It all started with the conversation 'bout a nose. Me and a frend who is pretty conscious 'bout her lean, pointy nose, were walking along the corridor that has all the cabins of the top management folks when she made some remark 'bout her nose, yet again. That was it. I came up with a bizzare comment as a follow-up and soon we went on and on and on and on till we were both giggling hysterically and trying hard to supress the giggles when all of a sudden, we both froze. The Head of the Engineering team had jes turned the corner and was curious to know what was so funny. Naturally, we were at our stutterring, stammering best. He let us struggle for a bit longer before smiling and walking away.
How many times have you had these absolutely crazy conversations with frends where you make up stuff tht is absolutely ridiculous, in fact, bordering-on-insanity kinda stuff that has you both in splits? No?? Not since 4th standard? Do you folks consider that kind of behavior rather Immature, Inappropriate, and a lot of other init cap words?
I, however, cannot remember a single friendship that did not have the goofy aspect. The potent combination of a goofy frend, a conversation that becomes a contest2win on who can say the bizarrest of things, a location where talking is a sin and laughing aloud is pure evil, has resulted in so many amusing incidents that they honestly deserve to be shared. But, the one thing I noticed 'bout these incidents, is that when you try to recall what was so funny or say some of the actual lines or even share the incident with someone else - the incident completely ceases to be funny for everybody including you.
When we tried to actually share the entire dialogue 'bout the nose, the team attempted a very fake convincing laughter, somewhat like the background laughter in sitcoms, which honestly, was a beeg pain for us to watch. And thus ended the story of a nose is a nose is a nose :)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Vathal Khozhambu and Paruppu Usli
It was a lazy, relaxed saturday and the Arien was in a mood to cook. Now, for a really looong time, I have been wanting to prepare two of my favorite dishes but because I have no idea how to prepare them - it has been forever in my wishlist. And now suddenly, it looked like I might actually get my wish fulfilled. I immediately took this opportunity of coaxing the Arien to help me prepare those dishes.
The first action item on my list was to find the proper recipe. Naturally, I searched for the recipe online. After rejecting quite a few recipes b'cos they did not seem like the recipe that my mum used, I finally found a recipe that according to me was pretty good, at: http://iyercooks.blogspot.com/
The second action item involved hunting for the necessary ingredients. I coaxed the Arien to accompany me on my grocery shopping b'cos he can rapidly lose interest in a plan if he is not involved in every aspect. We opted to include either sundakkavathal or manathakkali for the Kozhambu. I remembered that periamma used to include black channa in the Khozhambu which made it very tasty. So, that was def going to be part of my Khozhambu. For the paruppu usli curry, it was usually prepared with Kothavaranga (cluster beans) but the Arien wanted to opt for beans instead. That was fine with me.
As soon as I walked into the store, I picked out Vadam, Rose milk essence, and started looking around for some other interesting stuff forgetting tht I was here for my vathal(s). Thats how I shop and most folks get very upset with my shopping behavior.. the Arien is used to it, by now.
After slogging away in the kitchen for almost 2 hours, Vathal Khozhambu and Paruppu Usli curry was finally ready for our consumption. By then, we were terribly hungry. Well, it did not taste like any other khozhambu I had had - it had its very own unique taste. The best part was that we both liked it inspite of the fact that it was not our best attempt. The Arien said that after a few more attempts, we will actually get it just right and I can actually invite my junta for a critical eval. That is high praise coming from the Arien and so I stopped and did my bing dance :D
The first action item on my list was to find the proper recipe. Naturally, I searched for the recipe online. After rejecting quite a few recipes b'cos they did not seem like the recipe that my mum used, I finally found a recipe that according to me was pretty good, at: http://iyercooks.blogspot.com/
The second action item involved hunting for the necessary ingredients. I coaxed the Arien to accompany me on my grocery shopping b'cos he can rapidly lose interest in a plan if he is not involved in every aspect. We opted to include either sundakkavathal or manathakkali for the Kozhambu. I remembered that periamma used to include black channa in the Khozhambu which made it very tasty. So, that was def going to be part of my Khozhambu. For the paruppu usli curry, it was usually prepared with Kothavaranga (cluster beans) but the Arien wanted to opt for beans instead. That was fine with me.
As soon as I walked into the store, I picked out Vadam, Rose milk essence, and started looking around for some other interesting stuff forgetting tht I was here for my vathal(s). Thats how I shop and most folks get very upset with my shopping behavior.. the Arien is used to it, by now.
After slogging away in the kitchen for almost 2 hours, Vathal Khozhambu and Paruppu Usli curry was finally ready for our consumption. By then, we were terribly hungry. Well, it did not taste like any other khozhambu I had had - it had its very own unique taste. The best part was that we both liked it inspite of the fact that it was not our best attempt. The Arien said that after a few more attempts, we will actually get it just right and I can actually invite my junta for a critical eval. That is high praise coming from the Arien and so I stopped and did my bing dance :D
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Quick Start Ya Kick Start
It was one of those days when nothing went as per plan.... I overslept and was running late, breakfast of Rava Idli(s) fell flat - I mean literally flat, the Arien is trying not to throw a fit b'cos his breakfast has been killed by me, the maid saunters in late and I am all ready to pull out my hair in frustration. Its also an important day at work for me, I really must complete a lot of work before EOD and naturally, tht thot is running inside my head as a parallel track while I try hard to focus on what is currently going on. By the time I wave a bye to the Arien, and send off the maid, I am wondering if I have to go to work?? Within 25 mts, I am all set to leave - when the door misbehaves.
I spend 15 minutes, trying to get the key to turn left and it is stuck. My fingers are red with the effort, perspiration is oozing down my face, and I wonder if I should work from home instead of trying to close the door. Some one comes down the stairs and stares. His face is bright pink in colour - he has been playing with colours for Holi. He rings the doorbell of the flat opposite mine and I really wish I could jes ask him to help me but my ego is acting up today and so "UNNNGGHHHHHeeeeee ... Bloddy Hell!" continues.
I hear a soft "Do you want some help?" and I turn arnd to see the pink guy standing in the doorway of my neighbour's house, staring at me with a smile. "Ego-shmego" I smile and say "Yess". The pink guy now goes back into the house and asks for paper so that the pink colour does not stick on my door knob, door, etc. He needn't have bothered - all I needed was a lil help. Anyway, he came back and together we managed to lock the door. The moment I saw the key turn, I am already half-way down the stairs - yelling "Thanks a lot" over my shoulder.
I rush to my bike, put on my helmet (no more fines, ppl) and the bike totally refuses to start. Makes a whole lot of weird noises which slowly get lower and have soon reached the range of Kaatruthaan Kavaradhoo. I am not really sure what I must do. In all this confusion, the security guard at our apartment shouts out "Madamaa - scooter start illa??" followed by a smile. Irritated at his comment, I furiously attempt to kick-start the Honda Activa, only to find my "Illa" drowning in the sound of the engine vrr..vRRR.. VRRRng away. I jump on and ride happily out of the basement to the security guard's absolute astonishment.
When I got to work, I found out that the release had moved. Yeah Yeah - Yippe Yippe - Yeah Yeah! I can actually take it easy. Hoo! Hoo! Huoovahoo!! A colleague walks into my cube and comments on my celebrating Holi and while I am staring at her in a quizzical manner, I notice that my hands are bright pink, and I have smudges on my face, neck, duppata of a brilliant mittai pink colour. I rush to the rest room to check on the extent of damage - thankfully, that was all. When the pink guy returned the key, the colour probably stuck to my key resulting in my mess. Grrr..
I spend 15 minutes, trying to get the key to turn left and it is stuck. My fingers are red with the effort, perspiration is oozing down my face, and I wonder if I should work from home instead of trying to close the door. Some one comes down the stairs and stares. His face is bright pink in colour - he has been playing with colours for Holi. He rings the doorbell of the flat opposite mine and I really wish I could jes ask him to help me but my ego is acting up today and so "UNNNGGHHHHHeeeeee ... Bloddy Hell!" continues.
I hear a soft "Do you want some help?" and I turn arnd to see the pink guy standing in the doorway of my neighbour's house, staring at me with a smile. "Ego-shmego" I smile and say "Yess". The pink guy now goes back into the house and asks for paper so that the pink colour does not stick on my door knob, door, etc. He needn't have bothered - all I needed was a lil help. Anyway, he came back and together we managed to lock the door. The moment I saw the key turn, I am already half-way down the stairs - yelling "Thanks a lot" over my shoulder.
I rush to my bike, put on my helmet (no more fines, ppl) and the bike totally refuses to start. Makes a whole lot of weird noises which slowly get lower and have soon reached the range of Kaatruthaan Kavaradhoo. I am not really sure what I must do. In all this confusion, the security guard at our apartment shouts out "Madamaa - scooter start illa??" followed by a smile. Irritated at his comment, I furiously attempt to kick-start the Honda Activa, only to find my "Illa" drowning in the sound of the engine vrr..vRRR.. VRRRng away. I jump on and ride happily out of the basement to the security guard's absolute astonishment.
When I got to work, I found out that the release had moved. Yeah Yeah - Yippe Yippe - Yeah Yeah! I can actually take it easy. Hoo! Hoo! Huoovahoo!! A colleague walks into my cube and comments on my celebrating Holi and while I am staring at her in a quizzical manner, I notice that my hands are bright pink, and I have smudges on my face, neck, duppata of a brilliant mittai pink colour. I rush to the rest room to check on the extent of damage - thankfully, that was all. When the pink guy returned the key, the colour probably stuck to my key resulting in my mess. Grrr..
Friday, March 12, 2010
I won an Award
A few days ago, my pal, Nishita, added a comment that 
The award has made me change my mind and make a go at updating my blog at frequent or not-so-frequent intervals, from now on. Another good thing about awards is that you can pass it on and thats like the bestest part. I would like to share the blogger buddy award with the following 5 frends:
she had an award for my blog. I did my funny dance in my cube. One of the best things about an award is that you instantly feel good. On a blaaah day, it is especially nice to receive an award. For a while now, I have been on a break from my blog... ya ya, I have this whole gamut of excuses on why I have not been blogging. Honestly, they sound lame to my ears. Receiving this award made me realize how much I miss blogging on a regular basis. My blog has been like a confidant, a close friend, who knows what goes on in my life and lends silent support. I have been missing this frend for a loong time not knowing what I was missing.
The award has made me change my mind and make a go at updating my blog at frequent or not-so-frequent intervals, from now on. Another good thing about awards is that you can pass it on and thats like the bestest part. I would like to share the blogger buddy award with the following 5 frends:
..... I am back :D
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaya
Yet another movie review. Of late, itseems like I am only reviewing movies. Anyway, it was a lazy tuesday and both the Arien and self decided to catch a Tamizh movie at the Cinema after a really looong time. As usual, the romantic that I am, I voted for VTV over TVP (Theeradha Villayatu Pillai) because I do not like Vishal. Well, agreed that I do not like Simbu either but it was a Gautham Menon movie.The story starts off with Simbu (Karthik) occupying a pew in a church and wondering why he ever fell in lowe with Trisha (Jessy) because Jessy is getting married to someone else, on that day, at the same church. Yes, thus begins this slow-paced, romantic movie which is essentially a love story. It starts with Simbu setting the context of what was going on in his life - an Engineer who wants to become a film director. B'cos this is a lowe story - he ends up falling head-over-heels in lowe with Trisha the day he sees her walking outside his house. Some things I could not help appreciating:
- AR Rahman's music
- Trisha's sooper lean figure
- Simbu's controlled performance - having never watched any of his movies thanks to his typical local behavior, bad dressing sense, country dialogues, and vulgar dance moves - I was surprised at his performance in this movie.
- No separate comedy track - the hero's much older friend was not the comedian. His dialogues and the way he uttered them - added a touch of humour to the story.
- Jessy was older than Karthik - in all lowe stories the heroine is typically younger or of the same age as the hero.
- Fickle-minded nature of people in lowe - in most movies, ppl who fall in lowe, stay in lowe till they manage to either kill or change the mind of their detractors. Reality is hardly close. Most men feel that girls shy away from facing the battle and at the first hint of trouble - have doubts regarding the relationship and eventually marry a person whom their parents choose. This movie has handled that aspect pretty well.
- Depiction of malayalees in general and Syrian Christains specifically, was done well - in most movies it is usually another comedy track which leaves a lot to be desired and is typically in bad taste.
Whats not so good?
- The story revolves around the time between when the main characters fall in lowe and till they get married or whatever. So, if you are looking for some drama, masala, item numbers, mystery - not happening :) There is a twist - though.
- Trisha's no-makeup avatar (whts with the puffy eyes and totally tired eyes - age??)
- Bad acting by the movie stars of Simbu's movie (I heard tht the guy is Nagarjuna's son - pretty bad)
- The canned dialogues ("Idhu sooper hit, saar") etc. during the premier of Simbu's movie "Jessy" was really carrying Gautham Menon's megalomania a bit too far.
So, does he marry her and live happily ever after? Well, in Quick Gun Murugan ishtyle, "Watch the movie, I say".
Friday, February 5, 2010
Of scooters, lemons, mopeds, violations et al
Friday is always fun b'cos you are all excited 'bout the upcoming weekend and making plans on how to celebrate ur two days away frm the drudgery of work etc etc.. As for me, this weekend, because I was still fighting off a cold, all I was looking forward to was a sleepathon :) But, as usual there are miles to go b4 I sleep.. sleep... zzzz... clearing fogged head by gulping hot water - trying to do a lot of things at once and not succeeding :0
Incident 1:
So on this lazy friday morning, I started from home, at a relaxed 10:45 am and was stuck behind this moped that was carrying three ppl. A moped is a two-wheeler with pedals that makes an awful lot of noise but has absolutely no power especially if three ppl are travelling on it. So, as a result, I was driving at a stately pace - meaning jes barely moving - when I notice that someone from a nearby shop is aiming to throw a small ball like thing at the moped in front of me. The guys in the moped duck, drive in a crazy manner to miss whtever was thrown at them and I realize that they escaped it as I felt rather than heard my two-wheeler crush the lemon.... Grrr! Did the shop-owner really think that the lemon that I crushed today would enable him to do better business? Howww? How dare he hand over the responsibility of his business to me with jes a simple toss of a lemon? Anyway, I resolve never to leave at this time from tomorrow irrespective of the day. Fingers crossed!!
Incident 2:
I am in the middle of attempting to understand a mind-numbing piece of documentation that I am only too glad I did not write - when the phone vibrates. It is my aunt. It is not like her to call during a work day and so I pick up her call. She tells me that I have a traffic violation in my name. I was too zapped to respond. She tells me she recd the letter yesterday and she wanted to know if she can ask her driver to pay it off for me. I was pretty confused that I say No and ask for details. She tells me she is at work too and cannot really remember, right away. She promises to call me after she reaches home.
Incident 3:
I recall that when I joined, we were having this video conference and my manager in the US, wanted to know how I commuted to work. I was all smiles as I said "Two-wheeler". This was followed by a pin-drop silence and I cud see that every1 was confused. In fact, one member actually said "Did she say 2Wheeler?" not realizing that I cud hear and see her :) I was stumped and then said " aaahh.. Bike... Ummm.. two-wheeler". I think my lead feared I wud repeat myself till smne said "Yes - we got it" and pitched in with "Scooter". This was instantly followed by a loud chorus of "aaaahhs..". Meanwhile, my bike shed tears in the parking lot b'cos he was being compared to the Bajaj Chetak.
It had been a blaah day and when I reached home, I was told by my aunt that I was being fined for riding without helmet. I spent the next few minutes figuring out the day and time when I could have commited the offense and I zeroed in on the date and Eureka - I am right! I spent the next few minutes in the "hmmm... yes, you are right.. aaahhh" end of the lecture on the harmful effects of driving helmet-less and blahdeblah.
When the Arien came home, I ranted till I was out of breath & the ever practical guy that he is, he said "Blog 'bout it - I am sure you will feel better". He was right as usual. (Don't tell him - he has a swollen head as is) :D
Incident 1:
So on this lazy friday morning, I started from home, at a relaxed 10:45 am and was stuck behind this moped that was carrying three ppl. A moped is a two-wheeler with pedals that makes an awful lot of noise but has absolutely no power especially if three ppl are travelling on it. So, as a result, I was driving at a stately pace - meaning jes barely moving - when I notice that someone from a nearby shop is aiming to throw a small ball like thing at the moped in front of me. The guys in the moped duck, drive in a crazy manner to miss whtever was thrown at them and I realize that they escaped it as I felt rather than heard my two-wheeler crush the lemon.... Grrr! Did the shop-owner really think that the lemon that I crushed today would enable him to do better business? Howww? How dare he hand over the responsibility of his business to me with jes a simple toss of a lemon? Anyway, I resolve never to leave at this time from tomorrow irrespective of the day. Fingers crossed!!
Incident 2:
I am in the middle of attempting to understand a mind-numbing piece of documentation that I am only too glad I did not write - when the phone vibrates. It is my aunt. It is not like her to call during a work day and so I pick up her call. She tells me that I have a traffic violation in my name. I was too zapped to respond. She tells me she recd the letter yesterday and she wanted to know if she can ask her driver to pay it off for me. I was pretty confused that I say No and ask for details. She tells me she is at work too and cannot really remember, right away. She promises to call me after she reaches home.
Incident 3:
I recall that when I joined, we were having this video conference and my manager in the US, wanted to know how I commuted to work. I was all smiles as I said "Two-wheeler". This was followed by a pin-drop silence and I cud see that every1 was confused. In fact, one member actually said "Did she say 2Wheeler?" not realizing that I cud hear and see her :) I was stumped and then said " aaahh.. Bike... Ummm.. two-wheeler". I think my lead feared I wud repeat myself till smne said "Yes - we got it" and pitched in with "Scooter". This was instantly followed by a loud chorus of "aaaahhs..". Meanwhile, my bike shed tears in the parking lot b'cos he was being compared to the Bajaj Chetak.
It had been a blaah day and when I reached home, I was told by my aunt that I was being fined for riding without helmet. I spent the next few minutes figuring out the day and time when I could have commited the offense and I zeroed in on the date and Eureka - I am right! I spent the next few minutes in the "hmmm... yes, you are right.. aaahhh" end of the lecture on the harmful effects of driving helmet-less and blahdeblah.
When the Arien came home, I ranted till I was out of breath & the ever practical guy that he is, he said "Blog 'bout it - I am sure you will feel better". He was right as usual. (Don't tell him - he has a swollen head as is) :D
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Goodbye 2009 - Welcome 2010
It had been a busy last few weeks of 2009. So many things happened that I totally lost track of time, events, and everything. In fact, there were many days when I did not feel like blogging (gasp!!)! I felt we were racing towards 2010 and I really wanted to be in 2009 for some more time... not that December 2009 was a gr8 month b'cos:
Disaster 1:
The Arien had been driving me nuts with his Avatar comments and so I finally said "Yes - Lets go!" on Friday evening. We booked tickets for the late evening show on saturday. I asked the senior Arien if we would like to accompany us. Surprisingly, the senior Arien agreed. Watching it on 2-D was def. a factor in our not enjoying the movie but hey effects are not everything. Plus, I recieved this very funny fwd regarding Pocahontas and Avatar tht totally killed my "Oh my" feeling.
It was a surreal experience but smwhere in the middle - I actually got bored and wanted to know if others were equally bored (first time ever), the senior Arien yawned, and the Arien was a bit surprised tht the hyped movie was not meeting his expectations :(
Disaster 2:
I had my first puncture on my bike. It happened on a Friday at work. Sunday was spent pushing the damn bike up the ramp tht leads to the entrance and the Arien dropped it off at the only place that was willing to fix it - a cycle shop. Since it was my first puncture and had hpnd after 5 looong years.. they had a hard time getting the tube out. I spent a "watthehell" twenty minutes watching the cycle shop owner's assistant do sm weird moves on my tyre as he tried to change the tube... AAhhhh!!
Disaster 3:
Disaster 1:The Arien had been driving me nuts with his Avatar comments and so I finally said "Yes - Lets go!" on Friday evening. We booked tickets for the late evening show on saturday. I asked the senior Arien if we would like to accompany us. Surprisingly, the senior Arien agreed. Watching it on 2-D was def. a factor in our not enjoying the movie but hey effects are not everything. Plus, I recieved this very funny fwd regarding Pocahontas and Avatar tht totally killed my "Oh my" feeling.
It was a surreal experience but smwhere in the middle - I actually got bored and wanted to know if others were equally bored (first time ever), the senior Arien yawned, and the Arien was a bit surprised tht the hyped movie was not meeting his expectations :(
Disaster 2:
I had my first puncture on my bike. It happened on a Friday at work. Sunday was spent pushing the damn bike up the ramp tht leads to the entrance and the Arien dropped it off at the only place that was willing to fix it - a cycle shop. Since it was my first puncture and had hpnd after 5 looong years.. they had a hard time getting the tube out. I spent a "watthehell" twenty minutes watching the cycle shop owner's assistant do sm weird moves on my tyre as he tried to change the tube... AAhhhh!!
Disaster 3:
A bug(not the multi-legged variety) landed on my desk which required that I use all the diplomacy I had (included heavily borrowing on my reserve) as well as all my time and effort (which fyi were already on reserve). The actual fixing jes took one single day but the entire process was an absolute killjoy - Aiyooo!!
Disaster 4:
Based on the enthu showed by one of my Arien frends who had jes been to Hampi, I jumped into "Lets go to Hampi" mode till the Arien had no go but to agree. Beegest trip disaster in recent times. The Arien got bored and told me he was tired of seeing temples when in actuality we had not visited even a single temple. I got pretty depressed after visiting the ruins and was actually ready to go home. So, it was yet another disastrous turn of events.
While I spent the last few days waiting for a miracle - Nothing hpnd. I finally decided to be happy b'cos Disaster 5 did not land on my desk. For all you folks waiting for my X-mas updates - the Arien decided to get a new crib on 24th December at 8 pm. I was ready to freak out b'cos it was really too late to go shopping for the crib. Why it does not feature under a disaster is that we were suprisingly lucky in our search and the Arien had this huge smile when we placed all the statues in the crib. It was a nice X-mas with the Star attraction being shared by the new crib and the zooming in Star.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Pink Panther 2
After the very boring De Dana Dan, we returned home feeling cheated. I wanted to watch a comedy so I cud laugh at the jokes in the movie instead of at the movie or at myself for actually sitting through tht nonsense. The Arien was glued to his comp and I was reading "a girl like me" by Swati Kaushal. I was not sure why I picked it up... it was 'bout a teen who has moved frm Minnesota to Delhi, and though I continued reading it - I did not like it much. I wanted to get started on "Plum Island".
The Arien looks up from his comp and says "Lets watch Pink Panther 2 after dinner." This is the movie where Ash makes her hollywood debut... and it stars Steve Martin, whom I luvv. I tell the Arien "Lets order Chinese and we can watch the movie now". The Arien does not want to eat chinese. We spent a few minutes in silence. I am trying to figure out where we can order food frm while the Arien is planning wht he wud like me to cook for him :D A compromise saved the day - we can make chappthi and aloo subji at home.
Pink Panther 2 is quite funny in some parts, Ash
is Sonia Solandress (hehehehe!!), there is romance in the air for Steve and Emily (Nicole), and quite a few new characters. While Steve Martin was simbly hilarious in Pink Panther - the sequel did not match up. The Arien, for once agreed with me. Ash does not have a blink and miss role but she has almost nothing to do but b there - which she is good at. The ending is tame and very predictable... as I have mentioned in most of my reviews, I like a twist in the story. Well, apart from the scene where Steve Martin dresses up as the Pope and stands at the Balcony, all the others scenes kinda fall short. I got over De Dana Dan inspite of the fact that Pink Panther 2 did not meet my expectations - thanks to Steve Martin.
The Arien looks up from his comp and says "Lets watch Pink Panther 2 after dinner." This is the movie where Ash makes her hollywood debut... and it stars Steve Martin, whom I luvv. I tell the Arien "Lets order Chinese and we can watch the movie now". The Arien does not want to eat chinese. We spent a few minutes in silence. I am trying to figure out where we can order food frm while the Arien is planning wht he wud like me to cook for him :D A compromise saved the day - we can make chappthi and aloo subji at home.
Pink Panther 2 is quite funny in some parts, Ash
is Sonia Solandress (hehehehe!!), there is romance in the air for Steve and Emily (Nicole), and quite a few new characters. While Steve Martin was simbly hilarious in Pink Panther - the sequel did not match up. The Arien, for once agreed with me. Ash does not have a blink and miss role but she has almost nothing to do but b there - which she is good at. The ending is tame and very predictable... as I have mentioned in most of my reviews, I like a twist in the story. Well, apart from the scene where Steve Martin dresses up as the Pope and stands at the Balcony, all the others scenes kinda fall short. I got over De Dana Dan inspite of the fact that Pink Panther 2 did not meet my expectations - thanks to Steve Martin.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
De Dana Dan
Inspite of having watched Hera Pheri, and really enjoyed it, laughing - the deep down belly laugh - not the obligatory giggle or the short bark laugh - for some portions of the movie, I opted for Ajab Prem Ki Ajab Kahani for the weekend outing over De Dana Dan for our wknd movie watching. Ranbir is watchable and the Arien can drool 0ver Katz :D
We left home around 11:15 and reached the theatre at 12:45 ( 15 mts too late for the show). While the Arien insisted we catch the movie anyway, I opted for De Dana Dan at 2:15. After booking the tickets, we had a long-drawn discussion on where we wud have lunch - a lot of time was spent in shooting down the other's choice - we can b such babies smtms - we finally settled on Millers 46. When we left Millers 46, after totally stuffing our faces, we realized that it was 2. If we did not walk in a fast and furious manner, we wud b late.. yet again. After all the hulaboo, one wud expect that it was a not-so-bad movie, right?? WRONG!!
It was so unfunny that it produced a short laugh for tht reason. It was almost as if they shot a few songs - including the promo number "Paisa Paisa karthi hai.." and then wrote the script to bind the unconnected songs to each other. In fact, for the promo song, Akshay spoke 1 dialogue b4 the song to introduce the song which was one of the many unnecessary songs in the movie. It reminded me of the obligatory intro sentence before a procedure, "To configure blahdeblaah on blaah, do the following:" I am sure you all know wht I mean. Talking of unnecessary songs, there was this waterfall song with katz in a saree ( supposed to b the hot n sexy number) which had absolutley no ooomph quotient at all. I was reminded of Akshay's earlier hot number with Raveena in a yellow saree, "Tip Tip Barasa Paani" which I thot was a scandalous number. This was the absolute opposite of tht song - kats was absolutely robo-like in her precision to cmplt those moves which probably killed Akshay's enthu :D In fact, I felt he wud smhw burst out laughing in the middle of the song. The Arien did with "God!! She is so.. so.. unsexy. " I was surprised tht we had the same opinion :) There is also this titanic-like scene that is oh sooo bad... you are tempted to leave before the credits start rolling.
Rating: 1/5
Why is it that every hindi movie I have reviewed is kinda bad, worse, or worse than worse??
We left home around 11:15 and reached the theatre at 12:45 ( 15 mts too late for the show). While the Arien insisted we catch the movie anyway, I opted for De Dana Dan at 2:15. After booking the tickets, we had a long-drawn discussion on where we wud have lunch - a lot of time was spent in shooting down the other's choice - we can b such babies smtms - we finally settled on Millers 46. When we left Millers 46, after totally stuffing our faces, we realized that it was 2. If we did not walk in a fast and furious manner, we wud b late.. yet again. After all the hulaboo, one wud expect that it was a not-so-bad movie, right?? WRONG!!
It was so unfunny that it produced a short laugh for tht reason. It was almost as if they shot a few songs - including the promo number "Paisa Paisa karthi hai.." and then wrote the script to bind the unconnected songs to each other. In fact, for the promo song, Akshay spoke 1 dialogue b4 the song to introduce the song which was one of the many unnecessary songs in the movie. It reminded me of the obligatory intro sentence before a procedure, "To configure blahdeblaah on blaah, do the following:" I am sure you all know wht I mean. Talking of unnecessary songs, there was this waterfall song with katz in a saree ( supposed to b the hot n sexy number) which had absolutley no ooomph quotient at all. I was reminded of Akshay's earlier hot number with Raveena in a yellow saree, "Tip Tip Barasa Paani" which I thot was a scandalous number. This was the absolute opposite of tht song - kats was absolutely robo-like in her precision to cmplt those moves which probably killed Akshay's enthu :D In fact, I felt he wud smhw burst out laughing in the middle of the song. The Arien did with "God!! She is so.. so.. unsexy. " I was surprised tht we had the same opinion :) There is also this titanic-like scene that is oh sooo bad... you are tempted to leave before the credits start rolling.
Rating: 1/5
Why is it that every hindi movie I have reviewed is kinda bad, worse, or worse than worse??
The General's Daughter
As I was browsing through the library yet again, I came across this book which I picked up for my weekend reading. I recall the Arien asking me to watch a movie by the same title with him, while I was busy doing the Sudoku and catching up on my sleep, so ob. I gave it a miss. Anyway, I have always liked the book more than the movie and so I decided to read the book.
You are introduced to the story from the perspective of Paul Brenner, a member of the military CID, who is called in to investigate the death of the daughter of a very famous General. He is assisted by a rape counsultant, who is also his ex-flame, Sarah. Investigation into the house of the general's daughter Elizabeth, reveals a number of skeletons in the closet. It is a case that could easily kill his career, growth, and reputation but Paul decides that he shall do his very best to solve the case. He talks to the various people that Elizabeth knew and finds that each person had a motive to kill her. Paul attempts to reconstruct the crime based on the the details shared by the various ppl involved and zooms in on first one person and then the actual killer.
However, while there is proof that the killer was in the vicinity - there is no proof that the killer actually committed the crime. There was motive but so many others also had motive. There was a lot of circumstantial evidence but that would not hold up in court. So it was actually "We know that he knows that we know" and Paul knew that until the killer breaks down and confesses - the killer cud not be convicted and he cud not solve the case. The story dragged at the end, you are feeling desperate and then it breaks. The ending was kinda expected but the book was fantastic.
Urged the Arien to download the movie, as I kept imagining Denzel Washington in Paul Brenner's role and found out that it was John Travolta instead. The movie does make a few changes. Paul (John Travolta) meets Elizabeth in the movie whereas in the book, he has never met her and is called in after the body is found. For folks, who prefer to watch the movie rather than read the book, it has some adult content and so I advice viewer discreetion. Others, read the book - I loved it :)
You are introduced to the story from the perspective of Paul Brenner, a member of the military CID, who is called in to investigate the death of the daughter of a very famous General. He is assisted by a rape counsultant, who is also his ex-flame, Sarah. Investigation into the house of the general's daughter Elizabeth, reveals a number of skeletons in the closet. It is a case that could easily kill his career, growth, and reputation but Paul decides that he shall do his very best to solve the case. He talks to the various people that Elizabeth knew and finds that each person had a motive to kill her. Paul attempts to reconstruct the crime based on the the details shared by the various ppl involved and zooms in on first one person and then the actual killer.However, while there is proof that the killer was in the vicinity - there is no proof that the killer actually committed the crime. There was motive but so many others also had motive. There was a lot of circumstantial evidence but that would not hold up in court. So it was actually "We know that he knows that we know" and Paul knew that until the killer breaks down and confesses - the killer cud not be convicted and he cud not solve the case. The story dragged at the end, you are feeling desperate and then it breaks. The ending was kinda expected but the book was fantastic.
Urged the Arien to download the movie, as I kept imagining Denzel Washington in Paul Brenner's role and found out that it was John Travolta instead. The movie does make a few changes. Paul (John Travolta) meets Elizabeth in the movie whereas in the book, he has never met her and is called in after the body is found. For folks, who prefer to watch the movie rather than read the book, it has some adult content and so I advice viewer discreetion. Others, read the book - I loved it :)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Gracie Lindsay
It had been a tiring week and I was looking forward to some serious light reading. Too many weekends had disappeared as part of arbid get-2gethers and I really wanted some time to laze, read, read, laze, and so on in an infinite loop. Naturally, the Arien does not get this and so it is a major tussle. So, I was very surprised wen the Arien was asked to report for OT over the weekend. Always in a mood for drama, I waved a sorrowful bye and a "I will miss you", as he left for work on a saturday. The Arien replied in his usual blunt manner "Uff - don't do all this natak - I know u are going to laze all day with tht book of urs. Jes b ready when I come home - we can go out for dinner." Wooohooo!
True to his comment, jes minutes after he left, I picked up Gracie Lindsay. First thing I noted was that the book had been published in 1978. The book was the size of a student notebook or probably the size of Enid Blyton's Secret Seven or Famous Five. The story was written in a simple, clear manner that is distinctly old style. The story is about Gracie, who is returning to her homeland after having been away for more than 7 years. She had left her hometown amidst scandalous rumours, bad gossip and left behind a broken-hearted boy-friend, a heart-broken uncle and a not-so-heart-broken aunt. In those 7 years, she married a man much older to her, and moved to Cawnpore (yes.. Kanpur), India. The husband dies and she decides to return to her hometown - with gifts frm Kashmir, Calcutta, and Mysore. (Yupp... lotsa Indian places.. fairly gave me a thrill!!)
Gracie is not made out to be the epitome of goodness, selfless lowe, etc., she is self-centered, selfish, wanting her chance of happiness with her old boyfriend, who is now engaged to be married. As the entire town watches, she goes out on secret trysts with her old boyfriend, behaves like a pampered niece to her uncle, neglects to find out more 'bout her child who was given away for adoption, goes out with a notorious womaniser to make her old boyfriend jealous, etc. In spite of the way she behaves, instead of contempt, you feel sorry for her.
I was very curious to know how the story wud end, but was very disappointed at the ending. Killing her off in a vague accident, where she somehow manages to save her son was very blaaah. It seemed more like an easy way out for the author. I was not expecting her to become a changed person but I was hoping for a lil happiness for her. This is the first book I have read of this author. When I mentioned the author's name to the senior Arien, he went "aaaah.. He was a gr8 writer - you must read the Citadel". Hmmm... shd remember tht name when I go to the library next time.
True to his comment, jes minutes after he left, I picked up Gracie Lindsay. First thing I noted was that the book had been published in 1978. The book was the size of a student notebook or probably the size of Enid Blyton's Secret Seven or Famous Five. The story was written in a simple, clear manner that is distinctly old style. The story is about Gracie, who is returning to her homeland after having been away for more than 7 years. She had left her hometown amidst scandalous rumours, bad gossip and left behind a broken-hearted boy-friend, a heart-broken uncle and a not-so-heart-broken aunt. In those 7 years, she married a man much older to her, and moved to Cawnpore (yes.. Kanpur), India. The husband dies and she decides to return to her hometown - with gifts frm Kashmir, Calcutta, and Mysore. (Yupp... lotsa Indian places.. fairly gave me a thrill!!)
Gracie is not made out to be the epitome of goodness, selfless lowe, etc., she is self-centered, selfish, wanting her chance of happiness with her old boyfriend, who is now engaged to be married. As the entire town watches, she goes out on secret trysts with her old boyfriend, behaves like a pampered niece to her uncle, neglects to find out more 'bout her child who was given away for adoption, goes out with a notorious womaniser to make her old boyfriend jealous, etc. In spite of the way she behaves, instead of contempt, you feel sorry for her.
I was very curious to know how the story wud end, but was very disappointed at the ending. Killing her off in a vague accident, where she somehow manages to save her son was very blaaah. It seemed more like an easy way out for the author. I was not expecting her to become a changed person but I was hoping for a lil happiness for her. This is the first book I have read of this author. When I mentioned the author's name to the senior Arien, he went "aaaah.. He was a gr8 writer - you must read the Citadel". Hmmm... shd remember tht name when I go to the library next time.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Secret Window
After having enjoyed "The Shining" - the Arien decided to download more movies of the same genre. While I am usually all enthued 'bout thriller movies, this time I was somehow not too enthued 'bout catching it ASAP. In fact, I put it off for almost a month and then suddenly last weekend when we were relaxing at home, I finally decided to watch "Secret Window". *No Spoilers *!!
The story begins very simply at the lakeside cabin of a famous writer. The writer is battling with writer's block and is also in the midst of a divorce. The house is in a mess and looks as if the writer, Mort, has totally let himself go. The man himself looks quite a mess - his hair is uncombed, he is wearing a striped robe which probably belonged to his ex-wife - which has a tear on one shoulder and he is constantly sleeping on the couch. You feel the utmost sympathy for him.
Into this lazy surroundings comes the villain in the form of John Shooter. Mort is dozing away yet again when he has a nightmare of turning over on his couch and almost falling into an abyss. He wakes up to find that he is on the floor and some one is knocking on the door. He opens it to meet John Shooter who accuses Mort of stealing his story and gives him a sheaf of papers (not bound) and asks him to read it. Mort is convinced that the old man must be mad and throws the papers into the dustbin. A few hours later, after one more small nap, Mort finds the sheaf of papers on his desk. The mystery is solved when Mort sees his housekeeper cleaning the house. Mort decides to check the veracity of the claim and reads the first few lines and is aghast to find that most of the information is almost identical except that the style of writing varies slightly. Shooter starts arriving at his cabin at all odd times and threatens him. Shooter tells Mort that he wants him to print a retraction and change the ending of the story. Mort is horrified at the thought of all that bad publicity.
During one of their conversations, Shooter states that his story was written in the year X and Mort instantly realizes that his story was published almost two years earlier in a magazine. In his enthusiasm, he blurts out that he still has a copy in his home as he now feels the weight of the bad publicity lifting. He is absolutely unaware of Shooter's plan. When Mort returns to his cabin - he notices that Shooter has killed his dog. Shooter asks him to get a copy of the magazine and he will leave him. Mort visits the local sherif and hires a private investigator.
Mort decides to visit his home (now the home of his ex-wife and her boy friend) to get his copy of the magazine that first published his short story. After seeing his ex-wife with her boy friend, Mort feels distraught and returns to his lakeside cottage. Meanwhile, Shooter burns down the house. Mort suspects that Shooter does not want him to find the magazine. Soon, the private investigator and the only person who saw Shooter, are found dead in his SUV.
If you liked The Shining - you will totally lowe this movie. The part of Mort is played by Johnny Depp who you will agree was perfect for the part. The tension builds n builds and then suddenly explodes. This is not for the folks who enjoy the college gal in a shower + some vague killer wearing a mask + hazzar murders + sequel after sequel, kinda stuff.
The story begins very simply at the lakeside cabin of a famous writer. The writer is battling with writer's block and is also in the midst of a divorce. The house is in a mess and looks as if the writer, Mort, has totally let himself go. The man himself looks quite a mess - his hair is uncombed, he is wearing a striped robe which probably belonged to his ex-wife - which has a tear on one shoulder and he is constantly sleeping on the couch. You feel the utmost sympathy for him.
Into this lazy surroundings comes the villain in the form of John Shooter. Mort is dozing away yet again when he has a nightmare of turning over on his couch and almost falling into an abyss. He wakes up to find that he is on the floor and some one is knocking on the door. He opens it to meet John Shooter who accuses Mort of stealing his story and gives him a sheaf of papers (not bound) and asks him to read it. Mort is convinced that the old man must be mad and throws the papers into the dustbin. A few hours later, after one more small nap, Mort finds the sheaf of papers on his desk. The mystery is solved when Mort sees his housekeeper cleaning the house. Mort decides to check the veracity of the claim and reads the first few lines and is aghast to find that most of the information is almost identical except that the style of writing varies slightly. Shooter starts arriving at his cabin at all odd times and threatens him. Shooter tells Mort that he wants him to print a retraction and change the ending of the story. Mort is horrified at the thought of all that bad publicity.
During one of their conversations, Shooter states that his story was written in the year X and Mort instantly realizes that his story was published almost two years earlier in a magazine. In his enthusiasm, he blurts out that he still has a copy in his home as he now feels the weight of the bad publicity lifting. He is absolutely unaware of Shooter's plan. When Mort returns to his cabin - he notices that Shooter has killed his dog. Shooter asks him to get a copy of the magazine and he will leave him. Mort visits the local sherif and hires a private investigator.
Mort decides to visit his home (now the home of his ex-wife and her boy friend) to get his copy of the magazine that first published his short story. After seeing his ex-wife with her boy friend, Mort feels distraught and returns to his lakeside cottage. Meanwhile, Shooter burns down the house. Mort suspects that Shooter does not want him to find the magazine. Soon, the private investigator and the only person who saw Shooter, are found dead in his SUV.
If you liked The Shining - you will totally lowe this movie. The part of Mort is played by Johnny Depp who you will agree was perfect for the part. The tension builds n builds and then suddenly explodes. This is not for the folks who enjoy the college gal in a shower + some vague killer wearing a mask + hazzar murders + sequel after sequel, kinda stuff.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Tea @ Infinitea
After returning frm a rain-soaked pilgrimage, I was looking forward to a lazy day - we were eating at the senior Arien's house - Yippee!! No cooking for me. The cook had prepared the south Indian version of the chinese fried rice alongwith a side-dish of paneer butter masala - that left a lot to be desired. The combo was the least of our concerns because the rice was so overcooked - it tasted and looked very much like pongal. Plus, it had a lot of partially cooked veggies - the cabbage was almost raw and peas was uncooked. Assuming we let all tht go - the salt was fit for a bp patient. I mean it was cmpltly tasteless : I almost regretted my earlier Yipppeee!! :( I was actually suprised that the Arien had not made any comment. I suggested going out and having a good Chai and snack which was vetoed by the senior Arien and the Taurean. While the senior Arien was keen on catching up on his sleep, the Taurean wanted to catch up on his speech. That left the two of us for the snack.
After indulging in sm arbid shopping for the Arien - I decided it was tm to have tht really nice hot cuppa Chai. I was in no mood to go home and make two hot cups and so we tried to cm up with options. The Arien not wanting to drive too far frm home - opted for Shanthi Saagar. My glare was sufficient to stop him from coming up with a list of similar such options wen I got my first brite idea of the day. Infinitea. I was all for the totally chilled out experience while the Arien came up with his standard rejections "Too far - Too expensive - Too late" and a new one "No coffee". But, for once my mind was totally made up and so on sunday evening arnd 7 pm - we made our entry into Infinitea.
We opted for steamed momos, and a pot of masala chai as the Arien was not in a mood to experiment (Alas, on our drive to Infinitea, I had mentioned Progrm's Green Tea scene). While we were still wondering 'bout wht we shd add - I came up with the Tiramisu. The Arien read it and had the best candid camera expression on his face :D He managed "Ladies fingers? Do you really want tht??" with a very audible gulp. I told him I was very clear and the first dish tht arrived was the Tiramisu which was promptly gulped down by the Arien amidst "Hmm.. Nice.. Hmm... Good.. Hmm.. do you want some???" before I cud say "Tiramisu". Well Well Well...
Momos were not so great but the spicy chutney tht accompanied it - sure was. Chai was so-so. I have had better @ Infinitea. We spent a while staring at the pictures on the wall - commenting on the statements made on the paper coaster - observed a college-going couple feeding each other, in one corner... Next to us, were a bunch of four guys chattering nineteen to a dozen who had finished their eats at least half an hour before we did. Somewhere in the midst of all the staring the Arien noticed that we had not yet recd the bill. Well, thts one of the nicest things.... I mean, in most places, the bill is placed alongwith the final dish and a waiter (im) patiently waits for you to pay. It was a very nice experience tht we cud jes continue to sit and chat :) While I have been here b4, it was the first time with the Arien and he enjoyed the experience as much as I did.
After indulging in sm arbid shopping for the Arien - I decided it was tm to have tht really nice hot cuppa Chai. I was in no mood to go home and make two hot cups and so we tried to cm up with options. The Arien not wanting to drive too far frm home - opted for Shanthi Saagar. My glare was sufficient to stop him from coming up with a list of similar such options wen I got my first brite idea of the day. Infinitea. I was all for the totally chilled out experience while the Arien came up with his standard rejections "Too far - Too expensive - Too late" and a new one "No coffee". But, for once my mind was totally made up and so on sunday evening arnd 7 pm - we made our entry into Infinitea.
We opted for steamed momos, and a pot of masala chai as the Arien was not in a mood to experiment (Alas, on our drive to Infinitea, I had mentioned Progrm's Green Tea scene). While we were still wondering 'bout wht we shd add - I came up with the Tiramisu. The Arien read it and had the best candid camera expression on his face :D He managed "Ladies fingers? Do you really want tht??" with a very audible gulp. I told him I was very clear and the first dish tht arrived was the Tiramisu which was promptly gulped down by the Arien amidst "Hmm.. Nice.. Hmm... Good.. Hmm.. do you want some???" before I cud say "Tiramisu". Well Well Well...
Momos were not so great but the spicy chutney tht accompanied it - sure was. Chai was so-so. I have had better @ Infinitea. We spent a while staring at the pictures on the wall - commenting on the statements made on the paper coaster - observed a college-going couple feeding each other, in one corner... Next to us, were a bunch of four guys chattering nineteen to a dozen who had finished their eats at least half an hour before we did. Somewhere in the midst of all the staring the Arien noticed that we had not yet recd the bill. Well, thts one of the nicest things.... I mean, in most places, the bill is placed alongwith the final dish and a waiter (im) patiently waits for you to pay. It was a very nice experience tht we cud jes continue to sit and chat :) While I have been here b4, it was the first time with the Arien and he enjoyed the experience as much as I did.
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