#100days100scenes: Pop patriotism meets institutionalized corruption

Institutionalized corruption has eroded India's government machinery that we have come to accept that any form of good service that gets done without bribery or service fees as a blessing. It is not that corruption doesnt exist in other countries, but in India it exists as the only way to get certain things done , in a brazen manner. Its like the termites who can sink a moving ship from within. India has a history of it, even during British times, traitors like Mir Jaffer who could make a quick buck or reach a coveted position.

Even with the extraordinary pay raises to government employees due to the Pay Commissions , it still continues. And we earlier accepted that low pay scales is a valid reason for some corruption to exist. We are too forgiving as a country.

This is why we needed a super pop patritotic cult movie called Indian. A Shankar vigilante masterpiece , it had cinematic masala at its fiery best. A freedom fighter who had worked with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose returns as Senapati to weed out corruption that has crippled the country with force and shock and awe treatment that was badly missing. He kills corrupt officers in front of a TV audience to show them the 'true reality show'. Vigilante justice best served cold. Senapati does not even spare his own son who has become a corrupt officer earning bribes in the transport department.
He admonishes people for even giving bribes because that is where it starts- taking the easy path because you dont want to queue up.



Shankar is the master of this genre - his movies are a tirade against corruption and black money by larger than life heros - Gentleman , Indian , Anniyan and Shivaji and an ordinary hero in Mudhalvan.

 But his mastery is to make it the grandest extravaganza - locales, make up to give Kamal Haasan the look and gait of a 70 yr old, to use old Kerala war techniques as the weaponry that Senapati uses, the father -son angle, the flashback to show Senapati shaking hands with Netaji and many more.

Watch out for this scene that tries to give a spine chilling message against the corrupt infrastructure of this country.




Although this second scene doesnt have that patriotic message, but to me its the scene of the movie - it has everything I love about this movie in 3 minutes - the Inspector (Nedumudi Venu) trying to check out his sleuthing hunch by visiting Senpati on an excuse to get his signature so that he can avail of the freedom fighters pension although he is not eligible for it, Senapati finding that out and using the Kerala Varmams to overpower him, his wife removing the clothes immediately on one nod from him showing her devotion to the mission and the cinematography of the tractor scene showing how they are escaping.




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