The Willow

Beneath the swamps camouflaging life

My hopes penetrate within thy heart

A drop of love could give me birth

A song could split the pain apart

O sweet O birds, free in the sky

Like dreams of peace, I see you fly

Sing me some joy,  before I die.

My wounds are scars of brown and red

The skin so torn by stings of hate

They loved me once when I stood tall

Now frail I am, left to my fate.

O heaven speak, O reason me why

Below your calm, in sorrow I lie

O dear, O love,  for you I cry.

Bollywood 2010

Bollywood cinema has had a decent year so far. Cruising into the second half of 2010, it is a good time to look over the successes and failures in this year, and to make some speculations about the future releases.  In the recent past, the Indian film industry has seen the advent of an era of young and extremely creative film makers, who are slowly changing the outlook of the Indian audience. They have molded some innovative and thought provoking ideas into their films, and made the public think and act. Here’s a categorized display of some the movies released and to be released in the following months, with personal comments:

1.      Huge expectations: HIT/SUPERHIT!

        i.            ISHQIYA       After Kaminey, another Great piece of work in terms of acting, direction, screenplay, dialogues and music. The composition “Dil to baccha hai ji…” should bag the award for best song. A must-watch.

      ii.             MY NAME IS KHAN  Great starcast and direction, melodious music, and some wonderful performances on screen. A good topic to highlight, goes with the current issues. A must-watch.

    iii.             KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK              Good story, a little predictable, but decently carried out. Great songs. Worth watching.

    iv.            ATITHI TUM KAB JAOGE              Brilliant actors and good performances. But not enough matter to put on reel. A hit anyway. Watchable.

      v.            HOUSEFULL  Nothing worth appreciating. Only good thing about the movie are its songs. Somehow a big hit. Not worth watching. 

    vi.            BADMAASH COMPANY  Good acting, nice songs, and interesting plot. Worth watching.

  vii.            RAAJNEETI  The biggest hit of the year. Undoubtedly excellent in acting performances and direction. Similarity to the characters in Mahabharata. A must-watch.

viii.            ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAI  A well made movie of its genre. Good acting by the entire cast, stylish, and melodious music. Watchable.

    ix.            DABAANG  The biggest blockbuster!! An exceptionally high earning film; very entertaining, stunts in style, cool songs, and Salman at its best. Definitely a must watch! 

      x.            PEEPLI LIVE  The Aamir Khan production is a mega hit, courtesy to his name. A decent movie with all the elements of sarcasm and pain of a poor farmer. But not exceptional as promoted. Watchable.

2.      Not many expectations: but a HIT!

       i.            LOVE SEX AUR DHOKHA  An excellent film in all respects. Defines a new genre of movies, a very happening thing presented in an extraordinary yet simple way. Should win some major awards. A must-watch.

     ii.            I HATE LOVE STORIES  A simple romantic story well captured. Nice acting and some good moments to watch. Watchable.

  iii.            UDAAN A simple story nicely portrayed. Watchable.

   iv.            TERE BIN LADEN A well made movie. Comedy is up to its mark, and good performances by the entire cast. Worth watching for all the comedy.

     v.            AISHA  Again a low budget movie, but well made and nicely presented on screen. Acting is good, songs are cool, and the story emotional to some extent. A complete family movie. Watchable.

3.      Huge expectations ending in a DISASTER

       i.            VEER  An epic drama, well composed songs, but not impressive. Watchable for the macho element.

     ii.              RANN   First of its kind, and brilliantly presented. A revelation of truth, and very thought provoking. Somehow did not appeal to the audience. My opinion, a must-watch.

  iii.            PRINCE  Good story, but no appreciable acting. Songs are amazing. Not actually a disaster but definitely a flop. Watchable for the style.

   iv.            PHOONK 2  The sequel of the much appreciated Phoonk was a complete mess. No story, no horror.

     v.            KITES  All that glitters is not gold. Well made, but not entertaining enough. Good songs. Watchable for the romance.

   vi.            RAAVAN  Well made, artistic presentation and creatively captured scenes. Great songs. But slow in pace. The characters hold quite a bit of similarity with Ramayana, and so does the title. But alas, Mahabharata wins over Ramayana for the audience. The biggest disaster perhaps till now.

4.      Small expectations: FLOPS

       i.            CHANCE PE DANCE  With Shahid kissing the stardom, his movies were not being expected to be a flop. Nothing in the movie worth appreciating except for the dance. Waste of everything.

     ii.            TEEN PATTI  The BigB charm just didn’t work. A very lame story and not well made at all. Waste of some good ideas.

  iii.            TUM MILO TO SAHI  Great actors and a simple story. But not powerful enough to create an impact. But watchable for the senior actors.

   iv.            JAANE KAHAN SE AAYI HAI  A cool simple romantic comedy. Good entertainer. Melodious songs. Humor is good. Definitely watchable.

     v.            PAATHSHAALA  Again the Shahid factor, and a good thought presented. But not well made. Watchable.

   vi.            KHATTA MEETHA  Lack of everything, even the comedy. Nothing worth watching.

vii.            LAFANGEY PARINDEY  Decent story but not a very suitable starcast. Not impactful enough, even with a YRF banner. Watchable.

viii.            AASHAYEN  A big disaster for Nagesh Kukunoor, his name associated with biggies like Iqbal. Perhaps a poor casting and lack of entertainment.

5.      Some unexpectedly well made movies

       i.            LAHORE  Has the patriotic touch. Lacks a popular starcast, but reasonable good in its purpose.

     ii.            SHAAPIT  A good movie of its genre. No great performances though, but watchable for the element of horror.

  iii.            WELL DONE ABBA  An excellent film beyond doubt. Brilliant acting, exceptional on-screen presentation, intelligent and sarcastic humor, well directed. A must-watch.

6.      Just released and to-be released movies: expected to be HITS

i.                        WE ARE FAMILY (Strengths : Production; Starcast)

ii.                        ANJAANA ANJAANI (Strengths : Starcast)

iii.                        GOLMAAL 3 (Strengths : Popularity of the prequels; Starcast)

iv.                        ACTION REPLAY (Strengths : Starcast)

v.                        GUZARISH (Strengths : Direction; Starcast)

vi.                        PATIALA HOUSE (Strengths : Starcast)

vii.                        KHELEN HUM JEE JAAN SE (Strengths : Direction; Starcast)

viii.                        TEES MAAR KHAN (Strengths : Direction; Starcast)

ix.                        DHOBI GHAAT (Strengths : Starcast)

7.      Movies expected to be well made (Hit/Flop depends on audience response)

        

i.            AAKROSH

ii.            THE LEGEND OF THE MAESTROS

iii.            NO ONE KILLED JESSICA

I am a big admirer of Bollywood movies. My personal favorites from the year releases so far include:

Movies : DABAANG, RAAJNEETI; LOVE SEX AUR DHOKHA; ISHQIYA; WELL DONE ABBA; RANN

Music: DABAANG; ISHQIYA; PRINCE; ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAI

Hopefully the industry will have much more to give to the audience, and perhaps better too.

I am....

I am no body, no soul. I have no shadows.

But I live, somewhere, inside every creation, that exists.

I have no face, no name. I have no purpose.

But I give, a face, a name, and a purpose to anything that exists.

I belong to all, selflessly, with a commitment to survive forever.

The forces of nature, so unpredictable, so strong, do not like me.

Every moment they challenge me, with an air of sarcasm.

They want to defeat me.

I laugh at them, not because I am proud, but because they are ignorant.

They are ignorant of what I know.

How strong they blow the wind, my roots do not shake.

How hard they hit with tides, my mount does not break.

They shake the earth, they burst the clouds, they char the face of land

But I survive, above this all, to give another chance.

A chance, to try harder the next time they fight me.

But there is never enough to bring me to death.

Because they are ignorant of what I know.

I do not know how to break, I do not know how to die.

I do not know how to be unfaithful to those who own me.

For all who know me, I am confidence.

And the only thing I know is, to fight.

INCEPTION

Dreams are harmless.
Dreams are personal.
Dreams are portraits carved out of your subconscious which is solely your dominion.
What if none of this is true?
What if...your reality is nothing but a false perception?


That  is INCEPTION.


A platform where your mind becomes the scene of crime, when you begin to live in your dreams and your reality betrays you, when your cognitive ability is controlled by a stranger and your subconscious is intruded, that is what marks the beginning of a revolution, and in the most complicated and extraordinary way. That is what paves the road to Inception.

It could be none other than Christopher Nolan to visualize an idea so complex and creative. He is at his best again, this time making an ineffaceable impact with one of the most successful films in the history of cinema. His movies have been my personal favorites, The Prestige and The Dark Knight being a few to mention, and this time, I am totally mesmerized.

It takes you a while to understand the idea. I myself watched it twice to get hold of it. But when I did, I could not imagine how perfectly could one present such a concept, which is so difficult even to think of. Inception carries you into a world where people indulge in activities at the subconscious level. They think, they act, they live, they die in their dreams, and not just their own, but share, create and project in others' dreams as well. It is a risky business, as you may be lost in such a state for an indefinite amount of time, referred to as limbo, and fail to return to reality.

It is a representation of some brilliant and extraordinary creativity, enormous effort, flawless staging of thoughts and strong determination. The result is a true masterpiece.

A Tear

It hasn't rained since long

There are so many clouds

Dark murky and collected

But still the weather is quiet.

I thought this all along

as my steps kept me moving

To an undecided destination.

My foot was bare, no covers

Lost all of them on the way

But the stones below did not hurt

I was accustomed, perhaps

to some sort of pain

which my body had since long

fought against and endured.

There was so much life all around

But everything was quiet

All the birds, leaves, even waters

And the wind never sung.

I felt someone there,

but my eyes turned to see

just dead emptiness.

And then  I heard a loud noise

The only sound that broke the peace

Perhaps.............. a tear had fallen.

BforBlog

Well.....after sleeping for a discontinuous period of around 24 hours, my heart suddenly felt ecstatic and my mind, super active. And in this state of hyperactivity, I decided to do something creative: Write a Blog.

Ya I know. I am at snail's speed in tech stuff. I have been getting the divine feeling to create my own blog, but by the time it strikes me, I am already in the Stone Age. But today, I felt like a volcano erupted in my mind; that is the best example I can give to my mental state, with thoughts emerging out like molten lava. Wow, I can almost imagine it. It feels amazing to personify yourself. So I grabbed my laptop and decided to e-pen down my feelings.

Let me start off with justifying the title of my blog. My mind was indeed at fire; an atmosphere murky with smoke, and fragments of thoughts overcrowding the small space. It took me quite a while to discern them. And out of that murkiness came the enlightenment. I realized there were so many things I wanted to write about. Let me make a list of it-

• Books
• Bollywood
• my Better half
• my Brother
• my Buddies
• my Beloved
• me as a Being

Thats enough. To complete the list is a fathomable task for a Beginner like me. Oh then an astute thought strikes me again-there are too many B's appearing on the list. For a Beginner, it could be the smartest thing to start your blog with something that validates your blog's content. I feel the enlightenment thing is too effective today. So I start with utmost satisfaction and pride to name my blog-BforBlog. Hell no. The title is unavailable. I try all limited combinations to keep the title as simple as it is, but in vain. I thought, either there are too many people who think the same as I do, who have already been blessed with glorified state of mind, or there are several lazy souls to think of a more creative title. I look in the dictionary to get a fascinating word starting with B, which at first sight most people don't understand. I have always believed that the title to anything plays the most important role in gathering an audience. I am always tempted to read or watch something whose title appeals to me. An extraordinary word from the dictionary would be just the perfect thing for my blog. But then, some words are either too common, some not at all suitable and rest belong to a category which I myself would not remember after a while. So, at the end, inspired by some screen gods, I simply added another 'g' to my Blog. Yes, the title is available.