A Dream

"You HELD your bat for CLOSE TO TWO DAYS to SAVE India? Which game are you talkin about? That's not cricket!"

"It so IS cricket... if that isn't what is? Those annoying insects flying around the garden?"

"Well, can't say no! But Grandpa this is unreal! Are you saying that the first ever IPL match was played for five days?"

"I truly don't believe in spanking children, but I might have to sell my belief to the situation"

"Whoa whoa whoa! You don't wanna go to jail do you?!"

"I wouldn't mind going to any extent if you don't speak like a true Tendulkar"

"Well I do respect the game and stuff! And I am aware that you were once the poster boy for Indian cricket! But what is this playing-for-five-days and having-tea-in-between business?"

"Funny you mention it but business is what it has become child! IPL and its set of successors and predecessors alone are not what cricket is all about! But let me not complain a lot here I have had my share of profits too"

"Ofcourse you would have! You have a decent record in the IPL don't you? About 1700 runs in four seasons at an average of about 34 is pretty good!"

"Child this is getting unacceptable! You are only aware of 1700 of whatever I have scored?"

"Alright 1700 and odd, and add to it the captaincy stint for Mumbai Indians who won the 2011 Trophy under you (wink wink) Now show me one person in this world who knows the stats of his great grandpa who maintained a strike rate of something less than 150. 200 is the standard to get into my school team today"

"Oh first ball six and second ball out, and you are in the team huh?"

"Well that's how I got into my school team and ofcourse some smart asses in my class gossip that it's also because of my family name... alright so tell me about this five-day thingy! You say that you have a good record in that funny format so how many City Moments of Success have you accomplished in that? Just curious coz 3/match is the current standard to be called the best player"

"Ailaaaa...." (Shills loudly in anguish)

Unlike now, one day Sachin Tendulkar will be a very old man! And unlike now he might want to boast about all his achievements then! And then is when the above dream should not be true! Test cricket doesn't deserve to end not just for Tendulkar but for cricket itself!!!

Yet another hapless hopeless Sunday

Wakin up at half past eleven covers most of the Sunday for any normal bein, but with me who loves to be nocturnal durin weekends, yet another Sunday begins without a proper plan. Lemme not take all the blame here!! What can we plan with most of my best friends out of town to 'study', one of them livin two streets away but is infuriatingly commited to his girl friend and with cousins who look up to me with eyes filled with hope waitin for that magical solution to be uttered for all their ennui to vanish? Seriously what do we plan when the whole world is conspirin against you?!

Televisions stand first in the list of best inventions horribly utilized, thanks to those who telecast stuff that test my patience. I dont wanna keep changin channels for the whole day. Books are a good option but cant do that for more than an hour or two unless its unbelievably engrossin. Cricket, thanks to the weather in Chennai and the idiocy of the Sri Lankan Cricket board, will just not happen in any form today. So, after three to four rounds of elimination like these we realize that we need a destination to hit.

City Centre sounds like a plan. Ofcourse it isn't as happenin as it was during its inception.... Inception - that's a plan! But will we get tickets - that's the big question! Coz we are talkin about the evenin show of the brainchild of Christopher Nolan but this brainwave's struck us as late as the afternoon. After eons of hapless discussions we have realised that plannin just isn't our strength. Be it Inception or even some random Telugu movie, we do not have that ability to brainstorm an outing. It's just about gettin there and gettin lost! So lets rally our horses fellas, City Centre Mall it would be!!

My Name is Khan - Movie review

Man with a Mission
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol
Story and Screenplay: Shibani Bathija
Dialogues: Shibani Bathija and Niranjan Iyengar
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Direction: Karan Johar
Producer: Karan Johar and Gauri Khan

To watch 'My Name is Khan' (MNIK) is to witness a talented director unravel the magic of a script on screen, with a Superstar paving way for it! Shibani Bathija has taken a sensitive theme of people's (especially Westerners') tendency to think every Muslim is violent and the grossly misunderstood concept of Jihad. With the help of that, she comes up with a neat screenplay to take us on an enriching journey. In simple words, MNIK is about Rizvan Khan (Shahrukh Khan) who suffers from Asperger Syndrome (a form of autism), his wife Mandira (Kajol) and her son. Rizvan is on a mission to meet the President of the United States of America to deliver a message - "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist".

His character is well established at the very beginning in a simple dialogue where he tries to explain his difficulty in social interaction, "I am not mad! I just can't understand why people think something but say something else" (I watched it with subtitles). The Bathija-Iyengar-Johar trio have played with this throughout the movie. For example, in a scene when Rizvan disturbs Mandira asking her to cut his hair when she is actually busy with a customer she says,"Rizvan I am dying to cut your hair but not now I am busy" for which he replies, "Oh no! Don't kill yourself just cut my hair." In another instance where she starts the conversation by asking,"You know what Rizvan?..." he immediately says "No I don't."

It is indeed a gutsy decision by Shahrukh Khan to act in this film apart from producing it, but the Baadshah has proven a point yet again. While he has seen runaway successes in run-of-the-mill stuffs, he hasn't failed to take part in films like Swades and Chak De India as well. MNIK would probably be the best in that list! While his detractors and others who are used to see him as the 'item-boy' might comment that he has overacted, his performance remains one of the best in Indian Cinema. He has also appropriately used his own style to make the character even more interesting and lovable. Rizvan Khan is probably another dimension of his role in Hey Ram and it is evident that he has a personal bonding with the theme of misunderstood Muslims.

Kajol is the pristine candlestick that glows brightly throughout the film. She has done complete justice to the well written role of Mandira who oozes with courage and conviction. With sparkling eyes and a sensuous presence, she gives her best to carry forward her chemisty with Shahrukh and relive the magic of Kuch Kuch Hotha Hai (which for a long time remained the only Hindi movie I've ever watched). A true performer, that she is, looks equally at ease in humourous and emotional scenes.

According to me, the movie could've ended immediately after Rizvan is released from jail. However, Rizvan Khan being Shahrukh Khan, Karan Johar being Karan Johar and Indian Cinema being Bollywood, it had to take the longer route to reach the finale, the dramatized one. Nevertheless, MNIK is an outstanding show as it passionately describes the stance of a true Muslim.

Forty four months ago....................

Disclaimer - Whatever is about to follow is an episode of the past and has little effect on the present

It was June 30th, 2006. The Music Academy in Chennai was the place. We, the commerce students of PSBB, were taken there for an educational play - 'Chanakyashastra'. Our accounts professor, the legendary Mr. Rajagopal, had announced initially that it was only for those who were interested. However for some fishy reason, it was made compulsory for all the commerce students to pay Rs.100 and attend it. We wondered which account was the amount being debited into :P Probably it wasn't just us who thought that the play was going to be boring because even the Music Academy had stationed attractive girls to give away free 'Red Bull's before the night began. However at the end of it, I felt that it deserved much more than Rs.100 and the sole reason would be SHE who must not be named...

I distinctly remember that it was my pal Shriram who was ogling at her before turning my attention onto her. To honestly describe the moment I saw her (without bothering the thesaurus) would be to say that it was euphoria and excitement with a dash of desire. Although many (including the present me) would call it a crush or infatuation or adolescence or even lust, I knew that at that second I attained the level of LOVE. On a filmier note, I did hear the bell ringing inside my head and felt the bulb glowing brightly above it.

She was the most beautiful female present that night and till all went dark for the play to begin, needless to say whom I was looking at. When the ghost of Chanakya (central character in the play) finished explaining how his ancient literature on courtroom administration (Chanakyashastra) written during monarchy times can be related to modern-day management, the lights were turned on. I followed her all the way back to her bus when one of my teachers told me that I was taking the other one which was going to our school.

Thanks to my not-very-genuine efforts to befriend her, she hasn't qualified herself to be my sweetheart today! The girl I saw that night might not be the only girl I have ever loved but definitely the one girl whom I will always reminisce about. Happy Valentine's day to everyone who believes in love....

Will you?

A perception hitherto unknown,
A dream that it is, singing
A song awaiting the day it comes true!
A secret I didn’t wanna hide’s
Blooming out of its shell
To become the reality
And to remain the serendipity!

Am filled with joy unbound
Wanting to realize my true self!
Denying me my sleep and endurance,
Days roll by....
Unfailingly striking me everyday, the dream’s
Killing me without presenting death!
Will you come along with me
To travel the long journey....

The Kamalian Perspective

"When mediocrity is set as the standard, the ordinary becomes acceptable and anything more is considered genius" - Kamal Hassan on him being called a genius

The above is a pristine addition to the list of brilliant quotes that the quoter is less famous for! Dr. Kamal Hassan today is more than fifty years old in an industry which has always fascinated me. His proficiency in it is widely known, duly credited and adequately written about. I say this not to belittle what he has accomplished in Indian cinema, but I believe that his excellence in the tinsel town has been excessively diffused thereby overshadowing the person in him. I am talking about the person who makes himself available to his receptive audience through every medium possible, who takes the maximum effort to battle against age and retain the charm in his presence, who effectively argues to primarily make the layman aware of a pertinent issue and possibly instigate at least a mediocre but healthy argument even at that level. I feel this person deserves plaudits and accolades equivalent to what the Sakalakala Maanavan (Student of all arts) in him enjoys, if not more.

I call him Sakalakala Maanavan unlike the more prevalent Sakalakala Vallavan (Expert of all arts) because the former is what he calls himself. Whether he is really a modest person or not is something I don't know, but the way he conducts himself while addressing the media and public does reflect his understanding of how important is humility in life. While a cynical critic of Kamal would term that demeanor as 'false modesty', Kamal's stature is gargantuan enough to the extent that him faking modesty is still bound to inspire a significant amount of the South Indian population to be modest themselves. I am talking about his admirers who have been transformed, from being obsessive fan club members to real-life heroes working towards humanity, by their on-screen hero. Kamal Hassan indeed set a healthy trend by converting every fan club of his into a welfare association of, for and by the society.

Kamal's social awareness was further evident when he said, "Naangal ungal saayangaalangalai santhosha padutha mattume irukkirom. Cinema is not an essential service." According to me, this simple quote of his will remain his best for two reasons. One, it reinforces the fact that he doesn't fancy his admirers to be so notoriously obsessed with films, including his own, when they can actually be doing something useful to the society. Two, it literally rubbishes the notion of fundamentalists in favor of Kamal who think that he lives and breathes cinema. I wouldn't really blame those fundamentalists as Kamal indeed relentlessly strives to innovate and tries the maximum to put India's on-screen offerings on par with those of the world. However the reason for that would be something as simple and practical as an adage that our parents and grandparents keep telling us - "Even if you end up in a profession of cleaning toilets, try to be the best in it". Perhaps another quote of his will add clarity - "Yes. Cinema is also only a business, but business is not always only about making money."

Film-making is undoubtedly Kamal's passion and that helps his cause of achieving excellence and constantly improving himself in it, but I feel that the fundamentalists shouldn't believe in emotional illusions such as Kamal living only to improve cinema as he himself knows that he does nothing more than making a living out of cinema. Rather, they can try responding to Kamal's call for social awareness and begin relating to the diligence and dynamism that constitute his work ethics. Imbibing those attributes and applying them in their own professions is bound to work wonders because most of them should be in a far better position in their fields of expertise compared to where Kamal and Indian cinema were in the early stages of his career.

I feel that Kamal's occupancy in the society as a useful citizen of the democracy, that he strongly believes in, is more relevant than his occupation of venturing into unexplored territories on the silver screen. However after writing this novel, it would be gross injustice if I avoid mentioning the following. Salutations to one of the biggest Stars of Indian Cinema on his rare feat of having completed 50 years in the film industry!!

- By an admirer of Kamal Hassan and an even greater one of one of his contemporaries ;)

Another History...

Taking a lone walk in Elliot’s Beach (in Chennai) watching the painted sky with awe was something Reena never failed to do on any Diwali evening, and Diwali 2004 was no exception. What was exceptional and thoroughly unexpected was she living her dream for a few moments! Like any girl whose childhood’s staple diet had been Cinderella and Snow White, Reena too had been waiting for her ‘Prince Charming’. And there he was - swiftly slackening the rented horse - and Reena couldn’t avoid eye contact! Needless to say it was love at first sight for Rutvik whose jaw involuntarily dropped on seeing her. For Reena it was a mixture of emotions as he got down from the horse with the extravagance of the firecrackers in the sky providing a heroic aura. The momentary similarity between Rutvik and ‘Prince Charming’ was so powerful that a genuine effort from him to build a conversation would have at least sealed a conditional deal. However to Reena’s dismay it was:

“In Good Old Holy Cupid’s Lake
You’re the Duck and am the Drake
Here I am with my very own proposal
Original and showing my Love Colossal
Oh just say you love me, my Lamington cake!”

“Would you please leave me for God’s sake?”

““I return the question with a spelling mistake!
Would you please LOVE me for God’s sake?
Ok! Let’s cut the crap,” let out a hand, “I am Rutvik”.

“Yes am indeed gonna cut the crap, hyphen, Rutvik!”

She kept walking without turning back but Rutvik didn’t stop trying. He managed to catch up with her in the same beach during her early morning jogs. While Reena was rubbishing every bit of his limericks in the mornings, she was having a hearty laugh about them with her friends in the evenings.

A month after their first meeting he suddenly stopped seeing her. Reena didn’t feel a thing initially but gradually felt that her mornings were beginning to miss listening to vacuous drivel. She did fear this earlier when she didn’t want to go to another place to jog or take any effort to avoid him except consistently using ineffective phrases like “Get a life!” and “Leave me Alone!” Almost a fortnight had passed since she saw him and, by that time she desperately missed her Prince Charming. Suddenly, one day he was there in the beach by the sea where she usually starts her jogging session.

“Did you miss me? Sorry if you did, I was busy with my visa documentation. I have been admitted into the Medical School of the University of Otago.”

“What! Oh good…Err…Congrats”

“Before I take leave, I have something to say and hope you don’t mind listening to it…”

Reena was almost heartbroken as she felt that he had never loved her but saw her only as a pastime. She wore no expression, expecting another stupid limerick that bids adieu to her.

“It was serendipity when I saw you for the first time. I wanted to ask your name, but as I started walking towards you I became nervous. So I came up with a limerick to hide my nerves and all this while, been using the same trick. I realized that I wasn’t getting anywhere so I used this break to gather myself and find out more about you – your name in particular. These few days have been hell without you and it now dawns on me that,” took a flower bouquet from his bag, “Reena! I love you!”

Reena was teary eyed as she nodded and accepted the bouquet with a gentle smile, “You were kidding, about Otago, weren’t you? You just wanted me to miss you all this while…”

“Ah am afraid not! Got my visa and I’ll be flying to New Zealand in two weeks by Cathay Pacific… But don’t worry that won’t make any difference… If we can fight our respective religions we can fight the distance too… and I will be back same time next year… Will you be there for my homecoming?”

“I will but only if you feed me a meaningless limerick now!”

Rutvik looked around, checked his watch, smiled and ran to stand on a raised platform near the sea. He dragged her along with him and held her hands,

“As we stand on this celestial podium
There’s a dearth of ideas in my cranium
To recover and come up with a limerick
I need the sweet taste of your Chap Stick
Now, on December 26, 2004, at 6.30 a.m.”