Uff! It’s so depressing all around, they want me to bring in some “positive news” but is it really the lack of positivity and not compassion and empathy?
They want me to write about the raining sixes at boundaries, when people are dropping dead like flies
They want me to capture the holy dip at Ganga, when hundreds are gasping for breath at streets
They want me to talk about the wins and losses of the purported “festival of democracy” when crematoriums are announcing their own results
They want me to help them clean their timeline, when I know the next SOS call could be one of mine
They can keep their eyes shut through the day, but the crimson sky at midnight is enough to keep me awake
Perhaps late “human beings” wrapped in plastic bags are not aesthetic enough… But they were alive once unlike your moral conscience
Look around carefully, the times we are in even the shares on a call for help are signs of positivity whitewashing despair, censoring cries are mere distractions.
Picture of a crematorium in New Delhi, clicked by Danish Siddiqui
In 1993 Kevin Carter, a South African photojournalist, clicked a picture during Sudan famine, famously known as “The Vulture and the little girl”. In the picture a vulture is seen sitting near a child, who was on its way to a United Nations feeding center, but collapsed midway most probably due to acute starvation. This picture started a debate regarding the ethics of journalism and the humanitarian instincts of a journalist. People often quote the example of this picture to regard journalists as vulture feeding on people’s misery, grief, pain.
Something similar happened a few days ago when Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui posted pictures on his twitter handle including a picture of a drone shot of a crematorium in Delhi where 50 funeral pyres were burning. India is going through a deadly second wave of Corona virus and the increasing death toll has caused an overflow of dead bodies at crematoriums. Some big twitter handles starting complaining that media is stirring distress and fear among people, at already distressing times, by showing pictures and footages from funeral grounds. Some people compared journalists to ‘vultures waiting for their prey to die’ while others went as far as alleging that media is trying to ‘undermine India’s image’ and ‘disrespecting hindu culture’.
The allegation of disrespecting hindu culture doesn’t hold much ground because there are several examples of news channels live broadcasting funerals of big politicians and bollywood actors, with nobody objecting to that. On the other hand the allegations of media undermining India’s image at world stage and comparing media coverage in India to media coverage in foreign countries to claim that the foreign press didn’t cover deaths and burial grounds in US and UK during the first wave of Corona virus last year, is just a blatant lie. From Washington Post to BBC to The New York Times, almost all big news organisations covered the horrific scenes of mass digging of graves and coffin makers struggling to meet up the demand for coffins, in US, UK, France, Italy.
Now as far as the vital question of ‘what is the need to cover crematoriums’ is concerned, we need to understand a few things. First of all, the real picture is always at ground zero. Many Indian newspapers have reported huge discrepancies between the official Covid–19 death toll and the number of dead bodies being laid to rest as per Covid protocols. For example an Indian Express report states that from April 16 to April 20 the official data for Madhya Pradesh recorded only 348 deaths, when three cremation facilities in Bhopal alone reported 597 bodies being buried following Covid-19 protocols. This is the case across several other states in India including the national capital Delhi. To understand the gravity of the situation it is necessary to highlight these discrepancies and the most effective way of doing so is reporting straight from crematoriums.
Any humanitarian crises often becomes just a case study due the official figures which maybe useful for future references. What brings life to these figures and makes us understand that the zeroes that keep getting added every few days in the death toll actually represent someone’s mother, father, son, daughter, husband, or friend, are actually these pictures and articles that the journalists experience firsthand.
Anupam Nath, an Associated Press photojournalist, replying to a query from Newslaundry said, “We should record for history. If no one had taken photos of the Hiroshima bombing, we would not have realised how bad it was. You can’t visualise until you see the situation.”
The situation certainly is very distressing right now. But it is important to report the truth now to avoid an even worse situation in future.
It’s her third letter in a week The cries are getting louder, I’m scared to have a peek. I can see the letters bold behind drops of tears, They are mine they are hers, they stink of fear. Every now and then she reaches out her hand, Wanting to be pulled out before meeting the dead-end. The numbness has started to fill in her body Is it a graveyard? Is she a dead body?
I’m trying to remember when did it started Did I ignored, joked around or sincerely responded? But I’m fine, neither dead nor dying, About to grab her hand only to find a thousand chains tying. How do I break it how does it shatter Who is dragging me down, is it me, is it her? I realised, even her stillness is better than my vehemence Breathes make you drown, corpses just float seamless.
But it’s not the final call yet I am here till the sun sets. Whatever it takes to break the chains, My fatigue should not put her efforts in vain. Till the letters stop bringing in cries I’m using my breath to keep her alive.
It was past 6 in the evening. I was returning home from college, riding pillion with my sister. Although my college gets over at 4pm already, I had to stay at my sister’s office for nearly 2 hours because apparently she suddenly got reminded of some important work that she had to finish before we could head home. After spending almost two hours with a poor WiFi I wasn’t certainly in a good mood but now that we were finally heading back home, I felt more relaxed. But, as we were moving, suddenly we had to stop and everyone around us had to stop too. The traffic light had just turned red.
Anytime after 5pm is basically people just rushing back to their homes after a day that can for one reason or another be deemed as stressful. I could see the irritated expression on everyone’s faces and feel the frustration in the air as the clock on the traffic light started counting backwards from 180 seconds. Amidst the same stressed, drained out of energy expression on almost everyone’s faces my eyes certainly stuck at one particular scene.
Besides us two bikes were standing, one in front of the other, and beside those bikes was a car. However what caught my attention was not the car but the people inside the car. There were two boys on the front seat and a girl and a boy on the backseat. They looked like college students almost the same age as me. The boys were all wearing suits. The girl was wearing a black dress. Black hair, a little longer than shoulder length. Although I could not see her face clearly, I just felt she might be pretty. However what stood out to me were her earrings. They did not match with her dress at all. To be precise she was wearing jhumka, one that someone would wear with a saree or salwar kurta. Their attires brought me to the conclusion that they were either returning from their freshers or farewell party. I was not able to see the boy’s face who was sitting with the girl. I could see the girl’s hair. They were facing eachother. Probably kissing.
Suddenly the girl backed off. She got a call. At the same time there was a knock on their car’s window. It was a beggar, with an empty bowl, trying to make a living out of the red traffic light. The girl rolled down the window, with her phone pressed to her ear with one hand, she answered the call, “hmm papa“. While trying to get some money out of her purse she answered again, “abhi college pe hi hai friends se mil le thoda tab nikalte hai” (still at the college, let me meet my friends then we’ll leave)
With a little bit confused face, as if trying to figure out what the other person was about to say, she said again, “abhi to Shrishti ke yaha jana hai. Usko kuch important kaam hai phir 8 baje tak pakka ghar. Wo apni car se chhod degi.” (Have to go to Shrishti’s place. She got some important work. Then I will be home by 8pm, promise. She will drop me home in her car)
“Ok. Bye. Love you.”
She cut the call. Gave a coin to the beggar. The boys who were sitting quietly till now, finally started speaking again. The one on the driver’s seat said something that made all of them laugh. The girl rolled up the window again with a little smile on her face.
She was most probably lying to her dad. Because the four lane intersection was definitely not her college. For a second I was taken back to my freshers party. Almost all of my classmates went to a club after the official college party was over, to have fun on their own. I didn’t. More like I couldn’t. I wanted to but for ‘some’ reasons which can qualify as ‘precautions to stay safe’, I couldn’t.
The uncle, sitting on his bike right beside us side eyed them. He was probably frowning, probably thinking,”what has happened to this generation?”
Suddenly the car started moving. Engines were on again. All the vehicles started moving. Countdown was over, the traffic light was green. The car was going straight while we had to turn right. As far as I could, my eyes followed the car, or to be honest, the girl. The last thing I saw was that, she was laughing. I don’t know the reason, but she had the most genuine laugh on her face. My heart felt happy.
Wherever she went after that, I just hope she returned home by 8pm, with the same genuine laugh on her face.
First of all, I know that I am late to this drama. But, better late than never. So, let’s start with a little bit of introduction. The Untamed is a Chinese television series, released in June-August 2019, and is based on a xianxia novel (a genre of Chinese fantasy novels), Mo Dao Zhu Shi (Eng: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, starring Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo.
To summarise the plot, The Untamed is the story of a cultivator (a Taoist supernatural concept) named Wei Wuxian (Xiao Zhan), who along with his soulmate Lan Zhan (Wang Yibo), sets out on a journey to solve a series of mysterious events, which are connected to their past. Two episodes into the present time, the story takes you to a flashback which reveals the dark events that happened in their lives sixteen years ago due to which things turned out to be the way they are in the present time.
The makers of the show have tried to do complete justice to the original novel, one of the things for which this drama received high praises. The novel, however, portrays a homoerotic relationship between the two male protagonists, which, due to the heavy Chinese censorship on the portrayal of homosexual relationships in movies and TV shows, could not make it to the television series. Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan do not even say ‘I love you’ to each other, all thanks to censorship. But the makers of the show still need to be praised for not hetwashing the series and using various other innuendos and hints to make it pretty much clear that Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan are more than just ‘good friends’.
Wang Yibo as Lan Zhan
One of the things that stood out the most for me in this historical fantasy drama is the emphasis given to each and every character. Just like most of the historical dramas, The Untamed too has a huge cast and although the main storyline revolves around Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan the other characters are as powerful as the protagonists. The series has the ability to teleport you to the magical cultivation world and makes you feel every possible human emotion from familial love, happiness, romance to hatred, fear and the pain of being left alone. Sets and costumes are very apt and just according to how the novel describes them to be. The original soundtrack of the show with traditional Chinese music just adds another plus point to the show.
Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian
As far as the performance of actors is considered, everyone is just perfect for their roles. Every actor plays that one character in their careers which becomes their identity forever, Wei Wuxian is that character for Xiao Zhan. The series has 50 episodes which I know is quite lengthy. I ignored the series for a very long time just because of its length, but trust me, it’s worth it. I have literally never felt this level of post series depression, since Harry Potter.
Albeit lengthy, but The Untamed is definitely one of the best Chinese series of all time, with an engaging plot and strong performances. The only negative aspect that I can point out would be the CGI in some of the scenes, which really didn’t mattered to me much.
When I was in twelfth standard, we were taught a poem at school, ‘My mother at sixty six’, by Kamala Das. The poem is about the fears of the poet, which she felt looking at her mother’s dull and pale face. The sudden realisation that her mother has grown old, and will not be with her forever, makes the poet a bit uncomfortable.
When I first read the poem, it was just another chapter of the syllabus which I had to study to score good marks in the exams. But, today, something happened that made me realise a lot of things. I saw my father holding a glass of water. His hands were trembling. And all of a sudden I could picturize not just the set up in which My mother at sixty six was written, but also the pain the poet must have felt while writing it.
Do you know what causes shaky hands, especially at an older age? I, unfortunately know. Sometimes, it’s easier to move on if you don’t know certain things, and I wish I didn’t knew. That strange feeling when you start hesitating to call your dad to pick you up, because you know it might not be good for their health. When you know, your mom isn’t making you do certain things because she wants to teach you, but simply because she just cannot do it on her own. When your parents falling sick is not just a random excuse to take leave from college or work, but actually makes you feel scared. It’s sad. It’s annoying. I don’t know any other words to describe this feeling or maybe I just don’t want to use harsher or more realistic terms.
Sometimes I think I’m feeling this way only because I don’t want to take responsibilities. Maybe I just want it going the same way it was. Living a carefree life, under the shelter of my parents, just how my childhood was. But it’s not totally correct. I am okay being the responsible child but, I still want someone to hold my back. Someone to correct me, to scold me.
What is even weird is that, the only thing that makes you feel a bit relaxed from these feelings is the thought that you too will go through this phase. Just a few more years, and you will be in your parents shoes and your children in yours. This is how it has always been.
Kamala Das in the poem tried to distract herself from these thoughts by looking at young trees. I will try that too. Young trees, young saplings, new buds, new flowers, another dawn , another day.
Hours, days and weeks went what went along was content. I heard frorm someone you decided my fate, but did you notice, the concerned was out of debate. I tried to peep to seek some light, ended up in a tunnel with death inside. Elation, celebration to buy a piece of me, the stillness you saw, the breathing you won’ t see. Snow White is lying cuffed and cut with swollen eyes and tears of blood. Years have passed living in remorse But this year ‘s gift is even worse. Now blinded and gagged Silence is roaming around, Oh! It’s the same Heaven you were boasting about. The quest for being one, far away lies, And so are ‘You’ and ‘I’.
In my last blog I talked about the South Korean movies that I watched during the Covid lockdown. Since the blog was getting longer, I decided to do a second part. This is a continuation to my previous blog. So, let’s get started:
1. Train to Busan (2016)
If you have watched Chris Evans starer Snowpiercer, and liked it then you will like this one too for sure. Train to Busan is a horror action movie starring one of the most famous South Korean actors, Gong Yoo. The movie starts with a man, Seok Woo (Gong Yoo) boarding a train to Busan with his daughter to see his wife. While still on train a zombie outbreak in South Korea turns the journey into a survival battle. There are a good amount of zombie movies and web shows, but what’s special about this one, is that it keeps you on the edge of your seat for the whole of two hours. The movie is so fast paced and thrilling that it doesn’t even let you blink. And ofcourse, the powerful social commentary on what a normal human beings instinct would say in such a situation, is what separates Train to Busan from most of the Hollywood zombie movies. Overall, if you are looking for a good thriller movie, then, this is the one.
2. Along with the Gods [Part 1&2] (2017&2018)
Along with the Gods: The Two World’s and its sequel Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days are two South Korean fantasy drama movies based on a webtoon of the same name. The first movie starts with the death of a fire fighter Kim Ja-Hong, who is then escorted to Afterlife by three guardians to be judged in seven trials in 49 days. The second movie picks up right from where the first movie ends, so make sure to watch both of them. The movie draws inspiration from the Afterlife narration in Buddhist scriptures, and the top-notch VFX literally teleports you to another world. If you are a fan of stories of other worldly creatures and craving for some good visual effects, then make way for both the parts of Along with the Gods.
3. Memoir of a murderer (2017)
Memoir of a murderer is an action thriller movie released in 2017. Kim Byeong-soo (Sol Kyung-goo), a former serial killer, who is now suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, is caught up in a very strange situation because there is another serial killer in the city who is killing young women, and on top of that, Byeong-soo’s daughter is dating a man that he suspects to be the serial killer. You can correlate this movie to Christopher Nolan’s Memento, but the protagonist being a serial killer himself makes Memoir of a murderer more interesting and thrilling. The movie plays out according to Byeong-soo’s point of view, thus literally plays with the audiences minds, making it a must watch psychological thriller.
By the way if you are planning to watch this movie, do not forget to watch the director’s cut, that gives the movie an alternate ending.
4. New World (2013)
New World is a South Korean action drama movie, following the story of an undercover cop, Lee Ja-Sung (Lee Jung-jae), who has infiltrated South Korea’s biggest crime syndicate, posing as a goon, in order to gather information. However, been living as a goon for 8 years Ja-Sung is fed up of his risky job and wants to live a normal life. The power tussle in the syndicate after its chairman’s death, and pressure from his seniors to continue his job, increases Ja-Sung’s problems and makes him take some tough decisions. The movie, as most of the gangster movies, is bloody, but still more thoughtful than most in its genre. New World gives you everything you look for in a ganster movie; suspense, action, emotions, sprinkled with some light comedy, alongwith powerful performances from the actors.
5. The man from nowhere (2010)
This action thriller movie is the story of a mysterious man, Cha Tae-sik (Won Bin) who goes on a bloody rampage to save a little girl who is caught in a drug ring drama because of her drug addict mother. What is interesting is that Tae-sik and the little girl So-mi (Kim Sae-ron) are just neighbours and have somehow developed a special bond. Bollywood movie Rocky Handsome (2016) is an official remake of The man from nowhere. Although I haven’t watched Rocky Handsome, I will still recommend watching The man from nowhere, because, first of all it is the original and secondly it is more intense than the larger than life bollywood remake.
If you like action thriller movies with an emotional angle, and can tolerate more than usual blood and violence, then you should not miss this one.
That is it for the blog. If you are interested in any of the movies mentioned above, then trust me they are worth your time.
2020 has been a tough year for almost everyone. But still, it did gave us some memorable moments to cherish forever. Atleast for director Bong Joon Ho, his movie Parasite becoming the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture definitely was a moment for life. Parasite’s success made a lot of people, in Joon Ho’s words, overcome the ‘one-inch-tall subtitle barrier’, and brace the world South Korean cinema. I am one of those people. Although I was already into K-pop and K-dramas for almost two years, it wasn’t until this year that I actually digged into South Korean movies.
In this blog I am going to list some of my favourite south Korean movies that I watched during the Covid lockdown. Although these movies are not recent but they are worth watching. Also, note that most of these movies are crime thrillers because I am a crime thriller freak.
1. Memories of murder (2003)
Directed by the Oscar winning director, Bong Joon-ho, Memories of murder is a crime drama, based on the true story of serial killings that happened in Hwaseong, Gyeongii Province between 1986 and 1991. Detective Park (Song Kang-ho) and Detective Seo (Kim Sang-kyung) try to catch a serial killer, who rapes and murders women. They have different approaches of investing the case, leading to a clash between them but soon afterwards they join hands. What stands out about the movie is the social commentary on the police system and their way of working. The movie very interestingly portrays the wins and loses of the detectives as they try to catch the killer. A common theme in most of Joon-ho’s movies is dark comedy. He is very capable of making people laugh even through the most intense scenes and that is one of the standout points of this movie too. Suspense, mystery, thrill, Memories of murder offers you everything a good crime thriller should.
2. Parasite (2019)
I don’t think this movie needs any introduction but, for the sake of the blog, it is another Bong Joon-ho directorial starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, and Park So-dam. Parasite is a dark comedy thriller drama. It follows the story of a poor Kim family who schemes their way to get employed at the rich Park family. At first the son of Kim family, Ki Woo (Choi Woo-shik), poses as a tutor get employed by the Park’s and then the rest of the Kim family pose as different qualified individuals to get other jobs at the Park’s house. The movie showcases the great disparities between the poor and the rich despite both these sections of society existing together, and depending on eachother. Dialogues like, “she is nice because she is rich” are enough to tell how hard the social satire in the movie is. The wittiness of Kim family makes you laugh but at the same time has a subtle feeling of uneasiness because of the harsh reality being shown. And then the unexpected twist takes you to a complete thought provoking journey.
Apart from the acting, dialogues, direction, what really needs be commended is the cinematography. Every still of the movie describes its own story. What makes the iconic car scene even more efficacious is the cinematography, where the mistress of the rich Park family is glad that the previous night’s rain helped clearing the sky, meanwhile Kim Ki-taek ( Song Kang Ho), the patriarch of Kim family is just…..I will leave it at there.
3. The spy gone north (2018)
Set in the 1990s, The spy gone north, follows the story of a South Korean spy who infiltrates to North Korea, posing as a businessman to get information about north’s nuclear weapon plans. With the 1997 South Korean general elections as the backdrop the movie serves an intense political drama, showcasing how the higher ups in the system use their juniors as a pawn, putting their lives at stake for their own benefit. It is not a typical spy drama movie with lots of loud action scenes and nerve wracking moments, but a more thoughtful and calmer approach to the regular secret agent stories. What is interesting is that even though the movie showcases an important time period of the Korean history, you can enjoy it regardless of your knowledge of the 20th century Korea. Directed by Yoon Jong-bin, it stars one of the best South Korean actors Hwang Jung-min and Lee Sung-min in lead roles.
4. Oldboy (2003)
A classic. If you ask anybody who likes watching Korean movies to recommend you some of them, Oldboy will definitely make it to their recommendation list. This neo-noir action thriller movie is the revenge story of a man who is held captive for 15 years for no apparent reason. When he is released from captivity he tries to find the captor and his motive to seek his revenge, without having any idea of the fate that awaits him. It is the second installment of director Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance trilogy and the most acclaimed and popular one too. The depths to which the movie explores the darkness of a human heart and mind really sets it as a pioneer for revenge dramas. The movie is also acclaimed for its action scenes and Choi Min-shik’s outstanding performance. Through all the unexpected twists and turns the movie concludes with an ambiguous ending leaving the viewers even more amazed and baffled. So, if you can tolerate blood and brutality a little bit more than usual, then you should definitely not miss this movie.
P.S. I am still not over this movie’s climax.
5. I saw the devil (2010)
First of all, if you have no stomach for violence, then you should definitely avoid watching this movie. Although Korean movies are generally more bloody and violent, ( as I have indicated for the previous movie) this one goes a few steps further. I saw the devil, is another South Korean crime thriller movie based on the revenge theme. An NIS agent Kim Soo-hyun (Lee Byunh-hun) seeks revenge for his fiancee who was brutally murdered by a psychopathic serial killer played by Choi Min-shik. Instead of killing the serial killer in one go, Soo-hyun decides to keep up the game of catching him, beating him up, letting him go and then repeat the cycle till he gets satisfaction. Bollywood movie Ek Villain(2014) is alleged to be an unofficial remake of the movie. So if you have watched Ek Villain and wondering whether you should watch I saw the devil or not, I will just say that, though both the movies are based on revenge themes with a serial killer, the plot is totally different. I saw the devil is Ek Villain without Shraddha Kapoor, way more intense and dark. Korean movies are usually credited to go for the darkest themes without trying to give moral lessons (which Ek Villain definitely tried to do), and leave the audiences to just deal with it. This movie is a prime example for that.
6. Swing Kids (2018)
If you are a K-pop fan then you might already be familiar with this movie. Starring Doh Kyung-soo, member of a popular boy band EXO, Swing Kids is a musical drama film. Set in the backdrop of 1951 Korean war, this Kang Hyeong-cheol directorial, is the story of a North Korean soldier Roh Ki-soo (Doh Kyung-soo) who is a prisoner of war (POW) at Geoje prison camp. Ki-soo falls in love with tap dancing because of Jackson (Jared Grims), an American officer. A war trodden country, the hardships of a POW, the ideological war of communists and capitalists, the racial and cultural differences between the Korean prisoners and American soldiers, and in midst of all these a passion for tap dancing, all leads up to a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the movie. If you like watching war movies with a more humanist approach, then you should definitely watch this movie.
If any of these movies interest you, then you should definitely watch them without thinking twice. I may do a part two of this blog for other South Korean movies that I watched in 2020.
Random Thoughts 