Category: Random thoughts

Heights of Badmaashi

On By Indu PatikkalIn Random thoughts1 Comment
I was showered upon the honour of watching the movie ‘Badmaash Company’ last night. Considering the quality of cinema today, I should say that it was an honour. I look for three things as the essence of a movie – the story, the actors and music. Would you consider a movie a hit, if the movie failed on all three accounts, but left you in splits for one hundred and fifty minutes of your day/week/month?
I watch a lot of movies and my intent is to come out feeling entertained. Thats what I pay for. Not life messages, lessons, how-to-be-a-good-*** kind of movies. Life in itself teaches you a thousand lessons a day, whether you learn them is a different story altogether, but movies are for entertainment and leaving it there, helps.
This movie entertained me right from the first shot till the end. The crew of the movie probably tried to create another masterpiece which would find its place in the laurels of quality cinema, but to me it was a brilliant comedy. The story was baseless – Imagine Michael Jackson wearing a shirt for his concert, that Shahid Kapoor sells to get his uncles stocks up. And Michael Jackson actually wears it. And the brand of the shirt ‘Bleeding Madras’. And thats because the shirts are bleeding in the washer. He washes a shirt 7 times and each time it loses color, it becomes a new shirt!! So you pay the price of one shirt for 7 shirts!! I was WOW-ed!! And top American companies actually believe this bullshit and order for thousands of shirts. What brilliance!!!
Anushka kisses Shahid for the first time and says ‘This is not serious, ok’. But towards the end of the movie she understands, coz she ends up with a round belly, six months!! Thats when the seriousness hits her!!!
Movie previews proudly announce the number of liplocks between the lead actor and actress. 2 long ones, one short one.. But they need to start announcing the number of times, the lead actor cries. Three times, Shahid Kapoor.. Somebody please pass him some tissues. 1 long cry and 2 short cries..
Music was simply brilliant.. Like the chicken egg question I really wonder if the music came first or the lyrics. Jingle Jingle was simply out of this world.. Here are the lyrics.. and you should read each line to get a grasp of the brilliance of indian music. Where Rahman is getting oscars and grammy’s the same music industry is creating such masterpieces –
Kabhi to kismat hi-fi hamari ho
Kabhi to t-shirt se matching ferrari ho
Kabhi to bank mein currency karari ho
Kabhi to apni madonna se yaari ho
Kabhi kabhi aisa lagey, yeh bhi kum hai khwaishein
Khuda mera poocha kare, raza meri and he’ll pay the bill
Jingle jingle sabki jebein, jingle jingle bell
Apne paas to sikka single, so what the hell

Jingle jingle sabki jebein, jingle jingle bell
Apne paas to sikka single, so what the hell

Jahan bhi jaye ek spotlight upar ho
Sensex niche phir bhi hum upar ho
007 James Bond wali gadi ho
USA mein dus baaran kothiyan padi ho
Kabhi kabhi aisa lagey, yeh bhi kum hai khwaishein
Khuda mera poocha kare, raza meri and he’ll pay the bill
Jingle jingle sabki jebein, jingle jingle bell
Apne paas to sikka single, so what the hell

Jingle jingle sabki jebein, jingle jingle bell
Apne paas to sikka single, so what the hell

Mera check book leke aao, they don’t accept cards
What to do, Dinar, Dollar, Euros, Francs
What’s with the money of the world in bank
Crorepati but my pocket is khaali
Pretending that I’m living on milk and honey
Clothes and cars, diamonds and gold bars
I’m living off love but I’m looking like a star
Hazratein hai badi, full full hai tadi
Qaynaat chahiye, taaron se jo ho jadi
So what if sab chahiye (chahiye), muthi bar sahi
Jo seedhay se haasil na ho, chheen lo
One day jacuzzi wale do teen hotel ho
Apne bhi naam ki beer ki bottle ho
One day versace ka wardrobe total ho
Foreign ki ladki par rate yaar local ho
Kabhi kabhi aisa lagey, yeh bhi kum hai khwaishein
Khuda mera poocha kare, raza meri I don’t take a pill
Jingle jingle sabki deve, jingle jingle de
Apne paas to sikka single, sau baata hai
Jingle jingle sabki deve, jingle jingle de
Apne paas to sikka single, sau baata hai
Jingle jingle sabki deve, jingle jingle de
Apne paas to sikka single, sau baata hai
I couldn’t resist clapping, hooting and rolling on the floor with laughter for such exceptional comedy! I have not enjoyed another movie like this.
Recommended – 100% for those who need a good laugh.

In need of quality cinema..

On By Indu PatikkalIn Random thoughts2 Comments
Every Keralite knows who the two M’s of the Malayalam Industry are – Mohanlal and Mamootty. Most people opine that we do not get to see quality cinema like the 80’s. And I too belong to this strata of people. Quality cinema is of a rare thing now. Some blame it on script, some on the story, director etc. One argument goes that there are no stories to match the caliber of these two actors. But, why is the enacting of the role so bad in whatever roles they get. If they are indeed exceptional actors then why is it that I feel they are acting on screen, as opposed to the feeling one got from the older movies – where you wouldn’t be able to make out that they are acting. They were performing.
I happened to see Ividam Swargamaanu last night. Mohanlal looks so artificial, even in the climax scenes. It feels like he is putting an effort to act. If you pick any of his movies from the 80’s you will be able to mark a clear difference, between performing and acting. Same is the case for Mamooty, his short-length role in Kerala Cafe leaves you surprised. I am not an ardent follower of Mamooty movies, but still the attempt to act is clear in the recent movies.

There may be a lot of external factors like, story, script, director etc, but if the delivery on screen is bad, then how can viewers expect quality cinema?

It is obvious to any viewer, that a movie like Ividam Swargamaanu has been written to bring back the quality that existed in Malayalam cinema 30 years back. I found, Lalu Alex, Thilakan, Kaviyoor Ponamma more natural than Mohanlal.

Paleri Manickyam, was a good story, Mamooty bagged the State Award for best actor, because he was better among the lot. If you compare his old movies to Paleri Manickyam, you would award him 10 state awards for his performance.

Fans associations of these highest paid actors in Malayalam cinema, may give them the returns for their investment, but quality performance from these actors is strongly missing. I would rather watch a move like Neelathamara for entertainment, where the expectations are low and will not fail to entertain me.

There are a few movies out of the blue that actually catch your attention. One such movie was Kaiyoppu. Everything was neat. Another example was Kerala Cafe – Island Express, the one with Siddique and a few others. Awaiting more quality cinema like these.

– An ardent movie viewer!

I care..

On By Indu PatikkalIn Random thoughts1 Comment

This piece is an old thought, which was in my draft.. publishing it now..

“I care..” where does the boundarry line start for this statement.. where does it end? Is there a boundary somewhere? Some people make such an explicit statement of this, and some have subtle expressions. And the rest don’t care. How much of showing will actually pass on the message? Does it always have to be expressed in words? What if one had caring thoughts, but never said it or expressed it, would any value be attached to it or would that be equivalent to ‘don’t care’? Expressions! The true soul of existence.. ?
What do you say to a person who tells you that you don’t care? Would you reiterate “No I really do” or cite examples from everyday happenings to demonstrate how you cared for the person? Or would you rethink, do I really care? But if you do care then why was the question posed to you in the first place? And thats exactly where you start going in circles…
Go figure out, do you really care for the people who you ought to care for? Or the people who think that you care about them? Or are you really passing the message to the people whom you care for? The answer is simple, as long as you don’t show your affection in the way the receiver percieves the word ‘care’, you simply don’t care… whatever you do doesn’t matter.

Looking for some calmness on a Sunday afternoon..

On By Indu PatikkalIn Random thoughts1 Comment

My small kitchen window, paints a picturesque image of a small sub-urban city somewhere in the north-eastern part of this mass of land. The winter has receeded to hibernate for another nine months. Spring is waiting to be born. The grass is back in its vibrant green hue. The sun is radiant again and I can feel the heat once again. It is so beautiful outside. My eyes capture the serenity through the window. The winds seems to be blowing ever so gently, the trees are dancing to its tune. The clouds are taking a stroll enjoying the leisure of a Sunday afternoon, trying to decide if they should pour down or hold on. Beyond this canvas are there people walking, children playing, grandma’s and grandpa’s sitting on the porch enjoying this canvas of nature, like me? I could tell, if only my wings would move a little, then I could fly and feel the air hit against my wings. I could breathe in the freshness and maybe then my mind would learn to let down all its chores, worries, thoughts and calm down a little….
My wings are finally beginning to move, but my fingers are turning on the ignition of my car. I can feel the wind of my air conditioner. I can see miles of grey roads. The tune of the winds has changed to a Bollywood song added with humming from two children in the rear seats. As I drive, I take in this image, trying to be aloof from everything happening inside. Alas, the list of chores keeps running like the numbers on a slot machine, stopping occasionally to tell me what to do next… I look outside my car window and yearn, yet once again.

A dream of a sleep-deprived soul

On By Indu PatikkalIn Random thoughts3 Comments
My eyes are tired, longing for plenty hours of sleep. I wouldn’t say a night, because that wouldn’t satisfy a sleep-to-death person like me. Alone in this huge house, in a corner somewhere. A place, where I can curl up, with the oldest blue quilt in the house. With no sounds of the children, no calls of ‘Ammaaaaaa’.. or ‘Induuuuuu’. Where I can shut off from everything, and doze till my eyes are tired again, from an overdose of sleep.

Ilayaraja

On By Indu PatikkalIn Friends, Random thoughts2 Comments
Lately, it seems like the only time I get to sit back, relax and think is when I drive to office and drive back home. Those stretched 35 miles of my day, is when Maya can lose sight of the world around and delve into dreams and the world of imagination. My best company during these hours is my Ipod and my collection of melodies.

This evening, while returning from work, my Ipod decided to pick ‘Valai osai’, a tamil song set to tune by Ilayaraja. The song teared me up. The familiar feeling of loneliness sprung upon me opening up the void left by my friends – Chichu, Renju and Priya. When Chichu and me shared an apartment, about ten years ago, she being a classical singer, owned a casette of Ilayaraja hits. It was then that I was introduced to Ilayaraja and his music. On “amazing” never-to-return, lazy Sundays, we would crawl out of bed when neighbours rang the lunch bell. Either a casette was played on her fancy stereo system or Rosebowl on TV, the only electronic gadget in our apartment.

There was a mattress on the floor for me, and old folding cot for her, a bamboo mat in the living room to sit and a stand for the 21inch BPL TV. This was all the furniture we owned, apart from a plastic bucket each. The gas stove was on loan from her aunt. The most meagre furniture, but those were the best days of life. Happy, carefree, do-what-you-want-to-do!!

I feel blessed that these three people walked into my life. Each one had their own timing. Renju, outside a training institute in Pulimoodu, apparently thinking the same thing, I was thinking ‘Where do we stay, in this unknown place?’. The fearless, think-straight, do-the-right-thing, cant-cook-for-nuts girl. ‘I am Renju Pillai, from Kozhikode, did my Engineering in Kuttipuram College’, we had heard that enough, so didn’t need formal introductions. Then walked in Chichu with the question ‘May I join you?’ ever so politely, probably for the fear of rejection. (Laughs). This round, rolly-polly, cute, looks-like-me glasses-clad girl from namma Madras. Jain Engineering College. Priya entered last, the sophisticated, pretty-pretty, rides-in-a-car-with-a-driver girl. I wonder what brought us so close, probably the no-nonsense attitude that all of us shared?

In all the time we lived together, I lived with Chichu for the longest period of time. My bum-pal!! Renju sneaked out pretty soon, to go out with her fiance, Subu. She ever so smartly moved away from the topic when we asked about their whereabouts. A referee in all my fights with others. Priya and I, grew into girl-friends with our daily lunch to Kalavara hotel, while all our other batchmates went to the not-looking-nice-from-outside hotel, Sopanam. A million memories weaved into this thread of friendship, only if we could relive those years again.

I don’t think I can go up again to a complete stranger (lady) and ask ‘May I share a room with you’? But for the one time I had the guts, I sure did hit upon some treasure.

Love you girls and miss you loads!!