SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 2014 (PAGE-4)

MOVIE- REVIEW SOCIETY A mass entertainer Gujjars- The cream of our society Taran Adarsh crooks. Sure, it's a familiar terrain for moviegoers, since we have experienced such face offs in countless films, but A number of storytellers seek inspiration from the what matters ultimately is how persuasive, ambitious and masala movies attempted in the 1970s and 1980s. An era imaginative it appears, despite the conventional con- that witnessed the emergence of the angry young man. An straints. Both, Ajay and Rohit dive into the film with earnest- era when storytellers such as Vijay Anand, Manmohan ness and conviction, relishing every moment and deliver Desai, Prakash Mehra, Ramesh Sippy, Yash Chopra, Sub- a knock out entertainer. hash Ghai and other reputable names transported the sin- Here's the plotline: The courageous Bajirao Singham gle screen audience [there were no multiplexes then; just [Ajay Devgn] now returns to Mumbai. The story takes off 'Balcony' and 'Stalls' in cinemas] to a world of make believe. when an officer from Singham's squad [Ganesh Yadav] is An era that gave us a string of unforgettable entertainers. found dead, holding an enormous sum of money and No wonder, a number of present-day film-makers bor- charged with being corrupt. Singham begins his quest to row/seek inspiration from films of yore... a couple of direc- trace the mystery behind it. tors even going to the extent of remaking those all-time Known for escapist entertainers like the GOLMAAL classics. series, ALL THE BEST, BOL BACHCHAN and CHENNAI EXPRESS, Rohit does an about turn with the SINGHAM franchise. Besides, he and screenplay writer Yunus Sajaw- al add a dash of realism to reinvent the formula, but the focal point remains the same: Entertainment. Expect a deafening applause when Singham stages an entry or when he gets into a war of words with the Swamiji or when he exchanges blows with his bare fists or when the officers march to Swamiji's office in the climax. However, there are loopholes you cannot overlook. Much like the first part [SINGHAM], the romantic scenes just don't cut ice and appear forced in the narrative. In fact, the story stagnates when the songs are incorporated to make the romance factor work. The film could've done with- Excelsior/Amin War out songs actually. Also, the action pieces are too lengthy Om Saraf to different religions (most of them are Hindus outside at times and could've been crisper. Additionally, the sound- J&K) but bigotry is foreign to their blood. Their universal track, which, despite a couple of reputed names associat- Gujjars have always struck me as the most fascinat- status must not be taken as an aspersion on their loyal- ed with it, doesn't linger in your memory, including Yo Yo ing people around us-a distinct ethnic entity with rich his- ty to the motherland. Let me say with all the strength at Honey Singh's 'Aata Majhi Satakli'. toric and cultural background, an utterly self-reliant com- my command that they breathe patriotism and when it Sajid-Farhad adorn the sequences with seeti-maar dia- munity, a perfect example of a sound mind in a sound comes to the defence of the land of their birth, they are logue that are sure to be an instant hit with audiences, body. Let me confess it is a profound problem for me to in the forefront of resistance. Nothing hurts them more especially during the high-voltage dramatic sequences. consider them backward in any sense of the word. I may than the vandalism of their environment of which they Dudley's cinematography is top notch, while the action prove it up to the hilt that not a few so-called forward- consider themselves an inalienable part. Ecological sequences are raw and gritty. looking people deserve this epithet rather more aptly. security is their very heart and soul and not something Although Ajay's body of work includes several memo- Seen in a larger context of familiar economic indicators, to be fashionable about. There are no statistics available rable characters and films, the character of Bajirao Sing- the self employed Gujjars are in no way responsible for on the point but I am convinced that betrayal may be a ham does optimal justice to his personality, acting skills the economic backwardness of Jammu and Kashmir good pastime for mammonists in other communities but and star charisma. Expectedly, the actor delivers a tower- State. not the Gujjars who always love to live by the sweat of Rohit Shetty's SINGHAM -- his best effort to date, in my ing performance, grabbing your attention the moment he So far as our all embracing backwardness is con- their brow. opinion -- was a forceful blast from the past. Afilm that faith- enters the story. He packs a solid punch in a role that seems cerned, again, the real culprit are the people belonging The Gujjars have a keen practical sense leaving little fully followed the rules of entertainment to the T. A remake, tailor-made for him, a character that will remain synony- to other communities who consume most of the resource time for them for any complicated mischievous or dan- the first part brought back memories of the classics that mous with his name. You've to give it to Kareena for being and produce most of the perpetrators of major and minor were attempted by our peers. SINGHAM emerged a sol- gerous designing. They have their feet firmly on the able to hold her own effectively, despite Ajay being the crimes in the society. Blinded by wealth acquired by ground. I am reminded of a global organization zealous- id hit for varied reasons: high-voltage drama, raw action, showstopper. She's lively and though she goes over the means more foul rather than fair and using education dialogue-baazi during the confrontations and of course, ly working for spreading the message of "being rather top occasionally, the masses will like her loud character. simply to sharpen their criminal wits, they feel no qualms than becoming." The total membership of the world body power-packed performances by Ajay Devgn and Prakash There's tremendous curiosity for Singham's adversary of conscience to organize murders, decoities, gang is less than a couple of thousands. Here is a large sized Raj that elicited wolf-whistles. Quite obviously, the expec- this time. In fact, it must've been a challenge for Rohit to rapes, adulterations, black markets and what not. No community of Gujjars each one of whom whether male tations from SINGHAM RETURNS, which brings the make the opponent as commanding as the one in the pre- wonder our hospitals are full of patients belonging to or female, young or old go about several routines rather unbeatable combo of Ajay and Rohit Shetty together, are vious film [Jaikant Shikre]. Amole Gupte as Swamiji, the those classes. I have scarcely come across a Gujjar male effortlessly in peace within and without in complete har- gargantuan. antagonist, does a marvelous job. Anupam Kher is extraor- or female begging, borrowing or stealing. He is occasion- mony with the surrounding like the potters wheel which SINGHAM RETURNS is dissimilar when you draw par- dinary. He slides into his part most effortlessly. Mahesh ally accused of selling adulterated milk. I have surveyed looks absolutely calm after attaining the maximum allels with the first part -- there's no connect between the Manjrekar is subdued, but effective. the problem in some detail and found out that the Guj- speed. I can't think of a better example of being rather two films, except, of course, Bajirao Singham. In SING- Zakir Hussain hits the bull's eye yet again. Sharat Sax- jars are often made to be part of such unethical prac- than becoming. HAM, Singham took on the powerful politician [Prakash ena is in fine form. Dayanand Shetty infuses life into his tices. Years ago before 1947 Chowdhary Mohd. Din Bar- Raj], while the second installment throws light on the upright part. He's first-rate! The supporting cast -- Ganesh Yadav, There have been times when other communities in nalvi who enjoyed good reputation as a junior police offi- cop's crusade against corrupt politicians, including an influ- Govind Namdev, Pankaj Tripathi, Deepraj Rana, Sameer Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh have been in a state of cial brought out a weekly newspaper Al-Insan after retire- ential Swamiji [Amole Gupte]. Much like the first install- Dharmadhikari, Vineet Sharma -- do justice to their respec- frenzy and provoked to indulge in diabolical activities. ment. Like the universal name of his paper, his balanced ment, the combat is amongst equals yet again, with the tive characters. Ashwini Kalsekar is excellent. But the Gujjars never. I can recall of no occasion when and well written editorial comments impressed me much. protagonist and the antagonist going all out to knock each On the whole, SINGHAM RETURNS is a complete the Gujjars have collectively taken to the path of insan- We soon became good friends. He would insist that 'Guj- other down. mass entertainer with power-packed drama, hi-intensity ity. At any rate, they can't think of harming any non Guj- jar' is a derivative of Gao-char and that Gujjars belong SINGHAM RETURNS reflects the times we are living dialogue and towering performances as its aces. The brand jar. Even at the hands of a callous establishment they to the fraternity of Gopal (Lord Krishna). Neither a lin- in. Scams, frauds, corruption, misuse of power by the high value attached to it coupled with a long weekend will help prefer to continue to suffer silently. They are perhaps the guist nor a historian of sort I am not in a position to vouch- and mighty... much like the entertainers of yore, SINGHAM the film reap a harvest and rule the box-office in days to only lot of people without a traditional beggar amongst safe Barnalvi's assertion. This was nevertheless my first RETURNS provides a voice to the common man and you come. A sure-shot WINNER! them. Such deep-rooted is their commitment to peace- impression how a Gujjar would seek to be at the best of root for the diligent cop as he wages a war against the http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/ ful and self-reliant way of life. Mutual litigation is of terms with the fellow-human beings. Nothing has since course their one minus point but even the moon is not happened to chance my perception in this behalf. without its spots. These rosy features of the Gujjar life are, however, HEALTHLINES No community can beat the Gujjars in treating their not without thorny bushes of their own if one may say womenfolk so well. I have many non-Gujjar friends so. They may not be backward according to my way of whose faith in women emancipation is unquestioned but, thinking but I must say that they have been ill-awarded alas, only on a theoretical level. When it comes to trans- so far by powers-that-be. Their inclusion in the sched- Fertility Trends lating their thinking in concrete action, they are found uled castes list is admittedly a step in the right direction. wanting with some thing always going wrong some- But where is the matching follow-up action? Not even a Dr Richa Sharma people of the world have decided not to multiply. where. The degree of equality of sex in operation fraction of the Gujjar calibre and capacity has been yet This is not to say population has peaked. Half the While we talk of IVF and other ART techniques on amongst the Gujjars is not to be seen elsewhere. No pressed into service for our broader socio-economic world is still reproducing at more than replacement rate, wonder they are the healthiest limb of our society. I have advancement. In fact, no solid social gains can be one hand but the trends globally speaks of the other end and there is a lag of about 30 years, or one generation, so where are we heading now? yet to encounter a mental case in the community even- achieved without the active cooperation of such an between the time that fertility falls and the time popula- though more and more Gujjars now appear to be going accomplished and valiant community of patriots. Let the If globally we see, we are now in the middle of per- tion does. haps the greatest demographic change in recorded his- in for so-called modern life. It is for the Gujjar leaders to Gujjar youth be involved in the service of humanity in a Birth rates across most of the world are falling far strike a golden mean in the tussel "tradition versus big way. Powerful subversive agencies are working tory. China's population has stopped growing, and is more quickly than predicted even a few years ago. about to shrink quickly. modernity" well in time before they become as rootless overtime to destroy this beautiful region which is now The way things are going, it's entirely possible that in as most of us. gasping for breath. Let us re-arrange our priorities and The fertility rate of half the world is below replace- little more than a generation world population will stop ment level. What strikes me particularly about the Gujjars is their make a purposeful beginning by using the talents and growing, and that our children will live to see a planet cosmopolitan character. They are truly the citizens of the energies of the Gujjars in a sensibly conceived road- On October 31, 2011, the United Nations held a mag- with many millions, maybe a billion, fewer people on it nificantmedia event at its New York headquarters, to world. Local, regional and even national divisions have map of development which may bring glory to them and than there are now. failed to affect their typical ethos. They may even belong others alike. mark the occasion of the world's population passing sev- Globally, the growth rate of the human population has en billion. been declining since peaking in 1962 and 1963 at 2.20% What's population growth ? per annum. In 2009, the estimated annual growth rate HEALTHLINES Population growth is the change in a population over was 1.1%. The CIA World Factbook gives the world time, and can be quantified as the change in the num- annual birthrate, mortality rate, and growth rate as ber of individuals of any species in a population using 1.915%, 0.812%, and 1.092% respectively. "per unit time" for measurement. In biology, the term pop- The actual annual growth in the number of humans ulation growth is likely to refer to any known organism, Treatment of Sports injuries fell from its peak of 88.0 million in 1989, to a low of 73.9 but this article deals mostly with the application of the million in 2003, after which it rose again to 75.2 million Dr Sumit Mahajan term to human populations in demography. in 2006. Since then, annual growth has Sports persons are prone to injuries and effect deleteri- declined. In 2009, the human population ously there professional life. Knee is most commonly affect- increased by 74.6 million, which is project- ed. Knee is stabilized by various ligaments like anterior and ed to fall steadily to about 41 million per posterior cruciate ligaments, medial and lateral meniscus annum in 2050, at which time the popula- and collateral ligaments. These ligaments are like strong tion will have increased to about 9.2 billion ropes, keeping the knee stable. One of the most common Half the population of the world now knee injuries is a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament, or lives in countries where those of childbear- ACL. The incidence of injuries to the anterior cruciate liga- ing age are having fewer than two children ment is estimated at 200,000 injuries per year. The most on average. The fertility rate of half the common reasons the ACL tears include sudden change in world is below replacement level. direction, hyperextension of the knee, stopping suddenly, The reason there are many differing deceleration while running, landing awkwardly from a jump estimates is that there are so many vari- and direct collisions ables involved in predicting population - not ACL injuries occur when bones of the leg twist in oppo- just birth rates but death rates, life site direction under full body weight expectancy and migration, and small vari- As people experience these "giving way" events, they ations in the assumptions used in the var- lose trust in their knee, making it very difficult to participate ious models compound into large differ- in sports that involve cutting, pivoting and twisting or sud- ences over time. den change in speed and direction. Some people even But the trend evidence is the same have "giving way" events with usual, daily activities. ACL everywhere; fertility rates are coming tears that are left untreated often lead to injury to the car- tilage of the knee. With a torn ACL, the knee is at risk for down, and falling much faster than gener- "giving way" episodes. During one of these episodes, the ally predicted only a few years ago. knee pivots and the smooth cartilage surfaces sheer If we talk of India-India's geographical against one another, which can cause damage to the car- birthrate disparities, coupled with the coun- tilage or cause the meniscus to tear. Damage to the menis- In demography, population growth is used informally try's admirable ability to collect socio-economic data, cus and smooth cartilage predisposes the knee to devel- for the more specific term population growth rate (see allow us to carefully examine ideas about fertility decline. oping arthritis. Each "giving way" event puts the knee at The total fertility rate has gone down to 1.8 per cent below), and is often used to refer specifically to the further risk for damage. from 2.2 per cent over the past decade. Social experts contains optic fibers that transmit an image of your knee growth of the human population of the world. The treatment of ACL tears is only surgical to restore say more and more people are opting for nuclear fami- stability and function of the knee and return to normal sport- through a small camera to a television monitor. At this time, The world population grew from 1 billion to 7 billion lies and postponing the birth of children. They say the ing activites. In an ACL reconstruction, a "graft" is used to other possible problems, such as meniscal tears or carti- from 1800 to 2011. During the year 2011, according to city is adopting a character similar to New York. "Young rebuild the torn ligament. The graft used to reconstruct the lage damage, can be addressed. During the procedure, sur- estimates, 135 million people were born and 57 million couples in the city are postponing marital bonds. ACL is one's own tissue (autograft). The most commonly geon will drill a small tunnel through the femur and the tib- died, for an increase in population of 78 million. Falling fertility rates, shrinking family sizes pull down used autograft tissues are taken from either the patellar ten- ia. The graft is fed into bone tunnels and held in place with Biology and the scriptures urged us to be fruitful and metro cities like Delhi population growth to 21 per cent. don or the hamstring tendons. The procedure is done with a fixation device. Tunnels are drilled to secure graft. to multiply. Now, quite suddenly in relative terms, half the (The author is IVF Consultant Bournhall,New Delhi.) an arthroscope through 2-3 small incisions. This "scope" (The author is consultant Max Superspeciality Hospital, Mohali)