total timepass...

(I was to write this blogpost 4 months ago, but think it has become more relevant now given the recent ‘floods’ in Gurugram:) ) I don’t think this article is going to come as a surprise to anyone. In fact most reactions would be something like - ‘ yeh to hota hi hai ’ or ‘this is how it happens’. But still given that I have been living out of India for quite some time and before that lived a sheltered live in army cantonments, it is still a surprise to me and I don’t think that’s how it should happen! My parents recently moved to a new place in Gurgaon (as it was called then!) and they realised during monsoons one of the side road gets flooded. It has been happening for years with the other residents, but as usual no one bothered to do anything about it. My father went to the local administration office to complain a couple of times. Accordingly the next year they sanctioned couple of crores to build a rain drain next to the road, and elevate the road so that water does not colle...

I generally write movie reviews only on films I see in the theatre. But I think I am going to make an exception for Aligarh. I saw it yesterday and am still so affected by it, that I had to put my thoughts on paper. Though it would be very difficult to describe what I felt and am still feeling - all the helplessness and the sadness. Aligarh is a masterpiece, and an understated one at that. It takes a very sensitive topic and presents it to us without any melodrama. Just as it is. And it touches you. When you finish watching it, you are affected, you are sad. And not because the movie showed sadness. But because it didn’t. Aligarh is based on the true story of an AMU professor, who was suspended after being unlawfully filmed as being a homosexual. He was treated unfairly by the University and society. He fights for himself and wins but is found dead before he can take up his job at the University again. In the movie, this is shown through the eyes of a journalist who wants to brin...

I recently attended two Indian singer's musical concerts in London - Shreya Ghoshal and Arijit Singh's. This was my second time attending musical concerts (first was Jagjit Singh) because I always assumed that if you are not musically inclined, you might find them boring. And I am happy to have been proven wrong:). For a start, they were Bollywood singers, so the fact that I have grown up singing these songs ensured that I didn't get bored:). If you relate to Bollywood and its movies and music et al, there is no way you will not totally enjoy such concerts. The loud cheers and electric energy that went up in the crowd everytime a popular song was sung is testimony to that. Given my experience this time, I am looking forward to attending many more such concerts in the future. I also realised a couple of things, the first of which was that your experience can be widely different based on a lot of things, other than the quality of the singers. I will share some of the di...

A Salman movie on Eid, what can you expect:). 100 crores? 200 crores? The sky is definitely the limit here! After watching (and actually enjoying), most of Salman's movies in theatres, this time I was planning to give Sultan a miss. But rave reviews by friends on facebook tempted me and I finally went and saw it. My honest review - it was a very average movie. There have been tons of movies made like this and forgotten. But given the general level of Salman movies, this was very very good by his standards. One of those rare movies of his where you dont go 'Come on, really??!!' every 5 mins! And that is really an achievement. About the movie, it had a story line which was great. Acting was bearable except Salman's. But a star like him doesn't need to act anyways, correct? Or dance for that matter. Anushka was good, star cast good, music enjoyable. All in all, definitely a watchable movie. But my issue with not watching it was beyond that. Salman is a pa...

Let me start with the first feeling I had after seeing Udta Punjab - I have hope for the Hindi film industry! After a period of Dark Ages (the 80s and 90s), the last few years have been relatively better. We see a regular (again relatively) stream of good movies releasing once or twice a month. And that’s making me hope again:). Once in a while, you get to see a movie by a serious film maker, who believes in the art and not just the moolah . It may still be a masala  enough movie like Kahaani, but at least its different and enjoyable. And I love watching these movies! Udta Punjab falls in this category - it is not a typical Hindi movie. There is a background of the Punjab drug problem, and then there are the characters in the movie through which the problem is delved into further. The flow of the story is good, keeping you involved the whole time. The acting is superb - Alia Bhatt needs no words and Diljit Dosanjh is a natural. Kareena felt a little over the top, playing Preet ...

The day I read this article was a day of deep brooding for me. This is a life I or people around me can never even understand - not being able to feed your cattle, not having water for yourself, not having food for your family, not being able to work and earn, losing your land and crops, and in the end having to give up your life. All this is beyond our comprehension - for the 10% middle class in India who lead a " relatively " comfortable life. This article is not about the story of this farmer (and of so many farmers and other poor people of my country). There is nothing I can say about him. Its sad. Its deplorable that such events happen almost everyday in India. And I don’t know what the governments have done in the last 68 years to change this. None of them have focussed on our villages enough and therefore we are where we are. But my article is not about that. It is about what happened that day after I read this article and how it has changed my perspective on my...

Uber has changed a lot of lives. It's brought in convenience, affordability, familiarity and feeling of safety in a new country, and a lot more to all of us. But then its not all positives for it, which you might already know from articles that have been coming in the media for quite some time now. Recently, I rode in an Uber which was being driven by someone who owned his own cab company earlier! He was an immigrant in London and had built a successful business for years. And then Uber killed it! After Uber, there are only two cab options left for commuters in London. Either the black cabs, or Ubers. And so the mini-cabs which used to provide conveninence and affordability are no more. The opportunity for small-time businesses that it provided to many is not there anymore. As per the driver, Uber currently offers the cheapest prices which are constantly falling. And this cut is always taken from the driver's share, never from Uber's. And once the small players are wi...