That girl I met ..

It’s the first time I met her

Only one thing passed my mind

How would it be ..

If this girl was mine

Gradually as time passed, I realized

She’s the girl I always wanted

Her beauty is evident

Her nature so cheerful

She's bubbly, she's smart

But the best thing about her ..

is her beautiful heart :)

Her smile’s so stunning,

I’m happy she’s found ..

In the depth of her eyes, I wanna be drowned ..

She’s a kid at heart, her innocence is her charm

On the coldest of days, she can keep me warm

She has no hassles, she understands me so well

I know she will always be there with me

Through sweet times or through deep hell

She’s my angel

I have no words to describe her charm

I feel I have got the world in my palm

When I have her arm in my arm ..

My thoughts on Vogue’s “My Choice” video going viral

Gender equality in a male-dominated society has always been a sensitive issue to handle. The new wave of women empowerment which is sweeping the nation attempts to do just that. The short film titled “My Choice” by Vogue features Bollywood’s top actress Deepika Padukone in a good social initiative on women empowerment. Is she able to drive the message home? To an extent, Yes .. but not completely.

The video relies more on sensationalism to get the point across. I do tend to agree with some of the statements. “My body, My mind, My choice – to wear the clothes I like, even as my spirit roams naked” is a great start to the video. It says a lot about freedom for women, to lead their life the way they want and not be judged about the choices they make. The message was loud and clear, women empowerment is here to stay! Another thought worth a mention “You are my choice, I am not your privilege” perfectly echoes the sentiments of the women whose partners take them for granted and treat them as the inferior gender. Domestic violence and violence towards women in general, is an evil in the society which needs to be eradicated.

However, the short film continues to go overboard with opinions which seem feminist. Be it a man or a woman, there should be a place for morals and ethics in everybody’s life. Some of the comments made are just not in good taste. Promoting or glorifying adultery in such a manner is completely unacceptable.

The video completely fails to address the problems and hardships of the under privileged women living in the rural parts of the country. Just flashing few random images of villagers in the midst of other shampoo models is not enough when all the comments made in the video are completely irrelevant towards them! Gender equality is a lot deeper issue for these women than the women living a comfortable life in the cities. Although 2 minutes is too less, issues like female infanticide, illiteracy and domestic violence (which was touched masterfully in the “Boys don’t cry” video) should take center stage.

The irony of the entire situation is that both parties primarily involved in the making and presentation of this video, Vogue and Bollywood, have a history of objectifying women. Considering these obvious loopholes, this short film made with good intentions lacks depth of thought and execution. We need a slightly bigger film, because 2 minutes is not sufficient time to discuss about such a delicate matter.

I will summarize everything by saying “Having a choice is always a good thing, but if you don’t use it wisely, you will end up making a bad choice”.

Can the Kiwis stop the Aussie Juggernaut?

The monumental defeat at the hands of the Aussies has left fans all over India disheartened. Most Indian fans are now hoping that the Kiwis would avenge their loss against Australia in the World Cup Grand Finale. Actually, this is the 1st time New Zealand has made it to the WC Final. Considering the roll the Kiwis have been so far .. not losing even a single match till now, would make some of the cricket enthusiastics believe that this is NZ's world cup all the way. After all, NZ has beaten Australia already in one of their league encounters.

But, make no mistake about it .. Australia is still the odds-on favourite to become The 5 Time Cricket World Champion!

Australian cricket team is in a league of their own, establishing complete dominance over their adversaries for almost a decade. India halted the Australian crusade in 2011 when they finally stopped Australia from winning their 4^th consecutive World Cup, after they had completed their hatrick win in 2007. Australia is now looking to claim back the ultimate prize in cricket.

Australia’s strengths are that they bat very deep and have 2 world class bowlers in their team. The two Mitchells, Starc and Johnson will be the Aussie trump cards.
Drifting apart from topic .. but personally, the best sight in cricket has always been watching the mighty pace and swing bowlers in the world display their craft. I have always been thrilled watching great spells of fast bowling by some of the legends of the game like Wasim Akram (my personal favourite). Starc is something special. His brilliant spell (6/28) had left the Kiwis shell-shocked in their previous league encounter. Johnson has also performed consistently for Australia over the years and has always been one of their keys to success.

Kiwis have a history of performing extremely well at home, but the final being played in Melbourne heavily favours the Aussies. Kiwis are the underdogs going into this match and I am not ruling them out. But, after it’s all set and done .. I feel, the Aussies will be too much for them to handle.


Please Note:  
This article was written 1 day prior to the 2015 World Cup Final.

My post-match reaction:
I told you so!

Dhoom 3 Review - Back with a bang!

Relying on the success of the Dhoom brand and the superstar appeal of Aamir Khan, Yash Raj films banner have poured in tons of money over making this slick and stylish action thriller. The most awaited film of the year, does Dhoom 3 have enough style and substance to live up to the massive hype and expectations?

Aamir Khan AKA Sahir owns a circus in Chicago and apart from being a very talented magician, he is an equally cunning thief. The movie begins with a bank robbery leading to an amazing chase sequence between Sahir and the Chicago police. The motive behind the robbery is already well-established in the start. This leads to the introduction of AB Baby and his sidekick Uday Chopra into the picture.

Every frame shot in the movie is a visual delight. The chase sequences are wonderfully shot and the thief’s escape scenes in the movie are genuinely cool moments. Especially the Chicago waterfront scene, where Aamir uses his bike as a convertible motor-boat is terrific. You may not find them very realistic, but if you are in a mood to look past that, you are in for a treat! .. As the plot reveals itself, the melodrama and the revenge saga begin to kill the fun-ride. It was smart thinking on the director’s part to blend an intense revenge drama with a Fast and Furious type action thriller to cater to the Indian audience. But, the problem here is it is overdone and overplayed to the point where it begins to irritate you and disrupt the flow of the movie. The focus of the brand has always been cool thiefs, catchy chase sequences and basically .. fun! However, there are enough twists and turns to somehow keep you interested till the end.

The sound track complements the proceedings well. ‘Malang’ is wonderfully shot and picturized. The choreography and acrobatics displayed in the song are top-class. Katrina sizzles with her amazing dance moves in ‘Kamli’ and the foot-tapping track is quite catchy.

Speaking of performances, the movie completely rests on Aamir Khan’s shoulders. Aamir Khan doesn’t quite fit the mould of a super-cool villian which has always been the USP of this franchise.  He tries too hard and always wears the same expression on his face throughout the movie.  However, his strong on-screen presence shines through and he delivers a decent performance, although you got to expect a lot better from this talented actor. Katrina has absolutely no acting scope, but she shines with her amazing acrobatics and dance moves. Hats off to her for the amount of hard work she has put into her short role, and it shows! AB Baby does much better than the previous two episodes of Dhoom. He is much more bearable this time around. Uday Chopra is there just for the silly gags, and some of his lines will make you chuckle.

Cons:

-         Although the pace is steady, the movie is a bit lengthy. There are some 15-30 minutes in the movie where it feels dragged on and could have been cut shorter.

-         The romantic track between Aamir and Katrina doesn’t strike a chord and lacks chemistry.

Pros:

-         Slick and Stylish Action Thriller. Some really mark-out moments in the escape sequences. Good music. Brilliant cinematography/ camerawork.

Rating:  3/5

Final Word:  Dhoom 3 is a enjoyable thrill-ride even though its gets bogged down by unnecessary over-plotting and melodrama. It’s a must watch, at least once . It will set new records at the box office and mint a lot of money, almost certain to cross the 250 crore mark in the domestic circuit. With a tighter script, it would have made even more money.

Signing off with some of the best and inspiring lines I have heard in a Bollywood movie recently …. Bande hain hum uske, humpe kiska zor ;)

Faith.

Even during the gloomiest and darkest of days

There is always ..

Something on which you can live your life

Something on which you can keep your hopes alive

Faith ..

Faith that helps you look into the face of sorrow

Faith that you would have a better tomorrow

This is just a phase, it will pass away

Live your life to fight another day

Ever thought why sadness conquers

Ever realized why negativity spreads

It's because there is no faith

Faith that ..

At the end of every dark tunnel , there is a ray of light

bright enough to enlighten your mind .. and set it all right.

Inflation: A Serious Issue

5th July, 2010 was the day that saw a Nation-wide bandh in India. It was a protest against the uncontrolled price rise most notably in the petroleum products which has been going on since years. The big question people have been asking each other (mostly the under-previliged) is  "Was this bandh that necessary?". Did this bandh serve as a wake up call for the government who are ignoring the public sentiments for quite some time now or was it an inconvenience?

To be honest , there was no other way to express this burning public discomfort against the government. This issue has already been raised in the Parliament many times without getting any appropriate or justified results and a protest is the best way to wake up the sleeping giant, that is the government. The BJP and LEFT parties combined forces to form this strange alliance to oppose the Congress and looking at the results, you can conclude that the Bandh was a sure success.

Now let's get a bit into the issue of the ever increasing prices which is hitting the Indian public badly. The petrol prices were declared to be raised by 3 Rs/lit which led to this outburst in the public. It would be interesting to note that the inflation in India had already hit a 2 digit mark at the end of 2009 (it stood at 11.49% to be precise). The petroleum prices in India have increased to an extent where it is becoming difficult for the common man to buy even half a litre petrol everyday. Petrol is costing at Rs. 55.88/lit at the moment in Mumbai which is a stunning figure when you compare the petrol prices of India with the neighbouring Asian countries. Compared to India, the prices of petrol in Pakistan is Rs. 26/lit , Bangladesh is Rs. 22/lit and Nepal, who is importing fuel from India is Rs. 32/lit. The petroleum prices in India are reaching an unacceptable standard. But that wouldn't be the only concern. The inflation in food prices is even a more remarkable figure. The prices of food items have increased by 16.5% over May last year most notably the price rise in pulses which is a shocking 32.4% and prices of eggs, meat and fish have increased by a whooping 35%!

The Congress, in their defense had quite a lot to say about the increasing prices. The Petroleum minister, in his defense said that between 1998 and 2004 , when the BJP-led NDA was in power, the prices of kerosene were increased by the petroleum minister by around 4 times the original price. The increase in kerosene was more than 250% which is a shocking figure. He mentioned that the Congress waited for 6 years before increasing the price of petrol marginally by Rs. 3 per lit which is not much considering the havoc caused by the BJP govt. when they were in power. It is interesting to note that even though NDA increased the prices of petrol 8 times during its reign , the prices were shot down 7 times as well.

In the on-going fight between the 2 parties , the common man is suffering the most. Basically, none of these parties were in favour of the public and even though both of them have some valid points , the price rise in petroleum products and the general commodities is not at all justified. It's about time that they start thinking about the common public first and stop playing the blame game on each other and finally come out with some good output. Hoping and praying the situation changes for the better.

Until next time ..

The Brass Ring eludes you ..

Tonight you walk

.. through endless nights

In this tunnel of darkness
Not knowing where to go
Undecided about your fate
Feeling all low ..

As you walk through the path of doom
Some distance ahead
In front of you
A ray of light, a ray of hope..

The brass ring that has always been there
You just needed to grab it

The time is now , Now or never ..
Stretch out your hands, reach for it
Don't let it slip ..

It's all yours, you were always unaware
Just extend your hand, don't lose it, Beware!