Video Maketh the Moojic

About time I wrote about something I watch the most and something I watch the most while watching the thing that I watch the most. I belong to a generation of couch/diwan/floor potato fries (not particular about the furniture I slaughter) and am unashamedly one of those who naturally switches to the music channel, am no fancy-nancy (didn’t draw) angrezi music (atleast video..lets salvage some pride here) aficionado. So most mornings, bridging the gap in between my early morning dhin chak and fast fast readying is MTV, Channel V and Zoom (yes…gimme half mark for honesty).

Now there are some movies that you may never remember but the videos are really interesting in that they have character about them, and eventually you end up liking the song. I have a list of these and chances are my friends will disown me after this.

1.Cash: Bunch of uncharismatic paapam flip-FLOPing actors – Zayed Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Esha Deol and Shamita Shetty ( had to pause while typing this because I forgot her name).The song has stuck in mind so now sometimes I think -SOX mere front mein, SOX mere back mein, ……..SOX on my mind doing review all the time!

2.Apna Sapna Money Money – Dil me baji guitar: I love the song and the video is also a lot of fun. There is good boy Shreyas Talpade, Her Royal Hotness Riya Sen, Why-not-to-Botox Koena Mitra and again Secondary Storage device (floppy) Ritesh Deshmukh. My mother seems to be emerging as a key character in my blog …but she is a lot of fun. She looked at the girl Ritesh and said “See how pretty this new girl is, you should stop having a complex about being dark!” He is very pretty as a girl and doesn’t do the typical guy pretending to be girl vulgar moves.

3.Jab We Met: Pretty Kareena and prettier & daintier Shahid in a song in the national language of Hindi movies- Punjabi. I can’t comprehend the lyrics (how could I …I am trained to watch Hindi movies not Punjabi)…but it has a great beat dum-lak-lak (yes Vijh…got it from you only ) only much faster song. The monkey gang and I have no idea why we start running and jumping every time this on TV.

4.Race: It is apparently a action movie…don’t bother. It will only be about the three lambu hotties and the song where the aspirational benchmarks of all Indian women (Bipasha and Katrina ) and the will never be taken seriously ever Reddy (Sameera) full to walk up and down in near doggy-ka-bachcha shame attire.

5.Rafta Rafta: This is a song from Hulchul….I know no one has seen it, but I love the movie and the song. Also I think Kareena Kapoor looks best with Akshaye Khanna.

And then there are the usual Beedi, Kajra Re types which now have become irritating but no music channel will stop playing ever.

Cringe as much as you want…I know you people also watch this stuff.

A Fine Balance

Author: Rohinton Mistry
Genre: Brilliant
My current streak of luck with the books is exceptional. I saw this book on a shelf in the library and I stood for around 10 minutes staring stupidly at the book. I asked it, why? I have had it up to the neck of someone twice my height with India centric books (ICB henceforth)…why am I looking at you? “Ok I am on Prebha Moghen’s list....chance lere baap”, it said, (also the picture of the smart looking author did not harm its cause).

It is like all the other ICBs, but its not. The issues it addresses, the extensive background and stage/story setting of each character is vaguely familiar. But it’s a really good story, with four characters that I will remember for life.

The story is about the four characters with the Emergency and extreme economic insecurity as the backdrop. No- it is not. It is about these four people who come together and make the most of the given situation. The story, the chemistry among these characters, the wit, the basic goodness and kindness in them in spite of the dreadfully mean situation each of them is faced with make the whole experience very intimate and personal.

Amma asked if I liked the book and whether she should read it. I said its one of the best things I have read, but don’t read it; it will make you very happy and extremely sad. She read it, called my sister and told her she loves it and that she should read it. I guess with age comes courage.

Also read: ‘Truly Madly Manhattan’- Nora Roberts. Always follow something as intense ‘A Fine Balance’ with a good time pass romance-mixing tastes as Amz would say.