two books and a movie

Okay, it’s actually not about two books and a movie, but this sounded cool: )
These hols have been near-perfect. I have been reading books and watching movies. And have even managed to get some work done, mostly thanks to Shilpa!

Message from Nam. My first by Danielle Steel. It was a good read. And any book that can make me cry can’t be bad. Hehe. No seriously, a boring book can’t touch you enough, right? And I was sooooo relieved that it was a happy ending. It was kinda funny how all the men Paxton loved died eventually! Very melodramatic. But well written. And held my attention till the end. Not proper chick-lit, more filmy than girly I guess.

Madagascar 2. …we like to…move it! What do I say about the sequel to my all-time-fav-animated-movie! It was great! Hilarious from start to end…with a generous dose of heart-tugging moments. King Julian is the best. The penguins were brilliant too. Such meanies!!! Hehe… baki sab were okay…not great as individuals…but they make a lovely gang! And I kept hearing Ross when Melman spoke. Overall, good movie. As a sequel, 4 on 5. But the first one is undoubtedly incomparable!

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye. Much anticipated and honestly, pretty disappointing. I mean, I don’t know what to make of it! In the beginning I kept hoping that the story would pick up pace soon…but that never happened. Maybe I shouldn’t have expected a funny movie. But the promos suggested that it was…and the only funny moments were those I’d already seen in the promos! Abhay Deol is cute. Apart from that, I wonder what got the movie such raving reviews!

Remember Me. Sophie Kinsella’s latest. Hilarious. Kinsella is at her witty best in this one. But somehow, the story is kinda bland. Again, this could be a case of wrong expectations. I expected the love story to be central to the plot. It was, in a way…but not quite. And the guy she falls for … his character isn’t that well sketched out. I had a great time reading it. But don’t expect the magic of Can You Keep a Secret or Undomestic Goddess. The plot somehow reminded me of 13 Going on 30 (the movie is better!). But it’s chick-lit. And good too. Not great, but good. 3 stars on 5.

And finally…*drum roll* Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. This movie was all that I had hoped it would be. It was pathetic, just as Saloni had warned me. It was veryyyyy cute, just as Praggy had said. And it was VERY SRK…Ranjoo is seldom wrong! Hehe I looooooove Shahrukh Khan. It was a cheesy movie. My first reaction to it (about half an hour into the movie) was ‘mindless-cinema-at-it’s-best’. That kinda changed as the movie progressed. It was mindless alright. But not as-good-as-it-gets. SRK cannot go wrong, and he was brilliant as always. Yea yea, half the world (n a few more) think that he overacts, repeats the same mushy stuff over n over again n endorses a genre of cinema that’s mindless and demeaning at the same time. WHATEVER!


The movie dragged on a bit. It could’ve been made slicker. And the woman is shown to be a very stupid character. And there are too many stereotypes in-your-face. The girl has to marry coz her father is about to die and she has no other relatives; a good wife cooks, cleans, looks pretty and cleans some more; a caring husband shifts to the barsati, vacating the room for his new bride. Ughhhh…all this is not nice!! And the Suri character, who is charmingly cute throughout the movie, turns into an MCP-ish creature when the girl falls for his alt-ego (who by the way is a sad clone of all of SRK’s movie characters put together! But only he could pull off a spoof on himself!).
Okay, the movie has its flaws, and only die-hard melodrama buffs like me might like it. Might.
Now for the good things about it. 1. SRK 2. Tujhme rab dikhta hai n Haule haule. Lovely songs. 4. the haveli/ghar And 3. the video for Phir milenge chalte chalte. Me likes. Not to forget the brilliant explanation of “macho” given by Vinay Pathak!
And the award for the longest post on this blog goes to… he he

Now I know...

When I was in school...mosta my friends would write “Hugh Grant” in the favourite actor section of slam books (which btw were a rage ‘back then’...wouldn’t be surprised if they’re uncool now..). I never really gave it much thought and given my absolute ignorance for everything un-bollywood, I wasn’t even sure who Hugh Grant was. I always associated the name with someone who was...uh...not him.
The reason why I’m mentioning this now is that I just saw ‘Music and Lyrics’ and ‘Love Actually’...and for the first time in 23 years of my existence I found out who Hugh Grant IS! Talk about Ignorance!!!! And NOW I understand WHY so many people have/had a crush on him! He is adorable! Really! (I’m sure all of you already know that...anyway!). As in, not just your yea-this-one-is-cute-ok...but oh-my-god-is-he-adorable-or-what!
Ahh...is twenty three too old to have ‘crushes’?? I guess not... : ) I’d read in some book (emm...about Labradors) that a lab is old only when he is treated as being old. Same applies to me I guess! So for the next forty years or so... I can’t feel “old”! Remind me if I forget! ;)
Chickflicks rock! N yea Runjoo, so does Chicklit! : D

Current mood: happy
I started the data collection for my dissertation today (though calling it data collection sounds a li’l disrespectful towards the “sample”...another derogatory term!!)
So anyway...I’m sooooooo glad that I took up the topic I have taken up : ) I know nothing else could’ve given me this kinda satisfaction. Or maybe it could have...but I’m so happy that I have chosen a topic I feel for. I mean, when I started out...it was kinda half-hearted. I was not sure whether this was the best I could do. And till yesterday, I wasn’t sure if I had tried hard enough while selecting the research topic. Not anymore. My topic isn’t “happy” like I always wanted...I started out looking for something that would be fun to research. But you know...I’m not too sure yet...but I think trauma is my thing. Not that I get a kick outta hearing people’s traumatic stories...but it makes me feel good that I am there for people...for people who badly need to vent. I don’t have any illusions that I’m a saviour or messiah or an angel of good will ;) I know I am doing this for myself...and that’s what makes me happier.
And like I’d said before...reaching out to someone, forming a bond...that’s what I like best about my work. And now my research! : ) I know it’s not gonna be a bed-of-roses wala scenario...but I’m ready for the uncertainities...n I’m sure I am going to be a better person at the end of this project. Amen : )

कितनी भोली, कितनी प्यारी

सब पशुओं से न्यारी गाय ।

सारा दूध हमे दे देती,

आओ इसे पिलाये चाय।

I was glued to the t.v. from the minute I heard about the attacks. Usually, I tend to avoid watching t.v. news 'coz they sensationalize every little thing. And watching the same clips over n over n over again gets extremely frustrating. But this time round, the actual event in itself was so sensational that there was little scope for our journos to add any more spice to. Every two minutes something new would happen. Every time I flipped channels, there was a new development. And for a change, the reporting seemed more or less responsible. Thank God.
Watching a national horror unfold on television...that's something none of us would ever have imagined! No wonder we were stuck to our t.v. sets...quite unable to do/think much...there was a constant prayer on our lips...please God...not him/her...which soon turned to Please make it stop...please!!
They did manage to terorize us, no doubt. But they also managed to bring us closer together. We were no longer Hindu or Muslim, north Indian or south Indian, this or that...we were ONE. I'm saying were 'coz now that the worst is over, we are back to our usual bickering and finger pointing and cynical commenting. The news reporters have gone back to replaying the same clips over n over and highlighting random comments by random people and blaming the political class. Well...there is a lot of anger among people right now. And rightly so. But we need to take this forward. Merely blaming someone for what has happened is not what will help. (And I really want to know what good is some minister's resignation now???) Hundreds of people have been killed through no fault of theirs. And perhaps many more will be...unless we do something about it. I'm upset too. And I really want all this to stop...let's all start thinking. Let's come up with concrete things that can be done which can prevent a repetition of such a carnage...and perhaps make us better equipped to handle disasters in the future. Please give it a thought.