The Intern

Saw Robert De Nero’s movie, “The Intern” today.  If I would start raving about how beautiful and well made the movie was; I would merely be repeating and echoing the same emotions as has been felt by millions of fans across the globe.  What the film reasserts is the power of a simple narrative to express complex emotions.  There is nothing complex about the story line. And that is the real beauty of the movie.   The multi layered human emotions can easily weave a confusing web that can leave one giddy if one attempts to entwine it.  Human equation is more often than not cast in the web of complexity. 

The role reversal in terms of the personal and professional life can further accelerate the confusion that overshadows this delicate equation.  The beauty of the plot lies in the fact that it set out an objective perspective in the form of the narrative of the old and wise intern.  The wise intern is like a guide post who silently and subtly nudges the protagonist to reflect upon her emotions, goals and aspirations.  The character of the intern to whom Robert De Nero has certainly done full justice is like an inner voice that helps the protagonist to do course correction at regular intervals.

In real life we may not have the privilege of having such a sagely Intern around us.  However, if we choose to listen to sound of our inner voice, we would certainly realize that we all have the privilege of having a guardian angel in the form of our inner voice, our gut feeling that refuses to leave our side come what may.  I believe that it is this inner voice, this gut feeling that plays the role of the sagely intern in our lives. Unfortunately, the constant clamour of every day existences pushes this inner voice into a dark and deep corner. If only we free ourselves from the clutches of this constant clamour and allow the inner voice to express itself, we would certainly find our intern that helps us get past the treacherous path of continuous hurt to the safe havens of peace and internal freedom.

Hope we learn to listen to the sound of our beautiful inner voice those servers as our selfless interns, if only we choose to listen!

The Other Daughter

Whilst the whole nation, it seems, has been caught unaware in the gory whirlpool of the Indrani Mukherjee’s spinning tale of the alleged crime of Filicide; one fails to notice that person who will, without an ounce of doubt, be drowned and sucked into the whirlpool of this bloody mess will be the second daughter of Indrani Mukherjees, namely Vidhi Khanna! While an ignorant viewer is busy absorbing the numerous twists and turns that leaves one with feeling giddy, to say the least; the ignorant viewer fails to notice Vidhi’s lot. Destiny, it seems, is in the process of extracting a very heavy price from Vidhi Khanna for having Indrani Mukherjee as her mother. Whilst any person is innocent, until proven guilty, despite of compelling evidence thus far, unlike a layman, I will not take the liberty of pronouncing Indrani Mukherjee guilty for the purpose of this write up. The evidence is yet to be appreciated by the court of law. However, having said that, in the context of Vidhi Khanna, the alleged act of Indrani Mukherjee is worth analysing.

Presuming if Indrani and her husband are pronounced as guilty eventually, she would not only be guilty of filicide in context of Sheena Bora but she would also be guilty of having committed a grievous crime against Vidhi; the crime of perpetually subjecting her to a deep sense of betrayal and loss, the depth and nature of which is difficult to gauge at this moment. Even though Vidhi is not to be held accountable or blamed for the crimes her parents have allegedly committed, it will be highly difficult, if not impossible, for her to come to terms with the fact that she is not liable to bear the cross of this social stigma; that she should not be made to pay the heavy price of perpetually lost social standing, honour and dignity on account of the crimes her parents have allegedly committed. However, this calls for a lot of rationalizing which will easily take a good amount of time, especially in light of the long drawn nature of the trial process per se.

The psychological impact of this crime will leave a scar on Vidhi’s heart and mind forever. It is difficult to imagine oneself in her situation. How would you feel if you discover that your parents have murdered your sibling whom you presumed to be your aunt all along? How would you feel if you discover that your parents’ life was just a façade, a charade, with multiple layers of lies, betrayals and fabrications at every step? How would you feel if you wake up one day only to read your mother having been labelled as an ambitious, vindictive, greedy, self-centred and murderous witch? What would you go through if both your parents are behind the bar and you are left dazzled and confused on account of numerous versions and counter versions of the alleged nature of their crime. It is difficult to answer all these questions. Vidhi is the best person to answer these questions!

It is worth viewing this video in which you see a clip of Vidhi attending Bandra Court:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2DKF9ziJ5A

The expression on Vidhi’s face when she is being let into the court room while simultaneously being pushed and shoved by reporters who are falling over each other to get her byte would certainly elicit pity if one looks at her without being prejudiced on account of her parent’s alleged acts. It is an expression which reflects fear, confusion and embarrassment e at the same time.

It is difficult to ascertain what remains in store for Vidhi. The path is certainly long and thorny. It is difficult to ascertain how she will handle this. The least that the media and society can do is not make her the scapegoat for she has a lot to handle already!