Yamla Pagla Deewana and Dhobi Ghat (The new Munna in town)

to say about a movie where Sunny Deol is the sense and the voice of reason. Yes it was a mad capper filled with Punjabi humour, over the top situations and where DDLJ met some drunken slapstick humour.

The best part was the characters were happy to let go and do their bit. They even made spoofs on their Stereotype.The production was tacky at times but even that was added as a joke. The second half thus was indeed enjoyable.

Now to state the weaklinks - a) over drunk shots by Dharam, Bobby (could have done with a few lesser) , b) Dancing c) Acting by Sunny Deol - Now to state that Sunny Deol can act is not a joke as he can but lately he seems to have gone under the shell where he does not want to adapt or improvise. d) Having emotions in a movie which deserved to be a comic capper. (Debatable but a point of view)

When you come out of a movie like that the silence is misleading but the silence after Dhobi Ghat had just one thing to offer. So much to offer and yet it disappoints. The montage is excellent. The people real. The silent grandma offers hope and then haunts but as Prateek and Aamir carry out their roles, you feel the vacuum.

The Tapes and the point of view of outsider was a good concept but it went patchy and the intensity of curiosity built into the mind of Arun (Aamir) goes missing. Why was he so curious, how he felt should have been shown. Sly was good as a character but just as one started to like Prateek as Munna, his brother who is bound to die, dies (too soon) and movie comes to its logical (abrupt) end.

But a take on Munna though.

Aamir the Munna of 1990's (Rangeela, Ghulam) was a very dream loving Munna. He was likable but filmy. But he created a impact. I wont go to other Munna (Sanjay Dutt) as we are talking street Munnas and not Munna Bhais.

This Munna was real. Not filmy. Doing real street jobs - like bun maska of Salaam Mumbai. His reason to be in Mumbai was real - hunger, his dream of being a film star was also real. Wish this Munna had more screen time and a reason to succeed / fail. But alas it ends abruptly.

Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

I wondered today if Atheism was right. If really no God existed and as Sachin looked up at heavens once again after his 51st test century.Was it a wasteful execution of emotions.

It feels like that sometimes though when you work for something and in the end the result seems out  of place or wrong. Then what do you do. Do you believe that there is a God and he will watch over you or would you go about life as if its an cosmic accident. That allof us live with no purpose.

Faith is a choice. Faith has helped humans from the start. But it has also discriminated, killed or spread hatred.

So there are times in ones life when things seem wrong and one wonders if God exists, why does he behave so unconcerned. Thus as things crash around you, you tend to think 

what's wrong with you?

 Why is it that people /situations tend to hurt you while they favour others? 

Why does the present seem so bad?

When such questions start to spread remember that what happened till now is done. It can not be changed. Its past. Treat it like a story. A fiction story. Write it down and read to yourself 4 to 5 times till you get bored of it. Then think of the future you want to have. Work backwards from that future to   have goals which you can target.

As for God. Its a matter of belief. It works wonders if you do but one can do quite well in life even without believing. So its a choice.

What is it that we are supposed to do.

May the dark shivering
 beast in you lay low.

And the even odd
merging wickedness go slow

The eye has made the most obvious call
and as it involves each and all.

as we go through the motions with no clue.

What is it that we are supposed to do.

Are we supposed to create revolutions.

Are we supposed to be transforming new generations

Are we to fight hunger, illiteracy and corruption.

Or are we going through the motions.

What it is we are supposed to do.

Do we look for bigger purpose.

should we fight for good and just

Do we crave for love

or do we love gravely

Do we hunt for faith

or we trust blindly

When a shivering beast of even odd wickedness

Lies within you and me

When you eye watches at me with caution and vice versa

And then we do what we are not supposed to do

Tell me for once then

What is it that what we are supposed to do.

Mid Night Mass - Pune Watch

Photo Credit : Averee Burman. 

Can not explain the experience totally but can share a few tokens.

It was a silent night as we walked towards the house of God and we prayed. The alter and the surroundings gave us the feel of what it must be like to forget oneself and lay in the arms of the God, meditate your mind into peace and celebrate.

To be frank, the ceremony is not something we understood or completely followed with faith but the whole  experience of being a part it was enriching.

Lately popular culture has raised a lot of questions on this great old religion (at least the ones I have seen) and yet it was nice to see the core - belief, faith, hope  and joy at work.

And yes we were a group of young people and we did enjoy as young people do and they should.

 As said before, can not explain the experience totally.  

Comic Konnection - (The Christmas tale)

It’s a chilly morning as I decide to wake up and start my usual routine. So I get ready to go to school. The snow on the fifth street is something that I do not like especially as car tends to slip. Today is no different. I dress up and reach school. Not in mood for anything. I do want a dayoff today.

But Mr. Sherman wants to do an activity today. It is about charity since Christmas is around the corner, hence I can’t even say no. So I donated my comic books. My Archie's, my Axterix's and my Batman collections which once were my life at but now as a 16 year old, I don’t’ need them anymore.

My School in US is located in a small farming town where livelihood of locals thrives on apple farming and lately with New Zealand exporting apples for cheap, my family along with hundreds of other households is suffering. 

So Mr. Sherman collected all the donated items, we wrapped them and send them across to various countries in the world. We also wished Merry Christmas to unknown people in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

6 years Later.

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I have now settled quite well here in India. I live in a small little apartment in Mumbai (Bombay) working 5 days a week in a well-known firm for a handsome compensation

For my latest holiday I have gone to Manali in Himachal and I am just roaming on the streets in one of the village near Solan. A small kid crosses me. He appears six may be seven and looks very thin. And he asks " Dada tumhe padna aata hai" 

(Brother do you know how to read). "Ha". (Yes ). Ye padke bolo na phir (please read this for me then) and he gives me an Archie's Comic. 

I open it to read and then - oh its mine. It cant be, but it is.  So I read a section. But I cant help it. So I end up telling the kid, that this book was once mine. 

I feel for the kid and hence arrange for his education with help from a Delhi based NGO. And then I forgot all about it.

20 years later.

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I am a big Manager now and I meet young people, old people, greedy people and hence I dont usually feel something great to meet some one new and especially a young man. But this young man I met this morning rocked me to my core.

And then he said those unbelievable words, " Sir, I am the same boy from Manali."  

He was a dynamic young man now and somewhere in all his achievements and educational qualifications was a platform which my comic book had aroused. It lead him to seek education and it lead him to success.

Through the Boy's Eyes. (After 50 more years)

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I am dying next month due to incurable tumor and hence this is my will - " I, Sameer Sheikh here by leave all my industries, wealth and real estate to my son as the sole and only owner, but I also give him my most priced possesion my comic book which made me all what I am now"

And then the Boy (Sameer) died.  [I was also dead by then of course. But to complete the story I would still use first person so bear with me. As if you have a choice.]

So Sameer's son read the will and then as he drove out from his lawyer’s office, he threw away, the most priced and yet useless thing that his father had left him, out of the car. 

The book was gathering dust along roadside until a kid, from the nearby slum, picked it up out of curiosity. It seems, he is reading it and looks as if he actually likes it too, I am so happy.

May be, just may be the comic book can inspire him too.

Well that’s the hope!!!    

By Ninad Tatke

Aim (Poem)

Some Skies are cold
Some Skies are warm

Some are filled with webs
Some are with clouds

Yet the Sky I seek
stands clear
mocking at me
And each jump I take

Lands me back on earth, hurt.
Hurt from pain.
Hurt from emotions.

And then some day
I find new ground

And I jump and I fly
I glide like a eagle
I float like a kite
Skies dont bother me
And gravity ignores

Sky does not matter anymore
no praise for it no encore
What matters is the grace of the jump
and the pleasure of the flight.

Lost - the poem (st)

Think of the sea
think of the waves
think of the cool smell of coconut
through her hair

Think of the sand
in your shoes
Think of the smile
you had seen on her face

Think of the night
Think of the day
Think of the time you have spent in her arms
Think of the warmth and think of the calm

Brace your mind each time you feel lost
And just think of the sea.