madhouse musings!

There was once, not so long ago from now, a breeze of freshness – a new perspective, fearless opinions & unbiased bitching!.. it was all this and more@ BombayBitch. Sooner than i had gotten hooked and addicted to the Bitch i got news of this wondrous startup shutting shop!

I mourned and sulked for a while about this loss. Rizwan and I even spoke about approaching Webchutney (BB is/was an incubatee) folks to let us volunteer for BB, failing which we had our PlanB of starting something like BB on our own. In all, I just loved the way these guys presented films related information, reviewed movies and all the jazz. You know with some brands its the connection that comes naturally and BB had that going right for them!

I currently have my dancing shoes on, party cap in place and am “Cha-cha-ing” away in celebration. Why? ‘Coz I just found out that the Bitch is Back!

Just as i was thinking if BB is back as part of WebChutney or not, I chanced upon this post by Nikhil Pahwa of Medianama:  Webchutney Launches Mobile Agency; Bombay Bitch Shuts Down where Sidharth Rao, CEO & Co-founder of Webchutney mentions that BombayBitch would be back in a different avataar.

Different avataar? ohmy! i hope its not a change in the writing style, writing to please the sponsors… i hope not. Guess time will tell or the bitch will, as she speaks some more over the next few days.

For now, i have my fingers crossed and i want to get back my daily doze of unadultrated bitching on BombayBitch!

Okay, the title is pretty oxymoronish, but that’s what DevD is all about! Except for the remote references by way of names and the somewhat suggestive plot – i don’t see any reason to compare DevD with all those umpteen versions of Devdas.

So, what’s DevD all about. It’s about intense feelings, deprived securities during growing up years, about helplessness, anger, disgust and want of comfort & love. The story is dark, mind in void, psychedelic & indulgent. It’s what people do when they cannot emote anymore – go numb, wander helplessly, try and reach out to their comfort zone, retract, get into a shell and look for reasons to escape from realities.

It’s for me a near perfect piece of art – movie making at its best! The story could not have been more real, the characters could not have done more justice to their roles, the music couldn’t have been better, the colors were perfect, the cinematography was just enough to set the mood – i can go on and on!

A movie that begins with the lush fields and blue skies in Punjab traverses through time to fit itself amidst surreal ambiance within four walls – brash colors yet claustrophobic. A direct parallel to Dev’s psyche.

There is everything i love about this movie, the bitch @ bombaybitch said Luck By Chance was her back2back movie. I’d say, babe – you must watch Dev D – this one is my back2back movie for many years to come!

However, the one thing i love above all in this flick (i think its blasphemous to cal it a flick) Dev D (i can see it become a cult!) is that its Real from start to finish. Every character is real, events are real, emotions – real. “Dilli mein billi le lo, maar lo, paalo mat” – the matter of fact moments in the film is what kept my interest.

All through Dev D i hated him, cried for him, cried with him, felt sorry for him, laughed at him and at the end related with him and his emotions – coz that’s what life’s all about, some of us accept it and move on, some of us get stuck and take longer to move on…

Abhay Deol is a rock star! He has surpassed his own expectations again. Kalki Koechlin is amazing for a debutant.  I am all praise of Anurag Kashyap as a director and writer, am glad that i got more than my money on Dev D!

This one for me is 10 / 10. All thumbs up!

Alfred Hitchcock, talking about Suspense, said a couple of things that I am reminded of “Always make the audiences suffer as much as possible.” And “There is no terror in a bang, only in the anticipation of it.”

I watched Tahaan this Friday and I experienced what Hitchcock had said. I was suffering every moment of the story from the time Idris gives Tahaan a task. There absolutely was nothing that happened in a bang, so I died anticipating….

Personally, after a really long time I have seen a movie that cleansed my senses – creative and social. Santosh Sivan has told the story of Tahaan in a very simplistic way, portraying otherwise mundane events of everyday life in the valley. But hidden in the simplicity and everyday activities are the truths that are startling.

Though guns, terrorists, deaths, fears are everyday part of this simple story supported by some amazing cinematography, one notices it but is not alarmed by these truths. The innocence of Tahaan, his quest to get his Birbal – the donkey back is what one enjoys. But all this changes slowly, as Tahaan meets Idrees and the story takes a small deviation. The beauty of this is that nothing is sudden, that’s what makes you feel desperate, helpless and completely stripped off your facades – while you sit and watch in your seats, holding your popcorn. Wanting to know what Tahaan does, thinking of the various consequences of his actions, wishing that he does not do all of those things you are thinking, wondering how an innocent act can be a curse to mankind!

Along with the main story of an innocent little boy and his donkey, the story manages to, though subtly; paint a picture of the lives that people lead in the valley. Missing husbands, frequent visits to the army office, dead bodies, and children playing terrorist games, Kashmiri Pundits living fearful lives underground – prisoners in their own home… It reminded me of that common essay topic in school – I cried for a pair of shoes till I met a man with no legs. I guess, I complain less about things now.

What I hate about the movie is that it is a small event from the ‘issue’ called Kashmir. A convenience for some, a lifestyle for some other, a living for many and a way of life for the rest.

What I love about the movie is that this event in the heartland of Kashmir ends on a positive note. A sign of hope? Perhaps!

Tahaan for me is mastery in storytelling, a landmark film in recent years!

Tahaan means – merciful, tolerant and even cursed.

Since the time I picked up Order of the Phoenix to read, I’ve wanted to watch it as a movie. The itch to watch the motion picture is higher, especially when I have read the book.

With this 5th Harry Potter book, perhaps the thickest book so far, things take on a different color… Harry and his friends have grown up, so to say. The dark lord strengthens. It’s more like, the characters are gaining more vivid characteristics.

Also, when a book is more descriptive, it leaves so much more for imagination. I am a very visual person. I remember things in images. I make visual story boards out of things I read, listen to or what I have to remember. And so, in a case where the book is descriptive and has a lot of events and characters, I freak out making my own world around that book and its characters. When I am reading such a book, it’s more like I am in that world and I take breaks to come to this ‘real’ world to do mundane personal stuff.

If it’s a shorter book, its easy, since I finish it off pretty fast and the story world may linger for an extra day, but with a book like Order of the Phoenix – the world stretches with you till you finish the book and sometimes fights for its space and dominance.

Anyways, coming back to the book versus the motion picture; I happened to watch the movie finally on Thursday night. I went with my partner with much fan fare. Booked tickets online, reached there just 20 minutes early. Picked the tickets at the counter, had a marathon dinner… bought extra popcorn and coke… all in anticipation to a Harry Potter treat!

Once the movie started, it ended, of course obvious. We contemplated walking out mid-movie, but I can be a hopeless optimist at the wrong times. Scene after scene, we moaned and groaned with unhappiness. About, how a particular episode in the book could have been translated into the script.

I felt that I had watched trailers / promos of the Order of the Phoenix, the movie and the actually movie was yet to come. When we walked out of the theatre, we dint even feel like we’d watched a movie, sadly. The images from my world of Order of the Phoenix were so vivid that I thought the movie was an utter injustice to the book and the series.

After all this disappointment, I am sure I will go and watch the Half- blood prince when it releases and the rest of the Potter movies…. But, I really wish more movies were made that did justice to the book. Yeah, I know this is an argument that swings both ways – as much as I’d say that a movie did justice to the book; I also account to the fact that opinions are subjective. Therefore, this is my subjective point of view 

Final Verdict: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – bad movie! Good Book!

ChakDe! Is a good movie, when I say good, I mean it is gripping, well written and well shot. It was important that there was no established star cast as part of the hockey team, which it accomplished well; it also meant a very strong persona to put the entire act together, which also was accomplished. In all ChakDe gets super thumbs up!!!

Couple of things that ChakDe! did to me – It reminded of my days as a sports person, when winning meant everything. 100% effort, focus and dedication towards your immediate goal – to win, to be the one on the top, play as a team. Ironically, Indian sports scenario, especially on the women’s end, is rather hapless – be it hockey, cricket or basketball. Its not just organizational politics one has to deal with, but also with internal segmentation, politicking and influences. It’s very easy for players to get disillusioned. Amidst skepticism, I usher ChakDe! as a refresher, perhaps a prelude to the changing fate of sports in India, particularly women’s sport.

ChakDe! also reinforces my faith in the strength of India. The power we as a nation hold, the pride we can extend to win, win over hearts, nations, accolades and most of all immense respect! As a nation, we are immensely talented and perhaps a wee bit disillusioned and I pray a silent prayer that the disillusionment evaporate; and I believe strongly that it’s disappearing fast and a sense of pride is overwhelmingly filling the air.

ChakDe! as it may seem a simple, fun filled phrase, a Punjabi slang; in the context of the movie, it evokes a sense of pride, intense emotion of a want to prove, do something that makes the world take notice. And, as we near the 60^th celebrations of India’s Independence, I take immense pride in saluting all Indian’s who have made India what it is and scream in encouragement – Chak De India! ‘coz winning is everything!