The lover in a hooligan

Ever since as a child I admired the role of Radhe in Tere Naam. I have admired the realistic acting of Salman Khan and his role of Radhe. Radhe is a college going rowdy and hooligan who lives with his elder brother and sister-in-law. Although he completed his graduation five years back, yet he is attached to the college and helps office bearers wins elections. Although he engages in brawls and hits up people at times, yet he is not a bad person by heart and that he evident when he fights with a local goon who was trying to molest a mentally unstable girl. He falls in love with a girl and also saves the girl elder sister from a trap in a brothel. He also went to the extent of hitting a government official on duty, who happened to be the girls brother-in-law, not because he wanted the girl but because the husband was a greedy dowry seeker and such a punishment to him was the need of the hour. Because of his generosity, he had become enemies to several goons. Those goons beat him and hit him to a train boggie head-bar several times causing internal brain hemorrhage and ending him to be mentally unstable person. He ends up at a Ashram where he is being tied up with chains and kept like an animal. He recovers and flees from there, but to his astonishment his sees his girlfriend's dead body on the day of her marriage as a disagreement to get married to anybody else than him. He could have led his free life happily, but as a price to his girlfriends death he chose to spend the rest of his life at the Ashram.

This role has several aspects which can be related to most Indian gully boys. We are often misunderstood as hooligans because we are seen strolling around local shops in the evenings. We know how to respect a women and getting into a brawl to save her dignity is not a big issue for us. We are lovers at heart, but are afraid with the fear of getting dejected or with the monetary fear as mostly we are jobless as our parents are incapable to pool in the money required to bribe a fat greedy middleman at the government office.

Most Indian boys have always worshiped Salman bhai because of his personality and generosity for poor. I have also had the experience of saving part of daily pocket money to watch his movie at the local theater. This movie is a blockbuster and most Indian boys could relate themselves to the role of Radhe, if not fully but partially. There was a hidden lover in the face of hooligan and that is how Indian gully boys are, often misunderstood and dejected by the society, yet living like a hero.

Submitted for Indispire