You don’t mess with the Zohan is a 2008 Hollywood slapstick comedy. Zohan is an Israeli counter-terrorist who
becomes bored of all the violence and moves secretly to the USA where he
becomes a hairdresser assuming the pseudonym of Scrappy Coco (names of the two
dogs with whom he had shared the flight).
He lives in the lower Manhattan where Middle Eastern Americans abound.
The Palestinians and the Israelis live on opposite sides of the street. Zohan becomes a freak success in the salon run
by a Palestinian woman named Dalia after giving a haircut to an old woman with
whom he also has sex soon after the very ‘loving’ haircut. Dalia’s business booms because of Zohan’s
double services and a corporate magnate who wants to evacuate the emigrants in
order to construct a roller coaster mall is beaten. A lot of hilarious comedy and much Hollywood
action later, Zohan the Israeli marries Dalia the Palestinian.
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| Pope Francis at the wall built by Israel |
The movie brings out in
its own unique way the futility of violence, particularly violence in the name
of religion and nationality. In the last
few days two important incidents took place related to this theme of peace and
harmony. One is Pope Francis’s visit to
the Middle East. He invited the leaders
of Israel and Palestine to Rome with a view to finding a peaceful solution to
the problem between the two countries.
Both the leaders have accepted the invitation, according to reports.
The second major event is the
presence of the Pak Prime Minister (along with other dignitaries, of course) at
Mr Narendra Modi’s swearing in ceremony.
Today the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan will discuss and let us
hope that they will arrive at some kind of a peace treaty. Let us also hope for a solution to the problem in Sri Lanka between the Sinhalas and the Tamils.
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| Courtesy: The Hindu May good sense prevail! |
Francis of Assisi, the
patron saint of the Pope, is believed (only believed)
to have composed the following prayer.
Lord, make me an
instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred,
let me sow love;
Where there is injury,
pardon;
Where there is
discord, harmony;
Where there is error,
truth;
Where there is doubt,
faith;
Where there is
despair, hope;
Where there is
darkness, light;
And where there is
sadness, joy.
Let us hope for a better
world. Let Zohans and Dalias, Khans and
Khannas, Vadivelus and Vidusahanis marry each other and transcend man-made borders. Let slapstick comedy metamorphose into
genuine happiness.
wonderful thought :) And I really liked watching Zohan :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's wonderful comedy, intelligent too.
DeleteThe process of peace goes one step ahead and then someone committs some terrorist act and it goes two steps back .. everytime, we need to hope that may be this time, it will work .. :)
ReplyDeleteNo doubt. The vast majority of people want peace. But a tiny fraction of the population are determined to inflict their insanity upon the others. Political treaties may not always succeed in dealing with insanity. The causes of the malaise should be tackled. Tough job.
DeleteLet's hope that the leaders of this subcontinent will be able to resolve the internal problems...let's hope everything will be fine ( aal is well )
ReplyDeleteI share your optimism, Maniparna. Perhaps, Mr Modi has the political will as well as acumen for getting the leaders to come to some practical solutions.
DeleteA PRAYER WHICH WILL SURELY BE LISTENED TO!
ReplyDeleteI hope so, Uppal. But you can already feel rumblings of dissatisfaction from many quarters. Solutions come the hard way, sometimes!
DeleteBesides this blog adding some more information to my knowledge, it spells out a prayer for the country. Again a haunting theme which might be prevailing in any action done by an informed Indian these days. It is said that the invitation to the ceremony contains political diplomacy in its clandestine agenda. It is a kind of warning to the other countries conveying a message "If you play me fair, I will; if otherwise I will be too." Really time is the only chemist to cure the Indian pangs.
ReplyDeleteVery glad to see your increasing presence here, M. Diplomacy, yes, much of it was there in Mr Modi's invitations to the foreign dignitaries. Drama too to some extent. But beyond all that, I hope fervently, there is a deep desire for solutions. And that desire can be materialised not by muscle flaunting, but by a vision that matches the depth of the desire.
DeleteI love this prayer,we used to sing it in our school morning assembly.Yes we should give religion a skip when we discuss world politics but is it possible?
ReplyDeleteA classical prayer it is.
DeleteIs it possible, you ask. Well, how far can we materialise idealistic goals? To some extent at least, they are practical, I think. We may not have the ideal world, but we can have some solutions, less violence, more peace...
Lets hope for the best.... and the poem whoever penned it is beautifully simple and rich. Thanks for sharing it and your thoughts..
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of service, Kokila. Thanks for the encouragement.
Deletethe poem is very beautiful..and we the citizenry, can try and hope for the best by staying optimistic
ReplyDeleteI hope our optimism will outlive the euphoria of the historic election.
DeleteThat's a lovely movie and quite unusual. Haven't seen it. Hope the world embraces such good more often.
ReplyDeleteOne of the funniest movies I have ever watched, Saru. A Chaplineqsue genius must have written the script.
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