Towering above the best...

It's been a long time since I blogged, and I've been brought back forcibly to gush in endless depth (well not really, endless) about the genius of one man-the late, great, Marlon Brando.
I first watched Brando, most unfortunately, in 'Don Juan DeMarco' starring Johnny Depp and needless to say, took back no unforgettable memories of the great man and I would've scoffed disrespectfully at any suggestion that he was possibly the greatest actor Hollywood had ever seen. And then I saw 'The Godfather'...
He played Vito Corleone with rich sensitivity, intelligence and a quiet, unshakeable power. But the best thing about his portrayal of Don Vito Corleone was the magnetism that he brought to it; the way he could hold the attention of the viewers as Vito did, that of his men. And then, I began to believe that perhaps this old, fat man, who was the butt of every fat and weird joke in Hollywood, was once a giant on screen.

After watching 'A Streetcar named Desire' and 'On the Waterfront', I confess to being spellbound and inextricably in love with his brilliance. As Stanley Kowalski (in 'A Streetcar....') he was a shrewd but ignorant, loyal but insensitive and ignorant working class man clashing with the cultured, sensitive, delicate but duplicitous sister-in-law, Blanche Dubois. Outwardly he's loud, brutish, intolerant and animal-like - a remnant of the Stone Age as his sister-in-law believes him to be. Yet he is vulnerable and insecure and Blanche provoked him, unforgivably, by repeatedly pointing to his poorer background and unrefined ways and he sought to assert himself as “the king in his own home” and then he becomes, just an animal, as every passionate person must become when suitably prodded and without remorse he commits his crime. Then, there is that strange, scary but mesmerizing passion as he bellows for his Stella- there is anguish, and there is strength, longing and yearning in that cry. What woman could’ve refused him???
As Terry Malloy (in ‘On the Waterfront’), he is more of a boy- a little naïve, unsure of himself and wary of the world and its people. He only knows that he ought to play it safe because that’ll keep him out of trouble. With losing his one chance at being “a contender”, after taking a dive in crucial boxing match, he has also lost his ambition and merely ambles about taking care of birds with the neighborhood boys and showing up at work, where his brother’s clout, ensures that he gets paid for doing little work. But his conscience starts to prod him when he plays a part in getting Joey Doyle, the only kid in the neighborhood who had the guts to speak out against the local mob, killed. He is attracted to the victim’s sister, Edie, and tries clumsily to woo her and she, seeing through the tough cynical guy to the conscientious decent guy, falls for him. Guided by the pastor and striving to prove to her that he’s not a ‘bum”, he stands up for his rights and those of his townspeople.
Brando is so natural and sensitive to the natures and reactions of people that he’s brilliant. There’s this innate strength, whether good or bad, which makes one succumb to his charm and power and there will be countless victims year after year for as long print of his works of genius exist.

Orkutting

I know the word sounds really bad but I realized only today that one can do so many wonderful things on Orkut. Not only can you write testimonials (on a quid pro quo basis so that you get more tetimonals), add random people so that your friends list increases, go to the profile of strangers and get to know who they are, what they like etc., and go through the endless list of communities. Today I went to a community which was dedicated to justifying rape. They had interesting arguments like how rape is like arranged marriage and how only ugly women complain about rape because the men don't have sex with them despite the fact that these women force themselves on the men. And then you have these random testimonials which just have artwork; I'm quite sure noone knows what it signifies. Also, it is interesting to trace a family - for example, you land on the profile of X and you find that X's sister(Y) has written a testimonial for him, the next thing to do would be to go to Y's profile and start exploring that and so on... You actually get to know entire familes through this! Isn't it great!
Anyway, that will do for now children. Please take my advice and become avid orkutters. I shall, on my part, try to post regularly in order to impart such knowledge and wisdom.