Author Archives: secondsaturn

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About secondsaturn

Independent Scholar. Polymath.

Shammi..at the end of the day

Posted on August 17, 2011 by secondsaturn

Shammi Kapoor died on the early morning of the 14th of August 2011, succumbing to a chronic renal malfunction. Fortuitously, I was reading about one of the possible causes of the malady as being chronic adrenaline fatigue, a possibility that … Continue reading →

Posted in Film Reviews | Leave a comment

Dadu, too much..

Posted on August 13, 2011 by secondsaturn

Dadu, my father’s father died on this day, i.e the 13th of August in 1976. This is thirty five years before now. I think that with every passing year, his presence just grows on the family; each year Dadu seems … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Matters | Leave a comment

Seeing Off Na Mama

Posted on July 24, 2011 by secondsaturn

Na Mama, Na being pronounced as in naughty, a name for the fourth born in a family, implied something very specific when he said that he was seeing someone off. He used the term see off to mean one who … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Matters | 2 Comments

Greenathon – The Hypocrisy

Posted on June 9, 2011 by secondsaturn

NDTV’s Greenathon is a model case study of how the media creates and circulates images to conceal conflicts in society and impose pretences as infallible truths. The Greenathon is a thriving instance of such an activity. It is a cleverly … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Sociology | 2 Comments

List of Publications

Posted on May 23, 2011 by secondsaturn

PUBLICATIONS IN BOOKS AND JOURNALS   BOOKS: Amitabh – The Making Of A Superstar. Penguin. Delhi.2006   PUBLICATIONS IN BOOKS: “ “Anthony Gonsalves” in Non-Fiction Writings.  Penguin. Delhi. 2008 “Sociology of Stars in Hindi Cinema” in Sociology of Globalization. Ed … Continue reading →

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I Want To Be Mamata Banerjee

Posted on May 19, 2011 by secondsaturn

When I was in my 20’s I wanted to be Amitabh Bachchan, meaning that I would mould myself to ingrain and internalize his persona. Now in my 50’s, I want to be Mamata Banerjee. I want to think like her, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 3 Comments

34 Years of Left Rule – Sociology of a Bengali

Posted on May 15, 2011 by secondsaturn

The media says that the imminent change in government in West Bengal after an unbroken, unshaken, unchallenged rule of the Left Front for thirty four years will be a historical wonderment. To my mind, however, the wonder lies more in … Continue reading →

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What Is Political Cinema

Posted on May 12, 2011 by secondsaturn

On Sunday the 26th April 2009, we discussed what is a political film? Is there something called a political film? If so, then what kind of film it is, does it have a specific kind of topic or does it … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Sociology | Leave a comment

Ravan Badh – E.K.I

Posted on May 5, 2011 by secondsaturn

I was not around in the times of the Ramayana when Ravana was killed. It was a great killing, I read. On the side of Kishkindhya, Ayodhya, Panchavati there were ecstatic celebrations, on the side of Lanka there was mourning … Continue reading →

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The Strike .. of Air India

Posted on May 1, 2011 by secondsaturn

Many moons ago, when our sweet little dupleix in Dover Lane was enlarged into a three storey house to make space for a tenant, our first tenant was an Indian Airline pilot. Similarly, many modern condominiums in our locality were … Continue reading →

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