand also didn't declare his "seconds" for three championships. So it is understandable why Carlsen is reluctant to reveal the seconds. There is a rumor that Garry Kasparov himself may be plotting against Anand this time, helping out Carlsen. As it is, taking seconds is itself a reassuring step in the direction of winning. Anand has picked Sasikiran and two foreigners, usually, some of them must have been remarkable adversaries to Anand in some of the Linares tournaments. Carlsen, looks nervous and has the burden of beating Anand, who at forty-three looks more composed than ever because Anand has never played with an insecurity of losing. He always played with a passion for the game. 

But this part of it, the sensationalism in the build-up to the games, and the posturing pre-and-post matches is what makes Chess a better package than watching two super-computers play with nothing embedded but silicon chips. Back then, Kasparov and Karpov used to psyche each other out with little help from Western media. Probably, the most sensational of all matches must have got played by both of them under the burdensome purview of Cold War, more between them than the US and Soviet Union. Boris Spassky, another Soviet great, was stunned by Bobby Fisher in 1972 and the latter became to Chess what Bruce Lee was to Karate - the most enigmatic player but obsessed with chess. According to the script for the movie "Searching for Bobby Fisher", Bobby Fisher was in awe of himself and the game. He designed a new chess clock, designed a new chess board game with eighty squares in it (usually it has sixty four), became anti-semitic and later on became a recluse till he became a nervous wreck. He was, however, brilliant and was renowned for being envisioned on the direction of the game within few moves. 

Anand has no such qualms, he had led a balanced life, grounded by wife Aruna and parents, never lost his composure or became a boor in the game like a Kasparov. He wrote a book "My Best Games " which captures forty of his best chess games, maintains a hearty touch with India's leading sportspersons, almost like Sachin Tendulkar and puts in enormous efforts for any big match. Twelve hour days are a routine it seems in Anand's book and his team of seconds vouch for the same. Anand also tried to give back to the game with all these mentoring programs for kids. He has been an outlier that won respect from advesaries like Kramnick, Karpov, Kasparov and even Carlsen. He still takes those five deep breaths before every game and plays with a straight face without getting mean looks. This time, a lot of forces are aligning themselves together to thwart Anand's march into one more championship crown. There will be distractions, I know; another legend cricketer's swan song, elections in five states, etc. but let nothing take the credit away from one of India's Urban legends in Chess. He has brought the game back to India and has shown the world that with right training, focus and hardwork, rewards can come in Chess too. Carlsen will play hard and mask his tricks but whatever be the outcome, this should turn out to be a vodka-kick to chess fans. May the best player win.

ANR and the Art of Living

My piece on ANR as an inspiration for healthy living.

http://www.news4andhra.com/details?contentId=1861

"Shahid" (Hindi) Film Review

                            

"Shahid" is a gutsy film made way back in 2012 and showcased at major international festivals in Toronto, etc. like "LunchBox". It's quite surprising that the film found no takers until Anurag Kashyap and Ronnie Screwala (UTV) lent their producer's label. Director Hansal Mehta must be congratulated for making an impactful film on the tragic life and times of Shahid Azmi. 

The story is well-written by Director Hansal Mehta and comprehensively nuanced. Shahid Azmi (played by Raj Kumar of "Kai Po Che" fame) is a tale of a muslim caught in suspicion of terrorist-nexus. He actually joins a camp in Kashmir but runs away from the brutality of the camp. Lands in a prison, meets inspiring leaders from Kashmir of liberal background who wean him away from jihadi influence in the jaiil.Shahid is inspired by Kay Kay Menon, one of the Kashmiri leaders, to study so the years will fly. He gets an informal education in liberal arts in the prison walls. He comes out on bail with help of Kay Kay. He pursues law and becomes a lawyer starting off with low-end law firms bristling with under-paid colleagues and unethical practices - such as backing a wrong horse and without the right cause. Shahid decides to practise on his own, his first case is of a young and beautiful widow played by Prableen Sandhu who is fighting for custody of her property in a dispute of estate created by an intestate will. His next case is a case of a muslim booked under TADA for allowing a friend to use his laptop for terrorist activities.

 Shahid wins both cases, succeeds in wooing the beautiful widow and marrying her. Shahid's career zooms and is seen as a flag-bearer for the causes of exonerating innocent muslims from victimhood by the nexus of State-Police-Judiciary whenever a terrorist attack happens. From the Ghatkopar blasts of 1993 till the Taj Hotel attacks of 2008, Shahid Azmi succeeded in 17 acquittals by taking up cudgels for those who are wronged and not the wrong-doers. In the end, media attention, intolerance by adversaries at the growing stature and elements of society who sense a conspiracy and a criminal pattern in his battles abridge him forever. Three men call him to discuss a case at unearthly hours and shoot him to death. 

That's a long story in a blazing canvass of visuals limited to business-like expediency of court-matters which leave little to imagination. In 129  minutes, director Hansal Mehta shows us a credible real-life character played with alacrity and poise by Raj Kumar as Shahid. Raj Kumar plays the role perfect giving us a feel of an ordinary lad who grows in stature, outgrowing the frustrations of being discriminated against as a minority, navigating the labrynths of law to keep the right people out of clutches. Raj Kumar shows all the shades  - composure, mental agility, frustration, impulsiveness and opportunism. His poker face can hide a billion thoughts crossing his mind but the emotions can only come out as per the director's cut and the camera's angles. All other characters play their part well especially Kay Kay Menon and Prableen Sandhu. One wonders why we don't see Kay Kay often in films - as a consumer of cinema, we have a right to know why a versatile actor like Kay Kay gets the miss.

The film is taut and runs on a razor's edge at times raising meaningful debate about the rights of minorities caught up in the web of law where the needle of suspicion constantly points to them. The film shows the Indian judiciary in rare, authentic light as being reasonable, fair and diligent in its ruminations. The scenes of cross-examination are brilliant and the arguments by Shahid before the denouement is given by the judge are epiphanous. The only flaw in the film is the slow intro and the choice of cases - the angst of the police and of competent adversaries to Shahid was not skilfully handled. Could there have been a Type-I error (in Statistics, an acquittal that was "costly")? What was the impact of TADA on genuine cases? Who could have killed Shahid Azmi and what were the motives? Some questions linger on, even after the viewing. Nehru's ideals for minority protection have become an axiom for many politicians. His ideals were founded on a golden principle of assertiveness- that in any country where the majority is another religion, that need not assert itself but the minorities need a voice because they may feel apprehensive of fighting for their rights. This has greater relevance in matters of court - because the assertiveness of a majority can suffocate a minority struggling to find a voice, let alone raise it. To that end, "Shahild" is a bold experiment which needs to be widely watched. Even if it provokes your sensibilities to the rights provided by law, it is worth a view. My rating 4.25/5.

International Herald Tribune is dead, Long Live International New York Times

I have been seduced into reading IHT by a former boss at BNP Paribas who was one of its most conservative readers for over 30 years. In the eight months that I worked, amongst many memories and a pink slip and some wonderful colleagues, I think knowing about an elegant newspaper called International Herald Tribune has been a late revelation of sorts for me as well as happiness unlimited as my love for language grew. IHT had an elegant first page, a nose for a story in every news, a bench of the best English prose-writers of the world, journalists and columnists who wanted to, as the adage goes, literally write literature in a hurry, unlike many other newspapers in the world. The headlines beamed life livelier than the story sometimes and suggest a mastery over a language - they were businesslike but conveyed the essence for the global travellier - the target audience the paper never failed to satisfy all through its 126 years of existence. If it was a corporate result, the headline says,"Phone Sales help Sony post profit in quarter." Or, a headline on China,"Murky future for China's family firms." Or, a breakthrough in stopping blackouts in America," Data Tools to keep lights on." The Tribune always had presented news that was readable, racy and vivid without an apology for longer headlines too if that conveyed the essence better: "Virtual Desktops, freed of clutter, follow wherever you go." LIkewise, you can say the paper had high-quality editorial standards which made it a symbol of the thinking global citizens even if the paper had its origins in Paris - but has become more American over the last few decades. 

But when it started, it was the local newspaper in Paris for the Anglo-Saxons but now it is the finest international newspaper for English-speakers everywhere and you can no longer tell it is based in Paris at all. But what a transformation for a paper all through the 126 years, it traded hands and changed names several times in its course of history, and Publishing houses vied for it as it was a Kohinoor Diamond. It must be in the eyes of the many discerning readers because the founding editor, James Gordon Bennett Jr. proudly used to say, "Our readers are prepared to pay for the kind of journalism we do, and they feel an incredible amount of loyalty towards us." It used to be "New York Herald", then it moved from Bennett to New York Sun, then the title changed to "New York Herald Tribune", then a famous American ambassador to Britain acquired it in 1966 who brokered a deal with The Washington Post to enhance investment in the paper. All through those years, NYHT staved off competition from European newspapers including from the global edition of New York Times (the paper that gobbled it up today). NYT surrendered as the circulation of New York Herald soared and bought out the remaining stake of the American owner and thus was born International Herald Tribune, as a joint venture between the Washington Post-New York Times. So, IHT was effectively born circa 1967 and the name clung on despite the full ownership returning to NYT in 1991. The name became a darling for the global class of English-readers even as the newspaper stuck to its twin values of innovation and editorial quality - the best in breed and always at the biting edge of the times. 

The paper was flashed as a status symbol even in Hollywood movies and European movies as it became a cult reading standard. It was used in a movable feast of visuals atleast for two minutes in one Jean Luc Goddard film (the director who first used the technique of "jump cut"). At one time, in Paris, some of the most famous Americans breathed fire into the English language and all of them endorsed IHT: Ernest Hemingway, F.Scott Fitzgerald, Henry Miller, Getrude Stein, and even ace humorist Art Buchwald who sprang up much later in the 1950s. In fact, Art Buchwald quipped on the length of the title of the newspaper itself: "International Herald Tribune?  By the time you've finished pronouncing it you've missed the plane!" The paper was always objective, even when the hegemony of Americans became more and more pronounced, during the two world wars, during the Vietnam War and the many battles that they keep fighting. You should see the reportage of the newspaper on the day Nirbhaya's Rape case verdict came- it was exemplary, concise yet comprehensive.

Unlike the NYT, IHT always maintained a balance between depth and length, while remaining stylish. It was never more than 22-24 pages and wore lightly on the laps and palms of the executives who live in between terminals. At one time, the paper had staff from 25 different nationalities and got distributed to 186 countries by facsimile transmission (a unique first for the paper). In India, we were lucky that at least a Hyderabad-based owner, Deccan Chronicle group have been distributing this paper for the last several years, atleast since 2004 I think.  NYT did a reader survey way back in 2003, whether it should drop the words IHT as a brand and instead label it as "The New York Times International" as they have already started sub-titling it as "the global edition of New York Times". "No" was the answer from both advertisers and readers. But it took ten years more for the personality of the paper to be gradually changed by NYT management, introduce veteran columnists like Paul Krugman, James Saft, Roger Cohen, and Joe Nocera and eventually cannibalise the personality of the paper to re-launch New York Times on a global scale. It is still a development that may not resonate with IHT's affectionate readers who are used to seeing a Gothic three-feet masthead called "International Herald Tribune" with the "T" made to look like a gothic version of the bird "Owl" which was believed by the founder Bennett to bring good luck. I find that the masthead of "International New York Times" retains the gothic style and that fills me with hope and nostalgia. IHT always recognised its readers not just as moneymaking tycoons and billion-dollar traders, it covered so many features everyday in science, health, sports, arts, letters and surveyed the worlds of business and finance like they were real people. I trust the NYT to make INYT retain the editorial fragrance and the bewitching reporting standards of the IHT. Even though I haven't read all the 126 year old newspaper issues of IHT, I cherish them since I begun reading it since 2001. I hope even if IHT folded up, India will welcome INYT with folded hands.

"Gravity"-3D (English) Movie Review

You cannot make a bad film with a good script. "Gravity" is the film of the year so far that celebrates the spirit of American Cinema where script is the most sacred thing and everybody plays second fiddle to it, including a studio like Warner Bros. "Gravity" is all about living in outer space, up above the world so high, as the rhyme says. It's about two people Mathew Kawalsky (George Clooney) and Dr.Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) who are out on a mission to outer space called SKS-157 alongwith an Indian scientist. Their mission gets hit by debris from space from other Satellites exploding and soon the Indian engineer is gone. It's now down to two survivors but more disaster strikes the two Astronauts as they are routinely space-walking.  Matter of time before George Clooney lets himself untethered out of Sandra's rope to become a speck in space. 

It's now upto Sandra playing the role of Dr.Ryan Stone to come to terms with finding the remnants of the mission SKS and also  to tell the one helluva story that Mathew egged her on to tell even after he's gone, sitting on the edge of space. There's a second coming of George Clooney for fans who are disappointed to see him vanish within forty minutes of this out-of-this-world adventure. Thats the only cinematic flash by director Alfonso Cauron to bring back Clooney to his cooing fans. Be that as it may, "Gravity" is a visual extravaganza that captivates you till the sole survivor Sandra makes it back to Earth. With nothing but deafening silence and your own thoughts and your own voice with space-suits silhouetting your body weight maybe three or four times and yet floating uneasily like a feather in a no-gravity zone, Sandra Bullock packs a punch. George Clooney sharing screen with Sandra less than half the time than her space-suit once again shows why he gets the top bucks at Hollywood. Alfonso Cauron and his son who co-wrote the story give us a new high in cinematic experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life.  Music by Edward Rice takes the experience to ecstatic levels mixing a combination of philharmonic orchestra music with gentle bass and church-bell chords. 

Once calamity hits the lead pair and survival seems remote, you wonder whether this space odyessey has any twist or any elements that sustain your interest. But voila! thats where the screen-writing sizzles. Dialogues between Sandra and George pile up and a story for each character emerges. Sandra is a doctor who needs to be nudged and George is a retiree Mission specialist who inspires her to survive even as he is ready to blaze out of O2 supply and perish. Some visuals and dialogues here will make you freaked out on the experience and empathise with those mortals who leave our planet for extra-terrestrial explorations. How does the Sun Rise look from the above? How beautiful Earth looks from above while we have nothing exciting eking out our daily living? George Clooney gets the best lines even as he fades out faster from the screen: "There's nobody up here to hurt you", "One of us will have to survive to tell the story thats one helluva story", "How beautiful the Sun Rise is on the Ganges" and so on. 

Sandra's second innings is also worthy of note. She had to be in cruise-control for the entire film as per the plot but she pulls it off with depth and glory. Her monologues after it becomes clear she is the only one to report back are well-handled. There's one beautiful scene where she tunes into radio waves and hears a Chinese spy satellite guy. She yearns to decipher the other guy but couldn't make out Mandarin from Mandrake, she gives up and soon hears a dog howling mildly and she howls back matching the dog in tone, reconciling to the fact that when you are alone in space, any "other" voice is good enough. Experiences like these run their course in a short movie of less than 100 minutes but they remind you of the insignificance of life's petty issues when you are on the planet's surface and the significance of survival itself when you are a loner in a space thousands of miles above the Earth's atmosphere. 

Whatever be the intention of making this film, director Alfonso Cauron and his cinematographer have achieved a rare feat in Hollywood's history to create a blissful experience of a lifetime. It is like buying tickets for a space odyessey that orbits our own planet at comfortable speeds. Credit must go to the entire team of Warner Bros. for selecting a theme that will resonate with all Earthlings. Everytime you use your mobile phone or tune in to FM Radio or send an email or watch the Television, remember there's somebody up there who has gone forward in space but gone backwards in time so that we have our frills. Don't miss this film for the world! The 3-D effects are okay but not purposive.But if a rating be pinned, I am not going to be accountable for overlooking the few lapses that may be visible only on a second viewing. It deserves 4.75 out of 5.

"Ramayya Vastavayya" (Telugu) Movie Review

"Ramayya Vastavayya" is a hummable line from one of Raj Kapoor's most famous films. It became a title for a Hindi film also earlier this year starring Shruti Hassan and a new Bollywood hero which was a remake of "Nuvvosthaanante Vaddantaana". Now, Dil Raju produces it in his banner-SVCC with NTR Jr. in a title role and Samantha and Shruti Hassan. It has been a major disappointment for those who go to Dil Raju's brand of family entertainment with a healthy touch and also for NTR fans. Harish Shankar who made "Gabbar Singh" got caught in his own elusions of grandeur and consequently made a film full of mind-numbing violence and pathetic story. "RV" will go down for Dil Raju as an aberration in his catalogue of films as he must have gone missing on the sets.

Once again, a wafer-thin line becomes fodder for 167 minutes of head-banging violence and entertainment that heckles your sensibilities. Ranjeet (NTR) falls in love with Aakarsha (Samantha) and stalks her at college. Samantha gives in to Ranjeet's overtures and invites him over to her village for attending her sister's wedding. Mukesh Rushi, her father, faces threats from two brothers who honk him with life threats often. On receiving one such call, Mukesh Rushi gets trapped into confiding into NTR about an impending life threat. This time, NTR takes them to a safer enclave but actually becomes the dreaded assasin himself killing Mukesh on the spot. Flashback: NTR and his two brothers are actually victims of Mukesh Rushi's atrocitiies; the latter eliminates most of NTR's relatives and even  his first-love called Ammulu (Shruti Hassan). The second half is all about NTR's attempts to explain the flashback to Samantha and justify the killing of Samantha's father and how he finishes them off. Such twists are not uncommon in Tollywood scripts; it appears that most of such films appear to be dug out of a dark tunnel sitting underneath the main road of entertainment. No matter how many stories come out of such dark tunnels, its a null void full of sand and mud coming out of the director's minds and we have to watch such drivel in the name of entertainment. 

Director Harish Shankar's flawed handling of the megaphone extends our pains. He succeeds in getting Dil Raju his first "A" certificate in his catalogue of family films by sprinkling "double-meaning" jokes, sadistic and atavistic violence and characterisation of a voyeuristic villain Ravi Shankar who is maniacally obsessed with sex all the time. Harish also misses out on casting mainstream comedians - and instead gets quite irritating humor from Rohini Hattangadi and others. Only Kota Srinivasa Rao gives a flash of humour in a four minute sequence.He misses milking entertainment which got him name in "Gabbar Singh" and "Mirapakay" and also diluted the emotional quotient in the film that could have got highlighted at few places. An example is, the best song of the film -"Jabilli Neetho Cheppamma..." which comes after interval. Even though the song is great and picturisation good, because Samantha yet doesn't know that NTR is the guy who knocked her dad off, the nuances of the song didn't allow NTR to get highlighted. There are many instances like that which were missed opportunities for Harish to raise the bar of emotionality. Even the dialogues penned by him didn't enhance the impact because of an over-dosage of violence and under-recovery of humour. 

NTR Jr. shines well in the film, his gait is ever confident, his dancing skills show greater variety and finesse (his body above torso is moving better than before) and his timing of comedy has got some impact and improvisation, fans will love his imitation of a few stars in Tollywood. After "Adurs", Chota K Naidu must get credit for showcasing NTR Jr. so well in the many shades that NTR shows up in the film. Stunts could have been shorter and less graphic in portrayal. Amongst the many stunts, one thing noticeable is that NTR comes up with a new weapon everytime - he starts with a mace ("gadha"), a hockey stick, an iron chain, a pick-axe and then guns galore...probably, this is Harish Shankar's idea to show him as the new heir to the 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Between Samantha and Shruti Hassan, Shruti steals the show in the flashback. Both Chota K Naidu and Harish Shankar seem to have got smitten by the cute girl who is getting bolder on scene. Since this is Harish Shankar's second film with Shruti Hassan, her character got etched out better than many other characters. Rao Ramesh gives another cool performance but his characterisation loses conviction in the second half. Music by Thaman SS is fine but only two songs stand out. There is lot of strain that can make us feel worn out on his music.

NTR Jr. should realise that the days of relying on family tree and thigh-clapping as a sign of machismo are over, not many heroes except those who benefit from such references are resorting to gimmicks. Veering away from violence and making entertainment as a form of team effort is the real recipe for success, not aiming to ambitiously carry the film on the hero's shoulders. Those heroes who rallied forth to undertake projects of benign entertainment are climbing up higher than reliance on hackneyed scripts and party symbols such as bicycles. My last two cents to heroes is: don't bank on directors who don't bank on solid stories. Tollywood today has a dozen heroes of bankable box office potential and has more severe competition amongst themselves than any other film industry - more competition than even entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley, if you have to build embankments to keep yourself afloat for atleast 30 films in a career, bank on variety, invest in different stories and support family entertainment. 

"Ramayya Vastavayya" reminds at times the story of "Athanokkade" without any dramatic appeal or intensity. But for a less violent and better half before interval, it gets a rating of no more than 2.5/5.

"Jump Cut" by Krishna Shastri Devulapalli

A little context before we talk about the author - KSD and his second book "Jump Cut". Anyone who carries a surname as revered as Devulapalli ought to carry the stamp of a literary colossus. Let's start with the grandfather, the author's namesake, written the other way around - Devulapalli Krishna Shastri. If Telugu is called the Italian of the East, some credit must go to this man who wrote the most sonorific and lilting lyrics of Telugu language. There were producers who entered films only to make movies with songs penned by Devulapalli. At one time, somewhere in the 80s, when the rate of inflation remained pegged below the Hindu rates of growth, Devulappli was rumoured to be paid anywhere from Rs.15000 to Rs.30000 per song! A sum more princely than what the Nizam of Hyderabad used to pay his Prime Minister! Devulapalli became the most loved and endearing lyricist of his time and commanded premium even after he lost his voice. Then came his son, who is a cartoonist of redoubtable fame. He became famous too as "Bujjai" and one of the cartoonists to be counted. With that kind of a legacy of writerly gene and artistic flair, it is unlikely to have a muted gene that's neither. K.S.D is one such writer who combines the flashes of his grandfather's brilliance exquisitely in his writings but probably chose a range of careers as an adman, illustrator, children's book-writer and maybe even as a standup comedian before the writing bug bit him.

His first novel "Ice Boys and Bell Bottoms" was a coming of age novel, a kind of a Forrest Grump for Indian ethos with all the improbable things quirky and hilarious that happened to Krishna that got trapped in the book. Anyone who survives boyhood has enough material to write for a lifetime, so goes some writer's tip for overcoming writer's blocks. Krishna's first book as above is ample proof of this as he mixes the genre of autobiography and fiction effortlessly with lot of indefatigable humour which seems to distinguish his writerly career. It has won Krishna plaudits from writers like Anita Nair and discerning readers who don't necessarily buy and read only books recommended by Crossword bookstore owners and Landmark shortlists. I even heard one top Tollywood producer recommending it highly for ROFL effects.


Like Puri Jagannadh of Tollywood fame, I liked the audacity of Krishna who announced in 2012 HLF in Hyderabad that his next book will be based on film industry and it is titled "Jump Cut". Puri also, for the record, announces tantalising titles with unintended consequences. So, Krishna, as he spoke at the book-launch took almost two years to write this book which includes one year spent at the editor's table of Harper Collins. "Jump Cut" is itself a snappy title which demands a google or two, maybe even consult Warner Bros. or our own Annapurna Studios to decipher what it means and why the title.

Jump Cut, in film parlance, means an edit between two shots that feels abrupt or discontinuous usually intended for expressive or dramatic effect. Jean-Luc-Godard, a pioneer, is associated with "jump cut" even if he may have accidentally created it. It seems to now form a blind followership by directors of South Indian action films who love to challenge the illusions of continuous space and time within a shot that seeks to maintain continuity. It has become a motif for stylised action and dramatic shots. So, Krishna has selected a wacky title that is set in a different setting than what his first book talks about. It's about a protaganist aptly named Satyajit Ray-Raman who returns to Madras to be with his ailing father Raman, an Assistant Director to ace director Rajarajan and others in Kollywood (Tamil Film Industry). Raman passes away but not many come to the funeral which surprises Ray-Raman. His investigations lead him to a character called Rajarajan, the same guy who milked his dad without due credit and cash. He decides to fight one grand battle against Rajarajan for blatant plagiarism or violation of intellectual property rights. He weaves a surreal masala mix that reminds you of the loud eighties where the hero, his side-kick and a lady who needn't be his muse take the villain on a trip, work him into becoming more greedy and lead him to the scent of a woman and money trap that bring the house down. Three characters, Abie, Sumi and Selva are roped in by Ray in the most clandestine manner. There is also Padmini, a bold woman who turns on the hero's libido one night before her engagement to another guy. Would Ray succeed ? Will he go back to US? Will he get Padmini? How much will Sumi stoop to conquer Rajarajan? Read on to have these answered.

Krishna Shastri is quite a skilful writer who can collapse a potboiler of a South film plot into some salacious prose thats rich in variety, pace and narrative. Krishna delivers a punchy, naughty, sometimes raunchy but mostly energetic output in less than three hundred pages that must score high on entertainment. Except for the first seventy pages, when he takes time to set the tone for the launch of an offensive by the protagonist of the book - Ray, I found the book mostly riveting and intensely racy with delicate turns of phrase and even over-turns of the phrase, as someone pointed out at the book launch. Krishna has the gift of an eloquent story-teller who has a voice of his own (evident even in his first book) and an incurable flair for humor that refuses to go away all through his prose. Krishna has an additional gift of an observant eye that is as precise as detailed as a camera on prowl: he compares a plate of "jantikalu" (a salty delicacy) as a collection of "infinity" signs (as in mathematics), he spots the Sun coming out of the ocean like "a swimmer jumping for a breath of air", he defines a particular movement of hands like "doing a Shahrukh". Get the point? "Jump Cut" reads like an engrossing screenplay with tens of similes, metaphors, and expletives which remain recessed in most people's memories but seldom float on paper.

When you read the book, you know you are reading a new master of English prose with a dazzling voice and a narrative dipped in good humor and occasionally, very rarely, below the belt. Krishna Shastri, at the book launch, which I attended mentioned that he has plans to launch himself for a film-writing career too, which is not contextually far-fetched from the palette he is painting his life with right now - children's books, copy ads, humor columns and novellas. I am sure, South film industry will beckon him soon as humor and imagination are both in terrible short supply and KSD with his top-of-the-tree lineage is well-suited to command a price tag with a premium not unbeknownst to his family. Just in case, you think this is ending like a panegyric the way Ray drives Rajarajan into committing harakiri, wanted to remind you, dear reader, what not to expect and what isn't happening in the book?

For a change, there is some Tamil in the book which could have got translated for a wee-bit better appreciation, atleast as a foot-note or in the appendix. I could not digest the proportion of Tamil words hurled at me at the cost of a few Telugu words, whatever be the arguments for elevating a classical language to that of the national language. Two, there are flashes in between chapters which justify the title "jump cut" but they remain a style but do not enhance the narrative or the characterisation. Three, there could have been more research into the issue of Intellectual Property issues of a film industry which copies unabashedly from Korean and American films and everything in between. Just a passing reference to an imaginary website pilferingpenis.com (It doesn't exist, don't try!) doesn't help the cause. Four, despite a promising start to fiction, the plot doesn't have multi-layered depth that goes beyond the three-act filmy drama. At one stage, the plot gives away when Rajarajan becomes more gullible and naive than the most idiotic and rotund villains of films like "Adavi Ramudu" and "Sivaji" and there is not much drama coming.


Despite these shortfalls, "JumpCut" is a thrilling and luminous read from one of India's freshly-minted talents in writing. KSD will be a treat to read whatever he writes and if he works on the elements of drama and depth in his plots, he will be a phenomenon to watch out for.


"JumpCut" by Krishna Shastri Devulapalli, pp.296, Price: Rs.299.00, Pub. Harper Collins India