Movie & Masti Mania

Hi,

I finally saw 8 X 10 Tasveer starring Akki. As you know, I really wanted to see it, but I missed it the first two weeks, and then the lackadaisical report I heard about the plot turned my potential movie-mates off. Thanks to the no-new-film-release strike by multiplexes, I finally went for this thriller to Big Cinemas (previously Adlabs) in Kalyani Nagar.

Let me tell you, I loved it. Enjoyed myself to the hilt. The climax sure could have been better (given the film is by Nagesh Kukoonoor), but I was not let down by either Akshay’s stunts or the pace of the movie. Ayesha Takia was a disappointment (she didn’t have too much to do actually, nor did Javed Jaffery for that matter), but there were more than a few gripping moments when you are stunned by the impeccable direction and visualization.

The movie is about a man who loses his sibling in a freak accident and subsequently acquires a supernatural gift of being able to enter into the life of another person by touching his photograph. However, he can stay there only for a minute, failing which he will not be able to return to his true life. After helping two women with his power, he needs to focus his ability into investigating the death of his own father, who he suspects has been murdered. He enters into the life of each person on board the murderous yacht at that time, and the truth when revealed is quite unpredictable.

Not path-breaking by any standards (Bollywood has too many movies for any plot to be wholly novel), but the film is interesting. I would have preferred Akki himself to be the murderer who enters his own picture in a bid to turn events and consequences, but Nagesh doesn’t seem to have liked/chosen that outcome. And hence my rating – 7/10.

A 10/10 place I visited this weekend - a super serene place right here in Pune – is the Lohegaon lake, close to the airport. I’m surprised I’d never heard of it before. This wonderful location is a gift for all those who enjoy an evening spent in thought and solitude, in the lap of nature. The bliss is enhanced by the non-stop convivial breeze that takes away all your frustrations and worries, sorrows and anxieties. Pure rapture!

We often talk about empowerment in the corporate and professional sector, but I am yet to experience it at my workplace. My latest tryst with the definition occurred when Ammi (my aunt - Abba’s wife if you may) offered that I change the water in her fish bowl. And I felt as pleased as punch! I was smiling like a proud baby who thinks it has an important task to conduct!

Off I marched to the bathroom with the vessel containing the little yellow-white Pisces. She was as good as numb coz the water was well past its sell-by date! As I carefully (and fearfully) directed her into a mug, she almost entered as if enamored by the thought of the fresh water that she would soon be gliding around in. Her confidence in me gave me the self-assurance with which I completed the remainder of the assignment. Cheers!! The sight of her frisking and frolicking, gamboling and cavorting in the new fluid was greater than any other reward I could have been offered. As they say, the best things in life are free!!

Just like meeting someone after eons is... The person in question is the attendant at Baskin Robbins Baner, who I knew when I frequented Baskin Robbins Aundh 2 years ago. When I went to the newly opened outlet at Baner, I was busy choosing flavors when this dark rotund guy sneaked a few longer than ordinary glances at me. He looked vaguely familiar, and the memory flashed! He smiled and said “I thought you wouldn’t recognize me” to which I gushed saying “Of course I do!”

The people around us envied our conversation as if they were overhearing the nuclear war details between Osama and Obama, while I coolly walked out with an overstuffed tumbler of Almond Praline with discounted hot chocolate and nutty toppings. The meeting would have been far more pleasant had the ice-cream tasted delicious, but well, you can’t have everything!!

Another place I discovered in Baner is a small and sweet joint called Not Just Coffee. It is bang opposite Café Basil (that has a striking green board, but sells disgusting and overpriced wraps) and serves meals and snacks. Being the only place in that locality which offers the Hookah, you can expect the prices to be steep, but what’s weird is that every figure ends in a 1; a Hookah costs 221/251, cold coffee costs 81, and so on. The service is OK and the ambience is decent. Though I wouldn’t call the restaurant excellent, it sure is a nice place to hang out, and good for a change.

Hey, I watched a little bit of Delhi Heights (I think its spelt “Delhii”, but I am not certain) the other day on UTV Movies. It is a good movie albeit not outstanding or unusual. It tells the tale of the residents of an apartment (with the same name as the movie title) and their lives and relationships.

Jimmy Shergill and Neha Dhupia have performed well as spouses from rival firms, and their tale is about how their professional obligations and suspicions mess up their marital life. Rohit Roy as the compulsive flirt and his browbeaten pretty wife Simone Singh add to the story while a group of youngsters do their age-appropriate masti. Om Puri speaks the golden words of marriage as he suggests that Jimmy say sorry whenever things are not right and take his wife out for dinner if he wants the next day to be pleasant...

What endeared the movie to me and struck a chord was the chemistry between Jimmy and Neha. How they handle situations and arguments, how they converse interminably and interact mutely, how they love and how they fight. I could see myself in Neha’s character and I could envisage the dilemmas of the boy – all so genuine and germane. Though it is too late for me to pass a review on the film (it released in 2007 I think), I will still tell you that the next time it comes on TV, do spare a moment... It’s not bad...

What IS bad for sure, is when people force you for something you do not wish to do. Like dancing at some family function for instance. A neighbor is getting married this week, and her Sangeet night on Saturday was what could best be described as unorganized danga-fasaad. (I know danga-fasaad is unorganized, but the emphasis is coz even the music was not in place.)

So, the point is, while the merry men and women are dancing without any invitation, it is quite a task for the not-so-enthusiastic ones to avoid people’s gazes who are prodding them to jig around as well. Leave us alone, folks!! If you wana dance, go ahead! Each one to his/her own! I do enjoy dancing, but sometimes it’s much more fun to watch and smirk ;-)

And hey, just in case you did not know, there's a rickshaw strike happening in Pune coz these hoodwinks won't reduce auto fares despite the slash in petrol prices. Such goondas, I tell you... Just like we last discussed...

Keep smiling, anyway!

Love,
Princess