total timepass...

Again, like the last time, I absolutely fell in love with the play but more so with the whole experience. I am sure the characters, the acting, the story and the music, all had a part to play in it, but I still think the amazing setting in the open air in a park was the main reason I had an absolutely amazing experience. The story was the same as the movie, Sound of Music; the songs were the same, the ones we have heard from childhood. The stage was set in the facade of an old country home. And the singing was clear, the dancing fun, the flow smooth. And the open air, setting sun and warm weather providing a natural background. What was not to love about this amazing production? I was not a fan of the lead actress who played Maria though; she looked older than she was supposed to be and was louder than she was supposed to be. But so what? The cute children made up for it:). The movie is a timeless classic and the play did full justice to it. It was as fun and beautiful as someth

The Heat is one of those not-great-but-still-enjoyable-for-2-hours kind of movie which abound all over Hollywood. Its the story of an arrogant but capable FBI agent (Sandra Bullock) who goes to Boston to bust a big drug dealer, and ends up teaming up with the local shoot from your hip kind of cop, Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) to achieve this. Both of them are as different in their attitude and thinking as could be possible, and what follows is a tale of how these two women become friends and are ready to do anything for each other. Its a funny movie, with awesome laugh-off-your-seats kind of dialogues. Nothing more to talk about though! Would go for 3 stars for this one.

Recently, there has been a spate of relatively good movies, 'Bhag Milkha Bhag', 'Lootere', 'Ranjhanaa' and 'D-day'. All of them are a little  hatke , which always feels like a good change. The premise for D-day is a mission by the Indian Intelligence Wing, to bring back a wanted criminal from Pakistan to India. This mission is carried out by 4 undercover agents, and after a failed attempt, abandonment by the Indian authorities and death of two of the agents, they finally achieve what they had set out to. The storyline for the movie is pretty racy and well portrayed. The acting by all the key players is worth a mention. Rishi Kapoor played his short part well. Surprisingly, Arjun Rampal acted well too:). Huma Qureshi and Irfan Khan were good as usual. The whole setup and story was played out realistically. Characters were well etched. Patriotic jingoism was kept under control. Music fit in well too. What was there to not like? And even though it wa

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani had the potential to a fun-filled movie about friendships and relationships but all it turned out to be was a badly mashed-up directionless 3 hours of drama! Would rate it as one of Ranbir's worst movies and was very disappointed with his choice for the first time. The negatives of the movie are many. The characterisation of the characters was very weak. How could Deepika wearing minis all the time be a padhaku ? Just wearing specs does not make anyone studious, there is a lot more that needs to go in the development of the character (she looks hot though!). Ranbir's character wasn't clear either. Did he just not care about anyone other than himself? Sometimes he was that person and sometimes he was the typical Hindi movie nice guy. So confusing! Plus he looked a lot older and maturer in the movie than earlier which did not fit either. The story was weak too, going all over the place and not convincing at all. How does meeting someone for a week

The saga is finally over.. And a not so bad end I would say. A lot lot better than Hangover 2 for sure! On the whole though, this movie is forgettable except that its the last of the trio and so you would see it anyways just for closure. The plot is slightly different this time, there is no bachelor party to have the mix-ups. Just a criminal boss kidnapping Doug (yes, again!) for the entire movie while the wolfgang are out to get the gold back from Chow for this crime boss. What follows is a gold heist with Chow, a double crossing, the Gang chasing Chow in Vegas and the finale with the crime boss dead. There were not that many over-the-top moments in this version, just some exotic locales, some good jokes and an entertaining feel about it. The after credits scenes of course had something the other Hangovers were famous for, be sure not to miss it! But at least this episode was not a total failure like the second one. At least it was different even if not as good as the first Ha

I have wanted to see a play in the open-air theatre in Regents Park since 2006 but somehow had never managed to find tickets earlier. And so, when I was able to get last minute tickets from a colleague in office to see, 'To kill a mockingbird', at the Park, it was almost like a dream come true. And to be honest, the experience was all I had always imagined it to be.. and more..! First about the setting: the play is staged in the middle of Regents Park, in Queen Mary's Gardens. The path leading to the theatre builds up to the experience; walking through beautifully landscaped gardens, moving along the green path laced with colourful flowers on both sides. It sets the mood for a warm and fresh evening, close to nature. And then you come to the theatre, its done up so beautifully, its almost feels christmasy. Cafes and coffee stalls everywhere, decorated with lights and surrounded by a green background. And then when you enter the theatre, its also in the open. Laid out

Who is going to be the next Prime Minister of India is going to be an ongoing debate for the next one year, with continuous comparisons drawn between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. And it is going to be fun and colourful times; Rahul's inexperience and Modi's nonsecular credentials thrown at all of us throughout this period. With barbs and re-barbs on pages after pages, and supporting fire from all the loyal comrades. As I said, it will be fun. In between this whole process, the fact that the biggest democracy in the world is going through a vote for its next government will be lost. The government is expected to bring about change, reform and development to the country. There are many aspects of this change which need to be talked about, stressed on and promises made for (irrespective of the fact whether those are kept or not). However what will happen is that the personalities of the leaders will be the focus of the campaigns, and with whatever little airtime issues get,