Ship of Theseus: My thoughts.

On a saturday afternoon, I was aimlessly looking at tweets in the 'lonely' world of Twitter and tried to check what was trending.  To my surprise  #ShipOfTheseus was the trend setter and just to add to that surprise, it wasn't one of those sponsored conversation which promise you those lovely gadgets if you tweet and make it popular!

So when was the last time that people were talking about the movie in social media and not cracking sarcastic jokes on it? Seems like a decade since that has happened! All I saw on twitterland was heaps of praise for the movie and talks about the director's vision.( A rare entity! )

I then did what I do best, Researched ( Googled ) about the movie, read a few reviews, checked trailers, read criticisms and similar stuff on the web. I then decided I think this movie ought to be watched considering the kind of conversations people are having about it. Word of mouth publicity actually working!!

luckily Hyderabad was one of the 5 cities where the producers released the movie, I was so proud to be a hyederabadi! ( False tears). Had booked tickets for an evening show and after facing many obstacles ( not life changing sadly!) boarded the ship!

We were 10 minutes late to the show and I was perpetually swearing at the traffic which was causing all the delay but the only hope for us was those creatively masterpieces of advertisement which come right before the movie and allow audience to settle down, Isn't that the purpose of them anyway?

Talking about the movie, people were watching it with riveting silence even a sneeze by someone in the back row shattered the golden silence. I realized people had taken the those reviews talking about 'life changing movie'  a bit too seriously and were more focused on ensuring they don't miss out on that scene which would make their life better rather than soaking in the movie entirely.

I for that matter sat back and enjoyed the movie with popcorn, and even eating popcorn was a difficult exercise! I thought I was disturbing others by making the sound of chewing popcorn! Such 'informed' audience they were!

Movie did not change my life! However I have to say, it was one of the most thought provoking movies I have ever seen. I was thinking well into midnight about so many sub themes/questions which were raised in the movie, and I felt compelled to do so. 

If you call 'look of the movie' as cinematography then it was pure genius, acting was pure class and direction above all was enthralling to watch! The three stories of Blind photographer, old monk and young stockbroker connect with you at so many levels which is difficult to describe. They ask such amazing questions which make you think for the answer when there isn't any readily available. 

This movie as rightly pointed out by many others is one direction I would love bollywood to go to. Please take some time out and watch this movie, It isn't a movie its an experience worth cherishing. 

Special 26:My thoughts

This is not a review,I don't consider myself competent enough to review a movie.I can definitely share my thoughts.
Here are my thoughts about Special 26 the latest Bollywood flick to hit the theaters.

One thing I really appreciate in a movie is Directorial work, Actors certainly play a pivotal role but if Director does not anchor the ship in the right direction then it is sure to sink as many ships have.

Neeraj Pandey,Director of "A Wednesday"(debut) and "Special 26" had impressed all of us with his debut movie which turned out to be a surprise hit. He has once again done commendable job on his second movie as well. He obviously had to take certain leeway from his usual style,nonetheless he hasn't disappointed.

Special 26 is your Hollywood style heist film with emphasis on rapid screenplay and smart twists in script. I am sure most of you know the theme of the movie, however let me give a gist for the benefit of those who haven't got a chance to google about the movie.

A group of con artists( If you can call them) lead by Ajay(Akshay Kumar) pose as CBI officers and raid corrupt businessmen,politicians and flee with their black money.They are unfazed by police since no one wants to complain regarding stolen black money. CBI gets to know about them and sends one of their best (Manoj bajpayee) to stop them. Movie follows the Cat & Mouse game between Real & Fake CBI.

Positives

• Attention to detail:  I am really impressed with Neeraj Pandey for giving attention to the little details which most bollywood directors tend to miss. For Ex: Since the movie is set in 1897, all the things you see on screen are of that era. I could not find any loophole. In one scene all the cars shown on the road are of that era( could have easily ignored the fact) Production department needs to be lauded for the effort. 
• Brisk Pace: This kind of heist drama needs brisk pace and he has definitely kept the audience on tenterhooks for most part of the movie.
• Acting: Akshay Kumar,Anupam Kher & Manoj Bajpayee definitely steal the show with commendable support by Jimmy Shergill, Divya Dutta and two other actors( You can google the names)

Negatives

• Love story angle: It was definitely not needed, I am sure he had to include it since he dint want only critics to love the movie but also the "Mass" who control the market. It slightly dampens the pace.

Bottom Line

Neeraj Pandey is definitely inspired by Hollywood in right sense, not the usual copy inspired! He has taken a real life incident and crafted a good entertaining movie out of it. You should watch it if you love good quality cinema.  

Confessions of a Talentless Guy!

Yes,I have to admit it to the world, I have hidden this for long time. "I have no specific talent to boast upon".There have been innumerable times when I have had to come up with "on the fly" answers to that demeaning question "What's your talent?" I could no longer keep this with myself since it was becoming a burden too heavy to withstand!

Let me try and explain why I don't have any specific talents, following is my honest attempt at understanding my own predicament,

I remember back in childhood I used to sing occasionaly and there was this person who happens to be a distant relative who did tell my mother to get me classically trained. That's the only person who has ever told me that I did sing good, no one else has ever since! So due to lack of encouragement I had to quit singing which never was my passion( What is?)

Dancing seems to be the second best talent, I never danced in my childhood and to this day I lament on this fact, why din't I? If I had I could have gone places. Believe me I never danced in any of those umpteen number of cultural events our school had! No one, not even a soul asked me to dance,neither did I think about it that much. Now I do dance,but it is more to do with free style which has no specific style at all! However have to say this dance can be so exhilarating, wish someone had told me.

Music: I have one more significant confession to make, there are so many people for whom music means the entire world but I honestly need to tell you it has never caught my imagination. I have never got immersed  into music, I have no clue why! I do listen to music but am not passionate about it. My taste buds in music vary a great deal not sticking to any particular genre. I listen to Bob Dylan,Adele,Amit Trivedi composed and a few hit numbers which you anyway can't miss. I wish I could be as passionate as some people are about music.

Movies/TV Series: This is one thing which comes very close to being my talent, but it does sound weird when I would have to say "Watching Movies" is my talent! I am not a encyclopedia of movies like some people are. I do know a few names in movie industry but I don't keep a track of them. The only reason I love movies and TV series is because they tell a "Story". A story which can inspire me and make me a better person than I am. I love stories but even that isn't my talent since I only love them, I don't do anything with them.

Academics: If my academic scores were plotted on a graph you would get a perfect Zig-Zag image! I was never a topper and believe me I am happy that I wasn't! Why am I happy? Well toppers are people who are most ridiculed among friends, how bad is that! I scraped through many examinations to be called a engineer and also a MBA but academics in totality was never my forte.

I can go on and on about many fields where I don't have any talent but I think it isn't fair on my part to waste your time.

However, If there is one silver lining which my talentless life has taught me, it is this. Every person no matter what he is good at needs a helping soul who can have faith in him or her. It is this helping hand which pushes the talent to the pedestal. There are enormous number of people who have incredible talents but never come out of the shackles, My dream is that one day I can be that soul who would help people to come out and chase their dreams. To do that I need to have the capability first, Hence I need to develop that ,So for now all I can do is Motivate and encourage people to do better in whatever they do.It isn't something tangible but that is the closest I can come to having Talent.