review

This story is about a high school kid, from West Virginia who dares to dream big. This was the time when Russia made history by launching the first satellite Sputnik in 1957, but for this kid this sight of a satellite moving across sky came as a big aspiration, a moment of connection with oneself when one realizes what exactly one is supposed to do in his life. The village was called coal wood owing to the main profession being mining coal and as the norm all kids were supposed to work as miners after their necessary schooling. As he watched the satellite streak across the sky, he had a dream of building a rocket which could take that satellite and put it in its orbit. The aspiration was so profound that he went a long way to hold on to it and make things work. They were a group of four friends, managed to procure the material for their experimental rockets from unused rail tracks etc. They made numerous unsuccessful attempts trying to fly a small sized rocket. They used all lengths, all sorts of fuel etc. The rockets either flew to short distances or catch fire and burst. Failures are the stepping stones of success indeed. These experiments lead them to understand what makes a rocket actually fly. Apart from experimental failures, he had to abandon his rocket flying aspirations, as his dad got seriously injured while working in a coal mine and he had to work in coal mine for keeping his family financially well. Those innocent eyes always looked up the sky when going down in a coal mine elevator. In spite of all these hardships, due to the help and encouragement from his teacher he participated in a science fair, demonstrated his rocket building, flying fundamentals and won first prize too. This involved many schools and he came out in flying colors with that first prize and getting scholarship offers from various universities.

I was especially moved by the advice his teacher gave him- “you don’t have to prove anything to anybody, now go launch yourself a rocket”. Some quotes or dialogs are so profound and life changing, that you may live your entire life based on their implications and often quote them with your friends or family. .This kid was Homer Hickam who went to become scientist at NASA. He dreamed big, worked hard towards it despite all hardships, faced the numerous failures in experimentation with his rockets and learnt how to fly rocket correctly. Thus the orbit of Sputnik became the path of his destiny.

So, a big dream needs lot of hard work- probably replaced by term smart work these days often, patience and recovering from failures too!  Probably this movie redefines the term ‘rocket science’ to mean – Awesome! usually rocket science implies a tough thing or nerdy science.

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We have so many Indian mythological characters that have a lot of powers but still we have very less contemporary Indian superheroes like Spiderman, Batman, Superman etc.

And similarly I have always wondered why we don’t have more fantasy fiction when we have Things like Ramayana and Mahabharata for inspiration. But this book- Immortals of melhua is one attempt towards contributing to Indian fantasy fictions.

Immortals of Meluha is the first book in the series of Shiva Triogy by Amish. When I first heard of Immortals of Meluha, I thought it’d be something like “The Da Vinci Code”. But I was wrong- this book is different.

Shiva at the start of story is no lord- he is a tribal man from a tribe residing by the side of Mansarovar Lake at the foot of mount Kailash in Tibet. An extremely skilled warrior, he is the chief of his clan and Bhadra is his deputy and childhood friend. Though the best, most courageous and intelligent warrior in many tribes combined, he is fed up of the barbaric ways of the tribal life.

Plot in brief:

The Indus valley civilization of today is the Meluha of 1990 BC. Meluha is an amazingly organized and scientific civilization for its time. The Infrastructure of the Meluhan cities is so good that it can put the modern day cities to a shame. The people of Meluha are not only happy- they are Immortal.

But this crazy-and-freakishly-perfect society has its own set of problem. And like their grand style of living, their problems are also grand. The river saraswati, whose water is main component of their elixir of life- Somras, is drying. They face constant terrorist attacks from the rival nation- the Chandravanshi who have joined forces with the ferocious martial art warriors- the Nagas.

Then there is the legend of Neelkanth which says: “When the evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears your enemies have triumphed- a hero will emerge.” Enter Shiva in Meluha and the story kicks off…

Other than the Plot the book has two most important aspects:

1.       The character of shiva-  the character shiva has been put in an interesting manner.

The introductory description of shiva’s physique in first chapter says it all. He is atheletic and he is warrior- an extremely good one at that. He smokes chillum. He has a sense of humor – a really good one. He is a natural dancer- a perfectionist dancer. Despite belonging to a barbaric clan, he is humane. He is an inspiring and extremely respected leader.   He has lazy, elegant and effortless charm about him. Ladies can’t help admiring him.

Sounds like James Bond? What seperates him from being bond is the fact that he is profoundly humble and he can love. He is in deep love with Meluhan king Daksha’s Daughter- Sati, who is, let us say a little reluctant to go in  a relationship with shiva though she likes him a lot. Interesting uh? It is…

This character shiva- the elegant, powerful and effortlessly brilliant, alone makes the book a worthy read.

2.       The language used- The language used in the book is, to say the least- contemporary.

That is where the main objection of critics lies- when godly people go about saying stuff like “For god’s sake man, if you are happy with her, then I am happy for you”  it becomes a little difficult to digest. It could have been better of the language was a little more dignified when you are setting the plot in 1990 BC.

But for me, such language totally worked- it helped me connect to the story better and added to the humorJ.

But there was one place in the book where even I had an objection with the language- the chief scientist- Brahaspati explaining Shiva about food, oxidation of food by oxygen present in respiration and other truck load of science including ageing. I mean man, cm’on- you have set your plot in 1990 BC, did you forget? At least use some creative words for the scientific terms to prevent it from being weird- like you could use “pran vayu” for oxygen.

Amish has a very captivating style of storytelling- the story is fast paced and gripping. The book has everything- Drama, Action, Romance, emotions- everything. Romance has been portrayed particularly well. Once you start the book, it is an absolute un putdownable. Amish has this ability of putting romance and action simultaneously in same scene. He is also very, very good at sketching the characters because of which you can relate to the characters better.

A must read if you enjoy fantasy fiction- the book leaves you waiting, anxiously for the sequels!!

PS: I personally liked the character ‘Anandmayi’ –towards the end of the book, a lot. Read the book and you’ll understand the obvious reasons behind this

A commemorative postage stamp featuring Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai

In the eighties, Kayar used to be telecast as a period drama series on Doordarshan. Having watched an episode or 2 then, I don’t remember to be impressed or understood anything being an adolescent. But recently, having read its English translation by N. Sreekantan Nair published through Sahitya Akademi, I can’t help but marvel at this masterwork of a book and its distinguished author.

Kayar (Coir) is a voluminous novel originally written in Malayalam by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. It is the saga of Thakazhi village in Kerala, during the British Raj and early days of Independence. The canvas of this magnum opus stretches across 7 generations and a time span of 150 years vividly painting the culture, tradition and the social order of yesteryears’ Kerala and the gradual transition it went through to arrive at the current state of affairs. By means of myriad characters it recounts in finer details the social, political, economic reformations as well as the upheavals the society, families and individuals went through those times.

Pillai’s style of writing is plain and straightforward but heartwarming nevertheless. There are no concealed connotations, suggestive overtones or confusing philosophies of any sort. Yet in this simple narrative of numerous tales of different people belonging to different communities/ religion and their families, Pillai reveals his great insight into human nature and acute analysis of human character. He skillfully etches the ‘Change’ in times, values – cultural and moral, lifestyles, caste system, human emotions and relations – personal as well as between various religious communities. His recitals efficaciously depict the gradual switch from the matriarchal to patriarchal system, the tragic consequences of the high-handed British Laws and Acts, failure of land reforms and its disastrous effect because of the partitions of the matriarchal families, radical transformation in the education system – from caste based guru-kuls to ecumenical English schools, defeated feudalism and slow emergence of socialism, new found awakening of patriotism, influence of Gandhism, ensued situations of World War II, creeping in nepotism, preferred overseas immigrations, overall greed and a general loss in prominence for morals, God and the good in the society.

Story unwinds with advent of renewed land classifications, by the orders of the Royal family, and arrival of a Classifier and his greedy wife in the village. The social set up then consisted of some powerful feudal lords belonging to the rich ancestral families of higher caste Namboodaris and Nairs enjoying complete authority over the matters pertaining to the village and the temple. The temple of village deity Dharma Sasthavu was held in high reverence and formed an integral part of the god-fearing people irrespective of caste and creed. The labour class was of Ezhavas, Parayas, Pulayas and Christians. The only source of income was agriculture and all payments were made in kind, especially measurements of Paddy. Deep-rooted customs, rituals and traditional sentiments were the undercurrents holding this society together.

Typical family would have several generations living under the same roof with daughters of the house inheriting ancestral properties and the uncles being responsible for bringing forth the nephews and nieces. Adultery and infidelity, though not socially acceptable were still prevalent and as-a-matter-of-fact things. Free willed marriages, widow remarriage, taking in second husband etc. were all accepted norms. Intercaste marriages were very common, but the rigidity of caste system prevailed by not taking any food at spouse’s place.

Corrupt Classifier and his team reassesses lands accepting bribes and other favours. The normal system is disrupted by such irrational land assignments and an imbalance creeps into these families. To add on to it, newer land reform laws of British and introduction of courts for settling disputes create a tumultuous situation as they are highly misused by the knavish.

Slowly, this affects generations down the line, and the once affluent families now face penury while the labour class and Christians gain prominence by sheer hard work and European association. All these are recounted through stories of different members of Kodanthara, Mangalaserry, Cheeratta, Seelanthipillil and other such families, Outha Mapilla, Attukkadavil Anthony and their successors representing Christian community and Purakkalathil Abdul Rasak, Pareed etc., belonging to the Muslim families.

Stories of Kochu Nair and his son Manikantan disclose the total revamp of Education system and the mad rush for official ranks and government posts. Through Kunjan Nair, Surendran and Viswanathan author brings out the patriotic ardour that was gaining stance. Similarly, World War II, partition of India on religious lines, gaining of Independence, there upon following elections, Government and other changes in the society are subtly conveyed.

The Novel is very big and takes considerable time for reading. There are more than 100 main characters and innumerable side stories and to keep track of them is slightly weary. The consistent introduction of several characters in first few chapters is somewhat confusing. But as you continue, you realize that it is not really necessary to remember them, simply because it’s a flowing story and with ample back references. Anyway, the list of main characters is given in the beginning, which is helpful as you cruise along this marathon classic. The complicated long Malayalee names, which are sometimes repeated over several generations, are bedeviling. Also generous use of Malayalam to maintain its originality gives that authentic native touch but would have been difficult to comprehend without the glossary provided at the end.

The only other book of similar genre that I can recall is “Things fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, which portrayed the cataclysm of African society on account of European invasion. Kayar however brings forth true India in all its beautiful diversity and gives a joyous experience of reading.

A highly recommended read.

After watching 7 khoon maaf , the only thing I can think of saying to Priyanka Chopra is 7 sada hua movies maaf. Yes such was her power packed performance that you overlook some of her bad performances, but let’s come back to that later.

A little bit of the movie Trikal, a little bit of Miss Havisham from Great Expectations, A bit gothic. That were the images that I had while watching the movie. Based on the short story by Rusking Bond- Susanna’s seven husbands, (Ruskin Bond also plays a cameo in the movie), the movie is neither a murder mystery – thriller nor is it about any social cause or a feminist realistic drama. Please refrain from watching it if you love melodramas or typical bollywood masala movie or for that matter Karan Johar- Aditya Chopra movies or candy floss romances, because you will be highly disappointed. Though the movie is dark, desolate and depressing yet the story has nothing realistic in it. As the name suggests it is a bout seven murders yet it is not a psychological thriller nor does it try to delve into the psyche of the killer or find justifications. Then what is it about. Well, it’s just a complex story told simply with some superb acting, and vivid imagery. The timeline is interestingly incorporated in snatches of conversations, radio updates, television news and you have an idea of the advancing time frame without even being mentioned. The movie is narrated in the third person by the young Vivaan Shah, (who is incidentally Naseeruddin Shah’s son) who is infatuated with his benefactor, his Saheb Priyanka Chopra, and is set initially during the Pondichery of the 60s, when strong influences of the colonial era still lingered on in its Sahebs and Memsahebs.

The story is about Susanna Anna Marrie Johannes played by Priyanka Chopra, whose husbands die under mysterious circumstances. So we have Niel Nitin Mukesh as an over bearing jealous husband, John Abraham as a drug addict and ex rock star, Irfaan Khan as the loving tender poet who is a sadist by night.Alexander  Dyachenko as a Russian double agent with a double life, Anu Kapoor, a police officer who is in to Viagra, and Naseeruddin Shah as the herbologist and a gold digger , in other words all rogues and unsuitable with respect to Priyanka’s expectations. It is no secret as to who disposes them, but the why is not always justified, as in one of the scenes, Vivaan Shah had asked, why she had to kill her husband. She could have easily left him or the question why did she have to marry seven times? The answer that her faithful butler had given was narrated in the form of a story how she used to be accosted by a crazy pup on her way to school, but instead of going through another way, she killed the pup, “Saheb raasta badalte nahin, woh kutto ko maar deti hain” She was always in search of eternal love and this quest of hers lead her to marry seven times, though not always willingly. And that in essence is all about the story. No moral implications, no justifications, no questions – a simply told dark tale of a simple at heart female, who goes on to make her life quite complex.

The movie is beautifully supported by the other cast -especially by Anu Kapur, Usha Uthup (yes Usha Uthup, the singer), Vivaan Shah, Shashi Malviya and the Butler (I forgot his name).  John Abraham is slightly wasted. Vishal Bharadwaj’s music is brilliant and the songs and Gulzar’s lyrics seem to grow on you gradually. Priyanka’s makeup to show her progressing age is quite remarkable but at some points it appeared botchy.

Did I say there was no suspense or that it isn’t a thriller? Well there is the suspense of who her seventh husband is? And about the 7^th or saatwa khoon… But for that info you have to catch the movie

GingerChai verdict – only for those who love dark movies.

Xcess Baggage comes with a strange baggage with it and I can’t figure out if it is a surprise or a shock or I guess it is a mix of both….

At the onset I will say, please read it at your risk, I mean I am not saying don’t read it but then the beginning was not great, one has to hold on to ensure that one hangs on it. It is plain boring until the Vampire hits you on your face full on! Unbelievable but true, it is a story about a female in US who falls in love with a Vampire who  is a werewolf, the one who is hell bent to kill her; reason, they want to set free ‘Unquiet Dead’ inside her by killing her and which would have benefited the specie of the Werewolves! Ok, I can’t explain these things detail, simply meant, the female protagonist must be killed or rather sacrificed for the well being of male protagonist ‘s clan….you can draw inference in whatever way you may like it.

So we have Meghna Chandra who resides in some part of US (off late I am reading all such books where the setting is always in US, I wonder why?) and Byron who is Lord, I mean not in literal sense but yes he is because he is a werewolf, a rare combination of vampires and wolves. There is a big clan though not so big lead by Byron the Beast as Meghna calls him. So as you move on, the story unfolds like a true fiction like a movie with all special effects with hero flying out of aero plane with heroine, saving her from dying etc. Oh yes! He excels in almost everything, literally yes, he has even studied medicine.

I hope and believe that it is a pure fiction (I am not sure if werewolves exist). You will enjoy the verbal repartee between Meghna and Byron, you will also hope that he will finally fall to her charms and you will also hope that they live happily after but that is not the case. What exactly happens? To know this, you need to read on.

The first book – Right fit wrong shoe – was really enjoyable, so the second book came with the excess baggage of expectations of being a better one than the first but somehow it is not so. Or, may be we had so much of expectations that it failed to meet so. The book is different in its own way for the simple reason I never knew or could think of this kind of plot so it was seemingly fresh to say. After you have managed to stay put through first five pages then there is no way you can put the book down without completing it which makes it clear that it is good in its own way. I mean if you ask the author which book is better, she will have no answer. My only wish was the different ending; yes a true happy ending would have sent my spirits soaring. I actually imagined that it will be a one bollywood ending but that was not the case alas! It is not even sad, it is just painful and leaves you with a question why or rather “Oh Noooooo”!!!

Over all I suggest to read it in leisure, reasonable price, sweet & sour story, not meant for those who do not believe in fairy tales, or who always believe in happy endings J

Yes, the review was late, I have been writing it for ages; I had read the book in its first week of launch itself….I managed to read some chapters again in order to write the review….and yes I can read it again (but not the first 4-5 pages !!!!).

Dil toh bachha hai ji stirred interest much before its release thanks to the title which is borrowed from Gulzar’s hit song beginning with the same line from the movie Ishqiya.  Smart move by the reality film maker and 3 times national award winner Madhur Bhandarkar who attempts a breezy rom-com but unfortunately ends up just making a lazy attempt.

Naren Ajuja (Ajay Devgn) , a soft natured  banker who has filed for a mutual divorce settlement takes in Abhay (Imran Hashmi) and Milind Khelkar (Omi Vaidya) as his house-mates to help him out of his loneliness.  While Abhay, a gym trainer and a habitual play boy who survives by flirting around with rich women and lives by what he calls “survival of cutest”, Milind is a complete antithesis to Abhay – A self confessed virgin and a poet working in a matrimonial agency.  Love plays havoc in their life with Naren falling for his young pretty office intern, June Pinto (Shazahn Padamsee) , Milind madly, deeply in love with a self centered and career focused radio jockey and aspiring actress Gungun Sarkar (Shraddha Das) and Abhay bowled over by Nikki (Shruti Hassan), step daughter of  Anushka Narang (Tisca Chopra) The ugly under belly of the relation is Abhay uses Anushka as his ATM (Any time Money) and involved physically with her before Nikki arrives in the scene.  Definitely Dil to bachha nahi ji .  All three fall in love and finds love is not a fair game for them.

The scene I loved the most was when Nikki gives Abhay his own doze of funda. Though a short role, in that one particular scene Shruti Hassan steals the show.  Being a boss and having a crush on his intern, half his age is an awkward situation to be in and Ajay could not  hide his awkwardness and definitely not the best of his performance.  Omi Vaidya is still in his 3 Idiots hangover and his Chatur Ramalingam inspired poetry rendition does not cut the ice. Though there is an earnest innocent factor in his performance that one cannot miss.   Bollywood’s play boy Imran does not have a meaty role and just have to lazily play around with women.  Isn’t it what he is on-screen famous far? But hey, there is no lip locks for him this time.  Madhur could have done away with the stereotyped gay character and the cheesy dialogues. Music by Pritam is forgettable.

GingerChai verdict: Dil toh bachha hai ji , thoda kachha hai ji. A half hearted lazy attempt by Madhur Bhandarkar. Not a great movie but not very bad either.  A one time watch if you are seriously determined to catch up a movie this weekend, else you can give it a pass.

iCon: Steve Jobs

- The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business

A ringmaster who can direct every move of his fellowmen, inspire them like crazy and at times work them into a frenzy, where no soul is untouched by his aura and yet make them realize where to draw the line, Steve Jobs clearly is the genius we are seeing and still experiencing! One of the best books I have read recently, which is so riveting till the end and makes you wonder if one human being can do all that. How do you explain being an icon in three major fields of Computing, Music and Animation?

Each of his legions waiting for the story to unfold, are proudly considering their part in this mania. Exuding charisma and preternaturally excellent, he raises the bar for what the leaders of today are made of. For those who just see the bling and success surrounding him, its an eye-opener to announce, he is molded through a tiresome process. Even today he stands for what he stood as a teenager. Mellowed down, maybe, still he manages to pull out the rabbit every time out of the hat- every magician’s dream.

The book is an excellent read and a better stamp of The Google Story genre. The nitty gritties of the geeky world is carefully woven and it does not painfully teach you to code or create the graphics, it leisurely and unknowingly takes you into the environs of the modern tech era, with so little effort that in the end you can clearly distinguish as what goes into Mac and Windows. Geez! I actually read through the entire Apple license document to see the craftsmanship that goes into their product. Yes, it runs for pages and never had I ventured into such amusements before!! It made me watch the Toy Story all over again and Woody and Buzz emerged even livelier. It’s a different feeling to see, hear or read when you know what goes into the making. Nothing comes just suddenly out of the wilderness.

Today I hold the iPod and it feels ever so magical. Who else can give that clean touch and feeling?! I mean here is a guy who is so adamantly confident and has the power to make it into reality. Not all his products are runaway hits, but those which are, are of a totally different clan. It’s a difficult task to even start describing him and that’s the best part of this book- a Biography with a difference. ‘The best of engineers does not fit into any mold’. Even today he looks very much the part and he is not done yet!

Fore warning: Dhobi Ghat is not a movie for everyone or to be specific it is not clearly aimed at the masses. But does it succeed to woo the niche audience? Lets find it out.

Having given the warning, lets talk about Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries) directed by Kiran Rao, who has a powerful name of Bollywood to her backing, her hubby Amir Khan.  Lets be honest, if not for the marital status, the super star would not have signed to do the role in any other director’s movie and the movie would not be so much talked about too.

The short movie, (yes the movie is just 92 minutes long and has no interval break!) is an cinematographic canvas of 4 characters who discover each other for a brief time.  In other words, it’s a depiction of few pages of 4 people’s life. Arun (Amir Khan) is a reserved artist capturing the moods of Mumbai in his canvases. Shai (Monica Dogra) is a NRI investment banker on a sabbatical and on an Indian visit to find her Indian connection and capture the by lanes of Mumbai and the mumbaiya spirit. Munna (Prateik babbar) is a part time Dhobi cum rat-killer cum gigolo and a wanna-be actor who becomes a guide-friend of Shai in her discovery of Mumbai and also nurses a crush on her.  Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra) who appears in the video diary abandoned in the rented house where Arun shifts to and becomes his muse in his new canvas he works on.  Dhobi Ghat in its brief period takes the slice of the 4 individuals and the way their life gets intertwined and ends up with no beginning and no ending.  Just as you would read couple of pages in a diary and close it.

If the movie is watchable in spite of the art house story (or in true perspective lack of a meaningful story in a cinematic sense) the credit goes to the controlled and brilliant acting by all the four characters, cinematography and the back ground score by  Argentinean music composer,  Gustavo Santaolalla.  These three elements strongly carry forward the 90 minutes of the movie and save it from a complete disaster.

Amir Khan has shed his super star image and gives a controlled, restraint acting and appears as just one of the four characters sans the image of Bollywood super star. As I said earlier, if not for the fact it is his wife’s directorial debut, he would not have signed this role otherwise.  So it is left for Monica Dogra and Prateik to steal the lime light and they do.  Kriti is unfortunate to be restricted in her video diaries but then no one can complain after all it’s the movie about characters and nothing else but still she etches her portion relatively well.  The real heroes of the movie are Tushar Kanti Ray who captures Mumbai refreshingly and artistically and Gustavo Santaolalla, whose back ground music lends a fresh air to our ears that have been used to our Bollywood school of music.

GingerChai verdict: A movie with no heads nor tails,  not for everyone and might even dismay the majority of the niche crowd it is aimed at. Nevertheless, you can watch it once for the compelling performance, the fresh aesthetic Mumbai look, the background score and the different bold attempt it tries to infuse.  (read again, I said tries to) Stay  away, if you are a regular movie buff and have other engaging plans.

This elegant movie, though cannot be classified as science fiction precisely, sets itself apart owing to its unique simple elegant & wonderful concept. This is really quite unusual, simply lets you appreciate your own sense of logical reasoning, guiding or rather misguiding until the point where you are completely involved & lost.

It’s just a discussion on the comfort on a couch on lazy afternoon, among group of intellectual professors, an assorted collection of logical & intellectual discussions happening somewhere sometime…..

There is this young history professor, John who is kind of famous among his colleagues and favorite with the students, for his profound knowledge, suddenly and mysteriously disappearing or leaving the town. His colleagues, who are also his good friends, are very much concerned about him and curious to know the reason behind this decision, drop by his house, also to wish him good luck.

Upon being asked several times for his decision, he refuses to reveal the reason and instead just replies that he likes to move on in life. His colleagues who are quite experts in their respective domains like Anthropology, religion, biology, philosophy etc are simply not willing to let him go without telling the reason behind his moving from there.
An artifact, a stone found in his home leads to discussions on an interesting topic that how would a man be if he is not ageing, say from Paleolithic time. Just consider the possibility that somehow some mechanism kept him alive: A perfect detoxification mechanism & perfect regeneration of his body cells & organs, recovery mechanism from various diseases. He should have learnt to fight the predators & just simply keep moving on in life without emotional attachments. He would have seen civilizations born, flourish & get extinct, he would have wandered over mountains, valleys, learnt a lot of languages, seen different tribes, of course protecting his life somehow against all the possible dangers.

John claims that he is this man who has lived from 14,000 years. Of course no body believes him, but the topic is so interesting that everyone starts asking him questions on various topics likes geography, religion, beliefs etc. this leads to a series of logical arguments & surprisingly John is having an instant convincing answer every time. They all realize that that there is no way to prove or disprove his hypothesis, instead go with the flow of his story asking his experiences in his lifetime that stretched over vast bounds of time & places. His arguments can be obtained from any history book read in school & that’s what John exclaims that when he read the book, he correlated with his own life & understood the reality. This fact is simply difficult to digest that such a thing could have happened with him, he just simply lived endlessly !! Considering this scenario, the knowledge of such a man would be tremendous. He says he traveled a lot just like any normal man would do. He learnt a lot & was considered God by some tribes owing to his non ageing feature. He once met a man who he felt was like him never ageing to die but no way to prove the same, lost contact with him & moved on in life. He is just logically correct all the time in his arguments. He even proclaims that he was with Buddha, & goes on to say some things which offends them. He crosses the line by proclaiming himself to be someone with  some facts supporting the argument,  which shatters the listener’s religious beliefs. He learnt a method to slow down the body processes so that he suppressed pain & preached good things like humanity & brotherhood etc; he recollects the important historic events so well in their original form which can be possible by a person who has actually lived in those times.

He says that he has kept moving on in life overcoming his attachments & emotions, & that is why he is moving on now. They discuss various subjects like science religion, medicine, etc & are just taken by & lost in the arguments. His friends are very much disturbed by his arguments, lost in their logical reasoning to an extent that they want to believe him but that’s just not acceptable to their senses. You have go to watch the movie so see how it twists & turns the nerves. Is  John is a cave man surviving from thousands of years ?

Probably this movie in some way teaches that unlike John, we have a finite lifetime. ….& we should enjoy to the fullest.

What could a prehistoric man make of when he looked up at the sky? The vast stretch of darkness, the twinkling of stars etc would have made a great sense of mystery engulfed by his thoughts about his own consciousness.
Probably he believed there are gods & demons up there, helplessly trying to let go of feelings which never seemed to find an absolute answer. He can’t make up his own mind that what he is seeing is an illusion or reality when the concept of real & virtual itself is unknown to him.

Jats the way, Deol Ve. The Deol forces have come together this Lohri to enthrall you and surprisingly they guarantee that in most parts of the movie.

Beginning the movie with the clips of good old bollywood movies that shows separated brothers and finally a happy family together,  Director Samir Karnik makes no pretensions of making an intelligent movie but a rehashed story told million times but served in the Deol way.

Paramveer Singh Dhillon is an NRI living with his mother, a chaste Hindi speaking firangi wife and two kids.  His father had separated from them years back along with 2 year old the younger kid and are in India. Paramveer searches for them and comes to know the con father-son duo are in Benares now. So he sets foot in India and bumps into them.  The story takes a nonsensical laughter course from here along with a little dose of sentiments. A love story between Gajodhar (Bobby Deol) and a sardarni, Saheba (Kulraj Kaur Randhawa)  guarded by 5 fierce Punjabi brothers. The brothers coming to know the love story take back their sister to Punjab and the story shifts to the fields of Punjab. After a round of nonsensical tamasha, songs and fights they lived happily ever after.

Bollywood churns many non-nonsensical movies but few manages to keep you engaged. YPD belongs to the lucky few.  Throughout the movie, the Deols manage to keep you glued and enjoy the movie.  Mind you its not an easy task but the Deols lead by still energetic Deol Sr and the Iron man Sunny Deol pull the coup. Even if Bobby is the one who manages to romance on-screen its his brother and father who holds the audience.  The climax fight is as silly and idiotic it could get but you can’t stop laughing and enjoying it. You have fun, you have item songs, you have sentiments, you have the typical deol swearings, you have comical fights and you have an entertainer in YPD.

GingerChai Verdict: Yamla Pagla Deewana – one time watch that entertains you in most parts, Jats the way, the Deol ve.