Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Wow ! What a movie.

Content review:

I always thought that any bollywood movie would have to have a villain to succeed. Of course there are exceptions. And this movie, joins that list. If the Chopras wanted to repeat DDLJ history, they are well on their way.

In my opinion, this is the best performance by Shahrukh Khan after Swades (which I consider is the best) till date. He plays the shy Surinder Sahni who is the face you forgot in the audience crowd. And also the star of the show who makes a surprise dash in his role as Raj, an outlandish and flirtatious happy go lucky chap. At some point, you pity Suri for his timidity and rigidity and simultaneously admire him for his faith in love and "Rab".

The opening scene makes you think that this is yet another run of the mill movie, but wait. Don’t you think the producers are clever enough to spend their money wisely? Yes, there is a dying father…and the girl never utters her opinion. A typical bollywood setting. But wait, not only does Anushka Sharma play a simple and compromising middle class girl but later transforms into an aspirant who wants more a bit from life. The new comer smoothly transitions from the upbeat to the dull to the anticipating and then to the surprised.

Of course, there is also the gifted Vinay Pathak who once again proves that he can play any role. He plays the usual "will die for it" buddy but he does his job in doing away with typical behaviour. His actions may look exaggerated…but don’t we come across such people?

The finale has been carefully crafted. The final song where the couple dances has minimal lyrics…the music engrosses you in their synced gyrations. And in there is a small frame where Anushka Sharma grabs the opportunity to portray her sursprise with perfection. The dialogues following the dance are momentous, especially SRK’s.  I have only one  thing to say to Anushka Sharma ,"I make a perfect Suri! Marry Me!".

And God…plz tell me who came up with the final credits. I have never seen final credits like this before. You might even think, "Wait! … plz don’t spoil it". Watch the final credits…and you will feel satisfied.

Technical review:

The plot does not throw bouncers at you. It remains straight with no loss of focus though one song in particular where SRK re-enacts bollywood goldies seemed extraneous to me. The song however is well done and I must congratulate the Art Director for the effort. Another place where the Art Director shines is the finale which also brings me to the editing.

The editing is slick. Just superb. If you think the movie drags at any time and that this is because of the editing and storyline, wait for the climax. That is where the editing not only jumpkicks to give you a rocking finale but also reveals the cleverly planned script put into action.

All though the script utilises a cliche (that a wife cannot seem to recognise her husband in a different attire), the director is very clever in the details. Why ? Watch the movie and you will know what I am talking about.

This movie is worth its time in gold. 

Doing Masters is not an easy task, especially if you no longer have the comforts of enjoying well roasted pakodas prepared by Mom on a rainy day. What will I have for breakfast? lunch ? dinner? These thoughts can manifest in the synapses of deep thought while trying to keep your drowsy head upright in class. I have been asked several times "What do you do for food?" And the eyebrow raising reply is "I cook." But then, there is this lingering doubt around a few people that I cannot cook. Hmm, the real fact is that I enjoy cooking. In fact, I read up articles on the internet and try a few recipes. Though I do no do it at an elaborate scale, cooking a few quick dishes is quite some fun and in a way exercises your mind. Well "Anyone can cook", that is what late chef Gusteau says in Pixar’s latest offering ‘Ratatouille’. So today, I present to you …tadatadatadaa…My experiments with food.

Before we start… lets take a look at my kitchen.

and now for the food … 

On one saturday afternoon, I hit upon the idea of making dosas. But the best ingredients I had could only be used for making pancakes. So be it I thought. I made bland pancakes and gulped them with the my ’safely preserved and protected’ stock of chutney pudi. I made a lot of pancakes so that my flatmates could enjoy them with dark brown sugar. Here are some photos:

On yet another weekend (actually two weekends), I prepared pudding. I made enough for friends and flatmates. The first was Coconut pudding and the next one was Milk pudding garnished with a dose of sweetened fine orange chops (I got them from ASDA). The coconut pudding settled quiet quickly compared to the other one. This was my first rendevous with cornflour.

I have been making omelettes, bullseye and boiled eggs for a long time. But I have this special place in my heart (should it not be tongue) for half boiled egg. It tastes fantastic if you prepare it well. Reminds me of Dad’s attempts to make full boiled eggs when Mom was away at my sister’s place. Anju (my sister) was was then carrying Annirudh (my sweet little nephew). Dad is probably the one who got me hooked on to half boiled eggs during that time. Sadly, I have never managed to make half boiled eggs …well until now. You see, I hit upon the idea of trying to make poached eggs. But poached eggs come out well if you put fresh eggs in boiling water. Now, obtaining fresh eggs on any given weekday is impossible. But if I could find a way to duplicate the effect it would be fantastic. My search on internet finally revealed this great research . Yep, I tried it. Evidence follows.

NHS says that we must consume atleast five different vegetables a day. Here is my attempt at it. I call it ‘Seven stars‘ because it has seven vegetables. Carrot, Tomato, Onion, Mushrooms, Florets, Brocolli and Potato. Plus, of course I added Dal as an ingredient too.

Yes, It tasted very good. Only if it had a bit of lemon squeezed on it, it would have been heaven.
But then, as the wise say, Heaven can wait !

Yes, I am talking about audio cassettes. Of course we still find them lying around. Not long ago, when we did not allow these precious collectibles to get sunburnt on the dashboard, they were hot property among the young crowd. While the kids were forced to listen to migraine inducing music in dance classes, and the elders heard the grinding discourses of now forgotten ‘Gurujis’,  the teen-in-betweens found the cassette to be a relief from the ravenous world around them. Everyone had their favourites. From the jhatkas of bollywood to the pelvic twists from MJJ himself.

I still remember the day my Dad bought the first pop music album for my sister. "Dr. Dhingra MBBS" (which stood for Music By Baba Sehgal), we heard it about 5 times a day.  This not so surprisingly coincided with Alisha Chinai’s "Made in India" soon to be followed by Stylebhai. Our appetite for pop music seemed insatiable. Come 1997, the small screen explodes with  Hariharan, Lucky Ali, Daler Mahendi, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan,  Shaan and Sagarika. Raageshwari soon convinced the public with her "Yeh Duniya".

Sometime during that period, I bought my very own audio tape. It had a mix of songs in different languages with PrabhuDeva’s "Chikupuku raile" being my favourite competing with Chiranjeevi’s "Bangara …(something)… maina". I was so fascinated by the tape, I even experimented recording video on the audio tape !!! This was much before I learnt in my engineering that all those strange bars on the TV upon playback where lower frequency components of the video content, much of the which probably didn’t get past the first transistor in the circuit path.

From the deep crevasses of my memory, I present you my (incomplete) list of favourites:

Khambe Jaise Khadi Hai - Dil (1990)
This reminds me of Aamir Khan and Madhuri in their lovable roles.

Wada Rahan Sanam - Khiladi (1992)
Akhshay Kumar and Ayesha Jhulka in their blockbuster hit. God, I just laughed recollecting their pranks in the movie. 

Dil Jigar Nazar Kya Hai - Dil Ka Kya Kasoor (1992)
Divya Bharati not only forced others into crying with her talent but brought in some freshness to the screen. 

Deewane Dil Dhoonde - Mashooq (1992) 
Ayub Khan’s debut film. The movie goes from a romantic start to end in a military gun battle ! What the heck, I still liked it. 

Saat Samander - Vishwatma(1992)
This was probably was one of the most popular songs of Late Divya Bharathi. Chunkey Pandey does justice to the movie by providing the laughs.

Ankhon Mein Base Ho Tum - Takkar (1995)
I know this one well. It made many girls envious of Sonali Bendre to hit the gym. Of course, the guys started following Sunil Shetty’s body building tips.

Nahin Yeh Ho Nahin Sakta - Barsaat (1995)
I just love this song coz the video is fabulous. The sorroundings are painted with bright colours and the lyrics are melodious.

And for those who admire Raageshwari’s voice, here it is Duniya by Raageshwari.

Today I commence blogging my thoughts here. I plan to write about a variety of stuff ranging from memories of yesteryears to monday morning blues, from environmental concerns to travelogues, from movie reviews to open source, from gadgets to recipes. And of course, some technical stuff .