COMIC RELIEF – MINDING ONE’S OWN BUSINESS!!-EPISODE 7

COMIC RELIEF – MINDING ONE’S OWN BUSINESS!!-EPISODE 7

CONTROVERSIES ARE EVERYWHERE….BE IT POLITICS, BUSINESS, CORONA CRISIS AND ABOVE ALL BOLLYWOOD!

By Donald D’ Silva, Mira Road, Karkala

Donald D’ Silva is an Advertising Professional & Brand Strategist managing his own Digital Marketing Company in Mumbai. He writes about Current Affairs, Political Analysis, Bollywood Happenings and a variety of Social subjects.

Background:

(There are four friends who were thick and thin in their childhood. They were inseparable. Now, today they are in their 50 s and late 50s. they regularly get together and make merry as they have made their money and are well settled in their lives. It is the case of jumping early into business and tasting success. Two of them have taken VRS and settled down.)

1. Jeevan Shetty: He is the owner of three Bar & Restaurants, one in Mangalore and two in Mumbai. A billionaire in his own right from Karkala.

2. Sathish Shenoy: He has a cloth store in Moodbidri and two veg Restaurants in Mumbai.

3. Richard Almeida: He has one Bar & Restaurant in Mumbai.

4. Melvin D’ Mello: He has two night clubs in Mumbai.

(The four friends again gathered at Jeevan Shetty’s house. Booze flows as the conversation gathers momentum)

Jeevan: Welcome Friends!! Today I have a special brand…. Royal Salute! I got it from the Duty-Free Shop from Dubai. My businessman friend got 2 bottles for me. Let’s enjoy today with continental food!

Sathish: I want to try the Vegetable Augratin…with other steaks and delicacies…Hema Malini used to give interviews in publications that she is very good in cooking the same….

Melvin: First peg has not gone inside…. You started with Bollywood!

Richard: Let’s discuss, the present situation first boss!! Corona cases are multiplying and also there is no answer to this Pandemic in the world! I have started worrying now, for us and our near and dear friends.

Vaccines are being developed they say…. but still no clear picture!!

R: We have to learn to live with the virus!! There is no solution to it!! We are unable to do anything apart from helping the needy for quarantine and food!

S: As per your suggestion, I have already arranged for food for the people who have come from other states with the help of our NGO. But, there is no indication of business improvement. We have got time after many years to sit and discuss around the table about something or the other.

M: I think people should find a way or the other to indulge themselves. In one manner or the other! Because just worrying will not help…!!

R: Yes, I second that…. We should engage ourselves and kill the worries…!

J: Arre!! Satish, your Hema and Bollywood….(he raised the glass… “ Cheers”!! let’s begin…!!

(All the three said…. Cheers!!)

S: Hema Malini is called the first lady of second marriages in Bollywood. She had guts!! No one had married an already married man earlier. She took the bold step! There were others who jumped at it!! Jayaprada, Late Sridevi and many more!

M: Why others were not successful. I don’t know!!

J: It is not easy!! In Hollywood Harvey Weinstein is sentenced for his casting couch approaches! In India, it is not successful! Females do not get justice! See, acting is just impersonating the other person. One has to act as per the script. They have to get into the character whom they do not know from Adams!! Affairs are a form of insecurity!

S: Mahesh Bhatt had also had innumerable affairs when he was young. He ran around after Parveen Babi and others! He claimed, he was a small-town boy. He needed these acts to get a foothold in the industry. He is a talented guy, no doubt…but….one struggles in Bollywood to make a mark for themselves.

M: Parveen was a loner. She became hysterical in her later days. She succumbed. She was chained in the US. She got paranoid! It’s called Schizophrenia! Just imagining someone will kill her. Someone was about to destroy her …. It is a dangerous development!

R: But, some of them has committed suicide as well…Silk Smita, Shobha, the southern stars and also Jayaprada attempted suicide! They gobble sleeping tablets in the dozen and they do not wake up the next day!!

J: Hema was wise. She had her head perfectly on her shoulders! She did not hesitate. She plunged into the second marriage……all credit goes to Dharam’s first wife ..’Prakash Kaur’! She bore it silently….Dharam married her in 1954 at the age of 19 years. So as Raj Kapoor’s wife krishnaji….Raj had innumerable affairs!!

M: Kangana did the same! She got into many affairs before resurrecting her career! She allegedly accused Aditya Pancholi of misusing her!! She with the help of her crazy sister Rangoli…. filed a case at Versova police station…but…then they have resolved it…or still, the case is going on…. No idea!!

J: Kangana became famous after her ‘Queen’ movie. Imagine going to her honeymoon all by herself! It became a top grosser! She got great publicity. She acted in many movies after that. Manikarnika was a flop though!

M: She appeared in Kapil Sharma’s shows and then started giving back to his flirtatious ways!

J: The flirting part is the writer’s imagination. It is just a way of promoting the show. Kapil is a decent man. Some kind of masala is required to sell the show. So, he indulges in such kind of acts.

S: Kangana resorted to all types of antics!! She is pahadi from a small town of Himachal. She has made it big though. Acting talents are there. But, she loves to get into all types of controversies. She fell for Hrithik and then retracted her statements, then again went on to share her email data with the press!! Publicity is required for the actresses. They do all sorts of things to become famous. But, still, the movie collections always are not on the rise. Women like her allegedly have a habit of crying foul over rape!! But, most of the times, it is consensual!! It is a ploy they use to accuse the person they were in love with or were infatuated with!!

J: Yes!! It is a publicity stunt! After all, there is a lot of money riding on the movies….and at times it is reportedly said that some of the producers and directors coax their stars to get into a false relationship and this act gets publicity for the movies…. Just see… “Brahmastra”! The movie starring ‘Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhat’! They are in love it seems!! The film industry has a bad habit of stars getting into affairs and then if the film flops, then the relationship is called off!

M: I was wondering …. In Hindu mythology…this “Brahmastra” is very famous! What is it? People say it was a powerful weapon and could destroy anything…!!

S: Nice question!! Brahmastra is a mighty weapon. I will explain to you. In mythology, wars were fought using these astra’s. Each weapon is named after a God or a Devta from Devalok. For example….Brahmastra is named after ‘Brahma Dev”!

It has special powers. One has to chant the mantras and the weapon needs to be mounted on the bow….and it strikes the enemy! But, the other person may also have the same astra. Then, it gets neutralized. Karna, during his war with Arjun, could not get the astra. Because, he was given a curse by his Guru, the great Parashurama, that he will not get the astras, when he needed them in a decisive war with his enemy! He could not get the Astra and, subsequently, Arjun killed him while he was trying to get the wheel of is chariot out of the mud…!!

J: Karna had another curse from a Brahmin! He had been cursed by the Brahmin that, his Rath or chariot will be stuck in the mud, during the most important war with his enemy!! He had killed the Brahman’s cow by mistake. Karna pleaded for mercy, but the Brahman did not relent.

M: But, there are many astras like these…?

J: Yes, there is Pashupataastra from Lord Shiva. ‘Narayanastra’ from Lord Vishnu. Varunastra from Varun dev, the rain God. ‘Agneyastra’ from Agni dev. Incidentally, when Agneyastra is hurled at somebody, then the opponent uses…”Varunastra” which is a deterrent and water comes out and the fire is extinguished!!

R: Why the government cannot give the ‘Varunastra’ to Fire Brigade…..They can extinguish the fire immediately!! Ha! Ha!

S: I know you are kidding!! Jokes apart, there is a lot of ‘siddhi’ or penance required to woo the Trimurthis and the other Devas, so they can obtain the astras. There are many stories to this effect. In all the mythological wars, fought in Mahabharata, Ramayan or during the Avatars taken by Lord Vishnu, the Asuras have used such kind of weapons and tried to destroy the world!! Lord Vishnu had to find one solution or the other to fight and kill the dreaded Asuras.

R: I was in Dubai, during the 1991 Gulf war. We could see on CNN channel that; the Iraqi dictator has ordered Scud missiles to be launched at Israel. He sent as many as 40 Scud Missiles!! He sent some on Bahrain! A couple of them aimed at’ Dhahran’ in Saudi Arabia! But, Israel was given “Patriot” missiles by the US.

These Patriot missiles proved to be deterrents and intercepted the ‘Scuds’ in the skies and took them to the Red sea or any other ocean and dumped them after destabilizing them!! This act reminded me of the ‘Astras’!! Not a single inch of land was hit by the scuds!! Very very surprising!!

J: Yes, that’s why they say, our Hindu mythology is great!! I also admit!! The missiles are based on all those Astras. Now, the US, Russia, China, UK, France…. The five declared nuclear nations have developed missile defence systems. India and Pak, the later joiners to the club…am not aware!!

R: What is the deterrent for the Astras of the trinity…..Brahma…Vishnu…Maheshwara?

S: It’s difficult to say. Meghnad aka Indrajit had used these on Lord Ram. But, all three revolved around him and vanished. But, in Mahabharata…. these were not used! Once Dronacharya…tried using it…First Indra…then ‘Brahma’ appeared before the teacher warrior and dissuaded him from using it. He was fighting with King Virat. Eventually Dronacharya…killed ..Virat!!

M: It is written that…. The bow and arrow is the invention of…Lord Shiva…!

J: Arre, Melvinbhai, you know something or the other information…. great!!

S: Yes, Lord Shiva first introduced the weapon…I don’t remember…. could be during Chanda Munda war or ‘Rakthabeejasura’s” war. He used it then…. all others followed…!!

R: What about Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma?

S: Lord Vishnu has the ‘Sudarshan Chakra’! It is the revolving weapon on his right-hand fore-finger…!! It is a dangerous weapon!! It can kill and destroy anyone…!! Any living creature on all the three lokas!! Brahma Dev is a shantidoot!! He just creates …. creatures…. he is Shrishtikarta….and gives blessings, whoever prays and makes penance for him…..and also…awards the …”Mighty Brahmastra”!!

R: What if Kangana Ranaut had the “ Bramhastra” or any other ‘Astras’?

S: She doesn’t need them!! She has the ‘Husn’ ka Astra!!

J: You guys are joking yaar!! Kangana is a nice soul!! She was wronged in the beginning, when she set foot in the industry! So, she reminisces the old days and turns volatile due to the turn of events!! Otherwise. She is not a trouble monger…!! You are mixing up the astras with Bollywood…. strange…!

R: But, Kangana is bold!! She has the daredevilry to confront anybody. She is not afraid a bit!!

J: Yes!! Kangna wears skimpy clothes, gets into bikinis for movies…. does Fashion show in Itsy-Bitsy costumes and also takes part in remarkable kissing scenes…In ‘Gangster’ movie….one with Emran Hashmi…who possesses the kissing Astra…and also in “Rangoon” with Shahid Kapoor. Before last year. etc.!! She has the guts to call a spade a spade…She walked in a white bikini in the movie “Rascals” starring Sunjay Dutt in one scene! Even though she sounds like a “Totli”..her dialogue delivery is very powerful! She does her fight sequences well…she dances well…!!

M: You seemed to be a great admirer of her!! You seem to have seen many movies of her?

J: Yes!! Gutsy girl!! She knows how to fight for one’s rights! Something went wrong with Hrithik!! Otherwise…. her producers and Directors do not complain about any of her tantrums at all!! She loves Kapil Sharma’s antics very much!!

S: Kangana, Kareena Kapoor and Sushmita Sen are the daredevil actresses. They talk on your face…will indulge in any kind of romance…any relationships…they are not afraid to talk to the media!! Just see…even it is none of our business…but…How many boyfriends…Sushmita had!

The industry has lost count…and also. If one cares to remember…starting from Vikram Bhat, Randeep Hooda…Ritik Bhasin, Bunty Sajdeh, Sanjay Narang of Dosa Diner fame, Mudassar Aziz, Imtiaz Khatri, Anil Ambani, Wasim Akram, Sabeer Bhatia of Hotmail.com(inventor). Then so many roller coaster rides with many…now settled for one young chap….Rohman Shawl, probably she is emulating the yesteryears actress…Zeenat Aman!!

J: Manisha Koirala…once was also the same!! The industry has lost count…. Nana Patekar and she were living in sin or two years…at Manisha’s house…. after the hit movie. “Agni Saakshi”!… produced by the Late Bindu Madhav Thakeray..!

She told the media that she learnt the finest art of acting from Nana!

Then she hop-skipped and jumped into many a relationship!! Nana Patekar, Restaurateur Prashant Chaudhury, Sandeep Chowta-Music director, some Goras.

Last she got married to Samrat Dahal..Nepali businessman. The list is huge…!! Now post her survival of cancer, she is single and staying alone after her divorce with her Nepali clown beau!!

S: The actresses are simply insecure!! They become man-eaters because of job insecurity and no love in life!! Everything is artificial!!

(It was time to eat…. all headed towards the dinner table)

Also Read:

• BOLLYWOOD & TV STARS, LIKE OTHER PEOPLE WORSHIP LORD GANESHA! WHAT IS SALMAN’S HOUSEHOLD’S SPECIAL INTEREST?

• BOLLYWOOD STARS DONATE FOR CHARITY…WHY SOME STARS INCLUDING SHATRUGHAN SINHA DOES NOT? DOES HE NEED A MIRACLE?

• CHANGE OF BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS – EVEN IN THE MYTHOLOGY!!

• LIQUOR SHOPS OPEN AND THE CHAOS CREATED!!

• BOLLYWOOD STARS – SUCCESSFUL & FAILURES!!

• NAMING THE BRIDGE!!