Arjun – in his Image and Likeness.

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Do you blur the line between an idolized character and an actor portraying him?

Vanaprastham – The Last Dance is a Malayalam film where Mohanlal, a Kathakali artist finds solace in theatre.

Once, his audience includes Subhadra (Suhasini) of an aristocratic family. In love with the valiant warrior  Arjun of Mahabharata, she personifies Mohanlal as her dream hero. The eventual affair leads to the birth of a son. However, Subhadra  content to be pregnant with the seed of Arjun – her idolized version, rejects the flesh & blood Mohanlal.

The storyline struck a resonance within me.

I remember going to a late-night Marathi musical Saubhadra, based on

Atheism to theism – via a man and a meal.

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Born to a theist Papa and an atheist Mom, I had the luxury of choice. I chose to be an atheist.

Being  a science student automatically made me lean heavily towards ‘proof and results’. Temples contributed liberally to my disgust of theism. Think impatient Pujaris  (We are the proprietary middle-men to Heaven.) Think lecherous peddlers (A hundred rupees note will get you instant darshan, Madam!) Think repugnant God-men (I distinctly remember meeting one with red eyes, grey beard and saffron robes. When I and my brother refused to genuflect, his eyes darkened in incredulous rage. P.S: The only en’light’ment he saw must be at the end of his ganja–chillum!)

Meanwhile a wily God with a zany sense of humor decided to ensnare me with two most unlikely baits. A man and a meal…