Cry for sanity in a lawless land...

Priyadarshan has finally made a good sensible movie after showing sparks of brilliance in Gardish and Viraasat (which is by far the BEST Anil Kapoor movie IMO)...Aakrosh may not be that killer, in fact it has some glaring holes and very easily noticeable discontinuities, but that doesnt take away from the fact that it still manages to be an engrossing movie....Its been a while since I saw a decent movie which is neither ridiculous nor amazing - kind of run-of-the-mill and yet gripping...Once Upon A Time In Mumbai came close, but lost out due to corny dialogues....

Coming back to Aakrosh, it is decently directed, decently enacted fare, which touches a social issue wthout being too preachy and dull, manages to pack in some chase scenes and action to keep the adrenaline flowing, also squeezes in a couple of (listless) songs and despite not being able to cross the line into awesomeness, manages to leave a mark...Ajay Devgan is as efficient as ever...For some some reason, I always like Akshaye Khanna, even if his performance is sometimes over-the-top and sometimes indifferent...here it veers more towards the latter but thats more because the characters are half-baked and less bcz of his lack of sincerity....Paresh Rawal turns in a crackling performance as always, this time with a more villainous bent...The others dont do anything worth mentioning...Dialogues are average and yet not too corny, which saves the movie from being cringe-worthy, something that's really important in these Raavan-esque times...Cinematography and action are pretty good and bgm complements the proceedings well for the most part...

There was a lot of scope for some interesting camaraderie between the lead pair (Devgan and Khanna) and had that angle been developed further, the movie might have turned out even more memorable...Its only above average as a result, but still watchable and dare I say, even enjoyable...Its good to see Priyadarshan move away from BS like De Dana Dan and Khatta Meetha, even if through a "mild" inspiration of Mississippi Burning...Looking forward to more from his Viraasat days...

Just another day in the life of.....

R : So how was it?
A : What do you think?
R : Your face tells me it went well!
A : Really?? That's what you could read from my face??
R : Why? Am I wrong?
A : Duh huh! Yeah you are!
R : What happened??
A : Everything that could have possibly gone wrong, did!
R : Like....
A : For starters, I forgot the name of the dude who invented radiophrenology....and then the gaspernetics theorem, what the hell is that thing??! I never seem to understand it! Every time I read it, I think I do, but clearly I dont! And to top it, in the end, I messed up the Max-Kruger duality equations leading to the wrong answer to the Y-modal problem.....
R : Oooh! That's bad! Tough luck dude!
A : Well, its not just luck you know...Sometimes I think all of this is connected...somehow....someone, somewhere is making the decisions for us, while we sit here thinking we are the masters of our own destiny...
R : Now you are just sounding like Yash Chopra uncle...someone, somewhere...is made for you....and all that crap!
A : Why? Dont you believe in something like that? Dont you believe in destiny?
R : Yeah right! I write my own destiny!
A : Exactly! That's what I said! We think we do, but really we dont! We just lay the dots...someone up there connects them ...and as you know, the dots dont mean anything by themselves....its only when they are connected that they form a pattern...
R : !
A : clearly you disagree :)
R : Well, not completely....but in part, yes! If we lay the dots, why cant we be the ones to connect them?
A : Because we cant see the pattern from here! The pattern appears only from a third person's point of view...and to us, only in retrospect....Consider this : how would you construct a building if you were standing inside one of the rooms? Its something that's going to "grow" organically around you....of course, someone will build it from outside but to you, it seems like its growing, evolving...It all depends on the perspective!
R : Wow! Never looked at it that way! That's actually fascinating!
A : See! Sometimes I do make sense :)
R : Sometimes! That's the key word here :D
A : Yeah! That's better than never....which is the key word for "some" people... :P
R : Oh yeah! That's precisely why I keep telling you everything's gonna be alright everytime you are low! :P
A : Hey! I am never low okay! I just try to act that way...coz you know, people shouldnt feel I dont care about important stuff like studies and career...
R : Haha! That's just BS! You never admit your insecurities, do you! :P
A : Insecurities! Blah! You are the one with insecurities!
R : Haha! Who calls me at the middle of the night to say she misses her mom!
A : And who cries like a baby everytime he loses like an amateur on the tennis court?
R : I never lose! I let others win!
A : lol! Now THAT, my dear friend, is BS!! :D
R : "I miss my mom, I wanna go home!" :P
A : "I am never gonna be able to build my muscles...even if I start LIVING in the gym!"
R : "My roommate gets asked out all the time...Cant guys see me??"
A : Alright alright! That's it! Lets call it a tie...
R : What tie! I always win and you say its a tie!! No tie-shie! I won outright!
A : What win! We werent playing anything! It was just random philosophy for godsakes!
R : That's something you always say when I win! Never give me any credit!
A : Now that's just not true....
R : Even day before yesterday, at the cafe....you were.....
A : Every time you have to bring winning and....
R : Bullll....
A : No listen to me...every time...you do this....and I am fed up....
R : Yeah, like I am not!
A : ..............
R : ...........


Rahul aur Anjali ka firse jhagda ho gaya....

Completely oblivious to the fact that they are indeed standing in "the room", while "someone" is building something special around them....something they will only see in retrospect...only from a third person's point of view...indeed, someone is connecting the dots, but they cant see it...And until they cant, Rahul aur Anjali ka jhagda hota rahega, aur ye sab aisehi chalta rahega :)

N - S

I am about a year late....and after the 3 Idiots fiasco, my "respect" for Chetan Bhagat has gone down several notches....but that doesnt change the fact that I liked 2 States...

All the cliche and north vs south brouhaha aside, 2 states is at its core a sweet love story (yes, big surprise...i am a hopeless romantic at heart...), one that conquers all odds, step by step, almost clinically and yet takes you along for a fun ride...What worked most for me was the girl Ananya's character - she's such a kick-ass, strong girl who believes in what she wants and does it without any apologies and reservations! Would love to meet her if she indeed exists! 

Although Five Point Someone remains the best Chetan Bhagat book yet, 2 States sort of gets him back into the game after a Bollywood-ish 3 Mistakes....Hope to see more slice of life stuff with fewer cliches and more Ananyas from Bhagat...

P.S. : Somewhere down the line, I had plans of penning down bits of my story....but alas, life has different plans for everyone....cant complain! :)

If you cant beat 'em, distract 'em!

N : Wow! Your handwriting is beautiful!

Me : Its a defense mechanism....like Chandler's....makes people momentarily forget that my solutions to some of those math problems are plain BS....

Forgotten dreams...

I sit here on a Sunday afternoon, typing this out, while not more than a few meters away, a bunch of youngsters strum away on their guitars, producing those utterly irresistible sounds that only a guitar can...I listen to the strumming, zoning out from the work I am supposed to be doing and contemplate how much I miss holding a six-string, struggling hard to make sense of the plucking...Its been more than 20 months since I stopped playing (not that I ever played very well, just about okay....but I miss trying hard to make the transition from just-about-okay to this-sounds-pretty-good) ...With time, your aspirations change, some things gain more priority over others, you move on in life....and yet some of these dreams linger...somewhere in the back of your mind...trying to find a way out and cease to be just dreams...trying to make a transition to reality...I just wonder where that passion, that desire, that hunger to try and master something totally unknown disappears in the need to find your own feet and stay true to your purported "potential"...

Recent top listens...

Taking a cue from Milliblog, and due to lack of time (and sometimes desire!) to write elaborate music reviews for every album, here's a quick list of top recent listens. The list is personal but the appeal of the music, I'm sure, is universal!

Hello Hello - Jhootha Hi Sahi : A R Rahman
Karthik sings this beautifully orchestrated track, which has traces of middle-eastern music, adding a nice touch to the otherwise Jaane Tu-ish album by ARR. Nice, different stuff. Much better than Raavan!

Kya - Crook : Pritam
Pritam is back with some vintage stuff in Crook, not least Kya sung oh-so-well by Neeraj Sridhar. Breezy and likable to the core, the laid-back rendition more than bowls you over. The rest of the album is pretty decent too. Emraan Hashmi continues his tryst with melodious and memorable music!

Hairat - Anjaana Anjaani : Vishal Shekhar
As stated here before, Hairat is a superb "comeback" for Lucky Ali, and may well end up being the song of the year. The amazing tune and arrangements elevate it to dizzying heights in an even-otherwise noteworthy album, choc-a-bloc with foot-tapping as well as melodious stuff.

Munni Badnaam and Tere Mast Mast Do Nain - Dabangg : Sajid-Wajid
Mamta Sharma does a fab job in Lalit's inspired composition Munni, which will probably earn her accolades as the year draws to an end, but really its Malaika and Sallu who have made this song so much fun! One of those rare gems which sounds so much different and better once you have seen it on screen! Tere Mast Mast, on the ohter hand, is slow poison, something Rahat Fateh Ali Khan keeps doing fairly regularly. Full marks, nonetheless!

Naina Miley - Robot : A R Rahman
Suzanne and ARR create a heady mix of electronika and vocals to serve a funky, catchy, foot-tapping number that refuses to leave ur sense inspite of some intermittent loony lyrics. Super stuff from ARR!

Rang Dalein - Lafangey Parindey : R Anandh
Suraj Jagan does a great job keeping the feel alive in this spirited number, which deserves reruns especially because of its music arrangements, not least the Corrs-inspired clip played intermittently.

Gal Mithi Mithi, Suno Aisha - Aisha : Amit Trivedi
Toshi rocks Gal Mithi Mithi with Amit Trivedi goin Punju, while Suno Aisha by Ash King and Trivedi himself is delectable and addictive to say the least. Gems in a studded album, probably the album of the year!

Till next time then! Ciao!

Your best friend is suing you...for 600 million dollars

I must admit....the first time I saw the trailer of The Social Network, I was skeptical. I couldnt understand why Hollywood had decided to screw up the story of the founding of one of the biggest phenomenon of our times. I was sure the movie would be over-simplified, over-dramatized, and basically moronic, and the understated promo did nothing to change that. Having dismissed the movie, I moved on with life, and it was only today, the day the movie premiers, that the media coverage caught my attention - for some reason, everyone was talking about the movie. And not just because its a movie about Facebook but because its a good, (according to some, great!) movie about Facebook! That was so unexpected and totally unforeseen and 12 hours later, I was at the cinemas, with a bunch of friends, waiting for the saga to unfold, curious about how interesting and binding a movie about coders could be. And boy! Was I wrong or what! The Social Network is probably the best movie out of Hollywood this year....and yes! This is indeed the year when soon-to-be cults like Inception, Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me have enchanted audiences worldwide!

Director David Fincher, whose last effort - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - was a cosmetic bore, has done a fabulous job by extracting some noteworthy performances from the entire cast, and that is no mean feat considering the cast comprises of Justin Timberlake! Jesse Eisenberg is brilliant as Mark Zuckerberg, resembling the youngest billionaire in the world in look and (reportedly) mannerisms perfectly. Andrew Garfield as Eduardo is excellent and lends a load of credibility to the frames he is present in. Armie Hammer packs a sucker punch in dual roles of the Winklevoss twins, while Justin Timberlake takes you by surprise completely with his flamboyant, genius-bordering-on-self-destruction portrayal of that shrewd wolf Sean Parker, who not only gave the world Napster and Plaxo, but was also instrumental in making Facebook the phenomenon that it is today. But the real star of the movie is undoubtedly screenplay writer Aaron Sorkin, who creates such a spellbinding script full of energetic and relatable dialogue, it elevates the movie to an altogether different level. The background score deserves special mention for lending a lot of emotion and feel to the proceedings.

The movie is a part-fiction, part-real portrayal of the rise of Facebook, and while which parts are more real than others is debatable, herein lies a tale that catalogs the conceptualization and implementation of one of the most influential ideas of our generation. More importantly, it is a study in human psyche and the fact that, while you cant stop admiring Zuck for his spirited and almost single-handed launch of Facebook, at the same time, you cannot forgive him for being so influenced by Parker and being unfair to his best friend and business partner Eduardo, shows how well the character has been etched. Above all, the movie is an inspiration and a warning for budding entrepreneurs, who have dreams of making it big but can oversee friendships in the process. Although the movie paints Zuck as an a-hole and shows how inept he is/was at social relationships (while ironically building a social networking website!) , I found something ultimately inspiring in the way he went about his business. True - his motive was wrong, his conduct too, his maturity was virtually non-existent and he didnt get chicks or entry to the elite clubs, but in the end, he succeeded in building his vision and preserving it without giving in to the demands of others.

There's something to learn and a lot to observe in The Social Network. All wannabe entrepreneurs, all CS people, all Facebook users and all movie lovers, go watch the movie...NOW!

P.S. : Oh! and Aaron Sorkin FTW \m/ If they dont give him the Best Adapted Screenplay this year, the Oscars will just become another Filmfare for me.