Tuesday, December 08, 2009

DCH Vs Wake Up Sid

Watched 'Wake up Sid' last weekend. I found a number of similarities between "Dil Chaahta Hai" (DCH) and "Wake up Sid".
Here are a few that I could think of.

1. The obvious one - Both movies have characters named Siddharth, fondly called Sid.
2. The stories begin with the comepletion of their final year exams and the farewell party (Well, in DCH, the flashback begins that way)
3. Both the Sids fall in love with older women (Konkona's character is not the same age as Dimple's in DCH ... but yeah, older than Ranbir's character anyway)
4. In DCH, Sid (Akshaye) has a misunderstanding with Akash (Aamir) and the two dont talk to each other for a while. The same thing happens between Sid (Ranbir) and his friend.
5. The conversation between Ranbir and his dad at the breakfast table (about him joining his dad's business) is similar to the scene in DCH where Aamir has the exact conversation with his dad.
6. Ranbir meets Konkona at their farewell party. Aamir meets Preity at their farewell party.
7. Ranbir's friend gets dumped. Ditto - Saif in DCH.

Ok... Its pretty obvious that I had nothing better to do than think about the similarities between the two movies and write them down diligently :)
Thank you for your patience :)

Monday, October 12, 2009

The crooning topi-wala

Whats so great about Himesh Reshamiya??? Why is the world going ga-ga over this self-proclaimed rockstar? Or is it? The promos of his recent movie 'Radio' are all over the place. It looks as boring as his 'Aap ka saroor' and 'Karrzz' (whichever way he spelt it). In his usual tone, he is sitting by the side of a 20 something girl and thinking about another 20 something who he loved and lost. I guess, this sort of a scene is a must in all his movies. Shenaaz (with virtually no acting experience) seems to emote better than Himesh. In the trailer, one sees Shenaaz asking Himesh "Whats your relationship status?"; to which, pat comes a reply "Its complicated". His absolute dead-pan expression does not convey anything!! Don't know what the producer was thinking before signing on Himesh for this film. What the hell, its his money. He has to live with it :)

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

A 60 year old man imprisons his wife and daughters for years together fearing they would get corrupted by the ‘big, bad world’.

2000 (!!!) women get flogged by temple priests in the name of tradition.

A woman gets caned for drinking beer at a local bar.

What kind of world are we living in?? Where does it stop? Is there no end to the brutality?
The priest in-charge of the so called ‘flogging ritual’ claims that they have been practicing this for 300 years! Why didn’t this come to the light of the local authorities earlier? With news hungry reporters around, such an act wouldn’t have gone unnoticed if it had indeed been happening for a while now.
Such horrendous acts take place… a few idiots like me blog about it, write to newspapers & news channels hoping for some action… but they’re long forgotten. Nothing is ever done. Nothing will ever be done.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Destiny's child

The constant thought running through everyone's heads is "Is what’s happening right now good for me?” "Should I try and intervene?” When we are unable to do as we please, we try to blame fate, saying "What ever is destined to happen, will happen". Is that cliché really true or is it just a myth? Or just a reason to leave things be.

When we find ourselves in situations that we cant really tackle, more often than not, we turn to the big guy upstairs; or to "some supreme power", for all those agnostics out there. We spend all our free time praying at temples, churches, mosques and other places of worship. The belief is that the Lord will either solve our problem (Haha…fat chance!) or at least give you enough strength to pull through it or help you come up with an amicable solution. Working towards the possible betterment of a problem is a risky proposition. One can either fall flat on his/her face or end up making the right moves which eventually solves ones problem.

Fortune befriends the brave
As uncomfortable as it is for them to do so, these set of people bravely take it upon themselves to do what they feel will improve a bad situation. Regardless of the outcome, they make sure that they have put in their 100%. Embarrassment does not deter their courage. And even if it does not end up as expected, they do not regret trying. As long as failure does not affect them adversely, they march right on past it. This is of course a healthy way of handling things, but for the weak hearted, its not good idea to be going down that road time and again.

Latch on to a star
Fear of rejection, fear of getting one's heart broken, fear of losing - such worries dwell on the minds of these people. They leave it totally up to fate to decide what’s best for them. In times of crisis, fate and God are their two best friends. If things do not end up as expected or as they want, they blame it on their fate (and sometimes take it in their stride).

It is possible to carve one’s fate, but no matter how hard you try (you should give it your best shot, of course), only if something is destined to happen, it will.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Interesting trivia

Read in one of the many Harry Potter forums that Sirius Black's death is in fact forseen by Sybill Trelawney in the book "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". She says "When thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die”
Later in the 5th book (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) in the dining room at Grimmauld Place, we see thirteen people including Sirius dining together and during the commotion with Mrs.Weasley, he gets up first. I'm not sure if J.K.Rowling is even aware of this conincidence!

Monday, April 13, 2009

A dangerous dip

I usually get terrified with the very idea of taking a dip in a holy river/lake (irrespective of fact that its supposed to posses divine powers). My dad made me take a dip in one such holy river (Tamarabarani) last weekend. It was one of my most scary experiences. My plan was to just fill my palm with a little bit of water and sprinkle it on top of my head. My dad had other plans. As soon as we reached the temple ghat, he requested one of the ladies there (a local resident, who was busy washing clothes) to take me with her and make me take a proper dip in the river. I, of course, was terrified.

Before I tell you what actually happened, let me rewind back to when I was 8 years old. The four of us (me, my bro, mom and dad) had gone on a pilgrimage to Haridwar and Rishikesh. Regardless of the fact that Ganga is polluted as hell, a dip in the river is something that elders like my dad think is customary. So, the four of us proceeded to the ghat. As per usual, I refused to take a dip. A few minutes later, my dad caught me unawares, lifted me up and ducked me under water. He kept me there for a few seconds after which I came up spitting water as well as fire (directed at dad)! Ever since this incident, I have had a sort of phobia when it comes to taking a dip in a river. I'm not entirely sure if this can be clubbed with hydro-phobia :P

Anyway, back to the Tirunelveli-Tamarabarani incident... I held on to the lady's hand and proceeded down the ghat steps. Even though I was hesitant to go deep into the river, the lady kept taking me further and further in. Step 1, Step 2, Step 3..... finally, I was at the penultimate step, prior to the start of the river bed. During my first dip, I forgot to hold my breath and so came out spitting the excess water that I swallowed. I had also inhaled some amount of water through my nose. Basically I was a little short of turning blue. She was not 'satisfied' with my first dip as the top of my head was still bone dry. I went in two more times after which she said that I could go back up. As I proceeded to walk back up the steps, the current in the river started pulling me (and the lady) away from the ghat. We had no control over it. As I was being pulled away, I started going under. My mom relised that I was drowing and started screaming for help. No one in my family can swim.
Meanwhile, my brother was busy clicking photographs! Even though I was several feet away, my dad's reflexes kicked in. He came down a few steps and extended his hand towards me. Little did he realise that the steps were extremely slippery. He slipped and fell into the river, but somehow managed to get up without hurting himself. Meanwhile I was flapping my arms and legs trying not to drown. In my bid to stay afloat, I realised that as I was holding on to lady who was trying to rescue me and in the process drowning her too. A few minutes later, I managed to feel and locate a large rock on the river bed. I kicked hard on it and sprang up. Finally, my rescuer got hold of me and pulled me back to safety. I saw shock and terror written on all three faces staring down at me.

When I was drowing, for a few seconds there, I thought my end had indeed come and that this was how I was gonna die. I thank my lucky stars that I was rescued in time.

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Unity

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I'm absolutely sick and tired of how the general public is being treated in this country. The recent incident of the attack on girls at a Mangalore pub is deplorable to say the least. This group calling itself 'Ram Sena' is an insult to Lord Ram himself. They might as well call themselves Ravan Sena. What right do these men have to barge into a pub and hit and molest these women! Who gave them the right??? What's the government doing? The law-enforcement authorities are busy giving protection to politicians, industrialists and celebs. Any policemen left out from these appointments are sent to 'safeguard' the public against such hooligans. And even when they do arrive on the scene, it’s either too late or they arrive just in time to pick up the pieces. How is it that the media is able to reach the spot well in advance to capture these incidents on tape?
It is rumored that the media was intimated about the Mangalore fracas well in advance. Why didnt even one representative from either the electronic or the print media inform the law enforcement authorities?? Is it because they would have lost a good piece of news if the police had intervened and stopped the sevaks from wrecking havoc? If so, the media is as much responsible for what happened as much as the Ram Sena sevaks were. Whats gonna happen to these thugs? Nothing. They'll be put behind bars for a few days after which their leader will take them out on bail. Shouldn’t this be a non-bailable offense? What about those poor girls who have gone though such trauma? I cannot imagine what they must be going through. I am sickened by what’s happening around the country in the name of cultural policing. No one has the right to commit such heinous crimes with the excuse of upholding Indian culture. Is it cultured to treat women like this??? Why are extremist groups like these being banned or disbanded? These groups are as bad as terrorist outfits.
I am deeply disturbed and distraught. I don’t know what else to write. I just hope and pray for a better tomorrow.