The Beauty And The Brain - Episode 12 - Serial With Weekly Episodes

Sharada · May 29, 2006

The V syndrome

The Varalotti syndrome - the highs, lows, brickbats and bouquets held us enthralled for 12 weeks! You got your share of fans and fair maidens were bowled over. Who is one Swetha compared to 1000 Indus ladies?!
This serial has been an effort of love - we've enjoyed the journey and the destination was worth it.
Every beauty queen proclaims that she will work for the underprivileged etc. - but Swetha is really doing it. Perhaps Sethu will eventually marry her and they will live happily ever after.
Inadvertently if my criticisms have been too harsh I render my apologies.
Keep writing,
Sharada

Varloo · May 29, 2006

Very grand end

Dear Varalotti,
I am enthralled with the last episode. You have given good ending. It is true that Sethu cannot forget his wife of many years just a few months of her demise. He will need more time to get a grip over the grief and his family's loss. But he may opt to marry somebody in due course of time. So Swetha does stand a chance. By this, you hae given hope for her also. When people taste too much of fame, money etc. very quickly, they get fed up of it after sometime. They earn for a simple living with a loving family. That is the reason for the suicide of many famous heroines, in the prime of their careers. So it is apt that she should feel dejected of all she earned for earlier. Hats off to you, for such a wonderful,racy and spicy story. And do keep giving us such stories.
With warm wishes,
varloo

Chitvish · May 31, 2006

I am afraid, it is not a “ goody, goody ” feedback from me !

Dear Sridhar,
Hypocrisy is not my virtue and I am brutally frank with you in my feedback. Honestly, I was disappointed with the ending ! For once, I am coming down “ heavily ” on you ! My friendship with you has taken a backseat when I play the role of a critic !

I fully endorse Sethu leaving Bombay and shifting to an orphanage in Chennai. In spite of a highly successful performance professionally in Swetha’s case, we can make out that he is still nursing a broken heart. Under such circumstances, the decision he has taken ( perhaps for the time being, atleast ?) is fully justified. Infact if you had given an ending like his marrying Swetha, I would have been shocked how he could be so insensitive and that too so early, after losing his family under tragic circumstances.

Now, tell me, do you think Aishwarya Rao will ever fit in, in “ Udhavum Karangal “ ? That is what you have suggested by Swetha planning to move to Chennai orphanage ! It is practically impossible for an ex beauty queen and no: 1 in Bollywood, to decide to shift to an orphanage in a new place, literally cross country, if I can say so ! She belongs to Bombay and not Chennai. It sounds too far-fetched a decision and the only reason she can give herself is, she can be physically close to Sethu. It sounds like her snap-decision just not to miss out being with Sethu ! Can a life-decision be taken in a minute ? That is what you have made your heroine take, surprisingly !

Definitely Sarada , as her confidante, should have advised her not to jump into a hasty decision, take her time to analyse things, discuss threadbare the pros and cons of the feasibility, and then take a decision. How can a major decision be taken on an impulse ? This is just that, nothing more. Foregoing wealth and retiring to a life of social service – these words look apt, when coming out of a beauty contestant’s mouth in the finals, in an attempt to impress the judges and get the ranking. But it is an impossible feat to accomplish in reality for a young, beautiful, vulnerable girl fresh from the tinsel world ! I am sure you are going to label me " old fashioned" in my thinking ! You are entitled to your views.

It is shocking to me, to put it mildly, that you have given such an ending to a beautiful story, I was enjoyably reading all these weeks.
Please do not feel offended, my enthusiasm was totally dampened by an “ illogical” ( according to me ) ending ! I am eagerly looking forward to what are you going to write next ! This ending does not deter me from continuing to be an ardent fan of you, my dear friend !

Love & regards,
Chithra.

Varloo · May 31, 2006

There is an example

Hai,
sorry to butt in like this. I sould like to give a piece of info regarding this complete change of roles . You all might be remembering the Tamil heroine who acted in many films, I don't remember her name, (in Kadhalikka Neramillai, as the second daughter of Balayya). She married the famous Pithukuli Murugadas. They have a very was difference in age, he is nearly blind and a sanyasi. She married him so that she could take care of him, shunning the wordly life. She has even sung many bhajans along with him and released cassettes. And Kanchana, she is said to be living with her husband in a temple premises in Karnataka, a simple aesthetic life. Human mind is very strange one. This is my opinion only.
With warm wishes,
varloo

Chitvish · May 31, 2006

I know these two cases, Varloo !

What I could'nt accept was Sweta's on-the-spot snap decision ! These two ladies might have contemplated over it, discussed with family & then made the decision. Such drastic decisions are not uncommon. In sweta's case the decision seems more impusive than rational !
Let us see what Sridhar has to say !
Love & regards,
Chithra.

Bhugan · May 31, 2006

memorable story

Dear Varalotti
Thanks for entertaining Ilites for the past few weeks . I used to look forward to saturdays. Before i start to write about what i felt about ur story i want to congradulate for yr command over the language. Though i'm not well versed person like u i hope u will take my opinion in the right spirit.
First of all the story was run of the mill kind bearing resemblances to many famous personalities and their lifestyles. Infact i cldnt help drawing similarites with Shoba De's story "starrry Nights".
The narration cld have been more brief as half the time i got lost in the exhaustive narration the main purpose of reading got lost.
The plot was of filmi style and cld have been handled better.
The hero with a redoubtable character cannot develop a soft corner for Swetha after having undergone great personal tragidies in the recent past. Don't u think it was a bit too early though u may justify by saying he was getting over his grief.
The later episodes were like reading film jouranls .
To put in a nutshell it was like solving an 'Easy' Sudoku whereas i expected a 'Hard' Sudoku fm a person with yr calibre.
Kindly remember that i'm always ur fan that is why i took the liberty to tell u my honest feelings about the story
luv
Bhugan

varalotti · May 31, 2006

Thanks For The Not So Goody Goody Feedback!

Dear Chitra,

Actually I wanted to leisurely answer the responses one by one in the order of posting. But your "not so goody goody" response was a very powerful stimulant which made me jump the queue and directly answer you .
When you criticise, your affection, love and friendship should all take the backseat. After all, like me, you also hail from Madurai the birth place of Nakkeerar who told the God Himself, "Netri Kan thirappinum kutram kutrame." I appreciate and bow down to your spirit, Madam.

Now let's get on with the business at hand. I quote you

"I fully endorse Sethu leaving Bombay and shifting to an orphanage in Chennai. In spite of a highly successful performance professionally in Swetha’s case, we can make out that he is still nursing a broken heart. Under such circumstances, the decision he has taken ( perhaps for the time being, atleast ?) is fully justified."

At the surface level, a bright and successful accountant shifting to an orphanage as its manager would look improbable. You have poetically told that it is impossible to visualise Aishwarya Rai in Udavum Karangal. It is equally impossible (if not more) to see Mr.Billimoria or Mr.Y.H.Malegam or Mr.Chetan Dalal in Anbagam. (Anbagam is an orphanage in Madurai and the others are leading national names in the accounting profession).

But then why do you accept Sethu's decision? Simply because his personal life is in ruins. He has lost his family under the most tragic circumstances. And he feels now that material success he had gained in the past neglecting to spend time with his family has not been worth the while. Given this mindset, it has been easy for you to accept his drastic, revolutionary decision.

Now, Madam, let's turn our attention to Swetha's case. I would say her life is in no better shape. Her personal life is also in shambles. At the time when the story happens she is without any meaningful relationship. Sharada is ok as a friend and counsellor and not more than that.
Swetha has fallen in love with the mild, sincere, suave and handsome accountant. This is something very natural given her situation.
Swetha doesn't initiate the move to go along with Sethu to the orphanage. If you had read E12 thoroughly you would have understood that Swetha wants to retire from Bollywood, go to Swiss and have a peaceful life with Sethu there with all her money. That's what she wants.
She is shocked when Sethu says that he can't marry her and that he was going to work for the orphanage.
Now try to capture my sweet heroine's mind at this point of time. She is about to lose Sethu once for all. She is already disillusioned with the filmworld. She has had enough of it.
Also remember Sharada's words. Sharada implies that after a stage there is an inherent risk in a life involving too much of money and fame.
Again Swetha is a very practical and a shrewd woman. She has moved very closely with the worst possible villain - Rakesh Khan. Sethu and Sharada team might have terrrorised Khan into giving Rs.30 crores. But all said and done he is a wounded tiger. If Swetha continues her life in the same mode he is sure to hit again. Certainly Swetha is far safer in an orphanage in Chennai than in her Juhu Bungalow attending shooting in Mumbai and the surrounding areas.
And to cap it all just step into the shoes of a woman who has seen so many highs and lows in her life within a short span of say, 27 years. She got crowned Miss Universe. Became No.1 in Bollywood. Fell in Love. Ditched by lover. Attempted suicide. Saved by a friend. Was rolling in riches. Then literally on the street. Again saved by friends.
When the life's scenes changes so fast even an obdurate sensualist would prefer some isolation, some calm living, would prefer to do some service or be near the one she loves the most.
She attains all this in one stroke by her brilliant decision. Remember Swetha is an excellent artist. And the hallmark of a good artist is to know when to sign on and when to sign off. I think Swetha has acquitted herself creditably in this.
And there are many real life counterparts for Swetha. Varloo has referred to the life of Rajashri who married Pithukuli Murugadoss.
The sexy actress Deepa, Unnimeri, has become a nun and is working for some charity.
Shirley Mclaine the Hollywood actress engaged herself in many service activities and wrote some wonderful books after she quit Hollywood.
The second issue is that she should not have decided it so fast. Honestly, Chitra, contrary to what we think, decisions like these are made right from the heart in a flash. It is not a rational decision where Swetha has to write down the pros and cons of every alternative, weigh them and finally decide. Standing before her is the person she loves deeply and waiting for her is the only opportunity to be with him at least for an hour a day.
There is a very fair chance of Sethu changing his mind in the near future. Who knows!
Swetha just took a few nanoseconds to decide. She took twenty minutes to formulate her decision into words.
I tell from my personal experience that all major decisions, all right decisions in my life were taken just like that. When I am in a dilemma and decide after some time I am not usually happy with the decision.

If Swetha had not decided that in that 20 minutes she would not have decided at all and would have spent the rest of her life regretting her indecision.

With these arguments, the defence rests, your honour.

You have reiterated towards at the end of the post that you are my ardent fan. I tell you Chitra, only an ardent fan and a dear friend like you can write like this, with candour and affection. Thanks for that.

Will be only too glad to see your views on this.
regards,
sridhar

Chitvish · Jun 1, 2006

I am butting in between you & Sridhar !

Dear Bhugan,
Now sridhar will come to your mail in the order of the queue. Before that I want to share my thoughts with you.
Eventhough the main personality is filmi, I think Sridhar has brought out beautifully how emotionally sensitive Sweta is and portrayed Sethu as a man of strong intellect. We definitely enjoy any story, all the more if it is filmi. We can’t deny that filmi touch adds its own share of glamour. Only the suicides of filmi celebrities are hyped up in the media & we lap up all details. So there is no denying that we enjoy reading about their life styles.

If the narration was brief, we would not have enjoyed the details about the tense moments in the “ holy site of health tourism” ! The narration is racy, but still we get a lot of information about the medical world, Bollywood and the accounting profession. It is almost like seeing a live performance of real life characters. I, on my part, enjoyed the exhaustive narration because he still maintained the tempo admirably till the end & it was gripping right through, depicting the marvellous ways of human mind and life, very beautifully !
.... Bhugan, you seem to be an expert at soduku – I enjoy only the easy soduku because it gives me more satisfaction ! If Sridhar had given a hard soduku, I would have abandoned reading it half way through !

As for his reply to me, I was clean bowled in the first ball from him ! His explanation has clearly answered my question !
Love & regards,
Chithra.

Kamla · Jun 1, 2006

Dear Varalotti/Sridhar...

So, the End! Can't help feeling sad. With this ends the weekly anticipation of the new episode and not to forget the following wham-bam critical exchanges that automatically followed each and every episode!! Honestly Sridhar, although I might inadvertently disappoint the author in you, I am not sure what provided more excitement, your serial or the opinions about the serial expressed by some of the eloquent members of IL , ofcourse on your instigation!

Well, the last episode ended very much the way I had hoped it would end. The narrative was sleek and smooth, all well tucked away, marked and closed. It would have been unacceptable if Sethu and Swetha had fallen into each others' arms straight away. I get the feeling that after the fourth (or was it the fifth) episode, you deviated your attention more towards your male protagonist, so much so, most of us ILites were smitten with him! So this left little scope for our pretty heroine (much like in our movies!!) and when she did the about turn in the final episode, it comes about as a bit abrupt. But nevermind, we all knew she was deeply in love with her man and anything is fair in love

Thanks to you for providing us so much entertainment for the past quarter year! A great achievemnet, come to think of it. Now you have me waiting for more I am sure other ILites agree with me.

PS: It was also very nice to read your note to ILites and you thanking your 'editor friend'. That was a real sweet gesture. Please extend my greetings to your friend

varalotti · Jun 1, 2006

You were the first, Meenu and Purnima!

Dear Meenu and Purnima,
When you, mother and daughter, are so close to write in each other's ID, the least I can do is to give a common reply.
Nice to see you guys being happy about the ending. Meenu, it thrills me to know that you do like the term labour of love.
Nor Purnima, don't worry about my 'taking a break'. I also cannot remain for long without writing, without provoking and without making you people think, smile, frown or even cry.
By break I only meant the major projects like another serial. Otherwise I would be averaging my 2.90 posts per day.
You want to see the latest posts, go to snippets and read about the Bangalore Meeting on 25th May. Or go to the Honourable Men thread in Forwarded Messages and jokes. You can have a hearty laugh.
Thanks a lot, dears, for the confidence and trust you have in me. I now badly need these outward expression of trust as, of late, my writing skills, are being questioned
regards,
sridhar