A Wednesday ...

A Wednesday ... This is a movie which is quite a different take on terrorism ... this is not only a different way of telling the story of terrorism, this is also one of the few films which also look at the issue of terrorism, and our reaction to terrorism, as a society, from a refreshingly comman-man kind of attitude.

No, i am not going to spill the beans ... rather you went and watched the movie ... i watched the movie ... on a Sunday ... which was a day after the serial blasts in Delhi (at Karol Bagh, Connaught Place, and Greater Kailash). And, the blasts being fresh in the mind, the impact of the movie is altogether different. What was chillingly true ... the way they have narrated the reaction of people to bomb blasts ... we go through the news channels, see what each of the channles is saying, make a few phone calls, to make sure our friends and relatives are ok, and then, heave a sigh of relief and move on ... and this pattern gets repeated every time there is a blast.

There is another pattern ... someone had informed someone else about the blasts before they actually happened, the blame-game begins (it doesnt matter who blames whome, in short, over a period of time, we have seen everyone blame everyone and their uncle (read Pakistan) for these blasts), compensation is announced, and we move on.

Do we really care, as a nation, and as a society?

The Weekend ...

Between Lunch at the new Italian restaurant in the neighbourhood, and watching a movie ... something i just had to write about.

Lunch was at this new restaurant here in Gurgaon ... this is named 56, but i am not sure where the name comes from. And i even forgot to ask them where the name (or maybe the number) came from. Well, the Mushroom Soup reminded me of the Chicken Stew which the wife used to feed the big fella (before he was old enough to protest, of course), the Pasta was nothing much to write home about, though the Seafood was quite delicious! The place seems like they decided to put a roof on the passage between two buildings, though the end result seems to be quite nice ... but they sure charge you a bomb.

Coming to the movie ... as sequels go, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor doesnt come close to the originals ... The Mummy, The Mummy Returns ... Though the effects are awesome, i was still missing the original. The rule of the sequels again?

Kung-Fu Panda ...

This whole thing of weekend movies with the big fella rocks ... i get to see some wonderful movies in the bargain. Of course, sharing the Pop-Corn with him is an altogether cool idea. Though, he might not like it as much as i do, of course. But then, having said that, these movie outings are a fun thing for both of us! Its one of those things that boys do, you see! And no, i am not discouraging that. Not actively, at least ...

Well, to cut a long story short, we are running a week behind schedule. A wedding in the family, and ... So, we were late by a week for watching Kung-Fu Panda. Never mind ... the movie is worth the wait. As always, i am not sure who enjoyed the movie more.

For starters ... Po rocks. Definitely, he does! More so because i could almost empathize with the guy ... you see, having to do any kind of physical activity, more so when it is in the nature of exercise ... ah, how could anyone give up the luxurious paunch? Not me, not Po definitely. Which is nice.Though, the most interesting part is the message the movie gives ...

There is no secret ingredient!

If you look at it another way, its the same thing as saying there is no secret to the source of limitless power. As the movie says, one would get limitless power from the Dragon Scroll. However, the scroll is blank. All Po sees in it is his own reflection. And, thats the secret ...

You, yourself, are the source of limitless power ... there is no secret ingredient to it!

Food for Thought ... its not Secret Ingredient Soup!

Shubho Mahurat

As whodunits come, this one is quite the same ... and yet different. This is something about the movie which makes it different from the rest. Dont ask me what it is. Is it the way the story is told, or is it the acting? No idea ... but different it is, which is why i have seen this movie again and again ... last night was the firth time ... usually you cant see whodunit kinds more than a couple of times, if they are really good. But, in Shubho Mahurat, Rituparno Ghosh has come up with an incomparable way of telling this Agatha Christie story.

For starters, the direction is right up there with the best ... those details match. Usually, in a scene where one of the actors is smoking, you would find that suddenly, in mid-sentence, the cigarette has gone from just-lit to almost-through. This is something which doesnt happen here. Even apart from this, the little things, like the street noises of Kolkata have been captured in the background. The shouts of the vendors, the sounds of vehicles driving past ... they are all there.

Direction apart, the acting in the movie is in a league of its own. To begin with, Sharmila Tagore ... she is, today, acting in a way she never even came close to, in her heyday. She has come up with a truly superlative performance. And, this must be said ... Sharmila Tagore gets more and more beautiful with age. The elegance and grace with which she carries off the role is simply superb.


And as far as the acting, goes, Rakhee (trivia ... she is the true Independance child ... born on 15th August, 1947) has shown what it means to act. With her acting in this movie, she has, to my mind, given a totally new dimension to the idea of acting. Her performance in the movie is simply the best i have ever seen (if you dont consider Sanjeev Kumar in Nayaa Din Nayee Raat, has to be the best performance of all times). The way she has taken care of the the slightest nuances of the role really takes this performance to a different league altogether.

And then, there is Nandita Das and Anindya (i am not attaching a link to Anindya, because couldnt find one ... except for Chandrabindu). Nandita has given far better performances, and then, a mediocre performance when put next to the superlative ones by Rakhee and Sharmila Tagore seems totally lacklustre. Anindya, on the other hand, is a wonderful singer, and he should stick to it.


Overall, a movie which i would recommend to all my readers ... the CD even has English sub-titles.