Holiday with Mr. Bean

Watching the antics of Mr. Bean is always fun & as soon as I heard that a new iteration of the series, i.e. Mr. Bean's Holiday, is ready for release, I was looking forward to it. Finally, i got a chance to watch the movie & I can say it was a laugh-riot, alright.

The movie is about the Mr. Bean’s (Rowan Atkinson) journey from London to Cannes as part of his holiday. As can be expected when Bean is around, anything which can go wrong, goes wrong as he gets lost and into trouble many times over, with just his Sony Camcoder for company.

The movie has its typical Mr. Bean moments, which only Rowan Atkinson can perform. His expressions are simply amazing (& at times, disgusting) What seems to have been done, though, is that, with few comedy sequences in mind, the rest of the plot of the movie, seems to have been written. That is probably the reason why the story takes so many turns. The movie is a little slow-moving at times.

The music collection is apt & suits the mood of the movie. Cinematography is a lot modern when compared with the Bean of 1997. I, however, felt that the Camcoder inlays in the movie was a bit too long, especially early on, although, it plays a pivotal role in taking the story forward.

The support actors are par for the course. The boy, Max Baldry has done a very good job. William Dafoe doesn’t have too much of screen time. But, the movie belongs completely to Rowan Atkinson. His uninhibited portrayal of the absent-minded, fun-loving & idiotic Mr. Bean is what we have loved him for.

In short, it is a movie which will make you laugh, at times, clutching your stomach. Your experience is likely to be similar to watching a couple of episodes of Mr. Bean on TV, but, who cares, its still Mr. Bean. Kids will have an even better time watching this movie. I give it a more-than-decent 7.5/10.

Pursuing HappYness

The Pursuit of Happyness' is an inspirational story of a struggling salesman bringing up his son in suburban San Fransisco in the mid 80s. This movie is based on the actual life story of a rags to riches entrepreneur and stock broker Chris Gardner as he struggles through abject poverty and destitution on his way to break into the stock brokerage business as an intern.

The movie follows the life of Christoper Gardner (played by Will Smith) who sells little-needed medical bone density scanners for a living. Supporting his child (played by his biological son Jaden Smith) after his wife's departure, he is forced to relocate to a smaller house, loose his car and even spend time in jail for not paying parking tickets. His life takes a turn when he gets a break in to the world of finance and investments as an intern. He reluctantly takes up this non-paying, no job guarantee offer though the odds of getting a job after internship was next to nil. Between toiling hard to make a mark in his internship and trying to sell the left over bone density scanners over the weekends, he also needs to stand in a queue for rehabilitation everyday!! They become homeless, living in hotels, homeless shelters, and even a cruddy subway bathroom! But Chris holds on to his ultimate dream of being happy and giving him and his son the life they truly deserve.

Will Smith plays the role of his lifetime. His comic timing is very evident in the lighter moments, but his sincerity to the role is best brought out playing a man with no options, no family, no help and little hope. Special praise must be reserved for his son who plays his part to the tee. He has portrayed the innocence and sweetness of the tender age, while being able to hold his own in the more serious of circumstances. The father and son share an awesome chemistry which is very apparent right from the first scene.

Every scene and emotion portrayed on screen is heart warming and touching making this movie a truly worthwhile experience. What touched me most was the way Chris never gave up fighting even when faced with the most dire of circumstances. This movie stands as a testimonial to the cliché, success and more importantly happiness follows those who pursue it. In Chris's own words we experience happiness in eye blinks. The rest of the time we are chasing after it.

I rate this movie a must see for the sheer tenacity of emotions and thought process the movie puts the audience into.

Aaya Aaya Gurubhai!!!

GURU... This movie is all about the vision of a person – Gurukanth Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) & his efforts to realize the dream, fighting against all odds. Some people say it is based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani. I can see why they say so. But, this is actually a movie about a simple guy trying to make it big in this world. It can easily relate to just about any successful entrepreneur who has been able to achieve his vision.

This movie follows Guru’s journey, starting from his teenage days; his first work in the petrol industry in Turkey. As he matures in age as well as in riches, he decides to start working for himself & begins his “bijjness”- His foundation stone & his first business takeover being his marriage with Sujatha (Aishwarya Rai). He steps into Bombay and bids to cut out his own route in textile trading, through the weed-infested fields of the trading unions. His entry into trading, is greatly influenced by the works of a news editor with great principles, Manikdas Gupta (Mithun Chakraborthy). The relationship between these two, then, goes on to progress to a father-son standard. Flanked by his innovative ideas & his sole will of realizing his dreams, he dares to foray into other areas, manufacturing polyester, producing chemicals etc.

But, as we near intermission, an important incident occurs, which makes Mithunda to take notice of the ways & means of Guru’s success. To investigate Guru’s work, he appoints a young reporter, Shyam Saxena (R Madhavan). This is where the story really starts developing its many twists & turns; involving many intricate plots bearing great emotion, building up wonderfully to a Grand Finale worth the huge expectations from this film.

Mani Ratnam as the Director does a commendable job of realizing his screenplay dreams. His attention to detail in every aspect of the movie is commendable, be it the evolution in the type of clothing which the characters wear or the concept of using different shades of colours for different decades in the movie, there is typical Mani Ratnam uniqueness written all over it. High points in the movie are the sequences between Mithunda & Guru, the simple chemistry between Aishwarya & Abhishek & of course, the Finale. The cinematography by Rajiv Menon is very nice, capturing the essence of the India of the bygone days. The editing though good for the most parts, was a little too flashy for my liking towards the end.

The music by AR Rahman is another huge point going in favour of the movie. The soulful song & tune of “Jaage Hain” & the ravishing song “Tera Bina” are pieces of musical brilliance. "Barso Re" is a melodious number, shot very beautifully with nice choreography. ARR plays his charm though his innovative & fresh music.

Coming to the performances, the beauty queen – Aishwarya Rai has given a wonderful performance, suiting her strong character in the movie. This is one of the few occasions, where her acting has done the talking & not only the looks. Madhavan does justice to the role of the sincere journalist. Vidya Balan runs her charm in the brief, but, important role she plays; portraying her unrelenting love for her quarreling caretakers. Mithun Chakraborthy’s comeback role is the best that I’ve seen coming from this Disco dancer of yesteryears. He is involved in a few quite memorable scenes in the movie, adding his charm. Mallika Sherawath fans would be disappointed to find out that she doesn’t have any role in the movie at all, except for a song.

But, this movie belongs to Abhishek Bachchan & none other. This is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play such an important role & he has grabbed it with both hands. This is not a typical hero’s role, which he portrays. There is the interesting addition of grayish shades to his character. His choice of role means that he probably wont have too many of his female fans swooning over him during the movie; but, it is his acting which steals the show here. He graces almost every frame with his presence. His dialogue delivery is immaculate, his energy & confidence in the movie is truly breathtaking, towering over all the other good performances in the movie.

My year in retrospect

As i stumbled upon Darren Rowse's ProBlogger topic for the season, I felt myself relive my past year. There were few moments that stood out; forcing a change in me or teaching me something important or just pointing out at some of the decisions that I made. Here, I wish to take you through some of the events that took place, with my retrospective thoughts about them.

I noticed encouraging signs in the evolution of my thought process. I am very pleased to report increasing incidents of positive approach to many of the situations, which not only helped me in dealing with it when I could, but also in pulling myself through when I could do nothing. Its been a year where I learnt that negative thoughts are not to be thrown out of the window altogether, but, to look for the hidden meanings in them. Looking at things & ideas in a pessimistic perspective, at times, aids you to be more careful & makes you look into the intricate details. It also helps you to come up with escape routes or to plan different approaches, should the present approach fail. The idea of swapping places with others to judge any tricky situation & to handle tight corners, payed rich dividends to not only me, but, also to the others involved; of that i am certain.

In my journey of self-discovery through the year, I also noticed the role played by the “Feel-Good” factor in my approach towards day-to-day, as well, as special activities. Of course, this was greatly enhanced by instances like motivating others, encouraging them; besides being a sturdy rock to lean on or to take support or to just vent away the worries whenever a buddy in distress needs one.

Academically, there was reiteration of the fact that one need not concentrate on scoring very highly in the subjects alone, as long as one knows whats going on & knows how to use the knowledge he has garnered in an apt way whenever called for. Having said that, if you do happen to set your sights on doing something memorable with the amount of skill you’ve got, then, that decision should be taken early; while also being accompanied by systematic planning & a disciplined approach, with enough time thrown in for fun & family.

Getting injured, physically or psychologically, need not always be due to ones mistake. It can even happen in the most trivial of circumstances. The pain & discomfort one endures is what makes him stronger.

Although, I knew helping others & volunteering to help in doing something are noble & satisfying; this was the year in which I first experienced the taste of the elixir of true happiness filling my heart to the brim. The joy & pride which floods ones mind once the work succeeds is what can be defined as being truly sweet. In addition to that, there was the delight in toiling towards the goal, especially, since it was accompanied by all-round laughter & fun.

Sports are always known to relax the mind, while at the same time, giving enough work to the ever-eager musculature. Over the past year, I discovered the delectation in persevering with sports and training over a long period of time. Not only does it ameliorate your skills, but, it also impels you to manage time better, lest you be left wanting in your other activities. I, especially, liked the grit we showed in fighting hard & working harder to make our way to a commendable position in the cricket tourney for which we were working, in spite of ours being not such a strong contingent this time round. My modest contributions in it, has made it an experience that I will treasure. As an added bonus, making it through to the next level by representing our university, where only a few get selected, has formed an important blip in my never-ending learning curve.

Finally, towards the end of the year, my brother re-introduced me into blogging, as we set out with our minds filled with hopes of doing something substantial. The important thing for us is improvement which we want to see develop within us in terms of our writing skills & also, in getting the message across in a very polished manner.

The new Xtreme avataar of CBZ

The very first thought that came to my mind when I heard about the new bike - CBZ- Xtreme was "Is this really something new?..... or is it just another re-badged & a pathetically newly styled bike from the Hero Honda stables?"

After seeing the photos of the new machine & going through the tech-specs of the machine, i was forced to at the least give it proper notice...

The side profile of the bike caught my attention 1st, and I was fairly impressed by its looks, atleast in the photos... What caught my eyes were the aggressive rear quarter panels, the split grip at the rear (which by the way looks really good, I must add). The tail-lights, though, not the best...were somewhat acceptable. Then, I happened to look at its front fairing & for a moment, I thought I am in a different world... the world of 100cc bottom-rung bikes. Well, I don't know of a better place where a squarish, flat headlamp would fit, other than in the budget class...!! Even the subtle, unique touch of the bulging, eye-like side indicators integrated into the fairing fails to compensate for the unbelievably bland front. I didn't get the funda behind the rectangular, flat & separate parking light above the headlight either. That indeed looks very odd! The tank is pretty decent, although, it has got lines of familiarity running all over it... The black finish of the engine is a nice touch, although, it would have been even better if it was matted...

When I finally got my chance to see the bike in its flesh, during a test-ride, I was quite disappointed, actually… The shiny black finish of the engine cover & the bottom half of the bike was reminiscent of the lower class bike though the color coded rear view mirrors is a nice touch...

Now coming to the engine… The essentials of the engine remain fairly the same as its sibling, the Unicorn, but, with minor tweaking to get the power output upto 14.4 PS @ 8500 rpm & a torque rating of 12.8 Nm developed at a very respectable 6500 rpm. This makes it the highest ranked mobike in the 150 cc segment, power-wise… In my short test ride, however, I could not test whether this translates to heroics on-the-road… The initial pick-up was pretty good, I have to mention, although the manner of power delivery is a little laid back, in comparison to the Pulsar 150 DTSi or the Apache. One aspect of Hero Honda which has made it legendary is the refinement offered by the impeccably smooth & refined Honda engine & the precise gearing… All these points are, thankfully, seen in the new CBZ as well… The gear ratios seem just about right… The gear shifting is as smooth & effortless as hot-knife-through-butter. The gear shift lever has only a front foot-peg, with no foot pegs for the sole. I know, this is the way it is in the sports bikes; but, from the practicality point of view, it would have been far more useful providing a sole gear-changer as well…

The ride with most HHs is pretty good & sorted out keeping the Indian roads (& pot-holes) in mind… The ride in this bike is also pretty decent… The riding position is almost spot-on & the seats seem to have the right amount of firmness, but, its effectiveness in long rides is yet to be found out…

The bike has a decent balance, with not too much of its weight being felt at the handle bar. So, maneuverability in moving in & out of the bumper-to-bumper traffic in the cities should not pose a major challenge… This should also help its handling…

The instrument cluster has new-look dials with a few detailed touches… The switches, though, are similar to the ones seen in other HH bikes… But, what is being provided does seem a bit less, especially when u get a fully-loaded Pulsar, with the digital speedo, self-canceling indicator, LED lights etc with a bit less of a pinch into your pockets…

With its price tag of Rs. 64000 odd, on-the-road Mangalore, its not exactly sending any chills down its competitors spines… Especially when TVS offers a brilliant looking, power-packed handler in Apache & the Bajaj guys raising the bar yet again with their brand new Pulsar… HH doesn't even come out with vague promises of over-the-moon fuel efficiency figures with this one…

In conclusion, although this is a much better work at renovating the CBZ than the previous efforts seen by the HH guys, it has still left wanting in several areas… The looks need to be improved, and a more aggressive power-delivery by the impressive engine would be most welcome & so will a few more paraphernalia at a competitive price… At this moment, however, I get the feeling; it will probably be accepted by only the HH faithfuls..!!

Shantaram - A review

Title : Shantaram

ISBN : 0316728209
Author : Gregory David Roberts
Pages : 944

I’m just laying down the book Shantaram, after having first touched its pages a month & a half back… The Question that arises is.. Is it boring or just too long??? Well... Actually, it isn't... My busy schedule with work and play & my habit of unhurried progress through each page explains the mammoth time I've used up in enjoying... that's right, enjoying most of the 900- odd pages of this book...

To give a view of the plot from what it appears to someone at the moon… This is a story of an Australian fugitive’s search for freedom after he touches down at the Bombay Airport… On a slightly closer look, it deals with his social life as a Bhai in the Mumbai Mafia, the mistakes he committed during his lifetime… As you read on, you tend to see through the fugitive-mask which has been put on him by the authorities & be able to read his emotions, his thoughts about the people he meets, the events that occur, his simplistic approach & his sincere effort to help the deprived…

Amidst all the deplorable views of being a Goonda, there is ample of proof of the real ‘him’ which sparkles in his tenure at the slum, being a friend, a social man & the slum doctor… Book takes you through the turmoil of his love-life and his remorse for the actions he has done, the omissions he has made & the signs which he left unread…

His work is of a pretty high standard on the literary charts, with great descriptions of the events & the characters, with great attention being thrown into the details… The action plots are satisfactory… Although, I felt it a little tedious at some parts, his pace is pretty good, as a whole…

What appealed to me most about this book, bringing it into the thresholds of entering ‘one of my favorite’ category, was his amazing description of the “Indian” way of leading life… It amazes me to see the connection he achieved with the Indian minds… His vignette of the mindset of the people & the breath-taking narrative of the sights, smells, tastes & the feel of Bombay is simply marvelous… You tend to colligate his narration to most of the Indian cities and it brims you up with pride, especially, his findings of the Indian kindness…

One more thing which fascinated me in this book was his thoughts & his philosophical impressions of the events & his unmistakable talent of summarizing it in his own wonderful way, as can be seen at the end of most chapters… There are pretty apt generalizations and some cheeky quotes thrown-in all along, as well…

I would definitely suggest it as a read-once atleast for most of the people… If I had to whine about something, then, it would probably be its length, but, even that, you tend to enjoy it as you browse along… It certainly struck most of the right notes in my head which makes me give an admirable nod!!! So, Kudos to Gregory David Roberts!!!