Ishaqzaade...

The first time i saw the song fell in love with it, More because of the way they had shown the love stuff then anything else...and knew that i wanted to see the movie. Rustic UP, a young love story, good song, fresh faces who can act, there were all the ingredients for a good movie...the director would have to screw up real bad to mess this one up...and then came the reviews, first half great, second half the director is lost...good love story to start with, lots of aimless running around later...well, i was not convinced and so went to see it, and for the lack of appropriate company, alone.
And the movie didn't disappoint, was surely better then all the reviews made it out to be...rustic and raw UP, young brash lovers, a political background and gun culture, if it seemed unbelievable to you, you just have to live there to know all of this happens, and more often then you think it does.
I wont go into defending the movie, because i know it didn't go down too well with many people...but some things which stood out
1. Parineeti's acting, this has to be the best debut in a long time, she is quite natural and portrayed the brash, immature 20 year old awesomely well. And the guy too, not sure of his lineage, but if you have seen young kids from UP - Haryana, they are absolutely like this...gun totting, mom fearing!!!
Agreed its maybe easy to portray such strong characters, always difficult to showcase subtle characters, like its difficult to make things simple, maybe because u have so few characteristics and emotions to play with, whatever little u have, u need to do use it really well. Anyways, they portrayed it to perfection, so great debuts.
2. I know we have become good at cinematography, but it always surprises me how beautiful our cities n villages are...there is beauty there and it was captured well in the movie...maybe i love my country too much!
3. The song pareshan, someone compared it to iktara, well that was a classic, but this is not bad either...just a different genre!
4. It was said that there wasn't enough material in the movie, well yes, but not complaining. It was a complete story, and most possible facets were explored, not in depth, but then its not an arty farty movie is it!
5. Could the ending be better, could there be some way in which the couple would have survived and the movie would have had a feel good ending. Dont know...would i have preferred it, maybe, but i wouldn't have liked myself for it. This was the only ending which would have somehow made the movie a bit of an cult movie, if both survived to live happily ever after the Shakespearean devdas type charm would be lost.
6. The attitude of Pareneeti's character, her accepting someone who well, in the new legal language raped her, unbelievable as it is, know that they are 20 something, still not aware of how big a thing this is, know that she did fall in love with him, and as much as ur betrayed, u always have a soft corner out of hope. Its always true, the guy u first give ur heart (and ur virginity) too always stays with u, has a special place!
Whether he changed his heart because of his mum, well go back up and read again...gun totting but mom fearing! :)
7 and last...the parts immediately before and after the interval..former left me pretty much shell shocked and kudos to the director for that...latter was a good way of turning the story around. Intelligently done...so again, pat on the back for the director / scriptwriter who ever it is..should find out!

And thats it, worth a watch for sure, in theatre, alone if u have a choice.

Some other things, dont want this blog to be just a review site...

Attitude towards muslims...one thing which always struck me when talking to some seemingly very liberal modern people was their dislike and sometimes down right hate for muslims. In most it comes out of ignorance really, in some it comes out of a misplaced fear, because they can cut goats so easily, they are dangerous and heartless...and some who have experienced it first hand. One very prominent example was an uncle, a heart surgeon who would operate on patients but had forbidden his daughter to marry a muslim guy. Anyone else would be negotiable, but muslims would just lead to a lot of pain for her. Come to think of it, for me and a best friend, the same unspoken rule holds. Even someone very close to me surprised me by telling me that she hated muslims...i told her that day that its maybe the first thing i don't like about her...but I will not make any judgements, not because i don't wanna become controversial, but because i don't know enough, havent experienced it enough...i had a couple of friends in school, but never close enough...i would like to have. Instinctively i know there is nothing wrong..but wanna experience it first hand so that i can say it with conviction!

As i was coming out of the movie, heard quite diverse reviews, some said it was  a complete waste of money, some said second half was bad, some liked the first half...and of course i liked the whole of it...well the thing is what do u say about products which evoke extreme liking or disliking in different groups. Either u love it or u hate it...i remember tHe fellow marketer making that comment about Brio the car, u either love it or u hate it, and everyone is in one of the groups...!
I would like to make such products, products which evoke emotions, because they stay in ur head, as i said, infamous is still famous! From an earnings point of view, i dont know, whether something like this is more desirable then a 'theek hai' kinda product, but from a long term recall point of view, surely this is better.  So make controversial products which divide the audience into two...evoke strong emotions, even if u dont make enough money, people will surely find out ur name!

Watching movies alone is looked down upon, but come to think about it, its the most logical thing to do...especially for such movies, which have matter...why would u want someone there sharing it. As in no harm having someone (as long as they keep quite n watch the movie) but no harm in seeing the movie alone...why do u need company to do an activity which gives you company on its own!!!

My fingers have slept off typing...so shall stop! Third or fourth post this week...kuch to ho raha hai!

Laters.

PS - Distinct feeling that I have said more then I should have...both from a knowing point of view and a 'will come back bite me in the ass' point of view. :-|

Sent from my iPad

had a agile project management session to attend early morning one of the days last week...and as much as I try, I am either very early, or quite late for these sessions...well it was the latter this time, but then instead of attending the session had a free wheeling gyaan discussion with (for the lack of a better term) the office ladies, and said out some fundas out open. 

one of the things I mentioned was how women are always ready to take help from other women, people in general when in a problem. Or even when they don't want to do something...gave the example of my mum, who in 5 years of scooty driving never, even once filled fuel in it herself, always used to be me. well thats just the build up for the example, whenever her scooty would break down on the road, and with vehicles at that time, it was quite often, the scooty overflow ho gaayi hai problem required multiple kickstarts, and mom would always get some passerby to help her out. Always!!! She has even got people to push the scooty to a puncture shop and get the puncture done. I thought it was my mum's smartness, but the office ladies tell me, thats with all women. 

well so that was just a point I made, the real observation is that the younger generation, the girls who are between 18 - 22 maybe, even till 24 - 25, don't take help. They don't ask for it, they don't take it if offered, you almost need to force them to take. Remember this incident with a significant other long time back, when we had just started getting close, her scooty got punctured and she didn't call me, till it became to difficult for her to push the vehicle. and so I was thinking why is that...why in latter stages, it becomes easy for you to ask for help then when you are young...is it because you have that arrogance which only a young person can have, the arrogance of not being defeated by life at every day battles, or maybe in the case of girls, its just a feminist streak which is always present when they are young, the I can do everything on my own attitude, which really comes out of maybe their fathers and brothers and all telling them, arrey tum yea nahi kar sakti, yea ladkiyon ka kaam nahi hai...don't know what exactly, but this is for sure, as you experience life, this fundas that youngsters have in their heads, out of watching movies, or out of unrealized ideals, start breaking down a bit. 

another example, there is someone in my team, quite young, same category as I was 5 years ago, not arrogant, but quite uptight. Organized a fun event some time back, the idea was for everyone to have fun, but my dear mix breed wanted to enforce the rules...and i was like, let them have fun. and then realized, that at some time many years ago, I was exactly like that, today am not at al. I too was a control freak, I too was very idealistic, I too was very arrogant and I too was very very brash, but then again, as you experience life more and more, that arrogance kind of tempers down.

so do i like myself more now then I did back then, well not sure. At that point there were not consequences, there was just do it kinda attitude, there was not caring what might happen, what people will say kinds...just the will to do something. Today, I know of the consequences, but what I like is, even though knowing what might happen, I keep on pushing the barriers, doing what I really want to...and that I am proud of!

well not really connected to what ever BS I typed out above, another thing I realized is how scared people are to even risk breaking those unwritten, undefined rules which exist everywhere. Even for rules which are not defined at al, for these grey areas, the first immediate reaction is not to even enter the grey area, even if in your head you believe you are within your boundaries, and its ok. No, even if its ok, lets not risk it is the default answer. 

I have always known what would be acceptable by conventional, orthodox wisdom, and knowing that, am always the one who pushes the boundaries a little bit...bends the rubber band just a enough so that it doesn't break, and still get to do something which stands out. Very very important to do that, to test the waters

Laters

#FromTheMovies

thats the hashtag I use when quoting movie dialogues on my twitter feed...and today after some time did a couple. There were many more but then found some deeper questions and so decided just to blog...
so the movies today were 'Last Night' and 'London, Paris, New York' (think that is the sequence).
so the first, english arty farty pic released last year, deals with a couple, in which both have have a chance of having a extra marital affair. well i won't go in the details, but the gist is that the guy in the couple has what really was a one night stand just for sex, and the girl in the couple meets up with her true love but still resists have sex, although they do spend a very emotional night together. but no hanky panky.
so well watch the movie, not an awesome movie really, Keira knightly looks as beautiful and as thin as ever, and am sure a hundred girls with die for the french guy, plus the movie is based in NY which is always high for me, love NY. anyways the thought...
was thinking which is more unacceptable, which would hurt more...a one night 'just sex' stand without any emotional attachments, or on where you are with the love of your life, and you share more chemistry and more stories with that person then with the one ur married with and even though there was no sex, in that one night u became more closer to this one person then to ur wife / husband? which is worse, which hurts more?
I guess it all depends on what you count as cheating, just sex or that conversation...just a question, don't want to dwell on it too much.
the other was the oft used multi city, spread over many years love story story line...but I think first one in Hindi...and quite different from the ones  I have seen till date. Always wanted to see this one, liked the treatment of the movie, was intrigued by the snippets in the trailer and also by Hyderi...who is has a certain intellectual, fun look that I like, and more then anything, someone who evokes a lot of curiosity.
anyways the movie didn't disappoint, my expectations were anyways low so...but yea good movie to see.
True love never leaves you behind...it always is there lurking somewhere at the back of your head, and it always makes its presence felt from time to time. You move on in life mind you, you have different people in ur life and u have a career and many have kids and all...and I have still not validated this but true love always shows its presence in you life, throughout your life. :)
its happened in my dads life, a story which I think is too personal to write here, but some day I shall recount it in a comment on this post...
another thing...its amazing when we let the small inconsequential things come in the way of love...I mean the ego fights, the you should have proposed first and what will people say and what not...its just idiotic. because the small inconsequential things will take away the one chance you had of having an awesome life. And yes, you can live a happy life, maybe even a content life, but you cannot live an awesome, every day is a dream life. So well my advice, now and forever is this...if you love someone truly, don't bother about the practical things, they will pan out and solve themselves.
In any case, if you have fallen in true love, you are lucky, because, whether it comes true or not, you will always have something beautiful and white.
PS: i always wanted to live every story...and not sure if its the movies I am picking or what, but do see myself already living (or lived) a lot of these stories. for eg I have lived the 'in the moment' story in this one...the thing is, as much as I like doing so, most of the stories I live don't conclude on a good note, they cannot because if they do, I won't be able to live another story...and if there are no happy conclusions...then there is a lot of pain and hurt and missing. :(
whether I still wanna live all the stories, or just wanna settle for one...i still don't know. :-|
oh and btw, one of these days I might end up giving a speech like the one at the end of the second one...and not just complain to one person, but to many many people!!! :D
till the next movie...quite a personal post...just missing!!!