Tagore Forever

Tagore rules our hearts.
Tagore remains ever significant,
ever relevant.

Like any other typical Bangali, I have lived, breathed,
romanticized, and experienced Tagore,
however, we all do it in our own way,
we discover him in various stages of our life,
uniquely, and yet universally.
Rabindranath Tagore, (or, as we better refer to
the bard as our very own Robi Thakur),
was born on May 7, 1861 (however, we celebrate hi birthday in the traditional way, based on the Bangla calendar or almanac - whereby it is the 25th day of Baisakh - Pnochise Boisakh),
and died on August 7, 1941 (like his birthday tradition we observe it on 22nd day of Shravan - Baishey Srabon).

His famous works include Gitanjali, The Crescent Moon, Fruit Gathering, Lover's Gift, and The Gardener. The prolific creative genius that he was, he wrote umpteen poems, and songs, and stories, novels, plays and essays, and a lot more. Further, his paintings keep enthralling us.
Recently, I have been listening a lot of Rabindrasangeet, and unlike my earlier penchant for the age-old gems sung by thespians like Suchitra Mitra, Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Shantideb Ghosh, Subinoy Roy, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, Chinmay Chattopadhyay, Debabrata Biswas, and Sumitra Sen (to name just a few of my all-time favorites), I am very much liking the host of contemporary singers, young and energetic, and inspired very much by the traditionalists, yet not in the least hesitant to experiment in a healthy way.
And these young singers' (well, they are not in the same age group, but they have been getting the youth brigade to warm up to Rabindrasangeet, that they surely have in common) efforts I choose to laud and celebrate, and I would very much like to recommend their renditions to my fellow enthusiasts.
Here they are, selected solely on the basis of personal preference of mine (my readers are requested to add their favorites to the list):
Jayashree Dasgupta
Srabani Sen
Srikanto Acharya
Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta
Kamalini Mukherjee
Shreya GuhaThakurta
Manoj Murali Nair
Manisha Murali Nair
Samantak Sinha

Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury
Parama Banerjee
Aniruddha 'Sasha' Ghoshal
Sounak Chattopadhyay
Lopamudra Mitra
Upali Chattopadhyay
and 
Jayati Chakraborty

Endnote: Mention must be made of Bikram Singh (Vikram Singh Khangura) the eminent singer (son of yet another Rabindrasangeet exponent Mohan Singh Khangura) who met with an untimely death in 2009, at the age of 36.

The songs of Tagore sung by Bikram Singh, often without any musical accompaniment, has had many young convertees who have found in his soulful expressions a certain rootedness to bond with. His songs have definitely opened the flooodgates of possibilities to make Rabindrasangeet accessible to all, by sheer emphasis on the songs' true spirit sans gimmicks of any kind.

Happy Birthday, Iman!

Keep rocking, Iman!

Here's wishing you a very happy birthday!
Make music, make some noise......

Log on to Iman's cool website for more info
on this upcoming rockstar,
this volcano of a talent 
who makes you sit up and listen...... 
http://www.imansen.com
I wish him all the best
for his future endeavors....... 
may he strike the right chords, always;

may he connect profoundly with his listeners.
pics courtesy: Iman Sen; Calcutta Blues

A summer of discontent and dissent

I find the weather not only dreadful because it has warmed up badly 
but also because of the extreme discomfort it has been resulting in.

Kolkata has been missing out on the green cover to a greater extent this year as several construction projects are underway. 

And, on the personal front, I too am having a hard time, 
battling the challenges, physically and mentally. 

Although I am desperately trying to project an 'everything's cool' image.

A dear friend of mine asked me today: Why can't I be half as nice as interesting?

Well, that shows that my facade hasn't worn off...... hahaha.

I confess, I have been suffering a host of summer allergies of late. 

Plus, having to brave the heat in afternoons, have found me tweeting my woes.

As if the perspiration and dehydration weren't enough to irk us, there is an additional woe on account of the rising prices. Prices of consumer-durables and essential items are sky-rocketing each day!

Worse still, Kolkata - rather, the entire state of West Bengal - has been witnessing a summer of dissent what with the obnoxious political climate, many of the new government's (about to be a year-old soon) promises having been proved false, and some of the apprehensions about the leadership and the functioning having come true.

Remembering Ray

There was cinema before Ray, and cinema after.
Satyajit Ray is that big a milestone for filmmakers, and filmlovers in this part of the world.
As long as cinema will be there, retaining the very essence of what it has been revered by connoisseurs for, all over the world, Ray and his films, and his thoughts therein shall be relevant.

Today, and till late last night, I eagerly lapped up the Bangla version of his treasure-trove of a book, on the making of his very first film, 'My Years With Apu'. The Bangla version is called 'Apur Panchali'. It is a must read for all enthusiasts of cinema.

Shabdabaaji

Shubho Nabobarsho!~ Choddosho Unish!!!~
Launching today......
a brand new Bangla website!!!!!
It's called Shabdabaaji

[Bangla sobder khela - nishiddho noy , emon ek dhoroner SHABDABAAJI - jante hole , khelte hobe!!]

-it's the brainchild of my dear friend Tonmoy, better known as MJ Roy, the popular anchor/presenter from the world of radio and television.
Shabdabaaji, literally, means word bomb or word cracker, and the pun in Bangla is with the art or skill of toying with words, having fun with the usage and guessing the right word, or parts of a word.
The site promises to be a whole lot of fun for all those who are thorough with the Bangla language and love solving word games. It promises to carry forward the joy of participation which became one of the major highlights for the FM radio station 94.3 Radio One, where Roy's programme spread its wings.
I must confess that I am myself not so skilled at solving Bangla word puzzles. But I was astonished to find so many who are adept at it. People would tune in just to compete and win prizes when the programme would be on air. Roy carried forward the concept to live events at the Book Fair (Kolkata BoiMela) garnering a super-positive response from the masses.
No wonder, last year, the United Nations declared Bangla to be the sweetest language on earth...... and it is this very sweetness that is about to be celebrated once again.

From this day onward, the auspicious Paila Baisakh, all those who are skilled in the language, and love toying with the common Bangla words, would have a new reason to rejoice.
SHABDABAAJI, the website, hopes to be big. The possibilities are immense. Now, global netizens can participate and get hooked to a new literary indulgence.
One should just love to accept the challenge that a regularly used Bangla word might pose in a somewhat changed look. A passable knowledge of common Bangla words will be enough to log in to the site for days and months.
Here, take a look, to know what it is likely to offer:

It's a novel concept indeed..... may it grow as a phenomenon.
Launch venue: Big Bazaar Family Centre, Sealdah,
Poila Baisakh, April 14, at 5pm.
Be there at the event, and,
more importantly, log on to the site for word-related fun:
http://shabdabaaji.com
Here's wishing it the very best.
And here's telling Roy, 'Kudos! Best of luck, buddy!'

Happy Birthday, Ewan!

Ewan McGregor is the birthday boy today! Hahaha.......
And here I am wishing him the very best, as I choose to gush about his greatness, the die-hard fan that I am, of this hugely talented Scottish actor.

Ewan McGregor, who turns 41 today, has acted in some of the most pathbreaking movies and has established his reputation as an actor of renown. He has bagged as much critical acclaim as popularity. His star appeal is largely because of the characters he has played on-screen, and not for his off-screen exploits which are known to provide some lesser actors an overnight popularity that is difficult to retain.

Here's a list of Ewan McGregor flicks
that I have seen till date:
Trainspotting
Emma
Brassed Off
Nightwatch
The Serpent's Kiss
A Life Less Ordinary
Little Voice
Rogue Trader
Moulin Rouge!
Black Hawk Down
Down with Love
Young Adam
Big Fish
Robots 
The Island
Stay
Stormbreaker
Miss Potter
Cassandra's Dream
Incendiary
Deception
I Love You Phillip Morris
Angels and Demons
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Amelia
The Ghost Writer
Perfect Sense
Beginners

Happy World Theatre Day!

Just the other day I wrote about cinema (well, most of my posts are on cinema, but my last post was more of a salute to the birth or evolution of cinema, thanks to the Lumière Brothers), and today happens to be World Theatre Day and here I am writing about my love affair with the stage. This has happened not by choice, trust me readers.
For most people, all over the world, theatre has been a prime form of self-expression, a source of entertainment as well as awareness and learning. For me, the exposure to theatre came late. As a child, I was only privileged to watching our school plays, and mostly I would not have an active participation in the same. Once my class-teacher had complained to my mother that while almost the entire class had been eager to audition for the play to be staged on the annual day programme, I had been reticent. Well, I was the shy guy, I hated the limelight, and could not imagine myself mouthing rehearsed dialogues on stage (although I used to regularly take part in the music concerts at the school auditorium.
The only connect with theatre used to be the airing of the plays each week on television or on radio, and some of the performances at the local soirées. But hardly that was the real deal, I was yet to wake up to the full blown magic of stagecraft.
It was in my late teens, that I fell in love with theatre, and that happened rather oddly while I started enjoying plays in the written format, as opposed to them being performed, which I hadn't been privy to. I pored over many of the contemporary plays of the American and British playwrights and even bought and studied plays written by the Indian masters like Badal Sircar, Vijay Tendulkar and Girish Karnad. Then, came the touring Shakespearean company who gave me a taste of the magic of Shakespeare's plays (till then I had not been able to enjoy any of the Shakespearean classics in their original form, unaided, and had only seen the recordings and film adaptations of some of Shakespeare's plays at the British Council and on television), and I fell for the same - hook, line, and sinker. I discovered to my amazement how madly in love with theatre was my very own city - Kolkata!
By the way, I must also mention yet another influential factor in shaping my regard for theatre. It was the privilege of witnessing the mammoth production of Peter Brook's 'The Mahabharata' - the filmed version of the stage play.
The Academy of Fine Arts, Max Mueller Bhavan, Rabindra Sadan, Sisir Mancha, Madhusudan Mancha and many such venues became my weekend haunts. I would take time out of my schedule of classes and tuitions and hop along with a few other theatre-enthusiast friends of mine to watch the latest stage productions of the theatre groups. Commercial or mainstream theatre's heydays were over by then, and the repertory companies had a tough time performing on a rotational basis at the thriving auditoriums. I shall never get over the fact that I did not get to see thespians like Shambhu Mitra, Tripti Mitra, Ajitesh Banerjee and Utpal Dutt perform live. However, the ones who regaled me were also to learn from and their performances have enriched me immensely as a viewer. I have been fortunate to watch the live performances of thespians and stalwarts like Badal Sircar, Kumar Roy, Rudraprasad Sengupta, Bibhas Chakraborty, Ashok Mukhopadhyay, Soumitra Chatterjee, Swatilekha Sengupta, Aparna Sen, Sohag Sen, Manoj Mitra, Usha Ganguly, and Saoli Mitra. Among the new-age actors and directors, Gautam Halder, Anjan Dutt, Kaushik Sen, Sohini Sengupta, and Suman Mukhopadhyay are just a handful of names who have had much influence on me. I feel privileged to have seen some of them from close quarters, honing their craft. Reminiscing about theatre, I can never forget Steven Berkoff who had come from London and had absolutely mesmerized me as he performed Shakespeare's Villains at an intimate gathering one evening.
I feel a tad guilty as lately I haven't been able to catch up with the stagings as much as I would have wanted to.
Theatre has prospered and evolved even with the apparent encroachments of consumerist culture that favours cinema and television more. Theatre's pro-active role is unique, its influence far-reaching, and its impact tremendous. The joy of performing in front of a live audience is unparalleled for an actor, and hence we see that actors who migrate to other forms return to theatre time and again. Nowadays, there is greater appreciation; there's greater exposure to world theatre as well. The number of training institutes have grown.
Across the world there are multiple specialisations to choose from at the diverse drama schools and training institutes that teach the basics of acting and stagecraft. Theatre still struggles for funding, and hopes for a better future. Ultimately, for an individual, theatre is not about a career or a profession. Theatre is a genuine passion that one can't let go whatsoever. On this day, I salute all such passionate individuals and theatre groups. Happy World Theatre Day!

First show!!! First time!!!!

On this day, in 1895, at 44 Rue de Rennes in Paris, the Lumière Brothers screened 'Workers leaving the Lumière factory' - the first piece of cinema!

I think it is apt for us to look back at the inception of cinema, as we know it now, as the entire world has been focusing a lot of recent cinematic attention on 'The Artist' and 'Hugo' - both excellent movies on their own.

I had earlier mentioned 'The Artist', in listing my Oscar favorites for the year, it celebrates silent cinema and opens the eyes of the new-age film enthusiasts to this very genre from the past. I have written about my being charmed by 'Hugo' in an exclusive piece too. Recently, I read somewhere that 'Hugo' is Martin Scorsese’s cinematic love letter to Georges Méliès, the famous French illusionist and filmmaker. I loved the befitting tag.

We often neglect history. It's a shame. We must never fail to honour our illustrious past. The Lumière Brothers, Auguste and Louis, could not possibly fathom the ramifications of the cinematic explosion that was destined to happen, and their first screening - or rather the series of screenings which began - was not even meant for the general public (the first public screening was to take place in December that year, at the Grand Cafe on Boulevard de Capuchines, Paris), but history was made with the exposure to the filming and film viewing experience.

Movies have come a long way. Yet, they are still marvelled at. They still fill us with awe, admiration and amazement. The best of the films inspire us, educate us, enlighten us. And moving images or moving images are best interpreted, universally, as movies; they move us, emotionally. They affect us. They affect social changes even.

However, movies are now not just watched, they are consumed!

Movie-making has undergone a sea-change, or rather witnessed waves of changes, waves of revolution, one after the other. Cinema is one of the most dynamic art forms. Cinematic brilliance is honored and revered like never before.

The skeptics have foreseen death of cinema; well, it is yet to happen and is hardly foreseeable in the near future, although evolution has been the order of the day, it is the key to sustenance and survival after all.

Bhooter Bhobishyot: Plight of the Living Dead

Anik Dutta's debut Bangla feature film 'Bhooter Bhobishyot' is a delightful watch.

It is a tongue-in-cheek film about endangered ghosts of an ancient mansion.

Here, the ghosts of the age-old Choudhury Palace face the plight of getting ousted, as it is being eyed for a mall-cum-multiplex, thanks to the contemporary consumerist craze.

The crumbling mansion hosts unique specimens of the living dead, hailing from different era and from different socio-cultural backgrounds, making the colourful past come alive.

They have nowhere else to go, and apparently enjoy their stay at the derelict mansion.

Their abode lures film crew who find shooting amidst the decaying opulence lucrative.

It is an irritant for the ghostly souls - averse to the purported invasion of privacy.

They ensure that the place gets a haunted house tag and remains secluded in obscurity.

They also need to ward off the scheming villains eager to raze the building to the grounds.

I found 'Bhooter Bhobishyot' to be a thoroughly entertaining film. It does not pretend to be pseudo-intellectual, although the premise has multiple layers that will make one chuckle and relish the sardonic wit in the writing. The director deserves a pat in the back for the skilful execution of his novel concept, and the producers deserve some genuine appreciation for having braved to back a project which one would have easily relegated for the small screen, as many a novel idea are found to seek refuge only in the format of tele-films. After all, this is indeed a period of existential crisis for not just the film's ghost protagonists but also for the makers of cinema that chooses to digress from a much trodden path. Anik Dutta's film tries to blend the absurd, or the farcical, with the real. And he succeeds, mostly that is.

The ensemble cast is joy to watch. It includes (the list is really long) Parambrata Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Anindita Bose, Bibhu Bhattacharya, Swastika Mukherjee, George Baker, Paran Bandyopadhyay, Samadarshi Dutta, Sumit Samaddar, Biswajit Chakraborty, Mumtaz Sorcar, Monami Ghosh, Kharaj Mukherjee, Saswata Chatterjee, Debdoot Ghosh, Srilekha Mitra and Mir. Some of the big names just have cameo appearances, yet each has contributed fairly to make their presence felt.

The teamwork of Indranil Ghosh (art direction), Abhik Mukherjee (cinematography), and ArghyaKamal Mitra (editing) has contributed immensely in creating the ambience and ethos integral to the narrative. The music (by Raja Narayan Deb) is apt and some of the situational songs are a breather (the best songs are however the zany ones featured on Samadarshi, playing Pablo-the-rocker). The spoofy takes on the constitutional inconsistencies of Bangali life, as well as the period-specific milestones that are casually referred to, have enriched the screenplay. The film could have been a crass comedy in lesser hands (although some of the innuendos could have been easily avoided) and a less nuanced tone could have marred the desired effect. I wish the film all the best, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that Bangali viewers (who do not necessarily equate a comedy with a laughathon) will love this breezy celluloid treat.

Happy Birthday, Aamir!

It's that special day........

yeah, you guessed it right......

it's Aamir Khan's birthday!

Aamir is busy giving the perfectionist's touches

to a project that's close to his heart......

Satyamev Jayate, his foray into television.

Also eagerly awaited is his next big screen release

Talaash - The Answer Lies Within.

Here's wishing him a very Happy Birthday

and all the best for all his forthcoming ventures.

Hugo: Pure magic!

'Hugo', from director Martin Scorsese, is pure magic!

It's a work of pure passion, and an unadulterated love for cinema.

'Hugo' boasts of an impressive cast - from the likes of Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lee, Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Ray Winstone to Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, and Emily Mortimer. But the one who shone the brightest and stole my heart was Asa Butterfield, in the title role. And I must also mention the youthful Chloë Grace Moretz. These two naturally gifted young performers are definitely to watch out for.

Friendship to Love: Ek Main Aur Ek Tu

Ek Main Aur Ek Tu is the new film from Karan Johar's production house.

It's the perfect Valentine's Day movie.

Or, is it? Well, it offers the age-old poser: Friendship or Love?

Which is dearer? Aren't friendship and love overlapping emotions?

Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor play the lead pair in this rom-com.

The on-screen chemistry between Imran and Kareena is fantastic.

By a twist of fate, they start wrong, and need to get an annulment of their marriage!

Kareena plays the bubbly extrovert, and Imran is the shy guy.

The old-premise-packaged-smart product gets a major boost from the lead, I must say.

Plus, the screenplay is up-tempo and smooth. And the dialogues are witty.

The debutant director, Shakun Batra, has used the American setting to his advantage.

The goings on resemble American sitcoms. The ending too has a bit of freshness.

Amit Trivedi's music is a delight, and works perfectly in tandem with Amitabh Bhattacharya's lyrics. The supporting cast (Ratna Pathak Shah, Boman Irani, Ram Kapoor, Zenobia Shroff, Nikhil Kapoor, Mukul Chaddha, Manasi Scott) complements the lead pair's performance brilliantly. I am sure the urban, young-at-heart viewers would especially like the film.

Feels great to be awarded!

Thank you, Anirban, for giving sakagaze the award!

It is very kind and generous of you.

You blog is a personal favorite of mine.

I list here 5 of my favorite blogs, including yours (Kolkata Curry).

Here they are:

kolkatacurry

banglachhobi

arunimasen

whohasmyraisins

inktoast

[The Liebster Blog Award is actually a token of appreciation by fellow bloggers in the global blogosphere.

Do claim your award and share it on your blogs.

Keep up the good work, folks.

Here's what you have to do to claim the award:

Copy and paste the blog award (image) on your blog.

Also link back to the blogger who presented the award to you.

You also can
 Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed.
 Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment at their blog to check out your award-giving blog post.

Any other blogger who is reading this can do the above too to show the appreciation to the blogs he / she like the most.]

Whitney, rest in peace!

Whitney Houston was one of my all-time favorites. My love for her songs and her singing dates back to my school days. I remember being fascinated with her vocal range and power-packed performances. I literally grew up with her songs. Back then I didn't know much about gospel music and gospel-oriented pop music was quite a revelation for me, it opened up a whole new world of music to appreciate and love. I remember listening to the soundtracks of her films, 'The Bodyguard', 'Waiting to Exhale', and 'The Preacher's Wife' again and again. I was easily charmed by the first two films as well, and mostly because of her. I remember watching 'The Bodyguard' and even falling in love with her on-screen character. Later, when I used to read about her troubled marriage and embittered love-life, it would break my heart, but I always believed that she would be able to fight back eventually and emerge triumphant. I cannot believe that she is no more.

Her rendition of "I will always love you" shall always be dear to me. There are several favorite songs of hers that I would keep returning to, and so would all her fans and music-lovers. And they would obviously include: "Greatest love of all", "I have nothing", "I'm every woman", "One moment in time", "I wanna dance with somebody..... with somebody who loves me", "When you believe" (with Mariah Carey), and "Could I have this kiss forever" (with Enrique Iglesias).

Rest in peace, Whitney. You were a diva, and you shall always reign with your songs.

'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'

Had been hearing about the best-selling series by Stieg Larsson for quite some time, and had then been hearing some of cinephile friends talk excitedly about the Swedish film trilogy, and then came the news of David Fincher - one of my favorite directors - directing the American version of the same, but as luck would have it - or as was evident going by the moral policing and the double standards that prevail in these parts of the world - the film was prevented from reaching the Indian screens because of the graphic content. But, thanks to the internet, I was finally able to see the David Fincher film last night. It was a handsomely rewarding experience. 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' is shocking, disturbing, riveting, thrilling, and highly entertaining.

And Rooney Mara rightly deserves the Oscar nomination. She is simply stunning.

'The Descendants' and other winsome films

It's the awards season once again..... and a gala time for cine-buffs like me. I have been lucky to feast on a really enjoyable movie-fare of late. Not all of them are nominees at awards ceremonies, yet all of them have had something special to have me hooked in the first place, and to have recommended them to my fellow cinema-lovers. Some of these films I caught at the fag end of the last year, and the others have been savored this month itself. Here they are:

The Descendants

We Need To Talk About Kevin

War Horse

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of The Unicorn

Bedrooms

50/50

The Tree of Life

Moneyball

The Help

The Artist

Bridesmaids

Real Steel

The Ides of March

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Drive

Rio

Puss in Boots

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Wanna Speak vs Don't Wanna Speak

If you have a chance to express yourself,

to speak your mind, to get listened to,

you should grab it with both arms, grab the chance to speak.

That seems to be the age-old wisdom,

and it's even the street-smart funda that helps

one create a space for oneself, get one noticed and accounted for.

But the big question is: Do we always want to speak?

Do we take refuge in silences, or in partial utterances?

Do we deliberately speak in an ambiguous tone?

Do we obfuscate our communication?

What makes us grapple with the dilemma - To-speak or Not-to-speak?

There are times when I feel

I need to renew my spirit,

gather my strength,

and make myself heard for not only

selfish reasons, but for a greater cause.

But, then I wonder

if it is more important to make some noise,

some flutter, some unrest,

and perhaps some upsets,

than to contemplate,

meditate,

let my mind wander beyond the immediate,

relax, ponder, and come to terms

within.

A small flower, a tiny crystal,

or a seashell can make more sense

than the best of words uttered by us.

Words are, after all, just words.

Things happen all the time,

in silences, and amidst noises,

and even in the cosmic harmony

and divine melodies which need not be

planned or prepared for......

whether I speak or I embalm my

expression in a prolonged silence

I do need to lose, and subsequently,

find myself again and again.

The Year That Was

2011...... the year that was

It's been more than two weeks into the new year.

Yet, I think it is the right time to look back

into the year that was.

2011 has been good and bad for a lot of things

- for me, personally speaking.

I lost my father last year, and

that's something that's left a deep void, within.

The year was quite traumatic for me at times.

I found it difficult to cope with

many changes on the personal front.

There were a lot of negative feelings

that were generated.

Some spilled over...... some I tried to hold in.

Relationships underwent a sea-change.

However, once I got over the immediacy,

I could understand my feelings better,

I could diffuse some of the tension that had

built up inside of me.

I could even calmly look back

and act sanely.

Well, I know that our feelings, as tools,

can serve us well, only if the crystallize

naturally, and if we have someone to share

them with. The trick is to express ourselves

and be heard...... and it's this very trick

that I fail to master....... maybe I have

been making all the wrong choices all along

and crying my lungs out for help to

all the wrong persons!

Coming to the city of Kolkata,

my city, my El Dorado, the year 2011

was positively special for Mamata Banerjee,

Messi, and Dhanush.

Mamata Banerjee came to power in West Bengal,

and has been ruling the roost, seated at the Writer's

Building, and enjoying the support of Kolkatans

immensely.

Messi and Dhanush won our hearts

with football-fever and music-mania

respectively, like never before.

It was a dream come true for soccer-crazy

Kolkatans when Messi came to the city

to play. I could not be at the Salt Lake Stadium

to witness the game first hand, but the palpable

excitement trickled down no doubt.

Dhanush came to conquer Kolkatans' hearts

at the fag end of the year. His Kolaveri di

had already gripped the entire nation,

and I can say that I have never seen

the people of my city to be so unreasonably

obsessed with a song - a song which has

truly crossed over - not since the Hassan

Jahangir rage, or the Altaf Raja craze,

or, to a lesser extent, the Dayal baba

kala khaba phenomenon.

Numerous spoofs and parodies have

followed. Which reasserts the song's

unique appeal.

Last year, Kolkata also witnessed

tragedies of great proportions,

the AMRI fire claiming the lives of

helpless patients being the worst.

Early last year, my dad had been admitted

to the same nursing facility and hence

the place has had a special place in my

quota of memories.

In 2011, apart from losing my dad,

a dear one snapped ties with me,

after seven long years of a lovely

relationship.

I also happened to befriend a very

special person. And it is a unique sort

of a bond that I am cherishing, I'm loving

it in all its uniqueness and warmth.

It is this very person who has said

these special words:

Life is like a book, a memoir.....

you experience, you treasure

the special moments, or you

simply disengage yourself from

the difficult ones, and move on.....

It is indeed very hard, and I know that clinging on does not

help at all. I need to find myself and keep moving......

I cannot afford to stand or stoop, hover around or hanker.....

It is indeed very hard, and I know that clinging on does not

help at all. I need to find myself and keep moving......

I cannot afford to stand or stoop, hover around or hanker.....

I need to look at the road ahead......

there are maybe a few paces left of the distant run,

but those paces better be resolute and brisk,

the it's better to be equipped with confidence,

if not luck; may I indulge my foolish zeal if poorly

equipped to take a calculated risk.

Unlike an old acquaintance who simply wishes that I write a new chapter,

have a new beginning, I would even like to look ahead for the joy

of rewriting some old chapters, reinterpreting life, reinterpreting

my dreams, dream anew. I live because I dream, and I dream because

I am still alive. Yes, I am alive to the opportunity of adding on not just new chapters but maybe a new old story, if not a whole new story.

Films Seen in 2011: Top Ten

1. A Serious Man [2009]

2. The King's Speech [2010]

3. Black Swan [2010]

4. Blue Valentine [2010]

5. The Savages [2007]

6. Kick-Ass [2010]

7. Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries) [2011]

8. That Girl in Yellow Boots [2011]

9. Aami Aadu (Sound of Love) [2011]

10. G**du (Loser) [2010]

The selection and ranking has been based on personal preference

taking into account the 200+ films viewed - be it on the big screen or on video.

Pics courtesy: Google Images

[The year in brackets indicates the year of release and/or making]

Love and Distrust

I decided to watch 'Love and Distrust' without knowing anything about the movie.

I was simply drawn to it because of the stellar cast: Robert Pattinson, James Franco, Sam Worthington, Amy Adams, Robert Downey, Jr......... who wouldn't be impressed?

It's only on playing the video that I did realize it was a compilation of short films and the names featured on the cover were actually part of not one but diverse short films - the common thread having been captured aptly in the title itself.

As always, in any such compilation, all the film segments cannot claim to be of the same standard.

They differ from each other in tone, treatment and effect..... but, on the whole, it is an interesting package.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

M:I-4 i.e. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is yet another film which delivers exactly what it promises. I have unabashedly been a fan of the franchise from the very first movie in the series that has Tom Cruise, my childhood idol, essaying the role of secret agent Ethan Hunt.

In the first film, Cruise's character was framed for the deaths of his espionage team. It had him fleeing from government assassins, and breaking into the most impenetrable vault of the C.I.A.

Thereafter, he even has to cling to the roof of a speeding train in the climax, and race like a burning fuse until he discovers a shocking truth. In the second film, he has a beautiful partner in Thandie Newton to stop a renegade agent from releasing a new kind of terror. But, it is in the third film, that he faces his deadliest adversary - a sadistic weapons dealer, and he is cornered when his wife is threatened to be eliminated. MI:4 picks up from there and packs up the regular action which the fans of the series love, and Tom Cruise proves that he can still pull punches as one of the most bankable stars of Hollywood.

This time the members of the cast include - apart from Cruise - Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Tom Wilkinson, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Léa Seydoux, Josh Holloway, and our very own Anil Kapoor.

In memoriam: Love you, Dad

Last month, my dad passed away.
It is never easy for a son to write about his dead who is no more.
Yet, my dad fills my life with his presence, though it is no longer a bodily presence. He resides within. He makes himself ever-present by helping me hold a mirror to my own self.

Those who have known my dad

have perhaps known him as the most affable gentleman,

someone gentle, and easygoing,

one who warmed up affectionately to

all and sundry, and had his own special way of showing

them that he cared, empathized and connected with them

with his gentility, and kindness.

On a lighter note, he couldn't have been more different than Peter Reading, the accomplished British poet who also passed away on the seventeenth of last month.

For my readers, I won't prolong this In Memoriam piece, as I am not one who believes that personal grief can be blatantly shared, please forgive my inability.

I would just like to sum up with this verse,

can't acknowledge the poet as he/remains unknown to me,

the feeling is universal, hence sharing here.......

"When we lose someone we love

We learn to trust somehow

That a new life in a brighter place

Is just beginning now....

A place of grace, and peace, and joy,

Beyond all time and sorrow,

Where loving hearts who part today

Will meet again tomorrow."

Tintin - a Spielberg-Jackson spectacle!

Tintin has finally landed on the silver-screen and has conquered!!!

I saw the film on Children's Day (November 14th). 
I wasn't supposed to go for the movie that day. But my appointment got cancelled and it so happened that I had to kill time for two hours or so. Hence, I turned up at the South City mall multiplex, Fame, and was lucky to grab the only remaining ticket for the show (the display board was showing Houseful though!), and eventually, the technically resplendent Spielberg-Jackson spectacle hit me!

But there is also a side-story, which I am about to tell.

Let me confess, that very day, I wasn't in a mood for a movie exactly.

Yet I warmed up within minutes, as I grappled with the 3D glasses and found myself next to a kid from class seven who had turned up for the movie all by himself. I hesitated for a while to strike up a conversation with the boy, considering the possible inappropriateness of chatting up, being a rank stranger to him. But he warmed up too easily. I found out that he was from the same school where I had studied. And, like me, he too was a Tintin fan (who isn't?).

The two of us had a whale of a time, marveling at the action-packed, slick escapade that unfolded on screen. We even compared our observations on the theme of comic book versus movie adaptation, and tried to be neutral in our appraisal of the film we were watching. As expected, he - being a today's kid - was a lot more aware of stuff, even the technicalities of the filming process, than I was at his age. Yet, I was happy to note that he retained his basic innocence and was a lovely kid to befriend, my earnest regard for his parents. He talked about his hobbies, school, teachers, and such things, in the intermission.

Actually, we grew quite impatient with the intermission stretching on and on, on top of being inserted at the oddest of moment, in the midst of a delightful action-sequence.

The film ended, we went our ways, saying polite goodbyes. Yet the memory lingers on....... as it felt for a while that I met my own self, my own childhood, in the confines of the theater; my eyes were covered by the 3D glasses; a colorful world emanated, and the added dimension of simple escapist delight filled my senses.

Good and Bad.....

There's no good or bad in this world;

it's the thinking that makes it so.

What people call SUFFOCATION in a local train

becomes ATMOSPHERE at a night club!

A child, on a farm, sees a plane fly overhead & dreams of flying -

but the pilot, on the plane, sees the farmhouse & dreams of returning home.

That's life!

Happy Halloween! 'The Vampire Diaries'

Let me admit, this is a special Halloween post.

Today is Halloween, and I seek to celebrate the ghouls and the ghoulish,

and all things supernatural, as they fascinate me since childhood,

for purposes of entertainment, nothing else though......

no serious spooky business here,

but just doffing my hat to the television series which I've been hooked to, of late:

The Vampire Diaries.

Frankly speaking, the series did not quite grab my eyeballs when the First Season was aired.

I thought it catered more to the sensibilities and tastes of the teenagers, and that too mostly the girls, who can't have enough of the love-related complexities along the soap-fodder lines.

I did skip most of the episodes therein. However, as the Second Season started airing (the deferred telecast in India, on Zee Cafe), I had to revise my initial reservations on the content.

I am not going to delve into the details of the storyline or the numerous sub-plots, because I expect this post to be read and appreciated only by the afficionados of the series. For the uninitiated: It's a supernatural series which primarily is about a high school girl who's loved by two vampire brothers, who are about 150 years old.

The characters go through more than the usual share of thrills and chills that are expected in a tale of this genre. The complications in love take a backseat in the Second Season, thankfully, as it concentrates more on the digressions and the twists & counter twists that involve the heroine's doppelganger and her machinations, and also reveals, purportedly, the main villain.

Elena - the heroine - as well as Katherine, the doppelganger, are played by Nina Dobrev. While the vampire brothers Damon and Stefan are played by Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley respectively. Jeremy, Elena's brother, is played by Steven R. McQueen. Some of the other interesting members of the cast are: Michael Trevino, Zach Roerig, Kat Graham, Matt Davis and Taylor Kinney.

The actors have become hugely popular, endeared by millions of fans worldwide.

Expectedly so, as that is exactly how television makes people famous overnight.

Anyways, today, I'd like to say a few words just about my favorite character from the series: Mason Lockwood, played by Taylor Kinney. In fact, I started watching the series (later I caught up with the earlier episodes online though) because of him.

Mason's character isn't even a pivotal one, though he plays an integral role in the progression & turn of events. Taylor Kinney had, in fact, just a string of guest appearances. Yet, I loved the depth in the character, the potential that had probably been unleashed by the actor and not so much by the script.

When Mason dies in the series, I felt shattered. Well, almost. A case of suspension of pure disbelief, I guess. 

Mason was Tyler's uncle (Tyler being the high school football jock and Elena's friend). He has been described as Tyler's 'cool' uncle; sexy, athletic and with an easygoing charm.

He returns to Mystic Falls (where Elena and his friends live) after seven years. He reveals to Tyler the Lockwood curse, which had been kept a secret from him; he does so after a dramatic confrontation.

Mason flips in an instant if crossed; it struck me as an interesting character trait.

He is in love with Katherine; eager to do anything for her......

.......yet he does not trust her in a blindly. He's torn by his own demons.

Mason genuinely shows concern for his nephew, Tyler.......

.......but he has his own agenda too, which he's focused on.

Truth be told: Mason's a werewolf!

Mason finds himself vulnerable and insecure because of his cursed identity.

He finds in Damon, his biggest enemy...... his nemesis.

After all, vampires and werewolves can't expected to be friends!!!!

A bite from a werewolf can be fatal for a vampire, hence the persecution.

It is Damon who finally captures him and kills him by ripping his heart out.

Surprise, suprise: Mason returns as a ghost in Season Three (it shows how Taylor Kinney cannot be ousted from the series, his fans won't take it lying down..... hahaha) and he is determined to make Damon pay for killing him.

And, spoiler alert for the ones who are yet to catch the goings on in Season Three,

Mason tortures Damon much in a way that he himself had been tortured but he lets him live.

Mason reveals that, among the Lockwood family's dark secrets, was a way to kill an Original vampire. Mason and Damon head to the Lockwood cellar where they break into a hidden part of it. Damon still refuses to trust Mason but when Mason saves him from the vervain spikes that pierce Damon, he tells him that he doesn't care about revenge: he wants redemption and he wants to help Tyler.

Happy Halloween!!!!

'Rockstar' is coming to rock us!

ROCKSTAR is going to be Ranbir Kapoor's next release.

It's releasing on the 11th of November.

The music from the soundtrack is a rage already.

The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Aditi Rao Hyadri and many others.

Directed by Imtiaz Ali, it's the most awaited film of the year.

And Ranbir seems to be banking on it in a big way.

The film boasts of brilliant visuals & A.R.Rahman's fusion score.

The story is supposed to be an emotional-cum-musical journey.

Since August, the promos have been making us expectant in a big way.

I sincerely hope that the film becomes a rewarding experience for all.

Major portions have been shot in Kashmir, at various scenic locations.

The city of Delhi features in a big way too.

The sequence at Nizamuddin Dargah is supposedly an awe-inspiring one.

Many of the costumes worn in the film have been designed by Aki Narula.

The attention to details is likely to contribute majorly to the narrative.

Ranbir too has spared no efforts to become the character.

Nargis Fakhri plays the role of a Kashmiri Pandit girl.

Ranbir himself has admitted that the presence of Nargis in the film is very special.

Mohit Chauhan has lent his voice to several songs of the film.

The soulful lyrics have been penned by Irshad Kamil.

People would want to watch it for all kinds of reasons.

A personal reason for me: Late Shammi Kapoor's final screen appearance.

Can't wait to catch this scene Ron has with the legend.

I wish all the best to the cast & crew of the film. Can't wait to watch it now!

Getting Slushied

Getting slushied is commonplace for the members of the Glee club, in the popular tele-series 'Glee'. Many might find it irritating how shakes and slushies are randomly thrown at on the Glee guys and girls in the first and the second seasons of the series, but it is indeed a fun way to represent the bullying stereotypes that almost all of us commonly experience in life, in some form or the other.

Bullying is, in fact, a problem all over. Schools are the breeding grounds and the practice is continued with gusto by the bullies in colleges too, and it gets diversified further, and becomes multi-pronged, multi-dimensional and even multi-participative.

I think, 'Glee' raises a fundamental issue and colors it & exaggerates with fun and banter, and packages it with all the ingredients of mass appeal, but the underlying message is never lost.

In the storyline, the Glee club is shown as the most unpopular group, for having dared to go against the grain, by embracing song & dance, and it is largely the alpha-male student population which targets the club with its extreme bullying antics. The slushying sequences, later, have become nothing short of a trademark for the show and have added spunk to its theme of celebrating one's true self by rising above petty opposition, and by winning over the brute forces through a display of sheer talent & histrionics, getting noticed, and gaining acceptance.

Here, Artie, perceived as the 'dork' in the wheelchair, gets slushied badly.......

.....and, yet, he strongly empathizes with the faith: Be Who You Are, Be Proud!