I just blogged to say...

Kanan has tagged me on a rather lovey-dovey topic. (Thank you, Kanan! I was suffering from major writer's blog!)

Here are the rules:

RULE #1: People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

RULE #2: Tag 6 people to do this quiz and they cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by, cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by, and must continue this game by sending it to other people.

Here we go:

Q. What do you love the most in your lover?
Ans: His patience (in tolerating me and my nonsense). His totally random sense of humour. His pictionary skills. (More here and here).

Q. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Ans: Spend. Save. Invest.
PS: Okay fine, donate a part too. Hmmph! (I feel like Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality saying "...and world peace!")

Q. What is love?
Ans: When you know that no matter how much you argue, at the end of the day you still really want to be with that person, that is love.

Q. Would you fall in love with your best friend?
Ans: I did. And speaking from experience, it's not too bad an idea. :)

Q. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Ans: Being loved by someone. (Obviously. Let someone else do the hard work I say!)

Q. How long should you wait for someone you really love?
Ans: Till you fall in love with someone else? :P

Q. Is it possible to like someone without loving them?
Ans: Yes.

Q. Is it possible to love someone without liking them?
Ans: Yes.

Q. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
Ans: Try to move on with life?

Q. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?
Ans: Be detached.

Q. What takes you down the fastest?
Ans: Literally? Skipping breakfast. :|

Q. How would you see yourself in ten years’ time?
Ans: Still in the mirror I suppose? :P

Q. What’s your fear?
Ans: Lizards. Death (of humans, not lizards).

Q. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Ans: A crazy Bollywood psycho like me.

Q. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
Ans: Depends on whom I'm married to. If it was some dhakkan, then I guess single is better?

Q. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
Ans: Turn off the alarm.

Q. Would you give all in a relationship?
Ans: Depends on how you define 'all'. Also depends on how you define 'relationship'. :P

Q. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, whom would you pick?
Ans: The one who loves me back?

Q. Would you forgive and forget, no matter how horrible a thing that special someone has done?
Ans: Will try, but no guarantee.

Q. If you get to go back in time and fall in love all over again, would it still be with the same person?
Ans: Yes.


I will tag the following 6 people:

1. Someone who has a blog but hasn't posted anything new in a month.
2. Someone who has a blog but hasn't posted anything new in a month.
3. Someone who has a blog but hasn't posted anything new in a month.
4. Someone who has a blog but hasn't posted anything new in a month.
5. Someone who has a blog but hasn't posted anything new in a month.
6. Someone who has a blog but hasn't posted anything new in a month.

A Wednesday on a wednesday

Random thoughts after watching 'A Wednesday':

• What happens when you make a movie that has no hero or heroine, two veterans, one item girl who really can't act (playing a news reporter, no less), two young actors who actually don't have much to their credit, and no songs? You either end up with total distaster or you end up with a devastatingly awesome movie. Fortunately, 'A Wednesday' falls in the second category.
  
  
• Naseeruddin Shah so rocks the movie, literally and otherwise, that it's absolutely incredible.
  
  
• Even though it's an out and out Naseer movie, Anupam Kher lent able support. In fact, his character could teach managers a few lessons on crisis management and task delegation. If only I could tell my team members too, "You have 10 minutes to do this. Go!"
  
  
• Some of the dialogues are amazing. They are especially hard-hitting because of the use of common English words - it sounds just like the way you and I talk.
  
• Did anyone get the part where Anupam Kher calls Jai back just before he and Arif are about to leave and says, "Yeh sab khatam hone ke baad tumhe Arif ko..." and Jai nods to show he understands? I didn't quite get what Anupam Kher meant, and I'm not convinced with the explanations I have heard so far.
  
  
• The movie reminded me of RDB and Aamir (in the 'common man getting sucked into violence' funda), but while RDB was masala, Aamir was arty, A Wednesday was the perfect balance.
  
  
• A great background score literally keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout, even if the camera is simply focusing on someone's face.
  
  
• We thought watching A Wednesday on a wednesday would be cheesy so we did it. Doesn't look like a lot of people think like us. I was the first person to buy tickets to the show, and the theatre had a total of some 25 people. Bas!
  
  
• I would have been happy seeing Naseer and Anupam in a movie together, but then they had to throw in Jimmy Shergill, bringing back a gush of memories of how bad a crush I had on him. I didn't like him in Mohabbatein but does anyone remember him in 'Mere yaar ki shaadi hai', particularly the first part of the song "Jaage jaage" where he moves his fingers through the wind and goes, "Resham si hain yeh hawaayein sanam"? *SWOOON* & *THUD*
  
  
• I cannot express how glad I am to see him get out of chikna-boy mode. Calling all producers and directors, can we see him in more movies? Please??
  
  
• I love Jimmy Shergill.
  
  
• Shub and I have made a pact. I give her Farhan Akhtar (ghanta give actually, she snatched him and ran off!) and I get to keep Jimmy Shergill.
  
  
• Speaking of guys that make me go weak in the knees, the Aamir Bashir fella who played Jai, wasn't too bad either. I especially loved his 'acting in front of the TV camera' scenes. Takes a lot of talent for an actor to act like he's acting. (Okay, that sentence will only make sense to you if you've watched the movie!)
  
  
• Electric baba was too good! "Shaher mein gadhhe nahin, gadhhe mein shaher hai!"
  
  
• Anyone noticed the nariyal pani man from Munnabhai 2 as one of the terrorists?
  
  
• Deepal Shaw. Sigh. "Aapne mujhe beta kaha?" Haan beta, go back and be a baby doll. Acting, or rather, just talking, is not something you're made for.
  
  
• This was yet another movie where the subtitles could not even correctly handle the English words in the dialogue! CM says, "First thing." Subtitles say, "Personally." Huh?
  
  
• Again. I love Jimmy Shergill.
  
  
• My all-crushing crush on Jimmy aside, the movie is totally kickass. Do not miss it.
  
  
• And finally, a Mithun Chakravarty song, which speaks my heart (and also sounds like a dog trainer's anthem, ahem.) - Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy, aaja aaja aaja... :)
  

i don't like this You business

Dad often sends me snippets to keep me in touch with happenings in India. His latest email had a summary of an article from New York Times reproduced in The Times of India.

***

Why is capital I used in First Person Singular Number? Germans respectfully capitalise You. England is where the capital "I" first raised its dotless head. The generally accepted linguistic explanation is that " i" could not stand alone, uncapitalised as a single letter.Charles Bigelow, a type historian and designer of font families, explains, "One little letter had to represent an important word, but it was too wimpy, graphically speaking, to carry the sematic burden. So the scribes made it bigger, which means much taller."

So what effect has capitalising "I" but not "you" - or any other pronoun - had on English speakers? It is impossible to know, but perhaps our individualistic, workoholic society would be more rooted in community and quality and less focussed on money and success if we each thought of ourselves as small "i" with a little sweet dot.

Modern e-mail culture has shown that many English speakers feel perfectly comfortable dismissing all uses of capitalisation - and even correct spelling for that matter. But take this step further: I suggest that You try, as an experiment, to capitalise those whom You address while leaving yourself in lower case. It may be a humbling experience. It was for me.

- Caroline Winter

***

His email went on to state how for the last several months, The Times of India has been using the first person singular 'i' in lowercase in all articles on the Editorial page.

Sheesh! :/

Aaj mere yaar ka budday hai!

The house stuff has maintained its consistency in driving us nuts, we’re still unpacking (it’s been a week since we moved in!) and both weekends so far have been spent cleaning the house. There’s no furniture in the house and a birthday party is simply not possible. So I am just planning to pretend that last year's grandeur will carry over to this birthday, and I will not have to do anything till I have err… at least some furniture in the house. Add to that the fact that it falls on a Tuesday when we’ll both be at work all day (and possibly working late), and there go all chances of any birthday celebration.

As for gifts, I don’t suppose a sofa set, or a dining table makes for a romantic gift, and those are the only things my buying energies are being concentrated on right now, so I am just gonna settle for whatever resources are at my disposal, and have the party right here at the bar!

Aaj tumhara happy budday hai
Lekin what a pity ki Tuesday hai
Weekend mein karenge dhoom
Bhaad mein jaayein mop & broom
Bas celebration takatak ho
Salgirah Mubaraq ho!


Filhaal toh bas yeh ode hai
Samjho C++ ka code hai
Kyunki odes ka tumko gyaan nahin
Aur is baat se hum anjaan nahin
Bas, life tumhaari chakachak ho
Salgirah Mubaraq ho!


Khoob khelo tum cricket
Truck bharke le lo tum wicket
Tum kabhi bhi out na ho
Match tumhara washed out na ho
Coin toss karo toh good luck ho
Salgirah Mubaraq ho!


Life mein hamesha fun ho
Bas endlessly F1 ho
Raaste tumhaare clear rahein
Hum tumhaare near rahein
Traffic mein hum-tum na stuck ho
Salgirah Mubaraq ho!


Code tumhara bug-free ho
Virus ki na entry ho
Worry ka koi dark cloud ka ho
Ho bhi toh volume loud na ho
Chehre pe hamesha raunak ho
Salgirah Mubaraq ho!


Lakh takey ki baat hai
Arre apun tumhaare saath hai
Apni solid understanding ho
Jisse life outstanding ho
Aur saath mein meri bak bak ho
Salgirah Mubaraq ho!

Rock on, Farhan!

The move to the new house and a thousand things at work had not given me any time to go watch Rock On, in spite of the movie featuring Farhan Akhtar (FA). Shub and I have been fighting like two giggly teenagers over whether he belongs to her or me (me, of course!), and she went one up on me by watching it before I could. And since then we have been bantering about nothing but him.

Sample this SMS conversation:

Shub - *yet another raving message about FA*

Me - Waa! Stop it! You're killing me! I wanna see my FA! Now!!! :'(

Shub - There's a scene of him in the shower too. :P Muahaha!

Me - Bleah. My pyaar is pavitra unlike yours. No shower. Though FA is a brand of shower foam...

Shub - No shower? Then it's not pavitra. It's dirty, no?

So finally, Viv and I decided to set the unpacking aside, take a break and go watch it, before people on the streets started saying, "Hawww Sayesha, you haven't watched Rock On yet??" I must admit I was afraid that Viv, in his usual style, would find the movie to be more Rock Yawn than Rock On. But surprise, surprise, this movie will go down in history as one of probably four hindi movies that managed to keep him awake the entire time.

I, of course, really liked it. In fact, I liked it before I watched it. I liked it the moment I heard that Farhan was acting in the movie. DCH and Lakshya were both so great, and just when you thought the guy had run out of talents to pick out of his box and surprise us with, he starts acting! And boy, can he act.

So here are my notes from the movie:

• Ahem. I love Farhan Akhtar.
  
  
• I wouldn't put the movie in my top ten, but Farhan stays right where he was - as one of the most talented guys Bollywood has.
  
  
• I'd read the review on Rediff before watching the movie. I actually thought the band was called Magik (pronounced ma-geek). And I spent like a whole day wondering if it was an Urdu word with a very deep meaning. Sheesh. Why, oh why, are they doing this? First Singh is Kinng, and now Magik? Did Ekta Kapoor demand to have this spelling before she released her precious Bani?
  
  
• Although most of the songs are quite catchy, you gotta admit - Farhan is not really a 'singer' singer. In fact, I was almost tempted to say 'Croak on' in some parts. But I suppose he does have a rock singer's voice and hence suited the songs.
  
  
• The lyrics of the song 'Pichhle saat dinon mein' were totally cool. But 'novel' doesn't rhyme with 'bill'! :/
  
  
• Purab Kohli's beard in the flashback scenes looked so fake I wanted to reach into the screen and tug it off!
  
  
• The transformation in Luke Kenny's get-up from flashback to the present was simply amazing. I couldn't believe it was the same guy!
  
  
• The snake song 'Zahreelay' was hilarious! Javed Akhtar rocks.
  
  
• The movie reminded me of DCH so much at times, it was actually annoying.
  
  
• Loved Arjun Rampal's bandanna look. Didn't like the look in the second half so much.
  
  
• Farhan Akhtar is so fit! No wonder they got him shirtless in like three scenes. He looked totally dapper, especially in the formal shirts. Did I mention I love him?
  
  
• I found the whole ex-girlfriend angle completely unnecessary.
  
  
• What the hell was Anu Malik's role in the movie? Why exactly was he there again? That too, talking about original compositions??? Or did they give him that dialogue on purpose to make fun of him without him realising it?
  
  
• The dandiya to Aashiqui songs was howlarious, especially the expression on Arjun Rampal's face.
  
  
• Prachi Desai wasn't as bad as I expected an Ekta Kapoor actress to be. She did look like a doll in some scenes though. And not in a good way.
  
  
• Sahana Goswami, who played Arjun Rampal's wife, was totally awesome. She portrayed the very complex character of Debbie amazingly well.
  
  
• There were actually subtitles when KD sang "I will survive." But that's not the weird part. The weird part is that the subtitles got half the words wrong!
  
  
• I just got home and watched 'The making of Rock On' on Zee. Did you know that Purab Kohli's drums were digitally added in? When they shot the scenes, the guy was just beating on a flat green pad against a green background!
  
  
• And oh, I think I forgot to mention something. I love Farhan Akhtar. :D

The heroine hunt

Flashback

So Sayesha Smitten Showbiz Kitten found out that director Abhishek Kapoor was planning to make a trip to his cousin Ekta Kapoor's place for advice on his new movie Rock On. Needless to say, in no time, SSSK was perched on a branch of a tree outside Ekta's house, furiously taking note of the proceedings.

Abhishek - Hi, Ekta Didi!

Ekta - Arre Abhishek! How are you? Batao, kaise aana hua?

Abhishek - Actually I need some help from you. I'm looking for a heroine for my new movie Rock On. Thought I could get some advice from you.

Ekta - Achha, you want a heroine? No problem! I have a whole database of out-of-work TV actresses whom I killed off in my serials.

Abhishek - That's awesome! Can I see the database?

Ekta - Sure! You can even select a few and use all of them. The story, of course, can be tweaked to justify why the heroines keep changing. I can help with that. Heck, even my spot boys know how to do that!

Abhishek - Errr... thanks, Didi. But I think one would be enough.

Ekta - Your wish. Let's use this whiteboard to organise our ideas. But let me get you some tea first. Ramu Kaka!! Do chai lana.

Abhishek - Wow. Your servant is actually called 'Ramu Kaka'?

Ekta - Of course not. Don't be ridiculous, Abhishek. Which servant is called Ramu Kaka these days?? It's just a generic name for servants.

Abhishek - Hmmm... so what's his real name?

Ekta - I have no idea.

Abhishek - Errr... okay...

Ekta starts writing on the whiteboard. 'Ramu Kaka' brings the tea. Abhishek takes the script out and starts looking through it.

Ekta - How many, Abhishek?

Abhishek - Oh, two.

Ekta - Two?? Bas?? Are you sure?

Abhishek - Yes, yes. I'm watching my waistline.

Ekta - Huh? Waistline kahan se aa gaya? I'm asking you about this.

Abhishek looks up, and Ekta has written "ROCKK ON" on the whiteboard.

Abhishek - Didi, there's a typo...

Ekta - Typo??? Where??!!

Abhishek - I think 'ROCK' has only one 'K'.

Ekta - Don't be silly. Anyway, I just asked you and you said two.

Abhishek - I thought you were asking how many teaspoons of sugar for my tea.

Ekta - Oh okay. Anyway, are you sure you want only one K?

Abhishek - Err... I'm pretty sure, Didi.

Ekta - Your wish. But I'm telling you, adding extra Ks really help. Take my newest movie for instance - C Kkompany. Watch my words. I predict it will be a huge hit, you know.

Abhishek - Errr... I'm sure it will, Didi. But if you don't mind, I'll stick to one K.

Ekta - Fine, your wish. But don't come to me later to tell me I didn't warn you.

Ekta rubs out the extra K. She brings 87 fridge magnets, each with the face of a TV actress and sticks them all over the whiteboard.

Abhishek - Wow. That is one impressive collection you have.

Ekta (grins) - Thank you. Okay, let's pick 'em now. Bataao, hero kaun hai?

Abhishek - It's Farhan Akhtar.

Ekta - Farhan who??

Abhishek - Farhan Akhtar, Didi! The director??

Ekta - Ohmygawdddd the Dil Chahta Hai guy? The Lakshya guy?? He's acting now??

Abhishek - YES!

Ekta - He's the hero???

Abhishek - Yup! Cool, eh?

Ekta - Ohmygawdddd! Hmmm...

Abhishek - What are you thinking?

Ekta - I was wondering... it's actually a crazy idea... but it may work... since your hero is a direcor, maybe your heroine should be a director too, yeah? How cool would that be??

Abhishek (looks sceptical) - Really? You think so? That'll work?

Ekta (has a dreamy look in her eyes) - Of course! It would be so great! I can already imagine the movie posters - Introducing Farhan aur EK...

Abhishek - EK?!

Ekta (sheepishly) - Errr... I mean... Introducing Farhan aur EK nayi heroine...

Abhishek - Hmmm... but I don't know any female directors...

Ekta - Ahem *cough* ahem *cough* ahem *cough*

Abhishek - Didi, are you okay??

Ekta - I'm fine I'm fine.

Abhishek - So I was saying - I don't have any female directors in mind who can play the part. I can only think of Farah Khan, but she won't agree because Farhan turned down her offer of playing Lucky in Main Hoon Na. Deepa Mehta and Meera Nair are way out of my league. I don't know anyone else.

Ekta - Ahem *cough* ahem *cough* ahem *cough*

Abhishek - Besides, Farah wouldn't look good with Farhan. He's so slim and fit, the heroine needs to be very svelte.

Ekta - Hmmmph!

Abhishek - Sorry? You said something, Didi? I didn't hear you.

Ekta - Err... I said, "Hmmm..." I'm thinking. Thinking...

Abhishek walks over to the whiteboard and looks at the magnets one by one.

Abhishek - Hmmm... naah, none of them fits the role. What do I do now? Where do I look?

Ekta - Ahem *cough* ahem *cough* ahem *cough*

Abhishek - I think you are falling sick, Didi. Your throat sounds really bad. Maybe you should get some rest, I'll see what I can do about my heroine-hunt.

Ekta - Ahem *cough* ahem *cough* ahem *cough*

Abhishek - Okay Didi, bye! Take care! I'll keep you posted if I can think of someone suitable.

Ekta - AHEM *COUGH* AHEM *KKOUGH* AHEM *KKKOUGH*!!!!!!!!!!

Abhishek leaves.

Ekta starts singing in a depressed voice.

Ekta - Dil kkke armaan aansuon mein beh gaye...

You are the dancing queen

The results of the poll dance at the bar (okay that didn't sound good) are out!


The third spot is shared by two dances:


Main aisa kyun hoon


Dola re


The second spot goes to:


Dance of envy


And the top spot goes to... none other than the dancing queen of Bollywood!


Que sera sera

Poll dance

Ah, time for the poll of the month!

This month, we're looking for the best dance sequence in Bollywood movies. As usual, only one entry per bewda/bewdi, please.

Results in the next post. Stay tunn-ed to find out which dance rocked most of the bar's regulars.

ps: As usual, I have enabled comment moderation to avoid influence. So as usual, do not yell 'GOLD!' :P