Top 3 Indian Movies you must see!

The Indian Cinema Industry is the most productive in the world with 1000 movies a year. However brillant movies are few. Indeed the first aim of Indian Cinema is entertaining people by providing masala movies. These ones are composed of all ingredients (comedy, romance, dance, fiction) to touch the public, and ensure commercial success. Actually producers of these movies don't care so much of critics. But recently, some directors want commercial success with an huge critical reception. This new wave brought Indian Cinema Industry international attention. Particularly, the patriotic movies have received the international and national public’s acclaim.
I would quote three patriotic movies which worth seeing. The Music for these movies is composed by AR Rahman, two Oscar Winner, Academic winner for slumdog Millionnaire...There is no surprise !


Roja, released in 1992 is a Tamil movie directed by reputed director Manirathnam. The movie deals mainly with Terriorism : The story revolves around a woman who struggles to find her husband, military ingineer devoted by his motherland, captivated by terrorists. It doesn’t portray terrorists as criminels, but as human being blinded by patriotism… Indeed, it describes difference between two types of Patriotism: Chavinism and nationalism. Arranged Marriages are also quoted: how the love could be possible even after an arranged marriage. There are 5 songs, composed by AR Rahman, his first music film album…a trendsetter album. Beautiful village landscapes are filmed for the song “Chinna, Chinna Aasai,” and cold Cashmire in romantic song “Pudhu Vellai Mazhai”. The movie conquers everyone’s heart and made Tamil Nadu movie Industry (Kollywood) famous in whole India.

Lagaan, released in 2001 is an Hindi movie directed by a new director Asthosh Gowariker. It’s an historical fiction movie: it took place in 1983 in Gujarat. It focuses on Indian peasants who were oppressed by increasing taxes on the wheat, during Victorian period. The fiction part interferes when a courageous man decided to challenge rough British soldier in his village, not by violence, not by pacific strikes, but ….by a game of cricket. The interesting part is how he managed to convince villagers to join his team. Three long hours of excitement, suspense, romance, comedy. All actors including British and Bollywood actors did their role magnificently. The director made every character unique. Also The mix of Indian and Western music was genuinely done by AR Rahman and integrated well with the plot. It’s the movie which opened the door to western public: it is the first nominated Oscar Indian movie. And Lagaan is listed as number 4 in on Channel Four's "50 Films to See Before you Die"…I’m right, am I?

Rang de Basanthi, released in 2006 directed by the director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, it is his first movie...and he made a wonderful entry to Bollywood. The story revolves around a british reporter who wants to make a movie on Indian freedom fighters. She casts 4 irresponsibles graduate students and made them "revolutionaries" who struggle against the corruption made by Indian politicians. This movie is a genious attempt by directors for his story-telling ( drawing a parallelism between the past with freedom figters and the present with movie's heros), for story's originality, and song picturazation. The editing is superb, as is The Music by AR Rahman. Songs are youthful and use punjab and arabis music. It's the one of rare Bollywood movies in which has no lip-sync songs. And the climax is one of the best in recent years...touching and tragic. In one word, the movie is technically brillant.

Three movies I quoted are patriotic, beg many awards, and praised by public, and earn commercial success. And two of movies cast british actors, which proves that Indian cinema Industry seeks foreign talent and wants to extend its market to international public.

Book Review : World without end

I read The Pillars of the Earth, the first Ken Follet's historical book, which I love so much that I finished it in one week. So, the expectations are high for Ken Follet’s next historical book, The World without end. They encouraged me to read the latest book in English (the first book I have read in English) Does the World without End meet my expectations? Is it better than The Pillars of the Earth?

Story : The history takes place in 14th century in Kingsbridge. I don't want to reveal the story because we know Ken Follet's art is suspense. There isn’t a prominent change in social issues between two books: The both tackled the war’s violence, the architecture of cathedrals, male chauvinism, conflicts between clergy and aristocracy. What is new so ??? In the world without the end, the author extends architecture with the built of bridges, palaces and introduced medicine's and clothes' field with the plague. He's more interested in strategies, conflicts than human's emotion : there are a lot of rethorical speeches, we can enjoy and a few romantic scenes. There are also few disgusted violent scenes.

Characters : Ken Follet always scrutinizes his characters, masters of their fate, so does he in his latest book. He gives more importance to a female character, Caris, intelligent, lucid, determined, wants to break rules imposed by the male chauvinist society and to become doctor. Her love-long lover Merthin, clever builder and alderman, help her to succeed. Her poor friend Gwenda suffers of one side love for Wulfric, rich ans handsome peasant , but manages to marry him. Ralph, Merthin's opposite and his brother, vengeful, dishonest and wicked knight, punishes hard Wulfric considered as his worst ennemy, by taking off his inherit lands. Godwyn, Caris's cousin and prior of Kingsbridge, chauvinist, considered as a reformer, is unable to improve the monastery, albeit his cruels efforts. Their are minor characters who are touching such Mair, sister with love for Caris, Mother Prioress Cecila, Thomas Langley, courageous knight become kind monk, good Bishop Henri of Mons and beautiful countess Philippia. And those who are contemptuous : Philemeon, grafty and ambitious monk and Gwenda's brother, Elfric , bitter and vendicative Master carpenter, Elizabeth, intelligent and Caris's rival, Ralph's friend Alan, Gwenda's father, Joby.

The writer excels in suspense and readers finished quickly this book of 1240 pages thanks to his easy writing skill. We can see a lot of similarities between his books, especially in description of his characters, which he should avoid : there is always a clever girl who break the rules, an wicked man, a genie. This book is less Manichean than The Pillars of the Earth.
Anyway, Ken Follet presents us a rewarding historical book, which brings up much acknowledge on the fourteenth century without our boring. I'm a bit disappointed with the end : I feel somehow he doesn't know how to finish this book.

The book is worth reading and meet my expectation but doesn't exceed them. But I prefer The Pillars of the Earth over the latest book because The eternal love between Aliena and Jack, and authoritarian, kind and devote Philip, and their particular fates make it an excellent and unique one!

Questions qui me torturent..

"Pourquoi es-tu venue au monde, ma fille, quand un garçon je voulais ? Vas donc à la mer remplir ton seau : puisses-tu y tomber et t'y noyer"

Dans quelques régions de l' Inde, les femmes se font avorter les foetus femelles si elles ont la possibilité de savoir le sexe de l'enfant ou commettre l'infanticide. L'arrivée d'une bébé fille n'est pas désirable car les parents doivent faire face à des difficultés économiques et sociales. En effet, les hommes peuvent brûler leurs femmes vives pour l'insuffisance de dot. Si une fille est violée, tombe amoureuse d'un homme du bas caste, tout l'honneur du famille est en péril. De plus, les parents, à la place d'aider la jeune fille à confronter sa situation difficile, l'empirent: Ils la marient à un inconnu (pour la fille) et l'envoient chez son mari qui n'est pas forcement dans le même village qu'eux. Ainsi ils facilitent l'exploitation de leur propre fille par sa belle famille.
C'est ce qui est incompréhensible: on enferme les filles jusqu'à un certain âge, et même les marier dès les plus jeunes âges pour les proteger de toute exploitation (prostitution, viol, agressions) ,mais qu'est ce qui prouve que son mari ne commettra pas ces actes que les parents craignent (viol conjugale, travail domestique acharné, torture pour l'insuffisance de dot)? Pourquoi ne pas consacrer la dot colossale à l'enseignement des filles?

Tous ces questions trouvent leur réponse édifiante: tout simplement, c'est parceque les femmes ne sont pas capables de vivre sans protection masculine! Donc le marriage est nécessaire pour les femmes indiennes. Même si, l'Inde est reputé pour ses lois pour les femmes, il reste un pays machiste: il y a un grand écart entre les lois et leurs applications. Par exemple, la loi interdit la dot, aux medecins de réveler le sexe de l'enfant. Pourtant tous ces actes sont encore pratiqués. Recemment, pour diminuer le defecit des filles (937 femmes pour 1000 hommes), le gouvernement a decidé d'offrir une aide financière aux familles ayant une bébé fille. Mais cette décision est utopique.

A la place de faire tous ces lois inefficaces, il suffit d'une loi qui peut changer ce problème: fournir l'éducation gratuite et OBLIGATOIRE à TOUS les enfants.

Dernier theoreme de Fermat

André Weil

Pierre de Fermat, le grand mathematicien du XVIIè siècle, a écrit à la fin de son cahier "x^n+y^n=z^n impossible si n>2. J'ai trouvé une solution merveilleuse, mais la place me manque ici pour la developper". Voilà l'enigme de 350 années est né. Ce n'est pas difficile de remarquer que pour n=2, il y a des solutions avec le theoreme de pythagore: 3^2+4^2=5^2.
Plusieurs mathématiciens se sont penchés comme Leonhard Euler,genie du XVIIème siècle,Sophie Germain sans grand succès. Ce sera la conjecture de Shimura-Taniyuma qui sera la clé de l'enigme: "toute courbe elliptique est modulaire". Une courbe elliptique verifie une équation de la forme y^2 + axy + by = x^3 + cx^2+ dx + e.

En effet, cette conjecture ne sera pas demontrée par Shimura et Taniyuma sachant que le premier se suicide. Mais quel est le lien entre le dernier théoreme de Fermat et cette conjecture? La reponse sera rapportée par Frey. Ce dernier va raisonner par absurde. En effet, il va supposer qu'il y a une solution pour l'équation de fermat, donc il existe N,A,B,C entiers tel que A^N+B^N =C^N. Il reussira à transformer cette équation sous forme d'une equation elliptique. Or la conjecture de Shimura et Taniyuma déclare que toute équation elliptique est modulaire et l'équation de Fred n'est pas modulaire (d'après Ken Ribet). Voilà la contradiction!! André Weil va donc démontrer la célèbre conjecture de Shimura-Taniyuma en 1995 donc resoudre le celèbre problème du milenium...Ouf!

Maintenant il ne reste plus aux admirateurs de Fermat à donner une demonstration plus simple que celle de Weil de 100 pages...Pour les curieux et les courageux, voici la demonstration en anglais:

http://math.stanford.edu/~lekheng/flt/wiles.pdf

Time changes, but mind not!!

A tremendous progress has made in science, particulary in genetic which prooves that race doesn't exist. How can we hope an abolition of racism when even the school which must teach this matter has faced to segregation?

Linda Brown, the first black American pupil was the origin of racial mix in school after fighting against board of education in 1951 and the supreme court struck down segregation. Almost six decades have elapsed, but "black and white children continue to learn in different worlds" Jefferson and Seattle' stricts has still maintained the racially integrate school system even if the Supreme Court threatened them. In Seattle, as the most famous high schools are scarce, the selection is based on race. Parents are the main reason for this integration separated, the white parents are mostly well-off, so they force administration to decide what they wish. They have to support racial mix instead of this system. However some districts propose a different alternative to improve the equality between black and white children,like the Wake county which subsidizes lunch for poor students. But blacks need more help because of their economic background.

Most of blacks come from low-income family. Vouchers advocates favour providing more money to this families to bridge the gap between rich and poor students. And others favour spending money on school and teaches' wage, to allow poor children to access a classroom attended by affluent ones and advantages brought by their parents. But many politiciens pay lip service to help disadvantaged pupils only to win support and others pander to middle-class people. Therefore the economic background of blacks doesn't improve much and may get worse.


As History shows (independence of women, abolition of slavery,etc.) that the men deny always that the equality is the first step for progress, thus they spend their time on increasing the inequality. The victims must fight against abusers to get rid of wretched conditions and the others should do similar against self-esteem.

source:

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=526356&story_id=9079930

Tough conditions behind bars!!

The famous serial of nowadays, Prison Break has exposed life in jail. After seeing it, we should wonder about tough conditions behind bars.

We always think that the prison is a place for punishment. But Mr Hooks, jail's warden in Alabama considers it as rehabilitatation. "He tried to make prisons less horrible place to be locked up" He tried to provide education to inmates to make easier their life after the release, by building a library. The gouvernement doesn't want to pour into education for them because the needs of law-abiding folk come first and it argues that if conditions are improved , the prison wouldn't represent a fear for criminals, the prison is only a detterent. An study opposes the gouvernement: harsh conditions in cell would increase recidive's rate, in fact , these conditions brutalize prisoners. It's difficile whether unfair treatements raise crimes, increasing recidives, or reduce crimes, by acting as a detterent. To solve this problem, a private jail was built.

Correction cooperative of America (CCA) built a private jail near to Missisipi, in which more activities are provided to inmates (reading, sport,drug tratment, job training) . These prisons are cheap. And they respect Human Rights as public ones. The paradox is that they spend less money than the public ones. Thus the State signs a contrat with this society,CCA. Unfortunately, these prisons are scarce. It's really a good idea and an huge progress. It can also erase fear of murders to be locked up because they would feel comfortable in jail than their own home.

Anyway nobody was born criminal, it's the society, which changes a man into devil or angel. Therefore, it should repair its fault by helping him not by punishing.

source: http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9546217c