Birthdays: From bustling to boring

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When we were young, birthdays were the most awaited day in our calendar. It meant gifts, new clothes and a day away from books and studies. But more importantly, it meant a little more freedom which gave us access to many new things which made us curious as a kid.

But as we grow up and birthdays pass by, those boundaries which our parents used to put us in as kids, seem like garlands now, and living in those confinement the best part of our lives.

Growing up means there are no shackles to break, no walls to jump, no mysteries to unfold because you are independent with no horizon to limit your sights.

And so birthdays becomes boring. Wishes a whatsaap or Facebook status. Just another day. A fleeting moment which passes more quickly than we ever imagined.

Probably, because during this journey called life at some point we overturn the hour glass and put the watch on an anticlockwise mode. A diminishing timeline. A receding calculation. Because Birthdays becomes another reminder of slipping time.

So why do we lose that excitement, those butterflies which used to keep fluttering inside our heads even a day before the actual date? Where have all those faint smiles gone that always floated in our eyes and hanged in our lips on the day?

Possibly, we lose all expectations as we grow up. Or may be growing up means exposing to the various pains of life. So it feels like the burden of earth is thrust on our shoulders and just one day won't change anything.

So how to find that twinkle in our eyes on birthday? How to rediscover the inexplicable happiness?

Probably for that we have to reconnect with the child that we have left behind in this race of life. If we can trace our way back to him or her possibly only then every birthday will find its true meaning. Every year a gem which we will treasure. Every time it will become a new opportunity to cut a new corner and celebrate it in the next birthdays to come.

Hansal Mehta to complete his poetic masterpiece with Aligarh

Who would have known, Mr Hansal Mehta would be a poet? 

I certainty didn't. 

I realised only after I watched Shahid and City Lights. 

To pour the lives on those unfortunate souls on the canvass of his films is poetry indeed. 

The way he narrated the pathos of Shahid and Deepak Singh and his wife in City Lights seemed like pure cinema is standing bare naked for the world to see but as always the world doesn't always care. 

But the fact that in this times such poets too have a canvas to play with their brush show probably that not everything is wrong with this world. I'm now waiting for him to finish his trilogy with Aligarh.

Rajkumar Rao too have braved this troubled waters of human frailties and swam back to give us some precious jewels which the coming generations will remember. He is turning into one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. Hope Aligarh can complete the cycle of life.

Manoj Bajpai, who will be carrying the film on his shoulders in Aligarh doesn't need any introduction. Needless to say, he has always been like that soil which can produce any character once you put that seed in it. Whether it is Bandit Queen or Satya or Gangs of Wasseypur, he is a master craftsman and his presence ensures that the painting will never be spoiled. So for now, I m awaiting Aligarh.

Tamasha is a journey of self discovery

TAMASHA is not as much a love story as it is a journey of self discovery. Imitiaz Ali dares to peel off the dust that piles on us as we get lost in the race of life in the concrete corporate world.

The premise is promising but Ali probably could have wasted less time in establishing the dreamy world of the protagonist, Ved. When he reaches the picturesque Corsica, he seemed to be in haste to get over with that sequence where the two prime characters meet. Probably a little more detailing (like the restaurant and forest scenes) could have made it apt as there were many scenes were it seemed the two characters where left on their own.

Also while Dipika sets Ved on his self discovery, I was wondering why did she had to wait for so long after meeting him in Delhi to tell him that he was diametrically opposite to the person she met in Corsica? After all, it was his infectious crazy energy that she had fallen in love with.

The trailers of the movie gave the impression of a love story, something which have become a forte for Ali but this could be misleading and can disappoint fans who are going with the expectations of watching how Ali peels of another layer of relationship.

The positive thing about this movie is that it tries to talk about keeping alive the child, who slowly suffocates to death inside us and three cheers to Ali for bringing this on the Indian screen, which the most powerful medium. I just wished Ali had spend more time in writing and done away with the haste.

The narration of the movie is also slightly complex as it goes back and forth and an average Indian audience might lose the track amidst their popcorn, nachos and coke. But that should not discourage Ali because that's something which I liked about the film.

Ranbir Kapoor is one of the rare popular actor who has always done justice to complex characters and here he once again brings that confusion and inner turmoil beautifully. Dipika Padukone, who had much fewer scenes since the film is more about Ved's journey, does justice to her character, pulling it off with just the right dose of aplomb. Piyush Mishra as the story teller was also superb in this small but important role.

Overall, the movie compels us to rethink what we are and tries to reiterate that we still have a choice of becoming who we want to be, of course it is not as easy. Probably, the film could have ended with this realisation without showing him achieving his dream in the end, which again seemed to be hastily done.

In fine, if you can see through the initial half an hour, chances are that you will not repent your decision of going to the theatres. 

Aamir's intolerance drama

It's all too easy in the end for Bond despite SPECTRE

SPECTRE falls flat despite the hoopla

SPECTRE sets off with a sequence in Mexico city on the 'day of the dead' which has been shot brilliantly, including the initial long shot which introduces Bond. What comes next is a dark world with laden London sky and snow-clad mountains of Austria.

Daniel Craig, who has made this bond his own, comes up with another subtle portrayal of 007 with his brooding but ever stylish mannerism. Some of the action sequences lacks the adrenaline rush which is the forte of this franchise. It also lacks the gizmo's freak show which Bond is known to pull off when he comes on screen in chase sequences. Also some of them were too predictable, something which has been done and dusted in many films.

Christoph Waltz, who plays the main antagonist in this 24th edition of the franchise, however, somehow lacks the dark and menacing presence which he is capable of. For someone who claims to be the 'author of Bond's pain', Waltz's character lacks the ferocity which could have taken it to the next level, something which was a requirement for a movie which is supposed to tie up the open ends from the previous franchises.

Also the song 'Writing's On The Wall' by Sam Smith during the pre credit lacks the punch which Adele produced in Skyfall. Overall, Sam Mendes' second consecutive Bond outing is good but not the best bond movie. It fails to quench the thirst of 007 fans.

An open letter to Mr Pankaj Kapur

     Sir, I watched 'Mausam' last night despite being warned by film aficionados. I was always curious why it was a failure. I think I learnt few things as an audience about film making. Your idea of weaving a love story around the history of violence that this country has seen was commendable but I think you stretched it too far and left too much weight on your son, Shahid's shoulders. If Salman Khan was in this film he could have pulled it off by his sheer stardom but Shahid is still not that big a star.

Sir, I think you didn't follow your heart all through out, specially in the last 45mins or so, where you decided to make the protagonist a super hero. In fact, the treatment of the film also left me confused. It looked two different films in that mammoth 2 and 47 minutes run time and the audience got completely bored to death by the end.

The music was one of the plus points. Shahid and Sonam tried. But no offense, there is something in Sonam which doesn't appeal me as an audience. I think she will need more time to understand the pain of the scars which life leaves us with and such violence and pain which was a constant presence for the characters. The portrayal must have been deeper.

The film was good in parts in a few scenes but Shahid's physical features makes him look too young and he tried his best to portray the super hero. For him to carry out such depths, he will need more direction something which Vishal Baradwaj provided.

Unfortunately your script demanded a star more than an actor. It was important to show the protagonist as human like you and me, us. Sorry, but the audience became completely unforgiving when Gujarat Riot started. You could have still had few more fans if that would not have happened. It was too dramatic in the end.

Sir, you are one of the few Indian actors I admire and I know you can bring the depth you achieve in your acting in your direction as well. So hope to see your films again. Best of luck next time.

Suggestions:

1. I think you should have kept it to 2 hours.

2. The narration could have started with his plane going down mid air and then the film going into flashback.

His struggle to get his life on track and his inner turmoil would have given the film a poignant setting and the flashbacks to tell the stories could have kept the audience interested.

The story could have connected midway something that have been used in films such as Saathiya or Namaste London. And then in next 14-20 mins you could have finished the story instead of making him a super hero in the last 40 mins.

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