Shahid

Hansal Mehta the director of this astounding movie has gone beyond the fancy realms of Bollywood to make an unnerving script into a captivating movie experience. Being a law student, I would say this is a must watch movie for all aspiring lawyers.

“By showing me injustice, he taught me to love justice. By teaching me what pain and humiliation were all about, he awakened my heart to mercy. Through these hardships I learned hard lessons. Fight against prejudice, battle the oppressors, support the underdog. Question authority, shake up the system, never be discouraged by hard times and hard people. Embrace those who are placed last, to whom even bottom looks like up. It took me some time to find my mission in life – that of a criminal defense lawyer. But that ‘school’, and that Teacher, put me on my true path. I will never be discouraged. Even thorns and thistles can teach you something, and lead to success.”. - Roy Black.

These are the words that drove criminal defense lawyer and human right activist Sir Shahid Azmi throughout his life. His biopic is taken so beautifully,doing justice to the life he lead. It shows us how innocent Shahid was arrested for Terrorist activities, taken in custody, tortured mercilessly and was acquitted after two years. How he decided to become a lawyer, How he ran pole to pole to deliver justice for the innocent even if it was at the cost of his own life. In a career span of seven years Shahid Azmi had 17 acquittals. An unusually high acquittal rate for a system that is known for its inability to render timely justice.

It is true when police arrests someone in relation to POTA we all direly start hating that human and wish for the last end torture as punishment for him/her but have we ever thought of, what if he/she was innocent?It is a usual plot of the Police officers in India, due to the pressure from the higher officials they tend to close the file as soon as possible. Hence in most of the cases it is the innocents that get trapped by the law enforcement wings of the country and the real culprit enjoys alcohol while plotting for the next attack in an AC Hotel room. 

Shahid is a crucial document of our troubled times. It builds an incredible grippy case study of persecution and vindication.
This movie touched me deeply and I started thinking of justice from a lawyers perspective. I don't think I will let my human emotions overpower my intellect hereafter. Adv. Shahid, served the innocent till he breathed his last in 2010 at Mumbai where he was assassinated. It just proves us that the system of '1 innocent should not be punished even if 100 guilty men are let free' doesn't function the way it is supposed to be. It creates in us an empathy for the accused, the trapped innocents who are tortured severely for their carelessness.

Watch this movie to see how the real drama in Courts happen. 

Vicky Christina Barcelona -Movie review

It was my junior who suggested me this movie. I knew it was something intense, But ohh my goodness never expected this much. The director Woody Allen might have taken immense efforts to bring out his brainchild at its best.

The Story is based on human psychology when you`re attracted to someone. It helps us to analyze ourselves what is love and what falls into the category of love. Infatuation, crush and one night stand when wrapped up with intense emotions keeps the audience on the cliff-edge.

Movie focuses on four characters mainly. Two friends, Vicky and Christina who travels to Barcelona for a summer and involves with a native to just discover themselves what they are and what they want out of love.

The movie did justice to me since Spain is one country I always want to visit especially to explore the traditions, festivals, culture and art.

 The Most highlighting element of the movie as well as my favorite among Allen`s creativity was the Character Maria Elena. The fact that the movie has a simple narration which kinda ease the audience when involved in such complex situations on screen, was really thoughtful.

Movie Mania- My choice in Indian Cinema

Few of my friends have been asking me to load on some info about films. I was wondering what do I know about films?

Speaking about films I am quite choosy when it comes to spending a couple of hours in front of a screen. I think time is something that should be considered as an investment. Hence invest wisely or it affects your profit (wink). I am unbiased when I say I like malayalam movies, It is because I believe Malayalam movies have got strong theme and the directors try hard to bring out the soul of their characters. Proud to say that Malayalam movies have come out of the crying shame of exclusive  'A' rates into the stunning performances of veterans and other extraordinary talents. Malayalam stories imbibe the reality around us. Films are used as a means of communication & information for its audience than being a mode of an entertainment. (majority cases) Malayalam cinema holds the golden star of being the first in India to introduce 3D film 'My dear Kuttichathan' in 1984.

When I say that I like movies being an infotainment it doesnt mean that I dont like comedy movies. For the record, some of my comedy favourites are 'Munna Bhai MBBS', 'Santhosh Subrahmaniam', 'Oru Indian Pranayakhada', etc. I do enjoy fun & derision. I am very much a human being who enjoys humour but spending 120/- and investing 2 hrs should not end up with a laughing excersise alone. I dont like movies becoming a wide gape of the reality that our intelligence is being insulted. I deeply appreciate the talent of every comedians and other feature actors in every film industry in India. I respect every work of art despite of its category,origin and flaws. 

So Keeping aside Malayalam I have an affinity towards patriotic movies for ex. 'Lagaan', 'Kaalapani' etc. I prefer Bengali movies above other Indian languages because I love poetry and I like bitter truths than sweet lies. Bengal being the land of Tagore-father of Indian literature and Satyajit Ray who was a living legend. Every Indian film critique would include in his trail The Apu Trilogy- An impossibly astounding set of works which won many national and international awards during the late 1950's. 

 I choose movies according to the directors and sometimes casts not because of their charm and hardwork alone but because I trust those men and women to have unique tastes as I mentioned above 'Boring Types' and their films are called 'Award movies'. After all good things rarely get appreciated, they seldom get the tag like 'BlockBuster' or 'MegaHit'.  So some of the directors of my choice are:

 Malayalam:

1.Adoor Gopalakrishnan-India's most acclaimed contemporary film maker. I cannot choose one or two but all his works as my favourites. 

2. Anjali Menon- A new generation movie maker with a pinch of retro in all her works. I like her direction more than her stories. Her movie 'Manjadikuru' has made an identure of every single bygone village frolics.

3.Shyamaprasad- I must say this actor has set a standard for himself which he has been successful in inculcating it into his audience. 'Artist' and 'Orekadal' are my favourites among his brain childs.

4.Sreenivasan- An accomplished actor known for his screenplay and direction. 'Mazhayethum Munbe' is my favourite among his directions. 'Thira'- A movie by his son Vineeth Srinivasan is one heck of a movie which won my respect and admirations especially because of the way it was taken with less atrocity yet braught out the truth with equal harshness. The story was based on a real activist Sunitha Krishnan.

5.P.Padmarajan- One of the pioneers of mature malayalam cinema, 'Thoovanathumbikal' is a stand out in all his works.

6.Blessy- Not even a single one of his works has disappointed me. His debut movie 'Kazhcha'  and other movies like 'Thanmathra', 'Pranayam', 'Calcutta News' etc has enriched malayalam film industry.
7.Jayan K Cherian- I came across this wonderful man's work when I happen to see 'Papilio Buddha' The story deals with discrimination against landless Dalits and the politics of suppression of their struggle against the upper castes and other powerful elements locally.

The above mentioned movies are just a handpick out of my choices. Just for the info I would like to say there were even more astounding directors namely Shaji.N.Karun, Bharathan,T.V.Chandran, I.V.Sasi, Sathyan Anthikad,Sibi Malayil,Kamal,Fazil,Ranjith etc who has also contributed to a cult that is yet to be superceded.

The actors whom you can rely upon for their choice of projects are Shobana Chandrakumar, Reema Kallingal, Mamta Mohandas, Revathy and Sreenivasan.

Bengali:

I am not aware of everybody or every movie in Bengali film Industry but I am a great fan of Aparna Sen as a director. Her movies are unique. Most of her movies end without a climax, she leaves the audience mesmerised in her story to find their own conclusions that please their consciousness, I like all her Indian english movies especially 'The Japanese wife', 'The last letter' and the 'Mr.&Mrs. Iyer'. It would be injustice if I dont speak about her other amazing works but as I have to restrict my choices to a few, am trapped.(grin) But yes, my next choice would be Anirudha Roy Chowdhury- director of Antaheen and Anuranan & Rituparno Ghosh- director of Chokher bali and Raincoat.

The artists whom I would choose to believe blindly in their choices are Rahul Bose, Soumitra Chatterjee, Raima Sen, Konkana Sen and Rajat Kapoor.

Tamil:

Tamil films are known for their stunts and punch dialogues. I have very few choices in Tamil though there are so many veteran comedians and action heros who have done so many great movies.Tamil industry namely 'Kollywood' stands second after 'Bollywood' in the ranking of film industries in India. A land where they build temples to worship artists.

The directors I would opt out are:

1.Kamal Hassan- A veteran who started his journey through the Indian cinema as a child actor at the age of four. If someone ask me whose brain I would like to preserve as a precious remembrance I would say Kamal Hassan (wink) because he has proven himself in every aspects of film making actor, script writer, lyricist, playback singer, choreographer, director and a producer. He is an amazing human being who has advocated for justice to the poor. He has done inumerable contributions to the society through social services. Am sorry I do have hundred tongue when I start speaking about the 'Ulaganayagan' which means King of all actors. I can never forget his dialogue delivery and acting in the blockbuster movie 'Nayagan'. His movies broke regional and language barriers.

2.Gautam Menon- I think this director has the sauce that Bengali movies share as I mentioned above 'bitter truths than sweet lies'. His movies are raw reality totally unpolished yet must watch movies. He has set a trend in Tamil movies among the new generation. The movies 'Varanam Ayiram' and 'Nee Thane En Ponvasantham' are my favourites among his works.

3.Mani Ratnam- One of the directors I respect deeply. I cannot simply pick any one or two from his works but his movies 'Bombay', 'Roja', 'Dil Se' 'Kannathil Muthamittal' etc has contributed so much to the social awareness of the attrocities around us. His romantic hit 'Alaipayuthe' remains my favourite forever. He is a gem of Kollywood who does wonders through his cinematography skills. 'Iruvar', 'Yuva' and 'Guru' are some other exceptional works of Ratnam. A must watch among all his work is 'Thalapathy'.

Few artists whom you can blindfoldedly rely upon for their selection would be Suhasini, Prakash Raj, Kamal Hassan and Mammotty(In Tamil).

Bollywood

This is were am going to stumble. What will I choose among the profusion of films? I would be happy if somebody could allow me choose 100 best movies but unfortunately I am not given that choice. Hence I will recommend few movies which belong to my favourite list and guess most of you might havent watched yet they are:

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Peepli Live
Rann

Fire

Black
1947 The Earth

City of Joy

Ship of Theseus

Salaam Bombay
Morning Raga
Midnight's Children

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Directors are difficult to point out, but the names that rush to my mind first are of Deepa Mehta,  Mira Nair, Anand Gandhi and Aamir Khan.

Actors whom I prefer upon the choice of projects based on story would be Shabana Azmi, Nanditha Das, Rahul Bose and Konkana Sen.

So guys I guess my choices might have helped you at-least a bit to shorten your list of 'Movie to be watched' Have a fun weekend!!

'Antaheen'/ 'The Endless Wait' One movie which stole by heart. An amazing story which casts all my favourite artists.

A must watch movie about a teacher and his special student, inspired by Helen Keller`s life story.

'HAIDER' Movie Review

The most awaited 'Dark Drama' directed and co-produced by Vishal Bhardwaj was released on Oct 2nd of 2014. I received a message on whatsapp from a friend asking someone to accompany her for the film 'Haider'. I had got a review by the time from another friend who went for the first day first show saying its too much of blood and violence, as a whole she didn't like the movie. And personaly I dont prefer much of action movies.So I had spread the word without realizing the gem among my other friends. So my friend who was desperately waiting for the movie release asked me "Don't you think it is so early to be judged?"

Yesterday I happened to watch this movie which is an amazing makeover of Shakespeare drama 'Hamlet'. I regret for misjudging the movie.I was so impressed and had no doubt about the actor`s tremendous homework behind the hero character 'Haider'. Other leading actors in the film Shradha, Tabu, Irrfan Khan and Kay Kay Menon was also up to the mark. After all I have been a fan of K.K from the day I saw his movie 'Black Friday'.

Intelligent take on Kashmir issues using a barricade of an old Shakespeare play. Vishal is always different with his ideas and his way of promulgating it. 

The story takes place in Kashmir and Kashmir is one of the most beautiful place; favourite location for bollywood filmmakers with its snow covered mountains and shikars, Vishal Bhardwaj nailed the idea as it also engulfed the political intrigue and history of Kashmir. Director is the one who brings out the best from an actor. That way Vishal is an expert and loves complicated stories which dig deeper into the grey characters.

 I never thought Shahid could handle such 'veeryam'(Valour)  & 'Roudram'(raging flames of revenge and anger) though I have no doubt about his talent since he has already proved his acting skills through movies like 'Kaminey'. Anyways in this movie he is back with an entirely different avatar from his usual fun-loving self. The way he does the street play in the movie is astounding. Shahid going bald for the first time, along with his one-liners and Prabhu Deva-inspired dance moves are the other highlights to be noted.

There was a little violence which indirectly or directly conveys a lot. It was hard for me to see certain scenes though I feel it was essential to convey the level of torture encountered by the innocents of Kashmir.

The word 'Chutzpah' has become my favorite now. The whole movie can be described with one word 'Chutzpah'. Marvelous!

P.S 'Haider' is a poignant tale of love, revenge and relationships.

Luka-Chuppi (Hide and Seek)

A beautiful song, one among my favorites. Its a beautiful composition by A.R.Rahman sung by himself and Veteran Lata Mangeshkar to the wonderful lyrics by Joshi. Joshi wrote the lyrics about the mother and son playing hide-and-seek with the sad reality of the son being hidden forever. The song video of 3.5minutes convey so much about life and that credit goes to Rakeysh Mehra the film`s Director as well as Aamir Khan.

See the video.

Luka Chuppi bahut huyi saamne aa ja naa
(Enough of hide and seek, come before me.)

Kahan kahan dhoondha tujhe
(I searched for you everywhere.)
Thak gayi hai ab teri maa
(Your mother is now tired.)
Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
(Its evening and I'm worried about you)
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na 
(Hazy is what my sight is, come to me)
Kya bataoon maa kahan hoon main.
(What do I tell you about the place where I am, maa?)
Yahan udney ko mere khula aasmaan hai
(There is freedom and independence like the vast sky here.)
Tere kisson jaisa bhola salona
(Like your stories it is innocent and beautiful here)
Jahan hain yahan sapno vala
(Its like a dreamland here.)
Meri patang ho befikar udd rahi hai maa
(My kite (I am) is flying without any worries maa.)
Dor koi loote nahin beech se kaate na
(Nobody to steal or cut my kite's string.)

Teri raah takey aankhiyaan
(My eyes are waiting for your arrival.)
Jaane kaisa kaisa hoye jiyaa 
(My heart is going through various emotions.)
Dhire dhire aangan uthre andhera, mera deep kahan
(Slowly darkness in creeping in the courtyard, where is my lamp(son))
Dhalke suraj kare ishara chanda tu hai kahan
(The sun is setting and gesturing to the moon, where are you?) 
Mere chanda tu hai kahan
(Where are you my moon (son)?)
Kaise tujhko dikhaun yahaan hai kya
(How do I show you what is here?) 
Maine jharne se paani maa, tod ke piya hai
(I've drunk water from the fountain maa)
Guchcha guchcha kayee khwabon ka uchal ke chuwa hai
(I've touched several clusters of my dreams) 
Chaaya liye bhali dhoop yahaan hai
(The sunlight along with the shade is here)
Naya naya sa hai roop yahan
(The atmosphere is so different and new) 
Yahaan sab kuch hai maa phir bhi
(All that I want is here maa... but still...) 
Lage bin tere mujhko akela
(Loneliness is what I feel here without you)

Mother opens her son`s military trunk box after his death.

Back to Seattle Grace!

I know it might seem silly if I say that a particular TV series has turn out to be a kind of family for me. Since you might be expecting the same from every girl you know. Girls are experts in dis-functional emotional attachments.

I hail from a sate in India which is very famous for their TV-serial addictions. They get too emotional for these characters and involved in the story that sometimes it influences their daily lives and personal behavior (the best example I can give is my own granny). hmm... I cant complain because certain literary characters have the same effect on me too. But what is ridiculous is that some stupids commit suicide after their favorite character in the serials have met with death.

I used to watch Grey`s Anatomy (- An American medical drama series) and
  I finished till season 9.
Well, I had to drop in on the way since I felt am a mini doctor already. I can answer more medical questions than economics which is my major at the university. Slowly I came out of Grey`s life.
Though I wasn't really addicted to the serial.

 One year passed by, Lot of things happened in the mean time. Life made me busy that I didn't have much time to spend on watching videos or on social networks. One year has made me more mature I suppose that made me realize spending time on TV-series should be considered silly.

Today 4th of October... -third day of my long weekend, I was quite bored and as they say "An idle mind is an evil`s workshop" I started thinking so much. I missed my family who stay miles away from me in a total different country. I miss my homie food and everything one could think of about home (cozy blanket..your bed, your room and everything in it). Exams coming up and no means of entertainment is feeling good enough for me. OKAY! so I surfed network on political journalism which is my another interest . Suddenly saw this season 11 of Grey`s Anatomy advertisement ...just clicked on it and an episode popped up... I continued to watch, Ohh I saw those familiar faces after a long time. I felt so happy to see how much they have changed in looks as well as attitude, I was eager to know how are the others (characters) doing.. Then it struck me-- why am I so excited as if some good old friends have come home after a long time and am eager to know whats happening with their lives. Stupid silly me... I smiled at myself.

The fact is these kind of serials which has a regular and consistent role in our everyday life consuming an hour or so turning out to be a routine has a psychic effect on us. Many said the same lines to me in the past but I never paid ears as I felt that they were misjudging me. I believed myself I wasn't addicted, infact I wasn't addicted and that is the reason I could stop watching it randomly.
 But now I realize my subconscious part of brain had an inclination and attachment towards these characters. I used to feel happy when I come across people who knew these characters personally like I do and so they can hook up with me for longer chats. sigh!

Today I feel relaxed and homely as I met my old friends (Doctors at Seattle Grace hospital) they make me feel like a family. Sounds cliche or crazy???

Docs can get the feeling if I say I feel happy to be back at the hospital with my coat and gloves on, lots of cases around and my patients expecting empathy instead of sympathy.
Have a nice Sunday ahead guys!