Movies I saw in 3 Months

My summer internship was smoothen by the following factor. I have never seen so many films in such a short span of time.

1. Johnny Gaddar (Hindi) Neil Nitin Mukesh, Rimi Sen, Dharmendra

2. Chirutha (Telegu) Introducing Ram Charan Teja (Chiranjeevi’s son)

3. Jodhaa Akbar (Hindi) 3^rd time Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

4. Pokiri (Telugu) Mahesh Babu, Ileana D’cruz

5. Fanaa (Hindi) 3^rd time Aamir Khan, Kajol

6. Saamy (Tamil) Vikram, Trisha

7. Enemy of the state (English) Will Smith, Gene Hackman

8. Boys (Tamil) Introducing Siddhartha, Genelia

9. Charlie’s Angels (English) Drew Barrymore, Charlize Theron, Lucy Liu

10. Khuda Kay Liye (Urdu) 3^rd time Shan, Naseeruddin Shah, Iman Ali

11. The 13^th Warrior (English) Antonio Banderas

12. Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar (Hindi) Ruslan Mumtaz, Hazel

13. The war of the worlds (English) Tom Cruise

14. Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu (Tamil) Kamal Haasan, Jyotika

15. The Kite Runner (English)

16. Teesri Manzil (Hindi) Shammi Kapoor

17. Rogue Assassin (English) Jet Li, Jason Statham

18. Mumbai Salsa (Hindi) Vir Das, Manjari Phadnis

19. Gharsana (Telugu) Venkatesh, Asin

20. Kung Fu Panda (English)

21. Sins (English) Shiney Ahuja, Seema Rehmani

22. Ghajini (Hindi) 3^rd time Aamir Khan, Asin

23. Independence Day (English) Will Smith

24. Mississippi Burning (English) Gene Hackman

25. Bommarillu (Telugu) Siddhartha, Genelia

26. The Sword Of Tipu Sultan (Series) Disc 1

27. Sunday (Hindi) 8th time Ayesha Takia, Ajay Devgan, Arshad warsi

28. Tere Ghar Ke Samne (Hindi) Dev Anand

29. Apocalypto (English) Directed by Mel Gibson

30. Love Story 2050 (Hindi) Priyanka Chopra

31. Aata (Telugu) Siddhartha, Ileana

32. Poison Ivy (English) Drew Barrymore

33. Fantastic 4: Rise of the silver surfer (English)

34. Devdasu (Telugu) Introducing Ileana D’Cruz

35. Syriana (English) George Clooney, Matt Damon

36. Sahara (English)

37. Rush Hour 3 (English) Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker

38. Idiocracy (English)

39. Enchanted (English) on a very special recommendation

40. Blood Diamond (English) Leonardo Di Caprio

41. Bachelor Party (English) Tom Hanks

42. The Contractor (English)

43. Hindustani (Hindi) Kamal Haasan, Urmila, Manisha Koirala

44. Sye (Telugu) Genelia, Nitin

45. Yes Man (English) Jim Carrey

46. X-Men (English) Hugh Jackman

47. Jugaad (Hindi) Manoj Bajpai

48. The Marine (English) John Cenna

49. Cloverfield (English)

50. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Hindi) ‘cos my cousin hadn’t seen it

51. The Sword of Tipu Sultan (Series) Disc 2

52. Tropic Thunder (English) Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Ben Stiller

53. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

54. Behind Enemy Lines II (English)

55. Dhokha (Hindi) Introducing Mozammil Ibrahim, Tulip Joshi

56. Money Hai to Honey Hai (Hindi) Govinda and others

57. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (English) Harrison Ford

58. International Crook (Hindi) Paying tribute to Feroz Khan on his death

59. The Sixth Sense (English) Bruce Willis

60. Demolition Man (English) Sylvester Stallone

61. Fool N Final (Hindi) Ayesha Takia, Shahid Kapoor

62. Rush Hour (English) Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker

63. Jurm (Hindi) Bobby Deol, Lara Dutta

64. 1947 Earth (Hindi) Aamir Khan, Nandita Das

65. The Train (Hindi) Emran Hashmi

66. Allari Pidugu (Telugu) Katrina Kaif, Balakrishna

67. Videsh (Hindi) Preity Zinta

68. Don (Telugu) Nagarjuna

69. 13B (Hindi) R. Madhavan

70. The Inner/Outer world of Shahrukh Khan (Documentary)

71. If Only (English) Again on recommendation

72. Athidhi (Telugu) Mahesh Babu, Amrita Rao

73. Manorama Six feet Under (Hindi) 2^nd time Abhay Deol

74. Taarzan: the Wonder Car (Hindi) Introducing Ayesha Takia

75. Collateral (English) Tom Cruise, Jamie Fox

76. Romeo Must Die (English) Jet Li

77. The Patriot (English) Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger

78. King Kong (English) Jack Black, Naomi Watts

79. Hulk (English) Eric Bana

80. Rush Hour 2 (English) Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker

81. The Matrix Reloaded (English) Keanu Reeves

82. Jurassic Park III (English)

83. Schindler’s List (English)

84. Antaheen (Bengali) Rahul Bose

85. Tasveer (Hindi) Ayesha Takia, Akshay Kumar

86. Karma Aur Holi (English) Sushmita Sen

87. Bobby (Hindi) Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia

88. No Smoking (Hindi) Ayesha Takia

89. Kalpurush (Bengali) Mithun Chakraborty, Rahul Bose

90. Darr (Hindi) Sunny Deol, Juhi Chawla, Shahrukh Khan

91. Aloo Chat (Hindi) Aftab, Aamna

92. Aliens vs Predators (English)

93. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (English)

94. The Transporter (English) Jason Statham

95. Shoot ‘Em Up (English) Clive Owen, Monica Belluci

96. Harry potter and the philosopher’s stone (English)

97. Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets (English)

98. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (Hindi) Preity Zinta

99. The Mummy (English)

100. Namastey London (Hindi) 2^nd time

101. Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban

102. Prince No. 1 (Dubbed from Telugu) Preity Zinta, Mahesh Babu

103. Universal Soldier (English)

104. Dhaam Dhoom (Tamil) Kangana Ranaut

105. Thank You for smoking (English)

106. Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom (English)

107. Amar Akbar Anthony (Hindi)

108. Ghajini (Tamil) Surya, Asin

109. Bulletproof Monk (English)

110. Welcome to Sajjanpur (Hindi)

111. Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar (Hindi) Salman Khan

112. Chandramukhi (Tamil) Superstar Rajnikanth

113. Khal Nayak (Hindi) Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri

114. Rangeela (Hindi) 2^nd time Aamir Khan, Urmila, Jackie Shroff

115. Gladiator (English) Russel Crow, Jaquin Phoenix

116. Chachi 420 (Hindi) Kamal Haasan, Tabu

117. Charlie Wilson’s war (English) Tom Hanks, Om Puri, Julia Roberts

118. The International (English) Clive Owen, Naomi Watts

119. Unleashed (English) Jet Li, Morgan Freeman

120. Arahan (dubbed from Korean)

121. Dil Deke Dekho (Hindi) Shammi Kapoor

122. Baaghi (Hindi) Salman Khan, Nagma

123. Sadak (Hindi) Sanjay Dutt, Pooja Bhatt

124. Nijam (Telugu) Mahesh Babu

125. Golden Eye (English) Pierce Brosnan

126. The Girl Next Door (English)

127. Khuda Gawah (Hindi) Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi

128. Indra (Telugu) Chiranjeevi

129. You’ve Got Mail (English) Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan

130. The Good Shepherd (English) Matt Damon

131. Harry Potter and the goblet of fire (English)

132. Die Hard 3 (English) Bruce Willis

133. That Thing You Do (English) Tom Hanks

134. Underworld 3 (English)

135. The Green Mile (English) Tom Hanks

136. The fast and the furious 4 (English)

137. Okkadu (Telugu) Mahesh Babu

138. Aa Dekhen Zara (Hindi) Niel Mukesh

139. Big (English) Tom Hanks

140. Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix (English)

141. The Godfather (English) Marlon Brando, Al Pacino

142. Turner &Hooch (English) Tom Hanks

143. Straight (Hindi) Vinay Pathak

144. Gulal (Hindi) Kay Kay

145. Cast Away (English) Tom Hanks

146. Angels & Demons (English) Tom Hanks

147. Shanghai Noon (English) Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson

148. Pokkiri (Tamil) Vijay, Asin

149. Billa (Tamil) Ajith, Nayanthara

150. My Fair Lady (English)

151. Pyaar Ke Side Effects (Hindi) Rahul Bose, Mallika Sherawat

152. Dashavatar (Dubbed from Tamil) Kamal Haasan, Asin, Mallika

153. Death Race (English)

154. The Last of the Mohicans (English)

Salman, Filmfare and I

The reason Salman Khan’s name preceded Filmfare is because I don’t know when I became his fan but I exactly remember the time I first saw/read a Filmfare. It was the February edition of 1994. During that time I had just started with my abc of English as my preliminary education has been in Assamese. I guess I could just read the names of actors and films and could see the photographs. The cover had Karisma and Govinda. Back then Govinda was a big star and they were doing some hit films which are now considered cheap. It had carried interview of Aamir Khan, soon after the birth of his son Junaid (excerpt of which I have published earlier). After seeing a photograph of Shahrukh Khan I wondered is this guy also an actor. One thing was sure I had fallen in love with this magazine right then.

By the time I became aware of the world around me, the country was gripped with Salman hysteria as his film Maine Pyaar Kiya was a monstrous hit. Watching new films in those days was tough though. There was cinema hall in the town which was around 13 km away but that was the privilege of the grownups. My village had no electricity. There was TV in my house which was run on batteries. But it couldn’t take the load of VCRs. Then Doordarshan showed films of Rajesh Khanna or Rishi Kapoor which at that point I disliked so much. So no new films for me! By ’93 I was allowed to go to the bazaar which was 2/3 kilometers away and watch films on Video Parlours. The reigning superstars there were the action trio – Sunil Shetty, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan. These guys were a rage. Frankly at that point I found love stories a bit silly and loved these films. Most people who watched films in those Parlours aspired to become like Ajay Devgan who never goes after girl but the girl follows him. Later, after an untoward incident for which I was least responsible, I was barred from going to bazaar to watch films.

But I knew that Salman and Aamir were bigger stars. A poster from the film Andaaz Apna Apna where both were sitting on stairs wearing red jackets hung on my wall. I just didn’t get opportunities to watch their films. Then I went to my school where the opportunity to watch new films was open again. By then piracy had come into the Video Cassettes sector. The pathetic prints were really pathetic to see but then that was the only way to watch new films. Cinema Halls were soon to be shut as few years later VCDs made its way in. Though nowadays whenever I see a bad print in YouTube, it takes me to those days.

In June ’98 I had bought a Filmfare during my vacation as it had Salman Khan on cover post the success of Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya. I took it along to my school a month later. One day a teacher found out that I had ‘Filmfare’ with me. It was confiscated from me. If I read Filmfare at that age (I was 13 then), what I would do later. That was the reaction of my teacher. My house master was a cool person. He kept it with him and promised to give me when I go home next time. May be my teacher would be surprised to know that I ‘still’ read Filmfare only and ‘did nothing else’.

After coming to Delhi, everything changed. Here I watched films in the best cinema halls in the country and regularly read Filmfare (which I still continue). After few months, it became like an addiction. Whenever a new edition came out, I would finish reading it in one sitting and then wait for one month for next issue to come out. The love for the magazine was not just because of my love for films. The interviews are very well written and intelligent. Nowadays, I'm sure it influences my writing heavily.

Just before my admission for undergraduate course in Literature in English in college I appeared for interview in a South Campus college. I had forgotten about the interview. So I was sitting in front of the penal for my first ever interview wearing a T shirt bought from SN Market which had one of those cheesy one liners.

Interviewer1: Do you read?

Me: Yes.

Interviewer2: What have you read recently?

Me: Biography of Shahrukh Khan.

Interviewer2: Do you think censorship should be allowed into a piece of art?

Me: Yes.

Interviewer2: Why?

Me: Because there is lot of vulgarity in films.

Interviewer2: How do you define vulgarity? Can you name one actor who indulges in it?

Me: Yes. Meghna Naidu in Hawas (Lust).

Interviewer1: In literature, one has to read really fast. How is your reading speed?

Me: Pretty good. I can finish Filmfare which is of 142 pages in 4 hours.

I was selected.

Introducing Shruti Haasan

She is a Rock Singer, a Music Composer, a Model and finally turning into full time actress . Her father is one of the legendary actors of the country. Her Momma is one of the beautiful women I have ever seen (Yeah, I have seen Sarikaji in real life). She is going to make her big screen debut on 24th July this year.

"Naam Hai Shruti Haasan. Na main Luck pe jeeti hoon na Luck pe bharosa hai mujhe. Kyunki Luck bhi sirf uska saath deta hai jismein jitne ka jazva ho." She declares in her introductory promo of the film Luck. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsBiyPDq7_8)

Shruti Rajalakshmi Haasan was born on 28 January, 1986 to Kamal Haasan, a legendary actor and Sarika, a beautiful actress. She began her singing career singing alongside another great actor Sivaji Ganesan, when she was six year old in her father's Tamil film Thevar Magan (1992) followed by Chachi 420 (1998) in Hindi and the bilingual Hey Ram (2000). Soon after her parents got separated and she came to Mumbai with her mother where she completed her final schooling. She then went to the Musicians Institute, Hollywood (USA) to further hone her musical skills.

After returning, she was doing a lot of live performances specially in rock concerts. The first playback singing as grown up happened in the Tamil film Varanam Aayiram (2008) with the rocking song Adiya Kulluthey. Amazing voice. She will compose music for her father's next film which is a remake of the acclaimed A Wednesday. Her music album where she is composer-lyricist- singer will release soon.

She is making her big screen debut in the adventure action thriller Luck directed by Soham Shah alongside Imran Khan, who is a long time friend and has a peculiar relationship. Shruti's mom is dating Imran's mom's ex husband Raj Zutshi. :P. Coming back to the film she has sung the rock version of the title track Aazma Luck. This film will be followed by Prince It's Showtime with Vivek Oberoi which is almost complete.

Many star children make their entry to the film world. Some succeed, some fail and some reach the dizzying heights of stardom. But seldom such multi talented person makes an entry. Watch out for the first female superstar who is truly a rock star. Shruti Haasan. Lastly about her 'Muslim' sounding surname. Her grandfather had a dear friend by the name Haasan. The friendship was so deep that grandpa decided to give the name as surname to his children which is now passed onto children's children.

Raining Films

After two month long deadlock between the producer and distributor one side and the national chain of multiplexes on the other, a consensus has been reached. The main issue was the share in the revenue between the distributor and the multiplex. Earlier there were no hard rules of the share, meaning the distributor got the share as per the general perception of his film. If it was a good hyped, big starrer then the distributor got his own terms else it was the multiplex who dictated terms. The reason why the multiplexes have become so powerful is that the major share of the total revenue comes from the multiplexes and it’s increasing like weed in the field. Yes, I dislike watching movies with lesser people around.

Now there will be uniform rate of revenue sharing for all films irrespective of the star cast. As per the agreed terms, the distributor’s share will be

Week 1: 50%
Week 2: 42.5%
Week 3: 37.5%
Week 4: 30%

If the nett box-office collections, after deducting entertainment tax, crosses Rs. 17.5 crores in the national chain of multiplexes [PVR, Big Cinemas, Inox, Fame Cinemas, Fun Republic, Cinemax], the first two weeks' terms would be upped by 2.5%. Which means Week 1 will be 52.5% and Week 2 will be 45%.

But if the film is a disaster, and does less than Rs. 10 crores nett from the national chain of multiplexes, after deducting entertainment tax, in such a scenario, the second and third week terms would be brought down by 2.5%. Which means Week 2 will be 40% and Week 3 will be 35%. This is applicable only if films are released in over 500 screens. (Source: Bollywoodhungama.com)

The month of May/June is considered good months as most school/colleges go for vacation. Due to this strike, these precious months were lost which is estimated to be a loss of 350 crore. Even though the strike ended in the beginning of June, no major release can take place until the last week of the month as no film except Kal Kisne Dekha was promoted during the strike. At least 3 weeks of promotion is required for any big film to release. Here is the list of biggies that will be storming the theatres on coming days till Ramzan. Ramzan is the holy month for Muslims when they stay away from luxuries. Hence traditionally the industry doesn’t release any of its big films on this month. This year Ramzan begins from 21^st August. The list of films expected to release before that:

12 June:

Kal Kisne Dekha:

The film marks the debut of Jacky Bhagnani (son of producer Vashu Bhagnani who produced much of the No. 1 series with David Dhawan) and Vaishali Desai, the grandniece of Manmohan Desai, the father of Masala films in Hindi film industry. Though Bhagnani is promoting the film really well, I don’t have many expectations from it.

19 June:

Paying Guests:

Lately films produced by Subhash Ghai work better than the ones he directs. Here is another film from his banner Mukta Arts starring a lot of small time actors such as Shreyas Talpade, Javed Jaffrey, Riya Sen, Celina Jaitly, Ashish Chowdhury etc etc. It may turn out to be a good entertainer.

26 June:

New York:

This is the first big film in actual sense of term. After Kabul Express, director Kabir Khan comes with another film on the effect of 9/11. This time the canvas shifts to New York and what happens to three Muslim friends played by John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Mukesh post the attack on the World Trade Centre. I am looking forward to this film. Though I’m little surprised with the marketing strategy of Yashraj as traditionally they promote their films in a big way. Barely two weeks remain for the film to release and the music has yet not come. The song Yaaro by KK is surely going to be a chartbuster.

3 July:

Kambakkht Ishq:

The film has been in news for the special appearances of Sylvester Stallone and few more Hollywood actors. Add to that it stars Akshay Kumar whose films have been doing well except the last two releases. This one also looks like another of his Masala films which is expected to do well. The rest of the star cast includes Kareena Kapoor, Aftab Shivdasani and Amrita Arora. Initially I was really looking forward to this one but the enthusiasm has diluted in recent past for my increasing disliking for Akshay Kumar.

10 July:

Short Kut:

Not much information has been released about this film except its cast and crew. The film stars Akshaye Khanna, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Rao and is produced by Anil Kapoor. Whatever I know about the industry, I don’t expect this film to release on the given date. But that’s the official date given by the producer. Let’s see.

17 July:

Jashnn:

Shekhar Suman is a big loser and his son is a bigger one. Where on earth would you find a father giving public statements on the happenings of his son’s love life? Adhyayan Suman, more known as the boyfriend of Kangana Ranaut, stars in this film along with Anjana Sukhani. Given the star cast of the film why I’m including it in my list. Well, it’s a film from the Bhatts. The music is going to be good and they have a history of giving unexpected hits.

24 July:

Luck:

This is one film I’m really looking forward to. It stars my recent favourite Imran Khan and daughter of one of my favourite actors Shruti Hassan, who is making her debut, as the lead pair. The film also stars Sanjay Dutt, Mithun Chakraborty, Danny, Ravi Kishan etc. The film is directed by Soham Shah (of Kaal) and is produced by Ashtavinayak who are really producing some good films in recent past.

Agyaat:

Another film that will release on the same day is Ramgopal Verma’s Agyaat. The film stars his recent muse Nisha Kothari and Telugu actor Nitin which is about a film crew who enter a jungle in Sri Lanka to have fun and end up dead. The promos are interesting and I am hoping the film to be as interesting as well.

31 July:

Love Aaj Kal:

Saif Ali Khan is making his foray into production under the banner Illuminati films with Love Aaj Kal directed by Imtiaz Ali. Post Jab We Met the expectations are huge from the director. The female lead is played by Deepika Padukone. Another major highlight if the film is that Neetu Singh will make a comeback to the big screen after almost 3 decades with Rishi Kapoor as company. The film also stars Rahul Khanna, the lesser known son of Vinod Khanna.

7 August:

Wanted:

This would be truly the day of my life. First time ever my favourite actor and actress would be coming together in the remake of a film (Pokiri) I loved so much. I have never been looking forward for any film so much as this one. I’m going to make a record for myself. Even before the release of the film, I will book two tickets on different days. Even if the film turns out to be a dud, I will watch it twice anyway – once for Salman, then for Ayesha. If it turns out good which I really think it would then I’m going to break all my previous record of watching a film in theatre. Now it’s 4 times (Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Chak De India, Sunday, Jaane Tu...). The film is directed by Prabhu Deva and also stars Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar, Inder Kumar and the Southern star Prakash Raj. I had started my audio cassette collection with ‘Soldier’ in ’98. Though I have not been buying cassette after getting this laptop (Rock On was the last cassette I bought), it will formally end with Wanted. Not that I intend to spend the rest of my life downloading music. Next time it would be CDs or whichever format the music comes in.

14 August:

Aladin:

This one is a modern take on the famous Arabian Nights story by director Sujoy Ghosh who earlier made films like Jhankar Beats and Home Delivery. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan as Genie, Riteish Desmukh as Aladin and Sanjay Dutt as the baddie. The films fate will depend how successfully Ghosh adapts the story. I personally don’t have much hope though.

Kaminey:

The film stars the newest couple in town Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra which is directed by the maverick director Vishal Bharadwaj. From the promos it seems to be a black comedy. But Bharadwaj makes quality cinema and this one should be no different.

These are the tentative releases for the next three months. Though there is no surety of it as it keeps changing. Still the major schedule will remain unchanged. So fix your date.

ANGELS & DEMONS

I was disappointed with the film version of The Da Vinci Code as it failed to replicate the finer history as well as the thrill of the book. But I was upbeat about Angels & Demons, which I didn’t like much when I read it 4 years back. The reason I didn’t like the book was that it was very filmy in setting while The Da Vinci Code was more like an alternate view of history. When I heard that the producers were also making Angels & Demons into a film, I knew they were going to make a better film this time. Today I can say I wasn’t wrong in my assumption.

Whoever hasn’t read the book, (though I don’t really fancy that someone who hasn’t read Dan Brown’s books reads my blog and if it happens it surely is a tragedy), here is a peek into the plot. Robert Langdon is a Harvard Symbologist who is called by the Director of CERN, Geneva to inspect a symbol inscribed on the body of a murdered scientist. Soon they realize that the murderer has stolen the ‘anti-matter’ which can turn into an apocalyptic bomb if used. But the bigger revelation is that Illuminati, a secret society of scientists, which was thought to be dead a hundred years ago have resurfaced to take revenge. Great intellectuals of middle ages were part of this society to save their knowledge from the atrocity of the Church who didn’t allow any ‘blasphemous’ discourse to happen. Many scientists including the Great Galileo were killed. As revenge, the Illuminati will blow up the Vatican City while a new Pope is being elected. Not before the assassin kills the four Preferiti (among them one would be the Pope) by branding them with Illuminati symbols. The major part of the book is focused on Langdon’s efforts to save the killings along with Vittoria Vetra, the adopted daughter of the murdered scientist, by following the hints hidden in the Vatican architecture while they are running out of time. The climax throws few more surprises and though Langdon fails to save any of the papal candidates, he saves the day.

The film is very well made. In fact I found it more thrilling than the book. Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon is superb of course. He is the kind of actor who remains above the script always. The producer said they were too reverential in adapting The Da Vinci Code which resulted in it being little too long and stagey. This time no such mistake has been made. Every moment is thrilling. But a lot of minor changes have been made to suit the feature film mode like- the book is a prequel while the film is made a sequel to The Da Vinci Code. Wikipedia mentions all the changes made in the film except one which I think is very important. In the book, the assassin is a Middle Eastern while in the film he is a regular white guy. In middle ages, the idea of contract killing began in Middle East or Muslim World. The killers who secretly lived in caves used to take Hashish (also known as Hash or Ganja, is a form of drug) before going out on mission. They were called Hashishin in Arabic and the word ‘assassin’ originates from it. The fact that the assassin in the book is a Middle Eastern draws direct parallel to its history which is mentioned in the book itself. Now the book was written in 2000, before the attack on World Trade Centre and popularization of ‘Islamic’ terrorism. Much has changed since the book was written. I think there are two reasons for changing the assassin from a Middle Eastern to a White man. Firstly, the assassin is an Illuminati who fights for science against religion while post 9/11 Middle Easterns are increasingly seen as people who fight for religion. Secondly, the mere indication that the assassin could be a Muslim planning to blow up the Vatican would have taken the focus away from Illuminati v/s The Church to Islam v/s Christianity in the current milieu. I really wonder how such small things could mean so much.

Coming to my favourite series, the sequel to The Da Vinci Code was scheduled to arrive in 2006. Now it’s finally releasing on 15 September, 2009 with a different name. The working title was The Solomon key which will be released as The Lost Symbol. I’m eagerly waiting.

Individual And Civilization

The picture above gives a very good illustration of the tension and gap that lies between Civilization and the Individual, the actual and the implied, the real and the ideal. Civilization means a better society than known in the history, “something in process of attainment”. The society we seek should serve the material needs of individuals, while raking them spiritually, by means of the love that is of God and which involves a giving of the self, to love the people around him. Civilization is an idea, while individual is real with a lot of material needs.

 

However, if we are to endeavor to attain “civilization”, it cannot be done solely by means of materialism, as unmitigated materialism only “debases” human beings. Materialism, whether practiced in a democratic nation or in a communist one, has failed in reality to achieve its presumed goal. Contrary to the general belief, our actual experience has shown that material improvement does not necessarily elevate human beings at all levels. It does not help people to be more virtuous and serve their fellows with love. Neither does it help them create beauty. Instead of a new dignity of man, materialism has brought a respectability to “vulgarity, bad taste, and cheapness” in our society.

 

As a society is actually composed of individuals, the improvement of individuals is a basic task to be undertaken, if we are to strive for that “Civilization”. Of course, scientific knowledge is useful, but “the wise and humane use of this knowledge depends on the existence of better individuals.” It ought to be understood that knowledge itself is neutral. The making of better human beings is a personal not a mass matter; it is a matter of excellence not of uniformity; it grows out of individual responsibility and effort, not out of techniques of mass education and mechanized social improvement.

 

Freedom consists in choosing the right slavery; slavery to oneself is one of the worst forms of slavery, while love is the highest form of slavery. The search for civilization by individuals who have chosen the right slavery may well provide a means to cope with critical problems of our age. Scientific and technological development may have done immense good to man but it has also created a danger of total annihilation of the human race.

 

Reference

A Search for Civilization, John U Nef 1962.

Howly: Town of My Teens

Howly is a small town. In fact it is much smaller than what ‘small towns’ suggest. It is situated exactly in the middle of Barpeta town and Barpeta Road (that’s name of a town as well). The former is the administrative centre while the latter is the business centre of the district. Perhaps that’s why Howly doesn’t have the trappings of a busy urban life. It doesn’t have any congested alleys, no unwanted shops; everything is more or less planned, may be by default. The national highway which connects the Northeast to the rest of the country passes by the outskirt of the town, which makes it a strategically good place. One can easily go in any direction he/she wants to. May be the presence of two battalion of paramilitary forces (BSF and Assam Rifles) will validate that.

Howly means ‘Palace’ in Assamese. I’m ignorant about the finer history of Assam due to my CBSE course which doesn’t give any emphasis on regional history. Perhaps one small time king had a palace here which has no remains, for the town to be named Howly. This was the place I spent my teenage years as my boarding school was situated here. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya opened in my district in 1995. An old government campus, used to train school teachers was converted to the school. The campus was relatively bigger than other ‘temporary’ JNVs. I joined my school in 1996. Initially we lived comfortably but as newer batches started coming in, space became an issue. Rooms were full with 12 students per room with double bed not a single piece of furniture in place. But this was made up by the amazing life we had in school.  

Assam in general is very beautiful with a lot of greenery around and Howly is even better. Every road has well planted trees. Every house is beautifully made. Nothing in that place would qualify to be an eyesore. There is lot of space available, everywhere- be it housing colonies or bazaars. As kids we used to go to market in groups to shop for groceries. It was an activity everyone looked forward to as it was the only opportunity to go out of the campus. We liked it not just because it was our moment of freedom but also because it was an extremely pleasant place to be in. 

                                  

But the most amazing thing about the place is its people. Bengali Muslims and Assamese Hindus are two dominant communities while Bengali Hindus are also a part of it. Language is very crucial to the general consciousness of Assam and there have been agitations in the past because of it. Even at peace, there is always certain sort of tension between two different linguistic groups (not religious though). But Howly is a place where the rule doesn’t apply. Everyone lives so amicably and has accepted each other that there is not even a slightest undercurrent of any sort of tension or insecurity. One can roam anywhere in the town at any time. The place is completely safe. In my 7 year stay, I never heard of a fight breaking out or any untoward incident. The town retains its simplicity with a certain panache which makes it attractive to one and all.

Delhi was the final stage in forming my identity.  But Howly was the place where I started to become aware of it. I experienced the first change – physical, emotional, mental at this place. The first crush was so life defining. The things that I did then, is so embarrassing at the same time so beautiful to recall. Whatever I am now, the base was laid in my house and was strengthened in Howly. But the best thing I learned there is to have control on oneself. We were free to do things that we liked. Back then I was one of the bad boys, unofficial though (After going to Delhi ofcourse I realized that the outer world was much meaner). Unofficial in the sense that the teachers never thought I was one because I was never caught or maybe I was little better in studies than actual bad boys. But the fact remains that I was involved in the worst rule breaking game in school. Still I had certain control which remains with me and hopefully will continue to be so. I didn’t smoke, I didn’t drink, I didn’t eat Gutka. I didn’t do anything that I won’t be able to tell anyone. In fact we made smoking so uncool, that whoever smoked had to do it secretly. It may be because there was so much freedom that I didn’t need a cigarette to express it.

                                      

Howly hosts my most favorite festival – the Raas Mela. It’s a festival of Lord Krishna. Then we didn’t know what the festival was for but it was the biggest event not just in Howly, but in Western Assam. It happens in the month of November and lasts for two weeks. This was the only time we could go out at night, wear our best clothes and of course roam with the girl we liked. Since there was strict instruction to remain in groups, the dating happened in group as well. Although I was not that lucky since my story was a bit complicated. But the pursuit was no less interesting. Some of my best memories are attached to this festival. After leaving Howly in 2003, this is the festival I miss the most.

                                   

The year we passed out of the school, the campus shifted to its permanent building. Hence whenever I have gone to meet my teachers or my sibling who also studies in the same school, it’s in the new campus to which I have no memories attached. It’s the most magnificent building in the whole district still juniors who stayed in both the campuses say Howly was much better.

Nowadays whenever I pass through the town, I make it a point to drive slowly so that I can feel the vibe and it gives me tremendous satisfaction. The barrier of time ceases to exist and I see myself everywhere doings things that I did while in school – as a little kid as well as a grown up boy. The place hasn’t changed a bit. The trees, the shops all are in the same place. The only change is that the VCD stores are closed down. The building is again changed to training centre which is hardly used since there are no new recruits in teaching sector in the state. The mango trees we had planted have grown, but there is no one to eat the fruits. If I segregate my conscious life with different places that I have lived in, then Howly would top the list. Those seven years were crucial in every sense of way and played a vital role in shaping me up. May be next time I go home, I should go to my old campus, sit under the trees and relive. 

                                 

Ileana D'Cruz

Ileana is the reigning queen of Telugu film industry. As it happens in south Indian film industry, most remarkable actresses are from outside. Ileana was born in Bombay on 19 August, 1987 to a Christian father and a Muslim mother. Her name was given after Helen of Troy. I am sure her parents never thought the lady would actually turn out to be so beautiful that a lot of people won’t mind burning the towers of Troy. When she was ten years old, the family shifted to Goa. She has two sisters and one brother.

                                                                                             

She wanted to be a fashion designer but accidentally landed up in the fair and lovely ad directed by Rakesh Roshan. She was spotted by Telugu director YVS Chowdhury and her debut film Devdasu happened. I have seen the film and can’t miss out on mentioning the surrealism in South Indian cinema. Just anything is possible there. But she shot to fame with Pokiri starring Mahesh Babu. The film broke 75 year record in the Telegu film industry. This is one of my favourite films in recent times. Ileana is so adorably hot. The film was first offered to Ayesha Takia, my favourite actress, but she turned it down. Now the film is remade in Hindi where Ayesha will essay the role originally meant for her. And opposite, well, the Salman Khan.

    

Now coming to the main topic, Ileana shot to top as her subsequent films did well which showcased her enormous talent. Aata opposite Siddhartha is another favourite. I hope she makes her Hindi film debut soon.

                                         

Why this post? –It is because I have nothing much to write about. I am sitting idle and I thought you would like to know about her. I hope she makes me her PR manager now :P

The Stormy Night

Last night it was difficult to sleep

In my small hut in the woods

The thunder storm was frightening

Riding the west wind came

The princess of lightening

The brightness enough to light the underworld

Was blinding

 

She was surprised

God’s creation could be so wretched

I was awed

It could be so beautiful

 

She brought an army of happiness

To conquer my solitary world

At victor’s feet laid my heart

Willingly I surrendered

 

We played silly games

Sang melodious duets

How I wished

The night would never end

 

Our worlds could never meet

But desire knew no bound

I wanted to change

Pretended to be a poet

Tried to be compassionate

 

But I failed to overcome

What was destined

In a mortal’s life

Not everything could be attained

 

The night was long

When morning arrived

She was gone

If only I could dream on.

Endless Wait

I crossed thousand miles in a day

But can’t seem to cross few meters in years

The eternal distance between us

Am I dreaming?

Or stuck in reality

 

You burst with joy

As people get closer to you

Some known

Some unknown

While I longingly wait

For my turn to walk the distance

I brave the stormy rain, the burning sun

All filthy tests of nature

But the wait seems endless

 

Then someone walks through me

I feel pain

Not sure if it is physical

I want to move away

But I cannot

Plead with the passerby

To take me along

No one cares

For the fallen soul

 

A beautiful girl comes by

I am shaken

To wake up

To reality.