Words fall short

I had to write something about this epic movie... better late than never.

This Christmas, there has been three supposed blockbuster releases... two in Hindi - Taare Zameen Par (TZP) and Welcome, and one Bengali - Koilashe Kelenkari (KK). All three are watchable for their own reasons. TZP is Amir Khan's first directorial venture and we expect a lot from him and going by the reviews, this film promised to be a superb one. Welcome's main draw are the stars who star in the film. KK is a gripping Felu da film brought to motion by own very own, the great Satyajit Ray's son, Sandip Ray.

TZP is the first film I chose to see... I prefer to see Amir Khan's movie by the first week itself.

What can I say about the film... its one of the finest one can see in this decade, the direction being the high-point. Amir proves his ability once again and has left us wanting for more. In the theater, I could feel everybody around me sobbing, my friend (a male!) was literally shaking with emotion and I could see him wiping his eyes frequently. Believe me, no one needed to be ashamed to be crying in the open, such is the impact of the film.

Such a emotional movie, but never did we feel that the pace of is anything near slow. Normally I hate going to watch movies that are mushy and emotional in nature, but this one has a message and a lot of learning for parents. Yester-night only, Amir had turned up on the news channel, Times Now, and was supposed to face questions from callers, live. And the phone never stopped ringing... everyone has been calling to congratulate him on the wonderful film, leave alone the wonderful directorial debut and great acting skills from Amir and the wonder kid. Everyone acknowledges the fact that the film has taught them a lesson or two about parenting. The adulations left him quite emotional and choked at the end of the show.

There are so many high-points in the film that it is impossible to find one single scene worth a mention. However, Amir in the interview, described the scene where the kid's father came to him trying to assure that he takes "good care" of his son, but he, the teacher, describes what taking care is all about. The songs are apt to the plot of the film, simple, lyrical and melodious... they carry the story forward. Tremendous work by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

You might have seen and read a lot about this film, so without writing anything more, let me say this loud and clear... whether you are a film watcher or not, whether you like Hindi movies or not, this is a must watch.

to keep clean

Almost three weeks back, I was passing Nicco Park to reach my office. I discovered an unbearable stench coming from a stretch just after the entertainment park (for those who are guessing, Nicco Park is the entertainment park). I found that the stench is emanating from a stray dog that has 'passed away', maybe a good few hours before… made me ponder over the fact that "theirs is a dog's life" and hoped the body will be removed soon by Nabadigonto (responsible for cleaning and beautification of the roads).

Two weeks passed, the body still lay there unattended!! The body had become dry and almost half the actual size, though the silver lining (if you see any!) was… even the smell had dried. The cars whizzed past, not bothered (as they had not been bothered the last time, when a young engineer died on the same road… unattended… after a bike accident), not too many people walked in the nearby areas, and the nearby traffic policeman seemed to busy with his own duty. I felt that the Naba (Nabadigonto, casually) guys in the nearby area need to be told that planting trees and cutting grass isnt the only beautification job possible.

I started by nagging two policeman in a nearby check post and asked them to own the added responsibility and let the Naba guys know about the carcass they have failed to clear till then. It went for two days… needless to say - without any result. Then I walked along the stretch of our office to find a Naba guy working on beautification. Asked him to let his colleagues know about the body merely a 100 m from there; he also promised me the contact number of Naba; but, never got to see him since.

However, the last few days, the body is not there… maybe my nagging has worked… maybe they have found their mistake. Better Late Than Never… B.U.T. another dog seemed to have given up its life for the sake of 'dog'kind probably expecting a better treatment this time. I also hope the same and if this does not happen, I may have to get down on the roads this time as well. Or, may be, a few more associates take it up on themselves to get rid of the mess.

Whatever happens, we need to take a little more onto ourselves to ensure a clean and green ambience, and I believe that we have still not started.

With the good wishes of all you friends, I introduce to you a new place where I have managed to write a new story. The place is a publication on the internet, Indo Canada Outlook; the url being IndoCanadaOutlook.com. It is an electronic monthly, produced by GlobalomMedia (GlobalomMedia.com). We can write for this and/or its sister publication South Asian Outlook (SouthAsianOutlook.com). Volunteers can submit their article/story/interview for consideration for publication.

I hope to write more articles in future on various topics. Will keep you posted on my latest releases as I have always done.

Cheers...........

Second Day Last Show

Oops, this time I was indecisive about seeing the film the first day!!

Initially, I was not eager to see the film as I thought of not going to the theater to see the couple that has failed miserably every time they have come on-screen. However, the change this time was that.. this film is directed by Maniratnam, music composed by A.R. rahman, this this duo makes any film likeable by their taut script and wonderful music. Plus, the thought that this was a story of inspiration pushed me to the theater when my friends asked me to pursue them. And yes, the duo did not let me down. The script was very good, the film wasting no time in getting into the actual matter at breakneck speed... ufff, there is not a min. to lose. The background score, as usual is beautiful and the songs picturesque.

However, what surprised me was the performance of the lead pair, specially mentioning Abhishek. He has been spot on from the very first scene, looked at ease with the character, looked like he has done a lot of home work for the role. He is in(to) the film in almost every scene and looked like pulling every scene with elan. Rumours are Abhishek has put on 11 kgs for this film, looked true. One more thing that an average cinegoer will be interested is the comparison of this film with the life of the great enterpreuner, Dhirubhai Ambani. The great man is said to have started from Dubai, our Guru Kant Desai started from Turkey set in an old time. His rise to fame is very fast, not only in the reel, but in his actual life as well. This raised a lot of eyebrows. Here comes the quality acting of Mithun and his aide, Madhavan. Mithun, as the owner of a succesful english daily, looked to uncover the 400% growth of the 'Shakti Parivaar' as Guru prefers to call the corp; though internally the two man bled for each other internally. In the end, how Guru comes of the whole mess is for everyone to see.

The film is a rocking one if you want to draw inspiration from the characters. However, it lacks a bit to highlight the emotional side of the relationships. There are so many things to show, that too is such less time. Other than a few emotional moments, the characters get lost midway. This film truly belongs to Abhishek for the length of his role, his screen presence and his performance. Ash does not disappoint as well.. her transformation to a Gujarati village belle from the Dhoom2 mould is cool. Mithun da's performance is worth a wow as well. Maddy (as we refer Madhavan) looks nice and young and has considerable role towards the end. And how can I forget the beautiful Vidya Balan? She plays Mithun's grand daughter in the film, down with an ailment.. her chemistry with Maddy (never mind they aren't sharing screen too much) and the kiss are not to be missed.

To cut the looooong story short, this film definitely worth a watch. Jr. B fans will lap up the film with both hands. Its not for any reason that Jr. says that this is his biggest film till now. Congrats to Abhi and Ash to have hit the bull's eye in such a time when they have decided to tie the knot.

There is a trivia I would like to share: In the reel life like in actual life, Aishwarya plays a lady who is older than Abhishek.