Bollywood - Hollywood....

Being an ardent fan of Hindi films, I had been waiting to lay my hands on the latest of em'.My selection (still wondering how!) was "Good Boy, Bad Boy", a flick which regrettfully saw the light of day in the world of thoughtless cinema. Personally, I am not such a critic and love to see people give their best. May it be drama or a "David Dhawan" comedy, its the performance and the energy which light up the silver screen. My personal favorite is ,in fact, "Judwaa" a tale inspired from Jackie Chan's "Double Dragons". Anyways, the flick "Good Boy..." is a story of good people who come under wrong influence and basically is short on everything from script to screenplay. The other day, I watched a "marriage video" a.k.a. "Hum Aapke Hain Kaun" and loved the value system it preached.
My favorite movies are "RHTDM"(even my roomie loves Maddy dada"), "RDB","Judwaa" and many others. The best hindi flicks contain some jingoism and lot of hard hitting dialogues. 1970's was an era which could be better known as the Era of "Manmohan Desai". His concept of unifying people with diverse religions (Amar Akbar Anthony) or any other drama where in the faith people had in themselves was immensely gratifying.
In contrast, the English film fraternity makes a lot of sensible movies, with no songs and more story. The way of narration is distinct ,the screenplay at times is so powerful that the dialogues arent really required. Just imagine "Ocean's 11" with Danni Ocean singing "Dil se" atop a terrace with Nicole Kidman, trying to loot the Bellagio. It would not make sense. Concepts like a great mind trying to don the garb of an "escapist" in "Good Will Hunting" or the role reprised by Al Pacino as a powerful Mafioso in "Scarface" are original. These are people you can relate to, wh are humane and bear the brunt of their eccentricities.Some of the movies like "ShawShank Redemption" are an encyclopaedia in film making. It has no elements like a hindi pot boiler would possess , but really has great twists in the tale of a man who has everything to play for.
With films like "Sivaji" coming into limelight, the movie makers are banking on star power more than story or dialogues. The character essayed by Thalaivar is true to the ethos of Shankar's way of preaching values about social evils. But, the public roots more for "Star Power" of Rajini rather than the concept. Its like Shah Rukh Khan trying to send a patriotic message by prancing around in the Alps. Eventually, the acceptance of films would be based more on the aspects of story and screenplay rather than stars. That would be "Evolution COMPLETE!!!"

"Essence of planning"

Time and again, our mothers have called upon us to plan. "Planning is essential" is what we have been bombarded with, since the beginning of our life.Like many, I despised those sermons where everyone started giving a lecture on "Time is money" OR " Time Management".It was only when I joined engineering that I understood the reason behind those "lectures".
Many centuries ago, there was war in Kurukshetra, where the Pandavas fought the Kuru army and won the battle. Imagine ,Arjuna being chilled out ,resting in the shade of his umbrella, not bothering about the various military formations! More so, imagine Mama Shakuni, the greatest mythological Gambler, suddenly failing to see the motion of his trusted dice! History would have looked different..perhaps there would be no war at all!!! One of the quotes by the great Archer Arjuna comes as a jolt to people who believe that the indomitable never plan, they are born to win.He explains to his brother Nakula ,as to why he always handpicks his weapons.Especially the arrows, which need to be in a proper shape to avoid air drag.
Today, we need to plan our lives more than ever before. Time seems to fly faster .The ones who can think aeons before and chart out a game plan are most likely to succeed.May it be job or business, we have to forsee the forthcoming dangers which lurk. If caught unawares, the results are disastrous, ranging from firing from jobs to bankruptcy in business. For a person with a job , he or she needs to get into the brain of his/her peers to think as they think. Then be able to do what they could only think of, is another tale. Like wise , in a business, product differentiation is pivotal to the success of any entrepreneur. Failing to make a mark on the consumer would spell doom and a loss altogether.
Ultimately, the one who can see tomorrow, today itself is the one you would place your money on!!

SE7EN !!!!

Dante Alighieri in his epic poem The Divine Comedy,mentions the seven deadly sins as follows:Lust,Gluttony,Greed,Sloth,Wrath,Envy, and Pride. I came to know about all this only after watching the thriller seven starring the impeccable Morgan Freeman as Officer Somerset who has a mind which works faster than the lawbreakers'. His accomplice is Brad Pitt ,again a superb performance as Detective Willis,who looks passionate about work and his childhood sweetheart played by Gwyneth Paltrow.The tale completely has you involved and tied to the seat without winking even once. Its the underlying thought which suddenly grabbed my attention. Are we thinking about our actions?
If the aforementioned qualities or should I say "vices" then we all are sinners.A Purgatory with seven terraces has to be constructed in this case to absolve us of any such wrongdoings.But , do we care? Its the way life was meant to be. Today's world has mind over matter.We are working at a neck break pace to get what we want."The ends justify the means" is what we idolise.
Expanding the realms of this discussion and porting it to a corporate environment,we can see for ourselves, the effects of this school of thought.The most successful people in this world do value "Ethics". Most others treat it as another word in the lexicon. An ethical workplace nurtures professionalism within an industry. It spurs on people to do things the "right way".
The movie may have a little ghastly ending.It may have over dramatised the situation.
But it certainly sends a message for us to ponder over..

The Pursuit of .....Happ'y'ness!!

After a round of exams and the nail biting finishes associated with em',I decided to watch a movie.It was the "The Pursuit of Happyness". The movie stars stars like Will smith and Thandie Newton. Its a story of Chris Gardner who inevitably fails in just about everything he tries his hand at, but ultimately stumbles upon a career which he makes his own. But the movie is more than that, since it depicts the tribulations which Chris and his young son Christopher have to undergo.I felt it was a story which each of us can relate to. After all,its this "pursuit" which keeps us going. It also separates the friends from the acquaintances.
The concept of "family values" is highlighted implicitly in this film by the strong portrayals of father-son by Will Smith and his real life son.It tells us that life is not as bad as it may seem. A little smart work with some luck and efforts could turn our fortunes.As the saying goes, "Experience is a cruel teacher,it kills all its students". Real life is not so endearing if the decisions are not correct. Evidently ,the more bitter the experience ,the more enlightened we become.Some people are born with a sense of perfection and impeccably they always arrive at the right decision at the right time. Many others who seemingly "learn with time" have to undergo this catharsis.
Be it the scene at the train station where Will creates a make believe theme park full of dinosaurs for his son, or the moment when he gets hit by a car but still returns to work, Chris Gardener's esprit-de-corps is what inspires you. In real life Chris has made a fortune for himself by dabbling in the stock market. His struggle for existence is an epic in itself meant to be read in order to restore faith in the triumph of human spirit.

A Story of Triumph..

Success is a magical world known by its aura and charisma.Like a beautiful sculpture adorning the living room of a majestic palace,so is the case with success whose halo transforms man from a mortal to a superhuman. It is said that man can move mountains.I would just twist it a little and rephrase "a confident man...".The Almighty has created everyone alike is an old saying and nothing more.People are created with differences to maintain equilibrium in the universe. A world full of meek and timid beings cannot explore the limits of man's prowess,both mental and physical.A classical example of the legendary "Hank Rearden" exemplifies the above fact.This character penned by Ayn Rand is a specimen I consider my role model.He is an individual who just refuses to be "human".The amount of work he puts in could literally shake the railroad industry. Nevertheless he too has to succumb to the whims and fancies of politics,but not without a fight.
The message is loud and clear."Humans are gone,we need super heroes".Heroics are a part and parcel of man's persona.Too much analysis and a lackdaisical mentality could seldom yield any positive outcomes.As the great Napolean said,we are born to conquer and not get conquered.
Live life and pursue ur dreams..till death does em apart..
Cheers to life!!!

Amitabh's baritones..

I must admit one thing..Amitabh Bachchan is the GOD of Hindi Cinema.Without him ,hindi movies would be like a Hollywood movie without Denzel Washington or Tom Hanks.His latest movie "Nishabd" is a "refined" adaptation of "Lolita" and speaks about relationships which are seemingly complex.
Earlier Bachchan had lent his voice to songs in "Baghban" directed by Ravi Chopra who also did a "Baabul".The songs were fabulous whenever it was the Big B who had the mike in his hand."Chali Chali" breathed an air of freshness into the romantic saga of a middle aged couple's identity crisis."Holi Khele" was indeed a celebration of joy and happiness all over."Kaante" too had a famous "Chhod na re" song in which the Big man majestically talks about a plan to loot a bank.
Few can match his vocal chords when it comes to singing.The dialogues seem to have a new meaning altogether when he narrates the story with one liners like" Rishte mein to hum tumhare baap lagte hai".We hope to hear many wonderful songs in the near future from him and wish him best of luck...for "Nishabd"!!

Paradoxical failures..

The ignominy and disgrace associated with defeat is a paradox in itself.On one hand ,the saying is "Try and try till you succeed".On the other hand "Failure is like an orphan".Life manifests itself in many forms and emotions.Some are good ,others suck.The feelings of joy and happiness are often followed by lows.
Ayn Rand,the famous author has summed up human beings and their creativity in her works.Her characters revolve around individuals who have risen from great struggle and dared to dream big.Very often its these very "heroes" whose heroics go in vain.Reason?Winners are few and are envied.The world has plenty of people who seldom manage to keep up with the pace of life.As a result they despise the ones who could conquer the limits of endurance and delve on the path to success.Yet they end up at the receiving end of the stick.
All said and done,real success comes from learning "what went wrong?"That tells the wise apart from the ignoramus.Mere mortals would succumb ,so be a fighter.Brave the odds and salute those who could what you couldn't....