10 minutes with a cynic.

Yes, there are more important things than the pitch-report at the Chinnaswamy Stadium! Will the track be spinning or bouncing is not the only question doing the rounds today...


The world is falling apart, but who cares. There are things that need our attention immediately. We've been reading about them in the papers. In the headlines, the page of International Affairs....where we do take a moment to think about the gravity of the situation and then carelessly flip over to the Sports-page.


First and foremost, the arrogance of the son of a gun - Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi, who is so not used to not being in power. He was the one, who led the Military to overthrow the Monarchy, and then himself assumed power as the 'be all-end all' of Libya. If you care to 'wiki' him, you'll be appalled to see his sense of International Policies for his country and the number of assassinations taken place under his regime (which include his critics mostly), and yes THIS MAN continues to live....!! It is like Dawood Ibrahim running India (Wouldn't it be a bloody nightmare!). Now when his own people are trying to overthrow him, instead of bowing out after 42 years of insane policy-making....He is killing them. Would you believe his audacity?! Am I the only one whose blood boils after reading this?Am I the only one who would like Batman to beat this man to pulp and then dump him in a garbage can? I don't think so.....


A woman laying in a vegetative state for the past 38 years in a hospital is one of the most agonizing headlines I've read recently. Aruna Shanbagh, bed-ridden due to a sexual assault in 1973, still lays in that same bed in a state of coma. The nurses take care of her, as she has no relatives doing it. A petition to grant Euthanasia to her filed by a writer Pinki Virani (who put the whole Aruna-story in print) by stopping food and fluid supply has been doing the rounds. The Supreme Court has been strangely spineless and mute on the whole issue. Denying several similar petitions, and what follows is a blaring debate about her “right to die”. While the victim still continues to suffer, the person convicted has already spent more than 25 years in the free world, that is after serving his 7-year sentence in Jail.....


A social activist by the name of Binayak Sen, has been jailed for the past 3 months on the charges of “conspiracy and treason against the State”. And why was he jailed by the government? Because he raised his Voice for the poor against government policies. This caused 'inconvenience' to the state government which resulted into such a disaster-verdict.

For all those who do not know the meaning of the slang “Bullshit”, please equate it with this verdict.


The House arrest of Iraninan Film-maker Jafar Panahi is just another revolutionary oppressed by the Islamist-Theocrats. While he has been banned from making films for the next 20 years because of his 'liberal-ideas' in the Islamic-World. He is also not allowed to give interviews, not allowed to leave the country. If this is not Human-Rights violation, then what is? Absolute nonsense, I have to say.


The UPA-hoopla does not seem to end even in the new year. After A Raja was accused in the 2G scam . A loss of an estimated 1.76 lakh-crores (176 followed by ten zeroes, phew!). The CBI did what it does best....that is being shamelessly shameless. And just when the Anti-UPA protests were dying down after Raja's arrest (Sushma Swaraj chose to take a nap from Twitter and Arun Jaitley made good use of the free time by literally napping in the Parliament) a new controversy came up – The appointment of CVC P J Thomas. P J Thomas (Yeah...you can afford a grin at those first two letters for a name) was recently forced to call it quits after the Supreme Court questioned a charge-sheet against him over the import of some over-priced Palm Oil for the Kerala State govt. He has allegedly caused the govt a loss of couple of crores (approximately). The UPA has seriously taken an image-beating in the past 12 months (CWG, 2G and now Thomas-ji!). The PM takes responsibility makes an apology, and the BJP as it usually does is screaming on the top of their voices along with the likes of Rajdeep Sardesai and Arnab Goswami about how incompetent the UPA Govt is.


These are only a handful of the various issues, which are a part of the current-affairs, and which we as literate citizens should know about. So, when you spend today's afternoon, watching the Indians thrashing (probably) the Irish, it wouldn't hurt to give these issues a minute, before you (comeback to your 'normal' self and) cry foul about how Yusuf Pathan shouldn't have dropped that catch.


Just for the record, it took me more than 10 minutes to write this........

Confessions of a Wannabe-Idealist

The concept of not being understood is not unheard of, and that of being mis-interpreted is not foreign. Atleast not to me...
There's this conflict inside me and no matter how much i try to overlook it to lead the 'normal' life, the question only gets deeper and graver.

"What is the source of a lifetime of happiness and contentment ?"

There are these various concepts that take birth from this very question. Terms like "Nirvana" and "Mukti" (Liberation) are thrown about into the mix. A boy tried hard, finding the answer with extreme measures and embraced death while doing so
(Read: Chris Mccandless). I will be honest and admit that I'm not as brave as this boy. Not because I'm afraid of death,more so because I cringe at the thought of giving up my 'materialistic indulgences', and I hate myself for that.

The slacker inside me asks, "What good could you possibly achieve by cutting-off from civilisation? Whats the point in going back to the wild, hunting your meal, feeding on Wild fruits and Veggies ? Is it really worth it ?"
The cynic says, "You won't even survive a week without proper food, shelter ! How do you plan to stay alive??"

In short why go anywhere, when you can live a life full of all the comforts at your finger-tips?! But then I give an argument about the inner-happiness, the inner-contentment..and it ends in a deadlock as usual.

"You need to take it easy, and not get too deep into such stuff", this is what my friends would say to the questions with no answers. "Can't be juggling blood and fire all the time! Can you?"

I don't even know what awaits me in life, or maybe I will make the decision about how I shall leave the world on my terms, and the 'question' a bit more unravelled. All that has been written is not the blowup of some rebellious teenager. I hope somebody reading this would try and understand my perspective, I hope I would find my answer to eternal contentment, I hope...



Note: The Movie "INTO THE WILD" is the provocation for this article. I urge everyone to watch this film and introspect.

DHOBI GHAT

Metropolitans are living things.
You would agree with me, if you've ever lived in one...

There's a certain pulse running inside everything. In Mumbai...theres always an innate hurry for everyone...

So many movies have tried to capture the busy life of a city and probably none of them have been able to keep it as subtle as Kiran Rao. This woman has taste, and you know it from the very first scene that she wants to stand out of the rest..and not over-exploit this 'Drama-queen of a city'- Mumbai.

Without trying to sound like a school-teacher, I would have to say that the Debutante's work has some pitfalls too.Where the simplicity of the story is endearing, it is on the borderline of being too simple and convenient. But thats where Rao scores over the rest...she brings us 4 characters from different walks of life (And by 'character' I do not mean 'The Bored wife' OR 'The alcoholic Husband'). SHAI (Monica Dogra) is an investment Banker from New York, on a sabbatical...to pursue her interest in Photography. Arun (Aamir Khan) is the reclusive painter, who does not like talking too much, but lights up without any reason at all. Munna (Prateik Babbar) is the Dhobi (Washerman) for the above-mentioned characters...he is smart, intelligent but very straight forward too. Finally theres my favourite performance, Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra) who shows up in some Video-diaries, which Arun get obsessed about. She has a certain calmness to her dialogues, and a haunting silence, where her eyes speak more than her words....Her Silence is like an anti-thesis to the ever-bustling city.

Rao does a good job by keeping it simple...
The Guerilla-filming of the city helps you see what the characters do...hence there are hardly any steady shots. She leaves out the songs for this one...instead hires GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA for an inspired main-theme. The use of Hindustani classical for some scenes is particularly interesting. Her writing is steady, at times indulgent. She writes some very interesting conversations between SHAI and MUNNA. The video Diaries (Yasmin) captures the in-built haste of all Mumbaikars, especially that first scene where Yasmin is seen capturing some neighbouring couples yelling at each other over the Lunch that is being packed for the Man, while the Child is as usual late for school having his breakfast slowly. These are moments of Deja Vu, because being a Mumbaikar..I've experienced it a zillion times myself. There are long silences in the movie and the one particularly beautiful is the one that we see Yasmin unmisndfully roaming around in the Elephanta caves,with her face showing signs of her marital disaster..and then she looks to the Camera, and breaks into a smile, The screen lights up!

Rao has tried to be very sincere in her depiction of the city, and one very touching scene is the one in Yasmin's Diaries where she captures her maid and her daughter.The scene boasts of some remarkable ingenuity to highlight the various stratas of the city.

Aamir Khan is somewhat hesitant with his character (who comes out under-developed too), Prateik Babbar is one hellofa newcomer. He impressed me in "Jaane tu..." and is very scalable with his 'out-of-the-blue-retorts', which are hilarious most of the times. Tushar Kanti Ray (DOP), along with Kiran Rao paint Mumbai with intimate-strokes and capture it lovingly. The Irony put forth by the end that even in a city with the demographics of Mumbai.....it is still a lonely life afterall.

This is a non-filmi Film. The melancholy in the climax is satisying afterall... Kiran Rao welcome on board with an assured debut.

127 Hours.

This is not a movie review....you may call it a fan-mail !!

Dad had specifically told me to be more objective in my next review...but this is not a review as I've already mentioned.

Sorry Dad :P

So how do I start about this incredible movie ?! Lets just say that I've seen the trailer like fifty times, and have been

hunting it everywhere google would take me. And on 07th January @ 07.43 am I find it on my computer....hows that?!

So, Without even trying to be cryptic....I LOVED THE FILM !! No two ways of expressing it. There are films you watch with humungous expectations and they tend to backfire, OR It is the other way round...you start watching a movie with no expectations and you end up...surprised. This one does not belong to any of the above-mentioned Stratas. I had HUGE EXPECTATIONS from this one...and it delivered too !

Danny Boyle is a serious thinker...The phrase "Out of the Box" - is so apt for his filming style, His entire approach to a story is energetic and even infectious if you may call it that. He again takes us on a journey...in the canyons, between ravines...and gigantic boulders.. and tells us a story of an individual's ordeal that lasted "127 Hours" (yes..thats where the title comes from).

To be honest with you, I checked out the trailer only because it had Rahman's Soundtrack. I simply did not care if the movie had James Franco in the lead..or for that matter Ashton Kutcher OR Collin Farrell (The worst Hollywood have..) With the very first trailer..I could sense something special was in store...But then again the cynic inside me said that its just another rescue-operation movie like "Vertical Limit".. So with apprehension I waited.... and then the Soundtrack came out. "Rahman-e-jannat" thats exactly how my brother described it...and true it was. This again raised the bar...and Danny Boyle was suddenly a much more respected figure in my book.

Every scene speaks out loud - "Do you see me... Hollywood ?? I've come to break all your norms for lighting, set-design, sound-design Camera-postions..and also your cliched potrayal of Hallucinations" Every scene. Everything from the close up of the tap leaking droplets to the shot in which the you see the protagonist's tongue trying to lick every last drop of water from his bottle. Who takes such shots ?? It may look insane...but thats what stands out about Danny Boyle's imaginative Direction. Simon Beaufoy's screenplay makes it a relevant watch. That sparkling scene where the protagonist goes...on to mimic a TV Show, while tired of trying to get out of the sticky-situation and he goes.."Oops..!!" He deserves accolades for making it engaging for the viewer, Otherwise Incredible-True Stories are somehow always lost in translation, and it is Beaufoy's genius that keeps the movie intact. And now...for the person whom I never paid any heed to while watching the trailer - JAMES FRANCO. Stupendous performance to say the least, to act the way he does takes a lot of talent and amazing precision on the material. His towering performance is what tells you that you're not watching a re-run of "I shouldn't be alive" on Discovery. The performance is what you would take home. A special mention for the Sound-Designing Dept who have done an amazing job. The Score and the "Boom-bangs" are seriously what you're looking for...!!

I've been biased ?? Yeah..tell me more.

Its so good to see a good movie. And again...this is a fan speaking for some amazingly gifted-technicians. Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy,Anthony Dod Mantle (Cinematography), and James Franco....look forward to your next projects.

P.S : A R Rahman, see you in tomorrow-morning's prayers !!

GUZAARISH - Movie Review.

Boxing day..it is, when I sit down in my room with nothing much to do (A usual sight on a sunday morning), and I check my downloads. To my surprise, I find that my "Guzaarish-Torrent" is genuine, and that it is quite a watchable print.

I had heard mixed-reactions about the movie, but as the trailer was extremely moving....I singled out this movie to be watched. And..now that I've seen it..what do I think ?!! I'm a tad underwhelmed and still satisfied....

Sanjay leela Bhansali - Is he a self-obsessed psychopath ?! An eccentric genius ?! Whatever you may call him...the visual- splendor of his films cry out loud for you to notice them. His last effort - SAAWARIYA (I haven't seen it, hence I won't comment) had been dubbed as an arrogant, obnoxious and boring effort to tell a story. And this is what I got to know from almost everyone I spoke to, or heard from.

Now, back to his current movie...the idea is brilliant, he is equipped with two of the most amazing actors from the Industry, godly-technicians in Sumit Basu (Seriously...'WOW' is all I can say about the set-designs) and Sudeep Chatterjee (Cinematography) and also being backed by the biggest corporate in Bollywood (UTV Motion pictures), what more can you ask for to kick-start a project. I'll be honest, that Bhansali does well in setting the mood and creating the perfect-setting...but the sets are so beautiful, and so perfect that....it loses the subtlety of everyday life. The perfect red drapes, blue walls only distract. The movie protagonist makes it clear in the very beginning that he shall petition ('Guzaarish' in Hindi) for Euthanasia (The right to die for an individual), and hence we know that the screenplay is going to bank on flash-backs to tell the story.

Ethan Mascharenas (Hrithik ROshan) is a has-been Magician, who is now a qudraplegic because of an accident during one of his tricks. After laying motionless for almost 14 years, he is fed up of his condition and hence decides to make a decision to die. Will his plea be accepted ?? Will his loved ones let him die so easily ?? Will anyone EVER understand his state-of-mind?? These are the very questions, we start with, and they're all answered by the climax.

The cast gives strong performances including Hritik Roshan. Again....if I may mention the potential he has on screen to make even an average scene sparkle, with his razzle-dazzle. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as his nurse 'Sophia' comes out with a clever, restrained performance. Her recent understated performances (GURU and now this film) can be very easy to miss, because she becomes the very character, and we forget to differentiate between the two. Suhel Seth is the 'Doc', Shernaz Patel the lawyer do their very best with what they have....on paper !! Two tasteless cameos, threaten to let the Acting Department down. Surprisingly both these cameos come from very competent actors - Rajit Kapoor and Makarand Deshpande. The story is well-intended but it is let down by gimmicky sub-plots; like the one with the rival-magician is so fuzzy, and a one-scene-tell-all sequence !! If tapped properly, it could've been so much more. Same for the one about Sophia's marriage, a very undercooked addition to the story. The one about the Protege is sincere, but an unconvincing Omar (Aditya Roy Kapoor) makes it under-developed.

But where there is satisfaction, there has to be something good. A couple of moments seize your heart with their very sincerity. First the one in which Omar (The protege) performs a very difficult trick and you see that glee on Hrithik's face and the power of the scene hits you !! The music is done well, although the songs look forced into the story-line. The title track is one of the best songs I've heard..this year. The genius about that song are the quotes from "Romeo-Juliet" being said out loud suring the interlude.

In the era when "GOLMAAL"s, "HOUSEFULL"s and the "TEES MAAR KHAN"s are doing well, this is almost like a life-saving drug of art. It is better to fall short of expectations by making such attempts, and atleast try something innovative, that can be appreciated in most countries all over the world and give a healthy image of "Bollywood".

The Social Network : Brilliance \m/

Here I am....finally !!! I've been waiting to write this for the past two weeks.. and I couldn't because of my exams.But whatever starts comes to an end.. (Read: My exams) and I am so pumped about this fantastic movie I saw more than 2 weeks ago. Since its release in India (last week) this movie has gained a lot of steam...Critics giving it an unprecedented 5-Star rating and Movie-buffs going ga-ga about it on Rottentomatoes and Imdb.

So what exactly is this thing ?!?! Its....of course the facebook movie - "THE SOCIAL NETWORK".What seriously catches your eye when u watch the first trailer is its tagline - "YOU DON'T GET TO 500 MILLION FRIENDS WITHOUT MAKING SOME ENEMIES". Whats that supposed to mean ?! Stop scratching your head and find out for yourself....Watch the movie !!

I would hate to give anything out, and I cannot do without describing my favourite scenes in the film. So..I'm going to try to be as discreet as possible for those who haven't watched it yet !!

Basically...The story is about the founding of the most popular social-network in the World - FACEBOOK. Now..who cares about how facebook was found ?! Doesn't sound dramatic....does it ?!?! Let me assure you that it is one of the most compelling stories I've heard in a long time. The opening scene gives us an arrogant, obnoxious and a wizard of a computer programmer, who gets dumped by his girlfriend in a bar. After she has dumped him, she says to him,

"You may become a very successful computer person, but you'll go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know from the bottom of my heart, that it'll be because you're an asshole !"

The Guy dumped is none other than MARK ZUCKERBERG (played by Jesse Eisenberg)... !!This very much sets the tone for an incredible two hours of sharp dialogues, fantastic characters and an incredibly intriguing screenplay. The movie mentions the two lawsuits, that Zuckerberg had to face after Facebook became a hit. One from the "Winklevoss-Twins" and another by his only friend EDUARDO SAVERIN (Played by Andrew Garfield). The writer of "A Few good men" - AARON SORKIN and The Director of "SEVEN" & "FIGHT CLUB" - DAVID FINCHER serve up such a delicious plate of story-telling, that it is hard to stay away for any movie buff !!

The acting is all top-notch. Jesse Eisenberg brings in the necessary innocence and also the cold-ness to the character to leave the audiences to decide whether MARK ZUCKERBERG is the hero or the vilain. Andrew Garfield is impeccable and earnest as Mark's best friend and Co-founder EDUARDO SAVERIN. Just look out for the scene towards the end of the movie when he confronts Jesse's character, you can relate to the anguish better than anyone. And also...in the acting department is the Shining star from the music Industry - Justin Timberlake. He plays the character of SEAN PARKER (Founder of Napster) who is a Rockstar-honcho, also broke (Because of NAPSTER going bankrupt). He finds out about Mark's idea and almost immediately sees the potential of a billion-dollar company. He meets him and Eduardo and wooes them with his charm, and also gets himself a job in the company. He is Mark's mentor now, and please listen to that landmark conversation in the pub, where Sean tells Mark of what he expects out of the facebook-idea. It represents this age of cocky-technocrats becoming billionares overnight with their soft(ware) skills.

So ultimately is the movie what you expected to be ?!! Not exactly..I did not sit with such high expectations and I'm flabbergasted to say the least. Is it a movie on facebook ?! Its a movie on Mark Zuckerberg's life through college ?! The movie stands proof for friendship and deceit ?! Is it another rags-to-riches story ?! Well...take home whatever u feel appropriate. I like to see all these layers in one movie.

A noticeable fact is the flooded-asian women in the movie, It obviously is some kind of an indication. The movie has drawn comparisons with Akira Kurosawa's "RASHOMON", since till the very end of the movie we're not clearly told by the director who is the good guy and who is the bad guy ! I choose to overlook it, as I know that no ones "White" or "Black" in the real world. Everything in this world is indeed GREY !!

The Last Lear

THE LAST LEAR - Movie review.



"What makes an actor ?? The Desire to perform...!!" --

is what you hear from Harish Mishra alias "Harry" (Amitabh Bachchan).The movie directed by Rituparno Ghosh, is a brave film to adapt. You watch Bachchan perform the way he does and the only question you can ask yourself is why doesn't he take up more roles like this. This film showcases his acting prowess to perfection.

Reciting Shakespeare is not the easiest of tasks, and even mugging it up won't help. One has to show faith in those lines, and speak them out loud assuming himself to be the character. Seeing Amitabh Bachchan do it to perfection...is such a big relief. He plays a retired Shakespearean-Actor, who is lured back for one last assignment - A Film. Bachchan's ability to play an "obsessive-compulsive Theatre Actor" goes unmatched in the film. One such brilliant scene is where Bachchan is haggling with the Director over the deletion of "entire two pages" from the script. These are the moments which give youa natural high as a viewer.Bachchan adds a sinister-charm to his character which causes the viewer to become judgemental.Bordering on the thin line between a maniac and a genius, this is one of his Career-best performances.

Arjun Rampal is a pleasant revelation. He plays the "quiet-but-strong headed" Director with tremendous ease. He is a complete anti-thesis to Bachchan's loud Shakespeare-reciting character. He convinces the genius to come out of retirement, with flair.The negative-shades too are done to perfection. Shefali Shah and Divya Dutta perform with nobility, and come out with sincere performances. Preity Zinta does not have much to do, but moan about her nosy-husband.

Although the actors do a good job, and apparently a lot of work has gone into the Art Direction as well...The film is never quite imposing in its story-telling. The Non-linear screenplay and the abundant flashbacks do very little to take the boredom out of the film. Without giving out any spoilers, the "accident on the set" appears a bit too preposterous. In this cyber-age,there are cables for actors performing action sequences. The Director never pays heed to such basic-details, which is quite a shock. Rituparno Ghosh's ability as a Director is in question, when he tries to end the film on an ambiguous note and fails to make a point. The Writing is not coherent, which makes the movie appear cluttered for the better part.

Even though the movie has some genuinely awe-striking scenes, and some brilliant performances... the film does not quite addup to a fantastic piece of cinema. This is the first film I've seen by Rituparno Ghosh, and I am not mighty impressed considering his reputation as the maker of modern classics.