Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola was the first big release of 2013 and was highly awaited but has been a huge damper. Vishal Bhardwaj had a good story to tell and the theme was well-chosen but plot went haywire. At one moment you were glued to what is happening and the other moment, you couldn’t care less.
The actors were convincing enough including Imran Khan who adapted the role of a Haryanavi boy quite well, Pankaj Kapoor was impressive in his dual personality role of a rich land owner, although Shabana Azmi could have been much better.
The story is set in a fictitious Haryana Village, Mandola, named after the rich Harry Mandola( Pankaj Kapoor) who along with Chaudhary Devi( Shabana Azmi) is plotting a way of make the farmers sell their land and make big bucks. Devi’s buffon-like son is engaged to Bijlee (Anushka Sharma), Mandola’s daughter.
The story starts with a limousine crashing into a liquor kiosk, and the driver Matru(Imran Khan) and his boss Mandola running away with the pink alcohol of the Haryanavi village. Ironically Matru is hired to keep Mandola away from alcohol who has a split personality. When sober he is a typical land-owner but in inebriated condition he causes a complete ruckus.The scenes where he flies a helicopter and then crashes it or where he instigates a crowd against himself are pretty absurd and grow on you after sometime. So do the scenes with the pink buffalo, there was something uncanny about it.
There are some funny scenes, the one funniest one being the ruined wedding scene. So, the movie is spoiled by unconvincing story-telling and you go home disappointed. Watch it only if you have nothing better to do.
After Gone with the wind, this is the second book that took me a month to read and again the book was completely worth a read. In the beginning the plot seemed twisted, the author is writing about the present in one line and then shifting focus to his grandfather’s life in the next line. The book is not at all a light read. At some points the reader might get irritated and wonder why the author is rambling on but later on it all seems justified.
Midnight Children expresses a historical connection through the literary journey. This journey is again not singular; it is the journey of self and a nation. It begins a few years before 1947, set in the Indian sub-continent it sets the stage for Saleem Sinai, the narrator’s birth. Saleem was born in 1947 exactly at midnight along with an independent India and a new country Pakistan. All the children born at that time get unusual gifts.Saleem’s gift is his “nose” that allowed him at first to go into people’s heads and know what they are thinking. He is also able to telepathically communicate with the other midnight children forming a kind of radio link of sorts with the rest of the children.
The narrator is not someone you will look upto or admire, the characters are curiously lopsided. The entire narration is allegorical, which perhaps suggests an enhanced enjoyment of the work after studying a bit of Indian history. The seems to be well researched and times it was hard to differentiate if the history was fictional or factual, Rushdie did a great job weaving in the history. Beneath the dense, slightly overwrought language, there were tons of surprises in store. Till the end, I literally had no idea where the story was heading.
Although it was not a book that I immediately wanted to finish or the kind I would read even past my bed-time but I’d still recommend it. And I think will read it again myself. To conclude I’d say this book is a masterpiece literature and very hard to come up with.Have fun reading it, although you have to be patient this one.
I am neck deep in exams and survival in these times is hard, my fellow engineers in making will agree. Its the time when most of us are found running around the nerds looking for notes to study, sleeplessly studying every night, alright not exactly sleeplessly, sleep deprived, clueless, trying to figure out how leaky bucket fits in data communications. The leaky bucket sounds more like a problem for Harry Potter to solve with his super cool wand, well until you actually read about it. Read about it only if you have nothing to do or if you are appearing in the exam with me this Tuesday.
I have found amazing ways to relax when I am sick of trying to figure out things like the algorithm mentioned above. One of course is ranting here on the blog, my archives are an alibi to the fact that I write maximum in exam months. The second is music, nothing new about it, but I wanted to share some specific songs that have gotten into my system and refuse to budge. Here is the list, hope you enjoy the songs as well.
1) I don’t want to talk about it- Rod Stewart:
Rod is known for his raspy voice, this particular song came out in 1975 for his album Atlantic crossing. Its about a person who has got their heart broken and has been left alone. Despite that fact they love the person who loved them, it is a sad song. I sort of like the version with Amy Belle more. If you can please send me the download link for that. Other songs to by Rod Stewart you should listen to are First Cut is the deepest, Maggie May, Da Ya Think I’m sexy and You wear it well.
2) A thousand kisses deep- Leonard Cohen
I got hooked on to this song just a few days back, I had the entire Leonard Cohen collection in my playlist but never paid much attention to it. There is something enchanting about his voice. This particular song has amazing lyrics with deep meaning. My favorite lines are:
“And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep:
You ditch it all to stay alive,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.”
Then the paradox in the lines:
“You win a while, and then it’s done
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it’s real,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.”
At certain point you win but then comes a point when that comes to an end and you dissatisfied but you are blinded by love and still live your life a thousand kisses deep. The song is generally about falling in love and the odds in that love. Other songs to listen by Leonard Cohen are Hallelujah, Who by Fire, Waiting for the miracle and The stranger song.
3) Right before my eyes-Cage The Elephant
I discovered cage the elephant sometime back and love most of their songs, I have no idea what the song means. So as long as its good to hear I will keep listening. Listen to Flow, Shake me down, Rubber Ball and Always something as well.
4) I want to break free-Queen:
The video of this sing is so cool, I like singing this too, to the horror of people around me. The song is about breaking free from the person he was in love with.
“I want to break free
I want to break free from your lies
You’re so self satisfied, I don’t need you
I’ve got to break free
God knows, God knows I want to break free”
He is desperate and is sick of that person and there is nothing else he wants to do apart from breaking free.
5) The difference- Matchbox Twenty
Again a song about love lost, looks like I am a sucker for songs like this and I just realized that. A sad song a little long nearly 8 minutes but one of the best songs by matchbox twenty. When this song ends that is at four minutes there is some other song in the track which is not at all linked to The difference and so you don’t really need to bother to listen to the entire 8 minutes.
6) Smoke on water- Deep Purple
Its about Deep Purple singing about its recording the hotel they were staying at burnt down. Awesome song I love the line ” Smoke on the water, Fire in the sky” Other songs to listen to by Deep Purple are Highway Star and Child in Time.
7) Born in USA- Bruce Springsteen:
This song may not be seen as a patriotic song by most. It tells what America is like, love it or leave it. It was written in 1984 and generally is interpreted as a song for the Vietnam war. Another great by Bruce is I’m on fire, it has been sung with great emotion in his voice, its passionate and worth listening to.
8) To Darkness- Mumford and Sons and Laura Marling
Please tell me where I can download this song from, I have searched but just can’t find it, always have to go to youtube to listen to it. This song was a part of the 2009 Mumford and Sons and Laura Marling album which was embarked on cultural exchange with traditional Rajasthani musicians Dharohar Project, involving some unlikely collaborations and gigs together in Delhi.The opening of To The Darkness explodes into a tantric swell of banjos and duelling sitars, as Marcus’ gravelly roar is overwhelmed by yelping, hollering, shrieks of Punjabi pleasure. I fall in love with this sing whenever I listen to it. All songs of this album are good, have you still haven’t heard them…go to youtube right now.
This was my list of songs I enjoy and you might like as well, enjoy your weekend with these amazing tracks while I will enjoy them while I am still figuring out the leaky bucket.
PS: I have the passes to this lit fest happening here courtesy my mom, I won’t be able to attend all sessions because of exams but will go to a few. My next blog post will be about that although might be a little delayed.
I don’t read love stories, that isn’t my genre. Even if I try reading such stories I end up abandoning the book halfway. But Gone with the wind by Margret Mitchell got me hooked.There are no two ways about the fact that GWTW is a rollicking good yarn.It will make you hate Scarlett O’Hara the main protagonist and feel bad for her too. She is selfish, jealous of her best friends and often cruel and mean in her pursuits.And you feel bad for her all that she is going through.
Rhett Butler is of the same league and he is the only one who can see through Scarlett but you might end up loving his sarcasm.Ashley is disgustingly weak throughout the book.Its Melanie who is the real hero. Only one other time can I remember being so moved by the death of a character as I was by the death of Melly in Gone With the Wind, and that was by the death of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter.
It’s melodrama at its best and is long-running and at one point after 300 pages I wanted to stop reading this too but something kept me going. Set in the American South before, during, and after the Civil War, the story catalogues Scarlett’s attempt both to hold on to her idyllic past as southern aristocracy and to survive the harsh changes inflicted upon her land. Its hard to write a book with the main character so spiteful and full of hatred, but Mitchell did it pretty convincingly.
The book is quiet racist but I think that is Mitchell’s way of depicting the era.Its probably present reality with all the faults and weaknesses of the humankind. The book has made me really curious about the civil war and I would love to read more books about it. The way it has been depicted is quiet enthralling.It was heavy-going and somewhat frustrating all the way through with consistent themes of death and sickness, deprivation, grief and inequality.
Even if you are not an ardent romance, chick-lit, historical fiction reader you have to give this book a read. Though the sheer size of this book may seem intimidating but it is definitely worth reading.
I have had the misfortune of watching the most bland and baseless movies for the past three months Shaitaan , Bad teacher , Murder 2 , Friends withe benefits , Harry potter and the Deathly hallows part 2 to name a few . They were the ones I had high expectations from except Murder 2 . Both Bollywood and Hollywood have nothing refreshing to offer , it’s all the old cliched and predictable stuff we have seen a million times already.
But the biggest disappointment came from Mausam starring Shahid Kapoor a Punjabi guy effected by the operation blue star and Sonam Kapoor a Kashimri Pandit fleeing from militancy . The entire movie is about the two meeting to depart again. It was hard to figure out what exactly was the theme of the movie – The love story or all the tragic events that have taken place in the past 19 years , beginning from 1992 Babri Majisd demolition , 1993 Mumbai Blasts , Kargil , WTC attacks and the Godhra riots the protagonists went through all painstakingly.
The entire story line seemed drab and absurd , the first half was still tolerable with the backdrop being a punjab village and a few good punchlines thrown here and there but the second was somehow unconvincing and erratic.
It is overly stretched for no reason at all , the lovers departed in 1992 and then meet again in the far flung Scotland to separate yet again and this goes till 2002 Godhra riots when they are finally united. The movie starts getting on your nerves after some time . In the age of instant email and easily transported cellphones, the lovers leave no forwarding addresses or contact numbers. They rely instead on the goodness of neighbours and the willingness of relatives.
A vague attempt by debut director Pankaj Kapoor and surely shows Sonam Kapoor has a long way to go as an actor. Shahid is good at a few points but not at his best. Nothing to really spend your three hours on.
