Say It As It Is

Future of Indian Cricket Team

2007-03-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here is what I think should happen, please add your comments:

Greg Chappell:
Should be sent packing to ruin some other country's youthful and promising cricket program, preferably Pakistan !The BCCI should use his $175, 000 USD plus perks salary in a different way.They should be innovative and become the first team to hire 2 coaches, both local, and both who can complement one other. Sidhu, Dev, Azzharudhin, Gavaskar, Manjrekar among possibilities ?

Rahul Dravid:
Remove him from the captaincy and allow him to focus on what he does best. Becoming a "wall" again !!Like Jacques Kallis for SA, let Dravid be the best position batsman there is and let him not decide heads or tail, but 6 or 4 !!

Sachin Tendular:
Allow him only to play against minnows so that he can pad up his statistics and race onto 50 test centuries !Thank you so much for everything Sachin-paaji, but you have nothing to prove to anyone (especially those fat-cats in Mumbai who booed you), so play infrequently and boost your runs and personal statistics and stay healthy enough to add to your Hall of Fame career the one thing missing from it: a World Cup medal which you can gloriously add in your home country in 2011 !!

Ajit Agarkar:
Allow him to act in a movie as Sonu Nigam's double-role and since he is less than 30 let him work on his bowling in One-days, so that he can be a specialist in it.He should be encouraged to hit the gym and bulk up a bit.

MS Dhoni:
Nearly 26, so let's wish him a happy Bollywood career, and let's check to make sure he wasn't throwing his wicket away for any other reason apart from poor shot selection.Try to use him as a genuine pinch-hitter or an opening batsman in One-days a la Gilchrist.

Saurav Ganguly:
'Dada' should be able to chuck in 2-3 more years as he is only 34. He should be made to give every player about to be dropped a speech about what to do while you are dropped !! He should work on his bowling so he can become a real bowling option.

Harbhajan Singh:
Less than 27, I wouldn't mind giving him the captaincy, for the sake of it !!Bhajjie is aggressive, dynamic and though he occasionally can't hold a first-team spot, with Kumble going soon he should try to become a permanent in that Indian line up.

Dinesh Karthik:
Nearly 22, groom him as India's next captain by giving him the vice-captaincy. Allow him to bat with the likes of Dravid, Laxman, and Tendulkar so he can watch them from the other end.

Zaheer Khan:
Keep faith in Zaheer for a bit more but if he doesn't shape up his act by the time he is 30 (next 1 and half years) then do the needful. Though keep him at hand since he owns a restaurant in Pune, he can always be a caterer for the team !

Anil Kumble:
Let him get to 600 wickets then draft him in as a bowling coach.

Munaf Patel:
Almost 24, make him a regular in the team, and ensure he stays healthy and knows that together with Sreesanth and maybe Khan and Pathan he has to shoulder the bowling for the next decade.Show him videos of former bowling greats and let him work on his batting.

Irfan Pathan:
Many would be surprised that this lad is only 22 ! A veteran of 25 tests and nearing 100 test wickets, Irfan has to be bought back to earth, sheltered from the glitz and glam that has followed him of late, and stay from injury !Him, Patel, Sreesanth etc. are all who would benefit from India having a bowler or a bowling specialist as one the coaches. Mr. Kapil Dev are you listening ?

Virender Sehwag:
Drop him for a year, let him clear his head, and if he still wants to come back to the team, let him earn his place and let him announce what number he wants to bat rather than make him play musical chairs in the Indian batting order !

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth:
Gopu has a good strike rate in test cricket and he is young, energetic and ambitious, and according to people who have met him, a thorough gentleman and genuine good guy. He should be kept far from Mumbai and the media and allowed to concentrate on following in the run-up of Glen McGrath and Courtney Walsh and possibly being India's greatest fast bowler yet.

Robin Utthappa:
At 21 Utthappa has lots of time to mature and develop, and having good seniors he should. He is a work in progress and needs to remember the hurt of World Cup 2007 to ensure he isn't involved in such a disastrous tournament in the future.

Yuvraj Singh:
Only 25 and with a very mediocre test and ODI average, Yuvraj should immediately be made captain. He is likeable and a media darling and the added responsibility can only elevate his game. He hopefully represents a permanent fixture in the team and should be around for the next 10-12 years. Graeme Smith was made captain at earlier this age as have been Michael Atherton among others who have gone on to be good captains, so critics should not be alarmed.

OTHERS:

Mohamed Kaif:
Keep him in and around the team, his fielding is infectious and inspirational.

Romesh Powar:
Bollywood needs a good comedian and he is the answer.

Suresh Raina, Cheteshwara Pujara, Gautam Gambhir:
Give them loads of batting practice and someone should be working on ensuring India's younger cricketers can play county cricket in England, Australia or South Africa as opposed to facing predictable pitches and bowlers in the local domestic tournament.

And finally.....

Maruti:
Make him the team doctor, team counsellor, team journalist, team liason officer, anything just NOT team coach !!

Changing Nationality

2007-03-24T13:06:00.000-07:00

Sigh...94 to win, 11 overs left, 1 man left...India heading home ?

Most likely but wait, oh look the Indian team has all appliedfor Bermudian citizenship and they have been granted it and havebeen drafted into the team and will play Bangladesh with a winallowing the other India team through !!!!

The cynics say the real Bermudians might do a better job and sothat is what the Indians have become, a nation willing onto atiny island !!!I

f there is ever a time to support Leverock and Hemp and Pitcherand Outerbridge and Hurdle it is NOW !!!!

Shob-ermuda !!!!

Bob

2007-03-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

Regarding Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach who died a few hours ago.

I am saddened by the news and think life is so funny !

As I was telling Mom and Dad on the phone, imagine 3-5 days ago he must have felt he is going to the Caribbean, a nice little vacation, a break etc. and now he is on a LONG VACATION from life !!

And what is strange, from a destiny point of view, was his death the reason that Ireland had to win ??
Because Bob Woolmer had to die Pakistan had to lose ?
I doubt he would have had the heart attack had Pakistan won !

Anyway it doesn't matter the reason, all that matters is the result, and that is he is gone and his innings has ended.

God rest his soul.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

2007-03-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hot Fuzz (2007)

It was inevitable after moving to England in 2006 that I would have to accept a few changes personally, professionally, and culturally. Among the latter I now look forward to the BAFTAs with giddy zeal, think that Hugh Grant and Sir Anthony Hopkins are the greatest actors of all time and that Helen Mirren and Dame Judy Dench are in a class by themselves. I also now see the unfairness behind Lord of the Rings pipping Harry Potter for all the awards in that “other” awards ceremony. And relevant to this piece I treat Hot Fuzz as a local film that is released here before making its way across to that other country across the Atlantic.

Hot Fuzz is almost as British a film as you can come across under the circumstance. The plot is simple on the surface. The finest cop London has to offer, Nicholas Angel, with an arrest record 400% higher than any other officer on the force gets sent to a place where his talents won't be quite so embarrassing - the sleepy and seemingly crime-free village of Sandford. Once there, he is partnered with the well-meaning but overeager and overweight police officer Danny Butterman who is the son of amiable Police Chief Frank Butterman. The rest of the small police force in Sandford is no better or any much smarter and this only adds to Angel's growing frustration. However, as a series of grisly accidents rock the village, Angel is convinced that Sandford is not what it seems to be and the feel-good citizens and well-wishing neighbors, and the perfection of the whole place brings an uncanny fiction to it. As the intrigue deepens it's time for these small-town cops to break out some big-city justice.

Hot Fuzz is definitely not a one-man show even though Mr. Simon Pegg as the super cop Nicholas Angel is out and out the one constant in the film, it is the performance of all the various peripheral characters that makes Hot Fuzz a tremendously enjoyable film. This is one of those films where the director’s and writer’s characters have more to do than the actual performers. Directing credits go to Mr. Edgar Wright, and interestingly writing credits are shared between himself and the main lead Mr. Simon Pegg, making it apparent why the on-screen product was hilarious, appeared natural and spontaneous, and will have you in stitches every few minutes. Both of these extremely talented gentlemen in their mid-30s had also combined for the famous Shaun of the Dead (2004) and continue to contribute to the mixed genre culture of films in recent times. Though Hot Fuzz is a comedy there is, at the same time, a mystery to solve, and bad guys to be found and dealt with.

I do suppose there is an added charm to the viewer if he or she has resided in England for some time or has some knowledge of certain cultural and social norms in this country, but even without being aware of the same there is lots to enjoy about this film for everyone. The story keeps moving fluently and crisply and the cinematography is absolutely beautiful, making the viewer feel as if he or she has a place in the sleepy village of Sandford. Though the character sketches appear hastily presented and somewhat sporadic, in the end it becomes apparent that it is not significant in the scheme of things to grasp to any individual as opposed to a general group. The humor is witty and dialogue delivery quaintly British, which undoubtedly adds to the overall persona of the film on the whole.

So is this a classic, a must-watch for all, a keeper for the DVD collection? Well yes, and no.

Unfortunately Hot Fuzz has a certain dimension that will sadly justify its R rating and 15+ UK rating, and this is the bizarrely sudden manner in which gross violence and blood splattering appears in this film. Though I personally might have edited this to ensure Hot Fuzz may be enjoyed by all ages and persons with weaker hearts and stomachs, I suppose there is a following of such pyrotechnics of blood that will actually nod their head in approval. Don’t get me wrong, the scenes are actually quite funny, in a twisted kind of way that is (I and only one other person were laughing when a boulder fell on a character’s head and blood was spraying out of the head with the velocity and volume similar to that of a burst fire hydrant). Having said that however, they do tend to appear suddenly and somewhat inappropriately and can make you jump rather vibrantly, thus adding to their fuzzy charm.

If one can remember that this is a comedy and the actions are exaggerated to stamp home the point then such visual atrocities can be overlooked and the film enjoyed despite those fairly graphic moments. Despite those 3-5 scenes nothing can be taken away from Hot Fuzz in terms of performances, writing, editing, intelligent humour, relatable and interesting characters and some truly laugh out really loud jokes and scenes. If most British collaborations and productions are this smashing by nature then I think it is going to be an immense pleasure viewing, reviewing and writing about such pieces of celluloid presentation.

Blood Diamond (2006)

2007-03-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

Blood Diamond (2006)

There are the 4 Cs to buying a diamond rule and I used a parallel and inherently similar rule in deciding if I wanted to “buy” this “diamond”.

Cast, credits (writing, directing), cinematography, and cost (monetary and time) helped me decide whether this would be a film even worth giving a glance, and Blood Diamond easily passed the initial scrutiny.

Blood Diamond is set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, and tells the story of Danny Archer, quite brilliantly depicted by Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio, an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe, and Solomon Vandy, also rather superbly portrayed by Mr. Djimon Hounsou, as a Mende fisherman. Though both men share an ancestral continent, their histories are as different as can be, that is until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives. While locked up in prison for smuggling, Archer learns that Solomon - who was taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields - has found and hidden the extraordinary rough stone. With the help of Maddy Bowen, played by Ms. Jennifer Connelly, an American journalist whose idealism is bordered by a deepening connection with Archer, the two gentlemen embark on a trek through rebel territory to make a journey that could save Solomon's family and fulfill Archer’s vested interest.

Starting with the first ‘C’, Blood Diamond notches top marks for cast. Mr. DiCaprio has certainly evolved as one of Hollywood’s underrated, somewhat over-hyped performers and it’s shocking to think of the variety of projects this actor has been associated with. From doing television shows such as Growing Pains (1991-92) and Santa Barbara (1984), to films such as What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Romeo and Juliet (1996), the immortal Titanic (1997), to some of his more recent and certainly mature and worth seeing performances in The Man In The Iron Mask (1998), Gangs Of New York (2002), Catch Me If You Can (2002) right up to The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006), here is a guy who has shown tremendous versatility and command of adapting to nearly any and any role possible. It will be interesting to see him play Theodore Roosevelt in Mr. Martin Scorsese’s 2008 bio-epic. Mr. DiCaprio portrays to near perfection his “Rhodesian” character, his dialogue delivery, accent, appearance and swagger are natural and though he has his filmy moments in Blood Diamond, overall you tend to relate to and root for his character.

If Mr. DiCaprio’s evolution paints a picture then Mr. Hounsou’s is an art gallery! Starting as an extra in the TV series Beverly Hills 90210 (1990) to appearing in blockbusters such as Amistad (1997) and The Gladiator (2000), this performer has grown leaps and bounds in the industry and his talent is on fine display in Blood Diamond. His emotions, down to every bead of sweat that drips from his determined face, and the forlorn expressed when he sees his son wielding a gun, are refined and spontaneous. It is evident that here is an actor who makes a director’s job extremely easy. The chemistry between the main protagonists is coherent and essential to the film’s progress and unintentionally represents the backbone behind the main plot.

The trilogy of the main cast is completed by the extremely talented Ms. Connelly whose Maddy Bowen exhibits possibly the most depth of the characters the viewers are exposed to. Though her role is peripheral and somewhat limited, Ms. Connelly takes her script and evokes an array of emotions from co-stars and viewers alike. Ms. Connelly, most noted for her roles in A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Hulk (2003), can add Blood Diamond to one of her better performances.

Directing credits are largely impressive as Mr. Edward Zwick is a gentleman of no small stature. Oscar winner for producing Shakespeare in Love in 1999, he has given us in the past such intriguing prospects as Glory (1989), Legends Of The Fall (1994) and The Last Samurai (2003), and with Blood Diamond he again delivers a good mix of action, mystery, drama, and deeper intellectual content. Unfortunately though Mr. Zwick’s editing team did leave a bit to be desired and the pre-climax/ climax could have done with some chopping. Some might say the actual introduction and development of the story was tedious and drew a lot of energy out of the viewer but one has to remember the story line and subject were not the easiest of fares and some time was inevitable in bringing the main course to the table. Mr. Charles Leavitt, better known for writing credits in K-Pax (2001), is commendable in scripting a sensitive subject.

Cinematography by Mr. Eduardo Serra is of the highest caliber. The former BAFTA award winner makes the viewing adventure rather realistic, be it the forest or the streets, there is no doubt that the viewer at times feels realistically immersed in the ongoing events unfolding on screen.

This movie is not for the faint of heart and at times the action can be rather disturbing, realistic and sudden and one has to be mindful of such. Seeing harsh realities can be a turn-off and many might feel a bit sick somewhere in the first 20-25 minutes, but credit to the director and cinematographer for being bold enough to portray such happenings as genuinely as they have. Perhaps a bit overboard I can concur with that statement but it was essential to portray the gravity of the entire theme. The only critique with that may have been the lack of mirroring gravity in the second half and towards the end of the viewing experience.

Time-wise and money-wise I think Blood Diamond is definitely worth a look-see, though some of the clichés presented, especially at the end, will leave the viewer not as attached to the characters and the cause as they would have been ¾ into the film. As much a fan I am of the cinematic experience, I think waiting for this one on DVD might actually be more practical.
As great an effort this was by the cast and production team, I still do not see it making a significant impact on the mentality and actions of individuals before they purchase a diamond, and if that was a benchmark that the film was trying to use to gauge its success then it may not necessarily be deemed one, but I think overall the film does increase awareness and raise some pertinent questions and asks us to introspect and debate and dabble further on the whole issue of whether you know where the rock on your finger has come from.

Taxi Number 9211 (2006)

2006-04-20T23:36:00.000-07:00

Taxi number 9211 (2006)

With a catchy title, catchier tag line and two of the most physically mismatched actors in the Hindi film industry, it was no mystery that this film would surely turn out to be interesting. The fact that it was well made, well scripted, wonderfully acted out, and a pleasure to watch was a bonus.

Taxi Number 9211 tells the story of a taxi ride gone drastically wrong for a big shot, Jai Mittal, ably played by the extremely talented Mr. John Abraham. Added to his dilemma is the fact that the driver of the taxi, Raghav Shastri, portrayed by the even more talented Mr. Nana Patekar isn’t willing to forgive the trespass that Jai Mittal has made. Therein begins a turn of events that reveals how alike we are be it rich or poor, since we are all inherently human.

Mr. Nana Patekar is back with a bang after being in exile for a few years after the woeful Shakthi. His last few performances have once again shown audiences this actor’s tremendous range and versatility, from being the bumbling baddie in Bluffmaster, to the really badass baddie in Apharan, and now portraying the common day man Raghav Shastri, who is faced with the everyday problems that we all confront.
Mr. Patekar’s acting strength is how naturally he eases through all his scenes. Effortlessly like a hot knife through butter does he give life to his character and whether he is talking to his son or his wife, he is unpretentious, unassuming, and forever real.
There are too many scenes to mention in which Mr. Patekar is able to show us why he is one of the finest actors of all time, a comment I am sure will raise many an eyebrow, but I stand by it.

As physically unappealing as Mr. Patekar is, is how delightful to the eye is his counterpart in this film. A fine actor in his own right, Mr. John Abraham, in my opinion, remains grossly underappreciated for his work in Bollywood. He may be paying the price for being brave enough to tackle many roles and many subjects and many characters. He was good in Paap, Saaya and Elaan, bad in Aetbaar and Dhoom, comical in Garam Masala and a figment of our imaginations in Madhoshi, but this time he has shades of grey, and which way he will end up is best revealed at the end of the film. Mr. Abraham’s Jai Mittal is the perfect opposite of Mr. Patekar’s Raghav Shastri, the former being classy, suave, spoilt, and always somewhat lucky, while being totally connected to everything right and powerful.
There is some wonderful and pleasing chemistry between Mr. Abraham and Mr. Patekar and their performances have a synergistic effect on the film. Credit must go to the casting crew for this one. Mr. Abraham has again demonstrated he is a quality actor and his dedication to his work is evident in the maturity and ease of his portrayal.
Of the supporting cast none are as memorable as Raghav Shastri’s wife played by Ms. Sonali Kulkarni, another underappreciated and often over-looked actress who has fallen prey to choosing a wide variety of unglamorous roles. From her mainstream role in Dil Chahta Hai to her erratic character in Dansh, add this to one of Ms. Kulkarni’s sadly soon-to-be-forgotten roles despite the powerful depiction she gives her character.

Though vital in the story at the various points, the portrayals of Mr. Kurush Deboo as a vault manager, Ms. Sameera Reddy as Rupali, girlfriend of Jai Mittal, and Mr. Shivaji Satham as Jai's uncle, are all minute when compared to the main happenings going on in Taxi Number 9211.

Mr. Milan Luthria who has directed works such as Deewar (2004), Chori Chori (2003), and Kachche Dhaage (1999) has done a commendable job in keeping the story tight, and the entertainment enjoyable. Keeping Taxi Number 9211 at less than 2 hours running time while maintaining all the excitement, melodrama, and exchanges involved in a regular Bollywood film, is not an easy ask but Mr. Luthria succeeds greatly in doing just that.
Though many parts of the film are a lift off from the Hollywood film Changing Lanes, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Affleck, I was pleased to see that it is not a carbon copy. Mr. Luthria was able to give an Indian feel to the movie and this is evident in the last 30-35 minutes of the film, right up to the end. These by the way happen to be the best parts of the film. Watch keenly the scenes from the part when Raghav Shastri walks out of the police station and hitches a ride with Jai Mittal, and then right up to the very end, and you will see why this is such a special film.

The music may not be ground-breaking but K.K’s “Aazmale Aazmale” is one of the most appropriate songs for the scene/ part of the film that it appears in. Hear the words carefully and you will see what I mean.

Taxi Number 9211 is a simple story with characters that walk, work, and live amongst us all. The movie is loaded with some memorable one-liners, superb acting, and great chemistry between the leads.
You may or may not be a public transport type of person, but I would strongly recommend you take this one cab ride.

Rang De Basanti (2006)

2006-04-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

Rang De Basanti (2006)

Any Mr. Aamir Khan project is much anticipated and much awaited. This particular one won’t be easily forgotten.

Rang De Basanti revolves around a group of young adults from varying backgrounds who find themselves involved in a film project about India’s patriots from yesteryear. The fact that the project’s coordinator is a young lady from Britain only adds to the potpourri of characters that the audience is exposed to. At what point do the disillusioned youth of today find vision in the teachings of yesterday becomes the film’s destination. The film flirts with marrying history to the present, and eventually does, but in a very relevant and beautiful manner. Many colors eventually make Rang De Basanti what it is, but this is clearly a one-man show and it marks a welcome return for Mr. Aamir Khan.

The ace actor returns to the silver screen for the first time in a longtime as only an actor, not involved in his film’s production or direction or anything behind the cameras for that matter, like his last two films, Oscar-nominated Lagaan and Mangal Pandey. The focus and dedication is evident as Mr. Khan breezes though the roles of Daljeet (DJ) and Chandrashekhar Azad. It is hard to believe that almost 18 years have elapsed since we first saw Mr. Khan dancing around trees and telling us he hasn’t planned anything for his future as a college student in his debut film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.
His maturation as an actor is laudable and it is no surprise that he is the heart and soul of Rang De Basanti. Mr. Khan makes Daljeet his very own and after a while Daljeet becomes your very own. One cannot imagine any other actor in the role of the protagonist and like a great player it is actually Mr. Khan who makes his surrounding cast better than they probably are. He raises the bar and to their credit, the supporting actors and actresses are on par.
Mr. Khan will make you laugh, make you cry, and every young person who is disillusioned about their country or life for that matter will know that Daljeet is a reflection of their very self.

Mr. Siddhartha is the other notable in the film, portraying the troubled son of a rich industrialist, Karan, as well as Bhagat Singh in the flashback scenes. Once an assistant to famed director Mr. Mani Ratnam, Siddhartha enters his first Hindi film with a restrained performance; just the perfect foil for Mr. Khan. His get-up, eye expressions, and emotions are as sincere as his performance.

The remaining cast members have each given worthy performances. Mr. Sharman Joshi as Sukhi and Rajguru, has grown from his days and roles in Shaadi No. 1 and Xcuse Me. Mr. Kunal Kapoor as Aslam and Ashfaqullah Khan has come a long way from his small role in Meenaxi, and it is notable that he has also served as an assistant director on Aks. Mr. Atul Kulkarni as Laxman Pandey and Ramprasad Bismil is fast growing as a dependable and regular character actor in Bollywood. Ms. Alice Patten as Sue is probably known for her work in a few TV series in Hollywood but her Hindi delivery for Rang De Basanti is good and her chemistry with Mr. Khan is also rather natural. Ms. Soha Ali Khan as Sonia and Durga Vohra really gets to show her acting skills towards the middle and end of the film and her role is significant in terms of progression of the story though her minutes on screen may not amount to much. The special appearance by Mr. Madhavan as Captain Ajay Rathod is also vital to the film and cannot be ignored. Mr. Madhavan remains a fine actor who is sadly under-used in Bollywood. Other cast members include some heavyweight names such as Mrs. Waheeda Rehman, Mr. Anupam Kher, Mrs. Kiron Kher, Mr. Om Puri, Mr. Lekh Tandon, Mr. Mohan Agashe and Mr. Steven Mackintosh and all do justice to their small but valuable roles.

Direction is provided by Mr. Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, a man known more for his ad-film works than his last project, the 2001 supernatural thriller-caper Aks, which starred Amitabh Bachchan and Manoj Bajpai. Though he may have missed the mark with Aks, there is no repeat of that this time, as Rang De Basanti is spot on!
Mr. Mehra shows great directorial skill in ensuring his film flows smoothly and at a good pace. Not once in the narrative does the viewer suffer from boredom and the build-up to the climax is both enthralling and enticing.
The first half of Rang De Basanti is a bit slower than the second, and it may best be described as the dealing of the cards before the actual game begins. With many characters, each of whom is important in the overall scheme of things, Mr. Mehra spends great detail in showing the intricacies of the relationships and the complexities of the idiosyncrasies that the “cards” are bringing to the table.
In the second half the pace picks up, things start happening and the finished product’s beauty is revealed.

One of the most impressive aspects of Rang De Basanti is the way it shows the spirit of rebellion transcending time and age with such a “real” feel to it. Throughout the film you can see how the young adults depicted could be anyone of us today and their lives mirror the kind of lives the youth of today lead - namely a self centered and materialistic existence where ideas like patriotism and making a change are strictly the stuff history books are made of.

Technically the film is brilliant. The scenes from the past and present are juxtaposed against each other, rendering a unique slick treatment, which serves to showcase the slow change in mindset and attitude that overcomes the group through the process of the film. The film thus doubles as a narrative on the changes in perspective and values the young adults go through as they shoot for the film project headed by the British young lady.

Mr. Renzil D’Silva’s screenplay is au naturale and as perfect as can be.

Music is by the talented and luminous Mr. A. R. Rahman and is very appropriate for the film. The songs ensure the story maintains the viewer’s curiosity without ever seeming like a drag and added to this all is the unique “Rahman” stamp of perfection.

Rang de Basanti is a youthful drama, yet light hearted in moments, while tackling a rather serious underlying theme. It is as brave a project as the characters and incidents that make up the colors of this beautiful Bollywood rainbow. I can predict many awards for this film and if you are into intelligent cinema then you are sure to enjoy the “Rang De Basanti”.

Wealth and extravagance and then some...

2006-02-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

This was my response to a chain of emails about how people especially celebrities tend to have "filthy displays of extravagance" !!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Couldn't help but make a foray into the cyber-discussion.

I think Uncle Mathur has touched on such an interesting point. The mention of "medium" is the key. Don't we spend our entire lives seeking a medium, a balance? And who is to decide what that balance is?

I ponder about the ties that wealth, financial that is, shares with balance. It seems as if the less money one has (especially to waste) the more "balanced" they are. And vice-versa the wealthier do seem so much less "balanced". (Except Bill Gates, but that is a TOTALLY different discussion).
And it’s all relative too.

I think I am balanced because I don't strut around planning 7 day weddings or those that will cost 65 million dollars, but alas for Rayshawn Bright, a 7 year-old who can't find his parents and siblings after Katrina, and Halima Ali Anjum, who shared the same fate, only post-tsunami, I am "wasteful" for driving a SUV, buying some of the latest running apparel and putting aside finances for a forthcoming project. My filthy display of wealth allows me to eat out ever so often, spend endlessly on computer games and have over 1000 CDs and DVDs of "intellectual" things such as Shah Rukh vs Hrithik: Dance-a-thon!! But really, am I wasteful? No. My dog doesn't have an 8000 dollar collar ala Britney Spears and my last vacation didn't cost 175, 000 dollars ala Paris Hilton. Unfortunately to Rayshawn and Halima I might be perceived no better than those two. (Perhaps I am better looking and have a better body then them, wink)

Just when it seems there is no end to the stupidity, or extravagance, or as Uncle coined it "filthy display of wealth". Well actually there is. Death.
Spender, waster, enjoyer, hedonist, grinch, complainer, intellectual, socialite, miser, Chatwal, Mittal, Hilton, Rayshawn, Britney's dog, all will one day be on the same playing field: the pages of history and memory.
The wonderful song from Kabhi Kabhie (correct spelling, since the Chopra's want it like this) says it beautifully and I loosely translate: "tomorrow there will be better listeners than you and better orators than me...I am a poet of a moment or two, my story is only a moment or two, a moment or two is my status, my youth is also a moment or two".

And so beautiful is life because in that "moment or two" we must all find a balance between inner peace, happiness, hedonism, intellect and salvation and in my humble perhaps naive opinion that alone is the real wealth one should seek, and can afford to "display" with sheer extravagance.

Regards,
SRM

Some more reviews...

2005-09-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

MOVIE REVIEWS (WEEK ENDING 24.09.2005)

40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN (SAMICO: 9)

If you are into crass humor and really enjoyed Wedding Crashers then here is that movie’s younger, kinkier, and hotter sister!

With more laughs than you can probably handle and never a dull moment, this film will have you rolling on the ground during certain scenes.

“Virgin” tells the story of Andy Stitzer, who has a nice life complete with an action figure collection and a cushy job at an electronics store. But the only thing is he's a 40 year old virgin who has just fallen in love with a woman, who doesn't want sex in the relationship. Uh oh!!

What was most impressive about “Virgin” was that all of the main characters had a certain depth to them and each represented something that the viewer will surely relate to.

The film is generally fast-paced and the story moves along at a prolific pace. The side-kick characters definitely add a lot of pizzazz to the presentation and are vital in their small roles.

Either you will REALLY like this film or really despise it, but give it a crack, maybe you too might start cheering for the “virgin”.

RED EYE (SAMICO: 1)

This was supposed to be a different kind of film from horror master Wes Craven. What it turned out to be was an average fare with some potential but rather shallow content.

The story revolves around an assassination plot surrounding Homeland Security Chief Keefe who is checking into a hotel where Rachel McAdams is in charge of his stay. She is met on a flight home to Miami by a mysterious man (Cillian Murphy) who decides to tell her to call her hotel and ask them to switch Keefe’s room or else at his behest someone will kill her divorced and retired father. How McAdams stalls and then eventually tries to save the chief and her father form the obvious end.

Rachel McAdams gives a good performance and Cillian Murphy is devious as the executive assassin, but apart from the suspenseful chemistry shared by our leads on the “Fresh Air” flight, there isn’t much else to wonder about the film.

The end is predictable from a mile away and its short running time of about 80 minutes means that the suffering isn’t that great.

Easily an avoidable venture, but if you must, wait for it on DVD.

THE LONGEST YARD (SAMICO: 2)

A remake of a film of the same name from the 70s, TLY doesn’t offer much in terms of variety.

Basically a story of a group of convicts who are challenged to a football game by the chief of the guards. Though no Super Bowl is at stake, pride is.

Adam Sandler breezes through the routine and fits the role well. Chris Rock is restrained and surprisingly not irritating. Burt Reynolds makes a cameo and James Cromwell rounds off a fairly illustrious cast that also includes rap-artist Nelly, wrestlers Dalip Singh and Bo Sapp, and ex-footballer Michael Irvin.

Some of the jokes are laugh-worthy but most of them are ordinary.

Watch it if you are a sports fan, an Adam Sandler fan or both, like I am.

MY WIFE’S MURDER (SAMICO: -1)

Anil Kapoor, Nandana Sen (of Black fame), newcomer director Jijy Phillips and an attention-seeking title all made for a potentially enthralling film. After watching it I would probably rename this flick “My Mind’s Murder”!!

Socially irresponsible, a poor script, and shallow underdeveloped characters make for a film that should be put in the pharmacy in the sedatives section.

Anil Kapoor does what he has done a million times and plays a man caught between a rock and a hard place. When he kills his wife by mistake he tries to hoodwink the law, his children, and even his conscience and that basically forms the last 80% of the film.

Suchitra Krishnamurthy as the annoying wife who gets murdered is in a blink-and-you-miss-me role. A far cry from the days when Shah Rukh Khan ran after her in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994) singing “Anna meri aana”, this time Krishnamurthy is deglamorised but effective.

Nandana Sen’s poor diction and even poorer pronunciation of Hindi make her annoying, and we wish the film was titled “My Wife and my Assistant’s murder”!!!

Boman Irani, as the detective investigating the crime, is the only saving grace in this otherwise torturous affair. His character with the voracious appetite and the wife who can’t cook to save her life has the meatiest role, pardon the pun. Even then Irani’s character and his obviously strained marital relationship are given a whole 2 minutes in this 110 minute venture.

Showing how the murder is carried out and how Kapoor covers it up was in my opinion rather socially irresponsible and then with the ending making it seem alright for such an occurrence adds to the social dilemma it places. As we remember the demography of this film’s viewers one wonders whether this was a good idea. I guess it could have been worse.

At no point in the film will you form a bond with any of the characters though during the last 20 minutes as Kapoor goes on the run with his two little children, it will be their peril and confusion that may tug at your heartstrings. When it’s all over you won’t be sure whether you are glad that the children are saved or that the film has actually ended.

Some parts of MWM do salvage it though. Artistically it wasn’t that bad, without any songs there were no hiccups in the narration and running at less than 2 hours was a great plus.

I would avoid this one unless you are an Anil Kapoor fan.

VIRUDDH (SAMICO: 6)

Amitabh Bachchan is back at it, showing his diversity and range and teaching the younger ones how it’s done. Mahesh Manjrekar’s latest offering is another piece that has Manjrekar written all over it.

The story is of a retired couple living in a suburb of Mumbai who deal with the death of their young son when he is murdered and then wrongly framed as a drug dealer.

Viruddh is a story very simply told and makes you feel as if you are watching your neighbor go through the plight that Vidyadhar Patwardhan (Bachchan) and his wife Sumi (brilliantly portrayed by Sharmila Tagore) are experiencing.

The first half of the film revolves around Bachchan and Tagore and their chemistry is amazing. If you are someone whose parents live apart from you and by themselves, especially in India, then this is what you are missing. The friendly fights of who didn’t take their chronic disease medication to the problems with loud, inconsiderate neighbors and the elderly group exercise sessions as well as the once-weekly phone call from the child abroad!
All scenes are so natural that for a while you do feel as if you are peering into your neighbor’s window.

The second half may be the let down of the film. It tries, unavoidably, to pack in too much into it. From the return of the son abroad (small but well-played performance by John Abraham) and his bringing home a “foreign” girl (debut performance by Australian-Indian VJ Anusha Dhanedar) to the eventual murder and wrongful framing of the son, and the inadequacies of the Indian police force make it too much to digest in the 65 minute half.

Mahesh Manjrekar is known to tackle social ills, and effectively at that, in his films. In Viruddh he gets caught between trying to depict elderly parents dealing with a tragic loss and an Indian legal system that deals with corruption in a mediocre, at best, way.
All in all though, the effort is commendable.

Amitabh Bachchan is way above the rest and he eases through this film with a sincere and restrained performance. This one might be the one to bag him an award, despite his heavyweight performances in Black, Sarkar, and Waqt. Watch especially the scene where Bachchan tries to perform laugh-therapy yoga but can’t.

Sharmila Tagore compliments Bachchan perfectly as the retired school principal who has a much stronger personality than her good-natured husband. She gives a sedate performance generally but turns it up a notch when needed to, for instance dealing with the loud mechanics.

John Abraham is charming as the son. He continues to be a very impressive performer with great versatility, and a face that probably makes razor blade companies shudder as he promotes the unshaven look. Anusha Dhanedar is tolerable in her debut film and Sanjay Dutt has a small but pivotal role which he does well.

The narration is aided by no songs, a culture that seems to be widely accepted in Indian films today, and the screenplay and cinematography are good.

Based on strong performances and good interactions between Bachchan and Tagore this is a venture worth a look-see, despite the somewhat clichéd end.

MATRUBHOOMI- A nation without women (SAMICO: -10)

Lots had been said about this art film and I was very excited when I finally, after waiting a while, obtained the DVD.
By the time I was done, and as I type this, I am trying to obtain some anti-emetics.

Many people feel taking a sensitive issue and then making a film on it guarantees the film will be appreciated and garner many awards. But when an issue such as female infanticide is presented in such an amateur and poor way, with little research, embarrassing screenplay and script, and even worse acting, it is an insult to those who have suffered the ill-effects of the topic at hand.

Matrubhoomi starts off really well, that is the first 3 minutes, and then from there on till it ends some 81 minutes later it’s all downhill and even lower and FAST.

The story revolves around the injustices inflicted upon Kalki, the only female living in a string of villages, as a result of presumed female infanticide and how she tries to overcome the perils. Her problems start when her father, for the sake of money, sells her to get married to five brothers, and while she is there she also has to withstand conjugal visits by her father-in-law too. She gets punished for trying to run away and is imprisoned in the barn with the cows. While there she gets raped multiple times by multiple persons including the brothers. Eventually she gets pregnant and that leads to confusion as to who the father is. A subplot of caste differences lead to a gang war, as different people claim fatherhood, and almost everyone but Kalki is killed off. She delivers her child, a girl (surprise surprise), in the climax.

Not only was the acting horrible but the entire script was despicable. Tulip Joshi as Kalki, the so-called protagonist, had almost NO dialogues. Her looks should have said it all, but that was asking too much.
The rest of the cast were a bunch of art film actors who made no lasting impression on anything or anyone.
The characters had little to none of exactly that. Going into anything more would be giving too much time and credit to the film’s technical department.

The backdrop seemed very unreal. Apart from Kalki, the film literally had ZERO females. I find it very hard to believe that she was the only female in that stretch of land and space.

On the DVD cover the film boasts of bagging foreign film and people’s choice awards in Italy and Poland, prompting me to wish my films, when I do make them, NEVER are given that privilege.

The only memorable moments in the film, apart from the end credits, were the scenes with the constipated priest and the low-caste servant who gave him his urine in the form of lemonade to drink.

In hindsight, if I was given the choice I might have rather drank that lemonade than watched Matrubhoomi.

SAMICO2 Reviews 2

2005-08-19T23:38:00.000-07:00

SAMICO2: (Story/Script; Acting; Music; Intangibles;
Cinematography; Overall; 2nd look)

KYA KOOL HAI HUM: 7 (2,1,0,1,1,1,1)

Definitely one of THE funniest films of all time if you are into
slapstick, crass, and sexual humor. What was impressive about
KKHH was that it didn’t try to hide these jokes behind any sort
of deep philosophical storyline but just a comedy of errors that
led to one bizarre mess.

Tusshar and Ritesh Deshmukh are cast perfectly as the bumbling
boys, Isha Kopikkar probably takes the cake as the Bihari
policewoman who looked sizzling, and Anupam Kher does well as
Dr. Screwala.

Apart from the title tune, which was well-picturised, the other
songs served as eye-candy for the front benchers.

If you are in the mood to laugh really loud, then be “Kool” and
watch this. My advice is to keep the subtitles on though since
some of the jokes are very well explained in English.

FANTASTIC FOUR: 5 (1,0,0,1,2,half, half)

The usual comic book caper telling of five scientists who end up
having special powers thanks to a normal mission gone wrong.
Four have some morals and end up having to use those powers
against the fifth who “wants to conquer the world”.

There are a few reasons to watch this:
1- It certainly makes you feel like a kid again
2- Jessica Alba howwwwwwwwwlll
3- The action is fast-paced and the story moves along nicely
4- The film doesn’t drag along
5- Jessica Alba howwwwwwwwwlll (worth mentioning twice, ha ha)

HAZARON KHWAISHEIN AISI: 6 (1,1,0,1,1,1,1)

A brilliant film, but a film only for the purists and history
lovers. Set in India in the mid-seventies, HKA uses the
occurrences of that time frame as a back-drop to the political,
social, emotional, and internal conflicts our three protagonists
are living through.

Kay Kay Menon gives another top-notch performance and the two
newcomers, Shiny Ahuja and Chitra Singh are awesome as well.

Not something children will like and yes the movie does get
monotonous in the second half. Be it the ironic ending,
superlative performances or artsy historic feel to it, HKA is
surely worth a watch on DVD.

WEDDING CRASHERS: 8 (2,1,1,1,1,1,1)

Almost the English version to Kya Kool Hai Hum, but maybe a tad
bit better thanks to some nice editing and even crasser jokes.
Trust me weddings won’t ever be the same.

Owen Wilson pulls of his nonchalant bit to perfection and Vince
Vaughn is funny in most frames as the unwilling friend. The
performances by the supporting cast are good and Will Ferrell’s
surprise entry gives the film the perfect lift when it
threatened to plummet.

Wedding Crashers had surprisingly good music but the director
could have done without the nudity to possibly give the film a
better rating, but then again some of the jokes and scenes make
the nudity seem mild.

Watch this one anywhere you can and be prepared to LAUGH!!!!

SILSILAY: -6 (-2,-1,0,-1,0,-1,-1)

One wonders how a former film critic can make such a bad film.
Not even Shah Rukh Khan’s intermittent cameo could save this
one.

The story of three women in different points of their
relationships with men seems more like a three-part mini-series
than a feature film. Trying, in a poor ending, to tie the
stories together by a car crash doesn’t do much to help the
already failing cause.

The film occasionally threatens to get really good but then
doesn’t disappoint in continuing to be really bad. An extremely
forgettable film

YAKEEN: -1.5 (1,-1,0,half,0,-1,-1)

The first half of Yakeen will surely hold your interest. The
suspense builds up and one anticipates an interesting outcome
but the director ends up exposing it all too soon, and the last
half hour of this 2-hour flick is torture to sit through.

Arjun Rampal is wooden but watchable. Priyanka Chopra is
annoying in the start but apparently she had saved the best of
that for later.
Too many songs interrupt the development of the story early on
and there is a clear disconnect between viewer and story right
from the get-go.

The temptation is here to reveal the story and save everyone
some time, so let me know those who care, and I will.

GUESS WHO: -1.5 (0,0,-half,-half,0,-half,0)

If you have seen the previews of Guess Who you have seen the
best parts of the movie.

Ashton Kutcher has great comic timing and Bernie Mac is
wonderful but too much emphasis is placed on the race card and
eventually with the lingering deep undertone the jokes aren’t
that funny. The genre of the film is not entirely done justice
too and the theme starts to recur.

I suspect Kutcher fans will still see this but I would still
recommend trying to see the 2 minute theatrical preview rather
than the entire film.

DUS: 2.5 (0,0,half,half,1,half,0)

As close to as good action as you would come, but then why did
Dus not score higher?

Despite the star cast, the actors have given mediocre
performances. Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Khan, Sunil Shetty, and
Esha Deol bore you. Sanjay Dutt and Shilpa Shetty have done
justice to their roles, but they can only do so much.

The editing could have been much better as the film could easily
have been trimmed by 30 minutes.

Dus does have a few things going for it, such as the exciting
opening, and highly technical action sequences. The “twist” in
the end adds some spice but the drawn out final sequence will
have you wishing the film ends and now.
Killing one of the four male leads was not necessary but was
probably done to tug at your heartstrings, and by doing this Dus
falls into a trap so many films succumb to: trying to cross
genres.

If not for the pointless songs within the film, overly exposed
subplots involving annoying side actors and actresses and some
editing, Dus would have been a really good action film that
watched on the big screen would compare well with Hollywood.
Instead we get an average Indian fare, watchable on DVD, with
remote in hand and finger on ffwd.

SAMICO2 Reviews1

2005-08-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Using the SAMICO2 scale:

SARKAR -10 (2,2,1,1,2,1,1)

Sarkar is one of the best films of 2005 without a doubt. With no songs but a chilling background score this remains both Bachchans’ best performance in years. Having said that watch for Kay Kay Menon give the most superior of all the efforts in the film.

I think the “Hollywood” audiences will really enjoy this one especially if you are into crisply edited, fastpaced action.

Never will “Govinda, Govinda, Govinda” sound the same…

WAR OF THE WORLDS- 5 (1,1,1,0,2,0,0)

For 10 dollars this film will take you from NY to Boston but who really wants to go with a delirious Mr. Cruise and his two kids? Spielberg misses the spot AGAIN!

The movie was very clichéd and somewhat unrealistic.

I would watch this again, if paid to, only for 3 reasons:
1- Dakota Fanning (the cutie who I can’t wait for to turn 21 wink wink)
2- Tim Robbins sensational guest appearance
3- Morgan Freeman’s narration and in tribute to the brilliant storyteller HG Wells was

MR. & MRS. SMITH- 4 (1,1,0,1,1,0,0)

Angelina Jolie is definitely one of the HOTTEST women in the world, and Brad Pitt is a perfect male counterpart. They light up the screen quite a bit but at the end of it all this film remains a forgettable fare.

Some occasional flashes of action brilliance (and I am not talking about the love scenes, lol) but all in all this film brings nothing novel to the table.

Worth a DVD watch if for some on-screen chemistry, and two very BEAUTIFUL people.

CRASH- 1 (1,0,0,0,0,0,0)

Watch Brad Pitt’s SNATCH (2000) and you will see the daddy of Crash! Snatch would have gotten 7 or 8 and Crash was lucky to have gotten 1.

MAIN AISA HI HOON- 4.5 (1,1,1,1,0,half,0)

The second half, Sushmita Sen’s wonderful performance and an interesting end saved this film from much worse. Not really a very bad film but for some reason not that good either. The songs were sweet as was the performance by the child artist.

I would recommend watching it on DVD with remote nearby and box of Kleenex nearer.

WAQT- 1.5 (-1,1,0,1,half,0,0)

Amitabh Bachchan saved this one from really failing. I think WAQT isn’t that bad if you have recently began watching films or else you would have seen something similar many times over.

The movie has a fresh feel to it, and holds true to what it purportedly is, a tear-jerker. But the end could have been predicted from a mile away, and the middle drags on like a really bad date with someone with something stuck between their teeth.

Priyanka Chopra looks stunning, so if you must, borrow the DVD and watch the first 20 minutes and the last 10. The rest is the bad date!

WHITE NOISE- 2 (0,0,0,1,1,0,0)

I expected much better from Michael Keaton. I know I am getting old when I wanted him to don his Batman suit and take this movie by the horns!

White Noise is suspense in the first half more horror in the second, but too much is expected of the viewer to “assume” and “remember” things making this movie more of a chore than entertainment.

Avoidable I would say. Interestingly our TV has been acting very strangely since I saw this. Just thought I sneak that in, wink wink.

SAMICO2 Scale

2005-08-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

I know I have not been able to deliver on my promise of regular movie reviews, though I have been watching quite a bit more than I can handle.

So I decided to send brief reviews and a new feature with them.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the SAMICO2 scale !!

Let me explain.

I am going to review movies on the following parameters:

Story/ Script (S) Acting (A) Music/Sound Effects (M) Intangibles (I) Cinematography (C) Overall (O) 2nd Look (2)

Most are self-explanatory, I am including Music and Sound effects since some will be Indian movies, Intangibles will basically be whether the film did justice to its genre, be it comedy, drama, horror etc and 2nd look means whether or not it is worth that.

Now the scaling system.

Story is graded 2, 1, 0, -1, -2

Acting 2, 1, 0, -1, -2

Music 1, 0, -1

Intangibles 1, 0, -1

Cinematography 2, 1, 0, -1, -2

Overall 1, 0, -1

2nd look 1, 0, -1

I have given some of the more important parameters greater range. I have included negative points since some movies are really BAD! So the maximum is 10 and the minimum -10. Theoretically then its a 20 point spread, and so a film that gets a 3 mightn't be necessarily that bad, but it still isn't good.

I will try this system out for a bit, see how it goes.

I do look forward to suggestions and alterations from the mathematically more versed and artistically more inclined.

Regards,

Shobhit

'D' - movie review

2005-07-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

D (2005)

It is never a surprise when an off-beat, artsy, real-to-life film is made and somewhere among the list of credits the name Ram Gopal Varma makes its appearance.

Ram Gopal Varma remains one of Bollywood’s most versatile and creative directors, someone with a real flair for the art and a unique sense of presentation. The hits he has been associated with, both as a director and a producer, are countless.

As to why Varma gave the directorial reins on this one to newcomer Vishram Sawant one can only speculate. Maybe perhaps since Varma himself had directed 1998’s Satya and 2002’s Company, and ‘D’ allegedly was the prequel to his Company and also the third in the gangster saga trilogy, he chose someone who might be able to bring a certain freshness to this flick.

‘D’ tells the story of Deshu, an average man who has just returned from Dubai upon hearing of his mother’s death. He becomes witness to a gang-style murder and suddenly becomes a sought after man, with both underworld and police hot on his trail. After being brutally abused by the police he decides to volunteer his service to a rival gang and thus willingly enters the underworld himself. His meteoric rise from newcomer to being cold, calculated and one of the most feared dons in the underworld forms the rest of the story till the end.

Newcomer Randeep Hooda takes on the role of Deshu and breezes through the role as if he was a veteran. Hooda’s nonchalant eyes and deep voice make him the perfect fit for the role of an average Joe-turned demon. Hooda has a great body, and Sawant does a great job in restraining the character from ever having to take his shirt off, allowing the viewer to only speculate at the possibilities that lie underneath.
Hooda perfects the art of incorporating personality into character. His Deshu is never too interested in anything, seems unfazed by all happening around him, but has shades of human within, and definitely more than shades of punisher and finisher. In American parlance Deshu represents the Mariano Rivera of the underworld.
This kid is going to go far, and once again Ram Gopal Varma has shown his flair for finding talent out of nowhere. Look out for Randeep Hooda in Varma’s next venture titled “James”.

The rest of the cast does what it has to. Support. Some better than others.

Chunky Pandey continues his attempted comeback as Deshu’s right-hand man Raghav, but once again Pandey’s nasal voice and annoying presence make it a forgettable role. Thankfully Pandey did have a reserved role.
Ram Gopal Varma regulars Isha Koppikar and Rukhsar add the female touch and they both have small, but vital roles, and both lovely ladies ease through the film like melted cheese off of pizza dough. The other regulars such as Yashpal Sharma, Goga Kapoor, and Jeeva all have small roles and all fulfill them aptly.
The one miscasting may have come in the form of Sushant Singh, an extremely talented and adaptable actor whose negative character seemed too cheap and demeaning for an actor of such worth.

‘D’ remains true to the story it attempts to tell. With a running time of 101 minutes the editing is crisp and the story never drags, lags, or sags. Never a dull moment in any Ram Gopal Varma ventures the dialogue delivery is slick and plots and subplots are all meshed in well with one another. The action is fast-paced and blunt, with no melodramatics and dreary sequences.

While ‘D’ may not appeal to everyone, it is a great peep into the underworld and worth the time. Those who have seen Satya and Company may not find ‘D’ to be a novelty but this does not take anything away from the individuality of the film.

If subtlety being devious intrigues you a tad bit then ‘D’ is right up your alley.

2005-07-22T00:09:00.000-07:00

TEAM AMERICA (2004)

Matt Parker and Trey Stone are up to it again, and the famous South Park duo attempt another classic, crass, crude, comedy along the lines of their previous widely popular South Park-the movie.
Are they successful? Classic yes, crass very, crude extremely, comedy sure. But are they successful? Well sort of.

First of all Team America is probably the first movie that was rated R for strong sexual content involving puppets that is. And it’s all downhill from there!

The story is self-explanatory. A bunch of characters with special talents are assembled by a man with a vision and they together, with the help of a computer, called I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E fight terrorism. Terrorism is represented in this one in the form of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Team America is clearly a spoof of many action movies, too many to name, and it doesn’t matter since there was none that was let off easily. The film also doesn’t spare many other personalities (especially anti-war actors Alec Baldwin, Tim Robbins, and Sean Penn) and careers (actors, clairvoyants, and movie directors).

Cutting a really long story short, this film is NOT for children. In fact it mightn’t even be for many adults, but it is still rather enjoyable. A great catharsis release and a laugh riot if watched with the proper company. Just be reminded to leave all logic, intellect, and morality by the baby-sitter before viewing it though.

Most of the voices are supplied by the directors, writers, creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and which is why most characters sound like they are lift-offs from South Park. The most laudable voice alteration was that of Kim Jong Il, clearly the hero of the film in terms of providing comic relief and witty one-liners!
It is hilarious the way Jong Il says “Herro Hans Brix, how can I herp you?”
Add that to “Arec Bardwin”- president F.A.G (Film Actors Guild) and you might get an idea of the kind of humor you will be exposed to.

As if that wasn’t crass enough, the real comedy of the film comes from its songs. Kim Jong Il’s classic “Ronery, I am so ronery” and the inspirational “America- f*** yeah” will have the non-vegetarians in the humor department salivating and going back for even more! Fear not, there is philosophy too, as we get the real breakdown regarding the three main types of people in this world. I better not mention the headings lest this review get a NC-17 rating.

Once again the South Park creators have showed how funny and desirable crassness can be, and that ironically might be Team America’s one downside. It definitely will not appeal to everyone and it probably won’t be making the DVD collection of many households.

All in all, from an art point of view, I think it is extremely talented of the creators to make an entire film on puppets and the miniscule level of detail shown in certain scenes involving the characters is credible.

Team America is NOT for the faint of heart, nor for those who don’t enjoy some quality adult humor, as blunt as it gets. Not for a long time will, assuming no sequels are made, another film that shows puppets doing everyday human things like vomiting, reproducing, and dancing be made.

Team America is a break from tradition; it’s something different and probably something worth a look. Check it out if one of your resolutions this year was to try something unique!

Kaal review

2005-07-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

KAAL (2005)

With Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar producing, a chilling title, as well as a mini-galaxy of stars associated with a film, one would have to say this was 2005’s proverbial “one film that you don’t want to miss”. Whether this turned out to be such, or the one film that you WOULD want to miss you will know by the end of this review.

Kaal shares some similarities, namely tigers, to Hollywood’s 1996 release The Ghost and the Darkness, but to compare them would be unfair to both films.

Set in the Jim Corbett National Park (which for some strange reason was called the Orbit Park in the film), Kaal tells the story of some visitors to the park who all become entrapped in the mystery of random deaths of humans, and all claws, or shall I say fingers, point to the tigers who live on the reserve. Among the aforementioned lot are the husband and wife couple of Krish (John Abraham) and Riya Thapar (Esha Deol), who are apparently working for National Geographic, Dev Malhotra (Vivek Oberoi), a cocky and arrogant rich boy, Ishika (Lara Dutta), the surname-less girlfriend of Dev, and their two random friends who everyone can predict are in the movie as tiger-food. While at the park they are aided in battling the animals by a self-appointed ruler of the jungle, Kali Pratap Singh (Ajay Devgan).

Performance-wise, Ajay Devgan breezes through the role of Kali with ease. Devgan has done this a million times and it seemed as if he was working on 50% effort. The former National Award winner for Best Actor puts on a clinic for Abraham and Oberoi, and it was his sensational entry into the film near about the 40 minute mark that lifted the till then mundane and yawn-worthy film. Devgan’s dialogue delivery is crisp and his character is probably the only properly developed one in the film.

John Abraham as Krish Thapar gives a sincere performance. The females will love his bare-chested entry into the film running towards Esha Deol before some snake made her role into a guest appearance. Abraham is a wonderful actor but as always he suffers from a very shallow character sketch, an infection that would afflict the rest of the cast from herein after. For some reason Abraham is made to spend almost the entire film smoking a cigarette, and that didn’t help his cause too much either.

Esha Deol gives a good effort, but Riya Thapar had very little personality. She was allegedly supposedly to be an ace photographer in the film but after the first few frames Deol wasn’t seen near a camera. Her clothing or lack thereof, made one wonder whether she had previously ever visited any nature parks.

Vivek Oberoi is simply poor in the film. Dev Malhotra tries hard to come across as an arrogant, cocky and overconfident guy with a heart of gold. He succeeds in coming across as simply irritating. Oberoi looks amateur in this film and it’s hard to believe this was the same guy who gave far superior efforts in Company and Dum.

Lara Dutta suffers the most at having no depth in her character. Her character doesn’t even have a surname!!!! Ishika is purportedly Dev’s girlfriend but basically Ishika provides most of the sound-effects in terms of shrieking, screaming, desperate female who is mortified of animals.

As for the other extras in this film, most, if not all, did well in fulfilling their roles of becoming tiger food. Poor chaps seemed marked for their Kaal once word got around that tigers were killing humans.

First time director Soham Shah does have a few things going for him in his debut venture. Much to this reviewer’s relief there were no songs throughout the film. Both hit tracks from the movie were used at the peripheries, with Kaal Dhamaal at the beginning and Tauba Tauba at the end.
Soham also does well in making the viewer be somewhat terrified, though the viewer that he may land most success with will be the adolescent female. Finally Soham does well in ensuring that Kaal remains a somewhat action-thriller-mystery and he resists the temptation of packing in too much romance and drama and melodrama and comedy into it. Kaal stays true to being a horror film in terms of the caricature-like coincidences that everyone but the cast themselves see.

Kaal falls flat on many angles.
First of all none of the characters are really developed, and there is little background on them. The viewer just doesn’t feel any link to them and the disconnect is obvious. Even the so-called real protagonists of the film, the tigers, have not been given enough screen time.
This leads to the second point of contention. Somewhere along the film the tigers go from being murderers and beasts to almost being non-existent. The fact that they are heard more than seen in the second half of the film almost reveals and resigns Kaal to being just another whodunit. Editing may have killed off the tigers and the novelty of the film being a humans versus animals thriller is lost in the second half.
Kaal has a wafer-thin plot with enough holes to make any golf fanatic happy. What is incomprehensible is why our cast was “lost” in a National Park? I would assume there would be lots of guides and signs and trails. Why was Devgan the self-appointed King of the Jungle, when in fact they were supposed to be in a nature reserve and NOT a jungle? How could Lara Dutta be so injured one minute that she was being carried in a stretcher and then the next minute she was seen running out an exploding building? And the list goes on and on.

Somewhere just after the intermission it becomes predictable and Kaal’s Kaal beckons it to a hasty end, not before the usual action and screaming sequences though.
One would have thought with Karan Johar’s guiding presence near at hand and Shah Rukh Khan’s name associated with the flick, there would be some memorable moments coming out of Kaal, but sadly this 2 hour venture leaves you wondering whether performers read the scripts to their work or only sign keeping in mind the banner associated with the project.

Watch it if you must, but on DVD, and have your remote handy. If you forward the non-dialogue parts you can probably finish it up in an hour. I would still recommend some exercise or sleep in that time though.

2005-07-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Paheli can have dual meanings as a word in Hindi, and the film"Paheli" lived up to both of them.

Based on a Marathi play, Paheli was the first of its type offilm, but it also leaves the audience more inclined to itslatter meaning (though the more common usage of the word isthis).

Paheli (riddle) is set in Rajasthan in God knows what year, andis basically the story of Lachi (Rani Mukherji) who gets marriedto Krishan (Shah Rukh Khan), a money-minded businessman, wholeaves the day after his marriage to pursue a business venturefor his father's sake for 5 years. A ghost then takes his placesince this ghost had apparently fallen in love with Lachi at oneof the water breaks her wedding convoy had made.Lachi too falls in love with the ghost since he is more what shehad dreamed her husband to be like.Upon the real Krishan's return is when the real crisis arises,and what then happens forms the crux of Paheli.The story sounds pretty straightforward, and actually verynon-cerebral. Well it is.

I think Paheli probably fared better as a stage play (which itwas originally) because the identity of the ghost could havebeen concealed more easily and somehow the folk tale nature ofthe story makes it sound like an enjoyable play but a disastrousfilm.

Yesteryear funny man Amol Palekar directs and he has done acredible job. He has paid great attention to detail, and heleaves his mark in the first half using colors, costumes, andnarration as part of his arsenal.But alas Paheli falls flat on his face in the extremely boring,predictable and formality of a second half.The end could not have come sooner. When it did it will leaveyou with an incomplete feeling. There will be questions on yourlips and yet the answers wouldn't be easily available nor willthey make sense. Maybe that's why its called Paheli.

Cutting a long story short, Shah Rukh breezes through his doublerole. Even though his wife is producing it, he looks boredthroughout most of the film. One can tell from his effort (orlack thereof) that he wasn't getting paid much, if anything.
Rani Mukherji is brilliant as the woman torn between herhusband, family, and ammmmm a ghost. Her acting has improvedleaps and bounds and I think she is clearly in the top 3actresses if not THE best actress in Bollywood.
Juhi Chawla makes no impression and one wonders why she was inthe film to start with. Even better in that department is SunilShetty's 84 second cameo. What a waste of dialogues, time, andcharacters!!
Amitabh Bachan (him again??) makes a sensational guestappearance, and definitely injected much needed life in thesecond half.

MM Kreem's music is really nice, understandably folkish.The famous puppet dance came during the end credits and that wasa disservice to the choreography which I think was very, verynice.

Naseerudhin Shah's voice was well used as one of the puppet'sobserving the movie from, shall we say, a closer seat.

Palekar succeeds in showing a colorful, light-hearted movie setin the wondrous state of Rajasthan, but parallel to his acting,the film turns bland in the second-half, and will have many apatron checking the time to see how much more of the "Paheli"needs to solved.Palekar did somewhat try to show what a woman really is yearningfor and hoping for in a marriage, but that topic is only touched in bits and pieces and very superficially at that.

The lack ofdepth and substance of anything from story, plot, characters,and eventually ending make this film something you just mightn'trelate to.
My recommendation is to wait for it on DVD, and even then it canbe easily passed, you wouldn't miss anything. This is one"Paheli" best left unsolved!

movie watching ...

2005-05-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

I saw National Treasure, which is very intelligently made, and big budget fantasy, but it showed how to make an intelligent, CLEAN, movie that will appeal to everyone.

Then I saw Assault on Precinct 13. That showed that cursing and violence has a strange beauty about it. Very, very good for stress relief!! A sure fire way to please the masses, use violence and cursing, plenty of it!

I saw Spanglish. This was a really good movie about complex relations and characters yet with a comic undertone. Adam Sandler is a good actor and the interplay among the roles in the movie is a great learning tool for future projects.

Among the Indian movies, I saw My Brother Nikhil. As much as the critics had said they liked this one, I think this was a very, very poorly made film. The story was dull, predictable, and moved along at a snail's pace. The film was set in the late 80s and appeared as if it was made then too. Overly dramatic and almost unreal. It was supposed to tug at your heartstrings but only gave me a bit of nausea.

Lucky-No Time for Love was a sweet film. Sneha Ullal, the Aishwarya Rai-clone delivered a great performance, and the movie on the whole had a very fresh, colorful, and refreshing feel to it. Shot entirely in St. Petersburg, Russia, the film moved along well and had GREAT music to keep it from being monotonous. Many critics said Salman Khan did a good job but I wouldn't go so far as to say that. I think some other actor would have been a better shoe-in. The movie was a touch over 2 hours long so it was manageable to watch in one sitting. I would recommend it but probably for DVD, or as a date flick.

The surprise movie of the weekend for me was Socha Na Tha, with Abhay Deol, Dharmendra's nephew.I was very biased before watching this film. I pretty much knew the story and like 90% of Indian films it was predictable, but its the way the story moved along that will have you so engrossed !!! Ayesha Takia, the leading lady, is very, very likeable and plays her role very naturally. Her accent in the film is subtle, like the girl next door. Apoorva Jha, the other lady is good to look at, though somewhat irritating in her role. Abhay Deol looks like a nutmeg basically and his acting isn't very polished, but it seemed really natural. It almost seems as if he will be or is a great stage actor. The music was good and as predictable as it was it was entertaining and very funny. This was probably a better date flick. It was longer than Lucky though, and not as gaudy and bright.

The Plight of Someone Bored

2005-05-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

Oh the plight of someone bored.

It's so indescribable that it's sad.

It's hard to pretend to be interested in something you are not.

I don't know personally but it just might be easier to fake an orgasm.

Can I trade a real orgasm to be relieved of this suffering?

No? I guess I have to fake interest.

Monotony is a curse but it can be somewhat liberating.

Isn't it parallel, maybe synchronous to detachment?

Twin brothers, monotony and detachment, opposite in nature.

But they have different fathers, how? Go figure.

Detachment is sought, it's gratifying, it's a state.

Monotony is enforced, it grows on you like a leech, it's captivating, but for the wrong reason.

If I wasn't so bored I would have talked about brother detachment.

But oh the plight of someone bored, it's so indescribable that it's sad.

Monotony is dangerous; it usually leads to something destructive.

But one can tame this misleading feeling and try to be constructive.

Giving credit where it is due though, one good thing monotony does lead to is that it lets your mind wander.

If your mind is lazy and not a wanderer then you might as well get buried, cremated, or eaten by vultures.

Or sleep and let your soul run wild.

If your mind is a wanderer then the world becomes your playground.

Monotony lets me be an athlete, it lets me have sex with every girl I want over and over, it lets me eat all I want and I don't get fat, and the playground gets more and more toys!

But let's not go overboard here, fantastical and imaginative thinking need not be fathered by monotony alone.

Hell, monotony doesn't let one be vivid, the latter is a flush to rid the shit that monotony is.

I look around and some are asleep, some are faking interest, some are nymphomaniacs and monotony doesn't affect them.

Today I was able to get something good out of monotony, other times I am destructive, or is it the other way around?

All that said and done monotony burns out, it's exhaustive and that's a good thing.It keeps us fresh and mobile. Atleast our mind should be grateful.

Monotony is kicking in as I write, time to end.

So is monotony indescribable?

Piece of it yes, maybe all of it.

But it's a great vehicle.

It got me from hollowness to my imagination, it didn't charge very much except some time.

Now I am bored of being bored.

Oh the plight of someone bored.

It's so interesting that I just might want to be always bored.

Written by Dr. Shobhit Maruti on November 4th, 2004 while sitting in a lecture being absolutely, you guessed it, bored!!

Million Dollar Baby

2005-03-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

Granted I was biased in knowing it won 4 Oscars, but I saw why. I would whole-heartedly recommend this movie to any and everyone. I wouldn't even try to embarass myself or the movie by writing a review.

My advice to the purists is to watch closely at the scenes behind the main characters while the monologues or dialogues are going on. There is immense comedy in this film if you can manage to be near and far-sighted.

My advice to the sensitive is to walk with some Kleenex or a handkerchief. If you forget then do like me and take your specs off and pretend something got in your eye.

My advice to those going to see this for the wrong reasons is as follows. If you are going to watch the movie solely to say you saw the best film for 2004 then take some chewing gum or dinner mints. My advice to those who want to get the experience over, with walk with extra quarters, its a long one that will have you refueling your parking meters, or you can take the subway.

The performances are brilliant, the humor often times subtle and occasionally in your face like Maggie's punches. Mr. Eastwood has taken all those young directors to school in this one and has proven without a doubt that quality can easily be manifest by something simple, straightforward, and heartfelt.

After this we can all eat lemon pie and die and go to heaven.

Love and regards,

Shobhit

PAAP- Au contraire

2005-01-19T12:34:00.000-08:00

With a name like Paap (translates to sin in Hindi), a director like Ms. Pooja Bhatt, and a cast that included hunk supermodel-turned-actor Mr. John Abraham, and newcomer model Ms. Udita Goswami, I am not even sure why I bothered renting this. I sure am glad I did though, because I was reminded not to be stereotypical and realized that things are not always what they seem.

The story of the movie is a lift-off from an English counterpart, the name of which escapes me at the moment, and it goes something like this. Ms. Goswami's character Kaya is a resident at a monastery and is soon to join the Order. The Buddhist monks among whom she and father (Mr. Mohan Agashe) stay chose her to go to Delhi to escort the new "chosen one", who it turns out is in the form of a 7-year old child. On the way back the child happens to witness a murder at the restroom of a hotel and is forced somewhat to give evidence at the gentle coaxing of Detective Shiven, played aptly by Mr. Abraham. The child is not much help until he spots the perpetrator on television, who turns out to be a senior policeman. Shiven tries to get help from the Commissioner of Police but he is also involved in the conspiracy and tries to get the child killed. Sensing the danger he has put them in, Shiven takes it upon himself to drive Kaya and the child back to the Order. He gets there badly injured and spends a month recovering and falling in love with Kaya. Will Kaya reciprocate his feelings, or will she join the Order as soon as Shiven leaves? And with our baddies figuring out where the star witness has gone they also find their way to the beautiful locales to form the climax of this pleasantly not-too-long film.

Among the performances I must say I have become a huge fan of Mr. John Abraham's acting skills, as well as his striking good looks. Yes he does take his shirt off in every movie he has been, a la Mr. Salman Khan, but somehow when Mr. Abraham does it, it seems natural, very subtle almost. Yes he also does have a smirk that accentuate his dimples and every director seems to want him to smirk but its done with such an appeal that it seems acceptable. His dialogue delivery is convincing and his brooding looks will always have you guessing as to the shade of his character. He has been in a bunch of one word films, being on the right side of the law in Saaya, Lakeer and this one Paap, and on the wrong side in Jism, Aetbaar, and Dhoom. In Madhoshi he has an exceptional role and in the forthcoming Elaan he is back with the good guys. In Paap he has given a restrained and genuine performance.

Ms. Udita Goswami, in her debut film, has given a credible performance as Kaya. She is a model and looks like one, probably leading to the feeling that she was miscast. She suffers from the desirable problem of looking too good for the role. Her voice control needs some work, but other than that she can go a long way in the film world. She has tremendous sex appeal, a body to die for, and she is only eighteen!! Mr. Mohan Agashe and the other supporting actors, such as Mr. Gulshan Grover have given relatively okay performances as well.

Ms. Pooja Bhatt directs Paap and it shows. The film has an uncanny artistic feel to it. It carries an intensity that lurks yet never really strikes. The sensuality is ever present during the Shiven-Kaya interactions, and there is that one scene that will stun you, yet in my opinion it was passionately and somewhat tastefully (no pun intended) portrayed. Fruits, fireplace and a wooden table in a house among the mountains? It doesn't get much more sensual now does it? Ms. Bhatt had previously produced films such as Tamanna (a masterpiece, and one worth watching if you haven't yet), Dushman (another wonderful film), Zakhm (winner of National Awards, and one of the best Hindi films of all time from an art point of view in my opinion), Sur (showing that a star cast isn't necessary for making a good movie) and Jism. In Paap she takes the director's chair and has given a good attempt. Even the end action sequences are very artistically shown and are brief so as not to over-emphasize the drama. The film moves at a good pace though at times the editing could have been better. Overall it was a commendable effort.

The cinematography of Paap is awesome, with some of the most stunning locales you would have seen in a film for a long time. The music is probably one of the strengths of the film. Not your run-of-the-mill Bollywood score, the music by Mr. Anu Malik, was totally classical. There were no item numbers or lovey-dovey tunes, but traditional classical at its best. Mr. Rahat Fateh Ali-Khan, nephew of the late, great Mr. Nusrat Fateh Ali-Khan, gives the best tune of the flick in "Laggan Lagi Tumse Mann Ki Laggan". The song was also well presented on screen.

I was particularly impressed by the exchanges between father and daughter and father and monks as they traded philosophies of life and living. The just mentioned was probably the "X-factor" of the film. There was enough time taken out to discuss love, life, death and humanity and it was pleasantly surprising the intellectual nature of the conversation.

I think the film's name might give some wrong impressions but au contraire Paap is a nice film with some beautiful artists, locales, music, and philosophies.

just a thought(s)

2005-01-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

I was wondering about some things.

For example, before December 26th how many times in your life time did you ever say the word "tsunami"? Since that fateful day how many times have you said the word?

Isn't that interesting how a certain event or occurrence changes our vocabulary in such a dramatic way. Another example, 9/11 is now part of our mental verbal dictionary and pre-2001 it never was. Just goes to show how life is ever-changing and there is something new, something different just waiting to happen and waiting to change us in some subtle or dramatic way.

The (s) part of the blog. There are people who love to act out words when they talk. For example, some people point to their wrist when asking the time, or some pat their stomachs to indicate they are full. Well in the good old day when someone wanted to say they wrote something they would position their hand as if they were holding a pen and then scribble in the air. Nowadays, as I realised when it happened to me, when someone asks well what did you do yesterday or over the weekend, and I was trying to tell them I did some writing, I actually positioned my two hands as if I was typing and danced my fingers a little to stress the motion.

Which led me to wonder, are writers writers anymore or are they really glorified typists ? Hi I am a typer, not a writer anymore, is maybe what correction should be made. It will be interesting to note how much use is made of the pen. Remember that? The pen? That cylindrical object we used in conjunction with paper to "write" things ? Paper has continued its ascendancy with "the pen's" old ally "ink" and through "printers" it continues to be with us, but the good old "pen" is fast becoming resigned to a mere mantlepiece in our shirt pockets and our desktops.

Moral of the story I suppose, in life be the paper and not the pen ? Or at the very least be the ink.

Till other moments of idleness strike,

Shobhit

AITRAAZ- No real objections here !!

2004-12-29T09:57:00.000-08:00

Aitraaz (objection) stars Mr. Akshay Kumar, Ms. Kareena Kapoor, former Miss World 2000 Ms. Priyanka Chopra and Mr. Amrish Puri and Mr. Annu Kapoor, with Mr. Paresh Rawal making an impressionable special appearance.

The film parallels the years aback Hollywood release, Barry Levinson’s Disclosure, tackling the subject of a male being sexually harassed at work. The subject is bold and probably new to the Bollywood schemata, hence accounting for the film doing fairly well at the box-office.

I actually didn’t know anything about the movie, or the story, the cast, etc before I watched it and I must admit though I wasn’t swept off my feet, I was entertained and actually pleasantly surprised by the film.

Aitraaz was made by the director duo of Mr. Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla and Mr. Mustan Alibhai Burmawalla popularly known as Abbas-Mustan, who are famous for their suspense thrillers and have earned a name for themselves by making crisp, clear, intelligent and slick movies that will never have you yawning. Recall Khiladi, Baazigar, Daraar, Soldier, Ajnabee, and Humraaz to name a few. One thing common to the aforementioned movies and other Abbas-Mustan movies is their wonderful and very film-appropriate music; though this time I think they may have come up short as Mr. Himesh Reshammiya’s score leaves little to enchant and more to grope for the ffwd button on the remote. That being said the directors have once again succeeded in making a very entertaining and fast-paced movie.

The first half may have dragged on a tad bit as the initial scenes between Mr. Kumar and Ms. Kapoor are a bit drawn out and the first half of the movie also suffers from a common affliction of Hindi movies where there are too many songs crammed in between. All of that changes the minute Ms. Chopra’s character is introduced! Once that euphoria dies down the film threatens to re-enter the mire of mediocrity but then the climatic, albeit predictable, court-room scene saves the film again, this time Mr. Rawal coming to the rescue, as the attorney for the temptress that Ms. Chopra portrays. I have Abbas-Mustan do better, maybe Baazigar and Humraaz are their better works but Aitraaz was well handled. Many Indian directors copy successful Hollywood films and re-make them in a style only the “desi” can enjoy, but as is evidenced by some of the flicks, not all succeed at that understood piracy/ flattery. Abbas-Mustan are probably the best in the dubious category of ‘Indian-ising” an English movie. The editing is good and the flashbacks scenes are nicely done. The locales of South Africa are pictured beautifully. A few things in the technical department that can become a bother include the length of the film, at 150 minutes, and the ill-advised use of some of the songs.

Performance-wise this is totally Ms. Chopra’s show. Mr. Kumar and Ms. Kapoor and their interaction serve as the appetizer to the main dish that Ms. Chopra serves. She is evil, seductive, driven, and heartless. She gets what she wants and she sure knows how. Had Ms. Chopra been a better actress though, she could have made her character of Sonia Roy do so much more and that immaturity in the acting department will make this despite all that she does do, a forgettable performance. Mrs. Kajol Devgan, Ms. Urmila Matondkar, and Mrs. Shabana Azmi have set the bar for vamp performances in Gupt, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya and Godmother respectively and unfortunately Ms. Chopra never reaches that height, but this is still a much better performance than her other movies like Andaaz, Asambhav and Plan.

Mr. Kumar, a favorite of Abbas-Mustan, gives a subtle and restrained performance and he was very believable as the “taken advantage of” man. Mr. Kumar’s acting has improved leaps and bounds over the past years, maybe there is a benefit in being Mr. Rajesh Khanna’s son-in-law after all? Once Mr. Kumar can improve his voice delivery a little more he will continue to get great roles and together with his height, personality and flare for comedy he should be a sure shot draw at the box-office. I am told his upcoming performance in Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo is one to look out for as well.

Ms. Kapoor also plays her part to perfection in a rather mature role for her standards. As the dutiful wife, and later lawyer for her maligned husband, Ms. Kapoor explodes on-screen at the end and the transformation will win her many a fan. It’s a very “hatke” role for Ms. Kapoor as for once she doesn’t rely on her curvaceous hips and rounded lips to carry her through the flick.

The supporting cast is almost perfect in their compact roles. Mr. Puri spoils the “bench” by his portrayal of Ranjit Roy, husband to Ms. Chopra’s character. Mr. Puri makes a few appearances and you better have your earplugs ready or be in position to lower the volume on the television. Mr. Puri, it has been a great run but I do think its time to call it a day. Mr. Rawal on the other hand will win the “sixth man” award with his powerful performance. He fits in well, and doesn’t try too hard to overshadow the rest of the cast with his “special appearance”, as they bill it in the cast and credits.

Overall I still have my reservations about Aitraaz but no objections! I think it’s a well-crafted and intelligently made film. If it wasn’t a tad bit too long and the songs weren’t yawn-worthy I may have insisted upon it, but as of now it’s really up to you, if you miss it you may not miss much, but if you watch it you will also have no Aitraaz!

Christmas Eve

2004-12-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve is upon us. I am already so behind on my projected writings and readings. I thought I get in one more piece, something for everyone to ponder about and digest over the long holiday weekend.

Before I do dive into that, here is a teaser of what I still have to catch up on, or looked at differently, what you guys have to smack your lips and look forward to! (Aren’t I modest?)

Among the movie reviews that I am working on, Hollywood category includes the much hyped Alexander, lesser known The Clearing, Matrix’s so-called 'mai-baap' Equilibrium, the brilliant Mystic River as well as Collateral. Bollywood fans can read takes on the amazing and brilliant Chokher Bali, based on Tagore's play, as well as Krishna Cottage, Paap, Musafir and a really good friend asked me to review Lakshya. For a change I will also do an audio review of the Swades CD.

Trying to maintain a broadness and to show some range I will also be sharing my quirky and somewhat bizarre and adult poem, The Plight of Someone Bored. For "select theatre" release, if you know what I mean. Other than that I plan to reveal 'my hero' or who/ what I have recently decided to try to be more like, emulate and as impossible as it is, even eclipse. It will be a 'mammoth' task, and that my family and friends was a 'huge' clue as to the subject of my idolization. I can bet anything only someone intuitive can figure that one out.

For now I do wish each and everyone a very happy and successful weekend, and though I am not a Christian and don't really get 'into' Christmas, I do hope the spirit of Christmas does touch each one of us. I think the proximity of Christmas to the end of the year is a great jump for those among us who like to introspect the past year and set some goals and aspirations for the upcoming one. I love this time of year because it is for me personally a time of great reflection. What helps me more is to see other human beings crawling and crowding the malls, streets, shopping areas and literally anywhere else trying to immerse themselves more and more into 'the world'. I see Maya (sense of illusion) pulling them deeper into its web and the gullible among us gladly being reeled in, happy to become a meal for the spider of attachment, desire, anger, greed and hypocrisy. There have been years when I was also on the menu, maybe in the future might find myself back on the table, hopefully not though. I have come to realize I am better off not being delectable and an uneaten me should be a more successful me, a more balanced me, a more aware me and just a further traveled me.

Having said all that, its not about me really, I am but a small, no very small, no in fact extremely insignificant and minute fragment of the bigger picture here. What it really is about is the ones whose company we share. To us we are who we are, but what is a life lived if we can’t make others around us smile and make them even a little happier, better and peaceful. All things start and begin with the me, but I think the 'me' in us all is here for a reason and as travelers on the path, apart from finding that inner utopia, the onus is upon us to learn from the more enlightened among us, to love the ones dear to us and to leave the ones erosive to us. It is something that can take lifetimes to achieve but with the right attitude, right company, and a healthy dose of solitude, introspection and humility each day lived can be as fulfilling as a lifetime.

All that said and done, a little Maya interspersed in the holiday season is inevitable and I too shall indulge on Christmas Day as I will be glued to the television trying to be part of the basketball sporting soap opera when Detroit (or maybe I should call them Det'riot') plays Indiana and then Kobe faces off with Shaq, or as Shaq put it in his own indomitable style, Corvette running into a brick wall. So the mall crawler and myself are both in the web and inexorably we have become part of the cuisine, well so be it for now, remember the year end review doesn't begin till after Christmas and isn't due until the new year!
Happy holidays and may you have a wonderful weekend.

Best wishes,
Shobhit

Dangerous Driving

2004-12-22T09:51:00.000-08:00

I was very impressed by a piece I read recently in one of our dailies highlighting the number of road fatalities that have occurred in Trinidad recently. The author went on to list every single headline that had heralded the tragedy. Man that list went on and on and on. I am not sure if she covered it but many of those carnage headlines are also on the interior pages so what was showed, as scary as it was, may actually be an under-representation.

What is sad though is that people now have become so immune to such headlines and stories that they really could care less. Imagine last week I was up and down from Mt. Hope 4 days out of 5 and every single day I got stuck in traffic secondary to an accident. Many of the mishaps probably don't even make it to the press. People are still driving like maniacs with no regard for life or loved ones or the law. The breathalyser isn't here in our country, the highway police is like a toothless pussy-cat and there is absolutely no respect for authority.

It is tragic when a young and upcoming singer dies in a vehicular accident and the country has forgotten the reason behind it was some sort of lawless driving. There is no way that sort of damage would have occurred had the speed limit been obeyed. But then oh, is there a speed limit here? She was right in pointing out the fallacy of a driving test that is administered here. Many people have fake drivers permits I am sure.

What I think is needed and probably won't happen is some sort of fear for the law. Stringent measures and strict to the point of unfair penalties. Why is it that lawless, reckless drivers here go to the US and UK and are angels on the road? FEAR ! If the authorities here become like road sharks while catching those that drive hazardous vehicles, often no brake-lights, malfunctioning headlights, illegal lights, overloaded passengers and uninsured vehicles then possibly change may begin. Having said that, why should anyone fear someone they can't respect? How can anyone respect someone in authority who probably has three O-Levels and done some sorry excuse of a entrance exam into the service? Its a two-way street fear, respect and the question of commanding as opposed to demanding either.

Until those changes come about, and the fundamentals of educating the arrogant and illiterate drivers, especially taxi-drivers and youths are instilled, there will be many more headlines, probably relegated to the interior pages and there will be many more life-years lost. But who has the time to read or think about them, because aren't we all preparing for "Christmas 2K4" and "Carnival 2K5" and then something else "K5,6,7 etc etc etc".

The things we take for granted and the dangers we face despite how well a life we may each individually live. I am sorry if I sound upset but whenever someone else's stupidity or disregard for the law jeopardises my or my loved one's health or well-being I find it disturbing to know that I still have to share the road, the streets even the oxygen and this earth with those immature and obviously aloof creatures.

Hopefully after reading this we can play our part by being more careful when we drive, myself included.
ayez une commande sûre,
tenga una impulsión segura,
haben Sie einen sicheren Antrieb,
have a safe drive,
Shobhit

THE TERMINAL- never took off !!

2004-12-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

With a cast like Mr. Tom Hanks, Mrs. Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Mr. Stanley Tucci and the master Mr. Steven Spielberg behind the cameras I assumed The Terminal is going to jet away non-stop to destination heart. I fastened my seat belt and turned off my cell phone, pager and other electronic devices and waited, and waited, and waited. About 2 hours later I realized I had gained no frequent movie watcher miles as this one never took off.

While I took the DVD out I pretended to forget that Mr. Spielberg was even associated with this one, assumed that Mr. Tom Hanks’ Viktor Navorski was really a Bulgarian impersonator who did a really bad job of being Mr. Hanks, and wondered why Mrs. Zeta-Jones was even in it.

This one didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth, I wouldn’t go that far but there was a definite blandness associated with it.

The premise was fairly straightforward and yet somewhat intriguing. We are made to believe that in this day and age a diplomatic mishap has caused a man to be marooned at JFK Airport while the status of his country and hence himself is being sorted out by the US Department of Homeland Security. While there our protagonist makes friends, endures some interesting interactions, allegedly even finds love and then fulfills the one reason he was in the US in the first place. Of course we are not made aware of the 'reason' for his arrival in the US till very late and by then it dawns upon the viewer that he has been there for months, which in itself is a hard fact to swallow since we do know the efficiency of the Americans, especially when it comes to matters of Homeland Security.

One scene after the other the film spirals downward from being an intelligent situational comedy to a fantasy of feel-good moments, so fantastical that there should be no attempt at logic to even explain the events. The director does throw in one plot twist towards the end involving Mrs. Zeta-Jones, and that is not in synch with the fantasy genre I thought I could pin on this one. That somewhat sudden jolt tries hard to bring the viewer back to reality, maybe so that the viewer can remember to pick up his or her trash from the theatre, but in effect what it achieves is a rancid flavor to go with the sugar-coated ride we were being taken on.

Mr. Hanks is a brilliant actor and the ease with which he makes Viktor Navorski his is evidence of such. Having said that Mr. Hanks does look disenchanted with the performance. The Hanks-esque intensity to which we are accustomed to is clearly absent. It would appear as if he felt this would be a made-for-television movie. Even in Cast Away where Mr. Hanks didn’t have much dialogue, his silence itself generated a shadowing presence. Comparing The Terminal to Catch Me If You Can, Road to Perdition, Apollo 13, and Forrest Gump and you realize this was partly-interested Mr. Hanks at the best. Having said that, no one else but Mr. Hanks could have put heart in our Bulgarian lead’s character and his subtleties while acting will have you feeling for Viktor Navorski from the first scene to the very end. Not an unforgettable performance but definitely vintage nonetheless.

Mrs. Zeta-Jones looks absolutely stunning in every frame that she appears in. Her character though leaves a lot of unanswered questions, and that usually can be a good thing but in this case it’s mildly disconcerting. She portrays Amelia, an air-stewardess who works in first-class and happens to bump into Mr. Hanks’ character initially by mistake but then by the latter’s choosing. Amelia is a complex, intelligent and gorgeous woman and it’s not hard to see why Viktor falls for her. But then we are left wondering why she is having an affair with a married man. She answers that question for us by telling us it’s the sex. But that really doesn’t add up now does it. I mean on side she is portrayed as intelligent and intellectual person but then she continues to do something senseless. Viktor is able to have Amelia see her errant ways, even offers the perfect escape, but Amelia’s eventual course of action will leave you baffled. A character that leaves the viewer baffled till the very end doesn’t usually augur well in a feel-good flick like this one. What I assume Mr. Spielberg was trying to depict though was the helplessness and power of habit controlling a person, as intelligent as they may appear.

Mr. Tucci’s performance may have been one of the more impressionable one’s as the strict, ambitious and somewhat heartless Chief of Security. It was a predictable performance though and that may be a reason why his effort here will very easily be forgotten.

The other supporting cast does have a lot to do to keep The Terminal from sinking. Of note was Mr. Kumar Pallana, an 85 year old Indian actor, who portrayed a janitor at the airport. He did have a pivotal role in the movie and had many lines which he delivered with near perfection. His 'Indian-English' was very well spoken, and of the other immigrant workers he clearly stood out.

Mr. Spielberg is a director par excellence and someone who I personally idolize, but The Terminal does leave a lot to be desired. The warm, fuzzy feeling that I would have liked to have left with after watching the movie was only present with me during certain parts. The end seemed very rushed and rather abrupt, almost as if the cast and crew had to vacate JFK suddenly. Being a foreigner to American soil, I was able to relate to many aspects of the country’s policies and treatments of visitors, and upon hearing “un-acceptable”, there was an uprising of emotion, but there was little follow-up to that uprising, and that seemed to be the theme of The Terminal, in that it never sustained any one emotion for too long. Many starts and stops but this one just never seemed to have left the tarmac.

All in all I would say this one can be passed, but if you are an absolute fan of Mr. Hanks, Mrs. Zeta-Jones or have never been to JFK then wait for the DVD and oh no need to pack, this one isn’t going to take you very high off the ground.

Truly Incredible-s

2004-12-13T09:42:00.000-08:00

Ever feel really nauseated and then take something that instantly makes you feel better?

I remember once I was in India in 1988 and we had a bout of food poisoning and man did I hurl! As gross as I felt my aunt still managed to make me take something called "Podeen Harra", a great syrup that bought my palate immense joy and almost instantaneously.

I love analogies and I ask of you to put my hurling and the Podeen Harra synonymously with the film Naach (whose review you would have hopefully read by now) and the movie The Incredibles.

The Incredibles features the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter (hmmmmmmm), Jason Lee and Samuel L. Jackson. The premise is fairly straightforward. As the title suggests it’s about a family of superheroes and how they save America from impending danger from a maniacal genius.

Now you are probably wondering what’s so great about that. I guess some things sound pretty ordinary on paper, but watch the idea visualized on celluloid and you will see what I mean. I give you some examples.

There is a boat with over 1400 people, and there is a love story taking place on the boat between poor, good guy and rich, beautiful girl. The boat sinks, guy saves girl, dying in the process and the love story is immortalized. That was the colossal Titanic for you. There is a guy who is weak, lacks self confidence. Then he gets bitten by a spider and he puts a costume on and he is transformed. He saves Chicago/ New York (debatable point as the purists know that Marvel has Peter Parker working for the Chicago Tribune, yet in the movie Spidey is flying through New York) and he impresses a gal. Ladies and gentleman, that was Spiderman. Kid who can see dead people. The Sixth Sense in six words, ha ha ha. The list can go on and on, but you get my point.

So back to The Incredibles.

I was still reeling from the puke-evoking Naach when I once-bitten twice-shyly went to see The Incredibles. I am a loyalist I will admit it. And after Finding Nemo I am a huge Pixar fan, so yes there was a bias. But I was also skeptical since like many people I figured well, there isn't any suspense in this film. Superheroes fight evil, initially are in trouble then win. True, but then sometimes in life, especially as we get older (oh my God I am getting old aaaaagghhhhhh, excuse me......), okay I am back, yeah as we get older we sometimes can't deal with unpredictability, and every once in a while you just want to be reassured that eventually the good guys will win.

The Incredibles is one of those movies you will either totally fall in love with or just won't respond to. It is in cartoon format, though with the kind of animation these days even cartoons seem so realistic; just notice the facial expressions on the characters both in this and Finding Nemo, as well as Toy Story (another Pixar).

The film does have many surprises and a tinge of mystery so I won't get into that, but what was really impressive was the fact that the humor was so adult, yet so innocent at the same time. I sat in a row with a 5 year old girl and a 65 year old man. They both laughed heartily (initially at the film but towards the end at me since I was having a whale of a time myself, but let's not go there either). The Simpsons I think have revolutionized the fun for children and adults alike humor and The Incredibles will have all ages chuckling. The violent images might be a concern for some parents but its all cartoon and if children can watch the Road Runner and Tom and Jerry cartoons then this is nothing.

As with all Pixars, and something lacking in so many modern day films, the characters actually have depth!!!! Bob Parr's transformation from hero to zero to hero again will remind a lot of us of our daily lives, hero at home, treated like zero at work and then back to being your child's and wife's hero. Helen Parr as the no nonsense, in-charge woman, who does have a soft spot for her children personifies so many of us, who often time fail to realize we all have an Achilles.

The kids are a charm, Dashiell and Violet each have personalities. Even baby Jack Jack has a cuteness reminiscent of the baby dinosaur from the show Dinosaurs, remember "not the mama"!!!

The villain Syndrome is fairly run of the mill but then again if we start identifying with him then something is wrong anyway right? Lucius Best has a small part but the comic relief has great timing and doesn't distract from the general track of the film.

The action is fast paced and never do you feel bored. I like to gauge a movie by the feeling-meter! By this I mean if you are ever in a movie and you get the feeling "when will this end?", well that movie just lost a lot of points. The Incredibles never has you wondering when will it end, nor does it suffer from the affliction of many old men, in that it ahem ends too soon (wink) ;) {Nothing like a medical joke, huh}. When it did end I was neither "its done??" nor "finally, its done!!!". Great timing is a rare feat achieved by very few films. This was one of them.

The colors are amazing. Again a purist would notice the multitude of shades used in the animation. The reds, greens, teals, purples and colors that I can't even name. There is variety abound in the colorful scenes, compare the sunset to the drab, grey shade of the office where the protagonist works, to the neighborhood to the jungles where they are trapped. The artists must be given credit for this.

The cliché emotional roller-coaster might be apt for this one. At times your emotions are taken up and down and that was a little surprising for something coming out of Hollywood, but it certainly will strike a cord with many. I was most touched by the one scene between Violet and her mother at the villain's lair, almost bought a tear to my eye, okay it did actually, but if you are someone who has ever given your best shot at something and yet come up short and then felt miserable only to realize that your loved ones still love you immensely regardless of the failure, you too will eke out a tear. A mother is all forgiving and children are poor communicators sometimes but it feels really good when someone we love loves us back simply for who we are and not for what we have done or failed to do. I told you these characters had depth!

I meant to keep this short but such an "incredible" effort warrants justice in the court of verbosity. As I close I will surely recommend The Incredibles. If its an inconvenience to get to the cinema then surely wait for the DVD, but the movie will be more bought to life on the larger screen.

So in summary if you are willing to leave your inhibitions at home, ready for some action, spontaneity, color, loads of laughs and a feel good movie with the good kind of predictability then go forth bravely and be prepared to come out feeling truly entertained.

Life parallels the screen sometimes and movies like this just show that there is a superhero within us all. We sometimes by choice or by force mask the hero within us but remember that there is one hidden in our deepest corners, we just need to find him or her. And even if we feel we live our whole life without finding that said hero, those that truly love us see the hero in us because love isn't gauged by achievements, accolades or success but by simply being the best we can be and by journeying on a path of self-improvement, kindness and forgiveness, and most importantly by being able to love in return.

Enjoy,

Shobhit

2004-12-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

With hopes and aspirations of being a good film director, producer, writer and story-teller I have taken a hard shot at being objective, yet critical of some of the pieces that I view.

Up until this time I have been lazy, talking out my thoughts while brushing my teeth and getting to those hard spots on the back during the daily shower, but 135 minutes can change things in a hurry.

Life is truly art. Everything we do is art in motion. Ever notice how you walk? How you talk? How you smile? Every (expletive omitted, lol) thing we do is simply art in motion. Ever wonder why certain friends, relatives, people appeal to us more than others? Simply because they are better art than the others, lol!! And as humans we inherently like seeing beautiful things, especially those with a well choreographed, natural "swagger", for lack of a better word, about them.

I can go down that route further delving into my theories about us being characters of a play of immense proportions with each of us here to fulfill a certain role, but this one isn't about that.

This one is about a 2 hour 15 minute film that will leave you turned on, turned off, then bored, then really bored, then challenging your intelligence and then finally making you wonder whether there was some deeper message that you simply didn't get. But then after much pondering you realize it was a comedy because the biggest joke was on you, the viewer, who can never get back that wasted time. How sad humor can be.

But let's stay fair and objective. Focus Shobhit, focus. So there is a movie out of Bollywood called Naach. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Antara Mali, and Ritesh Deshmukh. The premise is simple. Struggling actor who wants to be a success at any cost, struggling dance choreographer who wants to stick to her ideals and values and wants to make it big only based on her talents (never mind that her talents are choreographing dancing best suited for some bachelor party) and then there is naive, goodly director who finally spots this "talent". The twists are that struggling actor and dance choreographer had struggled together and had fallen in love with each other, until they went their separate ways, with actor becoming big and well the other still struggling to pay her monthly rent. Then naive director comes into the film and makes "moralistic" dance choreographer a success, also falls in love with her and is too dufus to tell her. Now successful, the actor realizes all the wealth, fame and fortune are nothing since he is really in love with our dancer. One tearful monologue later she is convinced that the "man" she fell in love with is back and she spurns the poor good guy director to go back to her original love.

I will pause while you go to puke, take some Panadol/ Tylenol or have already clicked on reply to send me a hate mail for giving you a massive headache. Well spare a thought I had to sit through the debacle.

Alright I am going to be fair.
The movie was a treat to watch if you are really, really into dancing. But wait you have to be into a certain kind of dancing. More sensual than artistic I would say and that mildly was disturbing since the impression given is that this kind of dancing is "different" and "straight from the heart/ soul". The film did have a genuine artsy feel to it. Apart from about 50 minutes of songs and 37 minutes of dialogue-less scenes the general cinematography did make you feel as if you were at the periphery of a movie set. (The aforementioned times worked in my favor since I was able to hit the fwd on my DVD and not miss anything while progressing along).

The scarcity of too many characters makes the viewer focus on our 3 main characters and that worked in favor of the flick. The depiction of some of the dirt and some of the flooziness that pervades the film industry was also well shown. I will give the fact that the dialogue exchanges were very elementary and simple to the fact that the characters weren't very educated and hence their vocabulary was limited. If that was the reason the director kept the exchanges such then he did well. If it was because he had a really bad script-writer then I hope this email reaches him and he ahem ahem gets a new one, hint hint.

Right now onto the good stuff.
First of all making a bad piece of work and then deglamorising it as if it was supposed to be ordinary in my opinion isn't art! Taking a story of a movie you yourself made about 8 years ago (Rangeela, which was a masterpiece might I add) and then playing musical chairs with the characters isn't really original either. Indian movies surprisingly still continue to challenge, somewhat mock the intelligence of the viewer and that is also not fair. I think one reason I was not pleased was simply because I at no point during the movie felt any activity in my brain. Well except to use my finger to press and unpress the fwd button on the remote.

Naach which means "dance" in English did have a lot of "naach-ing" in it but they were basically Power Yoga moves done a bit more intensely and with an air of sultriness about them. I like listening to stories, long ones too, and I think if you take 135 minutes to tell me something that could have been told in 10 minutes then that's a short-coming in either the narrative or the story itself.

Naach leaves nothing to mystery, nothing to think about and in reality nothing much to write about either, but I guess this is one way to save some other people's time. Anyone could have pulled of the male roles with ease, but giving credit where it is due, Antara Mali was great as a dancer and as the somewhat arrogant, moralistic, yet non-intellectual choreographer. She definitely has body suited for the role.

So in summary, if it isn't clear yet, I would stay far from this movie unless:
- you want to use it as a "colorful" Yoga video
- you really want to critique my opinions and prove me wrong
- you want to induce vomiting- you want to bore someone to sleep
- you want to choreograph a dance, in that sense you will get some nice moves for sure

My big tiffs with the flick were:
- at no point was I made to think
- the dialogues were ordinary
- the lack of depth of the characters was masked by a "naach" every so many minutes

Interestingly I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and I still haven't figured that one out, so help me if you can. More on that one soon, once I can digest it, lol.

Remember to send comments and be brutally honest, I love constructive criticism.
Regards,
Shobhit

American thoughts

2004-12-08T08:35:00.000-08:00

Hi there,

I am still in Boston and will be here till at least late November as my research is gathering steam. Some very interesting findings are coming to light. With Bhaiya now in Vermont and Bhabhi on the other side of town I am living on my own in an apartment and the solitude has been immense for me in terms of character development and introspection. Solitude has once again proven to be a worthy companion and quite frankly put a very subservient observer to my waxing and waning tendencies of self aggrandization and self deprecation. I feel as though I have lived 42 lives in these past 42 days.

Since my arrival here I have seen Bhaiya and Bhabhi a grand total of zero times, such is how busy we all have been. We do converse on the phone occasionally. As part of data collection I am frequently out of town so that is a reason why as well.

Some final ramblings before I close.
Things that in summary I have realised about being alone and being in the US:
- Damn it is cold!!
- Darkness at 4 pm was never something I liked the last time I was here and let's just say some things never change.
- Having said that the above has made me appreciate the sunrise in a very different way. Probably the way a choking man seeks oxygen or the starved seeks a meal, perhaps?
- People always make a big deal about fall colors and rant and rave etc etc, well let me say, those people, articles and pictures are all immensely under-exaggerating!!! The beauty and tranquility that the oft taken for granted leaves offer is more valuable then a sale in the mall, a favorite TV show or a "lime"! I am beginning to see what kind of place heaven and "jannat" probably is.
- Damn it is cold!! (worth mentioning twice ha ha)-
I have discovered a great new diet. I have lost 12 pounds since I have been on it. Its called "Don't eat Mom's cooking"!! ;) It may also be called "Live alone, fat boy"!!! ;) ha ha ha ha!
- Long walks among rustling leaves and industrious and yet "chanchal" squirrels darting across sidewalks while the fresh air of opportunity, equality, imagination and non-bias caresses your face, coupled with street punks disfiguring some street sign and then the Dunkin' Donuts where behind the counter Gujurati Akhilesh makes my coffee, and culminating with my trek back to my lonely apartment where my Amitabh Hits CD is on continuous play, and that is what I call seeing the world in one walk around the 'hood!!

We go through life feeding everything from our stomachs, to our wallets, to our egos and our desires, but how often do we feed our soul with the food of a life truly lived?

Bonne appetit!
Love and regards,Shobhit