Macro

Movie Review: Pinjar

by

The partition of India was one of the bloodiest events in history, thanks in parts to the imperialists British, and thanks in part to our own fanatic differences between religious communities. Scores and millions of people lost their lives, while tens of millions were displaced in one of the biggest exodus in history. Houses burnt, children killed, women raped, women disgraced, everything was in a state of conundrum. The horrors of partition have lived on tell gory tales in magnificent works like Train to Pakistan, Tamas, Freedom at Midnight and many other celebrated works. Anita Pritam’s Pinjar too happens to be the less famed one of them.

Most of books implode on a similar theme – describing the horrifying the events of partition with an element of hope within. Pinjar looks at the society during the partition from a woman’s eyes. And thus lives on to tell a tale of a woman, Puro, and her life.

——————————–

Puro is that everyday girl who lives a life that every girl normally would do. Her father is about to get her married to a family in nearby village, while at the same time accepting a bride for his son. Things turn sour for Puro when an age old enmity between two families enforce Rashid to kidnap Puro and keep her a slave for 15 days; a favor which Rashid returns for having to bear the stories of his women ancestors having the same fate at the hands of Puro’s ancestors.

Deprived, Repressed and Rejected, Puro has nowhere to turn to except Rashid, who by then realizes that an eye for an eye only made each other blind. He marries Puro and accepts her in his life as the woman of his life. To keep things safe between the burgeoning trifles between Hindus and Muslims, they change villages, and Puro becomes Hamida, thereby deleting the very identity of her. What is left of her though is her Pinjar (Skeleton) trying to bind her life.

There on, it’s a story of Redemption and Acceptance between two people bounded not by love, but by fate. However its not her too who tries to tie her life up, but its Rashid too who tries to make amends for his ghastly mistake. It is in Rashid’s redemption and Hamida’s acceptance of her life with Rashid that simply drives home the point – beyond the boundaries of crumbling society lost within itself trying to stabilize itself, lies love.

———————————–

Much has been said about women’s plight and Pinjar being about a woman’s social status and plight of women in the era; however I view the movie differently as a movie about redemption and acceptance. Pinjar may show the women’s

Soundtrack Review: My Big Fat Greek Wedding

by

”That which cannot be expressed otherwise can only be told through music. A thought, which seems commonplace in its analysis, acquires a deeper sense in music.”

–Rabindranath Tagore

Music has no boundaries. True music never fails to capture your heart in any form or language you hear it. If you feel the music, then there is no language, there is no lyric – all that there is the note and the feeling of the note. The beauty of music lies in the holder and the beholder; only when the two meet there is a synchrony. Music can make you happy, music can make you sad, music can relieve you, and music can also make throw up and be angry. My big fat Greek Wedding is one such form of music which is of the first category – music that makes you happy. Its an  album which will rejuvenate you for the rest of the day. A classic blend of modern and traditional Greek music makes this a beautiful album of happy music.

Traditional Greek music is quite similar to Middle Eastern music and probably shares the same roots. In fact, Greek music is what I did call an intermediate form of music between Spanish and Arabian music. [An interesting feature to notice in music of central lands is the use of natural instruments increases as you go from Middle Eastern to European and Irish, Celtic music, while downwards its more of string based instruments.] Prominent use of Spanish Guitar as well as the Traditional Arabian instrument Mandolin forms a major component of Greek music. However the addition of contemporary music like piano and violins together with all the traditional Greek instruments make My big Fat Greek Wedding not only appealing to the aesthetic but also to the common masses. That is one of the biggest successes of the soundtrack of this movie.

There are altogether 15 songs / music pieces in the soundtrack, and anyone who has seen the movie will vouch for the fact that they have been used superbly throughout the movie. The sound track begins with the Introduction credits to the movie which is a typical traditional-modern Greek music. While soothing slow drums give this song a great background, it is the twin mandolins which give this piece a great feel. Listen closely to feel not one but two mandolins playing the same tune with one being a note higher. The second tune  strangely named xekina mia prasropoula is a classic Greek music. The mandolins, the piano, and the subtle bongo are in the right proportions. Notice the increase of instruments in this song which however are subtle.

[For simplicity sake wherever the names of the songs get too complicated, I will use track numbers].

Track 3 is a traditional Greek marriage song.  Instead of the mandolins it is the vocals and guitars which play the important part in this song. Here the drums and the mandolin are subtle, but the trumpet and guitar chords are more visible. Moose Caca follows next, which I must say is my personal favorite and also probably the best track in the album. It’s the amazing background which has had me in complete awe of this song ever since I have heard it. A 2.30 minute song is amazing for its use of guitar chords as the background for the first antara and switching over to the hand piano [I am not sure if this is the name for it] chords for the second antara. All the while the same tune is played through mandolin. This sure is a great classical piece of Greek Music I have heard in a long time. A track with least number of instruments providing the maximum effect.

What follows next (track 5 ) is another piece of traditional Greek music.  This is  a great tune to hear, and if you can imagine a classical Greek Dance, you will appreciate the tune even more. You can find traces of strong Egyptian music in this tune. Secret Garden (yeah that’s the song name and also suggest the influx of modern music) is the next tune in the album. Mandolins and Piano share a common drum for the song. One can almost feel English music taking over the song in parts where the piano dominates. A mildly intense song, it’s a nice on the ears. The next track is Yazoo which is  a blend of Arabian-Greek-English music. Good background chords and Mandolin and the saxophone make this one a delightful tune. One can almost feel the loss of the saxophone in the violins and mandolin in this song.

The next one Istanbul Café has the classic Arabian-Greek stamp all over it. The passionate music with the subtle jingles and bongo make you feel immersed into an Arabian song. If you listen to it carefully and remove away the background – it will resemble a tune of a classical Indian tune. I am sure the influence of the seven notes has had its effects on this song. The next 2 tunes, both of them around 1.30 minutes each are out an out English tune s with of course a English names as well – Time with you is the first one, which has all the classic cliché elements of English music you hear oh so often as a background to romantic scenes in movies. The next one Yiayia combines the English feel to the Greek music and the short but soothing tune makes it a pleasant fare. You can barely hear the mouth organ in this song. Toula and Ian is the next tune on the album has the American-English feel all over it. Hearing it will remind you of Yanni’s tunes. The periodic bursts of drums and continuous chord of synthetic violin adds the charm to this song. Unless heard with the flow, this one never feels like it were a part of this sound track at all. It’s the piano and Guitar who contribute most to the song.

The next track Apples and Oranges is no different from the ones mentioned above for its influence of heavy English music intermixed with Greek music. A slow romantic track, it sounds like almost any other romantic track you did hear in a romantic movie – if you hear it, u will know u did hear in many different movies. The cliché use of chorus violins makes it an ordinary track. All my Only Dreams follows next, and is a vocal track sung by a group ‘The Wonder Lyrics’. Its  a simple song on love. Note the use of mandolins as the background in the music – probably it must be the reason why the soundtrack has this piece. The last track nicely named First Date is again an all English tune with Piano. It’s the kind of music you did hear at the back of your mind when in a restaurant. Simple, pleasing and soothing on the years, this is one track you must have if you are having your GF for dinner.

These 15 musical pieces form the soundtrack of the movie. While the usage of Mandolins as mentioned above is heavily prevalent in almost all the tracks, the influence of English music too in it cannot be mistaken. The blend of these two forms of music makes this one an unforgettable soundtrack for a movie. If you are looking for simple yet uplifting and happy music, then this is the one for you. You won’t be disappointed!

Movie Review: Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon

by

In spite of all the warnings that every person whom we met and mentioned the name of this movie (and seeing them shriek with despair), we decided to give the movie a shot. That it was a bad movie, we very well knew – all we wanted to know was how bad! My intention was to see if BOOM was a better movie comparatively – in the end it proved to be a tough choice between the two. However who wins is all later; below is a excerpt of our friends comments while watching the movie. These expert analysis and comments automatically flow out of us whenever we watch a bad movie – and worse it gets, better comments pass. The comments passed at different points of the movie and mostly are in combination of Hindligsh and Englipish.

There is no room for anticipation or expectation – girls relaying a banner “Last Day of College” – OK! Thanks! I am forewarned I should not think much

Papa Ki Pari Hoon Main – Arre yaar – then go fly away, please dont screaaaammmm

Arre, who are these 5 nitpicky idiots – her friends? Ladkiyan itne bewakoof hoten hain?

Email Aaya!! Email Aaya!! Pappu, shappu, golu, molu, papita, babita – Email Aaya!!! Arre bajuwale kutthe ko bulao – call that parrot too – Email Aaya!

Yahoo Mail ne kitne paise Khilyae inko?

Arre yaar, is this a cartoon film – what happens to this do who gets cartoonized!

Yeh totha bahut irritate kar raha hain – gala nocch lo iska

Yaar – yahoo mail Image nahi bhejtha kya?

Prem Kumar! Prem Prem, Prem Prem! [singing in the old JUNOON style song]

SundarNagar mein international airport BHI hain?

Sahi jagah hain – yaar, I should have done my engineering at that college…

Prem Aaya! Prem Aaya! Pappu, shappu, golu, molu, papita, babita – Prem Aaya!!

Aarthi koun utarega – kuttha yah tota

Arre yaar – whoever wants too – Prem tho waise bhi chakka lag raha hain

Why is Hrithik Roshan so irritating!

Ek aur gaana?????

Yeh doosra hi song hain tamatar

Himani Shivpuri ke mooh bandh karo yaar

Seal her mouth with a salotape.

That parrot too

Kareena as well

Hrithik ko kuvve mein dakhel do!

Bachcha koun? – picture kaise jaayegi aage – dekho yaar!

Arre yaar, is naukar ko itna coverage kyon mil raha hain?

Abbe, tota aur kuttha itna important hain, tho naukar kyon nahin

Yaar, kill those 5 friends

Kill Hrithik too – yeh to uske doston ka bhi baap nikla

Yaar – this is the first time I am seeing this – how does a person fall in a curvature motion from a cycle!

Samajh Yaar – he is taking a projectile motion, giving enough time to Hrithik to catch him

Sahi hain uska baap – udke ghir tha hain!

Le Bhai – ab usse pyaar ho gaya!! Cliché pe Cliché

College? – Uska last day nahi tha?

FARIDDAA JALAL!

Pehle bhi aayi thi movie mein – you missed her

Arre teacher ko gossip karne ka bahut shok hain kya? Student se apne affair ke bare mein baath kar rahi hain?

EK AUR GAANA!

Email Aaya! Email Aaya! Suno suno oh duniya walon, mere ghar mein Aaya Email – Arre woh dulaari ki maa – Email Aaya hain!

RUBY BHATIAA

forward karde yaar

wake me up when she goes

Arre yaar – Sundarnagar se cruises bhi nikal thi hain?

Wake up – she is gone

Kitne ghante soya main?

Arre chaos ho gaya!

Woh woh nahi hain, koi aur hain. Jo koi aur hain, woh woh hain. Woh jo hain, koi aur nahi, woh hain, yeh jo hain, yeh koi aur hain

kya?

Matbal, prem prem nahi hain koi aur prem hain

Yeh prem prem kya hain, yeh prem prem kya hain? Go-go puchtha hain – prem koun hain? Where is the reaaaaal prem?

chal yaar thieek hain – koi aur prem sahi – prem tho hain!

Anyways, uss chakke se saath koun jaayega!

Arre yaar – himani shivpuri ko goli maaro!!

REEMA LAGOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Aisi Lagoo Lagan, Reema aa gayin yahan! Hum to gali gali alok ke gun gaane lage…

Aaa gaya doosra prem!

Aur Johhny bhi – ab total chaos ka pura scope hain

Ek aur last day at college? Kitne baar manate hain last day?

Ek aur Gaana!!!!! Forward Forward Kar yaar

Prem kou  pyaar hona tha with this dumbhead? Ek prem bewakoof tho doosra ded-bewakoof!

Doosra prem tel lene gaya kya?

Delhi mein hain!

How did you miss it man – Royal Orient mein sawar hoke gaya

Jai Sundarnagar

Coochie coo – prem ko pyar hain sanjana se?

GAANNA!

forward pleasssssssssssse!

arre yaar, achcha gaana hain

SundarNagar mein snow clad mountains bhi hain?

Arre yaar – does this place exist on earth?

vacation cruises, beaches, snow clad mountains, cool college – man, I am jealous!

Arre yaar koun hain yeh paisa boltha hain?

Lo Sanjana ko pata laga prem Kishen aur prem Kumar ka difference

Ghar mein kisine surname nahi puchcha?

Aur uss gadhe ne bataya bhi nahi

Arre yaar, juice mill rahi hain tho kyon bataegaa!

Prem aa gaya!! Pappu, shappu, dekho doosra prem aa gaya waapas

ab pata laga, mein prem ki diwani hoon

Ek aur song……maaf karo …forward forward

Meine prem ko itna kush kabhi nahi dekha!

Reema lagoo ko bas barjatya film mein yahi bolna hota hain…

Tum tho meri doosri beti ho

Hamare ghar ki lakshmi…

Ghar achcha hain, khandan achcha hain, ladka achcha hain, aur kya chahiye?

mein prem ke bina nahi reh sakthi. Yeh shaadi nahi hogi

Kahi tumne, kuchch galath kaam….

Haan Haan! Mein uske saath soh chuki hoon – hum dono ka ek beta hain, aur mein uski teesre bachce ki maa ban-ne waali hoon!

Kalmui!!!!!!!!!

Guys Guys….land on land….baap achcha hain ladki kaa

Khandan ki izzat…

Aisa Rishta phir kab milega…

Yaar mujhe maar dalo, lekin uss gadhi ko ek prem se saath chadalo

SAGAAIIII

GAAAAAANA

PHORWARD!

Arre kya disgraceful scene hain – Hrithik tho chakka hain hi!

seriously yaar – ladki ko akkal nahi hain uske paav pad rahi hain?

Are we in 21st century egalitarian society?

Shit man – this is worse than Pro asking for a night…

Prem Kumar ko ab pata chala

Chaman Chut**a – raam milyae jodi ek lo*** ek lo*** [censored J ]

RUBY BHATIA AGAIN!!!!

Arrey yaar jaate jaate ek aur headache

The end

Aspirin hain?

Chai pithe hain yaar – this was monstrous

Nahi yaar – I am too brain dead to make tea

Barjatya ko goli maaron…GAWD

Hum pure waste hain – life mein kuchch karne ko nahi hain apne paas!

Thus ended our viewing of MPKDH. As to how bad this movie was in comparison BOOM – well at least there were some hotties to watch in BOOM

The worst movie of 2003. Period.

Air India

by

The adventures of the maharajah!

The Onward

The maharajah smiles at you at different points. He smiles while one lady gives you your boarding. He smiles yet again when you go through security check. He smiles yet again, (and you start getting suspicious of the over done smile) before you enter your plane, and once in the plane you realize the smile. It’s a smile of mockery of the passenger, and a taste of what is about to come on him! Read between the smile – BEWARE!!! Similar fates awaited my family when they traveled by Air-India and myself, when we came back to India!

All began well when my dad’s over enthusiastic agent messed up our KLM bookings from Kuwait to New York, and the only alternative was a ‘great bargain’ as the agent put it…flying Air-India.“saab, mufth mein India bhi chale jaooge ( for free u can see India as well)” – he said. So the itinerary was from Kuwait to Bombay, and then from Bombay to Delhi to London to New York.

The journey from Kuwait to Bombay was fine, and my parents were feeling pretty much contented with it. However, trouble starts at Bombay. The Maharajah majestically spread its magical wings over the greatest slums of Bombay and soared high! However, the journey was short. It so happened that some ’technical difficulties’ prevented the flight from flying from Delhi completely! Thankfully, the technical difficulties were noticed on ground…going by the lethargy of grounds men there, one wouldn’t have been any surprised that such a notice could have come air-borne…however, the only option then would have been – pray.

Anyhow, after 8 grueling hours, finally another maharajah (an old one…who looked suspiciously old to even walk…let alone fly) finally, with its experience of an old timer got my parents to London. However, it had it had something up its sleeve…for once on the runway at Heathrow…it announced through a female accent that there were no restrooms in the near vicinity at the gate they were bunking…and hence would passengers be kind enough to finish their rest room activities before hand?!!! My dad later commended them for at least informing them!!

Thankfully, the London to New York journey was devoid of any acrobats (it seemed like the maharajah had him-self tired out!) and my parents reached safely.HowHow

The Return

My skeptical mom was worried before hand of the prospect of going back by the same airline, and more so, since I was with them! After a pleasant trip to Niagara Falls and back, who would have expected another kind of falls? That too in mid-air?!!

Trouble started, when one of their AC vents started leaking…not just leaking…pouring! God knows what happened, but our entire cubicle started pouring water from top. It seemed according to the attendant that such things were ‘normal’ and ‘expected’ and we were not expected to make a hue and cry on it! However, the water started pouring so profusely that I and my dad had to eventually get out of our seats and stand in the aisle!

Oh…and did I remind you…with us were a few famous characters from the serial ‘ek mahal ho sapano ka’…which caused a huge curiosity value amongst a 60 odd oldies who were being escorted by a rather talkative and irritating woman. Amongst the watery confusion were the oldies who wanted to take snaps with those characters of the serials. So in the mayhem that followed, we had water falls on one side, and a few desperate oldies trying for that ‘snap’ with the artists! One of them in fact proudly boasted that he was in fact successful in waking up one of the artists (who probably was sick and was pretending to sleep anyway!) and took a photo…later the problem of water falls did dawn on him. It was then he asked – ‘will we reach safely?!’

‘Safety’ was far beyond my dad’s thoughts now, for he felt like wrangling the Captain’s neck at that time. As the water falls increased its presence, a few women folk joined my dad against the war-on-waterfalls! The irritating women with her herd of oldies started praying in what god knows language. The captain coolly slept all through it and no apology was tendered. Anyway, then we started putting papers, rugs and what nots in the over head cabins to prevent water from leaking…however, beyond a point, the chief steward gave up and said – ‘we shouldn’t take chances with too much rugs…god know what might happen’…that brought about a sudden frozen terror in all of us. It took a moment’s silence to sink in what he told, and a moment later utter mayhem broke out.

In all of this, I suddenly remembered that my Laptop was put in an over head bunk as well. I insisted on removing it…and tried the lever. LO! That broke! To my complete dread, the over head cabin just wouldn’t open! A rather polite hostess (who until now didn’t make any contribution to the whole drama) said – ‘don’t worry…nothing will happen to the laptop.’ I reminded her of the in-the-air-above-the-clouds-rather-beautiful-water-falls we were seeing, and my Laptop might have just submerged as well. She smiled! That dreaded smile of the maharajah I thought!

So for a 7 hour flight, I and my whole side, stood for most parts of the journey. As a courtesy for my dad’s complaints, he was offered a first class seat…..for landing purposes…since his seat had completely got wet! Of course we got nothing for supporting dad though!

Back at London, this time due to the confusion, and the utter urgency of the crew to clear the coast made them forget about the rest rooms announcement! Anyhow, the scene didn’t stop at London airport. My dad and couple of ladies and a business man created a scene at the airport. The authorities were kind enough to let us know that the plane wouldn’t fly if there any more snags. In between, one of the ladies whom we had come to know found a bride in the business man’s daughter (I don’t know if the relation materialized…but it was quite a ‘shaky’ start you could say!). The irritating woman with her band of oldies thankfully exited at London.

The next part of the flight from London to Delhi was quite subdued, as somehow, the maharajah got its act together and we thanked our stars, gods, and of course the maharajah for the splendid mid air adventure! Nothing compares to this, me thought! Of course, the chaos at Delhi, and the utter mis-management at Delhi is another issue, and I won’t elaborate further!

All in all, we had every penny worth of our ride with the maharajah! So much so, that we are satisfied for quite some eons! Some days ago, I read that Air India made a profit of 32 crores and is one of 6 airlines post 9/11 to post profits!

Indeed! If you want the Adventure of your Life….Come, fly the Maharajah!

Book Review: Jonathan Livingston Seagull

by

I believe in law of averages. I personally think an author will eventually write at least one good book in his/her life. Sadly, Richard Bach too is one of them. He is probably the only author whose every work I have devoured only to hate them more than the other. But what drives me to read his book is the feeling that he has the potential to write well; only thing, his ideas always too hackneyed. While The Bridge Across Forever was a miserable novel, his One was horrifying sequel to it. Illusions was a better novel but what saved that novel were the great quotes of the messiah rather than the sorry storyline and even sorrier Richard in it. After several top recommendations and hearing everywhere that Jonathan Livingston Seagull is his best book, I once again plunged into the dark jungles of Amazon and found the book. So Did I finally like him? Read on!

You don’t need to scroll down for the answer – Yes I did love this book!! Simple eh?!

You are never given a without also being given the power to make it true.

You may have to work for it however.

—Richard Bach in Illusions

The flight of the Seagull

This story is as simple as it can ever get. It is a story about a certain Seagull Jonathan Livingston who aims not to be the ordinary, but to be the ordinary extraordinary. He is not satisfied with his restricted norm of life, but aims higher. He wants to fly, fly the perfect drop, fly at great heights and master it. Of course being different is a sin to his flock. He becomes the outcast, but that doesn’t let down his moral. In his quest for the flight he attains heavens and he meets his guru who teaches him the essence of flying. However he is still not at peace. He meets his equals, and yet within time overcomes all of them because of his desire to fly perfect.

However it is his friend, an old friend who is considered to be the one who explains the philosophy of life to him. To his friend and himself, flying perfect was not about flying, but knowing it. Once Jonathan overcomes his physical self, he realizes that nothing was impossible for him; however in that he finds that his journey has not ended; for down on earth lay several others who may want to fly high. In his quest for the supreme learning and perfection, he flies back to the flock

Ridiculed this time around, he sees that there are several Seagulls who now want to fly like him. He becomes their teacher and promptly all of them become outcast again. However more Seagulls follow him – he is their teacher, they his students; He becomes a messiah for those students, however hard he tries to fight it saying he is only a learner. In due course of time when he feels that his time to serve his friends had ended, and he had succeeded in making at least some Seagulls see the possibilities of life, and that his subordinate friend could take up the job, he decides to fly back to his old friend. The reluctant friend doesn’t like the idea of taking up God’s job, but the moment he utters his first sentence to his students on flying, does realize – Jonathan was no more a student than he was.

The original sin is to limit the IS. Don’t.

— Richard Bach, Illusions

The lesson of the Seagull

What sets this book apart is its simplicity in conveying the thoughts on life. Like the author says in the beginning that the book is to the real Jonathan living within us, it does force you to introspect. Limiting ourselves is the worst thing in the world we can do. But the one who challenges limits is the one whom the society rejects – and yet it turns out that the one is one whom others follow.

A  beautiful example of this book is of Jesus Christ and his similar story as that of the Seagull. For that matter, Mahatma Gandhi who was no less than the Seagull who dreamed far. Who were they? They were ordinary people with extraordinary capacities. Jesus was a man after all, but just like other Seagulls, we too accept him as a God, the messiah; what we don’t realize he too was as much a teacher and a learner as we are. Mohammad was as much a learner and teacher as we are today. What sets us apart from them is the limiting of possibilities.

We are too scared to let ourselves go. We are too scared to challenge ourselves. Most of the time we need that secluded cloud of society on us to feel safe. Out of society we are most likely to cripple down and break. Only the brave few make it and they become the next messiah. Messiah need not be god, but messiah could be anyone who inspires you to look beyond the possibilities. The messiah needs faith in his capacities, and its only faith which stops us too from being one.

The final flight

This is an extraordinary book. What makes it apart is it is so ordinary. Just 100 pages long, you could probably finish this book even before you ate your sandwich, but the inspiration of the book is immense. More than anything else it’s a story of daring to be different, and the faith to become it all. It’s a story of extraordinary ordinary.

Learning is finding out what you already know

Doing is demonstrating that you know it

Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you.

You are all learners, doers, teachers.

— Richard Bach, Illusions

Movie Review: Darna Mana Hain

by

Did you do check the engine before moving out? Did you realize you were the only person checking in the hotel? Did you do your homework today? Are you scared of Apples? Did you think you could scare someone by saying you are a ghost? Did you think you could stop the world? Did you think you could get scared?

If you answer YES to all the questions above, then you probably don’t need to see Darna Mana Hain and give this review a skip. You probably wouldn’t even be alive at this moment to regret it. If you answered NO then you are probably still sane, and in the sane world. If you answered YES and NO to few questions, then chances are, you are writing the next question above.

While RGV always howls that he tries to be creative and always proves he is creative, this time he goes one step further. I admit, this is certainly by far the most experimental movie in Hindi Cinema that I have witnessed. Now since its different and creative, many critics will of course bash away the movie. Of course had this movie been in English with a funky title like Six Friends On a Spooky Night or Night of the Ghosts, then of course we would be praising the movies to sky. But that’s besides the point – the point is there is no point in trying to analyze this movie as a whole. You can’t.

While most of the stories have the Stephen King touch to it (especially the Hotel episode), for most parts, the movie is whimsical and entertaining. The basic plot isn’t really that deep or complex to speak of – instead the sub plots keep you guessing and hissing till the end. While some stories are spooky enough, few cross the lines of realism (if there is any in spooky movie that is) and manage to keep you entertained. Inane as it sounds, the apple story had me hooked – especially the scene when the hubby opens his wide mouth to swallow one. Most of the stories are around 20 minutes or so, which is a perfectly right combination before you begin to get bored of it.

Performances wise, the movie boasts of superb casting and all of them do their job pretty well – in fact, they do it superbly enough to speak of. Samira Reddy looks hot enough to be spared by any ghost; while the rest of the cast do their job amicably. The music is taut and just right for this movie. The direction is superb, and there are no two ways about it. It’s the treatment given to each story and the length of it which makes the movie more enjoyable.

I couldn’t help but notice some inane reviews on the net for this movie. I wonder what constitutes as different in Hindi movies. Being different in Indian movies has its own boundaries. A heroine may do a different role, even if she is playing a bubbly girl in one movie and down to earth happy go lucky girl in another; when in fact she is the same in both. Similarly, 2 women going gaga over 1 boy and vice versa has been molded into several thousand interesting twists to make them look and feel different. However when a movie like Darna Mana Hain comes out and defies all norms of Hindi movies, suddenly the same people attain a state of the critic to emphasize exactly what scenes were wrong in the movie and why it isn’t such a good movie. I wonder when will we truly have a different but not different movie – if at all such a genre exists.

Coming to this movie – the movie has it all that the latest buzzword that Bollywood uses with indifference – different. Yes, this movie is bizarre, its story range from great to bizarre, and it’s a new way of making films – so its time we too rejoice again! The good part is the movie manages to hold you interest till the very end. You don’t come out of the movie feeling disgusted, if not feeling supremely happy too.

There is just one catch however to the movie, and while it’s the most important question you did ask yourself while entering the theatre, its also the most useless one – Will I get scared? That’s pretty much for you to find out.

Improving your computer’s performance

by

I love computers. They resemble the closest proximity to Indian radios, which can be repaired by a mere knock-knock on its head, or body or any part which can produce sound. A computer is similar – you can actually improve its performance by banging on the side of the CPU to minimize the noise of the fan and probably adjust the CPU in its right place (heh!), or maybe shake the monitor several times if your image goes blurry, or plain simple banging the computer too will help improve its performance.

Trust me, all of the above work (Unless they didn’t work, I wouldn’t be mentioning them here. Unless I haven’t tried them myself, I wouldn’t be mentioning them. [Appreciate my logic sense here]), and if they don’t you can put an email to me at xyzsuyogxhzhz@xhslah-19.com (don’t worry; it’s a spam id anyways) . Similar performance gains can be achieved by more or the less the same procedures when trying to improve system’s performance.

A great way to safeguard your system is to install a Firewall. Install the Zone Alarm firewall to make sure that no unwanted objects come inside your PC without your permission (assuming of course you use internet – If you don’t you can still firewall to block something…there is always something) . Then install either McAfee Antivirus to take care of the dangerous virus which may attack the system. Also install McAfee Firewall to monitor Zone Alarm. It’s a good idea to install AVG Antivirus also, just in case McAfee fails to catch a virus. Now to gain insightful improvement, also install a Pop-up blocker, an Ad-Blocker, a Spam Analyzer which prevents SPAM from reaching your inbox. Of course, finally an application which monitors all the above mentioned services and allows you to configure them. Whoa! Now we have a robust system in our hands.

Only thing, you did require a CRAY or Deep Blue, or a bare minimum of Param 10000s to make sure your CPU thinks you rule it (still). Point being, stop using junk programs which don’t help you! And for heaven’s sake, don’t use an Anti-Virus in the background – if there is a latest virus attack, well, chances are McAfee will provide an update after the attack! However, for the careful few who still like to thrive on floppies, well, it’s a good idea to “check before use” rather than “use and discover virus”. Point being – if you don’t want to check – disable the anti-virus! Same applies to all applications which you are not using constantly. Don’t use Ad-ware in background if you are not on internet – we are still far away from people invading your privacy wirelessly [interesting thought isn’t it? What if you receive SPAM wirelessly? Will that constitute violation of “physical personal space?” Allow yourself to ponder!]

Now Windows for some reason loves to think it owns the memory. It finds unbound joy in using memory space for almost everything in this world for its quick launch bar. More still, companies love the quick launch bar – gives the “user” flexibility at the cost of “memory”. Go ahead and disable all services which you don’t want at startup. A Good way to start is typing services.msc in the command window (if you cannot open command window, you are not reading this heh! heh!) and going about it. Remember the golden rule when it comes to services not related to Windows (eg: McAfee) – “If in doubt, fu*k it”. [Of course, remember the reverse when it comes to Windows Internal Services – “If in doubt, stay clear (you may just invite Armageddon)”] Next, don’t clutter the desktop [needless to say, it first of all doesn’t allow the full private view of the female on the wallpaper, and secondly, it eats memory] Remove the icons you don’t use for aesthetic as well as well, system sense. Also, never allow your CPU to manage Hard-Disk by itself – its pathetic at that – All that your CPU wants to know if there is space to push in something and it will do it. Use a Disk-Fragmentor regularly. (Never understood the concept of a huge operating system, not doing one thing which will help itself – but then it wouldn’t call itself Windows, would it?)

However you may notice, your computer is still slow – did you read the requirements of software before installing? If Windows said it runs on minimum 300Mhz processor, what they really meant was 700Mhz. Multiply all requirements by 2.5 times (don’t wonder how I derived this figure – I exist, therefore its correct), and then see if miserable wretch of a computer matches the “new” requirements – if No, you did better install the older application or maybe buy a new computer. Either choice look great, the latter just is tad expensive. Keep your boot disk small sized – use partitions – don’t make one large 40GB hard-drive with just one partition C: – All you will C is more misery. Instead, keep the boot partition small (say 3 GB) and distribute space equally. And of course, for keep soul-keepers happy, don’t ever try to install Visual Studio .Net and Oracle 9i together on one PC [if you insist go ahead – they both individually are demons who eat up nearly 6 Gb of space between them, and are always cursing each other’s memory spaces – only thing, you face the brunt] Keep Boot drive clean and sparkling – its not without a reason they named it Boot – (heh! See! What say soul-keeper, is me right?)

Of course, now your system must be relatively empty – now that you don’t have any applications, you don’t have antivirus, you don’t have services, you don’t have icons – well, you might as well ask yourself, what should I do with this idiot-box? Heh! That’s where you come in – install only those applications you need – monitor them – don’t let them go out of control – learn to use task manager – look who is eating memory. Unless you have doles of RAM, even a 100GB disk with 1GHZ processor is going to act sulkily. Of course if your system comes with around 512Mb of RAM, then you are in much better shape! Next, use windows tweaking utility called tweakui – search for it on the web, install it and use it – it’s a saving grace from Windows. Also, disable fancy animations, 3D desktops, 3D screensavers – Windows was never meant to handle such delicacies, and if you are artistic, please use Linux – it knows what it does better. Clear internet cache, system cache, and all other types of cache which Windows loves dumping! As a last resort, disable that damned indexing service of windows XP systems (god only knows what it indexes constantly, and more importantly, what you search so frequently on your own system?)

Well, if all these things don’t work out, then you need some physical help. Do the steps mentioned in first paragraph. Still doesn’t work out, its time for a rough workout – open the nearest window, and with a swift motion of hand, throw the entire box out. Your new systems performance is guaranteed improved!

Guaranteed

Gitanjali

by

Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali rightly deserves all the accolades it got – even the Nobel Prize. Gitanjali is a collection of over 100 poems, full of life, full of inspiration and full of color. Gitanjali speaks of birth of life, to the death, the nature and man’s quest for answers from God.

All the poems are of short length – probably around a page at the most, and in some cases around 2 pages. However the meaning they convey is simply tremendous. From the beginning poems inspiring people to live idol worship to the last poems on viewing death, each one of them is brilliantly composed and written. The author himself translated the original Bengali poems into English, giving it an authentic feel.

Be it song or rain, nature or god, each poems display the simplicity of thoughts. Simple repetitive lines add to certain poems, while other poems are just a collection of sentences joined together. However as said, it’s the content which forms the magic of the whole collection when read together.

Interestingly, reading poetry is different from reading a book and is a difficult task. The ideal way to read poetry is to read it little by little. If you are bang on reading all the 100 poems in one day (which if you want you could), then there is no magic left. Rather the correct approach to enjoying Gitanjali is to read several poems and think upon them. If necessary, read them again to grasp the meaning. The colonial English doesn’t help you either in understand the poem at first go. Try to grasp the feel of the poem to enjoy the meaning of the poem.

Nuances between God and Man’s tribulations with God are captured beautifully in this book. While one poem describes a person waiting for the temple gates to be opened, the other describes beautifully a woman who is ready and awaiting her lord to come and embrace her.

De-mystifying the joys of the nature is also one of Tagore’s favorite subject in the set of poems. The eagerness to await the rain, the eagerness to see the sun, each of those moods has been captured beautifully in the book.

Rain forms an important feature of this book, with many poems dedicated to rain itself. While one poem explains the joy of oncoming rain, the other brings about the mysticism of a stormy night. Tagore doesn’t require too many words to convey his meaning. His command over his thoughts automatically flow through his pen with supreme ease.

No thought seems to be far away from Tagore’s brilliant pen. He writes about giving up God in one page and making work as worship, and in the very next poem he manages to describes the complete devotion of a human in god. Day after Day, O lord of my life, shall I stand, is easily one of the best composed poems in this collection.

As with many Indian authors who were not discovered by western world during the British era, Rabindranath Tagore’s poems too were discovered by W.B.Yeats. W.B.Yeats gives a beautiful and a fitting tribute as a preface to this edition. Anyone reading this book should not miss the preface of the book.

Though, given the brilliance of the poems in this collection, I must also add that some of them are the kind of poems that may not necessarily strike you or touch your heart. Some of the poems are just 3 or 4 lines, which when read as it is may not really mean much, however they may take time to settle over you.

However, that is too small a price to pay for such a lovely book. The best poems definitely are the ones where the author converses with god and the oncoming of death. Tagore devotes around 10 to 15 poems on death, and they express a gamut of emotions of a person seeing death – be it false bravery that he is not afraid of death, or about accepting death as a finality, the poems do definitely leave a mark on you.

Thou, Thy, and Thee are the most common words in this book. If you are not well versed with queen’s English, then it will be definitely difficult for you to follow the book. One must be very clear what these words mean before reading the book. A bit of trivia here – Tagore refused to don the title of ‘Sir’ given by Queen of England as part of the freedom struggle.

Around the same time as he was offered the title of Sir, he was also presented the Nobel Prize in 1914. His rendition of Jana Gana Mana formed the National Anthem of India later on. On the same note its interesting to note that not one poem of this book talks anything about freedom struggle or anything related to that.

Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force; that thoughts rule the world – how appropriate these quotes are by Ralph Emorson and how true they apply to Tagore. Tagore’s thoughts have lived on to fill people with joy, hope, inspiration to so many people around the world. This book too is nothing short of inspiration by that standards.

On the other hand, if you are deep into poetry and think of a poetry as a artistic vagary then Gitanjali may not be for you. Gitanjali emphasizes on words and not the structure – thus defining many normal norms of poetry – why some poems may almost feel like a one page story.

Refreshing, reliving and inspiring, these poems can be best enjoyed when read in the morning or late in the night before sleeping. The reasons for reading them at that time is when the mind is free and not about to dwell into the tensions of life. The magic of Tagore’s poetry can only be appreciated only if you are free to appreciate the smaller but beautiful details which Tagore notices and expresses them in such words.

Ending, this is one of the best collection of poems you can ever read. Read one a day, two a day, but read this book – it’s a collection of myriad thoughts penned together in one single book. Gitanjali is simply what it means – offerings to God. Read it to enjoy it.

Devdas

by

Hi folks! After a long hiatus, I am back on MS! I am sorry friends that I had to cut down all my travel reviews as some Dumb-Heads at Mouthshut thought Orlando, Disneyworld, Miami, Bahamas and Niagara Falls are not worthy of being considered as travel destinations in U.S and hence didn’t add them! (Of course, one quite doesn’t understand the logic behind adding Detroit and Chicago being added as travel destinations!). Any how, I am back with my new review, and what better come back review than to review most happening movie today : Devdas. So here goes!

Devdas is about….

The story of Devdas has been repeated time and often on big screen. Sarat Chattopadhay’s classic novel by the same name must have been time immemorial bought out on big screen, but this time at the hands of Sanjay Leela Bhansali its all-together a new experience. For this time around, he interprets the story in his own way and brings about the grandeur and opulence to the otherwise simple story set somewhere in Bengal. I won’t digress on the storyline as almost everyone knows it by now, and if one doesn’t know it, all the more better!

Bhansali brings about the story lit in richness and wealth beyond comparison. The very first shot of the movie showing the Devdas’s Haveli and his mother running around it is enough proof that no money has been spared in creating the background for this movie. Simply put, its in word ‘AWESOME – See it to believe it!’. The backdrop is colossal and grand. The second haveli, being that of Chandramukhi is something to be seen only on big screen. The intricate mirror work on the walls and the curtains is breath taking! The whole set looks like a dream palace!

But Bhansali just doesn’t stop there, for he goes beyond the sets and brings about costumes never seen before. The intricate jewellery, the Saarees (one of Madhuri’s saree is rumored to weigh more than 30 kgs), The curtain work all add up to the overall ambience of the movie. Brilliant is one word which would describe it!

Wait it doesn’t just stop there! If this wasn’t enough, Bhansali takes immense care to film each song with such grandness that one is just spell bound by it. The choreography is simply excellent in all songs, especially ‘dola re dola’, ‘kahe chhed mohe’, ‘silsila yeh chahat ka’ and the numero uno ‘maar daala’, the last one being the best of the best!

Moreover!…

The acting department is simply top-class. Kiron Kher as Paro’s mother is loud, but superb. Infact, she is the only character out of the so many other characters who stand out in the movie. Jackie Shroff as ‘Chunni Babu’ entertains with is words and dialogues. Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi is simply flawless. Though I did feel that her role was quite under-played and constrained. In fact, she doesn’t have too many scenes as well, which quite irked me coz whenever, whichever scene she is, she just dominates! Shahrukh Khan as ‘Devdas’ probably has given one of his career best performance after ‘Baazigar’. The first half is quite ordinary as far as his performance goes, but it’s the second half as the drunkard which brings shows the talent of Shahrukh. What an amazing performance he gives! But one who takes the cake and walks away with it is Aishwarya Rai as ‘Paro’. Though, quite a weepy role, she marks it to perfection. Simply, her best work to date. Of course, you cant help noticing the similarities she bears with her look in HDDCS! She has the longest role, and does full justice to it.

However…

The film is not without its share of flaws, sadly! A few scenes fail to create that emotional impact when it should have. All said and done with the extravaganza, some scenes really go over melodramatic and long…however, they are few. Some scenes go beyond the realms of possibilities, (like the hair-breaking-the-mirror-scene), but again it could be ignored for the sheer beauty of the scene and the dialogues. The relation between Devdas and Chunni Babu is never really explained in the movie. Also, one does feel let down at length of Chandramukhi’s role as it is quite short. Bhansali’s biggest deviation of the story from the original novel by getting the two heroines to meet is great, but doesn’t really do much to the story…not that I minded it… the women looked beautiful together and dance like dream! At some places, the pace gets slow and lagging! However all said and done, the pros of the movie easily overpower the cons of the movie and thus one tends to over look everything of the above.

My favorite scenes…

Definitely, Bhansali has the knack of directing brilliant scenes, and there are quite some in this movie. Devdas’s meeting with Paro in moonlit night is brilliant… I couldn’t just take my eyes of her! She looks like an angel there! Devdas’s first outburst scene as the drunkard is superbly done and so are the scenes with his family. But one that really put me absolutely glued to screen ( not just me…the whole auditorium)…is the climax scene. A long climax, but it just stays on and on with you even after the movie gets over. For me, its simply the BEST scene of the movie for its sheer intensity and the brilliance on screen!

Finally…

Want my take on the movie?! This movie is certainly a Visual treat to watch for. Add to that some power packed dialogues, and superb actors to enact it, what could one ask for. Almost none of the scenes are normal…either they are loud, or romantic or poetic or outright tragic! But none the less they impact at most of the places! As Bhansali himself advertised this movie: ”A Grand Saga of Timeless Love”

It definitely is. Go watch it. And Watch it again! I am!!

I shall not hear the Nightangel

by

After getting top recommendations from Prem, Karan and Amazon reviews, I was more than convinced to buy this novel straight away. As this book is out of print, I had to buy a used copy straight out of 1970s print. I personally consider ‘Train to Pakistan’ as one of my favorite writings ever and more the reason I was eager to lap up ‘I shall not hear the nightingale’. I finished this book in one go and now its time for a review! What did I think of it? Read on!

I shall not hear the nightingale

I will not really elaborate on the story here as I normally don’t like to give away storyline of a book. To be brief, the book is set in years 1942 – 1943 during world war and our [Indian] independence struggle. The story revolves around the family of Buta Singh who is a British loyalist and his young rebellious son Sher Singh who along with his close friend Madan Lal have decided to use violence as a means of targeting the British. With the principle cast are Sabhrai, Buta Singh’s wife and Sher Singh’s mother, Beena – Sher Singh’s sister, Champak – Sher Singh’s wife and Sita -Â Madan Lal’s sister. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor make up the British angle to the book. And yes a loyal dog too.

To be precise, the book narrates a story of inter-leaved relationships, Father Son ambitions, a devout mother, Sher Singh’s ambition as a youth leader and surprisingly good natured British Commissioner. The book is a story of loyalty, bravery, cowardice and ultimately faith. The book is a nice look into the times just before independence – i.e. The mentality of people, the overall political structure in which our independence was heading and the usual corruption in there. Lastly the book is also musing of a perverted mind.

The Hookers

No I don’t mean hookers. I mean what hooks you to the book! There are some superbly narrated sequences in the book. The very beginning of the book has an incredibly chilling description of shooting of a Sarus Crane – its one sequence which really bogs a reader down. The sequences towards the end are also brilliant in their way of execution. The almost un-noticeable reference to the nightingale is dealt with supreme brilliance towards the end – it was simply a piece-de-resistance.

The second strong point of the book is the character of the mother in the book. Slowly but surely she rises to the occasion with her faith in god. I loved the part where author mixed God into the book. Several times the author digresses into explaining the culture aspects of Indian society which make up for a beautiful read – his descriptions of monsoon is beautiful and can be only read to be appreciated completely! Its definitely these parts that make the book interesting.

The Strippers

Don’t get ideas again. What I mean here is what strips away the magic of the book. For one, until the half way mark the story is pretty much ordinary and beyond a point bores you. You cannot help but notice Khushwanth Singh leap into his customary pervert descriptions. I would have loved if only one character of the book was a sex starved character, however most of the women characters in this book are sex starved – be it Sher Singh’s wife Champak, Shannu the maid servant or Beena his sister; providing ample opportunity for Khushwanth Singh to digress into nether worlds.

The Simla sequences and the sequences of Madan Lal are straight out of a Hindi movie and seem utterly disjointed with the proceedings; and so is the Shannu and her inner parts drama. It seemed as if the author hadn’t really made up his mind where to progress the story and how. I had almost given up hope on this book but luckily Khushwanth Singh turns around the book and makes the rest of the books a superb read.

The Downers

However given its contrasting nature of the book, several aspects were either badly researched or the author intently put them in the book. May be Khushwanth Singh was targeting this book towards western audiences in his time who knows, but I couldn’t help noticing characters speaking of temperature in Fahrenheit scales in summer (we used / use Celsius scale). The distances in the book are talked of in ‘Miles’ rather than ‘Kilometers’ which was / is used in our generation. It is difficult to imagine that the author didn’t know these things – rather it looked more like an attempt to make this book acceptable to westerners.

The worst part of the book probably for me was it was not a sincere attempt at writing. Seeing the author digress into inane sexual tensions make me feel that the author didn’t really have much material to give to readers – however he manages to weave them well. It would have been more satisfying if the author had explored relationships rather than co-relating them to sexual vagaries. At the end of the book, I felt it was a good book, but not a sincere book.

Overall

Overall this is a good book to read, but definitely not Khushwanth Singh’s best by any standards. His best still remains ‘Train to Pakistan’ because of the sincerity and the honesty of the book. The book begins superbly, degrades hopelessly only to recover back superbly at the end. How I wish the author had simply chopped off the senseless sexual muck and just concentrated on explaining the intricacies of relationships, or maybe explored the British couple in the book.

At the best, it’s a good book and nothing more. Don’t die for it – read it when and if you have time!

Happy reading.