Book Review: I’m Not Twenty Four…

I'm Not Twenty Four... by Sachin Garg

What Chetan Bhagat perhaps started, was big enough for many engineering graduates, like myself, to take up writing seriously and follow a passion that few dare to pursue. Following CB's suit, perhaps, is Sachin Garg. Though not an IIT-IIM pass-out like Bhagat, but an engineer from DCE and a management major from MDI Gurgaon (another prestigious MBA institute of the country.) BlogAdda's Book Review program landed me with Garg's second book, I'm Not Twenty Four... I've been nineteen for five years... 

The prologue of the book tells Sachin's story how he met a girl named Saumya, working in a steel plant in a remote village in Karnataka and the book has thence-forth been written in the first-person view of the girl. Saumya, a pass-out from MDI Gugaon lands up in a man's job in Toranagallu in a steel plant, all because of her unisexual name. I'm Not Twenty Four is the story of an ultra-modern Delhi bred young girl Saumya, working in a steel-plant in Toranagallu. Saumya, an HR major is designated as an Assistant Manager in the HR department and is assigned the profile of handling the reaction team in the Safety Department. Having come from a pampered Delhi lifestyle, Saumya not only finds it difficult to adjust to her new surroundings without any real friends but also proves to be faint-hearted in times of some gore accidents that she is asked to handle. Accepting the fact that she is not fit for the job that she has been assigned, she decides to quit, just when she meets a dusky Bengali hippie/wandered, Shubhrodeep Shyamchaudhary, who loves weed and beer more than anything else in the world. It is then that she sees a new side of life when she learns about his experiences in life and his 'Move-On' theory which makes him stay in no place for more than 90 days.

Right from the onset of the book, I felt too many words being wasted to describe a small event and too many repetitions of adjectives and descriptions. A few pages into the book, you accept typos and grammatical or time-line errors an integral part of the book, though on the part of the writer, I consider it as a cardinal sin. (Forgive me, if I too make them, but they are OK only as long as its a personal blog.) The first 50 pages of the book, though establish a setting for where the rest of the events take place, but they are highly likely make you put the book down due to a lack of Wow-factor as I like to call it. The story begins to get a bit interesting on the entry of Shubhrodeep (Shubhro), but soon falls back to a sluggish pace. The chain of events that provoke Saumya to arrive at the decision of quitting her job and going back home make perfect sense following the psychology of her character but the re-entry of Shubhro in the story is predictable and desirable in order to bail out the reader from succumbing to the sluggish pace of he book.

The second half of the story takes Saumya through the life of Shubhro and his experiences in the 12-odd cities around the world that he has lived in for three months (90 days) each. Saumya falls in love with Shubhro at first sight, and his character never fails to shock you throughout his stay. What disappointed me the most was the porous description of the 90-day stay of Shubhro with Saumya and the untimely death of a potentially interesting character, Mallapa just before Shubhro's re-entry.

The character of Shubhro is very well written and there there is not too much to be credited to any other characters, other than Saumya herself. What struck me a little into the book was the fact that the biggest folly, perhaps, that Garg made was to write a story as a girl's first person account when he himself is a man. Let's accept it that you do not expect a man to fathom the feelings of a woman, leave alone writing something from her perspective. The second half could have been more interesting had Garg experimented with Shubhro and provided a more vivid account of his stay.

The story picks pace around the 180 page mark when on the last day of his stay with her, Shubhro confesses his love for Saumya and they entwine into passionate love-making, only for Saumya to wake up and realise that Shubhro had left, without a trail, without even bidding adieu, in resonance with his 'Move-On theory.' It is only in the last two chapters of the book that you are actually glued to the story and I, personally, silently cursed Garg for leaving the good (mind you, I'm using good and not the best) for the last. The book in its last 20 odd pages becomes a mystery you want to unfold. It was Shubhro's story, how a Bengali kid with a noxious childhood made it to IIM, graduated with an MBA in finance and ended up a hippie for the world to curse, when he was silently doing social service for the under-privileged in each city he visited. Shubhro's story is inspiring and the way it was narrated, made me wonder whether Sachin Garg was facing a writer's block when he wrote the rest of the book.

I'm going with 1.5/5 for Sachin Garg's I'm Not Twenty Four..., instead of reading the whole book, I would suggest you read the back cover followed by the last 40 pages of the book. Sachin Garg has written something different from other Indian authors but the book lacks novelty in form and idea and is something that you can easily miss. Read it if you have nothing better to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon but do not have any high hopes from the book as it is one that you can easily put down and forget till you dust your book closet sometime in the future.

My Rating: 1.5/5

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Book Review: Revolution 2020

Chetan Bhagat and his new novel Revolution 2020

Chetan Bhagat’s latest release, Revolution 2020 has hit the stands and it’s doing quite well. Why wouldn’t it? After all he’s India’s largest selling novelist of all time perhaps. Famous for being a ‘youth writer,’ Bhagat’s earlier books have either all been adapted into movies or are on their way to be. In the midst of all this, Bhagat manages to come up, once again with a very interesting four hour read.

As seen in all his previous books, a 20 something, middle class background, struggling engineering student, like me, relates very well. So much so that the first half of the book felt like I was reading my own biography. Jokes apart, Bhagat beautifully depicts the agony of a mediocre AIEEE ranker who is too good a guy to be the boyfriend of a girl who he has clearly been dating for seven years.

Revolution 2020 is a story of two guys and a girl, a clichéd masala bollywood love triangle with a very unusual end, for a change. Set in Varanasi, Gopal, a sincere small town boy from a very humble background, narrates his story. A story about love, deceit, corruption, success and sacrifice. Aarti, the girl who Gopal is best friends with since primary school and the girl he loves, is portrayed as a confused, beautiful girl who turns Gopal down because she has never thought of Gopal in ‘that way’ and wants to be just friends, yet she somehow manages to become Raghav’s girlfriend out of the blue. Bhagat, trough Aarti, unfortunately fails to portray women any differently than he has done before. For someone like me, who has read all his books before, reading Revolution 2020 wasn’t like reading anything new. Raghav, Gopal’s friend Aarti’s boyfriend is a JEE ranker (unlike Gopal), studying in the prestigious BHU and wanting to be a journalist some day. The story revolves around the two guys differentiating between the two at different stages of life.

While Bhagat strums the right chords with the protagonist Gopal (or I would rather just call him the narrator as no one is really good or bad here), at the same time, he fails to develop the character of Raghav, who only remains the other guy in Aarti’s life. The relationship between Gopal and Aarti is depicted beautifully over a span of 7 years from cover to cover. I could feel myself mumbling under my breath at several occasions. Gopal’s journey, from a pauper to a prince or from a guy who couldn’t secure an engineering seat to a businessman who opens his own engineering college is magnetic as he accepts the political and bureaucratic system, while that of Raghav, as a struggling journalist, fighting the same system, comes across as an under-written mystery. Aarti is as confused as all female characters have been in his previous books have been and after a certain point into the book, you stop hating Aarti and start hating Bhagat for being a chauvinist. [Yes my friends it comes from me who himself is blamed of being a misogynist many a times.]

Though the name Revolution 2020 comes from Raghav’s newspaper in the book with the same name, Bhagat fails to justify the title of his book. The unexpected ending to the story is less of an open ended reality of life and more of an unfinished tale. Read it because it’s cheap and costs less than three figures but do not expect to be pleasantly surprised.

My Rating: 3/5

Frankly Speaking, I was generous with that and I would also like to give a word of advice to Chetan Bhagat: MOVE OVER IIT AND AIEEE! That might be the biggest event in your life, but life is more to that and with your fifth book at least, we expected you to give us a novel (and not a screenplay.)

Raghu says: I don't always abuse bhosdike!

This is probably going to be the most interesting posts of all time. I got a chance to interview Raghu Ram and Rajiv Lakshman at the Roadies 9 Chandigarh Auditions. It was one of the most interesting half hours I ever spent. Of course, you don't get a chance to interview Raghu and Rajiv everyday and not poke Raghu deliberately, to get abused, just so that you have interesting material to write about in your blog. But of course, life puts you in a more comfortable position when you have a press card hanging around your neck and are quite sure that Raghu has to think twice before he speaks anything! (\m/)

Anyway, here's the whole interview that I had with Raghu, or if I may say, a censored version of it.

DISCLAIMER: The following content may have some adult language, though I tried hard not to write any. If you get offended by the use of such language, then Frankly Speaking, I don't give a damn. Only read if you wish to, else there's always the close button.

Q. Roadies has been running successfully for 10 years now, how do you see that the youth has changed over the years? And how have you people changed?
Raghu: The youth of today are more driven. They are more motivated today, more clear about what they want and not. I was more chilled back then. There was a lot less pressure on us.
Rajiv: We wouldn't have met a group of Bloggers like you back the.

Q. What are you exactly looking for in a Roadie this year?
Raghu: We meet many interesting characters every year. Just meeting them is fun enough. This year, I would say we're looking for passion, not only for being a Roadie, but for anything in life.

Q. What have you learned from Roadies in 10 years?
Raghu: We put in our heart and soul into Roadies each year. I've just learned and seen one thing, hard-work pays, and that's it! If you're given a nail & a hammer and you keep chiseling for a long time, you're bound to get a diamond. We just think about one year at a time, never worry about the TRP's. They're a secondary issue.

Q. How did the idea of Roadies come along?
Raghu: MTV hires psychos. They hire mad. MTV is made of personalities. They look for people who can do something crazy. Fortunately I was one of those. There was a Cyrus before Cyrus Broacha too. He was the brain behind Bakra, he was crazier. Everyone you see on MTV is mad in some way or the other.

Q. Just yesterday I saw you in a promo for WTF. What's that all about?
Raghu: That is just something to show everyone what kids feel about what is going on around them. I think the youth of today is mature enough. Yet, they're not given their due. If they can drive at 18, chose the fucking Govt. by voting at 18, can marry, divorce and remarry, then why can't they fucking drink before 25? Either totally ban consumption of alcohol, or don't make ridiculous rules.

Q. How do manage to keep yourself fit? We've seen you look fitter every year...
Raghu: Fit? I'm not fit. I've never felt worse in my life. I'm an insomniac, in fact not insomniac exactly, I'm sleep deprived. I work for 20 hours a day. I hardly rest. Fitness I feel is not about climbing mountains or going to gyms, it's about eating healthy, feeling healthy.

Q. People consider you a youth icon. What change would you like to bring when you have the power to do so?
Raghu: Bring changes? Are you suggesting I join politics? (laughs) I don't think I can change anything and neither do I think I am a youth icon or something.

Q. Then who do you think is a youth icon today?
Raghu: Anna Hazare, Aamir Khan and Sachin Tendulkar.

Q. What is your take on the new breed of politicians, like Rahul Gandhi?
Raghu: There are both kinds of politicians. Old politicians need to retire, agreed. But I don't stand by Rahul Gandhi too. Had he opposed his party and stood for Anna Hazare, he would have been correct, but I don't stand by his view-point as of now.

Q. But don't you think the Anna Hazare went too far by holding the Govt. on ransom in order get his whims to be obeyed?
Raghu: Too far? I'll tell what is going too far politics of hate, mob violence, communal riots. A peaceful protest is not going too far.
Rajiv: When do you draw the line between holding the Govt. on ransom and putting up with a wounded Govt. I think its high time someone held the Govt. at ransom and asked the questions that they should have answered way back.

Q. What do you think about people like Rahul Mehra, who are also standing up for issues but are not getting noticed as much?
Raghu: I wouldn't say much. A lot of people do things, get laws passed but law makers are targeted often after getting laws passed. That is an even bigger problem.

Q. You have an image that most people fear you. Who Raghu and Rajiv fear?
Raghu: I don't fear anyone. There are people who we respect, but I don't think we fear anyone, c'mon, koi kha thodi jaega yaar. (No one's gonna eat you as such.)

Q. There is one image of yours, that on TV, that of an angry abusing....
Raghu: (Snaps in between, doesn't let me complete) See... Again... I don't always abuse, bhosdike! (laughs) Please continue. :P
Q. There is one image of yours, that on TV, of an angry, abusing sort of guy, on the other hand you play very different characters in films, where's the real you?
Raghu: In films, I play characters, I act, Both Omar Sheikh in Jhootha Hi Sahi and the Johri brothers in Tees Maar Khan, we act and that's that. Here, sitting in front of you is the real me.

Q. And what is Raghu's character in real life?
Raghu: I'm characterless. (with a laugh)

Q. Final words sir... Describe Roadies in one word?
Raghu: Passion.

Q. And in one line...
Raghu: More than just a TV show.

The Dangerous Ones

That's all from my side today. I guess that was enough.

Stay tuned. Stay Raw.
Cheers!!

Jab I met Nagesh Kukunoor

There are some things in life that I believe in strongly. One of them is that dreams coming true is only a myth. I was living in reality but a loser like me couldn't even believe in something in peace. My belief was shattered recently when I met God. Not literally, but figuratively I mean. I had read about life showering pleasant surprises on people but the possible thought of me, a dud engineering student, barely a film-maker, meeting my idol was bleak. But Roadies, as we know it, always does what no other show can do, and when I went to attend the Chandigarh Auditions of Roadies 9, Raghu, Rajiv and Rannvijay brought with them a surprise, and a big one too. Travelling with the Roadies 9 Audition team was Nagesh Kukunoor, promoting his Rannvijay starrer film Mod, and the sight of a frail looking, long-hair-greying-at-the-temples kind of a man wouldn't actually make your brain-gears churning that this could be a hot-shot film director, but when has Nagesh Kukunoor not surprised you, eh?

So I got a chance to not only meet Nagesh, but also interview him. Wooohoo!! Still can't believe it! And what struck me was not only the simplicity of this man but also the gentle way in which he talked to me. His eyes lit up when I said that just like him, I am also an engineering student who aspires t be a film-maker some day and I consider him as my idol. Who would believe it, but under his autograph, on the back of my Power Electronics class register that I was carrying to take notes of the Roadies event, he also gave me his email id and asked me to mail him the links to all the films that I made. What a day that was!

Here are some excerpts from the little interview that we had:

Q. You launched Shreyas Talpade in Iqbal, he was seen before in a scene in Aankhen and now you're giving Rannvijay his first solo film with Mod, who is already super famous; what do you expect from Rannvijay as an actor?
Nagesh: I had never watched the show Roadies before or knew if had done any films before. I had no idea about Rannvijay being a star or his fan following when I cast him. A friend referred his name to me, I asked him if he would come and audition for the part and he got selected.

Q. Shreyas in Iqbal, John in Aashayein, Akshay Kumar in 8x10 Tasveer, when you were moving to bigger actors or 'stars' with every film, why suddenly Rannvijay, relatively a new-comer if I may say so, why was that?
NK: Look, there are some films which require big actors or stars as you put it and some which require fresh faces or newer actors. This was a film which required a new actor and here we are.

Q. Now that Mod is ready for release, what do you expect from the film?
NK: I wanna show the world that a guy like Rannvijay, who has this biker-boy, adventurer image can actually do a serious romantic role. Not trying to create another image, but breaking stereotypes in a way.

Q. You're an engineer yourself, who got into making films, what is your advice to aspiring film-makers like us?
NK: Just pick up a camera, go out there and let your creativity loose. Believe.

Stay tuned. Stay Raw.
Adios!

Been There, Done That

On a recent visit to the MTV Hero Roadies 9, Chandigarh auditions, as a blogger selected by Blogadda.com, Io got a chance to interview the ex-Roadies Mohit, Anamika and Suchit, of Roadies 8 fame. Mohit and Suchit were the best performers as far as I had heard and this what the three had to say to those who want to be Roadies:



Q. What is it that makes Roadies from Chandigarh different from the rest?

Mohit: They are more daring. The three of us were from Chandigarh.
Anamika: Rannvijay, Ayushman and Bani, all were from Chandigarh and most Chandigarh Roadies have out-performed everyone else.

Q. A word of advice to those who want to be Roadies.

Mohit: Don’t try to be over smart. The more you use your head, you get to know that you’re competing with Raghu and Rajiv, so it’s no point.
Anamika: Just do your tasks well. Win immunities. That’s the key.
Suchit: Everyday on the journey is a winning day. Just go out there. Enjoy!

Q. What’s the best part of Roadies?

Mohit: The journey. The bike rides, which are probably the most under-rated. But its the only part without competition, without politics.
Anamika: Yeah. the journey of course. Those 45 days. Riding on Karizmas. I think the Karizma is the best bike in the world.

Q. How has life changed after Roadies?

Mohit: Life has changed. The journey was tough and long. My personal toughness level has grown immensely.
Anamika: We have tested all boundaries of ours. Physically and mentally. We’ve grown as people I guess. Specially the nude task that these boys performed. That was the limit.
Suchit: I feel like now I’m satisfied with life. Or atleast a large chunk of it.

Q. What do you have to say about the nude task?

Mohit: Back home, there was a lot of media attention, newspapers etc made it sound embarrassing, but it was a test of character nonetheless.
Anamika: Their respect grew in our head manifold.
Suchit: Saari sharam nikal gayi boss. (Shed all shyness at once)

Q. Any message for Roadies 9 contestants?

Mohit: Cowboy style man, in US of A. Beware! You’re gonna have your ass whipped!
Anamika: Good luck!!

Also visit my Roadies 9 page. Read How to be a Roadie? for more info

Stay Raw.
Cheers!!

Caged

While walking down a street behind the Patiala bus-stand, a few months back, I witnessed something disturbing. Something you hear everyday, talk about in essays, read in news-papers, but never do we do anything about it. I came across a pet-store. A cage, housing love birds. Ironical. Isn’t it? Caging love?! Is that even remotely possible!

On inquiring about those birds, I came to know that these are some of the most special birds of Australia, specially imported for people to raise as pets. A single cage housed, or imprisoned if might say, 25 pairs of the most beautiful love-birds of Australia. Green, white, pink and yellow; a mix of all the shades of the rainbow, locked inside a single cage, given grain to eat, but no freedom to express what they are ambassadors of.... LOVE!

The shop owner told me that each pair of these birds costs Rs. 350. He tried to convince me a lot to buy one of those, was even ready to give be a free cage for the birds and was so sure that during an average life span of these birds, which is 10 years, they’ll reproduce and I’m sure to get all my money back within 2 years’ time by selling its off-springs. Another cage, kept just behind this one housed rabbits. Three little black and white rabbits were eating carrots in the cage and when i took out my phone to click some photographs of the docile creatures, another of their salesman came forward and started convincing me to buy a pair of rabbits. Lucky as I was that day, there was a ‘special offer’ on the rabbits and a pair of bunnies which usually costed 600-700 bucks, I was being offered to take them for just 400 Rupees.

Chicken were even cheaper at Rs 150 a pair. Again the same promises of selling its eggs again the money back scheme and again, it pained me, because they were the littlest of the lot. If all this was not enough, then to add to my turmoil another person from the same shop came running in with a blue and white pigeon in his hand. He went straight in and put the bird in another big cage that had as many as 20 pigeons of many different colors and species. I could not muster the courage to ask him any further questions, but this whole incident left me with a very important question that still remains unanswered. If at all we pet animals and birds, then why don’t we show them love..!!

It maybe true that after adopting a pet, an ‘owner’ takes good care of it. Some people even treat their pets as a family member, as their own child as they may say, but the question looms, why cage them. Why do the pet shops show no mercy? Why is it that these birds and animals are not kept in an environment, a habitat where they are meant to be? Why cages? If fish are domesticated in aquariums, why not a kinder way for other critters? Why are rabbits being caged and sold and not raised in a garden where they can be themselves? Why are the love-birds caged and not set free in a nursery? We always have better options to adopt pets.... But our only problem... We look for easier options... Not better... Lets take out some time guys... Sit and think... Maybe one of us can answer the questions I wasn’t able to.

Here are some pics I clicked!

[gallery link="file" orderby="rand"]

Delhi Boy's reply to a letter from a Madrasan

This is in response to the letter by a Madrasan, dated September 10, 2011. Please go through the following link for better understanding of the post.

http://raagshahana.blogspot.com/2011/09/open-letter-to-delhi-boy.html?spref=fb

Dear Madrasan,

Sat-sri-akal from Delhi! Apologies first of all for calling you with that name. You left me with no better choice since that was how you signed off. Anyway to begin with, I read your letter and was pleased at how your sense of humor has improved. It was the most Racist, inferiority-complex driven and frustrated-with-not-being-able-to-adjust-with-life kind of letter that I read. I must appreciate the time and effort you might have put in to meet 2% of the people in Delhi and stereo-typing the rest of the city on its basis. I was thunderstruck to have come-across how shamelessly you rave about Delhiites disliking you for your color when you fail, at the same time, to notice that despite that, Delhi boys approach you at your friends' parties and try using the same pick-up lines that they generally use. Yes, SUVs and nightclubs. Yes, we never think of you as SOUTH INDIANS and treat you the same way as we treat SOUTH DELHIITES.

I'm sorry if I and my fellow Delhiites or Punjabis dress in a way that is more sophisticated, presentable, and acceptable than the way our male counterparts dress in lungis and white shirts, stained and odoured with rasam and lemon rice trickling down in fine rivulets, alongside the beads of sweat on your forearms and finding their way to your shirts as you completely ignore the invention of a spoon, the word that usually S stands for in every pre-kindergarten book. I'm not sure if I should go any further talking about the man-boobs that 90% of South Indian men have which I'm sure are no match to the unshapely leading ladies in your films. Which reminds me of us having better things to do in life than block road traffic and climb buildings to bathe a certain Rajnikant with milk at the release of his films. Nothing against your kind of cinema, but pls ask you film-makers too take a lesson from Newton and learn a thing or two about Gravitation, which they tend to ignore while choreographing action scenes. And what did you talk about women empowerment? We come from a land that has produced a former woman IPS officer, a woman Prime-Minister who grew up and lived all her life in Delhi, a CM who has been re-elected for a third consecutive term, and I'm sure after flaunting your education and potential to crack the IITs you must know that its the "people of Delhi" who vote for the Assembly elections. I'm not sure if you have ever come across a real Punjabi woman who had the heart to kiss a Bhagat Singh goodbye to serve his country at the prime of his youth rathar than asking him to go to England and pursue 'higher studies.' I don't need to tell you, presuming you read the news-paper regularly now that you mentioned education as important, that how many Punjabis actually join the armed forces and lay their lives to make you feel safer. Yes, making missiles in a lab might take your kind of a brain, but firing them and facing them, takes our kind of balls.

Since you requested, I won't mention anything about how are taxes are used by Amma in buying those 10000 sarees and 750 pairs of shoes that she owns. Maybe Bhangra and Gurdas Mann don't interest you, because you don't care about any other form of art than that you know or perhaps just due to not being able to understand them, but I do appreciate a Bharatnayam performance as much as a Gidda or and MS Subbulaxmi composition, as much as a ghazal. If there were to be such discriminatory letter contests, then I'd also like to read a letter from a Northie working in an Infosys or a TCS placed in your part of the country and his pains when he is discriminated against; when your people pretend not to know any Hindi or English and don't even give road directions. But what am I saying, your own letter shows how much you hate 'all' of us on account of meeting 'some' of us. Maybe you have mastered the art of cracking IITs but atleast we don't, unlike some of your Southern states (now that you are representing all of south India), fight over water from rivers or demand a separate country of ours. We are proud to be Indians, mind it!

Since you also mentioned something about 'sambhar chawaling our way into your life', let me clear it for you, thanks for the offer, but NO, Thank You! I don't want to bring a marriage proposal to your house which is turned down cuz I don't have enough coconut trees in my backyard or my purity of 'religion' is not proved in a secular country, despite the fact that I'm clearly in love with your daughter and capable enough to take care of her. Yeah, that's a different issue that your daughter is no Sri Devi and even my distant neighbor from across the park is more beautiful than Sri Devi, but still.

For someone who has problem with someone saying "peerents" instead of "parents", I would humbly request you to look in the mirror and spell 'p-a-r-e-n-t-s' and try (just try, because I know you'll miserably fail it) not saying "pee-yay-waar-yen-tee-yes." And also while naming your kids next time, remember that you are giving him a name and not his whole CV and family background information; let it be a name only and not a paragraph in itself.

With a lot of love, a formal hug and a flying kiss (I'd rather have tandoori chicken),

Yours Truly,

A Delhi Boy

The Old Adventures of the New Sherlock Holmes

Hello again! I'm back after a long time and with more masala to keep you hooked to your TV sets! Being a huge Sherlock Holmes fan since my early childhood and having read the whole Sherlock Holmes collection, I thought to myself how better can a BBC TV series be after a super stylish, tight film by Guy Ritchie? Well, surprise surprise! Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat catch me thinking on the wrong foot. While Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes would have been over a hundred years old now, this Sherlock Holmes is young, even in 2010!

Sherlock is an adaptation of Doyle's works in the 21st century and a good adaptation indeed. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Sherlock Holmes, a charismatic, highly functional,laconic consultant detective, a job that he claims, is created and performed by him alone. While Holmes shines in his new character, a guy who prefers to text (SMS) rather than make calls, the character of Dr. Watson, an ex-army doctor and Holmes' room-mate and side-kick, who writes a blog about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, fails to impress. Not only is Dr. Watson's character underwritten, but he also misses the acumen and efficacy of the original character by Doyle, despite an earnest performance by Martin Freeman.

Sherlock makes a good impression right from the moment he is introduced to Dr. Watson and the audiences, and their first conversation is as impressive as in the original work, but Watson and Holmes lack the chemistry that Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law were able to create on-screen in the Guy Ritchie feature. Doyle's Inspector Lestrade of the Scotland Yard is now Detective Inspector Lestrade, but unlike the original, almost everyone hates Holmes here. The cases that Holmes works on are similar to the ones in the short stories, though little variations are very intelligently fitted in as they are set in modern times. Holmes and Watson are shown living at 221B Bakers street (the legendary address used by Doyle in his works too), as tenants in Mrs. Hudson's house, now a modern flat is missing the very famous 'rocking chair' that Holmes used to sit on while contemplating a case. A surprise element here is that of Sherlock's elder brother, Mycroft, who now occupies  high post in the British Govt. and calls himself the arch enemy of Sherlock.

Cumberbatch delivers an remarkable performance and shows deep understanding of the character. Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson is good but he does not have much to count upon with a poor script in his hands. Rupert Graves is just about manages to be OK as DI Lestrade, while Una Stubs delivers an honest performance as Mrs. Hudson, Holmes and Watson;s landlady.  The three episode season 1 of the show ends with Holmes coming face-to-face with his biggest enemy, Prof. Moriarty and is left open ended to leave the audiences thirsty for the next season scheduled to premier sometime in 2012.

The direction is spotless and the series uses the same music as that in the Guy Ritchie film and is very well woven into the plot and conducted perfectly to get the right effect to the audience. The show grows onto you like a climber vine and you just cannot shudder to even move throughout the length of the 90-odd minute running episodes. All in all, Sherlock is a must-watch; a one of a kind series that takes TV detective shows to a whole new level! A 4/5 from my side to the show and a word of immediate recommendation, specially to Sherlock Holmes fans who could't get enough of him on the Big Screen.

For More info, visit:

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1475582/

Adios!

Yours Truly!

The Break Up

Hello again!! Guys, I know almost all of you might have seen or gone through a break-up (I'm sorry for those in the second category) but I must say some break-ups are rather interesting, of course if you're neither of the involved party; or for guys if the girl is cute. Well, your humble friend, here, got lucky and what I witnessed, or must I say eye-witnessed was the world's most dramatic, ear-drum rupturing, glass-shattering, go-fuck-yourself-you-lying-asshole break-up. Phew..!! I guess that's enough to give you guys a hint of where I'm getting at.

So here's the story.

Chapter 1: The Couple

First things first, how I got to know the couple. The couple used to come to same gym as I, and we used to meet everyday. Not that I was a friend of either of them, and the only conversation we used to have was the occasional nod or a passing smile that made my day, of course I'm talking about the girl in question. Now, this guy, I don't remember his name, well to be honest I never even cared to know what it might be. And the girl. Ahem! Well she's cute, quite so. A few extra pounds, very delicate, probably extremely pampered by both this guy and perhaps her parents too. (Sorry, couldn't help judging, it just shows on her face.) Pallavi....that's her name, yeah. Okay! Pallavi is a typical south Delhi-bred-DPS(VK)-spoiled-OMG-its-so-hot-here kinda girl. Though I'd seen the guy in the gym before too, but he'd been coming with Palavi since the past three weeks or so. The guy, though well endowed with frightening biceps, was totally, in word, Pallavi's bitch. He used to follow her tail, wait till the tread-mill next to hers was vacated, get her water bottle, even wipe her face with a towel. The guy, man I still can't remember his name, was like a Duracell operated rabbit, who was instructed perhaps only to act at Pallavi's accord. The couple never seemed to shy away from their PDA and were hottest topic of the gym grape-wine. From trainers to the people working out in the gym, the couple was greeted with a friendly smile followed by a mocking smirk. The guy used to even drop her off to her place, which was merely two blocks away from the gym, and how I know that, well I'll get to that later.

Chapter 2: The Big Bang

Now what started the fight between the couple isn't very clear to me, but I'm sure it was enough to end this sugar-coated, gold-plated relationship. Now when I reached the open area of the gym, used generally for weights, floor exercises and a twisting exercise with a bamboo staff  held at the back of your neck (apparently that's my instructor's personal favourite), the 'discussion' was already on. Pallavi was doing the same exercise as I just described and the guy was sitting on a bench with lots of dumb-bells around him. (Pun intended) Now as always, I was finding it difficult do any of the instructed exercises and I was merely waiting for my hour to end, when suddenly the Lord of Excitement showed His grace and I heard the golden words, "Can you shut up for like 10 minutes Abhay! I'm seriously not interested....." Yes! That's his name. Abhay. I sometimes amaze myself at how attentive I am when girls speak. Anyway, back to the story. Pallavi's voice brought me back to life from the semi-limbo state that I was in. Gushes of energy ran towards my limbs and for the first time after having been a regular at the gym for about a month, sweat broke on my forehead. Energized, as I was now, I got a whole new reason to stick around. I too picked up a bamboo stick and started doing the same weird exercise as Pallavi, wondering if even I would get a chance to fling the stick into someone's head someday. My ears, though, were magnetically fixed on the conversation going on merely five feet to my right. Abhay, donning the most innocent face that he could have made, was trying, in vain, to explain why he'd said that he was unwell and he couldn't go to the movies with her, when someone (Sorry, I'm bad at remembering names) spotted him at a very posh mall with a beer in his hand, sitting with Sakshi. Well I know Sakshi because she used to come to the same gym too. But that was 'before' Pallavi joined, mind you. Abhay's explanation, not that it mattered (to me and also perhaps to Pallavi looking at how angry she was), was that he was 'really' not well, but he had to go out because Sakshi was leaving for Sates the same night, for an year. I wonder why she wasn't busy packing then! Pallavi, who is exceptionally fair usually, was now looking pink, matching the colour of her shoes and contrasting her dark purple socks. Pallavi's answer made me fear a confrontation with a woman more than ever because her answer was actually a question that why, if he was ill, did he have to come to the gym then. Wasn't lunch and drinks with Sakshi enough to exert him more than required for someone 'under the weather?'

Abhay, as always, followed Pallavi's cue and turned a slightly darker shade of pink, though the reason was probably similar to mine and add to that the obligation of having to give an answer. Word's failed him and what I thought was sweat on his cheeks suddenly looked like saline from a different source. All he could manage was a mumble, too low for me to hear, but enough for me to know that it was a stupid answer as Pallavi reply was, "I feel like hitting you with this stick itself." Unlike Abhay, she was loud, loud enough ring a few bells in my ears and make me realise that I was doing nothing more than holding the stick and staring at them rather than trying to conceal my interest in my exercise. Just then an Uncle walked into our area and asked Abhay if he was using the dumbbells. He could have answered the question had Pallavi not stormed out of the gym and Abhay, now as you must have guessed, followed her, leaving his towel behind. Looking at the situation, I thought a towel was probably the one thing Abhay needed the most that day, other than probably some colour for his face, which had turned pale by now. And thus, was I deprived of more action.

Chapter 3: The Dark Knight

That's not the end, definitely no. Not without the 'other guy' making an entry into the story. So I was rejoined by them in the abs section, where Pallavi was actually working out while all Abhay was doing standing and staring.... then one frosty-nose look from Pallavi brought Abhay back to life, and he landed up on a ab-training machine. Maybe he thought increasing the weights might impress or atleast soften Pallavi a little, but I'm sure she couldn't have been more ignorant. And then, as the two were about to leave the ab-section, Abhay, God only knows why, decided to pick up Pallavi's phone. With the glint of an arrow and the speed of an eagle, Pallavi, in one swift movement grabbed the phone and the blood from his face, giving it again the pale palor that it was getting used to by now. Another exchange of whispers and stern looks couldn't be heard by me as I prepared to leave the gym. Surprisingly enough, the story was far from over, and I was destined to get luckier, as while I was waiting for someone to pick me up, when Pallavi showed up from behind asked me for a lift. She had apparently seen me around and knew that her place would be on the way back. I was happily awed, and fate spoke for me just as my dad's car, (chauffeur driven, yeay for that day), pulled up. Chivalrous as I am, I opened the door for her, more to flaunt to an awestruck Abhay watching from a little distance, than as a courtesy. Finally, for the first time in my life, I was the other guy!! That really made my day, and the 3 minute distance to her place wasn't enough for much talking, but Abhay and Pallavi have not been gymming together since. That my friends was probably the end of it. I think I've said enough already, don't think of me as a sadist laughing at other people's misery, but boredom can make the most unusual of things interesting.

Adios!

Yours Truly.

You Are What I Want You To Be

I wasn’t with you when you were born. I wasn’t responsible for your childhood. I met you as you started enjoying the world around you. You are, what I want you to be. I command you, now, and you are bound to obey. I am with you when you need me. But I’m also there when you wish I wasn't. I am right to you even when I might be wrong to the world. I make your choices. I moderate your words. I give you a reason. And I make sure you believe in them.

I am the wall that keeps your emotions from deciding your actions. I am a friend of your instincts. I alone can stop you from acting even after you’ve made up your mind. I alone can make you steal when you could have just borrowed. I steer you, to where I want to go. I am your Master. I pull the strings of your life. I am your Ego.

Remember the time when that pretty girl asked you for a pen? It was I who forced you to be rude. If you feel any remorse now, I will make it fade away. I think faster than the wind. I am as swift as the tempest. I am the wall you didn't want to have. I am the tide that doesn't wait for the right time. Yes, I'm impatient. And so are you. Thus, are you.

They say I'm your defense, planning, control, tolerance, your judgment. But I only play with them. I'm not the one to blamed for any of them. I am your Rage. And I come to life on the slightest provocation. I am the savior, and so am I the destroyer. I am what I am. And I made you what you are. You can live without me. Life might be a lot simpler. But you can never leave me; because its my choice, and you don't have the right to decide. I don't give that to you.

I am you. And you are what I want you to be!

Inception Through My Eyes

They say, in India, when you start something new, always start with the name of God. God isn't exactly an entity I believe in much. I pray sometimes, but to no effect. And He, if He exists that is, is as ignorant towards me. So who is it, whose merit deserves a mention in my first blog post.  Baba Ramdev? Well tried Babaji, but I guess the newspapers have written enough about you, your current affairs and your tryst with black money. Then who? Nadal? So what if he won again. Nothing new in that. And as an Indian Citizen I know writing about cricket does not matter because every reader is a fan, a historian, a commentator, a coach- an Indian in short. So lets move to my favourite topic then - FILMS.

Now here I guess I have too many options. Hollywood or Bollywood (Oops! Sorry Mr. Bachchan, Hindi Film Industry I should say). Actor or director. Wait! Yes! Director... Let me see... James Camaron? What's he done in the recent past? Avatar! Yes, but I haven't watched it yet. What do I write! Anurag Kashyap? Or rather I should wait for Shaitaan's reviews first. Ridley Scott? Yes I did watch Body of Lies a few days ago. Or how about Nolan? Yeah. He is the one. Its almost an year since I watched Inception. Though a review at this point in time seems absurd. But none-the-less, someone said, 'Better late than Never.' Okay. Let me call it a tribute then to Inception. Here is Inception, through my eyes.

Christopher Nolan this time comes forth with a visual extravaganza that is set to scintillate every nerve of your body and that leaves you demanding for more. Nolan rightly delivers what is expected of a director of his stature after the success of his previous films Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and Memento (I'm purposely not mentioning Following, Insomnia or The Prestige due to they not being considered commercial films by many) . This time Nolan comes up with a film about Dreams (no not the big city dreams of a small city girl Yash Raj pot-boiler). Nor about people living their dreams but about people living in their dreams. Dreams as he calls it are ‘the most resilient parasite’ and Inception sucks the blood out of your face as it completely bowls you over in the first 5 minutes itself. As the movie begins with a dream within a dream, Inception demands the viewers’ attention right from the first minute of the film to its 149^th running minute. Shot in 6 different countries with a rumoured mega budget of over $200 million, Inception is worth every penny that one spends at the box office.



Inception is a sci-fi psychological-heist thriller which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, a man who can get into any person’s dreams and thus can steal any kind of personal or secret information from the man’s sub-conscience. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Arthur, Dom’s associate who is perfect in his job. The film begins with Saito (played by Ken Watanabe) taking an audition of Dom and Arthur and their crew. But it turns out that they fail as Dom’s dead wife Mal (played by Marrion Cottilard) keeps mysteriously appearing in his sub-conscience. Arthur and Dom leave Saito before he actually comes out of his dream. They are about to escape when Saito again meets them and offers them a job of not stealing someone’s ideas but to plant one. While Arthur insists that such a thing is not possible Dom agrees to the job in return of getting his hand cleared of all criminal charges that he faces in the US and which is why he cannot return to see his young kids.

Saito needs Dom to plant the idea in Robert Fischer Jr.(Cillian Murphy)’s head to breaking up his father’s business empire so that Saito can take over the entire energy business of the world. Now Dom needs a crew of an architect to design the world of their dreams, a thief who can frisk stuff as easily as he can take up some one’s identity and a chemist who can keep the shared dreamers sufficiently sedated till their job is done. Dom finds an architect in Adriane (Ellen Page) who is recommended by Dom’s father (played by Michael Caine), a forger Eames (Tom Hardy) and the chemist Yusuf (played by Dileep Rao). Now Dom and his crew along with Saito manage to get Fischer into slumber and pass into a triple levelled dream to plant the idea of breaking up his father’s empire. En route to their final destination they end up straightening the strained relationship between Fischer and his father and also bringing to light the motives of his Godfather and his father’s friend Peter Browning (Tom Berenger). Dom and his crew end up in a four levelled dream totally unplanned and thus Adriane also helps him solve the mystery of his dead wife’s presence in his sub-conscience. Dom and his crew are successful in their endeavour and Dom returns a free man; but Nolan leaves the story open ended, not showing whether the world that Dom returns to finally is the real world or that of a dream.

Leonardo DiCaprio steals the show all the way with an awe inspiring performance. Joseph Gordan-Levitt in the role of Arthur is brilliant and Cillian Murphy leaves a good impression. Nolan succeeds in deceiving the audience in a maze of dreams within dreams and hardly does one realise the need to munch pop corn or even flutter an eye lid. The only thing that seems odd is that all characters in the movie seem to be too easy about the concept of shared dreaming and understand the twisting chain of events with hardly any effort. The VFx used in the film are first rate especially the scene in which one half of the city of Paris closes like a lid on the other half. Joseph Gordon’s zero gravity sequence does raise an appreciating murmur amongst the crowd and after a long time we get to watch a film with pin drop silence in the crowd and claps after the end of the show. Not sure as to how many awards does Inception bag but it surely has won the hearts of millions across the globe and is set to do well in India too. With a strong script, impeccable execution and flawless cinematography, Inception is by far the most entertaining film of this year till now.

My rating 4/5 and a word of recommendation to watch the movie.

So here I am at the end of my first blog post. For those who read the whole of it, either I salute your patience, or your love for Inception. For those who slept half way, well I guess I was successful in atleast achieving that.  And for those who got bored just after the introduction and skipped to this paragraph straight away, it tells me how much you love me and it was very sweet of you just to open a link I shared. So I'll be back soon since I have nothing to do here at my training site. And I can't watch a movie in office as I forgot my headphones again at home.

Adios!

Yours Truly!