In the much-vaunted tradition of buddy flicks, the two bad boys of Parliament brought the big guys to their knees, or at least the day’s business in the world’s largest democracy. The Yadav ‘brothers’ or bhaiyyas, if we subscribe to authenticity, were the only people who delivered on International Women’s Day, on their threat that is. And without recourse to poison or smelling salts, just some good old rabble-rousing and ‘back atcha’ smack talk.
Smelling salts is really what the ruling party needs; it seems to have spent much of the day in the coy avatar of a BBC adaptation of a Jane Austen novel. Suddenly the party that all have accused of ‘poor floor management’ — how very domestic sounding — seems to have shrunk behind the shadow of parliamentary propriety. Not a squeak on what tomorrow brings, no one’s channelling Scarlett here, and as all ‘ladies’ know it’s rather inappropriate to be all too obvious about one’s intentions.
Which brings us to the Opposition that seems to predate the ruling party’s choice of cinematic genre and has gone with the tried and tested formula — mythology. Predictable, but then so are the robust declarations of national letdowns and instability. They appear on television and delight in their role of a well-intentioned-but-under-perceived player. Yes, the same one who traverses many portals with well-meaning intentions, but alas, is often misinterpreted. It’s a true to the book adaptation here, no credit-sharing required on this one, or so they claim.
Then there is the party that veers to the left, but decides to go mainstream on this one. Full on, paisa vasool style, with lusty declarations of protecting the chair if the government can’t. But they didn’t, did they? Why you ask? They weren’t asked, the tea party came a little too late in the day. There’s that Victorian propriety again! Guess even in the time of UPA Reloaded, fond memories of UPA One persist. But here’s what a good agent would tell them, “They just wrote out your part, babe. It ain’t personal!”
{{/usCountry}}Then there is the party that veers to the left, but decides to go mainstream on this one. Full on, paisa vasool style, with lusty declarations of protecting the chair if the government can’t. But they didn’t, did they? Why you ask? They weren’t asked, the tea party came a little too late in the day. There’s that Victorian propriety again! Guess even in the time of UPA Reloaded, fond memories of UPA One persist. But here’s what a good agent would tell them, “They just wrote out your part, babe. It ain’t personal!”
{{/usCountry}}As for the rest of us, yeah the same ones who this is about. We want a remake, something a little hatke — this isn’t about 33 per cent for women, it’s about 67 per cent for men. Let’s look at this a little differently. There’re many ways to tell the same story — it’s all in the story-telling.
Advaita Kala is the author of Almost Single. The views expressed by the author are personal.