Dilli 6

I meant to write about this earlier. In fact, quite unlike me, I saw Dilli 6 on the second day of its release seated in the front row at the left. My spine took quite a twist. Thanks to Rahman's music, I happily endured my physical discomfort. Without doubt, he is at his best. If Slumdog M won the Oscars, this movie's soundtrack must be heard by the Americans. The movie opened beautifully but somewhere in the second half things got a bit mixed up with the kala bander and communalism and the moralising. I felt a bit let down but thanks to Sonam and her extended family, the cinematography and the editing, the film worked for me.

Calcutta Walks

Yesterday I took a walk through the bylanes of North Kolkata. I have been meaning to do this for quite sometime now. So when the opprtunity presented itself in the form of Iftekar and his Calcutta Walks, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I took in all the beautiful architecture of the old buildings, in the Sovabazar area, to my heart's content and captured them on film, and I decided to do a piece on Cal Walks for Kindle. Iftekar with his two other buddies are genuinely in love with their work and that really made all the difference. The enthusiasm was palpable and I learnt a lot. I was treated to a fabulous lunch at Anand (best South Indian restaurant in Kolkata, they say) and got to taste sweets at Chittaranjan, one of the best sweet shops of Kolkata. I hope to do the other walks sometime soon.

Check your morality levels

I would call it the Talibalization of Hinduism. What else would it be? Women had better beware, we the moral custodians of the Hindu culture are here... You listen and obey or else get beaten up, raped, insulted while the rest of the world looks on. This is the message given out by the likes of the Sri Ram Sene, the Bajrang Dal and the rest of them, whatever they call themselves. The rest of the world, incidentally, includes the menfolk mostly. So what do the women do? Stay indoors to survive or fight it out to live? What would you choose? Yes, I chose the same. As an adult Iknow very well what I am supposed to do and what not to do. The so concerned can mind their own business.

The President is Coming - the Movie

The President is Coming is a hilarious and fresh spoof on the art of commercialization of each and everything in today’s world. George Bush visited India and so this incident was made full use of. He wants to shake hands with the most deserving face of India and promptly this is converted into a game show in the lines of Big Boss! So these six contestants, chosen from the best of different categories under the age of 30 yrs, get together and all hell breaks loose. Each one tries to outdo the other in whichever way possible including the two ladies judging the entire affair. The end is very slick, well thought out. Let’s hope there are many more such comedies on the way.

A Visit and a Movie

Its 2009 - In case you hadn't realized it!! I like the word NEW attached to the year. Gives a sense of anticipation. Like 2007, 2008 too ended with me travelling, though this time it was within the State. Visited Malda after a long time. It is always lovely to meet relatives after some years and when the joy is reciprocated what more can you want. Villages I visited have changed but not much. But the state of the town really depressed me. Seems as if it is on edge -- such is the topography now. The construction business is eating up space in the most haphazard manner and there is garbage dumped almost everywhere. I hear that land is more expensive in Malda than in Kolkata!
Anyway, I returned by bus and it took 11 hours. Crossed Behrampur, Shantipur and Krishnanagar. My travelling companion was my mother. Needless to say, the tour was enjoyable.
Last month I saw a Felu da movie-- Tintorettor Jishu. The plot was interesting as all Satyajit Ray stories are. I really enjoyed the cinematography. Sobyosachi is getting a little older for the role but then his age wasn't specified so I guess that'll do, since he's a good actor.

Films and Reality

A lot has happened this month. First things first. With Kalpanirjhar - the short fiction film festival happening at the Max Mueller Bhavan, Kolkata, I got to see some very well made shorts. Then followed the Kolkata Film Festival and since I got a Press card, I was able to see some great movies.

You know, had I written about these fests a few days earlier I would have been more elaborate... but now all these wonderful experiences just seem to melt into the shadows. I am still in a state of shock. I do not know how to react to what has happened in Mumbai. It now seems that living is a bonus. Through those 60 hours, as I watched the horror unfold on TV, it was as if watching a reality show, only this time there was death, and it was very real. The tragedy hitting families seems to be my tragedy, for am I not the next potential target?

Tomar Jonyo

The Bengali movie, Tomar Jonyo released on the 14th of November. This is a special movie because it has been directed by Nilu (Nilanjan Banerjee), my brother-in-law and has been edited by Sharmistha Jha, my sister. Both are graduates from the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, second batch. Produced by Zee Movies, it stars two newcomers. I admit I was a little apprehensive about enjoying a Bengali love story, especially with the kind generally doled out these days, but the movie turned out to be a sweet love story with tragic twists and turns and the right dose of humour, good music and, of course, a happy ending. A very promising debut, no doubt!