Things end, things begin

The Global South has always been known for its rich narratives, compared to the somewhat staid, overused narratives of the West.

Instead of trying to make astronauts or vice-presidents out of people of the Global South, its thousands of narratives could have been used by Hollywood. Not merely a lip-service Foreign Film Category but a Global Celebration of Cinemas from Everywhere. 

Stories of heroism, of tragedy, of being forgotten, of comic relief, of rebuilding from scratch, all of that could have gone into the narrative industry of Hollywood. 

New genres could have been invented, new content fitted into newer formats. In the years of waiting for her paltry job, Antara must have invented at least half a dozen new genres, all suitable for the movie industry. 

Antara needed her job, she really feared the Batanagar menace, "gone up so high (in DC) that no one could touch them". Supriya Paul had feared them too, especially after the attack on Paul Pelosi, and Antara knew that it took a lot for Supriya to fear someone.

But Hollywood disrespected itself, it had scant regard for genres or content, or the endless delight in experimenting with structure. 

ii. When Antara was told that the top executive of her country wanted her to divorce her husband, in order to please Chetla, that she'd get a stipend, she was kind of delighted, she'd been meaning to work on some screenplays for a while, merely to put Netflix out of business.

No one would buy her script, she knew that, given her identity, but FAAG sounded so much better than FAANG.

Maybe Supriya's next-door neighbours at Batanagar were FAANG, their fangs were all too evident anyway.

But the problem with the top executive was that something was chasing them around, like a reminder of a summer long past, and whichever way they turned, it seemed Indian citizens were saying, "I know what you did that summer (in 1985)."

Had Antara been in their place, she'd have tried a HIMYM/'How I Met Your Mother' kind of way out. You start telling the story of 1985 to all Indians, you stop, you digress, you wander in and out, but in the end, when the narrative ended after 10 seasons, you saw the partner, and she came with a huge, yellow umbrella. 

May 8, 2025.