Hampi - History beckons

History always fascinated me and Hampi was one place high on my must-see list. So when we decided on a short weekend trip from Bangalore, Hampi was quickly chosen as the destination.

Hampi the erstwhile capital of the Vijayanagara Empire is situated in the Bellary district of Karnataka. About 380 km from Bangalore, it can be reached roughly in about 7 hours drive from Bangalore.

As the dates were quickly decided, we decide to book the stay in one of the hotels in Hampi. Accommodation can be done both at Hampi proper [lesser options] or at Hospet the nearest town, half an hour's drive from Hampi.

We decided to go the economy option and settled for the KSTDC Mayura Bhuvaneshwari at Kamalapur near Hampi. With a little bit of prodding and pushing we could book the rooms in advance without making an advance payment. Standard 4-bed room was priced at Rs 900 per night.

With accommodation taken care of we decided to go for the more comfortable 12 seater Tempo Traveler to ferry our 10-member tourist gang to the location.

We started for Hampi, Friday night at around 10 pm from Bangalore. Being a night's drive, we asked the driver to take it easy, so that we could reach after dawn in Hampi. The highlight of the night was that we could actually find some fuel to take us to Hampi in the first place, when the driver had conveniently forgotten to fill his tank during a fuel strike.

After a rather sleepless night of changing positions to catch a wink, we finally arrived at our destination of choice. We could find the hotel without much of a problem. The rooms were very basic to put it straight. To be fair to the hotel itself, it was exactly what was promised, a 4-bed room; nothing more, nothing less. Anyways we were too tired and too lazy to go check any other place out.

After a quick bath and breakfast at the hotel, we set out to see what Hampi was all about. Our first destination was the Virupaksha temple, the only major temple left in Hampi which wasn't vandalized. This temple is where the daily rituals continue to this day.

As with other places of great historical importance, its highly imperative to have a good guide, to truly understand the place. We found ours just outside the Virupaksha temple. With some bargaining we were able to settle at Rs 700 for a guided tour of the city which lasts about 6 hours.

Virupaksha temple, has Lord Shiva as the main deity and is worshipped in a svayambu [where the lingam is natural and not artificially made] form. The main temple is lined on the outside with rows of granite pandals which served as the market place. Legends have it that these markets, in their prime sold gold and other precious stones in the open, like any other goods sold today. Such was the grandeur of hampi in its glory days.

Virupaksha temple has 2 major gopuras [towers] built in different eras by Devaraya and Krishnadevaraya. Another attraction of the temple is the unique system where the shadow of the main gopuram is projected on the wall behind the sanctum sanctorum. The shadow is formed inverted and remains the same through out the day irrespective of the position of the Sun. This shows the advancements in engineering achieved at that time. The phenomenon is now explained with the pin-hole effect.

The next stop after a brief uphill climb onto the rocks was the unique caves formed by huge boulders over lapping each other. These caves supposedly served as meditation spots for sages of that era. A 22 foot idol of Lord Ganesha which is quite intimidating with its sheer size stands nearby. Its also sadly the first place in Hampi where a sad truth strikes you. The cold hearted destruction that is evident. The idol has its limbs and stomach broken, an act which prevents any kind of rituals being carried out on it.

Here on every monument we encounter, has been vandalized by people who can only be termed heartless. I truly shudder to think of people who could actually be so brutal on things of such high beauty and magnificence. The precision and totality of their destruction leaves you numb. Hatred truly is a bad thing.

The hill top does also offer a magnificent view all round of the ruins that lie in wait and of the rock formations that are truly spectacular.

Hampi was also the setting for the ancient mythical kingdom of Kishkinda. A place, where many tales involving Vali, Sugreeva and Lord Rama from the Ramayana is supposed to have transpired.

A brief ride away is the complex having the Krishna temple, most of which is severely damaged. Some attempts at reconstructing the gopuram made of bricks and lime stone is on at this place.

Next stop was the UgraNarasimha statue, which actually as our guide corrected is supposed to be the Lakshmi-Narasimha statue. The statue which depicts Lord Vishnu in his half man-half lion avatar is heavily damaged. A part of the statue showcasing Goddess Lakshmi has been totally broken off. Immediately next to the idol is a monolithic Shiva Lingam which according to our guide is the second largest monolithic lingam in the country [a fact heavily disputed by our touring party].

After this point we broke of for a brief lunch at Kamalapur.

The afternoon session started of with a visit to the underground Siva temple which was used by the rulers for meditation.

Next stop was the Queens Palace complex, which included the Lotus Mahal - or the air-conditioned Mahal. Considering the temperatures at Hampi, this was more of a necessity than a luxury.

The "air-conditioning" was done by the series of pipes running through palace walls which would keep the structure cool. To add to the "comfort", the Mahal was kept cool by laborers who had the enviable task of drawing up water and pouring it all over the structure to keep it cool. The structure in itself is quite beautiful, built in a symmetric way, very obviously inspired by a lotus in bloom.

Beside the Lotus Mahal stands the Queens palace now razed to its foundation. Apparently the palace was a three storied structure built of wood, and was burnt down into ashes. One could nly imagine what spledour the artisans of Hampi could create in wood, considering the beauty they managed to chisel into stone.

Behind the Queens palace is the Elephant stables, quite distinct from the other structures with an Islamic style of construction. The huge structure was built to house 11 elephants. The houses for their caretakers [mahouts] stand nearby.

Our final stop for the day at Hampi was at the famous Vittala temple. This temple complex is the most intriguing of all. It houses the two most famous exhibits in Hampi. The musical pillars and the stone chariot.

The stone chariot in the courtyard of the temple, is an engineering marvel in itself. The chariot has wheels made of stone which can be easily turned.

The main attraction and the showcase of the marvels the people of Vijayanagara could conjure is the musical pillars. Built into the mandap, each set of 12 pillars is supposed to represent an instrument. Each pillar made of solid stone makes the sound of a specific instrument when stroked. The instruments ranged from mrudangams to even the veena.

But the sad part was that we could not experience the marvel for ourselves as it is not allowed to "play" these pillars anymore for the fear of damage to them. All we could satisfy ourselves with, was the poor man's version in the nearby mandap. Even that sounded incredible.

A brief visit to nearby Tungabhadra Dam and a heavy dinner followed. That concluded a very tiring and incredible day of Hampi watching.

Day 2 started of with quite an incredible breakfast, each of us surprising ourselves with our appetites. Magic a tiring days workout can have on one's appetite is incredible.

We set off with plans to cross the Tungabhadra River and to have look at some more monuments on the other side of the river. But it was not to be, the day was chosen by the local performers as a day of protest, to highlight the negligence of the government towards them.

The protest in itself was incredibly fun, with people turning out in their colorful best. We had people dressed up as various mythical characters accompanied by music and dance. And they were more than happy to oblige to the camera. What more can a tourist ask, protest or no protest. Most of our morning was spent looking at the colorful procession. And the shutter bugs were happy to click away.

This made us rethink our plan. We decided to finish our lunch and start back home as soon as possible, so that we could reach back to Bangalore at some sane hour. For lunch we chose to go to the "mango Tree" restaurant which we had heard a lot about before and during the journey. The place turned out be not upto the expectation. The place is built onto the banks of Tungabhadra and probably would be a sightful when the river runs high.

On our journey back, when everyone was just reminiscing about how perfectly things have fallen onto place on this trip, God intervened. He decided we need to have a tad more fun on the trip. Promptly our vehicle broke down and we had to spend five hours on the highway in a dingy dhaba. No one complained as we had more fun there than what we could after reaching back home early.

Thus a truly inspiring and memorable journey came to an end, which every one of us would remember for a truly long time. Personally for me the place was a enriching experience and gave me a glimpse into the incredible lives of our ancestors.

And on popular demand... the touring party

Ponnonam

Onam the harvest festival of Kerala is here again bringing with it its own festivities. Being a "Marunadan" Malayalee or a Malayalee who has been staying away from Kerala, Onam has always been a festival which connects me to my roots. 

Onam the festival of plenty has always been a very private affair in my family. Being a nuclear family living in Bangalore our Onam has always been different from what Onam was originally meant to be. An occasion for families to get together and cherish the times of plenty.

Onam celebrated in the month of "Chingam" has always been every Malayalees way of paying homage to the great ruler Mahabali. Under whom there was no caste or creed, no hunger, no suffering. Mankind believed in brotherhood and understood each others pain. So much so this ideal land became a matter of jealousy even for the Devas, who send Vamana [an avatar of Vishnu] to humble the great king. 

Vamana asked for land that he could measure in three steps. Mahabali the benevolent agreed, only for whole of earth to be taken up by the first step of the magical Vamana, with the second he covered rest of the universe. With no place to take for his third step. The humble king offered himself and Vamana stepped on him to send the king to Patala or  the netherworld. 

Impressed with the Kings generosity Vamana granted the King a wish. The King who loved his subjects wished for a opportunity to come see his kingdom and its subjects every year. The day which is celebrated as Onam.

Although it may seem that Vishnu punished Mahabali for his good deeds, the fact is Vishnu gave salvation and the boon to be remembered for eternity. He also granted the boon that Mahabali wood be the next Indra [King of Devas]. 

So every year the whole of Kerala awaits the arrival of its beloved King. His kingdom gets all decked up, with each house decorated with floral carpets to welcome the king into their homes. Even the poorest celebrate this day as a day of plenty, so that when the King goes back he takes back memories of his kingdom as he had left it before.

Even if this whole story is just a myth, the underlying message of Onam is not to be forgotten, it shows us how the world is supposed to be, how the moment needs to be cherished and above all it celebrates the spirit of togetherness.

Kho Na Jaaye Yeh - Taare Zameen Par

At the end of the year comes a gem, which enthralls, entertains, educates and most importantly makes you think about the "little stars" on this earth and their predicaments.

The movie tells the story of Ishan Avasthi a dreamy 9 year old for whom the world seems a bit different. He lives cocooned in his own world where alphabets concoct against him, the numbers just don't make sense and the whole world doesn't seem to understand his predicament. His grades are at a ebb and he seems indifferent.

His parents, a loving mother and a very busy executive dad, just can't fathom why their son just can't seem to fit in to this competitive world, while his elder sibling is the perfect kid who tops his school, plays tennis and is adept at whatever he does. This contrast and the reason behind it is credited to Ishan's indifference and he is packed of to a boarding school which they believe will bring Ishan in line.

Here Ishan who has always had his family around him is himself unable to understand why his parents decided to send him away from them, turns into a recluse. But as they say everything happens for the good and here he meets Ram Shankar Nikumbh an stand-in art teacher who for the first time in Ishan's life is somebody who cares to understand his problems

The passages that follow where Ram analyzes the vibrant mind of Ishan and makes the people around him understand the need to give each child his own space is a must watch.

As for performances, Darsheel Safary as Ishan is just brilliant, he encompasses the fragility and spontaneity of Ishan's character with elan. They way he emotes in some scenes of this movie is to be seen to be believed. It just shows the caliber of the child artistes of today. Aamir Khan's performance as Ram is expectedly adept, this I am sure would be considered among his best performances and his most fulfilling too.

But more than Aamir the actor, it's Aamir the director and the film maker who deserves the accolades for making this gem. He seems very adept at his skills behind the camera as he is in front of it, if this is what he can give us for a start, I do surely look forward to many more classics from Aamir.

The music deserves as much credit as the movie itself, Shankar Ehsaan Loy have given in one of their career best sound tracks. "Taare Zameen Par", "Kholo Kholo" and "Maa" are top notch. Prasoon Joshi reiterates his class with some incredible and contextual lyrics.

This certainly is the best movie of 2007 and is a movie made by people with heart in the right place. It's an effort which should be highly encouraged. Very few movies have captured the complexities and issues of a child as this one has. I highly recommend this movie and even think it should be made mandatory viewing :) for all parents and parents to be.

--

Super Heroes Beware - BOSS is here

It's finally confirmed.. the real Indian super hero does not walk around in a cape or a mask...

Leaping unimaginable distances and smashing the life out of a hundred goons all maintaining that smile on his face ... who else but the SuperStar is BACK!!! Rajnikanth is in the House...

Sivaji mania is everywhere and it doesn't seem to be dying out any time soon...

The word HYPE does not do justice to the crescendo of anticipation and excitement on this side of the Vindhyas created by this mother of all potboilers. The mere announcement that AVM one of the biggest production houses of the South had pulled the coup of casting the King of the Masses with the ultimate mass director had sent tremors of excitement and fear through the film fraternity all over India. For one this wasnt going to be just another movie... either way that is.

For all this hype and hoopla around the movie I just had to check this movie out. Admittedly I am a big fan of Shankar and Rajni movies and the prospect of them teaming was great.

For once lack of a substantial storyline in this movie wasn't something that surprised me... Most Rajni movies of recent times, with the exception of Chandramukhi has been based around a common thread. That of the do gooder who looses the battle towards the interval only to regain everything smashing everyone who stood in his path and uplifting everyone who followed him. Sivaji only adds to the list with that much and nothing more. Shankar just adds his usual dose of his views on how to solve corruption and bring the black stuff out to light.

May be the stakes were too high to experiment, coz when Rajni tried to stray of the path a tad with Baba... it was a disaster; by his standards of course.

The movie starts of with Sivaji being escorted into a jail, from there movie runs in flash back mode when Sivaji(Rajni) returns from US, where he seems to have made quite a fortune.

The good hearted Sivaji wishes to utilize the money to bring education to all, but the system and the people who bend the system stand in his way... How Sivaji realizes his dream and brings these baddies to book forms rest of the story.

Like most tamil movies of recent times, Sivaji runs on multiple tracks with a track devoted to Sivaji wooing his lady love Shriya[to whom we shall come back to soon] which also forms the comedy track to one where he engages in a battle with Suman. The tracks switch monotonously with rarely any connection between the two.

The first half of the movie is quite light and racy with Shriya being total eye candy, thats all that is required of her actually and she is more than adept at it. Shriya easily switches between the extremes of being the austere simpleton to the glam doll in the songs.

Among the supporting cast Vivek is at his best matching Rajni scene for scene and dialogue for dialogue. Suman tries to be menacing and subtle but comes out too plain and pale. Also mentions to Nayanthara in the the opening song who looks fab.

Rajni in a role written for him to the T; stands out, impressing us with his comic timing in the first half and being the style icon in the second. It must be said he looks a lot younger in the movie and his dress sense with credit to Manish Malhotra has gone up manifold. Whts bit of a let down is the action sequences which are a bit too over the top even by Rajni standards.

There was once a question on why there were no superhero movies in the South. After seeing this movie I kinda had the answer. What more could a poor super hero do.... ;)

Another highlight of the movie are the songs more so for the spectacular sets and picturization than the tunes themselves[we definetly have heard better from Rehman]. Overall the movie is like a collection of set pieces guaranteed to make the Rajni fanatics go crazy.

When taken overall it surely falters a bit. But what the heck when there is the Superstar on Screen and the crowd go beserk in the aisles ... who wants a story line after all........

...

Bond Jam's Bond

Thats what i would like to call the guy/gal who actually wrote this.....

This anonymous Infoscion show us what a true blue Bangalorean is at heart... a eternal optimist

Read on and Enjoy

"Over these last few years of living in Bangalore , I have slowly grown to like the jams, which this city provides in abundance.

These jams do build your patience and character. Is it a coincidence that India ’s most patient cricketers, Dravid and Kumble, hail from this city of jams? (Dravid is even nicknamed “Jammy”). Does it tell you something? Sri Sri Ravishankar…does he get his daily dose of spiritual inspiration while in a jam?? And will I also get a halo after a few more years of this “character building”?? There are, I am sure, thousands of future Anands stuck in the Adugodis and Anand Rao circles, who are plotting their moves against future Kramniks… those poor little Kramniks stand no chance. And if you see a professor-like guy prancing around the Palace road jam, you can deduce that a postulate in Physics has just been proved.

A few days back, I had a thought - If we can have reviews of movies, which occupy only a few hours of our life in a month, why not reviews of traffic jams, which takes up significant hours of our day?? So here is my review of some of Bangalore ’s famous and not-so-famous jams(in no particular order).

But before that, a general comment - As they say, the taste of food in a restaurant is dependent on the ambience ; similarly, the way I see jams, cozy inside the office shuttle or public transport, is different from the way the owner of the swank new SUV sees it. (btw, if you are the owner of the swank new SUV, don’t run me down).

1. The Hosur Road Jam - Unarguably, the mother of all jams. We (ex-) Infoscions are proud of being (once) associated with a great company. We are equally proud of contributing in no small extent to this jam. This jam gives a great glimpse of the Other India - colorful music-blaring interstate buses, garment factory workers, highway trucks, smoke spewing lorries and such. Provides ample food for thought for socialist minds. (Rating: ***1/2)

2. The jams around K’mangala/Forum mall - Definitely the best jams in town. PYTs (Pretty young things), fancy cars, and fancy restaurants; this has it all. But you can’t afford any of those. Never mind!! Your sadistic brain can take pleasure in the fact that the guy in the fancy car next to you is cruising around for a parking space, feasting his eyes on the PYTs , while his family is having dinner in one of the fancy restaurants. (Rating: ****1/2)

3. The KG Road jam - To be experienced in the evenings before a long weekend. Every auto/taxi in town seems to be stuck while going towards the City railway station - your hair stands on end, you start sweating, the heart beats faster, and you get the rush that a Michael Schumachaer gets on his last lap. And just as the auto moves, a movie show ends and a few hundred more vehicles pour out… Which was the train that hooted just now?? (Rating: ***1/2)

4. The Jayanagar jam - The puzzle-lovers jam; Jayanagar is maze of bylanes, one-way streets, no right-turns, no left-turns, traffic signals and whatnot. It is an establised fact that Point A to point B, in Jayanagar, can be reached in 6436 distinct ways. But whichever way you take, you are left with a hollow feeling that another route had a better and bigger jam? (Rating: **1/2)

5. The jams around Marathahalli/ Whitefield - The IT professional’ s dream jam; As she sits in the office shuttle looking at other office buses, she can make her career plans. A typical evening in this jam goes thus:

Voice from Company A bus : “Any J2EE developers in your bus?”. Three guys from Company B bus respond “Yeah” and get down. By the time, the bus crosses the Marathahalli bridge, the first guy is hired as a J2EE developer. The second guy, who didn’t know what J2EE meant, is hired as a project manager and the third guy is rejected as he realised late that he has already worked for Company A last year.

(Rating: ****)

6. The Airport Road jam - Similar in taste and character like the Koramangala jam but has socialist twist. This jam treats the rich businessman, who will later travel business class on Jet, the same as a poor programmer, who had unusually come to office early in the morning, 3 months back, to buy one of those cheap airline tickets. (Rating ***)

7. The BTM 7th Main x 7 Cross jam - Close to my home, so close to my heart. But alas, the spoilsports at BDA finished the flyover at the Jayadeva circle and brought an end to this jam. But for a couple of years, this jam used to give me pure joy as vehicles of all types created a tangle in the small bylanes of BTM layout. The BDA is now planning a new flyover at the Udupi Garden junction; so there is still hope (Rating ***1/2).

We jam lovers - currently this club consists of only me - have petitioned the government to protect and preserve traffic jams as a cultural asset of Bangalore . Just so that traffic jams are not endangered in the future, we have these suggestions:

1. Build more flyovers - Flyovers do not reduce jams. They just transfer it to the next junction. And in the 2 years that it takes to build them, you are assured of some joyous jams. I am drooling…

2. No public buses - If everybody goes by buses, where will our culture go?

3. Make Tata’s 1-Lakh car cheaper by making it tax free - Imagine every two wheeler replaced by a car…The prospects are mouth-watering."

<===================>

Blood Guts Glory

300- the name in itself is unconventional, and considering the story a very obvious choice. 300 as the name and subtitles suggest is story of 300 Spartan warriors facing a army of a million from Persia.

300-is a very visually stylized adaptation of the graphic novel also titled "300" by Frank Miller. The graphic novel tells the story of Battle of Thermopylae where a army of 300 Spartans had held up a army of Xerxes which came to conquer their land. They held up enough for the Spartan navy to arrive and beat Xerxes to the retreat.

The first thing that strikes you about the movie is the stunning visual imagery, composition of each shot, each frame is just so beautiful. The power of CG is at the fullest, what with only one of the scenes in the movie being actually shot outdoors. Be it stunning landscapes or the grotesque battle sequences, everything is done with total honesty to the comic book genre. The picturization is not a very real one but has the element of fantasy to it. Characters are made larger to life and their dialogues out of a story board. And considering that was what the makers set out to do, they have achieved to the fullest.

The movie opens with sequences which are meant to establish the credentials of an Spartan warrior. Each of the one hand picked and the deformed and diseased eliminated. Every child is made to go through an initiation in to pain and endurance. All this to create the ultimate war machines that the Spartans claim to be.

The story follows the travails of the Spartan King Leonidus, a man of virtue and honour who stands up to protect his nation as the rest of it is embroiled in corruption. He sets out with 300 of the finest warriors in Sparta against the wishes of the Counsel to protect his nation, knowing fully the might of the self proclaimed god Xerxes.

What follows is a blood smattering, torso piercing war sequences, although grotesque in depiction shot with with a certain sense of aesthetics. You see people being beheaded, legs chopped off and hordes of Persian warriors assembled by Xerxes from across Asia turning into heaps of dead bodies. Its all in your face... with little left to the imagination.

What unravels further is a nothing unexpected, as seen many American war movies... guts, pain, endurance and glory. But what strikes you is the way it gets told on screen.

The director Zack Snyder has recreated the war sequences using CG as well if not better than many Hollywood movies before made with budgets many folds of this movie. Just for the trivia this movie was made at around 1/5 the budget of Spiderman!!!.

People like me who would like a good war movie would like this movie and the people who donot like seeing limbs severed better stay away. Overall this is quite a entertaining movie which doesn't leave you unsatisfied.

Traffic [non]Sense

Here is a funny article worth posting that I found ...

I hope you like it too.. [and yeah I know my creativity is DEAD]

"This hilarious article was written by a Dutchman who spent two years in India, as a visiting expert. A little long article but makes interesting reading!!!


For the benefit of every Tom, Dick and Harry visiting India and daring to drive on Indian roads, I am offering a few hints for survival. They are applicable to every place in India except Bihar, where life outside a vehicle is only marginally safer.

Indian road rules broadly operate within the domain of karma where you do your best, and leave the results to your insurance company. The hints are as follows: Do we drive on the left or right of the road? The answer is "both". Basically you start on the left of the road, unless it is occupied. In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess. Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed. Adherence to road rules leads to much misery and occasional fatality. Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the generally intended direction.

Don't you get discouraged or underestimate yourself except for a belief in reincarnation; the other drivers are not in any better position. Don't stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to cross the road. You may do so only if you enjoy being bumped in the back.

Pedestrians have been strictly instructed to cross only when traffic is moving slowly or has come to a dead stop because some minister is in town. Still some idiot may try to wade across, but then, let us not talk ill of the dead.

Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries. We horn to express joy, resentment, frustration, romance and bare lust (two brisk blasts),or just mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar. Keep informative books in the glove compartment. You may read them during traf fic jams, while awaiting the chief minister's motorcade, or waiting for the rainwater to recede when over ground traffic meets underground drainage.

Occasionally you might see what looks like a UFO with blinking colored lights and weird sounds emanating from within. This is an illuminated bus, full of happy pilgrims singing bhajans. These pilgrims go at breakneck speed, seeking contact with the Almighty, often meeting with success.

Auto Rickshaw (Baby Taxi): The result of a collision between a rickshaw and an automobile, this three-wheeled vehicle works on an external combustion engine that runs on a mixture of kerosene oil and creosote. This triangular vehicle carries iron rods, gas cylinders or passengers three times its weight and dimension, at an unspecified fare. After careful geometric calculations, children are folded and packed into these auto rickshaws until some children in the periphery are not in contact with
the vehicle at all. Then their school bags are pushed into the microscopic gaps all round so those minor collisions with other vehicles on the road cause no permanent damage. Of course, the peripheral children are charged half the fare and also learn Newton's laws of motion enroute to school. Auto-rickshaw drivers follow the road rules depicted in the film Ben Hur, and are licensed to irritate.

Mopeds: The moped looks like an oil tin on wheels and makes noise like an electric shaver. It runs 30 miles on a teaspoon of petrol and travels at break-bottom speed. As the sides of the road are too rough for a ride, the moped drivers tend to drive in the middle of the road; they would rather drive under heavier vehicles instead of around them and are often "mopped" off the tarmac.

Leaning Tower of Passes: Most bus passengers are given free passes and during rush hours, there is absolute mayhem. There are passengers hanging off other passengers, who in turn hang off the railings and the overloaded bus leans dangerously, defying laws of gravity but obeying laws of surface tension. As drivers get paid for overload (so many Rupees per kg of passenger), no questions are ever asked. Steer clear of these
buses by a width of three passengers.

One-way Street: These boards are put up by traffic people to add jest in their otherwise drab lives. Don't stick to the literal meaning and proceed in one direction. In metaphysical terms, it means that you cannot proceed in two directions at once. So drive as you like, in reverse throughout, if you are the fussy type. Least I sound hypercritical; I must add a positive point also. Rash and fast driving in residential areas has been prevented by providing a "speed breaker"; two for each house. This mound, incidentally, covers the water and drainage pipes for that residence and is left untarred for easy identification by the corporation authorities, should they want to recover the pipe for year-end accounting.

Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience for those with the mental make up of Genghis Khan. In a way, it is like playing Russian roulette, because you do not know who amongst the drivers is loaded. What looks like premature dawn on the horizon turns out to be a truck attempting a speed record. On encountering it, just pull partly into the field adjoining the road until the phenomenon passes.

Our roads do not have shoulders, but occasional boulders. Do not blink your lights expecting reciprocation. The only dim thing in the truck is the driver, and with the peg of illicit arrack (alcohol) he has had at the last stop, his total cerebral functions add up to little more than a naught. Truck drivers are the James Bonds of India, and are licensed to kill. Often you may encounter a single powerful beam of light about six feet above the ground. This is not a super motorbike, but a truck approaching you with a single light on, usually the le ft one. It could be the right one, but never get too close to investigate. You may prove your point posthumously."

Ciao.........

GO Dhoom AGAIN

The title track promises a roller coaster ride... and that's exactly what it delivers.... a roller coaster ride of thrills and some ignorable spills............

What could be bigger than a movie which has Hrithik, Abhishek and Ash in it..... the hype began when this coup was made.. and it just developed into a avalanche of hype that the movie opened with.

Hype is something which can make or break a film, it makes the expectations skyrocket and if the movie does not eventually match up to the hype the spiral downwards is equally steep.

So how does the most hyped up movie of recent times fare up..... let me give you my point of view...

Dhoom 2 is a sequel, and I believe a sequel is successful only if it can better the original. Dhoom was a film which broke the genre of romantic movies at the box office.. It put the buck where the bang was.. action became cool again.. and icons were made... the whole nation rocked to "Dhoom Machale" and it created a space for stylized action movies to be made...

So anything which followed Dhoom had to be bigger... and that's where Dhoom 2 steps up to the plate. For starters it has the biggest star cast of the year. backing by the successful Yashraj films and the same director back at the helm.

When the Dhoom series began it began from the concept that every five minutes needed a highlight, a cool action scene or a great song... the enterprise carry’s forth with the same belief.

So we have Hrithik jumping of a airplane and pulling of a impossible heist in Namibia for the opening sequence. Its followed a supercool hrithik rocking to "Dhoom Again" when the titles roll. The pace is set and what follows is a barrage of eye candy... Hrithik pulling of robberies after robberies which incredulous techniques [thank fully not borrowed from Hollywood this time].

By the time interval hits you, you have already feel u have had your monies worth. The second half is more of the same lots of action and cool songs.

Agreed this movie ain't one that would be "intellectually stimulating" but its damn entertaining and I believe great cinema is one which does what it sets out to do. In this case to entertain and it does it to the fullest. Escapism is the name of the game here.

I am consciously not telling u the story here coz.. actually there ain't any and u are happy for it.. it just ur cop chase robber saga with a love story thrown in...

Cast

Hrithik Roshan: This man is awesome period. He looks awesome and does the craziest stunts that would put any hollywood actor worth his salt to shame. This man has arrived and is undoubtedly the international face of Indian cinema. Just go watch this movie for this man... uber cool!!!!

Abhishek : This man isn't his usual self in this movie and gets over shadowed Hrithik big time. Does a honest job but script doesnt allow much for him, nor does his efforts shine through.

Aishwarya: tries to look very hot in the first half and half succeeds, the skimpy outfits doesn't just go with her somehow. But her performance in the second half is worth mentioning especially the scene

ac cross the table with Hrithik.

Uday : Is actually funny this time and is bearable which is a surprise to me.. way to go Uday

Bipasha: Looks like desi Lara Croft in the first half and that's about it. Dunno why she was there in the first place. The most confusing part of the movie about the twin Bips Monali and Shonali...


Overall

Great movie, kool songs another movie this year which makes you feel Bollywood is on the right track. The action and stunts match up to any hollywood production. and Hrithik is gonna go ballistic from here... Watch out for him.

Go Dhoom Again ... Dhoom MACHALE

Nostalgic Classmates...

This Onam, along with all the usual Superstar movies that release during this time was movie which stood out for its youthfulness. It was a movie which had the crop of young talent in Malayalam coming together in movie. Lot of expectations were riding on the movie, and did it deliver lets find out.

Initially i thought this movie would be just another campus movie in Malayalam which is increasingly trying to ape the surrounding film industries. But the word of mouth publicity for the film was very good and I couldnt resist from watching ths movie.

This movie has interesting narration style where it movie back and forth between today and the early 90's. This is also the USP of this movie.


The movie strts of with old classmates coming back to their college hostel for their class reunion. The reunion is arranged by their lecturer played by Balachandra Menon. He aslo is the father of one of the guys Murali who had died during the college days. The reunion itself is arranged as Murali wanted all the friends to meet after a long interval.

People start arriving, and the first to arrive is Suku[Prithviraj] a diamond merchant now and was a SFK leader in his college days, Pious[Indrajit] the college flirt, Satheeshan[Jayasuriya] now a MLA and earlier a opposing student leader, Thara [Kavya Madhavan] Suku's old flame and now a famous dancer and finally Raziya[Radhika] the quiet girl in class and now bearing a lot of sorrow which no one knows about.

The reunioun goes well and the next day they all decide to part, happy that they could all meet up. But tragedy stikes that night and they find Suku lying motionless in his room with a Guitar String arond his throat. He is transferred to a hospital. And now the mystery begins... who tried to kill Suku... Is it Satheesan his political rival in college... or is it Thara who feels that Suku had cheated her in college... or was it some one else.... the story unfolds......


The story unfolds from here in flash backs to the college days of the early nineties... where student politics is at its best.. Strikes and walk outs abound..... and where student politics is considered the play ground of erstwhile politicians....

Giving out more is a Sin cause.. the suspense in this movie is thoroughly enjoyable. Especially because the script is full of twists and turns and it never loses control. Every incident in the movie has a cause nad a effect. The way all the dots join in the climax is amazing and needs to be appreciated. Everything seems logical at the end.

Lal Jose needs special mention as he among the Young brigade of directors in Malayalam who shows a lot of promise. Script and direction wise this is his best yet. The narration style and the structure of the script is different and fresh.

Music by Alex Paul is also of high calibre, each song sits very easily in the movie, they are very situational and very pleasing. Special mention to Ente khalbile which appears twice in the movie.. it certainly is the song of this festive season.

And regarding th casting too.. its very different as Indrajit plays a comic role and is very good, also Jaysuriya in negative role is also interesting. Prithvi And Kavya are adept and the senior brigade of Jagathy Balchandramenon etc are good as usual.

Overall its a thoroughly enjoyable light hearted movie with a dose of romance and mystery.. centainly not to be missed. Remakes seem to be a certainity... Overall this is a movie which is not to be missed...

Hopefully this will lead to a lot more good movies from the younger crop in the industry to complement the seniors...

Not So Fanaa-tastic

Fanaa finally openend with a lot of expectation and a equal measure of controversy. Luckily controversy had nothing to do with the movie itself and was with the stand taken by Aamir on a social issue. There was also another minor controversy involving Yashraj production bargaining for a bigger share of the earning, why blame them who wouldnt? Thats if ur line up included movies like Fanaa, Krrish, Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, Kabul Express and Dhoom 2

Expectations were also high considering the movie has most things going for it, a Yashraj Films Banner, Jatin Lalits Music(for the final time too), Two extraordinaire performers who never have been paired before and a director who has proven his worth with tthe very likeable "HUM TUM". So does "Fanaa" live up to all this hype. Lets find out.

To be fair to Kunal Kohli he has got most things right in this movie, nice production vallue, decent storyline, very good performances and quite good direction. But somehow Fanaa fails to raise above the good to a Great movie, which it so easily could have been.

And to the most important question, How is the chemistry between Kajol and Aamir? Is it even close to whats it between Sharukh and Kajol? Different people may have different feelings about this, but I do believe this pairing is absolutely magic on screen too. The two spontaneous actors, work up a lot of magical chemistry between them. This only brings you to a question that "Why on Earth weren't these two caster together before?". This is a question every person in the hall would be asking. :)

Before i go on to the plot let me go through the performances, coz I dont want to ruin it for the people who want to watch this movie.

Performances

Performances in this movie are of the top draw. I feel its a movie where the casting is absolutely perfect. No body could have played the Romantic, Street Smart(not the tapori kind of Ghulam and Rangeela) part of Rehan Khan and the brooding, stubborn(Sarfaroshish) Rehan Qadri of the Second half with as much elan has Aamir in this movie.

Kajol too is at her best. Looking absolutely stunning in this movie, she dislays the vulnerabiity and the blind love of a blind girl in the first half and the steely resolve and the maturity required in the second half with great finesse which can only be expected of a actor of her calibre.

The supporting cast including Rishi kapoor, Kiron Kher and Tabu who is aptly cast thankfully, in a long time in a mainstream movie, all perform their parts well. mention also has to be made of the jr. Rehan, he is too cute in the movie too.

Music

I think this is the most disappointing part of the movie, Expectaions were high from the Jatin lalit pairing considering the kind of music they have delivered in the past. But this isnt a patch on their previous efforts. The song "Chand Sifarish" is the highlight and other songs are passable. The Background music is quite good and syncs well with emotional overotnes of the movie.


The Plot - Plot not revealed completely

The Plot involves a Blind Girl Zooni Ali Baig(Kajol), who comes from Kashmir to Delhi to perform at a concert near the Chief Ministers office. There she meets the charming and dreamy eyed Rehan Khan, their tour guide. Rehan being the ultimate play boy manages to charm Zooni off her feet. The scenes here between Aamir and Kajol are definetly worth a mention, they r quite beautiful and their exchanges are the highlight of the movie. te song "Chand Sifarish" at the beginning of the movie is worth a mention and has been shot absolutey brilliantly with the back drop of Delhi's exquisite monuments.

Zooni now feels she has finally found the prince of her dreams, Rehan tries to convince Zooni that he isnt the right guy for her and she would never be happy with him. But Love has taken root very deep and in true filmi fashion( a la DDLJ with the Train sequence and all) Aamir finally decides that he couldnt live without Zooni too.

So preperations are made for their Nikaah, and Zooni's parents decide to coem down for their marraige. Meanwhile Rehan gets Zooni's eye tested and gathers that a operation could give her sight back. They prepare for operation and on the D day, kajol asks him to go for his work i.e. as a tourist guide. The operation is successful and Zooni gets her sight back, When she opens her eyes she sees her parents there, but cannot find Rehan. news trickles inthat there has been a bomb blast near a tourist spot and Rehan was killed in the blast. Zooni is distraught and shattered.

But there is a twist to the tale yet. Rehan is well and alive and is not Rehan Khan but Rehan Qadri, member of the IKF, a terrorist organization who fight for a Independent Kashmir. the director has appently tried to play safe and not take sides and make the outfit a Pakistani or an Indian one. Apparently Rehan was the master mind behind the blasts.

What happens to Zooni after this? Can Rehan leave his love for his principles? These are the questions one leaves with at the interval and these questions get answered as movie moves on.

i wouldnt reveal the ending here.. because I donot want to spoil it for a lot of People who want to watch this movie in its entirety. But for all those people who cannot resist knowing what happened you can move to the section right at the end where I tell all :)


Summary

Overall Fanaa is quite a good movie, definetly worth a dekho, for its performances if not for anything else. Aamir is truly charming and sweet in the movie and shows the amateurs how things need to be done. Am sure he would be competing with his own RDB performance with this movie at the awards.

Kajol is the best thing in the movie, she is absolutely brilliant.. other actresses can take notes. And she definetly proves that when it comes to female actors she still is the Queen Bee.

Kunal Kohli is adept in his craft and the movie doesnot drag too much, but second half could have been a lot better, and the climax was a bit too predictable. But kudos to him to have given something that is bit more than a mushy romance. The locations are absolutely beautiful and are a treat.

So i would recommend you to watch this movie over the weekend if you have nothin else to do. It wont disappoint you much, except for the fact that it could have been so much better.

** And a request Do leave in your comments **


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If you dont want to spoil your movie watching experience stop here
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Plot Revealed

Seven years pass since Rehan left Zooni and now Rehan is on his next mission to acquire a Trigger which is apparently need by the IKF to activate the nuclear missile which now IKF apparenlty possess. Rehan is planted into the Indian Army in disguise of and officer and he manages to get the Trigger, while escaping he get badly hurt and crawls to a house in the midst of a snow storm.

Luck has it and he has come to Zooni's house in Kashmir and he collapses in front of their house. Zooni and her dad cannot recognise him as Rehan had left before Zooni got her eyesight. They nurse him back to health. Zooni becomes aware that its her Rehan. But rehan is adamant on his mission. When they realise his true identity they try to stop him for the Greater Good of humanity. Alas he doesnt listen and kajol is forced to kill a man she so much loves. The film showcases how you can kill the person you love without still any one having any hard feeling about each other.

So another Aamir Khan film ends with his death... the clmax was quite predicatable for them moment we know that rehan was a terrorist. So all you guy s who read this part of my review can go ahead and watch the movie anyway, if not for anything else just to check what I said was right ;)

Perfection Personified

MohanLal, is the best and the most under rated actor in India today . I can quite confidently say that he is the best acting talent that I have seen in India. This I say keeping in mind the other great actors of our times, Kamal Hassan included.

MohanLal’s entrance in to Malayalam cinema was at a time when acting in most of the film industries was overtly dramatic. Malayalam had in itself its greatest superstar then Prem Nazir, who was quite dramatic in his acting. MohanLal’s entry into the Malayalam Film Industry also coincided with the entry of a new crop of directors, In whose association MohanLal would scale the heights that he so self assuringly has.

MohanLal intro into films was as a villain, who stole the spot light in Manjil Virinja Pookal (although this wasn’t his first film technically). He was noticed and destined for greater things from there. Later films like Gandhinagar Second Street, Chitram, T P Balagopalam MA, Nadodi Katte and a few more were the films that gave him the image we all have so much come to love. His simplistic, natural acting and his naïve attitude in these movies endeared him to the family audiences. He could draw crowds now and was well on the way to being a Superstar.

Superstardom finally arrived with the movie Rajavinte Makan, where he got moulded into the action hero image and was branded as an actor who had the range to justify any kind of a role given to him. Along with this movie Kireedam(one of his best performances) established his acting potential, a special mention from the national award jury was only a precursory for the greater things to come. This character which portrayed how circumstances and society can make a criminal out of an innocent lad, was justified to the hilt, especially the vulnerability and the helplessness portrayed is simply unbelievable.

What followed were movie which would take him to the next level both as a Superstar and as an actor. Movies like Ulladakkam, Yodha, Manichitra thazhu, Devasuram, Chenkol, Aaram Thamburan, Kaala Pani, Narasimham, Vanaprastham(for which he got his Second National Award), and more recently Thanmatra(which I am confident, will fetch him his Third).

The greatness in MohanLal the actor lies in the fact that he requires the minimum effort in conveying the true emotions of that character subtly and powerfully directly into the heart of the audiences. As many have said about him, when he is on the screen, he makes the audience connect to the character on screen rather than the actor himself, he lives the character, it’s every emotion, acting and more importantly reacting to his environments.

Many a scene where other actors could have played it over the top, just to convey the depth of the emotion to the audience( I hint to Kamal here.. cause he is the only other actor who could match up). MohanLal would underplay it. Sometimes when an emotion is overplayed it get surreal and audience fails to connect. I would also like to clarify her that I am the greatest fan of Kamal. He is definetly the most complete actor/performer in Indian cinema. But on sheer acting ability MohanLal would score more. I am sure people who have observed both would agree.

Tragedy lies in the fact that Malayalam cinema has very few audiences outside of Kerala, due to its linguistic constraints. I do believe the World as a whole has been deprived of truly appreciating the actor that is Lal.

Accolades also needs to be given to the directors who moulded him, some great co actors with whom he could tune so easily and to the scripts which allowed him to showcase his versatility. Malayalam cinema and MohanLal have shared a common Golden period, whether it is merely incidental is totally upto the context. The real people who have gained are the audiences of Malayalam cinema who could watch a truly great actor in some truly Great movies.

My New V3I

I am going to review Motorola RAZR V3i on 5 basic criterion Design Usability Music Camera Voice Quality and Battery life Motorola RAZR V3i takes the stylish yet featureless V3 and adds features to it like Megapixel Camera, Expandable memory and iTunes.. It tries to give you the best of both worlds, style and substance... lets see how it fares..... Design This phone belongs to the Impressive lineage of RAZR phones which have revolutionized the industry by their sheer looks. This phone is the typical RAZR with the super slim looks and impressive cuts. Actually this phone goes ahead and has a casing with a metalic glow. On the looks department it surely scores the perfect 10. Sleek, Stylist, fashion statement are the words used to describe the RAZR family and V3i is no exception. Rating 10/10 Usability For its super sleek looks, the RAZR is surprisingly comfortable to usse. It has a nice big display on the inside, which holds its own in bright sunlight too and a smaller external display. The Extendable memory slot sits safely under the back flip and the card can be inserted and removed,without powering off the phone, this has become quite standard in todays mobiles. The chemically etched keypad is quite a delight to use, and a visual treat too. On the flip side, RAZR gives you a delicate feel. You feel as if its one drop away from disaster and I dont want to find out if that is True. The menu’s are simple and most things are easy to find, but the Ui isnt a patch on the ones given Sony Erricsson and the rest. Rating 7/10 Music Motorola RAZR V3i has a differentiator when it comes to music, the iTunes supplied with the phone. It certainly has to be the single most desirable thing on the phone. Its such a cute and easy little software to use. I really feel for the rest of the world where iTunes are not available yet. You guys really are missing something. The sound quality on the supplied headphones are adequate to good. But the sound on the external speaker, especially while playing a song leaves more to be desired. the Volume level is quite low when compared to other phones of its class. Rating 8/10 (with iTunes that is) Camera Camera is the big improvement from the previous V3. Here a 1.23 MP camera is provided, capable of taking pictures of 1280x968 resolution which is quite decent. The image quality although not brilliant is decent enough. I do miss the flash on the phone though. The images taken are always in the potrait mode. It also has a good video recorder which can record videos at 176x144 which is quite good. Overall the camera and its features are pretty nice. Rating 6/10 Voice Quality and Battery life Both Voice Quality and Battery life are decent. Rating 7/10 I would really recommend this phone, for people who want their phones to be a style statement. if you are looking for features alone, and want to use it to read mail or view documents, the phone is definetly not for you. Overall rating 8/10

Pros : Looks, iTunes Cons : Delicate, External Speaker Sound Reception : Good--I can hear 'em all Usage Convenience : Fairly easy to use Looks & Style : Slim, Sleek and I Love it!