Another year

Another year has gone by and everyone is set to bring in, or ring in the new year. I think why everyone likes the whole concept of the New Year is that we feel that here’s another chance to correct the mistakes we did all along, here’s a chance to turn over a new leaf. At least, that’s the way I feel.

I got back from Mumbai just today, where we had gone to pick up Shazu. Another post about that later. I had a good time there, although the journeys to and fro were too exhausting.

I never make any resolutions for the new year, but I think I might try it out this year.

Nothing grand, just a few simple things that I need straightened out in my life:

1. Make time for prayers (I don’t need the new year for that, but I put that in anyway)
2. Spend more productive time with Saboor because I seem to be only yelling at him all the time
3. Practice my driving skills so I can put them to proper use, and yes, to drive safely!
4. Get that two wheeler I’ve been thinking about for so long!
5. Become more fit and to lose all the extra kilos I’ve shamelessly piled on
6. Work harder to get Kite Strings published
7. Start working on the other two novels I started and yes, that’s apart from the book for children I started but never managed to finish.
8. Start reading books to Azhaan, and hope that I’m not too late!

So much for now…hope everyone has a happy new year that’s safe and free from terror(too much to hope I guess! <sigh>)

Masands Verdict: Ghajini is dumb and celebrates it

Masands Verdict: Ghajini is dumb and celebrates it.

Ok, well, its not rea-lly dumb and Masand doesn’t trash it. In fact, he even gives the film 3 stars, which is saying a lot.

I just got back from the movie sometime back, and well, it’s not the kind of movie that makes you go ‘awww’ (like most of SRK’s mushy films), but it is nevertheless a film that has to be appreciated for Aamir Khan.

This man is simply amazing.

He hardly does any talking and yet, conveys a lot. I have watched just bits and parts of the original Surya starrer, but I think Aamir’s performance was excellent. The thing is, he doesn’t have the height for that kind of a build. He looked squat in all the scenes where he’s topless and is just wearing boxer shorts. He’s endearing as the business tycoon and he’s fearsome as the killer, but there’s a sense of empathy towards him too.

Asin is terrific. She reminded me of Sri Devi in a nice way, without the Southie accent. She just brims with confidence and you realise there’s a smile on your face whenever she’s on the screen.

Not saying anything else because many people haven’t watched it yet. Just watch the film for Aamir. And like Masand says, it may be dumb but not half as dumb as the other movies that we get to see these days. And as a faithful reader of Masand’s reviews, although I do not agree with some of his critiques, how many dumb films does he give three stars?

Those Gorgeous Brownies

Finally I found a recipe for near perfect brownies. These are moist, dense, slightly fudgy and absolutely yum. My waist is on a protest, after I downed most of them as soon as they came out of the oven.

For years I’ve been trying to make brownies, but something has always gone wrong. Either they are not chocolatey enough, not fudgy enough or just refuse to come out of the pan. This time, everything went as planned and well, the proof of how good they were is that there’s nothing left, not even an itsy bitsy crumb.

Since I am such a good person, let me share this recipe with you (Mera kamar toh kamra hogaya….aapko kyun chodoon?)

Ingredients

100gms cooking chocolate

50 gms white butter

175 gms maida sieved with 1 tsp baking powder and few tablespoons of cocoa powder

175 gms sugar(they mentioned brown, but I used half and half because there wasn’t enough brown at home)

2 eggs

walnuts chopped

Vanilla essence

Grease a baking tin and sprinkle it generously with flour, making sure the bottom and all the sides are coated with it. Break chocolate into pieces and melt it over hot water. (Quick tip: There shouldn’t be any water in the bowl which you are melting the chocolate) Add the butter and melt it over gently bubbling water and mix both well into a lovely, shiny mixture. (I felt like dipping my face into it, at this point)

Add the sugar and eggs and essence and mix well. Add the maida and walnuts and fold in gently. I had to add a little hot milk at this stage because the batter looked more like dough. Pour into tin and bake in pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. Voila!

Tickets for Ghajini!!!!!

So, I got tickets for the most awaited film of the year – Aamir Khan’s Ghajini. I’m watching this movie on the day of its release although not the first show of the day. Anyway, I want to see it before I read any reviews and my opinion gets coloured by what critics say.

Aamir Khan can be found on each and every channel, promoting his film using every possible gimmick. A far cry from the Aamir who didn’t do any such thing at all for Lagaan or even Mangal Pandey. I guess he too has realised that he can’t rely on just the quality of his product and marketing is equally important.

Pulse Polio Scare

Pulse Polio is one of the Indian government’s initiatives that is really important. And last night, its credibility was shot to smithereens when rumours spread that children have died after the polio drops.

We too rushed to Republic at 12.30 in the night and I was shocked to see almost all of Bangalore with kids 5 years and under, on the streets. There were people in scooters, bikes, autos and even some people walking in the biting cold to reach the nearest hospital. I wish there was some way in which people could be alerted that this was a rumour. But rumour or not, I think everyone wanted to go to the doctor to get a check up done anyway.

Finally, rab ne banadi jodi…

I managed to finally see this film two days ago but getting down to write about it just now. First off…here’s what I have to say: (Spoilers ahead….read at your own risk)

1. If you had to compare this movie with the director’s other two movies…it hugely falls short of DDLJ but is much much better than Mohabbatein
2. On its own, I think that film has its weak points as well as it sweet moments
3. Anushka fits the role well although I feel there’s some chemistry lacking there between her and SRK. Could be because after watching Sushmita Sen and SRK together, no other jodi(with SRK, I mean) seems to have that crackling on screen chemistry
4. The film kind of looked jaded. I think they were trying to portray a small town, but though they keep talking of Amritsar, and well is Amritsar a small town? The set looked more like a big village.
5. There are very few films where SRK can let go of his ‘I-AM-SHAHRUKH’ personality to let the character’s personality emerge. Chak de was one of those films. This is one of those films too, although there were times when I felt that Suri was quite a caricature. But a caricature that SRK carried off endearingly.
6. Critics are complaining that why can’t his wife recognise him in his gelled hair and mustache-less face? I don’t have that many problems with it. Come on, guys, this is a Hindi film ,a feel good Hindi film and if we can accept other irregularities, then why not this? It could also be that since the girl doesn’t really like Suri, she probably hasn’t even taken a proper look at him, or doesnt want to look at him closely enough. Sounds lame, but yes, that could be what the director thought.
7. I doubt there was any girl in the audience who liked the Raj character that much, but yes, that ‘I love you’ scene on the hill top was lovely, except that he spoiled it by gabbing on afterwards. SRK’s intensity as Raj in DDLJ when he tells Kajol he will not come to her wedding, is by far one of his best scenes according to me. That intensity was plainly lacking here and maybe that was deliberate. He didn’t want the audience to like Raj too much I guess!
8. The concept of seeing ‘rab’ in the one you love is flawed according to me. We’re all human beings and not divine in anyway. Seeing divinity = being in love …uh hello….weakest point of the film according to me. Seems like Yash Raj likes to put a new spin on love every now and then. Some years ago, in Dil to pagal hai..it was ’someone somewhere is made for you’…make up your mind guys.
9. The songs were ok…and I thought that spoof song with the heroines was horrendous. Preity Zinta looks like apple pudding and the tune isn’t catchy either. The Om Shanti Om song with all the stars feel was just not there. Haule haule is a lovely song and you can see all of Suri’s hopes and his dreams in it. I also really like Tujh mein rab dikhta hai…which seems to have a sufi element in it.
10. As a standalone film, I thought it was one of Shahrukh’s better films in recent times.
11. And the last bit, with the honeymoon in Japan….that summed up everything really well in a funny and heartwarming way. Well, what did you think? The geeky guy got the girl and even had a real cool honeymoon in Japan to show off!

Let me know what you guys thought of this film! Till then, hum hain rahi pyar ke, phir milenge, chalte chalte!

Piantu

Head Start for Az

So I’ve finally gone and submitted Azhaa’s application in Head Start. They’ve told us that they will let us know in January. I never imagined I’d have to fill such an extensive form for admissions to prenursery of all things. But it was a nice experience, particularly the open ended questions in which I had to write about Azhaan and why I wanted Head Start for him.

For a moment I felt like I was  back in school, writing an exam! Will keep you people posted about what happens. I do hope he gets in there, and that he gets a morning batch!

When the stars smiled

I think everyone got to see this beautiful phenomenon on Monday evening when the moon, Jupiter and Venus were aligned in such a way to make a smiley face in the sky. But in case you missed it, here’s a shot I took.

Corny as it sounds, maybe it was a message from above to continue smiling in the face of adversity…that hope and faith should continue to live on.