Ghajini : A review

Ghajini
Cast: Amir Khan, Asin, Jiya Khan
Dir: A Murugadoss
Rating: **

I did not plan to watch this movie. I had an uncanny feeling what this is going to be like. I have never been a big fan of south indian movies. As i have always felt they lack the finesse which I am looking from films. And woo hoo, I was right. I saw Taran Aadarsh giving a whopping four and a half rating out of five to this flick. I am sorry Taran. You have lost it this time.

Lets see how this one fared in my own yardstick!

I would not give this one more than a mere 2/5...THe story was an interesting one and the script does not do justice to it. I was told by my tamil friends that original ghajini was a mindless flick (though a hit) and it doesn't make sense to remake it in hindi.. I now totally concur with them.

the weak points of the movie are:

1. the weak dialogues. This movie has got real poor dialogues. especially those by the villain. was a pain.

2. A villain totally notwithstanding this era of movies. He could be a villain of 80s or 90s...not today..so lack of charm or horror. this guy can only shout and not act. he never instills that fear that you need him to do to justify the horrifying memories Aamir bears.

3. Song sequences: Many of the songs fall in to hte movie out of the blue. THere was no sequence for that Lattu song(an item song for the sake of an item song total rubbish), bachchu song (put in to introduce Asin), behka(to show amir falls in love)....and guess what all are dream sequences...apart from lattu.

4. some important scenes not given importance. Like the scene where asin tells amir she loves him. And amir gives a dumbfound look. He clearly was clueless how to react and so must have been the director. i mean a girl tells you she loves you, u just dont look at her back with that deer caught in headlights look. thats rubbish. another scene is jiya khan comes to hospital to tell amir about ghajini. Amir shouts in agony but where is that agony. all i could see is the round eyes, his egg-head, and jumping in adrenalin. there was no emotioon there... there was no fucking drama.

5. Story. well this is the fucking age of internet you moron. you wanna kill a guy, you don't just go looking for him. you search for him, you google him or you atleast look in the directory...you go to his house...anyway even if we decide to take that crap in, the story is loosely bound. That's why there are actually three scenes where that diary of sanjay singhania is read...

6. Amir himself is one of the weakest links in the movie. He has built a stupendous body. hats off to him for that. but so much of muscles has surely not done much good to his brain. the brainy and classy aamir whom we can see even in disasters like mangal pandey, has gone missing here. in places he shows his brilliance. but mostly totally absent.

7. Song shooting. The videos can liven up a movie experience. The way behka behka song was shoot i was really expecting something breathtaking to come as Ghuzharish was still left. But that disappointed me. A classic example why breathtaking locations is not enough to make a music video. The chemistry which cud be found otherwise among amir and asin, ws not there in this video. most of the scenes amir is walking, asin is walking...totally unlike Suraj hua madhyam which was shot in a similar location and was shot in the best possible way. again oye bachchu was a okay type song...lattu was a crappo which started brilliantly but then the song is not on screen for more than a minute...and i totally hated that item girl/ med student idea of jiya khan!

8. The plot was fucked up. nothing more i want to say.

Then you may ask what are those two points for if I absolutely hated the movie?

1. Trying to do something diferent will earn 0.5 points here.

2. Asin will bring a 0.5 points. She looks natural and apart from one or two scenes she's done justice to her character. she's stunning in more scenes than one...and i completely fell in love with a mature yet so kiddish girl. most importantly she doesnt look that sweet sixteen (which she's not obviously) and gives an image of a more of my age girl...which makes the sex appeal ever so great for atleast ppl belonging to my group.

3. In some places amir and asin make a great couple. I want them to see in a better movie. for that 0.5

4. More importantly, although the action scenes were good, they were shot without the emotioon. but comedy at places were real good and charming. especially those scenes involving asin.for those actioon and comedy i gave 0.5.

now then amir fans, wanna give me some blow?

Perils of a software engineer

“So what’s next?” Asked my boss.

I looked at him. My eyes piercing, trying to gasp what could be coming in the next sentence! will the next sentence blow a deathblow to my career, will I be laid off, will I be given the pink slip and told “Many thanks for your service which were of no use to the company, and you with all your dignity may leave us now.”

Was this question a rhetoric one? the answer hidden in between to indicate, there was, actually, nothing coming up. We finally  were standing at the end of a road, which suddenly without giving any prior notice plunged into the ocean from where we stood. There was no way out. There was nowhere to go. I was the puppet of a closed system, and suddenly that system was dying. It stopped circulating blood and things got deteriorated.

“Well?” Came a probing voice. From the same source. With the same kind of pre-destined sense of finiteness in itself.

“Could be anything. There may be an escalation. Or there might be a complaint.” I vaguely tried to reply.

We were standing in one of those numerous glass rooms of the IT park I work in. It was a bright day literally, although the outer brightness did not bring any happiness to me.  glass-rooms were scary. And you go in them seldom. It was like a federal jail really. There were stony faced Project Managers, angry tech-leads, and in some cases when things went really wrong, group leaders. I had never been to a glass-room before. I had heard all sorts of stories about it.

One of my friend told me his horrific experience, where one glass-room visit had brought down his rating from an impeccable top to the dirty ground, in spite of clearing all the trainings in time, in spite of being the first one to fill in timesheet. Such are the perils of glass-room. Another friend told me, how he felt like inside a glass-room. The AC can not cool down a glass-room. Its usually like a blast furnace. Temperature grows up, up and above. Extravagant jargons fly around. The youngest person in the room is really fried on hot oil, messengers of satan beat him with harsh words, and the listless hapless fellow is reduced to dusts, with all his defense broken, all his mind crooked.

And there I was, in my short IT career, for the first time, in a glass room. I could see my project manager asking me questions impossible to be answered. Obviously I ain’t a clairvoyant fortune teller. I am just a mere coder, who can never foretell what will be the output of his code, leave alone this sort of turmoil filled earth where your whimsical client may kill you (not literally you but the contract) the next minute or he may himself go bankrupt.

I was afraid. I was thinking of all the gargantuan effects my mistakes can have on the company, the industry and the economy of the country.

These days its a fashion to go bankrupt for US companies. Who knows my American client will grab this smallest of opportunity to go that direction, and declare himself as one. US govt. in turn will have to come in rescue. They might see a deep conspiracy by Indian economic powerhouses in doing so. They might declare a war against India which will turn into a world war III demolishing economy of India in turn. OMG, demolishing indian economy is a bit too much I thought. Isn’t that the new avatar of invincibility ? Like they at Dalal street say so coolly?

 

My boss, turned his bespectacled, rude face towards me. “Do you even know what this can turn us into? We will be called novices by the client!”

Errr.. Novices?? Is that what this thing all about is?

After much ado I found out…

There was an error message I wrote in my code, “please do not provide garbaje values in the xml as it will be difficult to read by our production support guys who will read it manually.”

 

It was sent to the client who did not read the document. It was tested by professional testers (or so they claimed) and they did not find anything wrong with that. Now when it has gone live, a user has raised a defect stating that the spelling mistake in garbage is so eye catching that, there has been a million complaints about it.

 

And now we were, in the glass room! Doom looked at me with disdain. A million years of zero rating if I still manage to save my job, is sure to be the next best punishment.

The perils of a software engineer continues…

Intezaar

I am nervous. Its been 3 long years since I had seen you. Since I held your hands passionately and kissed your lips. Its been 2 years since I had talked to you over the phone or on internet. Its been 1 year since the last of the emails reached my mail box, and the reply to which got lost in oblivion.

I have heard about you, in every friend gathering. I have handled zillions of questions related to you.. quite diplomatically. Without having to say the obvious which I kept hidden like a little secret like so many we had. Those little secrets we always had. I knew you are alright. I knew your life grew out of the path that I had chosen and that, divergence was the fate we had, was pretty clear to me.

I had relinquished the company of known faces. People with unknown names and background gave comfort to me. You know, when you keep on meeting newer people, you don’t have to answer personal questions. I had even confided in those people whom probably I would never meet again, to talk about life, to talk about the pain it throws your way. In many ways those strangers were a man (woman in some cases) with golden heart. Many of them told me the eternal truth of Geeta, that whatever happens is for good. I wasn’t looking for reassurance though. But it was relief for me, to let some oxygen enter the closed ventricle of my heart. Where there was nothing, now there is a bit of blood circulation.

For three years now, slowly but steadily I had to meditate to get my mind back on living. I was depressed for a long time. I was mad at myself. I felt guilty and at the same time tried to reason out my own bail. I remembered all that was said between you and me. I thought of all the close moments once the bulb is switched off in my bedroom. I thought of all the fights that torn us apart. Most of the cases I felt it was my fault. But that was too late for a confession. Or rather, that self acknowledgement was a mere act of reconciliation, something to get things straighter than what they were at that time.

I wanted to feel you by my side by taking deep breaths and the smell wasn’t there anymore. I wrote down numerous mails…then deleted them. I never called as all the previous efforts of talking had failed and turned into a dull exchange of silence.

Now that I am waiting here, at the arrival lobby of this airport, I do not know whether you will glow up seeing me there. Whether you will recognise me here. None told me you are coming. I came on my own. Overhearing someone saying this. You may choose to ignore me. You may even turn away if you happen to see me by chance. I felt a sudden surge of adrenalin rushing through my body. The tea cup I was holding was too hot to be held in control. Hence I threw it out. I looked away, there you were.

And then you smiled at me.

Rock On

I am not a good reviewer. Neither am I a good watcher. Plus I suck at memory. Guess most of my upper compartment is made of highly volatile memory stuff. Hence what I see in a movie gets evaporated with a speed faster than light. Unless it’s a real crap movie, I seriously can’t remember any bloody thing about the movie. Be it Godfather be it the dark knight and be it the lord of the rings. 

Hence I am typing fast. But alas, nothing can beat the speed of light. Now after having written the first paragraph of this blog entry, I no longer remember what it was for if it was not for the title which I have written at the top. Yes, things are that desperate with me! Now before I forget anything more, let’s go back to business and talk about this movie.

Rock on is a refreshingly different movie. For a change no boy meets a girl. They don’t sing a song where invisible musicians and angel dancers flock around. The characters are not invincible. Shades of grey are aplenty. And yet, could not classify any of the characters as a dark one. That’s why I classify this to be a feel good movie, however the good feeling is not only about the story and the user experience (err, forgive my IT lingo), but about the movie itself. It’s well made. It talks its hearts content without any pretension. It is there to warm your heart. It does so effortlessly.

The characters are played quite flawlessly. Apart from one or two minor actors everyone has done well. Special mention is required for Farhan and Arjun Ram Pal. Farhan is charismatic and plain at the same time. Sings effortlessly with absolutely delighting expressions and has all the symptoms of a rock star. At least those I have seen during my college days, those fossils, kaktus guys, they are assimilated in Farhan. Yet when he is back in today’s world, as a successful executive, he glows there as well. He doesn’t talk to his wife, he is disturbed and nowhere he makes it over-emphatic, his simple dialogues and his sincere delivery makes it all too natural. He if he wishes to, can become a great actor like Irfan Khan like Rahul Bose and likes of them.

Arjun Ram pal astonished me. For years that have passed, I have seen this mountain of muscle sink into more obscurity from obscurity. And suddenly he rises and in what style. The failed guitarist Joe is a delight to watch. He fights with his wife, he fights with friends yet talks less, keeps his pain to himself, and does perfect justice to the role entrusted to him.

While KD is normal, I believe Rob was the weakest link among the cast. Prachi comes in a similar role to her sas bahu roles and she excels. The others are quite normal.

Now the movie doesn’t have a great story and all. It’s a normal winning story. But what it gets is a great making. And a brave director.

The movie is a winner and gives us a lot of insight on how to make a successful commercial movie.

The draw backs I would say, dialogues and the songs. When you are making a movie on music, the songs should have been a bit more authentic rock music and I seriously expected at least one punk/trash rock number in the OST. The dialogues are no where near what they were in DCH. But then DCH was a cult movie. And I have no grudges to keep it that way. This is a commercially successful enjoyable movie. It is nothing more than that, and it never pretends to be!

Now what I did not write about the movie is this is also a movie about friendship. Heart warming friendship. this movie talks about breaking up, coming together back again. it talks about how to shake hands give a hi five and forget the past and move on. this movie talks about life, and living on. This is the reason I like this movie.

Phew, writing down all that you wanted to write, is a difficult thing. But thank God I did it. Cheers.

There has been a storm

There has been a storm here. At least so it seems. Dust, dirt, diversion lies around me, scattered. It’s an unwashed bed sheet that takes my weight now. Beneath that a filthy mat! Hundreds of wasted cigarette boxes and a beer can!

I can see my mobile lying there. Dead as I didn’t feel like putting it on charge! None will call me anyway. I keep on typing on my laptop cause there is none around whom I can say a word. Not that I am mad for finding someone, Not that I am sad to miss company. But solitude gives rise to questions of uncanny self-calamity.

At one corner in a plug, the all-out blinks on. I never switch it off. When I go to bed and make the room dark, that keeps blinking like a distant mirage which gives me hope. My sienheisser head phones are lying on one corner. It looks unused. But I have lost taste for music.

There has been a storm around. Or so it seems. Slimy creatures walk the earth which I trod upon. Often smashing them with feet gives me the sadistic pleasure that I not yet got rid of. There is blood around. That of the killed ones. Killed and obliterated from memory. Of friendship of trust. There is a spider weaving its net. I have ruined its effort to earn a livelihood a number of times, yet it keeps on. Perseverance lies around me. Not a drop inside. Intelligent thoughts roam inside my brain, none are listened to.

At one corner lies a heap of clothes. Don’t feel like washing them anymore. My expensive shoes have bore marks of filth. Never are they gonna get a gift of polish. What for is life? It lies around me in filth, in scum, in dirt. In endless diseases bacterias virii. None of them give me the gift of death.

Aamir

Rating: ****
Casting: Rajiv Khandelwal

Its not necessary that a movie should always give out a message neither is it necessary for a movie to please everyone who watches it. So if the some people say its crap i am happy to listen why and start a debate on this.

Apart from that, I felt the movie had its short comings. Like the plot is not so believeable, a network of terrorists so well organised that they could actually follow aamir's every movement, whether in a hotel room or anywhere they could have found an easier manner to do a bomb blast. I don't see it to be the best of the methods to do that. But I had a suspicion that it was their method of engulfing aamir into their network. However I don't buy that crap! that storyline is weak.

But again, the movie is a thorough entertainer. Its got a gripping screenplay. The suspense is kept in amazing manner. Even better is the camera work. One sceen when it shows the doll which runs and stops captures the thoughts of aamir so well. Even if we don't classify it to be a great movie, its definitely one of the better movies Bollywood has produced offlate.

Lonely!! I am so lonely

I sometimes feel so alone in this whole world. Its an uncanny and fearsome feeling. Especially when you feel so even during you are hanging out with friends, roaming the streets with as many as ten people…it scares the hell out of you. I don’t know many people who think like me. May be many do but few speak out.

This is increasingly getting intense in me. Not that I crave for company of people. Most of the time I will choose solitude than people giving me company if I am given a choice. That is most of the time. I have seen times when I desperately avoid people, at the same time craving for more. And throughout my life, the people I have craved for, are the ones who never became close to me. It’s a big irony and I don’t know why, but it is that way.

Hey readers, don’t get me wrong here. I am not talking about some boring one sided love thingy. It’s the friends you have around you.

There have been phases in my life when I have thought that I have found the one friend I want. My illusion has broken soon. Atleast three to four times I have thought in my life that this fellow thinks like me, and yet we could never become friends. You might say like a wise ass : perceptions are deceptive. But that doesn’t solve the problem that I am alone.

Some nights I walk alone the streets of Chennai. Some nights I take my bike out. I breeze past the well lit streets, the happy shopping malls, the churches, the café coffee days, the grinning couples, the kissing brides, the shabyatras and doldrums of the city life, and yet, everything freezes down. Everything just stops. And then I look around, there is none. A dark cover comes over the face of the city. Some scumbags here and there. A little law and a lot of anarchy.

When I was a kid, I always enjoyed my solitude. My little room, my small music system, my bookshelf and my own summer afternoons. I still search for those. Unfortunately none could be found!

poriborton

akash ta ajkal neel nei jeno
ektu ki fyakashe lage na?
dhnoa jetuku ure mishe jai kolkatar bukete
sei gondho ta ar baki thake na

e sei gondher kotha bolchi ami
jake buke tene bishonno batash
mati te norom hat bulie dito
gaye makhie dito meyeder deergho shwash

ghorar keshor gulo elomelo kore dito
sei haoa ta ajo boi naki? moidan jure?
dupur e nidra jeto shohor er pran,ase
chola bhaja becha dokanir chokh jure

ekhono protikkha kore keu keu,
bhabe bodol er bodol hobe konodin
niswa dhulo mesha strand road e tanga
sobdo tulbe ghorar naal er orthoheen

bose theke theke prostor hoe jabo ami
ektu ektu kore ter pai buke
nihsobde hana dichhe faka gohbor
chokh duti gachhe kotore dhuke

chokher majhe sei neel ta dekhte pai
jei neel hariechhe akasher theke
sei haoa boye jai jothore jothore
ke jane khuje more kake

ekhono chhelemanushi kotha ase mukhe
gombhir protyuttor muchhe dai hasi
ekhono uttejona neche othe shirai
nei bhalobasa makha sei chumu rashi

matal er lekha

maal kheyechhe matale
gachh bhorti kanthale
gof bhorti tel lagale
ki na bole chhagole
ki na khai paagole

botol kholo whiskyr
charpashe te jome bheer
chain khola N'murthyr
pentul khule nache meer
mane binei kori bir bir

chokh holo dhulu dhulu
dunia ke gelam bhulu
botol shes chai more chulu
ekta meye ke boli ILU
thappor khey chotkai ghilu

A Journey to remember

Recently I went to attend a friend’s marriage to southern Andhra Pradesh. A district town called Guntur. It was a long boring journey followed by amazing and thought provoking rituals and customs which I had never experienced before. At the same time, it evoked some long lost memories too.

When we were on our way to ponnur village, in Guntur district some 45 mins away from the Guntur town riding an ac qualis, amidst thamil dialogues flowing all over my ears about which I hardly understood a single word, and a telugu song loudly being played in the car radio I was drifting away mentally to a far far away place. Saikat ‘Mấmệ’ Mondol as we fondly used to call him, had his sister’s marriage and all in the hostel of CEMK were invited. Well almost all.

It was a hot hot April. The power plant near by was emitting more and more smokes day by day. And it felt like we have a forest on fire nearby. Days were scorching and nights were no better off. Only a few moments of respite was the cool breeze blowing from the river Rupnarayan.

Many of us were not much eager to go. But I was. There were two reasons for that. Mame requested me a lot for coming like he did to many others, and I am poor guy who can’t say NO. The second reason was that was the chance to spend a night with friends outside hostel in the remotest part of Bengal. I had wild fantasies about rural Bengal. The small huts, green paddy field and bullock carts, the shadow covered ponds and the quiet afternoons. But as they say life is not as rosey as it seems to be in dreams.

[Will update this as I write more :-)]

Hostel Part III

Hostel days are gone into the yellowed pages of my past now. And yet so near they are to me. All those bawals, ragging, teasing girls from the darkened hostel balcony, stealing food from canteen, night adventures to Bishu paji’s dhaba come back on idle afternoons. They still cheer me up and enlighten my day.

The other day on yahoo messenger we met. 6 of college mates. Two in London. The rest in the US. And 80% of them married. But all we talked about is hostel. And our life back then.

Lets look at some hostel lingo:

Bawal: verb | a fight, quarrel. Apparently for no good reason.

Magibaz: adjective | a guy who is always after girls and with girls. A rude word usually used for swearing.

Caora: adjective | a guy who is naughty!! Well that’s what I call an understatement.

Bedo: adjective | a guy who is an avid prankster.

Tomar bhai hoechhe: a phrase | usually used to sedate an opponent, a swear sentence meaning you have got a brother. Apparently indicating….. Mail me if you still don’t get the meaning.

*C: an adjective | this is equivalent to the English F word. Anything can be suffixed with a C word meaning you c like that adjective (prefix to C) or by that object etc.

So(n)te: adjective | A guy who is relatively well behaved and well mannered.

Jatha : adjective | A guy who looks considerably older than he actually is. Depending on how old he looks he can be also called kaka.

Kaka: relational adjective | A guy who comes to hostel to sell newspaper, breakfast, food, kabadi, or who is caretaker, who cooks food at canteen, who cleans the campus, in all a guy who is not a student or a teacher. Even a librarian once was referred to as Kaka.

Banka: Noun | the aspiring HOD of EIE (at our time he was aspiring and later on fulfilled his aspiration).

Dobka: Adjective | usually a girl with big boobs.

Pre-Historic Dadu: Noun | The legendary grandfather who looked like a dinosaur who has not been fed for 1 million years. Favourite trend was lighting a cigarette for 2 puffs and then extinguishing it to have it later. An IITian and a respectable figure.

Jackson: Noun | The most respectable figure around. The then HOD of EIE.

Toton: Noun | The Hod of CSE. Needed n no of attempts to utter a word correctly. Where N is his degree of excitement.

TechnoPakhi: Noun | A mate of mine. Nicknamed like this because of his exceptional figure. Needed two underwears to hold the jeans hang on to his waist.

Chhok: Verb | this is machination to get a girl.

KKD: Noun | Many believed he was some sort of relative to the JKD. But one of the most notorious and loved guys around.

Appo: Noun | this is Kolaghat version of Dating. Usually performed on the numerous culverts in the campus or deserted lanes in the township or in minimarket nearby.

Chaton: Noun | Ragging.

I think this much is enough for today. Will come back with more from direct heart of my hostel…

Breaking Out ... Alone for the first time

I had just given madhyamik.

I was 16 exactly.

And had a 3 months gap in front of me

I wanted to go somewhere…somewhere alone.

Obviously there were huge obstacles….mom's tears and dad's precautionary NO. And to add to the injury there was my sister constantly teasing me as BABU which rightly said is a nickname my mom used to use but in this case became a pain in the arse.

i was adamant

More so because my mate Pat had been to odlabari all alone riding an intercity train which runs through the baikunthapur forest range and described me (with great deal of envy causing tone) the beauty of the journey...and it seemed to me like an adventure only shankar (of the fame of mountain of the moon) could achieve.

I was desparate.

I was eager and keen to show i am no kiddo.

I wanted to show the world that I too can take on those challenges.

Also the possible beauty of the road engrossed me...the simple train journey became like a hitch hiking adventure

and after much bickering
and a bit of water shedding
finally I got a nod from dad

Now when I look at it
After having traveled all the way to the other part of the world it looks kiddish to me. But then it was a small step which built up the hunger in me to look for the unknown. The journey wasn't a long one. It was only from Siliguri to farakka
where my uncle aunt and there two daughters stayed.

Dad was a railway service man. He got me a ticket in the second class sleeper on Kanchunjangha express. A train which will stop at farakka junction after 6 hours since the time it starts from NJP AKA New Jalpaiguri Station.

That day my dad didn’t take his cycle while going to the station which was his office too. He and I boarded a rickshaw from our home. I left home, my mom, didi and dadu back there standing at the doors. It was time to move on. It was time to face the world. As the rickshaw moved on along the roads of Siliguri I could still hear the chants of “Durga Durga” from my mom. I could see the pale face of my sister. And my dadu’s trembling hand giving ashirbad while I did a traditional pranam.

I was feeling weak. I was thinking of jumping from the rickshaw and running back to mom’s lap. The warmth of my dad beside me in the rickshaw reassured me. Dad was telling me how to face things. Those last minute suggestions you know. How never to talk to a stranger. How never to take anything from a stranger. And those instructions while were delivered to boost my morale were in a way denigrating it. But I didn’t chicken out. And How I thank god for giving me enough courage for not shitting in my pants while I alone in the platform waited for the train.

The train was late for 4 hours. I waited and waited. My dad came and went back to work. And all the time I was wishing dad should be there when the train comes. Or else this could be the last time I am seeing my dad.

It was supposed to happen at 12 O clock noon. It finally happened 4 pm. Dad was losing patience and asked me a few times to leave the plan and go home. I was determined to take it on. I was not a guy to chicken out. I had to prove to my own eyes to be a grown up.

When finally the train came, I boarded it, and watched back to my dad’s face. There was no worry. He was quite confident I would make it. He was worried alright for the time I would reach farakka, but then my uncle had given word that he would be there with his car at the station.

The train started. So did my loneliness. There were some people sitting along with me. A big fat marwari guy. Who could not frighten me much as I knew before he tries anything silly I could run away. There were a family with a small kid who was crying hard. I smiled at the kid, and told in my mind, “grow up kid, at least you are going with your mom!! Look at me…I am all alone in this world.”


Things got bad soon. We reached guisal. The famous train accident site! And the train stopped due to some signal failures. It was like amazing actually. A train a man made creation standing in a place from where, where ever you see you could only see miles and miles of paddy fields. I wanted to go down to look out and see the beauty. But parents’ words held me back.

I opened the window and felt the cool wind all over my body. It was giving me strength and suddenly I felt I have crossed 2 hours or 1/3rd of my journey already. Out of nowhere there were chai walas. I had a tea. And dozed off. Then when I woke up, the train had just started and it was 8pm in the night.

I wasn’t worried much. But I was thinking if my uncle could not manage to come at that late night what I would do. And thinking hard only did weaken my confidence. And slowly I left it at that.

It was growing darker. I never knew that even when it’s completely dark it still goes on to become even darker with time. It was something new I was learning with every moment and I was fascinated with life that was around me.


I opened my diary I had, and started scribbling something. This caused me to doze off very soon. I woke up with a shoulder jerk from someone!!

A stranger!!

A guy in mid forties with specs on, and looking like a TT was pushing me…

“Khoka, are you the son of Mr. PK Paul? The CRS of NJP?”

I was shell shocked…this guy knows it all!! Bloody hell what is he!!

Then I nodded and the guy was all smiles..”Don’t be afraid khoka…Your dad just wanted me to check out whether you are alright or not!”


I was thinking, “jeez dad!! You are embarrassing me in front of every one here!!”

And was reasonably annoyed at the same time I felt it funny too thinking about my dad pacing up and down from bedroom to drawing room in worry. And my mom sitting in a corner with an all gone face. And I knew how much they love me!

I reached farakka alright. At night 2 am. My uncle was there despite a storm warning. And in his 1972 premiere I reached his bungalow quite safely. Masi told mom had called at least 10 times by then. I called them up and with that my first journey to the wilderness was over…

It was not as much full of beauty, revelation, adventure as probably pat had faced or not 10% as romantic as Shankar in the mountain of moon, but that was a very original experience which I still cherish. Life was not going to be same again.

A Saturday worth Blogging!

A busy Saturday at last. Oh how much do I enjoy busy Saturdays. Lots of useless stuff to do. Lots of useless places to go. Lots of useless people around. And endless useless stuff to rant about.

How did I pass the day? A great movie! A great dinner! Some long forgotten faces! And a fight in the club.

Phewww… now that’s something isn’t it?

We friends went to a movie at Harrow. Which one did you ask? Well what else the (in)famous Jodhaa Aakbar. And I must say the movie isn’t even worth spending 3 and half hours in the hall. Well there were couple of typical gwarikar’s romantic moments which I liked. I liked Hrithik’s childishness in somescenes and some places his emperor like rage. His command on acting is increasing and that’s a healthy sign for Bollywood. But the movie shows how pathetically inexperienced Bollywood is in handling periodic dramas.

I wonder why Indian directors fail take a clue out of great Hollywood epics like Gladiator or Troy or Kingdom of Heaven. People in India who are eager to make a historical movie should take some training sessions from Ridley Scott or Peter Jackson or Wolfgang Peterson. I mean the war in this movie almost is from the age of Ramanand Saagar’s Mahabharat and nothing more than that. Although the movie improves in the later half where Sujamal is being chased by afghan archers on horse and being shot at the scene is taken excellently.

But overall the film made me feel sick. On one side there was this gibberish farsi urdu mix that was given to Hrithik as his dialogues on the other side really bad acting from Akbar’s mother, some of the extra actors. Then there is endless useless song sequences and a timeless movie Yuckkkkkkk

Whatever the rest of the day was good. Met some old time friends. Tom and Shelly who got married recently had come to Watford to catch up. So we had gone club hopping. Then there was a fight at the Columbia press. Bloody noses, torn shirts, yells of “Freeze! Or I will shoot you!”, Swearing, in the fucking mean time getting served drinks for free and a bloody hell broken loose! All at the same time.

Movie Review: Halla Bol

Movie: Halla Bol
*ing: Ajay Devgan, Vidya Balan, Pankaj Kapur
Rating: ** 1/2

Review:

Well, I am no movie reviewer, so I will write only what I felt about this movie.

1. This movie had a strong ambition.
2. This movie had a good story.
3. This movie had a strong actor to support both the above.
4. This movie had a strong actress to support the all of the above.
5. Yet this movie fails to achieve any single impact in the audience’s mind.

You will wonder why! I did too, and this is what I found out the reasons to be:

1. The movie has poor dialogues.
2. The movie has very poor script. Which makes all the decisions taken in the movie to be hasty and illogical.
3. This movie like every other RajKumar Santoshi film suffers from melodrama.
4. This movie like every other Raj Kumar Santoshi film suffers from over simplification of things.

I won’t give more details here because I am bored of typing. But do go and watch this movie to get a feel of how a good storyline and a great idea can be wasted!

Halla bol !!