Wounded hero

Note: This column will eventually lead into cricket. I promise.Here is the situation This is a true story. An action film is being shot...

June 12, 1999 12:00 AM IST

4 min read

Note: This column will eventually lead into cricket. I promise.Here is the situation This is a true story. An action film is being shot. The scene at hand is one at the point in the hero8217;s journey where he has been badly injured. The heroine manages to take the hero out of harm8217;s way, and brings him to a doctor. She asks the doctor to take out the bullet. He goes for his instruments, and begins the delicate task at hand and barely manages to8230; CUT!

Hang on a second! There seems to be a real problem here. We can8217;t shoot the scene this way. There is an obvious problem. How can the doctor remove the bullet? How can he remove the bullet when the heroine is standing right there. Golden Rule for today 8211; your action in the scene is determined not by the script, but by the amount that you are paid. This is actually the logic that was applied in this case. Hence, the heroine being the second-highest paid artiste in the film, it is determined that she will bite the bullet, so to speak. Step aside good doctor,step aside script and8230; ACTION! It happens only in India.

Which gives us a perfect segue8230; speaking of wounded heroes, the current favourite is probably none other than the last cowboy, Mohammad Azharuddin. The man who gives new definition to the word beleaguered, reminds me of no one more then the latter-day Clint Eastwood, the Eastwood of Unforgiven. They are both characters who have had to face failure and doubt and rise above it. There is a sequence in the film where Eastwood tries to summon up his old powers, and taking aim on a makeshift shooting range, he aims for a row of beer bottles. He fires six times, and misses with every shot. On Wednesday against Pakistan, Azhar was desperately going after the bowling, but mistiming almost every shot. Even his partner Robin Singh seemed to be on his back asking for his share of the strike, rather than endure the torture of watching a man so out of form waste each delivery. He finally managed to heave one over the ropes, with relief writ on his face. And inthe commentator8217;s voice too, saying that he had FINALLY managed to get the six he had been trying so long for. There are other uncanny resemblances too. They are both taciturn men: personalities that prefer to let their deeds do the talking. But then, when they do, or rather, when they are forced to speak, the quips are more than memorable. Dirty Harry8217;s 8220;Do you feel lucky?8221; probably has less imitators these days than Azhar8217;s 8220;The boys did well today8221; or the now legendary 8220;Pad up Sachin.8221;

And there is another parallel between the two. Eastwood remained one of Hollywood8217;s most durable stars, lasting for over two decades in a bracket known for its acute volatility. Azhar has survived for one-and-a-half decades within the politics that governs our national cricket. And at the end of the day, in the match we had to win, he gutted it out, top scored, and when the edges came flying at him in the slips, it never looked for a second that he would drop them.

So, for the time being he is off the hook. FromSunil Gavaskar downward praise has been unanimous. But he knows that this too will pass, that the demons will be back this afternoon and that when he picks up his six-shooter this afternoon, there is as much chance that he will miss as he will hit.In mythology and in film, there is a point in the hero8217;s journey where he must fail, and his conviction, his faith in his own powers, comes into doubt. Azhar has already been there. Beyond that point, the victory then is not in the hit or miss, but in coming up to the crease, getting face to face with your demons and taking your shot.

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