Joined April 2013
- Tweets 30,578
- Following 741
- Followers 4,299
- Likes 26,512
1,939 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
19 Jan 2021
Starting today, in this thread, will try to post 1 sketch a day of the political prisoners.
Requesting artists/writers who see this, who care for the people, to do the same on their TL. Even if it's a word or two, let's try to do this everyday?
We repeat after we've named all.
11
272
763
Bob retweeted
Social Media Film Commentators, you are not film critics. Film criticism requires education and understanding of art.
Let me explain:
We have all seen it. A film crosses 100 crores in three days. The music was everywhere, the star was everywhere, the trailer was everywhere. And then you actually watch it and nobody walking out of that theatre has a single good thing to say about it.
So tell me again how the box office told you it was a good film.
Here is the thing people mash into one number. There are three different things hiding inside "it made money."
The opening weekend measures the marketing, the star power, the songs everything that happens before anyone has seen the film.
The legs, what it earns in week two and three, measure the film itself, because by then word of mouth has arrived. And neither of these measures what the film was actually trying to do.
So let me be precise, because this is where people get sloppy. I am not saying money is bad.
Great films make money too. I am saying money does not tell you which. Box office measures reach. It does not measure quality. They answer two completely different questions, and confusing them is the whole mistake.
Box office is important. Very important for the business. It is simply not a certificate of what the film is.
So what do you judge a film on? You judge it on its ambition, and on how much of that ambition it achieves.
That's the reason a small-budget, one-room drama called '12 Angry Men' can compete with 'The Bridge on the River Kwai', a massive mega-budget movie, at the Oscars.
'Good' is a loaded word. Liking is a vote; quality is a judgment and a lot of people liking something does not make it good.
Let me define ambition, because it is not a vague word here.
It is the world a film builds and the rules it holds itself to inside that world. It is the surprise, the depth, the nuance of the writing. It is the visual landscape and the emotional one. It is the characters and the execution of them, what we lazily call acting. And so many other criteria like these.
A film sets itself a height. The rating is how close it climbs.
That is a judgment. It is subjective, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. But it is the judgment of an eye that has trained itself to see, the way an eye learns to tell a thousand shades of one colour apart.
It is not a vote. It is not a crowd. It is not a number you can buy with a marketing budget.
So before you throw an opening-weekend figure at a conversation about what a film is, understand what that figure actually measures. It measures how well someone sold you a ticket. Nothing more.
Stop borrowing the language of film critics when you have never done the work of criticism. The number on the board and the film on the screen are not the same thing. They never were. They never will be.
6
12
55
6,816
Bob retweeted
What I liked most about Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga - other than that he has shown incredible courage against the tide of hate-driven communalist cinema in India - is that he makes it clear that we must not appropriate the trauma of those who suffered it. We can relate to it, empathize with it, and may also inherit parts of it as it is passed down through generations, but we were never its actual victims; we can never imagine what it meant or felt to be in that position, and so the best we can do is to keep the memories alive, tell these stories, and use them to build a better world - as Imtiaz Ali is trying to do in this film.
#mainvaapasaaunga
15
30
303
14,932
Bob retweeted
इस वीडियो ने मुझे झकझोर दिया।
ये उस भारत के लाचार युवा हैं - जिसकी सरकार अपने अरबपति दोस्तों पर लाखों करोड़ लुटा देती है, पर अपने ही छात्रों को एक सुरक्षित सफ़र तक नहीं दे सकती।
चुनाव के वक़्त यही सरकार पूरी-पूरी ट्रेनों का इंतज़ाम कर लेती है। और परीक्षा देने जा रहे छात्रों के हिस्से में आती है - भीड़, घुटन, और बेबसी।
इससे बड़ा सबूत क्या होगा कि मोदी सरकार छात्रों की गूंज सुनना ही नहीं चाहती।
पर मैं वादा करता हूँ - हम यह आवाज़ उन बहरे कानों तक पहुँचाएँगे। हर छात्र को उसका हक़ मिलेगा, उसका न्याय मिलेगा।
17 जून, कोटा। यही गूंज, अब हुंकार बनेगी।
#ChhatronKiGoonj
दो भारत बन रहा है
1. वंदे भारत वाला
2.सांस ना ले पाने के कारण घुटन से मरने वाला
बाकी पॉजिटिव बातें करते रहिए 😐
995
11,052
33,050
880,830
Bob retweeted
17h
I don’t think I’ll ever move on from this scene from #MainVaapasAaunga it will stay with me for a long time. It made me cry, and it feels like an antidote to the hate and propaganda that have dominated movies in recent years
36
168
846
56,141
17h
For those who still have empathy left in their hearts, this is how you’d feel after the film. The rest would cry watching propaganda.
I’m the guy. Not hired. And Vedang was also moved and in tears.
1
14
701
Jun 14
Mai Vaapas Aaunga is beautiful! To think that a film like this was conceived, written and funded gives me a glimmer of hope.
4
18
248
4,108
Bob retweeted
Jun 12
Naseer saab be like haan haan poori film me bistar me lita do par I can still show why I am the best since decades. The voice,the pauses,the intonation,the modulation, the timbre, the tone, the pitch, and the emotional heavy lifting with all that, one man show. #MainVaapasAaunga
3
41
411
16,288
Bob retweeted
Jun 12
Madam @navikakumar I’m aware comedy isn’t journalism. We are both funny, in VERY different ways. Here’s a fact, you posted asking people for their take. I responded with mine. Sometimes questions are followed by answers. I empathise, this seems like new territory for you. Anyway….imma bounce 🙏
Jun 12
Mr Das, agencies investigated, built the case, and when the case collapsed, that was reported too.
Journalism isn’t stand-up comedy, we don’t improvise facts for applause.
Also, you don’t get to decide when I can or cannot speak on women. The FoS brigade often seems to have a problem with other people’s freedom of speech.
I recommend yoga and meditation for a calmer mind. Also, keep your gyan to yourself.
382
1,986
14,668
647,568
Bob retweeted
Jun 11
So Abhijeet Iyer sent his own guy to make Anti-India comments, just to defame a legitimate movement with legitimate demands.
Why shouldn't both of these people be tried under UAPA?
Jun 10
Bhai. Delete please 🙏🏾. Mera launda hai. I didn’t realise this had blown up.
34
535
2,621
66,568
Bob retweeted
Also at the Addas this year, will be our design partners, the artist duo, @Bobby_almost and @bob_almost , who are going to have a sketch booth.
Come have your or your loved one sketched. And Say thank you by contributing a small amount to Chai for Cancer.
1
2
1
127
Bob retweeted
Good lord. I just watched the extended clip. "370 rupaye wasool karunga" is a rape threat. And then that graphic description of sex - if that actually happened imagine the woman involved watching this sleezeball demonstrate her date night to the country
Good that his employer sacked him. But he explained in a reel: "Team members described him as professional, respectful, hardworking, well-behaved." Irrelevant. This is what women mean when they "all men". It means that not all men will probably rape or
instagram.com/reels/DZUnitgv…
13
50
324
12,969
Bob retweeted
Not just from the BJP - this open admiration for Hitler in a politician and sitting CM is a giant red flag. @INCIndia
1
7
43
3,902
Bob retweeted
Jun 6
If we're held accountable to the opinions we had as teens, God bless us.
If kids aren't allowed to be stupid, insolent, even crazy, then why is the age of adulthood 18?
But forget the age for a second, because that's not even the strongest point.
Saurav Das was 17 in 2017, a Modi fanboy. By 2019, two years later, he was criticizing Modi tooth and nail. And nobody wants to talk about that part.
1. Judge people by what they've done consistently, not by their worst moment.
Propaganda affects everyone. It's not proof of a weak mind, it's proof of how powerful the Sanghi machine is. You can't say, Sanghis win because of propaganda and then remove propaganda from all arguments.
Chit bhi meri pat bhi meri, is not an argument.
So if he fell for it at 17 and within two years not only recovered but completely flipped his stance, that isn't something to hold against him. That's something to celebrate.
And even if you want to push the date back further, fine. The point stands, because what matters is what came after.
2. Now something slightly ugly but true. Saurav has proven, consistently, for the past 7 years, that he's on the right side of both sane arguments and decent morality:
Stood against Modi and the Sangh.
Stood for Umar Khalid and for minorities.
Stood against the judges of India. Has a contempt case slapped on him for it.
Written deeply about the malpractice and immorality of India's justice system.
Seven years is a long time. That's not a phase. That's who he is.
So look at what you're actually doing. You can't name a single thing he's done wrong in the past seven years, so you're reaching back to who he was at 17.
And when I pointed it out, the answer wasn't an argument. It was calling me a Sanghi/Musanghi.
Me, a Sanghi or a Musanghi??? I mean, seriously!!!
For what? For asking you to build bridges instead of hate?
I didn't come at you. You came at me. I've been one of the most consistent voices against radicalization of every kind, and I've always stood for secularism.
If that gets me called a Sanghi, then the word has stopped meaning anything.
I'm a small account, have been for years, and I'm fine with that, as long as I get to speak my truths the way I see them. I'm secure enough not to feel threatened by anyone's rise. A lot of you don't seem to be.
Don't envy people who grow. Don't tear down people doing good work. Raise your argument, don't raise accusations.
Or simply, if you're capable, do better work. Become bigger through what you do. You want to be a thought leader? Please, be one. But at least graduate to it.
I'm sorry to say, but it sounds salty and schadenfreude-ish. You all can do better.
The Sanghis rose through hate, by bringing people down. We're supposed to be the alternative to that, not a mirror of it. We're fighting for a better India, not the Sanghi India they've turned it into.
Nobody ever became bigger by making someone else smaller.
Because in the end you may bring down people, but you will remain where you were, small.
6
20
110
6,737
Bob retweeted
If kids aren't allowed to be stupid, insolent, even crazy, then why is the age of adulthood 18?
But forget the age for a second, because that's not even the strongest point.
Saurav Das was 17 in 2017, a Modi fanboy. By 2019, two years later, he was criticizing Modi tooth and nail. And nobody wants to talk about that part.
1. Judge people by what they've done consistently, not by their worst moment.
Propaganda affects everyone. It's not proof of a weak mind, it's proof of how powerful the Sanghi machine is. You can't say, Sanghis win because of propaganda and then remove propaganda from all arguments.
Chit bhi meri pat bhi meri, is not an argument.
So if he fell for it at 17 and within two years not only recovered but completely flipped his stance, that isn't something to hold against him. That's something to celebrate.
And even if you want to push the date back further, fine. The point stands, because what matters is what came after.
2. Now something slightly ugly but true. Saurav has proven, consistently, for the past 7 years, that he's on the right side of both sane arguments and decent morality:
Stood against Modi and the Sangh.
Stood for Umar Khalid and for minorities.
Stood against the judges of India. Has a contempt case slapped on him for it.
Written deeply about the malpractice and immorality of India's justice system.
Seven years is a long time. That's not a phase. That's who he is.
So look at what you're actually doing. You can't name a single thing he's done wrong in the past seven years, so you're reaching back to who he was at 17.
And when I pointed it out, the answer wasn't an argument. It was calling me a Sanghi/Musanghi.
Me, a Sanghi or a Musanghi??? I mean, seriously!!!
For what? For asking you to build bridges instead of hate?
I didn't come at you. You came at me. I've been one of the most consistent voices against radicalization of every kind, and I've always stood for secularism.
If that gets me called a Sanghi, then the word has stopped meaning anything.
I'm a small account, have been for years, and I'm fine with that, as long as I get to speak my truths the way I see them. I'm secure enough not to feel threatened by anyone's rise. A lot of you don't seem to be.
Don't envy people who grow. Don't tear down people doing good work. Raise your argument, don't raise accusations.
Or simply, if you're capable, do better work. Become bigger through what you do. You want to be a thought leader? Please, be one. But at least graduate to it.
I'm sorry to say, but it sounds salty and schadenfreude-ish. You all can do better.
The Sanghis rose through hate, by bringing people down. We're supposed to be the alternative to that, not a mirror of it. We're fighting for a better India, not the Sanghi India they've turned it into.
Nobody ever became bigger by making someone else smaller.
Because in the end you may bring down people, but you will remain where you were, small.
23
55
232
26,989
Bob retweeted
Yaar, stop tagging me in Saurav Das's old tweets. He was 17 then.
Today he fights for the Umar Khalid, how many of you do that?
Btw, that's called growth.
88
181
2,040
139,202
Bob retweeted
मोदी सरकार बार बार इंस्टाग्राम हैंडल्स को बैन करवा रही है। कंटेंट पर रोक लगा रही है। रेटिंग गोला के डेढ़ मिलियन वाले इंस्टा हैंडल को उड़ा दिया। बताइए।
@therantinggola
178
1,174
4,080
35,988
