Dumbfounded in Yangon
Trip Start
Sep 01, 2005
1
163
Trip End
Dec 04, 2006
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Yangon, Myanmar
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
The cinema was a plush red and virtually empty on the weeknight, the red seats looked like as if it had never been cleaned and the air con was useless as we decided to sit in the front row of the top balcony level but we were determined to get into the mood. The movie had gotten to a great start with a lot of dancing and singing but after ten minutes it had turned into a very, very bad idea. Here is a synopsis of the plot line for those that dare:
Radhe the main character finished college over five years ago but decided to become protector of the people and bashes up the bullies and steals food off the new students. One new student, Ninjara, that enrolls is the daughter of a priest and Radhe ends up falling in love with. She however is already in an arranged marriage with another guy. Radhe then proposes to Ninjara and afterwards threatens her fiancée to stay away from Ninjara. In some strange way Radhe ends up saving Ninjara's best friend from the brothel and Ninjara's fiancée witnesses it and approves Radhe's union with Ninjara. Ninjara accepts the news but before she can say anything she is kidnapped by Radhe who takes her too an abandoned metalwork factory and starts threatening her life but ends up not killing her. Ninjara is impressed by his rough tactics and they fall in love?? A song and dance ensues and all of a sudden he is alone and strolling around along the train tracks when the owner of the brothel and his henchmen beat Radhe into a pulp. Declared as comatose by the doctors he is sent from City Mental Institution to a decrepit Ramajiri Crazy house. Radhe is miraculously healed by his strong love for Ninjara and attempts to escape but manages to fall from the 8 metre high wall resulting in a broken leg. The next day Ninjara visits Radhe for the first and final time but sees Radhe asleep and leaves. Radhe wakes up to Ninjara leaving but could not reach her as he is chained or contact her due to the loud screaming of the other captives/crazy people in the dungeon.
Ninjara is therefore set to marry her ex-fiancée as everyone has given up hope of Radhe's recovery so the wedding is scheduled for the following day. Radhe miraculously escapes the prison and makes his way through mountains, valleys and rivers evading the guards and making his way back to Ninjara's house where the wedding was being held. In his chains he wonders through the house until he enters a room where everyone is crying and mourning the death of Ninjara, she had committed suicide. The mourners were too preoccupied with her passing, don't even acknowledge the crazy man in chains and Radhe slowly leaves the building and is greeted by his family who are ecstatic to see him alive and well. In too much pain he opts to return to the crazy van waiting to take him back to the place he had escaped from. The end. WTF?
With thoughts of Radhe in our minds we stumbled home in disarray preparing for our early flight back to Bangkok. Not the lasting impression I wanted of Myanmar but an impression nonetheless.
