Mukkabaaz - Anurag Kashyap (Movie)

Mukkabaaz - Anurag Kashyap.

Can a Director like Anurag Kashyap ever go wrong? Every time I see any of his movies, I yet again fall head over heels in love with the man and the art of movie making that he does so beautifully. Last night we had the opportunity of watching this gem of a movie called "Mukkabaaz" with almost an unknown cast, barring of-course our common all time favorite Jimmy Shergill, yet again in a terrific character that we loved to hate :). What amazed me was the way Mr. Kashyap picked up an unknown guy and makes him a superhero of sorts that too in full style. I have now become a huge huge fan of Vineet Kumar Singh, who I saw last in Anurag Kashyap's "Bombay Talkies" as he actually was the part of one of my favorite track wherein he fullfils his Father's last wish of making Mr. Amitabh Bachchan eat his "Murabba", Wow, what a touching performance this guy had in that movie and finally with "Mukkabaaz" he gets a full-fledged role and he steals the show with full marks.

I have no idea why and how we missed this movie while it was on Big screen but my daughter so beautifully summed it up saying "Papa, achcha hua humne ye movie theater main nahin dekhi, achchi nahin lagti tab apne ko and we wouldn't be able to rewind it the way we did it so many times, repeating so many scenes". That was the magic of the movie, the guy's performance, story, action and everything else is so amazing in this one that we almost saw it twice back to back. Although the movie had a terrific start yet it falters or slows down mid ways leading to a terrific finale but that takes so much time in coming that I felt its length was a little too longer for the subject it was made on. All four lead actors did total justice to their characters. Especially Vineet as the "Mukkabaaz" who knows nothing but mukkebaazi and just can't do anything. His love interest "Zoya Hussain" the mute girl was superb, she reminded me so much of "Mahie Gill" and she so easily made me fall in love with her. The way they talk was so amazing. Ravi Kishan finally gets a role he is been waiting for all his life in a Hindi movie I guess. But the Jimmy Shergill yet again takes the cake away from all of them. Stony eyed villain (Girl's shrewd Uncle) a totally corrupt politician with an ego equal to the size of Himalayas :) was simply stunning. How he screws Mukkebaaz's life and his career was totally convincing and so much true to real life I believe.

Wiki says this about the movie: "Mukkabaaz was conceived by Vineet Kumar Singh (Hero) who wrote it with his sister, Mukti Singh, based on his observation of several sportsperson's condition in the country. He then faced rejection from several producers but was accepted by Kashyap, who agreed to make the film if Singh becomes a real boxer. For the preparation, Singh went to Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, where he trained boxing for a year. Hussain also learned non-verbal language for her role". His transition from a mango-man to a Mukkabaaz onscreen is so stunning that we just couldn't believe how one could do this.

Loved it's unpredictable ending too.

It is indeed a big crime to miss a movie like this. If you haven't seen this one, do watch it ASAP. I am sure it must be available on all platforms by now. I regret missing it earlier but glad that I finally saw and loved it too. Do not miss it anymore at any cost.

Unhurried Tales - Ruskin Bond (Book)

Unhurried Tales - Ruskin Bond.

Ruskin Bond is one of my favorite writers and I am super confident that whenever I pickup whichever of his books, it puts a wide smile on my face throughout the time it takes me to finish it. Although I always (read always again) find them too short and a breeze to read and they just get over too fast. I believe in humor department, PGW and Ruskin Bond have no match (do let me know if you think they actually do). When I need to laugh out loud I pick up a PGW and it without fail makes me roll over my chair and sofa where I do most of my reading. And when I need to go back in time in search of Nostalgia about good old days, I pick up a Bond book. No doubt, he is a true blue Indian, the use of so many typical Indian words confirms that time and again. For example so many times he says in his story that when he was "small" and not "young" :). And the use of so many authentic Indian terms like in this one, the laugh riot story of a guy selling "Saande-ka-tel" :)or Bond himself using "Lifebuoy" soap or even better, his love towards Indian cuss words, for which he says there is no other language cuss words which come any closer in giving him any satisfaction :) till he uses most of them to chill himself down a little, whenever he is angry. I am surprised that the stories that he has written in this book are mostly from the period between the late 50's to early 60's, yet not much has changed in our part of the world in last 50 odd years. Especially the small towns, life out there, the train travels, highways, friendly people you meet all over the country and so much more as he captured so beautifully in his heart touching stories.

I have another reason to love Ruskin Bond stories or shall I say I feel more closer to them as I have almost spent a good 2 years going off and on to Mussoorie almost every month while I stayed in Delhi. And the nearby areas which keep cropping up in all his stories, Chakrata, Kemptee, Landour, Dehra(doon), Simla, Shamli and a lot of more smaller lesser known areas. His love for the wild, animals, adventure and mis-adventures are to die for. Totally hilarious accounts of him going recluse with no money in the pocket, no set job, no recognized way of making money, yet he is able to survive on little mercies of people like Hassan who runs a bakery and lets him live in a room upstairs. The room although is no good but he praises the view from the little window of the attached toilet, where he spent most of his time :)writing and creating his stories, now how funny and super kool is that. I had a jolly good time imagining Mr. Bond sitting on the western potty with a rickety old mammoth of a typewriter on his lap, furiously typing stories for us to laugh with :). His landing the fortunes accidentally and letting them go are not only hilarious but heart touching and tell a lot about the man we all love too.

All of his stories are straight from the heart and they feel so real that I seriously believe that they actually are cut out from his own life and I want to believe that none of them are really a work of fiction. The locations, the surroundings, the real life like characters, the animals, especially the tigers, leopards and bears, on top of that his adventures with them and mis-adventures too. I have learned so much from his stories in the past that I would really love to try a few of his stunts myself like the one where he is sure that if you call a Tiger an "Uncle", he will not attack you and let you live :). And if you run into a Bear some day, try running downhill as Bears hate running downhill, so he may spare you :). His friendship with a pickpocketeer or an exiled Prince a last of his own kinds are super heart touching accounts. This book is more dedicated to the friends that he had made while living a couple of years in and around Pipalnagar and Fosterganj, not too far from Mussoorie. A Baker, a banker, a pick-pocket, a hair-lipped youth, an old boozer (a royal actually) who makes his own booze, and a few more that he keeps meeting off and on. But the best story of the lot is "The Blue Umbrella", that I totally loved. Although I have seen the movie that one of our own acclaimed Director - Vishal Bhardwaj has made, but I don't know why the Movie didn't impress me much. May be I will see it again after reading the story and see if it works this time around. The story is about a little girl and her brother, who find (or acquires) a beautiful Blue Umbrella and what all she faces because of the same is the story.

Have you read "Unhurried Tales"?, if not, you have to read this without fail, a gem of a book full of terrific stories. Which one is your favorite Ruskin Bond book? Do let me know, I would love to read it too. Although I am yet to get my own copy of his recently launched Autobiography "A Lone Fox Dancing", have you read that?

PS: Do you know why Ruskin Bond calls God a "Mathematician"? Guess I need to read more of him or may be his Autobiography will have the answer.

Sinners: The Dawn of Kalki - Naveen Durgaraju (Book)

Sinners: The Dawn of Kalki - Naveen Durgaraju.

The best day of the week or a month is the day I get a book as gift from someone and it makes it even better when I get it from an Author directly. How kool is that :) to get a book straight from the source and the only thing I am supposed to do is to read, rate and post my thoughts. Can life get any better? I don't think so. So, this one came couple of months back when Naveen approached me to review his book but since I was in mid of an epic book series (A Song of Ice and Fire) it took me quite a while to finish it and get on with this one. After reading five huge books back to back from the master story teller, I anyways wanted a short break before picking up anything. Also, I wanted a little break from paperbacks as my hands were actually aching after holding those thick books constantly for good two and half months I guess. Hence I picked up my Kindle and this one was right on my home screen which I started right in the morning as soon as I woke up and surprisingly finished it by late mid-night. Whether it worked for me or not is altogether a different matter. What is commendable as per me is that someone not only wrote a whole book, but also got it published. And the most irritating thing as per me in a book is mistakes, although I am no expert but if I am able to find a dozen mistakes, it breaks my heart.

The book took me way back in time some 25 odd years and refreshed the memory of couple of "Surendra Mohan Pathak" and his likes that I read, but the only difference was that this was in English but the feel was exactly the same. It was more of a mix of B grade Hollywood movies where the world has come to an end and the left over humans are looking to decode the cause and effect as well as trying to survive the times. Heroes have risen for their own causes (and every hero has to have a heroine too). They ride the left over Bullets, now how kool is that, I expected a couple of Ducatis or may be a few Harley's too but since the fuel and food is something which is depleting they do not make an appearance. I guess too many movies and the plethora of TV series(s) on apocalyptic theories have taken their own toll on the writer's mind. Nuclear attack, its after effects (not in details), the talking creature, the Purohits and a Katana wielding Hero takes the lead in the story. The "Sinners" are dying on their own and there are some who are not touched by it all are the "Forgiven". The way two sides greet their own people reminded me so much of Star Wars' "May the Force be with you" as they keep saying again and again (One side) "Kalki Commands" and (the other) "Forgiven, Forever", hilarious that was. The creature he made and the way they hunt him reminded me so much of iconic movie "Tremors". Even Stannis Baratheon's flaming sword from Game of Thrones makes an entry here and what's with Horse blood drinking - that had me in splits. At the first sign of Apocalypse all the pregnant females vanish (remember all the fertile ones were hijacked by "Handmaid's Tale). I am still not sure if it was intentionally or unintentionally funny, I was laughing with it or on it. Initially the way story starts, it had a huge scope which I will say not at all explored by the Author, rather he looked in a hurry to reach the end of the first book without disclosing much to the reader since I believe he wants to make this into some kind of a trilogy of sorts.

The one thing that is missing big time from the story is that there is no detailing, half baked characters, almost no backgrounds, I even had a hard time imagining the background, surroundings and even what they were wearing while riding bikes in one place and running around in horses in other scenes. This book and story is more of a "telling" than actually "showing" something to the reader. Visually it was a big let down.

A Dance with Dragons - George RR Martin (Book)

A Dance with Dragons - George RR Martin.

I just bought a sleeping bag last evening from a sports store next to my office. Now, you may like to ask me, what a sleeping bag has got to do with this book? or the book series in question? If you have read this one, you already know my answer but if you haven't, let me tell you, I am preparing myself for the upcoming book(s) launch of this series that eagerly, that I will be sleeping in front of the bookstore to grab the very first copy of its upcoming part. George RR Martin is one heck of a writer, no two things about it, he has left the story in such a suspension and hanging state that I will keep on wondering what happens to my favorite (twenty) characters from the story. I can bet that no one can have one favorite from this series, at least a dozen or half a dozen for sure will be my all time favorite without question. Five books down in the series and after reading a little more than 5000+ pages, there are a 100 question that I need to ask him and some 20 theories running parallel to the narrative that he is going to twist, turn and resolve hopefully in upcoming books as and when they come out. I really actually admire (read hate) those friends who didn't stop me from reading this, even after knowing that I will be hitting a dead end with no ending sooner than later. People rather forced me into it and I have one brilliant friend who actually handed me over her complete box set with a smile :). Do we really need these kind of friends in life :). On top of that I have a cousin who just handed me over the entire TV series on a pen drive, drooling that I should watch it quick so he gets to talk about it with me, may be next weekend as it is 70 hours worth. That would take me at least two weeks for sure.

Fifth book of the series and some 1115 pages later, I am totally (still) in love big time with some half a dozen character and pray every night (being an atheist) for their good health and no sooner death by Mr. Martin. Seven kingdoms now are in ruined state, with no true born king in sight to take the reins of the realm. Dragon queen missing from action, dead or alive, no one knows. Starks too totally missing from action, all sons dead (almost), two missing daughters, wolves totally missing from the action, Bastard (my Hero) not getting enough support and opportunity to take the revenge or find his half brother and sisters. Lannisters, lets not even talk about them as it will stretch this blabber to no end :). My love Jamie is again absconding totally and his Wench to is missing big time. Cersei finally getting her long due :). My second best love Tyrion, aah! My heart pains to mention what is being done to him. Hopefully he will join hands soon with the Dragon queen (my wish) and come back strong for the Iron Throne. Where is Benjen Stark? Where are the "Others"? Where is Samwell Tarly? Where are the Hounds? Anyone?

The great Wall on the verge of being abandoned or taken over, the "Others" are yet to arrive, the missing last king (Stannis) again no clue dead or alive. Being a reader, it is at times too tough, still doable for me to keep a track of all the characters in small compartments of my memory but I really wonder how Mr. Author does that himself, is seriously beyond me. If I actually make a list of all the characters, I guess he must have named close to 2000 or more characters in this series by now. And they are so aptly named that it always puts a smile on my face as and when a new character crops up :). One of my favorite name is "Damon-Dance-with-me" I mean imagine a character named like that :). I especially love the Dothraki names, Khal Drogo (the best) Jhoggo, Jhiqqi :) Khrazz and all the others. I so much wish Ser Barristan the Bold gets a detailed story of himself in coming books and so does the two Dogs (Hounds) the Clegane brothers big time. I hope and am sure they are not dead and out yet.

If I have to chose one favorite book from the series that we read so far, I will say almost each one of them is equally good if not better than its prequel. The series just keeps getting better by every book and just doesn't lose any steam I will say. ...... and the painful waiting period starts for the next in the series :(.

Mamma Mia - Here we go again 2018 (Movie)

Mamma Mia - Here we go again 2018 (Movie).

Fortunately we are a family who loves Music, song and dance big time and almost all of us are a huge huge fan of Meryl Streep (btw who isn't?). After loving "Mamma Mia" big time, it was quite a surprise to see a sequel coming. Also, we had no idea what it was all about as we do not read reviews of especially those movies that we look forward to :). Shockingly we saw it in an empty hall on a Sunday evening with hardly 15 people around, but those fifteen people were actually awesome fans just like us. The mommy sitting right besides me almost knew all the songs by-heart and was evening singing them along too :) with foot tapping music and songs (ABBA) that was bound to happen. I love those songs and have almost got all of them in my personal collection but do not remember them anymore the way these people did.

Story is nothing much but a flashback of Donna's (Meryl Streep's) life, how she gets the three boy friends and ends up in the place running her own restaurant till the end of her life. Unfortunately we expected her back in the movie but were heart-broken to see that she wasn't there at all. Although the three daddies take the cake in this one big time with their younger avatars doing perfect justice to the characters. The movie was a joyride of a little less then 2 hours and ending was simply superb. The surprise and the end credits are actually too good. No doubt now that we will be expecting a third outing may be in next couple of years :). If you love musicals, dance and drama - you've to watch this one, do not expect it to be as fantastic as "Mamma Mia" and it just works like a charm.