Our Unforgettable Friday

Sometimes we have such a bad day, that we wonder if Murphy’s Law was written just for us. Usually on such days, almost everything happening with us feels out of the ordinary, like the whole day was somehow jinxed. Friday was one such day for us. What started of as an ordinary day, ended up being one of the most extraordinary days of our lives. My bad time started pretty early in the morning when I ended up with a flat tire on my way to school. My bad luck kept following me, with something or the other going wrong the entire day. Sadly, what I did not know was, that the worst was yet to come.

A day that bad had to end with a bang, and with a bang it did!! We had gone out for dinner to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday, and had parked our new Lexus next to a friend’s car, in the parking lot.  After dinner, we walked back to our car and were getting ready to head back to our friend’s place, when one of them pointed to the back of our car. It took us a minute to notice the gaping hole and realize that our car had been burglarized. We opened the trunk and saw that my husband’s laptop bag containing his Macbook, office equipment and my handbag were all missing. Among other important things, our bags contained my husband’s passport, all my credit and debit cards, driver’s license and bank locker keys. We knew we were doomed, because car burglaries happen all the time, and items stolen are seldom found.

But there is only so much bad luck a person can have. And lucky for us, that ended with our car being broken into. Because, just when my husband was about to call 911, we saw a police car drive towards us. As luck should have it, he was looking for us. Someone saw a car being burglarized and had informed the authorities about it. So the police were chasing the suspect, while this police officer was trying to locate the burglarized car. After finding out details about the contents missing, the officer informed us that the suspect being chased could have our items. We could hear the exchange between the officers on his radio. The events unfolding were nothing short of a live action movie script.

The suspect had entered the highway and the cops were on a high speed chase. Several minutes later the police decided to call off the pursuit because the driver had become so erratic, they feared it was a danger to other drivers on the freeway. But like I said luck was on our side now. Minutes after calling off the chase, the officers were informed that the car they were chasing crashed. By the time the officers got to the car, the suspect had fled. They searched the car, and informed us that some of the items found in the car, fit the description of our items. We were advised to come to the police station in half an hour to help with identifying the stolen items. At this point the rest of us went to my friend’s house, while the birthday boy went with my husband to drop off the Lexus and go to the police station to claim our things.

After what felt like eternity, the guys were back, with all our belongings and the remaining part of the story. The thief had escaped, and had tried to run away with my husband’s bag. But I guess it was too heavy for him, because he dropped it on the way. After finding my purse in the car, the cops combed the surrounding area and found my husband’s bag a little distance away from the car. The police informed my husband that witnesses informed them, that the suspect was injured, so they will look in the nearby hospitals for him. Since our car was the last to be broken into, he did not have much time to go through everything. But even in that short time, while being chased, he managed to remove all the cash in my purse, which wasn’t much, and remove my wallet and glasses from the bag.

We found out that ours was not the only car the thief stole from, that night. But it was our car that sealed his faith. After logging all the items found, the cops were able to locate my husband’s bag but they took forever to find my stuff. For the first time in my life, I was thankful for the designer label on my items. It was much easier to tell the cops the name and the color of my bag, wallet and glasses. Since they were sure they saw those names while logging the stolen items, they kept looking even though it took them a while to locate all the items. The joy of finding everything, after loosing them is indescribable.

The incident however shook my daughter up the most. She refused to leave our side all day, and kept asking why anyone would break into our car and steal our things. It was a long night trying to explain to her, why people do bad things sometimes. We realized that this is the first time she witnessed something so negative, so it was hard for her to comprehend. We could sense that she was feeling a little uncomfortable being near the car. Strangely my husband and I were feeling the same way about our bags. The fact that someone had gone through our things and touched them, was very unsettling.

On the whole, it was a day that none of us would forget anytime soon. We are very thankful to the person who alerted the cops, and the police officers involved. I know how lucky we are. I mean what are the odds of having your car broken into, someone seeing and reporting, the police tracking the getaway car and going on a high-speed chase only to pull back later, then finding out that the getaway car crashed, and we getting back all our stuff. And, did I mention, I share my birthday with the police officer who helped us?

Our Obsession with Complexion

Ever since Dilwale hit the theaters, the topic of discussion all over India is how fair Kajol looks in the film. It is true that her present complexion is a far cry from what it was twenty years ago. Whether the change is a result of years of skin lightening surgeries, treatments or staying away from the sun, is something that only she can answer. One thing is certain, she is not the first actress to have gone through such a drastic change and she will not be the last. Almost all the celebrities who have became fair over the years, claim that it is a result of  good skin care or staying away from the sun. But that does not stop them from endorsing fairness products the moment an opportunity comes knocking on their door. Its amazing how taking good care of oneself or using fairness creams makes only the celebrities fair.

As a child, I remember reading an interview of Kajol in a magazine, where she said that she was the black sheep in her family. She said, while her whole family was fair and beautiful in the traditional sense of the word, she was dark and was considered the ugly duckling of the family. She was very proud of who she was. That interview made an impression on me, because growing up I was a black sheep too. When I was around seven years old, I remember going to my dad’s friend’s house with my sisters. That uncle’s wife asked me, “when your parents and sisters are fair and beautiful, how come you are dark?”. I always knew I was darker than my sisters and parents, but until that day I never realized that having a different skin tone somehow made me inferior. I remember going home and crying. How would I, a seven year old know the answer to such a question? That is how insensitive people are when it comes to the color of our skin. Thanks to my loving family, they never let that or other such similar incidents, scar me. As time went by, I realized that you did not have to be fair, to be considered good-looking or attractive. After all, I did have my fair share of friends and admirers without having to change a thing about myself.

This obsession of lighter skin tone is ingrained in almost everyone of us. Growing up in the eighties and nineties, I remember that irrespective of whether you were a boy or a girl, the first thing parents bought, when kids hit puberty, was fairness creams. It did not matter whether they were fair or dark, everyone used it. The most popular of all creams was “Fair & Lovely”.  I was no exception. My parents bought me, my first fairness cream when I hit puberty. Though I was never really obsessed with my complexion, I used it religiously for ten years. The ads promise a change in complexion in two weeks, and I used it for ten years with absolutely no change. But like everyone else in the country I kept using it, because it was a part of my daily routine, like brushing my teeth or taking a bath. The first time I realized that it was not normal, was when I came to the United States. I had forgotten to pack my most trusted “Fair & Lovely”. So I went to the store to buy a fairness cream for myself. They had tanning creams, moisturizing creams and every other type of cream, but no fairness cream. That was the first time I  realized, that there were people in this world who were not obsessed with the color of their skin. It took a while for that realization to sink in, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. To be honest it was very liberating.

When you think about it, most of us do not really care if a celebrity is fair or dark. Because if we did, then actors like Rajnikant, Dhanush and Ajay Devgan, or actresses like Smitha Patil, Kajol, Rekha and Bipasha would not have survived in our industry. But for some reason people in the industry seem to think that the audience only wants fair looking people in the movies. Why do we keep forgetting that we belong to the country that has believed for centuries that the dark skinned Krishna, Rama, Arjuna and Draupadi as some of the most beautiful people to have ever lived? Deep down we all know that beauty has nothing to do with the color of the skin. So why then do we allow this false sense of beauty to effect us all so much? I hope with time, everyone is freed of this misconception. Because, life is too short to obsess about something that is already perfect from the day we are born.

Nenu…Sailaja…A Perfect Start for the New Year

To be honest, the only reason I went to watch this movie is because of its title. How could I not watch a movie that has my name in it? So on a very busy week, against my better judgement and breaking some of my self-imposed rules, I ended up going to a late night show on a Sunday. I knew my poor decision will come to haunt me Monday morning, but living in the US, I could not risk waiting one more week and missing the movie.

Having released on Jan 1st, Nenu…Sailaja… is literally the first telugu film of 2016. It is a perfect film to kick-off the New Year. With its simple but heart-warming story, and brilliant performances it will certainly rank as one of the best films this year. The movie represents everything that is changing in our industry. Realistic cinema seems to be the trend right now, which is a refreshing change from our typical loud, over the top, type of films. Thanks to this young generation of hard-working actors and filmmakers, who know the importance of quality cinema, the audiences are treated to some good cinema on a regular basis.

There are so many things I love about this movie. It is a wholesome movie with a cute story, excellent narration, beautiful dialogues, pleasing music, and great performances. I always love a movie that can make me laugh and cry, and this movie definitely has that right amount of humor and emotion to have any kind of audience hooked. What I loved most, is how realistic the entire movie felt. Even the song and dance sequences fit in so naturally with the narrative of the film, that one does not feel them as a hindrance.

Though all the actors did a great job, Ram steals the show as the perfect boy-next-door, Hari. The last time I fell in love with such a character was Nani’s Gautham in Ala Modalaindhi. There have been many boy-next-door movies since then, but none came close to that role, i.e until now. With this movie, Ram has definitely turned over a new leaf and one has to watch the movie to witness this change. He is brilliant in almost all the scenes, that one can’t help but fall in love with him.

Last but not the least, my hometown Vizag has never looked more beautiful in a movie.