Dil Bole Hadippa!

Veera wants to play cricket; she's a right and left hand batter. Only trouble is, she's a girl. The Indian team needs a good batter. But, they don't want a girl. To play, Veera disguises herself as a man.

As a girl, this kind of thinking makes me mad. (in USA) Why is it gender that determines function? Why not skill? Rani Mukherjee is excellent in this part. While she doesn't look much like a man, she gets the point across; excellence is excellence, regardless of gender. USA, India, Pakistan, Japan, it doesn't much matter; women are not respected for what they can do. They are held back by gender expectations.

It should not be gender, but performance that determines one's participation. By performance I mean performing to or surpassing a certain standard.

In the end, Rani makes her point and all's well that ends well; but, life is not so simple. People don't accept or consider female performance in the same way they do a man's (in the USA, at least). Archery is one such field of endeavor. Women can not compete with men. Why not? Is it the pudendum that pulls the bow? Of course not. Then why the gender discrimination? Are men so afraid that women will match them?

Of course, I liked this movie. Other viewers rate it lower than I do. But, some women are competitive with men; they should be allowed to compete with those who perform at their same level. Gender should not be the discriminating factor! Nor should anything else! Discriminate by actual performance level or ambition or choce or intention, but not by an accident of birth!!!

Musings on a winter evening: take me to Shah Rukh

Not a movie or book review tonight, not even creative writing. I'm happy. I'm listening to the My Name is Khan audio soundtrack. It's lovely. I wish that I could figure out how to upload a track to the blog, but I don't know how right now. I'm listening to Rang De. Such an uplifting song. I just learned that "Noor E Khuda" means, "God is Light." Oh, yes.

Shah Rukh Khan started tweeting on Jan. 2, 2010, in the morning. Talk about making himself accessible! I was there, well not there, but close enough. I was on Planet SRK when someone mentioned he had started tweeting on twitter! Wow! Such an exodus to that site, in moments twitter was overcrowded with people clicking to follow him. Such excitement. It is so fantastic to think that I can be party to his thoughts of the moment, that I can respond to his thoughts and they'll show up on his screen (in the midst of thousands of others) half way around the world.

He heals my heart. It's not that he's doing anything active in that regard, it's just that having witnessed the corpus of his work - watched every movie that I could find (some 50 - 60 or so), read every book that I have been able to find about him, read and watched his interviews, observed his expressions, his choices, his reputation, his humor, his spirit in action, I can't help but hold him in the highest regard. I started "studying" him to try to figure out why I was so attracted to him, why I felt such love for him. Initially, I couldn't figure it out. It didn't make sense. I'm not a person who falls in love with a celebrity. I've never been a fan of anyone. SRK is different. It's still a mystery to me. But I do love this man and wish all the best for him.

I'm not alone in this. I was one of the first 5000 to follow him on twitter, but in six days, he has 57,614 followers with more to come. He does not just appeal to a segment of the population. His appeal is universal. What accounts for this? People say that he "connects." What does that mean? His dimples? His well-defined abs (attesting to his determination, persistence, and hard work), his smile? I believe Shah Rukh Khan is a charismatic presence. He is gifted with the presence of god. I see god in him. Now, I know this sounds a little balmy. I was a graduate student of theology and comparative religion. I know better than to deify a human. I don't think I'm doing that. Rather, I'm recognizing the presence of spirit - geistes. Parousia, the breath of god.

He has this affect on people. He makes me smile. He makes me laugh out loud. He makes me happy. He brings people together in loving community. I am inclined to say he is ego less, but that is not true. He is not selfish, but he has a strong self. It's clear that he has integrity and strives for excellence. He's a person who pursues virtue in a world too often populated by those who seldom consider the consequences of their deeds and behaviors. Shah Rukh Khan is a wake up call, but not the annoying, alarming, threatening kind. Rather he calls us to be the best that we can be. Calls us to encounter the new day with fresh hearts, clean spirits, and open hands - ready for the blessings bestowed upon us. He refers to his soon to be released movie, but these words could serve to illustrate his influence on me and so many others, "subtle and quiet. with as much noise as sleet caressing water. gentle as love should be" @iamsrk