Strings Of Life

I generally don't write movie reviews because I watch a movie, enjoy it, and just move on. Rarest of the rare movies make it to my second time list and Ye Mera India (Y.M.I) is one of them.

» The Story line

Written, Produced and Directed by N.Chandra, Y.M.I is a satirical analysis of common issues which we watch every day on news channels. It's a story about 12 people from various strata of Mumbai.

Once an American scientist who did not believe in God visited India, and upon returning he straight away went to the Church upon which his friends asked about what did happen in India that he started believing in God? And he answered:

I observed India very closely, It's a strange country. There are so many religions here, no common language and hatred at every level. The Hindus hate Muslims, Muslims hate Hindus, Upper caste hates the lower caste and even car owners hate the people who travel in rickshaws. There is so much hatred in this country and still it's progressing, now tell me who accept God can run this country?.

Y.M.I is director N.Chandra's attempt to analyze this uniqueness in India. It touches the sensitive issues of Religion bias, Caste differences, Politics, Gender bias and the immigrant issues which are common in every other state now a days.

»  Rating and Conclusion

On the scale of 5, I would rate this movie as 4 for its good theme, cast and the story. When you finish the movie, I'm sure some change would have taken place inside you. With the ending note I would recommend this movie to every Indian.

He is just an ordinary guy with ordinary dreams, that's it, No big deal.
When young, he would curiously dream of becoming the BIG GUY. The one who is lavish in living & could marry the girl of his dreams. But nothing sort of that has actually happened till now.
Life is such a ----- thing. Your desires are never fulfilled; maybe because you never actually stop desiring?.
25 years have quietly passed by and the hairs on his head have started aging. Gosh! It is a complete lie that mirrors at times fake, Mirrors never fake!.

With time friends are getting fewer and you realize this when your internet banking account is the first one to remind you of your Birthday; after all technology is getting more friendlier than human beings. After completing 25 revolutions around the sun, he just wish if life could be better than what it is?.

A 19 year old mentally challenged girl is raped repeatedly by the security guards of the institution she stays at. (You may read the complete story over here)
This issue was in limelight because the girl fought for justice, but there are numerous cases where the victim simply stays mute due to obvious reasons we all know.
Newspaper dailies are filled with news about the atrocities faced by females amongst which rape is the worst of a thing a woman could ever face.

Due to lack of physical strength the female fraternity has ever been victimized and this thing is also obvious in the holy epics such as Mahabharata or Chanakya Niti.
Draupadi, the single wife of the five Pandvas had to face the Cheer Haran (Stripping of clothes). Lord Indra - who is depicted as a strong character in the Indian mythology too fell for the wife of Gautama Maharishi.

Man is known to be a social animal but I often wonder that though an animal is not gifted with as much conscience as man, they (the animals) are better known for their caring attitude towards females. Is it that along with intelligence a man is also provided with greater libido for whose gratification he can do anything?

» The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Revolving around the New York's mafia gang wars, The Godfather is Mario Puzo's ageless work. The thing I liked about this novel is its capability to grip your mind and stay there forever. "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse" is one of the most quoted statement of this amazing novel. If you are new to reading you can start with this novel but beware, you might get addicted.

» The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger

The Catcher in the rye is the protagonist Holden Cualfield's narrative of what he goes through when expelled from school. When you pick this novel you feel like reading it at one go because right from the very first page you feel connected with the author's blunt narrative. Though this book has remained bit controversial, I feel it's a literary masterpiece.

Excerpts from the book:

• I was half in love with her by the time we sat down.  That's the thing about girls.  Every time they do something pretty, even if they're not much to look at, or even if they're sort of stupid, you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are.  Girls.  Jesus Christ.  They can drive you crazy.  They really can.

• I don't even know what I was running for - I guess I just felt like it.

• I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life.  It's awful.  If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera.  It's terrible.

» Introduction to Cricket
I was tiny tot when my dad gifted me a cricket bat. O' how I loved this game of hitting the ball out of boundary every time it is thrown at you. In the initial days I would ask the bowler to throw only bouncers, no! not because I was learning the game but rather I feared my bat getting dirty. At times I would overhear Uncles discussing about "how foolishly Sachin Tendulkar played this or that shot". If I were adult at that time I would have definitely recommended all such Uncles to be the part of Indian team.

» Interest in Cricket
In the teenage days cricket seemed to be the second best thing to discuss (first obviously being Girls). Friends would celebrate India's win as if they got distinction in their board exams and cricket seemed the religion where the cricketers were demigods. From notebook covers to the T-shirt paintings the cricket fever never ceased to end.

» The loss of libido
Boredom is in the very nature of the living beings. Wives get bored with the husbands and the husbands with girlfriends. Initially cricket seemed a thing which could never get boring but the overdose of Viagra leads to the loss of libido. Few days back a friend was surprised for I didn't knew the name of an Indian player. It has been ages since I watched any cricket match or even read the sports section of a newspaper. It's not only the overdose responsible for the loss of interest but now I feel that irrespective of whether our team wins or loses, the players are getting rich with every match they play. And we just waste our valuable time watching the series whose outcome we are almost certain about.

Getting inspiration from Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure", I decided to experiment with the Manual mode of my Nikon D40. After loads of confusion and reading I got to learn few of its features. The above image is one of my first taken in the Manual mode.

Mr. A: I lost my wife in the market today. I informed the police & searched everywhere but still couldn't know her whereabouts.

Mr.B: Did you try Google Search?

Every year the Nobel Committee declares the winners of Nobel Prize in October and the nominations are open till August end. Given a chance, this year I would like to make a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Any guesses? No no, it's not the head of some Grammen Bank. One friend even suggested Rakhi Sawant? It's not Rakhi Sawant either, after all it's the issue of Nobel Prize. After marriage only Rakhi Sawant is at peace not the Junta.

So this year my nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize would be the Government of India. No, No nuclear deal stuff here, our government truly deserves the award for "PEACEFULLY" handling the November 2008 Mumbai attack case. No bullets fired across the border, No high pitch demands made from Pakistan. Rather the Govt. has provided our guest Mr. Ajmal Amir kasab (the lone survivor terrorist) a celebrity status. Aren't these facts apt enough to nominate our beloved Govt. for the Nobel Peace Prize? If nominated they definitely stand a great chance here.

Who is your nominee?

No Smoking Strictly Prohibited! OR No Smoking, Strictly Prohibited?

It has been a long time since I wrote something here.
I don't feel like writing these days and moreover I don't want to fake it.
I have not only stopped writing but even stopped thinking and that is quite a dangerous thing.