Of 29 February...

Oh..it's leap year today..so I had to put a cursory post on it.

So today in office, J,N and I were discussing about leap year. So N told that on leap year, girls are allowed to propose to boys and boys cannot refuse that. Seriously? I had no idea about this tradition. How funny it is!

And today J said something to me about me. He is an awesome reader of people. I don't know ya. It's not my fault if I am that way. Somethings are not under your control haina?

And thank you. 29/02/2012.
Serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
Courage to change the things we can,
And the wisdom to know the difference..

Dialogue of the Day:

"Arjun, tum ho to main hun..agar tumko kho dungi to apne aap ko kho dungi..please mujhe khone mat do." - Aisha, Aisha
 

Of Falling in Love Twice, Cult Lamhe, and Valentine's Day

Hmmm..Again, I have so many topics to write about. As usual, I have more proof of the cosmic connection theory. The last week I was talking to Y that I am going to write a post on her. As much as she denies it, she is in love with two guys simultaneously. I know it, but she just won't admit it. One is her ex, now her best friend, a super scientist, for whom she will travel 40 km alone from Amsterdam to his place, and the other is her other friend, an artist, whom she secretly loves and wishes would at least follow her on Twitter. Aah, what choices, no? Science or Art? Science and Art suit better :) If the scientist guy even calls her now, she would just leave everything and go after him. And the artist's friend, if only he would acknowledge her love. It's ok, Y. You never know..at least you can experience this feeling two times :) 

This reminds me of Phoebe, who faced this situation as well. Phoebe dates two guys: Vince, a fireman, and Jason, a sensitive teacher :) Well, Phoebe is Phoebe. Now, this set me all thinking. Can you fall in love with two people? Yes, absolutely. I personally think that humans are not programmed to be monogamous. Humans are designed to have multiple partners. Think about it. Look at the West and how marriage is entirely different from marriages here. And it is perfectly fine to fall for two people. It's just that you have to be honest about it. And as I have written before, you just can't stop loving anyone. If you stopped loving, it means you never loved. It is just that you need to fill that void if you want to move on. How beautifully Rani said in Hum Tum no (in this post). And as put by Rahul in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, "Hum ek baar jite hain, ek baar marte hain, shaadi bhi ek baar hoti hai, aur pyar....ek hi baar hota hai." Only to contradict his own stand later on! If he loved only once, then why did he marry Anjali? If Tina was his only love, why did he fall for Anjali? Marrying Anjali did not mean he loved Tina any less; it was just that he fell for both Anjali and Tina. It's not wrong..it just happened that way.

As usual, I have seen so many references to this topic this entire week. Just today, I read this only in the newspaper!!

Also, in an article by Anupama Chopra on Anurag Kashyap and cult films that I came across, she says: Anurag is often described as a cult director but he said that he never intended to be one. He wanted to make box office hits but when his debut film Paanch didn't release, his second film Black Friday was delayed and his third film No Smoking soundly trashed by critics and audiences, he was given the cult moniker. Anurag and I debated the definition of a cult movie. The Oxford dictionary describes the cult film as one that has ‘an enduring appeal to a relatively small audience that should be non-mainstream.’ In his opinion, cult films are movies that failed to break even at the box office. People often confuse cult with dark films. Dev D can never be a cult film. Anurag said that a cult film is a film that inspires people to fight for it, ‘like fighting a war for a country.' Which movies would you fight for?

I will fight for so many movies. In fact, most of my favorite movies are cult. Some of them are Swades, Lakshya, Andaaz Apna Apna, Dil Chahta Hai, and many, many more. These films had minimal box office collections. The shocker is Andaaz Apna Apna, which bombed!! Seriously, I still can't believe that.  But the cult movie that I will always fight for is Lamhe. Oh! What a film! I still get misty-eyed whenever I think of this movie. Yash Chopra, in an interview, said that Lamhe is his best work and remains his favorite film.

I loved Lamhe like anything. It was a film that was so ahead of its time. Not surprisingly, it did not work at the box office. A young boy, Viren, falls in love with a much older woman, Pallavi. The woman marries her lover and dies, leaving behind a daughter named Pooja. Viren takes charge of Pooja's upbringing. Pooja grows up to resemble her mother to the T. Pooja falls in love with a much older Viren, who is constantly reminded of Pallavi when he sees Pooja. Unable to decide whether his feelings for Pooja are love for Pooja or for Pallavi, Viren undergoes an emotional churning. Lamhe is one of the most mature stories in Indian cinema, handling a sensitive topic with grace, subtlety, and poise (no comparisons with Nishabd, please!). Splendidly shot in the desert fields of Rajasthan, Lamhe had a fabulous performance by Sridevi, who was marvelous in both the mother-daughter roles. The melodious songs added to the film's charm. Morni bagah ma bole still remains a lesson for choreography and photography! Of course, think of it, if Viren had married Pallavi, there was a very high chance that Pooja would still have her mother's face, and harboring feelings for Pooja would have been deemed to be incestuous. But she was not his daughter, and he eventually fell in love with Pooja (not Pallavi). So, did he stop loving Pallavi then? No! He fell for two different women. So, don't feel guilty..one always has to move on haina?

But what about Anita? She waited for so many years for Viren to marry him. As usual, no one talks about her love or her sacrifice. What did she do wrong? Shouldn't Viren have told her before that he did not love her? As usual, there is no closure to her story. Remember Cuckold?

And I realized this about Lamhe: the cosmic connections theory came into the picture again this week! Falling in love with two people. Meanwhile, here is what one critic wrote about Lamhe:

"Lamhe begs us to understand that one can love in different ways, and for Viren the passion he has for Pallavi is his first real love of anything that dared to exist on its own terms, human or otherwise. Raised in very polite but stoic English society which has made him hopelessly sheltered, Viren is used to things and people being of the 'proper' sort. When he is confronted by Pallavi, he is entirely smitten by her exotic charms, her chaotic wildness, her absolute connection to the world in which she lives, a notion of which Viren knows nothing about. He is seduced and enchanted by this exotic figure, but her regard for him is that of a foreigner who has come to reacquaint himself with his roots. Many years later, the experience is echoed in Pooja's upbringing: lonely and isolated, she somehow manages to recall her mother's wondrous spirit, and then lays the memories of Viren's past squarely in front of him."

So, which movies will you fight for? I have many, many more, and I will write about them later.

And why oh why do these TV shows make so good episodes on Valentine's Day :( So, Grey's..this week, it was Valentine's Day and no surprises for guessing what the episode was about. So there is this 10-year-old boy who is in love with his classmate. So he gives her chocolates without realizing she is allergic to peanuts. She had a severe allergic reaction and had to be hospitalized. He was there (with his mother) the entire time and wouldn't let go of her. The doctors told him to go home, but he was adamant about what she would think if she found out he left without meeting her after the operation. So, Alex (awesome he is!) tells him to write a letter, which he wrote in the letter.

Dear Clementine,

I am really sorry you are sick, but I am not sorry you are my girl friend. It's the worst being alone on Valentine's Day, but I am thinking about you right now. I am thinking about holding hands with you and jumping on the trampoline together. I love you.

P.S. — I don't know who gave the lice, but I am just glad we both had it together. 

Love

Nico

This is so awesome, yeah. Lexie finally realizes that she should tell Mark that she loves him because you never know what happens to you. You might die and never get to tell like it happened with the couple in which the guy left a proposal in the locket, and he died later.

Oh Grey's, why do you have to be awesome always? I have been writing about love a lot. But it's my blog. I will write whatever I feel like, so I shouldn't think much about it.

I had a bad day in the office yesterday :( These managers expect everything to be done without telling. Sometimes, they say one thing, and sometimes the opposite thing. Never happy they are It's always a fault-finding. But then M said something to me that made me feel happy. And J told me not to take these things seriously..yeh sab hota rehta hai. And office me this weekend (today, that is), there was an off-site at Jim Corbett. I didn't feel like going because I don't like traveling by road :( Saturday jao and Sunday aajao..too hectic it would be..This is the thing about me. I want to travel around the world but don't like traveling :( Moreover, M and J were not going either. Theek hai. 

I still have so much to write about. I hope I will not forget about the topics and will try to write later on.

Dialogue of the Day:

"कहते है मिल जाये तुम्हे तुम्हारी मोहब्बत तो मान लो खुदा तुम पर मेहरबान हो गया, और अगर न मिले तो जान लो की खुदा तुम से एक जान हो गया." — Gulab Ji, Saawariya

P.S. — I will fight for Saawariya, too.

Of Judaai, Fighting, Rockstar, Can People Change, and Iktara..

Long time no see.I have so many things to write about..don't know whether I will manage to write about them  or not.

A few days back Raj Kanwar passed away. Raj's film Deewana marked the debut of Shah Rukh Khan. He was also the one who gave a chance to Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta to help them gain a foothold in the film industry through his film Andaaz. And of course, he also directed films, such as Laadla, Jaan, Dhai Akshr Prem Ke and Judaai. So this week all my thinking time has been devoted to Judaai. Oh I loved Judaai! Judaai was preposterously funny. You remember that girl who played Johny Lever's wife had only one same dialogue in the entire film 'Abba Dabba Jabba' which is now the stuff of legend. Paresh Rawal's constant habit of questioning people and Johny Lever's hilarious acting still has me rolling in laughter. But I digress as always.

Judaai had a ridiculous story. A rich woman falls in love with a married man and offers to buy him from his avaricious wife. Think of it in real life, would any man with even some self-respect accept this..he would throw both the women out. But what is Hindi cinema without ridiculous plots? And people like me love such ridiculous plots (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi another case in point and have many many more to prove it!). Now, there is this scene in the movie where Raj (Anil Kapoor) asks Kajal (Sridevi) to put a teeka on him as he never leaves home without the teeka. Now Kajal has her hands full of mehendi so she asks Jahanvi (Urmila Matondkar) to do the honors. But her hands were full of mehendi as well, so seeing this Raj proceeds to leave without the teeka and says ek din teeka nahi lagaunga to kuch ho nahi jayega. Sensing the disappointment in Raj, Jahanvi puts a teeka on his head without spoiling her mehendi. And how she does that? By pressing her forehead onto his forehead so that the teeka (bindi to be more precise) on her forehead would leave an impression on his as well. He finally gets a teeka  and leaves. Wow! I loved that scene. How do film makers come up with them no? That scene clearly showed that when you really want to do something, you will find a way to do that, no matter what comes.

I couldn't find that scene on the Internet but below is the climax of the movie where Kajal finally realizes her foolishness and asks for forgiveness and asks Raj if she can put teeka on him one last time. I loved the climax. A pregnant Jahanvi leaves for the US and she says she was actually the bigger culprit who incited the greed in Kajal and she should pay for her sins as well. And like I was discussing with J, my neighbor in office, that you cannot force somebody to love you, Judaai showed it yet again. Incidentally, Judaai was the first film that got the Filmfare best scene award in 1998, I couldn't find which scene it is, I do hope it is the teeka one. 

Judaai was also the last film of Sridevi when she was pregnant with her daughter, who, co-incidentally was named Jahanvi as well. Well, Sridevi deserves a separate post - a super actress..loved her in Mr.India (just watch the song Hawa Hawaai and you'll become a fan) and Chaalbaaz. And I still haven't seen Sadma completely :(

Ok..the second thing. I got a reject (actually waitlist) from a university I had applied to. I was a bit taken aback and was upset over this. But you know I am fine with it. It's not the end of the world. I will fight it again. I know this is very unlike me, who gives up somewhat easily. But I have been getting some inner strength that I am not the one who gives up easily. I have fought my way in life till now and I will fight it again as well. Come what may, I am ready to take up the challenge again. Main peecha nahi chodunga. 

I read so many inspirational quotes, I put here those quotes because I agree with them. And will I give up so easily? Won't that make me a hypocrite? You do the best you can, hope for the best and keep fighting. I know I have a very difficult life ahead and I am prepared for it. It's fine..and as Sid says to Deepa in Dil Chahta Hai, haath me thaami mitti ko jitna pakadne ki koshish karoge, utna hi woh haath se nikal jayegi. The more desperate you are, the more disappointments you will face. And I am not desperate.  I am a fighter :)

And this week, Whitney Houston died. I am constantly listening to her song I will always love you. What lyrics ya. A break-up song. What lines these..

Bittersweet memories 

that is all I'm taking with me. 

So, goodbye. Please, don't cry. 

We both know I'm not what you, you need. 

And I will always love you. 

I will always love you.

And also this week, Adele won six Grammy awards for her album 21. Oh come on, she is just 21 and she gives the feeling that she has gone through so much in life. When I look at her, I get reminded of this brilliant line from Rockstar - toote hue dil se hi sangeet nikalta hai. Fits perfectly on Adele no?

And I am addicted to Modern Family! I have watched about 20 episodes of Season 1. And I love it. It is about 3 families in modern day America - a traditional American family (a husband, a wife and their three kids), a multicultural family (a 60-year old husband, his young Colombian wife and his stepson) and a different family (a gay couple and their adopted Vietnamese daughter). It is not a typical TV show but a mix of everything - comedy, drama, plots, and above all emotions. Each episode tries to say something about  life..not gyaan..but things you will be forced to think about. About how we are. I love it. And Manny is my favourite character. He is just 10 years old and can woo women like a 20-year old! He thinks his mother is unreasonable when he says he wants to go around out with his teacher. Haha! I love him..very smart he is. And there is another kid character - Alex. Very very smart. She tells her dumb brother that an iPod can be charged if he puts it in his mouth. Hehe. I absolutely love smart kids. I know kids should behave their age but smart kids are so much fun :)

There is this amazing line from Modern Family. It was about can people really change from the way they are? It said:-

Can people change? I don't know. People are who they are. Give or take...about fifteen percent. That's how much people can change if they really want to. Whether it's for themselves or the people they love, yeah, it's fifteen percent. But sometimes, that's enough.

I also agree that people can't change. It is very very difficult to mold yourself into a totally different person. What you are is a sum total of many things - your upbringing, your social conditioning, your experiences in life. It is very difficult to unlearn what you have learned all life and then relearn. Unlearning and then relearning is more difficult than learning for the first time. That is why kids learn easily! Ya, but as he says, 15% is the maximum people can change, and sometimes that's enough.

I still have about two-three more things more to write about but I will do that next time.

Dialogue(s) of the Day:

You are right Sid...mujhe hi kuch dikhai nahi deta — Wake Up Sid

Main to kisiki hoke yeh bhi na jaani, rut hai ye do pal ki ya rahegi sada — Iktara, Wake Up Sid

And, I love this pic.

Of Rahul in Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

I loved Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu. It's a nice, light, and breezy watch with a surprising climax. I had gone in with the expectation that I am going to watch an emotional romantic comedy but I was pleasantly surprised. The movie is like another Hollywood rom-com..so clean..But I digress..

The thing is I loved Rahul (Imran Khan's character). I think I will add him to the list of my favorite characters. He is humble, under-confident, doesn't take a stand when he should, lonely, reserved, self-deprecating, stiff, formal, and always waiting for validation from others. When his girlfriend dumped him, he says he probably wasn't good enough for her; instead of finding flaws in her, he admits to his own shortcomings. He was happy settling for silver though his father pushed him for gold. He wasn't good at anything but was simply an average guy. At one point Rianna (Kareena) says to him, "You’re perfectly average. Tum koi bhi cheez kam ya zyaada nahi karte.” And being average is not a bad thing at all. She goes on to add that all the guys she had dated, some were good in one thing and weird in other things, but he did everything in the optimum amount. So, she coined somewhat of an oxymoron "Perfectly Average". And he felt happy to hear it. I think we love those movie characters whom we can relate to it the most. I could so relate to him because I am so much like him. All the qualities I mentioned reminded me of myself. I am so average. At one point he says to Rianna, main 25 ka hun and roz subha uthta hun aur mujhe pata nahi mujhe kya karna hai. Then she says to him, tum duniya ke pehle insaan nahi ho jo fail hue ho..he says, apni family me pehla hun..and then she says so feel good about it, at least kisi cheez me to pehle ho. 

And Kareena!! She is terrific. Except for Vidya and Kareena, we have no credible mainstream actresses who give a solid performance in every film. Kareena has a striking screen presence and she communicates brilliantly with her eyes. Her character was more mature than Geet in Jab We Met, who was more childish. Rianna is much more experienced and has gone through more in life than Geet but still lives her life to the full. I loved it when she gave a camera to Imran and the way she pulled his ears and made fun of him. I don't blame Rahul for taking them as hints and falling for her. Rahul says, "maine apne dost se pyar kar liya aur tumne pyar se dosti" and "itna paas baithti ho aur bolti ho ki mujhe gala idea ho raha hai." 

I loved that scene when Rianna says to him "Do you want a hug?" Yes, everyone needs a hug ya. Who doesn't? :( This also reminded me of the time when I told you something. 

Again this movie is about an often talked about topic in this blog..one-sided love. Rahul again has no expectations from Rianna. He says, "Rianna roz mujhe kisi se milane ki koshish karti hai, but I still love her. And kabhi na kabhi main use convince kar hi lunga. Life is not perfect but I am happy."

I think Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is one of the very few films that says it's ok being average, not everybody is a hero and that is why I loved the movie for its realism. Average guys are also good guys :) As some critics have said it is one of the finest coming-of-age films even better than Wake Up Sid. Finding life through love—an eternal promise that never seems to grow old. 

And I must add about references. At one point Ratna Pathak Shah says, do that hair transplant like Sarabhai..no prizes for guessing what this is is a reference to! And the story is somewhat adapted from Ross and Rachel in Friends. I also felt some inspiration from an episode in Dekh Bhai Dekh. Imran in an interview says that he likes to work with first-time directors because typically a first film is autobiographical..totally agree..a first film or book definitely is more of an autobiography. And as now we know Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu is directed by Shakun Batra..the same guy who acted as Pappu in the song Pappu Can't Dance Saala in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Karan Johar is doing some great work by giving chances to new directors...this is the ninth director launched by Dharma Productions!

Dialogue of the Day:

Jo hua hai woh hota hai
Jo hona hai woh hona hai
Jo tere bus mein baatein hai
Unhe khamakhan kyun khona hai 

 —Kar Chalna Shuru Tu, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

...

Serenity..accept..courage...change..wisdom..difference...Amen..

Of Winning And Modern Family...

We tell our kids it doesn't matter if they win or lose. But let's be honest. Winning feels pretty great. There's nothing like that golden moment in the sun. I think every parent wants that for their child. I think for ourselves, too. Sometimes we push too hard, and that leads to a lot of resentment and guilt. So how much is too much? Here's how I come out. Guilt fades...hardware lasts forever.

- Modern Family

I love Modern Family!!