It must be the much-hyped movie of the year like all Aamir Khan movies tend to be. Which included the splendid musical score of A R Rahman and Aamir’s year-long exercise regimen that was broadcast frequently on various TV channels. To add to this we had the Ghajini hair style and Aamir’s bald mannequin from the movie greeting us at almost all cinema halls across the country. It’s a fact that Ghajini is inspired by Memento (1999). However it does not follow the storyline of the original movie. It has obviously been ‘flavored’ to suit Indian taste buds so the comparison at this point is worthless.
After Dibakar Banerjee’s critically acclaimed movie Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006) comes Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye (OLLO). Dibakar’s style of showcasing real incidents in the genre of comedy is very inspiring for me. Additionally his ensemble of cast are actors that a) are not stars by Indian definition and b) are always set in northern India mouthing colloquial speech. OLLO is set on similar principles. It’s a point which I want to make to our film-makers – stars do not necessarily make a great movie but the story does play a integral part of the film-making process.
It’s been a while since I have written on my website. The time schedules apart, my motivation for new creative thinking has almost dried up.
I have been on WordPress since 2005. However I have found that it takes a lot of effort for a single person to update and maintain this highly acclaimed application. I have to take constant back-ups of my database/files/wordpress files and keep up with the current version as and when it has been released. It’s time consuming and stressful and sometimes puts me in a panic state of mind – what if the new upgrade doesn’t work for me.
I was visiting my favorite restaurant in south Mumbai along with a couple of my colleagues. We were the first customers ushered to the mezzanine floor which was surprisingly partitioned into a smoking and a non-smoking area but not clearly indicated anywhere. We had no clue about it until we found a lady bellowing smoke sitting behind us. I signaled the steward bringing my apathy to his attention but he’d only shrug in helplessness. So we continued with our lunch and the bonus passive smoking. However when I visit the place next time I am going to be the one shrugging vehemently at the steward.
When I had read about Shyam Benegal directing a movie with Shreyas Talpade in the lead, it was called Madhav Ka Sajjanpur. And I wonder why the title was anglicized later to Welcome to Sajjanpur when the story is perceived and described through a village erudite called Madhav. And indeed traces of the original title still remain on the censor board certification displayed before the movie starts if you pay attention.