Sunday, April 29, 2012

The importance of 22 Female, Kottayam

By John Cheeran
So, what makes 22 Female Kottayam different?
We are all familiar with stories of men cheating women, and women turning avengers.
Does 22FK tell an unusual tale?
22FK is a surgical operation. The movie has been packaged well, using contemporary idiom and stereotypes to the hilt.
Bangalore has been the Sodom for average Malayali mind and the Christian nurse from Kottayam is always ready for a bargain on bed.
Nurses are ambitious but who is not? Teachers, call centre workers, politicians, movie directors and all of us are ambitious and would go to any step to succeed.
The movie has been regarded as feminist and fuels empowerment of women.  As a man I have no problem with that. Being a man is no licence to rape. And 'sexually' virgin is a concept too tribal. So who cares whom did you sleep with last night?
There are, however, other troubles. The prominent among them is love. A visa would come by, albeit a bit late, but not love. Rima Kallingal's character makes the folly of searching for love when she should have been packing her bags. There, she cut a deal. And a deal could go either way. Having said this, revenge is the right of everyone, man or woman.
The meek, after all, do not inherit the earth.
The other problem is not with the movie as such but movie watchers. More than one woman have told me that Rima Kallingal's character should not have done what she did to her lover.
Why? It is not realistic, said one. In real life Rima would not have been able to pull it off. May be, may be not.
And finally, for every Tessa, there is at least one Jincy who could handle the beast called love and its pimps, including you and me.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom: A Review

By John Cheeran
Have A Little Faith does not make you wiser but lets you have a peek into life and beyond.
This book is all about faith and belief. You believe what you want.
And Mitch Albom tells how Albert Lewis, a rabbi and Henry Covington, a pastor, overcome their self-doubt to lead a faithful life and inspire many around them to find their own paths to truth. Albom spends eight years stepping closer to Lewis. Albom was skeptical when the rabbi asked for a eulogy for him. In trying to figure out Lewis, the author, a Jew himself, rediscovers him.
The narrative running parallel to that of Lewis must be quite common now. A down and out man finally listens to the God’s call as the last resort. Save me, and I will serve you. What makes Henry Covington, a convict and drug pusher, stand out here is the equanimity he brings to his life after embracing a new path. He does not beg for assistance from those he bumped into when confronted with issues that were so basic that without which his I’m My Brother’s Keeper Ministry would have folded long ago.
Covington puts his trust in God and waits. And has no complaints. “The Lord will pay us back,” Covington is confident. Faith is different to different people but then it does offer a crutch for you in difficult times.
Albom, apparently, writes for many and has kept his words simple and direct.
But the same cannot be said about the message in the book.
Title: Have A Little Faith
Publisher: Hachette India
Price: Rs 250
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