Author Archives: Mani Padma

Antishenes - founder of Cynic philosophy

Recently I had the opportunity to witness the post raid judicial proceedings of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan movement. Wait, I hope you have heard about the Bachpan Bachao Andolan?

Well, it is a movement started by an organization of the same name which is a child friendly organization of India,  working to end child labor, child trafficking and provide free education for all children, in effect since 1980. Their mission as the name suggests is to identify, liberate, rehabilitate and educate children in servitude through direct intervention, child and community participation, coalition building, consumer action, promoting ethical trade practices and mass mobilization. If you want it simple then these are the salient points- On receiving a complaint or information of unlawful employment of minors or exploitation of children, the authorities rescue those children, charge the accuse and then proceed on to rehabilitation of the rescued children through their manifold programs which begins by compensation to the amount of Rs 20000, followed by repatriation with his family and a follow up of the case after two months. Sometimes if the child is nine-ten years of age then free education is provided for as a part of long term rehabilitation. You can see the details in their site http://www.bba.org.in/ and have a better idea of their functioning, because my post is not about BBA, rather it is of another issue with the reference point or backdrop as Bachpan Bachao Andolan. It is about the many things that were running through my cynical mind as I witnessed the proceedings.

The long drawn out exposure to the country’s corruption had made my mind so cynical that I had begin to pride myself as being farsighted. Negativism always gives a false sense of farsightedness and at that moment as I sat lazily taking in everything I felt skeptical about the whole thing.

The cynical me saw glaring loopholes at their agenda. Though it did benefit those children who had been lured or kidnapped from their home, there was no guarantee of a rehabilitation of those children who were sent by their own family or for that matter those orphans and destitute who did not have a home to call their own.

The cynical me ruminated about the many ways the accused and perpetrators of the crime would get away or use the loopholes in the law to their advantage

The cynical me scorned at the measly amount of Rs 20000 as compensation. How long can you last with Rs 20000 in today’s world of inflation and sky high price rise?

The cynical me shook its head with sadness at the thought of the kids who would turn into crime or begging for survival after their loss of livelihood.

The cynical me snorted with disdain at the possibility of scandals, diversion of funds and other such activities that might happen (though I am not saying that this will happen, but the possibilities are open if history is an indicator)

The cynical me sighed at the thought that all the enthusiasm and zeal that is now present will peter out as is common after some years and the cause will be just buried under million of such files.

The cynical me though didn’t have an alternative plan of action, felt angry at the wastage of our money- the tax payers money

The cynical me was ready for a lost cause as it realized that 99 percent would remain unaffected by these means…

But the cynical me could not see what the optimist and the reformist saw.

Cynical me did not see that for a few, the 20000 rupees would be a life saver and mean much for their future.

The cynical me could not see that the children deserved a second chance

The cynical me did not believe in miracles but the rescue and rehabilitation could be a miracle to a few kids.

The cynical me was sure that errant parents could never see sense, but the cynical me could not see there was a slim chance that at least a percentage of parents and employers could be reformed.

The cynical me saw it fail in ninety nine percent of the cases, but it could not understand the significance of the one percent of success. It did not register in my cynical mind that figures always start with 1, 2 …and then build up to 100.

The cynical me was unimpressed with the minuscule figure of one percentage success rate, but it could not realize that for the one percent, that was their second chance to freedom and better future and maybe a life to call their own. For the one percent it was everything.

The cynical me could not realize what the reformist realized- that even a one percent deserved a second chance and all help possible.

The cynical me could not till then comprehend what the reformist were trying to convey -that being a cynic occasionally is fine to maintain a healthy balance in the social system, but if we all remained cynical 100 percent of the time then the 99 percent failure rate will never come down to 95 – 90 -85 … and all cause would go to waste. Or may be The cynic in me finally realized that?

Democracy maybe about majority, but a minority has the right to survival too. Sometimes I wish, I really wish we were not that cynical…

When Harry met Voldie, sparks flew, magic happened, people sighed and we (not Harry and Voldie- they remain the arch enemies they were meant to be) fell in love all over again with the Harry Potter series as it came to a fitting end with the release of The Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows, the final part. How significant that the movie was has been released in July, as Harry (not Daniel Radcliff) is said to be born in July. The story wasn’t much left to be guessed as every body knew that only the final showdown remained and to be honest the movie is a mad rush with the focus only on Harry and Voldermort(which is obvious why- they had to wrap up the movie that’s why), but I am sure his fans won’t complain, after all we are all under the imperio curse of Rowling and so everybody sat mesmerized. I think the strongest element in the Harry Potter series is the characterization. Each character had been created with utmost care and with an eye to the details. The movie series complimented the same characters giving shape and form to them through the actors and so the Magic grew on to rise in epic proportions!

The concluding part leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy but at the same time also makes you sigh with longing and sadness as the fact sinks in that there will be no more Harry Potter hereafter and you realize that you don’t want to let go…Ahem ahem! Sorry for becoming personal and getting carried away. In other words the magic is at it’s immensely awesomeness (if it can be said so) But yes! yes!, there will always be buts, the effects are not entirely due to the last of the franchise, rather you can say that it is a build up of all the hype and popularity that it has acquired endearingly all these years, starting from the day when we saw Harry for the first time in platform number nine by three fourth till the moment when he fades away to the end credits of Deathly Hallows part two. The movie Deathly Hallows part two is what it is because of part one , two and so on to seven A. If people find it brilliant, awesome, it’s just because we have been enchanted with THE Harry Potter series. The movie if taken as a singular entity has its flaws but for one to realize that, he/she have to completely disengage from the tentacles of its magic. For one the action scenes have been cunningly avoided (if you go by the book) taking advantage of the fact that the cameraman and director Yates was busy concentrating on what Harry was up to while the others fought the epic war between Voldermort’s followers and Harry’s army in Hogwarts. So you do not get to see how half of the population gets killed. Everyone, that includes even Hermoine and Ron Weasley, yes everyone gets sidelined this time by Voldermort and Harry. The spotlight is totally on them. Snape of course has his two minutes of glory- just two minutes, but other wise you will be craning your neck to find the others and have a last look at them so as to etch their image in your memory one last time. And may be that feeling of one last time makes you forget and forgive the rush of the movie. You just sit dazzled and hope that time stands still forever.

Harry Potter I will miss you and your world! (Sorry can’t help becoming personal)

Ginger Chai verdict- Watch it! In fact watch it as many times as you can till you puke in revulsion at the familiarity because there will be no more Harry Potter hereafter. At least none like this one.

Have you read the first part of the Chronicles? In case you have missed it,  read HERE

The ‘sweet meet’ hall resembled the courtroom of that of the Harry Potter movies. Huge,Chaotic and Sinister. There was pandemonium everywhere. Three stately figures were seated on the dais. The maximum of noise was coming from the front rows while the lot in the mid and last rows was quieter. At the farthest corners some meek looking people were seated in cordoned off areas. Shani entered the hall timidly. It was her first time face to face appearances with the Big Daddies of the blog world and she was nervous. The hierarchy was apparent at the first glance itself. The power bloggers were seated on the front while the smallest fries were roped in the cordoned area. She was unsure as to where she should be and stood for a few seconds in the doorway when a Ziddi -police came to her smiling sweetly with a tray of sweets on his hands.

“Now isn’t the sweet thing being carried out too far” she thought.

“Yes”? The ZP asked in a sweet voice

“I am Shani and I have a place here…”

“Ok. Could you please tell me what was your highest ziddivine score till date?”

“32” she replied shyly

“Tch tch! Newbie? Never mind. Just keep trying. “He waved his hand in a patronizing way and added after a moment of calculation “Your seat is there “– pointing towards the cordoned area.

“There? b..but…” she was perplexed. Weren’t the chai dukan people supposed to have special seats? After all her boss was part of the witness protection program.

“Oh yes dear! That is the BPL area –BPL as in Below Pointless Level -whose cut off is 50 ziddi vine votes. So you have to accommodate yourself over there.”

“ You see,” he winked conspiratorially “We are trying to make you all, more visible as we keep on receiving complains of your non visibility.  This is just another of our sweet endeavor for you all.”  he said .

“By tagging us?” she asked shocked. But he was already gone.

She proceeded slowly to her seat where she was welcomed heartily by the other impoverished ones. The program seemed already on way.

She whispered to the skinny girl nearby. “What’s the status?”

“They have already chosen four names from the online pitch submission. They are just about to put them up for voting for a special prize…You missed the welcome speech.  It was too sweet.

“Well I did that on purpose. If I wrote about it, the report would have become too long. Readers don’t like long posts no matter how sweet they may be…Hmm! So now we choose,right? What are they trying to do? Miss congeniality on their mind?

“Hah! Bloggers and congenial? But yes you get my point. We have to vote for the most deserving one out of the four.” She replied a little breathlessly. “They want to promote sweetness among us”she added with a snort.

Just then the one named Funny Ravan came upon the microphone and without much delay started,

“Dear friends it was tough selecting the best pitch from the lot but keeping in mind the originality of the pitch and the reason given there of ,we have chosen

Original and interesting pitch-no 1 from shyanapan.com-

And the pitch is- I write so badly, so incomprehensively that people need footnotes to understand them.  If I don’t give a word by word explanation about it, half of them don’t get it whether it is poetry or my daily shopping list.”

Funny Ravan paused for an effect and bellowed. “We really liked the footnotes part that he had submitted as a reason and so we chose it for your sweet promotion. Interestingly this is the footnote of the actual pitch…which we err skipped it due to time constraint.”

Someone from the first row stood up and called out

“I object. Having footnotes do not make it a bad post. What say friends?” said the blogger turning towards the rest

“Yes, yes! He is a damn good writer, so that is not an accurate pitch. He writes very nicely but it is we who are dumb, not to follow it. Hence it should be disqualified.” They chorused

Shani and the others chanted excitedly, “yes! yes! Disqualify”

Poor Shyanpan didn’t stand any chance against such un-sweetness. He was promptly disqualified from the pitch contest.

Funny Ravan shrugged and continued,

“Well that settles it I guess. So let’s go on to the second one we chose

It is Stupidoscope.com the science of shit. His pitch goes thus-

As the name suggests I wrote about stupid people who can’t seem to find their stupid cup of coffee and who keep on trying to find it stupidly, presented in a very stupid way with stupid pictures. “

Zombie boo burst out laughing. “Now that is a stupid pitch, but original”

But someone from the back rows yelled- “That might be stupid but it cannot be called a bad post in any way. Disqualify him too.”

“Stupidity isn’t bad. Disqualify!!!” chorused the hall.

So it wasn’t long before stupidoscope was also chucked out un-sweetly.

The skinny girl next to shani giggled and whispered.

“Though you people are never unanimous on who to promote, you all are nevertheless always unanimous on who to disqualify.” Shani just glared at her. She didn’t like her at all. She was too thin. She shook off the unpleasant thought and concentrated on the dais instead. It seemed some more drama was about to unfold.

Funny Ravan looked confused and whispered something to Vinamrata.

“No whispering, no conspiracy” shouted another power blogger from the front. “Call upon the next.”

Funny Ravan helplessly glanced at the list and called out nervously

“The next is from the …One who shall be not named. “He glanced at the crowd a bit nervously which had become deathly silent and proceeded-

“His pitch is quite short- I copied. Now beat that!”

All hell broke loose. Someone screamed- “Noooo! never.” Someone in the mid row fainted.

A lot of arguments started simultaneously among different groups while a few abuses could be heard flying about in the front rows. It seemed there were two groups fighting out-The group belonging to One who shall not be named and the rest. Shani and her companions craned their neck to get a better view. The skinny girl next to Shani hissed,

“Some of the abuses they are flinging will make a bad post in itself if they wrote it down”

Finally a few power bloggers calmed down the hall and one of them patiently explained- “That is obviously a bad thing to do, but that does not make the post a bad post. In fact the fact that he copied the post is an indication that the post is a good post.  SO DISQUALIFY”

The hall cheered and jeered with gusto- “DISQUALIFY!”

It took a few more minutes for the hall to calm down and finally the people settled down

Funny Ravan cleared his throat and said, “well, we are left with the last choice and by default it has to be chosen as winner”

“No,” Someone called out from the middle rows. “What if it isn’t a bad post and needs to be disqualified? So, please read out the pitch!”

There was a murmur of agreement among the crowd. Funny Ravan sighed and pulled out his list again.

“The final pitch is from Shani. “Shani stared with disbelief. Finally! Yes, Finally! She would win a contest.

‘And she says” continued Ravan, “That my post itself, is a pitch for the worst post, as there is simply NOTHING good in it. And when there is nothing good in it, it becomes bad by logic.

Here goes her post-

!!!…???”

Funny Ravan hesitated and explained slowly- “The post contains three exclamatory marks, three dots and three question marks. Just that!

She was correct. It simply had nothing good in it and so it was bad. We simply could not refute her crazy logic.”

The hall was stunned to silence. What an argument, they thought.  Shani beamed with happiness as her dream of winning at least one contest was going to finally come true.

But then the skinny girl stood up and called out, “but it isn’t a bad post”

“How?” snapped Shani

All eyes turned towards them.

“Well it is grammatically correct. It has a beginning, middle and an end. All the expressions are vividly given. In fact it is one of the most creatively perfect post.”

‘You are mad!” Shani screamed forgetting all decorum

“Oh no, I am not, but you are too clever. You thought you will get away so easily” Turning towards the dais she went on, “The post is simple. There is surprise at something, then an uncertainty and finally ending with an open ending. See?”

Shani became crazy with rage. Her one and only chance at winning a contest was being destroyed by that girl and in blind fury she hit out at the girl. That was the trigger! A hall full of volatile bloggers was just waiting for it and suddenly everyone was at each other’s throat. The hall became a one big screeching, scratching and screaming battle ground.

Funny Ravan, Vinamrata Tarzan and zombie boo somehow fled the scene, but Shani could hear their last words before fleeing.

“Chuck the idea of sweet meet. I think Tweet meet is safer. Bloggers and sweet? Hah!”

Disclaimer: The story  bears no resemblance to any blogger writing or not writing and if any resemblance is found, it should be taken as a coincidence and the coincidence should be taken with a pinch of salt.

It was a sleepy Sunday-the lazy drizzly sleepy Sunday of Indian monsoon. Shani, our protagonist, a small time big sized blogger, logged in her facebook account to check if she had some earth shattering news, notification or mails that needed immediate attention… And she was shocked! Something was wrong. Overnight something had changed and she realized what was that something. Her wall! Her wall was filled with absurd requests and tags and posts. Was it some virus like the video and profile stalker, she wondered. It was scarily weird as she scrolled down, scanning the innumerable posts

“Hey friends, this is the link to my post. I have really put my heart in it to make it suck like hell. If you think it sucks, then please vote for me in the Worst blogpost contest.”

Another went- “Hi this is the link to my worst post of my life! Please read it and if you hate it and feel like kicking me then please promote it for the worst blog post contest.”

Some people were promoting their friend’s post.

“Please promote this awful post by my friend. Really, heart touchingly bad. I vomited after reading it.”

“From the genius- here’s as usual another masterpiece of a bad post. Really! Nothing can beat my friend where bad writing is concerned.”

Shani’s head was almost spinning. All this couldn’t be true. She hurriedly clicked on the inbox. There were two messages and they would be a good thing to divert her mind from all these.

The first one was from a fellow blogger which said

-Dear Shani, Please promote my bad post and I will the do the same for you too.

She sighed and clicked on the next

She couldn’t believe her eyes. It was from that newbie genius of the E-zine she wrote in – Janjal Srivatsa. It went so-

Dear Shaniji

Namaste. I am sure you must be aware that a contest is being held by Ziddiblogger.in for the worst blog post contest. Though I can never match you in writing a bad post, I have attempted one myself. I will be very thankful if you look it up and provided some pointers on how I could make it worse. I know your guidance will really help

Yours faithfully

Janjal

Shani’s jaw literally dropped. That was enough. She really needed to speak to Chief Saraswati Tarzan.Only he would know what was going on.

Saraswati Tarzan was the brew master in their E zine Chaidukan.com , which was earlier known as… never mind that .It will suffice to say Shani was the co editor over there. Together they attempted to regale those visitors who came to their dukan with a magazine in their hand to have a sip of their offerings.

Thankfully she found him almost immediately in g-chat.

“Tarrrrrrzan” she yelled while he playfully replied

OOOOOooooooOOOOooo wooooWooo ooooo.!

“Hey Boss, what’s this contest about the worst blog post? I am about to go crazy with the absurd requests!”

“Ah ! the ziddiblogger contest. ..You know ziddiblogger, I think? – The forum of bloggers who are adamant about their blogging!”

“Yeah, of course! I am registered there.”

“So are you participating? It’s based on votes and err… I am sure people will be unanimous on at least the fact that you are one of the worst blogger of our times. “

“Really? Do you really think I can write that bad?”

“Of course, Shani! you have a great potential in writing bad, but just one thing, as Chai Dukan is an NCO you have to post your trash in Blogbin, I mean blog your post in… your own blog… Don’t worry I will promote it of course.”

“NCO?”

“Yea!  Non competing organization.  I have transformed it into a NCO. From henceforth Chaidukan will not compete in any contests but will just sell chai at the venue with lots of masala.”

“Eh? I did not get you boss”.

“It’s simple Shani. We will simply be covering their events- like, I want you to cover their Ziddi Sweet meet and write about it in Chaidukan”

“You mean Tweet meet?”

“No,its sweet meet. Since, recently a lot of not-so-sweet incidents have taken place over there, so they have decided to hold those sweet meets which will help the bloggers to be sweet to each other. So this time other than the highest votes they have this new concept of selecting four blog posts with the most original pitches and ask the other bloggers to sweetly promote or vote for them.”

“Wow!”

“Yes, So Shani you better pitch up a pitch soon, submit it online along with your post and also cover the event at the same time.”

“But who will be selecting the pitches?”

“Who else but the Ziddi team members  Funny Ravan , Vinamrata Tarjan and Zombie Boo.  Remember , they will be choosing the original and weird pitches irrespective of the contents. Then in the sweet meet they will call upon the rest of you to promote the favourite post of the four. The one with the highest votes gets to win the pitch contest.  Of course the post and the pitch will be put on the floor in the meet and if anyone objects with valid reason, then the choice maybe disqualified too”

“ Hmm . So you will be coming too, of course?”

“No Shani, it’s your call totally. I can’t really be there. You see I am under the witness protection program about that nasty incident. Remember about the One who shall not be named who threatened our Chai Dukan?…So you have to do it all by yourself?”

“Right away ,boss. That will be exciting. ”

And off went Shani to work on what she did best- write badly

Disclaimer: The story  bears no resemblance to any blogger writing or not writing and if any resemblance is found, it should be taken as a coincidence and the coincidence should be taken with a pinch of salt.

To be continued…

Read the second and concluding part HERE

Hello friends ! I am back again after a long hiatus with JITC, which suffered a technical setback. But now we are back again with it and the Jewel that I have for you from the crown called India is Dalhousie ,up north in the lower Himalayas.

With the summer temperatures rising, I thought Dalhousie would be just the right place to cool  you  down. Shimla, Manali , Nainital and Mussourie will be crowded like bee hives with holiday-ers. But Dalhousie still enjoys some peace and quiet with the advantage of its comparatively greater distance.

A pretty little hill station (just 14 sq km area) which is more a cantonment  and one which has a rich history. It still presents vignettes of  times bygone with its architecture and buildings which mostly belong to the Raj era.  Though it is quite popular destination for the people from Punjab and a few from Delhi, it isn’t crowded like the other hill station like Shimla, Mussourie, Nainital and hence you will feel quite uncluttered over there.  It enjoys a slightly higher altitude than the mentioned hill stations and is a slightly to the North, hence the cold there, is a bit more pronounced-just right for a break from the Indian summers.

So lets proceed with some quick brief facts about Dalhousie as an introduction, and some of my  personal tidbits( inferred from my own experiences)  so that we can concentrate on the slideshow in leisure.

Dalhousie is 485 kms away from Delhi and there are a couple of roads leading to it. You can take the train to Pathankot and drive up to Dalhousie or  take the flight to  either Pathankot  which is just 47 km away or alternately take the flight to Kangra and hit the road on to Dalhousie( but one which is a bit longer) .

• You have  three  main options to reach Dalhousie by road. The most convenient one is to  take the Delhi-Ambala             highway and then drive through Ludhiana , Jallandhar to Dalhousie.
• The second option is to drive through Chandigarh, to Una, upto Nurpur and then on To Dalhousie . Slightly longer than the first one, but  less travelled one with amazing vistas.
• The third one is for the people who believe that the journey and not the destination, is more important. It takes you from Chandigarh to Bilaspur, Mandi and finally onto Dalhousie, almost travelling half of Himachal. It will take just ahem! Around 24 hrs. Dalhousie named after Lord Dalhousie, is said to be built on five hills but I didn’t count to confirm it. Ok poor Joke! It is the gateway to Chamba district of Himachal which is famous for its religious and historical significance .

But here Dalhousie is what we are speaking of and Dalhousie is more famous for its bountiful natural beauty. The scenery that you will visually experience as you explore the place will soothe you and gladden your heart. It is just the ideal place to have a solitary walk up a hill sit on a meadow, read a book, paint or click , have a picnic lunch and spend some me-moments with yourself but in case you want to go the tourist way and explore, here are some spots that you could try.

Kalatop Sanctuary-which houses the less powerful of the animals , but aren’t that visible. (as is becoming the norm in almost all the wild life reserves) You could trek to base or have a open jeep ride from Lakkar mandi. If you are fit enough then I would advise to go for the trek as you will enjoy the walk down the rocky path among the tall trees ,which after a distance opens to a beautiful view down a valley.

After that invigorating or exhausting walk(depending on your stamina) you can drive onto the highest point in Dalhousie, Dain Kund. Sometimes there is hope of coming across snow there if you visit in the early part of the year(till March, but we did find snow there when we visited in April). If not , just inhale deeply and enjoy the fresh cool air and the beautiful views of the snowy peaks of the Himalayas in the distance. Dain Kund makes a very good spot for a picnic lunch and also photography, but wait, take your own food, for there are no food stalls over there. Good for that place as It keeps the place neat and trash free.

Khajiar- the  most famous and beautiful of all the spots in Dalhousie has been recognized for is natural beauty by none other than the Swiss government  themselves. It is a circular meadow lined by Alpine trees all around it rendering a magical picture perfect quality to it . A tourist hub, you will find a choice of touristy activities to try out-Para gliding, horse riding, Hot air ballooning, zorbing etc etc. You can also visit the Khajji Nag temple nearby.  From Khajjiar you can drive onto Chamba for a hurried tour of the historical town. The drive is a bit steep but beautiful scenery accompanies you through out the drive. While returning from Chamba to Dalhousie take the route that bypasses Khajjiar and instead touches Banikhet, for another beautiful but less precipitous drive.

Other places in and around Dalhousie are the Punjpula which is more like a children’s theme park with some handicraft stores   thrown in, but you might enjoy a cup of tea with maggi noodles while your little ones enjoy the rides. You can take a walk in the mall road from the Gandhi Chowk to Subhash Chowk  and shop for mementoes  while you walk.

While walking by don’t forget to ask a local person where the Subhash Baoli might be. It is said that when Subhash Chandra Bose was diagnosed with tuberculosis, he had come here in Dalhousie to recuperate and he used to come to a baoli or a stream to drink from it, as the stream was supposed to have healing properties and so the Baoli acquired its name. The stream has long back dried up but it still attracts visitors for the association with its famous patron.

Accommodation isn’t a problem with choices galore from high end luxury ones to the budget hotels. Internet booking in HPTDC hotels helps you plan your visit quite early on. In fact you can book your bus tickets from Delhi to Dalhousie online too. Local taxies can be hired there in Dalhousie itself, for sight seeing.If you are a very much nature person with a great sense of adventure, then I will advise you to make Khajjiar your base from where trips to Mani Mahesh lake and temple will prove somewhat easier. You can proceed onto Dharamshala- another beautiful place through the Jot pass-A route complete with adventurous driving and views of snowbound peaks . The route through Jot pass to Dharamshala is known to very few but the road is motorable and it helps you complete the Dalhousie- Dharamshala circuit in a comparatively lesser time. The road to Jot pass goes through Khajjiar so don’t miss the signboard there.

You can visit almost through out the year, but landslides are probable during rains.

Try to take an after dinner walk . Evenings in the mountains acquire an enchanting quality and are not to be missed.

The web is brimming with information on Dalhousie and I have just tried inserting the salient points to go with the slideshow . This is just my sincere attempt to entice you to this Dreamy Hill station with a few snapshots of this beautiful place. I admit the photographs are amateur-ly shot, but God is a total professional when it comes to his creations. Thanks.

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Jewel In The Crown (Indian Travelogue) series  by Mani Padma. While Mani brews her intoxicating chai brew here, some of her flavours are left out in her personal blog which she calls it as her own Trash Bin

The loveable rascals are back. Captain Jack Sparrow returns yet again for another adventure (I am sure he will keep on returning for some more) and though Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley are missing this time, Captain Barbossa and Gibbs continue to regale us with their witticisms and mannerisms. Adding the spark this time is the gorgeous Penelope Cruz as Depp’s ex-flame and Ian mc Shane as the famed pirate Blackbeard, who is supposedly Penelope’s father.

I remember when I watched the first episode of POTC I was completely at loss for reaction. The screen seemed a chaotic mish mash with filthy images and background, dirty faced uncouth men, a few menacing but witty big shots and shots of Sea with lots of Sea sword fights, but I was intrigued by the images and Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow fascinated me. The snazzy devil may care attitude and dialogues were an instant hit and I watched the other two of the series too, out of skeptical curiosity, though I had a tough time keeping up with the plot and pace. But Part four is an entirely new story with just a faint connection with the other three which is mentioned at the outset itself, so if you are watching this movie for the first time, you are not missing much of the storyline.

The movie begins with Jack in search of his ship Black pearl, which was in possession of Captain Barbossa, his rival and following some hurried introductions, the plot jumps onto a race for the fountain of youth by the three contenders- the Spanish, The British expedition led by none other than Capt Barbossa who now no longer in possession of the black pearl, but with an ulterior motive in the expedition. The third party in which Jack Sparrow finds himself unwittingly is led by none other than the notorious pirate Blackbeard with his magical powers along with Penelope Cruz who has an amorous past connection with Depp .  What follows next is a failed mutiny, mermaids, skeletons, double crossing (the trademark in the Pirates Franchise) a sub plot of a sub romance between a pair of sub casts, action and the usual pirates masala stuff. The changed hands ,in the direction of the movie (From Gore Berbinsky to Rob Marshall) is marked by the pace of the movie which  is comfortable enough and the plot lucid, a point which I feel is the only point of difference from the other three-which were quite racy and overlapping, to make your head spin.

If you love your films as a larger than life experience, with glitz and glamour and technical wizardry, if you are a sincere Johnny Depp Fan, if you are a smartass with a panache for wit and attitude, if you love fantasy and magic, if you are not that fussy about the concept of good and evil, then you will love this movie. Depp is charming as Jack and becomes more wickedly charming towards the end. Geoffrey Rush rises some more as Captain Barbossa in part four. At this rate, he has a mighty chance of overpowering the magic of Depp. Penelope … hmm! Penelope or Keira Knightley? Who was better? Difficult to answer and this is one heck of an undiplomatic question which I would prefer to pass it on. Ian Mc Shane is noticeable as Blackbeard. The rest of the cast and crew leave a faint mark in your memory which might awaken later … or it might not.

Ginger Chai verdict-Though it might not hold the attention of a child below eight years of age, it definitely is for the child within the man.

Movie review by Mani Padma. While Mani brews her intoxicating chai brew here, some of her flavours are left out in her personal blog which she calls it as her own Trash Bin

Friends!I hope I can address you all as friends?…You see, I am a bit apprehensive in doing so  because I have realised the hard way that in principle , people do avoid being friends with a loser (as advocated in TV and newspaper ads)  and… Well (let me just say it) I… am a Loser! Well, that’s what people say on the sly about me and also which, even I am convinced of…

Loser- a word which has attained a cult status as an abuse. But why? I mean why use it as a derogatory word? I still can’t fathom why the girl in the TV ad calls her two timing boy friend a ‘loser’ who till then had been in a win-win situation. She could have called him a Dog, an Idiot, but loser? What has losing got anything to do with that guy? Well, I guess I am rambling and making little sense. My apologies, but I do get touchy when I hear that word…So, where was I?

Yes… A loser! That’s what I am and always have been since I can remember. I don’t remember winning any lottery, games, contests…Wait, Did I say contests? Oh yes! I did win a contest once – The third prize in a literary contest. Ah! I can hear a smart retort, saying – there must have been only three contestants, but no, there weren’t three contestants, rather I was the only contestant. Unbelievably funny, isn’t it? But it’s true. My entry was supposedly an inferior one; hence they decided to award me the third prize instead, as awarding the first or the second would have been a gross injustice! What a shame! The win too was a lose for me. Sigh! And that’s what my life has been! – A shame.

So why am I saying all this? I was not sure about doing this, but lying on the hospital bed (yes, I am recuperating in a hospital bed. I had a mild angina attack few days back but nothing serious they had said), doing nothing, one tends to get retrospective and analytical and watching all the “loser” words flying around on the TV ,made me think some more. Yes, you heard right, the TV. I told you it wasn’t a serious one and am not in the ICU. In all probability I might be discharged tomorrow and there I go again rambling. I wish I could be diverted from my focus so easily in real life too… Maybe I would not find the need to write this today then…I still wouldn’t be writing this, but for what my teenage son said to me today, when in an emotional moment, I broke down and wept bitterly about being a loser. He had at that moment said defiantly (as is normal in a teenager), “Yeah! I know you are a loser. So? Big deal!”  And that shut me up, but opened up my mind and got me thinking- Yes! Big deal. Really! Is it not? Big Deal!

But oh no! This isn’t about ‘damning’ winning or about promoting losing. This is not about glorifying losing or about an excuse for laziness. I am not proud to be a loser, but neither am I ashamed of it. I have risen above the fear of losing. The adrenaline rush for a win doesn’t bother me anymore and for the first time in my life I feel a peace and calmness. I think I am at that state of my mind now, where I don’t care anymore about winning and losing and …shouldn’t it be that way?

I can sense many of you nodding your head in assent and murmuring that it’s all about giving your best shot and not winning, (but hang on, I have some reservations about that too.) while some of you are maybe feeling outraged at this preposterous anti progressive statement. “Not caring about a win” is a bit vague a statement and I guess I won’t be clear about what I want to say without some examples (not for nothing was my entry considered inferior).  So let me narrate my life story ,for nothing can be a better  example than that, for whatever I want to say.

Life becomes a bit tough when you are marked by fate to mess things up and it doesn’t help if you have a super achiever as your brother. My brother was a math whiz, a topper, teacher’s pet and… and… He just didn’t go wrong anywhere. While I started out as an average student, weak in maths and no where near to being any body’s pet let alone a teacher. But I wanted to be like him and like an obsessed person, I studied, practiced, did everything in my power to come up tops. In fact I took it as a challenge…Hah! Challenges! They say that life throws challenges at you and you should do your best to overcome them. Now that is a very stupid statement. Life does not throw challenges at you, Life just goes on. It is your choice to accept everything as challenges and be on a never ending self declared war with life. That was my first mistake I suppose. I took my situation as a challenge and fed with inspiring stuff like- “If you do not succeed once, try try again” and add to it, my father’s slighting remarks; I kept trying to be a topper and master maths. By the tenth standard I had come fifth in my class and scored a neat 80 percent in maths. I was happy with my achievement and I became the perfect example of the saying “perseverance pays” though it was not exactly a remarkable achievement and not at all anywhere near -coming tops.  My brother had got into IIT (no surprise there) and so I took up the next challenge of following his footsteps (not IIT, I might be a loser, but I was no fool) and joining an engineering course. After three years of slogging hard, coaching classes and studying maniacally, I scraped through an entrance test and got admission in an engineering college 2000 kms away from home in a stream that hardly had takers, but yes I had to prove myself , didn’t I, and that I did. Finally I too was on my way to becoming an engineer.

I often wonder why we are so full of self doubt that we need to keep on proving ourselves to the world. I mean, no body- civic or governing, had demanded for a proof but I still took it upon myself to prove to the world that I had it in me to be successful.

Though a few days of classes brought me back to reality. The initial high of joining college disappeared and for the first time I felt like a loser. I hated engineering and I realized that I was in the wrong stream. All the while, I was so obsessed with winning and proving that somewhere along the line, I had lost myself and I just didn’t know what I actually wanted. I just knew that this was not what I wanted. But I couldn’t quit just like that, could I? Didn’t they say, – A winner never quits and a quitter never wins? So I just gritted my teeth and went on with what I had. I could have salvaged my life even then, by crossing over somewhere else, but I wasn’t sure where and secondly- didn’t I have to prove that I had it in me? So I went on. Life went on… Somehow I managed to go on…

In my third year I met Niharika, a vivacious lovely lady and I fell in love with her. We were already good friends and with great hopes, I proposed to her one day, but as fate could have it, I hit a negative even there. She just shook her head slowly and replied, “It’s impossible. I don’t feel that way for you and please don’t pursue this matter any more” Now who was that had said- “Impossible is a word found in a fool’s dictionary” Was it Napoleon? Maybe there hadn’t been toothpaste back then or else I am sure he wouldn’t have said so. Impossible very much exists in every body’s dictionary, after all humans are not limitless, For some, it exists in the first few pages of the dictionary while for others it might exist as footnotes, but it does exist.

This, I realize now, but back then Napoleon was my idol and I tried desperately to be ‘her types’. It’s another matter that I almost made a fool of myself in the process… Shonali my confidante and best friend stood by me like a rock, even when the whole world was laughing at me and what I was doing. She had tried to dissuade me from what I was doing and make me see sense, a couple of times, but it was a hopeless scenario and after a period of time she gave up and just let me be. Niharika migrated to the States and left my life forever. Shonali got married.  On her wedding day,seeing her as a beautiful bride , blushing prettily, I realized with a pang what I had missed- what I had let go in my obsession to achieve the impossible. All along I had Shonali and I had let her go just like that… My ego took a grand beating, my heart was all shaken up and my confidence level had gone down to a good 60 percent from a 100 percent. A loser again!

I married as per my parent’s choice. Saanchi – a good person, but belonging to the same school of thought as my family- of winning and achieving. But anyhow that bitter sweet chapter of my life was finally over… And it was time to move on to the next challenge of my life- to provide happiness of all forms to my family. I got a somewhat decent job in a set up which was filled with indecent people indulging in lots of office politics. My brother’s progress in life was phenomenal and compared to him I was a poor shadow. Becoming the head of my unit was the only possible way to salvage some of the lost glory and I started working diligently on it. I was the hardest working of the lot, but I lacked in ideas. I simply did not have it in me to understand office policies and what was indeed wanted from me. In fact I confess now, that I would have made a hopeless leader as I simply wouldn’t know what to do next. My projects were never approved, promotions got delayed, but I kept at it. Many suggested job change, but no! I had to prove to these idiots that I had it in me to become a leader, an achiever, in the process maybe becoming the biggest idiot myself. And then the last week, the coveted position, for which I had been slogging for, since the last ten years, went to someone else .It was a big blow to me. I was spared the humiliation of attending office by this God send Angina attack, but for how long? Soon I have to make a decision… on whether to fight back and attempt again or quit and reconcile with the situation, or quit and start some place different, where I can do better, but where? Yes, you are right in inferring that I never had talent for this stuff, but I was so busy in pursuing with perseverance and hard work, that I never could discover where my talent could be. Recognizing your talent is a tricky affair.  It is preordained before birth what you might be good at, but only the lucky few realize it early. Why luck, you may say. Let me explain why.

Consider this scenario- a boy from Himalayas has little chance of realizing his talent, if he has a latent talent for scuba diving.  Or how about a boy from Afghanistan who has a gift for western classical ballet- how much chances do you think are of discovering that talent? Less than the former. So you see, success ,talent, perseverance, opportunities, circumstances are all intertwined by fate or luck or chance and only a few lucky ones can be Sachin Tendulkar or Sharukh Khan with the perfect combination of everything. Comparatively a larger number of  people have it good in their life with a better permutation and combination of this factors, while the rest have to just make do with whatever available abstract resources. And a few like me, in spite of all the perseverance and determination have to stay behind ,with a messed up combination and permutation which is aggravated by our own mulishness spurred on by the fear of losing which is again powered by societies cumulative disdain for losers. I don’t know where my life is leading to. I am not even sure about my next course of action. I think I will take a decision based on a little bit of instinct and a little bit inspired from a sense of duty. I am not even saying that it will be the right decision, but I am prepared for whatever it leads to-Success. Failure. Anything ! because it doesn’t matter anymore. I have no fear of my honesty and sincerity being compromised because that is ingrained in me, but i am no more afraid of facing failures either..I am not afraid of losing or being called an underachiever anymore…I am no more under the stress of ‘performing’. As far as ‘proving myself’ is concerned, I am done with it for ever.

Maybe winning not about not quitting, rather, knows when to quit. Maybe only way of being above winning is by over coming the fear of losing. I am not saying that one shouldn’t try to win. My saying so won’t change a thing. Humans are programmed to go for a win, like it or not, as it are a sort of driving force. I guess a world without the drive to win will be like a world full of zombies, so there is no choice as such, there ,but one can always  choose to like or dislike a loser.  Oh no! I do not agree with you if you say- ‘we only hate those losers who do not give their best shot’ Let me again explain why! For one, your disproval will not change him one bit, rather it can make matters worse. You might be just hastening his departure from this world. Secondly best is a subjective term. His best may not be your idea of a best, and your idea of best may physically be not possible for him. The hope of winning with a Best can in fact boomerang and could only get a person caught in the vicious cycle of wrong decisions and more losing and more wrong decisions leading to failures -just like my life. Some wins, while some have to lose. We Can’t really do anything about it. A winner arises only when there are losers to win from. So there will be losers, like it or not. But a request- please, please! Spare a thought for us all, before you utter the L word with utter contempt. It hurts. It hurt me then. I did not mean this to be a moral science class nor a mass appeal, but there was a second part  to my son’s statement which  I had omitted back then but one which had overwhelmed me enough to pour out my feelings. In a very grown up manner he had added. – “So what if the world calls you a loser, It doesn’t change what you are-A good father”. I won’t describe in details what my response was, just that, it made me think and realize-Win or lose, it does not change what you are and who you are inherently and finally that is what that matters.

The name and the much hyped item number suggests that the movie should be of drugs and narcotics and Dum Maro Dum is a full on psychedelic masala movie , based on the drug scene in Goa.

Prateik Babbar as Laurie the bumbling teenager , who gets caught in the web of the narcotic scene as a carrier is impressive and looks the part. Abhishek Bacchan as Inspector Vishnu Kamath , the ex corrupt but now clean cop,  is his usual self. By usual I don’t mean bad ( I never considered him as a bad actor and if you don’t agree with me then just watch his Yuva),only spontaneous. Debutant Rana Daggubati  as Zoki the musician and good Samaritan, strumming his guitar and wooing his lady love, Bipasha with Tee Amo is good looking and let us keep it at that only. We will have to watch a couple of movies more to really give a verdict about his acting. Bipasha Basu as the ambitious Zoe looks troubled throughout the movie. We see more of her frowns than her hot bod. We have Vidya Balan in a bit role and feel grateful that it is a bit role only. Some how she wouldn’t have suited the movie.  Aditya Pancholi as the drug lord Biscuta is forgettable. Supporting cast of Govind Namdeo and Abhishek’s Lackey- Mercy is impressive but the plot os more riveting than the performances. The first half is fast while the second half drags at parts, but the last fifteen mins of the movie again turns interesting and non clichéd. The music makes you sit up (even Thaii thaii, the rap number) and Goa captured in Sepia with flashes of psychedelic lights and colours, and zonked out scantily clad foreigners is more realistic than the pristine blues and glosses of other movies like Golmaal etc . Few dialogues and scenes are good enough to keep playing in your mind on repeat long after the movie is over.The direction is wholesomely complete(almost) barring aside some loopholes, but as I said who cares for perfection in a masala movie?.…Did I miss something? Oh yes! The plot! Oh dear I did the review upside down, but that is drugs for you. Even the hint of it in the atmosphere is enough to mess up everything-from your viewpoint to your life to career to everything that you hold dear. Is that the message of the movie? Not exactly.

The movie in the first half brings the three key characters of Laurie (prateik), Kamath (Abhishek) and Joki in one frame through some fast flashbacks of their life. Laurie in need of some big money to finance his higher studies , agrees to become a carrier and gets caught. Joki a simple musician who lost his girl friend  Bipasha to her ambition and Drug Lord Biscuta, decides to stand by Laurie and clear him from this mess. Abhishek Bacchan as the super cop who had no scruples,  finds the purpose of his life after a personal tragedy and a second chance by the Goa CM to clear up the drug scene

Three of them are brought together after Laurie is caught with cocaine in the Airport and it is upto Abhishek Bachan and Joki to clean up Goa and hunt down an elusive yet key character in the drug scene, Michael Barbosa. The second part of first half and the second half is about the hunt for the elusive Barbosa and the usual cop and bad man chasing-bashing scenes.  Action scenes are just about tolerable, but the movie in whole, if you turn a blind to the few imperfection, is a good weekend watch and more so if the last movie you watched was around a year back.

The song Dum Maro Dum? Need I say anything especially about it? Its just part of the package and is not much more than what it appears to be- a passable item number.

Ginger Chai verdict-The movie is not an example of perfection or brilliance, but who wants perfection? I think for a paisa wasool 3 hours , a movie that is better than bad suffices too, but here is news! Dum Maro Dum is good, not perfect or excellent but definitely good.

Tired and hungry, on my way back from work, I decided to do some grocery shopping which was urgently required due to fast depleting stock. Yes I prided myself in being the modern pseudo independent woman who knows and does her stuff well. While I was awaiting my turn at the cash counter which was quite crowded, I glanced at the women in front of me. Decked up, made up, they were quite a sight. Housewives from the neighbourhood, I realized. Maybe just there to get some groceries and where totally decked up like a bride, I thought contemptuously. They were discussing the latest episode of some daily soap (or was it the latest fashion trends?)  and at that precise moment they seemed to be away from all worries, animatedly chatting away, while I tapped my foot  impatiently with a scowl. Come on for God’s sake can’t they see I am tired after a busy day of housework and office?  Not like them, mindless existence without any worth while purpose in their life, I had scoffed. And then it hit me. What was I thinking? Why this snobbishness? They meant no harm; they were just being themselves- happy and gay, with not a care. Why did I have to resent them? If they chose to stay back and devote their time at home, did they commit a crime? No, I guess. They watched the soaps, lived and loved the life of the characters, wore lovely clothes, so was it worse than being in some office of power and siphoning off public funds?  Or was it worse than picking a gun and going on a shooting spree? I would call mindless giggly gossip to be the most harmless of sport compared to some real nasty stuff, so why this snobbery every where?

I have just mentioned the case of those poor housewives as an example, but don’t we sense a slight intolerance and impatience to so call “care less” attitude everywhere? If the caste system and the class system of rich and poor have dissolved, in its place a new stratification has crept in- of Jobs, qualification, education, information, how articulate or how well informed or aware one is. You see it every where. You just aren’t fulfilling your life if you are not debating about some important issue or cause, be it in the clubs or social media. It is as if the rise of the intellectual bourgeoisie class has taken place. Gone are the days of simplicity, with simple sense of happiness or the simple joys of life, scoffing seems to be the latest game among the intellectuals. Peer pressure is becoming higher, less for materialistic gains, but more for Awareness.  Awareness about the latest technology, current issues, causes etc. In fact I am tempted to say that maybe, it all stems from education. I know that it is a terrible thing to say about this one thing that can change the quality of life among humans and that which is desperately needed in our country for its upliftment, but seriously can you cross your hearts and deny that a kind of arrogance and disdain has crept in the society? Not even when the IITian snubbed you at a party? Or the Surgeon who would just exchange a curt hello and mumble incoherently at your queries? Or maybe that time you did feel a bit put off when the senior Journalist gave you a royal brush off about your concern? Or how about that time when your ex classmate who topped the IAS exams ignored you at a get together just because you both did not have any common topics left to discuss together. In fact let’s go in a reverse way too!  Most of us have our origins and roots in villages, but we still feel at a loss for topics to discuss with some one from there. Why? We are supposed to be one with higher education and yet all those education and information cannot provide us with a single topic to keep our listener engrossed , or is it that we don’t attempt to do so   - Please do not be mistaken that I am against higher education. No, never! I would never suggest that. But like all essential drugs, may be it too has a slightly irritating side effect and I think the effect has started to show now. As for me I plead guilty for the above, but more than ashamed I feel envious, because those females seemed genuinely happy devoid of their trappings of job or educational qualifications while I stood there disgruntled even with my false sense of superiority.

The flight had turned out to be uneventful. Good! I had caught up on my sleep while the man on right finished watching a movie on his laptop – as I gathered seeing him shutdown his lappie. He seemed pleased at something as he turned towards me and started this conversation.

Man on right- yes! I got it.

Me- huh?

MoR- Hello I am one of the bhai of Ram-chee brothers. I am sure you have heard of us?

Me- Uhh… the horror movie producers?

MoR- well not exactly but coincidentally we are movie producers too and we are planning for an ORIGINAL experimental piece which will be a horror plus romance mix. And guess what? I found just the thing in Hollywood on which my ORIGINAL will be based.

Me- eh? Ok. And which is that great inspirational movie?

MoR – Being John Malkovich!

Me- (shocked) but that isn’t a horror movie. You can call it Drama, Fantasy, comedy even, but horror?!! I don’t think so. I have seen the movie and it has no horror element at all.

MoR- (agitatedly) there you are! The typical Bourgeois with no imagination at all.Its a horror movie all right but you don’t have the insight and creativity to realize it. (Bloody educated logical person)

Me- I heard that… and anyways it isn’t horror if you are speaking of the Spike Jonze directed, John Cussack, Cameron Diaz , Catherine Keetcher and John Malkovich starred movie.

MoR- yeah Yeah same movie. I know even more about it. 3 oscar nominations and 45 awards in total. See? Just the right movie to base my experimentation!  Sigh I might even get an Oscar like Slum Dog Millionaire.

Me- (or a razzie. Huh! Moron! Horror indeed!

MoR – I heard that. So you still disagree. Ok fine. Lets recap the story together. You first tell me what it is and I will explain the symbolisms after all horror movies are all about symbolisms like Ring, Reaping, Signs…

Me- ok ok… The story is a bit meta physical and tells about the struggling Pupeteer played by John Cussack who is out of job and his wife Cameron Diaz  who share a dry and insipid marriage and finally he takes up a filing job in a very Harry Potterish  office at the 7 3/4^th floor of a building. There he develops a strong emotion for his co worker Maxine that is Catherine Keener who is not that much into him and…

MoR- wait a min! Are you a writer by any chance, especially do you write reviews?

Me- slightly astonished- Yes! How did you guess? I mean I do attempt reviews now and then.

MoR- you were so boring in your narrative…no offence please he he ! Anyways yeah, please continue and get it over with fast! We will be landing soon

Me- And while on an errand he comes across a secret port, a small door which – ha ha! This one is a laugh, yeah a portal that leads to the mind of John Malkovich a successful actor played by Malkovich himself, and whoever enters that portal can be Malkovich by being in his body and mind for whole 15 mins before being ejected out through a turnpike. Now don’t ask me the logic behind this whole thing. In fact after this, the movie becomes weirder with almost all the characters on sight clamoring to experience this phenomenon after Maxine collaborates with Cussack to commercialize it. Diaz too uses the portal to be in Malkovich’s mind just at the same moment Maxine happens to be there in Malkovich’s company and they i.e. Maxine and Diaz in Malkovich’s body develop a kind of Oh My God! Attraction? Chemistry? Because Diaz inside Malkovich’s body is a different Diaz itself He he he!!  You can say Diaz and Maxine fall in love. After this the movie turns complex with  Cussack entering Malkovich’s mind  and figuring out how not to be ejected thus capturing Malkovich ‘s mind body and soul and making use his puppeteer skills to use Malkovich’s resources to his advantage and also gets married to Maxine after removing Diaz, now his rival in love. After that what happens is weirder.

MoR- wait a min! wait a min! So what did you say? Capturing Malkovich’s mind body and soul-!  Bingo! Do you know what it is known in Horror Movie Parle- Possession!  Ultimately it is a movie about possession.! A man possessed by another.. Black Magic!  Veerana! Raaz. Can’t you see?

Me- you are crazy! You have completely confused the underlying message?

MoR – oh is it? Well let me hear you out then?

Me- of course it raises serious ethical issues of …

MoR- Ah! Fancy terms! Typical writers! Making mountain out of mole hill. Is it necessary that a movie or for that matter a book should have some kind of message always? Why can’t you all educated folks accept a movie by just what you get to see? Why do you search for an under lying message?

Me- But It does have a message, about the voyeuristic instincts of man. Of the Psychological play! Of manipulation etc Of Identity issues. (Stop after I see him literally ROFL) oK then what is your take?

MoR- It is a simple horror story of a Possession and a love triangle and a social cause movie on the cause for Homo Sexuals  that ultimately it is the soul inside and not the body . There is no male or female soul. See? Its simple. This is what the aam aadmi will see if they watch this. If I can rope in Aamir , Kareena and Sharukh and make them act even half like Cussack, Cameron and Malkovich It will surely add some more awards for acting.

I almost choked on the drink and felt thankful that we were about to land or I might have ended throwing up or throwing him down from the Plane.

But was this guy totally wrong? He did have a point at times to be honest. The movie was critically acclaimed but the aam admi? Were they impressed?