<p>“What is it about?” I asked, never having seen him so keyed up. Not even when he was planning a remake of ‘Ten Commandments’ as ‘Dus Ho Gaye Bus’. “Think ‘Lagaan’,” he said, “now add ‘Da Vinci Code’. Throw in ‘Spiderman’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. You’ve got my blockbuster.”<br />“Sounds like a hotch-potch,” I said. “I will have you know it is an edge-of-seat, nailbiting suspense with romance, sex, religion, intrigue in a fast edit with more twists than permed hair. It will be the biggest hit of the century.” “Okay, tell me or you will burst.”<br />“There is this Godman...and no, it’s not the N-word, before you ask. His name is BTananda.”<br />“BTananda as in beatitude?” “It’s BT as in brinjal. And if you will stop interrupting, I can go on.”<br />“Go on,” I said, settling down .<br />“Godman BT has a humungous following with ashrams all over the world — books, videos, music... it’s a multi-multi dollar enterprise. The film opens with him holding a session…music by A R Rehman…with these scantily clad chicks swaying in erotic ‘asanas’. What nobody knows is that he is the head of a secret outfit called ‘Lashkar-e- Rawism’, and hold-your-breath, he is anti-Christ, anti-India, anti-cricket and anti-cooked food.”<br />“That’s a lot of antis. Usually, they have one pet hate.”<br />“I told you my film is intellectual,” he said, affronted. <br />“BT hates cricket with a venom and will not allow any devotee to watch IPL.When he was a kid, a ball rendered him one eyed — see that’s the psychological angle for credibility.”<br />“So his followers rebel?” <br />“How did you guess? The mutiny takes the form of a secret video film showing our man in the raw, with a starlet, which is released to the media.”<br />“When you say raw, is he nude?”<br />“No. He is actually eating raw BT brinjals with the starlet. You see he is head of another secret cult promoting sinister veggies.”<br />“Where is the sex if all he is doing is eating raw brinjals?”<br />“But the audience thinks he is indulging in wild sex.” “Aha..so BTananda is innocent?”<br />“That’s where the audience is completely befuddled. They don’t know the good guys from the bad guys till the film ends.”<br />“So then the media takes up the sex romp film.” “Here comes the twist.”<br />He said, “BT actually turns out be…a woman. And his followers decide to abandon him.”<br />“The film ends with BT walking into the sunset with the starlet?” I offered. “This, my dumb friend, is where BT buys himself an IPL cricket team” “Huh??!!” I was non-plussed.<br />“I told you my script is unique. BT wants the team to lose every time…to sabotage IPL.” “But how will it sabotage IPL?”<br />“You are dumb!. Why would anyone want to watch a team called BT brinjals lose?” <br />“Wait…how did he fund a team?” “That’s another twist. BT is secretly sponsored by GM Foods. Surprised??” He rubbed his hands with glee.<br />“If GM Foods want BT brinjals to lose, how will they introduce brinjals in India?”<br />“Stumped you! The GM guys will officially withdraw brinjals to make way for BT onions and that is the real hidden agenda.” <br />I held my head in my hands. “Why can’t you make a simple film of a godman who succumbs to temptation?”<br />“If that’s all people want to watch, why should I bother? It’s all on U tube.”<br /></p>
<p>“What is it about?” I asked, never having seen him so keyed up. Not even when he was planning a remake of ‘Ten Commandments’ as ‘Dus Ho Gaye Bus’. “Think ‘Lagaan’,” he said, “now add ‘Da Vinci Code’. Throw in ‘Spiderman’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. You’ve got my blockbuster.”<br />“Sounds like a hotch-potch,” I said. “I will have you know it is an edge-of-seat, nailbiting suspense with romance, sex, religion, intrigue in a fast edit with more twists than permed hair. It will be the biggest hit of the century.” “Okay, tell me or you will burst.”<br />“There is this Godman...and no, it’s not the N-word, before you ask. His name is BTananda.”<br />“BTananda as in beatitude?” “It’s BT as in brinjal. And if you will stop interrupting, I can go on.”<br />“Go on,” I said, settling down .<br />“Godman BT has a humungous following with ashrams all over the world — books, videos, music... it’s a multi-multi dollar enterprise. The film opens with him holding a session…music by A R Rehman…with these scantily clad chicks swaying in erotic ‘asanas’. What nobody knows is that he is the head of a secret outfit called ‘Lashkar-e- Rawism’, and hold-your-breath, he is anti-Christ, anti-India, anti-cricket and anti-cooked food.”<br />“That’s a lot of antis. Usually, they have one pet hate.”<br />“I told you my film is intellectual,” he said, affronted. <br />“BT hates cricket with a venom and will not allow any devotee to watch IPL.When he was a kid, a ball rendered him one eyed — see that’s the psychological angle for credibility.”<br />“So his followers rebel?” <br />“How did you guess? The mutiny takes the form of a secret video film showing our man in the raw, with a starlet, which is released to the media.”<br />“When you say raw, is he nude?”<br />“No. He is actually eating raw BT brinjals with the starlet. You see he is head of another secret cult promoting sinister veggies.”<br />“Where is the sex if all he is doing is eating raw brinjals?”<br />“But the audience thinks he is indulging in wild sex.” “Aha..so BTananda is innocent?”<br />“That’s where the audience is completely befuddled. They don’t know the good guys from the bad guys till the film ends.”<br />“So then the media takes up the sex romp film.” “Here comes the twist.”<br />He said, “BT actually turns out be…a woman. And his followers decide to abandon him.”<br />“The film ends with BT walking into the sunset with the starlet?” I offered. “This, my dumb friend, is where BT buys himself an IPL cricket team” “Huh??!!” I was non-plussed.<br />“I told you my script is unique. BT wants the team to lose every time…to sabotage IPL.” “But how will it sabotage IPL?”<br />“You are dumb!. Why would anyone want to watch a team called BT brinjals lose?” <br />“Wait…how did he fund a team?” “That’s another twist. BT is secretly sponsored by GM Foods. Surprised??” He rubbed his hands with glee.<br />“If GM Foods want BT brinjals to lose, how will they introduce brinjals in India?”<br />“Stumped you! The GM guys will officially withdraw brinjals to make way for BT onions and that is the real hidden agenda.” <br />I held my head in my hands. “Why can’t you make a simple film of a godman who succumbs to temptation?”<br />“If that’s all people want to watch, why should I bother? It’s all on U tube.”<br /></p>