Happy Republic Day!

गणतंत्र दिवस के अवसर पर आप को, हम सब को बधाई और हमारे तिरंगे को सलाम.
आशा है कि तमाम मुश्किलों के बावजूद यह गणतंत्र कायम रहेगा और उत्तरोतर उन्नति करेगा!
कल पुरानी दिल्ली की गलियाँ छानते हुए दो बंद पडी दुकानों के shutters के रंग देख कर दिमाग में तिरंगा छा गया, तो एक फोटो ले डाली. मन चंगा तो कठौती में गंगा, कहत हैं न?

पुष्प की "अभिलाषा"

In the selfish times that we inhabit, people who would stand up for the larger good of the community are a rarity. Most of us lack the time, inclination and courage to think about and work for anything which lies beyond our immediate concerns. 
It therefore gives me pleasure to introduce you to Abhilasha, a dear old family friend. She has successfully spearheaded a community movement and prevented MCD (Municipal Commission of Delhi) from turning one of her colony parks into a parking lot. 
Above is a recent article in the Hindustan Times of 8th Jan'10 which applauds this effort. I apologize for the slightly tacky look of the article but because I could not blog it directly from the HT, I had to scan and put it up for you to see. I am however sure the beauty of her intent and work would more than compensate for this. 

Saal Mubarak- 3 Idiots

At the onset, let me wish all of you a great 2010 ahead! I wish we all grow happier, richer and wiser in this year, far removed from the gloom of 2008 and 2009.

In this first post of the year, therefore, I would be talking about a happy film which I caught over the last weekend - 3 Idiots.

3 Idiots is a delightful and intelligent movie – a fun story with a message, exactly the kind you would expect from the coming together of Rajkumar Hirani & Aamir Khan.

The basic story idea of a journey of 3 friends through their engineering college years is from the famous book “Five Point Someone” by Chetan Bhagat. Beyond the story idea, however, Hirani has fleshed out the characters and situations in his inimitable style and yet again has succeeded in making a movie with a message without being didactic. And he has been immensely helped in this endeavour by all his actors.

Aamir Khan it seems is now capable of bringing gravitas to any script with his sincerity. This film is no different. Far removed from the beef-cake look of his last film Ghazni, he now wears a diminutive look of a fresh college student with perfect elan. Sharman and Madhvan as the remaining 2 idiots are also extremely good - specially Sharman, who has developed in to a fine comic actor. About Boman Irani, what can one say! His thorough transformation in to the character is a treat to watch. And Kareena is surprisingly very good.
But even more than the actors, the message around which the film has been built is the real star - that pedagogy should be trounced in favour of real merit and that excellence begets success and not the other way round.
I would admit that there are fleeting moments where, as my dear friend Manish put it, one gets the feeling of Taare Zameen Par meets Munna Bhai but in the end the whole turns out to be greater than the sum of parts.
So go watch it. ALL IZZ WELL!!