Will we ever know the truth?

In the old days, most of the opinions were relayed through some kind of middleman - newspapers, television or radio. Now the internet [blogs, twitter, youtube] has given a voice to individuals, a voice which can be heard loud and clear across the globe.
Anyone who has got into an argument knows there are always counter-arguments to rationalize actions. However, if we add a million of voices to this discussion -  there is inevitably a section of people with polarizing opinions.
So, diplomats & politicians live in a secret world of backoffice deals and horsetrading agreements. However, this classification of information comes at a price - accountability! But what good is accountability in a world filled with hate and war?
There has been a huge furor from key figureheads on Wikileaks' publishing confidential US diplomatic cables. Some congresspeople called it worse than a physical attack on Americans, one of idiot went as far as calling for the editor's [Julian Assange's] assassination. When you watch the silver-haired Assange's diatribe on the failure of traditional news reporting - you begin to wonder if this man is just a media whore looking for cheap publicity.
Let me switch gears for a moment - please bear with me. I come from a country where media has always been manipulated by a nexus of corrupt politicians and criminals. There have been innumerable bollywood movies about honest reporters sacrificing their lives to publish the truth. One my classmates was killed trying to close a corrupt gas station. This is a sad reality which Indians live in.
Surely, the US and the rest of the developed world can't be the same. They have powerful news organizations and strong legal systems to protect the truth!! Not really....most of the news organizations are broke, combined with the increasing threat of aggressive legal action by deep-pocketed entities, are unable to play a role which is expected of them [The Shameful Attacks on Julian Assange, The Atlantic]. Suddenly, the US is looking very much like India and now I am really not sure anymore.
So, what exactly has Wikileaks revealed so far? 


In 2008, they published "Kenya: The Cry of Blood - Extra Judicial Killings and Disappearances", a documentation of the killing and disappearance of 500 young men in Kenya by the police for which they won Amnesty International's UK Media Award. 
So what's the big deal? Well, this is as objective, as real, as factual as it gets...not the usual propaganda media show to get higher Nielsen ratings.
Alright, what else has Wikileaks done? We learned that the US and China worked jointly to sabotage the Copenhagen climate summit, abt the failure of American counterinsurgency programs in Afghanistan, the involvement of China and North Korea in the Iranian nuclear program, the involvement of Iran in destabilizing Iraq, the involvement of the Chinese govt in the cyber attacks on Google. In the whole scheme of things, it looks like this Diplomatic Transparency thing may actually be good for the US govt and American companies because the whole world knows who the bad guys are!

This publication of evidence was only possible because Assange spent a great deal of time inventing an encryption system to make it possible for human rights works to upload sensitive data and still stay protected.

If you still feel that this guy should be prosecuted as a hacker criminal then you need to read up about the Pentagon Papers. In 1971, NYTimes published confidential documents to prove that the Johnson Administration had systematically lied to the people to the Vietnam war - the front page article which changed the course of history and you have a lot to thank for.
Also, you don't know what the First Amendment is. It is the reason why Techcrunch was able to publish confidential Twitter documents and Gizmodo was able disclose the iPhone4 details. First Amendment is also the reason why you are not going to be arrested if you write a nasty facebook update criticizing Obama's tax concessions - your fellow Chinese bloggers cannot afford this luxury and are now rotting away in prison [thanks to technology companies revealing their identities]. Isn't this freedom worth protecting?
So, I ask you not to fight for Wikileaks and that dubious editor behind it....I ask you to fight for your rights and the truth....because the truth will set you free!


“In a free society we’re supposed to know the truth. In a society where truth becomes treason, then we’re in big trouble. And now, people who are revealing the truth are getting into trouble for it.” - Representative Ron Paul

My Burning Man Experience

Honey Trap

"A bunch of naked people having sex n drugs in a desert"said my non-Burner friend trying to explain Burning Man to another. I started to argue but found myself lost for words. I do admit partaking in some of that but how could I take all my experiences - the random acts of kindness of strangers, the harsh reality of the desert, the energy of the dancers reverberating to the rhythmic beats of music, the bonding of camp mates over scrambled eggs n bloody mary, the sadness & beauty of the Temple, the joys of being alive....take all these thoughts....all these feelings and coalesce them into a string of words.

"It is beautiful - I wish you could have been there too. Someday." I said instead.

I have decided to write about my experiences so when I grow older and my memory starts to fail- I can look back at my life and remember. Remember that somewhere in this space-time continuum, I found my happy spot, a spot where I lived my life with complete abandon and no regrets because no matter what happens, I....we will always have the Playa.

I've often heard people complaining that there are too many tourists at Burning Man and I thought to myself "I hope he doesn't mean me coz this is only my second burn. Some people have been coming here for years. Maybe they are the real burners and I am - just a poser." Though I felt very much like a burner - I love the music, the art, the people, the playa.

miniMoo camp

So, how do you discern a burner from a poser? To my mind, there is only one difference - participation. This is not a place where you come to watch and observe....it is a place where your presence should change the nature of your and others experiences.....in a good way.

By some weird accident, I found myself planning the "miniMoo" camp with 2 of the most beautiful people I know - Carrie n Andrew Moo. However, I confess questioning this move as our satelliting option with 2 bigger camps evaporated - maybe just the 2 of us (my gf n I) should have satellited instead of carrying the burden of 15+ relative strangers. My friends warned me not to organize a camp let alone bring along virgins "It is only your second yr, enjoy it and then try to entertain people

Connie taking me for a bike skate

later."

I am glad that I....WE persevered on. As Larry Harvey said "Communities are not produced by sentiment or mere goodwill. They grow out of a shared struggle." Our bonding grew from our shared confrontation with survival. On the 2nd day when Diego reached across, hugged me and said "Thank You" - I felt that all those hours spent lugging lumber from hardware stores, arguing camp layout, drafting long emails had suddenly paid off. I finally understood what drove that naked guy to walk through a whiteout in middle of the playa handing out dust masks to

newbies or why that young guy was standing for hours outside the temple handing out roses instead of getting high and dancing at Nexus. For the first time, I understood what it felt to do something for others unconditionally and not expect anything in return.

My humble contribution - "Scream Booth"

Scream because you are alive!

There were lot of magic moments this year but a couple stand out. I was wearing tutus at the center camp and after a couple of hours of being mesmerized by the performers, we started walking back towards our bikes when we ran into this drumming circle with a brazilian girl performing the samba in the center. The beat fell a few notches as the dancers headed out and the percussionists took a break to wipe their brow with a rag when this black guy walked into the middle.

Now, I usually don't notice guys; even if I do it is just a glance because they look fit. To say this guy was just fit would be a damn lie.....every muscle, every sinew was chiseled on his body. I stood frozen, staring at perfection....happy that I could hide behind my dark goggles, hoping that no one else guessed who I was looking at.

I was wrong.

His presence floated like ether across the group. The lead percussionist tensed, dropped his rag, stood up from his lethargic crouch (he had the drum between his legs) and started hammering with such speed n intensity that I felt my heart was going to explode.

At this point, I am not sure if I am making sense because I felt the entire circle simultaneously rose to welcome the King. A half-white, half-asian, half-indian girl decked in middle eastern jewelry joined him and other dancers in the circle. By now the beat and dancing had reached such a high intensity that the drummers' sweat dripped like rain on the carpet, the hair on my back stood up like a rebar hammered into the dusty playa....all my senses regaled by this stupendous beauty that I was transported to another dimension...a dimension where I have never been before. As we walked away from this, I looked at my gf and we both knew what just happened.

Bliss Dance by Marco Cochrane

There is only another moment which comes close to beating this experience. An experience where I had to literally lay my hands on my chest and whisper "Heart don't fail me now".....Bliss Dance By Marco Cochrane.

Before I saw this sculpture, Heaven told me that people said it was the best piece of art on the playa this year. I was a little peeved - how can you compare 2 pieces of art? Doesn't beauty lie in the eye of the beholder? I hate people being judgemental about art.

However, when I saw the Bliss Dancer....I understood why people had agreed with such unanimity. I must have stared so long that it brought tears to my eyes.

Thank you Marco....thank you xoxoxo

This blog has unfortunately become much longer than I wanted and more conceited as describe my experiences in such grandeur but I cannot stop without describing the hug circle.

The hug circle, I suspect, was created to snare hot chicks into the arms of some of our lusty camp mates:) However it evolved. We started to grow inorganically as other satellite groups joined to expand our hug circle....it was cute but it did not start to have meaning till we had reached the "cage of light" art piece (my name for it) on the playa. This random guy dressed in a white robe whisper-asks "Do have a cigarette?" and we shout "No. We don't and what are heck are you doing here by yourself?" He shyly replies that he is the artist who created the "cage". I think it was Brian who says "Are you kidding me?" and we half-jokingly create the hug circle around him, start dancing and thanking him.....and I swear I am not making this up - he bows humbly and with a surprised look says "Thank You".

Thank you! I think we helped organize the miniMoo camp but you all created the hug circle....a thread of love across the playa.

Slow down and smell the Roses

Dr. Srithematics looked wistfully at the early models of transportation from the bulky horse carriage to the steam engines to the Apollo 11 replica which put man on the moon.
"The good old days" he says "when we attacked nature with a brute savage force and won. Things happened so quickly yet so slowly."
"But why Professor?" Kjung Suratkel exclaimed, his voice mixed in agony, his eyes moist with tears "We lost so much time so many people...civilizations". His voice rising in pain.
"This is the way it was supposed unfold Kjung." Dr. Srithematics replied "Like the 4-cushion shot on the pool table"
"H-uh?"
"I read this in one of those books from the 20th century. A 4-cushion shot is extremely complicated but if you reverse engineer its path...this is the way it was supposed to happen."
"Yjbariash" Kjung whispers
"While scientists were inventing ways to move faster and faster, compressing different forms of energy, harnessing the sun, emitting plumes of toxic carbon pollutants; there was one man who spent all his life trying to slow things down."
"They laughed at him, just like they had laughed at Galileo and mocked Charles Keeling...when will we ever learn to respect science?"
"At the same time these scientists give up their stubbornness and openly believe in magic . We owe so much to so few."
"Slowing us down so that Earth would continue to spin but we come to a stop in space-time...space atleast...the time part came much later. He was able to transport at speeds not heard of before - moving a canister in 2 milliseconds from Twin Peaks to to Seychelles. Of course, it was intended for the Caribbean..hehee." Srithematics giggled like a small girl
"He desperately tried to track it down using his West Indian contacts but I guess they were too busy smoking ganja and came back empty-handed. He was shattered, the local media declared him a failure, his friends questioned his intelligence calling him a raving lunatic...a hack."
"Then it happened, suddenly - out of the blue, a facebook message which cryptically read 'We have it'. He nearly collapsed with joy.,,,,we owe so much to so few.
"A romantic couple honeymooning on the island had come upon boxes of food, water and first aid kits with a small note to add Om lette Pierre on their facebook."
"As the news spread virally on the internet - numerous companies tracked Om down and made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Actually, he refused and that's why we are where we are today."
"His contraption moved objects faster than anything else because it worked with nature not against it. KJung - all through the ages, man has been trying to overcome gravity and friction. Both are nasty forces which make apples fall off trees and rolling stones come to a stop. What if we could make them our friend instead?"
"By increasing mass of the object, he was able to increase its gravity and consequently its friction. The key was not the absolute mass itself but its rapid increase - like slamming the brakes of the Shinkansen. And voila - he was able to transport objects through space-time."
"Why move faster than Earth when you can let Earth overtake you? All you needed was to slow down and smell the Roses."

Is it a bird, is it a plane? NO...its Twitter!!

Is it a bird, is it a plane? NO...its Twitter! A global phenomena evoking more emotion than global warming - 140 chars that claim to have more impact than the Gutenberg Bible. So let me peel the onion and unveil the crystal ball...I can tell you the future only if you suspend your disbelief. The easiest way to start is not by explaining what Twitter is because the Twitter guys have not figured it out themselves but by painting Twitter's future with my own coloring brush.

People believe that Twitter is a fad and will hopefully disappear like its predecessors - Pet Rocks, Atkins and Friendster. It sure has all the characteristics of one - lightning fast adoption and unusually high interest gaining heavily from the bandwagon effect or as my Professor calls it - the "Information Cascade". Quite honestly, no one knows if it will stick around and for how long.
You need money to make money, friends to make friends and in the Twitter world - followers to find more followers. Eager, early Twitter adopters are flexing their muscle to support this seemingly democratic medium as they realize they can become overlords given the impending doom of the fourth estate. Suddenly, its like 1849 again and quite honestly during a gold rush...you pick a shovel and start digging. Bloggers, movie stars, politicians, musicians, news media and most of all - the common man have embraced Twitter at a frenetic pace with the aim of striking it rich. Suddenly, the general populous is no longer a statistic that can be analyzed by experts and reported by successful news publishers - the medium has empowered individuals by projecting their thoughts loud and clear across the interwebs. Some of you may be thinking this is not new - we already have Blogs, RSS feeds, Social Networks. Yes, we do but just like there was an mp3 player before iPod and a search engine before Google - these products did not have the hype, PR, traction to cross the chasm. Be it by luck, timing, name...Twitter has captured mindshare and taken the world by storm.

The real question is - can Biz Stone capitalize this craze and convert Twitter into an enduring service the way Howard Schultz transformed Starbucks into a premium coffeehouse or Dietrich marketed Krating Daeng as Red Bull? Is the momentum strong enough to leap over the Tipping point? Sure - Google did that and so has Amazon. I would go as far as to posit it was this craze that brought Obama into power. There is a compelling case to be made for the power of being plugged into the minds of millions or as the Jedi call it the Force (Midi-chlorians).
You may say, I don't really want to bother with all the crap people have to say. Maybe not but information is power and real-time information is like coke...psychologically addictive. But the feed is full of speculation, rumours and spam? Well, this is a problem a good algorithm can solve exactly like Google did during the early internet era. Not a trivial task for sure but definitely possible. Who has time for this sh*t? I would speculate that 20% of your life is idle time. If you use half of this time to assimilate into the collective - it would give you the powers of the borg:). I don't mean replace personal and people time with Twitter time - on the contrary...use the tool to stay connected to world and the world to stay connected to you.

Is this what the future looks like? Well, technology is finally catching up with the way people interact or want to interact however as Heisenberg's theory of uncertainty states - observing an event changes it. As more people adopt social networking so will their needs. Twitter/Facebook will need to keep changing and pushing the envelope because there's a long way to go.

For today's generation "anything more than 140 characters in a lecture". So keep it short and may the force be with you!

Journey of a disenfranchised undecided voter

For all those who like my writing, I apologize for not being much of a blogger with my last 2 (inclding this one) about the oft-repeated and much-ballyhooed elections. I do not enjoy the suffrage enjoyed by my American friends...I only carry the burden of an immigrant's suffering - social security, taxes and fox news. I must also admit for the past few months, I have been playing the part of an "undecided voter". It was a thought experiment at first, rather difficult one in the beginning because I could not get myself to think on McCain's behalf. However, as Obama's campaign became mainstream and his supporters became rabid fanboys, I started getting more neutral. I don't know why - maybe because I unconsciously root for the underdog, maybe because as an immigrant I am ideologically democrat but fiscally republican (I don't want to pay more taxes:)) or maybe because I just got tired of reading all the pro-democratic hype on digg. Suddenly, something in my brain switched on and I could no longer discern any difference between McCain's promises and Obama's rhetoric.

They say there's a thin line between love and hate. Suddenly, Katie Couric's attempt to embarrass Palin made my blood boil more than McCain's negative campaigning. Was I beginning to think like Joe Six-Pack? Is this how the Middle Americans think? I don't know but I can tell you one thing for sure - this election is really not about "big things" - taxes, foreign policy, economy...this election is about "faith".

McCain is a war veteran, someone who showed courage under fire...someone who has consistently shown fair and balanced judgement...a good human being whose life should not be rewritten because he ran against Obama. However, in this election you are not voting for a good person but for the best one who can change the world. Change for a country which has become morally bankrupt from mismanagement of previous regimes and desperately needs to believe again. I did not think just one person could change the world till I ran into fake Obama at Halloween. Even though this was just a white guy covered in black paint, it made me realize why I embarked on this undecided voter journey in the first place.

Hate is addictive but luckily so is love. It was really hard to take that "leap of faith" knowing that the stakes were so high - world peace or new world order. Talking to fake Obama helped me imagine the world ex-post the elections..not necessarily a world with peace, milk n honey but a world where you could look up to the man running the country for honesty and empathy...to remind us that these emotions mean a lot in a world besieged by war and greed. I am planning to go out and cast my disenfranchised vote for Obama...go and exercise your franchise!

Obama Biden

I believe the boost to McCain's rating post-RNC and post-Sarah Palin is just a confirmation of the fact that media, glamour and youth have arrived to the Political world. Obama is just a 47 yo Senator and Palin 44 yo VPILF. Hopefully this will be a turning point, kicking the door open for leaders from all races, sexes and ages...a glass ceiling that has yet to be dented in the US. Whoever wins, this elections is going to change the world the way works in a way much like what the dot com did to the brick and mortar.

I think Obama is going bounceback strong after the debates. Why? Because a great leader dreams of a better future...because a leader inspires people to reach that future....a great leader is like a faith healer because he/she makes you believe. I am really happy with Obama's VP pick because he acknowledged the gap in his experience and plugged it. He did not try to pick a VP to win votes...he picked a VP to better run the country. Vote for "Obama Biden" not "Osama Bin Laden" hiding behind Joe "the Plumber" and Joe Six-Packs.

Rang De Basanti

Rang De Basanti - A Generation Awakens

Its a long time since I have seen a movie that not only entertains you but leaves you feeling agitated...disturbed...inspired. A movie to which you can relate to, whose characters you can touch and feel because they are so rich, so colorful and so true.

Its been a long time since I can go to a movie with my American friends and not cringe at how absurd those funny aerobics dances in the wet sari look, how melodramatic the story is.....why the hero cries all the time....why none of the characters looks, acts or thinks like me.

Its a long time since I can show a movie to my friends and proudly say....."this is the country where I come from"...and No!....India is not in the Middle-East and that guy in a turban is not Osama.

This is my country with 1 Billion people with 200 religions and 30 states. This is my country which overcame 200 years of colonization, transforming it from the richest country in the world to one of the poorest. This is my country who won our independence due a movement of non-violence and non-cooperation. This is my country whose insistence on democratic processes has thrown it into a vicious cycle of chaos and corruption, but it is still flourishing in its own macabre way.

This is what I thought after seeing the movie yesterday.

Rang De Basanti is not a movie about patriotism, its a movie about Indians. Funnily, the protagonist of the movie is again a Britisher "Angrez", Sue, who comes to India to make a documentary on some freedom fighters about whom she gets to know from the diary of her late grandfather who was a British officer in India before 1947. Alice Patten who plays Sue radiates simplicity and passion at the same time. Let me say a BIG "Thank You" Alice. For once, I am not embarrassed to watch the token blonde on the Indian big screen who is usually reserved for the "Sam Fox" titillation, mouthing jingoistic hand fed dialogues or the evil bald headed rapist. She stands on her own. Sue comes to India in search of her Grandfather's legacy and does not immerse herself into displays of Indophilic or touristic activities. We could so easily expect Bappi Lahri trying to get her into a 2-piece bikini doing a namaste or getting drunk in a nightclub and seducing DJ to bed in a state of drunken stupor...no...her romance with DJ is subtle and romantic.

After having auditioned many in vain for her movie, Sue, aided by Sonia (Soha Ali Khan), meets a group of friends in whom she sees the characters of her documentary. The group consists of DJ (Aamir Khan), Aslam (Kunal Kapoor), Karan (Siddharth) and Sukhi (Sharman Joshi).

I entered the theater without any idea who this tomboyish chick was. Though I must say she has the trademarkish Sharmila Tagore looks. Instead, all I remember is her sunny positive disposition. "Ram Bismil kahan milega?"...."Mil Jayega", without a flutter. She is in love with Fl. Lft. Ajay Rathod (Madhavan), a Air Force officers who loves flying planes and loves his country. I bet we all have friends or family who remind us of Ajay Rathod.

Enter. DJ. DJ is originally Daljeet Singh from a Punjabi family consisting of a loving mother (excellently portrayed by Kiron Kher). A beer guzzler who is never serious about anything in life, DJ starts laying his charm on Sue the minute he sees her. Only Aamir Khan could have enacted the role of DJ, the good-humoured, bike-riding ex-graduate who is afraid to go beyond the life of college campus and friends. Aamir speaks his dialogues with a Punjabi accent, spicing his lines with an expletive here and there. But what is phenomenal about Aamir is that he is never out of character. His incredulity with Sue's hindi speaking skills "Oye yeh to hindi bolti hai yaar" is repeated again and again or his deep but comical "Ek pair past pe, te ek pair future me, isilye to hum aaj par mooth rahe hai".

This is where the story transcends the glass-ceiling of Bollywood and makes its appeal universal. It is a Sholay of the new Era. Where the Defence Minister is Gabbar and the group of 5 is the Basanti's village.
Aamir's presence doesn't dominate or overshadow other members of the cast. Every character in the film is well-defined and their screen presence is justified. You like the charm of Sharman Joshi as much as the intensity of Siddharth. Kunal Kapoor's sincerity is as appealing as the fire in Atul Kulkarni. British actress Alice Patten is poised and never appears to be fake even while mouthing Hindi dialogues. Needless to add Aamir Khan is superlative. From getting the Punjabi accent correct to transforming into a responsible citizen from a flippant ex-college student, Aamir gets all the nuances of his character perfect.


Karan is the silent one. Again, I found him strangely out-of-place in the first half. But maan does his character grow on you, he is the Holden Caulfield of the movie. As Bhagat Singh, he blows you apart in the way he potrays his character. "Hum attankwadi nahin krantikari hain". No flashy flamboyance or tatto-flashing typical of Bollywood actors trying to do bring a cheap Hollywood imagery to the big screen. Guys, yes, the ones who are dyeing their hair blonde, flashing their tattoos or driving the ferraris in Bandra....please..if people found that stuff appealing...they would be watching Tom Cruise in MI-3...yuck

Everytime, I watch Minorities represented in movies, it leaves me with a sugar-coated bad taste in the mouth. Sometimes its too good to be true or sometimes its too bad. Aslam finds the balance. He comes from a Muslim family and refuses to endorse the opinion that Muslims ought not mingle with Hindus. He writes poetry and displays a vulnerable sensitive person. Damn, I had a close friend like that. These guys need the support media provides to continue to trust their beliefs. Please give me more characters like that. Some feel he should have switch places with Karan. Maybe, but then he would be too good-looking to play the dark soulful character.

But it had to be the Saffron wearing Laxman Pandey who epitomizes genuinity. Not just as a person with strong convictions but his convincing potrayal of a RSS man. As a movie addict, I have a tendency to applaud when I see authentic potrayals of characters by method actors but there's always a small voice in the back of my head...hey he was acting. I did not doubt for a second that Laxman Pandey was anything other than a mumbai shiv sainik. Great casting and brilliant acting.

The humor and timing is impeccable.

There is always some comical antakshari going on. "sue kar mere mann ko kiya tune kya isara". Or Sukhi.. the haryanvi jat…
“aslam ki gali… khali balli khalli balli khalli balli, hum to hai talli talli, na bhula mein apne yaar ki galli… lamba mera yaar choti uski galli”


"tu ni sudharna... aye dudh dena band kar degi"
Kiron kher refering to the cow...being tortured by DJ by his dialogues

or the dark humor from Anupam Kher (hmmm....who is more brilliant Anupam or Kiron....husband or wife)
"In this SMS generation....Anything longer than four lines is a lecture!"



The Songs flow with the Rhythm of the movie. Thank God no "Tamha tamha do-ge" falling out of the blue for no rhyme or reason. What can be said of AR Rahman. A music composer's genius is when the background score is as riveting and relevant as the songs. The piano notes when the movie switches to the flashback is haunting. But puhleez, I think no Indian, NRI, man or women from 1950 to the Present would contest that there has been and will ever be a singer like Lata Mangeshkar.

Carlos Santana once said that if he ever went to Heaven and did not hear "Love Supreme" playing, he would turn back. I can safely say that if I ever reached heaven and didnt find Lata crooning "Mera saaya saath hoga", I would turn back like the rest of my 1 Billion fellow Indians.

Dont Miss the Lukka Chuppi song. I repeat. DO NOT MISS THIS SONG. I recommend that you do not blink either. It packs such a punch of colors and unforgettable scenery that you may want to see the movie just to enjoy all the elements of this beautiful collage.

But the movie would have faltered a la Reservoir Dogs with senseless murder and gory if it wasnt for Bhagat Singh. For anyone familiar with Indian Freedom movement, the story of Azad, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Bhagat Singh avenging Lala Lajpat Rai's death at the hands of Polic Chief Scott is legendary. This is a strong emotional moment which has been powering numerous Bollywood movies like Shaheed, The Legend of Bhagat Singh et. al. but none can create a political statement as strong as Rang De Basanti.

When Sonia says "Maar Dalo", it was history repeating itself. The bridge between the Indian Revolution and the Nuevo Revolution. We needed 'a loud noise so that the deaf could hear'. No, that was not Karan, it was Bhagat Singh on the floor of the assembly. The second half is reminiscent of Arjun but Arjun did not have Azad or Sukhdev. This is what makes the movie believable and inspiring at the same time.

But the best scene of the movie has to be the coming of age of DJ. His transformation from flippant ex-college student to a realistic human being. If there was ever a scene which I could bodly take my cynical stoic American friends to watch a male performer cry, it would be this. Because those were not tears of tragedy or drama....those were tears of frustration...hopelessness. "kuchh nahin badlega yahan. yahan tum system ko badloge, yeh system tumhe badlega." "Kitne Ajay ko marna padega". He then weeps to sleep in the arms of Sue. I guess if we had to separate Indians who grew up in the US from the Indians who grew up in India, all it takes is their reaction to this scene. Every Indian born Indian, however rich,successful, established, feels this stab of deep hopelessness when he talks about India. NRIs can never feel the frustration, pain of this juggernaut of a country who can take down the most resolute of people.

A close second would be Pandey's unsaid acknowledgement of hated Muslim counterpart...Aslam. Anything more than "I'm Sorry" would have made this entire sequence artificial and cheesy.

The performance by the supporting characters was as significant and memorable as the main characters. Aamir's Grandpa says "Rab,hamare bachho ki kurbani kabool karna." or Ajay Rathod's "koi bhi desh perfect nahi hota...use perfect banana parta hai." or McKinley's "I always though there were 2 kinds of men, those who go to their death screaming....and others who go to their death in silence...UNTIL i met the third kind..."

For those who found the ending illogical, all I have to say is that if it didnt end that way, it wouldnt have made sense. Sounds weird, but you see, the movie was a parallel to Bhagat Singh's. What he and Azad did was construed illogical and unrealistic but that's the way it was.

The last scene is reminiscent of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" when Paul Newman and Robert Redford are cornered by the Army, unknown to them. "Lefors? No, why?" "Thank God for that. For a moment there I thought we were in trouble.". Freeze Frame. Here, DJ is telling Karan "Yaar, ek problem hai. Agar bacche honge toh patta nahin agar gore yah kale honge". And they burst out laughing. The Black Cat commandos burst in. Freeze Frame.