Film Review- The Martian

The movie is nice to watch, but not the best in its genre. Survival pics have been made that are better.

Firstly, there's too much technical mumbo-jumbo along with the real survival stuff-the latter is better than the former.

The dialogue is very good, and adds charm to the dull landscape (yes, even in 3D, it can get boring).

Secondly, why is it 3D? Not too clear to me. The humans appear small in 3D, and the planets big. I am a humanist, and not a planetist.

The story is predictable, mostly. Therefore, it could have been shorter. Editing is a valuable commodity while making a film. Usually, the Hollywood editors are better at it. Twenty minutes less would have made it perfect for my taste.

I prefer the raw, human, non-technological stories of surival, but this is not bad.

Global Fashion

A quick sum-up of the fashionable things.

In Syria, it is to migrate to Europe by boat, or bicycle.

In the U.S., it is to shoot at campuses. To find a higher purpose in life, shoot inside places of higher education.

In the Mediterranean, it is to resue the boat people mentioned above.

In Australia, it is changing Prime Ministers.

In India, it is to hold election rallies, build speed-breakers on potholed roads.

In Dubai, it is to boast about and construct tall buildings.

In Japan, it is to bow.

In North Korea, it is to make cutouts of their Leader to upstage Jayalalitha's.

In South Korea, it is to barbeque anything in sight.

Birthday Wishes

I am now 55...well, almost, starting tomorrow. What do I wish for?

Mostly, peace. For myself, of course, and for others.

I wish people get what they want, and also peace. The opposite, strife, or tension, I have learnt over the years, is not good for you. If you can, you should live your life as you like it. If you can't, smile through the life that you might have to lead.

Cherish all that you have. Wonderful parents, siblings, friends, spouse, relatives - all of them could be irritating at times, but are priceless to keep one going. And we might be irritating to them at times, so that's Ok.

Excellence comes naturally to those who try and do their stuff sincerely, and maybe like the Bhagavad Gita seems to suggest, without actively looking for the reward. Work, hobby, activity of any kind (inactivity too) can be its own reward. Enjoy all phases of life, do not regret anything beyond a point, and look forward instead of back.

That in a nutshell, are my thoughts on the day- actually a day ahead of time, like some wishes I have started getting :)

Nana Patekar- Great Actor

A neglected (relatively) actor in tinsel town is Nana Patekar. He is an intense actor, and has delivered in any role that required it. In movies such as Tirangaa, Krantiveer, Ab Tak Chhappan, Welcome, and many earlier ones, he showed a flair for dialogue delivery that reminded one of Raaj Kumar, also known for dialogue delivery. Mostly into serious roles, an unseen side of Nana was seen in this song from the film Krantiveer, in which he matches steps with Bindu in a fun rap song titled Love Rap. His part of the song is sung in Marathi too. Enjoy- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiO2t7_e8vA

Sho-sha

That is the cool term for things that we do. To show off, essentially. We can go to great extents to appear cool. From wearing a hip (used to be hep) garment to watching a film to be able to talk about it, to doing a Band, baaja, baraat wedding that costs too much, to many other things. Ok, it's also called Keeping up with the Joneses in Queen's English, but the Joneses keep growing. And they are never happy, thus getting you exhausted.

Therefore, we must draw the line somewhere, and do things that satisfy oneself. Start small, maybe do 1 thing that makes you happy, then 2, and slowly increase dosage.. and see the difference. You may be happier than you think, sooner than you think, at a lower cost than you think.

Is Five Years Too Long?

Elected reps should be able to do their job if they want to, in about three years time, if they really worked hard. They can concentrate on one proble/issue at a time for about a month, and leave the rest to someone to do, and monitor things from then on. If you can solve one major issue a month (put the best available brains/teams on doing so), you can do at least 24-30 in three years.

I think we could have elections every three years, to make that happen. Five years seems too long, and gives people time to waste on irrelevant things.

Relevance of Gandhiji

We often miss the woods for the trees, and get caught up in what Gandhi did instead of what he could do for us today.

Even if 20% of us in India (or anywhere, actually) could think about issues like he did, got set in our beliefs after trying things out, and stuck to them in the face of tough odds, we might be a different people. Instead, what we focus on is whether he married (or abstained), whether he was a vegetarian, and what he wore.

These are irrelevant, and contextual. He may have done several things, and wisdom is not in imitating them, but discovering the truth for ourselves.

I urge everybody to do so. I know I am not Gandhiji, and I don't have a zillion followers, but maybe half a dozen may pay heed. If not, well, I have made my case anyway.