Wednesday, February 14, 2007

It's Valentine's Day when....

  • Romance is in the air
  • Candle-light dinner and other romantic gestures become norm of the day
  • The demand for roses and cards grows multi-fold;Gift/Card shop owners and flower vendors are making merry and are wearing huge smiles thoughout the day
  • Political workers from few parties take on the mantle of moral policing
  • Collegians still have celebrations to depict the 'prevalence' of democracy and independence
  • Discussions about 'Westernization of Indian Culture' happen for umpteenth time
  • Men, in aniticipation of future response after giving rose, are nervous ; The closed-room individual rehearsals to propose reach the crescendo
  • Women are busy in guessing number of roses they will get ;-) and are frightened at the thought of eve-teasing/stalkers
  • Relationships that would culminate into short flings/long affairs/ marraige are born
  • Restaurants are buzzing with couples all around
  • Love should be celebrated and the celebration should continue throughout the year :-)

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Hollywood Bollywood

Recently, I have watched plethora of movies(some pretty old ones) from Hollywood and Bollywood and few have impressed me.
Here are my picks (in random order):

1. "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset":
I loved both: the original and sequel.
The characters played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy seem so real.
Their no-holds-barred conversations on absolutely random topics are wonderful.
Add to it their subtle romance and 'simple' story, and you are hooked to the movie.
But the most lovable thing of these films is screenplay. Brilliant Masterpiece! See it!

2. The Terminal:
I became a big fan of Tom Hanks after seeing Forest Gump.
In this movie too,he didn't fail to enthrall me.
It's fun to watch the work of brilliant combo - Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks - again.
The movie is hilarious, light-hearted with a string of interesting characters (each having story of his own).
The things I liked about this movie - Unique story, Tom Hanks and of course Catherine Zeta Jones ;-)

3. Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky:
I liked Tom Cruise in these movies.

4. Guru:
A film based on Dhirubhai Ambani is bound to raise many eyebrows.
The means by which he achieved commendable success are right or wrong has always been a question of debate.
Abhishek is wonderful in this movie. In second part, he rekindles the Amitabh nostalgia.
The only hitch I feel is in the handling of character Guru. His vices, his questionable ways have not been highlighted enough and in the end he is celebrated as HERO.


These movies have amazing quotes. Here are few of those:

From "Before Sunrise"

I believe if there's any kind of God it wouldn't be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there's any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt.

You know, I have this awful paranoid thought that feminism was mostly invented by men so that they could like, fool around a little more.

Isn't everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?


From "Before Sunset"

Memory's a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past.

You can never replace anyone because everyone is made up of such beautiful specific details.

There are so many things I want to do, but I end up doing not much.

From "The Terminal"

I usually read history books. They're long and cheap and usually about men killing each other.

I've been waiting my whole life, I just don't know what the hell for.

Sometimes you land a small fish. You unhook him very carefully. You place him back in the water. You set him free so that somebody else can have the pleasure of catching him.

From "Jerry Maguire"

A positive anything is better than a negative nothing.

Don't cry at the beginning of a date. Cry at the end, like I do.

Jerry:I love you. You... you complete me. And I just...
Dorothy:Shut up, just shut up. You had me at "hello".


From "Vanilla sky"

Someday you will known what truly love is..is the sweet and the sour.And I know the sour which allows me to appreciate the sweet.

Even in my dreams, I'm an idiot who knows he's about to wake up to reality.

Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.

What is any life without the pursuit of a dream?