"Jai ho" Slumdog ki. The chicanery of the most overhyped movie continued at the Oscars night last Sunday. Eight out ten awards for this average and offensive movie speaks as much about the judging sense of the Academy voters as the people who call this movie a masterpiece.

I will not go into the story much as enough has been said and written about it. The reasons I say this movie is just OK are, firstly Dev Patel's and Frieda Pinto's rendition of their roles is pathetic. Patel has the same stony expression stuck on his face for the entire length and Frieda is hardly there. I don't know for what are they eating so much footage. The stars of this movie are the kids who hardly have a mention in the promotion. Unexplained things like Jamal's entry into the show, his knowledge of the name of the gun, the supposed error in the original poet of the song Darshan do Ghanshyam, all linger like the flies whizzing around those slum kids. No answers provided.

Apart from the indigestible fact that those kids grow up and speak accented English(we'll excuse that for cinematic liberty), there is hardly a character you can connect to or you feel sorry for despite all those terrible things happening to them. Anil Kapoor is so snobbish, one would hardly imagine Amitabh Bachhan making fun of contestants in such a sarcastic manner. His character is a real thorn and in poor taste.

As an indian, I was pleased with Rahman and Pokutty getting their respective awards despite the fact Rahman has given better music in some other films. The music in this movie is average and uninspiring to say the least.

The main problem in the film is the lack of emotional attachment one feels with the film... i mean when Salim shoots Maman, there is no impact(for that one must see Satya and Vaastav to know how hard hitting a killing really is) or when he suddenly changes his heart or when he dies in the bath-tub filled with currency, we don't feel anything nor do are we given any explanation ... when Jamaal finally gets Latika, we don't feel happy about that fact... . Yes when the film ended I felt something........relief. (I had procrastinated my hunger so that I would not miss any magical moment, people had raved about)

It is a fantasy film and I disregard the coincidences. On top of that the film is stylishly shot and edited. Technically the movie is top notch.

In conclusion, this movie is primarily made to feed western audiences with old world images of India. There is much more to this country than the slums shown in the movie. The feeling of hope was conveniently omitted(a few panned shots of mumbai's skyscrapers doesn't make the cut) or not represented as in the original story from which it has been adapted. As an IMDB reviewer had pointed out, would this movie have garnered many awards, if an Indian had made a movie that depicted drug addicts, sex workers, insanitary living conditions, teenage pregnancies, immoral society etc.. of the United States?

I too was guilty of going with the flow and singing praises of this movie although i had felt disjointed from the very first viewing . But after watching this movie a second time I have to say Slumdog Millionaire is just about an okayish movie, not worth award material. Take a bow Danny Boyle for fooling so many people and shame on you Indians who are feeling proud for a "British" movie which although shot in India is as Indian as Pervez Musharraf.

The Rockstars have arrived and it is time to get serious. T20 World champions India square off against the Kiwis at Christchurch who have a few explosive players of their own. It is going to be one roller coaster ride. The first Twenty20 game begins in less than 4 hours. Damn it is going to be past 1 am here but cricket takes precedence as always. :)

With Junior B, Sonam Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Rishi Kapoor, Om Puri and a handful of very competent actors lead by Rakeysh Mehra, the man who directed the heart warming Rang De Basanti, you'd expect another soulful film this time. There is every reason to spend those ten dollars which seem like 100 in this economy to catch this long awaited movie. But sadly, we are let down by a story which is just a set of isolated sketches from the director's personal life without any kind of coherence between the myriad plot lines.

Roshan(Abhishek) is an NRI from America who brings his ailing grandmother to India since she wants to spend her last moments in the country of her birth. So they land up in Delhi 6 or better known as Chandni Chowk. Here he encounters new people, friends and neigbours and becomes a part and not to mention interference in their lives. He observes and learns their lifestyle by capturing all experiences through his camera phone and providing an accompanying and engrossing narration along with it. The characters include a former lover of Roshan's mother, warring brothers, their gossiping wives, a dim witted temple helper, a low caste sweeper, a shrewd money lender and an amiable jalebi wala. There is also the sweet and beautiful Sonam Kapoor who like the dove wants to spread her wings and fly in order to become an Indian idol.

The incidents vary from the mundane to the purely hilarious like the cow in labor pains blocking the traffic because people have gathered around to see it giving birth. Interesting characters and occurences they are but only in fits and starts because therein lies the problem. The director has tried to pack a lot of things in the 2 hours 18 minutes of runtime. It is as if the director is not really sure whether to shoot this movie as a ensemble or connect the story lines. As a result, the story meanders ina desultory manner and each one of the characters remains half baked as my neighbours' choclate chip cookie(sorry Maria aunty, I do love your pizzas though :)) . None of the plot lines have been taken to their apt conclusion.

The second half of the movie hams and gets on the nerves because of its over preaching on communal tensions and caste discrimination. And all this is juxtaposed with the monkey man theories which stretches the climax unbearably to shoddy proportions. The message is sincere but doesn't really hit you hard and gets muddled somewhere in the confetti of characters.

Coming to technical aspects, the bylanes of Delhi have been captured magnificently by Binod Pradhan's lenses. Musically Masakali, Arziyaan and Genda Phool are amazing compositions by Rahman. Unfortunately their impact is diluted by their irregular placement. Songs just start of on their own, at one point 3 songs are thrown on to us back to back. Acting honors due to incomplete outlines go to none. AbhishekBachan who is as much a victim of a bad role as his own poor acting, makes no impact whatsoever. Waheeda Rehman,Om Puri, Pawan Malhotra, Supriya Pathak, Prem Chopra and Deepak Dobriyal just hop in and out playing their roles adequately. Rishi Kapoor and Atul Kulkarni are wasted. Vijay Raaz, Divya Dutta and Sonam Kapoor are the only ones that stick.

Overall, Delhi 6 which starts off at a canter hits a speed breaker so badly that for ninety percent of the movie, it is similar to the traffic halted by the pregnant cow. Cinematography, music and a few hilarious desi garma garam vignettes apart this movie is not recommended. We expected better from the Rang De Basanti guy. And what was that scene from heaven anyway??

A few days back a blood donation campaign was announced in the office. I have never donated blood before(For the record I have never donated anything other than a few engineering textbooks which I never used). My friend and I decided to do some worldly good and become famous in our office. So off we went, our foolhardiness dictating our minds, being heroes our only objective. We enter the room, the smile of ignorance not leaving our face. But as soon as our brain processes the scene in front of us, that smile is replaced by a tingly feeling in the gut. I hear strange sounds from behind me. I turn around and see my friend who is all ready to throw up and would do well do receive some blood rather than donating it. He does a harry potter and disappears amplifying my fear to urinating proportions.

But I stood my ground(albeit on wobbly feet) and went ahead. After signing a few thousand papers about my health, safe sex, my responsibilities and their lack of it, I am given a bed to relax. What an irony. But in seven minutes it is all over and a pint of the red liquid is safely packed away.


By donating a pint, I have saved three lives as informed by the attendant. For the first time in my life I felt that I had done something worthwhile and have now lost all fear. I will do it everytime till there is blood in me.

In order to socialize more, our applications department decided to have a get together at a diner. The place chosen was Seabra’s Rodizio. For all who don’t know what a rodizio is(I didn’t know either), it is a Brazilian or Portuguese style restaurant where severs keep on bringing food for the customers till they signal that they have had enough. Sounds appetizing but the only and the biggest problem is that the food is just various kinds of meats that are served right off the cooking skewer, and are sliced or plated right at the table.

I am a vegetarian sadly. But despite formally being rendered as an extra chair at the table I did gather some hope and read the menu. I finally decided on the rice and salad which looked promising since it had some peas and carrots in it. Two pitchers of Sangria were ordered that made up for the drinks. And then it all started.

Beef, Pork, Chicken, turkey ,duck, bugs bunny, tom, jerry, and all those lovable cartoon characters made their appearance posthumously to find their final resting place among the innards of the hungry men. I swear the Americans tear into meat as Sehwag tears into bowling attacks. They kept on eating for ten hours while I filled myself with Sangria, kidney beans, chick peas, lettuce, coleslaw and more Sangria. By the time my rice arrived in a bowl the size of a scooter tire, I was too drunk to react. But one bite into it and I knew it was one of those nights when I would have to go to bed on an empty stomach. It was so bland, that at first I was convinced I must have lost sensation in my tongue but when that wasn’t the case, I had to literally pepper it with pepper to add a semblance of taste.

But wasn’t this an occasion to socialize. Well as soon as the food was on the table, good old meaningful conversation took a back seat and the only sounds were of cutlery, chomping, gulping and muffled praises of how juicy the meat was. It reminded me of UP politicians where whenever a bill is tabled, there is no discussion, only fist fights, screaming and blame games. This didn’t have quite the drama but was unappetizing nevertheless.

A few months ago Fashion gave us an insider's look at people and their motives involved in haute couture and now Luck By Chance gives us a take on Mumbai's tinseltown.

Luck by chance talks about Vikram Jaisingh(Farhan Akhtar) and Sona(Konkona), two youngsters have left their families to fulfill their aspirations like a millions of others to become famous in the Hindi Film industry.

Although the story moves very unhurriedly but as it showcases all that we have heard about the industry, the characters, incidents and situations hold your interest. It is a very commercial world where everyone including the protagonists, have to sacrifice morals and principles to get ahead. We have a god-fearing astrology crazy producer, his vain wife, a former diva keeping a strict watch on her not so bright daughter’s debut film, a failed actor turned director and a writer forced to plagiarize from Hollywood.

Coming from a director who has spend time in the film fraternity first hand, the movie is a nice representation of the anxiety behind the appeal of these so called stars. There are two scenes which stand out. One when, Farhan and Konkona fall asleep on the terrace of their small building surrounded by skyscrapers which represent their big dreams and the other one is when Farhan walks in for an audition and sees the competition. The background music in the circumstances is the high point of that scene.

The negative points of the movie are its length, a stagnant second half and a slightly half-baked characterization for Konkona. The music could also have been better. On the whole the movie is a thoroughly enjoyable fare. The best part about the movie is that it is light-hearted. It never gets too dramatic or mushy when these normally ebullient characters face their deepest fears. It seems like it is all in a day’s work for all of them. The best among the lot is Rishi Kapoor who gives a simply amazing performance as producer Romy rolly. Farhan Akhtar is just the right guy with his controlled acting being the most appropriate for this role. Konkona is brilliant as always. Dimple Kapadia is ravishing as the pesky mom. Isha Shravani as the dumb starlet is first rate. Sanjay Kapoor is funny.

There are some lovely cameos (used aptly and exceedingly well by Zoya Akhtar) by well known faces and its quite amusing to see them playing themselves. It is after a long time for Hindi films(after Dharmendra in Guddi). Javed Akhtar pens some wonderful dialogues and some of them are just laugh out loud. Zoya Akhtar makes a noteworthy debut and handles the story like a pro, especially the opening title sequence which is very heartwarming. The movie is full of witty sequences having dark undertones. As one character says you need 90% luck to become an actor, well the audience doesn’t need it. Take a chance and view this captivating movie in a theatre near you.