Life's Onward Journey...

...maine sirf aaraam kiya. And now after a week long rest and staying away from humanity, finally I can sing. Are you confused? Let me tell you in detail. I joined a crash-course for singing. The course requires intensive training for a period of 7 days. During this duration you have to stay confined in a small room and keep quiet for at least 23 hours a day. Finally on the 8th day, when you open your mouth to speak, the only thing which you would be able to do is 'sing'. If you believed what I just said, you are even more silly than me. :) I was down with bronchial asthma this time. Forget singing, I could not even talk properly without feeling breathless. Most of the time in the last week was spent in sleeping or coughing (and puking). What made the matters worse was the dysfunctional geyser in the hostel bathroom. Imagine the agony of bathing in cold water and not being able to sing. (Remember the Sanjeev Kumar song, "Thande thande paani se..."). And now after bein...

After watching Dev D. my blood-movie level is going to be high for a long time. It had been a long time since I saw a movie which does not take the viewer's intelligence for granted. I loved this one. I was a little apprehensive before watching it since the media was calling it "a sexed-up version of the original Devdas". But I sat through it without flinching even once. Replace 'love' with 'lust'/'sex' and rest of the story is same (almost). And this new version is more easy to understand. This time the reason for the separation of Dev and Paro is not family or the rich-and-poor-divide but the ego clash between the male and the female sexuality. If the male does it, it bears no significance but if the female loses it, she is a 'slut'. When Dev realises that there was more to his relation with Paro, she is married and happy. The late realization drives him to self-destruction. He meets Chanda/Lenny, a russian hooker. He hates her and she f...

Finally I am writing about the movie I waited for so long. It took so much time because I was searching for a decent photograph of my hero :). Of course that's not the case. First of all I managed to watch the movie on 25th itself. How that happened is a very big story which i am not going to write here but it was a big adventure in a strange city. Had i been in Bombay, I would have watched the preview on 24th. So, my record didn't break. Just that instead of first show, I saw the second show of the movie. The peak of joy was getting the tickets and then with every scene the joy diminished. :( If Aamir Khan accepts a movie, there is a certain kind of expectation from it. This one was completely disappointing. It is a complete 'masala-movie' for the regular brainless-movie-goer. Why did he do this? It is not that the Tamil version was so great that he got tempted to do the remake. No point talking about the story here. I think everybody knows this "revenge saga of a...

I went for this movie with zero-expectation just to watch SRK after a long interval of more than a year and I didn't get disappointed. Seriously, it is a very ordinary movie which takes up an age-old idea (of arranged marriage) and adds all kinds of 'spices' and SRK to it just to cater to a very specific kind of audience, which includes SRK fans and YRF loyals or time-pass movie goers. Surinder Sahni cannot be 'one' single man. There are many contradictions within this character. The man leads a dull, boring, monotonous life with his yellow suitcase, yellow tiffin, yellow car and a yellow bed sheet... (i might have missed other yellow objects around him). And he accepts the fact that he is indeed a boring person. Now, he decides to change his personality just to surprise his young, vibrant, newly-wedded wife. He turns himself into the "movie-hero" who makes his Taani ji smile. The surprising part is that he looks extremely comfortable in this new transfo...

Guys, Priyanka Chopra is one good reason to stay 'straight'. :) Dostana is as funny as it was projected to be. Me and my buddy went mad laughing. I don't remember when I had laughed so much. May be either I have lost my mind or my sensibilities are not at the right place. I really enjoyed watching this movie. Abhishek Bachchan (he is the only Bachchan I can tolerate now) had a perfect comic-timing like always. The 'Venice' story was well-narrated and well-acted. You have to see it to believe it. John Abraham was also good in the movie, but the former stole the show (according to me). Certain things were a little far from reality (oh yeah its a Hindi movie, so it should fulfil this criteria). Though both the guys love the same girl, there is hardly any feeling of competition amongst them (except once). May be that was to make the viewers believe in the 'buddy-factor' of the movie. There were some moments when the 3 of them really look like great buddies. A...

The fever is back again. The cough is bad too. I realized something. That I become a 'little' more sentimental when I am unwell. Or may be it is estrogen... No, I think its the fever because this is not the first time I am feeling this. I have felt this before . Last night I cried watching Full House . There have been plenty of emotional moments in the series but i have never cried watching it. But when Jesse surprised Rebecca with a special Christmas gift- snow (when it had not snowed) all over the backyard with a cute snowman standing in the center, because for Rebecca Christmas is incomplete without the snow. That was really cute. Because of the cough I am not able to talk a lot. That's the reason for blogging this often. On normal days I would have told this to my buddy and then forgotten about it. Since I am not able to do that, I am expressing here. This is my corner. :) Today I saw 'Pyar ke side effects' finally! I liked the movie very much. Shame on me. I...

Ghar jaane de, chhod mori bahiyan.... (from the Theme of Fashion) Fashion belongs to Priyanka Chopra. I think it is the first time she has played the main protagonist in a movie and she hasn't disappointed her fans. She should get full points for both her look and her acting. From the naive-small-town-girl to an aspiring-model to an arrogant-supermodel, she has done justice to the character of Meghana Mathur. The movie is like other 'relaistic' Bhandarkar movies where the truth and tragedy behind the glitz and glamor-world has been shown. Some of it has been inspired by real-life incidences (like the Carol Gracias wardrobe-malfunction and the life of Geetanjali Nagpal). Kangana Ranaut fits such roles. She is fine in the movie (except the innumerable times when she expresses her feelings for her boyfriend by calling him b*****d). Mugdha Godse has done a good job too. The movie has just too many eye-candies for men and sadly not for us women. If it was not a glimpse of R...

Bachna Ae Haseeno deals with an issue which means nothing to an activist or an industrialist or an environmentalist or for that matter anybody. It is not even an entertainer. But still it teaches a few lessons. The meaning of love and companionship changes as we age. It is different when you are a 15 year old school going teenager and when you are a 30 year old single. The male protagonist Raj meets 3 women in 12 years and the movie is about his story with each of these women. He breaks the heart of 2 of these women and the third one manages to break the heart of this heart-breaker. It is then that he realizes what he has been doing all his life. May be Mahi and Gayatri were only 2 of the several women he came across. He decides to ask for forgiveness from the two women and manages to do that too. And, somehow magically his goodness is rewarded by a change of heart of the third woman, who runs into his arms and the movie ends with a kiss and a sunset in the background. Quite nice! R...

Yoonhi nahi dil lubhata koi! Saw Jaane Tu... last friday. I was quite enthusiastic to see this movie. Two most important reasons were the producer of the movie and the claim made by publicists that this movie is the new-age Dil Chahta Hai . I didn't have unrealistic expectation from the movie when it began. But as the first half progressed I became more and more curious to see the problem-solving second half of the movie. It was then that I felt disappointed. The second half was too silly for several reasons. The "Ranjhore ke Rathore" thing was overdone. The dream and the interpretation will be seen in any or all spoofs directed towards this movie. The transport strike and the compulsion to ride a horse and reach the airport. And the innovative route to go to the airport via Asiatic library and Flora fountain. The end was so predictable. We have seen so many movies ending in similar fashion at the airport. Why add one more to that list? It was a pleasant surprise to see...

Directorial debut of Ajay Devgan is disappointing, if nothing else. I could not emotionally connect to the movie, nor empathize with the lead actors. It seems as if the makers wanted to make something else and because of unknown reasons, the movie turned out to be completely different. In an attempt to convert the movie into a commercial one, a lot of attention was paid on useless things like the cruise-liner. There was absolutely no substance in the movie. The first half which was supposed to show love blossoming between the couple looked like a bad joke with one corny dialogue after another. When misfortune strikes in the form of Alzheimer's, one hardly feels sorry for the couple. To add to the numbness, the couple's friends irritate the audience like anything. After a few silly jokes and a few drinks, its time to wrap-up the movie and then the whole idea of 'U', 'me' and 'hum' is thrown towards the audience. And before you realize anything else, the m...

A late review. Of late I have been very busy with several things happening at the same time. Couldn't take time off to watch this movie. And after watching it I didn't get time to write about it. The first and the foremost reason to write this 'late review' ( i skipped writing about Jab We Met and Aaja Nachle because I could not write the draft in the first week) is the newcomer Anurag Sinha. But i will come to it later :) Has Subhash Ghai made " Black and White "? Then who made " Yaadein " and " Kisna "? Forget it... I wont say that 'Black and White' is an excellent movie or a hat-ke type movie. But it does offer something new. After such a long time I heard actors speaking good Urdu. All actors, major or minor, spoke the language as it is spoken. I remember Rani Mukherji in Veer Zaara . She couldn't even pronounce her name in the movie correctly. It was a treat watching and listening to theatre actor Habib Tanvir after such...

Saw the first show of Taare Zameen Par yesterday. A beautiful movie. A must watch for all. The movie deals with an issue 'less-explored'-- needs of a child. What does "taking care of a child" mean? Putting your child in the best school available. Spending money on tutions, swimming classes, dance classes, and what not. Getting them the best designer wear available. Chocolates, video games, picnics... TZP tries to define "taking care" which is very different from what is percieved by most adults. A child who is too young to understand why he is not like other normal children of his age goes through a rough time both at home and school. Then there are constant comparisons with a sibling, who incidentally is a topper and is 'fit to compete in today's world'. He just gives up trying and gets lost within himself. Ishaan was lucky enough to get noticed by a teacher who understands his special needs. How many other children would find similar support? ...

Do we have to appreciate this movie just because it comes from Prakash Jha Productions or it is directed by Sudhir Mishra (of 'Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi' fame)? Or because it tries to tell the story of yesteryears filmstars? I m sorry i can't do that. Khoya Khoya Chand is one of the most boring movie i have ever seen. At the end of it, it is just a retro-fashion parade by Soha Ali Khan. She does look stunning. But is that what a movie should be about? The editing is bad which makes the movie discontinuous. Characterisations are poor. The music is ok. Oh yes, how can i forget Ravindra, who plays the reigning super star (with hardly any screen time and zero dialogues). What??? You missed that 'hunk with a stubble'? Its too late now. You wont even find him if you Google (i tried that!). :-) And the most funny moment in the movie was not a part of the movie but occurred on the other side of the screen. When a chaotic scene of horses galloping across tents was being shown...

Fun to watch nonsense sometimes. And this one is the most nonsensical movie ever made in Indian history (that's a safe comment). The best thing i like about this movie is its honesty . It was never publicised to be the next Oscar-winning movie. It lives upto its expectations. SRK makes us smile, laugh and laugh more & go mad and then irritate a bit. But SRK is allowed to do that. OSO is a remake of Karz with added flavors. Arjun Rampal plays Simi Grewal (young and the old one without the black wig). Deepika Padukone plays the girl-in-love who is wronged by her lover. SRK is the one who avenges her death. So, the one who is wronged and the one who takes revenge is not the same in this remake of the old movie. That's the creative touch of the director of this movie, Farah Khan. And yes one more addition to the old movie. Yeah, i m talking of the ghostly-twist in the end. Really funny was the "totally-lifted" scene from Karz. Durga Khote calls out to her dead and n...

Disappointing. Mr SLB, we get the point that life has treated you very badly. But why subject the audience to your idiosyncracies? You should have declared that this movie is not for the masses. Why did you cheat your audience? The only thing worth mentioning is the music. But what about the intervening sequences when the main protagonists were either jumping around or laughing or crying without any conceivable reason (at least we fools did not get the point). At least there was something believable in the character of Ranbir Raj (i.e. when he was not imitating either his grand father or his father). He seemed to be a not-yet-grown-up school boy who falls in love with a strange (and also a stranger) girl. And since it is known that in love people often behave like a fool, any subsequent action of his which follows his falling in love is justified. But what was this girl Sakina about? I m sorry but you could not get into the heart of the character. We have seen a Nandini screaming ...

" Mera itihaas bahot lamba hai aur bhugol gol " (My past spans eternity and each time my fate brings me back to the same point.) Harilal Gandhi in Gandhi My Father. This movie is an attempt to bring to light a different aspect of the personality of the man we call "father of our nation". The man who failed as a father. Harilal Gandhi didnt choose to be born as the eldest son of Barristor Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. But this served as only the first step towards the series of unfortunate events in his life. Harilal got a free gift of his father's ideologies and principles. A different kind of a person that he was, he could not accept these principles completely nor could he shrug them off. He never got the luxury of choosing his own path. He just became a follower who later strayed from that very path. The movie is worth watching for the turmoil and helplessness of the character of Harilal. Akshaye Khanna has done a great job. Lets see if a national award follow...

"Chak De India" is so far my closest encounter with hockey. Never saw the game, so never got to appreciate it. But at the end every game is the same. A team effort to win. Superposition of different waves so that they are in the same phase. I really liked the movie because it succeeded to depict the spirit of the game. A team can be made only if individuality is suppressed to a certain degree. And only such a team can dream of winning. The characterisation of the players was done well. I can easily remember the name and background of 10 out of the 16 players. What can i say about Coach Kabir Khan? Even if the role was played by K K Menon (i kept thinking about him in the movie), the movie would have been equally good. However, Shahrukh Khan's inclusion did act as the initial crowd puller. The movie is running house-full. SRK has done full justice to the role. People are comparing this role to that of the NASA engineer of Swades. Lets not go that far. Mohan Bhargava will a...

Saw this movie on the first sunday which followed the release date. Began writing this post the same day as i wanted to vent out my frustration before going to sleep. The mission could not be accomplished because of one reason or the other. After that day i just got too lazy to write about it. But since i had already written a few lines, i decided to finish it before proceeding to the next post. JBJ is the worst movie i have seen in recent times. It made TaRaRumPum look better (i hope there's nothing wrong with me). At least the latter had a 'moral'. This one lacked everything. We should wait and watch what is next in line from YashRaj Films. May be the next production makes me change my view on JBJ. I want to watch 'Laga Chunari Mein Daag' for Rani Mukherjee and Konkona Sen. But this time i wont forget to say a silent prayer after the national anthem and before the movie begins, around the same time when the " Y " of the YashRaj Films flashes on screen ...

Watched Ta Ra Rum Pum today. Its an average movie which recites the story of a family which does not lose faith in adversity and stays together. Rajveer (never been to college) a numero uno car racer marries Radhika (joins the league by dropping out of college) an amateur pianist. They and their two kids live a luxurious life (the luxuries are bought either on loans or on installment payment). The story takes a turn when the racer hero meets with an accident on the racing track. He takes 1 year to recuperate and get back to the racing track. When he finally makes a comeback, at one of the crucial moments of his first race he gets reminded of the deadly accident he had in the past and his foot loses contact from the accelerator. He loses 1o races in a row and his racing contract is cancelled. The family loses everything (actually they didnt own anything in the first place). A series of events show the parents making sacrifices for the kids and the kids doing the same for their parents...