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[Sound of ceiling fans whirring in an office]
Come in.
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Take a seat please.
Thank you!
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Your name please.
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Siddhartha Chowdhury.
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Could you show us your papers please?
Yes, Sir.
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[Sound of rustling paper as the
interviewer goes through the certificates]
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[Rustling continues as the other
interviewers have a look as well]
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Would you like to?
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How old are you?
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I am just over 25, Sir.
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You are a BSc (Bachelor of Science)?
Yes, Sir.
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When did you graduate?
Ahhh, 1966.
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And you've been idle ever since?
No Sir, I was at a medical college for two years.
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What were you doing there?
Studying, Sir.
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Only for two years?
Yes, Sir.
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What made you gave up medicine?
Did you suddenly lose interest in medicine?
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No, Sir! I lost my father.
I see.
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What's your aim in life?
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Right now, it's to find a job sir.
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But the job you have applied for has
nothing to do with medicine.
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No, Sir. I also did botany for my Science degree.
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Do you like flowers?
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Not unconditionally.
Some I like, some I don't.
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Does the term Mitochondria suggest
anything to you?
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It's a botanical term, sir. Mitochondria
are small thread like bodies in cytoplasm.
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Who was the Prime Minister of England at
the time of independence?
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Whose independence, Sir?
Our independence.
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Atlee.
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What would you regard as the most outstanding
and significant event of the last decade?
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[Silence across the room as the
interviewee ponders on what to reply]
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The war in Vietnam, Sir.
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More significant than landing on the moon?
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I think so, Sir.
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Could you tell us, why you think so?
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Because the moon landing....
You see, we, we weren't entirely unprepared
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for the moon landing. We, we, we know it it
had to come sometimes, we knew about the
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space flights, the great advances in space
technology, so we knew it had to happen.
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I am not saying it wasn't a remarkable
achievement, but it wasn't unpredictable.
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The fact that they did land on the moon...
You think the war in Vietnam was unpredictable?
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Not the war itself, but what it has revealed
about the Vietnamese people, about their
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extraordinary power of resistance. Ordinary
people, peasants and no one knew they
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had it in them. I mean this isn't a matter of
technology, it's just plain human courage.
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And it takes your breath away.
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[The chair creaks as the interviewer goes
deep into his chair] Are you a communist?
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I don't think one has to be one to
in order to admire Vietnam, Sir.
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That doesn't answer my question?
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However, you may go now.
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[Interviewer rings the buzzer to summon
the next interviewee apparently]
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[End Credits]
