Kashmir - Agar ruhe zami asto, ami asto ami asto.......

Just Got back from Kashmir....check out some of my camera work....

apocalypto...........not for me......

the film opens with a quote from will durant........ “a great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within.”.......... but i still can not figure out what this quote has to do with the film............

apart from showcasing his talents as a director and some stunning camerawork i do not think there was anything substantial this film had to offer...............set during the decline of the ancient mayan civilization, the film depicts the struggle of a young jaguar paw........... like in the passion where gibson used aramic throughout the film, apocalypto is in the yukatek maya language............ i enjoyed the authenticity this offers.............but once again it was pointless......

after the first 10 minutes, the film plunged into blood drenched barbaric scenes...........the film turned into an aztec version of braveheart............

i have heard so many good reviews about this movie that i just felt stupid.............people are all talking about how this film is about the demise of the maya empire and I saw nothing of that....................

this movie is not for the weak hearted and watch it on an empty stomach...........

1971...bravo....

a movie which is a decent thriller yet also succeeds in evoking the feeling of patriotism which out any overdose of "desh prem".......

its a 2 hour movie with some very good acting by almost all the characters.....if you remember deepak dobriyal from omkara, then look out for him in this movie.....he is brilliant.......

one disappoint.......manoj bajpai.......am so used to watch him playing an intense brooding character in all his movies that this is no exception........nothing new or refreshing from him.......i think he is not challenging himself to be adventurous with his characters.......

overall, a good entertainer....

Black Friday......brilliant......

till the day before, all i remembered of pawan malhotra was his debut in the early 90's in saeed mirza's salim langde pe mat ro....... his portrayal of salim, trying to find his identity in a total confusing world of good and bad was absolutely mind blowing........

and yesterday i saw black friday........and he steals the show with his performance as Ibrahim Abdul Razak Memon better know as Tiger Memon, most wanted terrorist and the architect of the 1993 bombay bombings........

the movie tells the story of the young terrorists who were manipulated by tiger memon to execute his plans.....and also of the police officials who cracked the case........

Kay Kay Menon is an actor par excellence and his portrayal of DCP Rakesh Maria is simply brilliant............his performance as an IPS officer is as close as it can get to how a real IPS officer would behave (mannerisms)............i can state this with authority as i have a member of IPS fraternity as my immediate family.........

the movie is so hard hitting that it made many people to walk out of the theater during the intermission..........truth hurtsssss.........

last week, parzania and now this........both the movies make you think, think and then think some more...........

a must watch......

p.s. the background score by indian ocean is very impressive and adds an impact to the scenes...........

Traffic Jam....oooops..... Signal

what a waste of time.....even if the duration of the movie is 2hrs, its a total waste............

ranvir shorey and kunal khemu (strictly in that order) are the only saving grace for this dud of a movie..............

wake up mr. bhandarkar...........you are losing your touch.......

p.s. sudhir mishra should stick to what he is best at, direction....................

a disappearing poet of always.....

here's to opening and upward, to leaf and to sap
and to your (in my arms flowering so new)
self whose eyes smell of the sound of rain

and here's to silent certainly mountains; and to
a disappearing poet of always, snow
and to morning; and to morning's beautiful friend
twilight (and a first dream called ocean) and

let must or if be damned with whomever's afraid
down with ought with because with every brain
which thinks it thinks, nor dares to feel (but up
with joy; and up with laughing and drunkenness)

here's to one undiscoverable guess
of whose mad skill each world of blood is made
(whose fatal songs are moving in the moon

- e e cummings

Parzania....

i saw parzania last night ......was left speechless & visibly shaken after the movie (just like everybody else in the theatre)........

all i remember is this quote from Gandhi featured in the movie... "An eye for an eye, and soon the whole world is blind."

this is not a review....its not about the characters, their performance, direction or the movie........this is about the establishment we believe in.......

p.s. the movie is not being screened in Gujrat for obvious reasons......

thinking about you...norah jones

just heard the new single by norah jones....thinking about you.....
its absolutely fantastic.......esp the last 30 seconds.....thats a mean horns and trumpet loop.....

Blood Diamond..............stunning......

someone I know who is with UNDP was in liberia for 2 years and he told me some stories about the civil war in liberia and sierra leone so I had a fair idea of what to expect from this movie…………….

blood diamond is intense, heart wrenching and political about the blood shed by all concerned in the diamond rich sierra leone………….. its about the conflict diamonds……….. diamonds mined by slave labor, the exportation of which has directly led to violence and civil war…….

Ive never been a dicaprio fan (thanks to the titanic for which I have a profound dislike) but first the departed and now this, im hugely impressed……..

djimon hounsou whom I vaguely remember from the gladiator was good but he was shouting through out the movie……nobody howls with haunted rage like hounsou.........remember amistad?

blood diamond is mostly good and occasionally brilliant and sometimes a drag…….and the tone of the movie is cynical with “speeches” from almost every character……..

I found syriana to be a much better, realistic and less dramatic movie concerning a global issue……..I just wish the movie was atleast 15-20 minutes shorter than its current version………

the movie can be summarized in a quote by danny archer (leonardo dicaprio) explains to journalist maddy bowen (jennifer connelly)………. "In america, it's bling-bling, but here it's bling-bang."…………

watch it……..

Guru.............guru bhai aa gaya re!!!

master bachchan, take a bow............................you have finally arrived........i noticed a hint of brilliance in AB jr. in this movie...........BUT, still miles to go before u sleeeeep.................

i was reading somewhere that this movie is "loosely" based on Dhirubhai's life..........well, heres the news...............whoever has read Hamish McDonald’s Polyester Prince - the rise of Dhirubhai Ambani can make comparisons............whatever is shown in the movie is covered in this book........battle with Ramnath Goenka (Indian Express), war with industrialist Nusli Wadia of Bombay Dyeing and Reliance's travails during the V P Singh government which almost brought the business house to its knees and other issues like licensed capacities, export manipulation and share switching...........incidentally, this book was banned in 1998 by the Indian government as the book did not show dhirubhai in good light.....only dhirubhai could've pulled it off with his tweaking and capturing political and bureaucratic power..........and thats exactly whats shown in the movie....

a good movie indeed...........