Giving a Speech is Not an Achievement

 Politicians give speeches all the time. CEOs, sometimes. Guests at Convocations or events, all the time.

Just giving a speech is not an achievement, in my view. If you have actually achieved something significant, in career, life it's fine. If not, you are simple fooling people. Just a motivating speech is only a way with words. It may sound good for a minute, good to listen to, but might not have a lasting impact.

Why are people fond of listening to speeches? I have no idea, but I try to speak as little as possible. From experience, I know it is painful to listen to human drones in full form- have done enough of listening. 

Why am I in this mood? An independence day is coming up, and what happens on that day? You are right, speeches do..

Hollywood - An Objective Look

 A lot of Hollywood films are masala of a different kind. A few are good, in various genres. But overuse of technology and special effects/VFX have spoilt the kind of good films we got to saw earlier in decades gone by. This also seems to be happening in India to an extent, with tech playing a larger role than before.

When I started watching Hollywood films in the 70s and 80s, I did not understand the accent, always. But some movies made a mark with good action, comedy and so on. Slapstick was also a part of some. Laurel and Hardy were early favourites in childhood. Until we came tp appreciate Charlie Chaplin and his social commentary/satire, in Modern Times and The Great Dictator.

In humour of a different kind, fell Mel Brooks and Woody Allen. I liked both. Some action films like Guns of Navarone, Mackenna's Gold, or Where Eagles Dare were awe-inspiring. I did not dig the ovies that relied on special effects all that much. Star Wars  or Close Encounters or disaster films like The Towering Inferno, I mean. Lawrence of Arabia seemed like a meaningful film, about the history of the Arabs.

Lately, I have liked the trilogy starting with Before Midnight which was really made well. Before that, some capers like Romancing the Stone, or A Fish Called Wanda were also fun watches. 

A really good suspense film- apart from Hitchcock films- was The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, remade badly as Karz. The original was deadly!

Nice Hollywood Films

Mackenna's Gold
Guns of Navarone
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lawrence of Arabia
Where Eagles Dare
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Pink Panther series with Peter Sellers
Diamonds are Forever
The Man with the Golden Gun
Herbie Goes Bananas
Romancing the Stone
Death on the Nile
Murder on the Orient Express
A Fish Called Wanda
The Man with Two Brains
Dead Poets' Society
Silent Movie
Blazing Saddles
History of the World Part 1 (Part 2 was never made, though there was a trailer with Hitler on skates)
The Loves and Times of Scaramouche
The Reincarnation of Peter Proud
Star Wars
The Omen
The Mask
Gone With the Wind
Modern Times
The Great Dictator
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
Julius Caesar
Who's Afriad of Virginia Woolf?
Titanic
The Naked Gun
The Birds
Dial M for Murder
Casablanca
The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Oh, God (starring George Burns)
Airplane
Annie Hall

Top Films

I am approaching this top twenty (or more) from a different angle. I will try and list a few films from different genres, and see if they make sense in a list like this.

Simple Tales

Nil Battey Sannata, Rajnigandha, Chitchor

Suspense

Jewel Thief, Teesri Manzil, Ittefaq, Dial M for Murder, Shikaar, Aankhen (both Dharmendra), The Reincarnation of Peter Proud

Serious Cinema

Anand, Arth, Aakrosh, Manthan, Mere Apne, Ingmar Bergman's films, Zorba the Greek

Romance

Bobby, Aradhana, Tere Mere Sapne, Ankhiyon ke Jaharonkhon Se, Casablanca, Amar Prem, Bridges of Madison County

Comedy

Chhoti si Baat, Chashme buddoor, Gol Maal, Chupke Chupke, Namak Halaal, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Padosan, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Finding Fanny, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Silent Movie, History of the World Part 1, The Loves and Times of Scaramouche

Action

Where Eagles Dare, Mackenna's Gold, Sholay

Period Dramas

Mughal-e-azam, Bahubali,

Foreign Films

Many Iranian films like The Salesman, The Separation, Kurosawa films like Red Beard, Seven Samurai, a couple of French and Italian films, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady (this could go into the comedy list too)

Mindless Formula

Hathi Mere Sathi, Seeta aur Geeta, Zanjeer, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Hum Kisise Kam Nahin, Amar Akbar Anthony, Jugnu, Roti, Humjoli, Some Govinda films, Some Telugu films with NTR, James Bond Films with Roger Moore, Tamil films with Prabhu Deva..

Naam Shabana- Film Review

This could have been titled Baby se Pehle, as it is a prequel to Baby which starred Akshay. This one stars Taapsee Pannu, who is worming her way into my heart with her performances in Chashme Baddoor, Pink and now, Naam Shabana.

She is quite credible as a secret agent, but also credible as a young lady with a mind of her own. She faces tragedy with guts, and comes out on top. That message itself would be enough to go make you watch this film. But the film also works as an action film (a la Bond), with good editing to keep you guessing till almost the end, as to what will happen next. The other actors-Akshay, Danny, Anupam Kher are useful to keep you interested. Manoj Bajpayee is very good, and so is the lady who plays Shabana's mom. The villain is Prithviraj, I think from Mallu films. The nondescript "cable guy" is hilarious, when he says "People love free offers."

I enjoyed the film. Get some popcorn, and get going. The combo would be worthwhile.

Shivaay- Film Review

Ajay Devgn is an actor I like, right from his debut film Phool aur Kaante. I am not so sure about his directorial capabilities, though. A good director has to be a good editor, for me. This film is badly edited.

The story is good- actually, gripping at times. The acting is uniformly good. The casting is almost perfect. The only problem I have is the length of the movie. About 20-25 minutes shorter, it would rank high up there. That's where Bond usually scores over his Bollywood rivals.

Girish Karnad is the only character in the film who keeps it short and sweet. All others stretch their dialogue or scenes too long, in my not-so-humble view. The special effects, action (Bond-ish) and the scenery keep you interested, for most part. I was impressed by the lovely Erika Kaar, by far the best import into Bollywood in recent times. The kid (Abigail) too played her part well.

This is Erika Kaar, a Polish actress who plays the heroine.

Reunion Season

There are two things which invariably happen in December, year after year. Some academic conferences. And reunions. And so it was that I had a few of both. I met many batchmates of my Osmania Engineering college at a Hyderabad club on Dec 21st. Lot of warm memories were shared and a champagne bottle or two emptied. These gatherings are special, as anyone who's had one will tell you, as you see some people after years, and you still connect with most.

Next, we had two roommates of mine also from Hyderabad, who shared an apartment in the US for around 3 years, meeting up. A Paradise (hotel) biryani was in order, and so it was had.

Went to Chennai for a conference, and ran into a few IIMB batchmates who play golf at the Gymkhana Golf Club which happens to be surrounded by the Race Course track. An unusual setup, and we played golf at daybreak. Met some ex-colleagues, and one of my PhD student at the conference. Also met an old IIML student at Chennai (from 2001-2003).

Back at Hyderabad, rounded off with a meeting with two ex-Kirloskar Institute students- one of whom is an entrepreneur and another, a movie actress! And there is a family outing planned for New Year's eve weekend yet to happen!