The Rising - is falling

I am not an expert on India's struggle for freedom. Whenever I get a chance to read about it, I jump at it. Recently my friend lent me the book titled "Freedom at Midnight" and asked me read it so that I could find some answers to some of my nagging questions on India's freedom struggle. He is btw a Rajajian !! (sorry dude I had to rub that in)

So given my unquenchable thirst for anything to do with India and her struggle, I was only too eager to watch the Aamir Khan blockbuster - "The Rising".

The movie was released in the D.C area a few weeks back. Promptly, a few of my colleagues in office had trooped to the movie theatre, only to return back bruised !!

I was walking down the corridor at my office building, when I bumped into a colleague who announced to me that he was one of the few who had actually got darshan of the movie.

"So how was it ?", I quizzed.

Bham !...he burst out with witty anger at Mr. Pandey's present generation, who had filed a case at the courts to stop the screening of the movie.

"I wish they had filed the case earlier, I wouldnt have gone through the torture of watching the movie !!", he lamented.

"Oh what a Pity !", I thought to myself. With a smug look on my face (hah!! I hadnt watched the movie yet ) I indulged him in small talk -

"Btw why this movie on Mangal Pandey, nobody in India knows about him anyways", I tease.

The scene change was dramatic. From a face with a tortured look, it turned into an aggressive one.

He burst back - "You south Indians anyways wouldnt know about him. Are you guys even part of this country !!?".

ooopppsss !!What did I unleash here. This situation had to be contained.

"C'mon man ! Lets not start a regions war here.", I protest, rather meekly.

Followed that with an awkward grin, wave of my hand, a quick turn round and scoot. Sheesh !! that was close.

Anyways, I was working last weekend Sunday and as luck would have it, another colleague in office was watching the movie at his desk. I was retiring for the day, so I decided to drop by his office and sneek a peek at this most talked about movie.

In all I would have watched the movie for about 15 minutes. 15 minutes because I was waiting for Rani to come on scene. Oh ! she looked ravishing as always.

Anyways, after I ploughed through the movie for 15 minutes, I decided I had had enough of this bullshit. I was so disappointed.

I am not a very voracious reader. Atleast not like some of my friends Siva, Raman and Arvind. Short cut to reading a book on a subject is to watch movies taken on that subject. So you learn faster and its interesting too.

But "The Rising", I heard, was just beyond bounds.

I would rather read about Mangal Pandey and escape the wrath of my northerner colleague than go through a lousy movie which leaves a bad after taste.

Freedom at midnight, here I come.