GIR's BAANI: Cherish it, Relish it... let it melt...

GIR's BAANI: Cherish it, Relish it... let it melt...

Cherish it, Relish it... let it melt...

Statutory Warning:


I do not write film reviews for a living and hence what you read (if you bother to read) will not be an “Adarsh” review but views of a fanatic who has enjoyed big screen from 5 metres many a times.



“Dirty Picture” took me back to my childhood... err college days, I must say when my popular destination with the saved pocket money used to be the little known (rather pretended to be little known since I have seen many known faces make a visit) Chhayas, Khannas, Pradips, Bhawanis, Bidhushrees... in between the D grade Hollywood stuff, there existed a popular clientele for the Silks, Shakeelas... and needless to say, however we may have enjoyed, they were never discussed beyond the closed walls of the theatres.



The Dirty Picture brings everything out of the closet to mainstream and celebrates bosoms, boobs and “C” grade movie making in its full glory. Probably, never before in Indian film history has families celebrated getting dirty together... thanks Milan Luthria.



The Dirty Picture is journey of Reshma or Silk (and all of us), a small town girl who dreams of making it big (we all do)... and she uses, utilises and practices the talent (her physicality and dancing abilities) and reaches the zenith of success in right and not so right ways (so similar to most of us). And then begins the journey downhill (we all do). What follows is the Bindass babe getting heart-broken and broken as Emraan Hashmi (playing Abraham, the ”ART” director turned “Masala” Hero) says “dil toot-te nahin, sab kuchh toot-te hain”. The Dirty Picture strikes the right chord because it’s the story of an underdog... who is rejected, subjected to butt of jokes and yet who makes it on her own terms.



Vidya Balan’s Silk graduates Vidya to a different league after Ishqiya, Paa, NOKJ. We always knew Vidya to be a great performer... but no one ever took physicality in acting to a greater level than Vidya’s Silk. Over the past decade, we have had actors trying to get closer to human milieu by changing their appearances, body-language and mannerisms in Krishh, Black, Ghajini, MNIK... but even in their changed appearances, the actors meant everything that ought to be attached with stardom... they were glamour personified.



The vision of Milan Luthria portrays the Silk in Vidya from a rustic village belle to a glamour girl and subsequently degenerating to a “fat, ugly, fattier” egoist who refuses to let go of her prime even in her sunset and darkest nights in bouts of drinking.



No mainstream actresses have been brave like Vidya on the screen to go the whole hog to get in to the skin of Silk and mercilessly kill the “Vidya Balan”. If it can be compared to anyone it has to be with BIG B in Paa. But where she excels and goes beyond the extraordinary is in her pursuit to attain perfection, she looks pathetic, is repulsive not just to her on-screen paramours but to the common man’s “heroine”... and she is unapologetic about it. Perfection, performance... reaches a new level... and as an audience, I get a new high.



If Vidya Balan is the back-bone of The Dirty Picture, what holds true and ably supports her is her co-stars and brilliant dialogues.



When I saw Jack and Jill last month (courtesy Gomolo.in), it was a certain gentleman by the name of Al Pacino who whacked me with his performance... he mocked Al Pacino (the star), subjected himself to the butt of jokes and ridicule and did everything to dismantle the star that he is... and yet the 5 feet frame stood taller than everyone. Naseeruddin Shah’s Suryakant does that if not more. Playing a Super-egoist, lecherous, Super Star of the 80s, Mr Shah mouthing some of corny dialogues is Super Fun.



Emraan Hashmi is as good as he ever was, as the narrator and director, who hates the kind of “Silky” movies but eventually fall prey to. The Calcutta lad, Rajesh Sharma (as Selva Ganesh, the mentor of Silk and “many others”) is brilliant in his pivotal role. Tusshar (sans Kapoor) is as good or as bad as he ever has been. Good to see Anju Mahendroo back on screen after ages.



Rajat Arora’s writing and dialogues are as wacky as wackiest has ever been.



The music is “ooh la la”.



Milan Luthria should be credited for pulling off one of the brilliant “biopic” and gifting us with a Vidya Balan who pushes the notches higher for the leading actors.



We all have a bit of Silk in our lives... desires, egos, loneliness, fantasies, cravings, haughtiness, guts, depressions, dirty secrets... the Cadbury... cherish it, relish it... let it melt... loving it!!!





PS: Thanks to Amitava Bhattacharya and Pritam Roy... I actually made it.

Ram Vs Ravaan

Why Anna succeeds?

Is it a million dollar question or should I say a question to unravel the millions of dollars? Why did it take 74 years for a man to achieve what he couldn’t earlier? Or is it that we have had enough of the crooked politicians and we needed a rallying point?



The incidents over the last few days have been more than just usual.



Over the years, there has been a sea change in the society... how things are perceived and how interactions have changed within the constituents and the stakeholders. Even some 6-7 years back, when I had just started to work in Sales, it was felt that the only you can achieve your sales targets is by abusing people, by hurling the choicest of abuses to your subordinates, by bullying him to work on Sundays and holidays. Standing today, some of the finest sales managers who have stood the test of time are the individuals who have given ample and due respect to their team members... I can rattle of names and site examples.



People are not ready to be bullied any more by whosoever it may be.



Be it the advent of the internet, the emergence of the electronic media, our world has become smaller... it is more compact. News and intelligence are no more the prerogative or opportunity of the select few. News, opinions, views travel faster than in the 3G Age than ever before. And it holds true for human beings as well. It’s not just the technology that has evolved, our generations have as well.



Change is the order of the day... couple of years back not many would have imagined that the communists will be thrown out of power from the state of West Bengal but they have been. It is not something different from what I see at the workplace. As human beings, as we expect is a little respect for our perceived values. Why I say perceived is because, values are relative to the upbringing of one’s own. A common man expects that little much only. Unfortunately, respect we may command but very little of that do we part away with... we take people for granted even in our day in day out relationships.



With the opening up of the economy, the opportunities have been more... the learning have been more... as much as a boss (the individual in power) may have believed “I care two hoots about you... if you go, I will get someone else”, the subordinate may have also thought “You think you’ll continue to kick me... I’ll kick you out in the first opportunity that I get”... and they moved on. The Super Sales Managers became Zero, the Communists wondered when the lightening strike did them in and the UPA Government is wondering where the majority has gone!



India needed a “Few Good Men”.



From childhood I had read Kiran Bedi is a good lady... she is what one can aspire to be. As much as Manish Tiwari (the Congress Spokesperson) would like us to believe that Anna Hazare is immersed in corruption, this young man of 74 doesn’t look like a corrupt man... he doesn’t talk like one. Fortunately, for the common man, they have seen too faces of corruption over the last 1 year and unfortunately, for the Sonis and Sibbals, the simple Gandhian just doesn’t resemble the Rajas and Kalmadis.



Arvind Kejriwal is a Ramon Magsaysay Award Winner and an alumnus from IIT Kharagpur. That’s what my parents aspired me to be...an IITian that I couldn’t be. This man left a TATA Steel job to work with Missionaries of Charity and Ramkrishna Mission... went on to become an IRS and left his role of a Joint Commissioner in the Income Tax Office to form “Parivartan”. Would I not believe him when he talks? Remove the name... I would be a proud father, if that was the CV of my son.



India found their “Few Good Men”.



In school I was taught “Actions speak louder than words”... I am sure they taught the same across all the schools. How much our Honourable Prime Minister would want us to believe about his intentions and actions, all which spoke were his inactions, his acts of silence. I believed what my teacher taught me... I believed when my father told me “speaking the truth is right... Ram is right and Ravaan is wrong”. I may have not practiced it often, I have lied on occasions but then I have never abused my subordinates either. I give respect to the person across me. I have been selfish but in me I know “Ram is right and Ravaan is wrong”.



I may not be the Ram... but then even Ram needed the Hanumans.

Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap - New Exclusive Promo

Kuchh Original Dekhega???

the world cup that was in 1983

TV came to our house before the Asian Games in 1982... Weston. It was a trouble child... more often than not, it used to be unwell... and then the wait was a long one.


India will play Sri Lanka tomorrow in the finals of the world cup.


In 1983, it wasn't the world cup... it used to be Prudential World Cup. I was a kid of 7 years. What are the memories? 


One is of going to Durgapur... and getting to see an Anandabazar Patrika, which had an article on my grandfather on the editorial page. At the back page that used to cover Sports, India had beaten West Indies in the group match. 


The next what I remember is my uncle came down on the evening of the world cup final to watch the match at our modest railway quarters of Sealdah. Gavaskar got out very cheap. I was sad. Cricket for me at that point in time meant only Sunil Manohar Gavaskar. Srikkanth played for sometime. Can't recall much after that apart from the fact that Gordon Greenidge was bowled by Balwinder Singh Sandhu trying leave a ball hoping that it would leave the off stump. But it was knocked back.


I was given an early dinner... mere ko khila peela ke mereko pack kar diya. My father said "Will call you at night". Not sure if he had really meant it at that point in time when I went off to bed with my mom.


Suddenly, at midnight, my father woke me up and excitedly said, "India have won the World Cup". Got out of the bed and four of us saw Kapil Dev lift the cup.


Next day morning, the same picture from the TV was on the cover of Aajkaal. 


It was a turning point in Indian cricket... but West Indies came back to India just after the cup and just beat India black and blue. The saving grace was Gavaskar's 29th century to catch up with Sir Don.


As I saw the emotions run high on the night we beat Pakistan in the semi finals, my mind went back to those little visuals that are still so clear in my memory. I am sure tomorrow will be another such day which will remain in thoughts and memories for years to come.


Vande Mataram!!!

It was 1993...

It was 1993.

I was in Class X at Ramkrishna Mission, Narendrapur... in the hostel and where Bollywood or movies for that matter were strict "NO-NO". One day during lunch hours, the hostel house-master, Mr Mukundo Mohapatro gave me an envelope... it was a letter. But my name and address was typed. I wondered who could it be... I was ne ... ver so important or special that someone would type my name and send it.

Got through with my lunch quickly, rushed to my room and opened the letter... written in Hindi, it was from THE MAN... whom I idolised ever since I was a child and would pronounce his name as "Amita Bachan".

It was a letter from Mr Amitabh Bachchan. It was accompanied by an autographed photo of HIS.

In a school where singing a Hindi movie song was crime, I became a celebrity... everyone was envious that Mr Bachchan had written to me and I was on the TOP of the WORLD. Everyone came to my room, came to my class... just to see that treasured letter.

I wanted to be the next Amitabh Bachchan... would try and enact HIS roles, the way HE danced, I copied HIM... till I grew up and realised I can never be HIM... I can never be 6'2". :-)

Happy Birthday, Sir!!! May God Bless You and reward You with another year of good health!

 

 

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Ajit Da aar nei.

Ajit Da aar nei.

Facebook aar orkut-er juge katha-ta je taratari boibe ta-to janai. Dekhe ektu abak holam… ektu thomke gelam. Aneke anek katha likhechhe… porlam. Anek kathai mone elo… bhablam share korte pari aaj.


Ajit Sengupta… prothom dekha kabe mone nei… tabe prothom interaction-ta mone aachhe. Class VII ki VIII habe… kono ekta monthly exam-e invigilator chhilen. Boi parar bhaan kore chashmar opor diye nazar korchhilen. Katha kam… jetuku beroy “BARITONE”. Tar aage aar pare baritone bolte ekjonkei chinechhi… Mr Bachchan. Jai hok, dekhchhilam uni aar sabai-ke jemon nazar korchhilen amakeo dekhchhilen… aar uni jatokkhon amay dekhchhilen, amio onakei dekhchhilam… besh maza lagchhilo… kaaron bujhte parchhilam je uni hoyto mone mone bhabchhilen je kono golmaal aachhe. Kintu dhorte parchhilen-na bole kichhu bolteo parchhilen na.


Eman samay Ankur-er (Ankur Banerjee) extra sheet-er proyojon hoye porechhilo… bhalo parashuno korle jaa hoy aarki. Time shesh hoye jaabe… taratari giye class-er dais-er opor uthe paper-ta niyechhe ki neyni ekta baagh-er mato kanthoswar…”Ami tomader Jahar Kali-o noi aar Banamali-o na… je amake parade dekhate habe! Ekjon shikkhok-ke eituku samman dite shekho.” Jahar-da aar Banamali-da NCC-te Army aar Air dekha shuno korten.


Porikkha shesh hole khaata dite gelam… khaata niye amay bollen… “nijeke khub chalak bhabchho”. Bollam… “keno Sir, na to!” Prottuttore sankhipto ekta jabab… “Sabdhan”!


Setai shuru… tarpar jakhon Saradananda Bhavan-e elam… roj sakal-e study hall theke ekjon-er gala jharar shabdo petam… bojha jeto aar minit 20 study hall-e katate habe.


Bhadrolok-er saathe aalaap holo Class IX-e uthe. Shunlam darun paran Life Science kintu prochondo raagi. Class-e elen… maante habe STYLE chhilo guru. Uttam Kumar-er pare dhuti Panjabi-te eto keta ami sotti dekhini. Sathe daan haath-e steel band-er ghori. Board-e lekhar samay ghori-ta jhakiye niche namano… paranor samay pa-ta table-er opor tule bhaaj kore dariye thaka… he had STYLE.


Prothom din eshei bole dilen duto khata korte habe… ekta class-e jaa bolbo likhe nebe, Aarektay hostel giye fresh kore likhe aanbe. He has been a legend. Ebong very soon, aamra jara or class kortam, we had this ego with us and somewhere that would reflect in our interactions with those who were not so fortunate.


Aamra kichhu chhele chhilam who were anti-establishment… rather we were perceived that ways. Probably, that was the reason je Ajit da ektu beshi sneho korten. Mone aachhe, extempore speech competition… Sr Section-er assembly hall-e. Amar topic porlo “kaguje baagh”. Anek kathai bolechhilam… etao chhilo taar moddhe je “ekhaneo amader maajhe hostel-e, school-e anek baagh ghure beray… tader prochur hombi-tombi… eta korbo seta korbo… kintu dour ek-talar ba diker ghar-ta abdhi (Ashok-dar ghar)… aarre baba je matha-y chul nei, she mathay tel diye ki laabh!” Chhelera sabai haashleo, teacher-ra sabai gambhiranando hoye gechhilen… ekjon chhara… Ajit Da heshe Ashok-dar kaan-e kichhu bolechhilen.


Parer din class-e eshe bolechhilen…”anek baagh-I to dekhlam!”… tarpar amar dike takiye swabhabsiddho chokh tipe hasha.


Ajit Da khub bhalo galpo bolten… chokh bandho kore thakle mone hoto je radio shunchhi. Aajo ekta galpo mone aachhe… spashto mone aachhe… ebong ami jaani je aami eka noi. Sedin jara chhilo gharta-y tader sabar monei thakbe.


Amader aneker-I 2nd half-e school-e jaowar samay paaye byatha hoto… juto na parar ichchhe aarki. Kono ek bishishto mahashoy (naam bolbo na) chheleder dhorchhilen. Ajit Da-o school-e dhukchhilen. Mahashoy Ajit Da-ke dekhe bollen… “ki din porechhe… chheleder eituku discipline nei… roj chappal pore asha… athocho khelte gele sab thik!” Ajit Da takalen, hashlen, bollen, ”ekta jug chhilo jakhon chhatrora shikkhoker pa-er dike takiye thakto… aar aaj shikkhok chhatrer pa-er dike… ki din porechhe!”


Parer din theke mahashoy-ke aar dekhini dariye thakte!


Ajit Da bhalo abhinoy korten… dekhini… shunechhi. Masterda Surjo Sen karar par auditorium hall-e sabai jakhon prochondo taarif korchhe amar abhinoyer, bhadrolok elen.. pith chapre bollen, “Sabbash, darun korechhis! Shudhu amar mone hoy haath duto ektu beshi narachhili… aboshho eta Dinu-r (Dinanath Da) saathe kaaj karar phal-o hote pare… o haath-ta beshi naare. kintu seta aaro beshi nazar-e aaschhilo tor haather aangti-gulor jonno. Surjo Sen ki aangti porten? Eta mathay rachis!” Parer baar-ta aangti khulei perform korechhilam.


Je loktake sabai saada dhuti-panjabi-tei dekhte abbhosto chhilen, I was amongst the fortunate couple of guys who had seen him in colours. Kono ekta chhuti porechhe… amar saathe aarekta keu chhilo. Amra auditorium aar college shurur maajhtay haatchhilam. Hathat dekhi chena STYLE-e ekjon hete jachchhe paash katiye… Blue Half Shirt aar Navy Blue pant. Abak drishti-te chokhachokhi hotei sei chokh tipe hasha aar paro muhurtei jharer bege hete beriye jaowa.


O kato baro shikkhok chhilen taar bichar karar joggota ba proyojon aachhe bole aamar mone hoy na. Ekbaar o-ke bolte shunechhilam bhalo shikkhok hote gele tin-te jinisher darkar… specifically tin-te “ba”… “Byaktittwo (Personality)”, “Boi (Book or Knowledge)” aar “Baangmoy (Communication)”.


Je life science-ke bhoy petam… Ajit Da sei bhoy-ta kaatiye diyechhilen.


Kono ekta porikkhar viva schedule hoyechhe. Sedin aabar Thums Up Cup-er khelao chhilo. Obviously khelte gechhilam. Parer din khub bhoye bhoye ek-talar life science department-er baire dariye. Bollam “Ajit Da kaal khela chhilo tai viva-ta deowa hoyni… aaj…”.


“Haan… aay… bosh… Congratulations!”
“Thank you!”
“Ta tui ki korish… batsman na bowler?”
“Wicket keeper.”
“Wicket keeper? Khub Bhalo! Ta… which is the muscle in the human body that is most active for a wicket keeper?” (viva shuru hoye gelo)
Bhebe bollam, “Calf muscles.”
“Farokh Engineer-er naam shunechhis? Wicket keeper chhilen. Abar opening batsman-o. sab opening batsman crease-e eshe stance nito, tarpar set hoto. Engineer naamto, petate shuru korto. O-ke jakhon sangbadik-ra jiggesh korlo Farokh bhai thoda set hone ka time to lenge, he said behind the stumps for an entire innings, my eyes are always set! Tahole… which is the muscle in the human body that is most active for a wicket keeper?”
“Eyes”
“Very good. Aay. Parer match-tao jeetbi to?”


Aaj mon kharap hochhe na… sotti bolchhi… anando hochhe… garbo hochhe… I am amongst the fortunate few who happened to cross the road with Mr Ajit Sengupta.


Ajit Da, aapnar STYLE chhilo… je chhele chhotobela theke leather band chhara kichhu porto na, porbe na bole thike korechhilo… aaj se steel band chhara ghori pare na. For me, you are a STYLE icon.


Pronam neben!