Filmistan

Cute, adorable, romantic, comedy, emotional, dramatic…. Wonder what am I talking about??? The movie – 8 Below. If you haven’t seen this movie - you are such a loser. I was one too, until this Saturday when I saw this movie and since then (after realizing what I had missed in life) I have seen this movie over a million times (some exaggeration is allowed). It was the most wonderful thing that happened to me that day. Don’t wanna say much about the movie coz I am afraid I might do injustice to it. Please go watch it.

Some movies can just make your day and some can put you into depression. I saw a movie the other day which wanted me to kill the director and beat him with his own spine. DELHI-6. @ Rakesh Omprakash Mehra: what were you thinking? Instead of promoting the movie as “From the makers of Rang De Basanti” it should be promoted as “From the makers of Aks”. Actually, to think about it, the movie shouldn’t be promoted at all. It was a torture, not only mental but also financial. The story (if putting small unrelated clips can be termed as “story”) revolved around a visible pigeon and an invisible monkey man. The movie started with a good theme but after about 1 hour, Rakesh got bored and asked his assistant to complete the rest of the movie. When the assistant saw, that it wasn’t going anywhere, he got bored too and handed the project to his spot boy. The spot boy realized that the cast of the movie is big and all of them being experienced people, so he asked the actors to act whatever they feel like while he shot them. The movie absolutely made no sense. If you are one of Abhisheks’ fan, please don’t watch the movie. His fake accent can get on your nerves.

While we are at the topic, how can we possibly miss out, the Oscar winning, Slumdog? Well done guys!!! We, Indians are very smart people. If this movie wouldn’t have won an Oscar, Bachchans would have floated their blogs with “Brand India being disrupted”, politicians would have banned the movie in every state and opposition would be on streets protesting to air the movie and let the world know what the current party has led our country to. Wonder what happened to “Brand India” after the Satyam fiasco? Big B, I wonder why movies like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, which are so REALISTIC and based on TRUE stories, are not critically acclaimed by global audience?

Now since the movie is such a huge success, we (Indians) are calling it “Our” movie. Smart people. Even though some might say that they have earned bucks at the cost of Indias’ poor image. But dad, the movie isn’t about that, its about how a slumdog (out of his real life experience) knows the answers to all the questions of “who wants to be a millionaire”. Never mind, as long as, Rahman won 2 awards, I am happy (even though I think he has done much better job in Rand De Basanti).

Jai ho! Rahman. This is the new lingo these days. “Hello!” has been replaced by “Jai Ho!”… So now conversations start like this:

“Jai ho! How was the weekened?”

“Jai Ho! Papaji”

“Jai Ho! Sir”

Trrringgg Trrringgg “Jai Ho!”

Signing off: JAI HO

Television- I miss you

Yesterday, while I was sitting in a bus (one of the latest BEST busses with comfortable cushion seats with hand rests and a television) I happened to see a glance of this realty TV show Dance India Dance. I had often heard people talking about it but never paid much attention. But now, after seeing some of the amazing performances, I wanna see it more. Alas! I don’t have a television. Not because I cant afford one, but because it’s not allowed in the hostel. Plus, even if it was allowed, it would take up the entire place in my small room, where already my roommate and I are struggling to live in a place enough for only one person.


I miss watching Television. After coming home from college, at least I knew something interesting is yet to happen in my life. I would always look forward to what next is gonna happen to Tulsi. She had become a part of my life (even though it took me a while to recollect her name). And those laughter shows. I would finish my homework before time (or pass it on to my friends saying that I am not feeling too well) to watch the shows in peace. I remember creating a huge drama about how my head was spinning (I think I even pretended to faint) just so I could stay home and watch if Kumkum gets married. I wonder if mumma knew I was acting. Else why would she be so casual about her child falling on floor unconscious??? On a weekend, I would get up from my bed, come and sit in front of TV and be there all day. People could wonder if my bum was stuck to the chair (but hey! I did take small washroom breaks in between).


One of my favorite television channels was the Asian sky shop owned by Home Shopping Network …. It is the only channel which attempts to solve the shopping problems of India’s helpless, stuck-at-home TV viewers like me. I didn’t bother much about the products, but what fascinated me more was the way they would ACT EXCITED to sell these products. Another favorite program was Khana Khazana. It helped me a lot to get over my urge to eat tasty food while I was bed ridden due to Jaundice and could eat only plain, tasteless, white food.


The other day I was watching popular American sitcom ‘Friends’ and Joey Tribbiani blurted out: “What? You don’t own a TV? What’s all your furniture pointing out at?”
Joey had made me realize that I was living my life all ulta, so I now need to buy a house, wherein I can have my own friend, philosopher, guide- my TV, and have all my furniture facing it.

Sawal 55 Crores ka!!!

What would your reaction be, if one usual day, you casually log on to your bank account to check if you can still afford to have dinner out, and to your surprise you find 7 zeros behind the figure that you were expecting? Recently, Jayesh (one of my friends) found Rs 55 Crores in his account… check it out http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/feb/160209-Jayesh-Agarwal-ICICI-Bank-55-crore-transaction-Internet-banking-Charudatta-Deshpande-corporat.htm...

But he was an honest guy (or maybe after he realized that he might get caught if he tried to withdraw all the cash or maybe he thought that ICICI might reward him for his frankness or maybe he thought it was one of the sting operations), he reported the matter to the bank and became famous. All newspapers, radio channels and TV reporters were interviewing him. But I wonder what would I do if I was a victim to such a mishap of my bank??? Would I want to be famous or rich??? Na!!! Fame is only for a couple of days and then it dies out… But this could be my one chance to feel like a spoilt filthy rich girl who uses currency notes as her toilet paper.

I could take all the money, get it changed for quarters, then gamble until the funds are quadrupled. At that point, invest in the stock market, get filthy rich, and never spend a dime of it afterwards. Or so it seems. Then SECRETLY invest in a company searching for the key to immortality. Then just let begging neighbors, distant relatives, and long lost siblings ring at my door (disconnect the doorbell so that it doesn't bother me) for like ever, all of them hoping to get a little extra cash, then once they realize it doesn't work, they could impatiently wait for me to die, as to inherit a little $$$$ and all my cool stuff (sounding like the Sackville-Bagginses? Mmmmhhhhmm...). Little do they know that the scientists I found knew what they were talking about, and that I am now ageless. The entire point is to infuriate them, and to have a great time while doing so. Ah the simple pleasures of life.

In case you are any of my relatives, ignore the first part. Here is what I would do with all my money:

To start with, I would donate some of it to Pranay, a social initiative set up by students of SIMS (Typical?). Take one heck of a vacation with family all around the world (and tip generously). Hire maids and choose their uniform (My mom deserves a break). Set up a trust fund so that my dad can officially retire. Invest in a positive – themed film and become famous. Buy a big house on a beach and invite all my friends over every week (of course I pay for the conveyance). Buy Rolls- Royce for dad, BMW for sister and a Porsche for myself.

Guess 55 Crores is not enough for all this. Maybe I’ll buy the best robbing gear and rob a bank.

Actually, I really cant think of what I’ll do with all the money until I get it. But surely, I wont be stupid enough like Jayesh to return it back to the bank (unless I am sure that it’s a trap set up by my boss to test my sincerity).

Tribute

So I was heading SIMS (accompanied by my younger sister, who thought I was too immature to settle down all by myself). I got my new wardrobe, new laptop, and loads of stationery (which is still lying in the same cover as it was 2 and a half year back). I was experiencing anxiety (how is my room gonna be like), excitement (I hope I make friends), and more excitement. Then came, perhaps the most important discovery of all: my roommates. Although the four of us were to be thrown together by pure cosmic chance, I knew they could either make or break my college years.

I was the first one to reach there and discover this huge big room with two attached washrooms (even though the second one went unused), a giant window with cool breeze flowing so hard that it would slam the door every few seconds (we didn’t bother putting a stopper to the door until the door bent) and a small, cute balcony (giving a clear view of who is coming and going outside college and who is bunking classes, etc). I grabbed the best bed right next to the window (not realizing that sun is gonna shine right on my face early in the mornings), settled my stuff and went to check the list of my roommates (thought at least names could tell me something about their personalities).

“Room 404: Bhagyashree Vyas, Ritu Mundra, Deepali Jamwal, Swarup Kirloskar” The warden called out. “Hmmm! Swarup…” I had interacted with her online on SIMS community before joining. Sigh of relief.

I was told; roommates come in many shapes and sizes. Some will save your life. Others will make you want to take theirs. Most of all, love them or hate them, you are stuck with them.

But now, as a tribute to my roommates (after spending 2 of the most memorable days of my life with them) I hereby give you my list of 5 different types of roommates:

Type 1: They went to college to study, earn as many degrees as possible, capture a Nobel Prize, and then take over the world. Living with a topper wasn’t all that easy. Any disruptive noise or action will throw her a silent, pent up fit. Then she would just glare at the offender with all due hatred, slamming her books shut, rise dreadfully from her desk, leave the room, and then slam the broken door. All of this is done without words.

Fortunately, Bhagya loved us. Even though we were the noisiest, she learnt how to adjust. Eg. She would wake up early in the morning before any one of us to study, she would wear headphones while studying to avoid listening to us gossip, or simply sit in the balcony late in night, cuddled up with a quilt and study with a night lamp, to make sure she didn’t disturb us sleeping. (Though I think she was more scared of waking us up).

She never had to worry about her notes disappearing right before the exam because the entire college had a copy of her notes.

Apart from that, she would keep her bed spotless, her book neatly kept on the shelf, and her wardrobe was filled with clean clothes. The fact that her roommates were so untidy never bothered her. She would make our bed for us, would help us arrange our wardrobe every weekend, would clear up the mess in the room, etc. She was the most compassionate of all. And it was quite easy to fool her. Everytime she woke me up for a class, I would pretend having an upset stomach or high fever. Poor darling! She would rush down and get something for me to eat.

Type 2: If you’re lucky, you got this one. And we were lucky enough to have Ritu. She would buy us food, take us out for parties, and shared the same interests as we did. She was clean but not to the point of making us feel bad that we weren’t. If you have been wondering, who are the “dirty we” that I am referring to, it was Swarup and Me. (Yeah Okay, Swarup was little better off than me). I remember, when Ritu first stepped in, she asked us our sun signs. And when she figured out that she is gonna be sharing her room with 2 Virgos (Swarup and Me), her reaction was, “Cool! So my room will always be clean”. Little did she know!!!

Her mom would send care packages on a weekly basis, of which we would become a direct beneficiary. The best was, on Valentines Day, when she kept getting Chocolate cakes (which tasted heaven). She being not so much of sweet tooth, we got it all.

She would bring a DVD library that would keep us awake all night. And most importantly, she brought with her an insanely stocked wardrobe with dozens of shoes and accessories that she insisted we should use. Cant remember the occasion, but there was a time, when all 4 of us were wearing her dresses, her accessories and her makeup. She would make us wonder if we even owned any clothes of our own.

She sometimes took the role of our mother, when it came to shouting at the bai for not cleaning our room, or fighting with the newspaper wala, or representing our room in front of the warden in case of any complaints. Courtesy her, we had Gods’ idol in our room.

Type 3: Unwashed dishes, open jars of pickle kept for days, and a mass of dirty clothes slowly piling up on the floor. But one good thing with me was that no one was under pressure to keep their stuff in order.

This was sometime towards the end of course, when all 3 of them had moved out, but our room was still so messy with my stuff all over the place that it appeared as if, many people were staying in the room. I like things messed up. It should look like someone is staying in the room. Every month I was forced to arrange my wardrobe, but soon after that, it was back to normal. I had to find place to sleep at night coz it was impossible to sleep on my bed. (I guess that’s the reason of the big fight which happened when we were discussing to rearrange the room setting, and no one wanted to push their bed next to mine.)

For some reason my biological clocks are twisted, I would watch movies till 4:00 am and sleep during classes. (Thanks to Bhagya, who would literally pull me out of my bed, I didn’t fall short of attendance). I also loved to have shouting discussions at every second of the day (swarup had to often remind me to calm down my tone).

These types of roommates are really difficult to adjust with.

Type 4: She was silent, but her guitar spoke for her. The rockstar of our college. She preferred black light or no light at all. She would be awake all throughout the day and most of the nights (no wonder she got all these crazy criminal ideas). She was the most practical one amongst all of us, though we heard a lot of “I can never keep a track of where my money gets spent”.

She likes to party but also knows when to study. She would bring with her lots of snacks endlessly. Also, she was an excellent secret keeper. Till the end of the course, no one knew who could have possibly played those notorious pranks for which the entire batch was punished.

I have been called by lots of names throughout my life, but the best one was given by her “little bastard”. These types of roommates are very emotional and compassionate but would never let their feelings out.

Type 5: In every room, there is at least one trespasser. She can be your extended roommate and never make you realize that her name is not on the list of Room 404. At first, you dislike them and think of ways to shoo them away. e.g. locking yourselves up in the room, or being extremely mean to them, but somehow they claw up your heart and make place in your room. Supriya was our extended room mate.

She would parade around the room, wearing her tiara, doing her vocal exercises (don’t wanna say much about that, else she’ll kill me for disclosing the fact that she won “The worst singer” competition, not once, but twice. These kind of roommates are care-free and wouldn’t let others opinion bother them. These types of roommates are the most easily recognized in the hostel with their flashy clothes, glittery hair bands, and loud voice.

There might be other types of roommates too, but I shared my room with these breeds.

Sorry guys! couldn't find better pictures of us together... we forgot to take nice pictures in all these years.

Love guru

Whenever I walk along Marine drive, I see people with big, stylish dogs, decorated with pretty bows, hair puffed and fancy leash, trying to showcase their dogs’ skills to everybody around. They would make it fetch, hop on two legs, high-five, dance, roll over and many more, which I don’t even know what they call.

Have you ever thought that our so called ‘mans’ best friend’ can be our ‘love guru’. We can be adroit enough to train our doggy in aspect more than one, however, there’s one periphery where our pooch can swap places with us. Believe it or not, our pet dog knows the mantra to a successful relationship better than us.

Wondering what I am talking about? When I sit and stare at Mishtis’ pics on my desk, my laptop wallpaper, my screen saver, my phone wallpaper, etc. I cant help but feel how compassionate she is. I love the relation Mishti and I share (all thanks to her). Only if I could learn and adopt a few qualities from her, my life would be different and I would never feel less loved.

First, forgiveness is guaranteed. I have often heard others complain (I being no exception), “I can count so many instances in the past when you haven’t treated me right” or “I cant forgive you for what you did to me 3 years back” or “Don’t force me to dig into the past, I am quite capable of taking a revenge” or “This is in return for what you did to me ages back”…. Blah blah blah. We all dream of a partner/friend/colleague who doesn’t mind moving ahead of grudges and forgiving, rather than constantly brooding over past frustrations and arguments. But, dogs have an innate quality of living in the moment. Even if you yell at them, they will sit quietly to express their dislike towards our reaction, but the moment you behave normally, they’ll be all over you once again. They bury all past grudges and forgive us for scolding them.

I remember, when we had left Mishti home alone (with the Helper Bhaiya) for 3 days, Bhaiya would call us up everyday to inform that she isn’t having her proper meals and is very upset with us for doing this injustice to us. But the moment we reached back home, she forgot all about it and received us with a big hug.

If everybody could learn to wipe the slate as easily and quickly as these lovable creatures, relationships won’t ever get grumpy.

Second, Unconditional love is assured! When a dog loves its owner, it’s pure, sans any give and take, which is beautiful. Unlike human beings, dogs are non- judgmental. They will love you irrespective of whether you love them or not. They will love you irrespective of your status- whether you are a celebrity or a common man. Even if you leave them alone at home for hours, they will still pound on you when they see you and shower their wet kisses on you.

Their love is so unconditional that even if you lock them up in the verandah, they will still cry if they see you crying. I remember when I was a kid, I saw this movie Chaalbaaz, (For those who think it was a lame movie, I don’t care. I loved it) where a dog is fighting against the villain to save his malkin, but in the process he gets killed. I cried continuously for the poor dog, until my mom assured me that it was just a movie and the dog is still alive. Even when I saw Will Smiths' dog die in 'I am Legend', my heart went out for him. The point that I am trying to make here is, that dogs will love you more than their own selves. That’s Unconditional Love.

If we learn just this lesson from our dogs, sailing safe across the toughest waters won't be hard in life.

Third, Patience is personified! Thanks to our hectic lifestyle struck with a multitude of personal, professional and social anxieties, our patience level has become drastically low.

Qualities such as tolerance and endurance are missing. This is the reason why we often end up fighting with our loved ones.

Here too, we can look upto our dogs for help. Mishti is extremely patient. Like even if she wants to go out for a walk early in the morning, she will quietly sit next to you and wait for you to wake up and take her out, but would never disturb your sleep. No matter how hungry she is, she will never disturb you if you are dining.

Fourth, Consistency for sure! Unlike humans, dogs do not get mood swings. Every breed of dog has a set nature to which it consistently sticks to. Mishti will consistently behave in the same playful manner unless and until, there's something seriously wrong with her.

I am sure there are a lot many other qualities which I cant think of now. If you can, do drop it in the comments box.

I don't see why!!!

On my way to work, I change 3 modes of transport. Bus- Train – Rickshaw. And obviously, I happen to encounter a lot many people during the same process (“obviously”: not because I change 3 modes, but “obviously” because, I stay in Mumbai. A place where all you can see is people around you. Even if you happen to travel in an odd hour, you’ll still find the place as crowded as it is at any usual peak hour. And then you wonder, “What are these people doing on the streets at this hour, don’t they ever sleep?” forgetting that you are on the street too, and have become a part of this crowd, adding to the already peaking population of Mumbai). No, this post is not another entry about my misery in Mumbai, but is about someone I encountered this morning.

I was sitting in the bus, gazing at sky (for I had nothing to do), when this small, tiny kid (Literally, he was as small as Thumbelina), with a giant school bag, which was almost double his size, hair neatly combed, and huge, round spectacles which covered almost half of his face, giving him a Harry Potter look, entered the bus. He then quickly ran and grabbed a place next to me. Then he took out a 5 Rupee coin from his pocket and in his innocent and naïve voice said, “Churchgate” (asked for a ticket to Chrchgate). His hands were so small that it couldn’t hold the ticket and the change out his 5 Rupees in the same hand. So I extended my hand to help him settle down. Then we happened to exchange smile. When he smiled, I could see everything inside his mouth as he had no teeth to cover it. (Either, because his milk teeth had fallen or because he was too young to have any teeth). When he got off the bus, I couldn’t help but think if such a tiny creature would ever be able to cross the road on his own, or reach his school safely and how heartless are those parents who let such babies out of their sight. But this post is also not about that kid either.

It is about how we, adults, always complain that “I wanna be a kid again”, or “I don’t wanna grow up”, or “It was great when I was a kid”, blah blah blah… What we forget is that kids too have a lot of tension, stress and responsibilities on their petite shoulders. As kids, we used to cry about going to school, exams, results, the responsibilities of fulfilling your parents’ expectations, the fear of getting caught while doing something wrong, the fear of red ink on your report card, the tension that would pop up every time “red list” was to be declared, and lots others. In fact, as kids we had other problems too, like mom yelling “clean your room” when you had a movie to catch; getting caught by a policeman just when you are running late for your exam; dad shouting “Where does my official stuff disappear? Who meddles with it?” Every time he said that, you knew you are next, even though you had no clue. The worse was when you landed in the examination hall prepared for some other subject, and your friends thought it to be funny and would tell this story to their other friends/ parents. Fearing that this time your phone bill is gonna touch the sky and your parents will blame it all on you (since no one else uses the phone as much as you).

Agreed, the severity of problems was not as much as it is now, however we must also realize that the level of tolerance was also very little. Then, small things as getting caught while forging your parents’ signature would put us under depression for days.

I guess, the point that I am trying to make here is, be happy with what you have and where you are. Don’t compare yourself with anyone, for you don’t know what they are going through… (Wow, Did I just make sense?)