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Rock On:
[Full of spoilers..][Absolutely no time to form grammatic sentences or even to spell check]
I watched this trailer during the interval of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na..and the feel good factor that time itself had rubbed off on Rock on. Also, Farhan Akthar..the man who would have been remembered and revered by me even if had stopped making after just one movie - DCH - which still ranks at the top of my favorite movies, the name itself was enough to ensure I watch the movie. It does not matter that he was not the director - in fact when I had seen him first in a interview post DCH, I wondered why is this guy not a hero by himself - and here he was again in what looked like a boy-theme, boy-bonding movie, a reason enough to appreciate it

What a man this Farhan is. There is no sign he is debuting to acting. His screen presence, his ability to look convincing in both outfits - super rich-successful-investment banker in suit, as well as passed-out-of-college rock star boy - with curly long hair, hair band and tshirts. He wrote dialogues for the movie..acted as lead..played guitar..and sang 5 out of 7 songs !! Aamir Khan..finally a worthy competitor to you, on the grounds of all rounding..!

I was convinced with Farhan’s acting..he is convincing in both carefree behavior and as a man with hidden pain. Perhaps he might not try other kind of roles but it would be interesting to see him in some conventional roles..

And as his partner…Prachi..what elegance..what poise…and what a character..instead of normal heroines who whine once they realize their partner’s hidden past..this lady makes no fuss…does not even blame..instead silently tries to help him.

What a house they have…damn investment banking..here I come…

It is interesting to note that…its men who carry the burden of past and are unable to move forward…where as the girls..be it Farhan’s girlfriend..who cooly says “I realized he wasnt bad…”and just moves on…or be it Debby..who despite all negatives, just moves on..

Dumping of farhan’s girlfriend is one of the most senseless and cruel things to have happened in the movie…may be just next to the brain tumor..For no fault of hers..she is ditched..she is dumped without any clue..poor girl..i hate when professional things affect personal relation..even the other way should not happen but then it is plausible ..

how the separation could be more poignant..from the first or second scene it is known that something went wrong..though the alternate flashback and current happenings kept the interest (why was i reminded of memento)..the “BIG” turning moment was not compelling enough..it looked very requirement driven..ok a break up has to happen..so lets make it..

and same thing applies to the brain tumour…well..it adds the required masala and helps tears…it wasnt quite essential..(other than that, it was required for the final show..otherwise arjun ramphal’s absense could have canceled their show..)

the ending ..explaining how their lives changed after that wasnt that necessary..movie took itself too seriously at that point..we all know it is a movie…the rock show on stage must have been ideally the last scene..who cares how they lived after ..when no importance was shown how they came together..climax looked too dreamy..explaining the death, the success of other characters that i half wished it was true story somehow..otherwise, who cares..

supporting cast..purab kohli..ramphal..koel..shahana..prachi..all pitch in perfectly…after farhan, prachi..i guess its shahana who left a better impression..her character is quite solid too…

Papa Akthar has let his hair down for the lyrics…looks like he was tired of all political correctness or sensibility that is demanded and was waiting to throw up some nonsense..like he had done in “Strawberry ankhen” in Sapnay..best part is it is easily passed off as “required” for the script..but still i stop to wonder..when i hear “zahreele zahreele…Kaale Neele Peele” which almost sounds like “paani peele peele”!![which, by the way is a very good advice..]..even “do aur do kyuon paanch nahin” and asking audience to ponder about it as if it is the biggest mystery…haha..but he aces in the slow song phir dekhiye..or my more favorite “tum ho to”

music…oh SEL ..good music…somehow i didnt like them before watching movie..once it grew on me in the hall..now i like them all..and surprisingly paani peele peele is also a favorite !

Oh..i can not complete this without comparisons to DCH ..it is obvious though unnecessary…I feel Farhan in his personal life must have had a spat with his close friend…and then they patched up later..(he is so young that,it may not be true..)..but this theme predominately reverbates in DCH and here…
Also..that lonliness…that separation from his wife..immediately reminded me of Tanhai song..
Oh yeah..dont know if someone realized..there is a small reference to DCH ( or it might be just me !!)..that when Farhan is being described by his friends ..they say..”he would impromptu ask us to drive to Goa..without preparation” or something on those lines..it must be a small tribute to DCH..or may be Farhan is like that which is reflected
And the ending..how a character dies of illnes…or the part after it showing all lead happy lives now..similar to DCH climax..

the friendship..the mature love …the comedy ( the few scenes are there brings good laughs…like the garbaraas song of “saason ki jaroorat” is a master piece..imagine giving Anu Malik a guest appearance and making fun of his song itself…even he is made to look like his joker-self…self referential humour is touching new highs..)..music…drama (brain tumour is enough..though there are many others..)…highs (those rock shows and that victory..and that reunion..that chasing dream…)..terrific acting…good dialogues…this is a complete package..

All said and done…as a movie i liked this one..infact it would find a place in my all time favorites..and would stand atop for this year with jaane tu..but ..as realizing dreams..or as going after heart…i am not very motivated..i mean..its a movie..temporary suspension of disbelief..most if not all normal people have unrealized dreams..and would be stuck in a job that is not motivating them…and it would touch all their chords..as if everyone likes to identify..and the emotional bonding developed, it is difficult to realize, it is just a dreamy movie..

To Diva.
**
If Abou Ben Adhem poem is slightly changed to mean about two lists, I know I am not on one list but I feel I would be on the top of the second.But you’ll never know.

Sour grapes is positive attitude(optimism).

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

# Watched “Heyy Babyy”. What a waste of money - Rex has increased its price overnight. I noted that the comedy scenes were all shown in the promotional videos. Rest is all emotional crap. This is the first movie where I feel, trailer is the only best part in the entire movie. What a cheating. Grrrr….

There is one totally entertaining scene in which I almost died laughing - the scene of slow-driving the car.

Also observed those who apparently hadn’t watched trailers were enjoying movie to the core. Especially two girls in front of us. Even in the scenes I barely managed to smile, they rolled on the floor (laughing). Only reason to forgive someone who actually believed he could extend the toilet jokes that he cracks on a TV hosted show to a movie and can call that movie a comedy, Sajid Khan, but you are forgiven - you managed to make some people laugh.

I so wished SRK married Balan. They should give choices of which climax I would want to see and I should be able to select them.

To console myself, I say that there was one single compensation for going to theater - 2 scenes of Vidya Balan. One throwing flowers in the introductory song sequence and entire song sequence is watchable just because of her (or that I did not see anything else). And another in red saree, I for a second felt I was seeing Kajol. Go Balan go, just for this one reason, I am ready to forgive small things about you which I don’t enjoy - oversmiling for one.

Given the box office earnings for this movie, we are in for films like this in the future.

Finished reading “To kill a mocking bird”. It was one of the few books which did not take off. For first few days again and again I was in initial pages and used to get lost in thoughts/ to go to sleep and I repeated same sentences. I knew not the reason, was it suddenly jumping into terminologies I did not understand. Or was it because it probably did not feel like the beginning itself. After hearing similar experience by SK, I was bit relieved. But I was determined to read this and it slowly picked up speed.

There were lot, a lot of things I wanted to note and make a mention in this post but I carried no marker while reading. There is an element of suspense through out and yet it did not make me impatient or hurry through the pages. I swallowed each and every sentence and moved slowly.

I liked the English. I liked the very small observations done, which could only be done by small children, from whose eyes the novel is seen. I think the writer maintained a diary and some things were picked up from that. The childhood stuff was good fun, at times a bit nostalgic too. How I wished it continued like that !

It gets complex and touches upon various aspects in a totally detailed way that I was doubting if it was on track (Same experience I am having now with Kane and Abel - the detailing part).

Mrs Dubose’s plot was moving.

In the cover it is mentioned, the author still maintains it was “a simple love story”. For most of the initial part I kept looking for that thread - was it between Scout and Dill ? Or was it b/n Scout and the hidden boy next door ?  But now after reading the novel, I am disappointed. Not that I was looking for a love story but I was misguided. Don’t tell me that it was about a “love for human kind” in general, I am not immature not to get that but that certainly does not deserve the claim that it was a “simple love story”.

There were some surprisingly thrilling moments like when the daughter sends back the people who had come to attack her father.

Tom Robinson’s death was totally unexpected and I felt the void suddenly.

After having gone into so much detail, perhaps it required a better treatment. And after the death, the plot moves irritatingly slow.

Since I knew this was made into a movie, I kept thinking how would a particular scene appear in the movie. Must watch it sometime.

I went to watch this play for the sole reason being - it was a thriller/suspence play. Been sometime since I opted for anything but comedy. The story in brief is like this: There is a couple who plan in detail to cheat the law and become rich, by ( perhaps very common in the stories) cheating the insurance company. There is an inspector who sees through their plot and tries to take advantage of the situation. And then there is a final twist.

The set and lighting arrangements were detailed and good. The performances were okay but for one or two scenes in which they manage to excel. I could never approve of the third person’s acting - probably it was meant to be like that !  The lady often said wrong numbers - like she mentioned 8 months since marriage once and next time 6 months and like 50 thousand for 50 lakh - when the audience loudly murmured in a way of correcting her that it was Lakhs and not thousands. Lack of preparation or nervousness might have caused which was strange because she did some scenes convincingly - the one where she explains her interview with Inspector. 

The final “twists” have become quite predictable nowadays and I always look for the inconsistency it causes with the whole previous happenings. And whenever I find some I disprove/dislike the final twists. In particular in this play, if the final twist was true, many things looked like redundant. ( There is a small justification though - the entire play was played out for the third person - I know this is not explaining correctly, but those who’d seen would get it).

The play is originally of Marathi by Yogesh Soman, translated to Hindi by Prashant Kirwadkar , which is translated to Kannada by Dr Tippeswamy. Directed by Anoop Joshi and the group was Rangayana. 

What an experience it was to watch “Chak De”. I have always loved a sports theme based movie - Iqbal, Lagaan, Million Dollar Baby, so it was almost a given that I would like this movie and add to that there were positive reviews. However the experience was something even better - the crowd, the shouts, the whistles. When I had been to watch Rajini I could not get so involved and wondered what was it. Or rather when was the last time for me - involvment and celebration together ? Was it Lagaan ? Was it a laugh riot like Hungama ? Was it Swades ? When was the last time ?

Now I can say, Chak De. I admit, it was surprising for me at few points, but overall it was cliched and predictable, yet it was totally entertaining. For which half the credit might go to the highest paid screen writer in Bollywood.  

It could have got a little more detailed, at least a cursory look, into what went into those 7 years. And why “7″.

I wouldn’t rate SRK’s performance higher than his in Swades.

Most importantly, the movie was more dearer for it was based on a real story of Mir Ranjan Negi. Got to know more details like he took active part in the movie and coached the movie’s hockey team. 

I knew few dialogues ( from reviews ) but my favorite is the one where SRK says, “Kisi gore ko pehli baar tiranga lehrate hue dekh ke maza aa raha hai”. Priceless ! I enjoyed many other moments.

There were few other points I wanted to make, not recollecting now. What a loss !

Part 2:

# I had been to Flower Show at Lalbagh - solely for the reason of photographing flowers. I am not sure if I am too happy with my photos, however here are they for your viewing pleasure. Why do “Macro” mode results in photos that look as though they are painted in water colour ?

# Went to PESIT college for Independence Day, attended flag hoisting and sang National Anthem. Now, how many of you did/can do that ? DJ’s speech was not very original, he just read out a speech by Narayana Murthy. Though it made me look for it on the net link, it was not in usual DJ’s style. “I always look for what is in it for me” he said, “and if one person among this audience becomes like one of the visionaries mentioned in the inspiring speech, that is enough for me”. Like any dreamy eyed teenager, some of us thought he was referring to us itself ( I still have to get the feeling that I am not a teenager any longer, sigh !) . The article deserves a read.

# There were lot of flowers in the garden and I regret not having carried the camera with me.

# Another best thing done on the Independence Day was to watch “Chak De”. Some detailed thoughts will follow in next post. 

# Also watched Checkmate play at RS on Independence Day. Some comments will follow after Chak De review.

# RBoTaH will continue after those posts

# Despite being in the company for more than 3 months, I had spoken only to 3 or 4 people and this occasion was helpful to know the team and to know what others are doing. I also enjoyed the activities/games. I wanted to write a long write-up in my usual style and was sure I could impress and surprise everyone in the team - it has happened quite often that I am not boasting - but I could never manage time. Something or the other came up. When it comes actual life - watching movies and meeting friends and meeting dentist - I never allow my self interest - like getting praises and impressing others - to take a higher priority which was why I could never sit down to write a decent write-up. However I had jotted down some stuff which I had sent to a friend, let me reproduce that here :

From office we had been to team building… had good fun. Will try ( I’m dead tired and it takes hell lot of time to write) to write a Minutes of Meeting and if done will send it to you.
Otherwise important highlights are :
1. We built a raft and we did rafting on it. It was a quiet lake, nevertheless, I was instrumental in our team’s race winning. Proud of myself
2. I could crack few funny stuff and impressed few people.
3. Snipped [Rant]
4. Did a boring bonfire. No music. People sang and some had real good singing talents. Oriya, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil , Konkani, Bengali, Kannada & English songs were sung !
5. Got to know who are in our team. The team was only 30 but even after 3 months of joining I knew only 3 ppl in our team. It looks like the company environment problem and every other person was frustrated and they were also disappointed with this.
6. I climbed and got down a wall which was more than 10 ft high. I still don’t believe that I did that. Of course lot of support was there on both sides. Remember we were in pitch dark jungle.
7. We went on a sort of night trekking but it was just a walk. I noticed lot of people are too scared with forest and nature but I was very brave until I faced that human made 10 ft high wall.
8. I was smart in many games where I gave nice suggestions, and where I got the idea very fast, co-ordinated well etc. But in one game I did very bad.

# Looking back, if there were two things that stand out, two is less and difficult number, it should be climbing the wall. I had never climbed and never wanted to do and would never want to. But when life offers only two choices and rule out one choice, I had to agree to climb the wall. It must be my most horrific moment in my recent life. That tells what a luxurious life I lead. A good photo of me looking as if it was all over for me, would be posted soon. The second event that could stand out was building the raft and I almost single handedly winning the rafting race for my team. *&^%@ to those who made fun of my weight.

# To do: upload few pics and link to them. Especially of climbing the wall and of the rafting.

Part 1:

# Alert : Might turn out to be a loong post. Feel free to skip if you want to miss out on my thoughts and happenings in my life, but anyways if you expect anything greater than that on this blog, you are bound to be disappointed. So read on

# I guess I have to yet again resort to Random Bursts of Thoughts and Happenings ( RBoTaH ) format solely for not having enough time immediately to update. Also I want to update everything in the same chronological order that they happen and which is why sometimes even though there is enough urge to write, I procrastinate till I write about the previous event. Let me say, I don’t enjoy myself this style of mixing too many things in a single post, but I want to record everything for posterity purposes - when I become rich and famous, writing a separate biography would be a burden, no ?

# On the other hand, it is good, I tell myself, that I have been so occupied ( and doing bloggable stuff ) that I delay doing something - something that I enjoy - blogging / updating for my well wishers ( thats you! ). See, I don’t always talk about me.

# Again, this post would be just an index for forthcoming posts, if time and mood permits.

# So where was I last time ? After that, I had been on a 2 day team building from company to a nearby place called Wonder Valley. It was a true “team building” - because we had lot of activities and learning. It was superbly handled by a firm called “Navgati”. Will put up a post next. RBoTaH will continue after the break!

# Yes, somewhat old movie, but watched it recently only.

# Directed by Zoya Akthar, Farhan’s sisReema Kagti. (Corrected after C’s mail

# She also heads to Goa like her brother. Goa does not tire you.

# 6 (right?) couples go to honeymoon in a bus.

# Each of their story is told, not at once, but as it moves on. The advertising plug of Radio Mirchi was unintrusive and sounded natural.

# Whoa, that superman bit was one thing I felt was out of place. Frankly, I did not get a hint until it was disclosed and was very surprised. The lorry repair, the girl catching coconut made sense was what I could connect only later ! There are very few occasions where I am so clueless, and perhaps none with so many obvious hints.

# However on second thoughts, this movie was like a fairy tale, but is not careless and includes some serious reflections of life. I am surprised how the director/script-writer pulled it through, though, with such contrasts. At one corner you have an old couple, who probably both wanted to end their life, but have been on honeymoon and the sadness is just not completely forgotten, yet they smile in front of each other and get away to reach out to their inner feelings, separately, hiding from the other. Boman’s daughter’s tale was executed amazingly well - with so little screen time but with lot of impact. Except for the sermon by Shabana Azmi, which perhaps was required, but I felt it got a little preachy and a littler long, but could have been done in a different manner - just a slap, if you ask me.

# On the other corner, forget it, I would not want to discuss each tale.

# Had a hint at the different interest of Mridula’s husband. But did not understand, how the end was closed. What was that bathroom coughing scene ? What next for Mridula ? However the pair was mature from the beginning.

# Re-entrance of Diya’s tale was unexpected !

# Amisha looked like over-acted. But, actually, the character was thus.

# Reema Sen’s karate kick and probably her entire character is likeable. The parasailing bit was beautifully executed.

# Ah, I think I forgot something.

# Enjoyed the movie. Am sure there are stuff to make a sequel and how I wish Zoya does that as well !

# Oh, not to forget totally lovely groovy track.

Having heard that it is a free-flow like the director’s previous attempt - Bunty aur Bubli, I was all the more keen to watch it. I had a very good time watching BaurB, only grouse was the money spent watching in a multiplex. This time, I was wise. Watched on computer screen. Am surprised by thrashing reviews - this movie did not take it seriously, nor did expect you to. Also it did not pretend to be something other than what it set out to be - a light heart fun and free-flow movie, that rests mostly on the shoulders of the lead artists more than anything else - and the lead pair does not disappoint.

All - Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Priety Zinta, Lara Dutta - are perfect at their roles. I wish Zinta and Abi do more movies like this. Zinta is lovely to watch - scenes like  - the happiness and content that suddenly erupts of her face ( when she is running down the stairs and the lady asks what happened to the proposal, Zinta had rejected it)  are a treat to watch, wonder if anyone else would have done it so well ! (Oh yeah, lets leave aside Kajol and Madhuri Dixit). Abi’s flow is so effortless that, till that one bit of sad song, you will forget to notice that this guy is acting. Nail biting Bobby cracked me up with his innocent looks and nail biting. Lara, actually in two different roles is surprising.

There are various tributes/references to movies - from the number 786 (number plate on a car) - AB’s badge number in a famous movie, to the one I loved - Bobby and Abi going in the similar vehicle as Dharam and Big B singing song - Yeh Dosti hum nahin chodenge.

Finally loved the song. Yes did not mind the never ending song in between in what was a competition. The song just goes on and on but no complaints ! I loved the song so much that I thought that there was only one song in the entire movie (other than the sad song). At the end of the movie, when the song is again played I was practically swaying myself in the chair - at 2 AM in the night