Thursday, January 22, 2009

Hamster Hai!

Midway through Thoda Pyaar, Thoda Magic, a heartwarming tale about a group of mischievous orphans and the uptight businessman who needs to loosen up and learn to love them. To that end, God personally sends an angel to help bring them together. One of the things I find interesting is the fact that heaven isn't depicted as a Hindu heaven, or a Christian heaven, but as a traditional movie heaven. You know the one: very pastel, and non-denominational.

Best of all, Rishi Kapoor is God, which is exactly as it should be. This may be an idolatrous thought in some circles, but it can't possibly hurt to picture Rishi during the prayers, when I go to church with the folks on Sunday. Can it? That might be a theology I can get behind.

(Oh, and my favorite line so far: one of the kids' pet is mistaken for a rat, and he indignantly says "Hamster Hai!" Which is, of course, simply "It's a hamster!" But the sound of it strikes me as some kind of strange rallying cry. But to what end, I can't possibly imagine).

2 comments:

a ppcc representative said...

Rishi in our prayers!! Considering how he's starting to age like Paul McCartney (that is, looking more and more like an old woman...or maybe that's just in the Luck by Chance poster), this would fit in well with a non-gender specific God.

Anarchivist said...

Stay tuned for details of my new religion, as I work on becoming a rishi for Rishi...

Oh, and adorable little Iqbal in this movie reminded me that I've been meaning to learn more about Sikhism. Amazon is not being really helpful, with the same reviews attached to different books titled "The Sikhs" by different authors named Singh...