Judgement Call

Amid the controversy regarding Shri Justice KG Balakrishnan and his family's recently acquired munificence, I heard a few judicial fraternity old-timers urge him to go the extra mile in clearing the air. 'Caesar's wife should be above suspicion' was the dictum they asked to be upheld; exhorting the immediate past occupant of the exalted chair of India's Chief Justice. Messrs Iyer, Verma and Nariman, luminaries all, should know better — given their long, distinguished career records serving the law and jurisprudence. Oft-quoted as the tenet is, I appreciate and endorse it as a touchstone of propriety in high places. Yet, I found the suggestion hopelessly naive and frankly puerile.

First, the allegations: the litany of charges against Shri Balakrishnan is significant as it is shameful. Coincident with his tenure as CJI, the fortunes of multiple members of his family (son-in-law, brother, nephew, and so on) are reported to have skyrocketed. The asset accumulation is rumoured to be in tens of crores — houses, farms, jewellery shops, hotels, and other business interests — presumably by peddling favour in judicial verdicts and administrative decisions. He also stands accused of playing godfather at large, shielding A Raja, the 2G-scam kingpin and Middle India’s reigning bête noire, from prosecution for attempting to influence a Madras HC judge in a corruption case against one of his cohorts. It’s complicated; or is it?

Next, consider the nation’s mood. Our collective consciousness is beset with an unending saga of corruption. We may not end up as a Tunisia or Egypt, but despair over this disgraceful dance of adharma is palpable. In this widespread morass, our higher judiciary’s stellar activist tilt has been the aam aadmi’s last refuge for over two decades. Having presided over this venerated arm of our government (for one of its longest recent tenures), much better could have been expected from Mr Balakrishnan. Instead, one is presented with the ungainly sight of his portly form scurrying away with an inane smile, TV journos in pursuit. It is not quite the picture of one with ‘nothing to hide’. It is also farthest from what is desired, in our current national context or the dignity of his former office.

Unfortunately, there’s more. Yesterday Mr Balakrishnan said no to sharing information on his or his family’s assets. This is piquant. At a time when his supposedly illicit gains weren’t yet the talk of the town, he had led the higher judiciary’s resistance to publicly declaring its assets. I had been surprised — the wise men in black robes had uncannily called right India's public mood on every issue since the late 80s. Yet, under his leadership they inexplicably refused to play ball, when they could have easily continued at the vanguard of probity. Given the monolithic, opaque nature of its functioning, it is difficult to surmise to what extent the erstwhile captain moulded the team’s stance. They were, in any case, made to yield, but not before an unseemly fraternal spat; thereby ceding the high moral ground in a manner unprecedented in recent memory. The ex-CJI’s latest denial to an RTI query casts a distinctly macabre slant to those developments.

Noteworthy too is the purported reason for the nay-saying stance: the information sought was not of public value! If talk of malfeasant millions flying thick and fast, the erstwhile CJI-ship, or incumbency as NHRC head doesn't qualify as community interest, it stretches one’s imagination to think what truly does. His may be a nuanced legal view, a disdain for the spirit of the law, or simply a case of PR hara-kiri; but if unchanged, the aforementioned eminent jurists’ conscience call has no hope. Unless, Your Honour...

PS: No surprises in the redoubtable Law Minister’s hasty endorsement under an equally specious argument (no questioning folks in sensitive positions, or words to that effect). The wily Karnataka politician had readily absolved Shri Balakrishnan in the Raja tangle too. Lesson then: swear by the forwarding letter, ignore the attached actual. And now: (apropos the Rajas, Kalmadis, and Chavans) no uncomfortable enquiries please, we’re Indian. Let’s just send them flowers!

Today: 10-to-11

This Saturday, HT City carried a feature depicting eleven game-changing Hindi movies from the last decade. I am not sure if these movies — or at least all of them — were pathbreaking in the fashion described, but they nevertheless offer a fair representation of popular cinema between 2001 and 2010. It would also be in order to mention their marked commercial success, remarkable in the sense that box-office recognition is a clear shibboleth of mainstream moviemaking. But let us talk about the movies first.

Two on the list hailed from 2001. Ashutosh Gowarikar's Lagaan was a period drama that combined standard-issue patriotism, chart-busting music, and India's cricket-obsession to hold the audience hostage until a literal last-ball six symbolising victory of good over evil. It also spawned an early strain of MBA-speak (email forwards were in vogue then), touting it as a case study for teamwork and sundry management principles. Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai was a coming-of-age story, set against a youthful, affluent urban setting long before our "demographic dividend" became policy boilerplate — though the economic prosperity subtext was already flashing neon. I know enough folks that identified with DCH’s college-and-after situations, or with one of the protagonists: the brooding Sid, perpetually-lovelorn Sameer, and merry-go-lucky Akash (for those of you that remember, I also know a Subodh!) in a fashion unprecedented for Hindi cinema.

Moving on, 2003 claimed two entries as well. Koi... Mil Gaya was a ritual Hindi movie saga of underdog triumph most notable for starring Jaadu, a pint-sized desi ET that brought director-producer Rakesh Roshan king-size success. Its gentle treatment of a developmentally challenged character was a modest baby-step, and the overt sci-fi setting a pioneering attempt in a cinema mostly known for its formulaic approach. Likewise, under Raju Hirani's baton, Munnabhai MBBS trod a new path, concocting a winning dynamic of two dons: one a do-gooder bhai, other a stickler university professor. A commentary on med-school exam system, lady love's hard-to-get-with-a-difference act, Bombaiyya lingo and avuncular humour in the otherwise morbid hospital setting — it was a class act.

Cut to 2006 and Rang De Basanti redefined cinema's societal impact. High on patriotism, the Rakeysh Mehra-helmed film was a brilliant expression of youth angst, starkly contrasting contemporary political rot with inspiring idealism from our Freedom Struggle. Much beyond storytelling, RDB’s veritable clarion call against corruption, or mobilisation of the collective aggrieved, remains no less pertinent today. Youth and the Great Indian Middle voted with their wallets and feet, the latter a glimmer of hope for causes lost in the sticky mire of vested interests in our country.

2007 secured no less than three spots. Imtiaz Ali's Jab We Met was an uncomplicated, lighthearted romantic affair — very accurately described by HT as 'a breath of fresh air' — with the spunky Geet driving the only heroine-dominant plot on the list. Shimit Amin made Chak De! India the same year, another nationalism-meets-athletic achievement drama that, at the very least, succeeded in getting our national sport back in public consciousness. Aamir Khan's fairytale directorial debut in Taare Zameen Par was a landmark too — challenging educational system stereotypes in our notoriously conformist society. Against the backdrop of our impending demographic dividend, its advocacy of innovative career choices and empathetic portrayal of special-needs children was outstanding.

From 2009, HT's choice of Hirani's 3 Idiots was a shoo-in. Well-deserved questioning of learning-by-rote and over-hyped, narrow definition of scholastic achievement was at the film’s core, tempered by a subtle Roarkian undercurrent championing excellence, blended with a humourous take on college hostel life. Unsurprisingly, the movie captured the imagination of far broader demographics than just the youth anchoring its frame.

The only movie from the list I have not seen (unintended; to be corrected shortly) is Shankar's Enthiran (Robot) from 2010. It is also the only feature — and it is telling that I can aver thus with complete confidence, without having actually seen the film! — incomplete without a panegyric to its hero, the inimitable Rajinikanth and his flair for shattering box-office records.

I shall pause here. Dabangg, is presumably too recent to need me to jog those grey cells. Save for a much-hyped item number, I found it passable fare at best — not in the league of the others listed (no elitist rant, just that Salman rarely steps out of the banal). Equally, lest I be accused of lead actors overly influencing my rating, I present Aamir Khan, a bigger presence in this pastiche than any other, yet one who taught me the lesson of not judging a book by its cover. But that’s a story for a later day...