Django Unchained- Film review

Went and watched this film by Quentin Tarantino in a theatre. With it raining Himmatwalas all over, it was tough to find one running anything decent. But it was worth the running around-metaphorically.

It is a powerhouse of a movie, with the director and the lead actors really making it a great lesson in movie-making. Leonardo Di Caprio appears after the interval, and still makes an impact. Can't imagine a Bollywood hero accepting such a role. The two lead actors-hard to say who is supporting, are fabulous, and one won an Oscar too.

Against a background of slavery, one man's quest to find his enslaved wife with the help of a bounty hunter, is well-told. It is gripping all the way. Though there is blood-shed, it is integral to the story. Reminded me of a lot of Western/Cowboy movies of the 70s or thereabouts. Franco Nero, one of the yesteryear 'cowboys' also has a small role here.

The anti-slavery statement is LOUD and clear. America as we know it, is only a hundred years old or less. The dialogues are a high point in the movie. Made my day! (apologies to Clint)

Phokat ka (Free) Advice

Giving advice is not considered a vice, apparently, or it would not be so rampant- under assumptions of the moral code. But there are so many experts giving you so much of gratuitous advice, that it forces me to enter the agonising agony uncle space, and list out some great pieces of it. If you go to pieces after you read it, well, that's your problem.

On How to handle Summers
Drink lots of water.
Make a crown of onions and place it on your head.

On How to handle Pimples
Don't eat oily stuff

On How to Reduce Weight
1. Eat only carbs
2. Eat only proteins
3. Eat moderately 6 times a day
4. Gorge to your heart's content.
Take your pick.

On Investing
Think of the long term goals. (This must have been the reason the dinosaurs got wiped out.)

On Selecting a Mate to get married to
You should look for compatibility (ha, ha..can't resist that)

On Divorce
Get a good lawyer who knows how to get a fat alimony (if you are the wife)

On Coping with Loss
Eat lots of vada pav- it's the cheapest distraction you are going to get. Going away to Switzerlland is recommended for those who have a bank account there.

Choumohalla Palace Hyderabad

Self-explanatory. This was the abode of some of the Nizams.

Repairing Cars and More

Here is a nice sexist joke that I read somewhere. Somehow, the best jokes are either sexist, or with some (or a lot of) innuendo. Not entirely my fault. But anyway, here goes.

A car repair person from the garage calls the husband to inform him that their car is ready for pick-up. The husband tells him, "My wife has gone to the bathroom to "make herself beautiful". As soon as she is out of there, we'll come and get the car."

The guy from the garage says, "Will that be today?"

While on sexist jokes, this one is a quote from Oscar Wilde.

Men's faces are like an autobiography. Women's are like a work of fiction.

Allaying Fears

I am always intrigued by the jargon used by our journalist fraternity. 25 feared killed in landslide. Disaster strikes Maryland. Town heaves sigh of relief as tornado passes it by. Government allays fears about the H1N1 epidemic.

These are a small sample of headlines going about the 'newsy' rooms and on to the printed pages. What if they got really daring, and started to become bold (if not beautiful) and report what they truly felt, minus the jargon? We might see something like these reports-

He claimed a lot of things, but the audience knew it was hocus-pocus.

The news reporters in the press conference were clueless, and ill-prepared to ask intelligent questions, including this reporter.

The speech did not make any sense, but the audience clapped anyway.

There was no news to report on our beat, so we made up some.

The same old parade- looked more like a charade.

The roads had the same number of potholes as yesterday. So we did not bother to go out today.

It rained incessantly, so we let the TV channels go out there to report the 'reality' while writing our stories by watching them, sipping some hot tea with samosas in the office.

View from a Window

I took a train journey after quite a while. And I had a window seat, that we used to covet when kids. Peeping out of your train window seat was one of the greatest pleasures of kid life, perhaps. The transitioning to adult life makes you forget sometimes, the small pleasures and aim for big ones. Like buying a large-screen TV.

Anyway, getting back to the present journey. What I like about train journeys is the fact that you can stretch a leg- or two. Without the passengers in front or back getting annoyed with you as in a plane, I mean. Because they are all free to do the same, without intruding into your space. There's also a relaxed air about how long you want to argue about change with your chaiwala. I saw a 4-5 minute back and forth happening about the price of chai AND the non-existence of small change. What entertainment. And both parties were quite cool about it too.

The train also was in a relaxed frame of mind, putting all thoughts of competitiveness out of your mind for the duration of the journey. Mostly, mobile phones did not ring-they CAN be an irritant if they work well. The loos were pretty clean, another positive. The platforms were not, but then that is to be expected when you take the stats of number of users/trains on them into account. Sort of like the garbage problems plaguing nations around the globe.

Best of all, the view from the window was refreshing.

Mir Osman Ali Khan

He was one of the Nizams of Hyderabad. He was responsible for a lot of good things. Osmania University being one of the biggest in education. He was the seventh in the line of Nizams. Before him too, many predecessors did a lot of good. But this one was probably one of the best. The buildings housing the university in Hyderabad are majestic, and resemble the palaces that many kings around the world had. Our engineering college in the campus was also a part of that stupendous set of architectural wonders.

This guy also set up Singareni Collieries, a coal-mining company later taken over by the Indian government. This company is where my parents spent most of their working life. It is spread across towns like Yellandu, Kothagudem, Ramagundam and Bellampalli in Andhra Pradesh.

How do I know all this? Happened to visit the Choumohalla Palace where one of the Nizams lived. It is close to Charminar in Hyderabad, and is a nice example of palatial yet simple, elegant living. Huge courtyards and a fountain are the mainstay of the complex, which was opened to the public after a restoration only a few years ago. There is also a section housing vintage cars and buggies that is classy. Includes a yellow Rolls Royce, sparkling. I was inspired to visit after reading of a trip by some students of IMT. Also, a friend's book had a cover shot taken in this beautiful place.