total timepass...

Dhobi Ghat, the directorial venture of Kiran Rao, Aamir Khan's wife.. And hence the hullah around its release... Dhobi Ghat follows the life and happenings of four people in Mumbai, all four from different backgrounds and what they go through over a span of time; the emotions of loneliness, love, fear, inspiration, disappointment and so on. There is Arun or Aamir, a whimsical painter drowned in his own life of art and oblivious to a lot happening in the world and around him; then there is Shai, an NRI banker, looking to interest herself in photographing around the city, and who falls in love with Arun and hangs out with a local Dhobi; Prateik Babbar as the local dhobi during day, rat catcher during night, aspiring actor and a lot more; and the last character of Yasmin, a small town girl who was the previous occupant of Arun's house. We see her through the video letters she has left for her brother and also her views on the city and her life. The acting in the movie is abov...

I generally don't do book review blogs but this book surely deserved one! Its maybe the best (if the only one) book I have ever read on Indian history, and I am not talking about the Rajas and the Britishraj history. I am talking about the history of India after independence, or after (Mahatma) Gandhi as the book specifies. Its the history of India which might be very important for the people to know and understand, but which is the most neglected in the school textbooks for one. Why is that, just because its current, or we are expected to know it in everyday life anyways? We do tend to know bits and pieces of this history anyways, but there is so much which we still don't know, and this book fills the gaps. The leaders big and more importantly the small ones who have shaped India's history. The history changing events which have given direction to where India is now.. It details Nehru's vision which has shaped a lot of the positives we have in the country. It ta...

We went for this movie after seeing it receive a couple of nominations for the Golden Globe, and I was a bit apprehensive about how good the movie could be if its about boxing.. Well it surpassed my expectations.. Its a really well made movie and a pleasure to watch. The story tracks the career of Mickey, a boxer in the making from a small town, working under the tutelage of his once on-the-rise boxer brother, Dickey and his mom as his agent. They all try hard and there are misses and bad lucks on the way. Plus with his brother being addicted, it doesn't really go too well for Mickey and his family. And slowly things change, Mickey breaks off from his family, trains under professionals and is on the rise. There are multiple issues still though, family ties versus commercial reasons. It all sorts out though and he goes on to win the boxing title. A brilliant movie, with a carefully thought of script. Perfect acting. All in all, a good piece. Would give it 3.5 stars.

Two and a half men details the lives and times of Charlie : a super-rich, alcohol loving, completely unconventional womaniser and jingle writer; his brother Alan : a twice divorced and completely unlucky in life kind of loser guy; and his non achiever son, Jake, all three living in a beach house in Malibu. Then there is a supporting cast of Berta : their housekeeper, their mother who they both despise and try to avoid always, Judith : Alan's wife who robs him of whatever he does have left, and Rose : the neighbour stalker in love with Charlie. Together these people lead an interesting life with an excellent and witty script to support. The jokes may be over the top, but they are really funny. The jokes Charlie makes of Alan and his life, the interaction between Charlie and Jake where Charlie teaches Jakes about women and the like much to Alan's discomfort, the fun Berta has based on their problems, how both Charlie and Alan try to run away from their mother and so on. All the...

A movie set in the wild west America, about a young girl's journey to find and bring to justice her father's murderer is the background for this movie. She recruits a US marshal for this purpose, a drunkard one at that. On the way while in the Indian territory, they also run into Matt Damon, the Texan ranger, in search of the same murderer, Clancey. The cinematography is good, the setting of the movie well shot. Acting is quite fine. Matt Damon is a bit underused in the movie though, with a not so big role. The storyline though could have used a little more work. It seems very lacklustre without anything compelling in the story. The climax seems quite missing in its punch. On the whole, a not so great movie but a watchable movie definitely. Would give it 3 stars.

Prison Break is a thriller TV series, where the first season is about a brother getting convicted to free his brother who is on death row in prison. The entire first season shows the planning and execution of this break out from prison. The planning involves getting the designs of the prison, evolving a plan with multiple legs and to a detailed level, including who all in the prison to befriend, and where to obtain the nail to do the digging from! Of course, the execution stage is very different to the planning, with multiple failures and constant modifications required to the plan. The number of people who keep getting involved keeps on going up as and when required; there are info leaks; change of room mates; fights here and there and so on.. And of course the usual prison background happenings: prison fights, blackmarketing, punishment and so on.. And on the outside, there are friends trying to get the brother out by law. Turns out though, he was a scapegoat in a conspiracy involvi...

Band Baja Baraat, a movie starring an unknown and a slightly known actor and without the fanfare of a big release. And it delivered more than it promised. Band Baja is a good movie, enjoyable and fun, with its 'moments' sprinkled throughout the movie. The dialogues are chilled, the chemistry between the two 'binness partners' electrifying, the story light and breezy.. All in all well packaged. Bittoo Sharma though not really a looker grows on you, you start liking his desiness and terrible English. Anoushka does well as the perky Dilli girl. Some of the songs are good, especially Aiwai Aiwai, the dance is generally energetic and fun. And of course, the mast Dilli setting. If you are from Delhi, you will relate to it all, the Janakpuri area and its eccentricities, the Dilliwale and of course the grand indian wedding! The one hiccup in the movie though is in the second half: the track where they get apart and start fighting and hating each other. It got a bit painfu...