Chapter 2: - The Long Red Bindi

Back to Chapter 1:-The Endearing Dilemma

Sleep and sadness took over Piya’s eyes. She didn’t want to say goodbye to Geeta. She held back her tears in her big almond shaped eyes and bid adieu to Geeta. It was late and time for Piya to sleep. Though Piya had a penchant for movies, she was not allowed to stay up late since Amma wanted her early to bed and early to rise. There was a Hindi movie going on television that night, a rare sight in the typical South Indian household. Piya made her puppy face and asked “Amma, Salman picture”. "Illya" (No) said Amma sternly. That was curtains down for Piya. Piya was a very different child who never sought answers, argued or even asked anything for the second time, no matter how badly she wanted it. A rare combination of understanding and ego stood out in her personality. She was a surprisingly matured person for her age. So, little Piya dressed in her favourite white PJs with hair plaited neatly crawled on the bed next to Amma and held her hand. Piya couldn’t fall asleep without holding Amma’s hand. After a long hard day at work Amma’s arms again, had no rest. The television was switched off after the daily dose of news and lights went off after the daily dose of funny anecdotes from Milind. Piya hasn’t fallen asleep. The room was silent. Piya slowly freed herself from Amma’s protective hand around her and looked out of the window over to the dimly lit road. It was silent and serene. She could hear the leaves swaying with regular gushes of wind. It was a slightly cold and breezy weather. Something caught Piya’s attention. The building right in front of her had a home where people are awake and watching, oh yes! Salman Picture. Piya was overjoyed and though she could barely decipher what was going on in the movie, she made sure she still looked attentively over without squeaking. After about 10-15 minutes, the obvious happened, Piya got bored. She then came back to bed and started thinking, her favourite past time. She was wondering what Geeta could be doing at this time. Would Geeta had let me watch Salman picture? Maybe yes.

Geeta was in her late 20s, ambitious, charming, funny, head strong and deeply devoted to her parents. Geeta was Piya’s mother. So who was Amma then? Amma was Geeta’s mother, Piya’s Grandmother, Saraswati. The only person in the world Geeta could trust who could take care of her little bundle of joy, Piya. Piya was oblivious of the situation her parents were going through. They wanted to make sure their careers didn’t hamper Piya’s childhood in any way. So Piya became Amma and Acha, Geeta’s Father Ravi’s 4^th child. The most pampered and most loved of all. With Geeta being an ultimate prankster and a tomboy all through her life, having little angelic Piya was a welcome gift from life for Amma. She always wanted Piya to be very different from Geeta. And how she succeeded in the feat is a different story altogether.

Back in her apartment, Geeta was flipping channels and looking for something interesting to watch. She comes across a Salman Khan movie and clapped with excitement. He was Geeta’s favourite. She misses Piya. No I am not going to watch any movie without my Piya. Geeta switches off the television with a heavy heart and picks up the newspaper. Not one, not two but four different newspapers. Not that they carried different stories or events across the city, but Geeta’s love for reading knew no bounds. Once she finished reading her newspaper, she picked up her bible, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, and curled up in her bed.  She reads, reads and reads. She read till her eyes were heavy with sleep. She can’t help but miss little Piya by her side. She wished Piya was there to chirp endlessly, which Piya did every waking minute of her life. Avoiding thinking about Piya, Geeta went to sleep.

Geeta was a disciplined early riser. It didn’t really matter what time she went to bed, she would religiously be up by 6 in the morning. And the couple of early morning hours were very precious to Geeta. She called it her thinking time. With a sweet and strong cup of piping hot tea, Geeta was standing in her veranda, gazing at birds chirping, clouds moving, trees swaying and oh, I am late for work. Geeta was perennially late, fashionably though. She took a quick shower, skipped breakfast like every day and packed her handbag with the newspapers and books. Kohl lined eyes and a big long red bindi were indispensible part of Geeta’s personality, she looked every inch an Indian dusky beauty. Geeta rushed out of the building and called out for an auto to reach the station making sure she didn’t share the ride with anyone. On the way she gets about 5-6 calls which enquired what time she would be reaching office. Geeta cleverly dodged her excuses for being late and kept saying that she will be there soon. Geeta finally reached station and stood waiting for her train to arrive. She had a definite spot where she stood every day since she knew that is one way to ensure she rushes in the First class compartment first and grabs her window seat. She accomplished this feat every day! In Mumbai! She stood near a snacks stall and an elderly feeble woman approached her. Geeta was appalled at the sight of an elderly lady begging for a living. Instead of giving money, Geeta took the old woman to the stall and asked her to eat something. She paid the stall guy and made sure the old lady got a cup of tea and pack of biscuits. Geeta held back her tears and went back to her spot when the train was just about to arrive. The train arrived and whoosh, with one swift movement, Geeta was in the train. She sat comfortably in her favourite window seat with a smile of accomplishment and embarked the journey to work. Looking out of the window was a familial hobby. Geeta saw trees, huge buildings; slums, offices and people pass by when the trained speedily moved through Central Suburban Lines of Mumbai.

Geeta reached office and gave a warm smile to everyone. Her pearly sparkling smile with an unbeatable charm made people forget that she was almost an hour late for work. Everyone at work loved Geeta’s sense of humour and her dynamic personality. Always the leader of the pack, Geeta had a history of quarrelling crazy with her seniors and yet getting away by making her point clear and heard. Geeta worked dedicatedly without really caring about the number of hours she was actually supposed to put in. She over committed and over delivered. Adored by her colleagues and revered by the juniors, Geeta was a born star.

As the evening approached, Geeta was wondering if she could get home early and spend some time with Piya. She wanted to surprise Piya by playing her favourite game, The Fort game. This game was nothing but building a fort of curtains and putting all of Piya’s toys in one place and letting her play on her own. Maybe I can get home early today. Wonder what Piya must be doing. Geeta was sitting in her cabin looking at Piya's picture in her purse.

:)

Next Chapter 3: - The First Lie

Heroine:- Glossy mash up of Dirty Picture, Fashion and Page 3

If your are expecting an aesthetic movie dealing with the emotional baggage of a Bollywood film actress and a Diva, then stay home. This is not what you are actually getting. Heroine is a thorough commercial masala movie. Sadly, this movie goes into a loop of never ending ordeal of an actress. Just when you see some spark of depth in the movie, it goes back 15 minutes and you sit there thinking what the hell is going on.

Starting off as a typical dark-face-of-fame moment, the movie gives a lot to look forward to. But as the movie moves on, you get a feeling of déjà vu. The film is completely soaked in clichéd moments. The moments which you have seen and read hundreds of times. Till the first half of the film, there is no depth and novelty in the film. Once the second half of the film begins, there is some kind of innovations introduced. There are some very good moments where you can see the Bhandarkar brand of direction, but again towards the end, you are thoroughly disappointed with loose ends in the story and abrupt ending of the movie. This movie will be a commercial hit for sure, but to be honest, it is nothing like what we all are expecting it to be.

Casting is near perfect. Arjun Rampal and Randeep Hooda have managed to cleverly cut their sliver off the movie carved only for Kareena. Kudos to them. Rest of the supporting cast of Ranvir Shorey, Shahana Goswami, Lilitte Dubey and Helen which were kept under wraps, shine through in their little but important roles in the movie. Lucky mascots Atul Kulkarni and Manoj Joshi were missing from Bhandarkar's most awaited and expensive venture yet. Rest of the few casts were shuffled from his last few movies. Yawn. Technically the film is a treat to watch, with good music, cinematography and crisp editing. Although I personally wanted the movie to extend just 10 more minutes to tie up the loose ends and give some insight but it didn't. Disappointed again.

A special mention to Kareena Kapoor who has single handedly managed to pull off the movie with a good story and weak script. She has given her 200% in the movie proving yet again why she is the highest paid actress and a brand herself. Playing the role of Bipolar disorder affected, alcoholic actress Mahi Arora, who has failed in her relationships as well as her career is a real tough nut to crack. She is the only reason why you will sit through the entire film since her presence just doesn't let you budge from your seats. He styling is very chic and international. She looks every inch the vulnerable, troubled soul unaware of her own beauty and charm. There are moments where you hate her, there are moments where you love her. And there are just moments. Some moments which pierces right inside you. Watch her out in the scene where she haplessly says yes to social appearances like weddings just because she has nothing else to do. Watch this movie only for Kareena.

All hardcore Madhur Bhandarkar fans are going to term this movie as a thorough disappointment. It's hard to believe that is the same director has made cult films like Satta, Chandni Bar, Page 3, Corporate, Traffic Signal and Fashion. And now Heroine, a film that fails to evoke any emotion or even reaction from the audience. The film literally sinks to rock bottom if it wasn't for Kareena's memorable portrayal of the complicated grey character of Mahi Arora. If you have not seen Madhur Bhandarkar's earlier movies, this movie might be a little new for. But his fans are not really going to like it. Watch this film only for Kareena's efforts and her sheer ethereal presence in the movie.

2.5/5:- 2 for Kareena and 1/2 for a handful moments of depth. 

Barfi!-Happy tears :') tch tch :')

Barfi! is another masterpiece created by Anurag Basu. After his last film Kites failed to impress me enough, Barfi! is simply a treat to watch. Barfi! is a light hearted movie which is entertaining and endearing to the core.  It paints the lives of specially abled individuals with the hues of their hidden emotions bringing out a painting which simple leaves you in awe of the painter with few happy tears trickling down your cheeks.

The technical aspects of the movie score a perfect 10. Shot in the exotic locations of Darjeeling, the film has a very refreshing feel to it. The cinematography by Ravi Varman has captured the essence of Darjeeling and blended it into the film beautifully. The film in spite of having an otherwise artistic essence, it doesn’t really get monotonous thanks to the wonderful direction and cinematography. The music is again very subtle and not blaring on your face for no apparent reason, so is the background score. A cute track Picture Chaalu plays in the beginning of the movie. Rest of the songs are melodious and the song Phir le aaya dil is going to linger in your mind for a long time. The costumes are again very subtle and apt for the characters as well as the locales. Few portions of the film were shot in Kolkata, set in the rains and puchkas, they’ve played a pivotal role in the film. The editing somehow could have been a little better. That is the only complaint I have. About 15 minutes shorter, the film could’ve achieved the not-a-single-dull-moment feat successfully. However, there are no disappointing or ambiguous parts in the narration of the movie done by Ileana D'Cruz. Anurag Basu has finally moved away from his dark direction genre to a light hearted and funny one. It’s not fair to term it as a Romcom but yeah on a broader scale it definitely has its share of romantic and funny moments. The humour is again very clean and comes solely from the endearing antics of Ranbir Kapoor. Surprisingly, the story has a pinch of every genre in it, romance, comedy, suspense and also a bit of juvenile funny action.

The actors are truly the soul of the movie. Ranbir Kapoor has always pleasantly surprised his audience with his mature performances in movies like Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh and of course my favorite film Rockstar. This film is no exception. In fact you can say that he has raised the bar for himself and also for other newbies around him. Watch out, the Kapoor kid is here to stay. He plays Barfi, a deaf and mute guy staying in Darjeeling. He is full of life and pranks. He has so much of positive energy around him which immediately lights up everyone’s lives. Everyone associated with Barfi loves him. Even the fat and mean cop Saurabh Shukla who is always out to nab Barfi due to his innocent robberies, has a tiny soft corner for him. Barfi falls in love with Ileana D’cruz (Shruti), who moves to Darjeeling with her family. Shruti is sensible and a simple girl who has been under constant influence of her family’s decisions more than hers. Ileana plays the perfect coy and sensitive Bengali girl. She has her moments of realizations leading her to show of strength. She fits perfectly in the role essayed for her. Short lived romance with Shruti and a heartbreak leads to Barfi getting depressed and landing up in undesirable circumstances where he reconciles with his childhood friend Priyanka Chopra (Jhilmil). Jhilmil is an autistic girl from a rich affluent family where Barfi’s father works as a driver. How the friendship turns to love with Barfi caught in the middle of emotional crises is when the story beautifully unfolds. Priyanka here has swept me off my feet. No actress in this time and age would have the guts to pull off a role like this, at least not her contemporaries. At her endearing best, she deserves a special recognition for this. Watch out how she manages to outshine Ranbir towards the end of the movie. You don’t really cry or feel sorry for this autistic girl in love with a deaf and mute guy, but you can’t escape the sheer innocence of their love at the same time. The magical aspect of this movie is that just when you are about to cry feeling appalled for the innocent Barfi and Jhilmil, they manage to light up a smile on your face in one way or the other. Minimal and brilliant dialogues yet again prove that Silence is Golden. The rest of the story will be under wraps because I want you and watch it. Like NAAOOWW J

All in all, Barfi! is an extremely heart warming film you must go and watch.

Rating:-4/5

Chapter 1:-The Endearing Dilemma

Amma walked into little Piya sleeping peacefully. Amma knew Piya is awake and was trying her best to avoid school like she always used to. Crisp cotton saree draped neatly, hair neatly tied in a bun, tall, fair and pleasantly plump. One look at her and you could say that Amma was a disciplinarian. Ignoring all the puppy faces and feline noises Piya was making, Amma asked sternly, “So what’s the excuse today?”  Piya covers herself over with a blanket and says “Er, I feel a little heavy in my heart, maybe I should sleep Amma, no school Amma, please na.” Amma simply burst out laughing and called Milind in the room, her blue eyed son in his late 20s. “You heard what she said? It seems today her heart is giving her trouble. This is what happens when a little girl watches too much television.” Milind doted on Piya since the time she was born and he poured all his affection on her. Piya was more like a daughter to him. He covered Piya over with a blanket and took Amma out of the room. Amma was caught up with packing lunch boxes and ensuring that the men of the house leave for their work on time, so she saved Piya for the last since her school was in the afternoon. Meanwhile Milind’s elder brother Vineet, the ultimate prankster of the family, tiptoed over Piya’s room and woke her up again. He pulled Piya’s ears and she screeched with anger. That was Vineet’s agenda for the day completed successfully. Acha came out of his room with a comb in his hand and dressed up for the day. His moustache was just like the Army men which gave him a very stern and intimidating demeanour. He was very particular about how well his shirt is ironed and how perfectly his trousers fit. “Early morning this boy starts troubling my little doll”, Acha yelled out to Amma. Hearing Acha’s voice, Piya decided to persuade him that she doesn’t want to go to school. She quietly walked towards him like a little girl burdened with a heavy heart. Acha then made her sit on his lap and attempted at cajoling her. ”You are a good girl no? Good children never say no to education. You know how difficult it is for some people to even get an admission in a school?” By now, Milind chirped in “Amma let her stay at home na, even I have a holiday, I will play with her” Acha sternly said “Milind, it’s because of you that this girl is getting lazier day by day, stop pampering her like this. Piya will go to school, won’t she?” Piya nodded along with least interest and had by then accepted the fact that she had to go to school at any cost. Sigh.

 Since the time Piya was in her kindergarten, she had developed the knack of making up the most unique and funny excuse to avoid school, everyday!  Not that she was bad in her studies or had no friends in the school. She was the only student who was sent from junior year kindergarten to the first grade directly since she had brilliant communication skills and was much more evolved for her age. The teachers absolutely adored her in spite of her absenteeism and reluctance for school. A baby face, dusky complexion, jet black curly hair and an impressive height, Piya came off as a typical South Indian kid from her looks. But unlike other South Indian kids, she was least interested in pleasing teachers or being the first one to answer every question. She had a little world of her own where everything had to be real and sensible. Her classmates thought of her as an arrogant girl but still somehow mustered up some courage to interact with her. Once they got to know her , they realized that she is she a friendly, kind yet reserved girl. She used to cry silently missing home unlike other kids who wailed at the drop of a hat. She hated to be away from home and her teachers knew it. Tears used to keep dripping on her big, round cheeks and she used to wipe them off while writing in her notebooks. The handwriting was consistently bad. It was legible but very bad. She surely couldn’t seem to care about it.

Somehow Piya managed to pull of the day and came back home in the evening.  Before Piya started lazing around, Amma caught hold of her and made sure she took a shower in hot water with Dettol. Yes! Hot water shower with Dettol was a painful and unavoidable ritual maintained by Amma. And mind you, nobody could escape it. Amma made Piya wear clean clothes meant only for the home and then let her into her own world. Piya was allowed to watch as much as cartoons and television as she wanted to. The family was very liberated and never believed in troubling little kids with studies every day. Piya was looking out of the window and waving out to a little monkey perched on a dense tree next to their house. Kids from the other buildings used to do the same thing but again Piya was keen about knowing as to how can one stay on a tree. She was engrossed in her thoughts. Spotting her deeply engaged, Amma told Milind that she sometimes gets worried as to what this girl is thinking because she never tells anything to anyone. Piya was still looking out of the window and she kept checking the time. It was 4.30 and she saw Acha coming back from work. She was overjoyed and opened the door, something Piya did every day. Acha loved curling Piya's hair with his tiny comb, he made sure he did it everyday. She played with him for a while and went back at her window to see the world outside. The clock struck 8.30 pm and she ran inside her room. Acha was comfortably watching a cricket match which was the one thing that the entire family was crazy about. Piya said nothing and made a puppy face. Acha knew it was time for Popeye the Sailor man so handed over the remote control to Piya and made a huge sacrifice. Halfway through the cartoon show, Piya heard the doorbell ringing. Something struck her and she ran over to the door. When she opened the door, there was this beautiful dusky woman with a big red bindi and a nice smelling perfume, beautifully painted long nails and a wedge heeled shoes. This woman lifted Piya in her arms and gave a peck on her cheeks. Amma came out of the kitchen and said “This is nice. You come and Piya forgets our existence.” Everybody gave an affirmative laugh and a warm welcome to the woman. Amma quickly served dinner for everyone. The dinner was typical vegetarian simple meal which belonged more to the culture of Mumbai city where they lived since 2 decades than from Kerala which was their native place. The food was made keeping Piya in mind. Food was less spicy, less oily and off course tasty since Piya was a big foodie. After having a sumptuous meal of dal,rice,salad,curd and papad, Piya would be fed at least one spoon of rice again turn by turn by every member of the house. Only then everyone else would start eating their meal. When everybody else was busy eating dinner, Piya served water and passes around papads or pickles for everyone. She was a typical girl who wanted to learn everything that her Amma did.

Piya is aware that this woman is going to leave after dinner. She felt a lump in her throat. But she knows she can’t leave Amma and go. So what will Piya do now? What is this endearing dilemma as to who she loves more? Next chapter will reveal it all J  

Next Chapter 2: - The Long Red Bindi

Gangs of Wasseypur

I am completely bowled over with the masterpiece Gangs of Wasseypur, created by the ace director Anurag Kashyap. I am not including this under movie review because I can’t write an unbiased opinion and feedback over this movie. This is a personal post dedicated to a milestone in innovative Indian cinema. Consider this as a fan babbling, you will know why once you read the post. Also what makes me proud is that the movie is completely desi. I can be assured I don’t have to look out to Hollywood directors for entertainment or refer Global Masterpieces like Persian and Iranian for substance. This film freaking has it all. It’s entertaining, engaging, raw, original, real and simply superb.

The casting:-

In the era of making movies where the only success formula is to have A list actors and their controversies, superheroes and their gadgets, Anurag Kashyap has managed to get memorable performances out of little known to unknown actors. How many of us really know the background of the stone hearted puppeteer of the revenge saga Ramadhir Singh? Google him and you will know what gives him an amazing nonchalant style of acting which makes him the most feared character at the same time in his first movie. Manoj Bajpai as Sardar Khan gave an engaging performance in the first half of the movie. He had made an unspoken statement which marked his territory as the ultimate baddie, who had taken the audience by storm with his character Bhiku Mhatre in Satya. The movie simply does justice to him. Nawazuddin siddiqui, who plays Faisal Khan, pulls of the entire second part of the movie by stepping into the shoes of an actor like Manoj Bajpai. Every character in the first and the second part of the movie remains etched in your mind. Starting from the man whose murder started it all, Piyush Mishra, the sutradhar of the saga, the merciless Ehsaan Quereshi who is a butcher and the accomplice of Ramadhir Singh, the policemen, the guy who supplied guns without saying a single dialogue in the movie, the gunmen, the accomplices, the strong and bold women like the dutiful begum Nagma Khatoon, femme fatale Durga and Mohsina the pillar of strength for Faisal Khan, Zeishan Quadri who plays the semi dumb and dangerous goon Definite, perpendicular and tangent are memorable in their tiny roles, the guy who was shot after getting his head shaved and just about everyone. The casting is exhaustive but fits every role perfectly. The actors deliver performances so real and perfect, that you almost feel like you are a part of the V for vendetta saga.

The Locations and Styling:-

Again, this movie was entirely shot in remote locations of Varanasi, Bihar and Chunnar and not Manhattan or Paris. The locations and sets are few and distinct. When screenplay moves swiftly across the streets of “Dhanbad”, you feel getting involved into the movie. With the gradual progression of eras from introduction of Dhanbad in the 1940s to the current situation depicted in 2000s.  The styling has been done perfectly and the generation leaps are introduced in the natural flow of the movie. The film posters stuck on walls, movie theatres, youngsters mimicking trends of the actors and real life using reel life dialogues and theories give out some hilarious moments to watch out. When Nawazuddin is out to kill the guy who shot his father, he shaves the guy’s head and makes him wear aviators. Later on shoots him after a dialogue and a laugh of his share saying Shakaal lag raha hai be.

Music:-

Nope this movie has no item song, who’s who of music industry or promotion tracks sung by Mika Singh. Sneha Khanvilkar has created unconventional music of violent and sexual innuendos for every turning point in the film. The music is not thrown in and will not be appealing as standalone music tracks. The music is made for the story and not the other way round, which is what happens in most of the Hindi movies. Teri keh ke lunga, Womaniya, Hunter, Ik Bagal in both the parts of the movie, Jiya tu at the end of the first part and Soona kar ke songs were blended perfectly into the first part of the movie. In the second part, not too much of variety in the songs but check out Chee chaa ledar song sung by a 12 year old kid who sings in trains, pitched in at the perfect moment of chasing depicting the meaning of the song.

The dialogues, screenplay, story and script:-

Oh the dialogues!!!!! I still can’t stop laughing over the fine dialogues of the movies. I am not even embarrassed to say that probably I was the only girl in the theatre who understood and laughed out loud at every dialogue of the movie. Needless to say there were only couple of girls there. Anyways. Moving on. I can’t mention any of the dialogues here, you must watch the movie and I won’t let out any of the pearls for sure.  The dialogues are not metaphors or hyperboles. They are simply spoken with no thought or expression. The dialogues are raw and in your face making you gawk with your mouth wide open. The thought is Oh man did he just say this??? The body language of the actors is so natural that it is difficult to believe that they are acting and not really killing people. Blood spurting, magazines exhausting and the Kattas swivelling and shooting bullets will leave you with a realing impact. The lengths of the movies are a little disappointing but it is so engaging that the audience are going to realize when they run out of popcorns and colas. A crispier editing would have been a saviour for the average movie goer who likes to be simply entertained. Either ways, the scenes have been fitted perfectly like pieces of a jigsaw going from present to past which keeps moving from the first part and continues to the 2^nd reaching a point where the 1^st part started. Simply beautiful.  The Dhanbad coal mafia story woven around the families which are reeling under the impact of the Qureshis and Pathans rivalry causing series of murders and vengeful tactics is the least expected entertaining story you can expect.

Okay, so now that I have said enough about the Oh so awesome movies, you go and watch it now. And if you haven’t even seen the first part yet, go for a double whammy watching both the parts on the same day. I am planning to, AGAIN. Anybody want to join??? ;)

Rating:- 4/5 

Why I would rather die than live in this country as a woman....

I am appalled. I am pissed off. I am in tears. The recent Guwahati incident has exacerbated my dormant rage against chauvinistic and sick men in our country. Not that feminism is a new thing for me, those who know me personally are aware of how strong minded and independent I am.  Time and again I have stood up for myself, friends, family and acquaintances sadly attracting the hate from men. Not that I have ever said women are superior to men, all I am saying treat us equally and humanly.

Rape and molestation has become an everyday thing for us. We read it in the headlines, on almost every third page of the newspaper depending on the proximity of the incident. We are helplessly seeing husbands raping their wives, father raping their daughters, infants as old as couple of days old being raped by sick men, women as old as 80 year old being raped by sick bastards, friends gang raping girl who agreed to have an evening out with them, teachers molesting students who are expected to bestow the wealth of education, doctors raping patients, women in labour i.e. in the most painful and vulnerable moment of her life being molested by doctors, women molested in their work place by superiors taking away the right to be independent and infinite number of shocking incidents. Women are asked not to step out of the house after 7, so what about the rape incidents occurring in broad daylight? What if the protectors turn attackers? What can a woman do in this case? The recent Khap Panchayat decision on banning cell phones and love marriages for women has enraged me to no end. Why can’t she have a cell phone? So that she can’t call for help when 10 men are molesting her? Why can’t she have a love marriage? So that she can be raped by her father in law and 10 other men when she marries a man she hardly knows? The woman will wear whatever she wants. If a women dressing provocatively is an invitation to rape so why aren’t men who are scantily dressed also raped?  And are you saying an infant raped and killed was wearing a cocktail dress or the dalit woman raped and set ablaze was in a 2-piece bikini??? Blaming a woman’s decency for rape is just like blaming the dead man’s provocation for murder. If the rapists were provoked, so were the murderers right? IT IS THE SAME THING. One kills the body and other kills the soul. That is the only difference.

Right from the time a girl is born in our country, she is considered as a liability. Her dowry and marriage expensed drive people in our country to kill them even before she is born or in most of the cases after she is born. Babies as old as a couple of hours are left to die in garbage cans. They are thrown away from hospital windows. The dowry deaths are still prevalent in our country. After marriage, a girl changes her name, leaves her family, goes to a new place, takes up the responsibility of the in laws and still they want money from her??? Why the hell does the girl’s family need to give money? Ladki bhi do aur paisa bhi?  Brides abandoned on the wedding day for dowry is a common thing in our country. Stop giving and taking dowry. The worse could happen is that the girl will happily stay in her parent’s house for a longer time but she will eventually find a groom and not a money hungry trader. Why? Why can’t people join hands and make weddings as a joyous occasion depicting union of two people than a filthy display of wealth for insignificant ill-wishers which makes the family of the girls a scapegoat? Why? According to the NCRB, approximately 6,000 women are killed in India every year because of dowry. Unofficial estimates are as high as 15,000 deaths a year. In other words, between 16 and 40 women die every day because of dowry.

The girls are not fed properly in certain parts of our country. Can you believe that? This is the sad truth of families that make young girls work like maids so that they don’t put on weight and stunt their growth. The fact that women are objectified on the basis of their looks is bringing down super confident and talented women. The obsession with fair skin in our country is putting millions of dusky women into depression.  Why? Aren’t dusky women beautiful? Is a woman only beautiful if she is reed thin and fair? Then why don’t you go buy a mute mannequin from a store and marry her. That’s what the chauvinistic men want, right? Fairness cream ads, anorexic models, weight loss stories, correcting imperfections of your body and face, anti aging products, endowment and reduction packages, and what not. Why? Never seen men being objectified like this? Age makes women old and men mature? Why? Women must themselves have the confidence to chuck off people from their lives who objectify them and be happy with the grace and womanhood she is blessed with.

A strong confident girl is brought down time and again by her brothers, uncles, friend and even her own father. Why? Why can’t men accept the fact that a girl can be intellectually gifted, she can also have business acumen, she can also be a gadget freak, she can also be creative, she can be funny and hell yeah, she IS smart. I have personally been offended time and again by men for being blunt and honest. If men make objectionable jokes they are funny, but if women make such jokes they are supposed to be teased and hit on.  Ambitious and confident women have been bombarded with statements like dekho yaar job hi karlo agle kuch saal mein toh shaadi karni hogi na, ghar ke kaam seekh lo pehle warna sasural mein kaise rahogi, tumhaara toh pati hi tumhe theek karega, tum ghar par rehke bachhe sambhaalo paise main kamaaunga, tumhe naukri/padhaai ki kya zarurat hai pati/pita kama toh rahe hai, and loads of other sentences. I will not buy the fact that these thoughts belong to the rural population of India since every woman I know has faced chauvinism at some point of time in her life.  Stand up for yourself girls. Don’t get bogged down by these chauvinistic remarks. 

Official statistics collaborated Pan India in 2010

Rape Victims

There were 22,193 victims of Rape out of 22,172 reported rape cases in the country. 8.9% (1,975) of the total victims of rape were girls under 14 years of age, while 16.1% (3,570) were teen aged girls (14-18 years). 57.4% (12,749) were women in the age-group 18-30 years. 3,763 victims (17.0%) were in the age-group of 30-50 years while 0.6% (136) over 50 years of age.

Offenders were known to the victims in as many as 21,566 (97.3%) cases. Parents / close family members were involved in 1.3% (288 out of 21,566) of these cases, neighbours were involved in 36.2% cases (7,816 out of 21,566) and relatives were involved in 6.2% (1,344 out of 21,566) cases.

Kidnapping & Abduction

These cases have reported an increase of 15.7% as compared to previous year (25,741).

Dowry Deaths

These cases have increased by 0.1%over the previous year (8,383).

Torture (Cruelty by Husband & Relatives)

Torture cases in the country have increased by 5.0% over the previous year (89,546).

Molestation

Incidents of molestation in the country have increased by 4.9% over the previous year (38,711).

Sexual Harassment

The number of such cases has decreased by 9.5% over the previous year (11,009).

Immoral Traffic

Cases under this Act have registered an increase of 1.0% during the year as compared to the previous year (2,474).

Dowry Prohibition Act

The cases under this Act have decreased by 8.3% as compared to the previous year (5,650).

In India, according to National Crime Records Bureau's i.e. NCRB in 2005 Crime Clock, there is,

§  1 crime committed against women every three minutes

§  1 molestation case every 15 minutes

§  1 sexual harassment case every 53 minutes

§  1 kidnapping and abduction case every 23 minutes

§  1 rape case every 29 minutes

While you are reading this article, crimes are committed on at least 3 women, one woman has been molested, one woman has been abducted and one woman has been raped in India.

And those are only the reported and recorded statistics. What’s more,

§  Four out of 10 women in India have experienced violence in the home.

 §  45% of women have suffered at least one incident of physical or psychological violence.

§  26% have experienced   at least one moderate form of physical violence.

 §  More than 50% of pregnant women have experienced severe violent physical injuries.

These are the official statistics and the crimes against women are highly unreported in our country.

The state wise accountability for crime against women is shocking.  The websites below have a detailed account of state wise crime frequency occurring in a country that is lovingly referred as Bharat Mata. 

Statistics courtesy: http://www.wikigender.org/index.php/Crime_against_Women_in_India,_2010

http://infochangeindia.org/women/backgrounder/violence-against-women.html

I hope this is passed on to every individual out there who is unaware of the atrocities over women in this country and still believes women are worshipped in India.

Cocktail - Perfect blend of Love, Friendship and Fun

What would the desi version of Vicky Christina Barcelona look like? Cocktail is the answer. Not exactly a rip off but the plot looks more or less the same. After the offbeat psychological drama film Being Cyrus, Homi Adjania has attempted a light hearted RomCom flick, which has been pulled off quite well. The seductress falls for the ultimate casanova who is in confused for his feelings for the distressed miss goody two shoes. Sigh.

Cocktail begins with the sketching of the cheesy character Gautam Kapoor (Saif Ali Khan) who is staying in London with his uncle Randhir Kapoor (Boman Irani), who is an equally colourful man married to a British woman. Gautam is the guy your mom warns you of. A guy any good girl would helplessly fall for because of his charming persona. He is goofy, nice at heart, wild, romantic, sensitive and a womanizer. All the wonderful shades of his character are beautifully unveiled in the due course of the movie. Cut to Meera Gupta (Diana Penty), the introvert, desi damsel in distress. She is a victim of being lured into a hoax marriage by Kunal Ahuja (Randeep Hooda), who conveniently abandoned Meera and absconded to London. She is a beautiful, intelligent and the typical girl any mom would want to take home. She comes to London looking for her husband who shoos her away mercilessly telling her he is going to divorce her in a couple of weeks. Enter Veronica D’costa (Deepika Padukone), the ultimate spoilt kid and a victim of neglected upbringing. She is brash, sultry yet pratical. She proudly carries the I-DON’T-GIVE-A-DAMN attitude and throws it on others just like that. One moment you like her and the other moment you detest her, but you can’t escape her charm. She is the girl Mammas boys stay away from. She meets Meera at a utility store’s restroom. Appalled by Meera's husband’s conning her, she takes her home and lets her stay as long as she wants too. There begins a friendship so strong yet so much fun. The camaraderie captured between two people who are poles apart is just impeccable. Gautam enters their life and joins in the fun when he starts dating Veronica. The threesome fun-some have a blast in this “Frenaissance“, with each of their feeling cut sorted in its right place. No feelings or complications until Gautam , who is 32, keeps dodging of the marriage talks with his homely typical Punjabi mom Kavita Kapoor (Dimple Kapadia).  Tired of these never ending questions he decides to fake a serious relationship with the help of his uncle Randhir. Kavita aunty lands up at their house and mistakes Meera to be Gautam’s girlfriend. The mom is impressed and she starts the melodramatic scenes of the typical kada-for-my-soni-bahu, etc. There begins a series of complications and moments of family love yearning where Gautam and Meera fall for each other and on the other hand Veronica is dreaming of a normal life that she can have with Gautam forgetting the fact that they had both agreed to just have a fling. She realizes how much she loves him and how much she wants to be like Meera. The rest of the movie drags a bit and becomes predictable but definitely not boring.

The story is repetitive yet interesting to watch since its portrayal is very new. The dialogues are good but some are cheesy to the core. The songs are catchy and put in at the right moments. Tumhi Ho Bandhu and Yaariyan are the ones you’ll hum along. Background score by Salim Sulaiman is very apt for the story. The styling in the movie is refreshing and trendy. Watch out for a lot of Meera from Cocktail  trend catching up just like the Meera from Love Aaj Kal  trend.

The casting is perfect. All the actors have given their 100 % to the character and the film definitely doesn’t lack anything when it comes to performances. Saif Ali Khan with his endearing performance makes you forgive and forget his last disaster Agent Vinod.  Diana Penty looks fresh and promising but still seems stiff at times. Deepika Padukone, unexpectedly, has given her best performance in this movie. The movie is a pleasant blend of fun, love, friendship and humour, which is exactly what everybody is expecting from it. Give this Cocktail a try, u won’t regret it. J

Rating :- 3/5

When to say goodbye....

The 6 kinds of people you should say mentally goodbye to.....

This post is a random thought that popped up into my mind late night....I have seen people holding on to entities which causes immense pain to them...With saying good bye I don’t mean be a loner, get rid of acquaintances, friends and family and go all out. All I mean is learning to look beyond such circumstances and not include them in your beautiful life...All I can say is learn when to say goodbye....

      1.       Those who constantly demand perfection from you, could be anyone, friend, family or spouse. The family is generally guilty of this folly, though not literally guilty. They don’t respect your opinions, your creative horizons or your individuality. I say, who cares!!! In the end you will be questioned only if your ventures are not a success...Nobody will bother how you succeeded, in any sphere of life, be it love, career or studies. No matter what you do they have a sarcastic remark or a smirking face? You did enough...still not good enough...??? Just say goodbye....

      2.       Those people, who are simply narcissists, can get really annoying. They can be so full of themselves that they never notice that you exist anywhere in their life. The only reason you are in their life is because THEY need you and THEY want you. This person could be anyone in your life...in any of your arenas of life...You are never taken into account for this person.  It’s me me me me me...never you??? Just say goodbye...

      3.       The opportunists are the ones that can be easily recognized but not easily got rid of. These people will know how to use you and every person they meet in some or the other way possible. Just look out for them when you need them and they simply vanish. Once they have got every bit of utility out of you, their job is done leaving you feel used and fooled.  Learn to say a firm NO. Recognize such people and avoid them the sweetest way possible...Just say goodbye...

      4.       Those people who take you for granted because you love them and they know it. These are the worst kind of people. I swear. Worst part is they exist everywhere. They not only hurt your feelings but also bring down your moral. They know you’re never going to leave them, say no to them or talk back to them. This is the best weapon one can use. They treat you like a doormat. They ensure your confidence goes down and you feel horrible about yourself...Give them a surprise...Just say goodbye...

      5.       The negative energy carriers, if spotted anywhere, just run miles away from them.  They are insecure, incompetent and simply not worth your time. They are such party poopers I tell you. These are the kind of people who not only say my glass is half empty, but they also say that I am so unlucky that I got a half empty glass of water that i should probably fill poison in it and drink it. RUN !!!  JUST  SAY GOODBYE!!!

     6.       The players and liars, usually they wreck your faith in love.  These people are by far the most dangerous people ever. They gain control over your mind and then play around with it. You can’t live with or without such a person. They lie, they hide their feelings or masquerade their true self from you. Keeping you guessing and forever on the edge is a worst thing you can do to someone. The moment you decide to walk away they pull you back and push you back in the same pit with complete disregards for your feelings.  Just pull yourself together and walk away even if it hurts like hell...Just say goodbye...

Bol Bachchan- Pure entertainer

Rohit Shetty has done it yet again. Bol Bachchan is nothing short of a masala puri, tasty and light. The official remake of cult classic Golmaal, has joined the ranks of his previous releases All the Best and Golmaal, which personally were my favourites. I was a little disappointed with Golmaal Returns and Golmaal 3 but definitely impressed with Singham, a movie that marked Rohit Shetty as an ace in the genre of action.

The film is shot extensively in the exotic locations of Rajasthan. It starts of as a run of the mill needy-family-meets-influential-rich-family story and the characters are later skilfully blended into it. The film has a consistent and strong plot which is the icing of this very funny cake.  Abbas Ali (Abhishek Bachchan) lives in Delhi with his sister Sania (Asin Thottumkal). They are legally fighting for an ancestral property which they lose. Shastri Chacha (Asrani), a family friend, advices Abbas and Sania to temporarily move to his village Ranakpur where he assures Abbas that he will get him a job at his owner's place. The owner is an English and honesty loving, bullet riding; Aviator glasses sporting, powerful Prithviraj Raghuvanshi (Ajay Devgn). Once they land up in Ranakpur a chain of events leads to chaos and misinterpretation about Abbas’s identity which keeps snowballing into one big, fat innocent lie. In the middle of this “Golmaal”, Abbas falls in love with Radhika (Prachi Desai), Prithviraj’s sister. She becomes his confidante and from here, starts the topsy-turvy journey of a single person acting as two different entities. The cover up and goof ups leading to the truth uncovering is one heck of a hilarious journey.  

The casting is perfect to the T.  Ajay Devgn plays his bit with so much ease that you literally forget he is the same actor who played the intense Singham in his last release.  His English will leave you in splits as much as they have in the promos. The movie is 10 fold of that, rest assured.  His comic timing is impeccable and you can’t help but laugh even when he turns into a scary angry man. Abhishek Bachchan has put in his heart and soul in the movie, giving a tough competition to Devgn’s comic timing. This movie should hopefully shut all AB Jnr’s critics up. Personally being his hardcore fan, this film was a treat for me. Krushna Abhishek in his bit has been a hilarious contribution to the entire fun filled madness of the movie. Archana Puran Singh was again good but a little overboard with her expressions which were not required. Asin and Prachi have played their part well. Prachi Desai looks gorgeous and kudos to her stylist for bringing in a fresh air of fashion for the viewers.  The pace of the movie is good. The screenplay is crisp and clean. Music is average and thankfully not thrown in needlessly. The madras cut action and Shetty’s trademark blowing up of cars make up for entertaining action sequences in the movie. 

The best thing done while promoting the movie is that they have not let out the core hilarious scenes of the movie which adds to the shock value and humour quotient of the move. After a long time, I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of a movie. Again the humour is clean and situational. The story moves very sensibly and you don’t no brainer moments. Watch out for Abhishek Bachchan. HE WILL SURPRISE YOU AND LEAVE YOU IN SPLITS. 

The end kind of disappointed me a bit. The film loses the comic grip turning to the tried and tested formula of climax in Hindi movies. The usual chaos and happy realization moments turn a tad boring. They can be forgiven as rest of the movie is simple superb. Definitely, a through entertainer.  Go book your tickets now J

Why I can't face Facebook anymore.....

Welcome aboard to my futile, never-ending ranting about cool things. Yes, you heard it right. I hate FACEBOOK. I HATE IT. I HATE IT. The social networking frenzy which was an addiction before has now simply turned to one of the modern day monsters, ripping people off their ethics and common sense. Why so bitter Priyanka??? That's because I log in to my Facebook account to catch up with friends, share some pictures or videos but I am made to go through experiences that one has in a past life analysis. Read on, you'll know.  

      1.   It effing changes......every minute!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why the hell does this frigging thing change by the minute will always stay a mystery to me. An unresolved bloody mystery that even Lord Voldemort couldn't think of. The minute you get comfortable with the interface, they introduce hidden buttons, hidden tabs, hidden monsters etc. And you spend 1/3^rd of your day, trying to figure how to use the new features and voila, it changes again. They now have video chat which will pop up and catch u in the worst of your face when you are hogging on Oreos (which is what I am doing right now) and ensure you never get a video call from the same person. New features added to chat, messages, and tiny popup messages which according to me say “Did you know ?? Now Facebook has this brand new shit which I can bet my ass on that you will never figure out, boo hoo to you, little retarded noob “.

      2.   The apps requests I get...nuff said.

Oh, I bet most of you out there are sick of the shit load of game requests people send. I know, I know most of them don’t even know how it just gets posted on to people’s walls. But seriously, how do people even land up on such pages and apps???? STILL???? Love percentage, marriage date; next kiss date, next pee schedule, etc. Are you consulting Facebook for life's milestones?  Photo of the day, friend of the day, stalker of the day, burglar of the day.... F*ck enough man!!!!! I know Farmville was at a time the best remedy for dealing with emotional crises but still??? I am sure most of my crops have snakes slithering on them and my farm animals must have turned into vampires since I realized I am an adult. And btw, who is such the dumbass that came up with Glassdoor???  WHO THE HELL CONNECTS PROFESSIONALLY ON FACEBOOK???? One more Glassdoor request and I am going to smash it on the sender’s face.

      3.   Status-Having fun at xyz’s house, not enough fun to get log the f**k off Facebook though.

      Photos-Only 2377 pictures of you gulping pint after pint at a friend’s house.

Why people why???? Can’t you just go to a place to relax and hang out??? Is it really the need of the hour to click pictures from every angle possible?? You want to click for memories??? Do that. But why are you spamming people with them??? Putting out statuses about hanging out at a club, local grocery store, at the kennel of your neighbour’s dog is not cool. It is clearly obvious nobody is talking to you and you’re a loner out there.

The duck face shit strewn all over Facebook. Semi naked chicks posting pictures taken in their bedrooms and bathrooms are a rage. There will be about 300 likes and 200 comments with lots of muaaahhhh, awwwws, bhowwwws, never mind.  The heart and kiss symbol thrown in by every girl with the kewl lingo makes me shut my lappy like Ranbir Kapoor in the Ultrabook ad. That is the only way they can look cool it seems. Please get a life.

      4.   Groups, lists, battalions, army....F**K!!!!  Give me a break!!!

I am sick of the friend "sorting" Facebook does. I don’t want to create 100 lists and categorize my friends. I am not Monica from FRIENDS. I DON’T GIVE A SHIT!!! I am happy with knowing I have only friends and acquaintances in my list, why the hell should I sort them into close friends, good friends, school friends, college psychos and potential killers???  I will not, so get lost!!!

Groups are the things that drive me to the wall. Firstly, did u ask me before adding me there??? What if I am not into neighbourhood soccer suckers?  I am not into that shit, don’t you get it? Its okay if you add me, I mean it has a rude option to “Leave the group” with a door thingy. I find it rude okay?? You force me to storm out of the group by posting incessantly every hour. I get a notification about it every minute!!!!  Else, the annoying group chat pops up and I sit there witnessing people I don’t know or care about flirting, fighting and trolling.

      5.   The like if you get, share if you care, post if you dare, 1 $ for every share....What is the option of not giving a tiny rat’s ass???

I am sick of pictures shared by emo pages like I will love you till the end, You are only mine, I am a retard, etc .They say, like if you agree, share if you agree and the worst part is, like if you GET it. Why wouldn’t I GET IT you freaking idiot??? You think I am caveman with a club in his hand and a beehive for hair sitting with a laptop I stole from the city??? I do get the sad or “funny” thing you just posted but I have better things to do than liking and sharing it.

Also, the gory, mutilated, bloated, tampered pictures of sick people and babies all around the world makes me want to poke my eyes till I go blind. Seriously, I very well know half of them are doctored to increase web trafficking, yet they are depressing. I would rather watch India TV news channel since they are masters of exaggeration. 1 $ for every share is the shittiest thing I’ve ever heard. Please stop playing around with people’s emotions.  Also what is with the LONG, REALLY LONG stories about two lovers either dying and the soul searching??? 

6.   It's breaking relationships. Really :(

Today, if you are really serious about your guy/girl, the ultimate plunge is updating your Facebook relationship status. Yes, you heard it right. Couples fight, cry, argue and even break up over this silly thing. I have never understood why it is so important, especially for girls. And guys keep looking out for better options on Facebook and cheat on their girlfriends "technologically". The hottie from Chandigarh wearing revealing is-it-there-or-is-it-not-there skirt is the sensation among  all her friends. you talk to her and you end up alone. Finished. Sad. Just SAD.

7.   The "SECURITY"......

Facebook security and sharing filters is nothing short of a heritage Fort. You can hide it from a, show it to b, show it later to c...what not!!!! This feature is known to about 20% of the people which is saddest part. Also, if you're account is so secure, why do I still keep getting friends requests from distant countries with messages like "I may or may not be a man of your taste but your beauty is such that will enchant any man" from a 60 year old man????? Point to ponder upon........

Shanghai- Caustic, honest and in your face Movie.

This film made me curious and eager right from the first promo that was out. This film is not here to make you cry. This film is not here to make you laugh. This film is here to make you think. It stands right there in your face. This film hits you hard at the little patriotic corner of your heart.  It makes you cringe and feel helpless. This film doesn’t say anything that we don’t know of, but says things that we brush under the carpet. Things we all know but are scared to talk about. Things we read about. Things we feel helpless about.

The film, adapted from the novel ‘Z’, given a soul by Dibaker Banerjee and Urmi Juvekar (screenplay), starts off with a backdrop of political hooliganisms happening in the undeveloped town of Bharat Nagar. The Chief Minister of the State, Supriya Pathak as Madamji, is worshipped by her party workers who are nothing but a group of self proclaimed social reformists called the Morcha, working for the “PRAGATI” of the town. The hooliganism cutting to seemingly innocent and visually negligible characters played by Pitobash Tripathy as Bhagu and Anant Jog as Baggu, keep you hooked on the screen for a couple of minutes without realizing what exactly they are up to. Cut to Emraan Hashmi as Jogi Parmar, an adult film maker. He is rusty, evil, but a cheapskate with a heart.  He seems like a guy who will indulge in any immoral activity for a dime. You will yet not despise him. His ‘STD blocked hai’ line will make him endearing to you for a moment. This film then moves on to Abhay Deol as T.A Krishnan, the regular Tamil Brahmin intelligent bureaucrat you will come across. The ex IIT alumni is a man with high morals. He is applauded as one of the most sought after officials in the bureau.  Cut to Prasenjit Chatterjee, the soul of the film, playing Dr Ahmedi. He is a socialist professor and political activist. He is out to save the bustling city of Bharat Nagar from an upcoming infrastructure project backed by the ruling political party that will wipe out the existence of the local population. In spite of death threats, warnings foreseen by his adheren, Kalki Kochlein as Shalini Sahay, Dr Ahmedi lands up in Bharat Nagar. Dr Ahmedi looks out for Shalini and the chemistry between them has a short span on screen but it is captured enough to let you into their world. Fate turns around for everyone when Dr Ahmedi is attacked in the middle of a crowd of more than 100 people and the attack is masqueraded as an accident. His wife, Tilotama Shome, lands up in Bharat Nagar to be by her husband’s side. Farooq sheikh as Kaul, Principle Secretary at the CM’s office, leads on T.A Krishnan and sends him to Bharat Nagar to investigate into the “accident”. To write the incident off as Police force negligence, lack of co-ordination in the force, a premeditated murder or just an accident, is left at Krishnan hands for disposal. In terms of on camera, the movie is swept off by Abhay Deol. The seemingly harmless humble man is the surprise element of the movie. In this chaos of uncovering the truth and investigation, Krishnan uncovers the multi faceted ruling party that seemed as a sheer facade with shocking revelations which you ought to see in the movie. The last 5 minutes of the movie is going to leave an impact on you. And the last 30 unspoken seconds actually says it all. Trust me. But that, I am not going to tell u ;)

The movie has an amazing stability in the script. No loose ends. Nothing is left unexplained, yet nothing is explicit. You are going to figure crucial bits of the movie yourself. The editing is done aptly making it short, crisp and cut almost to perfection. The costume designing by Manoshi Nath and Rushmi Sharma is tailor made for the characters, literally. The music by Vishal and Shekhar is just right for the flavour of the movie. The songs aren’t thrown in just for the heck of it, including the item song Imported Kamariya.

The real star of the movie is Dibakar Banerjee. His realistic direction yet again leaves you gasping for more. He keeps it simple and sensible. That’s one thing you will see in his last releases too. Either Khosla ka Ghosla or LSD, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye or Shanghai, the unfeigned attempt at movie making is reflected in every frame of the movie. Standing ovation is what he deserves. The only complaint I have is that there were obvious differences in the re runs of the most crucial scene of the movie. In every rerun the scene looks different though it is the same. Spot it if you can once you see the movie. Other than that, it’s absolutely worth watching, again and again AND AGAIN. Superb, mind blowing movie of the year!!!! GO WATCH IT NOW!!!!

Rating-4/5

My doll now heading to her dollhouse :)

So just a few days to go for the big day, my little doll must be busy pampering herself. I remember the overwhelming walk we had, where I told you that I will write and say whatever I want because I am very bad at expressing myself in person. I did it only because I didn't want to cry thinking how much I am gonna miss you. Our friendship began in the most unexpected way. We never really expected that we were gonna hit off so well. But we did. And HOW!!!!! 

With you, Raju Uncle and Anju Aunty around, I never really missed home. The homesickness just disappeared with all of you around and I found a big sister in you. I knew how I used to just wait to get home from college so I could go for a walk with you. The chocolate bars we shared on the late night walks will forever keep these memories sweet and special. We never rally walked, we just talked. TALK TALK and TALK. It was amazing how we could never run out of things to talk about. And the longest silence that we had was of 2 minutes when I had a lump in my throat thinking when are we gonna go out for walks again. 

You stood by some of the real bad times of my life. When I had no one to understand what I am going through. I remember breaking into giggles when you tried to say say something serious because darling, NOBODY can ever take you seriously. You are that cute. I felt at ease, I felt at home with you. This is only way I can sum up to what I feel for you.

Coming to the good times, oh there are just so many. I mean I can't really count. The girly talks and giggles we had. The Amul Chaas walk in the summers. The chocolate hunts every time we had to discuss something important. The CAD B escapades to give into chocolate cravings. The late night walks. The goose incident that scared the daylights out of you. The countless lunches and dinners we had. How my driving freaked you out initially. The little shopping trips we had. The handicrafts place you took me to. The bhel chowk trips. The movies we saw. The french fries smuggling we did. The little picnic at my place. The midnight masala bhaat I made that you loved (I am still trying to make it the same way, probably it was one special time for you) The yummy sandwich you made. It's just countless Dee. I am so gonna miss everything. It's all just going to be etched as my special years in Pune with you :) (I am almost gonna cry now)

I can't begin to say how happy I am for you. I wish you all the happiness and success in your future endeavors. I know I am gonna miss u like crazy, even more when I move out of Pune, coz then I will really not know when I am gonna see you. But more than anything I am super excited and happy for the beautiful life you are gonna begin with Jiju. You make a wonderful couple and I wish God bestows all his blessings on both of you. Cheers !!!!!!

P.S DO NOT mention this post when I am gonna be there for your wedding. Coz I have promised myself I am not gonna cry :'(

Tips for young people to become normal

You are the future of the nation. You are the most powerful resource of the country unless you are an engineering student. Then you are just a goon in making. I am talking about YOUTH. Some tips listed for you people to realise what ”YOUTH”  is not about and help you not behave like something that rhymes with it ;)

      1.       It’s my...repeat after me you little retarded monkeys....it’s not mah...it’s my...

Saying ma for my, just looks like a faux attempt at proving how much you love your mother. Seriously guys and gals, have you never been to a proper school??? Are you so oblivious to the concept of grammar and pronunciation??? (Once again someone says “pronOUnciation” I will slap the shit out of them) Why do you tawk lyk dis? Are dyslexic? Are you blind? Do you just smash your forehead on the keyboard instead of typing? I swear I feel like throwing a copy of The Wren and Martin on your face when I see the mass murder of English language like this.

      2.       You are LOLing...OMGing....BRBing...WTFing...I am boiling....

You have serious issues here okay? What the heck is saying LOL when someone says something funny? Are you a seal? No maybe you are a pig? Laugh no, you numb heads. Why do you have to say LOL?????? OMG ??? WTF????  Please talk to me just once, I will tell u how to say the complete sentence with utmost aghast. It is more liberating you see.

      3.       Pull up your pants....Pull down the top....please!!!!!

Yes please. Wear your clothes the way they are meant to be worn. I don’t care if you’re a Calvin Klein fan or a Rupa chaddi fan. I frigging don’t want to see your Grand Canyon. And girls, I don’t want to either of your Grand Canyons.  I don’t want to see cellulite oozing thighs. I don’t want to see huge bellies and asses bulging out of poor little denim cages who can’t contain them. Even if you have a great body, why on earth are you flaunting it for no apparent reason? There is a time and place for it. Don’t expose inappropriately. Why can’t you dress up like a sane person? Just go full Monty if the clothes bother u so much. Much easier to achieve what you want.

      4.       You look like a crossbreed of peacock and a diseased rooster.

The macaw hairstyles, neon coloured extensions and highlights, the weird facial hairstyles, etc. All this reminds me of roosters who mated with peacocks and produced off springs like you. You look UGLY, HORRIBLE, And STUPID. There it is. I have burst the bubble??? Go frigging get a normal person haircut. Girls, what is with the weird rainbow makeup???? You know if someone hurls a bucket of water on your face you will look like a colour palette that was washed ashore by Tsunami. Get your frigging brains repaired. YOU LOOK UGLY. SIMPLY UGLY.

      5.       What is life without Gizmos??? Facebook and Twitter??? Worth living.....

Bunch of kids with Playstations and Ipads make me cringe to no end.  What the hell is wrong with you people? Haven’t you heard of outdoor games? Do you even know what sky looks like? Do you know how to run or play? Off course you don’t because you are busy moon walking to faux coolness. Yes, there is a life beyond social networking sites. I have seen people going to gatherings just to click pictures and upload them on Facebook or update a status like having so much fun at the party. If you’re frigging enjoying so much, why the hell are you on your smart phone? And for your information, nobody wants to see 347 pictures of the last night barbeque with friends. People prove their love by over mushy picture indulging in PDA and by CHANGING their relationship status. Such a wannabe thing to do I swear!!!!

      6.       Get your act together. Don’t go with the herd unless you are a cow....

Seriously, bitches that pretend to be a storehouse of wisdom will get you shot. If following socialist hotties is your thing, go with Brinda Karat. The worst that might happen then is you will have no friends left. When the hell did Paulo Coelho become the must read author to prove your intellectual chops?  Don’t stick your stupid Facebook and twitter profiles with Paulo Coelho as your favourite author. It just tells me you don’t really read and just bought one at a train station because everyone seemed to have one. Personally, I swear I don’t read books and I have said that honestly on my Facebook profile. And I am not considered a retard because I don’t read.

      7.       Stop giving a damn about the EPL , IPL and also CPL, u might get a GP....never mind....

Nobody, I repeat, NOBODY cares if you’re supporting Man U or Barca. KKR or MI. They’re not YOUR team and their success doesn’t mean that YOU won. No matter how many jerseys you buy from a trip to Thailand or Bandra, no matter how many soccer shoes you buy and wear at inappropriate places.  They won’t pick u in the team.  Enjoy watching the game, get competitive, play football like hell in your REAL life, its cooler. Find some other goddamn purpose in life than tweet about players whose names you can’t pronounce and who you’ve only been exposed to in FIFA 2007.

      8.       Commitment phobic??? So is everyone right?

Yup it’s true. Not believing in love is the latest thing to do. Friends with all kinds of benefits are around so who needs a companion??? Who needs commitment???  Who can actually LOVE someone??? Seriously you idiotic kids who don’t believe in the institution of marriage, you will die alone on a rocking chair with your macaw gelled grey hair and a Blackberry in the hand.

      9.       You booze, you fag and you get stoned every Saturday night? Wow your parents are really lucky!!!!!

True isn’t it?? You can’t be cool if you are teetotaller??? You can’t be cool if you don’t do drugs??? Fagging helps relieve stress??? Hookah parlours need regular attendance from you??? Say no friends. Don’t give in to pressure. Understand what this abuse will do to your body in the long run.

     10.   You are here only because your parents wanted to.

Don’t insult your parents. They may not be a gizmo freak retard like you but they are still parents. They endure your bull shit only because they love you to the core. You will land nowhere if u disrespect them.

When I saw the God of Music and the God of Cricket

One thing that u should know about me is that I am the last person to be star struck. I will not even take the pains of getting up from my seat and leaning out of the window if there is a film star calling out to me :D Exaggeration but somewhat true :P But yes, there are people I admire from the bottom of my heart for their sheer talent and intelligence. People mainly behind the camera are the real stars for me. A R Rahman is what music is for me. Almost all his tracks are there in a playlist in my phone. Songs come and go but a Rahman track stays put. No matter how old it is. So you can guess how crazy I am about Mr Rahman. His humility is what won my heart. A man of his stature and fame is so humble about his achievements. Its just unbelievable. So, in the middle of my semester exam, taking utmost pain of travelling, spending one entire day for this and then burning the midnight oil next day for the exam. I did it all. I did it all for the A R Rahman Concert on 26th may at D Y Patil Stadium, Mumbai, organized by The Times of India Group. And my oh my, it was all worth it :) But my exam was not good (It was all out of course and I was so sad).

The way to the stadium was one heck of a journey. Nerul never looked so crowded. It looked like the entire city was there for the concert. Once the traffic woes ended, there were about 8-9 gates. Somehow me and mom managed to reach our seats. The summer in Mumbai definitely kills you. Specially kills me because staying in Pune most of the times, I am absolutely used to a non humid weather. Anyways, I am gonna list down stuff I loved and also the stuff I loathed about the concert.

One remarkable thing I noticed, that the ushers and the security professionals were surprisingly efficient with the impatient and mammoth sized crowd. There was no chaos or confusion. Moving on to the concert, it began about half an hour late than it was scheduled which was perfectly okay. I was expecting a delay of good couple of hours. That shows how professional the event organizers and the artists are. Ranjit Barot started with the drums and then came Mr A R Rahman. He sent the audience in a tizzy with his Nadaan Parindey track along with the awesome Mohit Chauhan ,which was followed with his other hit numbers from Rockstar, Tum Ho and Jo Bhi Main. Karthik was the surprise package who sang Roja Jaaneman and Hosanna in his amazing versatile voice. (I am absolutely head over heels in love with him). The one singer I was looking forward the most was Javed Ali. Oh man, he has the most soulful and soothing voice ever. He belongs to the genre of singers like Mohd Rafi, Sonu Nigam and Shafqat Amanat Ali. Javed Ali sang the sufi numbers along with Mr Rahman and some of his hit tracks. Harshdeep Kaur won hearts with the Katiya Karoon track. Natalie Luccio, a very talented Canadian-Italian singer sang beautifully alongside Mr Rahman. The concert ended with the electrifying Sadda Haq track uniting the audience and curtains came down with the the Vande Mataram track. Amazing professionalism portrayed by all the artists, ensuring their good three hours on the stage was well spent.

The OMG moment of the concert was when THE Sachin Tendulkar walked up the stage to greet A R Rahman. The whole stadium was roaring and cheering for him. He could barely even start talking and the audience almost deafened the stadium with applause. That was the most unforgettable moment ever. To be honest he just stole the show and Mr Rahman's thunder.

The things I hated about the concert was firstly, there was no host. I mean not even someone to introduce the singers from AR Rahman's troupe. That was just so unfair and disappointing. There were people who had no idea who Javed Ali is. It's just unfair to expect the audience to know everyone who is performing. A hardcore fan like me couldn't recognize few of the artists. That was just plain irresponsible. I mean the concert started abruptly and Mr Rahman came out of nowhere and started singing. And so did the other singers. It was utterly disrespectful towards the artists who are giving their best on the stage. 

Secondly, in the middle of the show they had shown the credits, which prompted many people to leave the show. I mean it's the common perception of people that credits only means the end of a show. Once the credits ended, the show resumed. That was just stupid. Plain stupid. 

Anyways, I had fun and sang along loudly to all my favorite songs. I can't resist okay???  Now getting back to my exams!!!! Bye Bye for now!!!!