Talking Beauty!

In a recent study shows that 50%+ women prefer to be run over by a truck than to look fat and ugly. To women, looking fat and ugly is not only hurtful but also traumatic. If you happen to say someone “hey you have gained weight or you got a pimple,” it is like spilling acid on that person.  Female body image is constantly constructed and maneuver by the society. Body shame is crucially picked, distorted and twisted by social commentary.

The word self-image has lost its essence. Most of us are unaware how our self image is twisted and turned by the society. Conscious societal pressure forces us to think that we are ugly and not in- accordance to the living standard of beauty. We are maneuvered to look pretty and   beautify ourselves. Almond eyes, flashy eye lashes, sharp nose, bow like lips and fair and glowing skin is the set standard that we all are tricked to adhere to. Any sort of skin imperfection is stigmatized by our society. A woman is made to believe that she is ugly and ugliness is intolerable by societal standards.

Beauty is socially constructed and marketed. If you are fat, then you are supposed to be on endless, cruel diet regime. You are supposed to exit on salads, fat and sugar free foods. You will hear “fat talks”, things like how beautiful you would have looked had you lost some weight. And, finally comes in the magic of capitalism, called prodicti-fication. Market strategists make full use of socially tagged ugliness. There are endless list of products that you can use to reduce your weight and enhance your beauty. Not only weight reducing belts or machines, you can read fitness magazines, opt for fitness related DVD’s and moreover hire some personal trainer. Theses stream of things might help your reduce your weight but at the same time you will be highly dependent on these products. Your self-image is nothing but a market strategy from which the society gains some sort of pleasure and capitalists get their profits. 

Women are nothing but a medium via which sexual appetizing bar is kept high. Beauty is associated with fairness. If you are not fair then you need to thank the advertisement that pops up every two minutes. You are supposed to use the fairness crème which will definitely make you look fair. The acid test does not stop right there. If you don’t have almond shaped eyes then you can make it look like almonds. Kajal, eye liners are flooded in the market and you have to pick one, rather the right one that suits your eye-type. Trust me it is as complicated as it sounds here. You can correct the fines of your nose and lips only by expensive cosmetic surgeries. The more ugly you are made to look the more is the stake of profits.

From hair to you toe tip a women needs to maintain and beautify her so that she is not stigmatized among her peers. From birth starts the beautification process. Girls are made to wear floral pink dresses, fancy accessories, sparkly shoes etc. With adolescence she is suppose to use all those products that will enhance her beauty and after 25 you are forced to look like 15. If a girl chose not to go for a diet and happily eat cheese and mayonnaise, I would question “who” society is to decide on a girls looks and what beauty is. Beautification and producti-fication are all interlined to societal norms and self image is no longer what we perceive of ourselves but what society perceives us to be.

Behind those Doors!

Her offer letter was given by Mr. Sheti, her manager. She was extremely happy on getting her first job. It was her dream to work with her mentor whom she idol-worshiped since childhood. She will work directly under his guidance. She was happy that her prayers were finally blessed. In some cases, excitement blurs a part of reality and misgivings creeps in silently that you cannot predict its depths. At that moment gestures and signs speaks louder than mere words. On the context of asking her about her work he started to call her in his cabin. Leaving behind so many employees he showed some queer interest on her.  Surprisingly calls to be in his cabin perked more frequently. He hardly bothered on how she was fairing professionally. He started to be frank and posted more personal questions. As a fresher she thought it is polite to answer. Maybe Mr. Sheti was just trying to be friendly so that she comfortably settled down in her new environment. She was not accustomed to IT norms and that “maybe” was a big question mark that disturbed her peace.

His constant pestering caused her sheer agony and pain. On many occasions he tried to grab her hands.  Physically he was trying to get very close. What was he trying to do?   She was confused about his intentions. It was wrong to doubt his intentions. After all he was her idol -worshiped mentor.  As time went on, he started to ask her to work late to meet her deadlines and would intentionally grab this occasion to drop her back. Knowing that she stayed alone in a flat he started asking her out for dinners. His gestures made her feel awkward and uncomfortable. Having no option left, she blatantly refused his offers.

The anguish and agony that she underwent is indescribable and cannot be put down in words.  Constant questions lucked on her head. Why would her mentor make physical moves at her? Was it a part of IT norm? If such things are normal, then it is highly unprofessional and unethical, she thought. It was her first job and she was unaccustomed to any IT norms. She was definitely harassed by his behavior. But again, why would someone so senior intentionally harass her. Was she also a silent victim of harassment?  May be it is normal and part and parcel of IT environment.  She had no definite answers to these questions. These questions will remain unanswered and silently flow into the archive of untold agony and pain that many women face.

Yes, she gave the thought of complaining to higher management. Again confusion had drawn thick clouds on her head.  What would happen next? Will she be able to convince that she was harassed by her mentor or will she be asked to quit her job?  At that point of life she cannot afford to fight some legal battle. Her career was at stake. She thought hard. She had a family to look after and most importantly what if no company hires her again. With these questions lurking back on her tired mind, silently without complaining she resigned from her job. 

Her act may appear cowardly to many of us. But think about putting yourself in situation what would you have done. You have worked your entire life to get yourself placed and work with your mentor and suddenly things starts to fall apart. What will we do is the decision that “we” have to make.

Meet Mr & Mrs Dey (Part 1)

Life at 30 could have been far worse in the Dey household. Mr.Dey finds himself in soup owning to the major US recession and packed off his bags to Kolkata. All the while on his return trip from Santa Clara on an executive Air India jumbo jet, he had been busy rummaging on the thoughts of what his in-laws would say. 

Mr.Dey had married a wealthy rich girl from a posh family of Bengali household- the only daughter of a wannabe family who sent their daughter only to the famous Lorreto School so that she only dates rich guys. Therefore, when the time for her marriage arrived with a string of ex-boyfriends and drugs all they wanted was an NRI. They seriously wanted their daughter to get married and settled down in US. They finally got Subodh (SUUUUBOOOOD) Dey who was not a boy born with a rich spoon but an IIT passout he had made enough marks to land himself a posh 6-pack salary job and a villa in Santa Clara. They say the very few could make it such big and he was like the next Indian thing after Manoj Shyamalan. 

Life after marriage had been going great. Sex was good, money was flowing and everything that Mrs Dey could ask for. She became an integral part of the society throwing lavish parties. It was fun. She even had a few one-night stands with Goras without much inhibition. While Mrs Dey was enjoying all this, Mr. Dey was making his name in the silicon valley. He soon spearheaded the major IT companies and was getting much work to Asia. For him this was patriotism was-Get the jobs done in India. 

In between the hustle and bustle of their household, they planned to have a baby. Mrs Dey was conscious of the fact it would mean a cut-off her party life was reticent initially but then she did decided to have a baby. They did all that could be done to make the entire city know that an Indian was gracing their county. 

But then recession arrived. And all along their seemed to be chaos. People were going nuts and there were more people on the streets rather than on party halls. Houses were put out on sales for meager money and the business had its impact on Dey household. And then the doomsday arrived. Mr.Dey had planned it earlier but now he had to go back to India and plan to sell of its ancestral property. 

The plan was about to touchdown in Kolkata. Mr. Dey looked at his watch. The dawn had set in.       

My love for Kormangala Restaurants!

When I came to study in Bangalore little did the young heart in me realised that I would have fallen in love with this city. A city that I see now as my own city and have unlike most of the Bongs hardly face issues with food. In years that passed away, I have been living in Koramangala. In fact, I can't think of staying at any other place except Kormangala. Amongst all the glitz and glamor the place offers my heart goes to its numerous restaurants and the delicacies that these offer. I chose to mention two places here. Both pretty old and still retains its charm. 

Chicken Parmigana

The first of them is Casa Piccolla (now Casa Rivera). My memory dates back to couple of years when I chose to take my loving friend to that place. We had a good time and I do remember she complimented me on the place and the food. In years to go and more visits to this place, I had a whole bunch of delicacies. The Restaurant itself transformed offering Chinese with its usual Continental food. 

For starters, you can try Roasted Egg Plant and an Organic Mixed soup. I chose to go easy on the starters and have it with much time at hand. Then for main course, there is a lot of things in the menu but and there is a but if you wish to have a dish that would in any day be my favorite then please go for Chicken Parmigana. It is a Southern Italian dish made with a shallow-fried sliced filling, layered with cheese and tomato sauce, then baked.Variations are made with breaded meat cutlets. For a single person you can have all this dishes for in less than US $ 10.

The next place that I haunt regularly is FRIENDS. It is one of Kormangala's oldest and popular restaurants. And just like Casa Rivera it also offers taste buds Chinese and Continental cuisine. For starters you can go for Chilly Chicken with Hot and Sour soup. Then, if you love steaks then I suggest you can try Mushroom Steak or Whiskey steak. Both of these are served with a bowl of rice or mashed potatoes and I can vouch you would love the flavor and content.

Kormangala houses a lot of restaurants and these days there has been a sporadic increase in the numbers. I hope all of them have scores of eaters and may the locality and city continue to grow. 

Memories of Down Under!

I love Sydney. It is one of the most beautiful and exotic places to visit. And if you happen to like water sports, there is no other place that comes close to Sydney. No sooner you reach Kingsmith Airport, a certain birdie will let you know that the airport authorities are very strict about things that you bring in Australia. But then if you tell them that you are visiting Sydney Cricket Ground and Don Bradman is the arguably the best Australian till date, you have a chance to beat them. It is a sports loving nation and which is why all that happens in Australia is anything but dullness.

My earliest memory of Sydney Cricket ground dates back to 1992 World Cup Cricket. We had a Black & White television set in our house. My eldest brother who used to sleep after the crows started morning hymns used to tap me on shoulders and tell me that Ian Chappell is away for the toss with the two captains. It was an advantage in those days to switch on TV and get your channels. Because you just had one channel. Doordarshan inspite of all its commercial breaks and insipid behavior was your savior. You could hear the birds singing and seagulls all across the SCG while Bill Lawry and Richie Benaud used to take the guards. I think Sunny Gavaskar was the first Indian commentator to be included in Channel's Nine commentary team and that was quite an achievement considering stalwarts like Richie Benaud, Frank Tyson, Bill Lawry, Tony Greig,and all the other Johnnycomboys made it an experience.

Growing up in the IT city of India is fun because I had amazing friends with whom I could talk on everything. Friends who had a voice in everything. 1999 when I saw the likes of VVS Laxman and Tendulkar whooping massive runs in SCG. It was the time when Tendulkar's captaincy was tested and we used to lose matches after matches in SCG. MCGrath and Shane Warne had by then became the lethal front of Australian bowling side. And more or less the world was witnessing the insurgence of a cricketing side that went to dominate the world in the next decade.

The next time was in 2003 when I saw Sourav Ganguly determined to make a statement on the Australian scene. If there is anything that I really feel MS Dhoni should imbibe from Sourav is to get that intensity which Sourab has and how to get under the skins of Aussies. Sourav was a champion in that and much like today he thought it was important that India started well in Down Under. And he did. We drew in the series and almost should have won the match at SCG- Steve Waugh's farewell but the umpires had a different story to tell.

Lots of things was happening in Indian cricket. IPL,large merchandise and all. Both the boards realized the importance of Gavaskar- Border trophy which is why you see more matches between the sides. Note that ACB invites team which they feel has got the pulse of the folks going. In the past, it was Lloyd's team.

The series is happening at the moment and India is behind 2-0. I would introspect about the series after the test matches gets over. I'll come up with another memoir then.

When it was never a 'payback' series

I never agreed upon the wisdom of having a cricket series titled 'payback'. Marketing evangelists would agree that whatever branding you may choose to do at the end of the day if products are not of equal value then it loses its shine.  This is why I disagree the labelling of the recently concluded series as 'payback' because the circumstances in which the games were played were entirely different.

India went under the hammer recently when they lost everything they could. MS Dhoni even lost all the tosses. They played in cold weather conditions that they are not bred in, icy cold weather where the players had hands under the trousers more than they had with the cricket balls.

The age old dictum of naive playing seam bowling came to haunt them as they struggled against the English quicks and made Anderson a superhero. But in comes England to India with the hope of a series victory. And they get hot and humid summers. The ball turns viciously and the same players who were recently awarding comments to the likes of Tendulkar and Laxman were mystified by spinners. To make it worse in the last one-day at Kolkata Dhoni brought Manoj Tiwari as spinner and he got a wicket too. It just makes the sides so different.

Here is Alstair Cook who has a batting, bowling and fielding coach travelling with him but he could not make them do anything. Swan who was titled as the next spinning legend was played with so much ease that it made Samit Patel cry. But lets face it- English were overconfident.

It was a disappointing series for the English should have played the spinners well but they did not. India failed to adapt to the seaming conditions recently so I sense unless English comes and play 4 tests in India and India beats them convincingly we should refrain from using that word.

MatchPoint

It’s half past nine and am busy sipping a nice cup of ice lemon tea at my favorite den Boca Grande. The place is unusually quiet today. And while I do not mind the occasional tid bits of human voice crooning from some place, I am enjoying this romantic quietness. Sometimes, I could get into the deepest of thoughts and come out with imaginative ideas. These ideas could never solve my problems and yet I enjoy thinking about it. Something was going on my mind for the past few weeks. Today, it sharpened into a belief and a die-hard romantic of Indian Cricket all I could think is 'administrators need to give few answers'. 

I take great pride whenever someone tells me you are from a cricket-crazy nation, that you have  a billion-dollar product IPL and have a galaxy of stars who captures the billions of imagination onto the field. I reflect for a while and understandably it is true. No one other thing has united the country like Cricket does not even Bollywood movies. In fact Bollywood has over the years tried to associate itself to the game for a multitude of reasons including promotional activities. For how could you make the sense that you have stars from Shahrukh Khan to Shilpa Shetty owning Cricket teams? Nothing bad at all!

I started watching Cricket in the 90s and just like any other kid who has an elder brother and a mat at the backyard played the game. Earliest years were of three brothers trying to outwit each other with tennis balls. In fact such was my passion for the game, years later I used to see other kids playing at the backyard and doing running commentary.

As things evolved over the years and technologies crowded the living rooms, everything associated to sports was marketing. Cricket is a product and we had each one of our cricketers making billions of money just being associated with it. I saw it and I realized that if you are a professional there is no harm.But then you became the No.1 Test Playing Nation and suddenly you are at some peak where others are trying to reach. This is where Indian administrators got it all wrong. 

We played tough and very good Cricket with teams that had good players. And it could have not come without the likes of Dravid, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dhoni, Ganguly, Zaheer and the rest.

The administrators seem to notice that the public were paying more attending to the One Day Internationals and Twenty Overs Games. Those were the avenues where money was flowing. The Indian Cricket Board became a rich board overnight. And as money started to flow the games took a different direction. Every series that India plays we identified more 50 overs than test matches. Somewhere down the link something was amiss. But I did not complain. When we win matches, we do not. Quantity rather quality was BCCI's topmost concern.

When you become world no.1 you will be replacing another team to the throne. India replaced Australians who have in every sense dominated for a decade. They won three world cups in a row, won 18 test matches in a trot and made every other test match playing country look meek to them. In fact, critics had even went to opined that if Aussies were not dethroned it would be very bad for the game of Cricket. But, so many lessons to be learnt from this amazing side? their discipline, hard work, professionalism and above all the passion to win. They never wanted to lose. In fact, when they came down from No.1 position, it was due to partly their players retirement than anything more. Watching Indian team performing/Stonewashed in England I am concerned and wanted to ask the administrators, "are you saying that we can play an one-off practice match and be ready?" its just a joke.

And the apathy is while India were losing games after games, all the board was thinking was how could we have the great Indian team One-Day team announced. I mean the priority seems to be win One Days and even if we lose test matches it is fine. 

Somewhere down the line, it hits me badly to see an Indian cricket side performing poorly in all the matches and yet there is not even a sigh of repent. Words need to be spoken and spoken in a tough fashion. As the game's patriot I demand that only the Cricketers but also the administrators should be taken to tasks. If I were to watch India playing I wish to see them trying hard in the field. And in doing so if they lose that is fine with me.

It's half-past ten now and I better leave for my apartment. The place has just started to fill up, and while I walk past the door, a young lady requests for the Cricket score. I could not stop laughing. By the way, do we have a second-string side or we will wait another 5 years here?

Confession of a lover!

I have been in a relationship for quite sometime now. It has not been that quiet. We had our odd differences and arguments. I have been at faults most of the time. I sometime feel I could have avoided that argument or fight. But it just happen. I just feel I have not been able to do justice to her love. More so, when your lover is an eternal romantic. The only thing that brings smile to her face is me.



I know that she cannot even stand a day without speaking to me. Everything she does is to make me happy. It makes her smile whenever she watches me smiling. My goals, dreams and objects of interest are considered to be her own. I do not how she does it, but she is just too perfect. 

She is younger to me in years, and I know this is her age to be as naughty and chulbulli she could be, but sometimes I forget. I would forget and rationalize with her of not being practical. But, Raj how could she be? she is so young and she needs my love and support to make her feel that? I feel this blog post is in a way my reconciliation to the fact of those unspoken words and deeds.

I do not know if there is something called true love or lover. But, even if someone makes you feel that the person is just there for you, then it is love. Love is a beautiful thing and I hope I can do justice to it. It is a privilege to be in someone's arms forgetting all the sadness and pathos of life. I wish to be loved and you fulfill it with all your charms. We will have to travel a lot, but I am sure we will cover the distance with a smile. Thanks is not the appropriate word here, but I am in all awe of you.

John and Raghu's wonderful Chemistry!

{Pic source:http://mtv-roadies-6.blogspot.com/2009/04/baap-of-popularity-raghu-ram.html}

I wonder why Abbas Tyrewalla had to take Palki for the role of Mishika. Apart from her, I found each one of the characters fitted perfectly to the fore. And, those of you who have watched Jaane tu he jaane na, this movie has nothing new for you. But those of you who have not watched this movie, you will like it for sure.

Shot at the locales of London, the movie is about friendship and love. It becomes interesting when love causes all the problem. Each one of the characters has a love twist in the movie. Starting from John to Raghu to Manasi Scott and Palki- each one has a love angle.



John finally exhibits some emotions; he is a tough-hearted hero who suddenly finds himself in a comical situation. Raghu is the best of the lots with his half-witted humor and sarcasm. Palki is ok. She is sensuous but she is too old to do a song and dance role. 


You will get to see a lot of youngsters and couples making their way for this movie. It has a large quotient of love added to sacrifice in it. And, I am sure they will appreciate it a lot. Usually, these movies are Abbas' forte. Abbas usually writes the script for his movies, and you could see that he has used a typical youngistan lingo in the movie. Good job! 


Raghu and John are there in 80% of the scenes in this movie. They share a wonderful chemistry. You can easily relate Raghu's character with MTV Roadies. I think it could only be the saving grace of the film. The film will run for some weeks, but I guess it is short-lived. I won't mind watching it-this time with my girl.


 

RGV'S tribute to Tarantino-Rakta Charitra

Yes and a big No. The verdict for Ramgopal Varma's gory epic. Yes- because, I feel he has tried to create a biopic with a proper star cast without compromising on its value. No-because, blood and gory movies are easily categorized as unsuitable for a major section in Bollywood, and it will thus lose any chances of qualifying for a proper award.

There is one more thing that I think RGV needs to be applauded. He is not scared of trying out new subjects of interest in Bollywood. Hate or like him, but you will always be curious to know the plot of every RGV movies.

I did a little bit of research on RAKTA CHARITRA-The Transformation. I was horrified to read the facts. Characters like Buka Reddy, Pratap Reddy and all are not the major stereotypes characters. Their life has edge written all over. Now, my question is who would make a movie like that in Bollywood?

I am a great fan of the Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill stalwart Mr. Quentin Tarantino. I feel if there is anyone who could closely come to reach his standards would be Vishal Bharwadaj. But, RGV has proved me wrong. It is one of the blood, gory and ugly movie you will have ever get to watch. And, yes, RGV has hailed his Telegu roots very well.

Vivek Oberoi has always been called an one-film wonder. His COMPANY is hailed to be one of the best debutant performances till this date. I expected a lot from him in Rakta Charitha. Note here Vivek does not speak or grin much like Company. He is a nonsense getter, full of vengeance yet smart. The beard looks good on him and adds on to the character. I enjoyed his performance, but I expect more histronics from the second part.

Shatrugan Sinha is a great actor and he delivers a power-packed performance and so does Sushant. But, the person who steals the show is Abhimanyu Singh. He impressed me a great deal in Gulal but this character of a sadist and sexmaniac goes a long away. You could see the lust in his eyes in every of his roles. He does not mince words and personally speaking, I'ld have wanted him to be in the sequel for it would have generated a lot of interest.

For those of you watch Bengali movies, do watch ANTHAHEEN. Radhika Apte is one of the best actresses but pity she does not get much of dialogues.

RGV has made Sarkar as tribute to Godfather, but there are quite a few scenes in the movie that reminded of Godfather II. The scene in which Vivek's mother goes to meet Narasimha Reddy for her son's life is a direct take off from the first part.

I am touch disappointed that Surya is absent in the first-half, but he is there in the sequel. I am a great fan of this Tamilan actor, and I believe he is going to put a rocking performance. Watch Rakta Charitra once but I can assure you that sometimes performances go a long way to get the audience to the theaters.

Far from the Madding Crowd

I have been working for sometime now. My work location is different from the place that I spent my childhood. A place where I have memories of coming back home only to be in mother's arms, dad's stern face on watching Chitrahaar and Rangoli, brothers who were pain in the ass sometimes and of course the rains. I had a wonderful childhood, and if I could give anything back to revisit, I would not mind. Durga Pooja is one such occasion that reminds me of my childhood.


Everybody has some knowledge or the other that the grandeur of the occasion to the Hindus and especially to the Bongalis. People wait impatiently throughout the year for the occassion and when it arrives from the onset of Mahalaya to Mahadoshami people are filled up with joy. 

As a child, Durga Pooja meant new clothes & pistol toys to me. I remember distinctly coming up from an average middle-class family, how baba-maa used to meet our requirements. Maa used to ensure that the first set of clothes were bought for her children. I think of this day and tears come into my eyes. How could we even repay our debts to our parents!

Durga Pooja was a rare occasion when I used to shut down my school books. It meant that I won't touch the school books for the next 4 days. I used to go out Soptomi with maa-baa, Ashotomi again with maa and baba and Novomi with friends. Also, a visit to the Monalisa restaurant was along awaited. The entire family could have Luchi Mangsho for 50 bucks. The atmosphere was also electrifying-Kishore Kumar's music at the backdrop. I still make it a point to visit that place whenever I can.


I wish I could write a little bit more, but I have to run for a project meeting. Sometimes, I wish life would come to a standstill.

Chulbul Connection!

Itna confuze ho jayoge ke tumi saansh logon kaha se aur.... we had been overhearing these Dabaang dialogues for the past few weeks and it was the same last evening too. As I walked into the Rex theatre for a late night show, I saw history had remained still for this theatre.

As I took a comfortable seat I found myself in an atmosphere unlike multiplexes. There were hootings, screaming, indecent gestures and so on, and you could possibly know that Dabaang had scored and hit amongst the intended viewers. Ironically, this is how Bollywood pundits labels a movie 'hit' or 'flop'-viewers reactions. What Salman did was he connected me with his madness. Well done!

The REX theatre in Bangalore can accommodate 400 viewers. Out of this,  last night show had viewers in the range of 18-38 years. And, trust me right from the first intro scene where Salman aka Chulbul Pandey stormed into a goonda's den to the climax, Dabaang has hit the masses. Every dialogue had glimpse of Rajni's avtaar in Salman. But, it is believable for Salman behaves the same in real life too, atleast seen in the television promos.

Sonakshi is graceful and beautiful. She is a hit with me. I love the way she acts and smiles. And, yes I loved her backless cholis and her cute nose ring. She reminds me so much of my gf though she screams less on me. 

Dabaang is an out-and-out masala movie. You have to watch it for Salman's appeal. His dialogues and mannerisms have Rajni trademaark. When asked once by Anupam Kher to Salman's reason keeping his googles behind his collar, he quickly reacts taki humhe samna aur peechura dekh sakhe. And , not to forget, hamari meherbani hain to pehle ham shaadi kar le. All these dialogues and much more captured viewers' attention.

Directed by Abhinav Singh Kashyap, brother of Anurag Kashyap Dabaang will not disappoint if you go to the theatres without any expectations. Kids may be kept out of this. I loved the movie but not something that will be in mind, come next week.On the other way, Dabaang will be unstoppable in the first few weeks of its release.

My take on Aisha

It was one of those precious moments when I kept pin drop of silence. My girlfriend decided to surprise me this evening. Post-lunch, she took out her purse and showed me two cinema passes for a PVR show Aisha. I will not reject the opinion that I was all disinterested. Though the fact that I will be watching Sonam Kapoor again in the theaters in a span of one month was tempting. I just came out from the theatre and while she is on the phone with her friends let me quickly jot down couple of observations of the movie, AISHA.

Observations:

a) It has a large quotient of feminism. Everything from the costumes to the make up, from the color of the walls to the dialogues had a lot of feminist touch to it. I will be surprised if it maintains the interest of men. There is no F word used in the movie, which is quite a surprise when you watch a Hindi film this days. I loved the concept.

b) Yes, it has a different plot and characters but you will not be able to reject the opinion that the movie can remind you of the recent Sonam starrer I HATE LOVE STORIES. Though she played a matchmaker in this movie, people get to see similar shades of Sonam's character- romantic, hyper, self-centered, attitude wali and so on.

c) Delhi has been the city to talk about in recent Hindi films. You do not need to go far. Right from Rang De Basanti to Delhi 6 or Dev D, directors have a fascination to take a leaf out of it. It is bearable though this is not in the ranks of Mira Nair's MONSOON WEDDING, which was incidentally shot in Delhi.

d) The climax is as-if-I-know it. I do not blame the writers for they have been told to write the script in such a fashion that even before the film is finished you know it. This is why a movie like Inception or Borne Ultimatum is only produced in West.

e) The songs especially 'Gal Mithi Mithi Bol' arrives so late in the movie that half of the audience had left.

f) I give it a 2 star out of 5.Join the confusion if you wish to.

A few friends

Life has been good and bad to most of me. It has been selective in allowing me the freedom to pick and choose the good and bad. But, one thing it has never compromised is giving me good friends. My friends have been the best. Since childhood I have been brought up amidst much shor gol. The youngest lot of the three kids, I was socialable. I used to make friends easily. In the years went by, I chose to make more female friends rather than male friends.

I was not that good looking guy to get the attention of girls, but maybe I know how to talk. I made good friends during those days who have been with me. In midst of miseries that life offers now and then these are the pals who took a great deal of care for me. They pamper me, pull my legs now and then but never forget their concern.


My girlfriend is perhaps the mose beautiful and adorablea thing God has given me. She is a dear friend who undestands me completiely. She knows when I am silent. She hates my silence. She comforts me in times of agony and above all she loves me day and day I am lucky to have a friend who makes her presence more comforting to me and is always there for me.


My best friend, Mickey works in Kolkata.We have been childhood buddies and he has been always there for me.I take often a quick time to call me up and remember our past.


My mother is a dear friend of mine. In a family, where you do not have a sister, she completed her presence. The word MAA means not only devoted and caring mother but it also means the symbol of God. I love you maa.


I will be selfish if I miss out the names of people who have made their presence in my life. But God, for me they are ones who make my life complete. Friendship day and all the best to my loved ones. Thank you for being part of my life.

U should hate love stories!

There are certain assumptions created largely by media which more or less becomes plots of many stories. I have an assumption that more or less revolves around Karan Johar and Yash Chopra. I wonder what makes them produce romantic movies. Are they eternal romantics or they can't picture a movie without romance?

I think Karan Johar has these thoughts running 24*7 and through this movie he has tried to answer couple of questions, which keeps on coming back to him. I Hate Love Stories is such an attempt and credit goes to the director for making it realistic.

Cut 1: Yes, Karan Johar produces and directs romantic movies and yes, he has a cast that features names likely to be Raj and Simran. Yes, Karan has a crew that obviously feels he has gone nuts. There are depressed souls working for him because for a living.

Cut 2: Yes, there is Shahrukh ala Saif ala Imran who do not believe in pyaar-syaar. For him, its crap, waste of time and ekdom faltu. But he loves flirting and making out with girls. For him love is waking up everyday with a hot new chick, who does everything but not pyaar. One day he realizes that he has fell for someone and is desperately trying to be noncommittal.

Cut 3: Yes, there is Kajol ala Madhuri ala Kareena Kapoor ala Sonam who are those Archie Greetings cards slasher who sees romance in everything. But ends up wih a wrong man at a wrong time.

I have not seen anything new in the movie. Yes, it has some slick dialogues, good cinematography and nice songs but that' it. Obviously, Imran Khan will do what he can do best- Jaane Tu Naa Jaaane Na roles. Sonam Kapoor is pathetic. Her acting sucks big time though I must admit she is by far the best dressed actor in Bollywood.

It has opened well and do good business for some time but just like any other love story it will wizzle out. Take my advice- watch Mr.Singh and Mrs. Mehta. Atleast, you do not have to see the pathetic dancing act of Imran Khan.

I should but sorry I can't!

Dear Raj,
I was surfing net when I chanced to get your number on a portal. Interestingly, the portal speak volumes of your intelligence discussing topic-based issues. I do not think it is an issue at this moment, but I fear it may gradually build up to be an issue. I wish to know what you sense about the topic, and what should I do at this stage. 

I have been married for last two years and been blessed with a loving husband. Ritesh is extremely caring and God-fearing man. He works for an advertisement firm in Bangalore looking after the client services department of the firm. At a young age of 35, Ritesh has build a name of his own. I am proud to see that he has build up everything from scratch. 

We have a lovely bungalow in a posh locality of Cunnigham Road and he has provided me with every luxury which life can offer. It is at this behest I stopped working and though I take a week off to do some freelance work, I have been  detached from professional assignments for a long time.
Honestly, I am enjoying this break- it was getting a long, monotonous journey of working on software applications and I feel good now.

Offlate, I see Ritesh coming late to home. He has also stopped calling me up during office hours and there has been quite a gap in our relationship. Though we make love occasionally the heat has dried up. We seem to be in bed -two bodies but there has been something missing. I have confronted Ritesh on this but he feels that everything is going good, and I have been apprehensive of nothing.

It was at this moment I started browsing Internet and in one of the social networks I met Javed. My purpose of surfing, trust me, was to kill my boredom. How would I have known that I would get into this situation? Javed is a painter, roughly around the age of 26, well-built and carries a beard. He resembles that of a Shantiniketan artistic fellow. Since, I come from a creative junk of people from Chakroborthy family, I liked him.

Javed' profile and albums were interesting. To think from an artistic sense, the paints were all of women who were lonely in their lives and needed some thing to fill in. I sense I understood those superficial acquaintances that can cure social loneliness won't touch the emotional variety, and Javed seem to touch them.

After a few days of chatting, I met him for coffee. It was nice meeting him. But, not something with a love relationship, any close relationship requires a certain amount of "chemistry," that click that comes with finding a kindred spirit. Again, just as with chemistry and love, it becomes a "numbers game." We need to meet a lot of people to find our kindred spirits. Meeting a lot of people requires a lot of effort. And it does not happen quickly. What do you say?

We started meeting and slowly and I have started coming closer to Javed. I am wondering if I am suffering from any type of loneliness, which is perhaps one of the reasons why I am getting so attached to Javed. I hope you have time to go through this mail and patience to respond.
Best wishes,
X

The Mark of a Craftsman-Rajneeti

For the various political campaigns and social activities that Prakash Jha has veen involved earlier in Bihar, this film comes straight from his heart. You know when there is a National Award winning director delivering a hard-hitting political drama, he inserts his personal ifs and bits of political experiences into the reel. And, that is exactly what Prakash Jha does in his characters. 

Yes, Rajneeti' story is set in the backdrop of epic Mahabharata. Prakash Jha has tried to make us realise how the Mahabharata is relevant today in the political dynasty. The Indian political clan is more or less starts with the Gandhi parivar and he tried to show the same with the Pratap familiy. The Pandavas and Kauravas confrontation were to be constantly seen amongst Manoj Bajpai and Arjun Rampal and Ranbir Kapoor. Lord Krishna as Nana Patekar  and Karan as Ajay Devgan lends power to the show.

This is not a song-and-dance movie, so you are for some real acting. You have some intense actors like Ajay, Manoj, Nana Patekar and they exactly played their parts to the core. Ajay has played off shaded characters such as this in Yuva so the Dalit hero character suited him pretty well. Ranbir and Arjun are brillaint in their performances.

What do I take from this movie? I see and get glimpses of how Indian party elections are run, how tickets are provided, how you get the vote banks and so on. It is a common truth that politics is dirty and its not for us.But, politics is interesting and needs young people to cleanse it.

Rajneeti is a good movie, but if someone asked me would I ever decide to contest elections or get into politics. My answer is NO. It is indeed a difficult arena where you have to think miles ahead before you consider taking any decision. Prakash Jha-right from DAMUL to RAJNEET you have the 'master of a craftsman' written all over.

Yet Another Excuse!

This nation should be called a "nation of excuses". Anytime anywhere and any mishap occurs, the nation comes out with a bag of excuses. Whom to trust and whom to not? I sometimes wonder if it would rather make sense to worry about the excuses rather than wasting our time on pondering over the incidents. Let us take for the case- the recent Mangalore Air tragedy in which countless lives were lost or the Indian cricket team dismal performance in the T20 World cup. 

The nation witnessed and heard in both the cases administrations who out rightly rejected any blame on the center and attributed causes to counterfeit reasons. While the former known for abstaining itself from any political chivalrous methods and declaring it was the pilot' fatigue, the latter declared the IPL parties.

Are we a nation of idiots blinded by the ideology that our the man in the chair can only speak the truth and so when he does something wrong we have no other options? I am dismayed and sad at the state of the affairs.

The Mangalore air tragedy occurred in the wee hours of the morning that probably meant dusk in many of the families. I am not an aviation expert to sit in the armchairs of NDTV, CNN IBN and so many media channels and describe what went wrong, but I could just tell you that those images disturbed me a lot. The newspapers reported that the pilots could have averted the tragedy by taking off when they had noticed that the thrust would have taken them across the reins.

All I can say is I can hear what the experts, government and rest can say, but you heard just a party. The pilots are no more with you us to tell us their stories. I also read the certain experts had already showcased government of certain airports' standards norms not matching the industrystandards. But still and for what price!

The T20 World Cup and India' exit is nothing new. I am appalled by the way Dhoni blamed the IPL Parties for the debacle. It was like a naive student who wanted all wanted Roti, Kapda and Makan, and when he got in abundance he forgot that he needs to work for it.

India plays most of the time in the sub-continent pitches, and the IPL show is another example of emptying your pockets for glitz and glory. How many players from IPL have come out to play for India in test cricket? All we need was a statement from the team that yes, folks we need to work on the short-pitch stuff. Would admittance have really made the team low?

Look, I am not sadist or hyperactive by these incidents but I am sad. I have lost all the hopes that this country exhibits. I would have still be contented kid had my heroes or the leaders be honest to admit their follies but no! It happens only when you take people for granted. I sense that these chaps feel that the common man is an idiot and all we need to do is sparkle once or twice.

I know every country will have officials and players like this, but not every country can boast of a rich and divine culture like India. All I can pray is that the next time a fellow makes an excuse it would hurt a little lesser.

The Tale of Hrithik' Kites

One question, Mr. Rakesh Roshan, "how many times have you watched Mexican movies that made you certain of a superhit in Bollywood?" I am sure there have been plenty but please do not tell me that out of the numerous flicks that you have copied right from Khoon Bari Maang to Kites, there has been anything original about it. 

Watching Kites made me realised that Bollywood simply cannot come out of its commercial aspect. And, even the best of directors or wanna be ones feel direction under a huge banner is a great thing, think twice. If Anurag Basu feels Kites has done justice to his career, I think he needs to go back to what he does better. Kites is a super boring, faltu and nonsense flick.

Hrithik is our Antonio Banderas who falls for Salma Hayek in Barbara Maori. Then after they have lip locked quite a few times, they discover marriage could be a nice plan. When marriage does not work, then death beckons. To start with the story has been dealt so many times earlier that it miserably impressed me. The dialogues are out of blue, plain and sub-standard. The movie keeps on going back and front as if Quentino Tarantino' aatma has got inside Anurag. 

Fair enough, Hrithik has got an awesome figure and he lets the teenyboppers whistle with his dance. The only saving grace of the movie is music. KK lends his voice in Dil Kyun mera shor kare and Zindagi do paal ke, and I must say he stands in contention for most of the awards this year.

I watch movies for entertainment but I do not want to be entertained by Rakesh Roshan over and over again with old formula. And, yes if you shoot a movie in Mexico and you have subtitles running throughout the movie, you stand a chance of missing the target audience. Hope luck prevails and Hrithik puts on a good performance else it will be just brawns only. 

As for Barbara, Rakesh Roshan could have got Salma Hayek or Penelope Cruze for this movie. Trust me! they would have been more sensuous for she was only there for the oomp appeal. Do not watch Kites unless you are blackmailed.