Living legend Messi

Messi is the subject of my blog-post, yet again, and indeed it is a honor to be feting the Prince of Football. He undoubtedly deserves all the ooh-aahs, not just from his umpteen admirers, but also from the genuine critics and observers who love the game of football and who do not hesitate to laud the feats of the greats, the legends. 

I know that calling someone a living legend is a rare honor, but Lionel Messi's success story is laced with legendary triumphs, it is truly the stuff that makes instant history. He is not one to sit comfy on his laurels, he keeps going from strength to strength. 

He is the superstar of football for all that he displays on the field, and even off it. He has created history this season by breaking the 40-year-old record of most goals scored in a calendar year. And that is not all, the football crazy city of ours and the soccer lovers around the globe are all hoping that he will set many more records. 

He shoots the ball into the goal like a dream, and hence the very sight of him in action, on the field, is a feast for our eyes. It has been rightly said that he roams the ground with a boyish abandon, and nothing can beat the way a certain hush descends on the stadium as he embarks on his magical run towards the opponents' goal area. 

Here's wishing him all the best for the days ahead!

Who is stress-free?

Stress, stress everywhere....... all around, all the time.
Who is stress-free in this world?

Well, the search may prove to be more stressful than bargained for.
However, I have come to realize that managing stress or dealing with it effectively is what should be our key concern.
With our hectic schedules, and umpteen pressures, stress becomes our biggest enemy.
It tires us out for anything productive in the long run. We are haggard just fighting stress all the time, and thus, in the process, we are always the losers, no matter what. The belly fat that the hormones triggered by stress induces is hard to hide, so is the overall worn out look of ours.
I like to tell my mind that I have just a manageable level of stress even when the reality might be quite opposite. But do I fool my body's system and get away with it? Mostly, yes. 
After all, I can't spend hours sitting on a pillow. 
I can't emulate the ideals of a yogi or an ascetic. 
I throw my hands up in the air even for the exercise regimen, and hope to be gymming only while I am asleep, in my dreams that is. 
All I have to depend on is an inner communication with my own self. 
Else, I have to wish my stress away, magically; 
I believe in magic, although I am devoid of magical powers.

I believe, I need to look within, a lot more, instead of trying to decipher the happy expressions on people all around - on the streets, on the sidewalks, in cars and buses, at places of work, pleasure or worship - and coming to terms with the possibility of them being more stress-free than I am. Well, I guess, I have to come to terms with merely being stress-adjusted. I better let go of the stress-free aspiration in life.

Autumnal Blues

During autumn, each year, Kolkata gears up for the autumnal festivals........ the biggest of which is Durga Puja. The fun and festivities are anticipated well in advance, the plans are made by the revelers, and the days of celebrations whiz past us - as if in a jiffy. Right now, we are awaiting more excitement, more enjoyment, as, post Durga Puja, it is the turn of the other festivities, climaxing with Kali Puja and Diwali. 

Why does my heart feel heavy? 
What do I apprehend? 
What does fear lurk in my heart? 
What are the myriad hues that catch me unawares? 
Why has my soul been singing the perennial autumnal blues?

Reality - bizarre

Reality can be bizarre..... even simple reality at that!

Facing reality, as it is, can be a lot more difficult than it sounds.
It can be tricky; it can seem unreal, and a strange ball game.

Thirsty ...

Thirsty? Asks the campaign. 

Thirst for what, you may ask....... 

Well, it could be a campaign for anything, 

not necessarily for some cola or bottled drink, which earlier would have been looked down upon as conspicuous consumption. Not anymore, since there has been a change in perception for all things that do not fit the description of 'necessary  - by definition'.
We have grown up as consumers, as they smart marketing men would tells us. 

There is a ubiquitous demand for the advertised comforts, 

things that quench an artificial thirst of ours....... 

a thirst that has been generated by a hype, or a craze, 

using our weaknesses, or aggressively targeting the repressed faculties.

The cynics would simply say, we are too stupid to fall prey...... 

the doomsayers would project a collapse of the old-order 

because of a sudden surge of our new found thirst...... 

the optimists would see newer fantasies spicing up the boring lives...... 

the pessimists would see the tinge of conspiracy and would even 

consider the thirst-manufacturers as the new super-villains working

towards a catastrophe, fulled by their gorging on our natural impulses.

We are no longer thirsty for knowledge - it is staid as a concept!

We are just thirsty for more...... more of madness,

more of mediocrity, more of intolerance, more of shamelessness, 

more of the things of a lesser, baser kind!

The more we drink, the thirstier we get..... but naturally.

At the end of it all....... 'Abosheshey'

Abosheshey (At the end of it all) is a film that has touched me deep.

My heart went out to the characters, my heart melted with the protagonist's passion and zest for life. It is indeed one of the best Bangla films made in recent years. Interestingly, the film marks the debut of director Aditi Roy, aided brilliantly by the principal cast, the flawless cinematography of Ranjan Palit, and the praiseworthy musical soundtrack designed by Prabuddha Banerjee.
It is essentially a mother-son story, and as a special friend of mine has rightly observed that mother-son films seldom fail, principally for us Bangalis who (much like the Irish and the Hispanics have a cultural tradition that is steeped in special mother-son bondings). However, this film - despite the much-recognized motifs - is much more than a mother-son story. It deals with emancipation, loss, identity, legacy and continuity.

Ankur Khanna plays the son who connects with her estranged, and now dead, mother, Suchishmita (Roopa Ganguly) who has left a long letter for him, desperately hoping that one day he would return to his city of birth and would make an effort to know the city and also his long lost childhood from which he had been detached since his departure along with his dad (to America). The son eventually gets to know her, through all those intrinsic contents that made her the person that she was, of which he had been completely oblivious, and he is also able to discover the many unknown facets that intertwine though time.

The fact that the film celebrates nostalgia is reason enough for someone like me to love it. I can't help shamelessly craving for nostalgia. People who know me well say, that I am a sucker for nostalgia and, according to a dear friend, it is on account of my being a sucker for romance. I love serenading the nature, and the hills form the idyllic setting in my dreamscape, though in reality I have never been to a hill station, not yet. I have a love-hate relationship with the city of Kolkata, where I have been almost all my life, and the film has Kolkata as a character. The things said through words, and visuals, about the city of Kolkata are something that I fully empathize with.

Apart from Roopa Ganguly and Ankur Khanna, the cast includes Raima Sen, Sudipta Chakraborty, Suman Mukherjee, Manasi Sinha, Arijit Dutta, Ronjini Chakraborty, Bodhisatva Majumdar, Kamalika Banerjee, Avijit Guha, Amitabh Bhattacharya and Deepankar De.

Endnote: Nothing remains forever. But the memories linger on. Memories haunt and reshape the minds of those who are left behind by the dear departed. Sieving through memories may be a mellow process, but need not be steeped in melodrama, the narrative even unfolds a wee bit of suspense which steps up the dramaturgy but it never allows melodramatic excesses. In fact, the director, with the help of the editor Abhro Banerjee, has shown exceptional control and restraint.

Happy B'Day, Ron!

Ranbir Kapoor celebrates his birthday today.....

Ranbir is not just Bollywood's young turk, he is also one of the very best.

From doing experimental films to establishing a niche for himself, he has had success, getting his turf well assessed and staying focused with his priorities, not that he can skip being tabloid fodder altogether for liaisons of the heart.

And the sweet success of Barfi! is making him bask in glory, for sure.


Pics courtesy: Lenovo, Pepsi and Google Images.

'Goats'

Goats is unusual, quirky, bizarre and yet very much a warm-hearted treat. It is a film that I happened to watch without having known about the film in advance. I was not too excited by the cast either, not when I saw the poster splashed on the cover of the DVD that I borrowed from the library. As the movie began, right from the animation accompanying the title card, I was hooked.

I could not believe my eyes watching David Dachovny as the Goat Man! David's renown for being the lead in X-Files far exceeds his fame as an actor of substance his act in Full Frontal notwithstanding. He has given quite a career defining performance in this film, I must say. The film also has such fine actors as Vera Farmiga, Ty Burrell, Keri Russell, Justin Kirk and Dakota Johnson. And, of course, there is the young and talented Graham Phillips, who plays Ellis, the Arizona teenager whose coming-of-age story Goats is.

The film is based on the book by Mark Poirier, who has also penned the screenplay. Woody Jackson and Jason Schwartzman have composed the music for the film, while Wyatt Troll has done the cinematography.

The film might not have captured really any exceptional ground, but for someone who has experienced incredible identity crises of one's own, my own backdrop of inconsistencies being a valid reference point, the film is nothing short of a revelation. Disturbed virtues can be so widely dissimilar and yet so very alike in terms of identifiability. Ellis, the protagonist of the film, journeys through the oddities that comprise his life and discovers longing, loyalty, camaraderie, clarity and pragmatism in his own way.

'Barfi!' - a heart-stealer!

BARFI! is the latest cinematic offering from Anurag Basu.
As a filmmaker, Anurag has already proven his worth with some entertaining and thoroughly engaging feature films, and even with some interesting work on television. But this one sets him apart in many ways. He has hardly compromised with his creative vision, despite the film having an A-list star-cast and a big studio-backing. 

The film tells an endearing story. Two of the protagonists - including the eponymous one - are differently-abled (challenged, according to the so-called politically incorrect) and yet the film has happened to strike just the right chords, it has hit the right notes at the box-office too. The film has been called a mini-masterpiece by some, while some have lauded it as the most broad-based emotionally overwhelming film made in recent times. 

Anurag Basu has told the tale with some amount of freshness and with a lot of passion and optimism. Ranbir Kapoor in the title role (Murphy, which in the flawed utterance becomes Barfi!), as a deaf-mute guy, oozes cherubic warmth and divine energy, and Priyanka Chopra, as the autistic girl, Jhilmil, has her own moments of brilliance. There is also the other important character, Shruti (played by Illeana D'Cruz, making her Hindi film debut), that stands out in a refreshingly muted way; ironically it is she who threads the narrative with a voice-over that breezes all over with back-and-forth forays (flashbacks and 'super' flashbacks!). 
The viewers would love the ride. I loved it, honestly. I chuckled, smiled, laughed, sobbed and relished the magical moments that played out on the big screen. I cheered for Barfi, I delighted in his exploits, I surrendered to the simplistic charm and innocence in the synthetic recreation of the Seventies.

I would excuse Basu the digressions and the indulgences (which has a distinctive flavor of the Tamil/Telugu films) and also the show-offish excesses. They are but minor flaws. What I took home was the abundance of love and tenderness and sensitive portrayals, and some meaty moments packed in minuscule segments. The film celebrates life, love, and hope.
In one of the promotionals for the film, the cast members put it brilliantly, that a viewer would take from this life-affirming film the kind of flavor that essentially defines him/her and the kind of flavor that he/she would like to permeate in his/her life. 
Barfi, the character, is a heart-stealer, and so is the film.

Perfectly imperfect

Nothing's pre-written.
Nothing's to be re-written.
Hence, we must write carefully, all the more.
We are required to live the best.
As best as we can, and leave the rest.
Leave the rest to the unchangeable, irreversible destiny.
It's a perfectly imperfect world after all.

A cool catch

Recently, I have caught some cool flicks on video,
I know 'cool' is a much abused word, it is so randomly
used today to mean a bizarre range of things......
yet it can often fit as an apt qualifier when one has to
group an otherwise disparate but appealing group
of objects, and, here, I am using the term for the very
same reason...... it's a wide range of films, it's an
impressive array nonetheless. Each of these films has entertained
me, and I am sure it would entertain all cine-buffs, in
different ways though. They represent our times, as the makers
have made them in recent times; even when they represent
different periods from history, they have contemporary
treatment, and ethos. Some these films provoke, make us question;
some of these touch just our hearts, our souls, with some
kind of magical power. Whatever be the genre, each of these films
strikes a chord with the viewer and engages him to appreciate
life as such.
I hope my readers will join in, to pour their views
on some or all of these films. Here they are:

360 (2011)

Bel Ami (2012)

The Conspirator (2010)

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)

Womb (2010) 

Hanna (2011) 

Detention (2011)

Margaret (2011)

The Raven (2012)

The Hunger Games (2012) 

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

Donkey Punch (2008)

A journey.... a dream..... a revolution

Satyamev Jayate has become the television series responsible for changing not only the history of Indian television, but also bringing about changes amidst us, and in our selves. A reality series need not be scoffed at henceforth, not if it has the best intentions to usher positive social change, not even if it is aired on Sunday mornings in the slot which used to be referred to as the graveyard shift.
Aamir Khan has not just made a television series, he has helped us Indians envision a dream. Countless Indians have embarked on a journey that promises not to end with the culmination of the show (the series - many are already calling it the Season 1, expecting a Season 2 very soon - has just concluded a fortnight back), rather Aamir himself has said that it is the very beginning of the journey. Miles to go in the direction of total upliftment, equity and progress; the hurdles are too many, but the will to tackle them all has received a huge impetus. We are all passionate about our country, about the dream to make India a nation to be truly proud of; it would be a feat for us all to see the tears wiped off for good, to have teeming millions smiling for a better today and a promising tomorrow.
I would say that the show has revolutionized Indian television. I had been hugely apprehensive of the impact that the uniquely formatted show could have. So what if the show had a powerhouse anchor like Aamir Khan who was having his TV debut...... who expected masses to be awakened from their slumber to sit up and take note of the serious problems confronted by the citizens across the length and breadth of the country! I am pleasantly surprised to see the landmark response and the appeal generated by the same. People have not only been moved, charged by the vigor to harbinger positive changes, but opinions have been mobilized like never before! Unprecedented success has been garnered by the series, for which one must recognize the contribution of (apart from Aamir himself, the key-figure) the production house (Aamir Khan Productions Pvt. Ltd.), its entire team, especially the fabulous and in-depth research carried out by the research team, and, of course, the vision and perseverance of director Satyajit Bhatkal.

May the journey continue, may the dream reach fruition in the best possible way, may this revolution to make India a better nation in every way gain momentum each day - that is what I pray as we celebrate the 65th Independence Day of India.

Coffee coffee

They say, a lot can happen over a cup of coffee.
I concur..... and I would also like to add that even 
a cup of coffee can make love happen!

Coffee coffee...... here's some fresh coffee for two!!

When Size Does Not Matter.........

The size or the length or the duration of the film has nothing to do with the impact it can have. It is a known and proven fact. And once again it has been reiterated by the short films that I have had the chance to view in the last few weeks. It has been a truly enriching experience and I must thank TV5 for the opportunity it has given the viewers by showcasing some of the brilliant short films in French, subtitled in English for the non-French speaking viewers, like me.
The films that have mesmerized me, bowled me over, are:
Transparence
I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors
The Trenches (La tranchée)
Margaux's Incredible Journey (L'incroyable voyage de Margaux)
La tête froide

Most of the films were thought provoking and dealt with complex themes or issues, but all of them were engrossing to the core. I recommend them for all my film-buff friends. I am sure the films will delight you for whatever reasons.

'Cocktail' fever!

It's the COCKTAIL fever!!!!!

Yes, I am stating this unashamedly
the entire nation,
rather the GenNow of this nation,
the multiplex frequenting guys and gals,
are in the grip of the frenzy generated
by this latest Bollywood romcom.
Never has a romcom, a typical chickflick material,
has captured the fancy of such a large number of people.

I myself was apprehensive when I came across reams of
newsprint devoted to the expectations that the trade circles
had been trumpeting after the promos started airing.
I definitely liked the songs, the catchy-peppy-zingy numbers,
and the visuals too, but did not expect fireworks as such in the movie. 
Bollywood is known to blow up humongous bubbles out of
nothingness....... and then the bubble bursts.
But watching the movie was simply pleasurable.
Yes, the material was flimsy, the old-wine-in-a-new-bottle
tag is very much applicable, but the three protagonists,
played by Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, and Diana Penty
won me over.......... I was charmed..........
I have to give a big thumbs up to the screenplay and dialogues,
and to the chemistry that they've managed to pull off.
Saif has done similar portrayals in films like 'Hum Tum', 'Salaam Namaste',
'Love Aaj Kal', and 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' already, but he has invested
a great deal of energy to reach new heights of urbane cool.
Diana Penty is oven-fresh sweet, and looks too good to take
my eyes off her. Despite being the proverbial  non-actress,
she fits the role of the docile, shy girl perfectly.
Deepika Padukone is the one who has been making
the audiences go crazy and is even triggering repeat viewings.
She has given a near flawless performance, and is likely to
get talked about and toasted in the days to come.
'Cocktail' is also enriched by a zany support from
the cast-members Dimple Kapadia and Boman Irani.
Randeep Hooda doesn't have much to do, and is a waste.
My last word: If you are not too pissed off watching romcoms,
and are willing to forget that Homi Adajania is the director of this flick
(his quirky sensibility from 'Being Cyrus' almost gone amiss),
you'll actually enjoy this breezy flick, the tedium in the second half
notwithstanding; go for it, preferably with friends for company.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Today is Friday the 13th. 
There are several beliefs, better termed superstitions, that bog people and make them skeptical about this date/day. There are several theories about their origins as well. I came to know just today that there is a specific term for the fear o0f Friday the 13th....... it's called triskaidekaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia....... quite a tongue twister the latter one!
I had seen the cult slasher movie 'Friday the 13th' years ago, and I just remember it for some of the genuinely chilling scenes of blood and gore, and for a very young Kevin Bacon who starred in it.
Happy Friday the 13th! No need to feel the shivers in the extremes.
Just enjoy the goofiness of the slasher flicks or the horror fest by means of umpteen specials on telly........ and do not feel spooked, come what may!

Image courtesy: Google images