Do you know we are in Golden Age II of Hindi Indian Cinema ?

Amitabh Bacchan has said that its exciting times in Indian Hindi Film Industry.

And this is true for the audiences as well. I am listing here all the mainstream (or did decently well in terms of box-office earnings; this is important as this is decisive in what kind of cinema floats or sinks) recent movies,
that are different by varying degrees from the usual template of the hero, heroine, funny sidekick and villain. The list is in no particular order.

Paan Singh Tomar

Peepli live

English Vinglish

Barfi

Kahaani

Ship of Theseus.

Lunchbox

Bombay Talkies

Kai Po Che

Kaminey

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Ranjhanaa

These are movies I personally liked and would recommend to others. The fact that I am able to come up with this long list is a dramatic change from a few years before. Most of the movies here content-wise don't get categorized under commercially risk-free projects. Lets have a look at them one by one, and see what's so special about them ?

Paan Singh Tomar : There isn't a scene in the movie that I could point out to be out of context (or included only for effect). Great script. The scenes between the protagonist and his wife are pitched so well, whereby the characters get etched
out in a realistic fashion. It has us investing ourselves into these lives.
Such well-made biographical films, is only a recent phenomenon (Guru, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Shahid are others).

Peepli live : Depicting a difficult reality using humour as the instrument and making it work and leaving a deep impression, is an art. Movies are well suited for such a thing as compared to any other medium. I recall "Burn after reading" (from Hollywood) as something similar and does it so well. 'Peepli Live' is about how media is a necessary evil (like friction) that doesn't care for subjects in the camera, or the negative impact it makes on their lives. I cant remember any movie before this one that didn't resort to melodrama to deal with heart-breaking ground reality that cant be done away with.

English Vinglish : I think the movie's speciality can all be wrapped up in one word : "Sridevi". I think she is the best Indian Cinema has ever had, capturing its essence and beyond.
While there are/were : Dilip Kumar, Nargis, Amitabh Bacchan, Jaya Badhuri, Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Irrfan Khan. No one is both charming, nuanced and uninhibited simultaneously, exuding depth in their emotions. Only if there were more movies extracting her talent. Sometimes, you are born in the
wrong times. I wish Sridevi was here and now. But then English Vinglish got made. And hats-off to Gauri Shinde. She brought in sensibilities that were not explored before. Its very interesting to see the relationship the protagonist shares with her niece and their bonding thats more intellectual and modern.

Barfi : Much has been said about this movie. It was our Oscar entry for 2012. It is a different movie in its story and setting. There are brilliant scenes with Ranbir, which are heart-warming and delightful. Such movies have been made in the past but still kept in a melodramatic (forcing tears) format.
This movie has characters like Jhilmil that only manage to grow on you over the course of the movie and not necessarily immediately (this is by far the most different element).

Kahaani : Ah, that thriller we all wanted. With that climax that we never knew
was coming upon us. Which was not copied off some Hollywood flick. And surprise, surprise, with a pregnant female protagonist ! The last scene with
Vidya wrapped in the white Bengali sari with red border, set in the Durga Puja time, pulling out her weapon for the first strike with blood shot eyes. That is an empowering unforgettable image.

Ship of Theseus : Brilliant, brilliant film. I think it would have marked the cornerstone for Indian Cinema if its profoundness and originality and potential had been understood fully. It SHOULD have been our official Oscar entry. An international critic's circle chose this one for its list of 15 'life-changing' films.
The movie is 'delicate poetry' which explores deep philosophy in a sophisticated but accessible manner. It is a delight in the midst of films that have themes which are based only on either romance, comedy or action. It is a progressive intellectual film that is both a reflection and contemplation of the society and its social, cultural and religious structure in an indirect way.

Lunchbox : Now this a film which in its theme is not really new but is highly original in its pacing, direction and depiction of characters. Its got brilliant, brilliant acting. Its a softy at heart caring for the small lives in small lanes or small offices in the crowded city of Mumbai. With poignant, magical moments.
But I didn't think it was THE movie for the one entry to represent the best of Indian cinema this year (Ship of Theseus (SOT) is.) Only because we have already seen such movies (this one is close to Indian 'American Beauty') on international platform, while SOT is truly original.

Bombay Talkies : This format of four shorts in one movie is again never been done in Indian Cinema. Each short was better than many of good 2-hour movies.

These are examples of few movies which are different (with 5-sigma significance) for different (again with 5-sigma significance) reasons.

We are finally somewhere else, on the roadmap of Indian cinema. And this is largely correlated with the onset of internet.
Film industry attributes this correlation to the increasing exposure of the audiences to world cinema.
While that can be true to a large extent, its also because of the exchange of dialogue on a global platform like internet. Opinions are getting spread faster.
People converse in the comments section below the reviews in online newspapers. Also below the reviews by national award winning critics on their
blogs. And these comments are not random. Much thought is put in them and they are independent and not just one-syllable long (good or bad). Sometimes with better content and insight as compared to the particular review. Then, there are individual blogs. Then, one can imagine
a chain reaction, i.e. once they gather the information on the internet, it propagates by conversations at water-coolers in IT offices, on the phone by lazy afternoon chats between housewives, between family on dinner table, then in schools, parks, buses and so on.

We are in Golden age II (the first one is attributed to 1944-1960) as far as
Hindi Indian Cinema is concerned. These are indeed exciting times.

Morning Wife.

She dreams of pots and pans,
A tumble in the kitchen and a laugh or two,
The fruits have a story to tell,
Of her, her husband and the stew.

As cuckoos call out,
she awakens in alarm,
she lights up the stove and the milk rises
while the bath out there gets warm.
 
The time warns as her teeth tingle,
should she chop or brush ?
But she heeds none and just looks on,
her husband stirs, in sleep so lush.

Lunch for him and start of a day,
each morning reminds her of a new chance.
As vegetables wait, she should decide,
Should she cook or dance ?

The pot meets fire as she dreams on,
He wakes and smells and smiles,
As the cuckoo calls to his charmer,
The wife responds in beguiles.

"Am I not a wife, so caring and pretty ?"
She asks her husband in whispers.
The pot beckons, don't forget me, O lady.
As the water in it boils and blisters.

The comb sweeps her hair,
And the mirror shines at her face,
Songs echo in the bedroom.
Her husband is surprised at her pace.

Swiftly she lifts the lid,
and peruses the pot and stew,
She changes color from pink to red,
Does she have to cook anew ?

She screams as she finds,
a burnt pot with black potatoes.
she cries and flies across.
To whom should she tell her kitchen woes ?

What can rest of the day bring ?
She seeks the company of her bed.
Her husband smiles as she moans.
"Its ok, you know", he said.

She cant be consoled.
He tells the cuckoo.
He picked a new set of pans and said,
"I will make you, my darling, the stew"

Beijing : to love or not to love ?

Either I had to create a new blog or revamp and continue on this old one. Well, I decided to revive this one in the "Urawaza" spirit (since the theme of this particular essay is going to be deeply east asian).

Deep, er.. actually long, because I traveled about 4746.52 kilometers (on map) to Beijing, China in the third week of August to attend the IAU general assembly. IAU : International Astronomical Union. I got to give a 15 min talk and attend one special session and a symposium on astrophysical magnetic fields (my area of research). Thats in summary. My trip to China.

But how can I deprive this blog essay of the juicy details, academic and non-academic. Well, mostly non-academic. How can I not recount the tales from this land far far away ? Who are these Chinese and what did they do to me ? Did I survive ?

Hmmm... Let me dive into the details right away.

Right through the initial struggle of finding accommodation (the organisers had goofed up the reservations), including walking up and down between the hotel and the venue for the conference, I could not help but notice how different Beijing was from the other metropolitan cities I had been to in India, like Delhi (there were some similarities, both being capital cities) or Mumbai or Bangalore or Chennai. Or perhaps, more so, because the part of the city I was in, was the Olympic games village area (Chaoyang District), which is the newer part of Beijing (thanks to Olympics 2008).

The traffic seemed quite efficient or atleast it looked as though everyone has aced their driving tests. Beijing has been aware of its growing traffic for sometime now but have been managing it quite well. They have the world's third most dense subway and then they have implemented policies such as even and odd number plated cars driving on alternate days respectively. India's chaotic traffic, on the other hand, can seem alarming and suicidal. Of course, I have spent many fun hours zig-zagging through Bangalore traffic, working constantly on some prediction algorithms inside my head, and executing them on almost delta time scales. But if you wanted to take a walk to the market, along the broken footpath, its not going to be a pleasant affair.

But more strikingly, I liked Beijing for its cool and casual attitude at the outset.

Smaller population on streets, uniform in numbers everywhere and everyone looked like they were all out for a stroll ! And the tall skyscrapers surrounding the streets, gives a feel of being in a different planet altogether (I haven't been to other continents as yet. So this might be a more common occurrence in places like the US). I hadn't liked a metropolitan city before, with all its jazz, either due to the traffic, or pollution, or feeling claustrophobic, for lack of greenery, etc. I started to take a liking to Beijing.

Well, on day 5 (I skipped 1,2,3,4 !), the first session on magnetic fields (in ISM and IGM) had ended. I happily finished my talk on day 4 and critically analysed it, and the events after, for the next 24 hours, until I got mentally exhausted. I had met a few well-known important researchers of the field and had enjoyed Chinese hospitality at NAOC (their astronomy institute) and now I was ready (in mind and body, both), on day 6, to venture out.

Now on the very first day, the dinner had turned into a guessing game. We had walked into a restaurant whose menu was up on the board with the picture of the food item, next to the Chinese name, and I had to find something that looked decently vegetarian. As a result, the four of us kept trying to communicate this to the people behind the counter endlessly. After this episode, now I had to make sure that I was carrying a map with Chinese markings, to be able to ask directions. But my trip around central Beijing turned out to be quite easy, due to the accessibility of subway system and I was quite self-sufficient. I firstly visited the National Museum of Art,

and spent about an hour or so. 

I came out, felt inspired to buy some art material off the shop right in front and then pushed off to "Wangfujing Street", a popular market place. As I waited for the bus, I noticed after several buses passed by, that only I and this young girl with a suitcase, were still left waiting at the bus-stop. So I went to her to generally comment on the delay and ask if she was taking the same bus as me. She hurriedly made a sign pointing to her mouth and ear. I was a bit taken aback. But I quickly pointed out on the map and she nodded vigorously. Bus numbered 103 came twice and went. The first time I almost got on and jumped off at the last moment, as the door was closing and there was simply no space to get further in. Neither was the girl able to get on it. This was the only bus, which was so crowded. All others (non-103) were nearly empty. Then, the second time, we both decided it was not worth it. I managed to suggest to her to take the metro, but she indicated on the map that her place was quite a detour from the main station. Then, when it came the third time, we both made a go for it. Generally, one is supposed to get in from the front door, but due to shortage of time and space, we got on at the back. And immediately, the crowd of Chinese inside the bus started yelling at this girl, and I was alarmed. I wanted to tell them she couldn't hear them while she was dearly holding onto the suitcase looking distressed. The door closed and the bus moved on. At the next stop, the entire crowd pushed at her as they got off. I had managed to move to a side while she was still stuck at the door with her luggage. They nearly pushed her out. I asked her if she was ok, and she just nodded. After a while, Wangfujing street came and I got down. She looked a bit puzzled and then she realised that I was getting off earlier than she had expected. I still feel like I shouldn't have got down. I had made a friend and I should have gone all the way, to atleast drop her off. We waved bye to each other.

Wangfujing was flashy and showy. I just walked around, bought souvenirs, took photos and licked at a triple-deckered ice-cream in the cone. I asked this cute kid with the Chinese headgear if I could take her pic ? And she happily obliged, immediately posing with the 'V' sign.

In the evening, as I returned back, I got down at Olympic Green station and walked back to the bus-stop, from where I could get back to my hotel. On the way, I walked along the central line, which is a special line going all the way across Beijing hitting Tiananmen square on its way. Chinese revere the line and lot of activities happen along this line. They all come out in the evening and celebrate life with song and dance. Beijing was at its beautiful best for me ! With the 'Bird's nest closeby in the background, and sparkling kites which go up almost every night, the atmosphere was full of spirit. There were kids singing out as a band, there was a "Michael Jackson" performance, couples practiced their Ballroom dance joined by tiny kids on the side and a traditional Chinese "Harikatha" (as Gokul puts it) was being told. I was falling in love with Beijing.

Then, for rest of my stay and outings in Beijing, I was constantly clicking at Chinese kids. That was like the theme of my photography in China. In the next two days, I visited the "Great Wall" and "Forbidden city". So, all the emperors of the Ching and Ming dynasty thought they were at the center of the Universe and felt no need to communicate to the rest of the world and did not get wooed by the gifts Mongolians sent them. And Mongolians took it as an insult and decided to attack the Chinese and thats how the wall came up. Not a very morally impressive reason to build a massive wall, whose construction went on for centuries exhausting the Chinese civilians. The wall is a massive 5000 Km stretch structure and its huge and strong. But most of it is in ruins now. 

 

 

I had a good time at Forbidden city the next day though walking under the sun cannot be deemed to be pleasant. After I had covered half of it, I went scouting for lunch and found a place where I could get some vegetarian lunch. 

All the other members of my group were on their own, each with their own automatic explaining machines. Anyway, I would have got left behind, with my constant clicking of photos. As I hogged my lunch, two kids joined me at the table. This 13 year old girl introduced herself (in English !) and her cousin, who she happily pointed out to be fat ! She asked where I was from, and I told her India. She looked surprised and immediately remarked that I was beautiful and she always thought Indians to be very dark and ugly. I wasn't sure how to react. But I couldn't help smiling at her amusement.

And then we chatted about India, her school, her cousin (who was happy to just eat his noodles and smile at me once in a while). All this while her Mom was getting the rest of the family to sit at another table behind us. I left after a hearty 'nice to meet you', 'bye-bye' and a photo. 

Though Forbidden Palace covers vast grounds and is magnificent, it really doesn't compare to Mysore Palace (back home) in grandeur. Maybe I shouldn't compare. But Sunil and I agree that we still haven't come across any palace that compares to the one in Mysore !

As I was leaving Forbidden city grounds, this sales-girl got me to drop into her shop and take a look at the paintings and buy one for 200 RMB (that was the most expensive thing that I had bought at China). Vishal's Polish friend, with a blonde dye (who was treated like a rockstar, with all the chinese kids clicking at her all the time !) said that basically I was duped and the painting should cost 20 RMB instead. But strangely I didn't care ! I was happy to pay for the Chinese Samurai painting.

Then, in the next week, in the middle of the week, we decided to visit a 'Hutong' in the evening to finish our shopping in China. But that evening marked the end of my romance with China. I had an incident, where I was nearly demobilised due to an unfortunate health condition. And though Vishal was around, we still had a difficult time and there was no one coming up to us to help us. The following Sunday I was happy to be back home in India.

Now, in China, 'Youtube' was blocked, 'Google' searches were filtered, even mail attachments couldn't be downloaded at all times. I asked my Supervisor to stop adding any modifications to the draft of our paper as I could not download it. When I came back, I was chatting with a Prof. who mentioned a story. His dad in China was having a conversation in some restaurant about how he could not open the BBC website and the students next to him said he should have been able to and BBC wesite is not blocked. Well, of course he could not open the BBC website. But there was yet another story in which he said that the Chinese farmers were asked to change their crop from Rice to Pineapple. And they all became wealthy in 10 years time. And how this could never happen in India.

Story of the sky.

Weaving a story,
these clouds cotton.
Seeming to be contradictions
Infinite.
Lapping up all the colours.
Looking bright and blue.
Huge and tender.
Dull golden.
Dignified radiance.
So fiercely silent.
Do they dream all day ?
Little and the big ones.
Nomads.

I look to my left,
orange and yellow.
On my right,
blue and violet.
Just above me,
lot of grey.
Do they tell a story ?
story of my life ?
But there are corners,
where i see black.
Enemy of the clouds?

As i write,
they all split.
They all spread.
They form a great web.
A giant paw.
Smell of the sinister
A plot against me ?

The distant yellow fades..
A sly wind through my hair.
leaves rustling
Birds fly past.
The messengers.
and I know,
its an arrival.

As the time walks by.
Breeze gets heavy.
Darkness strengthens.
Clouds, I see in a different light.
So vast as the mountains.
So grey and threatening.
Settling just above me.
Then I see distant lights.
Flashes of pain ?
Someone screaming ?
Whats the story?
Whats the story?
Oh my dear, its just the rain.

Friendships week!

this being the friendships week.. i decided to post one of my poems... its li'l cheesy... but kinda nice for the occasion..

Sweet nothings

A spark in the eyes,
Wee wrinkle on the nose,
Sweet words from the mouth
Makes one forget all their woes.

Chocolates in the box
Delightful smile on the face
A rose in the hand
Brighten our days

A pat on the cheeks
Pulling of hair
A nudge on the elbow
Conforming u r there

A sentimental touch
Holding of hand
An understanding gesture
Confidence does enhance


An everlasting kiss
A naughty cute cuddle,
A heart-warming hug
Makes our lives wonderful !