Oktoberfest

First things first, the blog will have nothing to do with Oktoberfest (i even hate the taste of beer), just that I couldnt come up with a better title. Well I did promise that I wud update the blog more often, but then the past few weeks have been so damn busy with something, that I unfortunately cant write here for now.

Well this post wont have anything much specific...jus some random thoughts..yes yes its all to do with the title of the blog. So what have I been upto the past few days...went and saw Kidnap and Drona...both suck big time. Atleast watching Kidnap I had a good time... :) I so wish to sit and write a review for both these movies, but there's absolutely no time for it. So in short, if you have nothing better to do, go watch them. Although I wud say that Drona prolly gets a more points from me than Kidnap. People who join Harry Potter sort of fantasy stuff would enjoy Drona to a certain extent. Kidnap well...termed to be a thriller was nothing more but another episode of the Great Indian Laughter Challenge which for a fact never seems to amuse me even a bit. Imran Khan kidnaps Minissha and then he tells her "meinne tumhe kidnap kiya"..ohhh f thats like the most hillarious dialogues in the movie. And it seems more like some Vacation in Bali rather than a Kidnap. I shouldnt even waste ur precious time, writing about this nonsense.

This past few days have been a roller coaster in so many ways, especially the past weekend...was just so मस्त . Nope I dont think I wanna explain anything right now. I think I shall cut short this post here for now, coz (1) someone I knw, wants me to go buy 3 roses for someone else. and (2) actually theres nothing to write...actually theres lots, but then dunno when I should write it...Oh f...wat a state of confusion...Wat it teez..!!? :) Yes I know this past line atleast made one person smile...

Oh btw...thank u all for reading the previous post and putting comments up. And for those who wanted to know the pending story...well the story is still in pending stage only...so what do i say :)

Next post shud be up on Monday and thats gonna be called "Pichle Saath Dinom Mein". Ohh btw am on a GM diet this week (which prolly explains the title of the next topic), so kinda very tired to even think and no strength to type. haha. Yup I do know that this post doesnt sound like one of my regular posts, but kindly do excuse. Minds blank. Dont want it to remain that way. Like Shakespeare says " Theres loads to do before I sleep"

Back from hibernation...

I jus realised that its been a while, since I have actually put up a post and am feeling extremely sleepy today, so decided that I would sit and write a post today. Hopefully I am able to write something interesting, so as to atleast keep myself awake, if not anything else.

So lets see what all I have been upto for the past couple of weeks, ever since my last post on Chrome. Oh btw...Chrome is pretty neat actually. It loads things much faster...the only hitch is that facebook doesnt load properly on chrome..but hey who said that the world was perfect...!! What all have I done in the recent past...hmmm...lets see...I went and saw Journey to the Centre of the Earth...pretty much a bore, the only saving grace was that being in 3D and hence some fun watching. Not seen any other movie that would deserve a review from my end, hence no posts on that front. Oh ya I had been to Ahmedabad in between for my cuzn's engagement (Congrats Roshan and Nishi - u guys make a great couple). Was a refreshing change to be away from Chennai for a while...sad part was that the "while" only lasted about 4 days. Went to Ahmedabad via Mumbai. Met up with an office colleague at Mumbai, we hung out at some CCD at Andheri. The CCD's and Barista's are now becoming like kiddie joints. All these school kids...with way too much money to waste, with 1-2 iphone's EACH (wat the f...why do u need 2 iphones...I dont seem to get)..there was this girl there...who was dressed up in full pink...i mean her salwar, kurta, headgear, wallet, shoes and even her nail polish were all in pink...If she goes to Jaipur, I am sure people wont spot her on the streets :) What freaking fashion sense is this...

Anywayz the journey from Mumbai to Ahmedabad was fab...met this wonderful person on the way. Atleast we were not jus that safar ke saathi...am glad that even after 10 days we are in touch...and that such a short span of time has bought 2 totally diverse characters so close to each other...i guess its to do with our Mallu Connection...!! :) I will intro her someother time in the blog...but for starters...hmm well when me and my cousin landed up at Borivili station to catch our Gujarat bound train. In midst of all the noise and the hawkers in the station...there she was [This part of the blog has been sponsored by the makers of RACE - Pehli Nazar ne Kaisa Jaadu kar diya...Tera Ban Baitha hain Mera Jiya...Jane Kya Hoga, Kya Hoga Kya Pata...Is Pal Ko mil ke aa Jee Le Zara] [Click here to watch the song, if you havent heard of it] so like I was saying there she was...the only "hariyali" in the station :) (does that sound gross..!! naah i dont think so...anywayz I think I have her permission on this). But being the only hariyali in the station...junta on the entire platform itself was watching her..but me and my cuzn MORE than watching her, were watching the others who were watching her...and ohhh boy it was way to funny..!! Whenever I have travelled in trains, I always end up sharing the coupe with old men or kids who like run all over the place..screaming and crying...and I didnt expect anything different this time around...esp knowing it was an Ahmedabad bound train. Anywayz cutting short the details, and as luck played its part she happened to share the very next berth in our coach. After about 45 mins into the journey, our madam here..very sweetly asks "What time does the train reach Ahmedabad"...and the rest they say, is history :D

Time at Ahmedabad fly by pretty quickly...all the pre-engagement formalities...the engagement function etc., Loved the engagement dinner...wow the sweets were awesome. Ahmedabad is freaking hot...I mean I kept complaining Chennai was hot...but compared to Ahmd, Chennai seems so better. As a city, I think Ahmedabad rox slightly...the malls...the multiplexes...Gujju's are 1 vibrant bunch...everything is fine...except the fact that its a dry city and u dont get nonveg at will. I mean for a staunch Catholic like me, life without nonveg is difficult..!! :P Anywayz like all journeys have to come to an end...short vacation over...!! :( back to chennai and back to work. And ya then I got food poisoned. Freak I slept in the loo for like a whole day...!! 

Thats it for now...I have a meeting now that wud prolly decide my fate in the company...so I shall go and prepare for that. I promise to update the blog more often now. 

Chrome is here

This is gonna be a small quick post...

Sat up...till 1am just to download a software...hahah...I dont even rem sitting up for exams like this. Anywayz with all the hoopla around Google Chrome, I thought lemme sit up till 11am PDT to download Chrome...and voila I guess I am one of the first few in India to download it...thank u...thank u...

This isnt a review of Chrome, as I havent as yet got time to go thru all its functionalities...looks similar to Opera in a way...atleast thats an initial reaction of mine. But it looks good, feels much lighter...does not have too many buttons/navigation toolbar like IE...most importantly it didnt take ages to load like IE or MF...

Initially yes, it will some hazaar bugs...but then atleast its a good step in the right direction to reduce monopoly created by some.

Anywayz for those who wish to download it...Click HERE.

Goodnite...and sweetdreams...and I will get back to playing with Chrome for sometime.

Rock On!! - Review

To all who dropped me emails and comments saying that they enjoyed reading my first review...thank u so much. And also sorry to all those who dropped me stinker sms's asking me when the Rock On review would be up...well although I saw the movie yesterday afternoon, I guess I was just too bored to sit up and write a review...Anywayz here I am writing this one, dont think it would be as detailed as the previous one...firstly having a very bad headache...and secondly its way too late on sunday night...and monday morning blues are already striking me.

Before I start the review, let me confess, I am not a rock fan. So I had quite a bit of apprehension while heading out for the movie, but then went along, coz went with quite a group, so even if the movie went bad..we would have a good time making fun of it. But 10 minutes into the movie, all my apprehensions left me.

Anywayz getting to the review..The story is about 4 friends (i presume from college) with varied backgrounds, but who come together for a common interest, ie music. The quartet form the band Magik. Aditya (Farhan Akhtar), KD (Purab Kohli), Joe (Arjun Rampal) and Rob (Luke Kenny). The band reaches its pinnacle of success, by winning a competition and they get signed on by a major channel. But fate had its way and due to ego hassles, the band sees a premature closure. Ten years pass and each have gone their own ways and hardly kept in touch. Adi is now an investment banker, married to Sakshi (Prachi Desai) and lives in house which looks wow..!! (how I wish I had a house, half of that). KD works in his fathers jewellery shop. Rob does music sessions with Anu Malik (I presume they are doing jingles for advts), but Joe seems to be stuck where he was. He runs a guitar shop, takes guitar classes for the neighbourhood kids, sits with his guitar all the time like a failed musician, and his wife Debbie (Sahana Goswami) keeps yelling all over the place. Now fate (in the form of Sakshi), conspires them to come together for the one last time, to achieve the success that Magik had left behind.

The major premise of the story is pretty much predictable. You would know whats gonna happen next. But then, its this simplicity of the movie, that manages to hold you to your seat. Most reviews would say its a fault in the story and the screenplay, but ya for laymen like me...its just simplicity in the story. Performances wise...hardly anyone in the movie act. They all seem to be living their parts. Farhan Akhtar whose proved himself as a director, now proves himself as an actor. As a singer, well I guess he could probably just sing for himself, but cant make a career of it. Arjun Rampal would probably would have just done the best role of his career, and with that long hair of his, he totally looks like a rockstar. Purab and Luke are fine too. Prachi Desai in her debut vehicle, hardly has much of role...rather than to smile around. But with that cute lil face, who would wanna complain..although her character oozes with confidence. Shahana Goswani is a revelation. She plays one of the most difficult roles in the film, and she does a fab job of it...!! I wasnt that impressed with Shankar Ehsaan Loy's music when it was released on audio (rem I said I aint a rock fan)...but then it has been so wonderfully blended with the movie, that actually had me tapping my feet at the theatre.

ROCK ON!! is not just about music. Its about relationships. And relationships can get really complicated and messy as all of us wud agree. ROCK ON!! captures it so beautifully, so sensitively and so effectively on celluloid. (this para...is from some other review, sorry dont remember the review to mention the source. Yes the rest of it is my own words).

ROCK ON!! just goes on to prove that if you have a dream, work towards it...however long it would take. Watch this movie for an instant high and an instant feel good once your done with the movie. This is a coming of age movie (did u ever expect Javed Akhtar writing rock lyrics), and shows that Bollywood at the end of the day, is not just abt running around trees. Now that am done with the movie, I would still say that am not a rock fan...but seriously a fan of ROCK ON..!!

Mumbai Meri Jaan - Movie Review

मुंबई मेरी जान

On July 11, 2006, Mumbai's lifeline – the local trains, were struck by a series of bomb blasts, that ripped apart not just the trains, but the minds and hearts of every Mumbaiker. Mumbai Meri Jaan (MMJ) follows the lives of people from all strata of society as they each tackle the aftermath of this incident and which brings out the best and worst out of each person.

Nishikant Kamat's first Hindi film is one of those films that do not deviate from the issue on hand. Although I sat and saw his first movie, i.e. Dombivli Fast (Marathi) and remade as Evano Oruvan (Tamil)...(I didn’t understand each one fully)...but then Kamat was always a director to watch out for, and he truly doesn’t disappoint. When I first saw the promo of this film, along with Singh is Kinng, I totally knew this would be one movie that would be a treat to watch. Click here to watch the promo.

Synopsys - As mentioned earlier, MMJ talks about the after effects of the blasts and, MMJ thru 5 individually woven stories, brings out the deepest and darkest emotions out of people. Although the movie recreates the incident, one of the best parts is that, MMJ doesn’t go about preaching about terrorism and who a terrorist is, why does one become a terrorist etc., Such details which we have seen over and over again on celluloid have been carefully avoided. The movie discovers the brunt of this incident thru the lives of 6 main characters.

1) Nikhil (Madhavan) plays a role similar to what each one of us is. A corporate executive who pays his taxes, goes home to his wife but unlike many doesn’t feel like running off to foreign shores, until the blasts make him look at life a little differently.
2) Rupali (Soha Ali Khan) a top journalist with a news channel. Kamat should be lauded for wonderfully scripting this segment, that goes to show what the media does today..exploit every situation just to gain TRP's.
3) Suresh (Kay Kay Menon) who is an extremist by his own means and who tends to have a suspicious outlook towards the minority community, and who believes that everyone from this community is a terrorist .
4) Thomas (Irfan Khan) who plays a slum-dweller from Tamil Nadu and whose job by day is to watch the lifestyles of the rich; and becomes a tea seller by night.
5) Thukram Patil (Paresh Rawal) is a senior constable with the Mumbai police who is a week away from retirement and his junior, Sunil Kadam (Vijay Maurya) who is just not able to stand the injustice and the corruption that is deep rooted within the police system.

How each one's attitude changes during the course of the movie, is what MMJ is all about. Of the entire cast, Irfan's piece is one of the best. Although in the entire movie, he probably just speaks one line of proper Hindi, his performance thoroughly brings out the anguish and the sorrow of the common man, who is suffering to make both ends meet. The films strongest track according to me, would probably be that of the 2 constables. Their dialogues and scenes probably give the film its most striking moments. Each actor is a revelation in this movie, especially Soha Ali Khan. She is one person who I thought couldn’t act for nuts (maybe I am being judgemental, haven’t seen too many of her movies either). Kay Kay Menon is FAB in his role as an unemployed youth who looks down on another community in every possible way, he makes his part appear so real. Madhavan (who seems to have gained weight) thru his facial expressions shows the fear that each one of us have been thru at some point. Vijay Maurya (had to do some Google search to find his name) is an actor to watch out for..great sense of timing.

As a viewer, it wouldn't be right..If I don’t mention certain scenes in the movies that I thought were really touching and left some goosebumps.

Paresh Rawal telling his subordinate - "police force mein rone ka nahi. jab rona aata hai, toilet jaane ka, aur pishaab karne ka hai" This line acts as a metaphor to the pissed-off attitude of an average-troubled citizen, about which he chooses to do nothing. (this last line is not mine, I think Indiatimes is the source).
Another dialogue where he says "Mumbai mein sirf picture dekhne ka, acting nahi karne ka". It is this attitude of a regular Indian that the picture wishes to show.
And there’s this one scene where Rupali's boss and her colleague walk on her reflection on the floor, which kinda goes ahead to prove that, each person leaves an imprint in our lives, be it a negative or a positive one. There are many more much scenes, but then writing any more would be as good as replicating the script here, and that would fail me as a reviewer.

MMJ is not path breaking cinema, but it’s a movie for people who appreciate a good script. Watch it for its spirit and performances. This is not your regular off the mill masala movie with songs and a romantic track, but the problem with such movies is that, the audiences are limited to just multiplexes. The best part of the movie is that it doesn’t try to be judgemental. It jus talks about two sides of a coin, each one can’t be separated from the other.

As I end my first review, I am forced to revisit my first line, where I wrote the blasts ripped thru the hearts and minds of Mumbaikers...each character in the movie tackles their issues in different ways. And at the end of it all, each one moves on in life। The movie is a tribute to the never dying spirit of the wonderful city...and hence the name - Mumbai Meri Jaan.

Do check out the movie's website...very well done. CLICK HERE TO TAKE U THERE.

Confusion...confusion...

I had actually wanted the 2nd topic of the blog to talk about myself, my life and my relationships (yup I intend to open the pandora’s box)..but then I ended up watching 2 movies over this weekend...Mumbai Meri Jaan and Maan Gaye Mughal E Azam. Mumbai Meri Jaan moved me so much, that I decided that I would write its review. Movie reviewing has always been like a passion to me, and many have told me to look at it professionally (hahah...joke right)...anywayz getting back to the point...the review would be up in a few hours...the second movie Mughal E Azam..its not even worth a review...total trash...!! Anywayz now that my confusion is cleared...here I embark in writing my first review...!!

As usual a disclaimer - I am not a professional reviewer (atleast as of now)...What I would write would probably be my first review, and definitely not the last. Do put in your comments on where I went wrong. Yes I do tend to write long, so thats not something I can avoid. I also hope not to give out much about the movie. And please do tell me, if I have bored you. Not that I can do much abt it...but ya...can always try :)

Am finally here...phew..!!

As the title aptly here...AM FINALLY HERE...!! Although I joined up on Blogspot sometime in Dec 07...It took me like 9 months to actually sit and create a blog and type my thoughts here. In the whole while, 2 people kept telling me that I should start off, and that my nonsenical (ya that would wud be added soon to Webster) writing skills are like fab..so i should waste no time with regard to blog...so here I am..!! (Oh ya thank u Gattu and Adita)

Like the title suggests, this blog wont contain some high end theoretical thesis leading to my PHd or some major research into industry sectors. It jus going to be some light reading..aka random thoughts from within...on life...ok ok i wont get philosophical either. Ohh ya how can i forget...I am also gonna review movies, always been one of my biggest passions. Anywayz thats about it for now, am feeling sleepy. So adios and watch this space...I guess next I would write about a 100kg ka bhoj that this earth has been holding on to..for so long.

Oh wait wait...before I go...a lil disclaimer...whatever you find here, is just some thoughts of mine. Unfortunately I am not paid to write all this. And any resemblances that you may find here, are purely intentional..!! :) but ya no offence meant to anyone.