The Grass, the Beer, the Music

I was poring over the pages of the insanely monotonous Amit-Ashish book reading an even insaner subject called Preventive and Social Medicine. My mind was rattled by "epidemiology, statistics, sensitivity, specificity..blah blah blah". I gave in finally to my continuously rising urge to put on the earphones of my newly bought phone. I hit the play button of the playlist I made just yesterday.
First song: November Rain! I had named this playlist as "Ethereal", full of those songs which really make my hair stand up. Slash's piercing solo just does it all and the lines - "I know it's hard to keep an open heart, when even friends seem out to harm you. But if you could heal the broken heart, wouldn't time be out to charm you!" Oh they simply made me travel back in time. The endless "daaru parties", the roadtrips, the Amberro, the Grass and this kind of music! What a time it was! I remember one of the first times we were having this kind of a party in the bedbug ridden room on 1 mid floor in the AFMC hostel. There we were, in our first year, drinking White Mischief in the dimmest of lights with Akshat Vyas' music CDs playing on an All in One player (yes, laptops ka craze nahi aya tha). And how we boozed out on Pink Floyd and Judas Priest. I clearly remember that Beyond the Realms of Death was definitely played that night. And after that, we put in lit matchsticks into the empty Vodka bottles to trip out on the ghostly glow they gave! Next day, there was some inspection and the officers who came wondered if we smoked!
The feeling I always got after going high is so difficult to put in words. Obviously as the feeling is really felt at the time one is high! There was this one time, after our 5th term Prelim exams, we were partying in my small single room, all of us, the Ganjedis and the Chitedis and the Kukkus. We decided to play the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack and to get stoned by the time it ended, some 45 odd minutes. I put the I-tunes on the visualizer mode, shut off the light and just twirled in the dazzling array of colors it brought forth! So fucking trippy! And then as people told me later I was sitting in a meditational pose! Another time, me and Prabhu smoked up weed and hogged the costliest dinner we had in the Insti Canteen ever! For those of you who don't know, Cannabis makes you really hungry!
Then I left weed for good, deciding I will smoke up once more before I left college. I came down to alcohol. And though it wasn't bad but it is no way better than weed. Reasons:
1. No hangover with weed.
2. No liver damage, nor any lung damage(if you smoke it pure)
3. No addiction(medically this is a fact)
4. Makes you really hungry.
5. Hits fast, fades fast.
6. Most importantly, DIRT CHEAP!
For the next 3 years I was to survive on all kinds of alcohol. Went from Vodka to Rum to Whiskey to Beer and then Rum again. Then came the day, the last time I smoked up, with Sutta Vyas. Silhouettes, our college fest was going on and we decided to hog on the Burger Barn burgers after our weed session. He played this song called Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley and though the song is some 6 odd minutes long I felt like it was playing for 20 minutes! He has clicked some stoned pictures of mine which I haven't got to see as yet. Then we went to the Burger stall floating in the air as we glided over the ground. Yes, I actually felt like flying. The stall was closed! After giving do chaar maa behen ki gaali we headed off to the AFMC adda Snehal. What a day!
And as I write this, I am listening to Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah! The twirling colors, the smell of grass, the taste of beer and the Chicken Manchurian of Insti is all engraved in my mind. And it wouldn't be wrong if I said - "Every breath we drew was Hallelujah!" Truly, college was heaven!

I Hate Luv Storys: Review

Unlike the twisted spelling of the main title, this latest Bollywood romantic flick is pretty straight forward. A guy and a girl, with completely different belief systems fall in love and everything is funny and happy. Popcorn?
Dharma Productions aka KJo pulls off a valiant effort in making a mockery of his own films in this film, the interesting part being that it doesn't bore you too much. The film is the story of Jay (pronounced as J)Dhingra played by Imran Khan, a reckless, charming young man trying to make his name in the film industry under the most popular romance films' director of his age, Veer Kapoor. He is flirty, funny, carefree guy who can't accept the fact that something like love exists. Dil Chahta Hai? Anyone?
On the other hand is Simran (oh get over that name!), played by Sonam Kapoor who is a total girly girly girl, who loves fairy tale romance, the colour pink, red roses and soft toys, not to mention the movies people like Veer Kapoor make. To add to her romantic repertoire is her unfailingly faithful boyfriend Raj (oh yes you guessed it right!) who makes her life nearly perfect.
These two total opposites meet through their shared interests in film making. At first, Simran is annoyed and repulsed by Jay's reckless attitude and his denial that love exists, but then small, funny but interesting things happen between them that makes her fall for him.
But then as predictable Bollywood is, Jay refuses her proposal only to realise later that he too actually harbored love for her. And so we have a candyfloss romance on our hands punctuated by occasional sentimental dialogues, lots of humor and a happy ending.
Frankly speaking, IHLS has nothing great to offer, but I found the chemistry and the freshness of Sonam and Imran heartwarming. The story is very predictable but it has its funny moments and high points. The music is catchy and I couldn't help tapping my feet to the title song. I think New Zealand should have been left in peace, after LOTR nothing seems better.
I would say that this is a perfect popcorn flick, no brains to be taken along to the theater if I may advise. Just sit back and enjoy. For KJo's fresh effort I'd say a 6 on 10? Purely for its time pass!Like Jay says, it ain't so Fugly!

Here I am on the road again!

The car screeches to a halt on the dusty road. The passenger's door opens and I am thrown out of it ruthlessly with my personals out on the road. I taste earth as I have tasted so many times before. Without a pause, the car steamrolls ahead. I get up and crane my neck to look as the road meets the horizon, does the car get a new passenger?
I am weary, tired and sickened by the monotone of the eventful life I have had. This latest car has given me a gash on my left cheek. It is bleeding. I don't feel like staunching it. Oddly, I have a similar looking scar, a remnant of a similar gash on my right cheek. Bemused, I roll up my sleeves, open my shirt, draw up my jeans and I can see what life has done to me. My whole body is a patchwork of scars. Some given by love, some by friendship, some by the so called "professional life" and some which I have inflicted upon myself. I pick up my belongings and walk ahead.
The road as I said is dusty. It is windy throughout the year on this road. I have been going around on this one as long as I can remember. It appears to me like one big circle, though strangely I can never find anything which I left behind or lost. The wind blows it away. Time heals the wounds.
Often however it has happened that I do find lost memories on the road. No, not trampled beneath innumerable feet which tread this path but it's the memories and people that come from behind and open like a new journey on the same road. I have been haunted by these memories and people. How can I go on with something which has given me these scars pretending to forget what happened? Yes time does heal the wounds, but the scars remain. It is so pathetic of my human nature that I tend to accept these unforgettable thorns that once were roses. And it is so much more sissy of me to feel that they actually are roses after I spend some time on this road with them. Then they speed away, they are there like a pseudo image in front of my eyes, but actually they are far away, pretending not to hear, ensnaring some new victim, despite the fact that they themselves are also the travellers of this road.
But I ain't too big a fool you know. They gave me the pain, the scars, the thorns and all they could do to hurt me. Did I just collapse and bleed to death? I have thorns to give myself, gashes to be bled, scars to be carved, smiles to be stolen, pain to be inflicted. I am not just the dust on the road to be blown away by a speeding car, no. I am a car myself, I am the wind.
I hear it, the sound of an approaching car, I wave my hand and the car stops. A beautiful young girl's driving it. I look at her wrist, scarred. I smile to myself, I have a heart to bleed!

Robin Hood: Review

Ridley Scott + Russell Crowe = Gladiator aka a blockbuster, Ridley Scott + Russell Crowe = Body of Lies, again an awesome movie. Ridley Scott + Russell Crowe = Robin Hood, this time it's not so good a product.
Robin Hood as all of those who have read the classic novel know, is the story of Robin Longstride who is an archer in the army of King Richard, the Lionheart who returns to England after his worthless crusade to find England in shackles of aristocracy where poor are becoming poorer and the rich becoming richer. The movie is a narrative of the time when Robin Longstride was not Robin Hood. It is the making of the outlaw, the outlaw whose story we know and that is why the movie fails to connect. The story goes as Richard Lionheart is slain in battle and kingship is passed on to his lesser brother John who is warming the bed with a French princess Isabella. He is betrayed by Godfrey, a French in disguise of an English who has conspired with King Phillip of France to attack the unstable England. England, which has been divided on the inside by Godfrey's evil plans and King John's foolishness. However, Robin's new "father", Sir Walter shows him the path towards true justice and they manage to unite England under one banner and defeat the French on the word of the King that his oppression will end and there will be a charter of liberty which will be passed. In the end though, as most foolhardy leaders do, he burns the charter and declares Robin an outlaw, to be hunted till death.
And so, the legend begins as the last frame of the movie says. Robin Hood is a knowledgeable experience to those who did not know the making of the outlaw. The movie finishes with a promise of a sequel which obviously has to come. The major characters of the film, apart from Robin, Maid Marian, the Sheriff and Robin's gang of outlaws have little part in this film. What this movie lacks is the usual grandiosity of Ridley Scott's movies mainly because of a story which hardly holds anything to keep you gripped. It purely is a knowledge experience more than a cinematic one. The background score, the cinematography, the performances are all good but we have seen much better from Ridley Scott.
I am waiting for the sequel because it is where the story of the Robin hood we know begins. I guess the movie standed in stead with its motto - Rise and rise until lambs become lions! I will go on a 3 on 5 for a completely average movie.

Raavan : Review

Perpetually rainy landscapes, roaring waterfalls, thick forests, some crazy bunch of men, A.R Rehman's haunting score, Mani Ratnam's classy direction and some good performances.. Here comes Raavan, another in the series of the much awaited movies of this year.
Raavan is an interesting take on Ramayan. It is the story of Beera, an eccentric, impulsive tribal from the jungles of Laalmaatee who is revered by the locals and loathed by the Police. An Indian Robin Hood of sorts. The story begins when Beera kidnaps the Superintendent's wife Ragini aka Aishwarya Rai and takes her deep into the forests to ransom the SP and finally kill her. But Ragini's fearlessness and staunch iron heart comes as a surprise to Beera who is feared by everyone. He develops a liking towards her and the story moves on as the Police give them a chase through the forests. Beera tells her of his revenge with the Police and why SP catches up with him, Beera leaves him to go free with his wife. However, things in the end take an ugly turn.
Raavan scores on many aspects. Its super awesome visuals and cinematography hold you in a daze. After Avatar, this was one of the most beautiful picturisations. The score by Rehman is excellent. The actors give a good performance on all fronts.
However where Raavan falls short is the story. The message Mani Ratnam wants to put through has been woven into a very average Bollywood story. The story as it reveals itself fails to impress and you keep wondering if there was something more to it, when actually there is nothing.
The parallels with Ramayan are evident. Ram, Raavan, Sita even Govinda as a potential Hanuman and Hariya as Vibhishan and Hemant as Laxman.
Raavan is an impressive piece of artwork but an ordinary piece of writing. I will go on a 3 on 5 for Mani Ratnam's antiparallel Ramayan.

Raajneeti: Review

"Aap junta ko khaane, paani, kapdon ka aasraa de dijiye, junta kisi bhi rang ka jhanda utha legi". Usi tarah aap film ka khoob prachaar bhi kar lijiye junta dekhne toh aa hi jaayegi. Raajneeti, another big film to release this year truly disappoints!
So what's lacking? Powerhouse performances by Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee and a movie directed by a director himself in "Raajneeti" who has previously delivered two very good films; still fail to lift the movie to higher echelons.
Reasons: Well there are many. The movie draws suspiciously close parallels to the epic Mahabharata and Mario Puzo's The Godfather. Prakash Jha forgets that in doing so he is challenging one of the most powerful literary phenomenons and that both have been replicated on the screen with justice. Remember Nana Patekar a.k.a Lord Krishna, Sooraj a.ka. Ajay Devgn alias Karna. Samar a.ka. Ranbir alias Michael Corleone? Too much coinicidence ain't it?
On one hand these powerhouse performances do well and on the other hand you are let down by the equally dismal show by Arjun Rampal (who holds the mike like a rockstar) and Katrina Kaif. Both of them don't know how to speak desi Hindi and Katrina Kaif looks almost robotic during her election campaign!
As far as the story goes, there's nothing extraordinary there too. A bitter family feud which involves politics and ends in bloodshed on all fronts. Nothing we haven't seen before or heard about. There is no good or bad here. Only the strongest survive, that is the only take home message from this film. Rolling in thousands of people in for Viraat rallies in the film may thrill you once but not all the time. Truly speaking there is no punch in the film, nothing that will hold you to your seat.
Though the film has some moments. There are few well written dialogues like the one - "Raajneeti mein murdon ko gaadaa nahi jaata, unhe zinda rakha jaata hai taaki waqt aane par wo bolein". But then these few dialogues are weighed down by the lackluster story and the very average direction.
From a director who has delivered us Gangaajal and Apaharan, I expected something much better. I'll go for a 2.5 on 5 for Raajneeti, purely for the good performances by the aforementioned stars and it's huge anticipation. Expect no blockbuster.

I'll be there for you

Paulo Coelho has said in his book, The Zahir - True friends are not those who come with their sympathy in times of grief. They are the ones who come with their sad faces because they don't feel lonely in knowing the fact that someone else is suffering too. I admire Paulo Coelho's work, but this statement of his, I feel it's way out of line.
Just yesterday I happened to send a poem written by me to one of my friends. She replied with a palpable sense of melancholy. It so happened that she bid farewell to her love the same day knowing the fact that they won't ever be together. I had no idea of the pain she was going through and my poem seemed to have brought her again on the verge of tears. Her life hadn't been going as it should have for the past some months. I apologized for my message though really I had no idea about the damage it could do. I comforted her and told her that she shouldn't cry over the passing of those whose time had come. I knew it was a matter of time. Time that heals and makes it all so fine. Time would take away her pain and she would be happy again. But till then I knew she needed some support. I would give it to her and I did. Never once did I think that - "Oh, she's suffering like I did" and feel content about this fact. I had been through what she was going through and I knew it. But to think that this was a thing to be happy about was very selfish.
Yes, when I am forced to go to someone's funeral or observe a minute's silence for someone who has passed away or comfort someone whom I barely know for the pain in his life I do wear a mask. I make a sad face and do it. Frankly, why should I bother? What's the death of someone whom I have hardly met matter to me? Yes, that is the time I am truly indifferent.
But Mr. Paulo Coelho, though I really loved The Zahir, true friends do share the pain and that too selflessly! I'll be there for them when they need me because I know that they'll be there when I need them. So does the life go on.