10 Oscar nominations….

....for Slumdog Millionaire in 9 categories (2 in the best original song category). I can hardly wait for 23^rd Feb to come. I was expecting 7 nods (hadn’t accounted for sound mixing and sound effects editing). Though I’m bursting with a lot of adrenaline and a whole lot of things to say, I’ll reserve comment till D-day. But here are my Oscar predictions anyway. I haven’t seen any nominated movie save The Dark Knight, WALL-E, Kung fu Panda, Wanted and will soon watch Slumdog. These are based on other awards received and the award buzz. Can’t predict the technical awards for same reasons.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire. Without WALL-E as competition it is a shoo-in for the top prize.

Best Director: Danny Boyle; David Fincher might spoil the party though.

Best Actor in a leading role: would be a face off between Mickey Rourke & Sean Penn. I would say Mickey Rourke.

Best Actress in a leading role: Wide open field. The one sure thing-Angelina ain’t getting it. Kate Winslet would’ve been my bet if she were nominated for Revolutionary Road but with The Reader can’t be too sure. Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway would be strong contenders.

Best Actor in a supporting role: Heath Ledger. If not for his demise, I would’ve said Josh Brolin.

Best Actress in a supporting role: Penelope Cruz. This one's the toughest category this year.

Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz with Bashir

Best Original Score: A.R. Rahman. But i have a niggling feeling that Thomas Newman for WALL-E might just stop Rahman.

Best Original Song: Jai ho. (If it does, Rahman gets 2 plus one for Gulzar). Then again Slumdog's got 2 nods in this category- so, by default, the award might fo to Down to Earth from WALL-E. I’m surprised there are just 3 nominees. But I am pleasantly surprised to see O Saaya among the nominees. When I first heard it, I thought now this feels like a song made just for the movie with the train-moving-on –tracks like beat. It would be great to see Rahman, Sukhwinder Singh and others performing them come Oscar night- another thing to look forward to.

Best Animated Feature: This one’s a no brainer- WALL-E

I’ll just keep my fingers crossed till D-day. Meanwhile I have a date with Slumdog Millionaire on Sunday.

YAY!!!

A. R. Rahman won the Golden Globe- one of the 4 awards for Slumdog Millionaire. Can anything top this……..the Oscar would!!!!! I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

The appeal of Mills & Boon

No, this isn’t about literary worth of the Mills & Boon novels (MBs as readers refer to them) - there is none. MBs, in most girls’ lives, is a phase that passes as soon as she scores her first real boyfriend. But over the years, I’ve discussed about them quite a few times during idle times when you discuss about the silliest possible things. And now while reading one I was chewing on those discussions. Yes, I haven’t passed that phase, I’m still hooked to reading them and I doubt I’ll ever get over them even when I have kids of my own.

I was inducted into the Mills & Boon reading club at the behest of a guy…..Yes- I’m not kidding…a GUY!!!! I was in the 11^th standard then and he was a final year student at Cotton College, Guwahati. The two of us were partners for a TV quiz show and we were making polite conversation while returning- the “how many siblings do you have”, “what are your interests” type. “Reading” was my answer to the last question.

“Do you read Mills & Boon?”

“No, I haven’t read even one.” (At least I didn’t answer “Duh….what’s that?” I knew what he was talking about.)

“What??!!! You haven’t read an MB being a girl???!!!”

“Ummm…..no…..”

“Go back to the hostel, search for one and read it.”

End of discussion- we moved on to other topics. I believe he didn’t mean to be smarmy or lecherous- it felt more like “it’s a rite of passage- you ought to read it once.” I got back, luckily found one the very same day and more fortunately, liked the first MB I ever read. I still remember the story (if you could call it one)- about a blind guy and his trainer.

I’ve had many reactions from various people regarding them. In Bhopal, there were those who read them like any other book including some fanatics- one of my seniors had 500 MBs; those who read them sneakily (covering them with newspaper- and no, it wasn’t to keep the book in pristine condition but to hide their steamy front covers; those who were too prim and propah to read them and looked at the first category with shock & mild horror. And then there were those who hated them- mostly boys.But that’s understandable.

One of the best descriptions of MBs came from a friend of mine. A group of us were going home by the same train. This friend had come to see us off. I and another friend (a guy) went over to a book kiosk on the platform. I bought an MB after making quite a fuss about getting a good one. He asked me what they were all about. I explained it was a romance- he didn’t seem to get it (or rather get the fuss I made about it). The other friend quips from behind us “Arre, ye ladkiyon ka Debonair hai.”

I laughed….though I wasn’t supposed to- “how could you laugh at something even remotely sexual” would have been the general refrain by the college know-alls (remember, this was Bhopal). Anyways, when I came to think of it I couldn’t help but agree. MBs are generally a girl’s first steps to knowing about sex and the like as X rated mags are for boys. Women need to hear the words; men need to see the…..ahem…. “stuff.”

Another funny portrayal was given by another friend- this time a girl who’d obviously grown out of them. It was along these lines (not word-for-word though- blame my memory):

Pg 3- first meeting

Pg 15- first argumentative kiss

Pg 25- “almost” made love

Pg 50- first “bang” (her words, not mine)

Pg 80- Big misunderstanding after everything was going hunky dory for some time

Pg 100- Breakup sex

Pg 130- Confrontation after a bit of mooning around for the love lost

Pg 135- Misunderstanding cleared up (should never have jumped to quick conclusions)

Pg 140- Final “bang”

Pg 150- Epilogue- usually ending in marriage or a baby

Then they also have these types of MBs- the really hot ones (red cover); sweet ones featuring a cute family (pink cover); medical romance featuring doctors and nurses…why the prejudice against other professions? (green cover); modern romance featuring billionaire guys and ordinary girls (blue cover and they have really embarrassing and sexist titles- “The Billionaire’s Virgin Bride” anyone?); the intrigue series (purple cover and my favourite series- a mix of romance and suspense); historical romance (another shade of purple and I hate them…what’s with the m’lord and m’lady business). The hero is, without exception, good looking and perfect everywhere save for a slight streak of chauvinism while the heroines (yucks!! Bad choice of words) are at many times really ordinary. All MB authors are women- that explains it and the fact that they arealways from the heroine’s point of view. What I’d really like to read is a story from the guy’s perspective. Maybe someday…..

MBs do serve some purpose though. I remember reading one which had the protagonists having phone sex and going “Ah…so that’s what it is.” On the flipside though, they are a bit “fairy-tale”ish and paint a perfect picture of love. I know they’ve spoilt me- I won’t settle for anything less that a real life counterpart of the MB hero. But I’d choose an MB anyday over a “filmy” or “fashion” mag, they make me feel good on a bad day and let me escape into a fantasy world for a short time. So I guess I don’t even want to get over them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

That's the view from my balcony at 9:30 in the morning on 2nd Jan. Delhi is pleasantly cold now after a brief period of bone-chilling cold and terrible fog at the new year. I love this time of the year- makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

This year will be a good one- I can feel it in my bones. God (or any other higher power) knows that we need something to cheer us up after last year. Let's hope we are a little wiser now after our past year's follies.

Experiments with Vietnamese Coffee

I’d been traveling the week before last- I was in Hyderabad for a conference. I’ll spare you the academic details. It wasn’t such a great conference though there were a few good presentations. The only good thing (..ok, one of the good things other than the stimulating???!! conversations) that came out of the visit was that I had access to the idiot box and I got to watch a nice, feel-good French romantic comedy called “Comme t’y es belle” ( “Hey good looking” in English).

I know I’m cribbing, but I’ve good reason- there was no pick up at the station (at 4:45 am). But that’s a minor offence. I had to carry 2 humungous posters for the scheduled exhibition there that couldn’t be folded and necessitated a coolie at all the stations. I put up the posters and later saw that the exhibition was scrapped (by default, as there were only 3 entries). The venue and my accommodation- the Taramati Baradari Cultural Complex- was picturesque enough but not somewhere you’d like to be cooped up for 3 days. It was far away from everything- no auto or taxis around, you can only call for a cab and that costs a bomb. So I was stuck there with no place to go.

Got to see the Golconda Fort Sound and Light Show, that like other such shows, starts impressively but fizzles out later- how many times can you light up the same structures for dramatic effect? It reminds me of the repeated face close-ups accompanied with thunderclaps in the saas bahu soaps. I’m pretty sure they could come up with interesting ways to showcase these monuments- laser shows perhaps. Amitabh Bachchan’s voice does sound extremely impressive and majestic in such surroundings though. (I thought he endorsed UP tourism).

While I was cooling my heels in Hyderabad, my boss was in Vietnam for a workshop with the authorities there regarding the design of rural pre-schools. The workshop was a success- at least one of us had a good time. I’d asked him to bring a Vietnamese coffee filter (I’d googled about Vietnamese specialties) which he thankfully remembered. We got down to it yesterday and though the coffee tastes good it takes forever to drip through the filter. You see, Vietnamese coffee preparation consists of pouring some condensed milk in a cup and then pouring hot water through the filter containing ground (not instant) coffee. The water is supposed to drip and not stream through- that’s a good 10 minutes per cup……. I don’t think our office boy will ever prepare Vietnamese coffee again.

I’ll leave with a recommendation- go listen to the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. It’s not the usual Rahmanesque sound but it’ll grow on you- it’s sheer genius. And the Jai Ho track is phenomenal.

Ghajini

Perish the thought- Ghajini is not a remake of Memento...... not even close. The similarity ends with the protagonists of both the films suffering from anterograde amnesia or short term memory loss. While Memento intellectually teased us, daring the audience to figure right from wrong, Ghajini is a straightforward revenge drama. Calling it a psychological thriller would be doing the term a disservice.

Without the ghost of Memento weighing down on it, Ghajini turns out to be good, enjoyable Bollywood masala fare. You don’t get too many of them now- I can’t remember the last time I saw romance, drama, comedy, action et al together in a Bollywood film. Ghajini has all of it and none of it seems forced. The pacing is just right and the performances are good.

Aamir puts a good act which in totality is credible- his grunts, screams and bloody eyes, which initially seem weird on him, gradually segue into believable character. And as the pre-amnesia business tycoon, he rocks- he’s irresistible. I’ve never gushed about Aamir’s looks but damn the guy is cute.

Asin is breezy, giggly and looks beautiful. This role is no testament to her acting abilities though and I’d love to see her in more challenging roles considering she’s an established star in the south. I wish there was more of Jiah Khan in the movie- from what I know her counterpart in the Tamil movie had more screen time than Asin. She gets a bit of a raw deal- her song is also truncated. It hardly made sense in the movie but the girl is a looker.

The eponymous villain is a bit of let down though- one expected a bit more mystery to him. At the end it all seemed too simple- we knew who the killer was and that he would be killed. With the kind of cinema we are used to today, a little cat and mouse game would’ve been good. Therein lies the main flaw of the film. Or maybe with better editing and screenplay at least an illusion of suspense could’ve been created. Some characters are randomly inserted- what purpose was served by the police inspector? Plus other than the end of the movie, the break in the protagonist’s memory is never really shown. What happens when he’s in the middle of something and the 15 minute memory period is over- how does he reboot? The only such break is placed at a rather convenient point in the climax. But I guess that wasn’t the point of the movie anyways.

The songs are good but not really integral to the movie. “Guzaarish” and “Kaise Mujhe” manage to linger on. All in all a good, watchable movie to enjoy your Christmas and New Year weekends.

P.S.: Aamir Khan doesn’t use a mobile but endorses one. Hmmmmm...........
and read Qalandar for more insight into the movie

About Nov 26th

Much as I wanted to avoid writing about the Mumbai attacks, there was no way I could've cast it aside. It was a mind numbing experience. When I think about the incident, I go through a whole gamut of thoughts and feelings-
helpless about what we as people could've done;
scared that if young educated people can go on such a rampage, what does the future hold;
annoyed that we were making it the topic of our "lunch time" discussions but providing no solution;
sad for the sheer torture the people have endured.

Strangely, I'm not angry at the politicians. It's easy for us to stand out of the political arena and point fingers. We accuse the politicians of being corrupt and lax. But aren't we the ones who offer the bribes- don't we try to get around the law. We complain about dirty streets but we are also the ones who litter it. We complain about rising prices but we also find ways not to pay our taxes. We complain about lack of electricity and water but we also leave the tap running and the lights on. . . . . . . . . We really have some cheek accusing our representatives whom we elected, more often than not, for the 'jugaad' that he/she would provide.

No, I'm not at all angry with them. I'm angry instead at people who are looking at others to put the blame on. Scores of anti-muslim anti-pakistan mails are doing the rounds now. I received a forward yesterday about how most of the media in India is under the ownership or control of non-Hindu forces. It was such an obnoxious thing to do- at a time when we need to stand together, we are only spreading the hatred and the vicious circle to which Mumbai fell victim. The person writing the forward added that he isn't communal- well...whoever you are, you are not just communal, but an extremely idle person who had nothing better to do than dig up facts that would only lead on to more such incidents, instead of doing something pro-active about it.

Who do you think is to blame????