tit for tat

"Vote pane ke lie hamesha Soniaji ke bare mai ulta sidha bolne wale Narendra Modi ko main bolna chahata hu ki Sonia Gandhi ka birth certificate ki humko koi zaroorat nahin hai. Janta Sonia Gandhi ko Indira Gandhi ke roop mein dekhti hai. Magar kya Gujarat ke bahar ki janta ko yeh malum hai ki woh (Narendra Modi) kaunsi naali mein paida hua hai? Usko (Narendra Modi) pata nahi hai ki uske baap ka name kya hai, jo Sonia ji ke baare mein baatein karta rehta hai. (I want to tell Narendra Modi — who always targets Sonia Gandhi for want of votes — that we do not need Sonia Gandhi's birth certificate. Indian people see her as a reincarnation of Indira Gandhi. But do the people outside Gujarat know which gutter Narendra Modi was born in? He does not even know his own father's name.)" - B K Hariprasad (Congress General Secretary in charge of Gujrat)

"Rahul-Rajiv, Rajiv-Feroz. Until there it's okay, but then what after that? These Congressmen who abuse Narendra Modi, show us your roots. You are the descendants of Muslims from Junagadh." - Purushottam Rupala (Gujarat BJP President)

We tolerate this much and Mr Symonds was crying on those monkey chants. shee shee....
BTW, all the warnings signals have been alarmed. Aussies are waiting hungrily there in OZ land.

Monkey Chanting continued

Four Indian fans were detained at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday for making monkey gestures at Australian player Andrew Symonds.
read full story

Was it really needed? Why was Jade Goody not immediately thrown out of big brother's house then?

Monkey Chanting

Did you ever wonder what is this monkey chant business that's so much in news these days?
Here is a brief definition of "monkey chanting" from Internet:

Indeed it's a racist "chant". It began in Spain, where the Spanish hooligans began to "chant" like monkeys(hoo hoo hoo...) every time a coloured player of the other team had possession of the ball.
It reached international status when in a friendly, England's Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole were subjected to monkey chants in Madrid, prompting a furious reaction from the Football Association.
Since last year I haven't heard any monkey chants, so I hope you shouldn't hear any more about this ugly business.

Here is what wikipedia explains as monkey chanting:

Kecak (pronounced: "KEH-chahk", alternate spellings: Ketjak, Ketjack, and Ketiak), a form of Balinese music drama, originated in the 1930s and is performed primarily by men. Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of 100 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana where monkeys help Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance.

And here is a link to video of monkey chanting.

ps: By any chance if you thought that crowd in Indian Stadiums was calling Symonds monkey then you can just forget this mistake as a side effect of going by the face value of Andrew Symonds.

Tum

Pehli saans
Mere din ki pehli dhoop
Chaand ki pehli kiran

Pehla geet
Baarish ki pehli boond
Tum sheeth ki pehli kampan

Usne bheja tumhe mere liye...
Soone dil ki tum dhadkan....

Saanson mein jo mere kwaabon mein jo... woh ho tum....
Raaton mein jo meri baaton mein jo....woh ho tum....

Pehli saans
Phoolon ki tum khushboo
Pehli jeet tum pehli haar..

Pehla geet
Phoolon ki pehli raat
Tum hi ho mera pehla pyaar.......

Usne bheja tumhe mere liyee...

Mere dil ki tum dulhan

Saanson mein jo mere kwaabon mein jo... woh ho tum....
Raaton mein jo meri baaton mein jo....woh ho tum....woh ho tum.......

Saanson mein jo mere kwaabon mein jo... woh ho tum....
Raaton mein jo meri baaton mein jo....woh ho tum....

"Tum" by Euphoria

Silent Conversations

me: Pakhi... Pakhi... Are you there?
[No Reply]
me: I know you are there. You cannot leave me for even a moment. Reply please.

pakhi: [grins] So you knew I was just playing hide-n-seek? Smart, Very smart.

me: Yes. That I am. [100W glow on face]

pakhi: So how come did you remember me today?

me: What kind of question is that? I remember you everyday. Its just that today I expressed my wishes to meet you.

pakhi: Oh really!!! I am impressed. So tell me what's up in life?

me: hmmmm...

pakhi: Ok tell me what is it. I know there is something that you wanted to share with me. Afterall you don't miss me just like that.

me: [grins] Oh well. It's you who is smart. You know everything.

pakhi: Ok don't change the topic. Tell me what is it?

me: hmmmm... Actually the problem is that there is no problem.

pakhi: [with a puzzled look on her face] What!! The problem is that there is no problem. Don't talk in riddles yaar. Tell what's going on in your mind?

me: Arre. I am telling you no!! There is no problem. Coz there is nothing happening in life. It's as monotonous as the shades on a white washed wall.

pakhi: Oh I see. So you are going through a bad patch?

me: You are right to an extent. But then how can I call it a bad patch if there is nothing wrong in life. I mean I am enjoying my work. I am having great time with friends and family. Future looks all brightened and happy.

pakhi: Then?

me: Then nothing. I mean I am getting bored of all this. Its too usual a life.

pakhi: So what do you want from life?

me: Only if one could have known that, life would have been a pleasure. Right now I don't know what do I want. I am really clueless about it. Just going with the flow.

pakhi: And that flow has been taking you to places. Then isn't it nice to just let it happen. If you are not sure what you want, why not let things come to your way if they are good.

me: oh really???

pakhi: Yes, but that does not mean that you don't think about what you want. You will have to find that answer yourself. And you will have to do it fast. Winds might change any day. You can not always rely on lady luck or gut feelings.

me: Your words make sense to me. Thanks so much.

pakhi: So here you start again with your sorry-thankyou shit... You are not going to change right?

me: [grins] No way. I am who I am. And I am happy with that. Just a bit of improvement here and there and I will be the best.

pakhi: Yea yea. Good.

ps: Thanks Vatsy.

Devil's Advocate with Kanimojhi

An interesting read on current issues.

Karan Thapar: Let’s start with your father’s comments about Lord Ram. ‘Who is this Ram? Which engineering college did he study in and become a civil engineer? When did he build this so-called bridge?’ Can you accept that to the hundreds and millions who worship Ram as God, both the tone and the content are deeply offensive?

Kanimozhi: You will have to put it in the right perspective and look at the whole issue. He was not trying to insult anybody or hurt anybody’s religious sentiments. In Tamil Nadu, we come from a culture that questions and is open to criticism, be it culture or anything else.

Kanimojhi in Devil's Advocate with Karan Thapar.

Blue Umbrella

I am wondering how I managed [or actually mis-managed] to keep myself from watching this movie. I really was missing a nice movie.
Watching blue umbrella just gave me one gyan- there are so many small joys of life. If we give them their due importance, life will be so good.
We all need a blue umbrella in our life. To be the child again. To live the life again.

If you have been fool enough to not watch this movie, do it the first chance you get. Its worth every moment.

no smoking

A quick update.
I have been listening to soundtrack of No Smoking.
Nice music by Vishal Bhardwaj. Very soft and soothing. There is a jazz composition too. Hummable. Give it a shot...

ps: It does not have any "sutta" song.

passionforcinema.com

Checkout www.passionforcinema.com

This is the best site I have seen on Indian Cinema. Many well known writer/directors maintain their blog here. Nice read indeed.

If you think about cinema this place is like a posh restaurant for you. Best of delicacies served fresh and hot.

Thanks Rout for sharing info about this site with me.

Chartbusters

Top five songs on my playlist these days:

1. Johnny breakbeat mera naam [from Johnny Gaddar] - Not even in your wildest dreams you would have thought of mixing our chilhood jingle "johnny johnny yes papa" with the famous dialogue by Devananad "Johnny mera naam". That's exactly what Gulraj Singh has done for soundtrack of Johnny Gaddar. The mix of electronic sounds with guitar is almost perfect. The narration in background makes it all the more interesting. One great funk song. Number one in my list.

2. Move your body [from Johnny Gaddar] - A radio in distance plays "doob jaa mere pyar me". And you listen to a blast of beats close to you. Beats get fast and some rap sequence start. All the transitions take place as natural as you can imagine. Your feet can not stop themselves from dancing to the tune. Its almost like a instinct. A perfect dance number. This song should have been publicized on a grander scale. It's a chart buster. Nice rapping done by Hard Kaur.

3. Man Moniye [from Dil Dosti Etc..] - Labh Janjua is brilliant. Punjabi funk could not have got a better definition than this. This songs come in the end of the movie and set the mood for the perfect end. It can set mood anytime. It will be played at all the parties this year. Another dance number that will make anyone to shake their legs. There is a DJ Phat mix of the song too. But I feel the original is too good to be matched by anything else.

4. Bhool Bhoolaiyaa [from Bhool Bhoolaiyaa] - This is trademark Bombay Viking. Neeraj Sreedhar does a good job. Another funky dance number. And another rap sequence. The remix version is somehow no match for the original one. Another chart buster.

5. Soni De Nakhre [ from Partner] - Labh Janjua is rocking all along. This one is from partner. Made more to suit the shadi-party scene, this one lacks the free spirit of man moniye, but is really enjoyable nonetheless. Fast beats matched nicely with some electronic sounds.

Johnny Gaddar - 5stars

Sriram Raghvan rocks!!!

Consider this - You know from the start that Johnny is Gaddar. And you also know that who is Johnny. But still you sit and watch the movie for 2 hours. And to your amazement, it keeps you glued to the screen. It thrills you to watch every moment of the movie. There are no stars, they are just the characters. They are characters which are needed there to be there. Moreover they just do not fall from sky but indeed have grown along with the storyline. There is a story. So is the screenplay. The screen is not larger than life but still it's of a kind that has somehow been missing from silver screen. There is music which matches with the pace of movie minute by minute. There is everything you look in a good film.

Two hours of brilliance. Pace with class.

I am not talking about some hollywood flick.

Its Johnny Gaddar for you...

Sriram Raghvan really rocks.
For those of you who still do not know who Sriram Raghvan is - he is the director of movie Johnny Gaddar [and Ek Hasina Thi, watch this one if you have not seen]

ps: This movie's soundtrack is not really publicized. Check it out. It's probably the best in recent times.

Dil Dosti Etc... Yes Yes Yes

The first reaction after I came out of movie hall - "what the hell!!! What crap did I see in last two hours or so!!Full of sex abuse and shit..."
The second reaction after I gave some thought to the story and screenplay of the movie - "I missed it somehow. It was not about sex. It was about the gun which Sanjay Mishra pointed to his lover's two piece clad body."
The third reaction after I gave some more thought about it - "This movie was only about meaning of one word - love. For Mishra it was so pure while for Apoorva it was just plain lust."
And it goes on...

I, and for that matter most of us, won't be able to relate to this film. I got so lost in the college-politics-sex theme of the movie that I totally missed the soul of the movie. It was about Dil and Dosti. What I saw that time was just the "etc..." part.

The soul of movie was in the thinking of two main characters Sanjay Mishra (played brilliantly by Shreyas Talpade) and Apoorva (played by charismatic and talented Imaad Shah). While Mishra could not imagine seeing his love interest posing in front to viewers in two piece suite, Apoorva could not find the difference between love and sex. For him love was sex, for he asks Mishra once "Can there be love without sex?"

Mishra runs for the post of President in his college and this is his sole dream at the moment. He wants to do something for himself and he knows exactly what he want. Apoorva on the other hand has no idea about his life. He leaves an offer from Yale to join DU. He too wants to live his life his ways. And in fact both of them are successful in their pursuit. Mishra wins the election while Apoorva gets to sleep with three girls in a day.

While Apoorva talks about Satre and Qureshi [the so called pseudo intellectual look], Mishra is an idealist. He does what he thinks is right. By hook or crook he wants to become to president in the college coz he knows if not him someone else will do anything to become the president. His character is of a person with lots of values while Apoorva just the opposite. Still they appreciate each other. This is Dosti they are talking about.

This movie has an interesting theme line - "When you are young, you believe the possibilities are endless..." Gives a lot to think about. I would say this is worth one watch. The crude depiction of reality might be shocking for many but this is the way it is.

Its about love. Love for yourself. period.

Hey babyy - bad badder baddest

This movie showcases the most dramatic of hruday parivartan you can imagine in you wildest imaginations.

Imagine this scene:
Three good-for-nothing mushtandes leave a cute little baby at doorstep of some church and go to some party. No remorse whatsoever. One might doubt if that party was to celebrate their achievement. It rains that night. That night it would have rained in the worst of draught affected place also. The rain was there to give flu to the kid. The kid lies helplessly in the rain. [Ms Renuka Chowdhary, are you watching it? Child abuse on cinema screen!!!]
And then our three heroes realize their mistake. They go to check if the baby is fine and find that it is not doing well. They rush to hospital. Doctor declares the kid is in critical condition. And here comes to you-have-seen-it-1000-times turn of the movie. Mr Fardeen prays to god and so do other. Thank to the hospital management for the prime location of prayer space in the hospital.
And the child recovers. Yes, God does exist. What happens after that is the hruday parivartan I am talking about. Three playboys turn into homely mans and they fall in love with the kid. Now onwards their life has only one meaning - the kid.

yukky yukky yukky...

If someone thought it was an heart touching moment full of emotions. Just plain melodrama. Full of falsity.

You really can not expect true emotions in movie directed by none other than Mr Sajid Khan. This guy will never be able to mark the difference between a joke and bad joke. His level and understanding of comedy is sick. It's just full of expletive remarks and double meaning dialogues.

Remember the kabaddi match from Pardes. A girl's future was decided by a game of Kabbadi. If that was blasphemous. Here we have something novel. A girl herself gets into a agreement whereby she would marry a guy she hates if she does not find a suitable match for herself in 7 days. How creative we can be!!! Of course it is time of collation government made on promises of power transfer midway the term, so this all can be expected.

there is no choice. One person whom I sympathise is All the character are so superficial. No trace of emotions or reality can be found even on the upper most layer of each character. Akshay never gets bored playing playboys. For fardeenRitesh Deshmukh. He showed a great potential in Bluffmaster. Vidya Balan should not even get a mention in name of actors for the film.

Heart breaking news that this film is a hugh box office success. And guess what it is also termed as a family blockbuster!!!

Kab tak hamein Sajid Khan ka dimagi kachara jhelana padega???
God save us!!!

Dhamaal - no dhamaal

Let me start Bollywood - Mediocrity Exemplified on a lighter note. No no. don't think that this has anything to do with movie being so called a comedy movie. A laugh riot, if I believe those film critics. Actually the term film critic does not fit most of them. They are more of file trade analysts than a critic.
So what is dhamaal all about?
Let me quote from the movie official site:

"As the name suggests it is fun filled coper about four friends Roy, Manav, Adi and Boman. This four lovable idiots live and work together. Their idea of work? Doing small time con jobs. One day something happens and they all seem to get their big break in life. But also enters in the scene is Mr Kabir Nayak. As one misadventure follows after another, the five are thrown into hilarious situations that has the audience in splits and guessing. Big Action. Big Fun. Dhamaal..."

So you must have guessed what this movie is all about. Let me try to explain it in one line: Four good for nothing guys chasing a big lottery accompanied by one more good for nothing cop.

Why do I say this movie is mediocre? Let me try to list 5 points:
1. Just by dressing up as a parsi does not make you a parsi. Neither does using "dikra" in every second sentence you speak. Asarani as Boman's father is pathetic.
2. Javed Jafari is supposed to be one of the best comedian in bollywood. But why is he trying to mimic Rohit (of Koi Mil Gaya fame) is a unanswerable questions. Just by behaving childish does not make you lovable. It just irritates most of the times.
3. Most of the jokes are stale and boring. You heard them when you were in class 3rd. If I was in class 3rd today, I would have really loved this movie.
4. Arshad Varsi disappoints again with his repetitive styles. This guy always seem to live in shadow of Circuit (of Munna Bhai fame) in this movie. No doubt he is the best performer in the movie. But still he sucks big time nonetheless.
5. Why did Sanjay Dutt do this movie? My Guess: a) For money. b)For money. c) For money. and d) For money. There is absolutely no need for him in any frame.

Then there are songs which should not have been there.
And characters like commissioner of police and land-lady which should not have been there.

This movie is a success just because we don't cherish good quality comedy now. We saw so many of them in Great India Comedy show but still we stick to age old characters for our smiles. Kids will surely love this film so do family audience as there is no double meaning dialogue. But then it does not mean that we keep making such films and try to make a genre out of it.

I wish Hrishikesh Mukharjee was alive today.

Bollywood - Mediocrity Exemplified

I don't claim to be a movie buff. I am not. Certainly not one of those who spend their weekend watching any or every movie that hits the silver screen.
I always carefully chose the movie I want to watch. And I am proud of the fact that I have never regretted my choice. Well most of the times. This way I can certainly save myself from wasting my time effort and money in the crap that is being served in name of cinema these days.

We are getting gobbled up by the mediocrity bug. Movies like Hey Babyy, Dhol and Dhamal are doing well at the box office. I watched both of them. I hated each and every moment of it. But still I do not regret doing it. Coz it minds me of the mediocrity that I want to rise above. I watched Dil Dosti Etc. too. I know this movie will not do well at box office. My first reaction after watching this movie was a feeling of heart break with my confidence in choice of movies. But then at later point of time I realized, it indeed is a nice movie. Much better than scores of shitty no-story-no-logic bollywood junk that is served in disguise of a movie.

In next few posts I would try to post my views about some movies that I recently watched.
1. Hey Babyy
2. Dhol
3. Dil Dosti Etc.
4. Dhamal

Looking forward to see some comments and views from others too...