hell hath no fury...?

Is murder a pardonable offense? Ofcourse not.

Yet, I am against the death penalty.

Some may disagree, especially for those individuals who deliberately commit the unspeakable and fail to show any remorse for their pre-meditated actions. If we do not have the power to create life, do we really have the right to take it away? Should economics (the jail budget) rule who gets to live as well? These concerns will find their way to another post, in the meantime, for people who do believe in the death penalty, Suzzane’s character (out of Saat Khoon Maaf) who killed out of spite, jealousy and self righteousness would qualify for the lethal injection.

In 7 khoon maaf, we are introduced to a stunning woman, who is somewhat of an executioner herself. She takes it upon herself to right all wrongs in her life by denying her criminals life itself without so much as batting an eyelid. What makes her exponentially more dangerous is that she used her devoted domestic help’s allegiance to her to commit these heinous crimes. This devious woman had the capability and will to convert her closest aides into killers and liars who did not stop, even when the justice system finally catches up with her. Suzanne spends her entire life falling in “love” with one man after the other. She leads a rather frivolous life and disregards her husbands' rights to live when she disapproves of their choices and moral standards. What made it worse is that Suzzane came from a wealthy household and HAD the means to live life on her own terms as opposed to the “Provoked”'s protagonist, whose pitiable state led to the discovery of “battered woman’s syndrome” and the enactment of the subsequent law. Despite having such a controversial main lead, I LOVED this movie, because Suzzane loved life endlessly. She stood up for herself and believed in love even when she was proved wrong time and again. These are the makings of a strong woman, maybe a little malicious and one with a rather questionable moral compass who ran her own court! If only she knew how much more ignorance hurt than murder, she would have had a better life… less satiating indeed, but guilt free one at the very least!

At the end of the movie, whether she is reformed or not, is immaterial and since she proved herself to be a serial killer she should have been isolated from the society before she fell prey to her whims again.

All in all a dark movie, a black comedy even, that has seen Ms Chopra grow as a splendid actor. This movie is featured over 20 years and the makeup crew has done a spectacular job of subtly aging her. So over 150 minutes, the audience initially falls prey to this temptress as she wins over her husband and then are amused as she flits from one relationship to another and then finally has nothing but contempt for her, as she kills her 6th husband, as though out of practice! The story ends as she confesses her crimes to the parishioner. As for the medical examiner who loved her unconditionally... who also covered up when her closest aide faked her death... shame on him..even love has its limits.

The best features of this movie are Ms Chopra’s, Neil Nitin Mukesh's and Mr. N Shah's effortless acting and ofcourse the number - Darrrling… which adds the much needed warmth to the movie! Don’t miss this one folks.

I do?

See what inflation has done to the common man's psyche

Miscellaneous Notes

I visited the SONY showroom today that was home to the new 3D LED! I abandoned my pursuit of the recorder (reason of my visit to the store) and focused all my attention on the shining new "slick" machine. The sales guy with his typical "Bombaiyaa" dukandari gave me a complete run down of that sexy thing...I mean sexy...Just check out SONY's web page for detailed features and you will see that damn thing photographed from different angles as it poses like a super model!
Moving on... I was given those super cool 3D glasses (which remind me of my own pair of sunglasses) and voila! A third dimension emerged as I watched a polar bear skinny dip in a pool of ice water, playing around. I could see the surface of the water as it bobbled up and down with the bear's belly which had a cuddly round shape! I swear I thought it was pregnant! This entire 3D image made me feel like I was in an aquarium and the TV screen was actually the glass wall! My entire face was lit up in glee when the showing came to an end! So my new aim in life is to earn that ** INR in surplus and own that thing!

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On a slightly related note, I have rejoined the gym after my sojourn. Consequently, my walk has been replaced by our very own "Munnabhai's" swagger complete with the position of the hands as I balanced my embarrassing weight on seriously exhausted quadriceps!


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PS - Tequila rocks :)

TerribleTwos? OR Terrific Twos?

I spent 4 hours with about 15 two year olds yesterday. They were all bright eyed and excited. Most of them were accustomed to their 120 minute class that included a lunch/snack break. Among these veteran two year olds was a 3 foot tall new member, who was not at all happy nor comfortable in those foreign surroundings. He bawled and howled till we were sure he was dehydrated. Finally he yielded and had a sip of water. His traumatic experience amused his peers who looked at him with not apprehension but mild amusement. They did not desert him or even shrink away from him. A couple of them even tried their best to console him by patting his cheek and tummy! I guess we all could learn a lesson in compassion from these two year olds!
And ofcourse there were excellent examples of ‘boys will be boys’ as they pushed and shoved each other and even ‘boy handled’ a classmate in the process!  All sorrows were forgotten as the teacher asked them to apologize to each other! Then ensued the lunch break wherein they nibbled at their boxes and snatching each others biscuits in the process. As the 120 minutes were up they hurried to their bags and shoes and slipped them on with equal fervor craning their necks to find their parents!
What wouldn’t we all give to be two again... where the biggest concerns of our life was if the teacher was handing out our own bags... guess we learn being possessive earlier on than we imagine!

WOMEN POWER

PROFFESSION: Domestic Help

RESPONSIBILITIES: Cooking and Cleaning

PART TIME JOB: Fish retail

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITES: Police Representative for her settlement

Dressed in a crisp saree, rather loud jewellery and sporting a hairdo where not a single hair is EVER out of place, my maid arrives every morning, with a scorn on her face. The minute she steps in though, her frown changes to a pleasant expression as she brisk walks to her work station. She deftly manoeuvres her way around the kitchen making hot chappatis/phulkas and an accompanying sabji with practiced ease and efficiency. Not a single minute is wasted but there is never a compromise on the small talk. We met after a period of...I guess 2 years and I am still a little surprised at her candor as she bluntly narrates all that happens in her neighbourhood. Then the topic moved to why that ‘funny looking’ man from “Aamrika” was getting so much importance. I mean what exactly do we want from him. She pauses a little and creases appear on her brow as she concentrates to remember his name. “OOBAAMA?” She asks. As my grandmum and I discuss world politics she listens keenly and even adds her two cents.

I am already impressed. But she does not stop there. She continues discussing all currents topics from the Aadarsh fiasco to the third airport of Mumbai. Granted she didn’t know there were already two airports but she did know that a third one was close to being sanctioned! All this from an barely educated women who is embarrassed to even sign her name and speak before the public. But I wonder why... cause she can easily put half the so called educated youngsters in India to shame with her opinionated view points. This women is also involved with the locals as she acts as a mediator in an final attempt to settle issues before they are made legal. She sends her sons to college and does her best to keep them invested in their education despite lacking one. The same dedicated woman with a social conscience is not without compassion as she tries her best to support stray animals. Currently she is supporting a dog, a cat, a rabbit, a squirrel and to the best of my knowledge half the dogs in my neighbourhood as well.

This woman my friends is in my opinion an established strong woman with exceptional taste who does not allow social and economic borders to limit her. She transcends beyond them and does her best to give back to the very community she is a part of.

Innovative Pillows

I came across these new designs when browsing the web..

Spread the Smileys :)

INCEPTED!!

Is no place “SAFE” enough for your utmost prized possessions? What about your secrets, desires and dreams? Isn’t it enough to keep it hidden in the deepest recesses of your mind?? When it comes to burglary, in Christopher Nolan’s world, no places are off limit, including your subconscious mind. Di Caprio and his associates, specialize in invading the mind by inducing sleep and stealing personal thoughts while the person is still dreaming. While this may make them appear invincible, their greatest fear is of a reoccurring nightmare – of not knowing whether they are in the real world or in the dream world! To skirt around their very real fear, the team use a ‘tottem’ a random object, the weight, dimensions and characteristics of which are unique and known only to the bearer. This ‘tottem’ acts like their talisman which would behave in a specific way in the dream world letting its bearer know that they were dreaming! Di Caprio’s totem was an unidentifiable, circular tiny ‘top’ like object that would topple in the real world, but spin endlessly in the dream world! This knowledge was probably equally important to the viewers and Di Caprio in order to distinguish between the real and the imaginary worlds!
The term ‘INCEPTION’ implies the commencement/initiation of a monumental event. As hinted by the title of the movie, instead of their practice of extracting information, the notoriously elite group, are hired to implant a thought in the target’s mind. The group is understandably anxious as they are expected to digress from their practice of extracting information, the knowledge of which is immaterial to the target once the task is complete and the target is roused from his slumber. In contrast, the success of “inception” relied solely on the extent of delusion because the person would act on a ‘planted idea’ only if he considered it as a product of inspiration. To complicate matters, the concept of inception was not alien to the super rich and omnipotent hence the odds of the target suspecting the idea to be seeded by an invader were anything but slim.

The film starts by introducing the audience to a dual layer dream which in fact was a ‘qualifer test’ for the elite group, excelling which, would have earned them their biggest deal. As expected, failure would deliver them to their grave.
In addition to the introduction of stealing secrets in the dream world, the audience is familiarized with the people who engineer various elements of the dream world and get a glimpse into Di Caprio’s clichéd, complicated past giving the otherwise rapid pulsed, sci-fi movie a dark psycho shade!
Interestingly, akin to our everyday dreams, the target and the invaders could snap out of their reverie by responding to tactile and auditory stimulations by a ‘conscious’ handler. If all else failed, death in a dream, would definitely jolt them out of the trance! Other intriguing facets include, people’s projections of others in their subconscious and the ‘crumbling effect’ produced on the dream’s landscape while the dreamer gained consciousness. However, lame these things sound when spelled out, lose all criticism to the visual effects projected on the big screen that invoke astonishment and surprise keeping the audience deeply engrossed throughout its screening. A bit of an overdose was the target’s trained subconscious setting up defenses to this inception in the form of trained marine and other brawny guys with weapons!
I found myself hooked and optimistic till the very end, hoping the elite achieve their goal. While the end is unexpected, it did leave me disappointed at the outcome! However, the disappointment was made up when a fellow adult viewer involuntarily cried out “OH NO” which made the entire theatre giggle and clap in unison as the credits rolled on!
Sure, they could have cut out some of the emotional crap and made a movie for the “right brained” folks, but hey with Di Caprio’s effortless acting, outstanding concept, novel approach and the splendid special effects... it is worth every 150 minutes of your time.
Folks... don’t miss this one... Dream on my friends! J