Some Explainations....

I have been planning to write something for a long while but I am impertinently lost. I just can't seem to bring myself to write anything which would actually be worth reading or even writing. Several times, these last few months, I have signed into my blog and started writing a post but somehow could never bring myself to finish it or publish it. I really am lost. Politics doesn't interest me anymore. I admit it never has much but nowadays my interest in it has completely waned. Somewhere I did have a good laugh when I read that Barrack Obama was being awarded the nobel peace prize(I mean come on seriously-what has he actually done?) but that is as far an interest I have taken in politics this year.

Movies are always there...my first love and will remain so and more often that not my thoughts often venture into writing another movie review or a general article on the Bollywood Dream industry but I really don't fill my blog up with just movie reviews. I accept I was pretty interested in writing a review on Kaminey(movie of the year as far as I am concerned) and Blue(what a wastage of 100 crores) but then stopped for the aforementioned reasons.

So what do I really write on? See-I have no idea if I am even going to post this on my blog-but just in case I do...please forgive my venting out my frustrations on the proverbial writers block(and to think that I am not even a writer per se).

Most people who read this blog are my orkut friends and so I presume most of them have also been following my story 'That Thing Called Love' on an orkut community. They are obviously aware and probabaly pretty upset that I recently deleted that Orkut account and with it the story too got deleted. I know it's harsh and those people who have been reading my story deserve way better treatment that I have meted out to them so first of all I want to apologise. Leaving my readers in the lurch mid-way through the story was never my intention and I seriously wish I hadn't done that. You have been following that story for almost 2 years now and to devoid you from knowing what happens to Rahul and Anjali is nothing less than a crime. I seriously wish I hadn't done that.

But at the same time-it also set me thinking. For a while now I have really lost the point of the story. To be honest I haven't really known what to do with it for a long time. When I had started writing that 'That Thing Called Love' it was supposed to be an entirely different story than it turned out to be. It was supposed to be a 6 year journey of two people who really love each other but somehow can't seem to make their relationship work. So what route do they take? Do they realize that despite their love they aren't compatible enough-that they are way too different to be be happy with each other and hence part ways or do they try and find a way to make it work? It was supposed to be about self-discovery, about how much love can change you and to an extent how much should you let it change you. The story did follow the path I had laid down for it to an extent-but never to the graph that I wanted it to. For one-I never managed to stretch it to the 6 year period. It remained in that one semester for 400 odd pages and I realized for me to actually execute the real story-it could take me well over a 1000 pages. As much as I love the idea of being the next J R R Tolkien-I ain't. So I went for the easy way out-try and wrap up the story within the one year period without actually getting my point across. As an author-that just seemed to be cheating myself.

Yes-I do look fondly upon many parts of the book. And there are parts I am genuinely proud about. Maybe not as a writer per se but at least the ideas that I had conceived. I am still in love with that introduction scene. The thought of starting a story with a kiss-not many Bollywood directors(even those who cast Emraan Hashmi) wouldn't be able to think of. I loved the idea of the voice which keeps rumbling in Rahul's stomach as he has his first proper conversation with Anjali when he walks her back from frustration point to her hostel. I love Rahul's reaction and his interaction with Virat when he calls Anjali the first time. Imagining it on screen-it's something that I believe would have genuinely made people laugh. One of my really favorite bits though is the dream that Rahul has when he is about to climb the girls hostel for Anjali's birthday. The whole bit came to me almost as an inspiration and it was one of the parts I really enjoyed writing.

Then there were the emotional bits. The fight at Dee Tee when those goons hit Rahul on the head and he lands up at the hospital. When I was writing about Rahul breaking their arms, I thought it was getting a bit filmy but I just remembered that this filmy scene had a greater purpose. Just when Anjali is about to walk out on him , came the twist in the tale. Rahul is hit on the head and Anjali can't walk out anymore. I loved writing the hospital bit too. Another huge favorite is the scene at Malpe beach when they 'unofficially' break up. It just seemed right. And so did the scene after Rahul and Mohit Bansal had a fight at Dee Tee. As Anjali is about to leave-Rahul grabs her and then it was just the emotions carrying them to that second unplanned kiss. For me-it was better than the first. And I actually wished I could see that scene in a movie.

The truth though remains that I had lost track of what I was writing. And that can never be good for a writer. So even though the deleting of my story from orkut wasn't intentional I somewhere do feel that maybe the right thing did happen. I really didn't know if I wanted to continue that story anymore. And not just because it wasn't going where I had intended it to.

'THAT THING CALLED LOVE' was also supposed to be my ode to Manipal. I have spend the most beautiful four years of my life here and when I had started writing that story, it was supposed to my tribute to my life here. And perhaps thats really why I can't seem to bring myself to finish this story. Because as much as I want my readers to see a proper end to this story-I also want to give a real tribute to Manipal where I include all of its life and not just a story revolving around four characters. None of these characters though exist in Manipal. They are all made up and fictional. The only one who isn't is Virat-but even he isn't from Manipal. Virat was one of my best friends in School-and I had done schooling from Bahrain. And now that my life in Manipal is coming to an end-I can't help but think that if I am indeed writing a story based in Manipal, it shouldn't just have the lush KMC Greens or the sunset at Malpe Beach or the bike ride from End point to the Hostel, but it should also be about the characters, about the people that live in Manipal. I know-that sounds like writing a 5 point someone but if it does-then so be it. My tribute to Manipal shouldn't just be about the place itself-but also about the friends I made and the people I have had to interact with. It may not necessarily be about how screwed up engineering really is(in fact, it won't be) but it has to contain people who have inhabited this town like I have for the last four years and truly learned to love it rather than people I just made up.

I don't know if I will ever find a story to write that will be based in Manipal and manage to have the people in it as well. But I know I do want to. And for that reason only I might never finish 'that thing called love.' I would also that add that never say never because one fine day I just might but as of now its on a long standby. And I can't say sorry enough for that to all my wonderful readers. You have encouraged me and loved my story and you do deserve me better. And trust me-I'll try and make up for it.

As of right now, I do have a few story ideas in my head. But am not sure if I'll execute them. Next time I write a story-I am actually going to plan it out instead of just writing randomly whatever comes to my mind. That was the basic mistake I did with 'that thing called love.' I will ensure that I do not repeat this mistake. One day thought-I will return with a story based in Manipal. And not just based in Manipal but about Manipal. And it'll be a lot more truer than the world I showed in that thing called love, which I am sorry to say had been glossed over to a huge extent. I want to show Manipal as it is and not the town about pretty people where everything is rosy. I'll come back with the real Manipal. I don't know when but I will.

Till then, I will try and find something else to write. No idea what I will write next. I have started writing a short story so hopefully I'll post it soon. Maybe not on Orkut but on the blog itself. After November I won't have anything to do for nearly 6 months so am really hoping I can start writing something by then. I just need a very concrete idea. That's all.

Till then-I hope I can continue to blog and indulge myself in little short stories. And pray that my readers ain't too upset with me. It was the mistake of a rookier writer and nothing else. Hope that sets the record straight. Cheers! :)

PS: Read the new Chetan Bhagat book '2 states.' I am thinking of writing an article on it. Not sure though. As for my opinion on the book-lets just say it didn't work with me ;)

The Silence...

"Imran...tu aaj kal thoda chup chup sa rehta hai!" Kunal told me today while we were making the walk to uth corner for a cup of coffee well past midnight. It's not the first time in the last few months or so that someone has pointed out my silence to me and its not something I have actually tried to deny either. The brash, talkative, often hyper active Imran has become a little bit infrequent nowadadyas taken over more by the quiet, thinking and minding his own business Imran. Yes-the brash and hyper active version does surface now and then but more often that not, I find a way to remain silent or not get too involved. The reasons are just as unclear to me as it is to everybody else but mostly it is due to the fact that I find a lot less to be happy about nowadays.

It's just not to do with happiness of corse. I didn't scream before just because I was happy, I did because I wanted to-because I was and still am in general a very hyper active person. The changes don't necessarily end with the screaming either. During dinners I continue to maintain my silence, concentrating on the food than the conversation that dominates the dinner table. Is it because I am unhappy? Partly yes. Partly also because I feel detached to my surrounding nowadays. I don't feel like taking part in dinner table conversations anymore. I don't feel like going wild at parties anymore. I feel alone...lonely. Feel as if the people in my life, the people I call my friends-I just can't relate to them anymore. They are happy in their own world, in their own little happy space-and I feel as if I don't belong in that happy space anymore. It's a feeling of detatchment that I cannot describe but just seeing people celebrating, laughing, being happy-it just reminds me how lonely I am. How I don't really have anything really worth being happy about. And no-I am not talking about the materialistic things. Not jobs or a bike or the latest ipod. I am happy about all that. But unless you have people who can relate to you, who can read your mind, your expressions and notice that something is wrong by just seeing your body language-you can't really be happy. There is only so much happiness materialistic things can give you unless you have people whom you can share it with. And that's the kind of happiness that is lacking in my life.

And maybe that's why the silence has taken over the hyperactivity. Maybe that's why we all screamed and shouted at our photoshoot, then I screamed, shouted and danced again when we went for the after party to Dee Tee but half an hour into the party, my loneliness took hold of me again. I walked out of Dee Tee not feeling like being a member of the party anymore. I don't know why it really happens. I don't know why half an hour into the party I suddenly start feeling lonely. But it does-and it happens everywhere. In the past few months, I have gone to every party as excited as a bumble bee, danced wildly and screamed hoarsely for 30 mins but then I notice all the happy people, all the people who are actually truly happy and I notice again just how lonely I am. And then I just sit in a corner and watch all the happy people jump and scream and dance with anyone they can find.

I have wondered if drinking would help. Yet somehow I cannot make myself touch alcohol. Trust me-I have been tempted a good number of times to finally give into the attraction of a Red label or even an Old Monk and see what it really feels to be drunk, how good does it actually feel to be high and speak out all your frustrations without having to worry about remembering it the next day but I can't. Because God is watching. And I do truly and completely believe in the existence of God. I may not be the staunchiest of Muslims but I am a believer and I believe we will all get our just rewards form him on Judgement day. There is an after life. There is an eternity. And there is a Hell and a Heaven. Trust me on that.

I don't really like the silent me. I hate pitying myself. My life is just fine. I do have friends and lots of them, friends who really care about me. Yet somehow-I can't get over that feeling of loneliness. I am surrounded by people, people who actually are my friends, people who really do care about me, people who have helped through my troubled times yet, even in that sea of friends, I feel alone. I feel like the stranger at a party no one cares about. Somewhere-unless I find someone who can actually get rid of this loneliness for me, I feel I will become more and more silent. Day by day. Till the silence takes over completely. And that's the day I fear.

TO FALL IN LOVE...

I am not sure how many people do this but after a movie gets over, on the journey back home scenes from the movie that I have just watched are replayed in my head and its really then that I can judge how good the movie really was. Kaz, a friend, calls it the movie hangover...something which he doesn't suffer from. I do though, and maybe that's because I am actually that Bollywood crazy. But hangover or not, as I took the journey back to Manipal after watching Love Aaj Kal, the scenes started replaying in my head again. n one of those scenes, Saif and Deepika meet secretly at her wedding at her behest. Saif is confused as to why Deepika would demand such a meeting. Clearly, she has made the choice and hence has moved on. As the scene unfolds, before Deepika can utter a word, Saif starts to speak and says that he is alright and that he is happy for her. He has moved on, he tries to convince her and even convince himself. But slowly, as he continues to speak, he realizes what's actually happened. He still rants on though, shifting from the 'move-on' talk to 'what could have been,' never really settling on any one thing and eventually just walking away to avoid further embarassment and confusion. In all this Deepika doesn't utter a single word. It's a scene with seriously undermined emotions, for the feelings are way bigger than the dialogues Saif utters, yet Deepika's silence mixed with Siaf's utter confusion at what he is blabbering and still continuing to do so registers those emtions wonderfully well and without using heavily cliched dialogue or an emotional ranting, Imtiaz Ali drives home the point.

It is this deft-handling of Imtiaz Ali that makes Love Aaj Kal what it really is. For the emotions are almost severely underplayed here till the last few reels and yet they come across in a way that only Imtiaz Ali can make it impossible. It's a movie that several of our top-notch film makers, in particular Karan Johan and Aditya Chopra, can a learn a lot from. For here is a movie that actually walks the talk. And yet it almost seems like an effortless job, the film almost so alarmingly simple that it would be easy to forget who really makes this movie. And this movie, ladies and gentlemen, is an Imtiaz Ali show all the way. Despite Saig Ali Khan's stupendous act , Deepika's coming of age performance and Pritam's chart-busting music, it really is Imtiaz Ali who is the true hero of the movie. And really-I wasn't expecting anything less.

This is a movie about self-denial and realization more than anything else. Jai(Saif Ali Khan) and Meera(Deepika Padukone) meet in a lift, flirt in a bar, make out in a car, realize that they are a couple because their friends point it out to them, make out again at a wedding and eventually break-up in a restaurant. All in a snazzy 20 minute sequence. And just to add the icing on the cake, they throw a break up party. Talk about throwing cliches out of the window. They part ways and become long distance buddies discussing each others irritating and good habits as they are not in a relationship anymore. They even tell each other about their current love life and discuss date tips. Not once realizing that their is something much more deeper being formed here and when they do realize it...both are too head strong to actually admit it. And as Jai and Meera take this journey from casual lovers to friends to realizing that they can't live without each other, Jai does so with the help of Veer(Rishi Kapoor) who narrates his own love story from his younger days to an often amused Jai.

Imtiaz Ali uses several props to move his story forward. One such enticing plot move is to have Saif Ali Khan play the younger Veer for as Veer says Jai reminds him of his younger and more romantic days. Another is to use a non-linear narrative style. As Veer starts narrating his love story, it couldn't be any more different from Jai and Meera's and yet by the end both stories have reached the same point. You can't help but baulk at the comparison, while Veer's story seems to be of the love forever variety Jai's is so much more casual in attitude and yet by the end both stories are riddling in the same intensity and sea of emotions. In fact, Jai's story has more intensity to it than Veer's. Yet all this really couldn't be possible without the dialogues. They are of such a casual variety that you woudn't really notice it in real life, heck-you can hear 20-something people narrate the same dialogues at a club or disco without as much as a word difference. Clearly, Imtiaz Ali sepaks the language of the Gen-next. One such cute little moment comes when Saif Ali Khan tells Deepika on the phone that she shouldn't really drink lest others take advantage of her and happily admits that he has taken advantage of her being drunk several times. Deepika responds by saying that she was never really that drunk and she pretended to be drunk only because she realized that it could be the only way to get him to do something. It's such wittily crafted dialgue and so casually told that you can't help but cheer for it.

Subtlety though is the key here. The dialogues, the jokes and more importantly, the emotions are underplayed so that you realize what's happening without the movie going over board. You see it in almost every nuance in the 1st half. It is there when Jai and Meera are to part ways after the break-up party. You see it when Meera tells Jai over the phone that someone has asked her out and as he tells this to Veer, Jai's tone changes in such a manner that you realize it's affecting him more than he would like to admit. You feel it when Jai smses Meera about him finally hooking up with a girl. Meera reads it and smiles a bit sadly. She then looks in the mirror and tries to smile again but clearly it isn't working. You see it when both Jai and Meera are at the same party with their respective dates but can't stop texting each other. And it is then that you realize that they never really broke up. They never really believed it but all this while they were in a long distance relationship, the very reason for which they broke up.

The transition from light moments to dramatic comes in the next sequence when a sullen Meera admits her boyfriend has proposed. Jai, the more naive of the two about their relationship, doesn't see it as a big deal telling that it's a good thing and taking her hand and pulling her close to him says that she can take her time to decide if she is confused. Meera simply says, "kaise? Tumse chup chup ke milke aur tumhaara haath pakadke?" And this is when they really break up. Meera admits, almost teary eyed, that Jai has to get out of her life entirely and only then can someone take his place. But by then we know it's too late. Taking Jai's place is almost impossible now. The two though, continue to deny it, realizing now that they are in love with each other but yet won't admit that they can't live without each other. And so another phase starts.

It is moments like these take Love Aaj-Kal to dizzy heights. The emotional scenes, especially in the 2nd half have been so beautifully executed that you never really feel the change from comedy to drama. In fact, it is the dramatic sequences that are the high light of the movie. Of the two love stories running concurrently, it is hard to say which one is better. As the movie starts, Veer's story sounds a lot more interesting for Jai's and Meera's story seem to be just too practical for liking and yet by the end you really can't wait to see the conclusion to the modern love tale. That again is Imtiaz Ali's magic.

The low points are few. The 1st half, although well executed, at times seems to be heading nowhere. The intermission comes out of the blue and at a very random juncture. The songs, expecially Twist and to an extent Main Kya Hoo seem to be a bit forced in the narrative. There is no explaination given to Meera's hurried decision to get married which seems so out of place for a character shown to be more practical than emotional. Was it to get back at Jai for not realizing or admitting what she has? The ending to the past love story turns out to be somewhat of a damp squib considering the build-up. Not that it is necessarily bad.

The plus points though outscore the negatives by a mile. Pritam's music is astounding, a complete chart buster and it's almost impposible to decide which is the best track. Aahu Aahu and Chor Bazaari are my clear favorites. Both also have the best choreography. Infact Chor Bazaari is such a fun song that you wish there was a way you could join Saif and Deepika in their onscreen escapades. The cinematography is top-notch, especially in the Delhi sequences when Jai and Meera's love seems to be rekindling. The screenplay reaches dizzying hieghts in the 2nd half when an almost half baked script is turned into astounding moments of emotional depth by a director who clearly knows what he is doing.

Finally, the performances. Is this Saif's career best performance? The answer is a straight no. For those who don't seem to understand what I am saying, I suggest you pick a dvd of Omkara. Yet, without it being his career best performance, it definitely ranks in the top 3. We have seen him play the urban cool dude in Hum Tum, Salam Namaaste, Dil Chahta Hai and Kal Ho Naa Ho so it almost seems like a repeat act, except here the graph of the character and they movie are a lot more complex than in his earlier movies. And as Jai, he catches those simple nuances so easily as he goes from the in denial mode to the desperate lover mode without even letting us notice it. The transtition happens seamlessly as if it was always meant to be. And it truly was meant to be. As the sikh though, Saif isn't as convincing as Jai Mehta but this is an earnest effort again and should not be undermined. Veer Singh is a character that doesnot come easily to Saif Ali Khan but even then he manages to make us root for him and hope he gets his Harleen as he stands under her balcony and makes his 'Pratigya.' Rishi Kapoor has that old word charm about him where you know he can't do anything wrong. He is simply too good an actor to do anything wrong.

The real surprise though is Deepika Padukone. 4 movies old and in none of her earlier movies did we see an actress who could actually act. There were hints that she could become an average actress at best but beyond that? Nigh impossible. But stranger things have happened and as so often happens, given a good character and a director who has extracted career best performances from his previous actresses, Deepika Padukone makes a mark and proves that she can act. Heck-she can cry even better and that really takes something. Watch the aforementioned sequence when the real break-up happens and another seqnece where a heart broken Meera talks to Jai on the phone, shouting merrily even as tears drop down her eyes. These are scenes of immense magnitude and a bad actress could have easily runied them, but Deepika sinks into her role and takes the graph of her character upscale like never before. Welcome Deepika. To the club of heroines who can actually act. We are glad you are here.

Finally though, as already said before, this is an Imtiaz Ali film from beginning to end. He seamlessly combines every element of the movie into something so beautiful that Love Aaj Kal becomes better than the sum of its parts. Taking two regular stories, juxtaposing them together in an effortless narrative, using witty and smart dialogues with pitch perfect casting and chart busting music, Imtiaz Ali is like that orchestra conductor blending all the beautiful but individual elements into an ensemble and making a maserpiece. Almost effortlessly. And Love Aaj Kal is a master peice no-less. It is his best work, no doubt, even bettering his earlier Jab We Met which in itself was such a difficult act to follow. Now that he has done it, it will be intresting to see what Imtiaz Ali does next. I really hope, for the sake of every movie lover in India, that Imtiaz Ali doesn't loose his way. Bollywood is in desperate need of film-makers like him.

Final Verdict: There is no way you can miss this one. Absolutely no way. This is the best romantic movie to come out of Bollywood in years. This is Imtiaz Ali's tour de force, a movie made with such effortless ease that you baulk at actually how good it is. It is a movie that deserves to be lauded for its simpicity and applauded for Imtiaz Ali's sheer genius. It is a movie that once again proves that Saif Ali Khan keeps reaching new heights as an actor and a movie that introduced us to Deepika Padukone the actress. It is a movie that had me jumping in a theatre and doing a jig to the Aahu Aahu song as the end credits roll. It is a movie that will make you smile as you come out of the theatres and remind you that we are better at romance than Hollywood is. To their every Titanic, we have a DDLJ, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa, Jab We Met and now...Love Aaj Kal. It is a movie for every Bollywood buff and anyone who is a romantic at heart. So go catch it now and fall in love all over again. For it's impossible not to fall in love with this movie.

As for me, I will be catching a repeat show of this movie at a cinema near me very soon. And I am pretty sure by next weekend I would have watched the movie atleast 5 times. For you see, that movie hangover really is quite strong. The scenes of Love Aaj Kal just don't stop playing in my head and I doubt it will anytime soon. And I am actually bloody happy. Imtiaz Ali, take a bow. AAHU AAHU AAHU!!

RATING: ****

MANIPAL MEMORIES...PART 1!!

There are a lot of things I wanna write today. A whole load of things are revolving in my head but the problem as usual is that I have nothing really concrete. I am enjoying the last days of my final summer vacation of college life-so that is one thing going through my head. Another naturally, is the impending final year of college life. 4th year starts on 20th July and honestly-I can't wait for it. There is so much to do, so much to see and so many more memories to make. Sticking to the college thoughts, as I look forward to my final year, I also can't help but look back on the last 3 years in Manipal. Was it really that long ago? Have 3 years really passed? Because it seems as if just yesterday I had landed in Manipal and looking forward to the best days of my life. And these 3 years indeed have been the best of my life. Riddle with fun, frolick, memories-each semester has been like the passing of an era. And now, in 2 semesters time it indeed will be the passing of an era. No more college life. No more waking up till 5 in the morning with friends and then rushing for that 8'0 clock lass lest you get an attendance shortage. No more those impromptu trips decided just 2 hours before departure. "Bore ho rahe hai yaar...kuch karna chahiye!" said one of the gang. Others agree. Plans are duscissed. One agrees and another raises objections. "Mangalore-lets go for Shoot out at Lokhandwala!" one puts forth. "Nahi yaar...pagal hai kya? Vivek Oberoi dekhne tu Adlabs jaayega!" and another plan goes down. "Malpe beach...Kapu Beach...Turtle Bay...Gokarna...what about Jog falls!" "Baarish ho rahi hai be...beach jaake kya samundar mein doobna hai?" "Hanging Bridge or wait...what about kudremukh?" "Kudremukh? Nahi yaar...bahut door hai!" And then somene comes with a genious of plan and simply says, "Goa." Looks are exchanged, everyone stares at each other. Words are not needed, a consensus has been reached! Goa, ofcorse! The magiv words. And so in 2 hours the bags are packed, cash is withdrawn from the ATM and we are all set to spend a weekend in Goa. No one points out that its rainy season in Goa as well and also that it is much further than Kudremukh, the reason for which previous destinations were rejected. Because it's Goa...and no one says anything against Goa. And so we are off.

And so...I am going to this a bit of a personal post and right down my favorite memories of College life, in no particualr idea. As they come to my mind, I will list them down. Please be warned, this could be a long post. So here we go:

1. IMPACT IN CLASS(1ST SEM): I hadn't said much during my 1st few days of college. A bit apprehensive, a bit shy and well-a lot nervous, I kept to myself and used to sit with Anish(a friend I knew from before coming to Manipal), listen to the teacher and then go back to my room! In our first english class on a Saturday morning, our teacher told us we would have to give a speech on a topic of our choice. There were groans around the class but I kept quiet. No reaction. Inside-I knew exactly what was going to happen. So people started going one by one on stage and speaking. Those who were confident went first and those who werent stayed back and didn't go until pushed by the teacher. I waited. I didn't volunteer to go and speak unlike the confident one's. I slowly wrote down the points I was going to speak on a piece of paper. My topic: 'the greatest invention made by man.' Then I sat and listened to everyone's speech. Some were good. Some were average. Some were horrible and some couldn't speak at all. After every turn, teacher asked for the other students' feedback. I never spoke a word. Jut sat quietly. And then-when all the students had finished speaking the teacher asked if anyone was left. I simply got up from my seat, brushed my shirt to make it neat and walked to the podium...slowly and confidently...walking straight ahead without looking at anyone. The stage was mine. The stage is always mine. Very few people can own the stage like I can. And the best part was-only I knew that. Rest of the class was probabaly thinking-'he is going last...clearly he can't speak for crap!' I stood on the stage, looked around the class, looked at my audience and slowly smiled. Then I started-on the greatest invention made by man. For me-it was the pen. And hence, my first words were 'the greatest invention made by man...' and then slowly taking out a pen and showing it to the class I said, "I am holding it in my hand!" I rattled off points one after another to a stunned class and a smiling english teacher. She probabaly knew what all good public speakers know-'you always make your entry last...just when the people are least expecting it' and walk away with a standing ovation. The nervousness was gone, the impact had been made and Farid Baig would never be that weird guy who talks to no one. It was also after this speech that I first spoke to Ritayan and Sameer-3 years down the line they are one of my best friends in this place.

2.COORG TRIP(1ST SEM):It was our first trip. Arranged by the college ofcorse-since just 1 month into college we didn't really wanna wander out on our own. It was the trip where the real bonding started and perhaps it was here that our group was born. Ritayan, Sameer, Abhijit, Nikhil, Balli, Sankhya et all were here and it was the first time most of us were actually really hanging out. The trip started at 11 in the night with around 70 first years in one bus. Clearly, there was no escaping from this. The masti started there itself. As we waited for the bus to start, chants started. Everyone yelled something or the other cursing the driver to start the bus. In the excitement I yelled-"abey bus ki hilao!" referring to a highly sexual slang. A lot more followed. Another popular chant started by Gaurav, Harsha and Suhail was-"Ladki dekhi..." after which everyone in the best yelled Haa jee. It went something like this-
"Ek Ladki dekhi!"
"Haa Jee!"
"Kya chaal this uski!"
"Haa Jee"
"Kya baal the uske"
"Haa jee!"
"Woh aage aage!"
Haa jee!
Hum peeche peeche!
Haa Jee!
Woh daaye daaye
Haa Jee
Hum Baaye Baye
Haa Jee
Woh Beauty Parlor
Haa Jee
Hum Baahar khade the
Haa Jee
Woh Baahar Nikli
Haa Jee
Woh Aditya Nikli
Haa jee!

Then everyone would clap in a loud fervour as Aditya(or the boy who had just been mocked) went red in the face. That whole trip was one of bonding and taking in a piece of what we knew was to come. These trips would form the best part of our life in Manipal. College buses would be replaced by trains or hired cars, instead of 70 people, there might be just 8-12 people...but the essence remained the same. And Coorg was where it all started!

3.END SEM EXAMS AND LAST DAY(1ST SEM): What on earth were we thinking? This is what I often think when I look back to the end sem exams of our 1st sem. The entire college was studying and looking tensed-but we...we were busy hanging out at Innovation centre, taking long walks, dinner at Thaloor's at Parotha Point and then walking back though KC and the girls block and singing "Tujhe dekha to ye jaanam sanam..!" in the loudest voice possible. Girls would stare at us blankly but we didn't give a damn. We were shameless, we were rowdy, we were crazy but damn we were awesome. Those carefree, careless days where we were just a bunch of juniors trying to have the maximum fun possible and in the midst screwing up our exams-they would perhaps live in my memory longer than any other time of College. Clearly-being rowdies is a hell lot more fun that being the good decent guys that so many want to be. Heck-I would do anything to return back to those days and scream 'Tujhe dekho to ye jaana sanam' near the Girls block. But now as final years-we are saddled with maturity and God knows what. Oh comeon-we are just in our early twenties..why the hell can't we be rowdies again? And on the last night of our first semester, the entire hostel went crazy going around ripping anyone's shirt who even dared to step outside his room. No one was spared and those who decided to stay indoors had their doors broken and their shirts ripped. No one had a t-shirt on that night. Pity it wasn't a co-ed hostel. Lol!

4.THE ALMOST GOA PLAN(2ND SEM):Oh...this one had to take the cake! So one fine night during our 1st semester we all went for our usual dinner and walk plan and ended up at KMC Greens with its lush grass and an amazing spectacle. As we sat on the grass, the basics of a Goa plan were discussed. It would be our 1st trip to Goa in College life and so it had to be grand. After all-since Dil Chahta Hai, the Goa trip has become the all important one during College days. So nothing was left to chance. We sat and discussed for 2 hours every little detail. Nothing should go wrong. Best time would be the Republic Day holiday during 2nd sem. We leave on the Thursday night, spend 3 days in Goa and be back in Manipal by early Monday morning. Expenditure was discussed. Which class ticket we should buy was discussed. It had to be General but some opposed as they wanted a more comfortable ride. Eventually it was general or no entry. Which cars and bikes to hire were discussed! An open jeep if possible...they are more fun. Otherwise a Swift to save cost. Avenger or Pulsar! Who would book the tickets...what would we tell our parents. So Jaju, a resident of Goa himself, was asked to email everyone's parents saying he was inviting all of us to his brothers' wedding so parents wouldn't have to worry about us getting drunk, smoking weed and lying wasted on the beaches of Goa. After all...it was a wedding. And all that was done...3 months before the trip was actually even going to happen. The email arrived in January and parents approval was taken. Everything was set. And 3 days before the actual trip-everyone pulled out for various reasons. I would make my 1st trip to Goa only in 4th semester. Yet-this almost Goa trip perhaps remains more memorable than the two Goa trips I did eventally take simply because that it never happened. The lesson learnt from this:'Never plan for a trip! And certainly not 3 months before itself' The best trips are the unplanned ones. Trust me. Speaking from experience!

Ok...know what? This post has already extended thr world limit I had set for it. So i am going to stop here for now. Maybe some day I will complete this list. And maybe someone will actually care to read it. But God-has it really been 3 years already?

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING...!!!

The feeling that you get after watching New York is something of a mix-somewhere you know you have watched a decent movie but you just can't stop thinking about what it possibly could have been. It has happened with several movies and film-makers before...movies which had potential to be called path-breaking, give us a gripping tale yet somehow, somewhere the director compromises and you are left with a movie which is not even a shadow of what it could have been. And New York could have been so much more.

Granted, Kabir Khan manages to weave an intriguing tale of friendship and betrayal revolving around terrorism but unfortunately he only manages to touch the surface of a screenplay brewing with unbridled potential and perhaps that is at the same time New York's biggest strength and weakness! This could have been an edge of the seat thriller dealing with issues which are as real as they can get. Instead, New York is an above average commercial entertainer which has its moments but nearly not enough of them.

Kabir Khan is also not helped by his choice of actors who have clearly been given roles which is beyond the scope of their acting abilities. Its not really due to the lack of trying, for it can be seen that all of them have tried hard to give as convincing a performance as possible-but somehow their characters are far more complex than the actors can handle. A better star cast could have helped the movie.

So we have Omar(Neil Nitin Mukesh),a newly entered Indian student at the New York State University. He soon becomes fast friends with the beautiful Maya(Katrina Kaif looking gorgeous) and the University ka stud, Sameer(John Abraham).His heart beats silently for Maya as his new friends introduce him to the beauty of the American Dream. Unfortunately for Neil though, Maya and Sameer are already in love with each other. Upon discovery of this Omar silently exits their life on the very same fateful day of the World Trade Center Attacks. This portion of the movie is breezy at best, pointless at several points and irritating at others. Suffice it to say we have seen better portrayal of camaraderie among Campus friends.

But all this is easily forgiven in the next hour of the movie as Kabir Khan delves into the WTC and its aftermath.8 years from that fateful day, Omar reenters Sameer's and Maya's life, who are now married and have a child. Only difference is that Omar is now working under the instructions of the FBI officer Roshan(Irrfan Khan)who suspects that the campus hero is now running a sleeper terrorist cell.

The drama in this 1 hour of the movie is gripping and engaging as Kabir Khan keeps the plot moving at a rapid pace,moving from one junction to another, a thriller finely tuned to its audience needs, giving them just enough to keep their appetite whetted but never letting them guess completely what's coming next. We know there is more to than what just appears to be on the surface but we just don't know how much more. Its riveting stuff and at this point,New York's laborious first 30 minutes seems ages ago, almost part of another movie as Kabir Khan keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. The movie soon peaks in a brilliantly executed Intermission sequence. It's one of those sequences which leave you flabbergasted,your mouth open, your eyes stunned and you can't wait for the intermission to get over. By this point New York had reached where few Bollywood thrillers ever have.

The movie starts after the intermission where it had left off, showing how several innocent Muslims were illegally detained and brutally tortured as suspects of the 9/11 terrorist attack. It is after this though that the problems seep in. Once Kabir Khan has established the conflicts of ideals and set up the movie for an enthralling final hour, it almost seems as if he doesn't know quite what to do with it. He loses track, not really knowing how to give that rousing final act and the movie spirals downwards, cutting from on dramatic sequence to another but never reaching where it intends to. The climax itself, though well executed and undoubtedly the best part of the last hour, somehow never really satisfies you. Kabir Khan tries to do a Rakyesh Mehra and make a Rang De Basanti but only manages a Delhi-6.

The music is essentially good and fortunately enough there are no lip-syn ch moments though the songs are not really necessary as part of the narrative. Aditya Chopra's writing is a huge thumbs up in the first hour but is also to be blamed for the film's final disappointment. As I said, it almost seems as if once they had set the movie up for that grand finish, Adiya Chopra was at a loss for ideas to give that final punch.

Katrina Kaif looks gorgeous and tries real hard to impress us with her acting here. The effort can be seen but unfortunately it doesn't work. Saddled with a character which has several more layers than she can handle, she puts in a valiant effort but still is a miserable failure. Half the scenes in the 2nd half are ruined thanks to her presence and is a clear example of how bad acting can ruin the best of scenes.

The same can be said of Neil Nitin Mukesh. The effort is there and he even succeeds to an extent but you can't help but wish that there was a better actor there to play his part. Not that he is bad. He gets the maximum screen presence and in first half he puts in a pretty decent show, but it is in the 2nd half where he falters. The emotional scenes never work with him and that's where he has got to improve.

Irrfan Khan is a brilliant actor is a fact no one can doubt so there isn't much left to say. It isn't really his movie and yet in many ways he is the best part about it.

John Abraham though is a different kettle of fish. Here is an actor who is often undermined for his performances, almost labelled a non-actor but in New York he comes of age. It's a bravura performance deserving all the plaudits it can gather. Given the most complex character of the movie, John Abraham does a stupendous job, convincing us at once that he is a family man and then slowly, as the layers peel off and the mask is unveiled, he seeps into it and catches the angst of Sameer with elan. John Abraham can't act is now just a myth. He may not win any awards for this, but when the best performances of the year will be mentioned you can be sure that John Abraham's name will definitely come up.

Final Verdict: I would recommend New York for three different reasons. 1st-the movie in itself is not a bad one and scores on more than one front. It definitely can be viewed as a well made thriller. 2ND-The Issue that the movie highlights is an ever present one and should not be ignored. In that regard, Kabeer Khan does well to make an entertaining movie and at the same time relaying an important message. 3rd-To watch John Abraham grow as an actor and finally come of age. John Abraham the actor has finally arrived.

Its just that I somehow can't get over the feeling that this movie had the potential to be so much more. It will be regarded as one of the finer movies of the year no doubt but somewhere, in the midst of trying to create a commercial thriller with an underlying message, the makers really lost the chance to make a movie that could have been remembered for ages. Pity really! For it really is much ado about nothing!

RATING: ***

A SLUMDOG'S LIFE!!

So Slumdog Millionaire continues in its quest for Hollywood Hall of Fame status. With another win at the Directors Guild Awards, Slumdog Millionaire almost looks like a lock for the Best Film Oscar. It has steam rolled all competition this year and it will be honestly an upset of epic proportions if another film were to steal its thunder at the Oscar. An indie(don't read it as Indian) film hasn't won a Best Film Academy award in a long time but if any indie film is gonna do it-its gotta be Slumdog Millionaire. The hype is almost of the never seen before kind, the story of Jamal Malik, the movies main protagonist, almost resounding in the success of the film itself. For Slumdog Millionaire, just like Jamal Malik, was perhaps born to lose but destined to win. 3 months ago hardly anyone had even heard about the movie with the American media concentrating on Milk and The Curious of Benjamin Button as the more likely movies to walk away with Oscar gold this year. But, while the american media has got their awards favorite wrong quiet often, even the most accurate of them wouldn't have got this right. In came Slumdog and the awards season scene changed forever. While David Fincher and Gus Van Sant were probabaly writing down their Oscar speeches this year, they, even in their wildest dreams wouldn't have thought that a British film maker making a film on the slums of India with a budget of 15 milllion$ and an unknown cast would not only turn out to be their biggest threat but also in all likelihood, who would steaL it from them. For as I have said, it would be an upset of huge proportions if Danny Boyle and Slumdog Millionaire are not awarded on the night of 22nd February at the Kodak Theatres. This truly has been the year of the underdog in Hollywood-Robert Downey Junior's grand comeback with Iron Man when everyone thought he would never be a Hollywood star to Mickey Rourke's comeback from the darkness of his own abyss with the Wrestler in a truly epic performance to finally Slumdog Millionaire's quest for Hollywood immortality.

But while the west has been going gaga over Slumdog, our own media and stars have been quick to tarnish it and dismiss the movie for its gross dismissal of our beloved country. And oh-how I pity them! I am going to target a few individuals here so brace yourselves. If you don't know just how madly the west is in love with Slumdog Millionaire then just log onto IMDB and check the veiwers polls Oscar results. A resounding 60% voted Slumdog as the winner with The Curious case of Benjamin button coming a hugely distant second with 23%. See what I mean. They don't just like this movie. They have fallen in love with it. But India is another story.

Amitabh Bachchan, undoubtedly India's biggest super star, tore the movie apart for its hugely inaccurate representation of India. He called the experience of seeing his country on screen in slums as horrifying. Let me ask Mr Bachchan-what exactly would you see as an accurate representation of India on screen? When Sunny Deol knocks out a world champion in Apne-is that accurate representation of India and Indians? Or when all middle class families somehow seemed to be living in 3 bedroom flats in Hindi movies-is that an accurate representation? It's a movie Mr Bachchan-a fiction one at that and yet I will tell you thats not the only reason you are wrong. Mr Bachchan-I am no expert on what is the true India! But I am pretty sure that slums exist in Mumbai. That street children are blinded by Gansgters to use them as singers on trains and railway platforms. That girls are molested and raped(have you read about the Mangalore case Mr Bachchan?), that HindU Muslim riots exist in India and tear famlilies apart(Mr Bachchan-ever heard of the Godhra riots as recent as 2002?). You ask why the true India wasn't shown! But Mr Bachchan-the movie isn't about a bunch of hippie college students zooming on bikes, romancing their girlfriends and talking about being friends forever, if that's your version of the true India. It's a movie about a slum dweller so thats probabaly why Danny Boyle decided to skip showing Jamal Mallik sitting with Latika at Marine Drive or Bandstand, holding hands and indulging in sweet nothings. Perhaps if this movie was made 30 years ago, you would probabaly be starring in it and young Jamal would hunt down the Gangster who tried to blind you and kidnapped Latika. Jamal would then go on to kill him right in front of Latika to show how much he loves her. Then there would be a chase scene with the police on Jamal's tail, through the Mumbai city instead of the slums before young Jamal is taken up by a rival Gangster. Jamal soon grows into Amitabh Bachchan, who is now the right hand man of that rival ganster and mouths dialogues like-"Jamal Malik sirf ek baar bolta hai...uske baad uski banduk bolti hai!" Latika ofcorse is very happy to be a Gangsters wife though she does dread the moment when Jamal's crimes will finally catch up with him. Just for kicks-we will have Salim become a cop and replay that famous Deewaar scene where Salim will say "Mere paas Maa hai!" Oh I get the picture-30 years ago Slumdog Millionaire would have been Deewar. So you are just complaining that you weren't told that one of your movies was being remade. Ah well-even if in some weird way Slumdog Millionaire is a remake of Deewaar lets be honest and say that atleast Danny Boyle did a much better job than Ram Gopal Verma did when he remade Sholay as the now epic Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. And atleast the villain wasn't named Babban! Oh-didn't that star you Mr Bachchan? I am so sorry!

See, I am not against people not liking Slumdog. I am against people who slam it for the completey wrong reasons. Yes, if you don't like it because you couldn't believe all these incidents happening to one man-it is acceptable. If you didn't like it because you find it unbelievable that all the questions Jamal is asked happens to be linearly arranged in his life, yes, that's a loophole in the plot and a very big one at that! If you found the part where Jamal and Salim grow up to be engish speaking teenagers and quiet fluently at that as unrealistic-then you are definitely not in the wrong! But to slam it simply because you think it depicts and worse demeans, India in a wrong way-sorry guys...but you need to wake up and smell the coffee! First wake up to the fact that this is a movie and a director has the right to take cinematic liberties. If Ashutosh Gowariker can fictionalize the story of Akbar and win awards for it, if he can show all english men as mean and evil as he did in Lagaan and go to the oscars-then what exactly are you complaining about here? And if you really want to look at demeaning something then why don't you watch Fashion? Madhur Bhandarkar's supposed true expose on the fashion world has its protagonist falling from the pedestals of a principled life into the world of pre-marital sex, drugs, booze and manipulation. But what does it take for her to finally realize that she has reached the ebbs of her own principles? It takes her to sleep with a black guy. She wakes up one night, naked with a Black guy and she suddenly realizes how horribly wrong she has gone. If this doesn't smack of racism-then what does? And we accuse some one else of demeaning our country. Look in the mirror dear Indians, look in the mirror!

It's one thing to criticize a movie, it's another to start a smear campaign against it. Mr Bachchan and Priyadarshan have done exactly that. Many have said that we can make a movie as good if not better than Slumdog Millionaire. I have just one thing to tell them-please do. You call Slumdog Millionaire just another masala potboiler which would have been panned if it had been made for an Indian audience. Respected fraternity of Bollywood-we never said we don't like masala potboilers. We just don't like bad movies, that's all. And Slumdog Millionaire is anything but a bad movie. I would have loved it more than anyone else in the world if an Indian film director-A Mani Ratnam or Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra had made Slumdog Millionaire and would be up for the best director oscar instead of Danny Boyle. But unfortunately-that's not the case. It's Danny Boyle and though I refuse to call Slumdog an Indian movie, it is in the end an Indian story if not an Indian movie and I can take pride in that. It's a movie whose protagonist maybe Jamal Malil but its star is the city that I love the most in the world-Mumbai. And Mumbai maybe about tall skyscrapers, traffic blocks, multiplexes and malls, with its jeans clad boys and mini skirt wearing girls sipping coffee in CCD or having a drink and dancing away to glory at Cosmos but it is also just as much about those shirtless people living in the small temporary huts by the roadside, taking a crap at the railway station and not aware that there is something even called a multiplex or a mall. It's a world that exists how much ever Mr Bachchan or Priyadarshan or any of us may seem to deny it. And if Farhan Akhtar can show Mumbai as the city of the urban youth with absolutely no hint of the slum world in Dil Chahta Hai, then can't Danny Boyle show the slum world? Then ofcorse we would be quick to come to Farhan Akhtar's defense and say that DCH was a movie about the urban youth. Just like that sweethearts-Slumdog is a movie about the slums. Accept it and move on!!

As for me-I truly, honestly and from the bottom of my heart loved Slumdog Millionaire. I was moved by this story of a slum dweller and his quest to be with the girl he loves. Maybe it was unrealistic, maybe there were too many co-incidences, maybe it was manilpuative, maybe slum dwellers don't speak english at all, leave alone so fluently-but when Jamal finally meets Latika at Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus on that fateful evening, I couldn't help but cry! Tears rolled down my cheeks as Jamal felt the scar on Latika's face! The two of them had suffered so much, had seen so much pain that to finally seen them unite, to finally see their love being fulfilled, it almost felt as if this was my story. My triumph! It wasn't the fact that Jamal Malik wins a million rupees at the end that gave me goosebumps, it was the fact that he finally got the girl he loved that did! It wasn't his destiny to win a million rupees, it was his destiny to be with Latika. And it takes absolutely brilliant direction and a rivetting screenplay to achieve that.

Jamal asks Latika in the final scene what they are going to survive on. She, in perhaps a cliched way, replies "Love." The dialogue maybe horribly cilched but was wonderfully effective. And slumdog sweetheart-thats what you are going to survive on. On the love showered to you by the hundreds of millions of people all over the world. It's the kind of love that Bollywod filmmakers can only dream of. And no wonder Mr Bachchan and a few others are jealous. Their movies never got the kind of love that you have despite being the biggest superstar of the country. And it's jealousy that making them say all these nasty things. Forgive them!

Just like Jamal Malik, Slumdog Millionaire was born to lose but is destined to win!! All those who didn't like the movie because it demeans India can take a hike. Bring on the oscars. JAI HO!!

BOLLYWOOD'S BEST:2008

2008  has finally come to an end and 2009 is officially here. And so as it happens with each new year-we welcome it with open arms hoping for better times and analyzing the previous that just went by. Bollywood is no different. Its not been a great year by any means-at best its been average whether you take the box office receipts into account or the qualities of the movie themselves. Yet-despite the bad times, there have been some gems which stood out in a year where Bollywood at times seemed to have reached a new low. And though not all of these movies will be remembered even 6 months from now...yet taking the year into account, these were the movies which did at least make us smile although most of them left us with the feeling that perhaps there could have been something more there. And so-I bring my own list of the top 10 movies of this year influenced neither by box-office receipts nor critical acclaim but just by how much I enjoyed them. So here we go:

10. SINGH IS KINNG:

Yes-this was a masala movie. Yes-this was perhaps as brainlessly harrowing as Bollywood can get. Yes-the script was inane and with with loopholes. Yes-the director seemed to have lost complete track of the plot mid-way through the movie. Yes-the screenplay seemed to be all over the place. But to all this not so wrong accusations hurled at perhaps the most brainless movie of the year, there is only one answer: Akshay Kumar. Lets face it-this man oozes the screen presence like perhaps no star before him has. Shahrukh, Aamir and Hrithik may be more celebrated actors-but if there is one man in bollywood who oozes the presence and charisma of a star right now-then its Akshay Kumar. And simply by his presence-this horribly mediocre movie becomes perhaps one of the most entertaining and celebrated hits of this year. Singh is Kinng was all about what a superstar Akshay Kumar is and believe me, I wasn't complaining one bit.

9. SORRY BHAI:

If only Chitrangda Singh acted the way she had in Hazaro Khwaishein Aisi and Onir knew how to execute a climax. Then this movie could have been so much more. Yet-as it stands, we got a movie which despite its obvious flaws, managed to make us smile more than once through its easy on the eye narrative. There were no loud ha-ha moments in this romantic comedy, nor any scenes which really made us feel for the characters but backed by a superb performance from Shabana Azmi (which remains the strongest female performance of the year by a mile), and a light hearted script, Onir managed to make a movie that we didn't actually mind sitting through. In a year which saw the release of Love Story 2050 and Kidnap, Sorry Bhai isn't really anything to complain about. 

8. RAB NE BANA DI JODI:

If only Raj wasn't back. Raj has been the staple diet of Shahrukh Khan ever since Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge released, so much so that the actor himself claimed that he now sleep walks through these romantic roles. And in Rab Ne...it actually shows. As Raj, SRK seems to be wondering why is he playing the same role for the umpteenth time and the audience seems to wonder the same. It's time to let go of Raj. We loved him in DDLJ, adored him in Kuch Kuch Hota hai(as Rahul), cried with him in Kal Ho Naa Ho(as Aman) and somehow managed to smile with him in Dil To Pagal Hai, Chalte Chalte and Main Hoo Naa-but Raj I believe has used up his shelf-life and its time to move on. 

And embrace Surinder Sahni, a character so deliquently charming that its a wonder how the leading lady actually manages to fall for Raj instead of him. SRK as Surinder Sahni is an actor born again, pushing the envelope constantly as a middle-class moustached hero but as Raj, he somehow seems ill at ease wondering when can he get back to being Surinder Sahni. Thank God that Surinder Sahni wins in the end. And so does Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, which despite gyrating on the nerves at times(especially in the last 30 minutes), turns out to be quite an entertainer. Thank Surinder Sahni for that. 

7. TASHAN:

 

To those who are wondering what on earth is Tashan doing in the top movies of the year list I would suggest them that for once enter a cinema hall without listening to the critics and forming pre-concieved opinions about a particualr film and then tell me how the movie was. Perhaps then you may think differently. It has been one of the mose panned movies of the year and in these bad times for Yash Raj Films, Tashan has often been touted as its lowest point. I definitely disagree.

Tashan to me is a glorious celebration of a bygone era which though most people are happy that it won't return yet wish that they were there to actually enjoy those times. It's a movie that makes no bones about what it actually is-a masala movie right down to Kareena Kapoor's two piece act and every scene is there not to reach cinematic heights but to simply entertain. And it works. It has an over the top villain, a femme fatale who is hiding more than she is showing(yes-including that bikini), and a hero who lives a normal life but finds himself in abnormal circumstances. And all this centred around one of the most gloriously towering acts in a long long time-Akshay Kumar as Bachchan Pandey. The movie works on most levels but it is Akshay Kumar's act which brings Tashan to the 7th position in this list. Completely outshining his co-stars, he once and for all proves that who really is the 'Kinng' of Bollywood. More power to Akshay Kumar. Watch Tashan just to enjoy the most entertaining performance of this year. And beleive me, you won't be disappointed.

6.Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!:

If you don't fall in love with this movie, then you are definitely not human. Powered by the best screen play of the year-Oye Lucky takes you throught a journey of a thief who is almost as loveable as a poodle. Or perhaps even more. I can't remember a more loveable protagonist than Lucky and Abhay Deol gives a performance which won't be forgotten for a long time. It is a movie that livens you up, makes you smile and once you walk out of the theatre-you feel alive. It makes you wonder that if only there were more directors like Dibankar Banerjee in this industry. Bollywood would be a much happier place. Do yourself a favour-go watch Oye Lucky Lucky Oye Now. And you will realise just how good Hindi cinema can actually be if it doesn't take itself so seriously. This one is just pure magic-and I mean it!

5. AAMIR

Kaun bolta hai ke ek phone call aapki zindagi nahi badal sakta? Creepy, real creepy. And the movie even more so. But once you step inside the cinema hall and those lights dim, there is no escaping from Aamir and his issue. Its a movie which plays on your minds as much as it plays on its protagonists' and almost every frame makes you think-what next? We haven't had a movie do that to us in a long long time. Mumbai has never been shown as it is in Aamir-the city almost playing the second lead to Rajeev Khandelwal. And ladies and gentlemen-despite the more popular acts by Imran Khan and Farhan Akthar-here truly is the best debutante of the year. Rajeev Khandelwal oozes simplicity and fear in his role of a man torn between protecting his family or bowing down to terrorism and quite simply-Rajeev Khandelwal is Aamir. Despite its brilliant screenplay and direction, Aamir relies heavily on Rajeev Khandelwal and occupying almost every frame of the movie, he doesn't disappoint one bit. In a year full of disappointments-Aamir shown as a beacon and introduced us to a director and an actor to watch out for. A must watch!

4. A WEDNESDAY:

This year saw quite a few directors try and have their take on terrorism and though most succeeded-none of them really succeeded like A Wednesday. The most powerful movie of the year-what was so wonderful about it was a plot which almost seemed implausible at times but by the time the director played out his final cards-you had fallen hook, line and sinker for it. Naseruddin Shah is a genius is a fact that no one can argue against but what he does here is simply stupednous and compeltely beyond the capability of a normal human being. Playing the nameless common man, he is the heart and soul of A Wednesday and is an act which deserves all the awards it can get yet unfortunately in most likelihood will remain ignored. Not to forget Anupam Kher-an actor who is in the same league as the aforementioned genius yet is never counted as one. Well-this movie was a reminder of what a completely brilliant actor Anupam Kher is and how for so long we have been completely under utlizing him. For genuiness sake I hope Anupam Kher atleast wins the best supporting actor award for if he doesn't-it would just show how hollow Bollywood really is. Stand up and clap ladies and gentlemen-because this movie and its two absolutely brillilant lead performances-deserves nothing else. 

3. JAANE TU YAA JAANE NAA:

The most hippiest, zanniest and charming movie of the year and its worth every penny you spend on it. There is nothing more I can mention than I have already mentioned in my review and 6 months after its release-I am still completely in love with it as I was when I saw it the first time. A completely ordinary story made simply extra-ordinary by its narration, pitch perfect casting, refreshing performances by its two central characters, brilliant music(Kabhi Kabhi Aditi is probably the song of the year) and a certain Pappu. Imran Khan came out as a revelation and Genelia D'souza was wonderfully charming in a movie that relied completely on the feel-good factor. And feel good we did. Abbas Tyrewaala makes the best directorial debut in commercial cinema since Aditya Chopra did with DDLJ and here's hoping that we don't ever see him go down the Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi way. And I am still madly and completely in love and smitten by Meow. Genelia D'Souza really deserves all the best actress awards she can gather this year.

2. ROCK ON

Many have called it Dil Chahta Hai part 2 and though it never really manages to reach the heights that DCH does, it remains pretty close throught out. And that really is achievement enough. You couldn't have expected much from a movie starring a director trying his luck in acting(Farhan Akhtar) and an actor who had never really managed to do anything much to inspire hope this time around(Arjun Rampal) and directed by someone who had given us the completely abysmal Aryan(Aryan who? Don't blame yourself! You ain't the only one). And Rock On turned out to be such a pleasant surprise that we celebrated the fact that we had got it completely wrong. Heck-if we got a Rock On every week, we wouldn't mind being proved wrong again and again. It's a movie with so much of panache in it that you can't help but revel in the glory of Magik-the band that Rock on is all about. As Arjun Rampal makes by now that famous entrance with the long open hair and a Kurt Cobain inspired moustache in the climax-you are singing Sindbad The sailor along with the cast. This one really is Magik. In every sense of the word. Rock on indeed!!

1. GHAJINI:

Sue me if you want but I still maintain that Ghajini is undoubtedly the movie of the year. Many of you won't agree with me and many may even say I am biased because I am an unabashed fan of Aamir Khan-and though it maybe true I maintain that I found Ghajini as the best movie of the year from the heart. Nothing moved me this year like Ghajini did. I have watched it 3 times on the big screen now and my deceision remains unchanged.

It's a movie not to be seen with the eyes of cynicism or perhaps even practicality-but purely as the magic of commercial cinema. It may not be the most flawless plot you will find but it definitely remains the most flawless movie of the year which for its running time of 3 hours 4 minutes never once lets go of you once you have watched Aamir Khan's introduction scene. Then tension is numbly gripping in the action sequences and the flash back has one of the most refeshing romantic tracks in ages. The direction is top-notch and if you have scene the death scene of Asin then you will know what I mean. It is by far the most perfect scene of the year-everything ranging from the tension in the house to the direction and the acting by every one of the characters involved in that scene is purely flawless. Its the scene that shapes up the movie and takes us on the ride of 90 minutes of brutality and A R Murgadoss does absolutely no wrong here. Way after the movie is over, you can still feel the after effects of not just the movie itself but that one scene which changes Sanjay Singhani's life forever. It is a scene that stays with you way beyond the movie's end.

Yet-the one reason why Ghajini should never be missed is Aamir Khan. Here is an actor who for some time now has been giving us movies more for the mind than the heart but for once he decides to let his hair down and what a performance it is. His rage is almost palpable, his intensity never letting you go once as he beats down any one he can find even when there seems to be no reason. His Sanjay Singhania almost preys on animal-like instinct, his first reaction is to destroy anything that he finds unfamiliar and hence a danger to himself. It is a performance of a lifetime-the likes of which will probabaly never be seen by a Bollywood star ever again. Shahrukh, Akshay and Hrithik can only hope to reach the performance of this scale and magnitude-in fact they would be lucky if one of their performances was taken in the same breath as this. Quite simply-this is the best movie of the year backed by the strongest performance by a Bollywood star since Amitabh Bachchan in Deewar. Yes, that's right-Amitabh Bachchan in Deewar. And I ain't kidding!!