Gossip post...

The purpose of this post is nothing but pure gossip.... I will write a senseless post again..

1. You all might know NDTV's Prannoy Roy. But do you know he is also the uncle of Arundhati Roy, the famous author. Prannoy Roy's wife Radhika and CPI (M) President Prakash Karat's wife Brinda are sisters!!

2. Ratna Pathak Shah, (Maya of Sarabhai vs Sarabhai or Jai's mom in Jaane tu ya na jaane) and Supriya Pathak, Hansa (Pankaj Kapoor's second wife) are also sisters!!

3. Mohnish Behl is the son of Nutan, so he and Kajol are cousins.

4. Deleted

5. Do you know Lara Dutta's score 9.99 in Miss Universe pageant and her score is the highest uptil now!!

6. St. Stephens was a boys only college uptil 1960s I guess :P

7. Khaled Muhammad, the erstwhile HT film critic has made films like Fiza and Zubeidaa and the character of Zubeidaa is his mom.

8. Contrary to popular perception, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhar are Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani's childen, not Shaban Azmi's..

9. Mother India lost the Oscar by just 1 vote... unlucky..

10. Anurag Kashyap has written dialogues for many films like Satya, Yuva and many more..

11. Udham Singh who used to come on Channel V i.e. Manish Makhija is Pooja Bhatt's husband.

P.S.- Now throw rotten eggs and tomatoes:D

Chemistry's mysteries....

It is ironical that I am writing this post when my college is almost over about my school friend who I haven't met for the last six years. She is Tanzeel though Mrs. Swapna Bannerjee called her Taaanzillll :D Our roll numbers were together from Class 6-Class 8, until our class 9 teacher rearranged our class names alphabetically :/

When the exams were going on, she used to sit behind me and we used to chit chat a lot. She used to keep on passing comments and I used to reply back. We cheated sometimes, though it was always I who used to show her my answers :D People used to say that we both had almost similar handwriting though hers was better:) One day in Class 10, we got our Chemistry papers back and she got 3/17 :P So, she gave me her paper to keep it with me, lest someone sees it. Luckily, I still have that paper with me and while I was going through my old stuff, I found it and I was so happy to see it. It made me remember those days that we all were together. We don't talk much these days but still we wish each other on birthdays, send stupid sms,etc. We haven't met since ages but still we will always be friends. I haven't met my other good friends Kalo and Pinks too but we still haven't lost contact. Miss those days...

Comedy of Errors...

Hasn't TV become so boring and frustrating? I have stopped watching it, there are simply no good shows.

I seriously miss the good old days when watching TV was an addiction :) The one show that instantly comes to my mind is Dekh Bhai Dekh. Remember it? It was one hell of a show. The characters on the show were a riot. Who can forget the naughty chachu Sameer (Shekhar Suman), his wanna be writer but confused wife Chachi (Bhavna Balsaver), the Ae-ji-oj-suniye-ji Suhasini (Fardia Jalal), the forgetful Balraj (Navin Nischal), the sophistictaed Mummyji (Sushma Seth), the funny kids Sanju, Kirti, Vishal and Abha, the playful Daddyji, the kamchor Kareema (Deven Bhojani), the suspecting Shilpa , Sanju's girlfriend,(Urvashi Dholakia, who went on to become TV's famous vamp), the nangu-phangoo Dingoo and Divya Seth saying 'hi with a rotation of hands'. I still remember some hilarious situations. The tere muh me keede, tere muh me dhool was the show's product. Also, Sameer used to always slip down the stairs where as everyone else came down smoothly.It was super funny :D There was another episode in which he hypnotises everyone. Sanju, tu Sanju nahi, kirti Hai :D :D The London episodes where they all go to London for a marraige were really nice too. The stars from the show became very popular. Amar Upadhyaya went on to play Mihir in that Ekta Kapoor saop KSBKBT. The show was produced by Amitabh Bacchan's AB Corp. It was a great show :)

Another superb comedy was Shrimaan Shrimati. Remember that one? Koki, Keshav, Dil, Doll, Gokhale or Chintoo..Does it ring a bell? Even more funny was the pre-recorded laughter in these TV shows which was funny in its own way :P

Among the recent ones, Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai was too good. The weird Rosesh, the downmarket Monisha, the high class Maya played by Ratna Pathak Shah. It had some terrific one liners. The show reunited Ratna Pathak Shah and Satish Shah after their hit show Filmi Chakkar.

Instant Khichdi was another superfunny show. The character of Hansa played with aplomb by Supriya Pathak was an actor's delight.

The West has had a huge number of successful sitcoms. FRIENDS(my favourite :D), Seinfeld, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, I Dream of Jeanie, That 70s show, Bewitched. We have had very few of them. We should start making more of great shows.

I think along with the actors, the dialogue and script writers also need to be acknowledged. A character is a writer's vision and moreover, to write sponatneous witty jokes or goofy situations ain't easy. A writer should be equally honored as making some one laugh is not a simple job. Waiting for some good shows.

P.S.- Heard someone is making a copy of FRIENDS. Won't work. Being original sells :)

Let us go back to the 19th century...

The use of computers in offices is creating unemployment problems. Our party feels that if work can be done by a person using hands there is no need to deploy machines.

A harvesting season brings employment for the labour class for at least six months but these harvesters will snatch their earnings.

Previous governments have promoted forward trading, share trading and mall culture. Any government formed with our support will either reduce or stop it completely.

We will only press for removing the compulsory use of English language in education, administration and judiciary. We favour the use of national and regional languages.

No, these lines are not from an early 19th century document but the election manifesto of Sanjay Dutt's muhbole bade bhaiyya Amar Singh's Samajwadi Party for the year 2009. In an election, where even 82- year old Mr. L.K.Advani is trying his best to woo the youth by blogging, pumping iron and doing what not (the BJP has even abandoned their favourite Ram Mandir!!), such a regressive manifesto clearly shows the mindset of the SP. Mulayam Singh Yadav has himself been a professor of Political Science in his career, he should understand that such a ridiculous and regressive outlook won't work. India is the world's software giant and our IT prowess is the best in the world. The SP says that computers cut down jobs but Mr. Yadav, they have created numerous jobs for our countrymen.

The one thing that makes India a global outsourcing hub is our English (though speaking correct English is still a dream!!) . We have the largest number of English speakers in the world. China lacks the outsourcing business because of their language barrier, and they have realized this and will overtake us in no time. English is our strength and it is totally the person's wish to learn English. Mulayam Singh's son Akhilesh Yadav is an engineer from Australia where medium of instruction is English. I couldn't stop laughing at Jaya Prada's stupid arguments on the use of technology on NDTV. She said rural people do not want to study computers. How does she know?

They should probably start travelling by cycles, their party symbol as travelling by planes and trains would cut down jobs.

But the good thing for the SP is that who reads manifestos anyway? They are just fancy documents which no one reads and contains promises that are not going to be fulfilled or meant to be broken. More WTF events await us. Watch this space :-)

Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye to Kya Hai...

I watched Gulaal at PVR Saket at an unbelievable price of Rs.50!! They have reduced their ticket prices drastically from Rs.150 to just Rs.50, but the sad part is there are no good movies to watch, so no use:(

Anyways I am digressing. Anurag Kashyap brings to us his next film Gulaal, which had been in the making for years. He is a treasure to Indian cinema and would go down in history as the man who has the guts to make path breaking cinema, and not compromising his ideas for big bucks. After a superbly crafted DevD, Gulaal is again an immensely watchable film. Anurag says it is his angriest film and his frustration can be clearly seen in the film.

To summarise the plot, the movie is about Dilip Kumar Singh, an aspiring lawyer, who comes to study in the University in Rajasthan, but by a turn of events gets sucked into the murky world of student unions and elections. He becomes a pawn in the hands of Duki Bana who wants to wage a war against the government of India to carve out a separate state of Rajputana for Rajputs. It is a tale of emotions- deceit, love, lust, abuse, greed, tragedy, betrayal, anger, frustration....

About the performances, Abhimanyu Singh as Ransa has a towering screen presence. Kay Kay Menon as Duki Bana is brilliant. Deepak Dobriyaal as Bhaati is excellent. Just watch his emotions. All other actors including Raj Singh Chaudhry, Ayesha Mohan, Mahie Gill, Jesse Randhawa deliver. One thing that is a characteristic feature of Anurag's films is the finer detailing of each and every character. In one particular scene, when Anuja comes to teach, the topic written on the board is Nihilism-the premise of the film. Or in another scene, the brilliant Mahie Gill who looks like Tabu, the songs played by her are Ruk Ruk Ruk and Paani Paani Re- both Tabu's songs. It is these details that make a film stand out.

There are so many terrific scenes that I was planning to write them down in the hall, lest I miss out. From next time, I am going to get a DVD, pause every such scene and write about that scene. Piyush Mishra as Prithvi Bana, who also wrote the lyrics of the film has the best scenes and the best lines. His dialogues and satirical lyrics are too blunt and a slap on the hypocrisy of our lives.

The character of Ardhnarishwara and the Bansurivala have a significance though I am still comprehending that. Tell me if you know:) This is the beauty of his films that it makes you think. The film gives so many messages like in one scene, Dilip asks Anuja "Kya main darpok hun?". She replies "Darpok hona buri baat nahi hai". The mere acceptance of this requires great courage. In another scene, Dilip on listening to Kiran tries to change himself and wears contact lenses but on being betrayed, he wants to be his own self again, so wears his spectacles again. The only problem I had with the film was that it was a bit predictable. The Departed type ending you already know, again signifying that only bastards survive as the rat survived in The Departed. Also, I would have liked to see more of the roles of Jesse Randhawa and Mahie Gill (have become a fan!!), they were shown much.

This film is Anurag's tribute to Sahir Ludhianvi and he says he wrote this film while listening to Pyaasa's Yeh Duniya Mil Bhi jaye to kya hai. Anupama Chopra says that you cannot define his films in one word and that is a huge compliment. It is a contemporary film and is more relevant today in the context of what Raj Thackeray is doing in Maharashtra. Watch this compelling film and do ponder over its lyrics....

****1/2.

O Ri Duniya

Surmayi Aankhon Ke Pyaalon Ki Duniya

Satrangi Rangon Gulaalon Ki Duniya..

O Duniya

Alsaayi Sezon Ke Phoolon Ki Duniya

Angdaai Tode Kabootar Ki Duniya

Karwat Le Soyi Haqueeqat Ki Duniya

Deewaani Hoti Tabeeyat Ki Duniya

Khwahish Mein Lipti Zaroorat Ki Duniya

Insaan Ke Sapno Ki Neeyat Ki Duniya..

O Duniya

O Ri Duniya

Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya Hai…

Mamta Ki Bikhri Kahaani Ki Duniya

Behno Ki Siski Jawaani Ki Duniya

Aadam Ke Hawwaa Se Rishte Ki Duniya

Shaayar Ke Pheeke Lafzon Ki Duniya

Ghalib Ke Momin Ke Khwaabon Ki Duniya

Majaazon Ke Un Inqualaabon Ki Duniya

Faiz Firaaq Aur Saahir O Makhdoom

Mir Ki Zauk Ki Daagh Ki Duniya

Rang Rang Rangeela Re..

I watched Rangeela today. I had wanted to see this movie for ages and fortunately it was coming on one of the channels while I was surfing. Got lucky ;)

I am not a huge fan of Urmila Matondkar who is still remembered as the Rangeela girl but she is excellent in the film. It is the story of Milli who is a dancer in the troupe of Saroj Kumar and aspires to be a big actress some day. She has a friend Munna played superbly by Aamir Khan who is impulsive, short tempered and sells tickets in black. Milli gets a break in a film after a successful actor Rajkamal (Jackie Shroff ) notices her dancing. Munna secretly loves her and is not able to tell her his feelings while Milli is getting busy with her film.

Well, Urmila is absolutely tailor made for the role. She looks stunning in the film and exudes oomph. Just watch her in Tanha Tanha and Rangeela Re. She brings a warmth to the character. Aamir is also brilliant and he seems to flow with role of a tapori effortlessly. Dialogues are too funny and I think Munna Bhai copied from it like "Tera bad luck bhi kharab hai" or "Hata saavan ki ghata". I also liked character of Milli's brother Motilal (what a name!!) who keeps on saying "Mere paas aur koi kaam nahi hain" :D AR Rahman's music and Saroj Khan's choreography is way ahead of its times. We all love Rangeela Re, Tanha Tanha, Mangta hai kya and Kya karen ya na karen. Manish Malhotra was given a special Filmfare award for best costumes which was not even a category before this film. The film should have won many awrds but lost out all to Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge :)

Munna and Milli meet in the end but I would want to know what happened to their lives. I do not think their relationship would have lasted. Milli would have become a huge star and Munna who doesn't do any work would have felt disconnected with her. Given his stubborn character, he might not be able to take Milli's success. Anyway, Rangeela is a classic for me :)

I love these lines ;)

Yai re yai re jor lagake naache re

Yai re yai re milke dhoom machaaye re

Chal mere sang sang lele duniya ke rang

Hoja rangeela re rang rang rangeela re

Itne chehron mein apne chehre ki pehchaan

Oh ho pehchaan oh ho

Bade bade naamon mein apna bhi naamonishaan Oh ho

Pehchaan oh ho

Jeene mein phir to kya baat ho

Din naya aur nayi raat ho

Har ghadi bas khushi saath ho

Yai re yai re jor laga ke nache re..

Justice delayed is justice denied...

There has been controversy over the appointment of Anjali Waghmare as the defense lawyer for Ajmal Kasab. She has been threatened by Shiv Sena to withdraw from the case. It takes guts for a person to take a case like hers. She has been alleged to be non patriotic and accused of being insensitive to the city and the people of Mumbai. This is entirely wrong. Her husband is also a police officer. She would have been under so much pressure to take the case and would have arrived at a decision after proper deliberation. All legal experts say it is an open and shut case, and there is too much strong evidence against Kasab that no court can save him. However, the law states that the accused has a right to defend himself. Kasab must be given a lawyer, and those threatening Waghmare should be told that it amounts to contempt of court. We are trying to delay his trial by not giving assistance, prolonging the wait for justice, and Kasab would go scott-free. He can say that he was not given proper assistance, and this would make India a banana republic. Anjali herself said that she is doing this in the country's interest. We are not supporting Kasab and no sane person would ever justify his ghastly acts, we are just following the protocol. Anjali should be given full protection, and the rule of the land must prevail.

Spot the next Prime Minister

In less than two months from now, India would have its 18th Prime Minister and the 15th Lok Sabha. One thing that India so different from other countries is that there can be no generalisation of any topics. Anti incumbency is no more a huge factor and one can never predict the way Indian voter will swing. A situation a week ago could be entirely different in the week after as they say " A week is a very long time in Indian politics". For instance, who would have thought that a timid soft spoken Varun Gandhi would hijack the entire campaign of the BJP and become its new poster boy in league with Narendra Modi. So, who do you think our next PM is going to be? My guess is as good as yours.

With each passing day, the national parties seem to be become less relevant. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the Congress led UPA and the BJP led NDA to come back to power.

The Congress has been isolated by all its allies. With the RJD, the SP and the LJP forming a separate front in UP-Bihar, the PMK going with the AIADMK, the NCP growing closeness with the Shiv Sena and the Left, the UPA is divided. It is looking as the BJP was in 2004.The only consolation being forming an alliance with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, though the party privately admits Ms. Bannerjee cannot be relied upon. There is another theory that is being speculated. The Congress is looking at 2014 rather than 2009, and wants to sit in Opposition with Rahul Gandhi as the leader of the Opposition to groom him for the top job in 2014.

The BJP which calls itself a party with a difference is a party with differences. The public spat between Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley, and a leadership crisis among its leaders, with the party still not sure of the role of Mr. Narendra Modi, the change of leadership in the RSS and the Varun Gandhi debacle has put the party in tatters. Moreover, it has no issues to fight upon. Mr. Advani keeps on calling Dr. Manmohan Singh as the weakest PM but doesn't have issues to raise upon. The NDA was a grand alliance but now there are just a handful of parties left which may switch sides post elections. The Shiv Sena, the INLD, the RLD, the JD and the SAD are some of them. The BJD gave a googly to the BJP after severing their decade old ties with the BJP.

Inspite of the shape of the national parties and strong reservations against Mr. Advani being the BJP candidate, I still feel the contest should be bipolar- either Congress or the BJP. The Third Front should not come to power. It is a bunch of mercurial men and women who are hungry for power (though this could be said for all). The Third Front has as many PM candidates as the number of its parties. I shudder to think what would happen if someone like Mayawati or Jayalalitha becomes the PM. Have these people any vision for India? Has the third front any common agenda that they agree upon? Do we know what is Mayawati's position on the relationship with Pakistan? How to solve the economic crisis?The Left which till the other day was calling Chandrababu Naidu a corporate dog, doesn't even think for a second to join their hands with him. The Left called the BSP a casteist party is now licking Mayawati's shoes for her support. Mayawati and Jayalalitha cannot see eye to eye and how to expect them to form a united front, though these women would be the first to switch sides and join the NDA or the UPA, opportunism is their only ideology.The Left parties have totally destroyed West Bengal and they would destroy India too. What Common minimum programme would they agree upon? One must read Vir Sanghvi's Counterpoint to see how terrible it would be if the Third Front comes to power.The third front whatever happens should not come to power, who can forget the terrible days of HD Deve Gowda being the PM!

It is very sad that the next election would be fought upon caste, money power, religion and guns. The real issues of development and security and the economy would not be touched. The ideology is dead in Indian politics. It is just that whosoever reaches the magic figure of 272 would be our next PM. India is heading for a period of political, social and economic instability. On a more lighter note, as Barkha Dutt says " Who needs a T20 match when we have the elections to entertain us?" Absolutely agree, these elections promise a nail biting finish which the T20 cannot!!

A Glass Half Full.....

In spite of me being an eternal pessimist :( I am writing this post about death though I am not having suicidal tendencies. Jade Goody died this week and her last wish was that her death be celebrated. It made me think about my own death. We all hear people planning about future and how they want their life to be, but neither of us think how our death should be. The past few weeks I have been hearing such traumatic incidents about how people have lost their lives. Aman Kachroo died of injuries, Soumya Vishwanathan and Jigisha were shot at, Jade Goody died of cancer, the tragic death of all the members of the family on the Dwarka-Palam flyover, or the countless accidents on the Gurgaon expressway. I shudder to think of how painful it would have been. I am not scared of death, it is a fact of life that it would come to an end and we all will die, I am more scared of how I die. I don't want to die in painful way. I wish I get a painless death which I hope is not an oxymoron. I just hope death comes in sleep and takes me to heaven or hell wherever I deserve to be, though I am pretty sure I would be sent to hell ;) I don't want to be alive till 80 or 90. I hope to live my life till 60 ( hard to imagine myself as a 60 year old!!). I hope my dying doesn't make people sad. Even I think, my death should be celebrated. I reiterate that I am not having suicidal tendencies, its just that we should embrace that life would come to an end. Wish me luck for the life in hell:)

Firaaq....

After showing her acting prowess in films like Fire, Earth, Bawander, Nandita Das brings to us her directorial venture which has won accolades at film festivals abroad,the film Firaaq. Firaaq means quest and separation at the same time. The movie is set one month after the horrific Gujarat riots in 2002 which deeply polarised the society. Firaaq begins by a pile of bodies being dumped in the graveyard and it shows us the sign of the things to come. Unlike Parzania, there are no explicit violent scenes but one could almost feel the tension and fear that victims have in their minds waging a mental battle more frightening than the physical bloodbath.

It consists of many stories linked together with each other by the riots. A mentally tormented wife (Deepti Naval) plagued by the guilt of not helping a mob victim at her doorstep inflicts pain on her self while her husband (Paresh Rawal), a Muslim basher is an accomplice in the riots. A seven year old boy (Mohammad Samad) whose family is butchered in front of his own eyes is in quest of his father. Another one is about a Hindu Muslim couple Anuradha and Sameer (Tisca Chopra and Sanjay Suri) struggling to come to terms after Sameer and his partner's store was looted, a mehndiwalli (Shahana Goswami ) coming to terms with life and struggling to maintain her friendship with her Hindu friend, a music teacher (Naseerudin Shah) who is not aware of the troubled conditions and finally a gang of Muslim men who are planning to revenge. With such veteran actors, performances are par excellence. Ravi K Chandran's photography is splendid and beautifully captures the city. The music though very little of it and that too background fits the film. The film though drags at places but Nandita, no doubt has done an excellent job.

The film is a very disturbing and haunting film. It made me ask certain questions which I am struggling to find answers to. The images of the refugee camp remain etched in mind after the film is over. There are certain scenes which have a universal appeal. The notion of all Muslims as terrorists or Pakistanis, the role of the State administration in abetting riots, the difficulties in a inter religion marriage, the communal divide depicted make you think. In one particular scene, when Munira comes back and sees her house burnt down, how would you feel if your house was burnt down? The boy Mohsin says "Aurton ke kapde utar kar unhe jalaya, aadmiyon ke nahi utare". Sameer in one scene says that he has to think twice before praising a Pakistani cricketer, has to hang his head in shame for some jehadi's acts. Anuradha saya to her friend "Did you blame the entire community when your maid ran away with the valuables?".The most beautiful line was by Naseeruddin Shah " Saat suron me aisi takat kahan, jo aisi nafrat ka samna kar sake". There are a number of troubling scenes that make you question about life and wonder about the brutality of human nature. If you care about good quality cinema that evokes your conscience, watch Firaaq- Based on a 1000 true stories.

I have never been a Modi supporter and probably hate him even more after this. People say he had no role in the riots and it is just English-media-saying-We-hate Narendra-Modi syndrome but how can anyone defend him after the speeches he made berating Muslims in his Mia style during election campaigns. Muslims were butchered post Godhra, how can we run away from truth? Why do all people have to face the consequences of a few rotten apples? I am not a fan of Congress or the Left either who are pseudo secularists and consider secularism as minority appeasement. Every one criticises Hindu fundamentalists when they threaten MF Hussain but no one has the guts to speak against those Muslim fundamentalists who issue fatwas against Taslima Nasreen. The idea of India is in danger if we continue to do this. We have to stand against the fanatics irrespective of religion. And we can make a start by not allowing Varun Gandhi to get off so easily.

The Week That Was...

Some really tragic and shocking events took place in the week gone by.

The pointless and senseless death of Aman Kachroo due to injuries suffered during ragging at a medical college in Himachal Pradesh. The irony is that it were the people who were aspiring to be doctors who save lives caused his untimely death. Just think of Aman's parents who lost their young son. Ragging still takes place in all colleges, it is a fact. But nothing is done, even the Supreme Court's recommendations have not been implemented. Aman belonged to a well to do Kashmiri Pandit family, but this event though it has national repercussions I guess alienates the Kashmiri pandits even more who are already finding it difficult to make ends meet. Now no parent would want to send their children to far off colleges.

The bone chilling footage of the 26/11 attack at Trident was released. The way those bastards were roaming and killing people just sends shivers down the spine. There were hotel staff roaming about without thinking that death was lurking at the corner. The scars have still not healed and here comes another shocker as I write, US asks India to withdraw troops from the border. Why should we? To give a free path to those terrorists to stage another attack. No, Mr. Obama, not acceptable.

Even as the world was coming to terms with the horrific event of Joseph Fritzl who was convicted of charges of incest by raping his daughter for 24 years and fathering 7 children, the news of a business man from Mumbai, who had been raping his daughter for 9 years acting on the advice of a 'tantrik' that by committing such acts he would get rich and lead a better life! That son of a bitch did not see that by ruining his daughter's life, how could he be happy. Shocking!

Varun Gandhi's remarks about the Muslims as Pakistanis and his mockery of their names and comparison to Osama Bin Laden are absolutely astonishing. His father Sanjay Gandhi was a thug and he seems to be going the communal way. What a contrast to come from one of world's best known families!! He says the tapes are doctored, people are not idiots Varun! He thinks that the BJP won't get Muslim votes anyway, so why not target Hindu vote but Mr. Gandhi think it this way, by such distasteful statements you end up alienating the moderate Hindu vote leaving you just with right wing fanatics. Use your brain!

There is so much happening every single day at the political scene,more so because of the General Elections arriving. It has just started and I am pretty sure, a whole bonanza of such events in the political arena awaits us. Watch this space.

Hopeless Emptiness....

I watched two Kate Winslet's films -Revolutionary Road and The Reader- back to back and I really liked them both. Though I will only write about Revolutionary Road ;)

Revolutionary Road-

Directed by Sam Mendes, who also made American Beauty and who is also Kate Winslet's husband, the film is about the Wheelers whose marriage is falling apart in the suburban America in the 1950s. The film is really really sad though those who have read the book by Richard Yates of the same name say the book is more depressing than the film:( It is not an easy film to watch and there were a lot of hermeneutic scenes open to interpretation of the viewer. I am not sure whether I really got the film's message because as I said before it is not an easy film to watch. One needs time to think and understand it. Though the film has its flaws like I found Leonardo was overacting in some places and the couple's children were missing at very important moments, but I liked the film a lot especially the character of John played by Michael Shannon. He plays a mentally challenged person but as they say the insane speak the sane, it was some of his scenes that were so powerful like when he says that "we run for life running from the hopeless emptiness of the whole life here, right?", "most people know the emptiness, it takes real guts to see the hopelessness".

I probably think that the film tried to portray that ultimately after a period of time everything gets boring, love seems to evaporate and everything is like a routine and this is tragic but true. Like the very last scene, when John's father Howard switches off the button of the hearing aid when his wife Helen who had sold the house to Wheelers goes on criticising them. It was probably his way of escaping from his own sadness. Or when the Wheelers' neighbours who also are unhappy in their lives but don't say so, like the way they reacted after the Wheelers told that they were moving to Paris, Milly, Shep's wife starts crying.There was a lot of his frustration with Shep's domestic life in a very quiet scene where he sees his boys in front of the television. He says hello and asks them what they are watching. They don’t even look at him. He goes outside with the first of many beers and stands in the backyard, staring. Until April appears, with Milly.

There was another beautiful scene when Frank explains to Kate that he is entering computer business, he shows and draws a lot of vacuum tubes, and April says, "Oh really", probably thinking of the vacuum in her own life.

Even whether April committed suicide or her death was an accident, a lot of debate has been going on about it , though I am confused I feel it could be both. Kate was lovely in the film I will watch it again and probably read the book too:)

The Reader-

Watch it for Kate Winslet's performance, but the film is equally good. It is also a very very sad film:(

Yes, we have managed to get back Gandhi's spectacles but what about his vision?

Finally, the auction of Gandhi's items took place and they were bought by Vijay Mallya for a stupendous amount of 1.8 million dollars ( more than the price of Kevin Pieterson in IPL!! ). But the one thing that amazes me is the hypocrisy of the people. As you are aware, news channels these days show feed messages at the bottom of the screen. During on such programme on discussion about this auction, I was surprised at the kind of messages that people sent in. Almost 99% of the people blamed the government for letting it happen and wanted the government to buy them. I totally disregard it when people blame everything on the government whatever it does and blame all responsibility on the government. Run a country as diverse as India and say what have you done for your country.I mean why should they tell the government to buy the items, if they love Gandhi so much why not go get it yourself. The government would do whatever it feels right.

Barkha Dutt in her weekly column Third Eye writes

As Indians, we have a fatal flaw. We are high on sentiment and low on substance. So, we love Gandhi in the same way we admire the Indian soldier. We are loyalists as long as we have to commit nothing of ourselves. We like the idea in abstraction, but couldn't be bothered with its intricacies in our everyday lives. Then, of course, we suffer from that other congenitally desi trait of only valuing something when the rest of the world wants it. We needed California, for example, to make yoga cool for the rest of us. And pathetic though it is, international validation of Gandhi makes us feel prouder of him than we would have felt otherwise. So when Time magazine nominates him as the person of the century we boastfully celebrate him. When we discover that his cult wire-frame glasses may be sold off to a moneybag who may not be Indian, we suddenly rediscover our nationalism. But for the rest of the year, we couldn’t be bothered to even pause and think about him.

We teach Gandhi to our children in literal and dull textbook homilies. We have failed to contemporarise his politics. It took a Munnabhai to make Gandhi briefly fashionable again. But for the most part, we keep Gandhi confined to museums and tomes, and we forbid modern, dynamic interpretations of what he could stand for today.

I am totally in sync with her. I still remember the scene from Lage Raho Munnabhai, when Munnabhai visits the museum, the curator is surprised that a visitor has come and asking for books on Gandhi which are gathering dust for years. How many have us have read and understood Gandhian philosophy apart from the non violence and his three monkeys? I haven't but I will not shout at the government to bring his memorabilia back which I presume would be forgotten in a week and have dust on them in a museum which no one will visit. Does anyone remember that in 2007 also there was such a brouhaha over Gandhi's last letter which was to be auctioned by the Christie's. Where are they now? Does anyone really care? How many of us saw Gandhi My Father which showed an altogether different aspect of Gandhi? So let us not be that emotional about this and rather understand his vision for India that even great men such as Martin Luther King and Barack Obama consider Gandhi as their idol.Today's editorial in HT The Pundit writes a beautiful saying and I will end it by using the same "Yes, we have managed to get back Gandhi's glasses but what about his vision?"

#%*&%!@- Can't think of a title for this

It is a week since I wrote last. A lot of things have been happening and I thought to write them.So it is going to be a boring post, give it a skip because most of it is going to be a crib post.

1. All my friends have so much good happening in their lives (touch wood!) and am so happy for them. S got through Microsoft, A got in Bain, S got in DE Shaw, S has got calls from IIMA and MDI, R has got a call from MDI, L got calls from all IIMs-BLACKI, V got through UCLA, K is in Dartmouth, Y's friend is going to Germany, S friend got through Stanford (gasp!!). And when I look at my life, it seems to be going nowhere. It makes me feel like that I did not achieve anything. I want to go to Oxford or Harvard, but deep inside your heart you know what is made for you :(

2.My project going nowhere I have been reading up so much stuff but it seems directionless, made more difficult by events not under my control :(

3. I missed a golden chance of being a jury member of a film festival. I thought who would make me a member from the college, when there is so much intellectual pool available. I somehow missed the event where they had to screen some films for jury selection and lo! what do I find, only 15-17 people attended it. I could have become a jury member of a film festival!!! I have just three things in my life- books, films and news. Lost opportunity :(

4. My pathetic writing skills, I have come across such amazing bloggers who write so brilliantly that the saying "Chullu bhar paani me doob mar" just suits me. I wish I could write well. I want to write a sexy book some day, not Chetan Bhagat types but something different like The Last Song of Dusk or The Lost Flamingos of Bombay by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi ( who as rediff tells us wants to study Sex!!, er..who doesn't? )But somehow I would never be able to write:(

5. And there is this Gender Analyzer test that identifies your gender by your blog tells that I am 61% woman, WTF! I am fascinated by each human's individuality like unique fingerprints, DNA, or for that matter unique keystrokes( the way you press your keyboard keys is different for each of us), unique gait or unique handwriting, unique ways of braking your vehicle, but identifying a gender by blog posts!! See the pic :(

7. I won a diary from Vogue. My fashion designer cousin Y reads Vogue, I was flipping through the magazine and what I found a sms competition to name the next cover girl of Vogue and at that very instant, NDTV was showing a report that Freida Pinto is the next cover girl and what next, sent a sms and after a week got a courier giving me the gift, kuch to mila I take part in so many of these competitions thinking I will win. Last year, I got coupons worth Rs.1000 from Roadies and Nach Baliye voting. I bought 3 books-Freakonomics, Jane Eyre and The Ground Beneath Her Feet and watched Taare Zameen Par at Select City Walk ;)

8. I am currently reading Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy. For the last six years I have been wanting to read this but kept postponing because its huge ( 1400 pages, small print and big page size), but this time I brought it and will read it, and I am liking it abhi tak, read 100 pages till now:)

Well, enough for now though I still have so much to crib about :(

I will now stop this crap.

War has no victors :(

The picture is of a Palestinian father and son lying on a mattress after their home was made into a piece of rubble by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza Strip last month. It made me really really sad :(

Courtesy: HT

What a senseless post is this?

I remember a line from Pulp Fiction when Bruce Willis says,“I am an American, our names don’t mean anything!" Can the same be said about Indians, absolutely not! We people give special emphasis on names of not only the people but also anything of significant importance. The Bard said, “What’s in a name”? Everything if we can say so!

The recent controversy over the inclusion of the word barber in the SRK’s Billu Barber seemed ridiculous but its not the first time such a film has mired in controversy. Bombay has been called Mumbai, don’t know why when Bombay sounds so cosmopolitan. Bangalore is now Bengaluru. Why why? When Bangalore is so cool .

I have always heard the names of Indians from the Ramayana, the Mahabharta or some other religious epic.Names like Kaushalya, Sumitra, Urmila, Rama, Lakshman and so on are very common. But the one name that I have never heard of a living person is Kakayi. Yes, the much hated woman who was responsible to send Lord Rama to exile. But personally speaking, I have always had an issue with her treatment. She was not a bad person per se .Yes, she sent Rama to exile but she did for her own son Bharata. Look at people how atrocious they are today! Moreover, she did this as she was brain washed by Manthra, her servant. Haven’t other people in history made mistakes? Yudhisthira is always remembered as someone who follows the right path? But he gambled his own wife in a game of dice? Is that acceptable? But we are highly superstitious people so we will never name one of us as Kakayi.

In F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Phoebe wanted her name changed to Princess Consuella Bananahammock, which actually means a speedo!!!In order to show the stupidity of her act, Mike changed his to Crapbag. Michelle Obama thought that her husband’s name is funny, Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard the chidren’s name there? Nicole Kidman’s daughter is named Sunday Rose, Angelina Jolie's twins are named Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline. What do they mean?

But,I too have a fascination with good names . A friend of mine, whose name is Karyl is one the most beautiful names I know,which means the first leaf of a plant. Another friend’s name Kshitij, which means the horizon is also beautiful. A good name sparks a distinct aura. When we haven’t met a person, we make first impressions about a person from the name. A surname like Oberoi or Malhotra just adds you the next billionaire’s list. I find my name just okayish.Not great but I dont want to change it.

I don't know why I am writing this senseless post. Hopefully, next one would be better :)

Dev D

Dev D!

Hail Anurag Kashyap! One of the most radical films of the Hindi film industry. It was so different, it is almost hard to believe that this is an Indian film. As the name suggests, its a contemporary view on the Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's tragic hero Devdas.

This was one film where the response of the critics has been so varied. Sample this-

Taran Adarsh *

Rajeev Masand**

Anupama Chopra**1/2

Indiatimes***

Khaled Mohammad****

Raja Sen****

Nikhat Kazmi*****

Well, my rating?

Pankaj Sachdeva :P ****

Since the movie was so different, I would not write the usual bland review of mine.

Abhay Deol(Dev) *****

Mahi Gill (Paro), excellent*****

Kalki Koechlin(Chanda)***

Music by Amit Trivedi *****, brilliant. Just listen Pardesi, Emotional Atyachaar, Dhol Yaara Dhol, Nayan Tarse!

Cinematography by Rajeev Rai ***** especially the Delhi shots in neon lights.

Screenplay ***

Editing**, second half drags at places and it could have been more crisp, the only thing that acted as a spoiler.

Dialogues***

The dialogues are blunt, too straight forward (which some people may find offensive), into your face, the language is the common language which the youth of today would understand.Sample- " आप ने अभी तक उसकी ली नही ?"

There were references to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas like Chanda watching Maar Daala song and a poster of Shah Rukh as Devdas was shown near the place where Chunni takes Dev.People say that Kashyap is mocking at Bhansali's Devdas. Well, I don't know, maybe it might be his intention but I believe that a film is a director's vision and his interpretation of the subject , Bhansali might believe in grandeur and spectacle while Kashyap has its own contemporary take on the subject. Like Bhansali made Chanda and Paro dance together!!! and Kashyap makes Chunni a pimp!!

Since the last few years, many bold films like Murder have been coming which is nothing but a euphemism for the explicit sexual content in them but Dev D has no sex scenes rather it is the sexual undercurrents that are so bold and completely new. Like Paro's openness about her sexual desires, she takes a gadda to the fields riding on a bicycle! This is the new woman. Lenny having a boyfriend much older than her age while still in school!

Good films are those that treat audiences as sensible people so that the viewers can discern the director's idea and those films which give attention to the minutest detail. Like there was this scene in which Chunni asks Dev 'कोई बीमारी तो नही है?', obviously making references to HIV, but not giving a lecture on it. Or another one like Chanda and Paro meeting for the first time on a train just for a fleeting second, as it happens in original Devdas.At the risk of sounding a pervert, I would point another scene. In the bus, when Dev is sitting with Rasika, the camera focuses on the ladies seat where महिलाये is written, the म is scratched off.

The song Pardesi, beautifully picturised on the Twilight Brothers though I could not understand their significance in some scenes.Music is another star of the film, the songs take the story forward. I read someone's blog he had beautifully explained the entire film as a musical. His blog link is blessed-curse.blogspot.com .

I loved the scene, where Dev puts his face in water and the camera captures this and he stares at us and the water pool starts becoming red.And the scene, where Dev sitting in a bath tub and says that he has never seen Paro.When Chanda says, half the country saw the clip and they call me a slut. It is actually very true and the DPS MMS scandal and BMW cases nicely woven in the script.

I mean how could anyone think so differently.Its a great effort. It is truly the coming of age of the Indian cinema.The film surprises and shocks. Watch it for its sheer audacity.Eagerly waiting for Kashyap's next Gulaal.

P.S.- Could you tell me the books Chanda was reading? I could only see one clearly called Contempt, there were two more, want to know their names!

Child is the father of the child, no pun intended

Well, I am shocked, actually to say shock would be an understatement. The Sun reports that a 13 year old boy Alfie Patten in Britain has become a father of a girl named Maisie who was conceived after Chantelle, 15 and Alfie - just 12 at the time - had a single night of unprotected sex.They found out about the baby when Chantelle was 12 weeks pregnant. But they kept it a secret until six weeks later when Chantelle’s mum Penny became suspicious about her weight gain and confronted her. Alfie said,“I thought it would be good to have a baby.I didn’t think about how we would afford it. I don’t really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me £10.” This issue has understandably created a huge uproar in Britain. I mean how naive these kids are? To bring up a child is no easy task. I don't understand who to blame for this, after all they are themselves kids. This incident raises some serious questions about ethics and values that have to be inculcated in kids of this generation. Yes, it is their life and are free to do whatever they want, but please you have to be a sensible adult to take an enormous decision of such consequences.Its somebody else's life they are putting at stake. Did they think how are they going to bring her up, who and more importantly how will they pay for her upbringing? And to feel no shame or embarrassment for their actions and moreover selling this story to a tabloid! There has been an alarming increase in teenage pregnancies in the past few years and some very famous ones include Sarah Palin's daughter and Britney Spears' younger sister. And that too in countries where Sex Education is taught! But at the end of the day, you do feel sorry for Alfie and Chantelle and what should be done is to support them in all possible ways.

On second thoughts, when I think more of this, I mean this incident could spark an outrage in UK but looking at our own country where girls are married at such tender ages of 9,10, it presents a sad picture of our society.Child marriages are openly practised in our country and no one even cares. The show Balika Vadhu which at this moment is the number 1 serial in the country is about child marriage. Thousands of girls are married and are forced to have children and and the maternal mortality rate is the highest among them. There was this huge controversy a few months ago where it was argued that should sex education be imparted to children, of course it should be but what is urgently required is education and sensitising the adults especially the oldies who think too much of themselves about the consequences of living and following archaic customs and beliefs. Then only we can call ourselves a truly developed country. Hope too see a better India during my lifetime:)

Luck By Chance

Luck by Chance is one of the few films that have been so intelligently made that it simply makes you fall in love with it at the first shot. Well, after reading so many reviews about the film, I couldn't wait for it and watched it and I loved it. Luck By Chance is the story of two struggling actors Sona (Konkana Sen Sharma) and Vikram (Farhan Akhtar). While Vikram gets a big break in a Romi Rolly (Rishi Kapoor) film after Zafar Khan (Hrithik Roshan) backs out and he becomes a big star, Konkona remains what she was, a B-Grade actress. Both of them make compromises to get whatever they want though not morally correct. The beauty about the film was that it was not preachy and makes subtle comments that there are no free lunches, everyone works for himself and luck does play an important part in our lives. While we have seen Madhur Bhandarkar's realistic cinema, this film by far has been the most accurate and believable portrayal of our Hindi film industry, how things work, how difficult it is for a newcomer to be in a film. Zoya Akhtar's story and screenplay are absolutely brilliant as Rajeev Masand says that it needs a repeat viewing to understand its finer nuances. Music though is a bit of a letdown, though I loved Yeh hai Zindagi and the background score. Baware looks colorful. And, and the performances, well I could find no flaws at all here. Konkana is brilliant as always, she is a terrific actress. Dimple Kapadia is stunning (watch her in that scene where she says how she was abused), Farhan is good but Rishi Kapoor as the producer steals the show. Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Kapoor, Isha Sharvani, Aly Khan deliver commendable performances, even the minutest of roles of Lakshmi (Sona's friend) and Abhi (Vikram's friend) are good. Dialogues from Javed Akhtar are superb (Crocodile in a chiffon saree!!)

The film has a lot of cameos from various big stars - Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bacchan, Ranbir Kapoor, John Abraham, Karan Johar, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, Akshaye Khanna, Anurag Kashyap, and Manish Malhotra.

There were so many great scenes though I am writing a few of them here, the list, however, is not exhaustive though!

1. Anurag Kashyap as the writer of Dil Ki Aag where he says murder kar dete hain when Niki is not able to say khoon :D

2. Shah Rukh when he says to Vikram that only friends who know you before your success matter and Karan Johar when he explains how does a newcomer gets a role.

3. Hrithik and the street children, beautiful camera work showing two sides of the divide.

4. Rishi Kapoor when he breaks down after Zafar refuses to do his film.

5. Vikram when he first meets Neena (Dimple Kapadia) at a party.

6. Konkana in the climax.

7. Yeh hai Zindagi where people from the chaiwallahs, tailors, watchmen, painters, spot boys, make-up artists, helpers whose contribution is never recognized.

Thank God that we still have people like the Akhtars- Zoya, Farhan, and Javed who actually know to make a film. It has average box office collections but when terrible films like Ghajini make 200 crores, it is a bit disappointing though that audiences are still not ready for some good quality cinema. But great work Zoya! Anurag Kashyap in his blog calls it the best debut film in the last 10 years, though I will still give that to Dil Chahta Hai. Watch and watch it again. ****1/2.

P.S.- Though I do not understand the exquisite details of filmmaking, these are my views and you may disagree but still who cares, I loved it. :)

Children Of God: Nick Vujicic

Today, I saw this picture of Nick Vujicic in HT and I was shocked. I then googled about him and reading about him made me so disturbed.He is limbless, has missing both arms at shoulder level, and having one small foot with two toes protruding from his left thigh. But still, he lives his life better than most of us.Nick is a hero, he is a great great man. I mean can you imagine what kind of difficulties he would face every day, in fact every single moment, to do even the smallest of things. We all crib about our own messy life and keep complaining all the time about our lack of perfect bodies and what not. But after seeing and reading about Nick, I just thank God for giving so many things in life. Nick earlier in his life contemplated committing suicide but after he came to know of people suffering with disabilities, realised that the he is not the only one who struggles.He then went to complete College and graduated in Accounts and Financial Planning. He has started an organisation called LIFE WITHOUT LIMBS for specially-abled people and gives motivational speeches to people. We all have read about Helen Keller and her story "They see with their Fingertips". She had said that you realise the value of sight when you are blind. And most of us, do take our senses for granted. I again thank God for making us whatever he has made. I pray to God to give strength to people like Nick who face difficulties every second of their life. Children of God.

Boys Do Cry :(

Did you see Australian Open 2009 yesterday? The tennis was a treat to watch but Roger Federer lost to Rafael Nadal again after their first meeting in a Slam final since the Wimbledon's epic classic last year. Roger was in tears and he brokedown after the match. He couldn't even speak a few words. Nadal has cost him 3 Grand Slams making that 14th Grand Slam for Federer to reach Pete Sampras' record so elusive. Though Roger cries even when he wins,but the sight of his head down and crying was so overwhelming.Even hardcore Nadal fans would have been moved at that moment.When Roger cried, the world cried with him, even I did :(

As reporter Eleanor Preston rightly puts it, “He cried, and it was hard not to cry with him. The sight of Roger Federer’s lower lip trembling would have been enough to start most soft-hearted observers off, but by the time his tears started flowing, a far proportion of the 15,000 at Rod Laver Arena and the millions watching around the world were probably reaching for the tissues too. If that had not done the trick, then the sight of Rafael Nadal, his conqueror, putting his arm around him in friendly consolation, would have set off a worldwide outbreak of sniffles. Australia, perhaps more than any other nation on earth, values mateship, and you will not better embodiment of that than the sight of one great champion comforting another.”

There are very few people whom I genuinely idolise and Federer is one of them, though I cannot even hold a racquet properly. Federer is the greatest player of all time. Federer has given evrything to tennis.Well, as for Nadal, he is a machine, he just gets better and better everytime he plays. Nadal stands in his path.

As Roger Federer puts his defeat in his own words, “You can’t go through your whole life as a tennis player taking every victory that’s out there. You’ve got to live with those, you know. But they hurt even more so if you’re that close, like at Wimbledon or like here at the Australian Open. So that’s what’s tough about it.In the first moment you’re disappointed, you’re shocked, you’re sad, you know, then all of a sudden it overwhelms you.The problem is you can’t go in the locker room and just take it easy and take a cold shower. You can’t. You know, you’re stuck out there. It’s the worst feeling. It’s rough.”

Nadal said,"Rog, sorry for today,I really know how you feel right now. Remember that you are a great champion and you are one of the best in history and you will beat Pete Sampras’ 14 titles for sure.”

Awwww :(
Come on Federer, Great champions don't cry. Just get Rafa out of your mind. Your fans are with you. All the best.