A LETTERED SOUL: REFLECTIONS ON LITERATURE, CINEMA AND CULTURE .

THE 2018 TABLEAU PART 5.2

Continuing the medley of memorable works that gripped me, the caravan of my writings moves on with these following names from the mediums of cinema and television. United, their impact is more pronounced as the months progress.

*****

WILD WILD COUNTRY ( NETFLIX)

A friend of mine from college, who always swooned at the ideas of the great Indian/ global mystic Osho, made me privy to the varied possibilities of the man that was couched in years of enigma. Who knew NETFLIX would come to the rescue of discerning intellects and sate our hunger to know more about Bhagwan Rajneesh's collective snare?

WILD WILD COUNTRY is a six part documentary that takes no sides in delineating the minute inner world of an alternative spiritual movement as it emerged out of mid 20th century psychedelia and a generation's tilt towards Eastern philosophies. Born in Bombay and Pune, the Osho mania then was supplanted in the 80s to a remote location in Oregon, USA which became the fabled Rajneeshpuram . There was no looking back for the community. Or so it seemed.

The movement as cult or vice versa is as difficult to comprehend here as a separation between the two. These six episodes are armed with the juiciest of details, half of which had been buried within archival vaults, following a huge setback to the supposed paradise and hence each and every perspective counts. So at one moment you marvel at the communal spirit of the Rajneeshees ( disciples of Rajneesh) who built Rajneeshpuram from the ground and transformed it into a thriving, bustling kaleidoscope of enlightenment, drawing foreigners like bees to honey. It was a phenomenon indeed. But then the flip side emerges and keeps getting murkier legally, personally and most importantly on a moral plane. Our loyalties are tested as viewers and this roller coaster ride keeps us guessing the nature of absolute truth. The clash between a meagre local population of Oregon and the Rajneeshees is the stuff of inverted myth or xenophobic tempers all at once.

Expertly directed, the one quicksilver figure who emerges as a frontrunner for our attention is the organisation's head MA ANAND SHEELA. Her inimitable presence, in the past and present, and meant to linger in our conscience points at the very inscrutable traction of humanity. At the end of it all, WILD WILD COUNTRY unveils a whole new paradigm for non fiction programming, further reviving interest in the world of Osho / Rajneesh whose publications still capture popular imagination next to none. The enigma is captured in all its glorious continuum, whether we choose one side or remain neutral. Or affixed. It will be hard keeping one track after viewing this excellent, cerebral exercise in the art of multiple narratives.

***

RELATABLE (NETFLIX)

My sister swears by her.  The eternal livewire that is ELLEN DEGENERES. Like millions of her acolytes, I, too, am always looking to be inspired by her joyous center in the brightly lit studio from where she transmits her show worldwide. That glint of her sorroundings and the perpetual cheery audience has become legendary plus her hosting gigs at the Oscars are to lap up.

RELATABLE, her solo stand up special, comes after her last one in 2003, a year when I was too young to know the very nature of STAND UP or TALK SHOWS. Of course, in India, we had the one and only SIMI GAREWAL with her eponymous show that became the gold standard of interactive class for all times. But coming back to RELATABLE, it came at a time when I struggled each day to beat down negative tendencies that were gnawing at me. So I finally chose one late weeknight to watch this hour and a half special from Ellen and smiles decked those hours and in turn gave me a reason to believe in the simple pleasures of laughter.