Jaane Na

I am not a fan of reality tv. Although you cannot ignore the mass appeal of many of these shows, most of them dont appeal to me. Most of them are full of cynicism, many are full of bitching, some are downright staged. But one reality show which I cannot get away from, for the sheer talent on display, is Dance India Dance.

This is one show I miss if I couldnt catch one of the episodes! I believe the talen thats on display here, is not just of Indian significance. Most, if not all, of these dancers would completely rock any international dance contest. And to top it all, the choreography thats on display here - no doubt enhanced by the brilliant performers - is undoubtedly better than anything you will see anywhere in the world. American and European shows dont stand a chance against the brilliantly choreographed dances by the Indian masters, Remo, Terence and Geeta.

I just thought I'll post videos from the show which really impressed me. This one is done by a very simple guy called Amar, from Gujrat. He has a real funny Gujju accent when he talks, isnt very good looking although like many others, he tries to turn on the charm sometimes! But when he starts dancing, he is one of the best in the world. And he isnt even the best on this show! But this particular performance rocked me completely, firstly because its on one of my favourite songs. And secondly, because Amar had not really danced in this form, a mix of contemporary and hip-hop/b-boying before, and we didnt really expect this kind of break-thru performance from him. Before this performance, Amar had found himself in the "danger-zone" almost every week.

So, for those who havent really been following this show, take a look. I want to do my bit in promoting these extra-ordinarily talented young people from very middle-class backgrounds.

The End

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes...again

Howz that for lyrics that bring out the goosebumps. Ya, it gets a bit beyond weird later in the song, but hey.. its the lizard king, and we love him no matter what, right?

Sometimes there is nothing else you can do except sit back and wonder at it all.

And if you stick through till the end, of the song that is, you get the beautiful again.

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die

	The Doors - The End .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

St. Val's Day

And here comes the day that seems to bring out the worst in so many of our fabulous Indian politicians! And even more so from those of their so-called followers who are sent out in groups, always in groups, to enforce the wonderful morals for which these politicians have appointed themselves as guardians. The army of something-or-the-other, out to protect the boundaries of the ideologies they feel will be of the most benefit to them.

But this year, the ugly face of these politicians was well and truly blackened! Of course, the fantastic Pink Chaddi campaign from last year was also hugely responsible for the much less gung-ho posturing by these parties this year. The crippling hold the Shiv and MN Sena's hold on Mumbai has been unquestionably shaken - Rahul Gandhi himself has banged another nail into that coffin. That man - theres a lot to admire in him. Rahul totally rocks!

So here's to love! May we all have an abundance of it, always. And to celebrate, I'm going to plug in some cool love songs on this blog!

This one here is Hoobastank singing "The Reason" and its good!

And just coz I can never love a song well enough untill the lyrics truly sing out to me, here they are...

I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with every day
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
That's why I need you to hear

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you

And the reason is you
And the reason is you
And the reason is you

I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

Musings on Music

Nail in my hand
From my creator
You gave me life
Now show me how to live

Love those lyrics! For the past 15 years, I have been a fan of rock music, but its been predominantly classic rock. Then as I grew up, I added some of the legendary alt rock acts of our times like Blur, Oasis, REM, RHCP. But once Linkin Park took over the bandstand, I just decided to stick with what I love already! The rock-rap fusion was not really my thing, and I just switched off. Listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" was always a much more mind-blowing
experience for me.

But recently, over the last couple of months I decided to sample a little bit of the newer rock bands. Well, new for a wizened classic rock fan like me anyway. And I sampled some stuff from Velvet Revolver, Rage against the Machine, Audioslave and Foo Fighters. Also, Nine Inch Nails, Coldplay, and Marilyn Manson.


To be honest, I have heard a little bit of Manson before, and I like it! Its shock rock at perhaps its finest. Some of Manson's compositions are just downright brilliant. My favourite Manson song (from a very limited sampling though), is "Lunchbox". I know its almost incendiary in that it sounds like its promoting violence in schools! But honestly, its not like Manson looks like someone you would take advice from, right? Anyway, the song is about a kid in school who gets back at the bullies.

I wanna grow up
I wanna be a big rock and roll star
I wanna grow up I wanna be
So no one fucks with me

Interesting! And what makes it even better is the great guitar riff when he says "rock and rollllll starrrrr"! Another song that has a brilliant composition is "Astonishing Panorama of the End Times", along with a brilliant title! God is in your TV, indeed!


Out of all the other groups I sampled, Audioslave and Foo Fighters definitely made the most impact. I had really liked Soundgarden's Superunknown album. And Chris Cornell is a brilliant vocalist. I hadnt really heard much about Tom Morello, the ex-RATM guitarist, who is also part of Audioslave, but I have grown to love their self-titled album. The lyrics at the top of this post is from the song "Show me how to live", and its definitely one of the best songs in this album. There are a bunch of other great songs in there too, including "Cochise", "Shadow on the sun" and "Like a Stone". Not always the best of lyrics though, but excellent music along with brilliant vocals.


And Foo Fighters was probably a foregone conclusion, with ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl at the front. The album I sampled was "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace", beautifully titled, amazingly well composed, with lovely lyrics. These guys are brilliant at the slow buildup leading to an explosive climax! And songs which make the hairs on your arms and neck stand on end sometimes! "Let it Die", "Come Alive" and "Stranger things have happened before" are absolute stand-outs along with "The Pretender". "Stranger..." is one of the finest examples of a softened down, almost unplugged, rock song in a long time. I am a fan of Dave now, and looking forward to more of his music.

With RATM, the issue again was with the rap-rock fusion. But their music is something else, full of angst and delivered almost staccato at times. These guys were good, and there is a power in songs like "People of the Sun" and "Bulls on Parade" which completely mesmerizes.

So although I will never, ever, let go of those LedZep, Deep Purple, Rolling Stones etc songs, these "new" bands are definitely making an impact. I still havent figured out why Coldplay is the biggest band in the world. Maybe someday I will.

Re-re-re-repeats and general rants

I dont know what its about, but I have really been into re-reading, re-listening, re-watching and all things re ! Maybe this nostalgia is a sign of advancing age??

I have a bunch of books I bought lately which I havent read yet. Instead I find myself constantly trying to decide which of my books to re-read. Should it be the adventures of Rumpole, barrister-at-law, or the long journey of Frodo Baggins carrying his precious cargo? Will it be Ian Rankin's rugged Scottish mysteries or Satyajit Ray's Feluda stories set in often exotic parts of India? Neil Gaiman's Sandman volumes steeped in obscure histories, or Alan Moore's V for Vendetta set in a bleak, hopeless future? Even the contemplation brings me joy.

Coming to music, I was going nuts trying to find a few CD's I had misplaced. A bunch of Led Zep albums, which were once my regular listening, had been misplaced in an avalanche of electronic media. Sometimes, you keep the things you love the most in a place you feel is the most secure, and then you cant find it just coz its not where all your other stuff happens to be! Luckily, I did remember where it was, and with it found the wonderful unplugged Nirvana album, a collection of Hindi music I didnt even remember owning, REM's Monster and the wonderfully hard and heavy MI2 soundtrack. So, there it was. Audio nirvana!

I have just not had time for movies lately though. So what I have seen is just what was on tv, but then you still need to select which one you wanna watch, right? And again, I find myself preferring the ones I have seen before. Saw Seven recently, and was waiting for it with bated breath, although I have seen it at least thrice.

Apart from all this nostalgia though, hasnt there just been too much cricket lately? The IPL was great fun to begin with, but surprisingly as it came closer to the final stages, I found my interest waning somewhat. There is such a thing as overkill, and the IPL doesnt seem to get that, what with that Lalit Modi looking to add two more teams into the league.

But the beginning of the T20 World Cup has been interesting though. The last ball win for the Netherlands over England, the strong showing by Scotland against NZ, and the Windies beating the Aussies; all go to show that the 20-20 format is the one which has the most likelihood of producing upsets as there is simply no time to recover sufficiently from a bad period in the game. Lets hope for a few more interesting results. Maybe if Netherlands or Scotland go out and win the damn thing, the cricketing world will come to see the 20-20 format for the lottery it really is!!

(Image courtesy cricket.yahoo.com)

2007 - A Brilliant Year in Movies

I am not a movie historian. I am a fan though. And I have come to the conclusion that the critics and film historians who have made claims about year 2007 being a brilliant year for movies, are absolutely correct.

In going through a collection of last years movies, you cannot help but agree with them. Its a selection of movies which has a lot of originality, includes some excellent adaptations from books and stage, has a few films which worked within existing formulae and managed to unearth something new. All in all, an excellent year for films, and I havent even seen all the good ones!

I would want to start this list with Michael Clayton, the Tony Gilroy directed, Sydney Pollack produced, George Clooney starred, the Lord Shiva blessed and Tom Wilkinson owned movie which twists the corporate espionage genre on its head. Not by the brilliance of its plot, which to be honest, is not ground-breakingly different from movies like The Insider and Erin Brockovich, but through its stunning script and brilliant performances. The movie captivates from the first scene, and Clooney, Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton's performances carry it through to the end. The beginning has to be one of the best sequences in recent times, with visuals showing the plush interiors of a giant American legal firm while you listen to a perhaps half-crazed ramblings of a corporate lawyer gone a bit loony (Tom Wilkinson). What follows is an investigation, not only into the crimes which the law firm is trying to cover up, but also into the morality of human nature. Clooney does a star turn, but with enough soul as the title character. But who can forget Tom Wilkinson as he resoundingly pronounces - "I am Shiva, the god of death". Not quite factual, from a Hinduism point of view, but a great quote anyway!

(Sadly, I read the news of the passing away of Sidney Pollack the day this post was finally ready for publishing. RIP)

Follow that one up with a trip to the Texas-Mexico border with one of the best psycho performances of recent times. The Coen Brothers have made many excellent films, and this is their ode to the westerns, with a touch of noir to it. I have been a fan from the time I saw "Miller's Crossing" in my school days, and later movies like "Fargo", "The Big Lebowski" and "O Brother Where Art Thou?" just went on to build their reputation as movie-makers whose work always carries huge expectations. This time around, they got help from Cormac McCarthy's very cinematic book, and I personally felt that the Coen's just needed to put in visuals what Cormac had written. Nevertheless, great performances from Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin makes this movie something of a classic.

And then there is "There will be blood", Paul Thomas Anderson's film based on Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil". Excellent period film, raw depiction of the beginnings of capitalism and at the same time that it shows the evils of capitalism, it also reveals the hypocrisy hidden under blind religious faith. Again, this movie owes as much to its lead performers as it does to the director. Daniel Day Lewis is perhaps one of the most iconic performers of his generation, and he finds a brilliant foil in Paul Dano, who plays the local priest. In fact, Dano is so good, he actually manages to steal a few of Daniel's scenes! His performance is one of the unheralded triumphs of the year.

Moving on to "Atonement", yet another book adaptation. This was perhaps one of the most affecting movies of the year, and also - come to think of it - one of the few of the top movies which was basically a love story. There are the tragic, star-struck lovers who are destined to be kept apart by the vile villain. But the twist is in the villain. Whats really affecting is the shattering consequences of a small misunderstanding which ultimately results in tragedy. Its again very strongly acted by Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and the 13 yr old Saoirse Ronan. Ian McEwan, who's book is the basis for this movie, is not one of my favourite authors. But this movie made me want to read the book.

2007 also saw Ben Affleck go behind the camera as the director of "Gone, Baby, Gone", yet another movie adapted from a book. This one is adapted from Dennis Lehane's novel of the same name. Ben Affleck has earlier shown his talent as a writer, collaborating with Matt Damon on "Good Will Hunting", but the years since that movie has probably caused most people to think that Matt was the brains behind that success! But Ben does a good job of proving his detractors wrong, creating a gritty account of the investigation after a child goes missing. The mother seems to be more interested in seeing herself on the TV news, the cops are not getting anywhere, so its Lehane's well known private eye pair of Kenzie and Gennaro who are called in by the missing child's aunt. Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan play the detectives, and Casey practically steals the movie from other players like Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman. The acting genes in the Affleck family definitely found their way to the younger brother. But we will definitely wait for Ben's next directorial effort.

Continuing the list, we reach one of the best animated movies from recent years, "Ratatouille". The tale of a rat that loves to cook - and is darned good at it - and a restaurant garbage boy, who together form the greatest culinary partnership in Paris, makes a movie not just for the tiny tots, but for their parents too. Skillfully made by Brad Bird, who also directed 'The Incredibles", the animation is lively and the story is captivating and imaginative. There are no unneccessary mushy songs like other animated movies, to break the flow of the story. Not to mention the delicious looking dishes, which inevitably make you hungry!

And then there's 'Juno', the story of a pregnant teenager who makes the life-altering decision to keep the child rather than abort it. But the film does not focus on the decision itself, instead it focuses on Juno and her marvellously gutsy attitude of never feeling sorry for herself. Right from the starting scene which shows Juno downing a whole gallon of orange juice so that she can take another pregnancy test ASAP, makes you connect with her and root for her. She definitely does not treat this as the end of the world, instead deciding to grin and bear it matter-of-factly for the next 9 months, taking it one problem at a time, and then get on with her life. Ellen Page as Juno was excellent.

Thats the list of movies I managed to see. And though its half-way through 2008, I figured its not that late to put up this list anyway. Bloggers gotta work too! There are a few more which have been received very well by audiences and critics, but i am yet to catch them! A few of those would be I'm Not There, Before the devil knows you are dead, Zodiac, The diving bell and the butterfly and American Gangster. Will keep posting reviews as and when I catch these.

Radiohead's fans leave them 'High and Dry'

Social experiments are a way to understand society and social behaviours. As such, they can often lead to rather unglorious statements about our society.

So we have studies on how swearing at work can relieve stress. Maybe another study is required on how employees are affected when one of them starts relieving his/her stress by swearing loudly at meetings. Another on the impact on prospective customers/clients maybe?

Radiohead, the alternative rock band, decided on an alternative means of selling their new album, In Rainbows. They wanted their fans to decide the price at which they want to buy the album. The album was released on their website and allowed purchases for as low as 1 penny. This was an interesting social experiment which also had a possible econimic backlash to it. And unfortunately for Radiohead, and everyone who thought this was a path-breaking idea, its not quite gone as planned.

Studies show that more than 60% of the people who downloaded the album paid nothing! Only 38% paid anything at all, and the majority of these people paid less than 4 dollars - probably about a fifth of the price that would have been quoted for the album if it had been released the normal way. Kind of harsh!

On the flipside, Radiohead does get almost everything paid by a buyer since this model eliminates the label companies from the equation. This is a band which has a huge fan base of millions worldwide but when it comes to paying top dollar - i guess theres nothing like a freebie. But Radiohead was prepared for it, they knew it may all come to nothing at all. The website clearly informs the buyer that its upto you what you pay. Its a path-breaking way to connect to your fans definitely. And if this was Led Zep putting their new album out there and asking me to pay what I want for it - I would know what its worth and would pay it. I bet there were the true Radiohead fans out there too, who would know the albums worth and would pay the best they can.

With the worldwide popularity of peer-to-peer networks, and the high cost of buying music cd's, especially a new release, its hardly surprising that most people just helped themselves at the buffet. Being only a middling Radiohead fan, I guess I would have probably done the same - maybe I would have paid at most 4 dollars, the same price which Frys Electronics charged me for a brilliant collection of early Deep Purple classics which apparently no one was interested in. I found it in one of those discount bins, hidden in a huge pile of forgotten albums and collections.

But it must have hurt to think your fans dont think your new album is worth much. Radiohead now seems to have decided to re-launch the album in physical format. Possibly that haunting Thom Yorke refrain of "Dont leave me highhhhhh, dont leave me dryyyyyyyyyyy" must have come to mind more than once.

Johnny Gaddar

Lovers of good crime thrillers in India, rejoice! Here comes Johnny Gaddar with a thrill-a-minute ride without resorting to histrionics and melodrama. Or to Bunty-Babli style histerical repentance for all the fun you just had!

I had a great deal of expectation from Sriram Raghavan's second movie. His first was the taut revenge drama "Ek Hasina Thi" and he delivers big time. JG is a straight crime thriller where there are no purely good or evil characters. Each of the characters are given screen time to flesh them out and to show them in proud shades of grey.

So we have Dharm paaji playing the leader of the gang of no-gooders without any Godfather airs and without an army of thugs around him. He lives alone and in his twilight years still possesses enough guile and strength to not be bothered by it. His partners in crime include - Prakash (Vinay Pathak) who manages a gambling den for the gang, but has a weakness for the cards himself; Shardul (Zakir Hussain) who is possibly the wealthiest and definitely the flashiest of the gang, runs a night club, and is married to Rimi Sen; Shiva (Daya) provides the muscle and is given responsibility to carry the money for the gang to Bangalore where he needs to close a deal for them; and finally Vikram (Neil Nitin Mukesh) who is the youngest and we find out the sharpest of the gang.

Its Vikram's illicit affair with Rimi Sen which leads him to double crossing the gang for the money. Oh, and also his love for James Hadley Chase novels and old Hindi mystery movies. Relax, spoiler-phobes, this all from the first fifteen minutes of the movie.

The decision once made, the rest of the movie deals with Vikrams plans on cheating the gang out of the money. And of course, with the James Hadley Chase reference, its clear that not all goes according to plan.

The direction is slick and never slackens the pace of the movie. The performances are excellent from the entire cast. The plot twists and turns without becoming too predictable at any time. The dynamics within the gang are shown very realistically and its not hard to believe that this is probably how things are done in the unorganised underworld. And the con-man in this movie is not shown to be so amazingly good as to fool his much more experienced colleagues, there is a good deal of luck involved. But will his luck hold through?

The answering of that question keeps the audience on the edge of the seat. And you couldnt ask for more from a thriller. Heres to many more films by Raghavan, India's answer to Quentin Tarantino, and much fewer from the RGV factory!!

The Leaky Cauldron?

This iconic writer spends the better part of 2-3 years (i honestly don't know how much time she spent on it... talk about research) writing the last of a record-breaking series. She lives with her family but cannot share her work with her husband or kids. Her agent sits on the manuscript when she needs to take a trans-atlantic flight, perhaps fearing for her job if she lets the manuscript out of her sight for even a second. The editors are sworn to secrecy, and probably several clauses in their contracts ensure they keep their promise.

The publishers have to sign heavily loaded legal contracts ensuring they will not leak the contents. They cannot talk to the media or boast about the history-making event they are involved in. The type-setters are made to work in dim lighting, trying to keep them from reading the story. The printers are watched closely by armed security guards, their lunch boxes are checked, their bodies frisked. The packers again work under dim lights and are hand-picked to ensure the precious manuscripts mystery and mystique is maintained. They pack the books into individual boxes labelled "Do not open before July 21st 12:01 AM" and each box is tracked by satellite. The trackers watch every movement of every box ensuring none go astray. The shadow of the deathly hallows is on them all.

Millions await with bated breath for the book's release. Tension grows as major bookstores around the world run their countdown to the biggest moment in publishing history since the Gutenberg bible. Fans everywhere repeat the same questions which has had them mesmerised since the moment they finished reading part six. There is debate, conjecture, excitement.

And then, someone, somehow, gets his or her grubby hands on the precious. And with Gollum's growling possessiveness proclaims "Its mine!" and shall be no one else's. This hateful Gollum proceeds to put every page on the internet, his/her's only concern being the demolition of the joys of millions, snatching away their right to read and uncover the mystery for themselves. Will shabby pictures of the precious pages on a background of a red and green carpet be a substitute for the book itself?

You, Gollum, shall not succeed.

Pleased to meet you...

If I was more of a pious guy, I guess I'd probably be ringing the ghanta of my neighbourhood temple (there's one right next to my house) a lot more, thanking God for the wonderful things he has given me the capacity to appreciate and enjoy. But I missed that bus a while back.

And then there's the undeniably un-godly nature of some of the music I appreciate a bit too much of course. Case in point, as the title of this post suggests is the terrific Stones number "Sympathy for the Devil". Of course, the Rolling Stones were not to blame for the hue and cry from the clergy and the moral police who related rock 'n roll to satanism. That argument goes a long way before Mick and Keith paired up. But this song, along with several other Stones numbers, have had their fair share of controversy.

But who cares? What a great song! Great lyrics penned by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, great music which, according to rumour, had Led Zep's Jimmy Page pitching in with a guitar solo. Page, of course, was a well-known occultist and probably begged Mick for a bit part in this ode to Lucifer. Also, the lyrics are said to be inspired from Mikhail Bulgakov's great masterpiece "The Master and Margerita".

Bulgakov's book has its own colourful history, taking him almost a decade to complete. In Socialist Russia, Bulgakov had to go through a great deal of censorship and harrassment as his book was seen as inflammatory and satirical about the bureaucratic system. Three years into the writing, Bulgakov one day decided to destroy his work and burnt the entire document on his kitchen stove. Boosted by his wife's support, he again re-wrote the entire book and finally managed to get it printed, though in a censored form. The book is now considered a great piece of literature of course. I've got to get me a copy sometime soon!

Coming back to the song, I can't resist printing the lyrics here, with due regard to Mick and Keith who wrote it.

Sympathy For The Devil

Please allow me to introduce myself

I'm a man of wealth and taste

I've been around for a long, long year

Stole many a man's soul and faith

And I was 'round when Jesus Christ

Had his moment of doubt and pain

Made damn sure that Pilate

Washed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guess my name

But what's puzzling you

Is the nature of my game

I stuck around St. Petersberg

When I saw it was a time for a change

Killed the Czar and his ministers

Anastasia screamed in vain

I rode a tank

Held a general's rank

When the Blitzkrieg raged

And the bodies stank

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guess my name, oh yeah

What's puzzling you

Is the nature of my game, oh yeah

I watched with glee

While your kings and queens

Fought for ten decades

For the Gods they made

I shouted out

"Who killed the Kennedys?"

When after all

It was you and me

Let me please introduce myself

I'm a man of wealth and taste

And I laid traps for troubadors

Who get killed before they reached Bombay

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah

But what's puzzling you

Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah

But what's confusing you

Is just the nature of my game

Just as every cop is a criminal

And all the sinners saints

As heads is tails

Just call me Lucifer

'Cause I'm in need of some restraint

So if you meet me

Have some courtesy

Have some sympathy, and some taste

Use all your well-learned politesse

Or I'll lay your soul to waste, um yeah

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guessed my name, um yeah

But what's puzzling you

Is the nature of my game, um baby, get down

The song is from the point-of-view of the devil, with references to the mysterious deaths of the Czar and the Kennedy's. The vocals are brilliant, as you would expect from Jagger. The song was later covered by Guns 'N Roses also.

Themes inspired from Bulgakov include the references to the Czars and also the lines "And I was 'round when Jesus Christ/Had his moment of doubt and pain/ Made damn sure that Pilate/ Washed his hands and sealed his fate". The story of Pontius Pilate meeting Jesus and reluctantly handing him over to those who wanted to kill him forms a second strand in the novel.

So, some great music, intelligent lyrics, intellectual inspirations. What more could you ask for? So what if it deals with themes that are considered controversial. Go, listen and read. I already am.

Play It Again

Sometimes a song just grabs you and seems to become part of you. Well, that can happen with lots of stuff, not just music. A great book, a great movie, just a great something. But lets keep it simple and just focus on the music for now.

Probably every classic rock fan knows and loves "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. I have only recently discoved this song, having always considered Southern Rock as glorified Gospel or Country music! And its just got a hold on me. What great lyrics, fantastic tempo that goes from the gospel-ish beginning to that mind-blowing guitar driven orgasmic crescendo. Great stuff. And a couple of posts ago I had mentioned the movie "Duets" which had one of the lead actors singing the words from this song. Its just so good it feels like touching some kind of brilliance which will never be recreated again.

If I leave here tomorrow

Would you still remember me?

For I must be travelling on, now,

There's too many places I haven't seen

And if I stayed here with you, now

Things just wouldn't be the same

Well I'm as free as a bird now,

And a bird you can not change.

And a bird you can not change.

And a bird you can not change.

Lord knows I can't change

Bye, bye, its been a sweet love.

And though this feeling I can't change.

Please don't take it badly,

The Lord knows I'm to blame.

And, if I stayed here with you now

Things just wouldn't be the same.

For I'm as free as a bird now,

And this bird you'll never change.

And the bird you can not change.

And the bird you can not change.

Lord knows, I can't change.

Lord help me, I can't change.

Play it again Skynyrd.

So many reviews, so little time...

Any stray readers may have noticed tall promises of upcoming attractions on this website, in terms of reviews and criticisms, which have not been fulfilled lately. There is a reason, a valid reason and it is, in the Beatle boys's words "I've been working like a dog". But nuff said about that.

I had been waiting with a great deal of expectation for "Eklavya" to release, since the first trailers started getting aired. It has a cast thats stellar, especially now that Saif and Vidya have definitely emerged as actors, not just stars. And I caught the first day first show (only show really what with US theaters charging twice the money for a single showing of Hindi movies) of this movie last Friday.

The story is pretty much available and known, so I'll get straight to my rants and raves.

Firstly, there is a lot going for this movie. The previously mentioned stellar cast is truly magnificent. But unexpectedly, its not primarily AB who runs the show. If anything, this movie is his least showy and screen-grabbing performance of recent years. I have also come to the conclusion that this man is not capable (anymore, i should add) of giving a poor performance. His every move, his every gesture suggests a man at the pinnacle of his craft, be it a quite moment of silent sorrow, or a room-wrecking, studio-shaking expression of heart-breaking grief. Its a great performance, but not his best. I think Sanjay Leela Bhansali still owes AB a Rolls-Royce for his turn in "Black".

From the previous para, it might be apparent that there is a lot more melancholy in this movie than hilarity. In fact the few moments of light-heartedness are provided by Sanjay Dutt as the local police chief, and even those moments are laced with some black humour. Which brings me back to the cast.

The high-point of this movie is its character actors. Let me start with the one who has recieved the least celebrity, Parikshit Sahani, who plays the aging chauffeur to Boman Irani's the Rana of Devigarh (as Sanjay Dutt admirably points out, he is a King only in name and does not have any kingly powers). The casual camaraderie between the aging chauffeur and the aging bodyguard is portrayed subtly and is very believable. Their conversation reflects the slow pace of life in rural India and provides the character actors with a good stage for their skills. Raima Sen is also showing up in some pretty neat performances and here she plays the mentally handicapped daughter of the Rana. Jimmy Shergill and Jackie Shroff play the Rana's scheming relatives with wonderful cameos. I thought Jackie's use of his voice was fantastic, showing that this is an actor Bollywood has wasted. In a scene where he shows his frustration at being the younger brother of the Rana than the Rana himself, the only thing that changes about Jackie is his voice, and it portrays more than his face could have expressed. He has a tendency sometimes to ham, but is kept in rein through most of his performance by an able director. More on the director later, who also manages to draw an eccellent performance from Jimmy Shergill. Jimmy has probably always played likeable guys, but I always felt he has talent. And it shows here. To round out the supporting cast, there is Sanjay Dutt as the police officer who idolizes Eklavya, and comes from an "untouchable" background. And then there is Boman Irani. Boman is a first-rate actor and in a very short span of time, he has managed to wrest the juiciest character roles away from people like Paresh Rawal, Om Puri et al. He is not bad here either, but I felt he went a bit over the top here in a few scenes.

All this rambling i guess basically goes to say the performances are of a pretty high standard most of the time. Vidya and Saif are very good, and between them they probably came up with one of the most sensuous scenes in an Indian movie for a while. And no, they werent even anywhere close to a bed. Saif is excellent with his meaty role, and turns in a performance with a lot of restraint but also convincingly portrays the greyer shades of his character.

On to the other big, big star of the movie - the director, Vidhu Vinod Chopra. This is his first directorial venture since he flopped with "Kareeb". Cant really comment on that since I never see anything with Bobby Deol in it, unless it has Akshay Kumar also (by which I mean I saw Ajnabee). But VVC's comeback is nothing short of brilliant. "Eklavya" has no bigger star than the director. From the opening credits, which is one of the most original sequences in Indian movie history, to the sparse action sequences which use light, shadow and sound to great effect, the intrigue and the atmosphere of the fort, everything is done very well. There is even a sequence which I thought was a tip-of-the-hat to Quentin Tarantino and his Kill Bill movies. But the treatment is very Indian, and some of the decor's used are sumptuous. Notice the tiny details, like the paintings that Raima Sen makes, they show a lot of thought has gone in it.

The only gripe I really have with the movie is its ending. Obviously, I dont want to put any spoilers here, so see for yourself. But, I would still highly recommend this movie, but I'll also add its not for everyone. Dont go looking for a fun time, dont go looking for an action flick with camels. The camels only reflect the slow, melancholic pace of the movie, which is the better because there is a lot to savour about it.

Zed's Dead, Baby!

Jules Winnfield: What does Marcellus Wallace look like?

Brett: What?

Jules Winnfield: What country you from?

Brett: What?

Jules Winnfield: What ain't no country I ever heard of. They speak English in What?

Brett: What?

Jules Winnfield: ENGLISH, MOTHERFUCKER! DO-YOU-SPEAK-IT?

Brett: Yes.

Jules Winnfield: Then you know what I'm saying.

Brett: Yes.

Jules Winnfield: Describe what Marcellus Wallace looks like.

Brett: What, I-?

Jules Winnfield: [pointing his gun] Say what again. SAY WHAT AGAIN. I dare you, I double dare you, motherfucker. Say what one more goddamn time.

Brett: He's b-b-black.

Jules Winnfield: Go on.

Brett: He's bald.

Jules Winnfield: Does he look like a bitch?

Brett: What?

[Jules shoots Brett in shoulder.]

Jules Winnfield: DOES HE LOOK LIKE A BITCH?

Brett: No.

Jules Winnfield: Then why you try to fuck him like a bitch, Brett?

Brett: I didn't.

Jules Winnfield: Yes you did. Yes you did, Brett. You tried to fuck him. And Marcellus Wallace don't like to be fucked by anybody, except Mrs. Wallace.

Which movie do you think of when you think of cool dialogues? For me, its Pulp Fiction. This movie has some of the funniest lines ever, and Quentin Tarantino is one of the best script writers ever!

The magic of this movie (which escapes a lot of people who are not so enamored of Quentin's hard-boiled style) is compounded by the fantastic virtuoso performances by a brilliant cast. Though names like Christopher Walken and Harvey Keitel are too big to owe Quentin any star-making debts, this movie turned around the careers of a bunch of actors - Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Ving Rhames and Uma Thurman, and probably the biggest debt is owed by John Travolta.

Pulp Fiction works at many different levels - as a thriller, as an in-depth look at the LA crime scene, and also as a comedy. Scenes like "Zed's dead, baby!" and Quentin himself appearing in the "Does my house have a sign which says 'Dead nigger storage'?" scene are minor compared to the big picture, but stay with your forever. Then there is the great watch story which Christopher Walken recounts to the little kid without holding back any of the details! And who can ever forget the Gimp!

So, on Friday night, after a long day, during which I had to skip out of Happy Hour festivities, had to work feverishly away at some bugs which needed fixing NOW till around 8 PM, then had to hurry down to a little kids b'day party for cake and coke, it was the break I needed to find Pulp Fiction playing on one of the TV channels at 1 AM. Needless to say, the next couple of hours were spent marvelling anew at Quentin's masterpiece. May there be many more.

Follow that up with the classic Hindi comedy, Padosan on Saturday and the cult classic Office Space on Sunday, not a bad weekend for a movie lover. My first time watching "Office Space" in fact, which rather weakens my position as a movie lover. Enjoyed it thoroughly. I don't think any person working in a software company can miss the parallels.

Have to end this with the most famous quote from Pulp Fiction of course -

Ezekiel 25:17. 'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyrannies of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepperd's the weak through the valley of darkness. For he is truly his brothers' keeper and finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.'

Now I've been saying that s*** for years, and if you've ever heard it, it meant your ass. I never gave much thought to what it meant, I just thought it was a cold blooded thing to say to a mother f***er before I popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some s*** this morning that made me think twice.

Now I'm thinking it could mean you're the evil man, and I'm the righteous man. And Mr. 9mm here is the shepherd, protecting my righteous ass.

Or maybe it means that you're the righteous man, and I'm the shepherd, and it's the world that's evil and selfish. Now I'd like that, but you see that s*** ain't the truth. The truth is, YOU'RE the weak, and I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm trying, Ringo. I'm trying real hard to be the shepherd.

Weekend Movies and Reading

First thing I did this weekend, I returned the books I had checked out from the library. I tried, but none of the three were keeping me interested enough. For the record, these books were -


1) Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck is a good writer, he has it in him to deliver a shock. But sometimes, the shocks can just make the reader numb. Ya, so there goes Chuck delivering another supposedly shocking fact, and you dont feel there was any need for it anymore. This book made me feel that way. Haunted, is basically a satire on reality TV like Survivor and Big Brother, except this is a bunch of wannabe writers who are trapped within Big Brother's house. So each one of these has a "shocking" tale to tell. Well, it just got boring.


2) The Return of the Dancing Master - Henning Mankell

Henning is a very very talented writer. His books are written in Swedish, and translated into English. I am a big fan of his series of murder mysteries. His main characters are excellent. His stories are very bleak and dark, atmospheric, and he tackles issues which are very relevant. But reading this book, I just probably overdosed on the bleakness. Blame Chuck for this as well I think, coz this is not a bad book at all. But combined with Haunted, it just left me hollow-eyed!


3) Three Witnesses - Rex Stout

My first attempt at a Nero Wolfe book. I guess it was too old-fashioned and archaic in its structure for me to get too much into it.


So, I went down and picked up some more books. My reading list now has the following -



1) Stephen King's latest - Lisey's Story


Just started it, not bad. The reviews are rave, so i'm looking forward to this one. I believe King is one of the most under-estimated writers ever, and though all his books are not brilliant, when he is good, he is very good.




2) Silence of the Grave - Arnaldur Indridasun


Arnaldur is a brilliant Icelandic writer, and his books are crime thrillers in the police procedural style. But his writing style is very good. This book is his second to come out in an English translation after "Jar City", a gripping thriller which started with the killing of an old man, but moves far beyond that scope. I am looking forward to reading this one and will definitely post my review.


3) The Monkey Wrench Gang - Edward Abbey


This book is highly recommended by several people, its considered an underground classic. In fact this book is responsible for coining the term "monkeywrench" which usually gets thrown into the smoothly turning wheels.



4) Finally, I picked up two graphic novels I have been waiting to read. Both are written by Alan Moore, who is famous for his complex themed comics. The specific comics are probably two of the best graphic novels ever written - "V for Vendetta" and "Watchmen".






Currently, I am absolutely absorbed into "Watchmen" a book so good it sometimes just takes the breath away. I will have to write a separate post for this one. It deserves at least one, maybe more. Just the tag line itself "Who watches the watchmen" grabs you and pulls you into the heart of this story. Just brilliant.


Also watched a few movies this week.

1) Snakes on a Plane - good for a few laughs, sometimes for the wrong reasons.

2) Rear Window - saw this fantastic Hitchcock classic again, brilliant. Based on Cornell Woolrich's short story.


3) In the line of Fire - one of Clint Eastwoods earlier directorial ventures, with John Malkovich playing a sublimely creepy villain.


4) Sholay - eternal Hindi favourite




Not a bad weekend. Also, didnt need to work this weekend after a long time!!

Brand New Day

Big weekend coming up.. Liverpool play Chelski, Arsenal play Man Utd. And I am stuck here in the US with no way to watch the games. Darn! Anyway, Liverpool did beat Watford comfortably last week, and here's hoping they find a way to beat the champs. It will be a big favour to Man Utd too, especially if MU can get themselves at least a point against Arsenal. Not that I would usually be rooting for ManUre to win the league, but it will be fantastic to see Chelski bite the dust !!

I'm too busy at work lately, really need to get a lot done and fast. Might have to come in over the weekend and get some stuff done. Wish I could get out of town for a day, but don't think its gonna happen this weekend. And its dull and gloomy outside today, not at all like Phoenix, feels more like Mumbai or Pune, except there's no humidity. Its usually so sunny and nice here most of the year that one gloomy day makes you feel like it was all a mirage. It couldn't have been such a bright lovely day yesterday!! And its raining too, the irritating drizzles all day.

I'm looking forward to partying tonite at Andy's place. Its Mojito party time, and its going to be great fun as usual. We skipped our regular Happy Hour Friday meet at Tailgater's since Andy had to go home and get his cooking done. Usually, the Mojito party would be just us men, but the ladies are getting in on it today. So, there needs to be food, which we wouldn't usually bother about. Just a quesadilla later to soak up the alcohol would be it! Anyway, hope the weather is not a downer.

Did you know Mojitos were the second favourite drink of Ernest Hemingway? Though I think he had a lot more favourites than two!

And James Bond drinks one in the movie "Die Another Day". These facts courtesy Wikipedia.

Current music - still listening to Strings today. I am so bored with most modern music, i cant stand hip-hop or so-called R&B. I can barely stand most of the modern or new-age rock groups. Once in a while, a band like Train writes a song like "Drops of Jupiter" or Green Day writes "Boulevard of broken dreams". Where did all the musical talent go? I keep returning to The Who, Led Zep and Deep Purple among a few other favourites. Even bands like U2 and REM are not cracking it with their new stuff. And Metallica has lost it, they are trying too hard to just fit in. These are sad times musically. What will the next generation have to look back on as great music? Like I look back and wish it was the 70's now. So, Strings it is for today.

The Strings that bind...

Feeling pretty good today. Have been listening to a lot of good music by Indian and Pakistani bands today. Being a hard-core (or pretty close) classic rock afficionado, it feels good to hear music being made in the sub-continent which can touch me the same way as Zeppelin, Straits etc do.

Of the Indian and Pakistani bands today, Euphoria and Strings are my favourites. Palash Sen, the driving force behind Euphoria is a talented musician, and I like most of their songs. They have a great way of fusing folk music into a lot of their pop songs, these fusion numbers are probably some of their best. They are most likely to trip up on songs which are all out western influenced. They have a new album out called "Mehfuz", and I hope they have a lot of sales.

But Strings is hands down the best band to come out of the sub-continent ever. Bilal Maqsood is a very good guitarist and Faisal Kapadia is an excellent vocalist. And above everything, they make music which is meaningful and literate. Check out the jukebox of their songs playing on their website. I especially love "Dhaani", "Sir Kiyae Yeh Pahar" and "Kahani Mohabbat Ki". Hats off to these guys!

I have great hopes from some other Indian/Pakistani singers or bands. The band Jal came out with a winner in "Woh Lamhey" but have not heard much lately from them. Rabbi Shergill is another and his song "Bulla ki jaana" will remain one of my favourite indi-pop numbers. Though indi-pop brings to mind mostly awful remixes, Baba Sehgal's crappy rap, and loads of British Asians trying to make it big with their bhangra booty shakes. Its up to bands like Euphoria, Strings and the guitar wielding Rabbi to carve out a new genre - maybe Indi-Rock! Aw yeah that
sounds right!

So any readers (not many yet!), go out and BUY their albums. These bands need our encouragement. Download the albums of the brit and american bands by all means ;).

Godfather weekend...

Watched the Godfather II again this weekend. Reminded myself that I havent yet added that to my list of faves. Wow.. what a movie. Robert De Niro is so good at portraying the subtlety of Vito Corleone's character. He is magnificent in that performance, something I havent been able to say too often lately. Wonder why he hasnt been making more serious movies lately, though I havent yet caught "The Good Shepherd". Al Pacino is brilliant too of course, two of my all-time favourite actors.

The one actor from the younger generation who will ultimately reach the level of these two greats, I believe, is Matt Damon. His performances in movies like "The Talented Mr. Ripley", "Syriana" and "The Departed" have all been brilliant. Another of course is Leonardo Di Caprio. He has been showing his capabilities ever since "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?". Which reminds me of Johnny Depp, another who is already on his way to greatness.