Trust !

Man is a “trusting” animal.. That is such a large statement !Most of our problems start because we trust.. But if we did not trust one and other, would society, marriage, and friendship exist ?What I mean by trust will be highlighted in the following examples

• When you take a cab to work.. You fully trust the driver that he will not cause an accident
  
• When you go to a doctor, you trust his judgment that he will rid you off your pain
  
• When you are driving and people are trying to cross the road ahead of your car (happens often in India) by jay-walking, you are trusting their judgment that they would cross before your car passes them

There are many such examples, where without knowing it we trust people that we barely know.
However, if we did not .. Would it not be tough to live in this hazardous world ?

Omkara - A Review

Shakespeare seems to be in demand in Bollywood.. As seems to be Vishal Bharwaj’s favourite. He, first adapted Maqbool from Macbeth and now Omkara from Othello.
Maqbool was a medium level success in monetary terms but was rated as a good film by the critics. I think it would be the same story with Omkara.

The Movie -

Bhardwaj makes his hero in his second Shakespearean outing a gang leader with political connections. Omkara (Ajay Devgan) names Kesu (Viveik Oberoi) his chief lieutenant. Seething with fury, the other pretender to the post, Langda Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan), hatches a conspiracy to systematically destroy Omkara and everybody he loves. He has two allies: His wife, Indu (Konkona Sensharma), who helps him unwittingly and Raju, his crony.
In love with Dolly (Kareena Kapoor), Omkara falls into Tyagi's trap as he poisons his chief's mind with tales of her supposed love affair with Kesu. Tyagi engineers a tragedy that sucks everyone into its vortex and ends with Omkara realising, only too late, his tragic error of judgement. Indu also discovers how she had played into her husband's hands
Bhardwaj opens the film with Omkara's gang stopping a wedding procession (Dolly's father is marrying her off) and 'rescuing' her so that she can marry the chief. The action of the film tragically ends on the night of her wedding with Omkara.
Bhardwaj is ably aided by his star cast, all of whom seem comfortable in an interesting mix of Hindi and Bhojpuri. Devgan puts in a restrained performance, while the crude and crafty Tyagi is perhaps Saif Ali Khan's best portrayal ever. Oberoi looks like he is all set for a resounding comeback. Konkona and Kareena and lend credence to their roles.

Saw it on the weekend.. The things that catch your mind are –

1. The intensity of love between Ajay Devgan and Kareena is not portrayed will enough
I think the whole story of Othello revolved around the intensity of his love.. The movie lets the audience assume this part. – First Negative

2. The Language
There is an extensive use of filthy Hindi slang to give it a “realistic” feel.. I think it is over done

3. Speed
The movie is slow and quite a few scenes (and songs) could have been avoided,

4. Acting
I feel is above average.. Especially Saif Ali Khan, Konkana Sen and Vivek Oberoi.
Saif seems to be maturing well with age. Bipasha is a waste in the film.

5. To Summarise
Despite all the above, I kinda liked the film.. Well directed except for the point no.1 above and watchable.. (That’s quite a positive from me.. who usually cannot sit in a theater for more than 1 hour)

Being Creative v/s Being Perfect

I have always been a perfectionist and dear ones and friends get upset with me for being one..I get upset if someone leaves the door ajar, if the toothpaste cap is not screwed on correctly, if someone is wearing torn socks, or their laces have come off..
Not that these things matter to me or hurt me.. Just that they irritate me.. Irritate me to the extent that I tend to tell the person (even if I do not know him / her).. “Please tie your laces” etc.
I read somewhere that people who are creative are not perfectionists.. But is the other way true too? By being a person who likes being perfect.. Do I not have even a little bit of creativity in me?
Frankly, I am not perfect too... But like to be perfect and strive to be..Just yesterday, I had given a job to my colleague who missed doing it.. and came back saying “Oops.. I did all of it.. But forgot this small bit”.. And I lashed back very caustically to him..”The difference between being perfect and mediocrity are these small bits”… I think I was harsh on him.. But that is me.. I really get irritated with small / silly mistakes.. I guess I need to cool down a little..

Say no to Terrorism

The Mumbai blasts have stunned a lot of us.. Its scary to see people dying by such a “silly” cause !! The thought of losing someone close to such an unforeseen reason is very scary.
It is so pathetic that we are living in the 21st Century and are still fighting against each other like people from the Stone Age.
In a scenario where we are battling life-threatening diseases like AIDS, Cancer, Tuberculosis etc, we seem to be finding new ways to kill each other.
Many people have condemned the blasts in Mumbai.. But does just talking about it help
I feel that to curb terrorism, we should have strict measures.. Like a death sentence for someone found with unauthorized arms / explosives.

Heading the wrong way

This has been a world cup of disgraces.. So many of the superstars who came in with so many expectations have disappointed. The list is topped by Ronaldinho, Henry, Beckham, Rooney, Figo, Ronaldo… the list is endless..To top it all was the disgraceful exit of Zidane .. I do not understand how a player of his stature could stoop so low to commit an act which was so disgraceful..What a way to exit professional soccer..The sad thing is that we may not see these greats again in the next world cup ..Figo, Pauletta, Zidane, Ronaldo, Raoul, Beckham, Michael Owen, Oliver Kahn, Del Piero, Roberto Carlos…

Of Shoes and Men

I have seen numerous women who love shopping for shoes.. For some its about finding the perfect fit (I thought the perfect fit was limited to the perfect man).. to others it’s a way to relieve stress (shoes relieve stress.. “these women are crazy” – like Obelix would say)
Someone just told me the following
“Girls are always looking for a perfect pair of shoes.. somewhat like looking for Mr. Perfect.. However, what seems like a perfect fit may not be perfect a few months later.. so they look again”
The other day I went to a shoe shop that was three storeys in size.. around 30000 square feet “(larger than my office).. Its called the Loft .. at Lokhandwala in Andheri.. I am sure it’s a paradise for these women to land up in places like this..
Do men really look at a lady’s shoes ? Legs yes.. But shoes ?? Does the line of vision go that low ? Wink !!
Anyways…Not a nice feeling to be compared to shoes..

The most beautiful women in the world

Someone asked me who are the most pretty women in the world and I was trying to think about what are my types.. I quite like the petite women.. The ones that come to mind are Ashley Judd, Meg Ryan, Gwen Palthrow etc..
I went to the website www.askmen.com and their list says that the top 10 beautiful women are :
10. Cindy Crawford
09. Liz Hurley
08. Maria Grazia Cucinotta
07. Angie Everhart
06. Elsa Benitez
05. Catherine Zeta Jones
04. Heidi Klum
03. Elle MacPherson
02. Pamela Anderson
01. Laetitia Casta


I do not even know who half these women are .. I guess I am growing old !!
and maybe the criteria for chosing beautiful women is getting more objective !! than Subjective

So much for all the beautiful women in the world..

Little Johnny Wants to play

Another day of outlash of the rain in Mumbai.. And the Mumbaikars managed to survive and life was on as usual.
Many are singing the nursery rhyme.. "Rain-Rain go away.. Lil Johnny wants to play"
The less adventurous ones stayed home and watched TV channels and patted themselves for not having left home, while the ones with the true Mumbai spirit were on the streets again.
Despite the rains washing two people to their death in the sea at Worli Seaface, there were still a thousand people by the parapet wall aagain today..
The TV channels seem to have overplayed the rains by flashing pictures of a few stray areas of flooding and making it look like a city wide chaos..
I really admire the spirit of the city and hope we stick together through the wet and the dry of life..
Here are some pictures I took from the car while driving back last evening and driving to work today..

Raindrops on Roses...

With the rains hitting Mumbai all of last two days, the city is really living it up..

Whether it is someone going for Omelets and Waffles at Bandstand or someone getting sprayed in the waves at Worli Seaface and hogging Vada Pavs after that.. Everyone seems to be enjoying the weather in their own ways..

I went for a drive last evening and saw atleast 2000 people at Worli Seaface. And another 1000 playing soccer at Shivaji Park.

The heavy rains today, caused visibility to be low in the morning on the way to work and I thought that attendance may be low due to the trains being paralysed.. I was pleasantly surprised to see my entire department at work today.. That's the spirit of the city..

Rain to me is a mix of many feelings and memories .... To start with ..freedom, the pleasant smell of the mud, warm pakodas with cutting chai, Misal Pav, double seat rides on the bike, playing soccer in the mud, schools closed, waddling though the water in shorts to go and see a movie at the nearby theater, playing rummy with friends, riding bicycles..Andd many more things..

I could sing all these things on the lines of "Raindrops on roses." From the Sound of Music..
Rains would certainly feature in the list of my favourite things...