Updates

Its been some time since I wrote a post here. Partly because I have been busy with work, my brother's marriage preparation, but mainly because I am so damn lazy. Lots of things have happened since my last post worth mentioning here.

-Elections : This has become the talk of the nation. Every other thing is subdued and rightly so. The General Election is and should be the biggest event in the country. I have mixed feelings regarding the elections. Sometimes I feel great to be part of the biggest democracy. Comparing the situation in Pakistan, I feel blessed to be part of India. But at other times I feel Sad, Disappointed and outright Angry. I feel that I'm part of a circus crowd watching the clowns (read politicians) perform. I won't go into the talk of which party is better, who has a better manifesto, who has criminal records, or who is worthy. Its not for me as a single person to decide. Its for the entire nation to decide. But I do feel for our country. India in its current state does not deserve Democracy. Its too much power in the hands of innocent people who are being exploited. But having heard stories about all the deadly dictators in history, I feel we are better of with the clowns leading us.

-IPL : Ranks in Second only to elections. The IPL fever has caught everyone and I'm no exception. The shift to South Africa clearly demonstrates that IPL is a truly global event. I am, have been and always will be a true supporter of Royal Challengers Bangalore. They have had some hard luck, key players losing form in crucial moments and also at times some dismal performances. But the way they have fought through criticism, is inspirational. A special mention has to be made here for Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble. You have made us, kannadigas proud with your determination and talent. Keep the red and yellow flying. Our support is always with you.

-Friends : Lots of good news coming from friends. Ravi left to HongKong for his internship with Merrill Lynch. Aditya got his admit call from XIMB. Neeraj got a call from IIMK and converted it. Amit Bhansali got a call from SP Jain and he is coming to Mumbai.

-Tirupati : The much avaited trip is finally happening. It used to be my custom to visit Tirupati after every semister in Engineering. It gave me confidence and strength. But after Engineering I have not been able to have a darshan of Lord Venkateshwara. Not that I was busy or I was arrogant. It just din't happen, and that makes me feel sad. But I'm going to Tirupati tomorrow with Bala, Srinath, Pande and Lakshman. Hoping to have a great darshan before I go to Mumbai. Govinda Goooovinda.

-Movies : Watched lot of movies lately. Firaaq and Gulaal are two movies worthy of watching. Firaaq is extremely well directed by Nandita Das and Nasaruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, and the small kid (don't know his name) give mind blowing performances. The film seems so real. The pain suffered by each individual is communicated to the last tear drop. Extremely well made movie. A must watch. Gulaal is also a good movie. Kay Kay's performance is top notch. The dialogues are excellent. It gives a interesting insight into politics of a different kind. Also watched The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Madagascar 2, Me and Marley, All the boys love Mandy Lane, Milk, Luck By Chance and lots more. Uff... I told you, I'm a lazy bum :-)

Review of Dev D and Delhi-6

Dev D:

I went to the movies after a long time (last one I can think of was Welcome to Sajjanpur) to watch Dev D. I had no idea what the movie was about. I did not know who the protagonists were. I did not even know that it had an 'A' rating!! I knew two things. It was directed by Anurag Kashyap and it was a modern take on the eternal anti-hero Devdas.

Sitting comfortably in the reclining chair of Inox cinemas, I was least expecting what was about to come. The first 30 minutes was like a shock for me. I had never seen this kind of Hindi film before. It definitely deserved the 'A' rating. As Bala once said it could have been given an 'A++' rating ;-) It was like watching one of those sleazy Malayalam movies, difference being that, it was mainstream cinema, with real actors! I would have probably classified this as soft-porn, but that's me.

Abhay Deol plays the role of modern day Devdas, spoilt, educated abroad, and always on the lookout for booze, dope, and s**. The online flirting with his childhood sweetheart - Paro played by the gorgeous Gill, is naughty to say the least. Back in India, things start to go wrong for our Devdas. Suspicion starts to creep into his mind, and ends up losing his Paro. Meanwhile there is a parallel story of Chanda, the modern day Chandramukhi, being developed. Being a realist Anurag has tried to portray lot of real life controversies in the film. The Delhi Public School MMS, the BMW hit and run case etc...

After the intermission, the movie lacks the charm and the pace of the first half. This is probably because the movie has very little to show in the second half and the lack of a convincing story is very evident. The second half is a continuous loop of our Devdas getting drunk (sorry sloshed) doped and his frequent sojourn at the red light areas. The ending is very abrupt and the film ends with absolutely no message to the viewer. Not even a suggestion for us to think on.

But one thing that it did do was strengthen my obsession with anti heroes- Abhay Deol, as the protagonist who plays the modern day Devdas is a typical loser that your parents do not want you to grow up to be. And that is precisely what makes his character so damn real and attractive: he is weak, he is confused, he is vulnerable, he is flawed and “conspicuously lacking in heroic qualities”, i.e. he is like us!! And he was not the first anti-hero that I liked. Tyler Durden (Fight Club) is probably my favourite character of all time. Tracey Whitney (If Tomorrow Comes - Sidney Sheldon) is my favourite fictional character.

Delhi-6:

I first saw the trailer of this movie while watching Dev D. I was instantly impressed and was really looking forward to its release. I mean, who wouldn't be impressed with that kind of star power. After RDB, and a pretty long absence, we were expecting a super block buster from Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. With Abhishek Bachan in the lead and the ravishing Sonam Kapoor (someone described her as a cross of Madhubala and Waheeda Rehman - I could not agree more) dancing to the amazing tunes of ARR, my expectations were sky high for this film. Well that probably turned out to be the downfall...

The biggest disappointment of the film is its story. There is absolutely no story to look forward to. At least not after all the hype of it being bigger than RDB. I will not go much into the story (for the lack of it ;-)), but in general the other aspects of the film are very good. Abhishek plays his role as an NRI to near perfection. Although he has very less dialogues, he communicates to the viewers through his eyes (aka Sarkar). Sonam Kapoor has very less screen presence. Most of the times I caught her on screen, I saw her moving her voluptuous body to the breathtaking numbers of the album (review on that soon). The direction, screenplay and cinematography are all top notch. But the film puts emphasis on the 'Kaala Bandar' thing too much for my liking. But the main character of the film is Delhi -6 itself. The Chandini Chowk area. For people who have lived there, probably they will really like the film. For people like me, who have not even visited that place end up having no emotional connection with the place or the local characters. The climax is too 'bollywoodish' for me and this is where even the people who had liked it till then start getting irritated with the film. And again, there is no message from the film. I would suggest everyone to buy a music CD of Delhi-6 instead of wasting it on the movie ticket.

Review of Slumdog Millionaire

I have been waiting for long to write the review of a movie. But all my hopes were quashed, by the series of mind numbingly silly films released, till now! But here comes a film, that I truly admire, which has inspired me in many ways. I haven't felt like this in a long time. Probably the last Hollywood film that I was tempted to see again and again was The Pursuit of Happyness.

The plot of the movie is taken from the book Q & A by Vikas Swarup. An illiterate slum kid from Mumbai goes on the local TV version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and comes off winning Rs. 2 Crore. So why would you want to see something that you could have already seen in 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'. Well, for starters, it has not much to do with the game show. The underlying plot shows us how destiny plays a huge role in helping 'Jamaal' (a sensational Dev Patel) in answering the questions on the show.

You won't find many fairy tales that open with a graphic torture scene. The cops think 18-year-old 'chaai waala' Jamal Malik is a fraud. Goaded by the show's host (the superb Anil Kapoor), the police inspector (Irrfan Khan) is determined to beat the truth out of Jamal before he goes back on the show and hits the jackpot of 20 million rupees.

The film has got everything from humor to tragedy, from suspense to complete silliness. Yet it is nothing like the ubiquitous Indian Masala movie. Director Danny Boyle gives us a probable Oscar winner here. With amazing screenplay and sharp editing, the film pulls you towards it more than gravity does you to earth. The heart-wrenching story told through a series of flashbacks is aweinspiring. We learn the background of Jamaal and other characters, his wild older brother Salim (an outstanding Madhur Mittal), and his adored Latika (the achingly lovely Freida Pinto) in flashbacks, and as he answers the questions, we come to understand how his life experiences(believe me, this character has more 'life experience' than most of my friends put together) have helped him in answering them.

Every answer he gives, has been learnt in a hard way, and all the knowledge he has could have killed him. Accepted, the plot bends coincidence to the breaking point. But as I said before, the film is not about the quiz show, but Jamal's traumatic youth. Boyle makes magic realism part of the film's fabric, the essential part that lets in hope without compromising integrity.

A R Rehman has composed the score for this brilliant movie. Lot of hip-hop numbers. But the most I liked were the Instrumentals. Especially One track - Mausam & Escape is amazing.

Overall I would give this movie a 4.5/5. A must watch for any movie buff, and also non-movie buff's. This is how a film should be made.