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The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Circling back to Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, a traumatic moment in Madras' history
It was a summer night of stifling heat. The kind that forces you to seek refuge in the terrace, sprinkle some water, roll a mat, and lapse into intermittent sleep. It was May 21, 1991, and Madras denizens, coping with a humid day, were all set to rest. Traffic on the streets dwindled, some flights glided through the clear skies, a few discussed the annual kathiri-veyil (peak summer), and suddenly, a man ran across with a lament: 'Rajiv Gandhiye konnutanga (Rajiv Gandhi has been killed).' There was a sense of disbelief before the truth settled down in all its gory details. Yes, India's former prime minister had been assassinated during an election rally at Sriperumbudur. A suicide bomber had done the terrible deed, and the motive extended all the way to Sri Lanka, with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) being the conspirators. India's earlier attempt at playing mediator during the Sri Lankan Tamil crisis evoked varying reactions. Obviously, the LTTE was not in agreement, and the subsequent move to have an Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) stationed in the neighbouring island added to the complications. Once news spread about the assassination, the city plunged into shock. Public aversion cropped up against the LTTE as Tamil Nadu, known for its hospitality, had to now confront a political murder in its backyard. There was always a kinship with Sri Lankan Tamils, that feeling remained, but any latent support to outfits like LTTE began to dwindle. Doordarshan and All India Radio were sought for updates. This was the pre-internet era and there were no cellphones either, and news trickled in slowly. The night was long and eventually at dawn, papers ranging from The Hindu to Dina Thanthi were scanned for information about a killing that triggered shockwaves through India and the world. Recently, the 34th anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi's death passed by, and a memorial at Sriperumbudur on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway serves as a stark reminder of a sombre night three decades ago. Much has been written about the ghastly incident, and attempts were made even in films, cutting across languages, to capture the emotion and chaos of that time. Movies like Cyanide, Kuttrapathirikai, Madras Cafe, Mission 90 Days, and The Terrorist, all dealt with this theme. A nuanced gaze on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue was also sensitively revealed by Mani Ratnam's evocative Kannathil Muthamittal. And just as another May recedes, Chennai continues to grapple with heat and the odd summer rain. There is also the matter of dealing with a queasy memory from a distant night, one that altered India's political landscape.
The Hindu
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Kandukondain Kandukondain: a Tamil box-office hit rooted in Jane Austen novel
To dive into an English literary classic and flesh out a story with a Tamil heart is never easy. Rajiv Menon precisely did that through his Kandukondain Kandukondain, which rested its spine on Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Taking a novel from 1811 and using its plot as the basic skeleton, Menon wove a splendid celluloid tale, which turned 25 on May 5. A re-release too is on the cards, while one of its key stars Ajith Kumar is nursing the afterglow of his latest box-office hit Good Bad Ugly. When Kandukondain Kandukondain was released in the summer of 2000, a few weeks after Menon's friend Mani Ratnam's Alaipayutheyhit the screens, there was a creative high in Kollywood. The two classy films, with their common thread of A.R. Rahman's music, raked in the money, besides being critically acclaimed. Searching for a foothold If Alaipayuthey was the quintessential Madras film, Kandukondain Kandukondain used Chettinad as its base before shifting base to Chennai. Menon revealed Chettiar mansions of a layered vintage and equally grappling with intrigue. Within this crucible, he placed women and men searching for a foothold, yearning for that ideal romance, slipping a bit while still nursing hopes. Menon wielded a massive star-cast, but made the characters relatable. Mammootty, Ajith, Tabu, Aishwarya Rai, and Abbas were part of the mix and even the supporting roles had a proper arc. This wasn't a film entirely about love, it was also a quest to raise difficult questions like the role of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka. At one point, Mammootty, all gravitas and depth, speaks about how being forgotten is the worst curse in life. As an ex-serviceman with a brooding memory, the Malayalam legend was excellent. Menon, with some dry wit, even held a mirror to his own film industry, while Ajith chased his creative dreams. This was also about Ajith being vulnerable in a lovely role; and with the film being released in Mumbai with English subtitles, the actor broadened his fan base. Chartbuster songs The enigmatic Tabu was brilliant as ever, and her internalisation of bad luck and superstition, before shedding those blinkers, was a high point. Aishwarya held her own within this galaxy of stars and the songs were all chartbusters. Kandukondain Kandukondain ran well in Chennai, in the rest of Tamil Nadu, and across India. Menon made Austen's theme centred around love accessible to all. There was a sensitivity to the film, a gentle tugging of the heart, that left viewers asking for more, just like how it was with his debut directorial flick Minsara Kanavu, which later became Sapney in Hindi.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
A box-office hit that was rooted in a novel of Jane Austen
To dive into an English literary classic and flesh out a story with a Tamil heart is never easy. Rajiv Menon precisely did that through his Kandukondain Kandukondain, which rested its spine on Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Taking a novel from 1811 and using its plot as the basic skeleton, Menon wove a splendid celluloid tale, which turned 25 on May 5. A re-release too is on the cards, while one of its key stars Ajith Kumar is nursing the afterglow of his latest box-office hit Good Bad Ugly. When Kandukondain Kandukondain was released in the summer of 2000, a few weeks after Menon's friend Mani Ratnam's Alaipayuthey hit the screens, there was a creative high in Kollywood. The two classy films, with their common thread of A.R. Rahman's music, raked in the money, besides being critically acclaimed. Searching for a foothold If Alaipayuthey was the quintessential Madras film, Kandukondain Kandukondain used Chettinad as its base before shifting base to Chennai. Menon revealed Chettiar mansions of a layered vintage and equally grappling with intrigue. Within this crucible, he placed women and men searching for a foothold, yearning for that ideal romance, slipping a bit while still nursing hopes. Menon wielded a massive star-cast, but made the characters relatable. Mammootty, Ajith, Tabu, Aishwarya Rai, and Abbas were part of the mix and even the supporting roles had a proper arc. This wasn't a film entirely about love, it was also a quest to raise difficult questions like the role of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka. At one point, Mammootty, all gravitas and depth, speaks about how being forgotten is the worst curse in life. As an ex-serviceman with a brooding memory, the Malayalam legend was excellent. Menon, with some dry wit, even held a mirror to his own film industry, while Ajith chased his creative dreams. This was also about Ajith being vulnerable in a lovely role; and with the film being released in Mumbai with English subtitles, the actor broadened his fan base. Chartbuster songs The enigmatic Tabu was brilliant as ever, and her internalisation of bad luck and superstition, before shedding those blinkers, was a high point. Aishwarya held her own within this galaxy of stars and the songs were all chartbusters. Kandukondain Kandukondain ran well in Chennai, in the rest of Tamil Nadu, and across India. Menon made Austen's theme centred around love accessible to all. There was a sensitivity to the film, a gentle tugging of the heart, that left viewers asking for more, just like how it was with his debut directorial flick Minsara Kanavu, which later became Sapney in Hindi.
The Print
22-04-2025
- The Print
‘If you want to go to war, then select Amarjeet Singh Kalkat as Chief of Army Staff'
The incident in question was sometime in late August 1988: 'And the moment GOC IPKF [Indian Peace Keeping Force] walked out of his helicopter and reached the Brigade HQ Operations Room, LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] militants opened up with automatic weapons and Rocket Propelled Grenades on the Brigade HQ and the helicopter… And the GOC IPKF, like a fine soldier and displaying true Generalship, stood erect and lit up his pipe, puffing on it in a very deliberate manner. His calmness was distinctive.' An unofficial and unpublished diary recounts Lt Gen AS Kalkat's exemplary mannerisms in a way none but an eyewitness to the most extraordinary situation could. 'If you want to go to war, then select Kalkat as Chief of Army Staff,' I overheard my father, Jaswant Singh, telling a senior cabinet minister. This was just a few years after the Jaffna Peninsula incident in Sri Lanka mentioned above. By that time, the soldierly qualities of Lt Gen Amarjeet Singh Kalkat had taken him barely a step away from heading the entire service. He was then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief at the Army's Southern Command in Pune, and procedurally eligible for Chiefship. I deeply regret never being able to say these words to him. A cerebral soldier The Army has lost a veteran with the unusual qualities of cerebral soldiering, impeccable manners, a personal style that is gradually becoming endangered, and above all, a sense of humour. Despite the hard times he witnessed, beginning with combat during the 1965 India-Pakistan war to Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka, Gen Kalkat's eyes never lost their merriment. During the 1965 operations, he was hospitalised due to serious injuries. His thick-rimmed glasses and the pipe he smoked became a trademark. Even in discussions about operations and casualties, his eyes sparkled with liveliness. Commissioned in the 5th Battalion of 'Shiny Eight', as 8 Gorkha Rifles is respectfully called within their closed fraternity, Gen Kalkat made a mark in all aspects of soldiering. He led his troops bravely in combat, surviving grievous wounds, and demonstrated an intellectual acumen on par with the academic elite, if not better. As is the wont in a military career, he excelled in courses, which earned him coveted postings in top training establishments like the 58 Regimental Centre, Army War College, Mhow, Staff College in Australia, and as an instructor at DSSC Wellington. It only got better. Gen Kalkat was the first Brigadier seconded to the emerging Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), a brainchild of the doyen of Indian strategic thinking, K Subrahmanyam. On promotion as Maj Gen, he was even selected for the prestigious fellowship at the London–based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). In London, he was handpicked to proceed as GOC IPKF, ostensibly to pick charred chestnuts out of a raging fire. He steadied an unwinnable operation into a semblance of order and control, earning deep respect. It's largely forgotten that he led India's first, and till now only, tri-service operation. Also read: IPKF heroes were ignored for 30 years. They are finally getting their due under Modi govt Lessons learned The political-military knowledge Gen Kalkat gained at IDSA and IISS is best exemplified by his succinct observations in an interview at the peak of IPKF operations. Asked about the lack of IPKF success, he replied sharply: 'In this kind of politico-military task, achievements, can't be measured in terms of areas conquered or number of enemies killed.' His words are as relevant as ever for any insurgency–riven area. It stood him in good stead months later when the rabidly anti-Indian President-elect Ranasinghe Premadasa asked for the eviction of the IPKF. The responsibility fell on the Sri Lankan Army Chief to deliver a letter to Gen Kalkat. Lt Gen Hamilton Wanasinghe, the Sri Lankan Army Chief, was friends with Gen Kalkat and shared his predicament of having to order operations if required. 'I answered that if I were him I would obey the orders of my President. He then asked in that case what I would do. I replied that I would fight to keep my mandate. He thereafter left without delivering the letter from the President,' Gen Kalkat wrote. Gen Kalkat asked him to do his job. 'I'll fight to keep my mandate,' he said. Years later, while reminiscing about his career profile to a Sri Lankan newspaper, he wrote: 'I learnt two important lessons in 1971. One, you have to prove to the men that you are prepared to face the same danger. You have to be on the frontline. Two, your sense of self-respect should be more than your fear.' Rest in peace, my General. Manvendra Singh is a BJP leader, Editor-in-Chief of Defence & Security Alert and Chairman, Soldier Welfare Advisory Committee, Rajasthan. He is writing a book on the IPKF. He tweets @ManvendraJasol. Views are personal. (Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
