Friday, September 30, 2016

Book Review: Her Resurrection by Soumyadeep Koley

“Her Resurrection” is a contemporary Indian women centered dark social fiction penned by Soumyadeep Koley and published by Gargi Publishers. The book narrates the different life-phases of an Indian lady. It also gives an insight of the undercurrent situation of lower-middle class Indian women and their struggles which is often polished by the dazzling glamour of showbiz oriented society.



The book is dedicated to Jyoti Singh [Nirbhaya/Damini] and gratification has been paid to all the violence survivors. It is really unfortunate to mention that the book touches the reality of majority of victimized women in India.

About the Author:



Quite contrary to the trend of popular Indian fictions, the author of this book had a clear motive to pen the story. Given the profile of Soumyadeep Koley, the book does justice to the subject chosen.

Soumyadeep Koley is a writer, poet, women’s rights activist and photographer. After graduating with Honours degree in Chemistry from Scottish Church College, Kolkata, he joined the global fight against violence on women. He has worked with Jason Jayology Jeremias, the Founder and Artistic Director of Price of Silence, New York, which employs performing arts to bring the global struggle for women’s rights to life. Soumyadeep Koley has three years of experience in psychological counseling of domestic violence and rape survivors from India and abroad, through unique mystical and metaphysical techniques.



Plot Structure:

The book has a proper plot structure including prologue, epilogue and main book. The story revolves around Maya Singh and her struggles along the hardship of her life.  Given her surroundings, Maya seems to be an extraordinary child who reasons with life even after being contradicted by her father and society continuously. Maya just doesn’t give up when things do not go her way. She suffers loss of family, loss of social recognition, loss of studies and job. And as if all these were not enough, she survives gang-rape. But her extraordinary will helps her to overcome the trauma of prostitution which she is forced into. Her sufferings do not end even after her escape from prostitution. She is cheated in love and fate snatches her unborn child. Still, Maya, like a phoenix, rises from the ashes of her dreams and stands for herself becoming a role model for such women who believe that crises bring a dead end in life.

Plot of the story is well versed and well-researched. The plot only justifies author’s profile again. The different sequences, description of the circumstances, the protagonist’s journey shown via different phases of society prove to be very apt for the storyline. Right from the start, the author holds the grip of the script and never leaves even a single loose end. There are no fillers in the book and every scene seems quite apt.

Narration and Dialogues:

The book starts with first person narration and soon shifts to third person narration. The Prologue and Epilogue are in first person narration. The main book is in third person narration. The conversation of the Prologue which leads to the main book is referred simultaneously and few dialogues have been inserted in the main book. The main book happens to be a story narrated by one of the characters of the Prologue.

This form of book-writing is very trendy in contemporary Indian popular fiction. Picking up the popular style of narration grows interest and curiosity among the readers. It is really the prowess of the author to tell a serious tale in a light style. Author relies on simple and day-to-day conversation and dialogues. None of the dialogue sequences seem to be imposed upon the mind of the readers forcing them to appreciate the author’s verbal intellect. The author carefully maintains the thin line of grace and even in the grave scenes and succeeds in being methodical instead of glamorizing the pain and tragedy. Soumyadeep Koley deserves a round of applause for maintaining this equilibrium since it is the toughest part of tragedy writing to persuade the reader to empathize with the characters without showcasing their pain. Research and relevant experience in the field could be the reason behind author’s intellectual balance.

Characterization:

Soumyadeep Koley’s “Maya Singh” deserves to be one of the memorable heroine’s of tragic fiction. At several instances, Soumyadeep’s Maya reminded me of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre". However, 'Jane" was dearer to destiny than ‘Maya’. Luckily, she never went through the trauma which engulfed Maya all throughout her life. Her courage, her innocence, her attitude, her morals are just the reflection of a common Indian girl. Soumyadeep Koley has been very labourious and yet very careful in sketching her. He has been elaborate yet very protective while creating Maya. Maya seems more like a sculpture of the author’s mind than just being the heroine of a book. She is inspirational and she is adorable.

Since Maya is the protagonist of the book, all other characters do not get as much attention as her. Maya’s mother proves to be a doting woman who supports her daughter in whatever way she can. The antagonists of the book appear strongly and impress the reader hatefully in the small roles they are assigned. Maya’s love interest ‘Siddharth” becomes lucky enough to get much more attention than them. Siddharth is probably another remarkable character of the book. He is a common Indian man. There is nothing special about him and that is what makes him extraordinary. In a lot of ways, he represents the backward mentality of majority of Indian men who are indefinite, stubborn, like lots of adventure in life and yet make sure to play everything safe. At times, I wondered, why a strong woman like Maya fell for him in the first place.

Soumyadeep Koley has been reasonable in characterization also. His characters are eloquent without being loud which is equally appreciative. This eloquence of his characters makes even the minor-most characters like Saadia, Audra and Sucharita memorable.

But there is one such character who suffers the injustice of the author and that is Damien. The character of Damien had too much scope and versatility but the author chooses to give him a restricted frame for reasons better known to him. Otherwise, Damien would also have been a memorable character.

Treatment of Love and Romance:

Normally, a social tragedy leaves very little room for romance but Soumyadeep Koley managed to grab few scenes of romance from the love track of Maya and Siddharth. However, the nature of the script makes this romance one-sided and readers are acquainted only with the female feelings. Maya falls head over heels in love with Siddharth and her feelings get surreal description from the author.

However, I personally feel that the love story of Siddharth and Maya was bit exaggerated. Such a long sequence wasn’t required. This length could have been used for Maya and Damien. But it was cut short by the author. Perhaps, that is why the tragedy of Damien fails to stir the emotions of readers.



Overall, this book is an honest attempt by the author and he seems quite successful in his motive.

My Rating: 4/5


STRONG RECOMMENDATION

Monday, September 26, 2016

Getting a bit cynical with PINK

Once in a while, the social concern of Bollywood overpowers its commercial hunger and we are provided with a hard-hitting movie with some burning issues. The latest in this line is Shoojit Sircar’s PINK.
First of all, I wish to make it clear that ever since Shoojit Sircar’s changed the spelling letters of his name given his astrological [read superstitious] beliefs, I have always been apprehensive about him. Not that I doubt his artistic prowess rather I doubt his honesty.

PINK is his latest creation which showcases the culmination of his artistic approach. Right from the cast and crew, lights and camera to action and direction, script and dialogues, PINK satisfies the hunger of classy audience. Talking about Amitabh Bachchan’s acting skills is like showing light to the sun. Taapsi Punnu proves herself way beyond her rough and tough avatar in ‘Baby’. Piyush Mishra, Angad Bedi, Kirti Kulhari and all other actors do justice to their respective roles. This courtroom drama movie gives an insight into a real legal proceeding of an Indian court. With its tight script and soothing climax and also the efficient work of on-screen and off-screen crew, PINK manages to stir some neurons in the brains of the general Indian Homo Sapiens’ watching the movie.

Beyond that, PINK is NOTHING…

Before anybody blames me, let me ask one question. Please mention the name of one single movie with a social issue which was successful in changing the mindset of our people. A lot of movies have been there lately. We even had a soul wrenching movie like “Matribhoomi” from our Hindi cinema. The movie released and bagged many awards. And simultaneously, the ever increasing rates of female foeticide and female infanticides continued to laugh in the face of those awards.

We can say that the sole purpose of these movies is to spread awareness. But what is the use of this awareness if there is no outcome?

As soon as the movie released, a large group of men and women retaliated to the views expressed in the movie as in; A girl should say NO when a boy pays her bills, drops her at home etc. etc. [Remember Amitabh’s dialogue in the movie?]

It is quite possible that PINK might grab awards as well. We can also expect debates and arguments on electronic and social media.


But after all this humdrum and hullabaloo, at the end of the day, the scenario will remain as it is. But the worst part of this circus is that the entire male community is cursed to suffer for the stinking mentality of few handful beasts who do not even deserve to be called ‘men’. 


Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Freaky Ali: A Freaking Fun Movie

Freaky Ali by Sohail Khan Productions is a cocktail of emotions, comedy, fun, romance, sportsmanship and most importantly ‘the winner attitude’.

As the story suggests, Ali is struggling financially to buy some comfort in life for himself and his adoptive mother. His friendship with Maqsood leads him to work for a local goon as an extortion debt collector. Ali’s accidental encounter with a golfer reveals his Godgifted prowess for natural swings which co-incides with the sixer shots of cricket. His talent is recognized by the caddy who happens to be his neighbor. And then starts the fun filled roller coaster ride of Ali from being a local goon to a celebrated golfer.

The storyline of “Freaky Ali’ has a striking resemblance to “Happy Gilmore” which gently reminds you of same production movie “God Tussi Great Ho” which had almost everything in common with “Bruce Almighty”.

Anyways, keeping all these issues aside, there is no doubt that “Freaky Ali” is a funny movie which doesn’t demand much logic or brain-storming. The plot structure is straight and predictable. Nawazuddin Siddiqui delivers some punch dialogues. Amy Jackson and Niketan Dheer continue to disappoint with their acting. Rest of the actors including Arbaz Khan, are average. And as expected, Nawazuddin Siddiqui displays his marvelous acting skills in a comic role. There wasn’t much scope for songs in this movie. But to mention, “Parinda hai Parinda…” is soothing to ears.

Why to watch:
     1.     If you wish to enjoy fun-filled light hearted weekend.
     2.     If you watched and liked “Sultan”, then, trust me it is more promising.
     3.     For Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Why not to watch:
     1.  If you look for logic in every movie.
    2.  If you don’t digest Hollywood copies that easily.
     3. If you look for method actors.

Banker’s Verdict – “Freaky Ali” is a cost-effective movie worth investing your hard earned money. It works on the theory of “no loss, no gain”



Rating – 2.5/5


[image courtesy: google]