Another movie

With so much happening in the past few days, i have not been able to keep up with the writing. Each incident seems worthy of putting up on a blog. But laziness gets the better of me each time. But at 1 in the morning, there is little laziness and the need to while away some more time brings me back to writing.

I have been watching the new release of Akshay Kumar, Kambakkht Ishq. I still remember the Amir Khan starrer ISHQ. It was absolutely hilarious. I did not expect anything of the same level from this movie, but still we've come to expect some quality from Akshay Kumar.

Though the 'Dog' - 'Bitch' sequences do seem to be a rip off from Hum Tum, there are certainly some scenes which take your breath away. The timing and the presentation of the dialogue have been taken good care of. The entry of Akshay Kumar could have been better timed. Bringing him in at the very start of the movie has been a wrong decision. An entry in the 'Tashan' style would definitely have brought more cheers from the crowds.

The music fails to impress. A number of the stunts seem too lame and the picturizatino could have done with a bit more quality. A regular masala flick. We have come to expect more from this actor. A two and half to three star is all it would get from me on the scale of five.

The savior is the scene where the operation is held. The stunt man keeps mumbling and the words are a treat to the years who expect some fun from the movie. The important thing is to go the movie without any inhibition to laugh and enjoying it as far as you can. The movie goes uphill after the interval. Mr. Boman Irani is a darling as usual. People like him can definitely bring a movie to life for the brief moments that they are given free reign.

We need not forget our very own Javed Jafri either. Another great actor who never suited the lead role. He can make your sides ache when he's in a supporting role. May it be 'Paying Guest' where he pulls off a feminine role or here where he dreams of suing whoever he can. He goes to the extent of calling himself 'Suer'. The word is very aptly used and his presentation is awe inspiring.

Well now coming to the let down. Whichever part of the movie has Kareena taking lead space on screen seems to get boring. She has proven herself to be dumb in previous movies as well and never made a mark where comic timing is of essence. It may be well to remind you all of Golmaal Returns, where a lot of screen time was given to the actress, but to no avail. She just fails to impress. A one time watch, the movie is a pure masala meant for some decent entertainment. Don't keep expectations too high.

The first Monsoon showers

It has finally been confirmed that the monsoon is here. Take a look outside and it is evident. We need not wait for the met department to announce that the monsoon is finally here.

It was day before yesterday, and i was out to buy some cigarettes when the rain started coming in big drops. The wind was blowing and the weather turned pleasant in a very short while.

Soon the droplets started to come down faster and the people scuttled for shelter. Everyone wants the rains to come, but why not get wet. Its fun. And if you're not on your way to office, there is no harm in getting a little wet.

With no change in my walking pace, i walked the mile back home. It was one of those walks that take out the stress from life. All your worries are left behind and you move forward away from it all.

This would be just another example of the situations the camera doesn't help in. The feeling and the atmosphere is something the camera can never capture in its entire form.

Open Source

Well let me begin. There are primarily two schools of thought, not only in the world of software / hardware, but also in regular life. The world of open source believes that information should be freely and readily available to all. While the other realm believes that information and knowledge should be kept in the wraps, and restricted to oneself.

Let us first evaluate open source. As the knowledge is shared among all, a lot of minds ponder over the problems being incurred. Hence, the solution is found at a much faster rate. The development curve is steep. Taking the analogy to the real world, we have a condition, where you share info with others. So more people know about the problems that you are facing. Hence you are more likely to find a solution.

The other option is to keep things under proprietary and restricted. This is the fundamental principle being followed by Microsoft. They keep their knowledge and know how to themselves. But does it help? In fact NO. They have now been compelled to use codes from some linux based OS in their newer versions of the Windows. They are steadily falling behind in the development of new technologies. Same is the case of people who try to keep their knowledge to themselves.

Share and Rule is the new world order.

It is unconventional to dedicate a blog post to someone. But this one does deserve a dedication.

I dedicate this post to Souvik Das Gupta and Vikas Ruhela. They introduced me to the concept of Open Source. And not to forget Ayush Joshi, who truely believes in the postulates of open source.

Life Goes on After Four Years

I'm back home after college. Four years of staying in the hostel and now it seems all different. A lot has changed behind me in these four years. Or has it. Or have I changed. There are a lot of different perspectives to this. But which one do I choose.

Anyway, a significant change that became so evident last evening was that I returned to the world of cricket. For the last four years I was totally disinterested in Cricket. One major reason being the lack of comfort in which we were required to watch the game. Some of us found enjoyment in watching the game in the overcrowded common room where over a hundred people packed in to enjoy the moments of the match. I'm sure the group feeling was more active there but somehow I was not attracted by the common room. On the other hand, I always found some other work to be done during that same time which slowly took me away from Cricket.

Now that i'm back home, I slowly got back to Cricket. Last evening I watched the entire match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and got so engrossed in the match that I postponed my bath for a while just to see the entire match. I was not ready to move away while the match was on. I'm yet not the big fan who'd take time out of the day to get to watch a particular match, but yes once I'm onto a match, I'm not going to leave it in midway and move on. Lets see how I keep this passion of mine in limits.

Some images from the past

18th November 2006.
Mr. Blair finally admitted that Iraq was a mistake. Can he return the lives of all those who had to loose theirs for his mistake. Come on. You are responsible people. You need not rush in and say i made a mistake. You need to grow up from being Kindergarten students.

I had kept the clipping for a blogpost. It had got buried. Just found it.

Six Months have passed

I wrote this post last night. But am posting it now.

It has been six long months. SIX months since the terror attack on Mumbai. It started on the 26th of November and lasted for a never ending 60 hours. It is also the death anniversary of the first Prime Minister of our nation. Some nearly 62 years ago, our motherland had been handed back to us and Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru had taken charge of the affairs as the Prime Minister. The day is apt for questioning whether our functioning as an independent nation has been successful or not.

The terror attack on one of the landmarks of India was supposed to be a wake up call for the nation, to sit up and fight back. The NSG did fight back, but what about the nation as a whole. It had taken those attacks to remove non performers such as Deskmukh and Shivraj Patil from their posts as Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Union Home Minister. And guess what, Vilasrao Deshmukh is now back as a Union Cabinet Minister. Why have WE voted to bring them back.

Even though everyone was screaming about reforms and change, we didn't go out to cast our votes on the D Day. The voting percentage was no better than any of the yester years. Mumbai, which should have come out strongly, managed a meager 40% voting. Does this mean that we have given up on the government, and who the power is given to.

What about the issue of the terrorist who was caught? We are spending millions on his protection. But have we even been able to convince the international community that the attacks have been sponsored by Pakistan, let alone Pakistan accepting the fact. Why are we even giving him a trial. If he's indicted and locked away, another siege might be underway in a few months trying to get him freed.

At that time,six months back, we had been promised a better equipped police force. Do we even remember the name of the officer other than the ATS Chief who lost his life that evil night. What about the NSG commando who finally captured Kasab? He should be the hero of the night, Rather, we have made Kasab into one.

To top it all, i would draw your attention to the Lahore attack today at a location where the 26/11 mastermind had been placed under house arrest. The same attack could have taken place on the some Indian consulate forcing us to release Kasab as well. What then??

The turning Point

Bollywood has finally taken an unexpected turn. It has now tried taking on the science fiction genre by the neck. Previous attempts on this genre in Bollywood include movies like 'Koi Mil Gaya' and its sequel. Though a major hit, it did not introduce any new concept or invention. UFOs and Aliens are popular topics and though no film maker had tried to venture on those tracks, the concepts were well known.

On the other hand, this year has brought two movies to the block which deal with science fiction concepts. First came the Akshay Kumar starrer 'Tasveer'. The movie revolved around the protagonist who was able to view the world through the eyes of a person of whom he had a picture. He could travel across the realms of space and time in doing so. Yes, 'Butterfly Effect' from the year 2004 comes to mind on watching this, but there are significant changes to the plot and concept.

A few weeks later, we were brought face to face with a camera which would predict our future. The movie was 'Aa Dekhe Zara' starring Neil Nitin Mukesh by Jehangir Surti. The movie was more of a thriller and a chase, but the concept of hte camera was indeed nice. The venture of Bollywood directors on such unknown turfs is surely encouraging. Though the audience did not recieve either of the movies in a friendly manner, but yes, the audience needs to mature and give actors and directors more room to work in, other than silly love triangles.