Actually in my opinion, there are two aspects to a movie. One is what is being told, and the other one is how it is being told. After a century, that the motion picture came into existence, it's becoming progressively difficult of the former part about what is being told. Because it's almost next to impossible to say or to show something radically new on the screen after having so many stories brought on to celluloid by all the film makers on this planet. That leaves us with the only option left which is how it is being told.
Kites is one such movie where the first aspect doesn't apply at all because a love story in which the two lovers try to overcome all the hurdles only to realise that everything goes in vain, is not new at all and this theme has been used and done to death by our film makers. So the film makers of this particular movie zeroed in on the second aspect but it is now the turn of the audience to realise that this effort too has gone in vain.
I heard that the chemistry between the lead pair is good and I agree to some extent, having watched the movie. But it ended up being an incomplete chemical reaction as there was no catalyst at all, to speed it up. The story and the other characters who constitute the catalyst, were all ignored. The problem with this movie is that it tried to fit into all possible genres, romance, action, drama and tragedy. The film makers would have thought to make this movie appeal to a global audience but I believe that it's a terrible mistake. Because you need not ape others to be global, but can remain local and still be global. As Kamalhasan opines that when it comes to movies, as one becomes more ethnic it becomes more global.
Off late a disturbing trend is springing up in our movies and that is importing foreign actresses (read white actresses). Though I have no complaints with the casting of this movie, movies like "Love aajkal", "Aladdin" etc have female leads who are foreign and don't know the language at all. Even in kollywood and tollywood the trend has been to cast north indian actresses who don't know the language at all. I leave it to the film fraternity to ponder over the true intention behind this trend. If the reason is to have an actress only if she is fair skinned, then I have no reservations to say that ours is a racist film industry.
Coming back to Kites, the positive in this movie is the romance between Hrithik and Barbara mori-the spanish beauty, lightening up the screen. All the guys would have wanted to trade places with Hrithik, and all the girls would have done anything to trade places with Barbara mori. Well some guys would have even wanted to trade places with Barbara mori too, such was the beauty and sex appeal of Hrithik and Barbara. It reminded me of "Meet Joe Black" in which Brad pitt and Claire Forlani sizzle to our delight.
Verdict: Hrithik has given a wonderful performance, but watch it only if you are his die hard fan.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Open book!
I have heard people say that they are like an open book. Wait, I myself have said this few times. Though we all know that it's just a figure of speech, we shall put it to test purely for the sake of testing.
Inside each one of us there are few things that are good which we don't mind letting others know as they are self serving. As a matter of fact we either consciously or subconsciously try to make it known to the world followed by the famous tag line "I am like an open book". But once those things,change their shades from plain white to gray and further into dark, our so called open books get closed and at one point of time becomes air tight, a scenario that can no more be claimed to be an open book. :-)
It's like a series of circles around a centre which we have drawn in our minds. We let everybody into our outermost circle without any inhibitions. But as we proceed towards the centre, the people we allow into our inner circles becomes lesser and lesser. I guess, lot of variables such as our previous experiences, our comfort level, our likes and dislikes etc play a part in letting us decide who stays inside which circle.As a matter of fact after a particular point we ourselves are afraid to get into the innermost circle as it constitutes our darker side full of fears, colossal blunders, failures and what not. That chapter in our book is left untouched for most of our lives.
I think any problem that arises in any relationship is simply due to the mismatch of perceptions between the perceiver and the perceived. Let's take X & Y.
X puts Y in an outer circle where he thinks his obligations to Y are very limited, whereas Y may assume that he is in an inner circle of Y in which case he thinks he is at liberty with X. Result is an inadvertent friction and we all know where friction leads to!
I think in the end this mismatch in perception can only be wiped out by opening ones book wide open to ones near and dear ones atleast. The first step towards that goal is to assess ourselves and ask ourselves one simple question. "Is my life really an open book?"
Inside each one of us there are few things that are good which we don't mind letting others know as they are self serving. As a matter of fact we either consciously or subconsciously try to make it known to the world followed by the famous tag line "I am like an open book". But once those things,change their shades from plain white to gray and further into dark, our so called open books get closed and at one point of time becomes air tight, a scenario that can no more be claimed to be an open book. :-)
It's like a series of circles around a centre which we have drawn in our minds. We let everybody into our outermost circle without any inhibitions. But as we proceed towards the centre, the people we allow into our inner circles becomes lesser and lesser. I guess, lot of variables such as our previous experiences, our comfort level, our likes and dislikes etc play a part in letting us decide who stays inside which circle.As a matter of fact after a particular point we ourselves are afraid to get into the innermost circle as it constitutes our darker side full of fears, colossal blunders, failures and what not. That chapter in our book is left untouched for most of our lives.
I think any problem that arises in any relationship is simply due to the mismatch of perceptions between the perceiver and the perceived. Let's take X & Y.
X puts Y in an outer circle where he thinks his obligations to Y are very limited, whereas Y may assume that he is in an inner circle of Y in which case he thinks he is at liberty with X. Result is an inadvertent friction and we all know where friction leads to!
I think in the end this mismatch in perception can only be wiped out by opening ones book wide open to ones near and dear ones atleast. The first step towards that goal is to assess ourselves and ask ourselves one simple question. "Is my life really an open book?"
Friday, May 14, 2010
Unwind!!!
It's been a while since i went for any sight seeing or took any vacation. However recently I had the opportunity to visit Kodaikkanal and Ooty at one go. It was a nice trip and both places offer so much in terms of natural beauty, that mere 7 days aren't enough to explore them fully. But one thing I learned in this trip is that you never go for any tourist spot during peak season. You will be bored to death commuting, due to the traffice caused by the serpentine queues formed by all the tour vehicles. By the time one reachs the spot he or she would literally be drained of all the energy. So no matter what, one must always go for any trip during off season only.
Somewhere I read that "A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving". Well, my trip fails miserably on both the counts. I had fixed plans and right from the start of the trip, I had been planning for the return. I could say that I had visited few places, but can never say that the trip went on as I had actually intended it to be. But one learns through one's experiences and I have certainly learnt a few lessons. Next time I plan for a trip, my objective will be to explore and not just to visit the place and I think that's the best way to unwind and recharge one's mental and emotional batteries.
Somewhere I read that "A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving". Well, my trip fails miserably on both the counts. I had fixed plans and right from the start of the trip, I had been planning for the return. I could say that I had visited few places, but can never say that the trip went on as I had actually intended it to be. But one learns through one's experiences and I have certainly learnt a few lessons. Next time I plan for a trip, my objective will be to explore and not just to visit the place and I think that's the best way to unwind and recharge one's mental and emotional batteries.
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