Page 65 - English Tehelka Issue 12 - June 30, 2018

• I’m single minded in theStack Can IndIa be a

my approach: Soha leadIng power In the
years ahead?
The handmaid’s Tale
By Margaret Atwood
A mother for over nine months, Soha Ali Seven Decades of Independent India, edited by
Khan is now making a deliberate effort to Set in the near future, The Handmaid’s Tale describes life in what Vinod Rai and Amitendu Palit, reflects on the India of
yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead,
find ways to embrace other aspects of her • No such thing as a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest
life. What’s her priority at the moment? a Hindu terrorist: and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, These include D. Subbarao, ex-governor of RBI;
“It has to be Inaaya,” replied Soha. The Quantico debacle and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of Rajiv Kumar, vice-chairman of NITI Aayog; S.Y.
actor, married to actor Kunal Kemmu, has Quantico, the American tele- the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Quraishi, former chief election commissioner;
given birth to their daughter in September, vision drama series headlined Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre conse- Shivshankar Menon, former national security
2017. “Everything is different and I have by former Miss World and In- quences for the women and men in its population. adviser; Ashok Gulati, professor ICRIER and former
to actually work towards achieving a dian actor Priyanka Chopra, The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs
balance because I’m a kind of person that showed a story about a terror- unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. and Prices; Sumit Ganguly, professor of politi-
when something happens I get so involved ist threat to an India-Pakistan In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, cal science, Indiana University; A.K. Shiva Kumar,
tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to
director, International Centre for Human Develop-
in it and make it like a project. I’m very peace summit in New York us the dark corners behind the establishment’s calm ment; Poonam Muttreja, executive director, Popu-
single minded in my approach and it’s City. Only in this story of ter- facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their lation Foundation of India; Tan Tai Yong, president
very important to balance. I’m actually ror, Chopra, in her role as FBI logical conclusions. The Handmaid’s Tale is funny, unexpected, hor- and professor (humanities) Yale-NUS College, Sin-
making a conscious effort now to step away agent Alex Parrish, discov- rifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire gapore; Dipankar Gupta, sociologist and former
ers that the perpetrators are
a little bit and to take on other things, to Hindu extremists looking to warning, and a tour de force. professor, JNU; Pronab Sen,
embrace my other identities because I have frame Pakistan for a nuclear -------------------------------------------------------------------------- former chief statistician of
been a mother now for nine months almost attack on the city. After the India and many others.
Has democracy in India
and I have loved it,” admitted Soha. Last year, episode screened last week, The neon lawyer fulfilled the aspirations
By Victor Methos
Soha came out with her book The Perils of the Indian right-wing in the of its people? Have insti-
Being Moderately Famous last year and made US and India erupted. Chopra With money and hope in short supply, newly minted attorney tutions delivered? Have
a name for herself. “I got back to Bollywood was accused of betraying Brigham Theodore in the book The Neon Layer decides it’s time to public policies succeeded
India and Hinduism. The
in December. I did it for Saheb Biwi Aur right-wing announced that lower his standards. He joins a seedy fly-by-night firm in making substantial
Gangster 3 when Inaaya was 2 months. It wasn’t her career would soon be left in Salt Lake City out of desperation. After he loses his differences to living stand-
a huge time commitment; it was just to keep in ashes. While criticising first case — a speeding ticket — he’s convinced his ards? Is the country secure
me alive in this multi-part series of Saheeb Biwi Chopra and ABC, Indian na- career is over. But to his shock, his boss hands him a on its external borders?
aur Gangaster, so that was fun,” added the actor. tionalists debated that there slightly more complex case: capital murder. Brigham’s Would the country become
Soha has received a huge response for her roles was no such thing as Hindu new client is Amanda Pierce, a lost, exhausted woman an economic powerhouse?
And can India be a
who gunned down the man who tortured and killed
in the films like Rang De Basanti, Khoya Khoya terrorists. Chopra betrayed her six-year-old daughter. A jury may prove sympa- leading power in the
Chand, Tum Mile and Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Indians and Hindus, they thetic to her unbearable pain, but the law is no fan of years ahead?
added.
Returns. vigilante justice — and neither is Vince Dale, the slick All these and many more questions loom large
and powerful prosecutor who’s never lost a mur- as India completes seven decades of independ-
der case. If she pleads guilty, she will avoid a death ence. Major challenges persist on the economic
sentence, but saving her life this way comes with an admission front and in providing adequate and qual-
It’s okay to do somethIng that what she did was wrong. However, if she refuses the “guilty” ity healthcare, education, food, sanitation and
• Ewan McGrEGor to star in shininG prIvately and not tell label, Brigham will have no choice but to fight for his career — and drinking water. Regulatory preoccupations persist
as policymakers continue to search for optimal
Amanda’s life.
sEquEl, Doctor slEEp your parents about It. It’s ---------------------------------------------------------- solutions.
The task is made harder by a socio-political
ONCE CONSIDERED DISAPPOINTENT, NOW IT IS called dIscretIon.’ The Tuscan child environment shaped by various complexities.
ASSUMED TO BE A GREAT HORRO CLASSIC By Rhys Bowen These include an expanding young workforce,
In an adaptation of the Stephen King’s novel a demanding citizenry, intense social media
Doctor Sleep, the sequel to horror classic The In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachut- campaigns and a difficult neighbourhood.
Shining, Actor Ewan McGregor will star as ed from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of This book is a compilation of essays by people
Danny Torrance. King has given his blessings German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found with experience in their respective fields. The 25
to McGregor’s casting, according to reports. refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of chapters covering various subjects ranging from
The director is Mike Flanagan, who helmed Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them ‘Security challenges’, ‘India in a Globalized World’,
Netflix’s adaptation of the King novella Ger- was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly thirty ‘India’s Elections and Reforms’, down to the one
ald’s Game. Though Warner Bros had been years later, Hugo’s estranged daughter, Joanna, has on ‘Skill Development’ are standalone pillars;
developing this film, for years, but the studio returned home to the English countryside to arrange they are not integrated, nor grouped together
struggled to secure a budget. The film, once a her father’s funeral. Among his personal effects is an in a meaningful way. Mostly, they are reflections
box office disappointment, now it is assumed swara Bhaskar unopened letter addressed to Sofia. The book takes and do not amount to an assessment of our
• Horror sequel: King blesses Ewan’s team to be one of the great horror classics. (in a tweet) you to an adventurous journey to Tuscany. past record.

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