From Bomkesh Bakshi to Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!!!

Many Many summers ago, I remember giving my lessons to my mother to earn a meeting with a dhoti-kurta clad man who called himself Byomkesh Bakshi. He came on Tv, solving difficult and complicated cases with his wit and intelligence. He seemed to be a simple man with a nice and warm personality. In no time, we became his biggest fans and he the hero of our childhood fantasy. Though a lot of it we hardly understood then, we still fantasied to be a detective.

But then we grew up and got busy with our lives. Lost in the hustle and bustle of life, intertwined with the complications which has slipped into our own lives we somehow had forgotten that dhoti-clad man. Sometimes when Rajat Kapoor popped up in the screen, he reminded us of Bomkesh. We saw Mr Kapoor in many shades after that but nothing could replace the dhoti-kurta clad man.

Even in this commotion of life, Bomkesh Bakshi sometimes peeped at us through some websites or newspaper articles or jumped into our discussions with friends.

So when Detective Byomkesh Bakshy was set to be made into a hindi bollywood movie I had doubts but when I heard it was Dibakar Banerjee, who would be at the helm, i wanted to give him a shot. Someone, who has directed four completely different films on four different subjects and treatment, he was definitely worth a shot.

When Sushant Rajput was cast as Byomkesh, my heart sank. A 2 and a half old film actor for such a celebrated character? I again had doubts and once again I placed my faith on Banerjee. I am glad that Banerjee didn't disappoint me.

He completely reinvented Bomkesh Bakshi without compromising on its soul. He made him a little grey, he made him a part of the mystery which he was trying to solve. Rajput brought a cookiness, innocence and intrepidness to the character. He was nothing like the dhoti-kurta clad man of my childhood fantasy but still he made me to stay with him, always apprehensive to trust him completely, but eventually accepting him as a new-age young Bomkesh, who probably would be more relatable to the kids of this generation and has the potential to grow into a fantasy of the new age India.

Banerjee has stamped his authority on the screenplay and the way he has created a Kolkata of 1940s, getting down to the last details, and shot it so beautifully through a tram journey at the start of the film, its simply commendable. The trash metal background score, the colour and texture of the film gives it a touch of a stylish and edgy political thriller.

But despite the films numerous positives, still there would be people, both bengalies and non-bengalies, who might stay away from the theaters for their own contrasting reasons. So to them, I would like to say: Bongs don't go looking for Bongness as you won't find one and non-bongs don't rule out the film because it might have bongness. You need to trust Banerjee here and see it just as another political crime thriller and you might just like it.

Go with an open mind, give this 'Detective Byomkesh' a chance and if you

are following closely, you will surely go on amazing ride. I had my ride. For

now, I am staying with this Byomkesh!!!

How do you want to be remembered Mr Kohli?

                                                                                 credit

A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom. -- Bob Dylan.

We can choose a zillion superlatives to describe your cricketing exploits, but to give an honest account of your off field persona will mean my words have to stoop to a new low.

Ever since you burst into the scene as the young energetic captain of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U-19 World Cup in Malaysia, you have mesmerised us with your on-field exploits. You always stood out with your record-breaking feats, making each of us proud of you as an Indian.

You took the fight to the rival camp, stood up against sledging and we thought you are someone who wears his heart on his sleeve. But then your history of run-ins became more disturbingly regular with each passing day. 

Whether it was the spat with colleague Gautam Gambhir at Wankhede stadium, or the flashing of the middle finger to the Australian crowd or the hurling of verbal abuses at rival teams, it all kept adding up. Most times we smiled it off considering your extraordinary on-field exploits. 

But the recent verbal abuse hurled at a respectable newspaper journalist without provocation at Perth after a mistaken identity and your arrogance of not even apologising to him in person even after realising your mistake justifies the 'spoil brat' tag which has been hanging on you for some time.

According to reports, your invective was triggered by a report by another Indian journalist who had apparently written about your personal life. Well, the reporter had written: "In a departure from the past, Virat Kohli has been allowed to have girlfriend Anushka Sharma around" during last year's England tour.

Is writing about personal life of cricketers banned in India? Does it justify the volley of expletives, Mr Kohli? Okay, anyone can lose his/her cool, after all you are just a human being but to have the arrogance to not even apologise directly to the person who you just blasted in front of many, shows your aggression is misplaced and you actually are quite weak inside because it takes a lot of courage to admit, acknowledge, accept and apologize.

Indian team has seen many talents becoming legends. Whether it is Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly or Rahul Dravid, each of them had to face intense media scrutiny but they never ever engaged in a behaviour which was unbecoming of them as Indian icons.
Even Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is the best captain India ever had, despite his of late cold attitude towards Indian media, has never give us a reason to doubt his human qualities. Even if Dhoni weren't the best captain, he would have been remembered as someone who gave respect to seniors and juniors alike and earned respect equally. His demeanour earned him the title of 'captain cool'. However, looking at the way you are going, it would be from captain cool to 'captain namakool' for India in the coming days.

At a time when each person is clinging to his piece of debris, fighting own battles, it is paramount to strive for appropriate behaviour even in the face of extreme hazards. One who can do that becomes a true leader, who is rewarded and remembered for his action.

'Sachin! Sachin!' - The world cheered,
A billion prayed, a billion wishes unheard,
nothing could change the day all fans feared.
Its here, its here; fans murmured at last.
And then in chocked voices and crimson eyes,
The world bade you Good bye.

We long for the days,
when your sweet sound of the willow,
lulled all heartbreaks to sleep,
with each of your boundaries,
our youthful spirits ran high and free.

You gave us so much to live for,
The on-field and off-field lessons,
A guide for the new and old.

Sachin, in memories you live now,
in dreamy by lanes of childhood, you play,
in our smiles and tears, you stay,
in statistics and in voices of the worlds,
your legend grows old.

When Tendulkar walks into the fading sun

The Masterblaster finally walks into the fading sun, a world sighs in pain. we could see it coming but there was a sense of suspended disbelief and we wanted to avoid this moment. We wanted to play along and avoid topics of your retirement.

Sometimes we switched off the TV when the anchors discussed your future with so much seriousness. We often cursed those anchors and sometimes even swore at them: 'why can't they just leave him alone', we would say. 


But its time now and no matter how much we try, the moment of truth has arrived. Probably someone like me would tell myself that it has not arrived yet. Still the 200th test is due, still that day is due, still that moment has not arrived when the stadium stands up on its feet and bows to you for one last moment. 

You know, Sachin, when you hanged your boots in the one-dayer, I felt cheated because you didn't give me and zillions like me a chance to say goodbye but this time, at least the fans will have enough time to pacify their sobbing heart and hold their breath and surrender to that moment of truth and smile faintly but proudly when you raise your bat and walk out of the battle field, where you scripted so many memorable wins. 

I had so much to say to you but I could never tel you that. Even when I had the 
opportunity of talking to you over the phone once, I could barely speak my heart 
out to you. It was the highlight of my short sport journalism career. I, however, 
did tel you that I belong to a place called 'Silchar' and I could not hide my excitement and happiness when you mentioned about your innings which you played at the DSA ground in the 1990s. It was a rare moment for me.

I was happy because, I could tell you that your fans are not only in the metros but also in the far-fetched land of the northeastern corner of the country. Like me, there were thousands and lakhs here in my small town, who revered you and worshiped you like God, who picked up the cricket bat because they saw you on the TV one day in their childhood, playing that perfect cover drive or pull shot or your trademark straight drive.

Now when I sit down and think about you, there is another moment that comes flashing in my mind's eyes. It was first and the only time when I had seen you, sitting less than 10 feet from me, addressing a press conference during the Indian premier League at the ferozshah kotla ground. I had to get over my amazement to 
listen to what you were saying because I had a job to do. But to be frank, I didn't remember anything after that because all that I could remember was the feeling when the GOD brushed aside me and standing there less than one feet away from you, I had already frozen in time. I could feel how time slowed down at that moment and I could actually gauge your height.

I had so much to write but even now words doesn't come easy, it never does when it is about the God of cricket. It won't be an exaggeration to say that when you go, the game will lose its soul for many, cricket will lose many fans and for me, with you a little bit of me wil also lose its identity that day on your 200th test.

Phata Poster Nikhla Hero is NOT FUNNY enough!!!

First the disclaimer. I've a bais towards Shahid Kapoor. This is because I have always appreciated the fact that like a few other actors in India, he is a hard working and self made actor. He never got any favour for being Pankaj kapoor's son and so when he took a emotional decision to not sign any film for two years since he wanted to completely give himself up for his father's project 'Mausam', I could understand why he was doing it.

I was excited to watch him on screen after he had proved his worth in films such as 'Jab We met' and 'kaminey' but then at this peak of his career, he had taken that decision of not working in any other film beside 'Mausam'.

So naturally, when the teasers of 'Phata Poster Nikla hero' (PPNH) was released, there was a slight excitement in his fans to watch him on screen again. The fact that, it was Rajkumar Santoshi's film after his 'Ajab Prem ki Gajab Kahaani', made it all the more enticing but with a heavy heart, I have to say, PPNH was a big let down.

Shahid has done his role to perfection. As he himself puts it in the film that he danced, fought, was romantic, was Maa-ka-lal and blah blah, but then there was no story in the film. It seemed it was an 1970s storyline where Ma (Padmini Kolhapure) wants him to be a police inspector, while son wants to be a hero and how he fakes a policewala act but then when Maa ko shock lala, son decides to give up his dream and works with the police.

The film could have been a good comedy but Santoshi fails to use the actors such as Sourabh Shukla, Zakir Hussain, Darshan Jariwala and sanjay Mishra. But then there was not much to do for them in the film as there scenes and dialogues were not funny enough and so what we get is a cake which was left half baked.

The comedy quotient of the film was never consistent. Few of the scenes and dialogues were funny but then the next scene was cliched and irritating. The fight scenes could have been better, while the songs were clearly forcibly inserted  into the scenes and completely disrupts whatever flow the script could manage.

The first half was fairly decent with a few funny situations but the second half tired out the audience with the revelation of Napolean (the villain) and with scenes which seemed where last minute inclusion to give poor Illeana D'Cruz and gang some reel time because the actress especially adds absolutely nothing to the film. Sanjay Mishra was wasted and his best scene is the one shown at the teaser. Sourabh Shukla too could have been given much better scenes and dialogues.

Shahid acted well, whether it was convincing Tinu Anand for landing a role or imitate Dev Anand in the climax. In fact, the Tinu Anand scene was so powerful that for a moment it felt it could have been better if he had done such an intense role rather than comedy.

Talking about climax, Santoshi tried to recreate the confusion of his 'Andaz Apna Apna' but fails miserably. In fine, this could have been a good vehicle for Shahid to once again rise his stakes as an actor, if only santoshi had spent more time on the script and dialogues.

Overall, I would go with a 2 and a half out of 5 for this film.

An Open Letter to Prakash Jha

     Dear Jha, I always had a lot of respect for your work because I always considered you to be a daring filmmaker who have the guts to tread untraveled regions. With films such as Mrityudand, Gangajaal and Chakravyuh, you had shown us how a social issue can be addressed staying within the perimeter of Bollywood. Your films always touched a chord because of its raw energy and fresh content which reaffirmed our faith that the days of good cinema are not over yet.

But then something snapped, something intangible. You made Aarakshan, which despite its right intentions ended up being only a half-hearted attempt to speak about the issue of reservation. You ended up making it a bizarre battle between two individual -- one in favour of treating education as a business while the other treating teaching as a noble profession.

With Satyagarh, this time too, you have decided to remind Indians about the Anna Hazare protest, which made headlines a year back and weaved a story keeping this issue at the center of it. But then once again, you didn't put your heart in it. It looked enticing as it had all the ingredients of a delectable dish but ended up becoming something else. After watching the film, I had a number of questions in my mind which I thought if I could ask you someday.

To start with, what was the provocation of having an item number (although the song was good) at the beginning of the film? Why Kareena Kapoor was making faces and smiling (irritatingly) while covering a Dharna? Why there was a rock band performing along with the crowd? Why Amrita Rao was sleeping at the police station? Don't they have any visiting hours?

Moreover, do you really think a chief correspondent of a leading news channel will leave a PM's assignment for a small developing story just because she receives a call from a person whom she met only twice. Okay, even if she does, do you think a senior journalist will be living in their house and that too not for a day but for 30 days? 

One more thing, a journalist and a cameraman are two separate professions, demanding separate expertise, though we have a few people i the industry who do both the job but once you showed Kareena as a senior journalist (whom the politicians and corporates are scared of), how can you hand over the camera at crucial moments of the film at the same time. 

The film does have some very good performances by BigB, Manoj Bajpayee and Ajay Devgan, but Kareena should not have been in this film. I guess, it is high time you stop repeating your actors in your films because it takes away the novelty while watching a film. Sometimes, it is also about the curiosity of watching a new actor perform some shady roles.

Despite Aarakshan and Satyagarh, Mr Jha, you still remain one of my favourite directors because there are very few like you who still try to tell a story and that too a real one. I have not given upon you yet and I hope I don't need to in the days to come.

Madras Cafe is the best Indian political thriller

How many political films have been made in India? Very very few. Infact, even after probing my mind for sometime, I could just come up with Aandhi and Chakravyuh. There is no dearth of films which tries to weave a story keeping the politicians at the background. Most of these films talks about the politician-criminal nexus and the criminalization of politics in different states such as Bihar, UP or Mumbai, but there is no film which can be compared with a film like 'Madras Cafe'.

'Madras Cafe' takes off at a breathtaking pace and keeps the audience at the edge of the seat all through out. It is an espionage thriller but it can't be compared with anything that has been seen on Indian celluloid. There is no time for romance or emotions because there is a job at hand -- saving the former Prime Minister from assassination.
Even though there are bullet-ridden bodies tumbling across in Jaffna as the civil war rages on, the blood doesn't make one nausea because the camera doesn't linger on a scene for long. There is so much information given at a breezing pace and characters (who are important pieces in this conspiracy) are introduced and removed that there is no time for the audience to get swayed away for anything else than the main plot. There are no unnecessary sub-plots, which kills a good story.

The director Shoojit Sarkar was so dedicated to his craft that he didn't give John Abraham a single scene extra nor did he provide Nargis Fakhri an extra frame. There are no cliched scenes nor any run-of-the-mill dialogues. The film stays grounded all through out and truly committed at telling an unsaid story. Abraham and Nargis are good at their portrayal, while Prakash Belawadi is brilliant as Major Vikram Singh's superior at Jaffna. Even Siddharth Basu makes an interesting debut.

The film will go a long way in educating the country about the then situation in Jaffna and the Sri Lankan issue which not many people might have known otherwise. However, one note of caution, if someone is not at all aware of LTTE or the civil war in Sri Lanka, he or she might find it a little difficult to get a hang of the story and the pace early on.

What is commendable is to see Shoojit trying to tell such a different story after the huge success of Vicky Donar. The 'Yahaan' director, who produced 'Aparajita Tumi',  gives a big hope to the future of Indian film industry. In fine, a welcome relief after 'Chennai Express' and 'OUATIMD'.