Love, See us Into a Hall of Mirrors

I have a piece in the Outlook's annual Bollywood special - which I'd love some feedback on. The theme this year is romance.

It's called Love, See Us Into a Hall of Mirrors

Writing in something like Outlook is a bit scary because you know anyone, anywhere in the country could read it. Or at least it is now - because I wrote a piece last year and at that time I didn't think too much about it. Only after it came out did I realise how many people read Outlook - I mean felt aware of it actually instead of in some abstract corner of my brain.

For a couple years I wrote a column for the Mumbai Mirror. Since those were my years of not taking the Times of India I never actually saw the column in print. As a result I wrote it with a peculiar sense of freedom - I had no sense of it being read by all and sundry and so, no fear of the inevitable shame and scorn that I otherwise live in constant dread of. Then I switched papers. Guess what I don't write anymore? Of course the nice girl whose horrible job it was to pester me for the column will laugh bitterly at this - all freelance writers are slackers trying to glorify their ineptitude and inconsideration she will say. They should try having a job or something, she will say. Maybe she's right. But then, who'd give me a job? And that depressing question should effectively keep me in a state of writer's block for another week. Ah well.

Here's last year's piece too, just to prove to her that I behave responsibly every now and then-the theme then was Stardom.

Comments

SUR NOTES said…
very very nice piece!
Space Bar said…
Liked the article, esp the distiction you make between love, which speaks to the spirit and romance which calls to the body.

I'm wondering, though, what would explain comprehensively the blandness of cinema today (with exceptions, of course). All the bits don't add up. Do they?
parotechnics said…
A comprehensive explanation would be a very long one I think...but partly it is because there's a lot of people out there trying to hit the jackpot, not really make movies they believe in(however good or bad). So it turns out an odd sort of "product"which has no juice.. and the whole discussion about sexuality mediated through objects is another one...

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