How important it is for some people to appear that they are just and right and that they would never hurt anyone knowingly or unknowingly. The key word here is “appear”. The hypocrisy is blatant. I mean if you are being selfish at least have the guts to own up to it. It really gets to me. What if we lived in utopia and people were straightforward and would not hide behind silly excuses. I mean don’t they realize that people are not stupid and can actually see past their “appear to be caring” demeanor.
I think I have officially lost my faith in humanity…
Monday, March 29, 2010
Self Marketing
The thing about blogs, facebook, twitter and the rest of the jing-bang of social media is that it gives voice to everyone…even those who have nothing of consequence to say. I know all hell just might break loose and the people who slapped 22 cases on Khushboo might decide to do the same to me for even trying to be in the vicinity of “free speech”. But then we all know how free India is in its free speech ;)
Anyways before I digress to the point of no return, the in thing these days is to unabashedly tom-tom about your lack of any talent whatsoever. The only talent of any consequence the person will have is to write bragging statements about self. The worst thing about this is that most often than not the people who have things to say are the quieter folks who will keep their talent and views to themselves or at least not display it on their forehead, worst actually on their status messages. So the ones gaining prominence and becoming page 3 are the ones we would have dusted under the carpet had the not been so in your face thanks to the “this revolution called social media”.
Anyways before I digress to the point of no return, the in thing these days is to unabashedly tom-tom about your lack of any talent whatsoever. The only talent of any consequence the person will have is to write bragging statements about self. The worst thing about this is that most often than not the people who have things to say are the quieter folks who will keep their talent and views to themselves or at least not display it on their forehead, worst actually on their status messages. So the ones gaining prominence and becoming page 3 are the ones we would have dusted under the carpet had the not been so in your face thanks to the “this revolution called social media”.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Fickle Minded…
These are restless days. Sometimes you are just forced to think. The seemingly logical balance you had maintained with everything goes all haywire. My dissonance is attributed to some recent happenings in my life. It is making me wonder. Were all those relations and friendships in which I invested time, energy, emotions and years so fickle, so transient, so inconsequential. What is it that I do not understand?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Complexity of relations in this “socially networked” world…
When virtual profiles have become extension of our self it isn’t shocking to expect to relationships to spill into the virtual world as well. While we humans are still trying to learn the complexities of the real relations (and miserably failing at that if I may add) how would we ever deal with this added dimension…
Though I embraced the social networks yet I am quite wary of them and now and again I have this urge to kill my online presence. I am still not too sure why I haven’t done it already. Normally I would not prefer to make my emotions public where all and sundry can discover all there is to know about me by just reading my profile. Similarly I would not let my personal relations with people in real life affect my connections in the virtual world. But the recent events have forced me to reconsider. Do we connect with ex of a friend after a disastrous breakup. Isn’t that like giving my approval or feigning ignorance at what happened? Do I want to judge people in their virtual realities? Come to think of it would I meet my friend’s ex for drinks? I think not.
Though I embraced the social networks yet I am quite wary of them and now and again I have this urge to kill my online presence. I am still not too sure why I haven’t done it already. Normally I would not prefer to make my emotions public where all and sundry can discover all there is to know about me by just reading my profile. Similarly I would not let my personal relations with people in real life affect my connections in the virtual world. But the recent events have forced me to reconsider. Do we connect with ex of a friend after a disastrous breakup. Isn’t that like giving my approval or feigning ignorance at what happened? Do I want to judge people in their virtual realities? Come to think of it would I meet my friend’s ex for drinks? I think not.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Do we need to redefine why we like cinema…LSD
My love for movies grew gradually and over long period of time. While in my teens and throughout my childhood I hardly saw movies. Some old English classics which mom got for us and some movies that doordarshan showed that are the gems of Hindi cinema (but I was too young to appreciate). It was only after I moved to Bangalore and started hanging out with the “intellectuals” in IISc that I discovered cinema and international at that. Discovered Von Trier, Kielowski, Tarkowsky, Bergman etc. And then thanks to these friends who used to watch movies till wee hours of the morning in the lab instead of working on the project as they were supposed to, I saw some beautiful offbeat English cinema. And then with my ex-roommate turned psycho I stumbled onto this beautiful world of regional Indian cinema which to tell you the truth has no equal. And now with my sis I am rediscovering those gems of Hindi cinema. But all this while movies that appealed were always high on emotions, deep with several layers, actors par excellence, direction and editing that would leave you spell bound, music and lyrics that would haunt you even in your dreams.
And now it is Love, sex aur dhoka…
LSD will blow you away. You will struggle to understand why you like the movie. Is it the trashy reality of our lives or are we just giving into the baser emotion of voyeurism? Even after being flooded with the reality shows which you know are not real the movie is gripping. It’s an experiment which has been thought about and planned to the last detail. I admire the precision with which the movie is shot. The three stories connect like an Agatha Christie novel where you understand the intricacies only when the director deigns to reveal them to you. It definitely opens a whole new vista of film making. I do not need to say much about the three stories which to me are just incidental. The movie is definitely not defined by them and for all I care it could have been a cat-mouse chase. Its a smart movie that goes way beyond in an attempt to define entertainment. Watch it without any preconcieved notion.
Highly recommended.
And now it is Love, sex aur dhoka…
LSD will blow you away. You will struggle to understand why you like the movie. Is it the trashy reality of our lives or are we just giving into the baser emotion of voyeurism? Even after being flooded with the reality shows which you know are not real the movie is gripping. It’s an experiment which has been thought about and planned to the last detail. I admire the precision with which the movie is shot. The three stories connect like an Agatha Christie novel where you understand the intricacies only when the director deigns to reveal them to you. It definitely opens a whole new vista of film making. I do not need to say much about the three stories which to me are just incidental. The movie is definitely not defined by them and for all I care it could have been a cat-mouse chase. Its a smart movie that goes way beyond in an attempt to define entertainment. Watch it without any preconcieved notion.
Highly recommended.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Hadsaa tha guzar gaya hoga...tum kiske jaane ki baat karte ho...
Not that i want to write a sad depressing post but that being the state of mind currently i cant help but write about that...i have always treated my friends with utmost respect and with me its always all or nohing...and yet time and again i see myself loosing out...so someone will say learn from it...and its not for lack of trying...but this seems to be such a fundamental part of my being that even if i try i cant seem to be able to do it...and so here i am again reading this mail and feeling miserable...
I am so sorry. I am the worst guy ever. I don't deserve such a caring person like you. Somehow I thought our tempers were the concern, but I guess my stupidity was.
Apologies. Wish you the best. You deserve the best.
the thing that hurts the most is that this person has been mu closest friend for years now or atleast i thought so...someone who has seen all the ups and downs...who knows what i live through...has seen me struggle...and still it was just a mail for him...
some words are so easy to say...and still i can never say them...bad state of affairs right now...nothing seems to be helping...
I am so sorry. I am the worst guy ever. I don't deserve such a caring person like you. Somehow I thought our tempers were the concern, but I guess my stupidity was.
Apologies. Wish you the best. You deserve the best.
the thing that hurts the most is that this person has been mu closest friend for years now or atleast i thought so...someone who has seen all the ups and downs...who knows what i live through...has seen me struggle...and still it was just a mail for him...
some words are so easy to say...and still i can never say them...bad state of affairs right now...nothing seems to be helping...
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The fourth Dozakh…Ismat says
But Jugnu said that if I sang the glory of Ram my tongue would burn in dozakh...On the other hand the coachman used to say that if I did not sing the glory of Shri Ram Chandra I would end up in narak…I was in deep trouble. Indira used to say that if I didn’t kneel and repent for my sins in front of the statue of Jesus Christ, I would go straight to hell. I was not ready to go to any of the three locations.
……
This must be a fourth place, this sasural, related to dozakh, narak and hell.
……
This must be a fourth place, this sasural, related to dozakh, narak and hell.
It’s Complicated…
Even before I begin this, I have a confession…I love Meryl Streep…she is easily the most beautiful actress of our times and oh boy has she aged gracefully or what…and what a wonderful actress…the ease with which she takes on the characters as if that’s what she is…it’s sheer pleasure to watch her…
And now about the movie…there is something endearing to see the old romancing…it feels like the real thing…not the “in your pants before I even met you” or “the geek the cheerleader the soccer captain triangle”…after staying together close to two decades when two people move apart how do they move on or find closure…especially when you have no just shared lives and have seen each other growing up but also have had children together…at some point in the movie Jane (Meryl Streep) says to Jack (Alec Baldwin) – we have each grown into the person we wanted to become…it would be so much easier if couples would separate after the first few years and then get back together much later in life…
Meryl Streep shares such superb chemistry with both Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin that you feel you are witnessing real life and not a story on silver screen…Even though the movie is kitsch yet it’s absolutely worth a watch…
And now about the movie…there is something endearing to see the old romancing…it feels like the real thing…not the “in your pants before I even met you” or “the geek the cheerleader the soccer captain triangle”…after staying together close to two decades when two people move apart how do they move on or find closure…especially when you have no just shared lives and have seen each other growing up but also have had children together…at some point in the movie Jane (Meryl Streep) says to Jack (Alec Baldwin) – we have each grown into the person we wanted to become…it would be so much easier if couples would separate after the first few years and then get back together much later in life…
Meryl Streep shares such superb chemistry with both Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin that you feel you are witnessing real life and not a story on silver screen…Even though the movie is kitsch yet it’s absolutely worth a watch…
Karthik Calling Karthik
I think it’s very tough to look at movies in isolation without comparing them to the world cinema one has seen and is aware of. But also sometimes given the context of a particular culture\country\industry we should look at movies in a limiting context.
Given that background if I look at KCK reducing the universe only to Bollywood (and not even the extremely vast reserves of regional cinema India has), the movie is impressive. Farhan Akhtar manages the transition from an invisible loser in life to a high flying yuppie quite well. The movie does have a suspense element which the director has successfully carried throughout the film almost till the end. You don’t realize how quickly the harmless phone transitions to an object of terror. The movie is quite crisp. And though it’s the story of the man “Karthik” the love angle with Deepika has been woven without stretching it or giving it more shades then required.
The role suits Farhan and he has played it without melodrama. Deepika on the other hand has all of two expressions in her acting repertoire. She does compensate it with the fact that she looks pleasantly gorgeous and looks good no matter what she adorns.
While the editing is crisp and almost manages nail-biting suspense at one or two places, it does have a few stereotypes. The depiction of the therapist for one is very Freudian and kitsch and could have done with some research. I wish the director had actually met a shrink and observed how she functions. Another disappointment is that I doubt if people associated with the movie even understood the details of what entails a mental disorder. What is schizophrenia or MPD? What are the symptoms? How it manifests itself in a person? I wish the script writer and the actress playing the shrink had bothered just “googling” it – it would have taken the film to a different level itself.
Given that background if I look at KCK reducing the universe only to Bollywood (and not even the extremely vast reserves of regional cinema India has), the movie is impressive. Farhan Akhtar manages the transition from an invisible loser in life to a high flying yuppie quite well. The movie does have a suspense element which the director has successfully carried throughout the film almost till the end. You don’t realize how quickly the harmless phone transitions to an object of terror. The movie is quite crisp. And though it’s the story of the man “Karthik” the love angle with Deepika has been woven without stretching it or giving it more shades then required.
The role suits Farhan and he has played it without melodrama. Deepika on the other hand has all of two expressions in her acting repertoire. She does compensate it with the fact that she looks pleasantly gorgeous and looks good no matter what she adorns.
While the editing is crisp and almost manages nail-biting suspense at one or two places, it does have a few stereotypes. The depiction of the therapist for one is very Freudian and kitsch and could have done with some research. I wish the director had actually met a shrink and observed how she functions. Another disappointment is that I doubt if people associated with the movie even understood the details of what entails a mental disorder. What is schizophrenia or MPD? What are the symptoms? How it manifests itself in a person? I wish the script writer and the actress playing the shrink had bothered just “googling” it – it would have taken the film to a different level itself.
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