ABSOLUTELY MUST WATCH !!!

Sonnet 17 of Neruda’s 100 Love Sonnets

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms,
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

- Pablo Neruda

The Dark Knight....

i thoroughly enjoyed the movie.....too much is being said about heath ledger's portrayal of the joker but i firmly believe when it comes to acting, gary oldman is better than heath ledger (may god rest his soul)........

a must watch....

SarkaarRaj - not quite.....

Pretension almost always overdoes the original, and hence exposes itself.

- Hosea Ballou

I had to write about this....saw sarkaarraj last night and i must admit i was disappointed from the word GO.....

nothing was natural in the movie.....everyone was trying so hard to ACT....everyone was coming up with really loooong & heavy dialogues about right and wrong......every character was brooding throughout the movie and brooding is not acting......on technical front, every camera angle had to be perfect and the whole movie was shot in closeups...was it to enhance the intensity of the characters or just to annoy us?

the background score was jarring as the novelty wore off after the original sarkar....

p.s. i catnapped during the movie....shame on me!!! heh heh heh

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...........

Babel......AVOID

i was very curious about Babel as last 2 movies by alejandro inarritu were simply brilliant........and then i saw babel last night......
the movie was very long and very very boring......one of the worst ive ever seen......i think inarritu wanted to make a oscar winner (Crash concept) but came up with a dud......
cant believe this is from the same man who directed amores perros and 21 grams......

p.s. was going through the newspapers today and most of the reviews have given 3.5 or 4 stars to this movie.....crappppppp.......

Happy Feet........Superrrrrrrrrrr

i saw this movie last night and i was simply blown away.....easily one of the best non-disney or pixar production........
breathtaking visuals........the voice work is too goooood...... robin williams does three different characters and doesn't annoy.........
ecological message feels a bit forced and doesn't really mesh with the rest of the film.......

Casino Royale......shaken & stirred

and mr. bond is backkkkkkkkk......a more realistic and gritty bond.......bare knuckled, rough around the edges and a sociopathic killer.......the action in some scenes was outstanding...esp in the first 45mins.....
dont expect moneypenny, Q or loads of gadgets.....they are gone.
and what a great name for a bond villian......Le Chiffre.......
there are some real witty one liners.......bond tormenting his torturer with the one liner "now you can tell all your friends that you died scratching my balls"....
i wasnt expecting "Vesper Lynd: You're not going to let me in there. You've got your armour back on.
James Bond: I have no armour left. You've stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me - whatever I am - I'm yours " from mr. bond but he did it with so much ease......

its probably one of the best bond movies ever.........

am signing off with some memorable quotes from this amazing movie.....thanks to IMDB.....



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Vesper Lynd: If the only thing left of you was your smile and your little finger, you'd still be more of a man than anyone else.
James Bond: That's because you know what I can do with my little finger...


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Vesper Lynd: I will be keeping my eyes on the money and off of your perfectly formed ass.
James Bond: You noticed.

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M: Christ, I miss the Cold War.


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Vesper Lynd: Am I going to have a problem with you, Bond?
James Bond: No, don't worry. You're not my type.
Vesper Lynd: Smart?
James Bond: Single.

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Steven Obanno: Do you believe in God, Mr. Le Chiffre?
Le Chiffre: No, I believe in a reasonable rate of return.

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Bartender: Shaken or stirred?
James Bond: Do I look like I give a damn?

Friends of Men....

Men always have better friends...They will stand by you,no matter what!

Friends of Women:

A wife was not at home for a whole night. So she tells her husband,
the very next morning, that she stayed at her (girl) friend's
apartment overnight. So the husband calls 10 of her best (girl)
friends and none of them confirm that she was with them.

Friends of Men:

A husband was not at home for a whole night. So he tells his wife
the very next morning, that he stayed at his friend's apartment over
night. So the wife calls 10 of his best friends and 5 of them
confirm that he stayed at their apartments that night and another 5
are claiming that he is still with them...

London Ahoy!!!!

there is something weird happening rite now........4 of my friends and 2 of my very good friends (6 in total) are in London right now honoring their professional commitments and all have moved there in the span of last 4 months.......this is scary......is it some sort of sign for me which I'm unable to decipher?...HELPPPPP...

men love their toys.... really funny

Had to share this...too good.....



Following is the e-mail sent to an Agony Aunt column for personal advice by
one of our kind of fellas...

Hope its Good humour for you too:-

Dear Abby,

I've never written to you before, but I really need your advice on what
could be a crucial decision. I've suspected for some time now that my wife
has been cheating on me.

The usual signs... phone rings but if I answer, the caller hangs up. My wife
has been going out with the girls a lot recently although when I ask their
names she always says, "Just some friends from work, you don't know them."

I always stay awake to look out for her taxi coming home, but she always
walks down the drive. Although I can hear a car driving off, as if she has
gotten out of the car round the corner. Why? Maybe she wasn't in a taxi? I
once picked her cell phone up just to see what time it was and she went
berserk and screamed that I should never touch her phone again and why was I
checking up on her.

Anyway, I have never approached the subject with my wife. I think deep down
I just didn't want to know the truth, but last night she went out again and
I decided to really check on her.

I decided I was going to park my Harley Davidson motorcycle next to the
garage and then hide behind it so I could get a good view of the whole
street when she came home. It was at that moment, crouching behind my
Harley, that I noticed that the valve covers on my engine seemed to be
leaking a little oil.

Is this something I can fix myself or should I take it back to the dealer?

Thanks,

Stuart