The Alchemist

I've just finished the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It was an enjoyable tale, the English translation being very simple & easy to read and it certainly deserves the praise it has got. I had heard a lot about the Alchemist, both the raves and the rants; however, after reading it, I would never rate it as the classic it is made out to be. The Alchemist is a nice little story with a bit of magic and a surprise ending but to call it inspirational and try to look for answers to our life's mundane problems in such a book is a sad reflection of the stressful times that we live in. Alchemist is at best a modern-day fairy-tale and as with most fairy tales, one can deduce a moral of following ones dreams and believing in ones destiny. The book is full of clichés many of which are repeated over and over (I just realized that that’s the reason they are called clichés) and the protagonist Santiago’s search for “Hidden Treasure” is as good a cliché as any and to make it worse, the treasure at the end turns out to be of the material variety which makes it a sort of anti-climax, though it may be argued that the lessons of life that Santiago learns in the course of his search are the genuine treasures.

Does the Alchemist need to be mulled over? Not if you are of a sound mind. Then why is the book hailed as an inspirational oeuvre? Why is so much being made of following ones dreams and knowing ones destiny? I would put it down to the modern day mentality of looking for spiritual keys to combat the dreariness of life so much so that they are willing to overlook logic in a book which claims that it is possible to formulate any metal into gold by rubbing it against a stone. I wonder if those people who claim a life-changing inspiration from this book go around trying to deduce the meanings of the various omens or change tracks to follow the career of their dreams. What kind of lesson does one learn from a book that has the main character leave the love of his life and go in search of a treasure that he himself is not sure exists? There were a lot of religious undercurrents in the story as well, Santiago being a shepherd and the omens that are interpreted as well as an undertone of anti-Islamic sentiments, with the Arabs shown as forever being at war.

I have a name for the quest to find a spiritual meaning in everything. I call it the “Bible Mindset”. It is akin to find a meaning in every verse of the Bible and every parable of Jesus. The Alchemist is no different than a parable or a fable and just as every one of Jesus’ parables is supposed to have a meaning sometimes hidden and it is a pity that the spiritually deprived western culture has to try and find meanings in ordinary tales such as the Alchemist.

Dus Kahaniyaan - Review

Once in a few months Hindi Film Industry comes up with a Dus Kahaniyaan, an anamoly in the typical song and dance routine. I was never a big fan of Sanjay Gupta, having barely endured his films such as Kaante, but I really appreciate his efforts in producing such a movie as this. I half-expected to see an anthology film almost as bad as Darna Mana Hai or a Darna Zaroori Hai, assuring myself that atleast two of the ten films wouldn't be disappointing. When I came out however, I had the gratified feeling of having read a Dahl or a Saki's short story collection.

Matrimony was a good opener, Mandira Bedi playing the cheating house-wife who makes a startling discovery. There was a bit of an editing glitch in the story and I'm not sure whether it was in the original print or only in the print at INOX Vaibhav, in Jaipur.

High on the Highway, was a big letdown. It would have probably been better if the director Hansel Mehta had downplayed the drugs a bit. I is quite difficult to have any sympathy for someone high on drugs, walking on the highway and getting assaulted or raped or even murdered. It is almost as if they were asking for it.

Pooranmasi was a like paying a quick visit to the good old days of Doordarshan serials and tele-films. Set in rural North India, it is a reminder of how narrow our mindsets can be.

Strangers in the Night was the best of the lot. The twist in the tale at the end was such that the entire movie hall was speechless when it was revealed.

Zahir, inspite of the message it tried to convey, turned out to be a comedy. The end was totally unpredictable but, you feel like laughing at Manoj Bajpai's character instead of feeling sorry for him.

Lovedale, was a feel good film. The twist in the tale here didn't live upto the mark. There was the element of supernatural here in the story, but, there was nothing scary about it.

Sex on the Beach, was ridiculous. Tarina Patel's cleavage was more watchable than her acting. As for Dino Morea's acting skills, I'm still wondering if they were as hidden as Tarina Patel's real intentions in the movie were. I certainly couldn't find them in the twenty-odd minutes of the plot.

Rice Plate, was an excellent effort. Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah stole the show. I'm very sure that I've read the original story somewhere before, but the Indianised adaptation was good. I wonder why the person with a deep-rooted prejudice against Muslims had to be shown as a South-Indian Brahmin lady. Shabana Azmi, takes a taxi to Bandra station to go to Pune. Since when did the trains to Pune go via Bandra station?

Gubbare, was one of the few stories which had a totally predictable end. In fact, I was let down by the ending. It was also one of the few stories that had a Hindi title.

Rise & Fall, a gangster story, typical of Sanjay Gupta was a better effort from him this time round. If Sanjay Gupta keeps his gangster stories as short, maybe his films will do better at the box-office.