Social Media Cockroaches: For How Long Shall We Allow Anarchy to Rule Social Media “Jungle Raaj” While Tech Firms Earn Billions?

 

I read in news that the Supreme Court chief justice recently compared unemployed youth with “parasites”, and then a social media storm broke down. Finally, the chief justice had to “disown” his earlier statement saying he was “misquoted” (sounded like what politicians do daily). When I looked up the news, I found that in his original statement, the chief justice had meant well and there was no need to clarify or retract from his position. Here is how.

What the chief justice wanted to say was that there are many people around us who live off other people, and instead of contributing to society, they attack the system society is working on. The context was a junior lawyer who was using the designation “Senior Advocate” along with his name on social media for getting attention. The chief justice got upset at him and perhaps blamed him for being irresponsible and wasteful like a “cockroach”. The “cockroach” was of course a metaphor for being useless and wasteful.

The eventual social media furore over his comment totally justified his initial statement. The unemployed youth wasting their time on social media went on to create numerous satirical entities after replacing a term with “cockroach” and wasted days in the name of humour and satire. How long can one sit over one’s high horse – finally the horse has to take rest and fodder too, right? Eventually, the social media uproar will end and the only effect this whole episode will have is lowering the dignity of our justice system and making a joke of our constitution given right of free speech.

As we have seen during many controversies, social media platforms have shown zero control over stopping misleading, incorrect, fake, malicious or defamatory content. At the same time, they are earning billions of dollars every year due to the content created by users. For how long shall we allow total “anarchy” rule and social media content visibility policies changing the way people speak or behave on these platforms? If we expect real world to be rule-based, and society functioning on principles and ethical boundaries, why should we allow social media to be a lawless, “Jungle Raaj”?

It is high time the Supreme Court of India must look into this matter since we have seen many a time on such issues that only the SC can help and no other institution comes up to correct the situation. Lawless, anarchist, misleading and defamatory nature of social media must be purged, to make it rule-based, fair, and a controlled entity. It is very much possible to achieve, just look at how the early-days social media platforms were designed, for clues. Along with time, “virality” was given first priority while designing these platforms and this is the root cause of all evils. This problem can be solved in one day, if the Supreme Court orders. There are many other important concerns like restricting social media for children, making content copyright compliant, stopping use of these platforms for crime and financial fraud.

The day the Supreme Court takes up this matter in its hands, it won’t matter how many cockroaches line up to shout, the insecticide of law will be powerful enough to control them for the benefit of everyone.

- Rahul

There are no bad marriages; only bad people

 

There are no bad marriages, only bad people. Show me a marriage gone bad, I will show you a person gone bad. Why marriages fail may be a complex question, but my understanding is that marriages failing is only a symptom of a person failing. A marriage failing has many effects and after-effects, and people often can’t pinpoint to one root-cause. But if you look closely, typically, one of the two spouses was a wrong person, causing the marriage to fail.

What we call “compatibility problem” is actually one bad spouse trying to impose things on the other, who decides to push back instead of bending. What we call aspirations and lifestyles not matching is basically one spouse developing unreasonable aspirations which the other can’t cope with. And when it comes to other reasons for ending marriages, like infidelity, domestic violence, alcoholism or cruelty, are obviously due to lack of character of one spouse.

My theory is that the blame for ending marriage hardly lies on both parties; but mostly rests on one of the two. People close to the family know who the bad apple is; though they may not talk openly about it.

Unfortunately, the real cost of failing marriage is paid by the children, if any were already produced by the time the couple decided to part ways. The couples who part ways before kids were born are lucky and evil both at the same time. There is a theory which says that if the wife is not interested in having a baby, it is because she is not sure she wants to spend whole life with that man. And if the man is not eager to have a kid, he may also be having other plans. Ideally, people marry to have kids, and one should have kids reasonably sooner after the marriage, otherwise, in the era where people date each other for years before marriage, what was the point of getting married to begin with?

Everyone is aware of the psychological void suffered by the children raised by single parents. What they are not aware of is ways to avoid “the problem”. A happy and everlasting marriage is the only solution to avoid this problem.

If you notice the general character of people in society from the things happening around us and the news and events, it would be clear that there is a general decline in honesty and ethical behaviour. It is totally logical, because earlier the world was small and in small towns everyone knew everyone else. It was difficult not to be sensitive towards others and people were naturally more social. With life in big cities, families living long distances, people living in isolation due to work, etc, there is a natural decline in social behaviour and general empathy. There is more probability of people going rogue now, and hence marriages are going rogue too.

The institution of marriage was one sacred invention by human society which made people from improper animals to proper men. Right now, the marriages are at threat because the modern world is breaking age long ways of social life and the modern, materialistic life is not designed with happy family life as its top priority.

- Rahul

Does PM Modi Intentionally Break the Internet with “Melodi”

 

Like millions of people and ‘bots’, I have also watched PM Modi’s latest video with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. And I found it extremely adorable too. But one opposition party leader has taken offense at the video, calling it “nautanki”, i.e. non-serious banter. It made me think about it too: what does PM Modi want from such “banter”?

It is clear that PM Modi has specifically chosen Italian PM Meloni for these series of “banter”. There is no doubt that Italian PM Meloni is extremely beautiful and has a very positive and pleasing personality, and somehow it matches the charisma of PM Narendra Modi so well. Together, they look “magical”! There is something really special about their pictures, and we can easily see that PM Modi’s face “glows” and some very positive vibes come out of these images.

At the same time, the relevance of “Italy” cannot be ignored since Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi came from Italy after marrying India’s popular PM Indira Gandhi’s son Rajiv Gandhi. Before her, or apart from her, I don’t think Indian people had much idea about Italians. And somehow the kind of impression she made on Indians was not really positive. She always appeared “cold”, with an entirely emotionless face, and the politics in Indira Gandhi’s family post her arrival, e.g. removal of her Indian daughter-in-law Maneka Gandhi from her family and political legacy, made people keep a negative opinion about her. People also remember Bofors scam and Italian man named Quattrocchi’s involvement in it. Somehow, Italian PM Meloni has completely changed the old impression of Italians in the eyes of Indian people, and it is a big positive for Italy in the long term. Today, people in India do not look at Italy with suspicion, but with a warmth, and a large credit for this goes to “Melodi” brand friendship.

We can even wonder if PM Modi does excessive display of warmth towards PM Meloni to irritate Sonia/Rahul Gandhi supporters? The way Rahul Gandhi reacted to the latest pictures, clearly points out that he does not like it at all. But PM Modi will do more of the same nonetheless.

To summarize, I think PM Modi has not specifically chosen friendship and warm bonding with Italian PM Meloni due to political reasons, but it would have happened naturally and genuinely. But he does intentionally highlight these in the form of social media posts, because he knows social media users and rest of the world love it when he does so.

Therefore, until “Melodi” friendship continues, Modi-Bhakts will enjoy but the Modi-hating opposition members are going to have a very “annoying” time.

- Rahul 

Twisha Sharma Death Case: Judging the Judge: The Real Question is How Much Twisha Hid Before Her Marriage

 

I came across some news outlets sharing an audio recording of Twisha Sharma’s brother questioning her mother-in-law Giribala Singh about why she questioned Dwisha about her “past relationships”. As we can hear in the audio recording, the mother-in-law is unapologetic and says she has right to know her daughter-in-law well and needs to be sure whether her past relationships are going to impact her future or not. This part can be understood, and we need to agree that as a mother-in-law, she had right to ask those questions, although her language may be objectionable. But the devil is in the details.

First of all, Twisha’s family has clearly fallen into media’s trap, where the victim’s family thinks that if they keep sharing private details every day, they will be able to feed the media-monster with fodder it needs to maintain momentum and keep highlighting their version of the story on TV screen for days and weeks – the maximum the better for their “cause”. This is a false assumption. The cases ultimately win or lose because of their own merit, not because how much certain versions were telecast on TV screens for how long. Solving crime is not a “popularity contest” for one’s version of story. We have seen this being done by electronic media in every other case. It even happened in Atul Subhash’s case; but did he get justice? His sacrifice went in vain, the judge against whom he alleged got promotion and moved on, his abuser wife got bail, and the court ordered his child to be raised by his evil wife instead of his noble parents. What was the point of all the “media game” in any of the previous such cases? Remember: the dead do not get justice; the dead get nothing. This is why people should stop committing sui*ides assuming they would get justice after death. No one does.

Now, coming to the call-recording by Twisha’s brother.

Everyone knows that “casting couch” happens in film industry, especially with actresses. Twisha worked for some years in advertising as a model and later in South Cinema as an actress. She should have told truths about all her past experiences to her husband and mother-in-law “before marriage”. Assuming that the call-recording is after marriage, why is it that her mother-in-law Giribala Singh asking her about past experiences and relationships “only after marriage”? This is a very important clue, which indicates that perhaps Twisha had hidden a lot about her past from her husband and in-laws.

If Twisha had hidden about her past experiences and relationships with her in-laws prior to marriage, as this call recording indicates or proves, then she was on the wrong ground here. When her husband and mother-in-law were getting upset at her due to these, it can be understood.

There is also an important question which is coming up, where her husband was asking her, “whose child it was that you aborted?” and it is shown as proof of his mental torture towards her.  But this actually only proves his frustration and hatred at her for aborting her child. It seems he believed that if the child was his, she won’t have aborted it since they were married. Or perhaps he was only “taunting” her, as spouses do it to each other when they are upset. The abortion was actually an abortion to their marriage since no marriage can survive without raising a family.

I have still not understood why Samarth Singh had to marry Twisha, if not for “love”. As per news reports, his family is of highly educated top-class people, and then why would he choose an “actress” to marry? Was he seeking a “trophy wife”? From the information available, it does not seem he was seeking a “trophy wife” because in that case, he would have ignored her flaws and past relationships and would have loved her since he loved her only for her beauty. But, from the news articles, it seems he was really upset and angry at her after marriage. It could only happen if he was in “love” with her earlier and as we have seen many times, love and hate are two sides of the same relationship.

All clues indicate that Twisha had hidden many things from her in-laws before marrying, and after discovering all those post marriage, her husband and mother-in-law were upset and hence questioned her. Her chat messages where she is blaming herself for this mess also talk about this aspect. Still, there is no clue and no reason seen to “murder” a “girl with a past”, merely on suspicion; and contrary to her parent’s “hunch feeling”, no clue indicates that she was murdered.

The lessons from all this are many important ones:

1.      It is necessary for couples to come clean about their past experiences and past relationships in front of in-laws well before marriage so that they could make correct decisions about whether to go ahead with marriage or not

2.      If things are hidden intentionally or unintentionally, things can get complicated after marriage, like it happened in case of Twisha

3.      Questioning can be justified, but never harassment or abuse

This is all I could understand from the leaked call-recording by Twisha’s brother. I hope Twisha’s family stops their tirade and witch-hunt against her in-law’s family because they deserve respect and peace as much as Twisha deserved. Just because their daughter is dead does not give them rights to harass, defame and torture a family, merely based on their suspicion.

- Rahul 

Twisha Sharma Death Case: Why should parents be blamed even in case of “love marriage”

 

If you have been following the TV news coverage of Twisha Sharma death case, you would realise that her parents are clearly blaming themselves for not being able to save her. And this is happening despite the fact that Twisha had found her own husband digitally on a “dating app” and hers was a “love marriage”. Do you see any contradictions here?

Typically, in an “arranged marriage” situation, where the daughter has limited decision making rights and parents make decisions to shortlist her match, if the groom turns out not-good later, the daughter gets right to blame her parents for “ruining her life”. But how about “love marriage”? In case of Twisha, thanks to her parents, she was educated, financially independent, and empowered enough to make her own life choices. She found her husband-to-be by herself and dated him for several months before introducing him to her family as her match. There was about 6 months gap between engagement and wedding, which was again the period during which she could have seen any red-flags and backed out. But we can guess that she was confident about her man and hence went through the marriage. And soon after the marriage, everything falls apart. Post marriage, she relocates to her in-laws house in Bhopal, loses her work-from-home job, gets pregnant, her some conflicts with her husband, and now she felt “trapped”. Her independence was gone, her previous lifestyle was gone, her husband started behaving coldly, and perhaps she thought that once the baby was born, she would not have got chance to get out of the marriage, hence she did an abortion. Everything she did, she did on her own and her parents were merely spectators or support groups. But the question is, if she was herself responsible for everything she did, did she have right to blame her parents?

From what we see from the chats shared in media, Twisha clearly blamed her parents for sending her back to her in-laws house (which any family would have done). There was clearly no physical threat at in-laws house in Bhopal, as not a single message she sent to her mother pointed at any threat. She was seen asking her mother to “come and take me back tomorrow”. In the chats, her parents never committed at bringing her back permanently, and although they did make a ticket booking but Twisha did not know. And then suddenly, her death happens. Since her death, her parents have been blaming themselves as if it was all their fault. How is this fair?

Does this mean that if parents choose a person’s life-partner in an “arranged marriage” scenario, they would be blamed if marriage turns bad later; and even if the person chose his or her own life-partner and did “love marriage”, the parents would still be blamed if the marriage turns bad? There is clearly no logic in all this.

But relationships run on emotions and not logic. It does not really matter who caused the bad things to a person, or whether the person brought self-inflicted pain, his/her parents would “always” blame themselves for not being able to save their child. That is the sacred thread of parent-child relationship which has remained pure no matter how commercialised and materialistic our modern world has become. Hence, being a parent is clearly always a “losing game”. This is why it is the biggest responsibility one can ever have.

It is time young men and women need to understand their world and their parents correctly.

- Rahul 

Twisha Sharma Death Case: Twisha’s family should not be able to terrorise others merely because of a “hunch feeling”

 

If you have been following TV news coverage of Twisha Sharma’s death case, you would have seen statements and videos from her parents, openly blaming and threatening her in-laws family, in particular her husband and the mother-in-law. I saw one video where Twisha’s mother openly says on camera that she would “kill” Samarth Singh, Twisha’s husband. And why? Because she “thought he killed Twisha”!

The important point to consider in this case is that there is so far absolutely no evidence to suggest that Twisha was murdered or forcibly hanged by her husband or in-laws. Since the postmortem at AIIMS Bhopal confirmed sui*ide, her family started demanding second postmortem in Delhi. If that also came out not in their favour, what would be their next demand and where will it end? There has to be some basis to suspect that Twisha’s in-laws were involved and there was some foul play. Perhaps that is the reason why the Bhopal court did not grant second postmortem request to her family. Perhaps they thought that if they granted once, every other family would keep demanding in similar manner. As I said before, there has to be some basis to suspect foul play and so far, there is none.

We have also seen videos and interviews of Twisha’s mother-in-law where she is visibly distressed because of the accusations on her and her son. Twisha’s husband Samarth is absconding, perhaps fearing a witch-hunt and fearing for his life, and would surrender to the court when he feels safe. I am not sure if what he is doing is good or should he risk his life and surrender now to satisfy the media and Twisha’s vengeful family. But one thing is for sure: he is terrified, his mother is terrified, and only Twisha’s parents are to be blamed.

While proper investigation should definitely be carried out to bring out the truth, and now the case is with CBI, at the same time, why should Twisha Sharma’s family be allowed to make sweeping accusations at her in-laws without even an iota of proof? They are carrying out absolute terrorism without regard to what effect their actions could cause. What if the husband witnessing a witch-hunt against him also chooses to take some wrong step? Going by the events so far, Twisha’s mother would certainly be satisfied with such an outcome, and it won’t matter to her whether he was actually guilty or not.

Not only media, but the government and the Police are also being seen sympathetic to Twisha’s family in this witch-hunt. And it has become a very sorry state of affairs. I don’t understand why Twisha’s family should be allowed to openly threaten and terrorise another family merely because of their “hunch feeling”.

Think about it.

- Rahul

Twisha Sharma Was a Textbook Woke Woman: And This Irony Died With Her

 

If you are currently consuming any type of mass media in India, you are likely aware of the Twisha Sharma death case. TV news channels are presenting every minute detail of the case as if it were a matter of great national importance. The deceased woman’s family is from Noida, and since most national media channels have their studios in Noida, this explains the disproportionate coverage of Delhi-Noida-NCR events.

One aspect of this news cannot be ignored: Late Twisha Sharma was a “textbook woke woman.” Here are a few points to support this assertion:

1.   She received a good education up to the postgraduate level and worked for many years.

2.    She chose to join the glamour industry, as she found her calling there.

3.    She married at the relatively advanced age of 32.

4.    She selected her own life partner.

5.    She met her partner through a digital dating app.

6.    She chose a man from a different caste.

7.    She dated him for a year before marriage.

8.    She entered into what is called a “love marriage.”

9.    She terminated her pregnancy of her own free will.

All these points align with the description of a modern, empowered woman. Yet, the tragic end of Twisha’s life makes this fact deeply ironic.

For years, traditional Indian values and ways of life have been ridiculed by modernists. Some of these traditional elements include:

1.   Allowing parents to choose a life partner, as they have seen the cycles of life and are believed to make better decisions.

2.    Marrying at the “right age” (early twenties) and having children at the appropriate time (twenties or early thirties).

3.     Avoiding work in the glamour industry, which is often considered “sinful.”

4.  Choosing a partner from known family connections or with social validation, reducing risks of misrepresentation or fraud.

5.     Marrying within one’s caste to align family values and increase compatibility after marriage.

6.    Avoiding boyfriends or girlfriends before marriage, keeping marriage as a “sacred” bond.

7.    Never aborting a pregnancy, as childbirth is seen as a divine blessing.

Modernist propaganda has long dismissed these traits as belonging to “uneducated, backward families” living in the 18th century, insisting such values need eradication.

At this point, it is immaterial whether Twisha Sharma committed sui*ide (as claimed by her in-laws, doctors, and police) or whether she was murdered (as speculated by her parents). From the chat messages shared in the media, it is clear she was sad, frustrated, and deeply troubled in her marriage. Her “love marriage” had failed from the start, her pregnancy was terminated by choice, her husband had stopped communicating with her, and her parents were not of much help. The “empowered woman” narrative promoted as a panacea by modernists failed miserably, and someone must answer for it.

All the woke female journalists and celebrity women who sold us this “empowered woman panacea” need to be questioned. If a “textbook woke woman” like Twisha Sharma was not safe, what right did they have to discard, denounce, and ridicule traditional Indian values as outdated customs? What is wrong if men and women take help from parents in finding the right match, marry at the right age, have children at the right time, and build a life together in a way that benefits both family and society?

These questions have been entirely missed in the debate surrounding this case. The media is busy sensationalizing, the deceased woman’s family is consumed by vengeance, and ordinary people are caught in the middle. It is high time that common people start questioning those who spread propaganda but disappear when faced with difficult questions.

Our society cannot outsource its thinking ability to TV channels and modernist celebrities parroting Western values as a cure-all for India’s problems. We must wake up, use our own judgment, and create a culture that is safe for women, families, and society at large. This is the only way to prevent more innocent women from becoming another Twisha.

Om Shanti. May Twisha's soul gets peace, and she is reborn into a happy long life.   

— Rahul

Normal Vs New-Normal

 

I always get air in my motorcycle tyres only at petrol pumps because many poor local air filler guys deliberately puncture tyres to get repair work. Plus, air is always “free” at petrol pumps. But after the recent Iran war made the finances of oil marketing companies tight, I noticed many petrol pumps had their air filling machines closed. Finally, I found one petrol pump where the air machine was working, so even though half of my motorcycle’s fuel tank was already filled, I went and got petrol filled.

I always say “normal” as soon as the petrol pump guy starts his work, to avoid paying for the expensive version of petrol which everyone thinks is just a marketing gimmick. After getting “normal petrol” filled in my motorcycle’s tank till the brim, I went to get “free air.”

As soon as the air filling guy saw me, he shouted, “Nitrogen?” I shouted back, “No, normal!” He said the petrol pump was giving only free nitrogen and the air machine was not working. Don’t know what happened to all the air filling machines in the city. As I moved away, I realised I had said “normal” instead of saying “air.” So, while petrol became “normal” earlier, now even “air” became “normal.”

This struggle to get “normal” things is really real.

I remember the first time this habit of shouting “normal” while buying things started - it was while buying packaged drinking water at railway stations. If you don’t tell them to give you “normal” water, they give chilled water by default, which takes several hours to come back to “normal” temperature.

In India, the phrase “normal” is often used by buyers in shops to distinguish between multiple varieties of the same product. Here are some common examples:

Biscuits: Many brands have cream-filled, chocolate-coated, or premium versions. Shoppers often say “normal Parle-G” or “normal Marie” to mean the plain, everyday biscuit.
Cold drinks: With options like Diet, Zero Sugar, or flavoured sodas, people ask for “normal Coke” or “normal Thums Up” to mean the regular sugary version.
Milk: Packaged milk comes in toned, double-toned, skimmed, or full-cream. “Normal milk” usually means the standard toned milk most households use.
Chips: With masala, cheese, and exotic flavours available, “normal chips” refers to plain salted potato chips.
Ice cream: Brands sell sugar-free, low-fat, or premium flavours. “Normal vanilla” or “normal chocolate” means the basic, regular scoop.
Tea: Shops may stock green tea, herbal blends, or masala chai. “Normal tea” means the everyday black tea with milk and sugar.
Rice: With basmati, brown, organic, and specialty varieties, “normal rice” refers to the everyday non-basmati white rice used in most homes.

“Normal” is basically shorthand for “don’t give me the premium, diet, or fancy variant - just the regular one everyone uses.”

As PM Modi used to say, “this is the New Normal” in the post-Covid world, now the “not normal” has become the “new normal” no matter what you try to buy. Asking for “normal” itself feels like an anomaly.

In today’s complex world, when everything becomes “not-normal,” perhaps the “normal” is the real “not-normal.”

– Rahul

Travelogue: Captain Tanaji Kalate Udyan (Public Park), Wakad, Pune

 

- Rahul

Movie Review: Ginny Wedss Sunny 2 (2026) – A Fun Filled Rom-Com with a Social Message

 

After watching his film “Laila Majnu” (2018) on TV, I became actor Avinash Tiwary’s fan. I was really touched by how he portrayed the role in that film, which went deep in the heart. After a while, I happened to watch another of his film “Madgaon Express” (2024), which was a comedy, on TV and was highly impressed by how perfectly Avinash Tiwary played in a comedy too. Therefore, when I came to know about this film “Ginny Wedss Sunny 2” being released in the theatres, I got chance to watch his first film on the big screen. And how lucky I turned out to be.

“Ginny Wedss Sunny 2” is a romantic comedy based on the life of Sunny or Shivansh, played by Avinash and Ginny or Geetanjali, played by Medha Shankr who get married under hilarious circumstances and it only starts a chain of events murkier than their marriage. Both Avinash and Medha have given great performance, with even slightest emotions portrayed so well; and even supporting actors like Sudhir Pandey have done a great job. The first part of the movie before intermission is largely comedy, and the whole theatre was in splits laughing at the perfectly timed and executed situational comedy scenes. If you have read my two previous movie reviews, you would understand that I was not going to pardon the film if I found any absurdities or imperfections. But this movie gets “A” grade in all departments. 

The movie is based in Rishikesh and Uttarakhand, and captures its natural beauty very well. The whole natural beauty and daily life captured in this film is “dream like” beautiful. The movie also shows how social media is impacting our lives and h`ow India is torn between modernity and traditions. The film walks on a tight rope and comes out as a remarkable winner.

The wedding of Ginny and Sunny is only the beginning – and the movie then largely captures the “real task of marriage” – which is to “sustain” it. Marriages are falling apart in high numbers these days, and this movie captures the nuances of it in such a perfect manner. The male ego, the female ego, the burden of expectations from larger family, intrusion by society, impact of women’s education and independence on marriage and families, problems due to misunderstandings, role of elders in families, sibling rivalries and bonds, father-son and mother-daughter relationships, all these aspects are captured so very well in this film. And these are shown even while in the context of comedy, which is remarkable. The story is captivating and there is not a single boring moment in the film. The director of this film Prasshant Jha has done a genius work.

The songs of this film and also too good. Earlier I was enchanted only by the song “Chhap Tilak” but while watching the film, I got to know that there are total seven songs and all are so brilliant.

Without providing too much of spoilers, I would highly recommend this film for one and all. It is a wholesome family entertainer as well as an educational one for the young couples and those facing challenges in their marriage. I witnessed the entire theatre audience enjoying the film from the beginning to the end, and at the end they only wanted more.

Wishing all the success to this film “Ginny Wedss Sunny 2” and thanks to the makers for such a nice time watching it.

- Rahul

Movie Review: Bhooth Bangla (2026): From Dhurandhar’s Peak Detailing to Bhooth Bangla’s Weak Detailing; Bollywood Comes Around in Just a Month

A few weeks ago, 'Dhurandhar: The Revenge' had hit the cinema halls, and everyone said one thing, that it had “peak detailing”. Last week, another Bollywood film released, with Akshay Kumar, the hero of the masses in its lead. After watching it, I could not stop myself from noticing its “weak detailing”. Here is how. 

1. Similarity with Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise: You will keep missing Kartik Aaryan 

Although, the original ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’ (2007) film was directed by Priyadarshan, the same director of this film, and Akshay Kumar was its hero, but the real mass success of the franchise had occurred only when Kartik Aaryan had joined it for Part 2 and 3. About 20 years passed since the first film, and by now, Kartik Aaryan is synonymous with Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise. And this film does not have Kartik! To make it feel weirder, this film still has almost whole cast of Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise: Tabu, Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi, Asrani, Paresh Rawal, etc. It keeps feeling as if the film makers chose Akshay instead of Kartik "by mistake". 

2. Akshay Kumar as boyfriend material 

Akshay Kumar is about 59 years old. And it shows in this film and we can’t ignore it. After a few scenes at the beginning, we can see his “chest hair” which is grey and weird. After a while, we need to see how his whole body skin is wrinkled, like a 75 year old man. We also need to notice every once in a while that he has “polished” his face to appear younger, and it has resulted in his face not matching with rest of his body and it keeps feeling “what the yukk”. His father-in-law Superstar Rajesh Khanna at least had the decency to take up "father roles: after he aged. Akshay Kumar is still chasing girls in the bushes. In one scene, when Akshay Kumar meets the fiancée of his sister, he calls him "beta" in a natural tone. That scene "nailed" the weak detailing of this film like a hard fact.   

3. Vulgarity in Comedy 

At the beginning of the film, in a comic scene, Rajpal Yadav pulls down Akshay Kumar’s trouser by mistake, and we are forced to see his bum, totally naked. At first, I could not believe “what just happened”, but I knew it was weak detailing camouflaged as peak detailing. After a while, the movie focuses entirely on the “housemaid” to create vulgar comedy. Rajpal Yadav, the famous “mandir ka ghanta” whom anyone can ring when one feels like, is made the villain while it is not even his fault – although this part has become totally hilarious. And by the end of the film, there is a song where group of women are dancing, and the same housemaid is seen dressed and dancing like other rich noble women. Weak detailing. 

4. Wamiqa Gabbi as a fresh face in the female lead 

Perhaps the only sane and logical character in this film is of Wamiqa Gabbi who plays female lead opposite Akshay Kumar. She is shown as extremely beautiful, although at times she starts resembling Aishwarya Rai and at times even Alaya Furniturewalla (female lead of Kartik Aryan’s film Freddy (2022). She brings a fresh face among all other old stale, wrinkled stars. But then, our happiness is not made to last long. A few scenes into the film and I could not stop noticing that her upper tooth was “bent”. Out of the two front upper teeth, one is longer than the usual and is also bent as if dentist has tried grinding it to make it even. I know that it is not her fault, that best of the Hollywood stars also had some teeth problem, and it feels like “body shaming”, but I have just put my observations since I could not “un-notice” it. Almost feeling guilty now, but I wonder if this should be considered normal in the age of “peak detailing”. 

5. Other weak detailing

The movie’s plot is so weak and full of holes. First, no one can understand the necessity to conduct the wedding in that haunted palace even after it becomes clear that the bride would die if she gets married in that venue. The ghost fears light, but in the end scene the ghost is shown as making offering of twelve brides to demon in a cave full of “fire torches” which obviously emit “light”. In the climax scene in the cave, the bride’s wedding saree keeps changing colour from red to pink and pink to red. There is unnecessary “doubling” of characters and even Akshay Kumar plays a double-role and it becomes too confusing. The palaces in the film clearly look like Rajasthani palaces, but are claimed to be situated somewhere in UP. The scenes of world famous ghats of Varanasi and pictures of the city having multi-storey buildings are shown as some old city from centuries ago. And after completing this whole film about ghosts, Akshay Kumar does “virtue signalling” by slapping the astrologer of his sister’s in-laws after taking him aside in secret, and then tells him “do not tell anyone or else they will laugh at you”. It made no sense why the big jyotishi would tolerate getting slapped like that. And this “do not tell anyone” is repeated so many times in the film, and so many characters tell the same “do not tell anyone about this” to so many other characters so frequently, that this weak detailing becomes a joke.  

6. The bhoot and the horror are well-made and feel original 

Although slightly similar to the Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise, the ghost/demon (bhoot) in this film resembling a bat, is really innovative and appears real. And the bhoot is finally a 'male', not a female ‘chudail’ like earlier films. The horror scenes are able to make you feel horrified and the use of old temple and gospel stories from the Hindu epic tales feel very real. But at the same time, I did not like the way Akshay Kumar is able to physically hurt the bhoot in the climax scene and the very long fight scene where he appears almost equal in physical strength to the Rakshasa. What is even the point of a big fight scene in the climax when everyone knows that the “hero will get beaten up at first but will be able to kill the villain eventually”. It is like a “fixed match” no one will bet even a paisa on. But then, this should not be surprising, since we are dealing with Bollywood’s ordinary films with weak detailing. 

Final verdict: Recommended 

All said and done, the film is entertaining, with too many comic and laughter scenes and at the same time some very good horror in the later part, with usual performances by the cast. The setup of royal palaces of Rajasthan and the dense jungle scenes are also nice to watch. I think this film should definitely qualify for an entertaining casual watch and hence I recommend it, despite my freak detailing in this blog review. 

- Rahul

 

Travelogue: E-Square Multiplex, Xion Mall, Hinjawadi, Pune

 

(C) Rahul 

Travelogue: Cognizant (CTS), Hinjawadi Ph1, Pune

 

(C) Rahul