Sunday, June 27, 2010

Let Evil Triumph - Raavan, Movie Review

Think of Mani Ratnam and you think of fine cinema. Almost unanimously, the director will receive praise for his celluloid masterpieces. Unfortunately his latest piece of art has attracted anything but praises. Ratnam’s modern interpretation of one of the most enigmatic and despised villains in India’s mythological history, Raavan, has been panned by the critics and the masses alike.

So, why do I choose to post a review of a movie that has been already deemed as a box-office failure. Simple, because I disagree with the opinions of these “connoisseurs” of fine cinema. Also, as a twitter acquaintance so eloquently put it, because I have fine taste!

Raavan, obviously, is the telling of the Ramayana from a different point of view, that of the antagonist. The movie focusses on the abduction of Ragini (our Sita portrayed by a rather composed Mrs. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) by the “Raavan” of the region, Beera (portrayed by Abhishek Bachchan), an outlaw who seems to be a Robin Hood to some while the Devil to most. Ram is none other than Ragini’s husband Dev Pratap (portrayed by southern star Vikram), a SP who has been in pursuit of the villanous Beera since long.

Beera’s motive behind the abduction is not made clear till much later in the movie, which, in my view, adds to the mystery of the story-telling. As the story unfolds, the underlying plot begins to come into focus. Once the motive behind Beera's actions was revealed, I found myself rooting for the evil to win this battle for a change.

An aspect of the movie that truly enthralled me was the reversal in the roles of the two primary characters of this modern Ramayana. For those who have seen and read the Ramayana, to them Rama is the personification of absolute and pristine Good, while Ravana is exact opposite.
This interpretation, although a great way to sell morals to young minds, is a rather one-dimensional approach to the two personalities. Ratnam’s interpretation provides a more layered and realistic persona to these two. Dev Pratap’s almost ruthless dedication to apprehend his villain makes him less than noble on multiple occasions. His passion almost borders on villainy. Conversely, Beera’s purpose, his motive to commit these crimes, renders him a hero in the eyes of many.
Sacrifice, forgiveness and selflesness, traits that are associated with heroes are not exhibited by the modern Rama. On the contrary, in this story, Ravana exhibits them and then some!

Visually, the movie is SPECTACULAR. Sivan is truly the master craftsmen as he wields his weapon in the jungles of India. So masterful is his cinematography that the locations themselves become integral characters in the telling of the tale. As an amateur photographer, I found multiple frames simply breathtaking and inspiring. Despite being shot primarily in the wild jungle, there is not one shot that appears mundane or vile.

Rahman has had better soundtracks to his credit, but his compositions for Raavan would certainly rank in his top 10 works of al time. The lyrics to some of the some songs may seem downright absurd, but convey the on-screen emotions beautifully. My personal favorites are the track Beera and Behne De.

In terms of performances, Perhaps Bachchan Jr. did go overboard in certain scenes as he attempted to portray a schizophrenic character with both noble and villainous intentions. But there are certain scenes that simply resonated with his emotion. Aishwarya, to me seemed a tad loud at times (but then I find most women quite loud!), but managed to hold her ground and provided justice to her character. The modern day Rama as portrayed by Southern star Vikram,looking like a walking advertisement for aviator sunglasses, nails his character just right. Coming off as the supposed hero with all the flaws of a mortal being, Vikram did his part in getting the audience to hate him just a tad.

It is sad, that the movie was written off almost instantly and became the target of negative reviews. Perhaps the expectations were raised higher than usual considering the cast and crew. But even with all the hype, the movie does deliver in many departments. Technically the movie is flawless. In my view, Raavan is a movie worth watching, not on the idiot box, but in its full grandeur on the big screen.

So there you have it, my sincere take on Raavan. The movie may not be what most of you expected, but it sure makes for a great cinematic experience. My only regret was not catching this movie earlier and posting a review to counter the over zealous panning by the mass and social media.

Do yourself a favor, go catch this movie before it vanishes from the cinemas. You may just thank me later.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

IndiBlogger Singapore Meet

As I pen this post, two things are running through my mind. First, this was truly a memorable evening with the very first IndiBlogger meet off Indian soil being a success. The second, ten other fellow bloggers are going to do a MUCH better job of writing about this evening than me!

So I began thinking (and at 3:00 AM, that's NOT an easy task!), and it struck me, KISS. no not the act of locking lips (and much more in some cultures!). I was referring to the acronym, Keep It Simple Stupid. So here goes.

The evening in question was being planed for almost two weeks (or was it three?). Being a blog meet virgin, I was naturally anxious. And the proposed agenda of the evening did little to ease my jitters. With a formal introduction round, a powerpoint presentation (well a Keynote one in my case!) and a showcase of some form of entertaining talent the meet was beginning to sound like a Mr. Universe Contest.

But my anticipation overpowered my anxiousness. The idea of connecting with diverse people who shared the same passion for blogging as I do, was simply irresistible! And so I began counting down the days to the fateful encounter.

The day of the meet, I chose to go prepared and even risked reaching late to the office that day as I spent time preparing my "Blog Meet Kit". Don't get intimidated. The so called "kit" was simply my camera and my Mac (yes I could've said laptop, but Mac sounds so much more cooler!). The decision to take the camera was an obvious one. Taking the Mac was to showcase my other talents, sketching and photography, which would've been difficult to exhibit without a display medium.

I had done very little reading on the works of the people I was to meet that evening, which is to say that I had simply read the titles of their blogs! Nonetheless, I was certain that their respective blogs must've been great reads.

So we now move to the actual meet itself. Having arrived just a shade after the designated rendezvous time, I was delightfully surprised to find that almost half the attendees were already present. This was a great sign, since it meant that the other bloggers were as eager to attend this meet as I.

Having only interacted with these people via the Internet, meeting the real people was surreal. It almost felt like going on a blind date, except that unlike the date, here there would be written accounts of the evening floating in cyberspace for thousands, if not millions, to read!

I could sense that almost everyone was a little jittery. But we all loosened up pretty quick. Informal introductions were underway as we waited for the remaining names on the roster to show up.

As formal introductions began, I began what I do best, taking pictures. Which did not mean that I wasn't interested in the bloggers' stories. But from experience I know that the best shots are the natural ones. And what better time to find someone in a more natural pose than when they're trying to break the ice with a set of strangers!

With just one short of the confirmed list of attendees, the meet was definitely a success.
I was impressed with the diversity in not only the backgrounds of the people present, but also the contents of their blogs. As each person at the table described his or her motivation and inspiration for being a blogger, I was enamored.

As the evening progressed, discussions swerved from related topics such as the choice of blogging medium, attracting readers, coming up with catchy captions to absolutely random stuff like favorite movies, the world cup and Beauty products!
Conversations led us to realise that the world was even smaller than we had originally perceived as it turned out that most of us were living examples of the six degrees of separation.

Einstein's theory reared its ugly head as we realized that the two hour long meet was coming to a conclusion too soon! It was obvious that no-one wanted the meet to end anytime soon, but commitments to family and friends (and the fact that the restaurant manager was eyeing us suspiciously!) forced us to call it an evening.

As we parted ways, there was a sense of disappointment. But also a sense of happiness, since now I had made new friends, friends who shared my passion for writing.

The IndiBlogger meet in many ways was more than about just meeting fellow bloggers. To me it was more about understanding why we do, what we do. They were mothers, students, consultants, techies and perhaps even stand up comedians, but at the core, they were individuals who were passionate about writing. Their passion for writing was what truly defined their characters, their inner persona. For me the evening was truly a memorable one and I sincerely hope that the IndiBlogger gang here in Singapore continues to meet and interact.

On a more personal note, the bloggers meet helped me answer the question, Why do we blog? We blog not only because we like to, but because we like it when what we blog is liked by others. It's about the appreciation. The comments, the re tweets,  the Facebook "Like" button clicks is what drives us bloggers to go to extra-ordinary lengths to write "that" one post.

Here's hoping that the Singapore IndiBlogger gang stay connected and meet up more often.

The Gang

Pleasure and a Privilege to have made your acquaintance fellow bloggers.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The First Time

Abhishek was nervous. And rightly so. It was his first day in a new school. The anxiety levels were through the roof. His previous school was one that focussed on the kindergarten levels and hence had fewer classes and in turn fewer students. But his new school was one that moulded minds right from kindergarten to the metric levels. The building, the classrooms, the people all seemed gigantic to the six year old.

He just couldn't let go of his mother's wrist. With each step that he took towards the school gates, his grip got firmer. His mother could sense the fear in Abhishek and knew that it was only natural. She was scared too, but hid her true feelings and put up a brave face for her second born. She knew if Abhishek saw her in a vulnerable state, he would never be able to let go off her hand.

It was almost 8'o clock, time for the school day to officially begin. Parents would have to now take leave of their children and hand them over to the school for the remainder of the day. Abhishek knew that the comfort of his mother's hand was soon going to slip away and that he would be on his own in this huge maze.

She was holding her father's hand. Her eyes had a sense of anticipation. An unmistakable smile beamed on her face. Rutuja was anything but scared. On the contrary her excitement was hard for her to contain. Her enthusiasm was contagious.

His first look left him puzzled. Abhishek couldn't believe someone could look so beautiful! Suddenly his fear seemed to have vanished into thin air. He no longer had anxiety or doubt in his mind. His grip over his mother's wrist begin to loosen. Sensing this his mother looked at him and then looked at what had caught her son's attention. As she saw Rutuja, she couldn't help but smile. Her son was smitten and that too by such a sweet looking girl. She almost giggled at the thought of her little tiger going all weak in the knees for this little angel.

She finally let go his hand and watched as Abhishek inched towards the fair maiden. Suddenly Abhishek froze in his steps, turned around and ran back to his mohter and tugged at her sleeve, signaling her to bend down so that he could talk to her. As she obliged, Abhishek asked her

"Mommy, is that girl an angel?"

Abhishek's mother almost guffawed at her son's question. She whispered back in his ear,

"If she is, she is the most beautiful one I've ever seen son. Why don't you go and talk to her?"

As Abhishek started walking towards the little angel, he felt a sudden knot in his stomach. He couldn't quite tell what this new feeling was. But no matter how alien this new emotion felt, for some reason, he did not want it to go away.

Abhishek, the six year old boy, had just experienced his first crush.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

A Lostie Speaks.



On October 24 2004, Oceanic flight 815 to Los Angeles crashed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The survivors of that fateful aircraft found themselves on an mysterious island that would challenge their faith and transform their destinies. On May 23 2010, we witnessed the final chapter in the saga of the Flight 815 survivors.


Yes, I am talking about the hit show LOST. After six years of mystery, mythology, thrills, and numerous twists and turns, the saga of the survivors of flight 815 came to a final conclusion. It's been almost a fortnight since the series came to an end and I am still trying to get to terms with that fact that there are no more new episodes of LOST!


Attempting to explain the story of LOST in mere words, that too the words of an amateur writer would be nothing short of blasphemy. There are numerous online resources that would do an exponentially better job at that. No this is not a synopsis of the show, nor is it a glimpse in to the show’s story. What it is, is an honest and heartfelt reaction of a viewer who went from an intrigued viewer to a disinterested one and finally went on to become an ardent devotee of the series.


The show ran for six seasons and had quite a story to tell with each passing season. Although the main story arc changed somewhat in the latter two seasons, each season formed a unique mini story arc of its own. With every passing season, a new dimension to the LOST saga was discovered. And each season finale cliffhanger literally left the viewing audience thirsting for more.


I'll admit that my interest in the show waned after the first season. I wrote it off as just another wannabe thriller drama series that would go nowhere. What made me change my mind I still cannot recollect, but rest assured, I am glad I did revisit the missed seasons and was fully caught up with the show when I began watching the fifth season. I didn’t even wait for the official telecast in my home country. I had found numerous online resources that let me watch the latest episodes almost the same day as the US telecast.


There are many things about the show that have captivated me over the seasons. Chief among them was the constant tussle between the concept of free will and destiny. These concepts were personified time and again by not just the show’s story-line, but also the protagonists, Jack Shepherd and John Locke.


The show gave many memorable characters that have already found a place in pop-culture. My personal favorite is Desmond Hume. Although he wasn’t the lead of the series in the conventional sense, his character was an instrumental one in the shows final season story line. But frankly, almost every character in the show has evoked strong emotions, be it a happy one or one that is filled with sorrow. Very few shows fictional characters are capable of such feats.


Although many fans, including myself, felt that the series finale left a lot to be desired, there was a sense of closure for the most part. The characters that we had come to know and love over the past six years had finally found their true destinies. But there was SO much more that could have been done with some of the characters. Certain story-lines were left hanging, when they were the ones that could've changed the way the show progressed.


Whatever the verdict on the finale, there is no doubt that LOST has attained cult status. It elevated from a simple series to a pop culture phenomenon. With multiple fan websites and countless forums that discussed the series, its characters, story-lines, episodes and themes to no end, LOST is nothing short of a classic, a piece of television history.


Here's the season three finale scene, one which I personally consider to be the best in the entire series and one that brought a tear to my eye. Jack's last statement in the scene is what keeps haunting me till this day.







In the words of my favorite character Desmond,


"See you in another life brother."