The Name is Bond. Ruskin Bond.

20 Aug 2010: : As a kid, The Rain in the Mountains is one of the first books of Ruskin Bond which I gobbled up during a Summer vacation. Then came the Train to Deoli, One Night at Shaamli, The Room on the Roof …and ever since I devoured these, it has been a childhood dream to meet this Man who writes this beautiful. And when I met him in his fair flesh and blood at the Vodafone Crossword Awards 2009, I was thrilllllllled. His ever-smiling face, the rotund belly, the gentle persona makes him even cuter. As the chief guest and judge, his presence completely awed the daylights out of me.

It’s not just his books which get me to love him, but the fact that its his inspirational soulful writing which kindled the passion for writing in me. And today, I am a writer. If Gandhi was the Father of our Nation, I hold Bond as the Father of Writing. His simple smoothie style, the play of words, and the disarming humour he manifests in his style make his works simply yummy. Till date I have never hurried to get a celeb autograph in my life – nope, not even Aamir, when I was younger. But it is Ruskin who is the real Bond. So then from the last rows of NCPA where I was seated, I rushed towards the stage, almost ignoring the other people smiling at me, as they walked by…I approached him amidst the other eager fansm handed him my little handmade paper diary and thankfully he obliged. Wish he could have stayed longer, and the people accompanying him were a wee lesser possessive of him :) But what matters is those two words he scribbled in my book which I shall treasure all my life – Ruskin Bond’ 

Technorati Tags: Ruskin Bond,Vodafone Crossword Book Awards 2009,NCPA,Penguin,The Train to Deoli,Rain in the Mountains,Vodafone,Crossword

Blogging for Change

The IndiMum blogger meet today did well for us. For bloggers, un-bloggers alike. The agenda could have been tighter involving more people to talk, but the debate about ‘blogging for the next level’ brought some meat.

The good thing about blogging is that it has comfortably slipped in line as a new dissemination medium. We recognise blogs and bloggers and their written word. We take us seriously. The debatable issue about ‘blogging versus journalism’ is quite like that endless Indian law trial, so we choose to leave it at that. What’s important is now taking this phenomenon of blogging to its rightful cadre – as a powerful medium of change.

Blogging as 3 advantages to it:

a) It is a youthful medium, the medium of tomorrow

b) It travels lightning fast, without commercial influence

c) The written word is more powerful and permanent

So, as a blogger community, keeping aside the journalistic tendencies, I believe we have the power to influence people at an individual level, then at a society level. It is a medium of interactive conversations, debates, opiniating – thus INVOLVEMENT of the reader. And if the reader is involved in forming the opinion, he/she might as well be the evangelist.

Most importantly, whatever we write about, we mean to influence readers. We mean to make perceptions, form opinions. So as a blogger if you are empowered to do so, why not use it for a positive change? Writing about relevant issues and translating these into ACTION down the line.

Feel for the Bhopal Victims? Well, blog about it, create a community and fight for justice with your readers’ support. Mad about CWG? Post your opinion, garner support and send out your letters to the Ministry. Maybe go meet them. Hate those potholed roads? Talk to those car owners, pedestrian friends and other spirited friends through your blog and unify them through an offline campaign targetting the administration.

The power of blogging is immense. As responsible, tired and frustrated citizens, its time we channelise the energy into Action through our words. And the first step is blogging about it. So, my dear blogger friends - Keep Blogging.

Peoplee Live

A good watch on the eve of Independence Day. Peepli Live, is a lash of heavy sarcasm on the people of India. On her junta, her politicians, her media and their myopic materialism which leaves the nation in shreds.

The plight of an Indian farmer expressed through the lens of fitting humour. The plot contains the self evinced suicidal plans of a farmer, in lieu of compensation, which catch the fancy of the political and media clowns. Thus emerges a circus of overdramatic journos, bureacratic babus and pathetic police people being used by the narcissistic netas for vested interests.  The naivety of a meagre land owner – Natthu - who has almost lost his land owing to debt, stands out bizarre as the conniving opportunists try to make hay as well as get the sun to shine, where the hay is the benefits of TRPs and vote banks, and the sun is the suicide. The over sensationalising of everything – right from Natthu’s shit to his suicide is used as a breaking news story and to pass the buck.

There is technically nothing wrong with the film – a heavily sarcastic treatment of the common problem of India – over-materialism, politics and mass corruption, using the background of farmers’ suicide. Good actors, simple storyline, a plug in of humour makes the film an interesting watch.

Though, it fails to re-create a Lagaan or Rang De Basanti – both films with a greater purpose. Peepli too had the potential to strike a bigger message home, to put fire under our asses, to inspire us enough to act on it – but somehow it ends a bit bland and less dramatic. But yes it does provoke us to think what kind of a nation we are, what kind of people we are.

Just hope that we all take back something more than just a few giggles on funny situations. Farmer suicides are not a joke, mind you.

Reporting for Peepli Live. Over.

3on5 for this film.

Technorati Tags: Peepli Live review,Aamir Khan productions,Kiran Rao,Aamir and Kiran,Peepli,Indian Cinema,Film Review,Movie Review Peepli Live

5 Secrets of Good Writing

What drives a writer to write? The greatest pleasure of writing is in the appreciation. But are we really doing good enough to earn their applause? Creativity without appreciation is like a word misspelt- it feels incomplete, it feels wrong. Passion is not the only thing needed to write nowadays. Neither is talent. It is the channelisation of these aspects, with a fine balance of a few secret ingredients which help in making your writing look good. Here are some secrets to Good Writing which I would like to share:

Secret #1: If you enjoyed writing it, your reader would enjoy reading it.

Secret #2: Write not with the heart, but with fire in the belly

Secret#3: Focus on adding value, not vocabulary

Secret#4: The right spirit is more important than the right language

Secret #5: Respect the language you are writing in. If you don’t like your name being spelt wrong, why spell any word wrong?

Technorati Tags: Writing,Writer,Good Writing,Secrets of Good Writing,How to Write Well

I Hated Love Stories - A fugly film

I am much calmer now. I lost my balance (of kind) in the first precise 3 minutes of the film reeling.

If I have to describe this joke of a film, it would be ‘characterless’. It felt that the filmmakers got up every morning, decided the script for that day without a shower and set out to shoot. So much so that the film now reeks of narcissism. A mish-mash-mush of his own, and Yash Chopra’s, Farhan Akhtar’s erstwhile pink-red films, this unbearably hackneyed plot is a shocking revelation of Kjo’s low IQ on good stories.

What the film shows - Guy doesn’t believe in love, sees girl  likes her, girl is almost engaged to someone else, guy flirts with her, she falls for him, he is confused, she is heartbroken, decides to get married to the original fiancee, he realises overnight he loves her, rushes to tell her, she is now confused, decides to turn down her fiancee and finally the 2 meet. I think except in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kal Ho Na Ho, Hum Tum, Mere Yaar ki Shaadi Hai, Dil Chahta Hai, Dilwale Dulhaniya, Dil to Pagal Hai and just a few hundred dozen other films, we haven’t seen a story so enchanting elsewhere. And of course, the yummy mummy who rescues the adult sonny from dopes of depression with an emoshioanlly touching ‘go-get-her’ filibuster. How original. Maybe he wanted to take a take at the typical love stories. Instead he ended up taking a take on himself?

Ok, here’s another hilarious touch to the film. The radio ka love guru’s continuous references to ‘sex’ as a solution for love. Funny na. No, ‘fugly’ na? Of course, sex is a 3 lettered word which gets children in giggles, so since we are 6 year old’s chewing popcorn watching the ‘con’, this is bound to be mightily funny for us. Please do not forget to laugh for courtesy’ sake..they have researched day and night on that one with the youth of India. Ah ah and the part where homosexual humour is used as a punch. I think everyone except KJo were straight….- faced then. That’s because he won’t have any face left na after the film bombs na. What? No…I didn’t mean that…tch. Though what is his obsession with SRK? He turned a charming Sameer Soni into a proxy Khan.

No complaints about the actors. They managed to make a copy paste film seem different.

The other good thing about the film is it works as a good food guide – with so many parties and watering holes and eating joints being thrown at our face. Enough to send Jughead in a tizzy.

Dialogues - Dev Anand’s film score more.

Music – appealing some places.

Direction – you cannot Cover your Ass by directing a bad script

In a nutshell this film can contest with RGV’s Aag or Mayawati’s bra-g to tell the junta –‘jaag’. We ‘hated’ his love story as much as Johar Jr hates good scripts. And then his unit makes a clown of itself. A bad clown which make people frown. Then when the box office crowns thorns, they will pout like a lunatic mahout. That wasn’t a joke now. Makes no sense? Exactly. You got the point.

PS: Didn’t i tell you? Of course, the girl’s name in the film is Simran.

Score: Negative.

Roaches, rodents and Writers

The only similarity these 3 creatures manifest is their nocturnality. I just coined this word dear reader. When a writer types furiously at a recently upgraded laptop in the dead of the night, she can almost coin anything. Including new countries.

So what is this fetish of a writer sitting up into the darker times of the day…probably trying to ‘feel’ like a real writer, or maybe just spinning the yawn- er the yarn…what gives? I for one really prefer the late night shifts when only the Air Conditioner whirs a whir. The little screaming autos, pompous trains and screeching brakes are enjoying eighty winks. The dog barks occasionally when it picks up a funny scent. The International flights roar into the almost black sky. Else everything is quiet enough to write out a book. Or watch a lot of porn. Or email people for work so when they hit their desks at 9 am, the ball is in their court, while you are resting your tired self.

It’s 2.56 am to be precise. Just staring now at my post. And wondering if I  need to relearn the art of writing…or upgrade myself…my writing seems neo-classical already? Ho-humish? To myself though.

So as I write, and try to focus hard, a dozen thoughts attack me….zanier than the scientists of baghdad. Who were they anyways? And a twitching noise gets me…I refuse to pay attention. But the noise gets weirder. Louder. And unnerves me. I look around. Under. Under the chair. The desk. ‘twitch twitch. Twitch Twitch.’ then a slight whisper…is it my imagination or is it for real? Is it because I am writing this or is it that someone ..something…

Anyways, i decide to continue to write. I am a writer after all. And words need to flow like the canary’s song. Smooth. And when they do, all I feel like doing is work the night away. Like all rodents and roaches.

(you know guys, I really got the goosebumps while writing the para before the last one…so i left it at there…i felt a spooky something around me….so no more horror stories at this time of the day. Nope.)

IIFA initiates Celebrity Charity

As the IIFA Award Ceremony draws closer, the green carpet is ready to roll on which will fall the footsteps of our Bollywood Bigwigs. The unpretentious glitz to which every cinema-lover succumbs to, has spread the limelight of Indian cinema around the world. Like say, the Cannes or the New York film festival, the IIFA Awards has surpassed the domestic cinema awards, taking Indian cinema beyond its conventional realms.

This year spells something quite ‘heartening’ about IIFA. As Sri Lanka gets ready to host this mega-magical event, IIFA takes a beautiful gift for them, like any gracious guest would.  IIFA has established a Charity initiative to raise funds for adopting and rebuilding a refugee village to rehabilitate the locals in Sri Lanka and look after their literacy as well. A charity celebrity cricket match is on the anvil in association with the Sri Lankan Cricket Board to collect funds for the child soldiers – quite a smart idea, knowing that cricket is a common thread between the two neighbours. Salman is the ‘wanted’ ambassador to the charity initiative- clap clap.

So the power of glamour and cinema synergises to bring forth a positive change and transform the lives of many poor people,who are currently living in dismal conditions. The conditions brought about by the terrible violent situations where the residents lived a life of hell and anger. How a simple idea can be made so powerful - a beautiful thought to showcase the beautiful side of Bollywood.

From Sri 420 to Sri Lanka, IIFA encapsulates the entirety of Indian Cinema and presents it on the global stage for the world to watch. So watch out again for the IIFA Award this year as the curtain raises in June 2010.

For more details, here’s the link for a dekko: http://iifablog.com/

 

Technorati Tags: IIFA AWARDS 2010,IIFA,IIFA 2010,IIFA Sri Lanka,Wizkraft,Bollywood,Indian Cinema,Salman Khan,IIFA Charity Initiative,Sri Lankan Cricket Board,IIFA Blog