On Raymond Chandler - Author non pareil

The past few nights had been dark and wet with robust winds chilling the bone and whistling through the trees. With time on my hands, I did what I enjoy doing best - pick up a book that was waiting to be read.

Rubbing my hands together to create a bit of heat and get the blood flowing, I started with a short story. It started like this:

"There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge."

I was intrigued, even a trifle taken aback. I have read a few Authors in my time but the vivid imaginative thrusts here had already penetrated the lackadaisical feeling of comfort and inertia that I was feeling. I sat up, jerked wide awake. As expected; the book began to crackle into life soon enough, took on a shape all its own and started to bite. I intuitively understood that I was reading an Author rather special in more ways than one. The Author being the great Raymond Chandler.

Now I have read Classics and a wide variety of genres save for the Romantic genre which I find to be incredibly boring,insipid and incapable of evoking honestly strong emotions and thus I don't put it on par with other great works of most genres. A lot of people who read "Classics" tend to dismiss "whodunits" as merely "escape" Fiction. There is a grain of truth in that for there is a huge mass of mediocre "whodunits" which prowl the market and it is incredibly difficult to write great, even very good detective Fiction. For a detective Novel usually revolves around murder, theft or other crimes and most people do not warm to it or find it to be endearing. As opposed to the so called archetypal "Classic", detective Fiction generally concerns itself with seedy,selfish Conmen and layabouts who'll slit their mothers' throats for a buck and world weary,cynical Private Eyes who know all the answers. So essentially, a "hard boiled' Author has a rather restricted canvas.

Yet, Chandler's "Philip Marlowe" is a character as immortal as Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. In fact, he leaves 'em both in the shade. For unlike 'em, he was a guy who was acutely aware of himself,his limitations and his surroundings and though he despised what he saw; he did what he had to do anyway with his scathing,razor sharp wisecracks acting as a "release"; his touch with reality. He is the one against whom all the subsequent PI's are judged.

To rise above the manifold limitations of the genre and write novels that actually transcend the genre and stand toe to toe with some of the best works of the past century is almost impossible. Yet, that was EXACTLY what Chandler achieved. His "The Simple Art Of Murder" makes enlightening reading.

And best of all, he wrote words that pulsate and gyrate with a bizarre,quirky rhythm all their own. They leap out of the books; creating dense,byzantine patterns that leave the reader panting for more. The metaphors and allusions breathe, hinting at a mind that is at once sharper than a dragon canine and fiendishly creative.

The Chandler prose is justifiably, one of the zeniths of 20th Century Classic American Fiction. Gotta love the man.

On Jean-Pierre Melville and "Le Deuxième Souffle" A.K.A. "Second Wind" (1966)

Among the galaxy of geniuses who have donned the Director's cap in Films, there are 3 who occupy a special position in my list of favourites. One is the incomparable Akira Kurosawa and other is an irascible,uncompromising and brilliant Auteur who went by the name of "Bloody Sam" Peckinpah. The last one in this triumvirate might be construed to be a curious selection by some but there is no doubting the coruscating brilliance of Jean-Pierre Melville and the complete control he had over his awe inducing Film Masterpieces.

Melville was evidently inspired by early American Noir classics but his own Films transcend the immediate effect that evocative Noirs have on the viewer. Peerless specialist of the "existential" Crime epic, no one mastered the "Crime Drama" genre and turned it inside out like Melville did.

The opening sequence of this brilliant Crime Film highlights the hold that Melville held over the medium. Three men crouch at the top of a prison building in forbidding darkness, grimly working out the chances of escape. Then follows a chain of events that is jaw droppingly brilliant in its precise cinematic execution, its slow escalation of hysterical tension and economy of movement.

Like his celebrated "Le Samourai" and "Le Cercle Rouge", this Film is the epitome of a "minimalistic Epic." Hunched shoulders, trench coats and wide brimmed hats appear frequently on the screen, adorning persons navigating with intent; thereby hinting at pre-occupation with problems that will take some solving. The Melvillian protagonist is a curious animal: ostensibly a simple,ruthless Criminal but one that swears by peculiar personal codes of loyalty, honesty and professionalism. His matter-of-fact, pre-occupied demeanour is consistent with the dour shadow of fatalism that pervades the Melvillian universe.

But the thing that makes a Melville Film such an aural and visual delight is his construction of impeccable set piece sequences. The Heist sequence in this Film is one of many highlights in a distinguished career.

Melville was also blessed with some of the best Actors going around at the time. The protagonist's role was tailor made for Lino Ventura. Eyes conveying brooding intensity and a mask of a face hinting at a raging inferno underneath; Ventura scorches the screen. Marcel Bozzuffi (Of "The French Connection" fame) and the redoubtable Paul Meurisse (Remember "Les Diaboliques"?) add depth and vitality to their respective roles.

A MUST-WATCH for any Cinephile.

Advaita Vedanta - A sneak peek

People who know me and my views fairly well might be aware of my interests in the great vEdAntic tradition of Advaita which when translated correctly, is "Non Dualism" and not "Monism" as is popularly known.

Personally, this great tradition has been the "solace of my life" as the German philosopher Schopenhauer once famously put it when he was asked about the Upanishads.

Throughout history, man has sought to find out the reason for existence. Why are we born and why do we die? What's the point? Our mundane and busy lives rarely allow us to pause and ponder on these questions but at one point or the other, we are bound to grapple with it.

Various men came up with various theories on the same as time went on. Some of them were accepted, some weren't. Great civilisations came up and a "way of life" soon became the norm.

However, we will focus chiefly on the Indian sub-continent here . Curiously enough, theology and philosophy became inseparable for within the vEdic framework; various schools of thought came into vogue. This is a particularly distinct trait of Indian philosophy.

To this day, the views of Advaita Vedanta have been regarded as the "summum bonum" of Indian Philosophy and thought and rightly so. For here, the onus is on the Individual himself to chart his own destiny. It is here that Mankind has reached its speculative/philosophical zenith. It is from here that I draw unfathomable mental and spiritual strength as I wade my way through the daily machinations of life.

I will be posting a Series containing my thoughts on the great and hallowed tradition of Advaita Vedanta and other allied schools. Although I'm doing this for purely mental satisfaction, I did get a few requests to put my thoughts across and I'll try to keep it simple. But as Einstein said once "Make things simple but not simpler."

I offer this humbly at the holy feet of the only man I ever idolised in my life.

श्रुति स्मृति पुराणानामालयं करुणालयं|
नमामि भगवत्पादशंकरं लॊकशंकरं ||

The Good,The Bad & The Ugly (1967)

Got a Blu-Ray of this timeless epic. There's a bit of a history with this Film so here we go.

Some 14 years ago, I was a young Kid; perpetually on the go as most kids that age and restless enough to make my Mom wince and quite often at that.

It was a typically lazy Sunday afternoon and my dad opened that VCR of ours,putting on a Film that he insisted I'd love. I was and still am a natural skeptic so I was waiting for evening to get in a Cricket game and work up a sweat. Films weren't really a passion then quite obviously so I wasn't really expecting something that'd make a 10 year Kid gasp, much less introspect.

But,right from the opening credits where that all too familiar OST (Probably the most famous OST of all time) hits the ear drums; I was captivated. The eerie,wild and jagged sound was fiercely evocative even then! The first extreme close-up shot was something I had never seen or experienced before and right from that moment on, I was a dead Mackerel - hook,line and sinker! I had left the heat and dust of Madras for the deserts and was a faceless observer of cynical,leathery men preoccupied with survival; their lives fueled and obsessed by pure,unadulterated greed. It'd mystify the mind of any 10 year old bloke. It mystified mine.

I don't need to wax eloquent on the merits of the Film. By ANY yardstick, it has to be one of the greatest Films of all time. For the next 3 hours I was glued to the tube. In more ways than one, it opened up a whole new world.

After the Film was over, my dad grinned at me. I grinned back. That says it all I guess. ;-)

In The Heat Of The Night (1967)

Saw it after a good 3 years and the Film still packs a helluva wallop !

There is no denying the fact that Jewison scores a home run with this brilliant,multi layered Film that hits all the right notes with the precision of a Sten gun and then some.

That it won a clutch of Oscars is almost besides the point. The American South was still a pretty lousy place for the blacks in the '60's and to come up with this complex, ultra realistic tale on the inter-relationships between the two races was and still is, a staggering achievement.

Any Film having a clean shaven,almost handsome Oates has gotta be somethin' special ;-) :-D.

But the Film is primarily driven by stunning performances by Steiger and Poitier. Steiger's ripping effort is a study of the human condition laid bare. There he was, now furiously chewing gum....Now rolling eyes and grinning...Temper building to a burning crescendo to mask his all too human failings....He was all over the damned place ! Little wonder he snagged the Oscar !

Contrast this with Poitier....The grim,no nonsense Black who sees eye to eye and never backs down. He is smart enough to know when he's licked but that piercing glint hints at an irrepressible urge to assert himself...The vestiges of a colonial hangover.

The Direction is sharp as a tack and atmospheric. There ain't a flaw in this crackerjacker of a Film.

Fab. fab. fab. !!!

Payroll (1961)

A hard-as-nails,ballsy Brit Heist Film that is typically stoic and gritty.

The Acting is adequate without being brilliant but the engaging plot subsumes everything. The kind of film that's meat and drink to blokes like me.

'Nough said !!

The End Of A Proud Empire

By the time I'm writing this, many people will be sharpenin' their knives with glinting eyes and intent. Some may recall the past fondly while some may shrug it off and look forward to the future.

But to be sure, there is something indescribably sad and forbidding when a great Sporting empire falls. Make no mistake about that.

Peter Roebuck (the celebrated Cricket Journo whom I admire immensely) wrote " The Australians might lose, but they never lie down." I have never ever doubted that statement until today.

Australia is a fiercely proud Cricketing nation. From ever since I can remember,they played the game hard but fair (at least most of the time). They sledged, bullied and snarled but they had great skills, large hearts and were driven by a collectively unconquerable will to be the best damn Team in the world.

I started following Cricket seriously from '94 and I have seen Australia lose. But, they never went down without one hell of a scrap except a couple of times where they were just overwhelmed by a combination of circumstances. But, they always bounced back and how ?!

The mantle had well and truly passed in '95 when Reiffel,Julian, Waugh et all managed to dethrone the Caribbean Kings from their perch and though SL flickered briefly after the '96 W Cup; Australia were always hovering at the top in both forms of the game and after that epic Semifinal in '99; they pulled away from the rest of the pack.

From '99 to 2007, watching Australia play was an experience in itself. And I'm no Aussie fan either. A couple of blips notwithstanding; Australia played Cricket from the front. They batted with naked aggression and took the game forward and were blessed with two of the greatest bowlers ever to draw breath. Yes, they won a lot but they did it with a lot of flair and panache which made for great viewing.

Its worth one's time to look back at some of the players that made up the team. Langer and Hayden. One a gutsy customer who worked out his game and the other, a big,intimidating guy who hit the ball with an almighty thump. One drop was Punter; the greatest Aussie batsman of his era who pulled,drove and cut with a flamboyance tempered with ruthlessness. The next batsman was the silken Damien Martyn, who was my personal favourite of all the Aussie batters. He was instrumental in Australia winning in SL and India. Stephen Waugh, Gilchrist and the bowlers need no introduction. They were a fearsome, formidable unit.

Those days are gone, the players have left. Only Punter remains, gamely and grimly carrying on the legacy and trying to push the next generation forward with all his might. He neither has the tactical nous of Taylor and the ruthless efficiency and aggression of Waugh but he is still the most successful Captain in history although the halo has already faded away with alarming rapidity of late.

They have lost a game to SL today but they lost it after the opponents were 107 for 8, chasing 240 to win in a ODI game. They lost the Mohali Test but atleast they had Laxman to contend with. Here, they were up against Angelo Mathews (Admittedly, a hugely talented player) and Malinga. So, what's wrong?!

Plenty but that's for another day. I have grown up watching Australia look a close game in the eye and take it by the scruff of its neck. Today, I saw a hesitant Australia groping in the dark and look blindfolded for lost treasure.

It wasn't pretty. The bubble has burst. It is inexplicable but such things are best felt than explained. And it left me strangely subdued and infinitely saddened.

The Looking Glass War (1965) - John Le Carre

While the "Smiley" trilogy is rightly feted as one of the greatest Fiction trilogies of the 20th Century, this Novel is my personal favourite of Le Carre's formidable and rather intimidating catalogue.

Strictly meant for lovers of serious Fiction,this is easily the bleakest book that I have ever read in my life. Written at the height of the Cold War, I remember taking a shower at midnight after I was done with it to "cleanse" myself. A hard, bitter,relentlessly cynical and disturbingly realistic peek at the sordid workings of an Espionage network.

Le Carre begins in his customary languid style, setting the tone and mood before the plot begins to tighten almost imperceptibly; culminating in a claustrophobic and an almost schizophrenic climax that leaves you numb, stunned and pondering over the astonishing capacity of the human mind to weave webs around itself.

A small piece of seemingly important information comes into the hands of "The Department", an almost defunct Brit Espionage network that is gasping for breath and hanging on by the skin of its teeth. The "Circus" (Le Carre buffs will be familiar with the term) starts to flex its muscles and what ensues is a painstakingly precise Espionage procedural and an intense struggle for establishing individual identity which will inevitably be brushed aside with ruthless efficiency keeping the "larger interests" in mind.

Le Carre admitted that this was his most realistic,nihilistic and hard hitting book and suggested that the stiflingly bleak tone may have been too much for even most hardened readers. He was damn right !

Do not pay heed to the average ratings here and follow the herd. They don't count for cow crap !

Likely to be enjoyed and savoured by discerning,mature readers who can separate the wheat from the chaff.

Harakiri A.K.A. Seppuku (1962)

For sheer compelling theatre, feral intensity and emotional depth; few Films (if any) match this savage,uncompromising Masterpiece that can stake a legitimate claim to being the greatest Film of all time.

Oh yes, its that damned good ! Tatsuya Nakadai (Those who watched the brilliant "Yojimbo" will remember him) delivers a startling, infernally inspired performance as an old ex-Samurai warrior who is looking to commit Hara-Kiri (A suicide ritual considered sacred among Samurai warriors) for reasons that reveal themselves slowly but surely.

An understanding of Japanese History in the 17th Century may help in better appreciation but even so, this is a Film of rare,breathtaking beauty and matchless appeal. The final 15 minutes of swirling Samurai swordplay with the raging emotions bubbling forth is probably one of the greatest Climaxes ever.

It may not be as well known as "Citizen Kane" or "Seven Samurai" but watch this Jewel and decide for yourself.

In Japanese with English Subs.

"The Thin Man" Series

A platinum plated Series that is a shoo-in into my list of Films that you can watch a Zillion times !

Not for nothing was the suave,charismatic Bill Powell and the gorgeous,bewitching Myrna Loy considered to be one of Cinema's greatest couples. In fact, I would put 'em right at the top of the heap for you'd search long and in vain to find a chemistry as electric and as crackling as this one.

As far as Comedy-whodunits go, nothing comes near this Series. For once, even the irrepressible Dashiell Hammett was pushed into the background as Powell took to Nick Charles with the alacrity of a cat that has just smelt cream. That it was a "dream" role was obvious. Powell's infectious Joie De Vivre, coupled with his pitch perfect body language was a sight to behold.

Polished,urbane wit and sophisticated,twinkling charm aside; it is astonishing that the set of 6 Films managed to maintain the quality of the original (The first entry based on the Hammett novel) almost throughout.

A staggering achievement and a must own !!

Homicide (1991)

If a Film's greatness is to be judged by its inherent capacity to puzzle/make a person think, this should easily be the greatest Film of all time by a country mile !

My second viewing but it was like watching a brand new Film unfold in front of my eyes !! The mental conflict of choosing between professional integrity and ethnic loyalty is captured disarmingly with subtle finesse and characteristic Mamet bluster.

The film is a social commentary, a character study and a genuine mystery all rolled into one. So essentially, you get 3 Films here, livened up by razor sharp "Mametspeak" and culminating in a trademark "con" that Mamet is so famous for.

Most people who have seen the Film are likely to be disillusioned because the ending seems to raise more questions than answers. But in Mamet's world, conspiracies operate in a much wider space than normal and a "straightforward" explanation is just not on because too many things happen simultaneously.

Mamet is a genius because his elliptical explanations are not "complete' which hints at a plausible suggestion that some things happen by chance and that's why his Films (flawed diamonds) are such fun for an intelligent and discerning Cinephile.

OUTSTANDING Film that's a must watch !