Mumbai- Indeed Meri Jaan

Yesterday was a long, frustrating day with the day epitomizing Murphy's law of things going wrong. I ain't usually the kind of person seeking solitude under even the most depressing times, but yesterday was different. But in that process, I ended up watching a truly brilliant movie "Mumbai meri Jaan" a maiden attempt at making Hindi movies by a lesser known director called Nishikant Kamat-bravo to such a courageous attempt..A movie that portrayed the true spirit of Mumbaites (oops Mumbaikars- lest I evoke the wrath of....) But a true Mumbaikar I am. The movie depicts the lives of four different people with strikingly uncanny personalities and from different strata of society, but their lives changed by one common incident- the 11th of July Mumbai train blasts (I hated sensationalizing the blasts by referring to this very unfortunate and tragic incident as 7/11) This is not an attempt to write a review here but an attempt to seek an answer to a question that has been plaguing my mind for long now... and that is "How long are we gonna remain mute spectators to all the misdeeds happening around us and let corruption and money overpower our conscience and the virtue of righteousness. Bordering largely on cynicism my answer to the above question makes me say forever. This question crept into my mind and left a deep impact after watching a brilliantly executed scene in the movie that shows the pathos of a police constable when he is not able to do anything to fight the wrong and is forced to abide by his utmost corrupt superiors' orders. To this his senior constable colleague Paresh Rawal (in yet another powerhouse performance) says- "Yehi hai duniya.. yehi hai asli picture. is picture ko bus apni mann ki kursi par baithkar prekshak (audience) ki tarah dekho, par actor ban ne ki koshish mat karo.maine 35 saalon se yahi kiya hai, tum bhi ab yahi karna seekh lo. Loosely translated-Be oblivious to everything around you. Do not get carried away by emotions. Becoming a stoic you have nothing to loose, but trying to become a hero, you have everything to loose. It makes me wonder..Can we still awaken and wage a war against every ill inflicting our society or is the damage really irreparable????????? Lack of time this day is forcing me to leave this question open-ended, but I do hope to pen down my thoughts on the same soon.
Coming back to the movie, the resilient spirit of Mumbaikars depicted in the film and not just the film-having lived in Mumbai for over 20 years, I have witnessed the humane spirit of Mumbai on numerous occasions and have been overwhelmed by it time and again and this is what makes me say "Mumbai-Indeed meri Jaan"