Anything for you Ma'm : Book Review

Remember, back in 2004 there came a book titled "Five Point Someone" by Chetan Bhagat and it took the Indian publishing industry by storm. What added to the craze was the IIT tag to this book, it was after all marketed as "Five Point Someone- What not to do in an IIT". Oh...boy, Chetan Bhagat and the publishing house did indeed mint money with this book. Oh, just in case if you didn't know this...according to some sources, selling 5000 copies of a book is enough to put in Bestsellers bracket in India! And his book according to some reports in May, 2008 has touched 7 lakh copies!!..and still counting. Whatever maybe the case, it proved that you don't have to be a Rushdie to become a star overnight. If I may take a stand on this issue, I would go on to say that this book has given confidence to so many other budding writers who dream of getting their book published. And whatever maybe the case...a book would eventually find its reader.

Anything for you Ma'm, is a book written by Tushar Raheja who was a final year student in IIT, Delhi when this book was published back in 2006. The book follows the trail of a IITian named Tejas Narula who's longing to meet his lady love Shreya who's in Chennai. As you would have expected by now, the girl's dad realising that she's in love has grounded her in Chennai. And it's upto Tejas to do whatever it may take to meet his girl.

The book has got some good reviews from various newspapers and magazines, some calling it a laugh a minute book, others comparing it with a typical masala film from Bollywood...one chap even drew parallel to Virginia Wolf owing to the narattion technique which the author uses here. I would say, the book's all that...and probably it's a bit over rated! As a fellow blogger points out that, the book is filled with coincidences which one needs to build an interesting plot. Another points out that, there's not one single thing which the author disparages! Everything is beautiful...the months...the sun...the winters...the trains...the people...you name it! I don't blame him anyway...as some of you might argue that being in love one would tend to think of like this...:). I wouldn't know anyway!!!...:-P

If you are one who doesn't go for some heavy reading...this is not a bad one to flip through. It's charming in parts and treads the road travelled in other cases. The author didn't have to really use the IIT tag here...there's nothing in the book which adds to the aura of the character being an IITian. But it sells!! And that's what matters....(No offence!). Not a masterpiece in any angle, but an honest effort....:D

P.S: I have an idea....I think we all should brainstorm and come up with each and every random stuff we have done in our college lives...am sure there are enough tales to tell to the rest of the world. If not anything, we would atleast end up having a log book which we could share for our 25th reunion...should be fun! What say guys?! Who's with me?!...

Welcome to Sajjanpur

Title: Welcome to Sajjanpur
Language: Hindi
Year of Release:2008
Director: Shyam Benegal
Actors: Shreyas Talpade, Amrita Rao and others
Verdict: **** (Don't miss it)

The movie is a complete laugh riot right from the scene where Mahadev (Shreyas Talpade) appears on screen, something which takes you by surprise especially given the fact that it’s by Shyam Benegal. If you are among those who always crib that the quality of our Hindi films especially in terms of the story has gone down drastically, then undoubtedly this is one of the finest films you will see this year.

To read the full review of this movie....click here

Good Bye Lenin!

Title: Good Bye Lenin!
Language: German
Year of Release: 2003
Director: Wolfgang Becker
Actors: Daniel Brühl, Katrin Saß, Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Simon, Alexander Beyer
Verdict: **** (Must Watch)

There is a general feeling I have that when God created life, he had chalked an elaborate sketch of how it would take shape. And one day, when it was time for the evolution of humans, he must have thought of who all around a human being's life would be of great influence upom him/her. He's been so generous that (or maybe I should say very sly to relieve himself from doing more work!), he didn't give himself the pinnacle position, rather he seated a lady there and named her Mother. How else can you explain the hierarchy with which we recognise the four most important people...especially in Indian Tradition....it's always...Mother, Father, Teacher and God!...it's always like that! Most of the babies seem to say "Ma" first than any other word...and especially in my part of the world, people shriek "Amma" or "Maaaaa" when they are in pain. Maybe we all owe it to her for the unconditional love, care and support she's showered on us all throughout her life. From time immemorial we have celebrated the phenomenon, which some poets have termed as "God's Greatest Gift"...Mother. Under this premise, Cinema has depicted the role of mother in various shades...sometimes she's the all caring, love, sweet and at times she's the feiry being who will do anything for her loved ones and so on. Out of all those movies from Hollywood and rest of the world that I have seen, there have been three movies so far which changed my perspective of how the West interprets emotions like Love, Marriage, Family.

The first movies about Love...was "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset". The second about Marriage was "Two for the Road", and the third about Family relations is this German flick which I saw couple of weeks ago named, "Good Bye Lenin!". I don't declare that these three are the landmark movies which changed everything, but at some level they did have a great impact on me. Now that you have an idea of what I am about to say, let me get into the skin of this movie...."Good Bye Lenin!".

Directed by Wolfgang Becker, Good Bye Lenin is set in East Germany when it was still a Socialist nation . The Socialist party in German Democratic Republic (GDR) enjoys a huge following in its populace and as it progresses towards the new millenium, even crossing a milestone of sending one of its citizen into space, Sigmund Jähn. Christiane is the mother of two, Alexander Kerner and Ariane living in East Germany. One day, Government agents storm into her house and enquire about the whereabouts of her husband, since the party suspects that he might have escaped to the west. Slowly Christiane dedicates herself completely to her children and to the cause of upliftment of the poor in the neighbourhood which earns her laurels from the Government. The younger generation of the country vexed by the growing distance with the outside world decide to protest against the Government. And this protest march is dealt with some strict force by the Police resulting in several youth being arrested, Alex being one of them. When Christiane happens to witness all this infront of her eyes, she suffers a heart attack and slips into a coma. She continues to be in that state for the next 8 months, during which some striking changes take place in East Germany...like collapsing of the current regime, people breaking the Berlin Wall, West German currency and lifestyle sweeping the whole of East Germany and so on. When Christiane finally manages to wake up, Alex suffers a serious setback when the doctor tells him that she has to be protected from the outside world because she cannot withstand anything which can excite her. All these results in a series of funny, yet warm incidents depicting a desperate trail which her son takes to keep his mother in a stable state and more importantly happy.

The reason why this movie is so remarkable is, it's got a delicate charm in its own way. It's extremely clever in its depiction of transformation; and the fact that this transformation has to do with Germany gives it a compelling authenticity. The world has seen the rapid rate of transformation happening with the fall of Berlin wall...but the theme of a son slogging along with his confidants to recreate a country and life which his mother was so fond takes you by surprise. Before his mother had gone into a coma, he approved of the luxuries which the consumerism of the west provides, but with the drastic turn of events he dreams of that life which had once existed...whose ideals were so honest, yet it wouldn't fall into place of the new age of development.

Watch the movie for some beautiful background score, brilliant story and direction...and more importantly to see how far can one go to keep his loved ones happy....trust me, if you feel what I feel...it will compel you to think a lot about the age of innocence which we once had and that special person who taught you how to interpret things and see the world with your own eyes...I am lost in my dreams...my own Nostalgia. One of the brilliant Foreign Flicks I have seen in recent years...never knew that tragic comedies could be so beautiful.

Kung Fu Panda...

Title: Kung Fu Panda

Language: English
Year of Release: 2008
Director: John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
Actors: Jack Black Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan

"All you people out there...put your hands up and praise the brand new Dragon Warrior, an unlikely hero in the land of Kungfu who's out to save the world... the Panda"- I am sorry for the corny introduction to possibly this Summer's second best entertainer (No offence...but "Dark Knight" is still Numero Uno!!!). I know, I know...Po (The Panda) wouldn't wait a minute to use his "Wuxi Finger Hold" Technique had he known that this is how I introduce the greatest kungfu warrior of our times. (Good for me...he doesn't know that I exist!!...:-P)...

So, naturally a question arises, why is it I have chosen this boring way to write about such an "awesome" (you are gonna hear a lot of that!) flick of this year? Huh...you got it! I am as boring and lazy as a sloth can be! Although I don't make noodles nor do I dream about saving the world, there's an uncanny resemblance between me and Po. We seem to love Food...(Yum!), and gobble down whatever and whenever we feel like eating...and the most striking of all, there seems to be an awesome psychic understanding that being "BIG" isn't that bad at all...(More of this later...I wouldn't want the Dragon Warrior to doze off, if at all he chooses to stumble across the Blog!)

Directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne from the house of "DreamWorks Animation" comes an awesome flick, animated actually, which straight away blows you away with its style. Probably the last time you had seen something this beautiful, touching, inspiring...this Awesome, would be "Finding Nemo". The flick has already been declared a smash hit across the world, and India, I hope is no different. You will hardly find someone who hasn't come out of the cinema hall with a huge smile spread across the face after watching this movie. The reason being, not only it's incredibly funny but also it takes you along for a joy ride, and leaves you with a feeling of awesomeness by the end of it. Another thing I must add is the genuine respect for the Chinese Culture which is quite evident from the film, where there's hardly any cliche' when it comes to characters.

"Kungfu Panda" is the story of Po, the Panda (Voice Over by Jack Black) who assists his father, the goose (for some odd reason!!!) in running the restaurant preparing noodles. But he always dreams of becoming a Kungfu warrior, something which he's unable to express to his father. And one day, when Master Oogway (The Tortoise) reveals the prophecy that Tai Lung (the Snow Leopard) will escape from the prison, it drives his student, Master Shifu (Red Panda, VO by Dustin Hoffman) crazy. He orders the security to be doubled at the prison, but the over confident and reluctant commander of the armed forces doesn't heed to Shifu's request. After an unusually awesome escape sequence, Tai Lung manages to escape from the prison and claim his rightful position. In the meantime, it's announced that the next "Dragon Warrior" will be chosen, who will be capable of protecting and bringing peace to the valley. When the whole valley's waiting for Oogway's decision about the next Dragon Warrior, Po-the Panda, falls from sky all of a sudden. And to the dismay of Master Shifu and his very skilful students, Po is chosen the new "Dragon Warrior". After some unsuccessful attempts at disparaging and making Po quit, and upon the advice of Oogway, Shifu finally relents and decides to train Po to become a pro at Kungfu....the rest of the story has to be seen on screen to bask the actual awesomeness!

Be it the scene, where Po tries to get inside the palace, or that when Tai Lung escapes from prison and the stylishly shot chopsticks fight between Shifu and Po...there's a uncanny style which mesmerizes you, sucking you into its brilliance for the entire 90 min footage. I should confess that I was watching this flick in my room with some friends...I so wish I had seen the Imax version in the first place! Coming back to the characters...the flick belongs to Po and Shifu. Po for his overbearing personality (he's awesomely cute in his knickers...:-P!) and striking sense of humour who has the potential to turn around any serious or grim discussion into a funny and witty one. Thank God, the writers realised that he should be the way he is throughout the movie...otherwise a scene of the Panda stretching to build a six pack, would have taken quite a few pounds away from his awesomeness...:-). All hail Jack Black, who's given a stunning voice over for Po...I somehow have this feeling that they might have drawn Po's character after seeing Jack Black in Nacho Libre and otherwise!...hehehe...wouldn't you agree??!:-D....and Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu completes Jack Black with his performance at the other end of the line. He scorns, hisses at almost everything Po does, but at the same time he's genuinely caring and guiding light to his students. The rest of the star cast, the Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper, Mantis, Crane are cool...they have got the kicks and moves of a brilliant Kungfu Master. A special word for Tai Lung, the Snow Leopard whose character is so well developed that it's hard not to empathize with him.
But then as one expects...Good always has the last laugh in the fight with Evil. This is what's so predictable in the flick...you know that Po's gonna beat Tai Lung in the final battle...you know that he's gonna save the world...but you can't walk out. You can't choose to move your eyes away from the screen...I guess it's an obligation for most of the animated flicks to end on an inspiring and good note, this is what exactly makes them a worldwide rage. And "Kungfu Panda" is already among the finest flicks you would see this year...

And the final battle cry
Prepare for Awesomeness!!!...Because he's coming to steal your heart...his name is Panda, Kungfu Panda...the Dragon Warrior.

P.S: My second recommend of this summer after....Dark Knight! Hope you have liked what you have read...and as you bask in awesomeness, I most probably would be watching the flick right now!

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amelie)

Title: Le Fabulex Destin d'Amelie Poulain (Amelie)
Language: French
Year of Release: 2001
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Actors: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz
Awards: Nominated for five Oscars, won 4 Cesar Awards and several others


Narrator: "On September 3rd 1973, at 6:28pm and 32 seconds, a bluebottle fly capable of 14,670 wing beats a minute landed on Rue St Vincent, Montmartre. At the same moment, on a restaurant terrace nearby, the wind magically made two glasses dance unseen on a tablecloth. Meanwhile, in a 5th-floor flat, 28 Avenue Trudaine, Paris 9, returning from his best friend's funeral, Eugène Colère erased his name from his address book. At the same moment, a sperm with one X chromosome, belonging to Raphaël Poulain, made a dash for an egg in his wife Amandine. Nine months later, Amélie Poulain was born."

This is how the movie begins! The first time I saw this movie, I couldn't understand what was going on....it switched to another channel in 5 minutes. Two years later when I saw this again, I realized what a fool I was!!...How could I have missed such a beautiful movie on the previous occasion? That was all I thought about that day. Released in 2001, this French movie directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet featuring Audrey Tautou who later acted as Sophie in "Da Vinci Code" alongside Tom Hanks.

The story is about Amelie. Her father who's a doctor thinks that she has a unhealthy heart (while the real reason is that, Amelie yearns for her father so much that everytime he touches her, which is only while doing a checkup, her heart beats unusually rapid!) and she's never sent to school. After her mother's death she becomes even more lonley and from there after she develops great interest in doing some simple, but different things. One fine day, she leaves her home and starts working in a Cafe'. Her colleagues at the Cafe' each have an issue or you can say problem of their own which makes them quite uneasy on several occasions. One fine day, Amelie stumbles upon a box hid behind a loose bathroom tile and when she opens it she finds a small treasure....a collection of small objects which perhaps a young boy had left behind. Amelie begins her quest to find the owner of the box and return this to him. After some days she finds him and is quite happy when she secretly sees how that person reacts upon finding his treasure. From them on Amelie decides that she would help people around her and make them happy; and in doing so, she will be happy too. She accidentally bumps into Nino, a guy who's hobby is to collect the torn and discarded passport photo booths and falls in love with him. But given the fact how shy Amelie is, she never appears face to face with him and is quite afraid to express her love for him....and help finds its way through Raymond Dufayel, her neighbour who's called as the Glass man by everyone....And how this happens...makes up the rest of the story.

Narrator: September 28th, 1997. It is exactly 11am. At the funfair, near the ghost train, the marshmallow twister is twisting. Meanwhile, on a bench in Villette Square, Félix Lerbier learns there are more links in his brain than atoms in the universe. Meanwhile, at the Sacré Coeur, the nuns are practising their backhand. The temperature is 24°C, humidity 70%, atmospheric pressure 990 millibars.

This is how the film ends!!...What makes this film so special is the way, the character of Amelie is portrayed...as a person who never hesitates to help others, but when it is about herself she doesn't take a step forward. Acting is beautiful especially by Audrey Tautou, and the little girl who portrays the role of Amelie when she's young...is so damn cute! Dialouges are good; but some of them are quite unexpected...in one of the scenes, while explaining the different interests of Amelie it is said that, right now she's counting how many people are having an orgasm in the city! and many more like this....for more quotes from the movie...click here

The film has got a great look too...beautiful colours, there's never a dull moment in the movie. And there are quite a few number of references too...like Princess Diana (one of the characters wonders what British are going to Princess Di's ashes...he hopes that it will be thrown in space so that it becomes a star...[:)]..)

It's cute, refreshing, romantic...a perfect feel good movie. This one is among my all time favourite movies and definitely my favourite French movie! Highly recommended...one of the best films from Europe!
For more reviews of this flick...click here

Check out this English trailer of the movie...