Who is a hero? Is it someone who performs an act of valour? Or is it someone who inspires adulation in others? Opinions differ widely. A Byronic hero, for example, is a “melancholy and rebellious young man, distressed by a terrible wrong he committed in the past”. To American poet Walt Whitman, a hero is someone who does a good deed to make the world more beautiful.
But, perhaps, the definition of a hero is not as fixed as these bards believed it to be. Historian Marshall Fishwick might have been closer to the mark when he said that the hero is always a barometer to the national climate of opinion. “Every hero mirrors the time and place in which he lives,” he said. This might explain why a movie with a toxic 'alpha male' as its hero is doing significantly better than another about a decorated war hero. After all, we live in times when trolls are the most vocal 'aficionados' on most subjects, and words like 'dystopian' and 'deep fake' are the most searched words of the year.
Two movies which released on the same day (December 1) feature radically different heroes: Animal, a fictional story about Ranvijay, a man determined to avenge his father's attackers; and Sam Bahadur, inspired by the true story of India's first field marshal, Sam Manekshaw. It is telling that even before the release of the films, trade experts predicted that Animal, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and starring Ranbir Kapoor as Ranvijay, would earn more than Sam Bahadur, directed by Meghna Gulzar and starring Vicky Kaushal as Manekshaw.
Denne historien er fra December 24, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 24, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI