Book Review- The Last Courtesan

 Inspiring book- the one on the right! Got it at the Kolkata Litfest recently. Heard him-the author too.

The book deals with an unusual subject. Memoirs of a Courtesan, as narrated to her son. Very inspiring, and I won't give away the story and be a spoiler.

Read it if you can. Manish Gaekwad is a journalist/writer. It's his mother's story. And she was a courtesan here in Kolkata, after being a poor shepherdess in Pune who lived in a hut with many siblings and a drunkard father. And raised her son who could write such a book. He got his education in a boarding school in North Bengal. Very tough for many of us to even imagine her travails.

Simple, straightforward, touching.. with some Hindi words, mostly translated.

The other book I got autographed by the author. Still reading it.

Turkish Serial

 I happened to watch completely a serial with 164 episodes! Originally Turkish, with subtitles, though a few words seemed familiar as we have derivatives in Urdu/Hindi.

The actors were very good, so was the characterisation. That helped me when I thought of giving up. The plot was OK, but got a bit repetitive. The major themes were love and betrayal, with an Al Capone type villain who controls almost everything, killing people at will and corrupting everyone who is willing.

Love triumphs, of course, like in Indian movies, but after several tribulations, and ups and downs-even though the hero is a police officer in Istanbul.

Some good acting, and scenic views of the Bosphorus- the heroine is rich- also helped. Black Money Love is the serial, on Netflix, if you are wondering..

Crying Wolf

 This story from my childhood is quite pertinent. In world affairs too. Not the romantic ones, but war-like situations. 

When Putin decides to invade some neighbouring country, others cry wolf. But what about Iraq? Afghanistan? Or earlier, Vietnam? They were not even neighbouring countries, for invaders.

The tendency is to view themselves as holier-than-thou, and this has little to do with religion. The Napoleon-Alexander mentality still shows up from time to time, among global wannabe policemen of every ilk. Amusing, but also tragic for people in the crossfire.

Being peaceful is so much easier, and better!

Meaningless Cinema

As an antidote to meaningful and mindful everything, I propose meaningless cinema, with mindless stories, characters, situations, songs, and so on. You get the 'picture' I guess..

The conditions-

There must be no plot, story, that is discernible..the audience must be kept in the dark- this dark is different from the lighting in the auditorium that screens the meaningless film.

The characters must behave strangely- like some zombie moving from one scene to another..Deepak Parasher once had the look required..looked as if he was modelling, when he was supposed to be acting.

Songs if any must have lyrics that make no sense, and music that is out of tune, preferably a worse  remix of a bad remix..

Singers must sound like the combo of that Dhinchak lady plus Himesh Reshamiya..or Taher Shah.

You may argue that we are already there, with Race 3 and its ilk, but films in that class would be a very small minority..methinks we ought to do more!

Never Let Me Go- Book Review

Kazuo Ishiguro is a British author who has won the Nobel in 2017. I was attracted to a book cover, the old-fashioned way (most of you are aware of my fashion sense by now). In a book store. I bought, and surprisingly, finished the book in about 3 days.

Never Let Me Go is a moving story, about humans, and clones of humans. I recently saw Robot 2, and artistically, these two are very different, but there were hints of what might happen when Robots turn human in the female character in Robot. Likewise, in all the three main characters- two female, and one a male in the book.

It's an emotional story, full of innocence, fears, and hopes of these clones (euphemistically called Students), raised only to provide organ donations to humans. They have a love triangle, exactly as humans might have, and grow up with just a little hope that they can extend their life just that bit. This hope is kept alive till the surprise ending, but you have to read the book to really savour it. I was impressed!

A link to the trailer of the film made from the book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWRbZuP3bAc

Melon ki Aag

This is the story of a Hindi film- a potboiler, if you go by standard definitions.

There are two melons, one rich, one poor. They fall in love. Background song- aha aaye melon ki bela dekho aayee..

But there is a serious problem. Chacha of one of the melons is not happy with the rishta. He therefore kidnaps the other melon, putting a stop to their milan.

The background song- ghadi milan ki aayee, aaja tu chhutti lekar aa ja.. but it's no go.

The first melon now thinks of a plan to flee with the second, as in Happy Bhag Jayegi. But first, he has to find her. So, he puts on his x-ray goggles and asks Alexa for her location. Voila- she's being held in the Flipkart warehouse in his town, among a zillion products.

So the melon dresses up as a delivery boy, and picks her up against a false delivery invoice. On the way, they go to a Domino's and pick up a pepperoni pizza in case they are hungry. And buy a ticket to Mauritius, where they plan to disguise themselves and return to India- no questions asked. 

Is tarah do sitaron ka zameen par hai milan, aaj ki raat. The End.

Completely vegetarian fare, combines the best of current technologies and film ideas. Only some elements are copied.

Baahubali-Film Review

In a word, it's magical. You can't take your eyes off the action, it is so well done, so larger than life, and yet, so believable, that you get lost in it for the duration. As the story comes to an end (with the promise to continue), you feel sorry it has ended! The editing, for a change, is just right.

The story is typical of a mythical tale, of betrayal, courage, revenge. Partly Tarzan, partly royal tale, it has all the elements of a good story, and the director tells it in a spell-binding fashion. The action scenes are the best I have seen anywhere, from Ben-Hur's chariot scenes, to James Bond, or Mission Impossible, to any modern tale of valour.

The cast is perfect, starting with Ramya Krishnan as the Queen and strategist who saves the hero-child, to Sathyaraj as the loyal Kattappa, to the hero, Prabhas in a double role, to Rana Daggubati as the counterfoil Bhallala, and Tamannah as the loyalist of the wronged king/queen. Even her action sequence is amazing.

Go watch it for a story well-told, and for a lesson on the technique of how to make a good film. Film as a medium comes alive and talks to you. From the sets of Bahubali at Ramoji studios-- some pics.

The Weight Loss Club by Devapriya Roy

What I liked about the book.

This book contains no advice about eating carrots instead of radish, or eating less sweets, if you are so inclined. It does, however slightly, nudge you towards exercise, and two of the protagonists fall in love with each other in so doing. So it is totally worth it, at least for some.

It has the charm of an Amol Palekar- Basu Chatterji film (think Rajnigandha), or a Hrishikesh Mukherjee classic (Bawarchi?  Khubsoorat? You take your pick). Actually, there was a film called Thoda sa Roomani ho Jaaye, which I was sometimes reminded of, in terms of unhappy people with unresolved lives slowly ‘finding themselves’. If I remember that right, Nana Patekar played a critical role in it.

It could happen anywhere. Substitute Dhokla and Thepla  for the Mishti doi and Sandesh, it could be Gujarat. Or Puran poli and Shrikhand, it could be Maharashtra. Though Calcutta is finely integrated into the story, it is not critical to it.

The characters are very real. I could identify at least a couple of people from my own life who would (did?) behave like each of these characters.  Treeza and John, Ananda, Apu, Monalisa and her competing gang of moms with a ‘killer’ instinct, the God-like tuition master Bor Da, and the college kids Abeer, Mandy, AJ and the rest. The ma-in-law takes are really reminiscent of the Lalita Pawar character in films, but also of real life haranguers-in-chief in many households.

From an educationist’s point of view, the parental obsession about their kids’ careers (usually to their detriment and with no concern for their likes) that comes through forcefully (even if it is unintended), is worrying.  Actually, the marriage obsession too, and the middle class love for NRI grooms-though I shouldn’t be complaining. I was one a good 25 years ago. Until we both decided to go desi.

The story is complex, because of the many characters, but is resolved nicely, and the style of writing is first rate. The idea of a flash mob relevant to some recent happenings is used well in the climax. You will however, be disappointed if you were looking for a crash course on weight reduction, with diets, charts, and asinine advice. That is NOT what it is about.

If you liked Devapriya’s first book (The Vague Woman’s Handbook), I am sure you will like this one even more.

Some Good Love Stories on Film

There are a few good love stories I remember from the days when I watched films regularly. Of course, the obvious one is 'Love Story' (English) itself. Had a nice pair of lead actors who made it come alive.

Among Hindi films, "Ankhiyon Ke Jharonkhon Se" from Rajshri films is one that I remember. Sachin and Ranjita played the lead. Kabhi Kabhi was also a good one, a mature one for those days. Because the lovers do not marry each other, and do so without tantrums. Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon and the title song were classy.

Another Rajshri film that I liked a lot then was 'Paheli,' starring Namita Chandra and Satyajeet. This is about an urban guy and a rural girl, but very well told. It had some beautiful songs, one that went "Sona kare jhilmil jhilmil,.....vrishti pade tapur tupur, tapur tupur" being the best.

Some Rishi-Kapoor- Neetu Singh films like Khel Khel Mein were also very good. Rajnigandha, Chitchor presented love in a different, and endearing way. Chitchor also had some of the best semi-classical songs in Hindi films- Jab deep jale aana, and Tu jo mere sur mein sur milale for instance. Ravindra Jain was the music director.

Premikudu in Telugu starring Prabhu Deva and Naghma (caled Kathalan in Tamil, and Humse Hai Muqabla in Hindi I think), was pretty good too. But the love story was overshadowed by the dances of Prabhudeva (in particular, the Ole o, song with a Western Cowboy/saloon setting).

Among more recent ones, I also liked a Malayalam film, Swapnakoodu, that had some excellent songs. 'Karuppi nalugu' was one, and 'Ishtamallada' was another. This had Prithviraj and Meera Jasmine, and another pair in the lead.

Among Kannada films, Mungaru Male was a lovely love story, with an unexpected ending. Shot in the rain-drenched parts of Karnataka, pleasing on the eye, and with some great songs.

Anopheles on Floods, Bombs and Love Stories

Anopheles, my old friend (she is a females mosquito with whom I have intellectual conversations about the world, for those who are new to her) was back, and we started talking about disasters.

I let her know about the deep tragedy caused by floods in three states. And asked for her reaction.

She said, "We'll get some new places to settle in, I hope."

Stunning as it was, it brought home to me the fact that one man's flood could be another man's (OK, mosquito's, in this case) fortune. Shakespeare had also said something linking floods and fortune, I vaguely remembered from my literature class in school.

"Like human beings settle on the banks of rivers, we settle in the remnants of floods" she shrugged. Then she asked me what I do for entertainment these days. I said, "Watch half-witted love stories, Ranjhana being a case in point."

"What's the love-story you mention about?" she wanted to know.

I struggled to explain " Well, it's about a loafer who is in love. The law of Equality, Liberty, Fraternity says that loafers have equal rights to fall in love with anyone they want. And the object of their love has no choice in the matter, if the director so chooses. So she does, but then she plots to get him killed, because he was responsible for getting the guy she really loved, killed. It's an eye for an eye, and that's the end of the loafer who is a lover-boy." I could see a look of disbelief cross her brow, and stay there."

"Let us leave love stories behind, and talk of something else. They are too depressing," I suggested.

Like what?" she asked.
"Bombing of Buddha temples?" I suggested, going from deadly love stories to just deadly live stories.

"Who is Buddha?" she innocently asked.
"He was a great soul who preached non-violence, and the way of enlightenment."
"And this is how you pay him back? By bombing his temple?" she seemed indignant.

I had no sustainable defence. I had to say, I was ashamed there were people who were so lost that they did not know what they were doing any more. Lots of them.

Leela- Book Review

This is an amazing autobiography (with some contribution from Jerry Pinto to it) of Leela Naidu. She is not known much to this generation. I had only heard of her, because she was from an earlier period. Maybe seen a couple of her songs from a film called Anuradha.

She seems like a warm, caring human being, and dabbled in many things, including making documentary films, and acted in films too. But more than the skin deep beauty (she was listed once by Vogue among the world's most beautiful) of her radiant face, it is the radiant prose of the book that impressed me. It is indeed a chronicle of a life lived well, partly in India, some parts in France and Switzerland, and lots more travelling everywhere. From slaves in Africa to naxalites in Kolkata, she has met all varieties of people, and freely expresses her views.

Her observations on societies and humankind are generally spot-on, and I found myself agreeing with her on most. And that is a rarity, let me assure you. I rarely agree with anyone thus, man or woman. Anyway, that's a character flaw I will not dwell on.

A hilarious epsisode (there are lots) in the book tells of the quirks of our Hindi movie producers who decide the bust size of their heroines- she apparently received a box containing an inflatable device to wear on the first day of her shoot! And sent it back promptly.

Highly recommended, to anyone interested in life. There's so much of it here.

Inauguration of the 9th Batch at IMT

Convocation speeches and inauguration speeches fill me with dread, usually. That's because they tend to sound the same. It's like trying to make a romantic love story on celluloid. How many different ways can you do it? But today was a pleasant surprise. Both the invited speakers did very well, I thought, to keep things interesting, and the audience (of around 350) interested. Their style had one common factor-the use of stories, mixed with the usual advice to incoming students, about various things in life at a B school and beyond.

One was a marketing and content/creative specialist (producing Kaun Banega Crorepati among other things), another a senior HR professional, and both were great examples of how to speak to a large audience- even though captive, it's tough to hold an audience these days. To their credit, the audience responded well, with rapt attention and apt enjoyment of the delivery.

Our lunchtime conversation was equally interesting, ranging from CSR (Corp Social Responsibility) practices of corporates to astrology and several other things. Industry interaction is a great way to meet people from various companies doing very different things, and you learn a lot from them. Here is to more of it at IMT.

Ishaqzaade- A Review

The tale has elements of a Laila Majnu or Romeo Juliet, the differences being that it is small town India instead of Italy, and there is no balcony scene- just kidding. The story has its dark side, that of inter-religious (or even inter caste) marriages being taboo in most of our country. I suppose the ultra-urban folks are excluded, though I am not so sure they are always progressive enough. My wife had done a survey among Indians abroad (the U.S.) in the late 80s, and found caste mentioned in about 95% of the matrimonial ads then.

Anyway, the dark underbelly of politics and its impact on love between unlikely suitors is explored reasonably well. But in this day and age, that two young people cannot simply elope and get married is a bit hard to digest. Maybe, coming as they do from privileged families, they are not used to working for a living. But still, they seem pretty good at tapori (illegal, a loose translation) activities themselves, including wielding a gun, and it should not have been too tough for them to earn a livelihood elsewhere.

The language is a bit crude, and the violence and chases sustained, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea. Not exactly a mushy romance ending in a tragedy as the movies mentioned earlier. But for others with a bit of thick skin, not too bad. Particularly as Parineeti Chopra is pretty decent in looks and acting. I was not thrilled with Arjun Kapoor, but he is tolerable. The song 'Pareshaan pareshaan' is pretty cool.