IPL 2010 - Manoranjan Ka Baap

Indian Premier League (IPL) has started with great fervor. A marriage between cricket and entertainment, so we are told. A total of 27 odd matches have been played so far, with points tally changing every single day. Hitherto, SRK's KKR are yet to fire, Royals are royally marching forward and Preity's boys are as dead as dodos.

This year, I am yet to see some close finishes, apart from one super over between Punjab and CSK. Most of the matches have been one sided with teams either giving up their chases midway or failing to start strongly. Star players are not performing except for Sachin, but then Sachin is exceptional. Local boys though have been sticking up to the challenge and coming up with brave performances. Ohja's and Narwal's are performing at crucial situations and proving why do they deserve to be a part of a winning combination. Mumbai Indians are looking exceptionally strong on paper as well as on field and are comfortably placed under SRT's leadership. Bangaluru on the other hand have worked hard and players like Uthapa and Virat Kohli are finally proving their worth in the team, rather then just showing off their uber-coolness. Punjab has been on the receiving end, missing out on half chances and keeping it untidy on the field. They are real strong on paper but their top order has failed to gather runs and with their captain out of form it has been a quite an uphill task for them. In order to qualify for the semis they need to win all of their remaining seven games. Delhi's performance has been top notch with Sehwag's fiery form and other openers blasting out early in the middle.

Now the gamechanger this year has been the astronomical moolah that Modi has been able to rake in with the brand IPL. Apart from selling air waves, ground and sky advertising (the MRF blimp generates 15 crores for 24 matches for the IPL), Modi has plans on tapping mobile internet once 3G rolls out in India. IPL has already forayed into the online space by striking a deal with youtube to broadcast live matches. Franchises have catapulted themselves into solid investment vehicles- SRK's KKR valued at $46 million, Rajasthan Royals at $45.2 million, for example have shown the might of brand IPL over actual team strengths. Royals do not have any major player and the plight of Knight Riders has been SRK's knightmare for the past two years. KKR has been in doldrums, but SRK has been a smart investor with his team gaining as much as 5 times its original value. Two new franchises become a part of IPL this year. Being purchased at a whopping price of $700 million, their inclusion clearly foretells how much sick this thing is going to get in the future.

IPL has also transformed the summer in India. It has aptly captured the imagination of an adolescent nation in awe of cricket, beauty and bollywood. The after game parties are televised with some serious FTV mixed journalism, catwalk and dancing. With celebrities doing frequent rounds on TV, Yuvraj getting huggs from Preity, Modi posing with Bipasha and Sushmita as a casual bystander, Bhajji rocking the night with his latest girlfriend, and old boys like Warne and Symonds ogling at younger firang models (haven't seen a lot of desi action on ramp, I wonder why in all the IPL parties only firangis get to bump and grind whereas Yusuf Pathan and Jhunjhunwala always share a casual smile), IPL has much more to offer then plain T20 cricket. Its a glorious congregation of who's who of Bollywood, cricket and dancing cheerleaders with sport broadcasting reaching styles from beyond.

Shutter Island

Shutter Island, the latest Martin Scorsese's offering, is an impressive work of art. This one digresses from a regular Scorsese's film noir to a psychedelic drama unfolding onto itself. Without giving away spoilers I will try to be as honest as I can in scribing my findings.

The story takes place in circa 1954 beckoning to the avant-garde B-Movie productions during the cold war era. Di Caprio as a U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels, teams up with Mark Ruffalo (Chuck Aule) to investigate the disappearance of a female prisoner from a mental hospital on an island in Massachusetts. Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital is a psychiatric facility housing dangerous criminals managed by a surreptitious staff of doctors and nurses. Ben Kingsley as Dr. John Cawley, plays the menacing Hospital's chief psychiatrist and administrator with suppressed grit and wistfulness. He along with one of the hospital's top physicians, a nazi Dr. Jeremiah Naehring (played by Max Von Sydow) cast enough suspicions on the marshals to dig a little deeper into the Houdini-esque escape of the murderess. The presence of mysterious light tower and unaccounted prisoners further complicate Teddy's analysis. Whats more, there is a personal crises that Ted Daniels is impaled with. He suffers from post traumatic experiences as a war veteran and a widower who loses his wife to a violent inferno. He day dreams and hallucinates of his wife and, fountains of dead bodies, from concentration camps he helped demolish to liberate Jews.

His war history travels with him, portending him of a devilish scheme funded by the Government that might lead to the creation of the "Ghost People", the kind he had seen Germans create to exterminate their fiends. He is convinced of the wrongdoings and in one of his encounters on the Isle learns about a supposed lobotomy, an operation that tweaks the sensory nerves in the brain studying their impact on emotions like love, grief, pain and longing, inflicting unbearable pain on the operand, which could transform insane to dead or to a life, devoid of any emotions. Such aghast is the doom that anyone prescribed would have to be seriously challenged.

Scorsese shows multiple movies in a single movie. He infuses delicate back projection camera work seen in many of the Hitchcock's works, reminiscing of the "vertigo-ian" image stretching techniques. Technicalities notwithstanding, Scorsese keeps on adding layers of unwitting occurrences which seem to confound Teddy in the beginning, but as we go along, wrap around him like a cocoon. He looses his identity and the distinction between sanity and insanity becomes unclear. Unrequited with the Shutter Island and his own dilemma, Teddy fathoms deadly storms and the nightmarish woods to get a reality check that seals his fate. At a running length of over 2 hours, the movie serves quite a tale and the climax is worth the wait. Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese, together have delivered some amazing performances over the years. This one is yet another addition to the wonder that this combination is.

3 Idiots - My two cents

Wasn't much impressed with 3 Idiots. I went in with high expectations and emerged a bit let down by the loose story, over the top cheesiness and all-bow-to-thee-preacher-Rancho. The setting of a realistic college is only so much accurate with contrived scenes of urine ragging and the protagonist getting the better out of the adversaries in his very first encounter. RePsekT! The movie seemed quite unoriginal, long with preachiness done to death, and recycled jokes. It had some funny moments and chuckles along the way but some of the things were too much to handle- Its over glorification of the good and hyper demonization of the supposed evilness. Also some of the funny scenes were a bit drag and quite frankly ended up being too labored. I cannot digest the crap like Raju’s deal breaker interview where he admits committing suicide and nonchalantly refuses to change his new found “attitude” for the sake of his employers or the mammoth pregnancy climax culminating in the glorious display of engineering feat by the main man – Rancho himself, and then the dramatic realization of truth by Prof Virus (a good sequence though, but will make your brains go topsy turvy!) I would have enjoyed the movie more if it were a little shorter and had less non-sense like this. Also the story becomes quite predictable with multiple suicides and unpronounceable names like Ranchoddas and Phunsukh Wangdu. I do not mean to highlight negatives purposely, but this is precisely the reason why I am disappointed. I had wanted something really tighter and a little less cheesier from an Aamir Khan movie. College setting is a bit realistic but finding a student like Rancho is totally going overboard.

Now the message of the movie is quite simple -follow your passion. This is not quite in the nature of kids growing up in middle class families across India, for a degree in Engg or medicine is a guarantee to a secure future (may be not anymore these days). Peer pressure and family drive them to a tried and tested route of college education where sometimes they fail to succeed for not doing something that they can be really good at. Its about hearing your inner voices and making your own destiny. Fair enough. The story essentially shows personal turmoils of three friends who share a dorm room while studying at one of the best engg. colleges of India and become close friends. The genius among this trio - Rancho is the protagonist who can crack exams in a heartbeat and construct flying choppers for end-semester projects to help out those in need. His other two room mates are god fearing underdogs who relish their friendships but are too weak to make their own decision for themselves. Enter Rancho, who inspires them and shows them the light - of course all this with a selfless act of an eye opener for the bourgeois. There are some genuinely funny scenes but the superhuman abilities of Rancho relegate this movie to typical Bollywoodism. The movie is technically sound with crisp editing and decent music ( not great at first to listen to but looks good with the visuals). I specially liked "Zoobi Doobi" with amazing visuals and zany choreography. Raju Hirani has done a good job with the direction, however there are so many unnecessary moving parts to the story that story telling has taken the brunt. I would consider the movie as a breezy watch, certainly not one of the best works from the Munnabhai team.

Bring Tea for the Tillerman

Heard this song by Cat Stevens for the first time on Extras, at the end as credits rolled. Loving it. A bit melancholic in the beginning it carefully captures the spirit of the show. These are the lyrics of this very short song.

Bring tea for the tillerman
Steak for the son
Wine for the woman who made the rain come
Seagulls sing your hearts away
cause while the sinners sin, the children play

Oh lord how they play and play
For that happy day, for that happy day.



Extras is a comedy/drama series from Ricky Gervais (The Office) which originally aired in 2005 on BBC 2. It is about a 43-old fat struggling actor (Andy Millman played by Ricky Gervais) appearing as an extra on movies and looking to get a break in the mainstream movie business. In every production that he plays an extra, he looks to get additional screen time by meeting cast members and any good acquaintances that he can relate to. Some times he gets lucky, while most of the times he screws up. His indulgences lead to funny situations creating embarrassments for him and sometimes people around him. It is a heartfelt show getting super dramatic at times when you feel for Andy as he gets down with life. In his daily maneuverings Andy Millman throws around carelessly from one set to another with other actors like him and goes on blaming successful actors who according to him just got lucky. These successful actors which appear on the show are real actors playing an exaggerated version of themselves. Every show ends in a mannered situation where Andy confronts the guest star and is found mystified. His internal conflict doesn't conclude with the show but is taken over by this beautiful song by Cat Stevens.

Going forward as we are shown, Andy takes a liking in writing comedy and finally makes his plunge by clinching a television deal with BBC. However his script is edited and things are changed unpleasantly to his tastes. This irks him but he goes along and settles for the new found fame. Extras is very original and quite realistic- one that I came across in a very long time. Ricky Gervias clearly has a precedent of setting benchmarks like he did with The Office, and I think is one of most creative persons alive.

Avatar

Avatar, the most hyped Cameron offering of 2009, far exceeds its expectations. There are only certain points, in the history of movie making, where such epics as Avatar, transcend surreal objectivity and engulf breathtaking realism. A spectacular creation by a nerving sci-fi fanatic, that took a dozen of years to see the 115 page script to fruition. A mind blowing 3D extravaganza scratching minutiae of every humanoid flicker from Pandoraland, Avatar is set in a century where humans would travel across light years and dream of conquering the extraterrestrial.

The year is 2154 AD. Jack Sully a marine bound to a wheel chair is summoned to be sent, in lieu of his brother, to a moon named Pandora orbiting Polyphemus in Alpha Centauri A. His aboriginal humanoid Avatar is created by Dr Grace ( a Botanist) using a careful mix, blending his brother's DNA and the local DNA from the natives. His task : to understand the Na'vi tribe and scout the lush blue, white and violet valley for Unobtainium, a mineral worth 20 million dollars a kilo. Once Jack Sully gets "plugged in" ala Matrix's Neo, he becomes a pseudo Na'vi, an Avatar of himself, controlling his Na'vi life. After initial encounters with the untamed beasts, the Avatar falls for the Na'vi princess Neytiri, who saves his life. Neytiri epitomizes all that is good and pure, takes Jack Sully under her wings and trains him to be a part of the Omaticaya clan. Jack Sully, gains the clan's trust and also finds himself loosing in Neytiri's eyes.

As the days pass by, Jack Sully is forced to question his own loyalties and concludes to part ways with his miserable human destiny. His employers, on the other hand are eager to wipe off the tribe if diplomacy cannot be contrived. Jack Sully is asked to make a dash and appeal to the Na'vians of the corporate intentions. What follows next is an awe and jaw dropping finale of the classics of all the clashes : Humans Vs the Aliens. The 40 min long fight sequence is not just a spectacle of CGI and picture performance, it is a grandeur palate that serves up to some unreached levels of mind bending imaginations.

The done-to-the-death storyline works because Cameron infuses impetus through powerful story telling. Not once you feel disconnected to the avatars. How can you not be mesmerized by the divinity of the Hometree, the hanging mountains, the gigantic touch me nots and the firefly like synaptic structures making up every nook and cranny of Pandora? With an incredible mounting exceeding a quarter of a billion dollars, this movie is worth every cent of your dollar.

Crouching Tiger

Tiger woods is in the news for his infamous escapades, which are coming out by the day. Latest in the series are some of the text messages, that have been recently made public. Who would have thought Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods would see this day. People are lapping up this delicious reality drama, with news bytes counting up a new mistress everyday, bedded by Tiger. Thirteen down and probably we are still counting. Is Tiger a fallen hero? Is he nothing more than a perverted megalomaniac, drunk so much with success and power that he scrapped the sanctity of his matrimony as he continued to swing behind his wife's eyes and ears? (He was drunk when he stormed out of his home and banged his car). Or is he a man with out of control penis?
Enough said.
Celebrities always tread a tenuous line separating their public and private lives. Lalapalooza for tabloids, in this digital age when celebrity sex tapes are sold on amazon, it wouldn't be incorrect to assume the virility of Tiger's saga for a long time to come. Some porn stars claim to have copulated with Tiger, where as Tiger reportedly tried to pay off some of his other mistresses to shut up. His world has come down crashing from a fairytale as he hoodwinked his wife, who by the way has been quite a tigress herself. Only time will tell how Tiger comes back from this dark abyss.

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” - Harvey Dent

Fall

I have always been amazed at watching fall colors. In my first year at Notre Dame, I had amassed the beauty of this wonderful place in my camera. However these days I am just content watching these trees that have grown older with me. They remind me that change is permanent, which makes this undulating life absolute mystery. Times which make us happy are therefore precious, because we never know when things can go wrong.

I get fascinated staring at these colors, even though I am color blind. The visceral feeling goes beyond perceptibility and hits right into the bones. I feel it is a remarkable gift! Then comes the snow, thinking about which makes me shudder. Evenings are depressing and nights haunted. I wish there was no snow, no walking through the harm's way, so that we marched right into the spring. This would be a blessing, but I wonder what would be that like.

Fundaes

As the night falls and morning rises,
Dreams churn out many surprises,
A flock of gulls flying past surmises,
Oh who knows how the time goes by

As the journey is more than the destination,
Getting there is a fascination,
Far away where the birds make station,
Nobody knows how the time goes by

In my humble abode I wonder,
What happens when the lighting strikes thunder,
And the flock gets a little slender,

Oh how did the closure comes by,

Oh who knows how the time goes by

Here I come again

I am finally all set to embark on a new journey. However I am leaving with lot of thoughts and mixed feelings. As I prepare to depart my home which had transformed from being a baby nest to a confined solitary over this long antagonizing period, I have just come to realize how much of an overwhelming experience this feat is going to be for me.

I turn back over this time, and find my entire life flashing towards me, with questions like how far have I come and how much further would I go. All our lives we search for the right job, right partner and happiness and choose and chase missed opportunities. We lament to a song of heartbreak and dance to romance and all the while hope wondering if there is someone somewhere something perfect for us. Most of us poised at the cusp of young adolescence make very difficult decisions potentially effecting others and venture forth in the safe and hallowed hallways of academia. Some of us go up a notch higher but it is so often that most of the time we fail in achieving what we set out for and let our believers down. I have a very scary feeling that I am going down now, but not without a fight. Its going to be a long haul ahead and am I ready?

Probably just the thought of working hard has taken over my senses now, and I am not as emphatic as I was the first time, feeling nerves and the pressure of growing up and loosing time. I do not know how would things turn out, but they are for sure not going to be the same.

A dark feeling loiters and constantly reminds me of the cut throat competition. What would happen if I fail, will I be up for the challenge. Its comforting to find some support in old friends and family but a visceral fear of change surrounds me as I enter Notre Dame in the name of our Lady.

I guess I just gotta get out there and saw my wild oats...

Wicked Month

June 2009 has been the most sensational month in recent times, more importantly for the U.S., garnering unprecedented press. I am driving towards the death of Micheal Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Bernie Madoff's 150 years sentencing. In a landmark judgment, Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison on 29th June 2009, for cooking up a multi-billion dollar investment swindle. This is being touted as the biggest fraud perpetrated by a white collar criminal. Jackson died on 25th June 2009, with a cocktail of pain killers in his abdomen. And Farrach Fawcett one of the most ravishing yesteryear beauties died of anal cancer the same day.

Apocalypto

Extremely enjoyed the movie from start to the end. Set at an incredible pace, this is one kickass edge of the seat thriller. Not so much with the words, the movie is set in the Mayan civilization, entrenched in blood and barbarisms of the yore. Mel Gibson does a brilliant act of pulling together so many things in a power packed explosive movie which only takes an ensemble cast of little known villagers and the Holcane Warriors. Jaguar Paw is a family man who hunts for living, until his village is plundered by the hunters of the human flesh. They must trade humans to the Mayans who would fry their hearts and sever their heads to please their Gods. Jaguar escapes his miserable destiny as he is chosen to be sacrificed on the day of an eclipse. The Sun shines again and Jaguar runs for his life from Holcane warriors. They chase him in the jungle where the jaguar overcomes his fear. The jungle is his home and the animals his saviors. He reunites with his family and returns home. This epic adventure is beautifully choreographed and masterfully shot. Split screes, stop motion images and camera jerks are as breathtaking as the picturesque locals of the jungle. Commendable work of art.

Thank You For Smoking

This is one beautiful crisp satire, which may even make you wanna jump in your pants. And most importantly the movie doesn't take any sides, its up to you to decide whether you wanna make a pyramid out of the cancer sticks or just light them up. The writers are the absolute masters here, who rule from the word go. And then the actors deliver those incredible in-the-face punches. Aaron Eckhart plays Nick Naylor who is a powerful speaker and gets paid for talking and "spinning off" the arguments. In his own words " Not many know what it is to be truly despised" but he always has the formula and the correct tone that manages to buy his way out. He talks smoothly and regards himself the as "Colonel Sanders" of Nicotine. Together he completes the coterie called "MOD" or merchants of death which consists of guys like him, defending guns and alcohol. The MOD meetings are to be construed as refreshing gatherings for generation of new counterpoints and to reflect on the musings of health zealots. Nick Nalyor speaks for an organization called the Academy of Tobacco Studies - the main tobacco lobby of the Big Tobacco in Washington. In order to put brakes on the widespread increase in smoking among teens, a Vermont senator (William Macy) is planning to unleash a sort of hate campaign against cigarettes by embossing skulls and bones on the cigarette packets. Nick suggests a counter action by asking the tobacco inc. to rope in Hollywood in promoting cigarettes in a cool way. Rob Lowe's cameo is explosive as an entertainment executive who suggests Nick a neat scene where Brad Pitt would blow smoke rings after a "cosmic fuck" with Catherine zeta Jones. The man impresses Nick Naylor to the point that he considers him to be someone "who could teach me so much"! All the while Nick's son Joey, who considers Nick to be some one of a kind, follows him and tries to understand the man's psyche. Nick is a caring father, and loves to pass on his wisdom, explaining differences between negotiations and arguments and why he does what he does after all. Katie Holmes is convincing as a sleazy reporter who would not hesitate to copulate for a little inside information. She fulfills the emptiness in Nick's life and gives her the warmth he needs, albeit little does he know as to how fake it is. Towards the end, Nick confronts an ordeal as he is attacked by angry hooligans, and faces the ultimate challenge of rescuing his job and life when the opportunist reporter spills the beans on their bedtime stories. But more than anything else Nick wants to win the courtroom battle for his son. The climax is just as beautifully orchestrated and commanded by Nick as he does in the beginning defending himself on a certain Joan's show. The movie goes right up on the top of my book, it is wonderful, hilarious, intelligent and kicks ass. To close, I would quote Nick again "Micheal Jordan plays ball, Charles Manson kills people, I talk."