Namesake

The movie has just released in India and it's enjoying full houses at least in Bombay. This movie brings to life certain aspects about the culture that were so prevalent earlier and have defined many of us and our brains in more ways than one.

Beautiful characters, smooth screenplay and some great acting ensure that this movie lives up to the expectations (after having read the book) Also this movie is good from the sense that it portrays the Indianness and the feeling of alienation in a sense that's actual and also comforting in a way.

I especially loved the way each and every detail is brought to life from the book and how the editing is done, this movie is amazing not because it conveys exactly what the book did, but because it achieved the same or maybe more emotions, story and the everything in much lesser time and in a pleasing manner. There wasn't one scene that was extra in the whole movie and the whole essence of the book was well captured!

Usually i'm all for books but this time i have to admit that the movie is almost as good as the book. Obviously the book gives you more lee-way to imagine but then the movie does give a vivid and unexpected picture. the actors being mature and without pre-conceived notions help to the extent that they are able to gel in with the characters.

all in all, it's a good movie to watch and think about.. :)

Patta (Ancient Game of Dice)

The ancient game of dice (called "patta" in Marathi and Sanskrit) is a game that I have fond memories of. It's a game of sheer luck and if luck favours you, then a little bit of strategy. The best part about the game is the language associated with it, and my mom and uncle have mastered the language over so many years.

The actual board, as seen in the pic is designed and embroidered by my great-grandmom, and all the pawns and cowries (these are the small shells used in place of dice) in the game are still the originals that my great grand parents bought in Pune. That's so fascinating...just the idea that we still cherish and love playing the game associated with hot, lazy afternoons in the first half of this century.

I really owe this post to my grandmom, who's still so energetic about explaining the strategy of the game, the sneaky steps, and the art of getting the perfect "daan" on the cowries.

To continue...

Talking about Bollywood, i happened to be in Goa for a few days and the unmistakable bollywood connection follows... out of the various beaches which are frequented by many tourists, there's one beach in particular which has something to "see", i'm talking about Vagatur, and if you ask me what's "famous" about this beach.. apart from the fabulous clean waters, it's also the place of the fort which was the location for the shooting of a popular movie Dil Chahta Hair (starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna amongst others)

ah well, there was the sign at the entrance to the site,

'This fort was used in the Hindi movie Dil Chahta Hai' - truly this country thrives on the backs of this one industry which unites people all over..

why at a recent gliteratti event, Javed Akhtar (a popular and well acclaimed lyricist and script writer remarked that this industry is single-handedly responsible for uniting the language of the entire nation, i.e. Hindi)

so in spite of all it's faults and it's set backs, the story moves on...