'Celebrate sex, don't surrender'

Kolkata is very proud ofits rich cultural heritage: I love the fierce pride that Bengalis take intheir language. Very recently, I saw my friend Aparna (Sen) writing a letter inBangla to her daughter, Konkona. It''s simply overwhelming to see people takesuch pride in the mother tongue.
What''s even more heartening is thefact that even today Kolkata offers a discerning audience at film festivals andpoetry recitals.That makes me feel that there is still hope in ourcountry.
Unlike many poets, myfather was a man of words as well as of action: But Abba, because of hiscommunist background, loved to actually do something for the people instead ofonly penning verses.
I remember how he had forsaken the trappings ofa comfortable life in Mumbai and shifted to Mijwan village in Azamgarh so thathe could help create a model village there. Despite being confined to awheelchair, Abba parked himself on the middle of the track in front of aspeeding train! That was in demand for a train halt at hisvillage.
Today, not only does a train from Delhi to Mumbai stopthere, the line has also been upgraded to broad gauge. Even during the BabriMasjid riots, while we were busy with discussions, he walked with a rallyignoring a paralytic attack!
I haveinherited by dress sense from my mother: She is an extremely elegantlady. I''ve never seen her stepping out of her bedroom in akaftan! I love to see her in crispcotton saris sipping on to her morning cuppa after having taken a bath andcollected shiuli in her flower basket. Though I''m not a designer freak, I don''tlike the idea of dressing casually for a formal occasion.
(##includemsid=43376741,type=11 ##)
Ilike reading the works of Indian authors writing in English: I have noproblems with novels of Indian authors that deal with a lot of Indianisms. Somesay translations often lose out on the original flavour. Translating a book,some say, is like pouring fragrance from one perfume bottle to another — apart of the fragrance is lost in the transmission process. But if the world isseen as a global village, there is no harm in trying to make the plurality ofIndian culture available in a language that is more popular. While earlier theattempt was to merge identities in a melting pot of cultures, today one talks ofa salad bowl where retaining the individuality is of supreme importance. But oneneeds to go beyond writing just about the problems of dual identity. Thankfully,my Hollywood film Waterborne doesn''t dwell on this identity crisis of a Sikhconvenience store owner in LA.
Itfelt so good when those who attended my retrospective at the New York FilmFestival said they foundArthvery contemporary: I have no problems if a film celebrates the sensualityof women. But I have problems if under the garb of being bold, an actor allowsherself to be commodified, objectified and surrenders to the male gaze. In thename of celebration of sensuality all that is shown are close-up shots ofgyrating hips or a shaking belly button.
The attempt is to fragment awoman and rob her of autonomy. Having said that, I''d also like to add thatbanning such films is not the right way to protest. Instead of creating ahoopla, we ought to create counter-images to protest suchcommodification.