tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post983204990244835810..comments2024-03-28T22:51:28.222+05:30Comments on The Middle Stage: Utpal Dutt on theatre and filmChandrahashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07483080477755487202noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-14044670557803972192009-09-02T14:38:14.893+05:302009-09-02T14:38:14.893+05:30Wow, I probably feel as redundant as a feckless, n...Wow, I probably feel as redundant as a feckless, no-good exemplar of Dutt's proletariat :)<br /><br />And before, you're up in arms again, Uncertain :D, let me just try and break it down for you (again!)<br /><br />1) Mr. Dutt had certain things to say; certain notions to propound.<br />2) Based upon which, I hazarded a guess as to a "Dutt version of proletariat" <br />3) Thereby, seeking to highlight a possible flaw in your argument pertaining to the linkage of TV penetration levels and the effect of the same on the country at large. <br /><br />Now, I might be mistaken in my interpretation of what Utpal Dutt had to say. (As I very frequently am), but it's "Mr. Dutt's viewpoints" I'm yammering on about, not mine.<br /><br />Let me offer you an analogy:<br />1) Ptolemy says the earth is at the center of the universe.<br />2) I say, then probably, as per "the Ptolemaic view", Earth should have the necessary gravitational wherewithal, or some similar scientific dosh.<br />3) You, dear Uncertain, say, "Arzkiya, you've gone bonkers, man! To even think of such a thing!!" <br /><br />Merci, and peace :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-38734453745987735432009-09-01T13:26:30.545+05:302009-09-01T13:26:30.545+05:30@Arz Kiya
We seem to be repeating ourselves and s...@Arz Kiya<br /><br />We seem to be repeating ourselves and so this will be my last word on this matter.<br /><br />If I understood you correctly, your contention is that the proletariat is incapable of enunciating a societal consciousness over and above their drudgery and so it's up to the enlightened bourgeois (like Lenin, Dutt etc.) to lead the proletariat to revolution. Have I misunderstood you?<br /><br />Assuming I haven't, I think whether or not the proletariat are devoid of a societal consciousness can be settled empirically without recourse to any great names.<br /><br />I encourage you to interview several people whom you think belong to the proletariat and see for yourself if they have any societal consciousness. <br /><br />My experience suggests that pretty much everyone in the world (except perhaps disenchanted Marxists) have their own local rich cosmologies, ontologies, theories of action, theories of motives and intention, etc.<br /><br />You may disagree with these ontologies but you should not, I contend, brand them as 'false consciousness' or 'superstition' because 'social forces' and 'false consciousness' are as mythical/real as God. <br /><br />In any case, I am open to <i> empirical </i> refutation!Uncertainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-41654595156230089652009-08-31T21:19:38.898+05:302009-08-31T21:19:38.898+05:30My dear Sir, my knowledge of the worthies you have...My dear Sir, my knowledge of the worthies you have so mentioned, is largely limited to Sociology 101, back at college. Which I must confess, was perfunctory at best.<br /><br />But then, my knowledge, or rather the lack thereof :), is immaterial. What we are splitting hairs about is in re to what Mr. Dutt had to say. As opposed to 'why' or the justifiability of his viewpoints. <br /><br />And, as such, I'd have to state again, your arguments would only seem to bear out Dutt's position. I cannot imagine a Dutt vision of a proletariat, a significant number of which was capable of enunciating a societal consciousness over and above the drudgery of their daily lives. <br /><br />Ergo, all redemptive stratagems fell to the lot of the bourgeoisie. But then most of them were so caught up in the Sunday morning slot, and were so addled by the same, that the country basically went to the dogs!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-58216383576839755132009-08-30T10:46:21.507+05:302009-08-30T10:46:21.507+05:30@Arz Kiya,
I am not sure what you mean by the pro...@Arz Kiya,<br /><br />I am not sure what you mean by the proletariat being AT a stand still. <br /><br />By and large, nobody is or even can be at a stand still (cannot say for sure about Gitmo prisoners) .. I thought that much was evident from Ranajit Guha, Partha Chatterjee, Michel Foucault's writings. <br /><br />Also, to re-iterate, I find this notion that but for their revolutionary vanguard (educated at the metropolitan centres), the proletariat will be voicelessly living their alienated lives without redemption more than a little disingenuous and self-serving.<br /><br />I would also like to understand concretely who's the bourgeoise and proletariat say in Mumbai or Kolkata (where Ramayana might have brought lives to standstill). I was under the impression these 18th century west European categories did not translate well outside the perimeters of west Europe.Uncertainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-17225164519416892242009-08-29T17:04:14.761+05:302009-08-29T17:04:14.761+05:30This post absolutely made my day.
In re synecdoch...This post absolutely made my day.<br /><br />In re synecdoche @ Uncertain, I'm not sure, but if anything, your argument would appear to only further bear out Dutt's position. Television penetration levels are low; ergo, only the bourgeoisie get to see it, and their lives come to a stand-still. The proletariat on the other hand is already AT a stand-still.Arz Kiyahttp://arzkiya.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-29345285562816964052009-08-21T08:47:00.319+05:302009-08-21T08:47:00.319+05:30There appears to be an indefensible synecdoche in ...There appears to be an indefensible synecdoche in the line "Ramayana that brought all Indian life to a standstill on Sunday mornings in the eighties". A casual glance at the television penetration figures of the 80s would indicate that there is no way Ramayana could have brought 'all Indian life' to a standstill. <br /><br />And so what if a section of India chose to devote its Sunday morning to Ramayana? <br /><br />Is one really an intellectual if one has only contempt for the idiom that animates a large number of people of the world - religious myths? How self-serving of Dutt (as an exemplar of the left) to assume that most people are blinded by the 'veil of false consciousness' and that he alone sees how 'inverted' the world is .. that he alone has managed to escape the intoxication of the 'opiate of the masses'.<br /><br />Such hubris apart, I enjoyed reading about Dutt's versatility and multifaceted personality.Uncertainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-46434905350786561942009-08-20T22:43:22.800+05:302009-08-20T22:43:22.800+05:30Unusual for a Cal-hater to be so enamored by moder...Unusual for a Cal-hater to be so enamored by modern Bong litracha. And what you've read may just be the tip of the iceberg because the best of Jibananda, Manik, Mahasweta, Sunil, Shakti, Subhash, Samaresh (Basu & Majumder), Joy, Srijata (the list is endless) remain obstinately untranslatable. Have you ever wondered what - if not the Calcutta chromosome - could have mutated itself immutable into the cultural DNA of a nation of eighty million? Did I say nation? Oops, I'm so sorry.Saikatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-53326050806504399952009-08-20T12:26:00.165+05:302009-08-20T12:26:00.165+05:30Utpal Dutt's idealism lay deep in the left and...Utpal Dutt's idealism lay deep in the left and perhaps found best expression in “Hirok Rajar Deshe” (In the Land of the Diamond King) where the tyrant King who oppresses the miners and farmers reforms at the end and participates with the mass in pulling down his own statue (interestingly 'Jantarmantar', a chamber for brainwashing was used by the King earlier to brainwash his disobedient subjects, is used to reform the king himself at the end).<br /><br />What really perplexes me about Utpal Dutt is how he managed to believe in one ideology so strongly and yet could act in movies that are cultural embodiment of what he warned us against. I mean, if you have something very strong against a system, you don’t really use the same system to earn your bread, do you? Or is it the case where the artist and the system use each other, Utpal Dutt using the system to earn his living so that he can continue his crusade against that very system and the system using his talent so that it can continue to churn out the same stereotyped stories Utpal Dutt was crusading against? Funny.Ranjanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04314462385393026606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082470.post-71031620851433255392009-08-20T07:22:24.990+05:302009-08-20T07:22:24.990+05:30Enjoyed your review muchly. The movie I always as...Enjoyed your review muchly. The movie I always associate Utpal Dutt with is that absolute charmer, Bhuvan Shome. <br /><br />Some of his arguments seem a bit simplistic though. Hindustani for e.g. is as much an artefact of history as Sanskritised Hindi (which has its pleasures). In turn both have lost ground to a Hindi which combines Bollywood Hindi with a smattering of English. <br /><br />Re a separate Bengal post, a commenter had mentioned that Sankar is not well regarded in Bengal. Isn’t this much to do with the fact that the reputations of the "native" writer and the "translated" writer are two entirely different things? As an e.g. many Western writers are popular in India because they resonate with readers brought up in a particular cultural milieu. These writers would have often passed their use by date or simply not have a reputation in their own countries. Literary reputations can hardly be absolute. <br /><br />And congrats on publishing your new novel. Will pick up a copy when I am in India.Anuhttp://subversive-lace.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com