Have a BEAUTIFUL weekend!

Break Ke Baad: Say 'Yes' / Say 'No'

'Break Ke Baad' is the latest candy-floss romance.

It stars two of the hottest stars of today, and they have paired for the first time.

Hence, the excitement before the release was palpable.

Now, that the film has hit the theaters, and the response has been lukewarm,

it needs to be seen if everything is really fine with this flick.

It's difficult to say if more things work in favor of the movie, or

actually work against it. I found it in my own peer group itself

that there exists a difference in opinion, in fact, a marked difference.

Some have loved the film, largely on account of the fresh romantic pairing,

the crisp and crackling dialogues, the pacy scenario, the scenic beauty of Gold Coast, and the short length of the film (as far as Bollywood marathon-lengths of rom-coms are considered).

But those who did not exactly love the movie, and look at it as a lost opportunity

to cash in on the pairing of Imran Khan & Deepika Padukone, found the film to be

too full of cliches, unrealistic flip-flops in the narrative, undesirable passivity of the male protagonist, too predictable conflicts, insipid secondary characters, a stagnant middle portion in the screenplay, and a done-to-death climax.

Tattoo-mania

Tattoo fetish.....

A tattoo on a well-sculpted male entices all.

It's the best possiblemale exhibitionism.

Rob

This post is my personal tribute to

ROB THOMAS

Rob Thomas is one of my all-time favorite music icons.

Robert Kelly "Rob" Thomas was born on February 14, 1972, and is an American rock recording artist and songwriter.

He's the primary songwriter & lead singer of the band Matchbox 20,

and formerly of the band Tabitha's Secret.

He is one of the very few singers who has had as much fame

performing as a solo artiste.

He has earned 3 Grammy Awards (for co-writing and singing)!

My personal Rob Thomas favorites include

Push, 3 A.M., Real World, Back 2 Good, Bent, If You're Gone,

Mad Season, Disease, Unwell, Bright Lights, How Far We've Come,

and Smooth (with Santana), and Lonely No More.

Rob is known to be a fairly liberal & affable guy and

is immensely popular across various age-groups

and amongst music-lovers of diverse preferences.

[Info courtesy: Wikipedia; Pics Courtesy: Google Images]

Pankh

Written and directed by Sudipto Chattopadhyay,
PANKH stars Bipasha Basu,
Lilette Dubey, Mahesh Manjrekar, Ronit Roy,
Sanjeeda Sheikh and
newcomers Maradona Rebello
and Amit Purohit.

The film is the story of the repercussions that have happened to a boy - a child artist who once played girl roles in films as Baby Kusum - once he becomes an adult and wants to be launched as a hero. Baby Kusum is a child star, a cute little girl.

In reality, Baby Kusum is boy, masquerading as a girl. He was christened Jerry, and then named Master Jai for the movies. He and his mother Mary share a turbulent relationship. The boy's family is poor and they want to make it big.

The pressure of parents and ridicule make it a very sad situation for him.

He becomes a drug-abuser who has never been to school and spends all his time at home.

Eventually he creates an imaginary character he is in love with, & that imaginary character happens to be Bipasha who taunts him and fights with him, an alter ego who questions his every move. Jerry is made to face the camera again as a young man, which leads to the final catastrophe.

The film highlights the common practice in the India
of casting children in films contrary to their natural gender.

Bipasha's terrific diva look in the film is all thanks to Gavin Miguel & Rocky S.

And newbie Maradona Rebello as Jerry will be remembered for his exuberance and raw charm!

The director has been inspired from a documentary titled 'Children Of The Silver Screen' ( by Dilip Ghosh )

in which child artistes are interviewed as adults and have expressed their trauma.

The protagonist Jerry, always imagines Bipasha (she is called Nandini in the film) to be a diva....

She plays an imaginary character who exists in Jerry's mind.

She is shown as the alter ego of Jerry...... and that's what the average audience has had difficulty associating with.

I saw it at Inox-Swabhumi (earlier 89 Cinemas).....

and the hall was more than 80% empty!!!!:(

Lezione Ventuno / Lesson Twenty-one

Greetings....
to all my readers.....
This is my return to blogging after yet another prolonged absence,
despite my promise to keep up with posts with a regularity, I had to abstain
from blogging, one of my passions, due to unavoidable reasons.
Today I would like to talk about a film that I have seen very recently.
It is a rather obscure film, not seen by many in this part of the world.
Lezione Ventuno/Lesson Twenty-one (2008) is a film by Italian director Alessandro Baricco.
It is not an easy film. It is - in my opinion - a unique film that combines several unorthodox techniques.
It is at the same time a lesson in art, music and transliteration.
The literary feel can make the viewer jittery and even abandon the film midway.
Yet, if one is patient, and even laborious, one is likely to be rewarded with a keen insight and a marvelous musical journey that is more verbose than musically captivating.
The musical underpinnings are captured effectively through an astounding piece of cinematography that the film is - richly capturing the wild, snowy outdoors as well as the outlandish sets with gregariously costumed players.
In spite of seemingly offering an intellectual treatise on the Ninth Symphony of Bethoven, it actually explores the constituents in the man deemed both an artistic genius and an eccentric oddity.
A deep reflection helps us fathom the different points of view, that are presented to us.
There are strange ideas, beautiful dream-like depictions and paradoxical sensations that are thrown at us from the opening frame of the film, and which culminate in the final monologue of the professor played by John Hurt. Hurt is wonderful as Professor Mondrian Kilroy who, though not loved by his colleagues at the University, is much appreciated by students. Lesson 21 is his deliberation in which he attempts to dismantle the myth of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with particular reference to the 'anthem of joy'. It is the students themselves who perpetuate the memory of that particular lesson.
On 7th May, 1824 Beethoven had held the first public performance of his much acclaimed Ninth Symphony in Vienna. The symphony was conducted by the deaf composer and it is much debated how much cherished it became after the first performance. In the winter of that very year was found, in a frozen lake, near Vienna, the corpse of a violinist who died of hypothermia while playing. His hand shook so hard the handle of the instrument that it was not possible to remove them.
Professor Kilroy had a student favorite, Martha. She is the one who seeks exploration for herself as well as for us viewers. And that forms the crux of the film.
Other than John Hurt, the cast includes: Noah Taylor, Clive Russell, Leonor Watling, Tim Barlow, Natalia Tena, Andy Gathergood, Daniel Tuite, Rasmus Hardiker, Phyllida Law, Adrian Moore, Matthew Reynolds, and Franco Pistons.