Qarib Qarib Singlle (Almost Single)

Movie Review (Hindi)

Irrfan Khan and Parvathy create a delightful romantic comedy, both being accomplished actors. The characters Yogi and Jaya, as different as chalk and cheese, could only have met at an online dating site.

The two embark upon a journey to revisit Yogi's ex-flames and what they discover is what the movie is all about. No fast paced action, no new dancing techniques, just good dialogue, a quirky story and good acting make this movie a must watch. 

For me, it was a win-win situation because I am an admirer of Irrfan's histrionic skills. I also think that the director being Tanuja Chandra made all the difference. Thank you Tanuja!!

Newton

Movie Review (Hindi)

Yes, I am really glad that this is the movie nominated for the Oscars from India. I am also really surprised that such a good film came into being!! We all know that the so called Indian Democracy is falling apart at the seams. The total disintegration of that democracy is picturised beautifully in the elections held at the Dandakaranya forests in Chattisgarh. This area has seen a lot of violence between the security forces and the Maoists. No wonder then that the people of this region couldn't care less about elections.

When well meaning public servants want to do a good job and go about their duties, they face life threatening obstacles, not by the so-called enemy but by people apparently on our side. One such public servant is Nutan Kumar turned Newton Kumar, who has questions which no one wants to answer. The casting couldn't have been better. Along with Rajkumar Rao as Newton, we have such stalwarts as Raghubir Yadav and Pankaj Tripathi.

I felt like an invisible character moving around with the motley group of superbly etched characters each outdoing the other in enacting their roles. It has the feel of a docu-drama. The screenplay and dialogue simply pushed up the bar of the movie. 

Amit Masurkar, thank you for reinstating my faith in Indian cinema. Looking forward to more such gems...

Reason to Celebrate

If there was one career I had decided not to pursue it was teaching. The very idea would conjure up heaps of notebooks to be checked, a huge register where I would have to mark the presence or absence of students, classrooms full of unruly kids who would not keep quiet. All these images were enough to keep me from becoming a teacher. But there was one thing I was sure of. I needed to do some work centered around children and this I realized while training children for theatre.

So one day I decided to apply for the Teach for India fellowship thinking of this venture as an opportunity of spending more time with children.  At this time, mind you, I was on the wrong side of 40 (as I still am) and was sure I would not make it to the final call. Well, there were many stages which I had to cross and the day arrived when I got the call, “Welcome to Teach for India!!”

And so began my journey of two wonderful years with more than a hundred kids that I spent time with at a Government school in Pune.

The kids were taken aback seeing a white haired lady come in as a class teacher. All this while they were used to young men and women teaching them. So naturally the first question they asked was, “What is your age, didi?”

And didi not to be outdone said, “90 years.” I loved the various expressions on their faces. Some clearly disbelieving, some amazed and some smiling. But the first few classes told them that a 90-year-old could be a tough nut to crack and could have a sense of humour.

A majority of my students were first generation school goers. The average household had the mother working as a maid, the father an autorickshaw driver, and 2 to 3 children. In TFI we had a rule, which was to visit each and every student’s home and I am glad I did so. This was what gave me the correct perspective on each child. Knowing her/his back story led to my approach to each child becoming customized and their response towards me was unadulterated. Sharing a meal with the entire family or sipping on several cups of tea, I got to be a member of their family. The parents would call me up for any problems or consultations related to their children.

A big part of my learning at TFI was that teachers are not those who come in to monitor a classroom and complete chapters and get students ready to write their exams. They are Leaders who set out to create a classroom full of leaders. This is what drove me take a class in unconventional ways. I tried to get each child to think critically and to question what I am teaching. My joy was unbounded when I was telling them about the Indian independence struggle and after some classes, students came up to me saying they would take up history in college!! Or when I explained the nitty gritties of grammar in a fun way, they said they wanted to study only grammar!! Clearly the fault does not lie with our students, but with us, if they find a subject boring.

My most challenging situation arose from the fact that my class has students of various grades which for convenience we addressed as higher order, middle order or lower order based on proficiency in each subject. I had students in English and Math who were at a grade level of class 2 in class VII!! So what does the teacher do to reach out to each child? As the TFI cohort, three of us in the school, arranged for extra classes before school began and each day was for a different grade level group of students. We began the community centre where we held various clubs on Saturdays and the attendance was 100%.

I soon realized that whatever I do or say in class or in school is followed keenly by each of my students. So, on the downside they began to express a sharp sense of sarcasm (albeit with a smile) and on the upside came a sense of courtesy for each other. Their love for theatre grew as I began training them in street theatre. They began to speak up in the assembly and became Earth Protectors which was our class motto.

Two years flew by and all my students, about 105 of them could not understand why I had to leave Pune and go to live in J&K. Till today I get regular calls from them just to say Hi and trying their best to make me promise to visit them next month.

I have been truly blessed to have had this opportunity to spend time with these wonders who lit up my life and made me grow in so many ways. I must have done something really excellent in one of my past lives!!

Thank you, Teach for India!!!

Lipstick Under My Burkha

Movie Review (Hindi)

Lipstick under my Burkha is a film that you take away with you after the screen time is over. Every person watching it will find it relate able. Lets take the four central characters of the movie, each representing a phase of a woman’s life.

A woman in her late 40s/ early 50s – She has been widowed for long and misses a man in her life. But dare she express her desires publicly?? No, no, no, that would be blasphemy! She is old and ought to visit satsangs. So when she wants to learn swimming she needs to shop for a swimsuit very surreptitiously and when she finds her coach handsome and desirable, she flirts with him over the phone assuming a different character.

A woman in her 30s – She is married with three small kids. Her husband has returned from the middle east and has no job now but he does have an extra marital relationship. All he wants from his wife is sex. He hardly looks at her as a thinking individual. She is a brilliant sales woman and wants to better herself at work but is told by her husband not to try to be a husband.

A woman in her 20s – She is pretty and works in a parlour. She has dreams of making it big in the business of marriage photography along with her lover. She has no qualms of having a relationship. However, her mother who is a single parent, is struggling for a livelihood and wants her daughter to get married into a decent family.

A teenager studying in the first year in college – She, in fact, gives the film its literal name as she roams around in a burkha, shoplifting from branded stores, flinging her burkha away before she reaches college, melting into the crowd of young people. She is pretty, sings well and loves to dance and dress up. At home, however, she stitches Burkhas at the family shop and lives an alternate life after her parents retire for the night.

It is funny, but if the women were to be replaced by men, there would be no story to tell!!

I rest my case!

Each actor did justice to her/his role. What a casting coup!

Alankrita Shrivastava and Prakash Jha, Thank you for making movies meaningful.

A Death in the Gunj

Movie Review (English and Bangla)

When I first came to learn that Konkona Sen Sharma was directing a movie, I instinctively knew that the movie would be different. I guess that thought came from the fact that she is Aparna Sen's daughter, and so a thinking director. What also pleasantly surprised me was the Satyajit Ray influence in the movie. There is a smooth subtlety that leaves you a little breathless because the characters have hit closer to home.

This movie is once again proof of the fact that the story is the king and the characters are the ones that bring in the magic to that story. It does not matter who the actor is. 

The Ambassador, the surrounding forest and the tribals with their music were characters that have added that special touch to Ray's movies and did the same here. From the opening scene, it was evident that there was something ominous waiting to happen and that grips the audience right from the start.

My heart goes out to the countless Shutus of every family who are fighting losing battles every day, and today this battles grows more intense and the consequences are equally disastrous. In the movie, the actors seemed to be born for the part played and therein lies the director's touch.

Thank you Konkona! Here's to many more such stories from you.

Travel Tales - Himachal

The Beauty of Himachal

I have been residing for a year now in Jammu. Himachal Pradesh is next door but I got to visit some parts of this beautiful State only a few days ago!

My travel itinerary --- Jammu ---- Dalhousie  (via Pathankot) ---- Yol ---- Macleodganj ---- Dharamshala ---- Palampur ---- Andretta ---- back to Jammu
And all this in three days!!!

The Pine forests of  Dalhousie

Trekking to Kalatop

Pine forests, Lakes and undulating Meadows in Khajjiar

Hydrangeas and Larkspurs in full bloom 

Dalhousie Public School nestling in the hills

Quaint market place  - Dalhousie

The Norbulingka Monastery in Dharamshala

Mcleod ganj -- bit too congested!

The skies suddenly turned black on our way to Mcleod ganj

The Bhagsunag falls --- Can you spot it???

Another Dal Lake near Mcleod ganj

St. John's Church in the Wilderness - only building to survive the 1905 earthquake in Kangra

The Kangra Fort

The snow covered Dhauladhar kept us company

Tea gardens on our way to Palampur

Saurav Van Vihar at Palampur - the Martyr is remembered

The Shobha Singh Art Gallery at Andretta - Unbelievable!!

I also visited several temples on the way - the famous Jwalaji temple where the eternal flame continues to burn, the Brojeshwari temple and the Chamunda temple.

Travel tales

To Vaishno Devi's abode

This was a trip I had wanted to go on for some time. It is said that you can go there only when the goddess calls you to her abode. Well, my call came and my husband and I trekked the Trikuta hill to reach the cave where the goddess resides.

We began the journey from Katra, a town close to Jammu.  We began our walk at 7 pm and in the May summer heat, this provided us much needed respite from the blazing sun. We began the climb from an area crowded with people and mules. Pilgrims were haggling with the muleteers about prices, those climbing on foot were getting their sticks ready and some were being lifted in a chair like contraption called Palki, onto the shoulders of four men. I had decided to make the climb on foot and so began the three and a half hour arduous journey to the Vaishno devi temple. The food kiosks along the route, the lights and the prayers blaring from the mikes made this journey like one on a regular highway, only this was a steep climb. I had made this trek three decades ago as a school kid with my parents and when I visited this time I could not recognize the place. Today there is a cemented wide road covered by a tin roofing all the way. Amenities like drinking water, toilets, eating joints are available at every turn.

 At places the route is divided into two, one for the mules the other for humans. All along the route, bags full of fodder are kept for the four legged. Cleaning operations continue 24X7 after the mules unload on the path. The halfway stop is the Ardh Kumari cave which we bypassed while climbing. About a kilometer before reaching here, we took the route used by battery operated cars. This one does not allow mules and the cars stop operating after 5 pm. So the crowd is missing. 

The glittering temple complex at night

However, the road is still an upward climb. While halting for a minute to get my breath back and coax my legs to move, I watched those who came down. I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of jealousy. The good thing we did was to keep walking with just a minute’s break at times to catch up on our breathing. Towards the upper reaches, the air was cooler and this made our trek so much better. When we finally reached the temple complex, the area was teeming with thousands of pilgrims. It did not seem like 10.30 at night. The area was blazing with lights and prayers. I really needed to collapse in bed as my body told me it was about to give up. Thankfully we had booked a room at Kalika Bhavan from where we collected our passes for the Aarti the next day and after climbing the last few steps to the room I gave in to blissful sleep.

Next day, we were ushered in the enclosure in front of the cave for the aarti ceremony which began precisely at 6.20 am. The timing is precise because this part of the worship is telecast all over the country everyday at this time and in the evening. By the way, not all can be a part of the aarti. You have to pay Rs 1000 per head to sit in a group of 300 or pay Rs.16000 to sit in a group of 8. After the sermon by the head priest and the chanting from the Upanishads, which we followed along from the prayer books given to us as we entered the hall, we were allowed to take a closer look at the deity. As I entered the narrow cave, to reach the sanctum sanctorum, cold water from the mountain springs dripped on me and the floor was wet. This is an ancient cave and the gods were worshipped as manifestations of nature. Here we have three rounded rocks, known as pindi (around which there is too much of tiling and décor added by the shrine management). The rock formations are aspects of goddesses Mahalakshmi (wealth), Mahasaraswati (learning) and Mahakali (destruction). In fact, Vaishno devi is another name for the goddess Mahalakshmi. We are not allowed to enter the temple carrying mobile phones, cameras, wallets and anything in leather.

After a good breakfast, which might be toned down a bit if you are planning on more climbing, we climbed towards the Bhairon temple, another hour’s steep climb right to the top of the hill. After the four hour sleep the night before, I had some apprehension, but did manage. This trek was really beautiful. The route wasn’t covered on the top with tin sheets, and we walked by the side of a forest in the hills with thick vegetation and a cool breeze. A ropeway is being constructed from the Vaishno devi temple to the Bhairon temple. We were right at the top in an hour and then began our descent. This time we did not have to worry about breathlessness but suffered pain in the knees and muscle pain in the legs. On our way down, we saw the helicopters taking off from the helipad, ferrying pilgrims from close to the Bhairon temple, to Katra. 

We reached Ardhkumari in a little over an hour. This area has a cave where the goddess was supposed have stayed for nine months. Years ago on my visit here, I had entered this cave and had marveled at the narrowness. This time though we did not attempt to enter the cave as the waiting time was long. After a quick halt and refreshments we began the last leg and took another hour and a quarter to reach Katra. The sun was shining fiercely and I was glad when I was inside the car again heading home. For quite a distance I could see the Trikuta hill and I could not take my eyes off from the Ardhkumari temple visible from the road heading to Jammu. Had I really climbed all that way up?

Each day thousands of pilgrims, young and old, make their way to the temple, braving odds. What drives them? This call from the Goddess? 

Bishorjon (Immersion)

Movie Review (Bengali)

I am thankful that on a very short trip to Kolkata I was able to watch this movie. I can understand why it has received the National Award for the best Bengali movie this year.

Director and actor Kaushik Ganguly has captured the essence of the title Bishorjon, beginning the movie with the Bishorjon all Bengalis are familiar with – the immersion of the goddess Durga on Vijaya Dashami, the last day of the pujas. The celebration dissolves the borders between India and Bangladesh as W.Bengal and Bangladesh together immerse their idols in the Icchhamati river.

The story takes off from here and ends with the symbolic immersion of Padma, the widow, played by Joya Ahsan.

The movie has some poignant moments – the lonely widow inhaling the cigarette smoke exhaled by Nasir, the Indian, from behind the door, reminding her of her late husband; Padma coaching Nasir, (played by Abir Chatterjee), to be a Hindu Bangladeshi and, of course, the entire immersion ceremony. The music is worth mentioning.

Hats off to the director for coming across as an accomplished actor, in a comic role. He is Ganesh Mondal, the rich man in the village deeply in love with the widow.

Also the end was left to our interpretation. Do the Border Guards Bangladesh shoot Nasir down or allow him to leave for India? Did Ganesh Mondal bribe the guard to kill him or protect him? 

Phillauri

Movie Review (Hindi)

Let's look at the main characters in this movie - A young man about to be married who is not quite ready for the knot, his fiancee who is besotted with him and a pretty ghost.
The idea of weaving a love story set during the turbulent times of India's independence with a modern day love story is indeed novel. Especially so when one of the most successful actresses, Anushka Sharma, takes on the role of a ghost. This ghost again has a back story -A girl from the village, Phillaur, who is a poet and is in love with a singer. Her love story, of course, has a tragic ending leading her to be a ghost.
Suraj Sharma who plays the character of the bridegroom-to-be, has nightmares about marriage and then he finds himself a ghost bride!! 

It does make me wonder if it isn't a great idea for intelligent actresses to turn producers. Looking forward to many more such offbeat refreshing movies...

Badrinath ki Dulhaniya

Movie Review (Hindi)

I avoid movies starring Varun Dhawan, but this movie came as a pleasant surprise. Though the movie was embellished with ridiculous songs and dance sequences, the story itself had a good message and knowing our audience, such movies are an excellent way of reaching out to the public.

In middle class households with a conservative upbringing, it is difficult for girls to fight for a better life. The entire town seems to conspire against you. And here is Alia Bhatt's character who becomes a runaway bride and chooses to fly, literally.
And not just that, Varun's character, called Badri, follows her all the way to Singapore to get her back and extract revenge. But seeing her and her ambitions, he is a changed man. It all turns very bollywoodish, but the message is clear - Listen to your daughters and do not kill their dreams. 

La La Land

Movie review (English)

Why La La Land? Were the dreams of the two protagonists really impossible ones? They do achieve their goals in the end, though I suppose not exactly the way the audience might have wanted.
That Damien Chazelle has had the courage to give the audience an out and out musical is worth applauding. The movie was a musical but did not cater to the latest pop surge in the arena. It was done so beautifully that the fact that it was a musical made no difference at all. (Learning that it was a musical, made many hesitate to watch it.)
I think the casting was flawless. Ryan Gosling as a jazz musician and Emma Stone as an actress excelled at their struggling stages. I suppose their own struggles added to the genuineness. Whatever the reason, the director was lucky to have got these two brilliant actors.
Loved the twist at the end and the flash forward of a life together and the last shared smile. There is an entire story in that!!

Raees

Movie Review (Hindi)

I am happy to write that I enjoyed this movie. Seeing the last few duds, barring Dear Zindagi, I was a little nervous. But Shah Rukh did well. A bootlegger with a heart of gold who ultimately has to pay for his crimes.... Shah Rukh aces at playing grey characters. Again he is not the typical Raj but matures into a man who knows his mind. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, his nemesis, fits his role beautifully as he does every role. 

There was no let up in the story telling and that pleased me. The songs as usual were placed there for whatever reasons, known only to the director, Rahul Dholakia. Mahira looks pretty, though I hope to see her showing off her acting prowess sometime soon. 

Hoping to see more of movies packing punch.

Movie Review (Hindi)

Haraamkhor (Unfaithful)

I was truly impressed with the movie. Not just the story which needed to be shown but the acting, the direction and the camera. There was no slickness about the movie and that was precisely what made it so real. Hats off to Nawazuddin for taking on the role of a village teacher which gave it added credence.

So many relationships were touched upon with such a lot of truth:
Sapna (played by Shweta Tripathi) comes from a broken family. Her father has been a single parent for a long time and has been in a relationship.
Sapna is in love/infatuated with her married teacher. The teacher takes advantage of this and carries on an affair with her.
A class friend is in love with Sapna and looks upon the teacher as a rival. He is helped and guided by another friend. These two young lads are our eyes and ears most of the time.
Sadly the movie ends on a tragic note. Sapna, however, comes to terms with her new mother.

Thanks to the producers for going ahead and making this movie. I do hope director Shlok Sharma continues to direct movies based on relevant themes with such rawness so as to make the audience uncomfortable.

Dear Zindagi

Movie Review (Hindi)

I know I am a little late in catching this movie but I had been waiting. Somehow I knew I wouldn't be let down and when I finally watched, I wasn't. Let down, that is.
Shah Rukh Khan apparently played an extended cameo. Whatever that means. But he shone in it. I think he does a good job of playing characters close to his age. Patients are bound to fall in love with this psychologist.

Alia Bhatt plays a young talented cinematographer with aplomb. Her independence, ambitions and her relationship issues come out beautifully. Director Gauri Shinde indeed has the pulse of today's youth.

So we see broken relationships with parents and boy friends, single woman roughing it out in a big city, looking for good job opportunities, living a bohemian lifestyle, relying on a close circle of friends. These are what most young women face in today's world.
If only solutions could come in the form of the handsome and humorous Jehangir Khan!!

Just a small question --- Why this title?

Looking forward to Gauri's next...
BTW thanks to the producers for backing this movie!!