Bollywood stuff

1.Saw the KANK trailer. Shah Rukh is unimpressive with the same facial expression as in Chalte Chalte , K3G and the like. Besides , he looks old too.
The background setting (foreign location again , following the Krrish method) is pretty well done , not bad.
Both the heroines are good-looking. Rani tries to 'act' good , but Priety does not even attempt , but that's ok.
Obviously , the best looking and emoting is Abhishek Bachchan ( and he was precisely the reason why i watched this trailer over 3 times). That beard has not left ( and that's good!) and the way he cries...oh my god , he is handsome!!
Overall , not bad , quite interesting trailer and evokes some interest to watch this movie. Might watch it for the Abhishek scenes. And if Shah Rukh Khan gets more footage in the movie , i am going to boycott Don and Happy New Year!

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2. Watched Fanaa. Great movie , Greater songs. Aamir Khan is not exactly youthful , but he does look quite good and acts well. Kajol is ravishing , simply ravishing. And now she's come back , hope she does not act with Khan again!
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3.Krrish trailer and the songs are simply dumb. I mean 'Koi Tumsa Nahin' is quite good , but the picturisation of all the songs are too bad. Hrithik jumps around as if he has been electrified , and Priyanka wears these horrible red sarees and an even more horrible big toothed smile. And Krrish is a little too kiddish ( atleast the trailers ) , so it is definitely struck off from my list.

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4. I WANT TO SEE REFUGEE! Everytime , this movie comes on any channel , either my T.V bonks , or i am called somewhere else or the electricity goes off. This is totally unfair!

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5. Saw Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. No comments.

Being a left-hander...

ADVANTAGES :

There are many advantages being one. One , you don't need to scrape carrots or anything of that kind. You do not need to sit and help lil kids in cutting cardboard and paper , as anyway , you end up messing the whole job. You can always evade all these very easily. You don't need to use a computer , because handling the mouse with the right hand is a tough job , believe me. But that is practically impossible , so bear the brunt while you are at it :)
(Really , why can't these IT guys invent a mouse for lefthanders ?) .
But perhaps , the best thing of being a lefthander is to know that Abhishek Bachchan is also one :))))))))

DISADVANTAGES :

Situation no. 1 : A 19'th-century-one-and-only-temple-in-the-whole-of-India. There , I am supposed to light this so-called clay lamp . For obvious reasons , I pour the oil with my left hand and light the wick with my left hand and hold it in my left hand. I am about to keep that down , but there is this 150 year old toothless thatha who walks up to you and starts barking. I frown at him , for the simple reason that i would burn my right hand if i do so. This extremely irritating thatha does not understand the situation and i am helpless , so there is some relative who comes to my rescue. Not that i am totally keen in doing the whole process , but it would be better , if people don't stare at me like a rare specimen , found only in South Africa. Guys , get a life!
Situation no. 2 : There is this madisar maami who comes home and sits for hours together. At the end , I am supposed to hand over the kumkum box as per Hindu customs. Fine , but when i do so , a deadly silence descends and this maami looks as though i have slapped her. The reason - i am offering it in my left hand. Big deal , what does it really matter? Like why should it matter to the shopkeeper if i give the money in my lefthand? If you don't want the money , don't take it , i care a damn about that , but don't you dare give me that frown!

Situation no.2 - This 40-something , on hearing that you are a lefthander , remarks
" oh , leftie!!!". Now why all this leftie , sweetie stuff?? It might be a compliment , but i don't think so. You don't call a right-handed person , a rightie , do you?
And so on...

Disclaimer - Just letting of some steam , so spelling and grammatrical mistakes might have creeped into this post...

2 months old and Selective Reading of the "Wrong Books"...

Yes , i know that the title is dumb , but this is the best one i can come up with. Talk of lack of imagination!
Anyway , first - I am (i mean my blog) is turning 2 months old , 2 days from now. I'll tell you why i am celebrating over this nonsensical issue - It is indeed a big strain (read - torture) to log on the internet , sit in front of a blank screen and not know what to write , where to start and so on. Yes , i tried filling up my post with pictures to avoid too much of written content , but my smart computer was smarter than i am , and promptly disabled the 'upload picture' tool. Hmph.

But , at the end , it is all too satisfying and i had a good time too , so *drumrolls* *applause* *cheers*!...
Okay , after sufficient background music , i will come to what i wanted to talk about , ditching the 'Abhishek Bachchan' factor for the moment...
"Why we read the best sellers and ignore the classics ( atleast most of us )".
Perhaps we would attribute the reason to the never ending number of pages , the hellish words and the totally boring situations and tragedies. Well , these factors are responsible to some extent , but there cane be other reasons too and here is mine...

In the beginning , a 4-5-6 year old starts reading , the Grimm Brothers ones , fairy tales and the inevitably good witch-bad witch stuff. Yes , these are preferred by both parents and kids alike as 1. They are readily available in multicolour editions ( for the kids) and affordable prices.( for the parents)
2. They are good starters , as they capture the attention of the kids , atleast the pictures do.
3. A little exaggerated reason - You can't expect a tot to read the GK book after some time.

And so , the child is all happy till he/she comes to class 2 or class 3 . Here , the 'Beauty and the Beast' is exhausted by most , and since the kid cannot read Charles Dickens or Rudyard Kipling , not yet , the next choice would be Enid Blyton. Which is preferred by both parents and children and is well known , courtesy Pogo channel's Make way for Noddy and things like that.
So , happily the tot starts with perhaps , Noddy , goes to Amelia Jane , short stories of Enid blyton , Famous Fives and the school stuff (St.Clare's etc.).
And here is the turning point. The kid is in class 4 or 5 , reads Enid Blyton at home and at school is introduced to an outrageous concept of non-detailed reading , where an abridged book is read by the whole class together , like a History lesson. The teacher who reads the book , may / may not like it , and is anyway bored to explain the story to class 4 , and the book (and the writer) is not recieved quite warmly by the class. To add to the offenses is the 'back answer questions' , 'diary entries' and letters to write to the character of the book.
This might not sound like a horrible idea , and many of you might think that this is a way to 'improve the reading and writing habits' of the student. But how many of you would like it , if a 40 something teacher (english teachers- no offence!) reads out passages from the Da Vinci Code , just after lunch , and you are supposed to 'underline important points' to answer questions like "Should Silas be pardoned?" or "Write a short note on the Holy Grail not exceeding 200 words" or "Write a letter to Sophie Neveu congratulating her success in the mission" and so on.
You certainly would not like that , even if it is the Da Vinci Code. So what happens? The book is dreaded , thanks to the edu. system.
Now , the important point. Both Ashok Ganguly and the English teacher do not approve of popular books and select the classics , easy way out. So naturally , we start hating the classics , the kind of books targeted during the English period.
So what do we do? Or what do we seek solace in? . As Kumar would say , the obvious successors to Enid Blyton would be the best sellers (Ps - This is a reference , neither a quote , nor plagiarism).
Enid Blyton , followed by Nancy Drew , Agatha Christie , Sidney Sheldon , Dan Brown and Michael Crichton...and the readers end up as reviewers of popular books in Times of India and New York Times.
This might not be completely acceptable , but honestly , the 'non detail' reading and 'book jacket' writing must be wiped out. People can form their own tastes without the English teacher...

PS - Once again , no offences to English teachers. There are good ones too in the system , and yes , i have had great experiences too in the english period ;)
No offences to the reader , and you are free to blast me in the comments box...( this is especially to ragamalika ;) )
And no offences to the John Grishams and JK Rowlings...

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So far ,the Abhishek Bachchan i have watched are Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai , Om Jai Jagdish , Run , Yuva , Dhoom , Bunty aur Babli , Sarkar , Dus and Bluffmaster.
And last week i saw Naach . On Star Gold. 8:30 show. 3 hour movie (dominated by advertisements). Both my sisters were at home, praising Abhishek (washerman - contributed by my worthy kutti sister and picchaikaran - contributed by my even more worthy elder sister...No comment).
Anyway , the movie was bad. What with an unconvincing storyline , slow screenplay , badly executed climax which was so embarrasing , and dance steps which looked like the performance of trapeze artists in the circus, this movie is a total failure. And an 'I-will-only-wear-a-tube-top-and-mini-skirt' heroine (who is perhaps Rakhi Sawant's sister). To top it all , an unshaven and uncool Riteish Deshmukh who has absolutely no role or scope at all ,even in a guest appearance.

There is no story as such , but to tell it briefly , this is it - wannabe dance choreographer meets wannabe actor , wannabe actor becomes famous and is the heart throb of many (which is no wonder) , while our dance choreographer 'expresses' her misery by ahem , Dancing , in the rain , in a barely-there costume...
Our dance choreographer breaks up with the actor , gets a break and becomes famous through dancing in a music videos (which is extremely ridiculous as the costumes are absolutely horrible and look like what a she - spider man might look like , ofcourse in scanty clothes).
Both of them patch up...and they live happily ever after.
Yes , and this is the revolutionary story.
Performance wise , the best would be Abhishek Bachchan. He is simply handsome and is soo cute! He has acted really well and makes the boring movie interesting...Anything else i can say?!
Antara Mali is average. Good for item numbers , not too good for acting. Another Mallika Sherawat , but Mali does act well in some parts.
The greatest disappointment would be Riteish Deshmukh who keeps that what-am-i-doing-here? expression throughout the movie. A pity.
Next week or so , i think i will see Refugee. Hope that is better than this disaster...and when is Dhoom 2 releasing , by the way?