Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Movie-Review: Not a Love Story

Posted by at 9:09 PM

Rating:♦♦/5
               RGV improves somewhat- but fails in the greater perspective
It took 20-something cameras, and 20-something 'high' camera-men(maybe interns under RGV) to make this movie. Yes, the camera-positions are so weird, that it makes the viewer dizzy. And I do not understand, why is the theme always the same-frightening, thrilling-for every scene? Whether it is a romantic sequence, or the serious murder one?

Plot-wise: Unwise plot. Nothing much to predict, except that the ending was bizarre as it was way too digressed.

Performance-wise: Mahi Gill scores, and the best performer was the inspector- liked his expressions, and the mole was apt!
 
Bottom-line: do you need any? A one-time watch movie, that too if you want to see excessive frame-dancing.
 
Seriously RGV, you are trying too hard. Miss those Sarkar ,Company and Satya days...

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Book Review: Ouch! That 'Hearts'..by Harsh Snehanshu

Posted by at 11:07 AM
RATING: ♦♦♦♦/5
Humorous, sarcastic-marvel,pacy, builds up the expectations and lives to the hype-A perfect way to spend the weekend.



When I started reading "Oops!.." I had this slight feeling that this might as well turn out to be another college love story, following the cliché and everything required to make up a spicy plot. Midway the first chapter, I was mistaken. The reason being: the writer's ability to demolish every prejudice associated to a love story by a reader. The humor was slapstick and amusing, the emotions well spun, the plot was kept as tight as possible, and to top all, it was refreshing! Yes it had its reasons to be a best-seller. And thus,it  promised another series of restlessness before the sequel(s) came out.(I am not stressing the 's' following the sequel!)

And it came out good, real good!

Its very uncommon of me to buy the first edition of a novel(I would generally obtain the 'leaked' pdf version), but considering that I was following the story,( and the author as well!), I knew I had to order the book as soon as possible and scroll through till I reach the end, or as I shall quote: "A story shall never end, it should always begin"

So it was another joyride, fun-filled, and as I said already, real pacy. The highpoint of the novel is that it creates a humor out of those "Hey-this-has-happened-to-me-too" situations,yet it manages to make you giggle foolishly, or sometimes, laughing uncontrollably!
The humor quotient of the franchise has definitely gone up, and it was not at all exaggerated! Full marks to the author! The way he presented us the humor will actually inspire amateurs to write and of course-be sarcastic!

Which brings me to the next highpoint of the book: yes the presentation. You never feel like going back one sentence or a paragraph to get what is being currently said-it goes down quite easily. The author has taken great measures to ensure that whenever there is a possibility that the reader might start getting bored,he smartly twisted and redesigned the scene. This is actually very rare quality to possess when it comes to new authors(the ones I have read till date). Also the fact that the supporting characters were given proper space, although I felt that they were left out, many a times, unlike the first book where each of the characters had interesting incidents to share. But then again, this is Kanav-Tanya's love story right? So it had to be that way.

Plot-wise, I felt that a little less was there this time, rather than the first book which had many things happening in the life of our protagonist and the ones surrounding him. But I felt at many points that this was important considering that the author did not want to drift away much, but to focus primarily on the love story.So in a way, he had his thoughts more organized this time, and this is what I believe many readers would agree with.Also, I felt Ruchi could do with a little more presence than given(I really appreciate Harsh to frame such an interesting,cheerful character).

On an ending note, I state that I do not wish to give away much,but I would like to highlight a few instances: 1. Guide to Galaxy Aphrodisia(Sarcasm-guru),2. The Muffin Joke(Enjoyed it),3. Tanya-Kanav's chat sessions(impeccable timing!),4.The Last Chapter(Emotionally got connected to it).
So now, for those who did not read it yet, I gave them 4 more reasons to go buy it! And Harsh Snehanshu, frankly speaking,I  don't know about others, but you surely are an inspiration to me when it comes to writing, and believe me, now, I dream that I too would write a book or two someday....
"The next one, the next time."

Monday, August 15, 2011

Beyond Tricolour-Pic-Sharing and Deshbhakti-Song-Playing

Posted by at 12:32 PM
I sometimes ask myself: What is the true meaning of a celebration? Is it just for the sake of remembrance, not to forget the significant event, or just to celebrate to have a good time with your friends and family, accompanied with the act of getting soaked in the spirit of the event?

64 years ago, our country attained freedom,from the grasp of centuries-old British Rule. Now as far as my history-knowledge goes, there had been an attempt done to attain freedom almost a century before 1947 too...but with all the rebellion and determination-the then leaders of the movement(Mangal Pandey, Rani  Lakshmibai, and many other valiant leaders) perhaps lacked one thing-what to do after the attainment of freedom? How to make our country move forward as a free nation-perhaps a little more had to be done on that aspect. 
Then came 1947-determination, confidence were mixed with tremendous amount of anticipation-our leaders this time knew what exactly were needed to be done-and thus they succeeded in attaining something that was very  impossible at that time , and which we presently enjoy for no price. Of course the people of India had to face difficult situations that time-partition,riots etc., and they really did not get to celebrate the new India, but they knew one thing:the generations to come will have a sound sleep and observe this day as a day of great significance, a day devoted to  patriotism, and a day of planning and organizing thoughts to make our motherland proud and prosperous-the Golden Sparrow Model.

But after 64 years, I ask myself and all Indians reading this: How do you think has our country progressed? We progressed very well, but at what cost? Why did those unnecessary evils tag along? How to prepare ourselves to make our country free of these evils?
For the past few years, Independence Day follows a great routine:
Waking up, wishing friends and family 'A Happy Independence Day', then perhaps going to the nearby society ground to observe flag-hoisting, or attending a similar patriotic event in an even bigger gathering,after that listening to patriotic songs all day long, updating statuses and profile pic on Facebook, DD-1 darshan, and as the night follows, maybe some avid discussion on what is wrong with our society and system, with seldom discussing over how to improve them, and then, slumber, a deep, satisfied one.

I woke up late today, missed the flag-hoisting for the first time in my life, but somehow I found my thoughts have become clearer on some issues, the biggest one revolving is Anna Hazare's initiative against corruption and the whole country in support of it. Discussion followed this time also, but with people who are really concerned about the scenario-to uproot the evil known as corruption. All will observe that nobody dares to speak up that he/she has also been a part of corruption-not as a sufferer but as a participant!Jokes apart, its fine as long as you are clean enough to take up the initiative. 
Also, I missed to take bath today-and since there is no water in the hostel-tanks, I really missed it for the day. 
But suddenly, it started raining, and we all hostel-mates went out to have our fair share of rain, and suddenly it crossed my mind-isn't this the true meaning of freedom? Tasting the sweet water-droplets, getting drenched in the rain completely, hurling mud and dirt to each other whilst slipping once or twice and grinning foolishly, freedom never tasted better..

After decades, we are finally having some good reasons to rejoice our freedom. Anna Hazare has showed us the way. It is not really necessary that we too go on an indefinite fast or do something similar, but ask yourself once-what can I do , sitting in my room , or lazing around? Yes we all must ask ourselves the same question-because questioning yourself sometimes brings the best answer possible. We all are mature enough to be aware of what is going on around us, mature enough to share videos and posts to showcase the evils of our society, mature enough to complain and curse our system all the time-so why don't we all try-just a small bit of  contribution-to ensure our nation is freed once again? That our people are liberated of the shackles of these evils? That the generations to come will get another big reason to celebrate the Independence Day and remember forever what their forefathers did?

This Independence Day, let us all take a pledge-no more of unnecessary complaining-its a FREE country, and so, no one can stop us from taking the cleaning mop in our hands. Let us instill a determination that this evil will be eradicated by us only, because we don't run away from our houses permanently, if there is a pest-attack.Let us vow that no matter how busy we become, how bad and dividing the upcoming events be, we will stand together-unified, determined, for another glory-for our motherland-the Golden Sparrow Model.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

What Rakshabandhan Means To An Only Child

Posted by at 9:12 AM
Today is Rakshabandhan, one of the famous festivals of India. Every year, 2 days before, people would buy gifts  for their siblings- sisters getting Rakhis for their brothers, and brothers busy buying gifts for sisters.

The shopkeepers start preparations weeks before the day comes. An array of items could be seen everywhere-rakhis, gifts, cards(generally for those whose their siblings live far away from them ). And who can forget the inevitable ingredient of any celebration?
 Food! Kheer,Rabdi,Laddoo,Pakore-Different region has its own special dish for this occasion, each of them being equally delectable.


So all in all, these help the day turn out to be a memorable one for brothers and sisters-a day to outpour emotions(filmy at times!), a day for reconciliation. 

But somehow, I have always failed to sense that affection.
Because I am the only child to my parents.

Now, you would say,"So what? You will surely be having cousins?"to which my reply would be that because of my father's job and my education, I would be away from my hometown almost the whole of the year. Hence, I would miss the company of my cousin-sisters, not only on this day but also every major festival of my colorful country.

So the child inside me have always missed the company of an elder sister. Someone who would always listen to what I felt, who would hide my things and when I would cry, return them back with a small but priceless surprise(maybe a toffee!).
Someone who would always save me from my parents' thrashing if I did anything wrong, who would also, blame me for her mistakes and then when I came to her with a 'swollen' face, would mock me and poke my cheeks.
Someone who would try hard to look down on me, so that I would only excel, and then, she would hug me tight, and would tell her friends, "My bro he is!".

And also, someone who would be there to tie a rakhi around my wrist.

Now I have seen many of my friends complain about their sisters, many of them do it to excessively!
Most of them would tell me,"You must be very lucky dude!"
I know you too might be thinking the same right now, but trust me, I know how much I missed the company of a sibling while growing up. Maybe I got everything to myself, but I know I missed the joy of reluctant sharing! And the small packets of fun involved whenever that sharing would start a fight!

Life was always a beautiful concept to me, and my parents always made sure that it stayed that way, but I know that it would have been tad simpler, exciting, and adventurous if I had a sister around, all the time!

Therefore, as I pass by the beautifully decorated rakhi-shops, I wish all my friends , my well-wishers and everyone I know, a Happy Rakshabandhan, as I sign-off with the following verse:

To me you are a leg-puller,joking about anything I would do!

To me you are a big-time liar,hiding my stuffs, so no one knew!
You always saved me from thrashing, every time I screwed,
My elder sister is my best buddy, this world had to bestow!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Rainy Days

Posted by at 3:37 AM
An example of a great day is when it is raining mildly, but it IS raining!

And when after having a day with an angry sun overhead, when it rains, its like a dream come true for everyone who had no other option but to feel the heat, and henceforth, taking a PDB(Publicly-Displayed-Bath) from a bottle of water and sucking ice-candies which would put vampires to shame(not Edward Cullen of course, he, well, sucks the best-at everything!).

Thus, when it rained, it was really a moment to rejoice. Its such a beautiful sight to look around-kids with paper-boats, people coming out of the shades to enjoy the joy of getting drenched, buses splashing water on you , making you totally wet and yet you give a geeky grin....
Yes , it is a beautiful sight.
Because rain clears our vision(literally and metaphorically).
And rain results in unification.

Rainfall is a phenomenon which has always been a subject of positive discussion-you wont find much of a depressing article on rain--perhaps the ability it possesses to wash away our depressive thoughts. The subject matter of songs, movies, stories--fiction-segment has rain as an inevitable aspect.
So, as I get back to my room, drenched completely in the rain(with that geeky smile), a small piece comes up in my mind:
Far and wide as I see, 
The rustling of leaves, the blowing of wind-
cold wind, as it kisses my face,
Plays with my hair, yes-
Rain is soon to arrive!
Ah! A moment to dance, a moment to get soaked,
 in happiness!
To let go of all the worldly-bother, to just break-free!

A cup of tea, with some snacks, friends all around you,
Playing scrabble,dumb-charade,hangman!
As the rumbling of soft-thunder plays on,
I look outside my window, and I can see,
that the world has suddenly become such a beautiful place
to live!
Oh how I wish, this stayed, this absolute calmness and serenity...

Be Poetic Sometimes! It Helps!

Posted by at 2:42 AM

                     When the fall led to a greater rise...


"Its over...no more to seek",
the thought that came , when the news-fateful reached.
"What's the point now?" is what crossed my mind,
the agglomerate of ambitions and aspirations , now to be left behind...

Aimless, I roamed, worst than an arrow in darkness,

where would I end down, under complete starkness...

And that 's when it struck:

what if, I gave a new facet, to my trials?
what if I , perhaps improvised?
I got nothing to give away , if not the gloom abrogating.

My eyes gleamed , with definite optimism,

my head cleared, I found a reason to persevere,
to perspire for...

Maybe a second chance was what I sought,

for this was absolving me of the desolation...
That yes! this is the element, the road
to my success, evangelist myself...!

Thus followed efforts , never seen before,

because of the things , I knew now:
I knew how it feels ,to fall,
I knew what it takes , to rise again!

Then, isn't this my achievement, the grandest?

isn't this, what people call, true rise, the greatest?

Monday, August 8, 2011

Thus I start my personal blog!

Posted by at 12:53 AM
With all the impatience I had in me whenever I read a nicely-written blog, here I am finally with a blog which will include my works-sometimes, a take on a burning issue, sometimes, some review, or maybe another time, just a random topic! But I will try my best to keep my posts as entertaining as possible.
Thanks for reading. Do suggest improvements!
© The Placid Rambler is powered by Blogger - Template designed by Stramaxon - Best SEO Template