Remake of an Old Classic 1 : Self-Reliant Bharat



My parents loved Raj Kapoor. The first hero of a self-reliant India, simple, endearing and trusting. I loved my parents. So, we went to see Prem Rog. The film started with an aimless tuneless song and even my father had to say, what’s he (Raj Kapoor) doing?  By the time the song, Yeh Galiyaan Yeh Chaubara (yahaan aana na dobara, ki hum to ho gaye pardesi, ki yahan tera koi nahin) began to play on screen, the master had taken a grip of the plot. The pattern got repeated in his next film. It started with the   inane ‘Main Hi Main Hoon, Doosra Koi Nahin’ song, that now seems prophetic as a description of the modern hero. From ‘Aawara Hoon’ to ‘Hothon pe Sachai Rehti ha’i to ‘Mere Sapnon ki raani kab aayegi tu’, to ‘Main hi main hoon, doosra koi nahin’ ‒ the playbacks roughly sums up the mindset of our heroes.

 In Covid times, has the Indian government (that began with aimless measures) taken a grip on the situation?  Are they entertaining us, governing us, keeping us safe or marching us to new heights (the Marshal Plan after the war) or simply changing the song. To me it seems all of the above. My friend Ravi Sonalkar’s analysis of the Rs 20 lakh crores package was as follows: (I love happy endings, by the way.)

“This is an entrepreneur’s instinct. Go for it when you are in trouble. The opportunities are, the possibility of changing the labour laws and land laws. You can see this in what has been done in Karnataka and in UP, MP and Gujarat. So, these laws can be changed without affecting electoral outcomes, and in a dramatic fashion, because of the virus.

The other opportunity is the ability to borrow huge sums, even if it affects the fiscal deficit and the country’s credit rating, as all countries will be doing it . The third opportunity is the collapse in oil prices , a big opportunity for India

“The threat is the virus.  

“And with it the collapse of global trade. That is why the emphasis on self-reliance

“All will change globally, hence every visionary will have to look at the new paradigms   The old world is dead

“So what’s the great threat, large number of deaths and a worthless rupee.

What is the upside?

That India will finally be able to play to its potential”.