Thankfully, for past few years power cuts have been featuring less in our lives here in East Delhi, but they do make an appearance once in a while. Like the other night electricity was AWOL for more than four hours.
Though the first couple of hours of this TV-less, AC-less time was unbearable, things changed when my parents came back after watching Chalo Dilli. They liked it immensely. And then as sleep evaded all four (mom, dad, brother and myself) of us, we all sat in the same room just talking. Mom, dad told us about how they really liked Vinay Pathak’s role and acting in the movie. From the movie the conversation drifted to something else and more.
In about two hours, we discussed politics, sports, movies and laughed like crazy on jokesKetan and I told. How Atlas and antakshari were our favourite time pass during when we were kids. And how studying under the candle light was so passé.
It’s not that we don’t sit together any other time. It’s just that usually it’s meet, talk about the day, watch a little TV (read IPL/or some reality show) and go ahead with your own business. Sad, I know. But this power cut made me realise how busy in our own lives we are. Time and priorities have certainly changed a lot.
So basically, I know that lives will go on as usual, but from now on I will definitely make an effort to chat/discuss/talk more with my family 'cause these moments will always stay with me like many others.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
For the love of cinema...
Since my return from Pune, after completing the Film Appreciation Course, 2010 at FTII, I have been asked time and again ‘akhir is course me kya seekha, kya kiya??Well, here goes….
As I entered the FTII, I was enthralled by the campus. The trees, the space, the people, the dogs and everything else that could be captured by my gaze, left me in awe of this prestigious institution.
The first day of class was like going back to college. The little thrills of new, crisp notebooks, new pens and of course a group of totally new people, put me in flashback mode and I enjoyed every bit of it.
Day-by-day, lecture-by-lecture, us cinema enthusiasts kept learning more and more about cinema, while on the sidelines, strangers became friends and some good friends. Terms like mise-en-scene, narrative, form, structure, noir, expressionism became part of our normal conversations. Suresh Chabria and Gayatri Chatterjee were like our tour guides, taking us through the wonderful world of cinema.
Our days usually started with, ‘”What movies are being screened today? In a span of four weeks, we saw approximately 60 movies, including documentaries and short films.
At a point, when we almost concluded that this course is only about world cinema, along came K Hariharan who spoke about Indian cinema and melodrama. Don’t feel guilty anymore if you like Karan Johar’s movies! Melodrama is a major part of cinema.
An important thing that I understood during this one month was the pain with which our mothers plan our meals, day in and day out. Hats off to them! Gosh!!! Our discussions on where to have lunch and dinner were as animated and heated as our discussions on movies and lectures.
The debates and arguments after the screenings used to be the highlight of the day and what we eagerly looked forward to.
As we were nearing the end of the course, echoes of, “I don’t wanna go back,” “Akira Kurosawa, Fellini, Godard, Lumiere, Ray, Ghatak…,” “we will miss the classes and movies, screening at NFAI,” were commonly heard.
By June 19th, we were well-versed with various movie directors, major movements in cinema, names of good and bad restaurants, jargons and more.
This course for was a revelation and glimpse into the wide world of movies. Made me look beyond Hollywood and Bollywood.
At a point, when we almost concluded that this course is only about world cinema, along came K Hariharan who spoke about Indian cinema and melodrama. Don’t feel guilty anymore if you like Karan Johar’s movies! Melodrama is a major part of cinema.
An important thing that I understood during this one month was the pain with which our mothers plan our meals, day in and day out. Hats off to them! Gosh!!! Our discussions on where to have lunch and dinner were as animated and heated as our discussions on movies and lectures.
The debates and arguments after the screenings used to be the highlight of the day and what we eagerly looked forward to.
As we were nearing the end of the course, echoes of, “I don’t wanna go back,” “Akira Kurosawa, Fellini, Godard, Lumiere, Ray, Ghatak…,” “we will miss the classes and movies, screening at NFAI,” were commonly heard.
By June 19th, we were well-versed with various movie directors, major movements in cinema, names of good and bad restaurants, jargons and more.
This course for was a revelation and glimpse into the wide world of movies. Made me look beyond Hollywood and Bollywood.
I’m glad I went for this course and if you get the opportunity, jump at it! And if you've already done it then you know what I'm talking about.
The list of movies we saw during FA:
1. Where is the friend’s home – Kiarostami
2. Pather Panchali – Ray
3. Seven Samurai – Kurosawa
4. Wild Strawberries – Bergman
5. Liberty – McCarey
6. Four Clowns – Youngson
7. Battleship Potemkin – Eisenstein
8. Pas-de-Deux – McLaren
9. Nanook of the North – Flaherty
10. Sunrise – Murnau
11. Sant Tukaram – Damle-Fatehlal
12. Skidoo – Julian Biggs
13. A Short Film About Love – Kieslowski
14. Rain – Ivens
15. Bicycle Thieves – De Sica
16. Meshes of the Afternoon – Deren & Hamid
17. Jules et Jim – Truffaut
18. Un Chien Andalou – Bunuel-Dali
19. The Red Dessert – Antonioni
20. Breathless – Godard
21. Before My Eyes – Kaul
22. The Hour of the Furnaces-1 – Solanas & Getino
23. War & Peace – Patwardhan
24. Citizen Kane – Welles
25. Pyaasa – Guru Dutt
26. The Great Dictator – Chaplin
27. Vihir – Kulkarni
28. Psycho – Hitchcock
29. Tokyo Story – Ozu
30. Paradise – Ishu Patel
31. Amma Ariyan – Abraham
32. Paltadacho Munis – Shetgaonkar
33. Ugetsu Monogatari – Mizoguchi
34. Eight and a Half – Fellini
35. The Hand – Karel Zeman
36. Aguirre, The Wrath of God – Herzog
37. The Great Indian School Show – Avinash Deshpande
38. Meghe Dhaka Tara – Ritwik Ghatak
39. All About My Mother – Almodovar
40. The Other Song – Saba Dewan
41. Out of Thin Air – Samreen Farooqui-Shabani Hassanwalia
42. Love, Sex and Dhoka – Dibakar Banerjee
43. Kalpana – Uday Shankar
44. Aadmi ki Aurat aur Anya Kahaniya – Dutta
45. King Lear – Kozintsev
46. Bilal – Sourav Sarangi
47. Memories of Underdevelopment – Alea
48. Mirror – Tarkovsky
49. Millennium Mambo – Hou
50. Siddheshwari – Mani Kaul
51. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days - Mungui
1. Where is the friend’s home – Kiarostami
2. Pather Panchali – Ray
3. Seven Samurai – Kurosawa
4. Wild Strawberries – Bergman
5. Liberty – McCarey
6. Four Clowns – Youngson
7. Battleship Potemkin – Eisenstein
8. Pas-de-Deux – McLaren
9. Nanook of the North – Flaherty
10. Sunrise – Murnau
11. Sant Tukaram – Damle-Fatehlal
12. Skidoo – Julian Biggs
13. A Short Film About Love – Kieslowski
14. Rain – Ivens
15. Bicycle Thieves – De Sica
16. Meshes of the Afternoon – Deren & Hamid
17. Jules et Jim – Truffaut
18. Un Chien Andalou – Bunuel-Dali
19. The Red Dessert – Antonioni
20. Breathless – Godard
21. Before My Eyes – Kaul
22. The Hour of the Furnaces-1 – Solanas & Getino
23. War & Peace – Patwardhan
24. Citizen Kane – Welles
25. Pyaasa – Guru Dutt
26. The Great Dictator – Chaplin
27. Vihir – Kulkarni
28. Psycho – Hitchcock
29. Tokyo Story – Ozu
30. Paradise – Ishu Patel
31. Amma Ariyan – Abraham
32. Paltadacho Munis – Shetgaonkar
33. Ugetsu Monogatari – Mizoguchi
34. Eight and a Half – Fellini
35. The Hand – Karel Zeman
36. Aguirre, The Wrath of God – Herzog
37. The Great Indian School Show – Avinash Deshpande
38. Meghe Dhaka Tara – Ritwik Ghatak
39. All About My Mother – Almodovar
40. The Other Song – Saba Dewan
41. Out of Thin Air – Samreen Farooqui-Shabani Hassanwalia
42. Love, Sex and Dhoka – Dibakar Banerjee
43. Kalpana – Uday Shankar
44. Aadmi ki Aurat aur Anya Kahaniya – Dutta
45. King Lear – Kozintsev
46. Bilal – Sourav Sarangi
47. Memories of Underdevelopment – Alea
48. Mirror – Tarkovsky
49. Millennium Mambo – Hou
50. Siddheshwari – Mani Kaul
51. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days - Mungui
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The 3 mistakes of my life!- What was Bhagat thinking?
When I got to know about the launch of 'The 3 mistakes of my life', I wanted to pick up the book ASAP and why not when the author is Chetan Bhagat. Although I din't like One night @ call center much I thought the 3rd book will definitly have something different.
Well, I guess I expected too much.... When I started reading the book, the prologue was quite filmy but I still had hope... But I was disappointed... rather highly disappointed. I mean what was Bhagat thinking... true that people swear by 'Five point someone' when they talk about humour n wit in a novel which can be like by all age groups but I think he took his readers for granted this time...
The book starts with Bhagat recieving an email in Singapore from a businessman who was gonna attempt suicide n how he goes to India to find out the whole story... Set in Gujarat, book talks about the life of 3 friends and how they cope up with different situations, how they come through an earthquake, riots n more. Filmy to the core I say... Govind Patel the main guy has this thing in mind that he is a businessman by mind n heart n talks his 2 other friends into opening a cricket shop. Everything works out well, they earn profits and then suddenly the tragedy strikes. Meanwhile, Govind is romancing his best friends' sister (who I must say is quite bold in the relationship) and making out on the terrace of the girl's house. Uff!! reminds me of a Emraan Hashmi movie. The books ends with how the 3 friends save a boy in Godhra riots, Ish finding about Govind and his sister and the fiasco after that.
I think with all the scripts Bhagat is writing for Bollywood and his former two books being adapted by film-makers, he has taken this filmy fundas a tad too seriously.
So, if you have already read this book, then I know how you feel and if you haven't then please take this free advice for once, don't waste your time. The book is not worth it! (Imagine I finished reading it in 3 working days. And the worst part is that I have an exam this Saturday but I cut out on the study time to finish this book. Stupid of me I say!)
I just hope Bhagat realises soon and concentrates on one thing either writing novels or doing the bollywood thing- the scripts and adaptations of his books.
Chow!
Well, I guess I expected too much.... When I started reading the book, the prologue was quite filmy but I still had hope... But I was disappointed... rather highly disappointed. I mean what was Bhagat thinking... true that people swear by 'Five point someone' when they talk about humour n wit in a novel which can be like by all age groups but I think he took his readers for granted this time...
The book starts with Bhagat recieving an email in Singapore from a businessman who was gonna attempt suicide n how he goes to India to find out the whole story... Set in Gujarat, book talks about the life of 3 friends and how they cope up with different situations, how they come through an earthquake, riots n more. Filmy to the core I say... Govind Patel the main guy has this thing in mind that he is a businessman by mind n heart n talks his 2 other friends into opening a cricket shop. Everything works out well, they earn profits and then suddenly the tragedy strikes. Meanwhile, Govind is romancing his best friends' sister (who I must say is quite bold in the relationship) and making out on the terrace of the girl's house. Uff!! reminds me of a Emraan Hashmi movie. The books ends with how the 3 friends save a boy in Godhra riots, Ish finding about Govind and his sister and the fiasco after that.
I think with all the scripts Bhagat is writing for Bollywood and his former two books being adapted by film-makers, he has taken this filmy fundas a tad too seriously.
So, if you have already read this book, then I know how you feel and if you haven't then please take this free advice for once, don't waste your time. The book is not worth it! (Imagine I finished reading it in 3 working days. And the worst part is that I have an exam this Saturday but I cut out on the study time to finish this book. Stupid of me I say!)
I just hope Bhagat realises soon and concentrates on one thing either writing novels or doing the bollywood thing- the scripts and adaptations of his books.
Chow!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Love rules!!
It is amazing how life can take turns n you can be left wondering about it.. This first blog comes from me after I have come back from my cousin's wedding... Had an awesome time... total masti. Weddings up north are known grandeur, lavishnes, glitter, food, dance n much more... but in this wedding it was the Ladkewale who stood out... their simplicity, dressing (a total opposite of Punjabi dresing style), customsn their punctuality took the cake.. The wedding couldn't have been any better than this...
Talking about the bride n the groom... well what can I say... They looked damn nice...
Past few years in my maternal family everybody was wondering when will Neha (the bride) get married... n one day (when I was in Mumbai last year) i get a call that she is getting married and Keshav (groom) n her met over the net... i was like 'ehxcuse me!!!!' does this actually happen... i was not sure.. there has to be a catch...well i was wrong.. they chatted their ways into each other' hearts... amazing I say!!! Ji haan bilkul kahani poori filmi hai... (copied this line from jeeju's blog).
I had spoken to jeeju like five days before the d day.. for a purpose though.. i had to ask for my kalichdi.. [a custom of jeeja's of the punjabi world to give their beloved ;) saalis rings before the bidaai although i got mine after that but a nice n cute gold ring]... wen u talk to someone there's n instant reaction, mine was great he has a sense of humour but he maros PJs also...n the fact that he likes calvin n hobbes n is a reader also, struck with me.
During the three days- engagment day, wedding day n the next day.... got to know how someone can love a person so much.. i mean being from a family where love marriages that too in different caste n religion hardly happen this mariage was an eye opener for i think everybody in my family... They were mighty impressed with jeeju n his family...
The only dissapointment for me in this wedding was i could not steal the shoes but i tried.. where i could have got atleat 5100 rupees i had to settle for 1000 bucks... jeeju's brother Hari n brother in law n not to forget his cousins did a good job of hiding the shoes before ne of us ladkiwalas...
I hope their love continues like this forever afterall they have taken 14 feras (its a long story to explain)... wishing them all the luck in life ahead.
As start my blog with this post I graduate from writing in my journal to writing on a blog... {all the celebrities are doing it y cant I :))}
chow!!
Talking about the bride n the groom... well what can I say... They looked damn nice...
Past few years in my maternal family everybody was wondering when will Neha (the bride) get married... n one day (when I was in Mumbai last year) i get a call that she is getting married and Keshav (groom) n her met over the net... i was like 'ehxcuse me!!!!' does this actually happen... i was not sure.. there has to be a catch...well i was wrong.. they chatted their ways into each other' hearts... amazing I say!!! Ji haan bilkul kahani poori filmi hai... (copied this line from jeeju's blog).
I had spoken to jeeju like five days before the d day.. for a purpose though.. i had to ask for my kalichdi.. [a custom of jeeja's of the punjabi world to give their beloved ;) saalis rings before the bidaai although i got mine after that but a nice n cute gold ring]... wen u talk to someone there's n instant reaction, mine was great he has a sense of humour but he maros PJs also...n the fact that he likes calvin n hobbes n is a reader also, struck with me.
During the three days- engagment day, wedding day n the next day.... got to know how someone can love a person so much.. i mean being from a family where love marriages that too in different caste n religion hardly happen this mariage was an eye opener for i think everybody in my family... They were mighty impressed with jeeju n his family...
The only dissapointment for me in this wedding was i could not steal the shoes but i tried.. where i could have got atleat 5100 rupees i had to settle for 1000 bucks... jeeju's brother Hari n brother in law n not to forget his cousins did a good job of hiding the shoes before ne of us ladkiwalas...
I hope their love continues like this forever afterall they have taken 14 feras (its a long story to explain)... wishing them all the luck in life ahead.
As start my blog with this post I graduate from writing in my journal to writing on a blog... {all the celebrities are doing it y cant I :))}
chow!!
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