English Vinglish

I usually don’t write movie reviews but when I see a good film I feel I must write about it. (the earlier reviews that I wrote were Peepli Live and Tintin)

Kudos to Gauri Shinde for giving the world a good film in Hindi.

Yes, this is a movie that will not only run in India, but will have a universal appeal and audience.

One of the salient features of this movie is the perfect casting. Be it the mother in law (Sulabha Deshpande) or the loud mouthed lady at the coffee counter in New York, 

or the ever smiling priest (Ashvin Mathew) from Kottayam (with his hand movements that  is so characteristic of a Mallu), all were perfectly cast. Most of them underplayed their roles which was the hallmark of the movie.

Some of the other character actors that stand out are Mehdi Nebbou who does the role of Laurent (the French Student). Even though I have seen him on screen with Leonardo DiCaprio in Body of Lies and as Ali Hassan Salameh in Spielberg’s Munich, I just could not recognize him as the French guy Laurent who goes for the English classes with Shashi (Sridevi).

Adil Hussain as Shashi’s husband has done justice to his role. 

In fact I would say that each one has played their role perfectly. And that includes Amitabh Bachan. 

Even though it’s a small cameo role, he did it with ease.  I liked his reply when the US immigration officer asks him the standard question “What is the purpose of your visit?”  to which he replies “To spend  some  dollars and help  your economy. If you don’t want it, I can go back” 

There were some fine details in the movie which may go unnoticed like the time when Shashi and her sister Meera (Sujata Kumar) makes the  laddoos at Manhattan. Shashi rolls the laddoo with her bare hands while Meera does it with gloved hands (as per the norms by the Europeans and Americans that all edible items are not be handled by bare hands) From hygiene point of view it may be true but when it comes to rolling laddoos, you have to feel the temperature of it constantly to know how firm the laddoos will turn out. 

Then there is the time when Shashi rummages through her hand bag for her cell phone and in the process keeps the roll of French Laddoo (given by Laurent) down on the seat and forgets it. A subtle way of showing that she did not accept the roll given by Laurent.

What I liked best in the movie is the fast editing. No one realises that it is the editing that keeps the pace of the movie.
The song Badla Nazara is fast paced and may sound loud initially, but if you listen to the lyrics, it gives a sense of urgency, to do things fast in a short time. Exactly the situation Shashi is faced with.

The Marathi-Hindi song Navrai Maajhi is a perfect example of using Dholki, Banjo, Harmonium and the Tumbi to give an Indian song a rustic effect.

One gets to see some parts of Pune as the story is based on a family from Pune (India) It would have enhanced the authenticity if Shashi had used a few words of Marathi here and there (though she did mention Laxmi road and Main Street)

If you found the film colourful, its thanks to the wonderful cinematography by Laxman Utekar, with his multiple cameras at the wedding scene and the boom camera at the terrace scene.

Ahhhh yes, Sridevi’s sarees –beautifully draped and carried with great  sense of style. Simple  but  wonderfully ethnic , showcasing the essence of  Indian textiles…Khadhi, Chanderi and then some more….. thanks to Sabyasachi. Though I get the feel that they must cost a bomb!

And finally coming to Sridevi, she has proven that emoting and acting can still be done after a long hiatus  of 15 years!  

No wonder this movie got a standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival.

India and Olympics

Wifey: ” Wow did you see the papers recently, it is all splashed with the achievements of the  Indian Women”

Me: “ Yes I saw, Rekha’s picture on the front page of Times of India”

Wifey: ” Rekha’s picture?  I am not talking about any Rekha. And it is better that you address her as Rekhaji, after all she is elder to you”

Me: “ Shhh… . . . you are not supposed to disclose the age of young ladies. She looks so elegant in that off white kanjeepuram  saree with her tresses flowing down, and she looks so happy having voted Mr Ansari for a second term as Vice President.  Even Sachin Tendulkar looks happy even though his hair is a bit disheveled”

Wifey: ” You better not comment on his hair. It was this hair style of his that helped him finally score his hundredth  hundred. But why are we discussing about Rekha and Sachin and Ansari when we are making a big haul of medals at the Olympics?”

Me: “ Big haul? What have we to talk about Olympics? The only thing that India is getting famous for is loosing all the hockey matches and Who is that girl in red ”

Wifey: ” You are not looking at the brighter side. Look at the medals that were bagged by Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar for their excellent shooting not to forget Saina and Mary Kom. 

This is the first time a girl from India has participated in a boxing event in Olympics and won a medal. 

Another first for India is that Amitabh Bachan’s name will be imbibed as the first Indian film star to hold the torch”

Me: “ The brighter side for me was the opening ceremony. I liked Mr Bean running in slow motion on the beach with the theme music of “Chariots on Fire”

Wifey: ” That is British humour at its best, but I found Mr Bond waiting for the Queen to finish her letter writing a bit too much. In this era of e mail, is her royal highness still using the slow mail?”

Me: “ I still feel sad about our hockey performance. Wonder what Dhyan Chand must be thinking from up above there. You know just after Independence we won a Gold in Hockey defeating Great Britain right there in London in 1948”

 Dhyan Chand and Captain Kishen Lal with C Rajagopalachari after winning the Gold Medal in 1948 at London.

Wifey: ” You are always dwelling in the past. This is the present where we have to compete with countries like China who is hell bend on having supremacy in everything”

Me: “ That reminds me, I must write to Saina asking her to have a good look at her medal. I am sure she will find “made in China” etched somewhere in fine print”

Wifey: ” Now that we have bagged so many medals I am just waiting for the wonderful closing ceremony”

Me: “ And I hope that girl comes in a beige coloured T shirt this time (red  was sort of clashing with the yellow of our contingent)”

Bollywood heroes

Saw an ad in the telly. A boy having his breakfast, fiddles around with his poached egg and asks his father "I heard that we are not supposed to eat eggs in summer as it generates more heat" His father replies that he never heard anything like that and counter checks with the boy's grandfather. The grandfather also answers in negative and passes on the question to the boys great grandfather (all sitting at the same table)
The great grand father also answers in the negative with a smile and says that he too had never heard anything like that and has been having eggs through out his life. (the ad was for promoting the consumption of eggs and to say that egg is vegetarian)
What I liked about the ad was the smile of the great grandfather. He was none other than Dara Singh. Yes the famous wrestler of yesteryears who later got into the movies and churned out a lot of Bollywood movies like King Kong and Rustom E Hind.
Talking of Dara Singh reminds me of an old photograph I recently saw in which the Gandhi family was there along with Dara Singh and Randhawa Singh (Dara's brother), but the one on the extreme right is the one to look out for. Yes the evergreen Amitabh Bachan. It's a rare picture I must say. The old bollywood hero and the latest one. Came across this in one of the forwarded mails.

For those who can't read the fine print, they are (L to R)
Sanjay, Randhawa, Rajeev, Indira, Dara, and Amitabh
Talking of pictures, I joined a site where you can upload your photographs which is viewed world wide.
If the photographs/illustrations are good, people buy them for designing web sites, blogs etc and you are paid in dollars. I joined recently and have uploaded 6 of mine out of which one got sold.
For more details click on the icon on the top right (Dreamstime) and read through. If you feel that that your pictures are worth uploading then register yourself and start uploading. (registration is free)

Left handed

Whenever I see a left handed person drinking tea, or for that matter any one drinking with his/her left hand, I am reminded of my friend Nanya (Swar)
We were at hotel Sunshine, situated at Deccan, opposite Natraj theatre. After ordering our chai, with Bun maska (Bread with butter) we decided on the usual number “Pop Corn” to be played on the juke box, which could be played at a quarter of a rupee. (even though the anna system was abolished, people still referred to it as char anna) After finishing the bun maska, the tea arrived and Nanya as usual picked up his cup with his left hand (even though he was not a lefty) When I asked him about this peculiar habit he said “most of the people are right handed and they use their right hand to pick up a cup, by which one side of the cup touches their lips. If we use the left hand then the other side touches our lips by which the chances of being infected through the cup is minimized” Talk about the slip between the cup and the lip !! Somehow at that time I was impressed by his logic and started following suit.
Now Natraj theatre is not there nor is the hotel Sunshine (and the juke box) but the habit of using the left hand is stuck with me.
Another habit that got stuck with me (I don’t know how) was to use my left hand to comb my hair !! You see I had that big puff in the front like Dev Anand and maybe to keep the hair standing that way I had to use my left hand. The irony is that now I don’t have much hair left but when ever I reach out for the hair brush (to comb that little patch on the sides) it’s the left hand.
I wonder how Amitabh combs his hair (or what others think is HIS hair)