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Unity in Diversity?

Disclaimer: These are the sole views of the author. And, in no way are they intended to hurt the feelings of anyone.
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Have you ever wondered as to why is it that we such a HUGE parade on 26th of January? And that be it cold, or foggy or whatever- Almost the entire country is wide awake when the 'Chabees Janwary' parade is aired. I think this is one of the very few days that Doordarshan, has TRPs!!!
The reason is simple- The entire world waits for this parade- Because this parade is the 'Show of Strength' to the other nations. It is an exercise of propaganda for country.. yeah we are very humble people, but it is ok to show off sometimes.

61st Year of being a Republic, was also marked by the auspicious release of the Newest, and the most talked about Phir Mile Sur Mera Tumhara... on Youtube, it has been posted as a reply to the Old Video of Mile Sur Mera Tumhara.

And boy oh boy- Has it created some ripples on the blogosphere and on twitter. I must say, that, I thought that I would not give my opinion on this. But then, I saw both the videos, and I couldn't resist the temptation to give my opinion on the same. Actually, thanks to Mr. Bald Guy, I was directed to this post which prompted this post.

Ohkay, the views are going to be biased, for sure... after all I have grown up watching this video. What the heck- I was 7 years old when DD2 was launched... and I had to actually eat extra food to see some decent Television.

So, here goes-
The moment that video comes on air- You feel a sense of tranquility, as sense of being the Indian that you are. The old video, shows the Unity in diversity. It shows it when MithunDa, Jitendra and Amitab Bachchan stand together and sing... the new video unfortunately is simply a show of strength. It just shows, frame after frame- nothing but the actors.... Individually... The poster boys.
Has India, got nothing more to offer than Indian Actors?
The new video opens with A.R. Rehman, and ofcourse we applaud at his achievements and are proud of him, but trust me, not having The Nightingale of the Music industry in the video makes it for a sad watch. Ms. Padokune should've had more sense to wear.... I dunno, lets not comment on the clothes... we should just be talking about the spirit.. which is also missing in the new video. The New video, does not inspire- It just makes me sigh, and feel, 'Yeah India has progressed... but...
The most important aspects of the old video were- That it was the video of the common, the common man... the new video missed that- It totally has nothing to do with the common man- the one which has risen.
The future the children, which made up the flag in the end of the old video... well, the only one I saw in the new one were dancing with the stars.
The thing that irked me most was-
That the video looked a like total propaganda to impress the MNS. Look closely at the video- There is no Delhi Metro, or any mention of the commonwealth or the T20 world cup that we won. You can see the Taj, the Bandra-Worli sea link, and mostly that entire stretch of Mumbai.

The essence of India, missing in the new video. And that is what I think.
If India is nothing but bollywood, and stamp from the Oscars- Then, well, can I say that, I want to be a part of the broader and the new India? The India- That truly is... United, despite the Diversity.

Comments

Ankit said…
even i like the old video...it has got that punch....when that music plays u feel something..new video does not arouse that feeling...i donno why....and people were in a diplomatic race it seems that all the youngsters fit in....and somewhere thqat essence feels lost....
raj alakshendra said…
the video is no longer available
@ Raj
You have to search, but you'll find it.

@ G-man
The video still inspires patriotism and nostalgia on a certain level, but I must agree with Sakshi that everything appears to be comercial.

@ Sakshi
India is the common man, the farmer and the fisher-folk. This video has got too much bling and not much bang! And yes, Deepika should have worn something better.
Plus we've added so many more states and languages since 1988, and they should have been included too.
Shaahid's act was comical to say the least and Shah Ruk needs some new dance moves!
The second part has 30 secs or so (out of 8 odd mins, 16 in total) devoted to India's athletes and Armed forces which is an utter shame. The might of India deserved more than just a perfunctory glance!
A shame, but Bollywood pays for this stuff and can we change that?
Lastly, thanks for putting up this post, otherwise I would have never seen this video.

D

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