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.