Udaan

They say it is impossible to fly,
I say, but what about giving it a try;

They say there are do's and don'ts,
Right and wrong, boundaries all along,
Hurdles to clear, stakes too high,
Isn't it reason enough to stop asking why ;

I say that is precisely the point,
hurdles to jump and demons to deny,
will make the journey special,
and confer the elusive high;

They say the logics are impossible to defy,
I say, Can I just give it a try 

And so I persist,
and keep giving it a try,
and so I insist,
there will be a day, when I will fly !!

Main stream media - I

This post is dedicated to all Sagarika Ghosh fans. I am not going to do an introduction here, her name is enough. If you do not know her, you can stop reading the post here.

She conducted a 'debate' after the phenomena of spot fixing by Pakistani players happened. And here are her tweets about the same.
  1. Ponting says western cricketers have different values from south asians: are we just a congenitally corrupt society? FTN at 10pm
    1. Oh, I think we must be a congenitally corrupt society since Mr. Ponting whose 'integrity can not be questioned' says so
  2. Good morning. Depressing views from panelists last night on FTN. cheating and dishonesty hardwired into the subcontinetal dna..
    1. Yes, I definitely think that only subcontinental dna has this problem. All other dnas are clean and such skullduggery is not in their dna, So what if they were punished for this.
  3. We need a mental revolution. a moral renaissance. each one of us has to inculcate personal honesty at all levels
    1. Yes I think we do. But I did not know that it is because some cricketers took some money. Thanks for letting us know.
  4. sadly our religions too have become degraded. noble spirit of hinduism reduced to minority bashing. islam used for violence and mayhem.
    1. Oh, thats deep ! spot fixing -> corrupt society -> degraded religion, hinduism, islam  -> minority.  I could have never gained this foresight, Thanks, thanks a lot !
  5. something drastic needs to happen. panelists believe shock treatment from West and globalisation will force us to adhere to norms..
    1. Oh yeah, we need to be royally spanked by the west (our big daddys), so that we behave properly.
  6. when society loses its spiritual core, moral collapse follows When spirituality itself becomes political& violent, god is dead
    1. Oh ho ho, this is something I still can not sight. Truly genius of you.
Miss Ghosh, you are truly a boon for us mere mortals. It is a privilege for all dishonest people with corrupt dnas to get enlightened by you. I hope you keep educating us on issues ! 

Challenges !!

तूफानों की ओर घुमा दो नाविक निज पतवार

आज सिन्धु ने विष उगला है
लहरों का यौवन मचला है
आज ह्रदय में और सिन्धु में
साथ उठा है ज्वार

तूफानों की ओर घुमा दो नाविक निज पतवार

लहरों के स्वर में कुछ बोलो
इस अन्द्दह्द में साहस तोलो
कभी कभी मिलता जीवन में
तूफानों का प्यार

तूफानों की ओर घुमा दो नाविक निज पतवार

यह असीम निज सीमा जाने
सागर भी तो यह पहचाने
मिटटी के पुतले मानव ने
कभी न मानी हार

तूफानों की ओर घुमा दो नाविक निज पतवार

सागर की अपनी छमता है
पर मांझी भी कब थकता है
जब तक सांसों में स्पंदन है
उसका हाथ नहीं रुकता है
इसके ही बल पर कर डाले
सातों सागर पार

तूफानों की ओर घुमा दो नाविक निज पतवार

- शिवमंगल सिंह 'सुमन'

Women: the mystery unraveled

'In the beginning, when Twashtri (the Divine Artificer) came to the creation of woman he found that he had exhausted his materials in the making of man and that no solid elements were left. In this dilemma, after profound meditation, he did as follows: he took the rotundity of the moon, and the curves of the creepers, and the clinging of tendrils, and the trembling of grass, and the slenderness of the reed, and the bloom of flowers, and the lightness of leaves, and the tapering of the elephant's trunk, and the glances of deer, and the clustering of rows of bees, and the joyous gaiety of sunbeams, and the weeping of clouds, and the fickleness of the winds, and the timidity of the hare, and the vanity of the peacock, and the softness of the parrot's bosom, and the hardness of adamant, and the sweetness of honey, and the cruelty of the tiger, and the worm glow of fire, and the coldness of snow, and the chattering of jays, and the cooing of kokila, and the hypocrisy of the crane, and the fidelity of the chakravaka; and compounding all these together, he made  woman and gave her to man'. 
                                         - excerpts from The Digit of the Moon by F.W. Bain

Ishqiya

There are many among the new 'cool' generation, who use desi as a derogatory term in their conversations. Thanks to Vishal Bhardwaj, desi is the new cool :). Some Bollywood lovers call him Quentin Tarantino of Bollywood, which I fail to understand (More on this in my last post). Without any disrespect to him and his fans, i would say that I have not seen a lot of Tarantino's work, so i do not know care who he is. However, if we are comparing Vishal Bhardwaj with him, he has to be good :)

Having said that, this post is not about Vishal Bhardwaj and he has not directed Ishqiya. It is directed by his protegé Abhishek Chaubey, who does not deny that the movie has Vishal Bhardwaj stamp on it. If you have any doubts about the debuting director's potential, the first few scenes in the movie will answer all of them.

The starting scene of the movie tells a lot about the competent director. The main protagonist of the movie will get you hooked right from this very first scene. You will instantly come to know that you are watching something special. Everything from the sets, costumes, mannerisms and language is so refreshingly different and I am not talking about the much talked about abuses. Yes, abuses are there but they are just a small prop in a large structure. The still water, holy cows, grasslands, dusty roads, glowing eyes of the villagers are captured beautifully. The rustic visuals create an old world charm throughout the movie.

There is no dull moment in the movie. It moves at a brisk pace with smooth transition from one scene to another largely because of the crisp writing. The dialogues are quirky and witty at the same times. That is the most fabulous part of the script. The wit in the dialogues is not forced to put some light humor,it is there because the situation is like that. No one is trying to tell a joke (apart from one latifa as the last wish before death :D) and there are no caricature like comic characters.

Dialogues are witty but they have deep meanings also. It is a very deadly combination to have. Watch out for the one liners on sexism, casteism and such wide-ranging topics. I am really inclined to give some examples, but I do not want to add spoilers here. The director touches the most sensitive topics affecting our country like naxalism, law and order, fanaticism in the deepest of manners with just few one liners here and there. And the beauty of all this is, you will be giggling on those dialogues. What audacity !!

One of the things which makes the movie hugely enjoyable is its music. We all know what happens when Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar combine for an album. The starting scene which i mentioned earlier has Vidya balan humming the song Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan which is sensual in its unique way. Ibn-E-Batuta kicks the start credits with lot of chutzpah and élan. Then there is a classical song in melodious voice of Rekha Bhardwaj, this is exactly the kind of song we do not hear that often in our movies and yearn for those. And then comes the song of the album, i would dare say that this is the song of the year (i know it is just january .. but still) Dil to bachha hai Ji. What a song, what a fantastic piece of art !! , I think it is one of those songs that will remain in the pubic memory for a long long time. The background score is just about perfect for a thriller. And yes, the use of the songs from the past, which i think is Vishal Bhardwaj way of giving tribute to the Classics is incorporated to elevate the impact of the scenes to another level.

The kind of movie Ishqiya is, it relies heavily on performances. And that is where the casting team of the movie scores the brownie points. Every character fits the part to the T. Right from the child artist to the old woman with the torch have a sense of participation in carrying forward the movie. The goofy don played by Salman Shahid makes us laugh without making any apparent effort towards doing so. Coming to the lead trio, There is no doubt that Arshad Warsi is one of the most underutilized actors in Bollywood. He has really side-splitting lines and he delivers them with aplomb. It is time that the industry gives him the roles, which he is worthy of. Naseeruddin Shah expresses every characteristic of an aging man who falls for a young woman so wonderfully that the viewer almost tends to believe that he has a genuine chance against his younger competitor :). You have to just watch his expressions of helplessness when he comes to know that the woman was just manipulating him. Vidya Balan is playing a character which requires her to look madly in love, vulnerable & helpless yet tough & menacing, epitome of grace yet wild & seductive. And at times the camera just had to focus on her face and she manages to express all those wide-ranging emotions without uttering a word ! If this is not class, tell me what is? I just wish she makes the right moves; She has all the ingredients of becoming an all time great.

Ishqiya is the true Indian movie. It celebrates the rural heartlands of India with lot of spunk and style. The only complain i have with Ishqiya is that it ends too soon :)

Team Ishqiya, take a bow !!