It's that time of the year.......

Yes, again it's that time of the year...... it's the time for the Oscars!

And from the long list of nominees, here are the films doing the rounds (in one or multiple categories, including the contenders for acting) that I have had the privilege of watching:
Amour 
Life of Pi 
Lincoln 
Argo 
Zero Dark Thirty 
Silver Linings Playbook 
Beasts of the Southern Wild 
Django Unchained 
Les Misérables 
Frankenweenie 
The Sessions 
The Impossible
Brave
Mirror Mirror
Anna Karenina
Skyfall
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Ted
Moonrise Kingdom
Flight 

[No copyright infringement intended. All rights as regards the pics reserved by the studios concerned.]

Kai Po Che I Freedom. Dreams. Destiny I Promo

Freedom. Dreams. Destiny. 'Kai Po Che'!!!

I am excited by the promos, and the songs, and the supposedly interesting making of the new film from Abhishek Kapoor based on the successful novel of Chetan Bhagat, named 'The 3 Mistakes of My Life'. Abhishek Kapoor had earlier struck gold with the film 'Rock On!', after having had much struggle as an actor and even as a director. Whereas Chetan Bhagat happens to be the best-selling Indian author who writes essentially about the youth and their relationships and aspirations. The film stars Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh, Raj Kumar Yadav, Amrita Puri, Manish Chawla and others. The screenplay has been penned jointly by Pubali Chaudhari, Supratik Sen, Abhishek Kapoor and Chetan Bhagat. Anay Goswamy is credited with the cinematography, and the music (the songs have become chartbusters already) has been scored by Amit Trivedi. The film has garnered a place of pride with its being screened in the World Panorama section at the Berlin Film Festival this year, and is awaiting its release worldwide this Friday.

'Damadol'

Zany, madcap comedies are the most difficult to make.
That explains why we have them so few and far between.

I have often been told by my non-Bengali friends that we are so hesitant to laugh at ourselves and that is why we have so few Bangla films that belong exclusively to the comedy genre. Well, it is a fact that we do not have as many successful comedies on the big screen to boast about, but the reasons behind which are more than the fingers on our hands. Recently, we have had some quality films that showcase our comedic sense and make one laugh with the nuanced representations. Soon, it will be time let our hair down with 'Damadol', an ensemble comedy that I am looking forward to.

In the ensemble cast are some much known faces, some much loved because of their work on television, while there are a few fresh faces as well. What encourages me most, as a viewer, is the fact that the makers these days are bouncing off fresh ideas, exploring new or less-frequently visited grounds, and the future of Bangla cinema is hopefully a lot brighter because of the same.

The plot thickens with an aspiring filmmaker Aditya trying to get financial help from PappuBhai, an underworld don with a love for cinema. Then there is Nikhil, the corporate guy wanting to get married but with the belief that he can never fall in love. There are situational complications affecting love and friendship. Ankita - an air-hostess, Ria- a young girl with strong moral values, and Tanya - the actress who is part of Aditya's film, are all dragged into this roller-coaster ride of mistaken identity and hilarious confusion.

The cast comprises Saswata Chatterjee, Samadarshi Dutta, Saheb Bhattacharya, Rajdeep Gupta, Shamaun Ahmed, Anindita, Priyanka, Gunjan, and Niharica Raizada. The film is directed by Manoj Michigan, and produced by Ajay Jhunjhunwala. The music has been composed by Gaurab Chatterjee. The cinematography has been done by Supriyo Dutta, and the film has been edited by Atish Dey Sarkar.

For all my virtual friends

Here is a  special post
for all my
virtual friends.

There have been many
who have told me that
e-friendship or virtual friendship
does not work.....
I disagree.
I believed in you
I believe in doing things
which people say I cannot do.
I am happy to have had fellow believers
in you, my e-friends!

Think you.....
Think me.....
Combine the two,
and lo.....
you get a warm hug,
a special embrace,
a jaadoo ki jhappi
(as MunnaBhai would say)
Happy loving,
my virtual friends,
know that
I love you all,
messages and mails
keep our friendship
alive......
and always will!

Raining offers for lovers

It's the month of February
and it's raining Valentine's Day offers everywhere!

I wish there were offers for renewals of vows
maybe that would prompt the on-the-verge-of-breakup couples
to renew their vows of togetherness......



I wish more and more men and women could be
cajoled to be more loving towards one another......

our world could do good with a little more loving,
we need to do away with the whole lot of hate and bitterness,
distrust and detestation that abounds.

Middle-earth Revisited

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Good old funda

New sayings, naah?
Newly packaged..... maybe.
It's some good old funda, but I find it cool, spelt kewl.

Earlier such stuff was considered to be street smart graffiti
and it caught on mainly among the urban youth and those who were clued in about the underground culture were only the ones who had a passion for the same.
But now such fundamentals are an integral part of the social networking revolution.
Kids can quote such wisecracking texts faster than they can quote contents from their curriculum.
There are cool quotes for every occasion, every season, every rhyme or reason.
They deal with romance, heartbreaks, disillusions, disappointments, and attitudinal dynamics.
I find many of these being frequented in Facebook,
people of all ages are found using them increasingly as status updates,
or they choose to privately share them with their friends, in communities,
and they tag their friends with the same.
Some of them seem hilarious, some plain stupid;
some compel me to comment, and some I just chuckle over or ruminate on.
Most of the times, I smile or laugh all by myself.
So, for a change, I am making my readers have their share of joy as well.
The words or the graphics do not have a mention of the origin or source, so I cannot oblige,
however, no copyright infringement has been intended.

'Django Unchained'

Unchained..... not just so, but uninhibited, unorthodox, unnerving, and unreal.

Quentin Tarantino's new film is longish, violent, brutal, bloody, and politically incorrect, and yet let may state at the same time that it is fulfilling in a perverse sort of way.

The fans of Tarantino - a massive cult status that he enjoys thanks to an ever widening fan-base - are not going to be disappointed with the maker (so what if the majority of all others do) and can trust to up the violence quotient each time, with every new film he makes.

Tarantino loves to push the envelope, bend the rules, on one hand, and on the other, his work often has a tribute-like quality, he loves to pay obeisance to mainstream and non-mainstream (offbeat/underground) genres. 'Django Unchained' (2012) has remarkable passages of wit and dark humor, and stylized action and yet it also has visceral excesses, bouts of self-indulgence, and expendable artlessness.
I must admit, I am too fond of Quentin Tarantino's stylish presentations. I have been following his work rather closely, ever since I first set my eyes on 'Reservoir Dogs', it was an eye-opener of a film for me in many ways. With 'Pulp Fiction', 'Jackie Brown', the 'Kill Bill' films, and 'Inglourious Basterds', my admiration and awe continued. I was particularly interested to find out Tarantino's treatment to an epic western. 'Django' was, after all, this Franco Nero starrer from 1966, that spawned many other similar spaghetti westerns, the name itself having been referenced in over thirty films! But, Tarantino does not believe in mere reprisals or remakes, unless there is some radical add-ons. And that he has done successfully, to the favor or disfavor of the viewers. He has actually made a western-styled southern, the film being set in the pockets of deep south and old west back in the antebellum era. Jamie Foxx has given a no-holds-barred performance in the title role - a freed African American slave who goes to the extremes of risk-taking for the sake of true love - with a fulsome, meaty support from Christoph Waltz. Also in the cast are Kerry Washington, as Django's love interest, and Leonardo DiCaprio as a plantation owner, a brutal villain. Among the other players, I must mention Samuel L. Jackson, and Walton Goggins, who appear menacing on screen, and there's also a cameo appearance put in by Franco Nero (the actor who had immortalized the original screen character named Django).

Watch this film, only if you are not faint of heart or squeamish by nature, and if you adore Tarantino. Else, give it a miss, the blood and gore fest is not recommended in that case; it is hardly emancipatory.

The film is slated for a tentative release in the Indian metro cities in March but I am doubtful if the scenes of gratuitous violence and profanity would pass the censors..