Unaccustomed earth...

Garp will have to wait a while. ...

Picked up 'Unaccustomed Earth', for company on a long flight. Was very apprehensive. I loved 'Interpreter of Maladies' and never read 'The Namesake', though I liked the film. And I was not exactly in the mood for a weighing down immigration story.

I was excited to find out that it was a collection of short stories. Those are perfect for a train or a flight, especially for slow readers like me. And a quick glance into the first story suggested that it was set in Seattle - not the repetitive Boston. Great...I was sold! Paid for it and boarded the flight.

The first story was 'Unaccustomed Earth' - Title track. Strangely, the emotions were very much in the accustomed territory for me. Then again, I think anybody who reads it will feel that way. As it is always the case with Jhumpa, the english was dumbed down, but the effect was piercing. I finished the 60 page story in one shot and realized that the plane was still on the tarmac.

Tried to move over to the next story. After all, there were another 3 hours to kill. The next story was set in Boston and it seemed like a lighter one. I closed the book. Decided that I would rather savour the hangover from the first one for the rest of the weekend.

Later that night, someone asked me what I thought of the book. I said 'it makes you wanna take the next flight to boston, meet Jhumpa and hug her for 2 full minutes'.

Garp...

found John Irving's "World According to Garp", lying around in a friend's place...had read it eons back and it has since been by all time favorite book. I remember closing the last page on it, thinking...'OK...some things in life are not going to feel the same again, from here on'...

".......It was an unpleasant sensation for Garp, shortly after Duncan turned six, to smell that Duncan's breath was stale and faintly foul in his sleep. It was as if the process of decay, of slow dying was already begun in him. This was Garp's first awareness of mortality of his son...."

I think I will read it again!

why I cannot stop talking about this....

I dont believe I am actually writing a post, showing off a movie ticket I bought! but its true...scrambled my way to possibly the last two tickets available for this weekend....yeah its 3:00 AM...but hey, what better time to watch "The Dark Knight"?

3 reasons why I cannot wait for the sun to set (and it has barely dawned!):

a. Growing up, vacations and comic books always went together. Thankfully, me and sis had this pretty simple but effective system to split the piles of Amar Chitra Katha and the few DC comics that were around the house - She got to take what she wanted and the leftovers were all mine!!! Thankfully, she was not a massive super hero fan. Small mercies! and for some reason, I was always drawn to the dark, hooded, masked men - Phantom and Batman. I think it was the lack of 'inevitability' of those stories, which fascinated me. And ofcourse the Villains!



b. Christian Bale. Easily the most talented actor in Hollywood at the moment. Unfortunately, he is largely unknown for some of his best work, like the 'Machinist' for example. It is the most shocking transformation anybody ever went through for a role. Check out his pics below from 'Machinist' and 'Batman Begins', the two movies he did back to back - in that order.



3. Nolan! I was so intrigued by Memento, that after seeing it, I immediately downloaded the film and tried to re-cut it in the reverse to see how it turned out....but naah, it was too much work ;( ...will probably take it up as a post-retirement project!! I digress....the reason I love Nolan is because he is one of the few writers out there who makes his film work mostly by 'out thinking' the audience...'The Prestige' is a fine example. If there is one thing you can be sure of in a Nolan film, it is that you definitely would have had the rug pulled from undernneath, by the time you exit the theatre.....and its probably the only time in life, when its an amazing feeling!

Colleagues

Was reading this piece on rediff and got reminded of the day I saw Pyaasa, many years back. The movie hit me like a brick truck and the hangover lasted many many weeks. But then, it wasnt just me. I think the effect was universal for anybody who saw it.

I wonder sometimes what it must have been like to have colleagues like this: Abrar Alvi, SD Burman, VK Murthy, Rafi, Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi, Johnie Walker, Waheeda Rehman and the head of the pack - Mr. Dutt himself. What it must have felt like for these guys to go to work everyday with one another - each, easily the best of his / her breed! And what it must have felt like when it all just ended abruptly one night. No wonder their best work happened only when they were together.

And talking of Best work, I think VK Murthy is among the least sung heroes, when it comes to Cinema in our country. The man who shot Pyaasa, Kagaz ke Phool, Sahib Biwi our Ghulam, Bharat Ek Khoj and Tamas! Howz this for lighting in 1959??!!!

PS: watch without audio once, so SD does not get to hijack the Murthy show ;)

finally...!!!

"...A week before its opening, Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight is shaping up as the movie event of the year, if not the millennium!....Already, theaters have scheduled midnight Thursday screenings - to begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday, so as not to violate film's contracted July 18 opening. There's talk of 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. screenings Friday, to meet the advance-sales demand...."