Life of PI - Entertaining and Endearing

Life of PI - by Yann Martel is an old book (By old I mean 10 years at the least) - which won the Man Booker Prize. I remember reading it while on my way to Mumbai on Rajdhani express and was utterly fascinated and riveted by the book. So much so that, I did'nt even realise that the jouney was over and I was still in the train 10 mins after every one had disembarked ( I was alone in my coupe!!!!). Well, when the movie was announced, I dismissed it as one of those movies which cant be as good as the book... but when the movie was released, I was inexorably drawn to it and one fine WEEKDAY, I went to see it. The 3D version . And boy- was I glad!!!!

You can catch the story at this wikipedia page so It shall save me from making this a long and boring post. The movie begins with our protagonist - Piscine Molitor Patel (aptly played by Suraj Sharma) and Irrfan Khan exploring various religions, watched upon indulgently by his parents- Adil Hussain and Tabu. The screen play captures all the small nuances of the book in great detail and I was thrilled to see what I read coming to life on screen.

The shipwreck is captured beautifully in 3D and is one of the films highlights. The very picturisation of a zebra and orangutan swimming an climbing on to the life boat is a lovely scene. Pi's efforts to keep the hyena from attacking him are hilarious but not the killing of the Orangutan and Zebra  by the Hyena. Richard Parker (the tiger) is a magnificent beast whose instinct  to devour the dead animals and then turn his attention on Pi is captured with a realism that sends chills down your spine. But Pi epitomises the "Never Say Die" human spirit and works out a method to keep the tiger at bay and also keep himself alive.

The photography and visuals are stunning. One scene where the entire Pacific ocean is lit up at night with millions of blue Jelly fishes is a sight to behold. So is the depiction of the Carnivorous island with millions of Meerkats (which Richard Parker feasts on). The Sliver of hope on which a shipwrecked castaway lives on is beautifully captured by the director and his cinematography.
what also comes out is Pi's compassion for Richard Parker. Though he could've let him starve to death or even kill him, he keeps him alive.

The entire movie moves between flashback and reality, with Pi narrating the story to an author. All in all, watching the movie is a good way to spend about two hours +  and be enthralled and entertained.

Rating - **** 1/2

SKYFALL - The Evolution of James Bond

The release of the 23rd film in the James Bond series is an indication of how wildly successful this Character is . Why do we love him so much? Is it because he is so good looking, a minimalist and absolutely ruthless at what he does (even love !!). Why is that women love this character and men want to be this character? In human cinematic history, this character has to be the most endearing one till date, cutting across countries, languages, cultures .... James Bond is a cult and I hope they make movies about his exploits till my physical presence on Mother Earth.

You would have guessed by now that I am a Fan- A Big one and Likely to remain one forever. This piece is inspired by Skyfall- the latest in the Bond saga featuring Daniel Craig at his vulnerable best.

So what did I like about Skyfall ?

It has all the shades of good, evil, indifference  etc. It displays 'M' as a person who has the capability to take harsh decisions (even if it means the death of Bond)! Her fortitude in continuing while secretly grieving , over the death of her best agent. The underlying tension between Bond and 'M' displaying a Mother-Son  relationship, with the orphaned Bond displaying undying faith in 'M' inspite of her seemingly impersonal and harsh Decision.

The role of the Bond Bimbo has been now diminished considerably and I would say, kept to the "Bare Essentials ". Both the bimbo's are pretty, have acted their part competently (except that I would have liked to get to know the Severine - (Bernice Marlohe playing the girl friend of Xavier Bardem- the villian) a little better. Her role was a bit wishy-washy but I am sure they director had his constraints. A "coloured" Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) is a departure from the earlier ones (she actually shoots Bond! and then Sleeps with him - Hell hath no fury.....).

The Plot is OK- A hard disk containing the identities of NATO Agents is stolen by Patrice - a mercenary hired by Raoul Silva (Xavier Bardem).Raoul was an Ex MI6 agent, who exceededhis brief and created problems for the MI6 with the Chinese. M traded him with the chinese for the release of 6 agents. Raoul survived the Chinese torture and then went on to become a Hacker for Hire. In the process, he made millions and then started a grand plan to kill M. The entire story is all about how he seems to have planned everything and how Bond outsmarts him by taking the fight to the place he grew up - SKYFALL.

What I did not Like
Everything is too pat in the movie. A cold Blooded Villian would kill his enemy and not hob nob with him or give him a gun!!! Normal police men dont stand a chance.The story is always about some list getting stolen and agents getting compromised and finally, the ease with which Bond can travel across countries... just doesnot fit.  I would put it down to creative licence and the audience taking it for granted that "its always like this". I mean , how can one survive a 200 Ft fall in a river, get shot in the chest with depleted uranium shells and still survive..!!!!

Overall, I rate the movie extremely watchable for its Back to the Basics approach and M not apologising for decisions taken that could have led to his death.. Daniel Crag as usual is superb and has an animal magnetism to him, Xavier is excellent as the Pansy but cold blooded hacker who makes a move on Bond. The photgraphy is excellent, especially the turkish market chase and the drive to Skyfall... Over all, there are many changes and I would'nt like to spoil the surprise.. so go watch it.. !
Rating - ****
Oh.. and Adele's superb rendition of Skyfall... hear it !

THE IRON LADY - TRUTH IS HARD, SELLING IT EVEN HARDER

"Come on, lets go and see the Iron Lady", pleaded my wife.
"I really am not interested to watch Maggie dominate the screen the way she dominated England", I replied and went back to reading Superfreakonomics and the economics of prostitution..
Well, needless to say, you all know how that went...I was dragged to watch the movie anyway.. and I must admit (albeit reluctantly) how profundly the movie affected me.

No, this is not an other movie review, though I must admit the movie scores brilliantly on all aspects of movie making - taut screenplay, some fabulous acting by Meryl streep and riveting cinematography all make it a must watch, but the lessons in pyschology and politics that come across clearly are worth mentioning and emulating (maybe)..
The first - No one want to know the truth, least of all face it, if it involves hardship to oneself.   Maggie knew what was good for Britain and what was required to be done to resolve the deep pit it found herself in, but the people revolted and she almost lost her job for implementing hard decisions. 

Lesson learnt- In politics, hard decisions are hard on your career and may even end it.

The second - There is nothing like a War to divert people's mind off mundane things like unemployment and inflation. (Sounds familiar, isnt it...George Bush, afghanistan...)

When maggie found herself in a fix, the Argentinians came to her rescue and attacked Falklands. Her decision to war with Argentina united the British people and took their minds off the hard decisions and actually contributed to the growth of Britain).

The Third - Even if you know you are correct and the others are wrong, bull dozing your way through will go against you, however good your decisions may be for the general good.

Many times when we know we are correct and if things were done your way, the results would benefit everyone, we become all righteous and get passionate, drowning out views of other people and trying to get your way through. Remember, even if your are correct, you have to sell your ideas to the non believers because thrusting the same down their throat shall be counterproductive..no matter how high or powerful you are.

The Fourth - If you admonish in public, the affected person shall forever hold a grudge against you and will turn against you when you need them the most.

Hard truths are unpalatable because they require tough actions to remedy, which would lead to hardships. That is something no one likes, so you must sell your ideas, your views, with patience and understanding, learning to accept dissent, learning to agree to disagree and moving ahead, for every person wants to feel important, wants to be a part of the process, wants to be acknowledged. Sharing credit is the best way to ensure lasting prosperity for all... Thats why Thatcher was ousted by her own team ...she could've done much more and Britain would be very powerful today if she was at the helm..but history and maggie had other plans....

Give the Indian Cricket Team a Break !!!

The Indian cricket team has been pummelled in the past one year after winning the world cup. They lost badly in England and have now got completely out classed in Australia. The Indian Cricket team led by ther dashing captain Mahi - Mahender Singh Dhoni would do no wrong but then suddenly it seemed that the fight had gone out of them. England was a disaster and the same form has continued in Australia. The batting crumbled, the bowling got plastered , Dhoni's captaincy was terrible, in short..nothing went right. The media, critics and the fans had a field day panning them. To add to their woes, the players started to fight amongst themselves. Various reasons were attributed to the teams dismal performance:-
(a) Too much cricket (world cup followed by IPL )
(b)  Lack of interest in ODI and test cricket (not as financially lucrative as IPL, so they want to save their bodies).
(c) Lack of form (Sehwag, Ishan, Pathan...)
(d) Factionalism
(e) Obsession with Sachin's 100th 100...
(f) Change of coach - Duncan Fletcher has a terrible record...

Well..the list is endless and some more can be added to the list !!! But, lets hold our horses for a moment and give the Indian team a break... I mean, when the Indian team beats Australia or England or whichever team at home, the fans go ballistic...and the team which has been plastered gets plastered by their media at home..Flat pitches not withstanding !!!  They too start baying for the heads of their NPP (Non performing players). The Indian Media goes ga-ga on the Indian teams performance and ALL IZZ WELL. Fame is a Fickle mistress and the recent events have shown the stalwarts of the team that they too are not immune from a consistent bad patch.. But to be fair...we need to give our team a break and not badger them with negativity....

All said and done.. this bad patch is nothing new and was probably expected. People were tired of cricket and winning on the trot can become boring... so in that sense, this dimal performance by the team was expected and probably good also...as brought out in the article Winning and the Indian Cricket team
Bad performances like these are actually good - Non performing seniors can be junked, new players can be blooded and they get a chance too...and the team gets an infusion of energy..which can be so uplifting. Therefore,,cricket fans dont despair,,,its always darkest before dawn, and what goes up must come down. So I predict a reversal of fortunes for the Indian Team...the IPL shall be moderate this year with player revenues heading southwards..which shall give them a rude shock and therefore, hopefully force them to give their best for the Indian team...and we shall end 2012 on a high note..So like I said, stop worrying, no, obsessing  about sachin's 100th ton, give the Indian team a break and let them regroup...

How to beat the Hum-Drum of Daily Existence

 There are days when you cant just wait to get to office, try out that brilliant Idea that hit you while in the shower and prove to the world what a genius you are. On the other hand, there are days when all you want to do is stay at home, not even pick up a call and just be content to vegetate. How does one do something useful in office when your mood is the latter.  Well...to cut a long story short --nothing!!!!
Why does it happen!!! Well...to simplify it--Either too much of the same thing (continuous excitement, Fire Fighting or long period of Inaction) can trigger it or the fact that you no longer enjoy the job  or have learnt whatever you wanted. Its time to move on.
I guess there isnt a cure for it!!! In order to avoid it, therefore, you need to be like Richard Branson. Live on the Edge..seek thrills, do weird stuff...and if you are not upto it..vegetate in front of the TV!!!!
I have found a cure but it takes too much effort.. If you want to try it...go ahead..
Think of an Idea, anything ..it could be fishing, computers, skating etc. Then try to apply what you do at your present job to find something in common, Once you get that, try to change it to something exactly like your job. Thats it..simple right :) Not exactly...you shall realise what an effort it is to draw parallels between two completely different things. And what if this also does not work??? Well this calls for drastic steps...Just stop what you are doing and start doing a repetitive manual job that does not require any thinking to be done (like digging the flower bed or just sawing wood or doodling on a piece of paper). Take it from me people..you shall find new ways to look at your existing job..and escape the Humdrum and boredom of daily existence. 

India vs New Zealand. Indian win 5-0. Way to go India!!

Daniel Vettori must be wondering what to do next? After the comprehensive thrashing by India in the recently concluded One Day Series against India, it was clear that the Indian ODI team is on a roll, on a path of revival led by the strong, silent, highly underrated and immensely talented Gary Kirsten. This team is high on Self Belief and  Self confidence. What a difference a good coach can make? It finally boils down to leadership and I think Gary Kirsten is a born leader. Contrast Kirstens "let the results do the talking" approach vis a vis  Chappell's brash "Change it all Approach" . Sometimes I wonder if Chappell's was purposely sent here by Cricket Australia to demolish the Indian team from within. A conspiracy theory, no doubt, but highly plausible. Indian's are not known for their unity- In fact they are known for factionalism, their Individualism and narrow minded approach. This was played to the hilt by Chappell who really demolished the fighting spirit built in the team by Saurav ganguly. Thankfully, good sense prevailed and Chappells contract was not renewed. Praise the selectors on selecting Kirsten as the coach. Just goes to prove the adage that a Great sportsman need not be a great leader too and vice versa.
The best part about this win was the hunger displayed by all the sidelined cricketers who were given a chance. It was a great decision to send the seniors to South Africa to practice and hone their skills against the short, fast deliveries that Morkel and Co have planned for them during India's forthcoming tour to South Africa. What this decision has done is built up enormous bench strength with Yousuf, Parthiv, Viraat etc going great guns and given India fantastic options for the forthcoming series and the Cricket World Cup.
As was brought out in an earlier article on why Indian's play they way they play (Winning and the Indian Cricket Team), I think the author would need to re-calibrate her reasoning. This ODI team is different. They are motivated from within to win. They are highly insecure about their place in the side and will go all out to show that given a chance- The Indian Team is second to none..Way to go India

Indian Cricket Team - The New Zealand test series

I am an avid armchair sports fan. I do play a  lot of games, but as far as a full days entertainment goes,nothing to beat cricket. It can be thrilling, throughout the match as you expect something to happen with every ball being bowled. The crazy run finish, trying to limit scoring, the alert fielding all add to the excitement. Needless to say, that I am a big fan of the Indian cricket team and go through despair when they perform the way they do, especially against "seemingly" weak teams like New Zealand. I dont care, I want our team to win at all cost as I am addicted to the feeling of well being that comes along with it. I could never figure out, why the Indian cricket teams performance was so inconsistent.

Recently I came across an article " http://hubpages.com/hub/Cricket-Winning-and-the-Indian-Cricket-Team" that got me thinking. I started analysing the teams performance and actually the article started making sense. After all, Its all about the money, honey and TRP's and pulling in the fans. Suddenly everything seemed to be clear..Well, atleast now I dont despair with every loss as I know that the team shall be back with a bang and I am quite hopeful that the team shall win the third test match against New Zealand.