Dileep being taken to magistrate's house on Tuesday. Robert Vinod Act one, scene one
The Mark Twain adage, ‘truth is stranger than fiction,’ goes perfectly well with the recent goings-on in the industry. After a young actress was brutally assaulted in a moving car in Kochi on February 17, information was selectively served by the powers that be for lesser mortals, in true cinematic style. For, it is the film-makers' discretion as to what the viewer should see. Also, it is the film-maker who dictates who goes to jail and who gets the damsel at the end. So, let us sit back and watch as our choices are limited to watching the plot unfold on the screen or leave the theater.
Act one, scene two
What deletes a controversy from public memory? Definitely another controversy. Imagine a dynamic chain link. Imagine every link to be a controversy. Every powerful succeeding link effectively erases the preceding one. So, who benefits from a new controversy? The usual answer would be, 'the media.' But, on a closer look, there are other beneficiaries. The eviction in Munnar had caused a furor. That link of the chain was erased by the new one called actress assault. And as the actress attack link in the chain grew strong enough to outshine all other preceding ones, the government managed to shift out demolition man Sriram Venkitraman from Munnar. A clean job it was. So, do we get the dynamics of the chain? It is not the media, which always benefits. The governments too do.
Act one, scene three
There are officers – some good, some bad. There are pieces of evidence – some good, some bad. Now comes the matrix. What if good officers get bad evidence and bad officers get good evidence. They obviously do not do a mutual exchange in the larger interests of legality. They keep it to themselves. It’s like a docile cow getting beef to eat and a caged lion getting vegetable curry. So, who got the memory card, which actress attack main accused Pulsar Suni deposited in a boutique? So, for fun, keep track of controversies. See how one erases the other.
Act one, scene four
AMMA is a 'sound' organization. Anyone who had an inkling of a doubt got it cleared as some AMMA members rose to answer media queries. True to their cinematic dispensation, they were at the same time supportive of AMMA's son Dileep and not 'unsupportive' of AMMA's daughter, the victim actress. That is what deft actors do – bring more than one emotion into play. Old-timers and Chakyarkoothu actors say it is part of 'sookshmabhinaya,' a skill perfected through years of rigorous practice. Actors, they really are.
Act one, scene five
A white police jeep arrives at the Aluva police club. Channels air visuals of Dileep on the rear seat. Hundreds of people and mediapersons wait outside anxiously as information is hard to come by. And somewhere, a channel says Nadhirshah may turn approver. Yes, we heard it right, Nadhirshah. Poetic justice is the hallmark of god art. How else can a thick friend turn approver? Poetic justice.
Read more: Opinion | Time to look back as police unravel Dileep's wily script
(Views expressed are personal)
