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Video of Men Dancing Atop Cars Surfaces after DUSU Election Results

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A video of men dancing atop cars seen to be disrupting traffic, surfaces post Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) Election results. Violators are yet to be identified.

A video of men dancing atop cars in the vicinity to the North Campus caught many eyes on the social media. This video appeared post the victory of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in DUSU elections, for the posts of President, Vice President, and Joint Secretary while, the candidate from National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) won the post of Secretary, paving way for Akshit Dahiya to become the President, Pradeep Tanwar- the Vice President, Ashish Lambba- the Secretary, and Shivangi Kharwal- the Joint Secretary.

The video comprises of men dancing atop cars, sitting on their windows, bonnets, throwing pamphlets out of their cars, and disrupting vehicular traffic near North Campus area. As reported by Hindustan Times, Anil Mittal, additional Public Relations Officer of Delhi Police, when asked about the incident, said, “We are analysing the videos and are trying to identify vehicles and the persons seen in them.”

Sidharth Yadav, the State Secretary of ABVP said, “ABVP concluded its victory procession in the evening while those videos were shot at night. There are no ABVP members and candidates in those video clips. Police should identify those who violated traffic norms and take strict action against them”. Akshay Lakra, NSUI Delhi President also said that they did not carry out any procession of Friday.

Harsh Singh, a student from Shri Ram College of Commerce, said, “The most fair and accurate, or at least what should be representation of our opinion, should be election. People may have different ways of expressing their opinions, some ways being more violent than others and not allowing them to do so would be against our Fundamental Rights, but the question which arises is- where should we draw the line between availing our rights and infringing on others?” Another student, Swarnim Agrawal from Lady Shri Ram College, said, “This is what we call ‘dirty politics’. I can’t believe the magnitude of resources wasted in these extravagant campaigning for just an election. The acts of violence are also a very grim picture of the ugly and chaotic political atmosphere that we, unfortunately, are living in.”

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Priyanshi Banerjee

[email protected]

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Arts & Culture

Tu: A Stupendous Specimen of Film-making

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Here is my review of Tu (you), a short film by Royals Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films starring Sayani Gupta and Arjun Radhakrishnan.

Tu, a short film directed by Rahul Nangia, is a meticulously crafted tale of two ill-fated lovers told in under eight minutes. In its run time, it successfully establishes the relationship and its conflict. The tonality and lighting are dark, their space seems claustrophobic, the blatant intimacy between the two leading characters in the opening shot itself makes you uncomfortable, and ever since the beginning, the audience understands that their relationship is doomed.

The film runs on a single string conversation between the two lovers where the writers have brilliantly woven their love story which unfolds in front of your eyes. Over the course of this conversation, you realise that her name is Supriya, while he is a Murtaza; that their inconspicuous meetings are going on for a long time now; that she is the one who is rebellious (because she arranges the rooms for their meetings); that he is utterly scared of his father and works at his shop; that she is engaged to another person; that he is still economically dependent on his father (his phone is taken away because the bill was INR 3,000) and even though all this is an age-old, monotonous, repetitive conflict you still become completely invested in their story.

Visually, the short film aims at making you aware of the couple’s comfortable relationship. Throughout the film, we only see the two characters totally invested into each other, giving us a closer look at their bond which further fuels our pity for them. In the midst of this, using the narrative of them watching their old video at Mumbai’s Lover’s Point, out in the open, under the blue sky, near the uncontrollable waves of the sea and away from their present situation works wonders for the film. It symbolises the naivety of love, which transforms into a complex cacophony when it transcends the societal demands and rules.

The ending is ambiguous, but anyone can complete the story without any faults because it is a story which has been told a million times, one which we all have heard, read or watched. The last sequence leading up to the end shows the two characters panic-stricken, running around in their limited space, the rebellious girl finding an escape while the scared boy all set to face the reality, with their wobbly voices running in the background. You can hear the tears in their voices and the rawness of their fear. Herein, again, the screen miraculously cuts back to that happy video, making our heart sore for the hopeless lovers. The video has a cinematic zoom-in and out between timelines.

In its short run time, Tu is successful at making you feel things for the poor couple, a feat that many-a-times even 3-hour long Bollywood Romances are unable to achieve. Watch it for its simplicity in storytelling, sincere and honest filmmaking and utterly graceful performances by the lead characters.

 

Image Credits: Film Companion

 

 

Sakshi Arora

[email protected]

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Uncategorized

The Battle Over Freedom: How Free are the Women, really?

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Is there a difference between the freedoms that men enjoy as compared to those that women do? And if there is, is it a difference that should persist as a general and socially acceptable manner in which society functions? These are some of the thought provoking questions that Oxfam India’s new video, ‘These Indians are in the Spotlight for all the Wrong Reasons,’ addresses. Watch the video here.

The video features four women and four men, from different geographical regions of the country, who are required to stand in their respective spotlights and answer questions with yes/no for an answer. For every yes, the spotlight turns brighter and for every no, the spotlight is dimmed. The questions were of a nature that reflected personal freedom, such as, whether or not they could walk home alone at night without worrying about their safety, whether they could work after the birth of a child or whether they would be required to take their spouse’s surname after marriage. At the end, the people standing in brighter pools of light enjoy considerably more freedom than those standing in darker ones. No prizes for guessing the results. All four men stood in pools of bright light, while the women stood in relative darkness. The spotlight here, serving as a marker of freedom, indicates the rapidly depreciating level of freedom that women enjoy in a patriarchal society.

The video is followed up by a quiz that you may take it here, in which the viewer can assess their own personal level of freedom along the same lines, in the face of similar questions. My result stood at a lowly 4/10 while a male friend scored as high as a 9. This scorecard was just as shameful as poor marks on that report card in school. Except, for the poor marks in that class test, you had only yourself to blame. For this below average scorecard, we, society as a collective whole, must hang our heads in shame.

The Indian Constitution, the sacred laws of the land, grants every citizen the Right to Freedom, provided they are not antithetical to the independence of the nation and do not disrupt public order. Therefore, politically and theoretically, a distinction between the sexes in terms of the freedom they enjoy, does not exist. This variation is largely a social construct that is constantly reinforced by the stereotypes and social practices that are considered a given, and very rarely questioned. In a society where women continue to be blamed for incidents of rape, and ‘provocative’ dressing is considered a justification for this heinous act, equality of the sexes appears to be a distant possibility that may never quite materialise unless each individual decides to take matters into their own hands. Equality begins at the very base-the family. Unless male and female children are treated in the same manner, with regard to education, respect, inheritance, work and marriage, equality cannot be expected in the larger domains of public life. India stands at a rank of 127 among the countries of the world in terms of Gender Inequality, according to the Gender Inequality Index of UNDP report of 2013.

Oxfam India aims at creating an equal and just society through their work with the underprivileged sections of society. They emphasise on the rights and freedoms that every individual is entitled to. Their work is spread out across several areas of justice, such as economic and gender justice. Poverty, health and education are primary focus areas.

Image Credits- oxfamindia.org
Featured Image Credits- junkee.com

Abhinaya Harigovind
[email protected]

 

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Interviews

Exclusive Interview: Bewakoofiyaan with Ayushmann Khurrana and Sonam Kapoor

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From talking about the “bewakoofiyan” they did in college, to exploring the urban and corporate side of Delhi with their upcoming movie Bewakoofiyan, we sat down with Ayushmann Khurrana and Sonam Kapoor recently. Hear them speak about love during recession and the experience of working together as co-stars for the first time. Plus, Sonam gives our readers some tips on budget fashion and questions the radicalism of Ayushmann’s dressing sense.

Presenting Sonam Kapoor and Ayushmann Khurrana in conversation with our correspondents Ishika Gupta and Iresh Gupta (Videographed by Abhinav Arora).

Ishika : Tell us something about Bewakoofiyan and what is it that students will love about your movie?

Sonam : This story is about how love is more important than materialistic needs. Sometimes you get to relationships or get married to people for various reasons like money, job or education. But sometimes you need to be with someone because you love them, because they make you happy and he/she is a nice person. And I think that is the most important thing and at the same time very basic and simple. But kids or young people these days are actually forgetting that. They get to relationships saying that “She is hot” or “She is sexy.”

Ayushmann : (laughs) Sketch of the film is that this guy (points toward himself) is jobless. And his girlfriend earns more than him and she is hot. The father has a problem with that, of course. The sketch is very simple but the story is unusual, it is realistic. It is not those typical rom-com movies. It is based on recession.

Iresh : This is a very unique pairing for the movie. You guys have been paired for the first time together. So how was it working with each other? Like comparing to your co-stars in the past?

Ayushmann : TERRIBLE! It was really bad… It is the first time I am working with a star. I have worked with debutants in the past. Yes, of course she is a star! Lets be straight now. Earlier I thought she is a fashion icon, so the pairing will be quite odd and unusual with I being a guy next door and she being a fashion icon but when I got to know her, personally I got to know that she is very simple, sweet and sorted and she has seen life so I have learned a lot from her, not only how to be on camera but also how to be off camera.

Sonam : (hugs Ayushmann) Okay, honestly it was amazing working with him. Actually, I have never had the same co-star in any film. Everytime I do a film it is someone else. So how is it working with him? The only person I have worked with twice is Abhishek (Bachchan). One was Delhi 6, the other one was this not so happening film, Players. Everybody else has been new. I have worked with 10 different heroes. (laughs) So yeah. He is awesome.

Ishika : As we grow old, we get freedom. With that comes a lot of responsibility and we get a lot of chance to exploit that responsibility. So what were the bewakoofiyaan that you did when you were in college?

Sonam : I only studied till the 12th. Unfortunately I could do bewakoofi only till high school. After that I started working. The biggest bewakoofi I have done in my life is not going to college. So people who are in college, please go to college.

Ayushmann : Bewakoofi in school, having crushes on teachers and seniors. That was crazy. The feelings are not mutual, so that’s the biggest bewakoofi. Apart from that, being an actor is also a bewakoofi. It is quite under weighed for someone who is not from the industry and is unaware about the frills of the industry. When people are judgemental, you have to be a master and completely in control of your head to be an actor. It is very difficult.

Iresh : You both came to SRCC to promote your film, so how was the experience in the university? Or Delhi as a whole, as the movie is majorly shot in Delhi and Gurgaon apart from Dubai?

Ayushmann : I was back with a bang in Delhi. It was my third film in Delhi. The city has a lot of character. There is Old Delhi and New Delhi. Jaise vicky donor purani delhi ki thi, yeh nayi dilli ki film hai. It is more urban. This is the first time we are exploring the urban side of Delhi, its corporate side like Gurgaon and Cyber.

Ishika : When we are in college we have a very minimal budget and everyone wants to look good. So what advice will you give to the students about budget fashion?

Sonam : Go to Dilli Haat, pick up every accessory possible for 100-200 bucks, get a kurta or anything from any of the markets and accessorize yourself and you will look beautiful. I think so. I guess it is all about mixing and matching, being artistic, being yourself and having an expression.

Ayushmann : I don’t know if I should talk about fashion or not. Fashion for me is a mood swing. If you feel like an introvert one day, you can be in jeans and a t-shirt. If you feel like radical or an extrovert one day, you can be radical to fashion. I am only radical when I am with Sonam. Otherwise I am okay with my jeans and t-shirt. When you are with Sonam, you have to make an appearance. There is an extra pressure to look good.

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