I watched the premier show of Evam’s “Doubles, Triples and Quadruples” at Rangashankara last evening. The play was a fun ride combined with lots of laughs, some touching moments and some surprises.

I had personally a memorable and delightful evening thanks to EVAM and the crowd present there… But before I talk about that here are my thoughts about the play.

Frankly I went into the play assuming its going to be full length play, similar to “Chapter Two”, “Art” or “The Odd Couple” all previously brilliantly executed by the same group. So when I realized it was going to be a series of sketches I was a bit disappointed… The plays were in themselves very hilarious and well done, the acting was top quality and the monologues, well they were simply captivating.

Among the plays, I loved the newly wed couple sketch the most. The Russian drowner, Call waiting, Russian therapist and Father/Son-Manhood sketch were a laugh riot. Some of the sketches seemed a little too dragged but considering it was the first performance, they will only get better

The monologues were really well done. I dont know about the way it was planned but it seemed like the actors had the freedom to tell their stories, something that truly brought out the honesty in the performance. Karthik Kumar’s monologue about “Romance-Wines-Plays” was heartwarming and beautiful. Its a heavy line to say “I understand what he means”, but considering I just finished working with an amazing group of people on a play a week back, I guess I can say that

TMK’s “First Love”, (I apologize as I dont know all the actor’s names ) “Movies” and the “Birthday” monologue were well put forward. First Love and Birthday monologues had me thinking how we can find humor in the bad fortune of others… then again if we can look back at our experiences and laugh we are not looking at the “Bright side of life”

Finally the acting, well Evam has an amazing set of actors that just light up the stage. This time I will be partial towards the female leads coz it was the first time I have seen them perform(hope that was right ) and they were simply excellent. From the abusive phone call in the first play to the heartwarming dance in the last one, every actor did a spectacular job. My favorite performer has to be TMK - the Russian Drowner and the 19 year old boy were brilliant characters!

Finally about the it being a memorable evening for me. Well it just happens that I was the guy in the audience yest whose birthday happens to be this week Well so Karthik Kumar and the crowd (including my friends who poked me to get my hand up) sang me a premature “Happy Birthday to Chandrahasa”… What was amazing was that Karthik got my name right in the first shot! Well thank you guys it made my night

All in all, Play wise: Evam, The play was good but Its not the best from you guys The entertainment value was there but I am still waiting for that EVAM experience… The people seemed to have enjoyed it so who knows, maybe that opinion is just mine. But great job guys… thanks for the laughs and everything else.

Virat Kohli’s superb catch against Mumbai on Sunday(Apr 20 2008). He followed that up with an amazing batting display!

Here are the short reviews of movies I have watched in the past 2 months

• April, 2008

• Ghostbusters II (1989)

  

  A perfect sequel and totally fun. Bill Murray is again great, the plot is good and the lines funny.

• Ghost Busters (1984)

  

  Brilliantly funny and exceedingly entertaining. Bill Murry is perfect and the ensemble does a great job. Definitely a must watch.

• Silent Movie (1976)

  

  Not worth watching unless you really like slapstick comedy.

• The Heartbreak Kid (2007)

  

  Very disappointing for Ben Stiller’s standards. Not worth wasting your time over it.

• Valley of Flowers (2006)

  

  From the man who made Samsara, Valley of flowers is a story of immortal love and the burden it bears. The story is good and the characters interesting. The movie is a bit slow and confusing in parts. Not as good as Samsara but worth a watch

• Into the Wild (2007)

  

  The brilliance of this movie is beyond words. A beautifully told story of a boy who gives up all worldly possessions to live in the wilderness. The story is truly moving. The soundtrack/background score is top noch too. Highly recommend this movie.

• March, 2008

• Race (2008/I)

  

  Tons of twists and turns it this awesome thriller. Brilliant dialogs, pretty girls and fast cars. Worth a watch.

• Morning Raga (2004)

  

  Decent movie. Beautiful second half makes up for the bad first. The music is great and the story is pretty good… the camera work is also pretty good but it just does not look as refined as it could.

• Volver (2006/I)

  

  Surprisingly brilliant! The movie hits a chord by the end and moves you. Deserved all the accolades it was showered. The all woman cast added to the strength as a movie about women! A must watch.

• Meet the Robinsons (2007)

  

  Nice movie, fun and smooth. Loved the message in the movie. Decent animantion and ok story too. Worth a watch

• The Game Plan (2007)

  

  The Rock in a sweet comedy actually works! Some parts of the movie were very dragged out but the movie works ok on the whole. Timepass

• Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire…

  

  Beautiful sets and costumes… Engaging story but clearly not for everyone.

• Death at a Funeral (2007)

  

  Slow at the start but makes up very well at the later stages. Parts are funny beyond words. Totally recommend the movie.

• Magicians (2007)

  

  Silly Funny movie… Fun if you are into that sort of movies

Movie ratings archive

The screenplay of the movie (available here) echoes its class as a top notch thriller. It has the right ingredients of a thriller… the perfect pace, the duality of writing and many other factors. By “duality of writing” I mean the ability of writing something that could mean a plethora of different things based on context of the viewer. In this case its mostly got to do with the perfect balance of what if the viewer knows the ending or not.

Some thing that totally took me by surprise was the very high human emotional element in the script that went a miss in the movie. The reason was not the lack in the script but the fact that the thriller element being far more pronounced and hence being the protagonist of the script. Reading the screenplay really pulled out those scenes and showed how brilliant a writer Manoj Night Shyamalan really is. Almost all scenes between Cole and his mother are highly emotional… I was reduced to a state of breaking down almost every time.

One of the other magnificent things about this screenplay is that it is pretty much the movie… no scene seemed like it was added or removed form the script and that tells you how strong and well written this script is.

I throughly recommend you to watch the movie and read the screenplay. If you are into writing of scripts or stories, this is something you just have to read! This is what good writing is all about.

Ps: Yes if you are wondering, I do screenplay reviews too now

My favorite ones from the classical genre are…
Khoya khoya Chand, Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chera, Maine Poocha Chand Se(my favourite), Chand mera dil, Chaudvin ka chand
Guess what is common between those songs… The brilliant Mohd. Rafi

From the modern era I had little to choose from…
Chand Chupa - Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
and the song that inspired this post…
Yoon Shabnami - Saawariya

A week after the release the verdict was out… People walking out the theater had sleepy faces and called it rubbish. Reviews weren’t kind but were innovative! Everything logical told me I should not waste my money and my time… Yet

After the movie I wished i had watched it on the very first show… Why? Not because I loved it or something! (My general opinion was that the movie was not bad) but coz this movie is ’special’!

You have heard it before but I will point out the bad parts before I go to the good parts:
* Lead actors: Sorry kids… it was pretty bad. It wasn’t a total lack of skill/talent or something but rather an absence of experience to handle either character. Ranbir Kapoor who played ‘Raj’ needed something like like amazing performance of Ewan McGergor in ‘Moulin Rouge’ and when ever he would go into a frenzy of funny faces I had half a mind to punch him! Sonam Kapoor was at best decent… I did not find her unbelievably attractive like most other people did, I loved her costumes though. There were some moments where she was perfect but far too many where she was simply fake.

* Story: I came back and read the synopsis of White Nights the short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky on which the movie was based. The short story I felt had substance… It left me with a feeling of what could have been made of this. Its almost depressing that the adapted parts were the ones that should have possibly been left alone and the retained parts the ones that should have been adapted.

Now to the parts I loved about this movie:

* Sets: This movie has without a doubt the most beautiful sets I have ever laid my eyes on. If you have to watch it for one reason it has to be the sets! If you are a photographer/painter watch this movie coz it is some sort of a creative orgasm. The concentration to detail left me dumb folded… everything from the light poles to the pot holes were artistically created and I was in absolute awe as the movie rolled.

* Direction: This movie has to be watched by budding film makers to learn how to create magic in a moment, for how to let actors blend into a scene and for how to every frame a painting! There are hints of the gradeour scenes from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam… like the moment when Imaan is leaving and she sprints to see him and collapses in his shoulders, the scene where she is waiting for Eid and is informed that she was lied to that Imaan was seen in the neighboring town and she lies down on the red carpet on a beautiful blue setting… How bout the scene where Sakina is with her grandmother and Aaya, the scene unfolds with the grandmother talking and we see the other two characters on the mirrors on the wall… Pure genius
I can go on and on…

* First 15 min: I think Sanjay Leela Bhansali should have made it a full fledged musical (akin to Moulin Rouge) The first 15 min of the movie has all the makings of a perfect musical and then he blew it The songs are all winners and excellently executed… Even though its been termed as a musical as long as there are more dialogs than lyrics its not one for me

* Rani Mukherjee - Zohra Sehgal: The performances of the movie… probably of the year! Rani bought this amazing class to her very unclassy role as a whore. Her acting is beyond words and there is so much magic just in her eyes that it was worth it all. Zohra Sehgal provided the beautiful balance right thru the movie… her presence was powerful and that scene with Rani was as perfect as scenes could get! (The dialog for that scene inspired an applause and rightly so)

Bottom Line: 10-20 years down the line people would forget a “Chak De! India” or a “Om Shanti Om” but this movie is a stuff of legends. It might not be perfect but things in it were and that is what will be a benchmark for future flim makers. This movie is not for everybody but for the select few that would enjoy it, its worth its weight in gold.

Ps: I will be purchasing a personal copy of the DVD when it is released

Anyway its Ke Bin Tere Jeena Nahin from Aggar

Ke Bin Tere Jeena Nahi

Bheed mein bhi hum tanha rahe
Tere gum ne yeh halat kar di
Kabhi khud ke liye kuch soch sake
Itne bhi nai fursat di

Aankhon ke talash jo hai
Woh hai tera chehra
Dhadkan dil ke paas to hai
Lekin hai bewajah
Mein hoon shak se abb koi
Patta Tuta hua
Mujhko yeh hawaein bulaati
Re har jagah

Ke bin tere jeena nahi
Haan bin tere jeena nahi
Na bin tere jeena nahi
Ja bin tere jeena nahi

Aankhon ke talash jo hai
Woh hai tera chehra
Dhadkan dil ke paas to hai
Lekin hai bewajah
Mein hoon shak se abb koi
Patta Tuta hua
Mujhko yeh hawaein bulaati
Re har jagah

Ke bin tere jeena nahi
Haan bin tere jeena nahi
Na bin tere jeena nahi
Ja bin tere jeena nahi

Chahe jitne bhi aanson bahe
Saaasein Sene mein chubhti rahe
Muskura kar har gum sahe

Dil se ho kam kabhi
Na yeh dard tera
Phool jaisa lage har zakham tera
Ek mujhko to jeena nahi

Ke bin tere jeena nahi

Aankhon ke talash jo hai
Woh hai tera chehra
Dhadkan dil ke paas to hai
Lekin hai bewajah
Mein hoon shak se abb koi
Patta Tuta hua
Mujhko yeh hawaein bulaati
Re har jagah

Ke bin tere jeena nahi
Haan bin tere jeena nahi
Na bin tere jeena nahi
Ja bin tere jeena nahi

Bheed mein bhi hum tanha rahe
Tere gum ne yeh halat kar di
Kabhi khud ke liye kuch soch sake
Itne bhi nai fursat di

Teri yaadon mein har pal kate
Khud se Teri hi baatein karein
Dil ek gaou sa banjar rahe
Humko manjoor hai har sitam tera
Berukhi bhi teri bewafapan tera
Jam kushiyon ka peena nahi

Ke bin tere jeena nahi

Aankhon ke talash jo hai
Woh hai tera chehra
Dhadkan dil ke paas to hai
Lekin hai bewajah
Mein hoon shak se abb koi
Patta Tuta hua

Mujhko yeh hawaein bulaati
Re har jagah

[Ke bin tere jeena nahi
Haan bin tere jeena nahi
Na bin tere jeena nahi
Ja bin tere jeena nahi ]2

I have not been to many dance performances but when you hear the announcement that “The dancers in this performance are professional… So feel free to cheer,yell, encourage and boo them!” you just know its going to be good!

Consider this 35 adults, 21 kids, 19 songs(all ensemble performances), awe-inspiring choreography, brilliant creativity(each performance had different stage settings), 30s for a change over(sets and clothes)!
The show encapsulated Jazz, Salsa, Rock and Roll, HipHop, Indo Jazz(Shiamak’s creation) and Bollywood Jazz… My friend herself did 10 different dance forms!
Oh yeah… And 2 shows back to back!!!

Its a nice feeling to be humbled but when you look at kids almost a third of your age doing something so accurately and beautifully, the euphoria is just addictive.

In the end of the show there was video about Victory Arts Foundation(VAF) created by Shiamak which spreads the joy and power of dance to underprivileged children, children who are infected, affected or vulnerable to HIV / ADIS, physically or mentally challenged children. A very noble cause.

Harry Potter is back for the fifth installment of the seven part epic by JK Rowling. This time the movie was aimed differently than the Goblet of Fire and it worked… worked very well indeed

The movie is as good as probably a 150min adaptation of a 700 odd page book can get. The writers have concentrated on achieving closure to stories and that has boded well. Before I go into the specifics… “DONT MISS THIS MOVIE” esp if you hated part 4!

(By spoilers I mean how different parts of the book were interpreted and scenes I loved)

Lets go from the Casting
* Apart from the usual top 3 I always loved the casting of Serevus Snape’s character but this movie gave me a couple more! Ralph Fiennes is awe inspiring… There cant be a better Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort… Helena Bonham Carter is as perfect as Bellatrix Lestrange can get… She is just too awesome!!!

* Bonnie Wright looked gorgeous as Ginny Weasley and Evanna Lynch looked a little too sweet to be Luna Lovegood but the character portrayal was so strong that you cant but love her performance… Dudley Dursley unfortunately looked a little under weight

* Natalia Tena looked great as Nymphadora Tonks unfortunately her role was more biased as an ensemble and that was a bit disappointing. Hopefully more of her and Lupin will follow in the next parts!

* Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge was very convincing… It didnt take long to hate her totally And finally Michael Gambon was looking great as Albus Dumbledore… Its hard to believe its the same man whome I hated in part 4!

The Story:

* They cut into the parts of the book and made it a point to get the story across… That seems like a right move but it meant that the amazing scenes we imagined were ignored.

* Closure was in top of the agenda and that meant that many characters never got their due In the end the story made sense and thats what matters.

* For someone watching the movie without reading the books or watching the first four movies, this movie would not be boring nor misdirected and thats a good thing.

The Effects:

* All the sets looked great! they fit well in and some even took me by surprise

* The ministry of magic looked brilliant… The room of requirement was great… Umbridge’s room looked great.

* The finale was awesome at the least! Voldemort v/s Dumbeldore was brilliant beyond words… You dont need to know that these two were the greatest wizards of their time, its very evident

* Sirius’ death was very well shown… Felt the reaction from Harry was a bit too much but what the heck it was an emotional scene.

* Ginny was shown as a very powerful witch and I think it might just sit well with book 7

The Disappointing bits:

* OWLs were bad but dont think they are very important wrt the main story line so this was excusable
* Wanted to watch Umbridge covered in sludge but that was skipped
* The modified the story quiet a bit to get closure but that was probably required
* Ending was a bit too abrupt

All in all its definitely the better one of the sequels this year(after ofcourse Ocean’s 13)

Says it all

Btw those last 5 min in Lost Season 3 finale was just too brilliant for words. It took me 2 days to get over the rush

“The First and The Last” by John Galsworthy (an adaptation)

A story of two very different brothers, two different choices, two Survivors in their own right bought together one night amid fear, anger, suffering, arrogance, love and betrayal… Truth, Lies In A Play…

“The Tie” by Tony Devaney Morinelli

An object in the presence of real people, real lives… An object… not just an object but the Protagnist of the play… Symboic of not just what meets the eye but of the hidden desires and concealed pain… Truth Lies In A Play…

“Khullam Khulla” by Suresh Doraiswamy

Relationships demand sacrifices some more than others… What if you had to do something drastic to save a relationship? What if you have already done something drastic to save it… Truth Lies In A Play…

“A Midnight Clear” by L.B. Hamilton

Running away from your past is hard but running away from yourself is impossible… Love is hard to find and harder to walk away from… One day when it becons could you be strong enough to ignore it… Truth Lies In A Play…

“Cleveland Waits” by Greg Vovos

One serving of a foolish struggling actor and a sizeable amount of an incompetent agent, mix the two and All hell breaks loose… Who will survive whome? Truth Lies In A Play…

Hope to see you all there