Recently I was busy in finding the happiest couple in the whole world. Well to some skeptics the two words 'happy' & 'couple' may sound like an oxymoron, but sarcasm apart, I still tried to find out one such couple. I was about to give up this endeavour which was turning out to be futile, but in the last minute much to my relief I found out one such couple. You may ask why one should put so much effort in a relatively not so important matter. On the contrary I believe that this information will be like a beacon of light in the darkness for all my newly married friends and for those who are awaiting their turn.
And as per my findings the happiest couple in the whole world were Adam & Eve. Simply because Adam didn't have to listen to Eve about all the men she could have married and Eve didn't have to listen to Adam say how well his mother cooked. :-)
To remain as a happy couple, this is the recipe!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Raavanan!
The limitation of being a master craftsman in what one does, is that the person can not afford to be just ok or for that matter even good. He has to be more than good. That's the quagmire in which the master director Maniratnam finds himself in, with the release of his latest bilingual extravaganza "Raavan" in Hindi and "Raavanan" in tamil. Having clearly been stated that this movie is a contemporary take on the ancient epic Ramayana, it was supposed that it would portray the myriad shades of the wonderful character "Raavanan".
As per the epic Raavanan is a learned, able and strong king and a great devotee of lord Shiva. In fact, except for the misdeed of kidnapping Sita, I have never heard of him being notorious like some of the other characters like Kamsa, dushaasana etc. Rama-though the lord incarnate, is still a human being and is bound by the cycle of karma. As a result he undergoes all emotional turmoils like dilemmas, suffering and happiness and sorrow. Now the drama heats up! Raavan with such an exceptional track record meets with his downfall with one act of imprudence. Raam too, whom we eulogise, too commits a blunder of suspecting his wife's chastity and forcing her to take a idiotic fidelity test. Though the reason for this stupid action is mentioned in the epic, it's sheer stupidity nevertheless especially when looked at from today's perspective.
My expectation from Maniratnam was that he would build the plot upto a point where he will let the audience decide as to who was great:Raavanan or Rama. Raavanan though kidnaps Sita, an act which is immoral still makes us admire him with his decision to first win Sita's heart before having her. On the contrary though Raam is revered to be a perfect man, in my opinion no one else had inflicted so much pain to any woman as he had to Sita. Moreover what would be the thought process of Sita if she were a modern day woman? I guess she may even take Raavanan's side instead of jumping into fire just because her husband has asked her to jump! :-) This drama, crossfire of ideologies, social beliefs, characters is what I expected and I have to reluctantly admit that I was disappointed in the end. I had this expectation based on his previous movie Guru in which he weaved that magic.
But no one can complain about the performances and music. They are top class. Cinematography is truly amazing and there is no point in mentioning separatley this aspect in a Mani's film. Though the deliberate camera shakes to build the tension of a scene resembled Jason Bourne movies, in my opinion they weren't as effective as the later.
Back to square one, if this movie had been directed by any other director it would have been a great movie. Though the movie is good in many aspects, just because it was directed by avgreat director, Raavanan has out as a normal movie.
As per the epic Raavanan is a learned, able and strong king and a great devotee of lord Shiva. In fact, except for the misdeed of kidnapping Sita, I have never heard of him being notorious like some of the other characters like Kamsa, dushaasana etc. Rama-though the lord incarnate, is still a human being and is bound by the cycle of karma. As a result he undergoes all emotional turmoils like dilemmas, suffering and happiness and sorrow. Now the drama heats up! Raavan with such an exceptional track record meets with his downfall with one act of imprudence. Raam too, whom we eulogise, too commits a blunder of suspecting his wife's chastity and forcing her to take a idiotic fidelity test. Though the reason for this stupid action is mentioned in the epic, it's sheer stupidity nevertheless especially when looked at from today's perspective.
My expectation from Maniratnam was that he would build the plot upto a point where he will let the audience decide as to who was great:Raavanan or Rama. Raavanan though kidnaps Sita, an act which is immoral still makes us admire him with his decision to first win Sita's heart before having her. On the contrary though Raam is revered to be a perfect man, in my opinion no one else had inflicted so much pain to any woman as he had to Sita. Moreover what would be the thought process of Sita if she were a modern day woman? I guess she may even take Raavanan's side instead of jumping into fire just because her husband has asked her to jump! :-) This drama, crossfire of ideologies, social beliefs, characters is what I expected and I have to reluctantly admit that I was disappointed in the end. I had this expectation based on his previous movie Guru in which he weaved that magic.
But no one can complain about the performances and music. They are top class. Cinematography is truly amazing and there is no point in mentioning separatley this aspect in a Mani's film. Though the deliberate camera shakes to build the tension of a scene resembled Jason Bourne movies, in my opinion they weren't as effective as the later.
Back to square one, if this movie had been directed by any other director it would have been a great movie. Though the movie is good in many aspects, just because it was directed by avgreat director, Raavanan has out as a normal movie.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Golden age for sports fans!
Don't ever make the mistake that this could be somehow related to cricket by a mere cursory glance at the topic. No, not in the next million years. Looking at the quality of cricket that's being played, all sports enthusiasts like me would certainly be in a state of deep depression. So instead, let's look towards Europe and Africa and there they are!
Tennis- the ultimate individual game and Football- the ultimate team game both are ready to feast our eyes, excite our minds and inspire our hearts. Of course the wheels had already been set in motion two weeks earlier when the French open at Rolland Garros kick started. Now the Football world cup which starts on 11th of this month and Wimbledon which will probably start on the third week of this month will continue the momentum, carry on the excitement well over into the month that comes next. For a sports fan the feeling is like that of a normal person acquiring a home and getting married at the same time (I can find no better example than this one:-) ).
Both the games impose tremendous pressure and test one's technique, fitness and of course one's mental strength. One interesting point is that in French open Rafael Nadal is considered to be the favourite which he did win yestereday. In wimbledon Roger Federer is considered to be the favourite albeit with some reservations because of a looming threat in the form of Nadal. But this time in Football no team is considered to be a clear favourite to win the world cup and this adds some zing and suspense to the proceedings.
No matter who loses at the wimbledon or whichever team loses at the football world cup, one thing is for sure; Tennis and Football will win hands down. If the fans don't have any allegiance to any particular team or to any particular player, they can be winners too! So let's just invite the the golden age of sports that's in our doorsteps ( of course it's just a figure of speech). All you have to do is to just flick the remote on!
Tennis- the ultimate individual game and Football- the ultimate team game both are ready to feast our eyes, excite our minds and inspire our hearts. Of course the wheels had already been set in motion two weeks earlier when the French open at Rolland Garros kick started. Now the Football world cup which starts on 11th of this month and Wimbledon which will probably start on the third week of this month will continue the momentum, carry on the excitement well over into the month that comes next. For a sports fan the feeling is like that of a normal person acquiring a home and getting married at the same time (I can find no better example than this one:-) ).
Both the games impose tremendous pressure and test one's technique, fitness and of course one's mental strength. One interesting point is that in French open Rafael Nadal is considered to be the favourite which he did win yestereday. In wimbledon Roger Federer is considered to be the favourite albeit with some reservations because of a looming threat in the form of Nadal. But this time in Football no team is considered to be a clear favourite to win the world cup and this adds some zing and suspense to the proceedings.
No matter who loses at the wimbledon or whichever team loses at the football world cup, one thing is for sure; Tennis and Football will win hands down. If the fans don't have any allegiance to any particular team or to any particular player, they can be winners too! So let's just invite the the golden age of sports that's in our doorsteps ( of course it's just a figure of speech). All you have to do is to just flick the remote on!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Kites
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Another best friend's betrothal!
Today, I attended one of my friends' betrothal function and I needn't tell you explicitly, that I am really happy for the couple in focus. The function went smoothly, with lots of fun and activity as one can expect in such functions. Though I would love to draw a line in the middle of a paper and state at-least six differences between this one and the other betrothal function I had previously attended, on second thought, I would disallow myself such indulgence so as not to create any rift between those two friends. :-) Jokes apart, I shower my best wishes to both the bride and the groom on their engagement. (A damn good lunch is certainly a considerable contributor involved in this wish :-) )
There is a song that begins with the words "It's raining men" and it's going to be raining betrothals and marriages in the next 3 to 4 months. Added to this one of my friends has become the proud father of a pretty baby girl. (I realised why people call a baby as "bundle of joy" just by looking at my friend).
Now as people are getting ready to either to tie the knot or to say "I do" in one of the most important events of their lives called marriage, following are some of the rules of a happy marriage; but I would like to call them as "ten commandments of a happy married life" as recommended by elders and psychiatrists. As I have nothing else to give to my friends I list these golden rules which certainly made some sense when I read.
1. Never both be angry at the same time.
2. Never yell at each other unless the house is on fire.
3. If one of you has to win an argument, let it be your mate.
4. If you must criticise, do it lovingly.
5. Never bring up mistakes of the past.
6. Neglect the whole world rather than each other.
7. Never go to sleep with an argument unsettled.
8. At least once every day say a kind or complimentary word to your life partner.
9. When you have done something wrong, admit it and ask for forgiveness.
10.It takes two to make a quarrel, and the one in the wrong usually is the one who does the most talking.
We can refer "Social Psychology" by Robert baron & Donn Byrne or any other related books for further details as to how to make a marriage or for that matter, any relationship work.
DISCLAIMER: All the incidents and persons I mentioned above are imaginary and any resemblance to any persons or incidents in real life is purely coincidental. :-)
There is a song that begins with the words "It's raining men" and it's going to be raining betrothals and marriages in the next 3 to 4 months. Added to this one of my friends has become the proud father of a pretty baby girl. (I realised why people call a baby as "bundle of joy" just by looking at my friend).
Now as people are getting ready to either to tie the knot or to say "I do" in one of the most important events of their lives called marriage, following are some of the rules of a happy marriage; but I would like to call them as "ten commandments of a happy married life" as recommended by elders and psychiatrists. As I have nothing else to give to my friends I list these golden rules which certainly made some sense when I read.
1. Never both be angry at the same time.
2. Never yell at each other unless the house is on fire.
3. If one of you has to win an argument, let it be your mate.
4. If you must criticise, do it lovingly.
5. Never bring up mistakes of the past.
6. Neglect the whole world rather than each other.
7. Never go to sleep with an argument unsettled.
8. At least once every day say a kind or complimentary word to your life partner.
9. When you have done something wrong, admit it and ask for forgiveness.
10.It takes two to make a quarrel, and the one in the wrong usually is the one who does the most talking.
We can refer "Social Psychology" by Robert baron & Donn Byrne or any other related books for further details as to how to make a marriage or for that matter, any relationship work.
DISCLAIMER: All the incidents and persons I mentioned above are imaginary and any resemblance to any persons or incidents in real life is purely coincidental. :-)
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