What on earth, are we doing?

Look who's turning green! Well, it's certainly not with envy. Film director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who launched the DVD of the environmentally-friendly Avatar on the Global Earth Day yesterday, couldn't stop talking about the greener grass on the other side. He shared his views on conserving nature with CS while skimming through books on the subject:


WHO: Rakesh Omprakash Mehra
WHAT: On waking up to environmental concers
WHERE: At the Avatar DVD launch

Testing times
Everyday should be an Earth Day. I don't see the relevance of dedicating special days to various causes; they should only serve as reminders. We've had 40 Earth Days already and they haven't made much of a difference. I don't want to sound cynical, but we need to be responsible towards our resources. And this feeling needs to come from within.
It would help if we could induct an Earth Hour in the students' syllabus. Every child's practical contribution towards nature and its resources should be reviewed, and if the kid hasn't done her bit, she should not be promoted to the next grade. I feel that we grown-ups have messed around with our planet, and it is time that the kids took the reigns in their hands. The Gen Next can make a big difference to the world. It is time they got up and started calling the shots.u00a0

Action!
As radical as this may sound, it is a very practical solution. How earth-friendly you are, reflects through your actions. Making long, meandering speeches or being seen at right places won't help if you're not doing anything for your planet. It is great that Hollywood films like Avatar and Free Willy have woken us up to environmental concerns, but the Indian film industry has a long way to go before it warms up to this 'inconvenient truth.'

It's for reel
In fact, our society hasn't yet grasped the deep impact of this global issue. Our movies are only a reflection of what the society considers relevant. So in the name of cinema, we are shelling out a lot of mediocrity. The audience is having a good time watching it, and ironically, we're having a good time churning out these films! It's time we thought a little deeper.