Wake up Sid!

After watching the disastrous What's your rashee? last week, I was very doubtful about watching this one. Especially since it was from a new director, a 24 year old one for that. Well, but I convinced S because wanted to check out Ranbir Kapoor and the presence of Konkona in the movie somehow re-assured me. Well, I am glad I decided to watch the movie.

Its very hard not to like the movie. Its a young coming-of-age movie of a young guy, Sid and the movie is all heart. Not witty or intense like Dil Chahta hai, but the movie has a young fresh innocence about it and it will definitely appeal to all urban youth. I am sure everybody will identify with some part of Sid and Aisha. The star of the movie is Ranbir Kapoor. Not only does he look great - but his portrayal of Sid makes you fall in love with this character, it is hard to remain indifferent to Sid in the movie. It is a slow, refreshing movie - no twists or turns, no intense drama, maybe that's why it seems realistic. Ranbir Kapoor more than delivers - I was really smitten by him at the end of the movie. And a pat on the back to the casting director of the movie - he chose the cast well, they were perfect for each role.

Watch it for Ranbir and Ayaan (the director). I am surprised that a 24 year old can really make a movie like this. If you notice closely, the director has paid attention to details - and that's one of the reasons why the movie works.

-Moi

Song of the day: Iktara
Mood of the day: tired.

Kaminey

Vishal Bharadwaj has done it again! Given a movie that is so different from the mindless crap that directors keep dishing out week after week. I have to say that it does not live up to all the hype created – nevertheless, in Charlie’s words it is a muft watch!

It is a dark, funny movie that addresses so many socio-political issues in India today. From AIDS awareness to Raj Thakarey’s Marathi Manoos – to corruption, he shows it all in the movie. It is an ‘A’ rated movie – and I think rightly so. Well, let’s talk about the good stuff. Vishal Bharadwaj – he is the strength of the movie. Direction, music, lyrics, dialogues and photography are flawless in the movie. Acting wise – each and every character in the movie has acted brilliantly. Shahid Kapoor is brilliant as the twins – Charlie and Guddu, both with speech disorders. Even the narration of the movie is done with a lifp J. Priyanka Chopra is a surprise treat to watch as Sweety, a feisty Maharashtrian gal – she is so endearing as this high – strung confused yet absolutely relatable character. She packs a punch in every scene that she is in and her chemistry with Guddu is just great. Mikhail, Amole Gupte as Bhope are all memorable characters. The background music of the movie in the first half is just fabulous. Every time Dhan Te Nan plays in the background – the heart beats faster and the movie races further. The pace of the movie is what is different about it. By the time the first half is over – you are exhausted in a good way ‘cos you have been at the edge of your seat in every scene. The dialogues are witty and great – humorous when they are not meant to be. And there is no spoon-feeding, the audience is compelled to pay attention and has to make out the twists and turns on their own.

After almost a perfect first half, the pace of the movie falls a bit flat in the second one. After the action packed first half, you end up expecting better from the second half – but here I think the movie falters a bit. It becomes slow and all the bits and pieces come together and culminate to a climax which is crazy, unexpected and funny in a way. The second half lets you a down a little bit. That’s what I felt. The flashback scenes between Charlie and Guddu were half-baked and hardly convincing.

But all being said, I wish this movie does well. I wish it for Vishal Bharadwaj’s sake and also to prove that Indian audiences are ready for a different film, a different genre than just a hero and heroine falling in love. It is an original movie – and a few scenes in the movie just stand out as brilliant. The scene where Sweety is trying to convince Guddu to marry her. The scene between Bhope bhau and Tope Bhau – it is just brilliant – reminding you of characters from movies like Pulp Fiction. The scene where Charlie realizes that he has stolen a police car no less to get away. These brilliant moments are what make the movie interesting and funny. Kudos to Vishal Bharadwaj to not falling prey to the Bollywood bandwagon of commercialism and being true to himself and taking the simple concept of comedy of errors and make it into a fast paced – high strung cinema.

- Moi

Mood of the day: Gloomy

Song of the day: Fatak!

Its a beautiful life!

I was travelling home from work yesterday - was tired after a long day’s work. Work has been busy since the past few weeks. I got a nice window seat in the bus and was just thankful I was going home. At the next stop two old ladies, maybe in their mid-seventies or so, got on the bus. They came and sat next to me. I couldn’t help but notice them. Both of them were dressed very well, wearing their pearls – both of them had perfectly manicured fingers and looked really sweet. They started talking and I couldn’t help but overhear. They were both friends, one was visiting the other from a different city and the host was showing her the sights in Chicago Downtown. The old lady lived in the suburbs and they had taken the train to the downtown. They had apparently been to the Sears tower and roamed around the city and now were headed to the Art Institute to check out the new wing that started this year. They were making plans for the next day to go watch the theater and were deciding on the restaurants they wanted to visit the next day. The lady who was visiting wanted to eat steak and so they decided to go to the steak place.

It was fascinating to see the two little ladies getting about the city, unescorted on their own. They started talking about how everything has changed. You need credit cards for everything and everything could be done on the internet. One of them said – “It’s like another world!” The other one said “Do you know they don’t accept cash anymore on flights if you want to buy a drink or something! How things have changed!” It was really fascinating to hear the both of them talk and make plans to make the most of their day out in the city. It just made me feel really good, brought a smile on my face and somehow felt refreshed after listening to them talk.

If and when I reach their age, if I manage to have half the will, energy, grace and enthusiasm that those two ladies had – I would be incredible happy and consider myself lucky!

- Moi

Mood of the day: Curious
Song of the day: Maan mausam ka kaha, chayi ghata, jaam utha!

Move over Omkara... Kaminey is here!

The only songs that I am listening to since the last two weeks at work – gym – car … the new album Kaminey. After Beedi and Namak Ishq ka (two of my fav songs) – I thought that Vishal Bharadwaj had reached his musical crescendo – and then he comes out with Kaminey! It was love at first hearing :). It’s a great album – and he has Gulzar saab penning down the lyrics, well expect better than the best!

The first song in the album “Dhan Te Nan” – well like I said in my last post – it is addictive – the song starts full force. There is no time for the listener to get used to the beat and force of the music – you tumble into the song headlong. Aaja aaja dil nichode, raat ki matki todein, koi good luck nikale, aaj gullak to phodein. Who else but Gulzar can come up with such lines about squeezing the heart to find some stroke of good luck? Many times I wonder how he mixes English and Hindi words in such a meaningful manner. Take this - aaja ki one way hai yeh zindagi ki gali ek hi chance hai, aage hava hi hava hai agar saans hai to yeh romance hai. If James Bond was an Indian character and it was to be made in Hindi – Dhan te Nan would be its signature music. It reminds me of the 80’s movies, especially the Bacchan movies, where this music would be played in the background when a good cop is chasing a bad guy! Totally riveting. Sukhwinder Singh and Vishal Dadlani – great job!

The next song is a sweet romantic number by Mohit Chauhan (of Masakalli fame): Pehli Baar Mohabbat – the lyrics somehow remind me of Gulzar’s Mera Kuch Saaman. It is a lovely song – with beautiful lyrics khwab ke bojh se, kap kapati hui, halki palkain teri, yaad aata hai sab tujhe gudgudana, satana, yun hi sote hue, gaal pe teepna, meechna bewajah besabab. yaad hai peepal ke jiske ghane saaye the, hunme gilhari ke jhoote matar khaaye the and makes you fall in love with Pehli baar mohabbat ki hai, aakhri baar mohabbat ki hai.

The first time I listened to the next song “Fatak”, I did not pay too much attention to the lyrics as I was still recovering from “Dhan te Nan” – but then slowly realized the brilliance of the song. Ke Bhavra bhavra aaaya re… fatak ...ke gun gun karta aaye re…fatak! But as you approach to the end of the song – you realize that the ‘bhavra’ in the song is a metaphor for AIDS – and it is a song dedicated to AIDS awareness. Gulzar has used Khusro in Ye ishq nahi aasan, aji aids ka khatra hai, patwaar pehan jaana, yeh aag ka dariya hai. It all made sense after listening to this. And the message is unmistakable and clear. Very aptly put - ye chipku hamesha satayega, yeh jaayega, phir laut aayega, khoon ke maile katre mein jaan ke saare khatar ke aaaya, ke aaaya. And darwazon mein kunde ko dafaa karo ye gunde, ye shaitaan ka saaya re.

Then comes the title song in the form of Kaminey. Vishal Bharadwaj himself does the honors of singing and boy, he does good! The song starts with kya kare zindagi isko hum jo miley iski jaan kha gaye raat din ke giley with a little music. It’s a song of introspection and deep meaning – it has great lyrics and you really have to hunt for the meaning. It talks of desires and deceptions, friendships and betrayals. And the beauty of the song is that it still gives hope in spite of sounding a dark song. Kabhi zindagi se maanga pinjare mein chand la do, kabhi lalten de ke kaha aasma pe taango does just that. It is not a cynical song – but it just reflects, vintage Gulzar.

Raat Ke Dhai Baje, I think is an apt ending to the album. It has a host of singers - Rekha Bhardwaj, Sunidhi Chauhan, Suresh Wadkar and Kunal Ganjawala. This song at the end of it leaves you with wanting for more of it. This album is a male singer dominated one unlike Omkara which gave Sunidhi and Rekha Bharadwaj their best songs. This is also a faster and less serious version of Pehli Baar Mohabbat Ki Hai. Surprisingly there is Suresh Wadkar singing here. When I first heard it – I had no clue what that guy was doing in the song. But then it grew on me as did the lyrics. Now, I think his piece kind of binds the whole song together. Raat kuch aisa hua jaisa hota toh nahi, thaam ke rakha mujhe main bhi khota toh nahi and then my fav part of the song - ek hi lat suljhane mein saari raat guzaari hai jaan ki gathri sar pe le li aapne kaisi zehmat dee hai.

- Moi

Mood of the day: Happy - (yay! its Friday)

Song of the day: Raat ke dhai baje (actually any of the above)

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince!

Last weekend we watched the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Well, I was waiting for this movie – it was supposed to release last year but they pushed it off. Also, I was looking forward to the movie because this was I think the most important book ‘cos it sets the background for the last book (next two movies) – as it has so much information in the book. So was curious to see how they depict all that in the movie.

The movie is good – not great, but ok. After the fifth movie, I had high expectations from David Yates (I thought he did a great job with the fifth movie) – maybe that’s why it fell a bit flat. Well, I can’t expect to have all the details from a 652 page book fit into a 2 and a half hour movie – but I expected the most imp details to be in there. I was looking forward to seeing how they show the life of Voldemort. So much for my expectations – Voldemort did not as much make an appearance. Not enough ground was laid to carry the story forward in the next two movies. Well, some may argue that you cannot have all the details fit into the movie – well there were scenes that were introduced which are not a part of the book at all. Burning of the Weasley house? What happened? What was the significance of that? That house was supposed to be enchanted and secure enough for Harry to take refuge in. Dumbledore’s death was anything but spectacular – it did not tug at the heart strings at all. And the funeral part was missing – the imp part where the three characters decide the course of their mission – well it was not clear. And the most imp part of the book – Voldemort’s life – most of it was missing.

Well, now to move onto the good stuff. All the kids are grown and quite handsomely so. The acting also has improved a lot from the kids. The romance part was quite nicely dealt with – and it was a nice change from the dark heavy tone the movie sometimes tends to take. Hormones were raging at Hogwarts this year and it was entertaining to watch. The star was Ron – the dude acted well and was pretty funny. But even here there were discrepancies from the book, especially the romance between Ginny and Harry – maybe the thing that everybody was waiting for the most. Again it was very unclear as to what happened – more screen time dedicated to them would have been welcome!

All in all it was entertaining – though was not consistent with the book always. It will be interesting how the director will tie the loose threads in the coming movies. Also, from the fourth movie onwards a HP novice (somebody who has not read the books) will not be able to make much sense of the movie – just ‘cos it is not possible to record all the details. Well am waiting for the next movie to come out and want to check out how they split the book into two.

- Moi

Song of the day: Dhan Te Nan (what else - it is addictive stuff!)
Mood of the day: Sunny

Jagjit in concert!

This post was long due. But was putting it off for a long time now. We went to watch Jagjit Singh live in concert – just a week after we saw Bryan Adams.

I have never liked Jagjit Singh. I have nothing against poetry, or ghazals, but I just never liked him. I was never into ghazals and never in my life until a few years ago, was I exposed to ghazals or Urdu poetry. Yes, I never even read Ghalib back then. Well, as luck could have it, the Mister – big fan of Urdu poetry and Jagjit Singh. There was a time when all he listened to was ghazals and he read a lot of Urdu poetry too. He was the one who introduced me to Ghalib. Well, now I can say that I really like reading Ghalib. I absolutely love and devour his ghazals. But Jagjit Singh – I cannot come to appreciate.

Newho, the Mister had been trying to get me to like Jagjit for a long time. Well, I listen to him when I am forced to – and after all these years, I can even say that I like a few of his ghazals. The Mister since the past couple of years was trying to get me to agree to watch a Jagjit concert. I told him that he could always go alone and enjoy it – ‘cos I knew I wouldn’t appreciate or enjoy the concert. But he wanted me to come with him and share the experience (!) So, this time he somehow convinced me and bought the tickets, and one Friday evening we were at the Jagjit Singh concert. Well, I was surprised to see the turnout – quite a few Jagjit admirers in Chicago I must say. All the women dressed in their finest clothes – seeing all the bling around, for a minute I thought we were in the wrong place and there was a wedding going on instead – no, am not exaggerating. The Mister and I felt quite dowdy next to most of the people. Newho, it was still the beginning of spring – and was quite cold that night. Well, we entered the place where he was going to sing – and of course we had good seats – quite close to the stage. But what shocked me were the chairs. In India, the metal foldable chairs, that are usually found during marriages and functions, hard – metallic and cold – those were the kind of chairs that were there. The concert lasted for more than 4 hours. Well, for a 68 year old guy, it was great that he sang alone for about 4 hours. And also, he sounds better live than on a audio cassette :)

4 hours was a little too much for me. I was squirming in my seat – partly because they were sooo uncomfortable. But the Mister had a time of his life and he really enjoyed it. As for me, he was just happy that I did not fall asleep in my seat like the lady sitting in front of us. It was very funny, the lady dressed to the nines – bedecked with jewelry fell asleep half an hour into the concert :)

Song of the day: Sarakti jaaye (one of the few ghazals of Jagjit singh that I like)
Mood of the day: Happy!

P.S: check out http://ghazalrasik.blogspot.com – the Mister’s attempt at collecting ghazals that he likes and trying to interpret them.

Apostle Islands Trip!

Here is a post about our weekend getaway to Apostle Islands, Wi on my other blog!

http://hoppers-stop.blogspot.com/2009/06/apostle-islands-day1.html

- Moi

Summer of 69!

I thought I would not blog about the Adam's concert - 'cos I thought I would not be able to put into words that experience (that happens with me - like the sky-diving experience, I never blogged about it - 'cos I cant put it into words), but decided to give it a try nevertheless.

Well, it was going to be a solo acoustic performance by Bryan Adams, no band - just him for 3 hours. I did not know what to expect as there was no band. I thought it would be more of him playing the guitar and a few songs here and there. I was definitely not prepared for what was to come. The show started at around 8:15pm - he came on to the stage. We had great seats - we were in the fifth row from the stage. I could even see the freckles and the stubble on his face - that's how close we were. He has a typical dry Canadian humor and he is a great performer.

All week I was wondering and asking the Mister what song would he open the concert with. Well, he started with 'Run to you' - it gave me goose bumps as he sang it. Even at 50, he looks great - he sings better! He was alone with the guitar and he sang continuously for 2 and a half hours. He plays brilliantly and he sings so well. He sang ALL the songs that I wanted him to sing. The only song that he missed was '18 till I die' but it was much much more and better than I expected.

Suddenly maybe after around 7-8 songs, he started 'Lets make a night to remember' - there was pin drop silence in the theater. He sang it so beautifully, I almost had tears in my eyes - no I am not exaggerating. That is like my fav Bryan Adams song and the way he sings it - so sincerely and with so much passion, just wants to make me cry. I was again a teenager, when I was totally in love with Bryan Adams.

In the middle of the concert - he sang his favorite and his most popular 'Summer of 69' - the whole theater was on their feet clapping and singing along with him. It was electrifying - he really is as good. I couldn't believe I was listening to this song live. He sang all the good ones -
'Run to you', Please forgive me, Everything I Do, Cuts like a Knife, All for love, Cloud number 9, Have you ever really loved a woman, Heaven, Can't stop this thing we started and many more. He even sang 'The only thing that looks good on me is you'. I really felt like I died and went to heaven.

Wow - writing about that evening makes me feel excited all over again. My hands were sore from clapping and the throat was hurting from all the yelling. For 3 whole days, I had the Bryan Adams hangover and dreamt about him. He still looks hot and he is a hell of a guy!! I am again totally enamoured by him. It was definitely a night I will remember forever!

- Moi

Mood of the day: Undecisive
Song of the day: Have you ever really loved a woman (go listen to it - NOW!)

Of Bulls and Bryan Adams!

What a great time it is for the Bulls fans and the cricket fans.

Go Bulls! – Each one of the play-off games was a treat to watch. It was great to see the underdogs triumph over the defending champions. It was a great game last night and I think Bulls really deserved to win though Ray Allen almost single handedly did it for the Celtics. Wow… what a game it was!! 3 OTs!!

I pray to the Basketball gods, Bulls should win in Boston on Saturday… that would be the icing on the cake. However imperfect and young the team is – they know how to fight!!

And on the other side of the world, IPL is providing equal amount of excitement and fervor. Since the past couple of weeks, my days are just filled with watching sports. Am having a great time watching the IPL – being a part of all the controversies, the excitement – it’s pure masala entertainment all the way!

On a totally different note – we are going to a Bryan Adams concert next weekend! Yay!! – It was a dream of mine during my engineering/college days to watch him live – ONCE!! I am uber-excited!!

Lots to look forward to… GO BULLS!!

- Moi

Song of the day: Cloud number Nine (what else!!)

Mood of the day: Did I already say it ? - Excited.

It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting!

- The Alchemist

Calvin & Hobbes quote for the day!

Calvin-ism: "Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless."

I heart the kid :) !

- Moi

Earth Day!

Just a gentle reminder to be kind to the environment and to the earth at least for one day! Take the extra steps to turn off the lights when not in the room today, try not to use plastic at least for one day today! Do the little you can for a day!

P.S: Its ironical, the client where I am working at have posters and flyers all over the place about going green and all that jazz. But - they don't have recycle bins at every cube. One of the first places I have worked at that don't have recycle baskets. Let alone every cube, there isn't a recycle bin per printer (shared by about 10 people) - so every time I have to trash some paper - I have to walk across the hall to the recycle bin!!

- Moi

Random!

...on arranged marriage
...arranged marriage is the intersection point at which the downward spiral of expectation meets the upward spiral of desperation!!

Interesting...!

On a totally different note -

- In a temperate climate zone you would sing - "Ain't no sunshine when she's gone"
- In a tropical climate zone you would sing - "Zindagi dhoop tum ghana saaya!"

Just thought that was funny!

- Moi

The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga.

This is a debut novel by Aravind Adiga and it also won him the Man Booker prize.

The White tiger is a very interesting and an entertaining read. But it’s hard for me to believe that there was no better writing this year anywhere in the world.

The small villages in India, rampant with illiteracy – where people are blinded with superstition and where people die of diseases like TB are rightfully termed as the Darkness. Balram Halwai, the hero of the book if you may, is from one such place called Laxmangarh which is the Darkness. It is his tale, narrated by him. It is his journey from the Darkness to the light – from Laxmangarh to Bangalore. A white tiger is the rarest creature in the jungle, only coming along once in every generation. Balram Halwai is the white tiger. Morality can sometimes be the cage that the rich use to keep the poor from making that essential leap. Balram is in the cage and it is the story of how he escapes from the cage fighting the rooster coop.

The book is quite fast paced, gripping and very witty. The protagonist’s character is very well-sketched. He is cocky, arrogant, quick-witted, half-baked, disrespectful and supremely quick to seize an advantage. His disrespect for his elders and betters is shocking -- even Mahatma Gandhi gets the lash of his scornful tongue.

This book has added to my sense that morality is a luxury of our situation - and that for all the feel-good factor of being a democracy, for the vast majority of people, there really isn't much difference between us and China except that they have ten ring roads.

-Moi

Back...!

It was a pretty long sabbatical, one which was never intended to be. Well, what can I say - the lure of one's own space in the www, displaying pixellated thoughts born in my head and a space where I could throw in my opinions and not be judged, was hard to escape.
I admit I was uninspired to write. Not that enough was not happening in life - it was - but somehow just felt like shutting myself to the www and not putting it down.
Without a single substantial post in the new year - I am back - and will try to post more regularly!

-Moi

Mood of the day: Rejuvenated
Song of the day: Jai Ho!

Jai Ho!!

Jai Ho Danny Boyle... jai ho Rahman... jai ho Gulzar... jai ho Pookutty... 4 oscars on a single night for India - it can't get any better!!

Jai Ho!!

-Moi

Slumdog Millionaire!

Yes - Rahman has done it - he has won the Golden Globe for his music for Slumdog Millionaire and the movie took the major awards - best director, best movie and the music. Awesome!! Anil Kapoor and Shahrukh Khan made their presence felt at the awards show.

Yeah - am sooo happy - 'cos I really loved the movie!

- Moi

Hopper's Stop!

I have finally started another blog - a travelogue. Something that I always wanted to do - but never got to it. So here it is Hopper's Stop!

http://hoppers-stop.blogspot.com

-Moi