Its been a day that can be safely termed as a ‘non-day’. I do not know if such a word or expression exists but .. there it is ! A day when you seem to be doing a lot, but in fact do nothing. And that is exhausting. Nothing, has a habit of doing that to one.

Its not that one sits in idle thought or contemplation. One actually sits in deep involvement, in discussion and exchange, but realizes that neither did the discussion work nor the time spent on it.

So to put it more succinctly, I had a desire to think out my future course of action - of what one must do as an individual. To take in what the wise and the elders have to say. To ascertain from the young and the dependent their view point and to finally come to some final conclusion. But no, it did not work.

You realize that the elders are not around - your own age falling into their bracket at this stage of life. The young are aggressive and quick fix, gun out of the holster, ready for an imminent ‘draw’ and the wise are available on a chip activated by technical know how.

At the end its just you and you alone to take order, to assuage and conclude.

And what has been concluded is another day gone by without making any progress on the 483, 484, 485. Another day gone by without getting to scroll down the freshness of the EF and not sufficient impetus to dwell ( one of the three words that start with ‘dw’ as per the quiz in the comments ) on what has been expressed by the world.

The body and mind has tired. There is an effort to fulfill the basic commitments in as rapid a pace as possible and in doing so, to be aware and conscious of a valid assessment perhaps by the glorious member of the FmXt, that once my days in Singapore come to an end I shall not have the same degree of involvement in the blogosphere !!

No ! I shall endeavor to disprove that. I shall stick to what has been designed. And… still have time for other more professional matters.

The vote on the POLL has shown a distinct leaning towards films or cinema being a propagator of violence. 62% affirmative to around 30% against that motion. Most then believe that films do propagate.

Some of the observations that I have been defending myself with, and others with me, has been the age old argument that, cinema is a 20th Century invention, and so what was happening for the remaining 19 Centuries. Violence existed much before that and when there was no cinema, how did it get propagated. The other has been the argument that, many violent events in History were never influenced by this medium of film. Which film propagated the Holocaust ? Which film propagated the most violent event in the history of India - the Partition in 1947 in the formation of Pakistan and India. And so many other examples.

Are those that enact violence in a make belief world more dangerous than those that report it through the medium of the electronic and print media. If a censorship controls the content of the visual in cinema, what yardsticks are in employ for the information medium. Can we control the angle of the photograph printed, or the repeated edit and slow motion cuts in the electronic. Is there no similarity in both the expressions of depiction, or are we to believe that that which is done, as the media expounds, for the benefit of the people, to be able to inform because that is a compelling etiquette in a free and fair society, that they are in a league different from all other laws of the land.

The discussion will have a never ending agenda. And so it shall remain. I believe that it is the people that must eventually be the gauge of what needs to be permitted or controlled. And if there is an attempt to take recourse in the courts, then the masses shall themselves pass verdict. Anything that crosses the barrier of sensibility shall be rejected. Once they reject, that film or TV channel or paper, they will feel the immediate commercial consequence of rejection and either change or close.

What do we as a society and as a culture wish to express. That then becomes crucial. If the keepers of our morals will be sensitive to the demands and expectations of the people, respect and permissibility shall undergo relevant change and control.

Who then will judge what the sensibilities of the people are. Who then shall tell and teach us and our children what shall be good and bad. Do we as family heads do it, or will the State do it.

The State in its desire to modernize, to bring development and progress will do its utmost to provide the facilities that reflect such development. It can bring in the most modern form of travel and communication. It can build the most efficient highways to connect destinations. But if the people have not been educated or made conversant with how they need to conduct themselves in order to use these facilities in the way they need to be used or cared for, there really is no point in introducing them.

If a pedestrian is not going to be taught how to respect the rules of crossing a road. If the driver of the car shall not follow the traffic regulations. If the citizen is not made aware of certain basic civic sense, then, will not the process of improvement undergo setbacks.

These are some of the thoughts that worry me and I often ponder over them. It is impossible to find one complete final solution. But look around and we shall find that there are examples all over where the execution of standards and discipline have been adhered to. Those standards reflect in the way we behave in our society, in the way we conduct our business, in the way we make our films, in the way we choose our governance.

It may take long years to accomplish what many dream and imagine, but I believe that it cannot be put to the responsibility of a few. It shall only succeed when each individual performs. Many on the FmXt tell me to desist in the pursuit of my marathon replies to comments. They show concern for my health and the tediousness of the operation. I respect their concern, but I cannot be respectful to a failed commitment. I would have failed if I were to be unable to continue with my commitment.

People of my world… people of my family extendum… people…just one small change, by one individual, that is executed for the betterment, shall change the world eventually !!

Love as never before ..

Amitabh Bachchan