Aapke sur mein gadbad hai, she said.

So, I saw the Phir Mile Sur video that everyone has been ranting against. And I feel their pain. I had to pause it and barf the moment Abhiash - or whatever they hell they're called - came on. Fifteen minutes later, I was ready to continue. Only to repeat my performance when Deepika Padukone appears in what could easily pass of as a negligee and then proceeds to get wet in the rain. All in a video dedicated to my wonderful country.

I would rip it apart myself, but my friend seems to have done a wonderful job of it already. Read her post here.

In a nutshell, I am insulted by this video. Well-intentioned as it may be, Zoom seems to have the basics all wrong. Last time I checked: 

• India was more than cinema, Bollywood or otherwise.
  
• Anoushka Shankar was a British national who lives in the United States, not an Indian.
  
• The northeastern states were just as much a part of India as Punjab, Kerala or Delhi.

You would expect that a video of this sort would focus just a wee bit more on the last 1.5 minutes - you know, the part where they hint at our army, navy, sportspersons. The things that the video should have actually been based on. Example: the original, and wonderful, Mile Sur video I grew up on. Classic.

I want to know why we didn't have people from politics, literature, art and science. Or were they going to spoil Zoom's pathetic attempt at a glam national anthem? I'm all for reinventing the old, making it new again, giving it a fresh tweak. But not at the cost of its essence. And not at the cost of ending up with a cheap attempt at nationalism. Zoom has messed up. Big, big time. This was not a nice Republic Day watch, to say the least. First, I miss the parade. And then, I watch this. Awesome.

But anyhow, after the rant that was not supposed to be, I am going to try calming down. Even though, as Ra put it, a little piece of my childhood has died.

I think I'll go drown my sorrows in A. R. Rahman's timeless patriotism.

Happy Republic Day. I guess.