Page 39 - The Hindu 3 Mrch 2019 Ad Free

Indian Library

Literary Review
THE HINDU Magazine DELHI
Sunday, March 3, 2019 31

CULTURE
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
The god in Telugu films

From devotee to voter, a study of cinema and its impact on politics

HARI NARAYAN system but to present NTR as a torch­
bearer of a certain form of ‘Telugu­
here are two developments that ness’.
lend an air of topicality to In the realm of mythologicals, NTR’s
Deities and Devotees. One is the contemporary in Tamil cinema was not
Tbiopic made on one of its key MGR but Sivaji Ganesan, whose roles in
subjects, N.T. Rama Rao (NTR). The Thiruvilayadal and Thiruvarutchelvar
other is the renewed vigour of life are considered iconic. He even played
scholar M. Madhava Prasad’s both the divine and the layperson in
conception of ‘cine­politics’ has Saraswati Sabadam. Could the
received with the entry of Kamal Parasakthi actor’s failure in politics
Haasan and Rajinikanth into the fold. then be explained merely in terms of
The book seeks to provide a his parting of ways with the DMK and
concept of spectatorship that sees a his joining hands with the Congress, a
cinephile­viewer of Telugu party that was considered emblematic
mythological as a citizen­devotee, one of the ‘centralising old guard’? This is a
whose identities as a fan, an informed Syncing success NTR’s figure as a god was a fusion of Telugu pride and assertiveness question that could make for
viewer, a citizen, and a devotee of a regional identity. THE HINDU ARCHIVES interesting scholarly analysis.
overlap. Compared to Rachel Dwyer’s
Deities and Placing a mythological movie, Telugu viewers from fans to voters was not just do negative roles, but also Filming the Gods, Bhrugubanda’s
Devotees: which is a ‘founding genre’ of Indian not totally uninformed, Uma critique the social order through such treatise feels somewhat incomplete as
Cinema, Religion cinema, within the ambit of the ‘Hindu Maheswari Bhrugubanda’s book says. roles. His roles in Dana Veera Soora it does not explore much how the
and Politics in mythological’, the Encyclopaedia of Karna, where he played Karna, Krishna faiths of non­Hindus have figured in
South India Indian Cinema says such films have Pride in identity as well as Suyodhana, had him Telugu cinema.
Uma Maheswari always been used for “explicitly NTR’s figure as a god was a fusion of questioning the exclusion of ‘lower­ Considering that Urdu was in use in
Bhrugubanda ideological ends”. This applies to Telugu pride and assertiveness of a caste’ Karna from the archery contest. the Deccan much before it gained
Oxford University Telugu mythologicals as well, where regional identity, a factor that However, the critique ultimately popularity in the North, the use of
Press the ‘citizen devotee’ figure became a Download Indian Library App ‘Islamicate culture’ in Telugu cinema
resonated with people of Andhra
reinforced the status quo — Karna was
#70929
₹895 ‘citizen­voter’ in the case of NTR. Pradesh. And unlike M.G. still defeated in battle later. The aim deserved a chapter of its own, rather
However, the transformation of his Ramachandran (MGR), NTR was able to here was not to take on the caste than just mentions at a few places.
TRAVEL
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Rides across borders

Travels across 16 countries on rickety and posh railways

R. KRITHIKA
n this age of instant everything —
from noodles to videos — trains get
bad press. Just say ‘let’s go by train’
Iand watch the range of disbelieving
looks that flit across most faces. Which
is why Monisha Rajesh’s Around the
World in 80 Trains is a thrilling read for
every train enthusiast. And this is her
second such trip. The first was 80
trains across India. Her love for trains
comes through in this lovely sentence:
“Trains are rolling libraries of
information and all it takes is to reach
out to passengers to bind together their
tales.” Slow track A train crosses River Kwai on a sector of the Death Railway in Thailand. GETTY IMAGES/ ISTOCK
Accompanied by her fiancé Jeremy,
better known as Jem, Rajesh sets off warning that foreigners could be to a roomette between Los Angeles and As they turn their sights towards
from London with an Eurail pass and, targets of racist attacks. Chicago and find themselves in a space home, Rajesh reflects that, when she
over the next seven months, travels On the famous Trans­Siberian, they ‘no bigger than a walk­in shower.’ In began, she wanted to find out what
across 45,000 miles and 16 countries find out that they are the only between all this, they manage some train travel meant to people. Had the
on trains that range from rickety bogies foreigners on board. In Thailand, they sightseeing and get to stay in places as bullet trains and flights really killed the
‘held together by rust and hope’ to the travel on a sector of the Death Railway, varied as the trains they take. From a romance? What her trip showed was
posh Venice Simplon­Orient­Express. the Burma­Thai railway built by the down­in­the­dumps hostel in Thailand that it had ‘just reincarnated, living on Around the
Rajesh’s eye for detail and vivid Japanese army using prisoners of war to the robot­controlled Henn na Hotel in passengers who would always tell World in 80
descriptions give you the feeling of during World War II. in Japan. The latter experience, in their story to strangers, offer advice, Trains
being there with her on her journey. In In Canada, they hear about the Rajesh’s words, was ‘like an share their food and give up their Monisha Rajesh
Russia, they make a slightly dangerous Highway of Tears. After an attack of embarrassing party trick that wasn’t sides.’ It will die only when our interest Bloomsbury
trip to Kubinka before they find a shingles when in the U.S., they upgrade going to plan.’ in other people has died. ₹999