Being Cyrus

[Totaly Pavlina]

BeingCyrus is a 2005 Indian English-language drama film directed by Homi Adajania. The film revolves around a dysfunctional Parsi family. The film was originally titled Akoori, a reference to a traditional Parsi scrambled-eggs-like side dish. The film is the directorial debut of Homi Adajania and Saif Ali Khan's first film in English. Upon its release, the film was reported to be released in Hindi dubbed version as well in 2007, however the director cancelled the plan.[3]

Katy convinces Cyrus to murder both Fardoonjee and Tina, so that she can be with Farrokh. Unknown to Cyrus, Farrokh plans to kill him after the deed to close the loose end. Cyrus arrives at a time when Tina is coincidentally out for a waxing appointment. He meets with Fardoonjee and feeds him his favorite food before stabbing him to death immediately afterwards. Cyrus implies to the audience that he actually mercy killed Fardoonjee, to release him from his wretched life. Farrokh sneaks into the house but Cyrus kills him first. When Katy calls to check on Farrokh, Cyrus picks up the phone and tells her that her plan has failed. Cyrus then vanishes.

Katy and Dinshaw are taken by the police for interrogation. She constantly blames Cyrus for the murders, but the police find no evidence of any person named Cyrus existing in Panchgani. Katy and Dinshaw are arrested for the murders, while Tina is sent home after being told that she was lucky to be away at that time.

A few months later, Tina is in her apartment when Cyrus arrives. Apparently, he has come to finish the last murder. Instead, the pair embrace and it is revealed that they are actually siblings. The murders are shown to be an elaborate plot concocted by Tina to inherit the Sethna property. With Fardoonjee and Farrokh dead, and Katy and Dinshaw incarcerated, the plan has succeeded. While Tina is showering, Cyrus sees a newspaper where Tina has marked another prominent, wealthy family for this scheme. Unwilling to participate in this murderous scheme any further, Cyrus flees with their stolen money, leaving Tina alone.

At the 52nd Filmfare Awards held in 2007, Being Cyrus received 7 nominations, all in the technical categories. This was the most number of nominations for a film that did not win any awards. At the 2nd Global Indian Film Awards, the film received 3 nominations; 2 for Adajania and 1 for Kapadia.[4]

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. Rajeev Masand rated the film 3 out of 5, praising the performances and story.[5] The Times of India rated the film 3.5 out of 5.[6] Anupama Chopra from India Today termed the film as a "competent, well-crafted debut."[7] Indrani Roy Mitra from Rediff.com rated the film 3 out of 5, terming it as "a unique attempt".[8]

We have tragically lost a piece of hearts forever and always. Cyrus Freedom River Rowe, born December 13, 1998, passed away suddenly on Monday August 12, 2019. Cyrus was always so full of energy, character, life and laughter, to know him was to love him. There will not be one single day or single minute that passes without a thought of him in it. His precious soul and caring heart have been taken from us way too soon but will remain a part of us all forever. Cyrus was loved so much more than he could ever imagine, that love will continue in our hearts forever. He always had a passion for fishing, he loved writing his own raps and would be excited to share them with his family. He enjoyed teaching himself how to play guitar over the years and became very good at it. He had recently been doing very well in life, the best he had done thus far and was happy in life, working a steady job, supporting himself and sharing an apartment with his beloved girlfriend, Oceana. He is survived by his mother: Jennifer Huff; father: Kevin Nolan; brothers: Shaun Nolan, Robert St. Dennis and Justin Nolan; sisters: Lynn Lagoe and Elizabeth Dalrymple; grandparents: Geneva Burton, Gabriel Burton, Elizabeth Nolan, Terry Huff, Annette Remmert and Brian Remmert; great-grandmother: Jeannette Hampton, along with so many other amazing family members. Cyrus will forever be on our minds and in our hearts. It will be a definite struggle to carry on in this life without him being with us.

You see the problem? One could very easily conclude that it would be impossible for me to appreciate this book. Fortunately, I ignored all that and read it anyway. No doubt I missed all kinds of subtle layers of meaning and nuance, but even read on a totally superficial level by an ignoramus, this book rocks.

Anyway, young Cyrus is from a culture that gets this, so he and his classmates spend practically every waking moment being little Tai-Pans. They study in classrooms, receive military training,2 and shadow the magistrates in their official duties; but all of these official lessons are just the backdrop against which the real lessons are taking place. The boys have missions to accomplish, missions which they cannot possibly accomplish individually. So they have to learn to put together a team, to apportion responsibilities, and to judge merit in the aftermath. Anytime one of the boys commits an infraction,3 the adults ensure that he is judged by the others. All of this is carefully monitored, and boys who show partiality or favoritism, or who simply judge poorly, are savagely punished.4

This, then, is the education common to all the aristocrats of Persia, but even within this rarefied group, Cyrus is special. He is the son of the king, and the grandson of a neighboring king, and so naturally he receives every sort of favoritism. Fortunately, politics comes naturally to young Cyrus: when he is given extra food, he divides it up and gives it to his friends and his slaves. When he is on a hunt with others, he cheers on his peers, and takes care to recount each of their most impressive acts to the adults upon their return.9 He feels absolutely entitled to rule, but he also recognizes that to be a ruler is to be an artist or a craftsman whose tools are human beings.10

So, this is a book about an education, what lessons can we take from it? What about lessons for those of us who have conquered Asia several times in Europa Universalis IV as practice for the real event? Here the book offers a mixed message. Cyrus is clearly made more effective by his training, his advisors, his meta-skills, and his friends; all things that any sufficiently motivated would-be conqueror could, in principle, acquire. But he is equally clearly the Child of Destiny: born with exceptional natural gifts and with a social position that offers him immense leverage. Everybody wants to be his friend because, as his father puts it, they are prudent men. They can see that he is going places, and that being the friend of Cyrus will bring them advantages. Part of that is his education and actions, yes, but part of it is his beauty, intelligence, physical strength, and royal lineage. Even his enemies recognize it, and it is one of these defeated enemies whose words might hold the key takeaway of this book:

In one case, I was beaten because I did not judge correctly. The case was like this: A big boy with a little tunic took off the big tunic of a little boy, and he dressed him in his own tunic, while he himself put on that of the other. Now I, in judging it for them, recognized that it was better for both that each have the fitting tunic. Upon this the teacher beat me, saying that whenever I should be appointed judge of the fitting, I must do as I did; but when one must judge to whom the tunic belongs, then one must examine, he said, what is just possession.

I saw them bearing labors and risks with enthusiasm, but now I see them bearing good things moderately. It seems to me, Cyrus, to be more difficult to find a man who bears good things nobly than one who bears evil things nobly, for the former infuse insolence in the many, but the latter infuse moderation in all.

Compare this to the American ruling class, which is also weirdly Spartan in its own way. The wealthiest Americans on average work a crazy number of hours, lead highly regimented lives, and avoid drugs. The difference is that whereas the Persian aristocracy does this as an example for the lower classes, the American aristocracy actively encourages the lower classes to consume themselves in cheap luxury and sensual dissipation.

They then set off for their tents, and as they were going they remarked to each other with what a good memory Cyrus called them by name as he gave commands to all those he was putting into order. Now Cyrus was careful to do this, for it seemed to him to be amazing if each mere mechanic knows the names of the tools of his art, and a doctor knows the names of all the tools and drugs he uses, but a general should be so foolish as not to know the names of the leaders beneath him, and yet necessity compels him to use them as tools when he wishes to take something, guard something, inspire confidence, or cause fear. And if ever he should wish to honor someone, it seemed to him fitting to call him by name. Those who think they are known by their ruler seemed to him both to have a greater yearning to be seen doing something noble and to be more inclined to refrain from doing anything shameful.

Men, friends, know well that expunging the bad offers not only the benefit that the bad will be gone but also that, of those who remain, they who have already been filled with evil will be again cleansed of it, while the good, after seeing the bad dishonored, will cling to virtue with much greater heart.

Appropriately enough, Water Margin was adapted (very loosely) into a JRPG series, Suidoken(by Japanese company Konami, so I assume "Suiodken" is the romanization of the Japanese rendering of a Chinese title). And you recruit a huge cast in each game.

It is easier, given his nature, for a human being to rule all the other kinds of animals than to rule human beings. But when we reflected that there was Cyrus, a Persian, who acquired very many people, very many cities, and very many nations, all obedient to himself, we were thus compelled to change our mind to the view that ruling human beings does not belong among those tasks that are impossible\u2026 We know that Cyrus, at any rate, was willingly obeyed by some, even though they were distant from him by a journey of many days; by others, distant by a journey even of months; by others, who had never yet seen him; and by others, who knew quite well that they would never see him. Nevertheless, they were willing to submit to him.

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