Filmy 2008

I am a film buff and enjoy any good to bad film, however I can do very well without action and horror dramas. 2008 has been a year of firsts. It also happens to be the year where I discovered the fun of watching online films in the comfort of four walls on my bed with food, pint of water and snacks alongside. Online films can be paused as well as can be enjoyed with cooking, cleaning and even sometimes with work. Even better is that one can sleep and continue even discountinue, depending on the quality or mood. And all this without the pinch of having paid for it or the struggle to reach a theatre.



This works well with most Bollywood films where the brain can be switched off, but I was taken by a surprise several times. Some films were excellent and could be enjoyed even with a compromise on picture quality and just acceptable sound. I am listing down few films that I really had fun watching.

1. A Wednesday


2. Aamir


3. Dasvidaniya


4. Oye Lucky ! Lucky oye


5. Mithya


6. Rock On


7. Ru-ba-ru


8. Via Darjeeling


9. Jaane tu ya jaane na


10. Sorry bhai

Ofcourse there were few huge disappointments as well

1. Yuvraj


2. Dostana


3. Singh is King


4. Tashan


5. Mission Istanbul


6. Thoda pyaar thoda magic


7. Jodha Akbar


8. Bachna ae haseeno


9. Kismat connection


10. Love story 2050

Ohhh I am feeling good ! I thought it will be a struggle to list the same number of films in both the lists but the bad ones were as easy to list as the good ones were.

I am yet to watch Rab ne and thankfully it does not excite me enough. Ghajini is a film that I would like to watch as its an action film and I am not too keen to see Aamir's eight packs on big screen.

:)

Christmas reflections

These pics were taken in High Cross, Leicester. It is a shopping mall and a huge part of it is covered with a glass structure. I had an excellent time admiring the Christmas decorations and capturing them on camera was an interesting experience.

:)

News channel skit

A friend forwarded a hillariuos news channel skit which has also been put up on youtube.com. It is fun and a must watch. One of the actors is an old friend and this group of actors are better entertainers than the actual news anchors.




:)

Interesting Mistakes !

Click on the pics to view them closely and see what has been called interesting. The effects are due to camera shake in Leicester, City Center. The place was beautifully decorated and well lit for Christmas celebrations.
:)

Oye Lucky ! Lucky oye!

This film is as interesting as the tittle is. Oye Lucky is director Dibakar Banerjee's second successful attempt after much appreciated Khosla ka Ghosla. A film like this proves that there are no camera or edit tricks required for entertaining people. It's just a matter of good research and script combined with brilliant acting.

Oye Lucky is a comedy film with a strong message ( watch the film for message), it manages to keep the viewers focus in place. The edit is rough, which makes the whole the story looks like a real one. Best thing about the film is its consistency in the tone in which the dialogues are delivered, it irritates yet entertains at the same time. The feel of the film is very North Indian just like Khosla ka Ghosla and looks like the director is well aware of Delhi.

Most people must have already seen the film by now, but I strongly recommend it to those who have not, as this is the first film I could watch twice online, in the past one year.
ENJOY !

:)

S(F)unday

Perfect Sunday or Funday as I occasionally used to call them in India literally used to mean a summery sunny morning/afternoon setting. I used be be lying on the sofa looking at the clear blue beautiful sky, with dazzling pink bougainvillea flowers blocking my view. Thinking about various things and also nothing most of the times. To make this picture perfect, some sparrows and a squirrel used to jump around in the balcony in search for water and food. They were my best weekend friends.

Sundays in UK can be fun with friends and specially if one doesn’t hope them to be sunny. Food of course tops the priority list. But the comfort of being home is always absent. The weather conditions are pitiable! It’s dark, windy and cold. The pigeons here remind me of DDLJ where Ambrish Puri says, 'yahan ke to kabootron mein bhi apne desh jaisi baat nahin hai'. I feel like one of the birds SRK refers to,that lost her way and came to an unknown land and now remembers home amidst the new world.

:)

Sydney = Romance

Thanks T for this beautiful postcard. It actually added to my list of firsts, this happens to be the first postcard I have received in UK. I hope to see Sydney soon to share my experience with you.
:)

Mumbai happened for good!

This is what I feel about the whole episode. The attack was certainly different in many ways than what India has seen before. Terrorists taking the sea route and using hand grenades was definitely different. But the best of all things were the hotels that were targeted. In most previous attacks it was always the poor and middle class who died in train blasts, Sarojini Nagar blasts and many others. The rich continued to live in luxury, sometimes also participated in talk shows of channels like NDTV. But Hotel Taj and Trident are not visited by poor people.

This attack was the first of its kind to target the rich Indians as well, who talk about the spirit of people to move on and live, but they will now understand what it means to move on. I hope the rich will use their power and influence to the best to pressurise authorities in India to get active and stay alert at all times. Specially the Mumbai film industry and the big business houses who talk all the time but never come up with serious stuff as they take their security for granted.

Thanks to terrorists for Mumbai attacks because from time to time it’s important to wake up people in deep sleep. Now it is the same India for all rich and poor, a terror state, which can encourage unity between different classes in the society for common good.

India people fighting????

That was the question asked by my housemate from Russia on an extremely cold afternoon in kitchen. We don't understand each other but she could clearly communicate her fear of what was known to her about Bombay. The conversation clearly indicated that terrorism has no language just like love and needs no communication skills.

After tracking NDTV live online for three days, it felt that Bombay episode was a replay of many things that have been seen in the past instances of terrorism. Government's inability to take quick actions, politicians trying to gain votes out of a disastrous calamity and media being news hungry and absolutely insensitive in their coverage.

What hurts the most is that a major part of our income in India goes in taxes. Where are these funds used and what for. Why should the politicians enjoy the best of life from our money, when they can't provide us with a sense of security. I know we Indians have the spirit but it is a choiceless choice too move on. There has to be a day when all of us stop and say 'NO MORE' to the government and through them to the terrorists.

WARNING: DO NOT EXPLOIT OUR SPIRIT !!!!!

Colourful moments...

Before going to India I had a long unwritten shopping list, which seemed never ending. I enjoyed adding more and more to my list but what matters is the accomplishment. After reaching home shopping took a back seat in list of priorities. It was delayed and delayed and delayed till the last day, date and moment. The frustrated me on the last day in Lajpat Nagar dint know what to do and where to go and finally decided to get mehndi done on left hand.























Mehndi guy did his job well. He told me about contracts for mehndi in marriages and will be working in three shifts due to heavy rush of wedding season.



















The result was good!























And got better only. These pics were taken in the flight while I was enjoying the colour.





















The pic below reminds me of what comes has to go but this whole experience of getting mehndi done was pleasant and motivates me for more attempts.






















The shopping list is only getting bigger and better, but who cares its just a list !
:)
P.S. I forgot to titile the post and the it was added later.

Its time...

One of the greatest feelings is to be in the comfort of family, friends and home. The things on my priority list vanished as soon as I landed. I met almost everyone close. Some managed to surprise me and I surprised few as well but now it's time to head back.

I am putting down the lyrics of one of my favourite songs from KANK for the people I love and care for, who miss me as much as I miss them, when we are not together.

Tum ko bhi hai khabar
Mujhko bhi hai pata
Ho raha hai judaa
Dono ka raasta
Dur jaake bhi mujhse tum meri yaadon main rehna

Kabhi alvida na kehna
Kabhi alvida na kehna
:)

My love...

I love this plant, the flower and the colour. I get a homely feeling with bougainvillea around.

























:)

LHR - DEL

This is a birdeye view of the skyline, Afghanistan sand and rocks and Delhi. The last few pics are of the Delhi runway.

The flight was interesting. There was hardly any sleep for me and therefore watched What happens in Vegas, Chandni and Tere ghar ke samne. I also had the time to look around and see what other people were watching. Some of the popular films on flight were Dil to pagal hai, Taare zameen par and Hum dil chuke sanam. Dont be surprised by so many hindi film viewers as this was a Jet airways flight.

























:)

After effects of dissertation

I have been saying funny things to people off late. Here are few for the readers:

1. My plan is not to plan

2. If life, love and luck are kind enough to give a second chance...GRAB IT!!!

3. Life is like a bubble...LIVE IT!!!

4. 'Move on' is the easiest suggestion to give and most difficult to follow.

:)

NDTV is BULLSHIT !

This post is being written with NDTV's famous programme 'We the people' playing in the background. It has become like a Star Plus soap which is very predictable.

The issue is obviously Delhi blasts and what a big nonsense it is. The anchor, Barkha Dutt seems to be insensitive. She asked a victim's relative how he felt after his relative died in Karol Bagh blast....Madam Dutt consider yourself very lucky if you don't know how it feels when a loved one dies like this... And then they have the usual heroes of the programme, Congress spokeperson Abhishekmanu Singhvi and Arun Jaitely from BJP. Both argue about what Congress is doing for security and what BJP did not do and is not doing in BJP ruled state. Both the political parties don't want to disturb their vote banks.

How sad is the fact that in their useless debate they remembered law, themselves and their parties but happily forgot victims and Delhi blasts.

'We the people' actually have no choice but to move on and 'WE' are not interested in debates.

Another important thing Barkha Dutt is not good as an anchor a number of times and this episode was just another example. However 'We the people' will appreciate if NDTV arranges for a fruitful discussion instead of a Dog vs Cat sessions on sensitive issues merely for high viewership.

Mission B-A-D

Banglore-Ahmedabad-Delhi were the targets of Indian Mujahideen. Are people in such terrorist groups human???? How come they think their mission is bigger than fellow human beings and above that what is the mission. What will they get if people leave home with a terror in mind that each bye to their loved ones can be the final bye forever.

Everyone I know wants to kill them, everyone abuses them. Then why cant something be done about these camps. Being away from home can be extremely painful when such attacks happen. I understand all of us have to die one day, but why should a terrorist group decide anybody's life span.

The role of the government is very questionable in this. A government that is so busy with the nuclear deal and with the opposition so eager to bring it down, it feels as if there is no one at all thinking about citizen's sense of security. Who wants their sympathy, when will the actions speak louder????. People in power are as helpless because they are busy enjoying what they have, given by us.

My heart goes out to the blast victims and their families. We are sandwiched between terrorists and the government. God bless us all in the world of terrorism.

:)

Picture perfect Leicester

This pic was taken while I was returing home one eve. I pass by river Soar everyday but have never seen it so calm, so still. It appeared to me like a mirror and thanked for mobile phone camera technology as I captured the beauty of the river.

:)

Souvinier from Poland

This post is for a very special friend from Poland. She is my housemate and makes me feel at home when least expected. We hardly get to meet despite of living in the same house. But whenever we do, she greets me with her magical mother like smile whatever the time maybe.

Thank god for her.

:)

Who knows knowledge ?

Knowing too much sometimes takes away the joy of life. These days I am writing a report on knowledge. By doing so all my energy and the knowledge for namesake has drained completely.

I did everything that I was not expected to, to gain some knowledge, like watching FILMS, NDTV online, BBC online and friends, in the time that was given for research and preparation. The worst was planning a trip back home over and over again. And guess what...I am back to my normal way of working i.e. always performing under pressure by choice or call it by habit.

The other day I was talking to a friend and said, 'I have knowledge and can work for a while' when I wanted to say that I have energy and can work for a while. In another funny conversation I asked a friend not to worry about his report, to which he quickly replied, 'don't worry I have knowledge'.

For now my dictionary begins and ends with KNOWLEDGE. I think all the worry, tension, anxiety, nervousness, stress, excitement and pressure is thanks to knowledge that I don't have yet working on. I hope this pressure will feel like pleasure, happiness, delight and enjoyment after the report is submitted.

:)

Life is like a bubble

My latest laptop screensaver is of bubbles and it is also the inspiration behind this post.

In grand scheme of things our life is just like a bubble...a bubble is born to fly happily and stays happy but not for very long... sometimes it has to fight with other bubbles and odd air flows.There are bubbles within the bubble of life like joys, sorrows, love, family, friends... The reality of all bubbles is that they die at one point...no matter what.

If our life is like a bubble, I wonder when I burst...where will my air go? will it vanish...

On a lighter note a friend said that life is like a bubblegum...chew it till the flavour ends :) I will say enjoy it till the flavour is there.

:)

Where is my magic wand????

Why are children shown and made to believe in magic wands in films and stories when they dont exist ??? I wanted one very desperately when I was in class 4. That's when I appeared for my first exam and I din't know what was happening. Basically the whole examination pattern was newly introduced and most students were confused about it. My preparation was poor and after the exams I thought it was the end of class 4.That was not the end.

It was the beginning, the beginning of bad or no prep for exams. Now its time again to look for a magic wand. Life goes in cirlcles, I am in a new system once again. Don't really know how things work but wish I had a magic wand that could make my 3000 words to 13000 or 500 to 15000 words. The magic is only in adding a figure here and there and therefore looks small. But this small change will make life easssssssssssssssssy...are the magician's listening...their customer is waiting here...

:)

Yaadein...

Bad thing about bad memories is that they keep coming back...
Good thing with good memories is that they last forever- Unknown

My interpretation is that bad thing with bad memories is that they cause pain when ever they come back. Good memories make a tough journney smoother and bring a smile out of the blue.

This reminds me of one of my favourite song from hindi film 'Yaadein'.

baatein bhool jati hain....Yaadein yaad aati hain...yaadein...ye yaadein

:)

Quick salald

Hungry and dont know what to eat. If this tempts you then read on to know the recipe. You can guess most ingredients from the pic as well.

*Chopped Red bell pepper
*Chopped cucumber
*Chopped sweet onions
*No cheeeeeeeeeeeese if you can do without it. I can't do without it on most days. The one used here is mozarella.
*Salt to taste
*Lemon drops
*Oregano or mixed herbs

Mix them all in a bowl and forget photography.

:)

Bus ride to Woodhouse Eaves

Photography can be very interesting on a sunny turned rainy turned sunny day.

First two pics were clicked from bus. I wish the bus broke down near the river for a while, but all wishes don't come true. Do notice the gloss on greens. Pink is the cameras favourite and in the last one, the photographer says, 'hi' to all. ENJOY :)

Dreamless Dreams - II

I had no intentions of writing further on Dreams, but a friends call made me so excited that I had to share it with others. I was very troubled by my own dreams when I last wrote about them and therefore forgot to mention that several dreams take us to cloud nine. They are so beautiful than reality that one doesn't feel like opening eyes after that. These are also the dreams that you want to run to someone and talk about in one breath. Such are the dreams we all dream for like getting a CEO job, scoring distinction marks, marrying the person one likes, job promotions, India winning the world cup ;) and so on...

I was touched by this friend’s call, who chose me to share one such beautiful dream. Actually this person shared happiness which I am sharing with you.

Spread your happiness too, SWEET dreams to all.

:) :) :) :)

Jaane tu...ya jaane na - II

In my previous post on Jaane tu...ya jaane na, I mentioned about good performances by side characters in the film, and specially mentioned Genelia's brother. I liked the way his character was shaped and the relation he shared with Genelia. The guy plays role of a maverick brother and his acting was superior to most other seasoned actors. This is what made me search for more about him.

His name is Prateik Babbar s/o veteran actors Smita Patil and Raj Babbar. No wonder there was some sort of familiarity about him and his acting. This was also his first film, however Imraan Khan got the biggest piece of cake, thanks to uncle Aamir. But Prateik's acting genes did not go unnoticed. The policy of ‘let the work speak’ worked well for him.

:)

Dreamless Dreams

In all these years I have heard a variety of meanings of the word 'Dream' but truthfully have never understood anything about them. People have tried defining them and their significance. But I wonder their level of success, if any. I am talking about dreams that we see while sleeping.

I can easily call my dreams my best friend. They make me see and feel the world that is out of reach. On this planet of technology, seeing family and friends on web camera is easy. But meeting them in dreams changes the intensity of interaction completely. Sometimes these dreams have indicated the future, sometimes they fulfilled what did not happen in the past. I intermingle with strangers in strange situations. I see dolphins frozen in blue water and I do question myself when I see SRK as boyfriend.

Some dreams make life very difficult. There are times when I wake up extremely worried and tensed and there are other times when I get up with a sense of satisfaction and a smile on face. There are also dreams that are recurring or continuous, there is something similar about few dreams. I doubt if these dreams point to anything at all. I still reach nowhere thinking about dreams but I continue to dream.

:)

English Rose - II

I took these pics from mobile camera, as I could not control myself from capturing the beautiful blend of colours. Enjoy the different shades.

:)

2007 2008

It's my blog's first birthday. Last year on 20 07 2007, I started posting and the first post was named 20072007 as my brother made me realise the sequence. The sequence still remains interesting i.e.20 07 2008. So much has happened in this year and Vibgyor is a reflection of some of the most beautiful moments. Not just that it has been my friend indeed, when I could not talk.

Thankyou A for introducing me to blogging.

:)

Leicester soaked up

This is how Leicester was for the last two days. I find such weather lifeless but life goes on.

:)

Jaane tu...ya jaane na

bhejafry.net seems to be my best friend in UK. This is where I watch the latest hindi flicks. I got to watch Jane tu..ya jane na. BBC radio and few other friends gave good reviews of the film and so the excitement was obvious. The print wasn't very good but I have learnt to compromise on that front.

I think the film is just a onetime watch and thats really not expected from an Aamir Khan Production. The story has nothing new to offer, it probably is the most predictable story I have seen in the recent past. But few elements are excellent. The concept of being a 'Mard' has been redefined in a way which is impossible to achieve. Imraan Khan, Aamir Khan's nephew happens to be the hero of the film. He is cute but his chocolaty looks get a bit uninteresting after a while and so is the case with Genelia. Genelia needs serious acting classes as I also saw her in Mere Baap Pehle Aap and she was awful.

The fun of the film is in the characters that are set with the main actors. Parents, friends, police inspector, brother , cousin brothers even girl friend. These characters were given due importance and they added a different flavour to the film. The best of all was Genelia’s brother.

The film has been used very well for Aamir's endorsements i.e. Toyota Innova and Coke. In instances like when one of the character asks for Coke on the rocks, Jaane tu... gives a look of a commercial advertisement. This film has more of such cliches. The biggest one being Imraan Khan running to stop Genelia on the International Airport. Running on International Airport looks like a very cool thing to do in films and most films make this look like a joke. I am sure Imraan is a good, smart and lucky runner. Lucky because he ran for a film shoot, in real life the police would have shot him down for being a terrorist.

:)

Relationship and complexities

I was going through one of the beauty magazines which had a separate section for relationship issues. I always ignore these sections in the first go, yet read some of the issues with great interest. Some of the people really talk interesting stuff. Here are few which grabbed my attention:

1. Girl’s problem, "And with online/long distance, I was getting what I was not desperate for and not getting what I was desperate for"

This issue actually made me look for the real meaning of desperate. What dictionary.com failed to explain was that what can be the level of desperation in human beings or there is no boundary at all. Is it grabbing everything/everyone that one gets and use everything as opportunity?

2. Man chats with his woman co-worker on camera after work sometimes also late nights. This man had a problem that his wife does not trust him although he maintains a very honest relationship with her and the wife is told about even if little bit hugging and kissing happens online.

So I started to wonder if this is honesty then what does it actually mean. Does it not mean to avoid such situations from happening in the first place, if it happens does it not mean discouraging the same? And do chat emoticons mean anything at all.

These are all tricky questions to answer and probably when people can’t understand the simplest things they look for a third person’s advice. This also keeps these otherwise useless magazines in business.

In my opinion relationships were, are and will always remain complex. As I was discussing with a friend that we don’t love what we have and we love what we can’t get. So the vicious circle of complexity is never ending in human nature.

Long to short days

English summer is beautiful when it doesn't rain. The sun covers up for all that it is unable to give in winters. The days are long, infact very long and are full of energy. The sun rises at about 4.45 am and sets nowhere sooner than 9.30 pm. One can hear birds chirping and children playing on streets. Now is the time when the days are getting shorter once again and each day sunrise is delayed by approximately one minute.

Tyndale Street, Leicester at 8.30 pm

And the same place at 9.30 pm

:)