Change is ....

I decided to change the look of my blog and decided to use one of those templates that I could freely download. While attempting one of the changes, I lost some of my widgets :( While it was entirely my fault.. I am still a lil waaanh 'bout it. A small change has made me feel so blaaah is surprising. Actually, I have never attempted changing the look using a template that I downloaded and so it is actually a change after a loooong time. I liked the template but I am not happy tht I lost my widgets. I am also surprised 'bout how easily one can get used to a lot of things in life. While one can wax eloquent 'bout change - it is all 'bout how one handles change when you first face it that defines you. You could:

• cribb endlessly (like tht makes a diff.),
• fight change passively,
• fight change aggressively, or
• live in denial

Well, I have decided to add the widgets again.. can I really do anything else??!! It will take a while before my blog looks like my blog once again but I am willing to use the time to see if I really needed those widgets :) Talk of learnings.. this had me groaning! And btw, this is not like the "Dhaag achhe hote hain" ad. Honestly, Dhaaag acche nahi hothe - ask your mom :D

MJ

I know I know.. wht was I doing all this while? Hmmm... well, everytime I wanted write a tribute to him - I postponed it till it got 2 late. I know I know ... why now? Most saturdays I tune into Vh1 and 29th August was no different. Too late - I realized it was MJ's b'day (he wud have been 50 today) and it was raining MJ songs.

The first time I saw MJ was on the Grammy's show smtm in 1987, in Bangalore. The curly long hair, the apparent grace in the dance moves,the slim legs and thin frame had me convinced tht MJ was a woman. It was my cousin who educated me otherwise. The following year, I moved to Chennai and I was introduced to loads of english music, including MJ's. I was a Cliff Richards fan and so MJ was almost a culture shock but I was soon singing along with the cassette whenever I cud. Usually, whenever I make new frends, my first question after the pleasantries is "Wht books do you read?" - tht changed to "Do you listen to MJ?" Yupp - it was tht drastic.

I met my soul-sister later tht year - we convinced our family junta tht we were into "combined study" - tht was the term used those days - and managed to watch all MJ videos and sing along till I flunked World History. Mom went hyper and insisted "No more all this combined study rubbish or Mykhel Jakison nonsense". Yaa mum was pretty sharp :( Well, all tht meant was improve my grades n I could go bk to MJ.. my soul-sister was a gr8 frend and teacher n taught me Russian Revolution and 1857 so well tht my mom gave me permission to go bk to listening to Mykhel :D I also listened to Madonna, George Michael, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and a host of other musicians during this time.

Have you ever noticed that movies, videos tht impressed you when you were a kid, look tacky, totally blaaah when you re-visit them? I remember being impressed by the movie Khoon Bhari Maang when I saw it for the first time. When I saw it again, a few yrs later, I found tht the editing was not slick enuf, the story line shd have been tauter - you know what I mean. With the passage of the years, the technology has changed so much tht the old movies, videos are not as impressive. So, if the movie or video stood the test of time, it essentially took on cult status.

At that time, MJ was the hit of the season - I realize now tht he and sm musicians were able to re-invent themselves, stay ahead of their fans expectations and remain on the top longer than the others tho' MJ took it some weird levels at times. For instance, apart frm the ole videos (Jackson 5 videos) which appear dated - all his other videos were actually way ahead of time and they continue to impress me. Thriller, Black or White, for instance.

After watching MJ videos hundreds of times, I could actually yell out the kind of outfit he was wearing as I heard the opening notes of any song. The Arien decided to test me on it and here goes:

• The way you make me feel - navy blu shirt, white vest, a white cord with a kinda bow in front.
• Smooth Criminal - all white blazer, hat, shoes, and the paris tower lean
• They don't care 'bout us - colourful red v neck shirt teamed with a blue jean
• Bad - black outfit with buckles on the side
• Beat It - Orangish-red space jacket, blue t-shirt, wite socks peeping out.
• Say Say Say (with Paul McCartney) - navy blue cap, suspenders, blue sweatshirt
• Billi Jean - red bow tie, leather blazer on shoulder, lite pink shirt, very old style formal leather shoes, black leather trousers.

I actually got most of it rite - down to the smallest details. The Arien was pretty surprised that I could still remember the lines of so many of MJs songs. Actually, I was pretty surprised at that too :) Thanks to MJ, I belonged to the hip crowd at school instead of the nerdy junta I was usually a part of. I truly enjoyed his music and felt sorry for the poor lil rich boy as he got weirder and weirder. I shall miss his music, his monwalk, his passion for the songs he wrote and danced for... Adieu!

Ten Tadennnn Taen aka Kaminey

Was in Mumbai last week, visiting an Arien aunt. Being particularly close to this aunt since childhood, I was sure that we would have lotsaa fun. Too late we realized tht it was rainy season, aunt had gone all spiritual and TV was going to be our companion as aunt had not taken off from work. Talk of piscean persistence coupled with Arien enthu - the Arien aunt had no escape. We picked her up from office in her car, after buying tickets to a movie in a nearby multiplex. If you have ever been to Mumbai, you will know that that is quite a daunting task but the Arien is pretty good at driving the car and I am pretty good at remembering routes and navigating and so we surprised my aunt by driving up to her workplace and informing her tht we had got tickets to the movie she wanted to watch - Kaminey.


Kaminey is a totally watchable movie inspite of the old wine in a new bottle storyline. I was actually glad tht they escaped frm the "Maaa.." aspect which has by now become a mandatory part of any indian movie - frm Amitabh's maa, Nirupa Roy, Salman's maa, Reema Lagoo, to Imran's maa, Rathna Pathak Shah. In this movie we have a Paa. The twins (both played by Shahid) do not have a maa and do not have fond memories of her which we are subjected to as a flashback. Shahid1 has a stutter while Shahid2 has a lisp and when they spoke, it took a while to understand wht they meant, after which it became hilarious.

Shahid finally escapes frm the "mister-goody-two-shoes" image of Jab We Met and Vivah. Priyanka is good. The slick editing is reminiscent of an english movie and the storyline is taut. It was a well directed movie and the script enabled Shahid to rise like a phoenix and show his detractors what he is capable of. Music was essentially hummable - Ten Tadan was pretty good tho' it loses sm of its life as the song progresses.


While my aunt was shocked at the violence, Arien and self were wondering if we had missed something. Aunt has spent too much time pursuing her spiritual goals was our joint verdict for her which she laughingly accepted. When I mentioned to a frend tht I saw Kaminey in Mumbai - I was told tht the Mumbai experience was not complete until I saw sm Kaminey (s)!!! Tht was simply too punelicious that I cud not resist adding it here.

Verdict: Not path-breaking or Earth-shattering but amazing nonetheless especially in the Bollywood space. A good movie after a loong time. Shahid excels in the role of a lifetime that seems to be crafted for him. Must watch at least once.

Kandhasamy

Am blogging after a really looong tm and I thot I must first share my opinion on a movie that has been hyped to glory. So far, all movies that have been publicised extensively usually fall flat after all tht hype... but hey, I am getting ahead of myself. Lets start at the beginning...

It was a hectic monday morning and I had jes started serious work after replying to various arbid mails when the phone started to ring. I was sure it was a credit card salesman and picked it up only to hear my bil ask me if I was at work. I managed a Yes and was informed tht the entire family junta was planning on watching Kandhasamy and would I join them for the 8 pm show? I said Yes. All too soon it was tm for us to get to the theatre. When we reached the theatre, I was a lil zapped to see two full rows occupied by my extended family. My bil is very enthued 'bout get2gethers and movies and so here we were (arnd 30 of us), sitting in the last two rows and hoping to enjoy a Vikram movie. Hoping is the right word... in the first 10 mts, Vikram in his Kozhi avatar killed all my interest.

Totally predictable - script must have been written on a paper napkin frm a cheap takeaway -movie was a mish-mash of Shivaji and Anniyan without the script, a la Swift Dezire. Vikram is totally wasted in a role where he sleepwalks as his various avatars. Shriya, the less said the better. Songs - not even hummable - a Poda Podi song tht no self-respecting tiny tot will sing even with a bribe, an Allegra song tht was supposed to showcase Shriya's dancing abilities but showcased more of her size zero figure than of anything else.

Most folks left after the interval when they saw tht the movie was going nowhere. We were not as lucky as we were a huge group where sm folks believed the movie wud get better and so we stayed put and endured the longest, most boring tamil movie ever. It was so pathetic that I wondered at Vikram's wisdom in signing on the dotted line after the script was shared. I have liked most of his earlier movies but this is simply too huge a blooper for the actor to commit. I have always thot he was an intelligent actor but this movie makes me wonder 'bout tht as well. Anyways, if there is anyone who has not yet seen this movie, this is my sincere advice: Pls do not watch it even if smne gives you a free gold class ticket at sm hi-fi multiplex in your city.