Breathe!!

Breathe, breathe in the air
don't be afraid to care
leave but don't leave me
look around, choose your own ground
for long you live and high you fly
and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
and all your touch and all you see
is all your life will ever be

- Breathe by Pink Floyd (Album - Dark Side of the Moon)

Karzzz - the Trailer review!!!

Dhoka diya hai tumne mujhe!!!

It is with this earth shattering allegation that the trailer of Karzzz (please note the 2 extra z's) begins. And the next dialog meets the challenge put down by its predecessor head on - “Dhoka maine nahi tumne diya hai mujhe kaamini. Fareb maine nahi tumne mere saath kiya...Tumne!!” Urmila Matondkar (with what seems to be a sore throat but could be an aging voice box) exchanges words with Himesh who acts like he's been drinking too much red bull. This is the scene which sets the pace for the next 90 seconds..

Without doubt, the opening scene is a tough one to match, but is followed by a landmark scene in movie history... Monty (Reborn Ravi Verma/Himesh) says to Kaamini ‘Hai koi saboot tumhare paas ke Ravi verma ka khoon tumne nahi kiya?..... Main poochta hoon tumne khoon kiya hai ke nahi!!” And in this one question Monty destroys the logical foundations of all interrogations that have taken place in movies. Ask the villan to prove his innocence rather than wasting time trying to find proof of guilt – any doubt that I had ke the movie would just be a rehash of the old Karz (please note single 'z') were dispelled right there. As always, Himesh has made this movie his own...

This amazing question is followed up by “bolo kaamini bolo, bolo’" keeping up the constant pressure on kameeni Kaamini. It was so intense ke I was going to send Monty an email with proof ke maine bhi Ravii verma ka khoon nahi kiya (Birth certificate to show that I wasn’t born then). Fortunately, other innocent people were spared this harsh questioning when Kaamini finally succumbs to pressure and confesses... “Haa, haa, Maara hai, maara hai, maara hai” while flailing her arms about wildly, as if trying to fly out of this trap that she's fallen into. A scene to be seen to be believed!!

Then there are some action scenes where it seems that Himess is doing some impressively acrobatic stretching excercises - mid air. Theres that flying kick where he seems to be bending forward in an attempt to puch the guy at the same time. And also the jumping up 4 feet in the air to punch the samnewala guy whos 5 feet tall. Makes me feel that Monty ka fight master was probably 3 feet tall himself!

Finally, we get to see the movie name and the tag line “Vengance is Back…..” and thus ends the most interesting trailer in recent times.

Also worth a mention are the songs and background music in the trailer..... Lut jaaon is a legitimate hit.. It grows on you after a couple of listens, then there is the all time favoraite Ek haseena thi, which is sung very well...

The awesomeness of this trailer led me on a search of other Karzzz clips on the net, and I was not disappointed.. Another gem of a dialogue - Monty is telling kaamini - “unlucky in love, lucky in gambling... lucky in love, unlucky in gambling...” Looking deeper into this very cool dialogue, we can see how Monty is explaining to Kaamini how life balances itself out. Philosophy AND Entertainment in one package.. Agar trailer itna mast hai to movie kya sahi hogi!! And if this is not enough reason to go see Karzzz in the theatre when it releases, here are 5 more random reasons to see Karzzz

• Reason # 346 - Good songs. I admit it, I liked most of the songs in the movie. Yes, even Hari Om. No, not Tandoori Nights

• Reason #99,344 - Himesh/Monty is back....

• Reason #99,345 - Urmila Matondkar is back …

• Reason # 3478 - Himess ka new hairstyle… Whch, btw, was copied from our very own fellow Stairrorist, Sanjar Kasar.

• Reason # 25 - This movie is so absolutely going to fall under “SO BAD ITS GOOD” category..

Go watch the movie when it releases, then 60 years later, you can let your grandchildren know how you watched the coolest movie of 2008 in the theatre.

Thats all for now folks.. have a nice day! TC.

Keepin in Touch!

Yep, its thinking time again…(i.e. got nothing to do till I go 4 visarjan in the afternoon); and this time its about communicating with good friends. See, if I want to keep in touch with some person, I will usually make the effort to call once a while or meet or e-mail.

Aaj kal ke dino mein phone seems to be the preferred mode of communication. Kissi ki yaad aayi, give them a call (Seriously, do that, life is too short to postpone such things ;). People don’t get that much time to meet up, and E-mail seems to be too impersonal in most cases (except when outlooking with the Stairrorists*). And that, leads me to my current problem….

I am not a phone person. There are very few people with who I am comfortable talking on the phone for more than 10-15 mins… Mind begins drying up of things to say, all kinds of PJ’s (most of which are better left unsaid in the interest of the saamnewali party’s sanity), the conversation becomes awkward, and leads to the prolific use of my favorite telephonic phrase ‘Aur Kya, Bol!’ or 'Anik Kay' over and over, (although I AM trying curb it, really). And when I try to end a phone conversation, my excuses are so pathetic ke saamnewala person immediately sees through it, and I feel worse…About 90% of the time, ‘I’ll talk to you later’ feels like I’m digging a deeper hole 4 myself!

I guess it’s because to me, a very big part of engaging in a conversation (or any interaction, for that matter) is the reaction I get from the other person. That is what I base what I say or do next on.. And to say that I lack this perception when talking on the phone is an understatement. Give me a face to face meeting to a phone call (almost) any day! Out of sight really does mean out of mind in majority of cases. I have decided henceforth that me and any other person suffering from similar issues will be referred to as ‘Telephonically Challenged!’ whenever talk of this disability comes up!

So I was thinking, kya kiya jaa saktay in this case and came up with the following options..

Go meet the person jiski yaad aayi hai (Most preferred option)

Pros:

• Love meeting friends
• Face 2 face is best

Cons:

• Scheduling conflicts
• Laziness to get out of house on holidays
• Travelling

Don’t call that person till u have something to talk about (worst option next to not calling at all, I think )

Pros:

• (Hopefully) Better conversation.. (helps if the other person knows that I am ‘Telephonically challenged’)

• Can call when have free time, and thinking a bit abt what to say :)

Cons:

• Donno if opposite party has free time/inclination to talk (Sometimes, we just don’t feel like talking (or is it just me??))
• Back to normal programming after discussing abovementioned topic

Call anyway, hope for the best, try to avoid Aur Kya/Anik Kay.. (most followed option, abt 50% success rate)

Pros:

• Atleast we’re talking
• Helps if you and saamne wala know each other very well, or have lots of common ground… usually topics just come up then

Cons:

• Aur Kya, Bol/Anik Kay

• ‘Telephonically challenged’ person here!!
• Meeting is better

E-mail that person

Pros:

• I write well
• Can write in fursat...
• Review what i write before sending it...

Cons:

• Am too lazy to write big mails,
• And I really do prefer meeting :)

Write a blog post + send it to them by email so that they know ke I remembered them and want to keep in touch.

Hmmm, I think I’ll do that for now!! :)

All Have nice day; LNTW (except for 1)

Rock On!! Review

Every once in the while, there’ll be a movie that makes me think… Rock On!! is one of those movies. Among the movies mentioned above, there will be a few movies which do not make me think ‘Why the hell did I see this movie’… Rock On!! is one of these movies as well (Confused? Re-read slowly, one line at a time)

Based on the above paragraph, I’m sure you all must have understood (benefit of doubt being given here even though am not sure), ke I really really liked Rock On.

And why do I like the movie? Because it’s a great story, with a great cast, and amazing music! Read on for details-

The movie is about second chances – for a band called Magik which has broken up 10 years back….. and for their loved ones. The lead singer (FA) has gone on to become a successful banker who has a beautiful wife and all material things that one could desire. The lead guitarist (AR) who’s got no business sense but loads of talent, (and a beautiful wife too ;). And the other two members (Purab n Luke) who have jobs of their own but are still missing something. FA’s wife, in addition to being good-looking and having other good-looking female friends, is really really smart, and is able to see that patidev is not really happy. Mrs FA, when she comes across his old rockstar pics, sets off on a mission to reunite the band. After initial failure, and lots of drama, Magik does get back together and sets off on a new journey…

Its very easy to identify with the characters, at least for me...Who doesnt have a childhood dream which was given up due to pressure from others. The movie made me think back to that time during my Diploma when the teacher had asked me to stop drumming on the desk... Who knows where I would have been if I had'nt caved in under authoritarian pressure back then!

This simple story is really well told with great songs spread out through the movie, right from ‘Socha Hai’ at the start to ‘Sinbad the Sailor’ at the end. (Special thanks go out to Mr. Vaishno Shrivastava of KC College, Mahalaxmi branch, for introducing me to these songs some time back) Another favorite of mine – the absolutely amazing ‘Ye Tumhari Meri Baatien’ can be heard anytime, by messaging me not to pick up the phone and then calling me.

All the actors have played their parts very well. I liked Purab best in the movie, jyaada footage nahi hai lekin still does great in the parts he features. And I still cant belive Farhan Akhtar sang all those songs in movie so nicely!!

The movie all comes together in a very nice package which has Drama, Rock, Comedy (thoda), Rock, Action (2-3 punches), Rock and so on…. So watch it if you haven’t, not too bad to watch 2^nd time as well if you have nothing to do, and buy the CD, don’t download the music!

Final Rating **** ½

-----------------------

Movie Rating Guide–

* James/Humko Dewaana Kar Gaye - Must Watch (Why should I suffer alone!)

** Singh is King – Enjoyable, once you bring self down to that movie’s level (Source- Anand Deshpande)

*** Tashan – Moderately Entertaining in Parts, watch on Cable

**** Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na – Its all good, but not great

***** Sivaji/Dark Knight/Omkara - Will Pay twice (myself) to watch in theatre

The Elephants Memory...

Wonderful story about a Man and his encounter with an elephant in Kenya. Very important lesson in life to be learnt here....


A young man was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from college. While he was walking through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air.

The elephant seemed distressed so the man approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot. There was a large thorn deeply embedded in the bottom of the foot.

As carefully and as gently as he could he worked the thorn out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man and with a rather stern look on its face, stared at him. For a good ten minutes the man stood frozen -- thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned and walked away.

The man never forgot that elephant or the events of that day. Twenty years later the man was walking through the zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to where they were standing at the rail. The largebull
elephant stared at him and lifted it's front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times, all the while staring at the man. The man couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant.

After a while it trumpeted loudly; then it continued to stare at him. The man summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.


Suddenly the elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of the man's legs and swung him wildly back and forth along the railing, killing him.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

5 things to do this monsoon!

After my previous post, i came up with this list of things that just HAVE to be done here in mumbai in the rains.. Most of these are very sasta and easy to accomplish. The epitome of 'Simple Living - Hi Thinking' :D

Here's my list.. do feel free to send me your views as well!!

• Get wet in the rain, go to roadside tea stall, have tea n bhaji/vada pav.... any place should do.. Like in so many other things, the first time is the best :)

• Go to Nariman point/Worli sea face/Band stand during high tide...watch the sea ... get wet in the rain...

• First seat on the upper level of double decker (obviously, when the bus is running). Route recommendation: The double decker bus from CST to Backbay World trade Center/Backbay Depot... forgot the # of the bus Just a short stretch of road from churchgate to air india... lekin dnt know of other double deckers that ply along the seaface.. do let me know if u know of any!!

• Ice cream while watching the rains from indoors (preferably with a good view)..

• Stand at the door of a train while its raining.. (you can actually feel the raindrops hitting you!!) I know this sounds a bit risky, but can be done pretty safely when trains are not crowded.. AND DONT LEAN OUT!!!!!

Love, NTW,
Vinay

PS: I've been told that the things that I've listed above are even more enjoyable when done along with a person that you like. By like, i dont mean the NTW wala like that I use as a disclamer in my mails/posts. Like means LIKE.. yes, 'that way' wala like.. Till date, I have'nt had someone jiskey saath I could do the above mentioned activities; so any girls wishing to apply for the position, please feel free to do so.. offer open till stock lasts. Guys, pls excuse, only NTW for u ;)

PS2: NTW = Not That Way

Barsaat ka mausam hai!

Sunday evenings with nothing to do make me think. And today being a Sunday evening, and me having nothing to do; i thought, and decided to write on what exactly about the rains do i like so much... So here goes.. thoda thoughts, thoda observations, and thoda opinions...

The rain physically changes a lot around us when it falls, especially in the first few days - dry brown roads become wet with puddles, greenery starts becoming visible, even the sky changes. And it changes quite a few things in us personally as well. The clothes we wear, the way we travel, our daily schedule.... and not all of the changes it brings are good, are they? In fact, i would say that in mumbai at least, majority of the impact monsoons have seems to be detrimental in some way or other... lost time, overflowing sewers, mud n muck on the roads, traffic, waterlogging, drenched clothes, cold, fever, and so on...

But to me, its still the best time of the year - something to look forward to during the other eight months and to enjoy to fullest from june - sep!!

One thing that affects me the strongest once the rains start is the overcast whether and intermittent sunshine... i know a lot of people find the weather very gloomy, lekin i personally like the cloudy sky... clouds are welcome sight to me... ready to take whatever shape that comes up in my head, along with different shades for contrast..the partly sunny weather with rainbows is pretty cool too!! :)

then there's the greenery that starts springing up all around after the rains start... and the feeling of standing in the rain it self is something that cant really be described in words.. neither can i describe the satisfaction of having a garma garam chai after coming indoors...

Rain also signifies to me a new start to things...and letting go of the old ones - as if the water is actually washing away the unwanted clutter in my mind, the negative thoughts and emotions, the bad experiences, things i didn't like, worries and so on...

Last but not least, no holiday compares to the 'forced' holidays we get once/twice a year here in mumbai due to torrential rains ;) and getting stuck somewhere outside during torrential rains, and somehow getting back home is something of an adventure in itself!

So that was mera thoda bahut soch-vichaar about rains.. overall, I guess ke mera views are a bit unbalanced.. looking at only the good points, glossing over the bad... but i guess thats pretty much how I am even in my life.. it works for me :)

Thats all for now... TC

Love, NTW,
Vinay :)

WHere have they gone!!

Peeps,

As we all already know, I’m really smart and observant… lekin I just noticed something today that had eluded my notice for the past couple of months… I know, I’m surprised as well, lekin I guess its like they say….

Neways, back to the topic. Flashback begins… So its 8.15, I’m at the chirag nagar bus stop, waiting for my beloved 305 (Unlimited). For some reason, bus ko aaney me kaafi der ho rahi thi.. so main aise hi bus stop pe khada tha watchin people come n go… Happening place that chiragnagar is, I must have looked at around 300-400 ppl during my wait for the bus, and then it hit me… Where are the CAPs! Itna dhoop me ek bhi bandey ne topi nahi pehna? On thinking abt this further, I realized, ke I’d hardly seen a cap the whole summer, except in IPL** (please note the two asterisks here, we’ll discuss this point further below)… Aisa kya ho gaya ke log topi pehenna hi band kar diya?

Some theories come to mind….

1) Cartel by topi makers to artificially drive price (upwards) / Underworld targeting cap manufacturers thinking they’ll make big profits in summer. so topi walas taking sick leaves (even the non sikh ones)
2) **Huge demand for caps in IPL (orange cap, purple cap, lavender-blue cap, etc.) creates shortage in supply
3) Caps are out of fashion / A fashion designer has brought up all the caps in the market and will introduce them next year as a ‘retro’ fashion accessory making a comeback…
4) It isn’t really that sunny rite now… no cap needed
5) The new range of hair-care products has now made people’s hair so nice ke they prefer bearing the dhoop to hiding their hair…
6) People are all waiting for the new range of Nike/Addidas/Reebok/Rupa/VIP caps which unfortunately have been delayed till end of summer due to world shortage of raw material

Its up to us, the consumers, to see whats up with this.. unfair trade practices must be stopped… aaj cap hai, kal chattri hogi, aagey jaake rumaal gayab ho jayenge…. who knows where this will stop… let us all raise our voices together against this anyay!! humaari maangey poori karo… Inqalab zindabad!!! I’m really bored… Going for tea now..

Have a nice day…


Love, NTW,
Vinay!!!

IF

Read this amazing poem recently... its titled 'IF' and is written by Rudyard Kipling (Yes, the Mowgli wala guy). You can read it at:

http://www.swarthmore.edu/~apreset1/docs/if.html

Its now been around 45 mins since I started writing this post. My intention was to put down some lines from the poem and give my thoughts on the same.. But this is one of the very few times that words fail me. So what I'll do is just paste my favorite lines here and go to sleep.


If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise...

If you can dream--and not make dreams your mster,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same....

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!


:)
All have a great week ahead..

Love, NTW,
Vinay

Tashan Movie Review!!!!

Tashan

Tashan is a movie that you’ll either love or hate (most probably hate), but the movie still is very good VFM. This is because of two major reasons:

1) No multiplexes showing the movie.. I watched it in Shreyas cinema for 60 Rs. Stall (Total kharcha Rs 87…3 Rs bus ticket chiragnagar-shreyas, movie ticket, cold drink- 15 Rs, samosa – 6 Rs, return ticket 3 Rs)

2) There are parts in the movie that everyone will enjoy – Akshay Kumar’s Performance throughout the movie, Anil Kapoor’s Deewar spoof (‘Lots happy you must be today… Lots happy’), songs, locations, etc… So here goes


The Story-

The story revolves around kareena kapoor (pooja), who, unfortunately does not put in a revolve-worthy performance. There’s nothing big to talk about Kareena’s role in the movie, not even the bikini scene …. However, I’d like to add here that Kareena looks quite nice in most of the movie and I’d say yes to her if she proposed to me (on the condition that she cuts back on the skin show)…


She phasaaoes Saif (jimmy Cliff), an English teacher who is hired to teach anil kapoor (Bhaiyyaji) a UP ka don based in Mumbai. Jimmmy pooja ke jaale me phas jaata hai and agrees to steal that mahine ka ‘collection’ from bhaiyyaji. Obviously, saif is left alone to take the blame while she runs away…

Enter Bacchan Pandey (AK) in one of the best entry’s I’ve seen in quite a while.. Bacchan Pandey idolizes bhaiyyaji and is a recovery agent (the kind who motivates you to pay your bills before time, every time, till the end of time).. He along with saif are tasked by bhaiyyaji to get back the money and start wondering where pooja might be.. At that time we see the afore-mentioned bikini scene (where there was nothing big to talk about (in more ways than one)) and a song on the beaches of some far off country where the sea water is blue and the beaches are white….

THEN, jimmy remembers that pooja wants to do visarjan of her papa’s asthiyaan in ganga at Haridwaar (really) and off they go… pooja is caught and beyond this point, the movie is all style and no story.. Lekin what style it is!!!


Rest Of The Story -

Rest of the story includes plot points such as pooja’s seduction of bacchan pandey, bacchan ke bachpan ka pyaar, pooja ke pita ke khoon ka badla, jet ski’s, cycle pe talwar fight, flame throwers, electric shocks and so on…..


Other Stuff –

The fight scenes in the movie except for the last fight are very very cool.. Akshay Kumar has outdone himself in the movie and steals the show both in acting and action… And the ‘Bacchan Pandey’ theme music during the fight scenes ABSOLUTELY ROCKKKKKSSSS!!!!!!! Udhar hi picture ka 30 Rs (or 50% of ticket price, whichever is higher) vasool hai !! Anil Kapoor does well, has some damn cool scenes in the movie, kareena is eye candy, and saif gets an all-female call center of his own at the end of the movie (this concept alone is worth another 10 Rs. vasool)…The movie’s music is good, costumes and locations are very nice, the movie lives up to its name. Did I mention the Bacchan Pandey theme music? It’s a winner!!

Conclusions –

Overall, I liked the movie, and recommend that everyone watch it if its at a theatre near your home for 2 ½ hrs. of tp (movie is 2 ¾ hrs long but last 15 minutes are not that good)… So go watch it today (or whenever)

Blog cleanup!

Deleted most of the old posts (some from wayyy back in 2006). Just kept those that i liked the most.. Will update with some new stuff soon!!!

Back after a big gap...

and the biggest news is ... NEW JOB!!!

yes, joined Tata Capital yesterday as an Asst manager. Have an exciting and challenging profile. Cant wait to get started (once i get a workplace n PC assigned )..

Baaki to life is cool as always.


PS: Saw a marathi movie 'Tingya' last weekend. liked it very much. i recommend every1 watch, if only to see how fortunate n comfortable our life actually is!!!! Story n performances are excellent as well...

Puraana Stairrorist Pics!!

Just uploaded some puraana lala's ka pics on to Picasa... do check them out (click on image to go to album!)

Stairrorists- A Blast from the past!!!

Annual Report 2007!!!

Yep.. its here, after an intitial round of circulation, the Vinay Shinde AR 2007 is now here for everyone to see!!