A day in the life of LIFE

Well, I know you’d find this as one of the strangest titles that has appeared on a blog post, but this actually fits the bill in more ways than one. Let me explain.

I am just back from the screening of “Ghajini” @ Inox, M.G. Road, Bengaluru. Hence thought of compiling my experience with the movie in this post.

For starters, the movie, in my opinion should have been named Sanjay Singhania instead of Ghajini for the simple reason that this is the name of the protagonist in the movie and revolves around him. Also, just as “Har fillum mein tumhara naam Vijay kyun hota hai?” that was asked of Big B, Singhania is the most common name that suits the ubiquitous businessman of Bollywood flicks. The not so nice name of “Ghajini” that reminds me of the plunderer who made frequent appearances in my class V history text book, happens to be that of the big bad villain in the movie.

Without divulging the plot, let me try and provide the readers with a personal opinion on the movie.

Ok, before that, let me outline the preparations that we had undertaken prior to watching the movie.

This was a family outing that included my octogenarian grandma who is a keen movie watcher and a current affairs expert. A call from my buaji two days ago warned that the movie contained a high degree of violence which might not be suitable for ages 60 and above. My lion hearted grandma dismissed the statutory warning with disdain quoting that she could not be shaken by a mere movie. (Incidentally, she had watched the movie Anniyan (Aparichit in Hindi) and had found the violence digestible)

We however did not want to take a chance and had the necessary precautions in place –ear plugs, eye masks, water and other paraphernalia. I also chose the seats that were close to the emergency exit just in case she wanted to avoid the gory scenes mid way. Our seats in the hall resembled those on a long haul flight from Bombay to Boston – I missed the air hostesses though..

The movie began with the usual scenes of action and *dishum dishum*. Even as the eight pack Aamir(competing with the six pack Shahrukh) thrashed the hooligans and sent them to the cleaners, the entire audience sat staring in awe. A blow to the left and one to the right, and this was enough to have the watchers mesmerized. I was in charge of monitoring my grandma – if at all she experienced any discomfort. To our surprise, all the serious stuff that the actors tried to enact and demonstrate as a testimony to their bravado, attracted laughter from my grandma who found the sequence comic. So much so for the statutory warning!

Once we were all in the groove – the movie began sinking in. The ever charming Asin made her presence felt in her Hindi debut. Her grace, demeanor and acting matched what was expected of the role. The music of the genius – AR Rehman with the lyrics of none other than Prasoon Joshi did justice to the exotic locales featured in the songs. Then of course the “life size acting” by none other than the master performer Aamir completed the movie. Oh! Did I forget Jiah Khan…She’s almost like a cuckoo who pops out of the clock when you least expect her to. Her role is analogous to Parthiv Patel being the 12th man in the 2nd innings of India versus Nigeria.

But I must admit that the first half of the movie is as natural as it can get – the exuberance of youth portrayed by Asin definitely bowled me over and reminded me of the liveliness of Kareena Kapoor in “Jab We Met”. Some of the most subtle emotions are brought out in the best possible manner. The second half is packed with action primarily focusing on the “hero” accomplishing his mission. Tightly gripped but gets just a little prolonged at times. All in all, definitely a movie to be watched - at least the first time. My rating - 4 out of 5. applause!applause!

Many might disagree with me, but, folks, I kinda liked the movie. Very well packaged indeed. Btw, even as I type this post, Times Now reports that a computer game "Ghajini" has also been released, with some part of the background voice given by Aamir himself. Talk about publicity....way to go...

As for our family outing, the ambience of Inox transitioned into the comfy environs of Mc D’s (yup I have frequented it thrice in the past 5 days – they almost thought I was an employee out there…)

Aamir – good job mate! You’ve left Shahrukh far behind…

Till next time - I’ve decided on my next flick; Chandni Chowk to China..Deepika here I come…

After two days of zombied existence in Bengaluru, a routine that has comprised of feasting (pythonic style) and sleeping (like the IBM ad of “ideating”) I’ve finally found some time to put up a post on the latest from Namma Bengaluru.

I actually had two other posts that I was working on, in parallel – one on the Xmas celebration in Shillong (Believe me this was one of the best Christmas celebrations I’ve ever witnessed) and the Flight IT 432 and happenings on board.
I then decided to park the aforementioned posts lest the current one becomes as recent as a feature film aired on Doordarshan.After having survived the 4 degree chill of Shillong, Bangalore definitely feels warm (if not “hot’) at 18.

A lot of similarity exists between Shillong and Bangalore. For starters, both are known for the hip culture, the greenery, the pleasant weather and most importantly the dominant presence of the Rock Culture. ( Yup, bands like Scorpions and MLTR have already visited Shillong, and we recently had “White Lions” performing two weeks ago).

Back home, the atmosphere has been quite different. Ma’s on a mission to make me gain all the weight that I’ve lost owing to “Hostel ka khaana”. She’s running a viral marketing campaign and offering a service titled “7 din mein 7 kg pao warna 7 kg jalebi free” and right now the only enrolment other than myself has been the weak specimen Swami (better recognized as Munnabhai’s room mate in Lagey Raho)

Who ever said eating is an art, was definitely right. The piping hot vada sambar to the spicy paani puri on the gallis of Bengaluru has led to a ten fold increase in Pudin Hara sales at the local Chemist’s.

Catching up with friends has topped my list of priorities. While yesterday the rendezvous was Mc Donald’s at Brigade Road with Wipro Buddies, today’s hospitality was sponsored by PP – a friend since the summer of ’93. We shared the same bench in school. I was invited to his new house where authentic “Mallu” snacks lined the platter – ranging from Bennana Chips to Adapradaman (one of the most delicious forms of "payasam"). The spread reminded of the Onam Sadhya (feast during the Malayali festival of Onam) I had previously been invited to at a colleague’s house in Chennai, a couple of years ago.

Post the gluttony we visited the local chat stall that we frequented as kids with 5 rupees in the pocket (this sum was large enough to buy us a plate of sev puri and one by two nimbu soda). We repeated the order, though inflation had taken its toll and the price of the total order was now 25 rupees. GG and AH gave the mini re-union a miss, citing reasons – that were as logical as HRD minister Arjun Singh’s antics.

The memories that were revived over the next 15 odd minutes were just priceless. The pranks we played to the fights we had, “Puraani jeans aur Guitar” – we had a rerun of 15 years in that short span of time.The swift breeze of the Bangalore night blew past our faces even as we parted ways, of course with the promise of catching up in the near future.

These are some of the strongest bonds that keep you going, even when the going gets tough – As they say,”True friendship is thicker than blood”. Rock on guys!!

Pic: the snacks on offer at PP's house.

Ok. This might not be the best of titles that I've ever thought of, but there's actually nothing more to write about, than what is mentioned in the title.. Or atleast that's what I think as I begin to write.

The week was eventful. Even as India continued to whitewash the Englishmen,the internship placements almost drew to a close at IIM.

And as is the tradition here that no one gets away without treating the rest of the junta for any small event that is branded as "celebratable" (Oxford Dictionary please pardon me for plundering the language); tuesday last was my turn.

The "gang" ambushed me from my room with the pretense of seeking my assistance in helping HR choose accessories for himself and his girl. The ignorant me never even got a hint of what lay ahead, despite being very well aware of the fact that my shopping skills were as evolved as Inzamam's running between the wickets.

It was only when the 6 of us got into a Maruti cab (don't ask how we got in - must have been the same way we got out..) on our way to Bhutia Market to help HR in Mission Impossible 5(not sure if MI 4 has been made so am taking the safe way out in naming it MI 5) that I realized that I was the Channel V Chosen One for the day. And that's a very bad state to be in. Coz the person so designated is privileged to sponsor the gang's expenses ranging from chaat to champagne.

My attempts to get out of the moving taxi went in vain since I was sandwiched between KHM and SK. My cries for help were drowned in the sinister laughter of MKJ.

Even as we reached central Shillong, my first bill - the cab fare set the cash registers ringing (for the cabbie; not for me!). Our next pit stop was Bhutia Market - not sure if Baichung practised here when he was a kid.

Bhutia market in Shillong is one of those places where you get cool local stuff at unbeatable prices - from shoes to jackets, you name it and it's there. Even as JJ helped HR in his quest to pick up the right stuff for his gal, SK helped MKJ in selecting a pull over which MKJ was made to feel good about. KHM was playing the devil's advocate each time JJ picked up something and attracted her wrath for his mistimed comments.

In the melee, I found a cozy chair belonging to a salesman, into which I slouched and started snoring immediately. Limited sleep during the night finds weird ways of getting compensated.

With eyes half open, I could see the gang run from one shop to another, in the quest for the right bargain, almost like the folks on the "World's Amazing Race" do. I was eventually woken up to certify that the goods purchased by the gang were indeed praiseworthy - which I did.

The long shopping (sleeping) experience had made us hungry enough to head straight to Bombay Bites for some yummy pizza, Chinese Bhel (you must try this one for sure), Indian Bread, Burgers etc. etc. etc. (no prizes for guessing who was footing the bill). Eventually the junta stopped since the restaurant ran out of crockery to serve us food in.

The swipe of my card coincided with the not so nice buzz of my cell phone with an sms indicating the debit to my account.

We left for the hostel, not before munching on some crispy cornetto cones and MKJ using Nutties as a substitute for Sweety Supari along the journey.

The trip reminded me of the team treat at Tangerine at one of my previous companies which had played out almost exactly the way that it had, here.

As SK entertained us with his not so melodious vocals, the chilly wintry night had the rest of us running for cover. People say SK stopped only when the neighbors threatened to hand him over to the zoo keepers. The rest they say is "A good night's sleep"....

Wait a minute - Oh No, it's SK again, crooning from his room at 1 in the morning.....

Pictures below -

1)The "Free Tibet" Cause - On the walls of the market



2)The shoe alley in Bhutia Market; Maybe George Bush can find a good pair...

Well, if the name brought to you, images of Akshay Kumar (urf Rajiv Bhatia, for those who dint know), I would quite agree, coz movie titles like Rab, Jodi etc. best suit the action man of Bollywood.

But, this is different. Akki is not the topic of discussion.

After a hectic 2nd term - the last exam of which concluded on friday, the entire batch of IIM Shillong descended on Payal Cinema to get the first day release of "the film that should not be named" - lest Aditya Chopra sue me for negative publicity.

In fact I dare him to do so. For a person who loved DDLJ and the charm that the movie carried, RNBDJ (or what ever you want to call it) comes as a cropper.

It's almost as if Aditya Chopra woke up one fine morning and said "Hey, I have loads of excess cash in my account. Let's make a movie" and thus RNBDJ was made.

A weak story line, force fit situations, unwarranted melodrama, and some attrocious lyrics - things that make a movie out of a nightmare.

The movie portrays the life of a simpleton Surinder who, by using his alter ego of Raj tries to win his wife Thaani over. Period.

In fact if these lyrics especially the one that goes "Dance pe Chance Kar le:" can make a song, then I am definitely going to be the next Javed Akhtar of Bollywood.
But there was one thing that everyone looked forward to in the movie - "The INTERVAL" and then of course, "THE END".

The only respite for the viewers was the acting of Vinay (who plays Bobby Khosla in the movie)and the freshness of Anushka Sharma(whose name in the movie is comprehended only in the last half hour).

I was shocked to see the rating of 4/5 that Rediff gave the movie - simply atrocious - Almost as if the Chopras wrote the review themselves. I would more settle for the realistic rating of Rajiv Masand of IBN who gives it a 2 star not before ripping it apart.

If I were to summarize the movie in one line, it's an "Insult to Intelligence" with the most improbable of outcomes that form the storyline. The Chopras have come up as I said earlier, with some of the best blockbusters ever, but this was a complete Khichri into which they fail to put any kind of masala or tadka whatsoever. The concept was innovative but it could have been much better in execution.

All in all, a completely avoidable film even if you are a die hard Shah Rukh fan.

Well as far as the class was concerned, we had a hearty laugh that was reminiscent of a similar movie experience that "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" had presented.

The lesser I speak, the better it would be, even as I wait for the release of "Ghajini" to rid my movie taste buds from the awful taste that RNBDJ has left....

Aamir Khan, please don't disappoint us....