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Vodafone Chota - Lovely ad
I love this ad. Don’t know what about it that I like. Is it the school uniform ? Is it the ink pen ? Is it his teeth ? Is it her smile ? Is it his expression that looks like encouraging to enjoy a guilty pleasure ?
Is it his self-less, not-expecting-returns* help given unasked for and her thankful reciprocative smile ?

*Unless of course, who knows if, all he wanted was just a smile

Get busy living or get busy dying

Any person who calls himself at least half a movie buff would definitely have seen this movie. And most probably it would be in his top of his favorite movies list. Yet, I was zero biased when I started to watch and to say I was overwhelmed at the end of it is an understatement.

It starts off with one of the protagonists Andy ( according to me there are three important characters ) is tried and sent to a jail (named Shawshank) under the offense of killing his wife and her friend, but he is innocent. In jail he makes friendship with Red who is also serving life time.

There are those sadists and jail goons who unnecessarily insult and thrash Andy, who tries his best to stand up and fight but is always beaten up. Meanwhile in one of the best scenes, Andy using his banking knowledge, offers to help one of the officers to save money. In return he asks beer for his co-workers. In this one master stroke act, he not only wins friends, but also gains recognition as a guy who could do with banking and finance. Also, the officers, when the goons beat him up again, thrash the goons and reduce them to utter pitiable bodies.

There is another librarian, who after serving for 40 years is let free. The scene in which he wants to kill another prisoner, just so that he stays in jail, afraid of the life outside is a very touchy scene. He is set free and unable to cope up life outside jail, he kills himself.

Red is slowly becoming what he so clearly understands – institutionalized. After spending, so many years within the walls, he realizes there is nothing he could do outside even if he is let go. He slowly gives up hope.

Meanwhile, Andy is so silent. He gets promoted from laundry to assist librarian, does tax work, he teaches a new prisoner to pass his exam, he even manages the records of Warden and cover his financial scams. He also gets the clue to who had killed his wife, for which he is serving in jail, but warden prevents the case get any further. 20 years pass hence.

But he does not give up, he has a goal – an immediate one was to survive prison, long term is the life after prison. He plans to get out of prison and achieve them. How he achieves forms the surprise and is the beauty of the movie.

There is this scene which is one of my favorites – Andy plays the opera music to the whole of jail through the speakers which is meant only to give orders. He knows he would get punished or ill-treated for it, but he does not care. All jail inmates feel happy for a minute hearing to the song, and Andy sits silently there. Even when warden threatens to open up the door, Andy ignores and sits silently, allowing the music to go on for a little while more.

Another interesting lesson is in the perseverance Andy demonstrates – he keeps writing a letter each week to get grants for the library and finally after getting fed up of his letters they agree to give one time grant and send over many books. Not very satisfied, Andy plans to increase the frequency of letters asking for more !!

It is slow, but likable in a vague way. There are sequences which absolutely mean nothing to the story and there are sequences which look trivial but add up to a grand plan at the end. And at the end, I was left gaping.

No wonder it has been rated in top films even among top spiritually significant films.

Some dialogs are excellent :

The funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.

He’s just institutionalized…The man’s been in here fifty years, Heywood, fifty years. This is all he knows. In here, he’s an important man, he’s an educated man. Outside he’s nothin’ - just a used-up con with arthritis in both hands. Probably couldn’t get a library card if he tried…these walls are funny. First you hate ‘em, then you get used to ‘em. Enough time passes, it gets so you depend on ‘em. That’s ‘institutionalized’…They send you here for life and that’s exactly what they take, the part that counts anyway.

I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t want to know. Some things are better left unsaid. I’d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can’t be expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was as if some beautiful bird had flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.

My wife used to say I’m a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. She was beautiful. God, I loved her. I just didn’t know how to show it, that’s all. I killed her, Red. I didn’t pull the trigger, but I drove her away and that’s why she died - because of me, the way I am.

Philosophy other than movie :

The movie, at its face value, is as excellent as it could get . It has a good story, good performances and well written. The cruelty invoke pity from the audience, the surprise elements leave the audience speechless and mouth open in awe for a minute. But for me the take away from the movie, is “hope”. I enjoy the movie while watching for what it is, but when I go over it again and again, when I munch over it, I draw extensions, I draw comparisons…and thats when I probably come to a better conclusion whether movie was really worth the time or not.

This movie could possibly be summarized in that one great dialogue Randy says to Red “Get busy living or get busy dyin.”. For 20 years, he hasn’t lost the hope and he was reconstructing his life. Silently, persistently.

Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.

That’s TWENTY years and I am always just too eager to give up ! I get frustrated , disappointed very fast. Many of us are all in our own dungeon and after a certain time we give up.

There are three different mentalities depicted nicely in three characters..one who has given up..one who is confused but is moving towards giving up ..and the one who holds up.

From

Since people call on hope in circumstances ranging from those where one has much control over matters to those where one can do nothing but expect outside influences to help, Andy’s use of “hope” is ambiguous. That is because given Andy’s basic circumstances, it may appear he’s invoking the latter meaning of “hope” — that is, he can do nothing but expect that his innocence will somehow, someday be revealed and he’ll be set free by these influences outside his control. However, as evidenced by Andy’s characterization prior to this scene, “hope” to him means the belief that the good, such as freedom, has a chance of being achieved, but such a chance can really only arise through one’s rational thought and actions

Whether or not Andy succeeded in achieving his freedom, it is his fundamental view of life, one which refuses to resign to hopelessness in the face of evil, that makes The Shawshank Redemption a great, heroic work of art.

Tagline of the movie goes “Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.” And it definitely does not just mean about prison. It is the principle one should adapt towards any helpless, any hopeless situations in life – it does not or need not solve the problems, need not show the solutions, but at least it makes it easier to breathe.

PS: Kashmir Singh (who got released from jail after 35 years) said “Hope kept me alive”.

During the hardware(electronics/communication) related lab in college, a guy who used to assist us with components, would always remain optimistic and say “maadi maadi, output barutte”. Without coming to our place, without checking the circuit (may be he had that much confidence on our rigging up of circuits), without biasing students, his reply remained same. His confidence, his optimism, his hope were more than that of us and was surprising.Even when we panic, he was always calm and composed in his reply. Never got angry or irritated, he always gave his standard reply with smile.

With no way out, I used to come back and check everything again, and sometimes need to correct something and sometimes output just used to come by itself. I always felt, I could have done this myself without first going to him asking for help.

I always recall this whenever/just before I need to seek help. Whenever I am disappointed and ready to give up, I recall this. “maadi maadi, output barutte”. That brings back optimism!

Ps:On a lighter vein, I got so used to the pattern, try-does not work-go to him-come back-it works, that many times I immediately at the beginning itself went to him and complained it does not work and then come and gave a honest try.

You know what?

Fuck beauty contests. Life is one fucking beauty contest after another. School, then college, then work… Fuck that. And fuck the Air Force Academy. If I want to fly, I’ll find a way to fly. You do what you love, and fuck the rest.

Dwayne: I wish I could just sleep until I was eighteen and skip all this crap-high school and everything-just skip it.
Frank: You know Marcel Proust?
Dwayne: He’s the guy you teach.
Frank: Yeah. French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he’s also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he uh… he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, Those were the best years of his life, ’cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn’t learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you’re 18… Ah, think of the suffering you’re gonna miss. I mean high school? High school-those are your prime suffering years. You don’t get better suffering than that.

Olive: Grandpa, am I pretty?
Grandpa: You are the most beautiful girl in the world.
Olive: You’re just saying that.
Grandpa: No! I’m madly in love with you and it’s not because of your brains or your personality.

Sarcasm is the refuge of losers.

Inside each and everyone of you, deep inside the core of your being is a winner waiting to be awakened and unleashed upon the world.

Losers are people who are so afraid of not winning, they don’t even try.

- Little Miss Sunshine

• Expected the movie to be funny/sweet for some unknown reason.
• Kept waiting for some twist that could make it look like all good. But it keeps going, like real life, and all characters meet failures. That is at the end did I realize, this movie is really about majority normal life- where no miracles seem to happen, where no dreams get fulfilled, where failure is to be accepted.
• ‘Be there till the end’[& finally you loose though], did sound like a distant lesson to be taken away.
• Loved the vehicle and its tantrums! It felt like it too was a character of the movie (a failure too!)

Ok, let the generalized title not misguide you. This post is about Kajol and U me aur hum by a fan and I will not pretend otherwise.

Reading reviews of movies that contain Kajol is always rewarding irrespective of whether it is a postive review for a movie or a negative. Especially (bad) movies like Fanaa and U Me Aur Hum are real treats !

Because a positive review for movies like these is always surprising and though personally smirk invoking, I like the feeling of a positive review or long run of the movie for obvious reasons. Secondly because these movies generated lot of noise and created lot of hype and attention - and none,beware, was just for the presence of the actress - finally it is Kajol who gets credit and attention ! (Even all her initial movies attracted attention not because of her presence but due to others, and then she is used to have the last laugh, bowling over and shadowing others at the end.) Positive reviews also dont fail to mention how Kajol adds/contributes to it.

When there are negative reviews, it is even more happiness-inducing because when there is so much dark and disappointing stuff around, the brilliance of Kajol comes across easily and gets highlighted. Of course, there is quite something for a fan to munch on! And it is such a joy when someone newly becomes a fan!

Let me link to few reviews:

Was very surprised to see such positive take by B Rangan ( my views are usually a scaled down version of his views - if he, say rates, 100, I rate 20..if he rates -100, I rate -60 ) ..but this one is opposite on sign itself. The only thing I probably agree with him is the nod to the presence of song “Saiyyan..”.

This is a review thoroughly enjoyed. I see eye to eye with him on various factors like about the nonsense friends, about the futile suspense attempt of child drowning and agree with almost every word of what he says. Only sad feeling is, he hasn’t any praising words about Kajol.

More links:

Kajol has done the best she can to get us involved with her situation despite the lack of depth writer, Ajay Devgan, etches out for her. Though she does get to her shrill self every once in a while. But I’m still miffed by the short hand she has been dealt.

Without giving the movie away

On the other hand, Kajol is brilliant. I didn’t quite realize that she was this fabulous. Even when she is lost, or screeching, or struggling to remember the smallest of things - you don’t cringe. But there are other parts of this film that are very cringe-worthy.
[...]
There are a few tense moments in the film. Kajol rules them all. Ajay Devgan is a mere prop in this film.

Within / Without

Kajol is the show-stealer; the film completely belongs to her! Even in the presence of Ajay, Kajol steals the limelight and has the better role, which gives her ample scope to perform. A performance that is sure to be recognized at the awards! - Bollyspice

Kajol, well, what can you say of an actress who has proved herself time and again? That she’s undoubtedly the best has been proved yet again. - Indiafm

Kajol delivers an excellent performance. She is pretty restrained in her performance when Alzhimer’s takes over her. Any actor of a lesser calibre could have gone over the top. Thanks to Kajol it does not become U Me aur Ham! - Passion for cinema

Kajol is magical,[...] - The times

Get this.Whenever Kajol acts, she kills the competition. Of the current lot, no one quite compares. No one can hold a close-up like she does or leap straight out of the screen to involve you in her pleasure and pain. She’s a natural and that quality is mined constantly by first time director Ajay Devgan in U Me aur Hum. - Khalid Mohammed

I’m stuck. Does it get easier.

No, yes, it does…

Yeah? But look at you.

Thanks. It does, the more you know who you are..the more you know what you want.. you don’t care about things the same way…

I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be. I thought maybe I wanted to be a writer… but I hate what I write, and I tried taking pictures,but John’s so good at that, and mine are so mediocre…

You’ll figure it out. I’m not worried about you. Keep writing

- Lost in translation

• I laughed till stomach hurt in one particular scene where the director explains in many sentences and translator puts it very briefly !

• The movie is about cultural shock but it is not even half as funny as Borat. But, the hero’s face - the totally disinterested face, totally dejected in life face, ironically brings laughter

• Oh yeah..girl is totally pretty…

• Two scenes stand out in the movie ..the one with the above dialogue and the other shooting scene ..

Look into the camera with intensity

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t ’bout how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!”

- Rocky

Menasinakayi bonda/baji is one of my favorite dishes.

Every time, it is a suspense, risk because one never knows how the mirchi is going to be - either khara (hot/spicy) or normal. When I already know it is khara, like it happened this time, there are two minds and surprisingly I end up eating every time. It is for the lure of temporary tasty pleasure and an ever lasting memory of the taste.

Initially when bitten, it is tasty, salivates, everything is normal. Just before the sudden flood of khara, which suddenly blacks out the brain cutting off all senses, though for a short time. Eyes get closed as if to confirm to the brain’s action. Ears shut off to the surrounding sounds. When right/wrongs become one, pleasure/pain become meaningless. When time stands still. I just wish to stay in that trance, though will be pulled back in time. (Otherwise what is the point!) When I open the eyes, they are all teary, blurred. I take a minute or so to get back to normal.

There is this small regret for having to go through all this just for that temporary feeling of taste. But then the memory of the taste lingers. Taste does not remain, just the memory does - as if it was some good feeling, not sure of what exactly it was. Memory of blurry teared eyes remain.

And when I got the chance again, I went for it. The menasinakayi baji. All over once again.

I am confused how to react to this movie. First of all Kajol rocks as ever, as expected. Coming from me may sound biased and cliched - but the way Kajol manages to increase the average feel-good, average quality and to decrease the average dislike towards a movie, when everything/everybody else look like pulling in opposite direction is beyond explanation. Kesarinalli kamala. And everytime I feel, there is so much that could be extracted from her given a full fledged role of variety,instead her prowess is just in parts here and there. This is not particular to this movie but including previous few movies of hers.

Sidenote: Purely from a fan point of view, Fanaa first half gave greater happiness.

[Spoiler alert]

The movie is intentionally slow. Thankfully it is little beyond a stupid love story. Ajay Devgun’s direction is quite good. Performances, Ajay manages to hold the scenes in those dark moments but otherwise is slightly more than ok [possibly I write him off without even evaluating but can't help], others are barely tolerable.

The story starts old Ajay telling story of a person Ajay who falls in love at first sight with a cruise hostess 25 years ago. He lies and impresses her, but she also falls for his good intent and they marry. If the movie’s intended love story was this part (thankfully it is not), then it does not strike a chord at all. In between two couples’ who are friend of Ajay are shown - one of them is unhappily married and other happily unmarried. Just to fill the lack of substance. (If it was some other lead pair, possibly I would have credited their addition to the story ! )

Once married, Ajay faces a different problem, he realizes Kajol has Alzheimer. How he deals with it, how it affects the child and family is rest of the movie.

I got the clue about memory very initially and felt at the end, he could have just remade “First 50 dates”. Kajol in that role would be a treat (and of course SRK/Salman as hero).

Dialogues are not great.(Except one which I like personally coz I keep talking something on those lines, he he. It is the one where Ajay Devgun confesses that hum bane tum bane is fake and continues how everything is selfish at a point). There are few dialogues which attempt the word play by utilising the different meanings of same word. I was unimpressed though. The adult/sms jokes fall flat.

Songs are ok. Nothing great about picturisation, but the colour or the look of many scenes is good - be it the posh hospital or the interior decoration of the house or the cruise. Loved the Saheli jaise sayyan which is possibly the best part to a Kajol fan. Of course her costumes are pretty good in many places.

In the beginning of the film, Kajol looks quite uneasy and gives a forced expression - I was already cringing if that would continue - thankfully she finds her touch slightly later. Ajay does know the beauty is in those eyes, in those signature expressions and does his best to concentrate on them and put just the face on screen :).Kajol shines in nice scenes anyways, but there are few scenes ( thankful for their presence, but regret they are few in number ) where she gets to scream, to look worried, to look confused, to look in pain , to look lost and thats when the natural actress in her comes out and I can imagine the shooting crew just standing there and watching in awe, and the audience not even daring to wink lest they miss to see it.

If you know me, you would know what I would be doing few hours from now.

Tangentially, few quotes:

“The difference between life and the movies is that a script has to make sense, and life doesn’t.” - Joseph L Mankiewicz

“Even though I make those movies, I find myself wishing that more of those magic moments could happen in real life.” -Jane Seymour

I am surprised, happy and envious (at the same time) when I see people with passion ( towards work in particular and about anything in general ).

Ps: Not implying anything, but I partially remember this sentence from one of the finest articles I had read on a tennis match writing about Sampras’s loss and a comment about the opponent (whose name I forget) :

He was quick, perfect, [etc] everything that Sampras himself once was but can no longer be.

Why is it only during goal setting or during appraisal meeting do I realize ” Oh! what am I doing ? Oh! where am I” and tend to think how very futile & nonsense everything looks.

Anitha@Thought Raker has an finished story to which I attempted some endings. Had good fun, the power to change course of lives of characters is thrilling and satisfying. Can’t imagine the fun God up there must be having.

If you read this post, let me know which ending you liked ?

The story:

Dec 10, 2006:
What I really need now is a miracle.

Consider this: I’m forty-plus, I was fired from my job as a Project Manager in a leading software company six months ago, my wife left me a fortnight ago taking our two kids with her, and I was rendered homeless yesterday after my building was razed down as an illegal structure.

I’m sitting amidst scattered boxes in my friend’s apartment, and I light up a cigarette. It is my fifth for the day, and it’s just ten in the morning. I guess I should consider myself lucky that this place was available – it was between tenants. I haven’t spoken to Sharad about the rent, which is just as well, considering the state of my finances. My credit card bill for the month showed mainly liquor purchases, which, I suppose, is an indicator of how I am drowning my sorrows.

Feb 12, 2007:

It’s Valentine’s Day in two days. The romantic mush all around the city is making me sick. I remember our first Valentine’s Day . I was scornful, but Nicky spent the whole night putting up little love notes everywhere. The first one I saw was on the bathroom mirror, and it said: Love you always! They popped up throughout the day, those silly notes, in my pockets, my mail, my lunch-bag… it didn’t feel real. I didn’t think she loved me all that much. It was just her way of being part of the gimmick. She hasn’t contacted me in more than a month. Perhaps she really never loved me.

June 26, 2007:

I’m still in Sharad’s apartment. He hasn’t bothered me much thankfully, just calling sometimes to ensure that I was doing ok. Cash is running real low. I’ve begun selling empty bottles and newspapers to buy my soma. I found this exquisite sculpture hidden inside a cupboard. I hope Sharad doesn’t miss it. I got just 150 bucks for it. But that’s enough to get by. I am not too worried.

Oct 3, 2007:

I almost burnt down the apartment. It was my goddamn cigarette that did it. The security guy had given me some of his cheap liquor (I can’t afford my brand now), and I had passed out before I finished my smoke. Most of my boxes which were still unpacked were reduced to ashes. I don’t even remember what they contained, so it’s just as well.

Jan 13, 2008:

Nicky had come to see me today. With Sharad. She said I was a total wreck. Ha! Talk about irony. What I really need now is a gun.

My Endings:
One:

Jan 15, 2008: Bought a gun. Testing it now upon myself. Goodbye.

Feb 12, 2008: Yeah, I’m still here. I don’t recall everything clearly. I was so drunk. Gun was not real, of course I hardly could afford a real one. I fell exhausted in house for 2 days. Sharad returned from his out station visit. I am admitted to hospital now.

Feb 14, 2008: Nurse smiled. I smiled. That took lot of effort.

Mar 18, 2008: She said, it is not worth it. Sharad said he would recover from me every penny he has spent on me after my recovery. Heh! sometimes friends are a limit. I am going to be admitted to rehabiliation center. She said she would meet me alternate days.

Oct 3, 2008: I am going back to Sharad’s apartment. She is moving in with me (she said just to take care that I dont touch the bottle and cigarrettes again. She knows I wont do it). My ex-CEO called. He is starting on his own. Asked me if I could join him - with a salary 1/5th of what I was earning but he says profits would be shared equally.

Dec 10, 2008: She said Nikita had come when I was asleep and returned not wanting to disturb me. Disturb, ha. What Nikita did not know was, I was not sleeping. Sharad offered me a peg to celebrate my rent payment. I said not when she is looking. Both of us were joking.
What I really now and forever need is what I have - laughter,love.

Two:

Jan 15, 2008: Bought a gun. Trying it on myself. Goodbye. Wait, there is a knock on the door.

Mar 18,2008: Nikita had come that day. No, fate brought her there. I made her past tense. But memories ! Memories will always remain in present tense. I accepted my crime. It was easy.

June 26,2008: Life in jail. No complaints. I have a “legal” shelter (which will not be brought down overnight), I get to eat food, I have no boss who would fire me ! All I really need is paper and pen to pen my thoughts and life.

Three:

Jan 15, 2008: Bought a gun. Have placed it next to bottle and pack of cigarrettes. Which are next to a photo of Nikita and children. The photo was taken after the recovery of Nikita’s fatal accident. She was in coma for 2 days. And was hospitalized for a month. The work,money,dreams,life was in shatters. I was angry at my helplessness which I showed on client and team mates. Client complained and I was fired, citing my mental illness. I am staring at the photo, bottle and gun.

Mar 18, 2008: Don’t know how long I stared at them that day. Finally the bottle won over. I am in hospital now. Nikita and children had come in morning. With Sharad. Nikita said, get a life. Ha. She left. With Sharad. What were those Sharad’s eyes saying - pity or a hint of victory ? I am kicking the bottle. “Get a life”, she said!

June 26, 2008: Havent drunk a drop from 3 months..smoking has come down to 2 a day, which will eventually go. I convinced the computer institute to give me a job. I am teaching “Business Communication” among others, ha talk of irony. I am moving out of Sharad’s house to a rented house.

Jan 18, 2009: I got a divorce. I could have actually won the claim to children, but I let it go. I heard Nikita and Sharad will soon marry.No anger towards Sharad, he saved my life.

( Optional extension 1 below )
Oct 3, 2009: Nikita and Sharad came to leave children with me. They were very stubborn not to stay with new father. Nikita will come and meet them once in a week.

Four

Jan 15, 2008: Bought a gun. When I put it to head, suddenly I felt afraid. It takes great courage to die. Even greater courage to live, my mom used to say. After all, what is there to lose now ? I shot at bottle using the gun. I kept staring at the spilled liquor for more than 2 hours. In the reflection I saw, from the day Nikita got close to me to the day she drifted apart. She may be wrong, may not be. I told myself “Get up, wash your face!”.

Feb 12, 2008: I visited Nikita. We did not speak. Sometimes, silence is enough. She moved with me to Sharad’s house.

Oct 3, 2008: Children wanted to go on a roller-coaster ride. My life has been a ride - what a fall, what a rise ! As if everything was for good, I got posted in a MNC and have been immediately sent to US for long term. Life is good.

Five:

Jan 15, 2008: Am pushed out of Sharad’s house. I am begging on streets. All I have is this book and pen. I dont eat, instead I drink with collected money.

Jan 31,2008: I am still alive.

Mar 18,2008: I am being treated in this community hospital. I can not see the poor and deceased here. I have pledged my service to this hospital after I recover.

Jun 26,2008: Great satisfaction is attained by serving people.

Oct 3, 2008: Nikita found out that I am here. She has a job now, but she realized what she lacks. She came to say sorry and rebuild our life. I have no hatred towards her. But I gently declined and said bye. Her tears may or may not move me, but surely I did not want to see them.

We first went to book the tickets in advance but returned after hearing negative opinions about movie. The reaction was like “Is this the same person who used to watch almost all movies and used to write reviews.” Wow..I had a reputation to keep!! Yes, among other things like this blog had not been updated for 4 months or so, my tastes, thoughts, activities had all taken a detour for last few months. Oh, the details, the world will never know. Or it may. Anyways, for now I think I will restart blogging..will slowly re-invent myself. Or the resolve might long as long as I take to write this post only!

Coming back to movie, read few more reviews (esp of Bharadwaj Rangan’s ..which seemed to suggest it is watchable for certain factors and romance.) and decided to give it a try. Contrary to general conception about me that I like romantic movies, I actually am not particular - and especially am almost fed up of love stories unless there is breath taking newness or freshness in them - like Jab We met.

In Summary, movie did not work for me. If you either wish to see it or wish to like it, do not read further !

Jodha Akbar:
So this period romance starts with some history lessons. How Jalal grows up and builds empire etc, how he gets trapped in an intercaste marriage. Now, come on, I did not think he sacrificed a big deal or he took any major earth shattering decision -it was so simple..he could get the whole Rajput land, plus a beautiful Aishwarya all for allowing her to do a pooja in her corner and not to ask her to convert her religion. That simple decision!

Now I am not that interested in history but if I went to a historical movie I obviously wanted to know more about it..so that I could make up for my ignorance caused by showing no interest to history in high school. But I guess there is not much in this story. Since there was so much romance, instead of actual war and politics, I wonder why love story was not present in history text books. At least that would have made it little interesting - the history lessons!

But what a love story it turns out to be too…it never really took off for me…except for few great moments here and there. But surely it did not need a periodic backdrop if all there was to tell was this. The major reason people would visit halls for this movie is for the stars -Hrithik and Aishwarya, but unfortunately I am not a big fan of neither of them. Ok, they look good (oh! Ash’s costumes nd colour !! ), but I can not go to a theater for fashion parade! So I almost felt it was like Dhoom2 - esp when Hrithik displays his curves, sword swirls and glances at Ash, I almost heard “Are you ‘like’ checking me out?” dialogue from Dhoom2.

The one compelling reason that took me to hall was Ashutosh Gowariker’s name. In Swades and Lagaan, the romance was on backdrop, the central theme holds the pulses of audience and touches heart. Here,sugar candy was central theme-and it for some reason never really takes off-and the backdrop of politics is there as if it is a compulsion. For eg, after taking one decision about exempting piligrimage-tax (or some such thing), Jalal is hailed as a great king. The respect is never built up. Or at least I expected a major war sequence with all gory and glory but all that was shown was elephant crushing heads and a boring duel.

When it is a movie based on history, I am very concerned about how many things shown were for real - if you are taking cinematic liberties to an extent to change what exactly was - I would be disappointed. But here, since my history is weak, I don’t even know what is right - for eg, did they do the duel in the end instead of actual war ? Did Jodha know to use sword ?

There are few funny moments and I doubt if it was intended.Left to myself I would have mocked this movie like anything! My biggest grouse about the movie remains - there was no sign of Birbal.

Among my regrets in life, not staying in hostel will find its place in the top of the list. I know it comes with its set of disadvantages, could be utterly boring for some, but still I envy those who had the privilege to stay in hostel. My cousins are in hostel and I enjoy listening to their hostel stories. (There used to be a coloumn in Vijay Karnataka that included some hostel stories and I used to enjoy them!)

Here is one prank by my cousin:

I don’t know that whether spirit exists or not but I believe that what the students call spirit in hostel is just cock and bull story. One day our neighbors (next roommates) planed to call spirit. some how my friend came to know about it and we decided to have some fun with them so we wore white shirts and white pants with white masks, just like spirits.

At 1 am our neighbors were calling spirits, I and my friend went there with white dress, we stood near the window and suddenly we pushed the window which made big sound and the people inside were in perspiration.

We suddenly went inside the room, by seeing our horrifying dress the people inside the room became terrified and they ran to there rooms.

At the same time we spilled some red ink mixed with kunkuma on the window keeping a red lemon beside window which was more horrifying .Next day our neighbors decided to not to call spirit in there life time. Still our neighbors don’t know that we are the spirits!!!!!!!!

I propose we celebrate today, March 5th every year as Lamentine day. Lets celebrate the joys of lamenting by allocating a special day for it. Why today, why not 15th of March? Don’t ask me. From the divine powers that be, it suddenly dawned upon me, through an body-less sound’s sound suggestion(ashareeravani- similar to the ones that came from clouds in Mahabharata) that this day is as auspicious as any other and I should immediately announce to the world - I am merrely carrying out the order. Actually the initial name I thought was Lamenter’s Day or Ranter’s Day or Cribber’s day..but since Lamentine rhymes with its another cousin day, I have zeroed in on this name.

So, what do we do on this day. We lament. Like valentine’s day, on L day we will show our talent by cribbing about anything and everything. At anything bad (as usual) and also at anything good. For example, you hear phone ringing and you start saying “This phone was one of the very annoying inventions ever made. It rings loud..it rings when not required. It invades the peace and privacy. It is more of a luxury to owner than a necessity….” You see Tv and start saying”This is one of the most dangerous inventions ever made..it deprives children of their physical activity, it wastes time, it is rightly an idiot box….”.

We lament/rant/crib about work (as usual), money, politicians, nature of people, imperfect and imbalanced society, infrastructure, partners,..you get the point. We will even lament about lamenting.

Unlike some other days which particularly target specific people (women/fathers/mothers/lovers), we dont discriminate anyone and our day is open to celebration by all people who are capable of cribbing given any situation.

I can even envision the future for this day - as usual the card companies will come up with some funny cards that could be exchanged with fellow lamenters. There would be contests on Fm radio to identify who the best cribber is. “I will give you a situation and all you have to do is tell me how many minutes you can rant on this topic..message me your expected duration and I will give you a call to the lucky person..”

What are the advantages, you ask ?
Plenty. First of all you will feel proud that you have the basic necessity to be called a lamenter - a mouth and the knowledge of a language. You will be so proud that it will increase your confidence at tackling the same. You will perhaps be able to laugh at yourself going by how illogically you could rant, or laugh at others. When you realize that there are so many who are willing to complain, you will feel not to be left alone. And most importantly, once you speak out what sits in your mind, you will be happy to take on next step (probably search for topic for next cribbing).

Why, you ask, should we have a reserved day for lamenting, when we (can) do that all days in the year. The answer is same as why we have Valentine’s day.

Ok, got to go now. Need to create orkut community, design badges, hold press conferences and processions to spread the awareness.

Long live lamenting.

Ps: This post should be categorized under its own category - Rant, for this is not completely satire/humour.
Pps: Did I “take” a break from blogging ? No. Do I resume to post as earlier ? Don’t know.

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I have upgraded now to WP2.3 but this time it wasn’t smooth as last time.
First of all, the one-shot automatic upgrade provided by this plugin stopped before completing the job (when it had to upgrade database). After which I used its step-by-step and started from beginning and hence had to activate plugins myself

Second, due to some enhanced security stuff, I could not log in to wordpress. But I initially thought it was a forgotten password issue - due to my recent nightmarish lost-pwd cases that I would highlight sometime - I reset the password after lot of breaking my head. (But it was very easy actually)

But I was still unable to log in, because it was not the case of wrong password in first place ! So after breaking my head again, I commented out the security code. ( I feel it was not working as it intended to)

There are many changes in 2.3 of which, the tag thing has broken my existing wonderfully working UTW tagging system, & that is frustrating. I even imported the old tags but the “modifying theme to make it work with tags” and breaking the earlier working system is highly irritating.

So not very happy with this upgrade.
**

The other day, had a very satisfying “outing” in Innovative Multiplex. The theatre which I had avoided almost for its first two years, for the sole reason that it is too far and the time so much spent for a movie is not worth it. I always felt it was so awfully out of the city !
The distance is still the same, but now it has become very near ! I mean, I daily travel 7kms further to it, so it has sort of become interior now !!
Another practical reason to head out there is that, it is so empty even on weekends and we can get tickets even 1 minute before the show ! Now even the normal theaters inside city have priced their tickets too high to their worth !
Coming back to the outing, it was Dhamaal, a convenient but hurried lunch break, followed by Manorama Six Feet Under.
***
Talking of multiplexes, there is a new multiplex inside the city not many would be aware of ! It is called Vision Cinemas and it is listed in ToI. BK and I went in search of it the other day. ( hint: It is near Lalbagh. ) Since it is not publicized and as it is new, there is hardly any crowd coming to it ( we wish it remains like that for as long as possible ). The autowallahs too are not aware - when we asked directions for new multiplexes - they showed the way for PVR and INOX ! When we mentioned in this area, all mentioned Urvashi. For regular movie-goers like us, it was a huge laughing stock, because we specifically mentioned “new” and they were going from Inox to Pvr to Urvashi ! Finally a rik-driver had a late realization and ran behind us to inform of the location. (another hint: lot of eating joints are seen to the road and the actual building is far behind). And the building does not even carry the name plate, so I wish it remains anonymous for more time !

The following is what I wrote on Flixter to my flixter account through FB

I wish I could give it 5 star rating! The progress is good, the first half builds the entire premise and second half goes around tieing the lose ends, but it is not until last few frames that the entire picture becomes clear. Classic novel-like script makes it a tight watch. All the actors pitch in with terrifc perfomances and leave a lasting impression.
A thoroughly impressive debut direction, impressively shot in Rajastan and the slow and steady flow not once bores.
Full paisa vasool but if you are looking for jolly entertaining no-braner stuff for a lazy sunday afternoon, then turn to some other crappy stuff which is being passed off as comedy these days.

It is sometimes excruciatingly difficult to blog, esp to write a post (not the linking stuff). Writer’s block is one thing and having too much to write but finding no time to write is another.
And then, like it has happened today, the whole time is spent in browsing, chatting, installing and stuff. I haven’t been able to draft a single paragraph!

Part 3:

# Saw these movies: Great Escape, Where Eagles Dare, Green Mile, No man’s land, Saving Private Ryan, Silence of the Lambs.

Silence of Lambs was very gripping and good story telling. Though I did not clearly understand the climax - was the person she searching happened to be main criminal - was it a just co-incidence ?

What an acting. Just less than 15 minutes of acting got Anthony Hopkins an Oscar.

# Went to Ooty, Coonor. Travelled in the Chayya Chayya train. Had great fun. Clicked lot of pics.

# Had been to Wide Angle Photography exhibition.

# Sholay details on flixter was mixed up and screwed up. I mailed and they corrected

# Enjoying facebook. Nice to see orkut changes too, but trying not to use orkut. FB is like all you want to know about me - twitter is there, flixter is there, songs i like is there, goodreads is linked there, pics uploaded would be notified there plus for playing games.

# It took few seconds before I realized it was DURGAMBA which I read as DURGA MBA !

# too many spam is coming into inbox these days in gmail contrary to good old days of gmail which combated spam well..what changed ?!

# Migrated my pics to flickr from yahoo photos. Flickr looks so vast..took time to learn the terminologies. They are offering 3 months pro - unlimited upload..thought of taking backup of all my pics. They said only 3 albums will be visible if I dont upgrade. But they also said my photos submitted to group pool will remain - I created pools, will submit photos to that and they will be seen after not upgrading ! Rangoli kelage nusulodu antaralla…

# Enjoyed the trashing reviews of Aag

# What I want: “Note this” in Google reader.Other way round-sharing the notebook items in reader has 1 drawback-doesn’t readily show source.

# Attended a very interesting and thought provoking talk by Prof Sadagopan who had come to our office. He mixed humour, real life examples, facts, knowledge and it was a refreshing experience. I still remember some of his points in good detail, feel bad that I didn’t put down most of the talk on the same day.

# Wrote lot of private post-like mails. ( But feel bad for not managing to write about Coonor trip & team outing in detail )

# No more long posts. Might even convert my twitter updates into posts.

Sometimes a Good Morning quote ignites a conversation. A recent one ignited two :

ONE::
Rk:

I prefer the most unfair peace to the most righteous war. Marcus T Cicero

Adiga:

should it be the otherway round? prefer righteous war to unfair peace? I heard it that way.

Rk:

Many replied like that … this is what Marcus said..may be righteous war was what Lord Krishna said.

Adiga:

No, I heard some foreign author said it.

Rk:

If internet is the right source, I find the quotes I sent only ..and not the other way round quote….

Adiga:

Ya,,,,,file a review to that site and question its correctness.

P.S. Marcus Cicero made a failed attempt to establish peace in Rome. So if he is frustrated because of this, then what internet told is wrong. If he still believed his fundamentals despite his failure then its right.

Rk:

It is there in ALL the sites…and if you need to prove them wrong, you should have source & proof to the correct quote … burden of proof lies on you

oh thanks for the info…

Adiga:

 Burden lies with Marcus himself because the world doesn’t know whether he is frustrated or not…Lets close the debate.

Rk:

Ok., lets close the debate
It is unfair to close debate..but it is peaceful

TWO (More food for thought) ::

Rk:
I prefer the most unfair peace to the most righteous war. Marcus T Cicero

SY:
I tend to disagree with Marcus’s statement!!

I would prefer to have a “just WAR”, instead of anything unfair.

Rk:
Well, I was just thinking under which category does “marriage” fall.

Joke apart, there are very few quotes I send which I personally do not agree with but just want to display the thought a great person might have had. I can say, this was NOT one of them.
For me, life & peace is more important than war - because war is inherently unfair in more ways than one.

May be ek discussion hojaye

SY:
My views
Regarding Good Morning quote:

Assume, I have unfairly gained advantage (escaped from being hit) just because some body chose to keep quiet rather than hit me. I would feel so uncomfortable, that I will not be able to continue my daily activities peacefully. I will lose my peace of mind for the unfair peace that I gained.

Assume, I have unfairly lost advantage just because I chose to keep quiet rather than hit some one else, OR some body forced me to keep quiet. I might repent later on and start developing hatred against that someone. Again I will lose my peace of mind for the unfair peace that I gained*.

*All words used should be taken at face value.

Rk:

First of all, being hit is no way equivalent to a war. War is when those who are not involved are also hit, killed. Possibly you are trivialising war.

In first scenario, it shows that you are a good human being. In which case there was no way you were to be get hit in the first place which will rebut the first sentence. Secondly, even for a moment we consider the first statement to be right, the result is “you lost your peace of mind”, which is FAR better than war or he killing you/hitting you One more thing, the peace gives you chance again and in case of war, it is over. Hitting will instantly result in you hitting you (because that is according to you  - rightful war). Something on the lines of eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

In the second scenario, if you are developing hatred that is only because you do not believe in the qoute. If you agree with the quote there is no confusion, it is unfair but it is peace. So you will not develop hatred. On the other hand, the effect is only “repent later”, but in war, there is no end until one of them is hurt. So since it is NOT only one hit you will return and he keeps quiet (bcoz he might also believe in war - righteous or not )  , and hence it is not known who is going to give a final blow. So it might happen that there is no “later” for even repenting.

Thats how I see it. I hope I am making at least some sense …

However, unfairness is not to be tolerated. (But since war is also unfair, war is not the solution, I think). Unfairness is not to be tolerated - which is why we had Freedom Struggle, which is why Nelson Mandela fought against racism, which is why feminists are fighting, which is why …etc.

If I made some sense, we can consider the debate closed. If I have not made any sense, probably you are right and hence the debate is closed - in this case, it is unfair to close the debate, but it is peaceful

Finished reading “Kane and Abel” - the first novel I have read of Jeffrey Archer.

Haven’t found a good review of the book, if you know, let me know. The search on Google throws up results about two musicians and their music.

My thoughts/comments :

Again enjoyed the initial story thoroughly. The struggles of Abel (Wladek) were thrilling to read. Even the business like smartness of Kane in his initial school years ( like collecting match box covers )  were detailed and interesting in the early pages. After he grows up that detail is missing.

Abel after became successful must have visited the lady who’d helped him in the train. There is no mention of it afterwards, though he visits embassy and all.

Though it was little distracting for me, liked the links and references to actual facts and history - like war, President elections, stock market crash etc. ( Though am not aware of Polish-German conflicts. ) And kept hoping/guessing this was a real story

The war efforts of both Kane and Abel almost looked like a forced distraction/deviation. It is so detached from the main story, looked like, from a meeting room they went out for a smoke and came back. Their meeting during the war, I thought would have some link/effect in their story later, but was disappointed, more disappointed that it didn’t even get a mention in the final letter.

Few sequences/passages I very much enjoyed are 1. the golf rounds Kane plays with Alan Lyold, 2. Zaphia meeting Abel surprisingly after he becomes successful 3. Kane’s sudden marriage in a foreign land.

As usual as these days, kept imagining how a particular sequence is realized on screen. Should watch this movie sometime.

I was expecting the feud to end earlier but it didn’t, and it seemed at the end as though it was getting elongated for no reason or with no happening. Also was disappointed that Kane got ill-treated though he was good and did right things - and he was a better human too - did not ditch his wife. It was also wrong that he lost the chairmanship - it would have been better if he had died before that.

For all the detailed smart moves of Kane, like hiring a detective who would be all knowing, Abel was too dumb. Was expecting Kane to buy out Abel’s hotels and give a slap back to Abel in his own business.

Why Kane’s friend had to die off abruptly like that - may be it was thought when the character is created itself coz his bank has to go to Kane but, for the reader it is abrupt. The unpredictability like this surfaces at many places right from Abel’s friend’s death to Kane’s losing chairmanship in his own bank to losing it finally in Lester’s to his death.

For me, the novel felt elongated after the affair of their children- which if at least had fueled/patched up their rivalry it would have been meaningful to invoke that plot. I dislike the plots which don’t necessarily add to the main story - which I thought was their rivalry because the cover pages & title suggested that - but for me it would have been perfectly fine to outline two characters and not have any connection - like in the early pages - thorough out the novel highlighting perhaps the similarities or the contrasts in their lives.

Wonder who the two anon people author mentions about/dedicates to in the first page and how they are related to the story.

For a novel, 550+ pages big, and for a novel that occupied my travel time for 15days or more, these comments/thoughts are less