Fear and Loathing on 
the Campaign Trail
— Hunter S Thompson

The forerunner of the subjective ‘gonzo’ style of journalism, Hunter S Thompson blends fact, fiction and opinion together in his writing. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail is a blend of Thompson’s stories originally written for Rolling Stone magazine about politics, his interviews and his diaries. Thompson wrote Fear and Loathing to document the frenetic pace of a presidential campaign. His book also offered insights into the tenuous relationship between Washington politicians and the journalists who cover them: Thompson derides the cosy social network they form even as he participates in it, and openly condemns the implicit policy that comments made to long-time Washington reporters are off-the-record.  Thompson rapidly fires off his criticisms, interspersing them with personal revelations. This is not objective writing, and he never meant it to be. “The only thing I ever saw that came close to objective journalism was a closed-circuit TV set-up that watched shoplifters in the general store at Woody Creek, Colorado,” Thompson wrote. “I always admired that machine, but I noticed that nobody paid much attention to it...” People did pay attention to Thompson’s writing, even if it was because of his inflammatory criticisms: such as calling Democratic nominee contender Hubert Humphrey a hypocrite for supporting contradictory race relations policies.

Flicked 

Sorry Bhai!

Onir, the director who created a bit of a flutter in the Indian landscape with his take on alternate sexuality in My Brother... Nikhil, comes up with yet another offbeat offering. When Sorry Bhai! released last year, there were a few howls of protest yet again: certain sections of the audience felt it wasn’t quite ‘Indian’ in sensitivity. Here’s why. Harsh (Sanjay Suri), a successful market analyst, is engaged to Aaliyah (Chitrangada Singh). The two live in Mauritius. When they decide to get married, Harsh’s parents (Boman Irani and Shabana Azmi) along with his baby brother Sid, come over for the wedding, expected to take place in a week’s time. Aaliyah realises that she is attracted to Sid — who is the exact opposite of the pragmatic Harsh. Hell breaks loose when Sid reciprocates, and Aaliyah takes the lead in deciding that she should call off her engagement with Harsh, and marry Sid instead. Whatever follows — very, very serious and unapologetic stuff — is wonderfully couched in comedy, without once stooping to frivolity. Onir relies on an unconventional star cast: Sanjay Suri as Harsh, Sharman Joshi as Sid and Chitrangada Singh (who makes a much-anticipated re-appearance after a fairly long hiatus following the Naxalite movement-themed Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi). And no surprises: Boman Irani and Shabana Azmi as Harsh and Sid’s as-alike-as-chalk-and-cheese parents steal the show.