The Old Year- The final poem for 2k15

This year has been one of the best years for me. So, this New Years, I'm kind of sad that 2015 is going and it went so quickly that I couldn't even think of saying new year. So, here's a poem, in tribute to the year that has gone by. This is the Review Girl hoping to see you all next year. Happy new year!

The old year 

The last day of the last month,

Champagne and parties 

Lights and music

Mistletoe and cakes

All wish for a better year to come 

Celebrate the old year for a change, 

Celebrate the time that has passed for a change.

Bring back the memories of the year that have gone, 

And look back at the friendships and love that was shared. 

The new year has a long time with you, 

But the old one will soon be gone. 

Remember it as a truly wonderful year,

No matter how much sadness it may have given. 

Finally, as the clock strikes twelve

Bid farewell to the year 

That flew by in a day.

You might just hope, 

That the next one be longer than this,

Stay longer than this, 

And change longer than this.

Shawshank Redemption- Fear or hope?

Prison. A word that sends shivers down your spine and brings images of black and grey walls, white uniforms, rusted bars and bad food. Desperation and loneliness is what you have left inside of you and the rest of your life, staring at the cold, paint-peeled wall to think of all the things you did to bring yourself here. Life becomes nothing more than a time bomb and you're waiting for it to blow.

In the year of 1947, when a banker from Maine steps into the prison of Shawshank, eyebrows go up seeing someone as well settled as a banker commit a crime fit for imprisonment. Andy Dufresne is sent to the toughest prison in Shawshank, Maine for allegedly committing the murders of his wife and her lover. Sentenced to two continuous life sentences, one for each of the victims, Andy enters the prison with no idea of what he would disclose within the next fifteen odd years.

With the first few months being to himself, Andy befriends a con man and smuggler, Ellis "Red" Redding. He was known to get things for people. So, when Andy asked for a poster of Rita Hayworth and a rock hammer, the two get acquainted with each other. Through the years Andy makes a few friends and a few enemies at the prison. Being a banker, the warden and officer in charge of the prison allow him to become the prison officers' official legal help assistant. Later, he is shifted to the library to help another inmate.

How time flies in a prison, even Andy couldn't decipher, but it had already been fifteen years since he had first come to Shawshank and that one day changed his life. In 1965, Tommy Williams was brought to prison for burglary. Soon, he starts talking to Andy and his friends and reveals that an inmate of his from another prison used to speak of committing a crime which was never pinned on him. The man had killed a lady and her lover but the lady's husband was framed for the crime instead. Sounding extremely familiar, Andy tries doing whatever he can to prove his innocence. But to what extent does he go?

A brilliant movie (which I had to watch thrice to completely see it due to technical difficulties) is one that really gets you excited when you see it scheduled to come on your tv. A strong message and a thrilling storyline, the Shawshank Redemption makes you see the prison world in a very different light. It has a perfect combination of humour, a bit of action, some drama but very little romance. This particular movie, I noticed, does not have a heroine per say. Nevertheless, the brilliant actors make up for everything. I found this movie's background score to be amazing. It captured the essence of every different scene so well, that you could actually feel the pain, happiness, content and horror of each scene. It may be a thriller, but it's one that you can watch any number of times. A movie worth four and a half stars from the Review Girl.

Unfair Happiness

Unfair happiness  

Fate, you have a way with my life, 

How you turn things upside down 

And give wretched happiness

Along with contended sorrow. 

You let me win, 

But deep down I feel defeated. 

For I now have no one left 

To share what I've got. 

The happiest moments 

Are accompanied by tears.

Sometimes, I welcome the sad ones

With smiles from ear to ear. 

I can never forgive you

For all that you've done. 

I may have won some battles 

But the one I want most, 

Is what I've lost. 

Inside out- Feelings have feelings

Ever thought about how feelings work? You're sad one moment and the next moment, you get a brilliant idea and your face lights up like a Christmas tree. Ever wondered why all of a sudden you're phased out or the most random memory of you picking your nose for the first time comes back for no reason. Well, if you're going through all this, then be assured that your mind is in good hands.

This movie talks of two things, Riley and her mind. Born in Minnesota, she has her bundle of memories and adventures right from childhood in this place. Here is where her feelings come in. Within her mind, the five feelings, Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Anger manage her memories and other activities related to her brain through their Headquarters stationed in Riley's conscious mind. Her memories come to them in the form of orbs that are in different colours for different feelings and are sent to long term memory at the end of each day. Every special memory called a "core memory" is kept in the headquarters and powers small personality islands in her mind. For instance, when Riley made her first friend, the memory became a core memory and friendship island was formed.

Riley is now eleven years and has to move to San Francisco. Both she and her feelings have a tough time dealing with this. New school meant making new friends. That would begin with making the first impression. As all our feelings get ready to face the challenge head on, Sadness ends up controlling the console, making Riley cry on her first day, thus creating the first ever sad core memory.

All hell breaks lose when Joy tries to dispose of the sad core memory and in the process knocks off all other core memories leading to all of Riley's personality islands to shut down, causing huge psychological damage to Riley. During all this chaos, Joy, Sadness and the core memory orbs end up getting sucked into the long term memory storage area. They now have no time to lose and have to get back to headquarters to make sure that Riley gets her personality islands running before it's too late. With time definitely not on their side, will they be able to make it or not?

Disney and Pixar have outdone themselves this time with Inside out. It is by far the best concept for any animated movie. Thinking that feelings have feelings can only come from these guys. Every detail is so perfectly shown and the basic concept was that all the feelings have their own role to play in a child's life. The ending of the movie gives us a beautiful message which I felt was the best part of the movie. Other than that, it's like your average Pixar movie with just a tad more emotion and "feeling" in it. A must watch from the review girl.

My little sister's tale(tail)

It's been more than a year of having a new member in the family. So, I thought of writing a poem for her. Dog owners, this poem might just get you teary-eyed.

My little sister's tale(tail)

A beautiful evening of April
Brought you to my arms.
That moment when I first saw you in the light,
I realised there is now someone else with big eyes.

I remember how tiny you were,
And to me, maybe you've never grown.
At least mentally, you're still that little baby
I saw a year ago.

Together, we've done it all
Slept across the bed in summers,
While cuddled with each other in winters.
We've had water fights and cat fights,
Yet, the madness could never be relived.

Even though I know
your years are less than mine,
I will hold on to you forever, little sister
Because that one April evening
Changed my life forever.

And when you leave,
The thousands of pictures that we've taken together,
The infinite number of memories we've made for each other
Will be cherished forever more.
But one thing I'm certain of,
No one can ever take your place in my life
As my baby sister.

Queen- Redefining a woman's freedom

What do you do if one day before your wedding your fiancé decides to call off the wedding? Go on a killing spree probably, or stay locked in a room for days? Or, you could do what Rani did. The most badass after-breakup you could ever imagine.

Rani, a charming and slightly underconfident girl from Delhi was to marry Vijay. All festivities were underway and everyone was getting ready for the big day. But, Vijay had a sudden realisation and decided to call off the wedding a day before. After staying abroad for a while, he felt that he was a changed man and Rani would not be able to adapt to it. After getting the news Rani locked herself in a room and thought of all the times they had spent together, thinking what she had done wrong and where she could have been different. Then, the most brilliant idea came to her mind. She decided to use her pre-booked honeymoon tickets to Paris and Amsterdam as a getaway from the whole disaster wedding and just some alone time with herself.

After much protest, her parents approved, thinking it would be the best way for her to keep her mind off the tragedy. So, Rani, a girl who hadn't seen any place other than her own city, embarked on a life-changing journey. She goes through robbers and bar dancers of Paris, makes three very different friends in Amsterdam and ends up challenging someone for a cook-off. Her journey was what mattered and not the destination. The chance for her to see the world and live a little gave her the confidence she needed. What happens during her holiday? How much does she change as a person and does Vijay have second thoughts on the breakup?

Queen was one of the boldest Bollywood movies of the 21st century. I mean, a girl's marriage broken one day before her wedding in this country would mean eternal shame for her family. But, she turned that into an opportunity for seeing the world and understanding what's outside the borders of her city. The holiday transformed her into a free-spirited, confident and happy person. You can't go wrong with a holiday to Paris and Amsterdam, even if it is after your biggest breakup. Travelling does wonders. So that was how Rani turned from possible cynic into a satisfied and happy woman. This is one movie that you can watch any number of times and it won't get boring. To all recent single girls, this is what you've been waiting for.

Omens

Omens

Broken glass and black alley cats,
Withered roses and grey skies,
All feel perfect to her
For they understand her pain.

In black puddles and smoke,
Killers and mafias,
Does she find solace
After what she's been through.

Not a single ray of light,
Does she want to see.
After being blackened and bruised,
She is now consumed by the darkness, completely.

(One of the very few short poems of mine.)

The Good Pain

It pricks and hurts, it bruises and aches. It makes me numb in places I never knew, it makes me cringe  and writh in pain. But I don't need a painkiller, because this is a good pain. The sweet drops of blood that fall from touching a rose, the loving scars that come from the pen with which you wrote. The aching heart that loves him for letting go, the now peaceful mind that is ready to glow. Can this be happiness in the form of pain? For I feel no bounds to it, yet it hurts. It hurts a lot, but I want this pain. It's the pain of moving on from pain. The pain from leaving behind the past. The pain of looking forward to a new life. The more I look forward, the more it hurts. But I welcome this pain like its my new elixir. I wish to stay in this pain forever and never let it die. No painkiller is going to help, for I want this pain. I truly want this pain to relish and devour me, to change me inside out and create a new being to survive in this world. 

The Tale of the Ancient Immortal

Going into a poetic frenzy is the best time of your life. Here's another poem, inspired by Walt Whitman's 'Voice of the rain'.

The tale of the ancient immortal 

I open my eyes and see,

A vast expanse of water around me. 

I'm one of the millions found in here, 

But I know not what to expect 

For me and my peers. 

I feel like I'm drifting, drifting towards a light.

Maybe this is the end of me, 

Maybe my life was just a second of

Seeing the blue skies. 

I weep and weep till I can no more, 

I give myself up to the mercy of nature. 

I must have died there, 

For I have no recollection of anything else whatsoever. 

But then, I didn't. 

I came back to life as I plummeted down to the ground, 

I came back to the world, to give life to the world. 

I came back as the rain. 

My journey is an endless one.

One day, in a mighty ocean, 

While another day, sitting on a window sill. 

One day, giving life to a small plant, 

Another day, in a field, sitting still. 

As long as this cycle shall continue,

I shall serve nature, as a selfless servant. 

As long as life shall continue, 

I shall raise the earth like a growing infant. 

The Internal War- Most random poem written yet

The internal war 

As day breaks, war begins.

Clash of swords and sparks from armours 

Tumult of warriors moving in to kill.

Blood is sprayed in directions of all

Onto the battlefield, cold and hard. 

Brown turns red, red turns crimson, 

Clumps of grass dripping with blood.

A battle that lasts for days but feels an eternity,

A battle with yourself that you are prepared for, 

Yet never foresee. 

Choices - A poem in light of recent events

Choices 

And the bullets wake me again, 

From my dreamless sleep. 

For years they've reached my ears,

But they were drowned by the screams. 

Blood is like a friend I meet everyday.

It glistens in the light, 

Almost happy to see me.

But why is it that I'm not so? 

Instead of the rifle, I want to hold a pen,

Instead of shedding blood, I want to spread my wings. 

But that choice, never rested with me, 

For my fate was sealed the day

I came into a world of such love for hate. 

Tomorrow will come when it is my turn

To hold the instrument of destruction. 

Refuse and I shall also be put to sleep, 

By the same sound that woke me up. 

Belle- Birth, status and slavery

I know, I know, I'm bad at keeping promises. Please don't throw squashed tomatoes yet. I vow to keep my promise this time. As of now, here's a review on a wonderful, inspiring and eye-opening movie based a singularly rare upbringing of a child.

In the year 1761 with the beginning of slavery, came a story of a girl born to a family but destined to be in another. With a black mother and a white father, she tussled between their differences. After her mother's death, her father, Captain Sir John Lindsay of the British Royal Navy, takes her to London announcing her as the sole heir to all his wealth after his death. After explaining the situation to his family in London, and after witnessing much protest from his uncle, William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, it was decided that the girl would be named Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay and would stay in the Kenwood House. Dido had a companion as well. Along with her, William Murray was raising another niece of his, Lady Elizabeth Murray who's mother had died and father had remarried.

Together, through the blissful days of childhood, both Dido and Beth became the best of friends. But, there was one thing in the back of Dido's mind. Seeing so many paintings in the manor she understood that a black person was always beneath a white person, yet never had the courage to ask why she was different.

Days moved on and soon the two girls were stepping into the age of being courted. As guests came over to dine and see the two girls, Dido was always unwelcome to have dinner with her family and met them later after dinner. All her enthusiasm dies down when she realises that she too will be judged according to her colour and she won't have any say in the matter.

Time moves on and the plot emerges. Dido's father's death on a ship, suitors and others questioning the existence of a black female in a white aristocratic family and slavery shaken from its roots, the little girl who was taken from the slums to live a life she was born for, finally learns the truth. Colour over blood was the way of things. Does she accept herself as one of their own or does she succumb to her mother's half?

A moving tale set in one of the most controversial yet beautiful times of England, Belle was one movie I felt connected to. Her battle against herself and others regarding the colour of her skin was somewhere I've been. Being a South Indian, I'm kind of on the darker shade of colour. Coming to Delhi, where most people are even fairer than Snow White herself, it was difficult to accept that I will be different. One particular scene in the movie, where Dido is sitting in her room, staring at her reflection does something that hurts more than ever. The way she tries to rub off and claw away her skin just to be accepted in society was one of the saddest scenes of this movie. But, the beauty of the movie is in the transformation of Dido from a girl of the slums to a girl of the aristocracy, questioning every detail of her life and waiting for an answer. It's a history based movie, but I recommend it if you're in for a bit of heavy drama, love and tears.

Sudden realisation, this is my 80th review! It has been a long journey and every moment has been unbelievable. Thank you for going through all my writings and appreciating them. Most of all, thank you for your patience and I really am going to continue blogging for a while. Another big thank you to all those friends who keep reminding me that I'm a blogger and I should post at least one review every week. Here's to the next 80!

A Time to Kill- Power of colour

(Not recommended for below 13)

A small girl coming back from the grocery store is kidnapped by two men. They take her to a nearby field, tie her up and rape her. Once they're done defiling her body, they throw unopened beer cans at her, ripping her flesh right off the bone. They try to hang her by a branch of a tree, but it snaps and breaks. So they dump her in the back of their vehicle and drive to a cliff. They throw her off the cliff and down to the river and she tumbles and falls. Everything innocent, everything childish was taken away from that girl. Justice shall prevail in all cases, but what if the girl is black?

Set in Mississippi, during the cold period of rigorous apartheid, an African-American girl, Tonya Hailey is brutally raped. The two men are arrested and presented before court soon after the crime. Carl Hailey, the father of the victim, seeks help from Jake Brigance and gets to know that the two white men who clearly needed to be sent to the gas chambers would most probably walk free. The case ends as the jury decides the two men were not guilty. As the two of them are being taken back in handcuffs, Carl opens fire at the two, killing them and unintentionally wounding a police officer. Carl is immediately arrested for murder.

So, he talks to Jake and convinces him to be his lawyer and the case begins. But not everyone is happy that a white man is representing a black person in court. The Ku Klux Klan, a group of white extremists, start threatening Jake and attempt to burn his house down. Out of fear, he sends his wife and daughter away till the case is closed.

Jake, facing off one of the greatest and most brutal district attorneys, now has to try and win this case to save a man's life. With threats coming in day after day and people getting killed over this, it is now up to him and his team to get through it and set an innocent man free. Will he succeed? Will the power of colour overrule the power of justice?

Powerful and moving, this movie is one of the best courtroom dramas I have ever come across. Adapted from John Grisham's novel of the same name, it's an intense movie with one of the most controversial topics, a white man defending a black man in a courtroom. Cast of this movie is filled with all Oscar winners like Matthew McConaughy and Sandra Bullock and everyone's performance is brilliant. How much does a black man pay to find justice? It's all in the movie.

Eight Below- For the dog-lovers and otherwise

If you've ever owned a dog before, you can understand the mental distress a person goes through if they ever leave their dog all alone. Dogs, they are so selfless, so loyal and so loving and that's what makes it so hard for us to let go of them. Well, things weren't easy for Jerry Shepard as well.

Our story starts in the icy lands of Antarctica where Jerry works as a guide for National Science Foundation. He has his own team of Husky dogs who help him with the dog sled and for a long time he had lots of fun, despite the endless days of bitter cold, with his eight dogs who loved him more than the world. All was fine until Dr. Davis McLaren comes to the base demanding to be taken to Mt. Melbourne to find a meteorite that had come from Mercury. With winter closing in on a fast rate, Jerry thinks it's not wise to go through a treacherous path but is told otherwise by his boss. So, reluctant as he is, Jerry buckles up for the ride and gets his dogs ready.

After a few days of moving on the sled, Jerry notices that one of the dogs is bruised. As he goes to patch him up, the doctor tries getting a signal on his radio but ends up sliding under ice and falling into a frozen lake. Panic seeps through him and he desperately tries to stay above water while Maya, one of the best sled dogs, slowly and carefully goes to him and helps him out of the water. Both Jerry and the doctor fight hard against frostbite and hypothermia as the dogs battle against the cold winds of winter and get them back to base.

Medical help is recieved immediately but the two of them need to be sent to the states for further treatment. With the storm of winter setting in, it would be impossible to get through to Antarctica for the next few months. So the captain decides to use whatever aircrafts he has to send people out as soon as possible. But not all get the option of leaving.

Our eight dogs are to be left behind. With sparing space for people there was no way the captain was going to allow a separate flight just for a few dogs. Yet, Jerry was told that his dogs would come to him within a few days. But sadly, as he left, hearing the faint howls and barks of his beloved little babies who had been chained to the snow, he knew there was no way anyone would be allowed to fly into Antarctica to get them.

Once he returns to mainland, he tries his best and goes from person to person, clinging on to desperation and hope to see his dogs again. While the dogs face the cold all alone, with no food or water, Jerry on the other hand unfalteringly tries his best to find a way to get those dogs back home. Will he succeed or will it be too late? As the raging battle between man and nature begins, both to get eight dogs, who would come out as the victor?

A movie that truly touches your soul, eight below is probably one of the best 'true-story' inspired movie. For me, being a dog owner, the best parts were all the scenes with the dogs. With a parallel story about how the dogs cope without Jerry, the scenes are sometimes funny with a tinge of sadness and a whole lot of pain from your side as you end up hating humans for being such "dogs". Anyway, this is one movie I would have loved even if I didn't like dogs. It's that good. So dog lover or not, this one will get you teary-eyed.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes- Evolution or revolution?

Are we really the most intelligent species? Or can another species ever surpass us? Apes, our ancestors from whom we've evolved have very similar traits like us. Maybe, with the right exposure, could there come an era when they rule over us?

Ten years after the deadly virus of ALZ-113 was seen in the world, the disease of Simian Flu has every human fighting for life. Quarantine zones are set up all over the world, civil unrest and martial law and taking over all countries and economic conditions are going down. Just as all this is happening in the world, parallelly a group of apes who were originally exposed to the virus are now genetically intelligent and are building their own civilisation.

Caesar leads the group of apes in the Muir woods of California. Having no contact with the outside world, they believe that the humans have long gone. One day, as Caesar's son, Blue Eyes and his friend Ash are getting back home after a hunt, they come face to face with a human, Carver. He was one of the survivors of the epidemic and was living in the human colony in California with many others who are gentically immune like him. Shocked and panicky, Carver shoots Ash. Caesar and the other apes come to the crime scene as the other humans from Carver's party also assemble. Malcolm tries talking to Caesar who just demands then to leave. The human party, feeling absolutely bewildered at the sight of seeing an ape talk, leave.

After getting back to the colony, Malcolm tries to convince Dreyfus, the head of the colony to let him talk to Caesar and negotiate. They sorely needed power and their only answer was to get this power from a dam in the Muir woods. Malcolm thought that if Caesar had let them live, he wasn't just an ape and could be negotiated with. So the next day, Malcolm sets out with Carver, Alexander his son and Ellie to talk to the apes. He reaches the place and successfully gets Caesar's permission to show him the dam. After much thought, Caesar agrees on one condition that they get all the humans' guns. Agreeing to the terms, the team gets to work.

Although everything is going as it should, trouble stirs up when Koba, a fellow ape is not happy with Caesar's decision of helping the humans. So, he does a little sleuthing and finds out about the stockpile of arms and ammunition in the human camp. He comes back to reveal this discovery but instead starts calling Caesar a traitor and accuses him of loving  humans more than his own kind. The two get into a fight which never gets sorted out. Desperately searching for a way to end this, Koba steals guns from the camp and kills Caesar, only to blame it on the humans who had been working there.

Complete catastrophe strikes as the apes decide to follow Koba to war, completely ignoring the idea of peace that Caesar wanted. Will they be able to defeat humans, the species evolutionarily higher than them or will this war between man and ape end with a reverse of evolution?

Set in the perfect gloomy place of California where it rains all the time, this movie gets its added effects just with the location. The unbelievable morphing of apes throughout the movie is commendable. All the fights and chases with the climax leave you at the edge of your seat. For me, the ending was a real pincher as it leaves you with a small cliff hanger waiting for more. So, if you're in for a bit of action and sci-fi, this is the movie you want to see.

Big Hero 6- Birthday review

I turned seventeen yesterday! Now both sixteen and eighteen have some sort of value, but not seventeen. (Harry Potter related) After wracking my brains for a while I remembered that Hogwarts releases the underage restriction of doing magic outside school when the wizard or witch turns seventeen! And call this coincidence or whatever, but my parents gifted me a time-turner. So far so good. Yesterday I finally got the chance to watch Big Hero 6. So I decided to write a review on it, a birthday review.

Set in the fictional city of San Fransokyo in Japan, Hiro, our protagonist is one of the youngest bot fighter in the history of bot fighting. After his parents' death he and his his brother lived with their aunt Cass. Since then, Hiro was always into making robots and fighting them. His brother, Tadashi was studying at the Robotics  Centre in the city's university and wanted Hiro to join as well rather than waste his talent in bot fighting. So he takes him to his lab where Hiro sees people making amazing, revolutionary ideas come to life. He's mesmerised by all of it. Tadashi introduces him to his four friends. Later he sees what his brother had been working on. Baymax, a medical robot (or as Hiro describes it "a fat nurse") this bot was programmed to start up when it senses the word "ouch". It can perform scans in seconds, give all your hormone levels and give you instant relief from pain. It was made to save millions of lives. 

Hiro, all pumped up and inspired, decides to give robotics centre a try. But to get in, he would have to blow away Mr. Callahan, the head of Robotics. After weeks of hard work Hiro makes a new microbot system that is controlled by a cerebral remote. It has the ability to make any thing as long as you can imagine it. Callahan is impressed and Hiro gets into the university. As Tadashi and Hiro go to an old building to talk about Hiro's future, a fire breaks out in the university. Tadashi gets to know that Callahan is still inside and goes to save him. None of them return. 

Tadashi's death leaves Hiro shaken. One day, he finds Baymax and starts getting back on his feet. With the help of Baymax, Hiro learns that there was something wrong with his microbot as it was getting attracted to a strong force. Following it, the two of them reach and old warehouse where they find this masked person controlling millions of microbots. Saving themselves in the nick of time, Hiro realises that someone had stolen his microbots. 

So, he starts transforming Baymax and makes him more agile and fight worthy. With more help from Tadashi's friends, Hiro hopes to get to the bottom of this. What he doesn't know is a shocking turn of events in store for him down this lane. Will he get his bots back? Will he be willing to pay the price of going too far? 

A cute 21st century movie, Big Hero 6 has some of the best animations and characters. Baymax is probably the cutest robot you'll ever find. All the chases and action, the climax, it all builds up perfectly. Another must watch from my side. 

Jab we met- Where the boring meet some the cheerful

You're depressed and suicidal thoughts loom around your mind. You've given up on life and just as you think of spending the last few hours of your life in peace, probably having a senti flashback, a ray of hope (or should I say nuisance) comes your way. Bubbly and energetic like crazy, she makes you realise that such people actually exist in this world and there you are, thinking of killing yourself as the tension and irritation rises.

Aditya Kashyap, son of the late industrialist, gets tired of his life and takes a bold decision of committing suicide. He boards a train and decides to jump off once it picks up speed. As he's sitting in the train, a girl comes along and starts talking to him. She goes on, not realising that she's being a nuisance, giving every small, insignificant detail about her entire existence! Finally, Aditya can't hold it in anymore and shouts at her explaining how he is least bothered about knowing her life. She then quietens down for while, to an extent.

Aditya then decides to get off at some random station and as the train starts to move, the girl runs out to call him and ends up missing her train. She storms back to him and gives a lecture about what his actions have caused. Aditya tries running away from her but she is a force to reckon with. Relentlessly following him, he gives up and promises to get her back home safely.

After walking for a while the girl introduces herself as Geet and unbelievably starts asking questions about his favourite movie, actor and other random questions which leave Aditya bewildered, seeing the sheer energy and excitement contained in this person. They then travel in a bus to Geet's place, Bhatinda and Geet insists Aditya to stay the week.

Soon, the family starts liking Aditya and Geet reveals her one big secret and asks for his advice. She was in love with this man, Anshuman but her family always planned her to get married to Manjeet. Since she refused to handle emotional blackmail, the only solution she saw was to run away and get married!

As reluctant as he is, Aditya is forced to leave on this unexpected journey with unexpected perils and dangers ahead (not to mention the danger he's travelling with!). And so starts their journey to the hills where they reveal more secrets of each other and understand each other more deeply. The question is, will Geet be able to marry Anshuman and get back home? Will Aditya ever be given a chance to get away from her? Answers to these lie in this movie.

A fun, peppy and cheerful movie right from the first frame, Jab we met is what it is because of the amazing acting skills of Kareena Kapoor. How she manages to go on and on for minutes without a pause is mind-boggling! Personally, I feel the humour in the story reaches its peak halfway through the movie and drastically comes down in the other half. Yet it is a very entertaining film with the usual Bollywood masala, maybe just a dash more. A must watch from my side!

The Fifth Estate- Reveal the unknown

Do you think you know everything about every incident that has ever taken place in the world? Can you say that the government has provided all information about the country through the media? Julian Assange was one of the first people who felt cheated and wanted to know the entire story about incidents and attacks that shook the earth. He wanted every bit of information without any omission. This started the revolution of the Wikileaks.

Julian Assange, a hacker from Australia meets Daniel Berg, a journalist, in Berlin at the Chaos Cummunication Congress. After learning that Daniel was trying to find Assange through the web, the two start working on the project called Wikileaks, a website devoted to release information withheld from the public while retaining anonimity of its sources. Their first target was Julius Baer, a private Swiss bank regarding illegal activities taking place in one of their branches. Originally, as they reveal this new found information to the world, the judge bans Wikileaks and shuts them down. But, after seeing the outpour of people supporting Wikileaks, the judge had to put them back online. Soon, they were into revealing all kinds of scams and revealed secrets on Scientology and the list of members of the British National Party.

The two of them were unstoppable with this new success and Wikileaks started gaining popularity and support. People from around the world searched for Julian and Daniel and wanted to join this new "justice league" but Julian was not a man who trusts very easily. With great difficulty, Daniel was able to persuade him to let his friend on board. As days turned into months, the relationship between the two founders starts becoming strained. Both of their ideas no longer match and Assange was all in for revealing information without thinking what its repercussions might be. Assange mocks Daniel for being so concerned about petty issues and moves on to newer leaks.

Almost as though addicted on a drug, Assange cannot stop himself from publishing every small, insignificant detail online for the world to see and soon starts getting suspected by his team as a con man rather than a mentor. With the White House getting involved and the Wikileaks uncovering every hidden thought, both Julian and Daniel's lives are at stake. Will Julian be able to control his thirst for truth or will uncovering the truth be the end of him.

Based on true events, the Fifth Estate gives us the true story behind the biggest revolution of this century, the Wikileaks. A powerful movie with an even more powerful message, this is a must watch from my side. But the question that arises here is to what extent does one go to reveal the unknown?

Bans and India- An endless list of non-democratic decisions

India is one of the fastest developing democracies in the world. But is it a democracy after all? With bans being slapped on everything one touches, we're not looking at a very bright future. How many things has India banned? We've banned beef, banned the usage of a few selected words from our movies (like the word 'lesbian'), we banned the documentary made on the Nirbhaya rape case, we've banned Maggi and now we've tried to ban pornography.

Basically, anything and everything that disturbs us, even remotely, needs to be brought down. For me, bans are like Pandora's boxes. The more restrictions and bans you impose on me, the more curious I would be to see it. Tomorrow we'll ban hard metal rock because it's perceived as noise by someone. Later, we might ban Facebook because of people expressing their views. We have the capacity to ban anything, and then call ourselves a democracy. This isn't democracy. Democracy would give you the choice to do what you wish to, it lets you choose for yourself and not have opinions forced on you. It lets you have a voice and have a perspective about things.

What we claim to be isn't what we are shaping to be. Democracy in India is looking more like a formality than a choice. But, maybe I am wrong. Maybe some people out there have valid points to ban all these things in India and I respect the flip side to this situation. All that I feel here, is that we are losing the basic ideas of a democratic government and changes need to take place as soon as possible.

Despicable me- From Mr. Evil to Mr. Nice guy?

Mr. Gru was a villain, a supervillain. A person who had steel nerves and no sense of humour, a person who tolerated less than he could and basically being a bad, bad man. But when three cute little girls enter his realm of villainy, his world takes a turn for the better side.

Starting from scratch, Gru was very disturbed to hear about a villain who successfully stole the Pyramids of Giza! He decides to put his long term plan, his big break, into action. He assembled his minions (cutest little creatures you can ever come across) and his right hand man, Dr. Nefario to explain his idea. He wanted to steal the moon. Ambitious, yes. But first he had to get a loan from the bank to build his spaceship.

He goes to the bank and there he is questioned at his audacity to ask for a loan without the shrink ray for making this plan a success. So Gru goes to a top secret lab in East Asia and steals the shrink ray. Later, as he's getting back to his lab, the villain who stole the pyramid, Vector, steals the shrink ray from Gru. Absolutely disgusted with everything, Gru decides to go to Vector's lair to get the shrink ray. His attempts fail because of multiple booby traps all around Vector's facility. As Gru turns to go back home, he sees three girls from an orphanage come to sell cookies at Vector's place. He is left in awe when they get free passage through to go in because of their cookies and decides to impersonate himself as a dentist to adopt the three girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes.

The girls come to Gru's place and instantly understand that he was not a dentist. He then revealed to them that he was a "secret spy" and he was working on a "top secret mission". With help from the girls, he uses cookie robots built by Dr. Nefario to infiltrate into the vault in which the shrink ray was located. He successfully gets the shrink ray! As they were all heading back home, the girls see an amusement park and badly want to go there. Gru gets an idea that it would be the perfect place to leave the girls, now that their job was done. But as the evening proceeds, Gru starts having fun with them and they come back home with painted faces and cotton candy.

Dr. Nefario was not at all happy having these girls as they were becoming a major distraction for Gru. So, he threatens Gru, saying that if he doesn't get rid of the girls, he would take things into his own hands. But with Gru finally seeing the bright side in him, seeing the good side, will he want to go on with his plan of stealing the moon? Will the girls be able transform Gru from Mr. Evil to Mr. Nice guy?

This movie defines cuteness! Right from our three girls, Margo, Edith and Agnes to our adorable minions, every scene leaves with a sweet smile, teary eyes and a permanent "aww" slapped on your face. Seeing Gru's transformation from evil villain to a genuine father is beautiful. But, for me, the main attraction is the minions! The yellowness, the happiness, the cuteness, it's almost too much to fit into something so small! Definitely a humorous and fun-filled movie. Another must watch from my side.

About time- Time travelling at its simplest form

If anyone told you that you had the unbelievable ability to travel back in time, you'd probably use it for getting successful, changing the course of events right? Well, when Tim Lake gets to know about the family powers of time traveling he decides to use it to find love.

Our story begins with the New Year's Eve party at Tim's place. The party goes on as boring as it ever is for Tim and finally as the clock strikes twelve, he neglects sharing a kiss with his dance partner later rebuking himself over it. The next day, after a bit of a hangover, his father has a small chat with him. As he recently turned twenty one it was customary to let every man of the Lake family know that he was born for travelling back in time. With simple, clear cut rules of finding a closed, dark place, balling up your fists and closing your eyes thinking of a particular incident or event you were a part of, Tim goes off to experiment it, thinking it was just a joke. But as he enters his wardrobe and does as instructed, he finds himself back in the same clothes as the previous night's party and undoes the one mistake he made that night. After a long talk with his dad in the present, he decides to use it to find love.

Within a week he moves to London and lives with his father's friend, a play writer. He starts going to law school and things get as monotonous as a rainy day in London. One day, he and his friend decide to shake things up and go for dinner to a fancy restaurant where everything is eaten in complete darkness. There, Tim finds a charming girl (at least she sounds charming then), Mary and is instantly interested in her. Once the dinner was done, he waited for her and when she came face to face with him, he was hit hard by the four letters he was searching for, love. He took her number and came back to his dingy apartment to hear his play writer moan about how a character forgot his lines, turning the play into a catastrophe. Tim tries to make things right for him by going back in time and helping the actors. Later as he searches for Mary's number, it's gone because in actuality, he was never there at the dinner, so he never met her!

On a race against time, he tries to search for her and pick small details of her interests to see if he can find her somewhere. The question is, will he find her or will he be lost forever in the circle of time traveling?

A beautiful, witty and humours movie with the subtle features of Britain etched across, this movie is a slow moving, yet lightning paced journey. Tim and his travels make you wonder about the ideas of time travel and the endless possibilities if you ever got that ability. A definite must watch from me.

Confessions of a Shopaholic- For all the shopaholics like me

Being a shopaholic is hard. But we enjoy it thoroughly. Walking past those stores and staring at the dresses falling perfectly over the mannequins, shoes with the best colours and the brilliant sheen that almost gives a matte finish to the leather, takes your breathe away. You just want to open those doors, try all those beautiful things you lay your eyes on and you want it all! And when you swipe your card, your heart skips a beat and in seconds all of that belongs to you! But on the flip side, the dress you loved a week ago may be sitting all alone in the corner of your cupboard and probably you don't even remember it was ever there.

Rebecca Bloomwood had the same story with just a small addition that's quite large. She had to pay a huge amount of debt and a debt collector, Derek Smeath was relentlessly following her to get that money. Rebecca tried every way possible, every small, absurd excuse to evade him. And it did for a while. Rebecca's dream was to write in Alette magazine, the most upcoming fashion magazine. So as she goes for the interview, she's informed that the position has been filled but she's given another post in Successful Savings, a sister company to Alette. She's told that from Successful Savings she may be able to jump to Alette. She takes the offer and goes for the interview.

She meets Luke Brandon and realises that he was the man who gave her twenty dollars that morning for her to buy a scarf (apparently, for an aunt who's sick). Embarrassed, she leaves the scarf outside but someone returns it and things get awkward. She obviously doesn't get the job. So she goes home, has a few drinks with her best friend, Suze and writes two letters, one for Alette and one for Successful Savings. She mixes the two letters up and they get interchanged. So, a letter ridiculing the head was going towards Alette and a perfectly good article towards Successful Savings. In the morning, Rebecca gets in time to steal the letter from Alette and is then called to Successful Savings and gets the job.

To celebrate she goes on a shopping spree and finds discounts on all her favourite brands. As she's admiring the cashmere coat she's bought, she sees that it's not 100% cashmere wool and writes an article about being duped in the market. Under the pen name, The Girl in the Green Scarf, she submits the article and it's an instant hit!

But a small little thing from her past keeps showing up, the debt collector. Trying to evade him as much as possible and bringing up every lie she could ever think of, she tries her best to get away from him. But things get complicated when Luke and Rebecca start having feelings for each other. Rebecca feels responsible and scared about what would happen if he gets to know about her being up to her eyeballs in debt! Will she still have this job? Will she ever fulfil her dream of writing for Alette? And will she ever be able to pay off her debt?

A movie every shopaholic will relate to, the shoes and clothes and so many other beautiful things you see on your screens leave you awestruck. Seeing Prada and Gucci at half price, a sale at Versace, trust me, you'll get a small tear and a sniff. This movie is relatable to me, not just because of being a shopaholic but because my blogger name was inspired from the Girl in the Green Scarf. Definitely a must watch from me.

Chef- A mouth-watering journey

Chef Carl Casper from Miami is the best at his game. Being the head chef of Gauloise in California, Carl was always looked up to by his team of chefs and was famous for reinventing and rediscovering old classics. The owner of the restaurant, Riva, thought that the customers liked his food, the classical way and not when he reinvented and created new dishes. Carl was always hoping to prove Riva wrong. Soon an opportunity knocks on the pass.

A world-acclaimed critic and food blogger, Ramsey Michel, was coming to town to have a taste of Carl's food. Seeing this as a chance to show Riva what he meant, he decided to scrap the original menu and came up with exotic and new kinds of dishes. Riva was not sold. After a long fight, Carl decided to put the original menu on and they  went into full-fledged service. Later that night, Ramsey posted a scathing review on the dinner. For dessert, Carl had served him choco lava cake and Ramsey wrote that, "it felt like undercooked cake and not a "choco lava cake."

Carl did not take it well. With the help of his son, Percy, Carl goes on Twitter and sees how almost everyone was reading the review by Ramsey. Thinking that he was sending a private message, Carl insults Ramsey and the post goes crazy on Twitter. Soon, a Twitter battle begins and Carl asks for a rematch. He had created a new line of dishes but again had problems with Riva. This time, Carl couldn't take it anymore and decided to quit. In the end, Tony, the sous chef, handled the pass and served the same food that was served before to Ramsey.

Carl went home and cooked the dishes that he wanted to serve originally. After seeing a no show from Carl, Ramsey tweets again only to infuriate Carl further. Disaster strikes when Carl barges into the restaurant and has a meltdown that's being recorded and put online! The video goes viral, Carl loses his job and his reputation was tainted, never to be repaired. He had to go into hiding or just off the grid for a while, till things cooled down.

So, his son Percy and chef/friend, Martin, help him set up a food truck. But, has Carl lost his touch with food? Will this chance of redeeming himself work?

If you're a foodie (or not) this movie is for you. The dishes that are made in this movie are absolutely to die for! The colours, the flavours, the cheese! Trust me, it's going to be a mouth-watering journey. So tickle your tastebuds with Chef and enjoy every bit of the fun and the food! Bon appetite!

Gone girl- Revenge in the form of a psychopath?

Nick Dunne, like every other lazy morning, goes to The Bar for a morning drink with his sister. But he doesn't expect his wife, Amy Dunne, to dissapear under mysterious circumstances on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary. Nick is shocked and gets help from detective Rhonda Boney to find his wife. On the way to the police station, Nick goes in flashback mode and here is where we get to know more about the two of them. Nick and Amy were both writers. They met at a party and soon started dating only to break it off after two years. Soon, Nick proposes and they quickly get married but their marriage didn't go as smooth as they would have liked.

Coming back to reality, Rhonda Boney and her detectives start searching for clues.The crime scene is examined and it is found that it was staged and wasn't a genuine crime scene. It is also revealed that Amy had lost a lot of blood and it had been cleaned up as well. All the evidence so far was unmistakably pointing out to the fact that she was murdered in her house. Side by side, Amy's parents start a search party to find their daughter.

At the house, Rhonda and Nick find an envelope with "clue 1" written across it. Nick explains that Amy was into treasure hunts for anniversaries. The two start searching for clues. Later, as evidence starts piling up, Rhonda is more and more unsure about Nick's involvement in the crime. After a while, the detective shows up with a medical examination result and says that Amy was pregnant. Trying to get away from everything, Nick rushes to his sister, Margo's place and crashes there where his girlfriend, Andie comes along as well. They both decide to stay away from each other until things cool down and Nick promises Andie that he was going to get a divorce soon. That night, Rhonda goes to a small wooden shack, the place where clue 2 led her and finds Amy's diary, the piece of evidence that gives Nick motive to kill her.

The media is all over this disappearance and as everyone is trying to pin it on Nick, the real murderer of Amy Dunne is still out there, or not? Who really killed Amy Dunne?

The best thriller I've seen so far, Gone Girl was truly an amazing experience! Actors Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike have played their roles so well, you absolutely cannot foresee what happens halfway down the movie. A movie that truly deserved all its nominations for the oscars, this thriller is going to stay in the limelight for a long time. After reading this, you have to find out who Amy Dunne's murderer was! So go and watch the movie!

Does Britain owe India- A review

A brilliant speech made by Shashi Tharoor, a Congress Minister of Parliament on the 28th of May 2015 in Oxford has bombarded social media websites for the past week. He talks about how British owes India after a long, tiresome and gruel colonisation of 200 years. The motion for the debate was "this house believes that British owes reparations to her former colonies". Speaking for the motion, his arguments were based on three main points.

As British saw an expansion in trade, India succumbed to loss of trade. Hand looms that spun cloth as fine as clouds were shut down. Raw materials and finished products were shipped to Britain where the country prospered in the effort of Indians. This left handloom workers jobless and on the streets. By the 19th century, India was the British's biggest colony for extracting money and we extensively bought British goods and gave handsome salaries to the British bureaucrats.

The two world wars saw Britain sucking all the power we Indians had and utilising it in every way possible. He added that 1/6th of the British forces were Indians and 54,000 Indians lost their lives in the first war alone. Coming to World War II, the estimate gets higher. British owes India 1.25 billion pounds, a debt that has still not been paid off.

Lastly, he spoke of Britishers blatant disregard to Indians and their sufferings. India went through many terrible famines during colonialism, but the worst one was the Bengal famine. As it took place during World War II, Winston Churchill gave orders that the stock of grains and other rations for India was to be diverted and transported to the soldiers out at war. This led to large-scale deaths. As Churchill was told about the situation in India, the only comment he had was "Why hasn't Gandhi died yet?"

In the end Shashi Tharoor said that estimates can be given in rupees and pounds but we do not need reparations in the form of aid. A simple sorry, accepting that what India went through during the British era was something no country should ever go through. One sorry would pay off all the debts Britain ever owed India. After viewing his speech, I realised that there is only one place on earth where people would laugh at themselves rather than try and cause violence because of different point of views and that is Britain. Britishers have the remarkable ability to laugh at themselves, something that lacks in every other country in the world. That is something, I personally feel, we should learn from them.

So, if you haven't had a look at this video, I suggest grab a pair of earphones, sit back and take a look at colonisation through the eyes of a politician of this century.

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani- The simple joys of friendship

Another shove down the road of reviewing another Hindi movie, this time I settled for one of my favourite Rom-Coms, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. As far as I remember, this was the last movie I liked of Ranbir Kapoor (yes I was a pretty big fan of his). Released on May 31st 2013, the movie has a star-studded cast with Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Kalki Koechlin and Aditya Roy Kapur.

The movie starts with a lady reminiscing about her former life, her life with her friends and starts talking about her one trip that changed her life for the better. The narrator is Naina Talwar who was then a medical student, the one who was found hidden behind thick textbooks and microscopes. She was bored of her life that day when she encountered an old friend, Aditi Mehra her classmate from school. The two get talking and Aditi tells her about her plans to visit Manali on a hiking trip with her friends. Naina, completely not being herself, takes the plunge and leaves a letter for her mother as she heads to the railway station to get on the train and finally have some fun! There she meets two of her other classmates, Kabir Thapar and Avi, who instantly recognise her from her glasses. As the journey proceeds, Naina feels out of her depth, sitting between a group of strangers and has no idea how to start a conversation with them.

They reach their destination and Kabir and Naina become more acquainted with each other. The two realise that Aditi has a secret crush on Avi but don't dwell on the matter too much. Naina shows her true colours and breaks all her boundaries when they celebrate the festival of Holi in a small town with all the fun and, as we Indians say, the "josh" of the festival. Naina realises that she's fallen for Kabir but doesn't disclose it because she knows he isn't going to get into a relationship. They part as friends and for a while nothing happens.

Eights years pass and they all meet again in Udaipur for Aditi's wedding. Naina is a successful doctor, Kabir is a photographer/journalist and Avi is trying to set up his own bar. Naina and Kabir meet and things go an awful lot towards love again. But Naina doesn't want to deal rejection again and Kabir isn't sure if he really does love her or not. The night before the wedding, he sees Naina with another man and jealousy brews in him making it clear that he does have feelings for her. The two of them confront each other and confess their love, but neither one of them is willing to let go of their careers.

On New Year's Eve, as Naina braces herself to spend the first moments of the new year alone, she hears the doorbell ring and standing in front of her is Kabir! His love for her was more important than his dream job and in the end love conquers all and they live happily ever after. Just your typical Hindi-movie plot, but this one was somehow different. I still cannot fathom why.

I felt the music brought this movie to life. All the songs are perfect for the scenes and have catchy tunes and impeccable lyrics. You give me good music and I will love the film. It may be a complete cliched Hindi movie, but it's worth at least one watch.

Kahaani- The epitome of suspense and thrill (my first Hindi movie review!)

After a few weeks of coaxing and persuading from a friend at school, I agreed to write my first review on a Hindi movie. Kahaani, simply meaning a story, is one like no other. Released in 2012, this mystery thriller was directed by Sujoy Ghosh. The protagonist of the film, a pregnant Bengali lady is played by Vidya Balan, aptly chosen for the role.

The movie starts with a lab test gone horribly wrong that killed a train full of innocent civilians in Kolkata. We shift to Vidya Bagchi, our protagonist coming to Kolkata to find her missing husband, Arnab Bagchi. She travels to the police station to register her husband going missing. The police ask her required questions and as always say that they would get back to her if they find any information. A fellow constable, Satyoki Rana, is asked to drop her to her hotel and the two get talking. Vidya explains that her husband was working on an assignment for National Data Centre, but on further investigation it is found that no such person was employed there. Outraged, Vidya goes out on the streets of Kolkata to find her husband and unmask the truth behind what seemed like a murky scam.

With the help of Satyoki they meet Agnes D'Mello, NDC head of human resources who claims that her husband resembles a former employee, Milan Damji. Satyoki and Vidya race to the NDC headquarters and break in to find his file. Meanwhile, there's an assassin on the loose, Bob, a life insurance worker who shoots Agnes D'Mello and is after the same file that Vidya wants to retrieve. The two of them escape by the skin of their teeth as Bob almost runs into them at the office.

More indentities are revealed and more intricacies come into play as Vidya and Satyoki try to find a man no one seems to know! As evidence piles up and the labyrinth of the case gets trickier, they also need to keep an eye on the assassin who would soon want the two of them dead. Will Vidya find her husband without being killed or while solving the case unturn many more mysteries that no one knew existed?

A lightning speed, nail biting experience right from the word go, this movie has redefined the idea of mystery in Hindi film industry. Vidya Balan's commendable acting and the supporting actors give the movie an edge over other movies of similar genre. Amongst the songs, my personal favourite would be 'Ekla Cholo Re' sung by Amitabh Bachhan himself. It gives a ray of hope in the dark night of uncertainty and keeps your spirits up, hoping for a happy ending. If you haven't watched it, go and rent a DVD or watch it on television as soon as possible!

Fandoms- Extended family or more

*disclaimer- This post contains a few spoilers from a few novels. You have been warned.*

Fandoms are kingdoms created by and for fans of a particular series. Being part of a fandom is like getting to know there are more people out there who think like you, who believe in the things you do and who obsess over characters like you. Fandoms give you a platform to express yourself, to be who you are and not care if you'd fit in the world or not. They give you a chance like no other.

For me, fandoms are more, much more than extended family. You don't know who they are, you don't know where they're from, all you know is that you have one thing in common with them and that is your fandom. Fandoms range from TV series to novels to cooking! Everything and anything can have a fandom. Fanboys and Fangirls from all across the world get to know one another through Fandoms. It ends concepts like being judged, being criticised or just being mocked at because every single person in your fandom stands with you when you fight a word battle for it. Every fandom has its own agendas, it's own debates and theories.

The Harry Potter fandom debates about whether Snape was a good character or not, whether Harry and Ginny were a good pair, whether Harmony could have ever existed? Did Draco secretly like Hermione, why did Harry name his kid after Snape, why was Peter Pettigrew sorted into Gryffindor? The list is endless. Formulating theories over the elder wand, Dumbledore's death, the Time Turner is just one of the many pass times for us Potterheads. Moaning over why we never received our Hogwarts letter and thinking that we could go directly to third year because of our knowledge of most of the spells is another thing we love doing. Finally when we come face to face with another Potterhead, a good old-fashioned duel is a must.

Being a part of the Hunger Games fandom is a bit different. One may want to visit Narnia or Hogwarts or the Shire, but not us. We're pretty happy not ending up in the arena. You debate over the ships in the series, Haymitch and Effie's duo, Rue and Katniss, whether Katniss should have ended up with Peeta or not. You may not want to be a part of the Hunger Games, but you do wish that the odds will ever be in your favour. *raises first three fingers of the right hand* 

Coming to TV shows, I am in many Fandoms, but the one I love the most is the Big Bang theory fandom. Humour, sarcasm and Sheldon, this makes the entire series what it really is. Sheldon and his compulsiveness, his perfection, his attitude towards relationships and complete unsocial behaviour is what I love about this series. The fandom goes on about Star Trek (if you think Star Wars and Star Trek are the same this is not for you, trust me), Raj and his "so called disorder" of a kind, Shamy and other ships. If you haven't seen this series, may the force be with you. Bazinga!

I can go on about Fandoms and their importance in every Fangirl or Fanboy's life, but that would take me years to complete. Fandoms give life to life.

Times of India Lit Fest launch- A literary spectacle

This evening, at the Taj Palace hotel, New Delhi, Times of India hosted their Delhi Lit Fest launch with much pomp. What was expected to be a gathering of a small group of book lovers ended up being an event with a turn out of over five hundred people.The evening's theme was "from the popular to the elite". At the popular end was the launch of Amish Tripathi's newly arrived novel, The Scion of Ikshvaku, which was followed by the elite of the evening, an interview with Upamanyu Chatterjee, the author of the famous novel, English August and Rahul Bose who played the role of the protagonist in a film later released under the same name.

Amish Tripathi's success with his Shiva trilogy was the main focus of the evening's interview. The story of how a banker turned into a best-selling author with just one idea was an inspiration to all.  Coming to his latest novel, The Scion of Ikshvaku talks of the Ramayan and Amish's take on the age old epic. The secret, according to Amish, to get a bestseller was explained with a simple example. The runway of an aircraft carrier is way too small for an airplane to take off. Yet planes do take off, with the assistance of a propellor. A book is an airplane and marketing strategy is the propellor. If the propellor is not effective, the airplane falls into the sea and if you have the best propellor but an engine of poor quality, the plane won't take off. So, the book and the marketing go hand in hand.

Moving on to the elite of the evening, Upamanyu Chatterjee and Rahul Bose were interviewed on the book and movie, English August. It was a laugh riot. Upamanyu's monosyllabic answers and awkward silences left our interviewer sweating as he thought of more ways to engage the man in a conversation that would last for at least a few minutes. Rahul Bose on the other hand described his role in the movie and how much he felt he was like the character he played. As they started going into the crux of the novel, questions were raised as to whether knowing English and having a good command over it made one look classy and sophisticated. Upamanyu rid this off as absurd and said that anyone can be good at any number of languages and English does not have to be the one to make you look "classy".

The evening of literature came to an end with a small introduction to a new initiative taken up by Times of India called "Write India" about which more information can be found on the Times of India website. The event came to a close with cocktails and with fans present flocking in huge numbers to get autographs and selfies with the celebrities. Delhi's own literary fest being held from 28th to the 30th of November 2015, will witness the presence of many such prominent authors. Make sure that you do attend it and for more information please refer to the Times of India website.

A life full of surprises and disasters

Life is incomplete without surprises and a few disasters along the way. A surprise came my way a few days ago, when I decided to step into the kitchen and cook something. Being a huge fan of Masterchef Australia, I had all the inspiration I needed to march into the kitchen with a hope of making something tasty.

Day one, I made mushroom tortellini. For those who aren't aware of what I'm talking about, tortellini is a kind of pasta. It has two circular disks between which a filling is added and sealed, later to be cooked in water. Luckily it came out perfectly. Day two, it was fettuccine in a pesto sauce, again, a pasta (I love Italian food, evidently) and it was probably the best pasta dish I had ever made. Day three is where disaster strikes. I decided to get ambitious and wanted to try and make a lemon meringue pie. So many steps, so many ingredients and one less than amateur cook, that doesn't add up to a good dish. After hours of working, the filling didn't set as well as it was supposed to and my pie collapsed. Naturally, I was shattered. Deserts being my favourite meal to cook, I felt I had let myself down. Oh well, c'est la vie. And that's the most important lesson one can ever learn.

Life goes on. Now matter how much of trouble you get into, no matter how big or small a task you fail, life does have an uncanny, and almost irritating way to move on! You don't do well in an exam, life goes on. You burn your cake, life goes on. Your favourite team loses a match, life goes on. You get eliminated from a competition, life goes on. How does it just seem to "go on"? Can't it stop for a while, look at our miserable state and feel sorry for us?

But as I see it, the reason why life moves on is maybe because it feels, tomorrow may be better. There may be a tomorrow, not necessarily the next day, when you can redeem yourself and get better opportunities. That is why life moves on, to give you another chance, to let you taste failure before cherishing victory. It may seem unfair, but what's life without a little drama?

I may be getting too philosophical nowadays, no idea why. 

Additions to the Dictionary- Out with the old and in with the new

The year 2014 saw a plethora of words and phrases being officially added to the dictionary. Here's a small recap looking back at some of those whacky, out-of-the box words.

FEBRUARY 2014

Death stare- (informal noun) A hostile or contemptuous look directed towards a particular person.
Cyberespionage- (formal noun) The use of computer networks to gain illicit access to confidential information usually held by a government or another organisation.

MAY 2014

Perf- (informal noun) A performance.
Ship- (informal noun) Romantic pairing between two fictional characters usually portrayed by fans rather than being depicted in the series itself.

AUGUST 2014

WDTY- (informal abbreviation) What do you think.
YOLO- (informal abbreviation) You only live once, emphasising on the importance of living the moment.

DECEMBER 2014

Five-second-rule - (informal humorous) A notional rule stating that food which has been dropped on the ground is safe to eat if retrieved within five seconds.
Duck-face - (informal noun) An exaggerated pouting expression in which the lips are thrust outwards, usually seen as a pose in photographs.

FEBRUARY 2015

McTwist- (noun) Seen in skateboarding and snowboarding, it's an aerial manoeuvre in which the broader does one and a half spins while holding the edge of the board with one hand.
Unboxing- (noun) An act of opening a newly purchased product and examining its features which is usually recorded and shared in social media.

MAY 2015

Bae- (informal noun) A person's boyfriend or girlfriend.
Cyber warrior- (noun) A computer expert engaged in infiltration or sabotage of information systems, or defence of information systems from outside attacks, typically for strategic or military purposes.

A few of these words may sound completely insane, a few maybe frivolous and a few may just make you inquisitive about them, but there's no denying that the English language is one that continues to grow and adapt itself to modern times.

Maleficent- Villain or hero?

Once upon a time, in a far away land called the Moors, lived faeries and other creatures of magic. On the borders of a kingdom, they lived in happiness. But it was foretold that a dark power shall rule over this place and only a just hero or a powerful villain would be able to save them from death. In the Moors a young faery, Maleficent, grew up. One day, a farm boy, Stephan, came to her woods and soon the two became good friends. As time moved on, the two fell in love. But it was not to last. Stephan became ambitious day after day and soon fell apart from Maleficent. But she waited for him.

Years later, the kingdom near the Moors wanted to end all magic in the woods and went to war against Maleficent and her army. The king was brutally defeated and his dying wish was to see her dead. The person who would do that would be crowned his successor. Out of greed, Stephan, who was now a part of the king's army went one night to warn Maleficent that they would come to kill her. But Stephan knocked her out and used an iron chain to cut off her wings. Next morning Maleficent woke up in pain and anger swearing revenge on the greed of man.

The King was so pleased with Stephan that soon he was coronated and became king. Maleficent, in her realm, found herself a spy, Diaval, who changed into a crow to get her news from the castle. One day, he got back to her with the most shocking news. A baby was born to the new king and queen and a christening was to take place. Everyone was invited except Maleficent. Raged, she went there uninvited and cast a curse on the Princess, Aurora saying that on her sixteenth birthday, she would prick her finger on the needle of a spinning wheel and fall into a deep sleep like death. The only thing that can save her was true love's kiss. Saying that she disappeared and barricaded her lands with her magic.

The king ordered all spinning wheels to be burnt and asked three faeries to look after Aurora till her sixteenth birthday. More to Maleficent's dismay, she began to be more and more interested in the child. But will she ever get close to Aurora without wanting to kill her, will she reveal her true colours and will Aurora ever know the truth?

Coming back to reality, this is one movie that goes on a different perspective. The story of an iconic Disney villain, Maleficent. Answering questions as to why she's evil, or whether it was her fault for being evil, it talks about the flip side of the story. After watching this film, I am absolutely sure you will debate as to whether she was a villain or a hero.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold- Thetrical adaptation of a novella by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

While on a holiday in Bangalore, I decided to go for my first play, 'Chronicle of a death Foretold' and it was inspiring. Rangashankara, one of Bangalore's leading theatres hosted this play. The play was performed by an artist, Ms. Manjari Kaul who played the role of all the characters using voice modulation techniques and different accents. This gave a more realistic feel to each character.

The story is about a murder that is known before it is even committed. A girl is returned to her parents by her husband on the night of her marriage because she was involved in a per-marital affair. Her brothers decide to  commit a murder and the entire village knows of it, yet does nothing. The story centres around community's collective guilt. They said, "The girl's honour was at stake. And honour is love".

A moving and motivating play which was brought to justice by the uncanny acting skills presented by our artist. With things as simple as a frame, a bulb and a white cloth, she told the protagonist's entire tale just like how the author of the novella would have. Theatre, in the twenty first century has never been as popular as our movies. These plays and skits performed by various artists bring out something deeper and more meaningful that watching a series of images moved at a great speed. When you actually see someone performing, going deeper into the character, you connect with the artist. You can see the pain or happiness on their face, you can feel the deep gashes of their wounds pricking your skin, you can feel the tingle of a soft kiss on their face. Theatre brings cinema to a more identifiable level where we can see ourselves in the shoes of the artist. So, if you ever stumble across a play, do go for it.