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By:
JBR
How far the solutions for the social ills as put forth by 'Annniyan' are feasible can be gauged from a television advertisement. When telecast a few months back, there was strong opposition to it from some businessmen, so the advt was stopped. Here's how it goes.
Two girls go to a kiosk. The shopkeeper gives them Goli soda. Vikram who lands up there at the moment, prevents them from drinking the Goli soda. Then he proceeds to clean the shopkeeper's yellow teeth with a brush. The Goli soda is also made fun of. Then with a sheepish face, the shopkeeper produces a Coke bottle from inside. A beaming smile spreads across Vikram's face and he says Coke is the one.
Running to only a few seconds, this advt indirectly insinuates a few things: the Goli soda is a useless drink and below a person's dignity to drink; the person who sells it is unhygienic; he's an uncouth person who does not even know how to brush his teeth; we should drink only Coke; Coke is the stamp of the modern world; Coke means cleanliness.
To show their superiority, it is the habit of Brahmins to project others as unhygienic and without values. Over the years, such tactics have been used in the name of orthodoxy. That branded items like Coke and pizza and designer clothes are the in thing has been dinned into the minds of the people around the world by vested American interests in the name of globalization.
Coming to the film, the people who are killed by Anniyan are those who are lazy, unruly, unjust rogues and drunkards who have not done their duty in society. In sharp contrast, Anniyan and those who live in the same agraharam as him are projected as truthful, law abiding citizens who cringe at anything unjust. The Iyengar heroine and sabha secretary commit wrongs because they have no other option. But physically or materially, no individual is hurt. It is to be mentioned here that both these people are not targeted by Anniyan.
The story in 'Anniyan' clearly shows a mix of Brahmin mentality and American globalization mentality blending into 'Coke is the greatest' mentality. How wrong this is, is depicted in one of the scenes in 'Anniyan.' Firstly, let us take the case of how Chokalingam, the catering contractor in a train, gets fried for his crime. Chokalingam's crime is dishing out low standard food. It is of course punishable not to adhere to food regulation standards. It is also wrong to cheat the consumer, whose health and wealth get affected along the way. That Chokalingam is a culprit is an undisputable fact, but if you look closely into the matter, you realize some things. When one shows that such unhygienic or substandard food items are not good for the health, all one has to do is take health precautions.
Now, let's talk about how Coke and Pepsi are touted for their quality and hygiene. India continues to give water facilities to these American companies. A branch of Coke is Kinley water and daily a lakh of litres is drawn by the plant from the Bhavani river. For taking so much water for one full year, the measly sum the company gives the govt is a mere 4 lakhs. With such indiscriminate use of our water resources, India will face drastic water shortages and repercussions, say environmentalists and social workers.
Apart from affecting the level of water table in the ground, the effects of using these American products and on those not using them are harmful. Not knowing what a cola is, the tribals in remote areas as well as children yet to be born could be affected. Add to it the erosion of economic standards and hygiene conditions wreaked by these corporates. The Goli soda manufacturer and contractors like Chokalingam are but mere flies compared to these giants.
Now we will ask the questions Anniyan asked, to Shankar, Vikram and Sujatha who created Anniyan.
"Is it wrong for 5 crores of people to steal 5 paisa for 5 crore times?"
Or…
"Is it wrong for 5 people to steal 5 crores of rupees from 5 crores of people for 5 crore times?"
This is not to justify that small crimes are alright. This is just to point out that through highlighting a mere 5 paise crime, one can hide big crimes involving such huge amounts like 5000 crores. It seems necessary for Shankar, Vikram and Sujatha to hide multi-crore frauds by pinpointing on a small lawbreaker like Chokalingam. Why? Because they are the models and special consultants for companies like Coke that treat us as suckers.
Another act that is highlighted in 'Anniyan' is labor. For foreigners, the two countries that come to mind in connection with hard work and development are America and Japan. When talking about America's development, 3 things come to mind.
-Through forced invasions where wars have devastated those countries, like in Afghanistan and Iraq, American weapon manufacturing companies have increased sales by 25%.
-By erecting those companies that are harmful to their environment in third world countries like India, American companies protect their environment while devastating ours; the poison gas Bhopal tragedy, for example.
- Through aggressive trade tactics, American companies vanquish local traders and their businesses; examples are Coke and Pepsi.
These are integral ingredients of America's globalization efforts.
If India wants to develop, it first has to scrap all American business interests here that try to fragment our businesses. What America is doing in Afghanistan and Iraq, India should initiate. We should discover a race like India which has produced manpower to service American economy. The American dream seems to be all this and beyond.
If you take Japan, the problem of honor and self-respect has given rise to lot of suicides. To escape from the drudgery of the technological world, suicide seems to be their only way out. Having recognized the gravity of the situation, the Japanese are now trying to find solutions to overcome this.
Instead of saying, "After being near devastated by the Second World War, the nation has made an amazing recovery to prosperity in a very short time," one could well say, "After being near devastated by the Second World War, the nation made an amazing recovery to prosperity in a very short time resulting in suicides. So, if the same situation goes on for a few centuries more, there is a probability that half of the nation would have been sacrificed." Bob Black has said this in his book 'The Abolition of Work.'
"In America, 4000 among a lakh of miners die every year due to lung diseases. This exceeds the number of AIDS related deaths." From what Bob Black says, we can conclude that foreigners are required to kill the lazy ones and work sounds the death knell for the hard working.
In 'Anniyan,' Shankar and Sujatha seem to tie up a relationship between hard work and progress. But every laborer and farmer in India know it is not so. For example, the watchman in a pesticide company earns more than the farmer who toils day and night in his 5 acres of land. American contribution is to make the marketability of a product than producing a product.
In a country where hard work and progress go in opposite directions, it is asking for ransom to celebrate labor. As afore said, this is top down American way of life in treating the problems and Anniyan style solutions (death sentence).
The fundamental difference between us and Americans is the culture. Every child in India is born with the burden of 2000 years of heritage, but America is only 300 years young. Our culture does not permit us to view a problem and a solution the way an American would do. That is our weakness and uniqueness. In America, it is usual for a child not to depend on parents after crossing 21. But India is different. Let's take an example from 'Anniyan.'
Anniyan murders someone who is always drunk and lazing about in the park. This lazy lout forcibly grabs money from his parents for drinking expenses. Anniyan projects this man's life on video and asks the people around, "What to do with such lazy louts?"
The crowd clamors, "He should be killed." "That's what I did," Anniyan says coolly.
In truth, the people affected directed by this lazy lout were his parents. Before shooting this, Shankar and Sujatha should have located a lazy lout like this first. They should have asked his parents if it would be better to finish off their lazy, drunkard lout of a son. The parents would have told them off with choice swear words and a bit more about Anniyan's inanities. It's not too late now. Shankar and Sujatha should try to see the film at least once!
(As a matter of jest, imagine if we have to imitate the Americans in swindling, we need to have another 50 planets like earth)
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-23.05.2005