Naukar Saale!!

Some important partner was visiting our office at 11 am this morning and our Director had asked us to given presentations of our projects to him. It was almost 11.08 and my friend Manu Bhai calls me up, probably returning my missed call from the previous day. I put off the phone and send a message back "Naukri pe hun".

Immediately my phone vibrates and I expect a message with some profanities. But it was little different. The message read "Naukr Saale"

FYI Mannu Bhai is a businessman.

Dhakka laga magar phir socha ..ki bhai sach hi to bol raha hai. Naukr hi hain hum.

But then the film director in me buzzed...and I thought it was a good title of a play...Naukr Saale! A play on the atrocities, limitations and imprisonment on being at a job.

The 'important partner' was late so I called up Manu Bhai and had a good chat and then thought of putting in my thoughts around naukri and Naukr Saale.

And NOW that the 'important partner' just walked into our office...I will continue writing after a break.
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Hmm...so let me tell you that I am obsessed with or rather not obsessed with my job i.e naukri.
I feel its a prison...that you have to spend a significant part of your life fulfilling the wishes of your boss or your organisation...in return of a salary...with which you may fulfill your own wishes. But do we actually do that? or are we really able to do that?...yeah in the few days of leave that you get.

Whenever I share this with anyone of my friends or my best friend (my wife)...I get the standard reply....no one in the world likes to work. Then how is this mafia operating? if everybody hates it.

I know there are some gangs that allow you some freedom...like work from home or something...thats a good step to offset some of the atrocities of work like travel and being their in time. You can work at home in a relaxed manner. But still does it allow you to have the freedom of doing what YOU want. Surely not.

Technically you have signed up for a job and you werent forced. So, the society thinks its ok. But do you really think that most people are doing their jobs in the way they are doing because thats what they wanted to do.

I hardly meet a executive or a office colleague saying....Oh! I always wished to sell insurance for XXX Insurance or I really wanted to work in the department of fisheries.

People are studying in school and then they take up some course...lets say electrical engineering and then somebody says...your must do an MBA and finally they land up selling Xray machines for a healthcare company. I mean agar samaan hi bechna tha to bagal ke Gupta Grocery store men hi internship kar lete. Why this whole circle of degrees?

I think I am digressing from the topic. Our issue is Naukr Saale!

So, everybody knows what a naukr connotes...a butler, a slave.

Sorry to detract again..Mannu Bhai messages...'Hum Maalik Bechaare'

aata hun ispe bhi..but let me focus right now.

so a naukr is a naukr...a demeaned character meant to obey orders. Thats essentially most of us are....or at least the people who got a job through naukri.com

☺

Its in our culture I think. The privilege which perhaps some average executive gets sitting in Europe or America is not what we have in India. Try calling an executive after work in Europe and leave it...try even asking for his mobile phone number. Forget it.

Yeh sirf yehin hai...ya perhaps in the so called economically developing or economically under-developed world.

But I guess it doesnt even change with money...Look at the Senior VPs of most corporates...with high blood pressure and their uric acid levels.

Aaj to saari bhadaas nikalunga. Aaj Friday hai...Kaam bhi kum hai aur agle do din chutti hai. And anyways I think writing a blog for a few minutes is much better than surfing FB or looking at flipkart...which I have seen many of my colleagues do...to take a break looking at their monitors.

To naukr saalo!

If you have read till this point then definitely you agree with me or I have become a good writer or you are good friend of mine wanting to know ki yeh Shankar Musafir saala karta kya hai zindagi men?

Waise my Dad says tumko bolne ke paise milte hain.

Anways...going on... and talking about the original Musafir...my grandfather. He used to say that 'Naukri jo hai...who Chaakri honi chahiye' yaani  'cha' hona chahiye...something you enjoy. So, I love being in the school education field and I like it. so it is chaakri but yet it is not it coz I have to deal with my boss and the politics of it all.

To kya karun..naukri chor dun. start something of my own. Thats a big risk...Home Loan...Biwi kehti hai nayi gaadi le lo and I have zero savings.

And most of it all...Darr lagta hai yaar. What if it doesnt work?

And then successful entrepreneurs like Mannu Bhai send messages like 'Maalik Bechaare'

I am stuck and I have no answer.

Might as well get back to work and see how I can impress the 'important partner'

See you and Love you.

P.S - The word for naukri in Bengali is Chaakri. Also, I plan to add some more to this article...I dont rest beyond 15 minutes in office. Mehnat ki kamaat hun yaaro.

Hindi Medium Review: Man lage mora yaar fakiri men

Sabse pehle to main chaar gali nikaal leta hun film ko...then I will share the class it has.

Very poorly edited film...in fact you can make out that they didnt even care about the story. Any novice will find that out. I am sure it was too long and cut out some parts without thinking. I think there was a jazzy 'jagraata' in the film...that has been cut out as well. Also, the scenes which probably etch the husband wife characters have been deleted as well. Should fire the editor.

The story is good though its difficult to imagine a couple going to the length of shifting to a low income neighbourhood for the sake of admission of a kid.

Anyways...let me tell you about the classic bit.

The entire story is around a business class couple wanting their kid to join a top school...which is hard to come around. They finally try and get the admission through the RTE quota for poor people by forging themselves to be a poor couple.

Though initially it seems the film is making fun of an important issue like poverty...which is sacriligeous...but the director has been able to pull it off with class.

Remember the scene from 3 idiots in black and white, when the three friends go out to have dinner the poor friend's house. It was on the verge of being inappropriate but people enjoyed it.

This film makes a point without making anyone wrong.

So, when this couple moves into the low income neighbourhood...the film transforms...and the film is all about Deepak Dobriyal after that. He has carried the entire film I guess. Deepak is their neighbour and helps them out becomes a trusted friend.

There are multiple scenes when the films talks about important poverty issues and make it a comedy.
A director who can make a comedy with poverty in background... is a good director. Its a good test.

See, Rajkumar Hirani...made Lage Raho...a comedy on Gandhi...can anybody think about it...and yet he doesnt dilute Gandhian philosophy even minutely.

By the way...who is the Director...let me google and check.

So...its Saket Choudhary...he directed Pyaar ke side effects...which was a good movie too. If I am not bad at predicting future. Expect some good stuff from this Director in future.

Good choice of music too...I have been writing this blog listening to a song of the film playing in the background....Man lage mero yaar Garibi men...man lage mero yaar Fakiri men

Found out that it is a old couplet from Kabir. Zabardast gaana hai. Found out that its sung by Neeraj Arya...who has formed a band some years ago. Another fellow to keep track of.

Gaana suno yehan:

Anyways...lets come back to Deepak Dobriyal...aise yaad nahi ayega... See his picture along with Madhavan.

By the way...I also didnt know his name...just knew him by face. The guy from Tanu weds Manu.

He has given his best performance until now.

One hilarious scene and the entire hall was in splits....and by the way he wasnt event on the screen while delivering the dialogue...

"Yeh to nai nai gareeb hue hain...hum to khandaani gareeb hain...mera dada gareeb...mere pitaji gareeb and aur main bhi gareeb"

Another hilarious scene is when he lands up at Irfan Khan's house.

Irfan Khan has given his usual best...nothing remarkable about it...apart fro the inaugural scene where he is showing saris to ladies in his shop.

Saba Qamar ..the Pakistani heroine is beautiful and has shown promise including a wannabe sensuous scene. Cant think of any particular scene. But you can of course notice the apt Urdu talafuzz, wherever required. She was much more noticeable than the big release Mahira Khan in Raeez. Should get more roles to show her talent...but what I could notice is that she seems versatile...doing homely roles like getting the child ready, shouting on the lady in the water queue, cuddling with Irfan in the new house etc.

Another character who has done the role well is the school admission consultant. Good acting. You start hating her soon. Job done...expect to see her in character roles in other films too.

Thats a soup of review...but I felt it writing in this mad way this time. I feel thats my natural style of conversation.

On second thoughts...I feel why are these film reviews so serious and academic. Hindi cinema aur serious review....doesnt match. Hindi films are reviewed like Hollywood films. I can understand that you are writing in English...but kuch to Indian cinema ki izzat kar lo yaar.

Another final thought...Hindi Medium is a wrong title for this film. I would have titled 'Admission Open'

Ek aur point yaad aa gaye.

Irfan's final speech on the stage and no one clapped...Wow! good thinking by the writer. No one would.