A lifer is not entitled to a good time A macabre and gory trailer kept audiences away from one of the most underrated films this year,Not a Love Story,based on the heinous killing of TV executive Neeraj Grover in Mumbai. (He was stabbed repeatedly before being hacked into pieces.) The gruesome crime of passion held the country riveted three years ago. Just when everyone had written off Ram Gopal Varma,he bounced back with the emotional blood-stained tale of tragic love where a viewer could almost empathise with the crazy plight of the murderers,caught up in a situation whizzing out of control. There are some crime stories that never die down: no pun intended. Old-timer Delhiites still talk of the Billa-Ranga case,the kidnapper-murderers of two children way back in 1978 that became a turning point for residents of the Capital: till then Delhi was considered a safe city. Hitchhiking to and from Delhi University was the norm and women didnt feel unsafe in public transport. Since then,many real life crime stories have captured public imagination and made it to reel life: the best example being Manu Sharma,currently serving life sentence for killing model Jessica Lall. He has unwittingly became the poster boy of how everything is wrong with the system,particularly how the rich and powerful are above the law. Sharma is in the news again for getting parole that hes fully and legally entitled to. It comes with a peculiar rider: no nightclubs and bars. The High Court parole decision has outraged the public since,the last time he was out of jail,Sharma had the temerity to visit a nightclub. His lawyer Ram Jethmalani protested feebly that very respectable people including lawyers frequent nightclubs. Jethmalani correctly states that Sharma is in the business of restaurants and hotels and he was granted parole to look after business matters,and his ailing mother. So its perfectly natural for him to visit a bar. But a lifer on parole,it seems,has to continue to appear apologetic. And grateful for simply being allowed out of jail: youre certainly not entitled to a good time,so discotheques are out of the question. Even if entertainment and hospitality happen to be your businesses. Sharma,it seems,also has some incredibly bad luck. On possibly the first time in a decade that he would have managed to enter a bar,a scuffle took place. His role in the fight isnt clear but one has to wonder at his colossal stupidity: after spending most of his 20s in a jail cell,youd think hed have the brains to stay miles away from anything vaguely resembling a brawl,and disappear at the first sign of trouble; but no,he was in the thick of it. Hypothetically,if he had violated parole conditions and visited a mandir,it would be interesting to see how the judge would have reacted. Is it fair to say Sharma hasnt reformed and that he doesnt deserve parole? The whole idea of parole is to give offenders a fair chance at reintegrating into society and not handicapping them further by keeping them in isolation. But at a time when several high-profile industrialists and ministers are languishing in jail with no sign of bail,Sharma should be grateful for his measly five days out. Something in the system,it seems,is working. hutkayfilms@gmail.com
