3 cheers for all idiots

WOW. if 3 idiots doesnt touch hearts with its humour and wit it will surely touch lives with its intelligence. This has to be India's finest in a long long time - perhaps since Lagaan way back in 2001. This is as fabulous as movies are meant to be without relying on frame enhancing technology or trick photography. Its EQ is as high as its IQ. Kudos!

Mere paas Paa hai..

Saw Paa yesterday and liked it for reasons completely different from what are being espoused across disparate media.

The movie breaks away from the cliched in several ways. Right from the credits roll out to the way the characters are conceived and portrayed. Credits being read out as opposed to flashing past was novel. So were the way the characters were defined and etched. Very rooted, very strong and very credible. Another departure from the tried and tested was the lighting - or rather the inter-play of light n shade through almost three quarters of all sequences in the film. This chiaroscuro was infact very reminicsent of Guru dutt and earlier RK films. A big newness was the refreshing and unaffected maner in which kids talked of their relationship with their parents. Precouscious - maybe but melodramatic - no way. And most definitely enjoyable ! The dialogue throughout and specifically in the scenes with the kids was witty. And last but not the least - despite their individual spark and brilliance, the chemistry between Amitabh and Abhishek was that of two competent performers. Nothing radically significant really. A huge thumbs up for Vidya Balan though. She was genuinely good. Despite its underlying pathos, the film was neither preachy nor weepy or senti. And it worked. It was surely, one happy world worth walking through !!

The ultimate weapon

So much has happened over the past 3 months - in the public space. and yet not a single word from me only highlights my complete lack of motivation to pick up the threads and tie them in as well as the fuzziness in my own head..

Sachin completing 20 yrs in international cricket - would have loved to believe - is akin to me completing 18 in my work life - just that the bugles in my backyard are more muted and celebrations absent! after all unlike him, i havent helped India gain recognition or prominence nor have i got TV ratings to soar or got a nation into collective frenzy.

Amitabh doing an Auro with the gay abandon of a pre-adoloscent 12 yr old reminds you that even when age has taken its toll and all good things seem to be waning- true class does manage to rise like the proverbial phoenix.

Rahul Gandhi emerging as the most unlikely hero - i remember running him down in one of my earlier posts - has surprised me perhaps much more than most things would. Now, as i overcome the cliched idea of heroes, i have come to appreciate his bashfulness, his demeanour and importantly the clear articulation of his simple thoughts and the stances he takes on most issues- i stand converted!

about 3 weeks ago - as i watched Ratan Tata inaugurate a charity in the memory of those who were killed in the 26/11 carnage, couldnt help but notice his tear filled eyes and the shiver in his voice. This wasnt a choreographed act and seemed to stem from genuine concern for the families of those impacted. Here was a corporate citizen promising to take care of the families of his ex employees like they would have, had they been alive. To me, if this isnt benevolence, nothing is! And if true role models still exist- here is one guy, God must aim to replicate.

Ever wondered, whats common to all these guys? Though its too pre-mature to club or force-fit Rahul Gandhi into the same league, the one stand out trait between all of them seems to be extreme humility and respect for others before self apart from single minded pursuit of perfection in their chosen areas.

Now only if Mayawati, Ambani, the "Khans" and more recently Tiger and others of his ilk could absorb this, just as comfortably!