Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Pyaasa...

Just read that it is the 50th anniversary of Pyaasa. It is amazing how this song stunns every single time....literally...(the entire movie does Ofcourse, but this is Special)....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSo3KVwrp8M

OK...I Really need to get back to work now....

Godavari...















Finally got to see it. Had been on my mind for so long now. Actually got to see it with dad and as a original DVD...double whammy! thank god.....for a locale like this, it would have been the ultimate sin to have caught a camera print online....


very fresh and very neat....completely loved it (inspite of the plain saree rain song and 'action oriented sub plots')....Kamalini Mukherjee looks like a Million Euros! I had never thought of her as eye candy types after vettaiyadu.....but she really is.....and did i mention hot?...And I think I HAVE to marry the person who dubbed for her....

The songs are haunting....K.M.Radhakrishnan (????)...definitely radar worthy...and I had no idea Badrachalam and Rajamundri were such 'wow' places.....

will completely recommend it.....

Monday, April 9, 2007

of Royalty and Railroad employees...

Trivia time...points from the prev quiz will accrue...

1. This is quite literally a once-in-a-lifetime-event. Its name translates to "Collective Visit" and involves the congregation of Indian Royal families at a temple. After 41 years, it last occured the past weekend(!!) and it had 23 royal families in attendance (I did not even know so many existed anymore). Name event....half the points for naming the city

2. This is about a person with whom I have a love / hate relationship. Mostly hate. Connect, "Atmiyo Swajan" (Bengali film - 1999), Desh (2002) and Rediff.com. He is also related to Omkara in an unimportant way. Who?

3. Etymology...now, there are a lot of theories on this one....but this one seems to be more credible than the others....This 19th Century railroad superintendent introduced what was then an innovative system of merits and demerits for railroad employees of New York state. Accounts of his system were published in railroad journals, and american railroad employees soon began referring colloquially to ".........", and at some point, the term entered the general vocabulary. Fill the blanks!

my hugs and undying love for early birds!

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Meanwhile....

been a while since the last post.....Have been dying to catch up.....finally got a chance. The top 4 I HAVE to wite about....

The Namesake

Irrfan, Irrfan and Irrfan. The man is mind blowing! If Maqbool was awesome, this is Amazing! I have always felt that the key difference between western cinema and us is not inferiority in technical know-how, but (surprisingly) acting know-how. It is amazing how even a 'lowly' extra (not even supporting actor) in Hollywood / European Cinema puts in So much and comes across so convincingly, while we continue to be overwhemled by loud histrionics by our leading men and women। Irrfan is a cosmic aberration to this rule. He essays Ashoke with so much detail that it is a treat for senses.

In 'Interpreter of maladies', I was never able to get past 'A Temporary Matter' (It begs to be made into a slick B&W film). There is something so intriguing in the way Jhumpa tells us the simplest of human tales, that haunts us for weeks after we put the book down. I think it is the raw, undiluted honesty. I can feel that it is all over The Namesake, though I havent touched the book yet. The real coup is that this is also Mira's primary weapon. The combination is heady. You get an instant high!





My first tent morning!

When my friends Miki and Neha invited me to their 'trance party' in the middle of nowhere, I said a reluctant 'yes', as it is a genre of music that I have never been able to relate to. Not to mention the 'dance floor' component - a frontier I have never managed to cross into successfully in life ;(. However i HAD to go, as it was also Neha's farewell weekend in town before she flew to Atlanta to join her fiance. The place was a good 100 miles from any kind of civilization and I managed to get there after losing my way atleast 5 times. We pitched the tent in what seemed like an ocean of darkness, in biting cold. I was so tired from the driving and the 'losing my way' that I was fast asleep in my sleeping bag, with the trance playing in the far background. It must have been about 5:30 in the morning when Neha woke me up and said 'you have to see this'..... and I stumbled out of the tent. Wow! the muddy colorado river was buzzing in front of me, covered in a fog blanket and behind us, the cliff announced itself in the first rays of sun...it was quite simply the best thing I have woken up to in the last 29 years...(beats the steamy Ash poster in my room during college, hands down!).....and then there was Neha's piping hot masala chai...life's good!




Bangladesh!!

OK...This is officially the first time that I saw a match and a re-run consequtively, without the Indian team playing....wow! I cant believe that I can enjoy the success of a country whose army gorged the eyeballs off Indian BSF not long ago. I think it must be the 'underdog slaying goliath' masala that never fails to impress. I completely enjoyed Ashraful's audacity and how these guys have revived the World Cup which was otherwise reaching a predictable death. Way to go!

On a related topic....I think this article by Sambit Bal is by far the sanest I have read about Cricket India, in the last few weeks of media diarhea.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/288900.html

Please note that this came days before the recent developments at the BCCI. By the way....Venkatesh Prasad as the bowling coach? whats next....SJ Suriya directing Pacino?

Mozhi

I loved Radha Mohan's first - Azhagiya Theeye, for the screenplay and especially the humour. Mozhi was hyped beyond belief by every friend whose opinion I gave credibility to. Am happy that the film lived up to most of it. It is amzing how I have come to expect 'nothing less than wow' from Jyothika these days. and Vidyasagar! the man dishes out melodies like 'Murugan Idli kadai' does sambhar....and every serving is yummy!. Someone should name him Raja's unofficial heir! My fav scene was the 'zebra crossing as piano' ;)