Swinvelling Flu!!!

The past few weeks have seen Mumbai’s infallible spirit take a severe beating. Not being from Mumbai myself, I have always been in awe of the “never say die” attitude inherent to all Mumbaites. Be it the train blasts or 26/11 terrorist attacks, even the July 24th flood a couple of years back, the average turnaround time for a Mumbaite after any of disaster, man-made or natural, is about 4 days top. But that is not the case this time. People were walking around with masks, schools were shut down, people were actually “apprehensive” (if that word even exists in a typical Mumbai mind) about going to work, and when you have all the time in the world, gadzooks, the malls shut down (can you believe it, they actually were shut down for a few days). That too immediately after the multiplex owners and movie producers strike got over.

Well now the scare seems to have abated albeit an occasional report on a H1N1 death. We were all beginning to think there was no end to this, it seemed to be the new AIDS, or Ebola virus - you catch it and you’re a goner. ;-)

It, however, gave some idle minds (such as yours truly) food for thought. We could have endless discussions on the subject and how the Govt and people are working around it, out of town friends calling/emailing to enquire about your well being. Now, it’s back to being jobless. And am not sure if it’s that time of the year, but I seem to be getting pretty frustrated at my unemployed status. Other than the occasional freelance work that trickles in, my kitty is very much dry. So what do I do you ask, I do the boldest thing ever, I write to my ex-employer asking for freelance work. This is a big step, as I hadn’t even given a thought to working with TIS again.

So folks, I send a mail today, and please wish me luck.

Housing

Today something sad happened; we tore down a home, a bird’s home. It was inside our AC and the servicewallas just pulled it out and threw it in the dustbin, without even looking for eggs or chicks (thankfully it was empty). The mother bird (or at least that’s what I think it was) started screeching and generally creating a flutter right outside, but to no avail.

Anyway, the AC cleaned and reinstated, we all went about our regular duties, that’s when I noticed a full-page advertisement for TATA Housing in the day’s Mumbai Mirror. It was in Hindi, simple, touching and very heartfelt. You must read it if you can, for one, it’s rare to catch a Hindi print advertisement in an English daily and secondly, it was brutally honest, recounting the feelings of one who stays in a house not owned by him.

It felt good to know there are such people in the world who feel indebted to give back to society, Ratan Tata is definitely one such person and God bless his soul.

The Choices We Have

I was watching a Hindi movie the other day “Chasme Badhur”, I think set in the 70’s. Life was so simple, not too much money, opulence or choices. That’s when I realized, the root of most of our problems these days—choices, we have too many choices. It wasn’t this way 2 decades ago, even when we were kids, I mean u had fewer choices, for example, when u had to buy a cycle, there were maybe 2 at the most 3 brands out there. But now, it's just numerous, as in the case of motorcycles, cars, refrigerators, u name it.

Maybe we ought to go back to dictatorships, where the way they had it was (this friend from an ex-communist country once told me), one day cycles would come into the market and you heard announcements, so people who wanted cycles ran out and got them. Similarly for some other luxury items in those days, for example, cheese (yes, can u believe it), she used to tell me when she was a kid, maybe in the early 70’s there was just one variety of cheese, butter and all that.

It's one of those days, where everything upsets you. The irritating person next to you on the bus, your inlaws (actually mine are rarely this way), the inability to find something u need in the stores, so on and so forth. I was supposed to pick up a costume for Mani's fancy dress competition the day after tmrw, and this other mother (we travel together from school) kept badgering me as to y i wudn't rent a costume from the place she suggested (which is also from where half the other mothers are renting costumes). Plssssssssssss is there contractual agreement, "it is illegal to rent/buy costumes/accessories/etc from any place, other than the one suggested by Mrs. ...." I thought this was a democracy. Anyway,, I was running late for picking up the costume and then i get a call from home, the pest control guys r there and I am required immediately. some days, I tell you. I rein in the initial volley of abuses bursting to come out of my mouth and inform in laws that I am on my way and will b home ASAP. The oppressive heat plus me tugging along 2 oversized bags (mine gym and Mani's school) , a screaming a kicking Mani , walk into a stuffy shop (under construction with cement and debris flying around).

I come home with the elephant costume (Mani wudnt settle for anythin else), and got the pest control done. The costume I realized after coming home, was so worn out and dirty, Mani wud require a tetanus shot before even getting into it. Anyway, several attempts to scrub the dirt off the once-white-and-now-mud-colored tusks, were in vain. My spirits sank even lower.
I realised my mood swings must be thanx to PMS.

I ran over a zillion options (all very cumbersome) on how to whiten the tusks in my mind, when i chanced upon my neighbour, who very casually mentioned that I should use white shoe polish over it, and even better, she would lend it 2 me.

the whitewashed tusks looked gr8. and i also applied a deep maroon nail polish i bought today and everything looked fabulous. to top it all i dug out a CD with episodes of Sex and the City that i had never seen.

sometimes in this world, there is poetic justice.!!!!

On Your Mark, Getset, Go!

I was watching the news today and saw the momentous launch of Chandrayaan -1, India’s maiden PSLV to the moon. The papers were full of it — detailed illustrated stages of the PSLV launch, interviews with anyone is remotely connected (even retired persons) to ISRO, chronological list of all of India’s satellite launches up to date and the usual hullabaloo. The only dampeners in the whole process was Raj Thackeray’s untimely arrest, which of course took first page top spread coverage and India’s (again historic since it is very very verrrrrrrrry rare) win over Australia in the test series – we are after all Indians, and politics and cricket will any day precede any kind of scientific progress- be it even a cure for AIDS.

Back to what I was saying, watching the morning news, I was feeding my son (it's usually cartoons, but guess my son is growing up as well). The channel had a live coverage of all the scientists involved in the launch wearing coats labeled PSLV, and looking very austerely at laptops, there must have been at least 20-30 in a row and all of them the same. The scene was straight out of a Hollywood Harrison Ford political thriller, where he is the President or ex-military personnel, single-handedly fighting some sinister terrorist plot to destroy the world (its always the world and never just the US, but we always end up getting an American to save our lives- wonder Y) and all dignitaries sitting around laptops in the White House, strategizing to get him out alive. I am digressing again, anyway, most of these Indian scientists had no clue what they were supposed to be doing, I guess all these guys just have to monitor the readings, since they possibly can’t be doing anything crucial at that stage of the launch (which brings me back to the point, all Americans are so full of themselves, they act so self important at such times), Indians are not such good actors, they can’t really make-believe to be doing something important when they actually are not.

One guy, even had a paper open out in front of the laptop and was reading it ;) Finally after successfully launching it into its orbit, the scientists were all blank — unfortunately one of the live cameras were focusing on them. This senior officer suddenly reacts, like he got a shot in the arm or remembered this very same scene from a CNN telecast or something, and started clapping his hands. All the others followed suit, but not before blankly staring at him for a minute at first and looking around vaguely at one another. This guy then goes one step ahead and shakes everyone’s hand and hugs others around him (this is so not Indian style, especially not expected from someone of his caliber) I am not saying it's bad, it's just not our style, and it all looked so contrived.

Finally they were all exulting and hugging each other (again very Hollywood style), but this one senior person, who was also sitting in front of a laptop, just got up from his seat and removed the stuffy PSLV labeled coat, put it on the chair and walked off. It was hilarious, like the end of a drama, his face almost said “the charade is over, can we please go home now.” That was the only really Indian thing about the whole affair – it reaffirmed my whole faith in our countrymen —Mera Bharat Mahaan!!!

Rocking On!!!

It’s been a while since I saw a movie completely without getting bored even once. Add to this some very catchy (although with nonsensical lyrics) music. Rock On takes off from where Dil Chahtaa Hai left, the next cool buddy movie. As all reviews mentioned, the camaraderie among the 4 leads – Farhaan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Luke Kenny and Purab Kholi – is very believable. Watching their banter, conversation and fights reminds me of what Anurag Kashyap said in a session he had taken for us at my office – to catch the actual nuances of a natural conversation, he used to place a tape recorder in the midst of a conversation he and his friends would be having. He would go through it later and build his own scenario for a movie, to make it more realistic. Well, the conversations are exactly that - realistic.

The real find among all this, like all have been saying, is Sahana Goswami, finally an actress who can act, and well. Sahana, of course, may not be your regular glamour girl, but fits the role to a T. Arjun Rampal was the next best fit, his brooding, understated, restrainted presentation of Joe, is a perfect foil for Sahana’s character. This role is tailor made for Arjun, he has finally arrived. And man is he a dishy rockstar.

Very few people who direct can actually act, and Farhaan is an exception to that rule. Purab said in one of his interviews that Farhaan would just come on to the sets and become Aditya Shroff, not acting, just becoming. This is evident in the movie. Prachi Desai also does justice to character, laying to rest any doubts on her acting ability while transitioning from TV to silver screen.

Purab and Luke Kenny are also appropriately cast. The one thing that I couldn’t identify with is farhaan’s characters getting all morose about not fulfilling his dream. Come on, this is India, we all dream about being successful, have a gr8 house, car and all that money can buy. That is exactly what aditya shroff ends up with and he is still dejected!!! Too much Hollywood hangeover with the follow your dream.

Otherwise movie is a good time pass, not cult status but good fun.

Jaane Thu... I don't want to know!!!

After reading the numerous rave reviews about Jaane Thu Ya Jane Naah (the new Imran Khan movie) and friends at gym telling me about it (more ill effects of gyming- u make weird friends) we finally decided to go for it on Fridaynite, with bag, baggage, Mani and all. The paper said it was a 10:30 pm show, but the movie started at 11 pm while both of us could hardly keep our eyes open. I should have taken that as the first hint and just left. No, but the masala vada pav, the ice creams and various goodies at the theater tempted me to stay on.

To begin with, I wish Amir Khan had hired the marketing team to do the direction/screenplay as well, they would hav had a better opening at least. With the promos being so attractive, the movie began in a very regular way. I has the same old Dil chahta Hai style of movie narration, all in flashback. Unfortunately, Jaane thu, cannot hold a candle to DCH, I mean DCH was a masterpiece in itself, and Jaane thu falls flat on its face attempting to be another coming of age movie.

For starters, which two best friends keep hugging and kissing and holding hands with each other, through out college. I have best friends, both boys and girls, and I nkow of many others who also have best friends from the opposite sex, no physical demonstrations with such tenacity. All the friends hamming their way, with contrived, trying-to-appear-cool conversations intersperced with lots of supposidly college slang, the only saving grace being Jignesh, who did a gujju accent very well.

Imran Khan for one, needs to learn to keep a straight face. He keeps making these face, u wud think he had a tick or something, of course he is cute, but he knows that and thats the problem. Ginelia is a real find, and bollywood shouldnt lose her again to the south. Here is one girl totally comfortable in her skin (of course it helps to have a figure like that) and one of the few heroines who can carry of a perm/curl hairstyle throughout the movie. She is refreshingly different, very young (although I suspect she is not as young as her character, she has been round for donkey's years), perfect except for the foreign twang in her accent, not sure if its natural or put on. She also at times has this lazy manner of dialogue delivery, which just adds to the beauty.

The songs r nothing great to take home, except mayb "Pappu can't dance" and that too only hummable. I think Rahman is losing his touch.

And the climax sequence just goes to prove we r indians after all. I mean movies like this make u cherish movies like DCH all the more. Gimme Farhaan Akhtar any time, which reminds me, Rock On is one movie u guys shudn't miss. Now that has a bunch of REALLY COOL DUDES.