Defining a Hero

 Who is a hero? The film stars? As somebody who ''assisted'' at the pre/during/post stages of eleven EMRC films, I can most authentically state with total authority that the actors' contribution to any film is minimal, may be,  just two per cent. The script writer, the DOP, the editor and most importantly, the director herself are the real, though mostly unsung, heroes. 

Are the sports stars the real heroes? Well, yes and no, as the Frenchies put it. Like the film stars, they, too, contribute precious little to the daily lived lives of the common man.

Recently, the film by the surname sake of Yours Truly has shown how the real heroes are the brilliant, hard-working, sincere scientists. Yet the news apparently is that the film is not doing as well as a silly comedy or a formula film is.

Why are the scientists not 'heroes' despite being truly heroic? That is because apparently they lack glamour, it seems. Well, if I were to tell you the name of a freedom fighter who walked the talk (to quote from our blog yesterday) and was highly glamorous as well, you would realise what real heroism is and who a true hero is.

Yes, you guessed it right. THE man I am referring to is Bhagat Singh whose birth anniversary was recently celebrated, though, like Shastriji's, in a slightly bated/muted way.  Many a citizen might have missed it, too!

Why is Bhagat Singh truly heroic? Where does his glamour come from? Sure, he, too, walked the talk. He was self-sacrificing, moreover. Most importantly, he thought unusually. He carried out thoroughly that unique thought which brought in systemic changes. 

The best example thereof could be his prolific writing. Personally though, I think that the fast unto death he undertook when he was imprisoned is a great example of how and why heroes are made. From behind the bars, he shook the very foundations of the imperial colonial power. Prison laws had to be changed because he remained steadfastly true to his idea(l)s. In brief, heroes are neither born, nor made. Rather they evolve to revolutionise routine realities, right?

Pratima@ A real hero may not have six or eight, or whatever, packs. A true hero positively packs in a punch that changes the status quo for the better.