Slumdog Millionaire @ The Oscars !

A lot of bouquets & brickbats around "Slumdog". I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I read 'Q&A' by Vikas Swarup around 2 years back and enjoyed reading the book. It definitely had a bollywood touch to it and I recommended the book to friends as a fun read.

Booked tickets for the nite show of Slumdog on Feb 1, 2009 @ Lido Fame Cinemas. I was hoping to watch a decent replication of 'Q&A' but was disappointed from the very beginning. The movie did not have anything to keep my attention on the screen. My mind kept wandering and comparing the few stories that were adapted from the book. It made me wonder how this movie made it to the Oscars.

Talking about ARR's music, I think he has composed some classy tunes in zillion other movies and his music for 'Slumdog' can be easily forgotten. Being a die-hard fan of ARR, it makes me sad to see him getting nominated for such mediocre work.

In my mind, the comments made about showcasing Mumbai badly are totally baseless. I think we must accept reality I see no wrong in what was shown of Mumbai. However, I would agree with most critics and especially ace director Priyadarshan who has lashed Slumdog as a mediocre, trashy version of erstwhile bollywood movies.

I feel no sense of pride in 'Slumdog' making it to the Oscars. Well, thats my personal opinion and if you are reading this, its well within your rights to disagree ;)

Here is a small list of my favorite movies that could have represented India for the 'most prestigious award'
- Thanmatra (Malayalam, featuring Mohanlal)
- Anbe Sivam (Tamil, featuring Kamal Hassan)
- Taare Zameen Par (Hindi, featuring Aamir Khan)
- Shwass (Marathi, did get nominated but did not win)

A year of travel....

Been a year of amazing outings and travel. Here is a snapshot....

Sep 2007 Phuket, Bangkok
Oct 2007 Coorg
Nov 2007 Ooty, Coorg
Dec 2007 Kakkabe
Jan 2008 Goa
Feb 2008 Simsha
Mar 2008 Kovalam
Apr 2008 Devarayanadurga, Chikmanglur
May 2008 Coorg, Hogenekkal
Jun 2008 Manila, Cebu, Baugio
Jul 2008 Mysore, Jaipur
Aug 2008 Shimoga
Sep 2008 Belur, Halebid, Kemmangundi
Oct 2008 Hampi
Nov 2008 New Delhi, Manila, Cebu
Dec 2008 Manila, Cebu, Coorg
Jan 2009 Aamchi Mumbai
Feb 2009 Hassan
Mar 2009 Hassan, Mysore
Apr 2009 Trichur
May 2009 Ooty, Kakkabe, Kushalnagar
Jun 2009 Tirumala, Thirupati
Jul 2009 Yercaud
Aug 2009 Agra, DFW

Sep 2009 Minnesota, Wisconsin

Oct 2009 Houston, Austin

Nov 2009 New York, Port St. Lucie, Miami

Dec 2009 New York, Port St. Lucie

Jan 2010 New York, Port St. Lucie

Feb 2010 Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale, Bangalore

Mar 2010 Sakleshpur, Chennai

Apr 2010 San Antonio, Austin

May 2010 Possum Kingdom Lake, Graham

Hope the list continues...... Bon voyage !

Another year... a lot brighter

Its that time of the year again, when I feel 21. And this year am away from home, family and friends. Doc (Darrin) is the only person known to me here in Philippines. We are in Cebu City now and I was at work at the stroke of midnite.

I dont want to blog about how I feel on my birthday.... its just a mirror image of what I wrote last year.

Am on top of the world..... counting my blessings ! And trust me, our Arithmetic system needs to be redone for me to accomplish this task.

This is a great day !!!

All play and no work.....

Yes.... that was the main reason for the outing to Kakkabe in Coorg. The RPM team decided to take a break and we boarded a mini bus at 6 am on 28 Dec 2007. It was a chilly morning and the drive was exciting and fast. There was music, singing, sleeping and of course drinking along the way. Then we changed gears to watching 'Friends' for a while after which it was 'Munnabhai MBBS'.

(The road ahead at 9.02 am !!!)

We took a breakfast break at Maddur Tiffany's but not many wanted to eat. Barring the few who stepped in to eat, the rest of us decided to have coffee and browse around a shop selling curios. I got myself a catapult for the trip !!!

The next stop was at Ranganathittu Sanctuary. It was time for bird watching... and am actually talking about bipedal, warm-blooded, vertebrate animals that lay eggs. If you don't trust me, here is the proof !

We then took a boat ride to spot some crocs and were lucky to spot 4 of them. One big bad boy gave us that 'Nikon' moment (not 'Olympus') that really enthralled all of us.

After Ranganathittu it was time for a nap for most of us, cos we headed out for this trip straight after a night shift. Zzzzzzzzz......

to be continued.......

The Joy of Christmas

This year it was a Christmas with a difference. A big dream realized !!!

I have always envied people who can sing effortlessly and most importantly, melodiously. Ive cursed myself for not getting trained in classical music when I was young. But that has never stopped me from singing along, when in a group, or singing in the shower. Most importantly I prefer singing along with my CD player. Makes me sound better than the original playback singer.

Christmas eve was pretty dull at work and we decided to spend the evening by singing our favorite songs. We had 3 guitarists and one of them was an amazing singer too. Hours passed by and we had experimented from carols to kannada film songs. The evening turned to late night and then to early morning.

It was at 7.00 am that Vijay reminded me that we had to leave for home. It was then I realized that I had no recollection of my inhibitions. I sang from my heart, even solos. It dint matter to me what people had to think about my singing skills. All that mattered was that I could sing... sing aloud to the tune of the guitar and that was music to my ears. For once I dint worry about sounding 'good'.

But, it dint feel 'good'.....

It felt GREAT !!!

What a mess !!!

Its a Sunday afternoon and I look at the study table in my room. I remember organizing it in the first week of December. Now all I see is a never ending list of things that I cant categorize. Books, bills, keys, DVDs, strips of papers and you name it..... One look at it makes me feel like I'm the most disorganized person that ever existed.

Well, if you feel this thought is going to make me better things, you are wrong. Its a weekend for God's sake. I don't want to be dusting and cleaning. I just want to relax in front of the TV or continue reading 'Q&A'.

Just wanted to get this out of my system.... and hence this blog. Wow ! It does make me feel better !!!

Looking at the Brighter Side !

Its the 5th of December. Certainly a year older but uncertain about being a year wiser ! That is big enough reason to make me not want to have a birthday. And over the years the number of gifts have consistently reduced :(

Yet, there is one reason that makes me look forward to this day every year. Its every special person who has managed to remember me on this day and has kept in touch to wish me the very best in life. It gives me more than an 'Absolut High' when friends who have been lost thru an entire year appear out of nowhere on this very day. And this number, to my luck, has consistently been on the rise :)

Dec 5, 2007 had its own bunch of surprises..... all pleasant ones. This, to me, is the essence of having a Wonderful Birthday !!!