Monday, November 28, 2016

Does hunger know nation, religion or clothes?

I came across a really very eye opening article in readers digest a few days back. ( yes lady of leisure reads that and national geographic throughout the day).
 I or rather many of us thought a hungry person is that someone who is grubby, need and helplessness reflecting in his eyes, shabby clothes etc. but is hunger really that? Yes it is in my country. Whose poverty the developed countries have made famous in their documentaries and books. Yes At our place it is obvious. But perceptions can be misleading. Of what we think is needy and what is really needy.
 Apparently in this article a lady quoted her heartfelt opinions on hunger. In developed countries, hunger takes different guises. Car every one has. Wearable clothes every one has. But do they have food? But do they have really enough to feed them selves? The lady in article spoke of her embarrassment of visiting a food bank. Of her desperation of her children growing up so soon. It's a,amazing how introspective can children be.

Yes hunger is there, in some cases its naked and known in some places its "cache ". What pick we will take?  This story surely set my thinking wheels in action.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Some short films that became my all time favorite

As I type wildly away on my iPad with tutti fruity cake smell wafting from my oven,getting irritated at the keypad posing in middle..because of which I cannot see an ounce and need to do spell check later ( an eeks), I think of few all time favorite movies.
I love "shispens " or suspense to the uninitiated. And I love those movies that take care of this genre so well. Not karmchand style but more like layers and layers and slowly tying loose ends in the end making the movie a true treat to watch. Few recent movies like wazir and drishyam held my interest till the end, and now I watch them just to see awesome performances of Ajay Devgan and Tabu in Drishyam and big B in wazir.

Some other movies, of course the 12-20 minute intrigueor 20 minute rassi bomb as I would like to call them. These three movies simply held me spellbound and totally flummoxed in the end.

As you very well know my current  obsession with short films. Out of them two were of same actress and my all time favorite and a third one of known faces and unknown names.

The first one was called "kriti " directed by Shirish kunder (a flop director. Who remembers tees maar khan...me me me). But the actors were good or rather excellent. My favorites Radhika Apte and Manoj bajpai. The movie starts in usual pace. With Manoj bajpai playing the role of a person undergoing psychiatric treatment under Dr Mehek, a psychiatrist and also who is his childhood friend. Manoj's character makes imaginary girlfriends against which Dr Mehek warns him. They finally use extreme measures to get rid of his imaginary friend ( read murder) . The story proceeds ahead and with a sudden jerk we understand that...its Dr.Mehek who is imaginary..( sorry I can never keep "shispens ".

The second movie also has Radhika Apte in a sultry, sexy avtar in a silky white negligee and her husband is played by one of legendary actors of Bengali film industry called Soumitra chatterjee who is shown as sculptor and a suspect for disappearances of many people. We see that there are miniatures of those people on his showcase and one newly made falls down. As he is investigating the case, asking questions to the sculptor, he touches a stone which has some history. The next we see him in an embrace . Meanwhile we recover from it, we realize that all that was farce and he has also turned a minature like others.

The third movie has no suspense. A simple but sensitively made movie called "the afterglow".  The woman , a Parsi has lost her husband, and slowly comes in terms with it, how she does one act of defiance, on her husband's 10th day or "dusmoo" caring a damn for the guests who insist that she follow the orthodox Parsi traditions. It also shows a beautiful relationship between a middle aged Parsi couple, one of them ailing. Small scenes of past that flit in and out, seamlessly in the present. What I found the best was the last scene, where the widow sits wearily on the armchair, listening to her husband's favourite music, seeing the lighted diya, which is the embodiment of her husband's spirit, finally ready to let go. The diya slowly goes off.
Awesome performances by lead pair, Anahaita Uberoi and Sohrab ardeshir as Meher and Minocher respectively. Truly must see.

Coming up next ( ha ha in the filmy style) the library.

Truly awesome from me to you aka "kimi ni todoke "

My brain works hard or shall I say weird?? Not hard exactly.. I do go for hedonism 😜As in excesses. And being a lady of leisure gives me ample opportunity to do just that. It's like books... Books.... Books... Of any and every topic but mostly food. Then one day my brain says enough.. N then for some days books become absolutely nauseating.. Then I go for songs, movies ( mostly old hrishikesh mukherjee's) and then... patatipatata as in blah blah blah..

I came  across thi s movie just by an accident.. I dunno how but in my YouTube playlist of balam pichkari and batameez  dil.. A movie came called diary of an ugly.. A phillipean movie with subtitles and what next I started seeing it.. A typical teen love story.. It was good but not wow.. Though I liked the feisty actress...now you know on YouTube, once you see one ..all related comes up.. And so I met this movie.
From me to you with English subtitles... Sounds good, I thought as I started my stepper in the gym. I was still seeing the movie without starting songs as I normally do if I get tired of syrupy movie. A movie becomes my favorite or one of the favorites only if I watch it thrice, without using drag button and I still feel like watching the movie again and again.
Of course, the movie is typical high school romance with girl meets boy and romance blossoms. Buy some things were good. First and foremost, there was no chummachatti as is there in normal teen movies, especially those typically influenced by west.  The story flows between a not so popular loner (not by choice) girl and a very popular boy. How the girl finds love and friendship in course of the year. The girl Sawako aka sadako as she is called because of her real scary hairstyle  and manners. The boy meets her for the first time near a cherry blossom tree and how in due course, the cherry blossom tree plays a mute but important role in the film. Is the story.

Of course  this movie is for those who enjoy a good movie, subtitles or not. Leave aside the fact that the lead actor of the film Miura Haruma is a wow, in the Tim, with his sudden shy smiles, his intense expressions. His emoting, is too good. I liked this movie...and would thoroughly recommendations d.

Ps: I remembered, I was and still am in short film phase and a short film called " the library" led me finally to diary of an ugly and finally this movie. The short film is good too.. But that requires another blog.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Songs that are my all time favourites

Always a rotdu.. Not exactly but this is one the songs aka ghazal that actually touched my heart and turning it real inside out.

Pain, regrets,hurt in this song which actually make you hallucinate that it is sung by late Jagjit Singh.

I remember that I had seen these movie posters everywhere ( the route my school  office bus used to go) a group of oldies looking or rather pretending young, with a real funny raghuvir yadav avtar and farookh sheikh and sarika.. Thinking that this is one of the same old story theme I didn't think of them vie much until one day it came on television and me the lady of leisure saw it. Awesome movie and a theme that actually touched my heart. An aged couple coming in terms of their only son's premature death and the other oldies helping them to achieve it. 

The movie was called "club 60" and truly must watch. What also attracted me were songs. All of them are truly good but one of these songs stayed with me for a real long time. It was this one. A real ouch one, this song made me remember my one of the favorites, late Jagjit Singh and his ghazals. The song is sung by Raju Singh.The music hauntingly beautiful and song rises to the occasion in the movie ( no.. I am not narrating the movie story, please check wiki for it or better watch the movie). But for now, the lyrics:
Rooh mein faasale nari hote
Rooh mein faasale nari hote
kaash hum yum mile nahi hote
Kaash hum yum mile nahi hote

Ek saaya no saath jo deta
Ho ..Ek saaya na saath jo deta
Do kadam bhi chale nahi hote
Do kadam bhi chale nahi hote
Kaash hum yum mile nahi hote
Rooh mein faasale nahi hote...

Zoro Jabara se na haasil kar
Zoro Jabara se na haasil kar
Zoro Jabara se na haasil kar
Dil to shahi
Dil to shahi Kille nahi hote
Dil to shahi Kille nahi hote
Dil to shahi Kille nahi hote
Kaash hum tum mile nahi hote
Rooh mein faasale nahi hote.

Yuh achanak mile hum tum
Yuh achanak mile hum tum
Yuh achanak mile hum tum
Roz to jaljale nahi hote
Roz to jaljale nahi hote
Kaash hum tum mile nahi hote
Kaash hum tum mile nahi hote
Rooh mein faasale nahi hote.


Truly good, isn't it??