Sometimes I sail on, sometimes I am crushed in a tide. I am definite and at times I surprise myself. I mostly seek the impossible and the obvious just comes my way.Small things matter while big things just dont. Contradictions define me while the patterns just don't repeat. I guess its been a day of observations. I observed the coconut tree and wondered why the leaves were slit, I watched a few faces and figured monotony still exists in chaos. Created random prose:
"Definite I am. Mysterious you are !
Boundaries I resist, but bound you are!
Makes it an interesting string of definite and unbound!
Of mystery and conviction !"
I believe messages in bottles are often intended but not implied. I guess blogs are similar. This is one of those where sporadic thoughts come by hoping they don't get stitched and comprehended.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Jodha Akbar
**Had this review in my drafts for a while. Posting it out today.
After a long break saw a couple of movies and decided to post out a few reviews. Still in Yorkshire, battling the cold, and waiting to get back home.
Jodha Akbar:
A review can have several perspectives and I decided I should elucidate all perspectives rather than just write a review.
For the masses?
I guess the movie might lure the masses but does not have sufficient masala to get the auto rickshaw drivers to come
From a film makers perspective I am left completely confused wondering, what is it that Ashutosh set himself to make? A love story set in the 1700's? A tale to depict one of the most powerful rulers in history? A masala movie which has romance/thrills/villains/songs/dances and meant to entertain people? The movie failed to bring out its essence.A 4 hour love story is too long to handle and does not need too many facts built in which deviate you from the love story. The tale of Akbar the king did not need to have a romantic angle predominantly defocusing it. A masala movie needed a lot more. Some of the characters were built painstakingly and just left the story without much role to play. For eg Ila Arun, why did so much of the story focus on her and finally whoomph! she was just gone. Most of the supporting actors did not seem to play any major role in the movie and I was left wondering why 4 hours?? Now putting on my logical hat, I could not figure out how Aishwarya's brother was released and why did Akbar not make any attempts to explain the release as a mis-understanding when everything else had been sorted out? Why did dancers of pre-historic times have such harsh movements?
The movie had its positive moments. Ashutosh managed to build a soft subtle love between Akbar and Jodha. The sword fights, the torso scene and moments in the movie did a fantastic job of showing the king in love and in adding a classic touch to it. Hrithik as an actor performed well but possibly failed to fit the picture of Akbar in my mind. His grip on the character is amazing which was evident in the scenes where his minister was killed and he is angry, very angry something truly against the character of Akbar. I think he portrayed that scene really well where he got his brother thrown down on his head but at the same time could not pick up his sword and throw it down at him.He lacked to bring into his character the power that I had imagined for kings of those times.
A lot of people lauded the elephant taming scene. I liked the picturatization of it but it lacked thought and logic. What makes an elephant tame and was the ultimate goal just sitting on it? But like most people say, throw your logical hat out of the window when you go watch a movie.
All in all any movie that makes me look at my watch cannot be a classic and masterpiece. But if it still had me sitting, it surely had a story to say! Music from A.R Rehman was good but not a masterpiece. I dont find myself listening to these songs forever like the songs of Lagaan. Ashutosh has a lot of reflections of Lagaan in this movie, right from Amitabhs narrative to the characters chosen in the supporting role. The cinematography did not particularly have my attention. I thought the Mahal and the way it was shot did not seem grand( Sanjay Leela Bhansali is possibly to blame for my expectations here). There were places where the camera quality did not seem good. The choreography very average as well. The ajeeb-o-shaan shehenshah, I thought could have been picturised much better.Same goes with khwaja-ji. I think Sanjay might have made a grand love story from this epic. Anyways a decent watch, ok music and nice star cast.
After a long break saw a couple of movies and decided to post out a few reviews. Still in Yorkshire, battling the cold, and waiting to get back home.
Jodha Akbar:
A review can have several perspectives and I decided I should elucidate all perspectives rather than just write a review.
For the masses?
I guess the movie might lure the masses but does not have sufficient masala to get the auto rickshaw drivers to come
From a film makers perspective I am left completely confused wondering, what is it that Ashutosh set himself to make? A love story set in the 1700's? A tale to depict one of the most powerful rulers in history? A masala movie which has romance/thrills/villains/songs/dances and meant to entertain people? The movie failed to bring out its essence.A 4 hour love story is too long to handle and does not need too many facts built in which deviate you from the love story. The tale of Akbar the king did not need to have a romantic angle predominantly defocusing it. A masala movie needed a lot more. Some of the characters were built painstakingly and just left the story without much role to play. For eg Ila Arun, why did so much of the story focus on her and finally whoomph! she was just gone. Most of the supporting actors did not seem to play any major role in the movie and I was left wondering why 4 hours?? Now putting on my logical hat, I could not figure out how Aishwarya's brother was released and why did Akbar not make any attempts to explain the release as a mis-understanding when everything else had been sorted out? Why did dancers of pre-historic times have such harsh movements?
The movie had its positive moments. Ashutosh managed to build a soft subtle love between Akbar and Jodha. The sword fights, the torso scene and moments in the movie did a fantastic job of showing the king in love and in adding a classic touch to it. Hrithik as an actor performed well but possibly failed to fit the picture of Akbar in my mind. His grip on the character is amazing which was evident in the scenes where his minister was killed and he is angry, very angry something truly against the character of Akbar. I think he portrayed that scene really well where he got his brother thrown down on his head but at the same time could not pick up his sword and throw it down at him.He lacked to bring into his character the power that I had imagined for kings of those times.
A lot of people lauded the elephant taming scene. I liked the picturatization of it but it lacked thought and logic. What makes an elephant tame and was the ultimate goal just sitting on it? But like most people say, throw your logical hat out of the window when you go watch a movie.
All in all any movie that makes me look at my watch cannot be a classic and masterpiece. But if it still had me sitting, it surely had a story to say! Music from A.R Rehman was good but not a masterpiece. I dont find myself listening to these songs forever like the songs of Lagaan. Ashutosh has a lot of reflections of Lagaan in this movie, right from Amitabhs narrative to the characters chosen in the supporting role. The cinematography did not particularly have my attention. I thought the Mahal and the way it was shot did not seem grand( Sanjay Leela Bhansali is possibly to blame for my expectations here). There were places where the camera quality did not seem good. The choreography very average as well. The ajeeb-o-shaan shehenshah, I thought could have been picturised much better.Same goes with khwaja-ji. I think Sanjay might have made a grand love story from this epic. Anyways a decent watch, ok music and nice star cast.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Gruel Cruel!
Heading back to Bangalore after a grueling week. Sitting at the Changi airport (BTW I love these chairs they have here) watching a plane take off, with a delayed flight, my head phones sing
Everyday we getting older!
Everyday we all get colder!
Wake up wake up!
I wonder if it is the lack of sleep or the monotony of Singapore, but I can't seem to wake up. Older and colder I guess I am. I have come to realise even more that life is highly karmic. As a friend once told me, somehow all equations do tend to balance out, cos after all the world is seeking equilibrium. Deep thoughts are not a good thing this early in the morning so I shall ligten up, sip some coffee and sniff around the airport. Thank god for perfume stores!
Everyday we getting older!
Everyday we all get colder!
Wake up wake up!
I wonder if it is the lack of sleep or the monotony of Singapore, but I can't seem to wake up. Older and colder I guess I am. I have come to realise even more that life is highly karmic. As a friend once told me, somehow all equations do tend to balance out, cos after all the world is seeking equilibrium. Deep thoughts are not a good thing this early in the morning so I shall ligten up, sip some coffee and sniff around the airport. Thank god for perfume stores!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
A Streetcar named desire!
I just had to write about this movie. This movie was lying in my DVD collection for over years now. Finally I decided to watch it last night. And boy am I glad! I am just amazed at the brilliance in performance in this movie. Everyone!!! Specially Vivien Leigh and Brando were just out of the world. This is the first time I have seen a movie to be as powerful or more powerful than a play.
The movie is a simple story about how complicated we all are. Humans are a composition of complexes and differences of social class, past encounters, choices we have made. All of this is coupled with a constant need to seem happy, hide our weaknesses, fight, lie and please. I think humans are always driven by desire. Desire to be desired, desire to be accepted, desire to be liked, desire to be hated. As long as we desire we kind of exist, else we die. A brilliant line of the movie was- "Opposite of death is desire!" I liked the way this line was said it said "Opposite of death is desire", as opposed to "Opposite of desire is death!". It was from the death of a 17 yr old boy that desire stemmed in Blanche, one of the key characters of the movie. She hides her weaknesses, her loneliness, her age in complex ways. She lies so much to the world, that she stops to realize who she really is. She is so caught up in playing that happy, composed part that to her reality does not seem to exist. Her performance in the movie by Vivien Leigh was simply brilliant. She brought out the torn individual especially towards the end with such ease and was very convincing. Brando is the husband of her sister who is a crude individual with no social finesse. He almost hides his class complexes with his physical demeanor and power. He sees through Blanche's pretence, but is brutal as opposed to being understanding of the why. Loneliness, desire and unfulfilled kindness is what makes Blanche this complicated individual. The brutal treatment by Stanley(Brando) only makes it worse.
It wasn't the story as much as the performances that made an impact for me. It seems even more surprising to see that such boldness and characters depicted in the 50's. It must have been a bold movie of its time. I cannot end this blog without giving due credit to the Elia Kazan the director of this movie. I have not seen the play, but I am convinced the movie has extremely brilliant characters and they have more than done justice to this play. I know I will watch this movie several times over the coming years. Specially if I want to be reminded of what acting is all about.
The movie is a simple story about how complicated we all are. Humans are a composition of complexes and differences of social class, past encounters, choices we have made. All of this is coupled with a constant need to seem happy, hide our weaknesses, fight, lie and please. I think humans are always driven by desire. Desire to be desired, desire to be accepted, desire to be liked, desire to be hated. As long as we desire we kind of exist, else we die. A brilliant line of the movie was- "Opposite of death is desire!" I liked the way this line was said it said "Opposite of death is desire", as opposed to "Opposite of desire is death!". It was from the death of a 17 yr old boy that desire stemmed in Blanche, one of the key characters of the movie. She hides her weaknesses, her loneliness, her age in complex ways. She lies so much to the world, that she stops to realize who she really is. She is so caught up in playing that happy, composed part that to her reality does not seem to exist. Her performance in the movie by Vivien Leigh was simply brilliant. She brought out the torn individual especially towards the end with such ease and was very convincing. Brando is the husband of her sister who is a crude individual with no social finesse. He almost hides his class complexes with his physical demeanor and power. He sees through Blanche's pretence, but is brutal as opposed to being understanding of the why. Loneliness, desire and unfulfilled kindness is what makes Blanche this complicated individual. The brutal treatment by Stanley(Brando) only makes it worse.
It wasn't the story as much as the performances that made an impact for me. It seems even more surprising to see that such boldness and characters depicted in the 50's. It must have been a bold movie of its time. I cannot end this blog without giving due credit to the Elia Kazan the director of this movie. I have not seen the play, but I am convinced the movie has extremely brilliant characters and they have more than done justice to this play. I know I will watch this movie several times over the coming years. Specially if I want to be reminded of what acting is all about.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Apart - Meant?
Getting an apartment furnished is quite an ordeal! Having an eye for detail even worse! Why cant edges be flat and not round? Why do people not make white plain fans any more? Why do most things I like turn out to be the most expensive? And why doesn't this ordeal get over? These are just a few questions that flash by so many times in the day. When I free myself of thoughts about inanimate objects, the carpenters, plumbers, painters and the like show up!
I am sure you all wonder whats the fuss all about. But lets take a small example - finalizing a kitchen! Now how difficult can it get right? After all one cooks, washes, stores and gets on with life. If you are filmy, you might sing love songs on your counter. But thats besides the point. I figured in all these months that it isn't all that simple. Colour, material, layout, handles, cost and an indecisive mind can work wonders and clock 3 months before you figure out what you want. Most of the time, the final decision is driven by exasperation as opposed to desire. Despite the ordeal, I think i have learnt a whole lot. I have added more people in my phone book, I have figured out numerous furniture shops and realized that shocking tastes do exist in this world.
However, I am looking forward to moving into my own place, cook, laze, have friends over at my new shack. I just hope this ordeal does come to an end. All friends are most invited.
I am sure you all wonder whats the fuss all about. But lets take a small example - finalizing a kitchen! Now how difficult can it get right? After all one cooks, washes, stores and gets on with life. If you are filmy, you might sing love songs on your counter. But thats besides the point. I figured in all these months that it isn't all that simple. Colour, material, layout, handles, cost and an indecisive mind can work wonders and clock 3 months before you figure out what you want. Most of the time, the final decision is driven by exasperation as opposed to desire. Despite the ordeal, I think i have learnt a whole lot. I have added more people in my phone book, I have figured out numerous furniture shops and realized that shocking tastes do exist in this world.
However, I am looking forward to moving into my own place, cook, laze, have friends over at my new shack. I just hope this ordeal does come to an end. All friends are most invited.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Interesting day
Been an interesting day
Countryside drive!
Busy day!
Sweet surprises!
Thoughts, creativity!
A friends birthday!
French movie- Cafe au Lait!
Finally a small note!
Countryside drive!
Busy day!
Sweet surprises!
Thoughts, creativity!
A friends birthday!
French movie- Cafe au Lait!
Finally a small note!
Friday, February 06, 2009
Lost!
I seem to have lost a lot of things lately. My iPod and a pair of amazing expensive headphones just got added to that list. Its strange how throughout life I have lost keys a zillion times. But every single time the keys just returned and came back to me. I am a very optimistic person and believe I will get back what I lost. I wish the whole - "If you love somebody set it free, if it comes back it is yours, if it does not, it never was" holds true for my priced possessions too;-) Cos after all I did pay for them and they were truly mine!
On a parallel note I totally believe the Sri Ram Sena is the answer to all of us single folk! I mean come on, what the shaadi.coms and match makers of the world were not able to do, this man intends to in one day! The dude clearly suffers an "attention seeking disorder" and possibly just decided to become a national icon overnight. It amazes me how innovative people get in the Indian political landscape and how much we just jokingly laugh at our plight. After all we really have nothing else to do. But it just reflects a pathetic mindset and makes me wonder- "Where ever is freedom?" But all of you who had trouble with parents approving wedlock with a loved one, go ahead hold hands in public and hope that haldi-kumkum comes your way!
Just a short update. I gotta now go watch "lost"! Seasons 5 is airing finally.
On a parallel note I totally believe the Sri Ram Sena is the answer to all of us single folk! I mean come on, what the shaadi.coms and match makers of the world were not able to do, this man intends to in one day! The dude clearly suffers an "attention seeking disorder" and possibly just decided to become a national icon overnight. It amazes me how innovative people get in the Indian political landscape and how much we just jokingly laugh at our plight. After all we really have nothing else to do. But it just reflects a pathetic mindset and makes me wonder- "Where ever is freedom?" But all of you who had trouble with parents approving wedlock with a loved one, go ahead hold hands in public and hope that haldi-kumkum comes your way!
Just a short update. I gotta now go watch "lost"! Seasons 5 is airing finally.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Where goes my day?
Heaps of thoughts dashing past. Everyday I wake up in the morning with a smile assuming my day would be relaxed and I will get down to doing all things on my pending list and being super efficient I might even get to my wish list! I just need to check my mails and before I realise it, the day is half past. The evening goes by and what I am left with is a larger pending list and a unreachable wish list! I am sure there are a zillion books on time management, life management, self management and whatever else. But I realized that its not about management it is really about what I am able to resist, what I am able to say no to and what is my priority. Anyways I guess I am getting a little better, trying to fit in a run every evening, writing a blog once in a while and getting back to watching movies as always. My pending list for today reads...
Think...
Wait...
Converse...
E-mail...
Call...
Sleep...
My wishlist for the day actually was
Blog...
Think...
Wait...
Converse...
E-mail...
Call...
Sleep...
My wishlist for the day actually was
Blog...
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