Luck By Chance

In case you haven't seen Luck By Chance yet, and want to see it, be warned, this may contain spoilers.

For the most part, I'd categorize this an an ordinary, okay sort of movie. It talks about the dynamics of the Hindi film industry, in ways that we've already seen in a number of other movies. Farhan Akhtar and Konkona Sen have delivered brilliant performances, as always, but it felt as if the script did not do full justice to either of their roles. And I wonder what Isha Sharvani was doing in a movie like this, among people like Farhan, Konkona, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia and Juhi Chawla. Which brings me to another point. I think there were a tad too many characters in the story, and way too many cameos.

Okay, I think I'm sending out the message that it was a terrible movie. It was not. It was a simple story about life, love, and dreams. Something we all understand and relate to. And it had some really good performances, by the leading pair and by the others as well, Juhi Chawla in particular went down pretty well in a role that was unlike any other role that I've ever seen her in.

And I loved the last ten minutes of the movie. I loved the way Konkona tells Farhan that she does not want to get back together with him, because she knows that he's a selfish guy, and that it's not is fault, that's just the way some people are. After that, the way she declares that she is happy with her life and career, even though she did not achieve her original dream of being a Bollywood star, is really touching. She says that, each morning, she doesn't just go to work. She goes out and does something that she likes doing. How many people in the world can claim to be doing that? Those last ten minutes made the rest of the movie worth it all, and made me feel thankful that I did not walk out in the middle of the movie like I wanted to do at one point. I liked Konkona's character a lot at this point, when she realised that a girl does not necessarily need a guy in her life in order to be happy, she basically needs to be able to support herself independently and find something that she likes doing, and do it.

And yes, after watching the movie and hearing the songs, fitted into the right situations, the songs have acquired a fair amount of appeal, especially the O Rahi Re number, which was used in the last ten minutes.

On the whole, an average movie, but if you do go out to watch it, don't walk out in the middle!

Slumdog Millionaire

I finally got my chance to watch Slumdog Millionaire today.

The way a British filmmaker has presented a story set in a Mumbai slum, and depicted the hard hitting stark reality of Indian slums, is really commendable. Of course, it is based on a novel written by an Indian, but to portray things this well, one needs to feel the emotions associated with the events and characters in the story.

I must say that all the child artistes have put forth credible performances, although I think that Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto's performances were not much to write home about.

I like stories where one has to connect the dots in order to fully grasp the plot. Although I don't like ones with overly complicated plots where one has to watch with constant rapt attention in order to figure out whatever is going on. This one was just right.

And, of course, the music is absolutely brilliant. I've already written about that a couple of times, here and here, and I will refrain from repeating myself.

On the whole, I'd rate this movie at about eight on a scale of ten, and I'd deem it a worthy candidate for at least four or five Academy Awards. Fingers crossed.

Moving Day

Where I did my internship, my desk was moved four times in four months. After I took up this job, I had the same cubicle for exactly two years and nine months. So it was a pleasant change for me to have my desk moved today.

The team needed to be moved in order for the floor to be renovated. It's brought about a lot of rearrangement. Bhatti had to move away from my immediately neighbouring cubicle anyway, because he is joining a different team now. But he's still on the same floor, although located at approximately the opposite corner from my desk. My immediate team is now completely in the immediate vicinity. I used to say that I remember the extension numbers of all the people in the team who are not within shouting distance. Now everybody is within shouting distance. There are also a whole bunch of relatively unfamiliar people in the close neighbourhood. Oh, and, of course, the cubicles are a lot smaller. And more brightly coloured. I like the orange coloured insides.

I like this kind of change. It helps break the drab monotony a little.

Of Bhatti And His Welfare

I'm not sure exactly when the words farewell and welfare came to be used interchangeably, but somehow they did.

There's not much I have to write about Bhatti today, because I already covered most of it in the birthday post I wrote for him. Just a few little things I want to add on this occasion, when he's left the team and has ceased to be my cubicle neighbour.

Bhatti claims that he does not like kadhi chawal at all, but always eats a lot of it when they make it in the cafeteria. Now we actually wanted to organize his farewell lunch in the cafeteria and put in a special request for his favourite dish. But somehow the chef at the restaurant where we eventually went sensed everything, and added kadhi to the buffet.

I think all of us who went to Manali will always remember his rendition of Zehreeley Zehreeley for the rest of our lives. It was just too hilarious for him to even get to the words Zehreeley Zehreeley.

When I was in my first year of post graduation, I was asked to co-host the farewell for the outgoing batch. I was at a loss on how I should start off the show. A senior of mine told me that, being the kind of person I was, it would be well suited if I started off with a few lines of poetry. Now I somehow cannot think of a better way to wind up this post. Here are the lines I wrote (yes, I wrote these myself) for that occasion.

Jo manzilein tumhaari hain
Wo manzilein meri nahin
Hain raahein kahin tumhaari
Meri kahin
Jo lamhe saath guzaare unki khushi hai
Aaj mujhe judaai ka gham nahin

All the best, Bhatti, for whatever you choose to do, wherever you choose to go.

Song Of The Week

Rehna Tu from Delhi 6. I like this number because it talks about loving someone for exactly what they are, and not wanting to change the person at all. I know it's a little too idealistic, but I really like the thought. Because you know, nobody is ever really perfect. You have to acknowledge the other person's imperfections and learn to accept them as they are. In a relationship, you have to complement each other, complete each other.

Haath thaam chalna ho
To dono ke daanye haath sang kaise
Ek daanya hoga
Ek baanya hoga
Thaam le haath ye thaam le
Chalna hai sang thaam le

And of course, it goes without saying that the music is just lovely, as are the vocals. Rahman and Benny Dayal have both done their jobs really well. Worth a listen. A nice, relaxed one.

Back Home

I'm back. In the familiar warmth of my own blanket. The comfort of home. I had a totally wonderful trip. It seemed even better, given the fact that I haven't been out like this since last April. Once I work off a significant portion of the sleep debt, I will write a detailed post (or maybe more than one post) about the whole thing. Right now, I'm off to wash my clothes and my hair and fall right back to sleep.

Mixed Bag

My mind is rather restless, and, quite often, it does not stick to a single thought. So here's today's mixed bag of thoughts.

• I'm feeling really good about A. R. Rahman's three Oscar nominations. Two out of three in the Music (Song) category. That's quite something. I didn't quite think that Jai Ho would appeal so much to international tastes. I think O... Saya is one of Rahman's greatest tracks ever, comparable only to the likes of Vande Mataram. It has a totally awesome feel to it, and great music, but it has about three words in the name of lyrics. The lyrics of a song are generally a major factor for a song to appeal to me, but there are a few pieces that transcend this barrier, like the Rangeela theme, or the Jaage Hain number from Guru.
• My electrician fixed my malfunctioning geyser, much to my joy. But he interchanged the little lights. Now the harmless looking green light signals danger and malfunction, while the scary, bright red light says that everything is normal.
• One of the computers in my house was in dire need of an upgrade. Now this used to be the old, short computer, so it was called Yoda. All computers in my house are named after Star Wars characters, as is the network. Now since this one was significantly upgraded, it is no longer exactly the oldest computer in the house. It needed renaming. For the first time, I christened a computer. It's now called Artoo.

I'm off to Manali with some friends over the extended weekend, so this little journal will be on a little break. Catch you after the break.