F.R.I.E.N.D.S

It hasn't been more than 15 MINUTES since I finished watching the last episode! The very 2nd thing I did after that ( the 1st was inform a few of my friends that I finished it) was open my blog and start writing about it!
Well, let me start off with a brief history. As most of you would know, the TV comedy series "F.R.I.E.N.D.S" started way back in 1994 and went on for 10 years with its 10 packed seasons! Maybe it was somewhere around the 4th or 5th year that I heard about it from my cousin who was a huge fan then. After that, I got to watch a few episodes here and there but never really got the opportunity to watch properly (my close friends will know the reason for it). I guess I might have seen some 8-10 episodes that time in some random order and that was nowhere even close to being enough to start liking it.
And now, nearly 14 years after it started, I finally got the opportunity, thanks to my friend who downloaded the WHOLE collection and I got it in DVDs !! And it all started after that, in December '07. I loved the very first episode and it kinda struck a chord and got me into the groove. And then there was no looking back! One or two episodes every night became a routine. Rachel, Monica, Pheobe, Joey, Chandler and Ross became my new FRIENDS. Friends who made me smile, who made me laugh and most importantly, made me forget everything else around for that 1 hour or so, kick up my heels and enjoy the fun!
The more I watched them, the more they fascinated me. The way each character is so well defined, and the way they carry these characters with so much ease is simply unmatchable! I'm sure everyone watching it would associate themselves with one character or the other at some point of time. But that doesn't mean it's just about these 6 people. The extra characters are great too.. Well Janice is my all-time favourite and I simply LOVE her every time she makes her entry. All in all, it's just a marvelous creation!
Anyway, back to the big story. Episode after episode, season after season, the saga continued. Even my exams never stopped me from watching it . It was not just a comedy series anymore, it became a part of my life! I know I sound highly dramatic about this but I JUST DON'T CARE! I don't care whether people get it or not, but this is just how I feel so I'll say it my way!
And to those who haven't seen much of it, I just wanna say please don't judge it by one or two episodes cos the whole hilarity of it lies in the characters and unless you understand each of those characters, there's simply no fun.
Anyway, back to my own story. It finally took me around 6 months to come to the end of it! Well, the way I'm feeling right now after watching the last episode, it just can't be put into words! There's a sense of accomplishment on one side, but on the other, there is this feeling that I won't get anything new to watch in it anymore. I don't wanna talk about my favourite episode or season or even my favourite character cos I don't have any such specifications. LOVED every bit of it, and LOVED every one of them! Actually I'm a bit tempted to write about a few highly hilarious and a few really emotional and unforgettable moments in the series but that would take a lot of time cos there are SO many of them. There are so many times when its left me rolling in the aisles in the middle of the night and I suddenly realize I might be disturbing other people. And there are times when its got me so emotional that I just can't explain. And sometimes, I just couldn't control myself and sent messages to my friends in the middle of the night saying nothing but " ha ha ha ha" or something like " WOW!! Loved the way Chandler and Monica proposed to each other!" And they would reply the next morning saying they agreed with me. He he.
Anyway, now by saying all this, I don't claim myself to be the biggest fan; I know I'm nowhere even close. But I'm certainly proud to say I'm one of the millions of fans around the world who can never stop loving it! Watching it on TV right from when it started must have been really exciting for a lot of people. But I just don't regret not having done that. Watching them all at once in a span of 6 months in a proper order, and more importantly, at a time when I could understand the whole humour, is a very different and amazing feeling altogether!
Now though I know watching it again might not be as effective, I know I can never stop. Cos as I said earlier, its not just another comedy show, it's a part of my life, and those DVDs are my treasure. Thanks again to that friend of mine who got them for me. And another friend of mine was thoughtful enough to get me a poster of FRIENDS and this has sort of added up to the whole thing. Now its right here on my bedroom wall and it's gonna be there for a long time to come !!

"It's like I'm always stuck in second gear.. When it hasn't been my day, my week, my month or even my year but .... F.R.I.E.N.D.S will be there for me ! "

MOVIE COUNTDOWN '07

Movie reviews have always been among my areas of interests and wanted to write them since long. And I couldn’t have found a time better time than this, when I've felt like writing about so many movies together. So here it is- a list of MY favourite Hindi movies of the year 2007 along with my so-called “rankings”. I’d like to make it very clear right in the beginning that this is based upon just one, I repeat JUST ONE factor- My personal taste and not on any kind of box-office results or public opinion. But nevertheless, comments are gladly welcome. And please note that this list is in the reverse order of my ranking, so whenever I say “higher up the list”, it would mean technically higher up (a better position), but physically lower down the list here. And there’s no special reason as to why I chose SIX as the starting number, just that I had only that many movies in mind. Anyway now not wasting any more time on my superfluous crap, let me get the countdown show started!

*NUMBER SIX*
CHEENI KUM

A movie with a difference!! I should admit I’d never expected this 64-year-old man 34-year-old woman love story to be handled so exquisitely! No introduction needed for the hero, well Amitabh is Amitabh and he’s lived up to it, to say the least. But Tabu ..?? Wow!! Excellent performance!! Just couldn’t get more natural. You can’t help falling in love with the duo which just takes you through so easily and pleasantly that you’ll almost forget you’re watching a movie. I certainly would have placed this one higher up the list if not for the slightly-boring sequences towards the end. But all-in-all, a great movie and as I said earlier, one with a difference !!!

*NUMBER FIVE*
LIFE IN A METRO

It’s always hard to get real-life into celluloid in a manner that gets the viewers to closely associate their lives with it. Page 3 and Corporate are some films that come to mind, and Metro certainly falls into this category. I’m sure most of the people, esp. in big cities would feel it when they watch this one, thanks to ALL the actors in the movie who make it seem so very natural. It’s a collection of many different tales of people somehow connected together. The movie has its own funny moments, some serious ones, and some that just take you through. Loved the scene where Irfan Khan is bibulously having a conversation with Konkana Sen at the beach! Would have loved to mention all the other actors as well but it would be a pretty long list so will just say all of them have been equally brilliant and a movie worth a watch.

*NUMBER FOUR*
OM SHANTI OM

Termed as the biggest hit of the year thanks to its enormous box-office collection, this movie could have been easily expected to be much higher up in this list. But as I said earlier, there’s just the ONE factor. Anyway, coming to the point, though I didn’t find anything really special about the movie which could personally impress me, should say it’s certainly a paisa-vasool. It had all the ingredients needed to make it a hit as huge. First of all, it’s about the KING KHAN himself, so no comments on that. And then the well-portrayed 70’s replication, the nerve-tickling comedy, the 6-pack abs, the multi-starrer song and finally the so-called twist in the end, all contribute to live up to the hype it had created. Each and every song is a treat to watch and Farah Khan certainly deserves credit for most of the film’s success. People who are ready to keep aside reality, logic, intelligence etc. and yearn for bindaas masala entertainment are those who’ll like this. And the fact that this is such a massive hit proves that we’re all ready to do that!!

*NUMBER THREE*
JOHNNY GADDAAR

James Hadley Chase has been my favorite author till date and is according to me one of the greatest thriller writers of all times. And as soon as I heard that this movie is supposed to be a tribute to this great man, I got really excited about watching it. And I seriously admit that it turned out to be much better than what I expected it to be. Too sad it didn’t make it big at the box-office but this movie is closest to perfection. An excellent script with a gripping plot, well complimented by first-rate performance by the whole crew, this movie is a must-watch for all the suspense-lovers. Neil Nitin Mukesh is my debutant of the year. Sriram Raghavan, the director who gave us Ek Hasina Thi delivers yet another masterpiece and deserves a lot of credit for pulling this off in such a flawless manner. Just like in a Chase novel, the viewer is always made privy to the culprit and his master-plans, but will never know what'll happen next, and in the end will be left completely spellbound. That’s the forte of James Hadley Chase and that’s Johnny Gaddaar for you!!

*NUMBER TWO*
JAB WE MET

“Old wine in a new bottle”. Or I’d rather say “Fresh wine in an old bottle”. We’ve all seen a lot of those guy-meets-gal kinds of love stories in the past and this one’s no different when it comes to the story. But the commonness ends there. Jab We Met is as refreshing as it could get. It’s a love story that takes you to its own world. And I’m seriously out of words to describe the performances of Shahid and Kareena, or maybe “mind-blowing” is the one!!! Both of them have undoubtedly come up with their career-best performances according to me and this movie’s sure gonna do a lot of good for them, I mean, for their respective careers. Shahid with his mature and serious role and Kareena with her bubbly, full-of-life character just leave you asking for more. I’d never really admired Kareena so much before but simply loved her in this! This movie is a sure entertainer for all kinds of people and is one of the most beloved romantic comedies we’ve seen. And it proves that simple love stories still work if portrayed as beautifully.

**NUMERO UNO**

I never wasted too much time on trying to pick up one out of these two movies, because I always knew I couldn’t. So here it is- a tie for the first slot!!! And no prizes for guessing - Chak De India and Taare Zameen Par.

CHAK DE INDIA

A slogan that’ll always be celebrated and a film that’ll never be forgotten. A movie about a bunch of girls supposed to play hockey for their country with a man who is their coach for this endeavor, a movie without a heroine, without a dance and without much comedy. It takes a lot of guts to venture into this kind of a project. But the end-product is simply spectacular! Shahrukh Khan comes up with one his finest and most unusual works so far and carries the movie on his shoulders like a true hero. All the girls are equally brilliant and deserve to be lauded considering the fact that they all are newcomers. Though there’s no emotional drama, it has the ability to touch your inner soul and ignite that little sense of patriotism. Though the ending was pretty much obvious, I couldn’t believe I was actually getting tensed. Shahrukh’s speech to the girls before the finals and the scene after the match when he looks away with tears in his eyes are some of those special scenes which remind everybody that he’s simply unmatchable! We couldn’t have expected a better tribute to our unsung national game. To sum it up, a movie that has easily made entry into my list of all-time favourites.

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR

A film par-excellence! A film that everybody can relate to (unlike Black, which in spite of having outstanding acting performances, was just too much out of the way for our imagination). The hero of the movie – DARSHEEL SAFARY, well, what to say about this new wonder-kid..?? He makes us laugh, he makes us cry, he makes us think and he makes us feel. I’m sure he’d have left many of the big- time actors gaping at his out-of-the-world performance. And the other man equally responsible for creating this wonderful piece of art, our very own Aamir Khan, the perfectionist. Not to forget the man who penned the story and was initially supposed to be the director- Amole Gupte. A close look at the movie tells us about the amount of effort that has gone into making it into what it’s turned out to be. This is a film which sinks into our heart and is likely to stay there for a long time to come. The scene towards the end where the boy receives his prize and immediately runs to hug his teacher, will remain as one of my all time favourite scenes, one which almost brought tears into my eyes.

*****

So that’s about it. I might have missed out on watching a few movies this year but I don’t think they’d have made it up to this list anyway, so it makes no difference. And by the way, if I’m expected to talk about my choice of the worst films of the year too, well, there’s nothing to talk about them. Just 2 movies come to my mind- Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd and Saawariya.

And as I said earlier, comments, opinions and arguments are gladly welcome.

*************

NAMMA BETTA

"HEAVEN'S NOT A PLACE THAT YOU GO WHEN YOU DIE, IT'S THAT MOMENT IN LIFE WHEN YOU ACTUALLY FEEL ALIVE ! "

How many of you have actually felt THAT moment in life ?? I'm sure all of you must have, 'coz different people experience the feeling of heaven in their own different ways. Now if you're thinking that this blog is about ONE such moment in my life when I felt like being in heaven, then you're wrong. This blog is about a PLACE, which, for me, is nothing less than heaven !! It's about a place I love the most and just can't help visiting!!! It's about our very own BETTA !!

For all those non-Mysoreans reading this, let me tell you precisely. I'm talking about CHAMUNDI HILLS in MYSORE . The word "Betta" means HILL and "Namma Betta" means "OUR BETTA". And if at all there's any foreigner reading this, then tell u wat, THIS IS IN INDIA BABY !!!!!

Anyway, jokes apart, Namma Betta is no hill station, it's no Simla. Nor is it a Niagara. It's just a small hill very close to Mysore City. Frankly, it has nothing extraordinary. But has everything to make u feel extraordinary! My words might look a bit too exaggerating, but this JUST how I feel about this place. Otherwise, wouldn't have cared to write about it.

I visit betta with my friends almost once in a week. And if it gets more than 10 -15 days, then I get "Betta -sick". Now what to say about this place, Ohhh !!!!! The roads, the ride, the greenery, the view, the weather, the trees, the rocks, the pillars, the towers, .....!!!!! Amazing !! Sitting at the main view point on a cool, quiet evening and looking at Mysore is one of the loveliest things to do !! And it's certainly not just about the main view point, there are so many , literally so many places to hang out. There's one place on the other side which has a small tower from where we can't see the city but a complete nature view. LOVELY PLACE !! We'd once explored a new place going through a small road to the interior and it was lovely too ! But later, a policeman came and screwed us up , ooops I mean scolded us badly as it was a prohibited area. Badly wanna go there again but scared of the cops. And tell u what, there was one time when we actually tried studying there and it was great ! And can't forget bunking college test and going there in the morning. Try sitting at betta on an early morning and you'll know how beautiful a morning can get !! No vehicles, no horns, no pollution. Just the sound of the birds chirping. WOW !!! Out of the world experience! And of course, I forgot about the option of climbing all the way up. Though I don't do that much and prefer the roads, should say climbing is also fun. Not just the steps, we've even done some trekking there. That was real fun! And at night, oh it's a different feeling altogether! Now I'll go on and on if I keep talking about the numerous places in betta and my experiences in each of those. So better not go further into all that.

I just wanna say Betta ROCKS, 24*7*365. Literally !! And I've had few of the best moments of my life in this place. Done some great deeds, some great mischieves, had some great discussions, celebrated one of my best birthdays there ... Again, I could go on and on and on .

So I consider myself highly fortunate to be staying so close and to be always able to find somebody to accompany me to this place. No matter what others think of this, I just wanna say I LOVE BETTA !!!! TO THE CORE !!! As i said earlier, IT'S HEAVEN!!!!

P.S- My message to everybody is : Please don't dirty the place, DON'T LITTER. These places are our wealth, so treasure them.

SWADES

People have their own individual taste be it in terms of movies, songs, books, clothes or anything else for that matter, and we have no right to forcibly alter their likings according to ours. But SOMETIMES, it so happens that we like something SO very much and then realize that people haven’t actually got the real taste of it. That’s when it becomes necessary to tell them how much we liked it!

We all watch a lot of movies and we watch them for the sole reason that we need entertainment. But there are some movies that are made and are supposed to be watched, for reasons other than mere entertainment. Munnabhai MBBS, Rang de Basanti, Lage Raho Munnabhai and Swades are a few of those very special movies that ought to be watched for the simple reason that they’re OUGHT to be watched. (People who haven’t watched EVEN ONE of these, please ignore this blog).

These movies carry along with them, a so-called MESSAGE that needs to be understood by one and all. I don’t want to talk about the first 3 films mentioned above ‘coz there’s hardly anybody who didn’t like them, and that was mainly because these movies had all those extra ingredients necessary to make them a hit. (But still, if you’ve missed out on any one of these by any chance, please do watch it).

But SWADES - well, this movie was never made to make money. In my opinion it’s one of the most meaningful movies made and when I learnt that it was declared a FLOP, trust me it hurt me a lot, not because it wasn't a box-office hit but because of the fact that enough number of people didn’t watch it, and those who did, didn’t like it. It’s a simple movie about an NRI who visits his country after a long time and slowly realizes the grievances of his fellow countrymen and finally decides to do something for his nation. A movie with the same story could have been easily made a hit by just adding a few item songs, a little bit of stupid comedy and a few dances by the leading actors in some foreign locations. But in that case, SWADES would have never turned out to be something as special as it is now and I would’ve never cared to write about it.

I know I'm being quite tardy writing about it now but it so happened that I watched this movie for the second time a few days back and I loved it even more and my urge to write about it became stronger. A few scenes like the one in which the hero visits a poor man and learns about his critically poor condition in life and the scene in which he buys drinking water from a poor lad in the railway station and drinks it – are really touching. If not for anything else, we’ve got to watch this film just to know the darker side of India. Issues like poverty, illiteracy, caste division, etc. are all so effectively brought up in the movie that we actually realize that we have a looooooong way to go. And hats off to ShahRukh Khan for his remarkable performance!

SO, I just wanna say, if you haven’t watched SWADES, please watch it. If you’ve watched it once and didn’t like it, then watch it again. But after reading this, if you happen to watch it again and still don’t like the movie, then please forgive me for the inconvenience caused!