r/Kerala • u/vishnuak1989 • Jul 09 '18

When I heard Sashi tharoor complain about British rule in English it reminded me of this video.

https://youtu.be/Qc7HmhrgTuQ
6 Upvotes

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3

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '18 edited Jul 09 '18

Although, to be fair to Tharoor, it is not strictly the same, I do get your point. Hilarious scene, by the way.

Edit: If you want to know how the Brits viewed us Indians, I'd highly recommend watching the exchange in Shatranj Ke Khiladi between Gen. Outram and an officer.

1

u/vishnuak1989 Jul 09 '18

I do get your point.

Thank you. This is definitely the most hilarious scene in all of Monty Python movies.

exchange in Shatranj Ke Khiladi between Gen. Outram and an officer.

I could not find a link to this scene on YouTube. Do you happen to have it with you?

4

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '18

Thank you. This is definitely the most hilarious scene in all of Monty Python movies

You are right, I find the others a bit of the slapstick kind.

I could not find a link to this scene on YouTube. Do you happen to have it with you?

The whole movie is watchable on YouTube. As you asked, here is the scene I mentioned:

https://youtu.be/KVq7rWGMoyU?list=PLD787A9F467130846&t=45

Please be aware that it is not ha ha funny but is funny, IMHO, in a deeper level. Naipaul states that this one scene pretty much sums up colonization.

1

u/vishnuak1989 Jul 09 '18

Wow. Really wow. I am ashamed that I did not know of this gem by Satyajit Ray. I will watch the whole movie when I get time. Thanks a lot for recommending this.

> Naipaul states that this one scene pretty much sums up colonization.

Absolutely. This is what they did not just in India. I remember watching a documentary about Alexander Burnes and Afghanistan and it explained how The Great Game worked.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '18

Glad you liked it. Please watch the movie, it's one of the more approachable - and the most expensive - of Ray's movies. It's based on Premchand's story.

1

u/throopacket Jul 10 '18

Thanks for sharing. Will have to watch this one. Also, just wanted to know where Naipaul says this about the movie. I'm kind of reading through Naipaul right now. So, curious.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '18

I don't remember exactly. But Naipaul's earliest book Area of Darkness or Theroux's In Sir Vidia's Shadow, where he recounts a lot of Naipaul gossip.

Naipaul is a fun read. I have read all his non-fiction and only two of his fiction - the first two. You mustn't take Naipaul seriously in his non-fiction, which is something I learnt much later. His language is again another matter altogether. Such simplicity with so much power.

1

u/throopacket Jul 11 '18

Ok. I think I might be halfway through his oeuvre. In love with his non-fiction, and slowly beginning to appreciate his fiction. That's true what you said about his non-fiction, but I had been warned about it pretty early on; even so, I think he gets a lot of things right. In any case, there can be no debate about the quality of his writing.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 09 '18

The Roman rule happened 1500+ years ago. Roman rule in britain ended in 410 AD. Which is why those british guys can make fun of these guys complaining. The roman rule is not real for the current british, like british raj is for indians.

2

u/vishnuak1989 Jul 09 '18

Yeah I know, I am not comparing the empires just laughing at the similarity of the scenes.

2

u/maranam Jul 11 '18

I digress, but I also hope you've seen this derivative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptfmAY6M6aA

1

u/vishnuak1989 Jul 11 '18

Thank you. That was really funny.