Movie Review: Ek Villain

A brief background is in order. I watched the movie last Saturday in the 'Insignia' theatre at Inox, Quest Mall. The seats were plush, kind of like a reclining sofa and I had half a table to myself in case I wanted something to eat. The gentleman next to me had taken out a flat plastic plank from below the seat on which he was resting his outstretched feet, but I was too embarrased to ask him how he had performed said manouvre. The ticket was worth 650 INR. Given the surroundings and the money spent, please do excuse if the review gets scathing at times.

'Ek Villain' is what happens when Mohit Suri wants to play 'Criminal Minds'.
The very start had a rather OTT Shraddha Kapoor soliloquize with a Ganpati idol strapped next to her on the passenger seat of a jeep. A few questions popped up: Why(and how) the Ganpati was where he was? Why a jeep of all vehicles? But I decided to be patient. And indeed, the next incident that happened on-screen was shocking. When the murderer floated a few smiley faced yellow balloons which hovered beside the movie title 'Ek Villain', I thought I was in for a promising film. The belief quickly disintegrated. Here was Siddharth Malhotra trying his hand at playing angry in addition to his proven tactic of playing dumb. He is far better off dumb than angry. He is definitely better off leaving Emraan Hashmi's dialogues to Emraan Hashmi. Shraddha Kapoor has to tone down her act if she wants to be tolerable on screen. Riteish Deshmukh was the pick of the cast. But it is after all an unfortunate movie and he could do only as much. Two inexplicable characters were the heroine's dad (a good actor squandered away on a bad film) who apparently makes clay idols as a day job and helps his philanthropist daughter when he can; the cop who has great sympathy with our hero due to reasons known only to himself.

Now onto the story. Or stories. There were one too many.
In office, I have drawn this analogy many a times - a project without a plan is like a movie where the director makes up the story as the shooting progresses.
Terminally ill girl wants to fulfill strange wishes - playing with butterflies, watching peacocks dance etc. Hooks up with local goon. Goon falls in love with girl. Gets married. Girl gets magically cured. Gets pregnant. Then gets murdered by a serial killer. Goon is after serial killer before making a false stop first with his mob boss(Remo Fernandes' debut movie - and I sincerely hope he is not cast in other movies - stilted Hindi and awful acting). Serial killer kills because of love-hate relationship with wife(If this is a plausible enough trigger for going off on a killing spree, there would be a lot many serial killers amongst us). Goon engages with serial killer but somehow, does not kill him. Goon lets go of serial killer. Serial killer's wife gets picked up by the police because of the trophies that her husband collected off his victims. Serial killer's son has befriended goon in the meantime. Serial killer goes off to dance bar with kinky neighbour(Why said kinky neighbour would go to a dance bar with a confirmed serial killer is beyond me though - you could well be a hardened misogynist but to socialize with a man who has been regularly killing women with a screw driver is taking things way too far). Serial killer wants to get himself killed and absolve himself of the crimes that he committed. To that effect, ensnares goon to come over to designated spot. Goon's boss kills serial killer's wife. Serial killer is maddened by grief and stabs goon. Both of them fall from a height(And all the audience wants both of them dead by this time). But no, both of them are alive. A passing car kills serial killer by accident. Goon saves serial killer's son and both go watch the peacocks dance.

Good things about the movie. Siddharth Malhotra is good eye-candy. He is to the female audience what Katrina is to the male audience. The songs are good - particularly 'Galiyaan' and 'Banjaare'.

Sick Day

Today is not one of my good days. I am sick and therefore, shabbily dressed.
I stepped into the Barista outlet in the office complex for a cup of ginger honey tea.
I was wearing a pea-green salwar-kameez and I had a shoddy brown cardigan on top of that. The pea-green dupatta was wrapped around my head and ears. Quite in contradiction with the outfit, a rather smart pair of sunglasses were sitting on my nose. And I was wearing my black high-heel pumps(which frankly, won't be the worse for a bit of polish). I had the headphones plugged in my ears.
In short, I was looking like a mess not much unlike the heroine of the movie 'Hasee Toh Phasee'.
Just like her, I was kinda phased out as I sat on a chair facing the shop window watching the world go by.

I had dropped the headphones when I was placing the order. But somehow, the alien humming sound from the headphones made me hold them(not plug them) close to my ears. Yes!! It was the song - 'Ishq Bulawa' - the song I am crazy about these days. I was completely lost when the shop guy brought me my tea on a tray with two almond biscuits.
Now, I had explicitly asked him to just give me the tea ready-to-go. Yet, he had watched me - been empathetic to the state I was in and very considerately given me the tea paper cup(it was a to-go pack) along with a stirrer, a tissue and the plate of biscuits. When the whole world seemed like one hostile entity, I was touched by this random act of kindness by a stranger. Maybe, my day is not that bad after all.

Obsession

People who know me for quite some time would tell you that I used to be a decent singer.
I lost my ability to sing about a couple of years back. I would not get into the whys and wherefores as that would be more suited to what I refer to as my 'dark blog'.

There are very few songs which appeal to me. But when they do, I am obsessed with them.
The obsession hovers around any one song at one point in time.
I will listen to the particular song hundreds of times everyday for very many days till it is a part of my soul.
After that, I will sing the song to myself - starting off with humming in the bathroom.
A few days worth of trial, and I used to be able to sing it pretty well. These days, the singing part does not work that well. But the obsession is alive and kicking.

The song on rewind in my mind at the moment is 'Ishq Bulawa' from the movie 'Hasee Toh Phasee'. There is hardly any recall value from the movie as it was played out just for a few seconds in a particular scene. I was enamoured with the song when I heard it on Red FM on my way to work. It took me some time to connect the song with the movie. Now whenever I listen to the radio, which is usually on my way to and from work, I wait with bated breath for this song. People who know me for some time would also know this about me: I am not a big fan of public display of emotion, tears in particular. But yesterday, a single tear stole down my cheeks while I was engrossed in listening to this song. And it was followed by a strange sense of relief. Of being able to relieve the tightness in my heart unnoticed. There is liberation in tears.

Movie Review: Hansee Toh Phansee

I debated over which blog to put this post into.

I watched the movie this week by playing truant from office in the afternoon. I have been known to do this at times I need to blow off some steam. Nuff' said about me. Reminder to myself: this post is about the movie and not about you!!

I rather liked the movie. That in itself is something as I am damn picky about what I like. I am stingy with praises like the esteemed managers in my office :)
The movie was far from flawless. Too many songs. A tad too long. Too many characters.
But it was wholesome goodness. There were hardly any distracting sub-plots. It had an unusual central female character. And the director showed a lot of empathy in dealing with her character. The movie hit the nail home with the message that love has it's roots in compassion. Compassion, not sympathy - mind you. There is a thin yet crtitcal line separating the two.

Now onto the title roles. Parineeti Chopra did more than justice to a hard-to-execute role. She is one of the finest actresses in the industry at the moment. Shows great potential to be a formidable actress in the near future. Siddhartha Malhotra. Can't dance to save his life. So, it was not a good idea to get him in three dance sequences. He is complete non-actor who has evolved into an average actor. Looks cute. The chemistry between the pair is very believable and the credit should really go to Parineeti for that. She was the one who emoted. He could only hug her and make puppy-dog eyes.
Special mention to the actor who played Parineeti's father. Understated, yet powerful performance.

Partial

For no particular reason, I have always felt closer to English books. Being Bengali, I had a huge repertoire of rich literature to choose from in my mother tongue. Somehow, never felt the inclination. English books pulled me closer - offered me a lot of comfort, particularly, in the difficult phases of my life. My father has started hoarding Bengali books of late. My in-laws' place is well-stacked with Bengali volumes. Yet, I scourge Flipkart for English titles.

Flashback

Have reached that age when chattering young people in a public vehicle annoys the hell out of me. Years ago, had been a part of similar nuisance creating groups. Now, I realize why people used to snap at us. When life has sucked out all joy and all that remains is mounting frustration, so much joie-de-vivre seems totally out of place.

Dry Skin in Winter: Part 1 - Oils

Please look back on my earlier posts in this blog for the simplest hydrating face mask.

This post is dedicated to another simple(albeit a little time taking) fix for winter dryness.
No matter how much the body lotion companies fall over one another promising the ultimate moisture, oil is the way to go. This coming from a person who has not let oil touch her scalp for about ten years, should mean something.
I have tried out most all variants available in the market. I will list out each one of them with my brief review.

1. Keo Karpin Body Oil - They used to have a lavendar variant. However, sandalwood is the only variant available these days. I personally find the smell god-awful. Quality is also nothing to speak of. Steer clear unless infatuated with the brand in question.
2. Jac Olive Oil - Strange name aside, very thinnish kind of oil. Does nothing for the skin.
3. AD Vitamin Baby Oil - Not bad. Thinnish texture. Pleasant smell.
4. Johnson's Baby Oil - Original - I am partial to Johnson & Johnson as a brand so use your judgement. The most beautiful smell. Very thin texture. Okay to use after bath. Not much use in application before bath.
5. Johnson's Baby Oil - Olive Oil variant - Thicker texture. Good option.
6. Bertolli Olive Oil - Extremely thick oil. Moisturising effect not commensurate with the thickness. Good option if you are hell bent on olive oil.
7. Hamdard Rogan Badam Shirin(Sweet Almond Oil) - Obscenely expensive. Not enough value for money.
8. Parachute Coconut Oil - This one takes the cake. Application before bath followed by the Dove Hydrating Shower Gel yields the most amazing results. The parlour ladies were thrilled with the texture of my skin :).

If any of you use any other brand that gets you good results, do tell!