Luck By Chance Reviewed

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I don’t know whether it’s the genes or the food served in the Akhtar household, but genius seems to flow in their blood. Father Javed Akhtar needs no introduction and neither does his step mother Shabana Azmi. They both command respect with their contribution to Indian cinema and culture. Mother Honey Irani is a remarkable across in her own right. Following suit, son Farhan first wowed audiences with his direction in the gen-next flick Dil Chahta Hai and followed it up with Lakshya. As he wasn’t very happy sticking to only direction, he decided to try his hand with acting and even singing in the recent “Rock On” and became the new heartthrob of India. Not to be left behind, sister Zoya slipped into the director’s chair while bro tried yet another cap, that of a producer! So sitting at home, they decided to make this movie “Luck by chance” with sister directing, brother producing and acting & father writing the lyrics (and I’m sure giving Zoya a hand in the script as well). And I’m glad they did.

Luck by Chance may be touted by many as yet another take on bollywood – the casting couch, the double faces, the agents, and the hypocrisy. Another Madhur Bhandarkar’s Page 3/ Fashion, you ask?? No. Not even close. The movie doesn’t pretend to be an expose and refrains from being one. The way I see it, it’s a tale of a bunch of people trying to make it big in the Film Industry, at times compromising on themselves and at times justifying this compromise. Everyone knows how difficult it is to act for a living, and this film helps us see that from the point of view of the protagonists.

Farhan excels in his acting again. His no-flair and natural style charms you and even helps you sympathize with him when his character shows shades of grey. Konkana has always been one of my favourite actresses and continues her no-nonsense act. She is as believable as you and me and looks gorgeous in the last frame walking through the crowds with her newly found self-confidence.

The Akhtar family goes the Om Shanti Om way by bringing in friends to do cameos. Hritik Roshan is hot as ever and does a good play of a pricey hero act. Shahrukh plays himself and shows why he’s still the super hero. BTW, he plays his true self to such an extent that he is seen wearing his wedding ring which he has not in any film till now. Dimple Kapadia plays the yesteryears jaded starlet who is determined to make her daughter shine.

But the star of the movie is Rishi Kapoor. He and his wife Juhi play an entertaining couple that know the ways of the world and yet live with the nuances. The 2 have done a great job in this film and leave a smile on your face. The music of the film is also catchy but it doesn’t stick with you.

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable movie and a one time watch. Don’t expect any national awards here.

Rating: 3 on 5

Talibanization of India?

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“Pub Culture is not a part of our culture and has led to unfortunate incidents like the one in Mangalore” BS Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka

“If St Stephen’s were to open a co-ed hostel, it would also be required to build a maternity house alongside” MS Frank, administrative head of St Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

“….one should not be so adventurous…” Sheila Dixit, Chief Minister of Delhi referring to a young lady journalist traveling home after work at 3am who was chased and shot point blank in her car. Saumya Vishwanathan is a producer with Headlines Today, English News Channel. She was covering Bomb Blasts in Malegaon and Gujarat and had to sit late to complete the assignment. She was done by 3 AM and was returning from her Jhandewalan Office towards Vasant Kunj, her home when she was shot in her own car.

"Our volunteers will check parks, hotels and restaurants and swoop upon young lovers found walking hand-in-hand," Vijay Tiwari, a Shiv Sena activist in Lucknow, said. "We are deadly against Valentine's Day," Sapan Dutta, a Sena leader, said. "We are for civilized love and affection." Bal Thackeray comments “Only those who are not patriotic and has a lot of parents' money to spend will celebrate the day”.

India's Taliban is our very own elected government and politicians?? Last time I checked, I lived in a free democratic country?!?!! Please excuse me while I quit my job and go home to live within my 4 walls, covered from head to toe, saving the Indian/ Hindu Culture....

Jaipur Day 2

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I have suddenly woken up to the fact that I am lagging behind in my blogging. This came to me as a realization when I was reviewing things in my head this morning. My usual routine involves a 20 minute (thankfully so) drive from my home to office. I usually spend this time planning out my day and prioritizing. And when I thought that I must blog about the delicious Broccoli Soup I made yesterday, I realized that I had promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep….well, ok not really but I do have a long list of pending blogs. Besides a new Broccoli soup recipe I created and tried, I also have to finish the Jaipur travelogue (it seems that the trip ended on Day 1), a review of Luck By Chance and I have a half written draft of one about Indian culture and politics. So here’s an attempt to clear my closet. You can expect some rapid 2-3 blogs from me this week.

Where was I….yes, so we woke up on a lovely Sunday morning in this Rajasthani Suite. Sitting on the verandah, sipping tea from my silver teacup on this gorgeous sunny winter morning, I couldn’t help but feel content. THIS is what life was all about! We had a splendid breakfast on the patio and drove off towards the City Palace. Whoever warned you against Jaipur traffic was really not kidding, just try to drive from the gate of Johri Bazaar towards the City Palace, a distance of merely 400ft and you will know what I mean. The place is a mad-house, one that makes Chandni Chowk look orderly! Having said that, the govt/ royal family have done a great job with maintaining the look and feel of the old city. The walled city still has the same structures that existed before and the markets are all built like the olden times with arches and small stores (a similar standardizing exercise is being done in CP in Delhi now). The City Palace itself unfortunately was not much to write home about. I know now why Jaipur is a poorer cousin of Agra in the Tourist circuit. The momuments here have been disregarded and are in a state of complete disrepair. The museums within the City Palace are worth a look, there is one for arms, one for textiles, one showcasing their transport vehicles and a Durbar hall which has a grand chandelier. The fable goes that to ensure that the ceiling could take the weight of the chandelier, the Maharaja got 4 elephants to climb on top of the building and check for sturdiness.



After a quick round, we once again braved the Jaipur Traffic and took off towards the Jaigarh fort. The fort boasts to have the largest cannon in the world (Jaivana) but besides this, the fort doesn’t hold your attention. It is merely a series of high walls (that block the view) surrounding a pit (which to my imagination must have been the treasure area that was looted by Indira Gandhi). Not recommended.

So, we set off towards Delhi, saying goodbye to Jaipur. A delicious dhaaba (roadside eatery) lunch and an endless stretch of road took us back to our home.

Slumdog Millionaire and the Indian IT Industry

Think you know everything about Slumdog Millionaire? I bet you dont know how the Indian IT Industry provided the basic inspiration for this film...

Done believe me? Read this...

Slumdog Millionaire - as inspired by Indian outsourcing

Last night I went to see the brilliant new film Slumdog Millionaire. Directed by Danny Boyle and based on a novel by Vikas Swarup, the movie tells the story of a young man from a Mumbai slum who achieves success on the TV game show Who wants to be a millionaire. His horrific experience of life in the slum gives him the exact knowledge required for each of the quiz answers. The movie has just won four Golden Globes this week and is being tipped for Oscar success, so it comes strongly recommended by most critics.

My Facebook status indicated that I was out watching the movie and this morning I noticed that Anil Tikoo, from the Indian technology firm NIIT, had posted a message on my wall suggesting that his firm was the inspiration for the movie! I dug around on the internet and - sure enough - he was right.

In 1999, Dr Sugata Mitra carved a hole in the wall of the NIIT offices in Delhi, a wall that divided NIIT from a neighbouring slum. Mitra left a computer there, available for the slum kids to use, but without any training or instruction. Within a month the kids were familiar with the operating system and could use the computer to access the web. The ‘hole-in-the-wall’ experiment became a well-known example of innate ability and Mitra and NIIT have developed a strong corporate social responsibility programme thanks to the success of this experiment.

When the experiment was publicised, Vikas Swarup heard of it and was fascinated by the idea that anybody from any background could do something extraordinary, provided they get an opportunity. He wrote his novel based on this idea, and the rest is history.



Source: Mark K Hillary's blog

Rajputi Aan Baan & Shaan - Jaipur Day 1

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This month started with a trip (to Agra) and ended with one to Jaipur last weekend! What a life! With a long weekend coming up, we made a spur of the moment plan to head off to Jaipur and that’s just what we did. Jaipur is at a decent 220Km. distance from Delhi and the excellent highway makes it a lovely drive. It was the first time that I drove for so long on a highway! I almost drove around 300 Kms on this trip and loved every second of it. On route to Jaipur, we turned into a bylane and took a short detour towards Samode Palace. The palace is rather a lovely Haveli built around courtyards with fountains and boasting of some spectacular rooms like the Sheesh Mahal (Hall of mirrors).



They offered a buffet lunch for Rs.1100 plus taxes per pax but we settled for going a-la-carte and had a scrumptious Laal Maans (Mutton in red spicy gravy). After being treated like royalty (well, they better have, considering the entry was Rs.500 per person), we got back on the road and headed towards the Amber Fort.



The Amber fort (pronounced Aa-m-ai-r), is a spectacular edifice on the edge of a cliff 20Kms. outside Jaipur. Originally built of a pinkish rock (and now painted yellow for some strange reason), the fort was started by Maharaja Man Singh (the famous step brother of Jodha of Jodha-Akhbar fame) and built by two generations after him. The fort itself is not too large in terms of the palace inside but has a phenomenal 20Km. long wall around it to protect the fort. India’s very own Great Wall!! The guide we hired happened to be more of a movie buff than a historian and he gave us a very engaging (if not informative) tour of where Sridevi walked and where the Mughal-e-azam song ‘Jab Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya’ was shot et centra et cetra….. Needless to say, the husband thoroughly loved the tour. The guide was also convinced that Jodha was not of royal blood and was actually a dancer in Man Singh’s courts….hmmmm, not so sure about that!!

Something worth mentioning here, is that though the architecture of the palace was very Rajput, there were distinct similarities with Mughal Architecture in some places. The marble sculpting was a replica of the one seen in Taj Mahal. A single rock sculpted carefully to show the turn of leaves….remarkable.



As the sun set, we headed off towards our hotel, a heritage ‘haveli’ called ‘Nana-ki-Haveli’ belonging to a The 120 old building was gorgeous and every corner of the place had a story to tell. Waking up in the morning and sitting in the verandah (balcony) sipping tea served in real silver-ware…that’s the life!


"Nana-Ki-Haveli"


For dinner, we decided to be a little adventurous and tried out a backpacker’s favourite – Meditterano. It’s an Italian rooftop restaurant (if you can call it that). Very basic, with plastic chairs and the like but the setting is great and candle-lit. They had a wood fired oven and their pizzas came highly recommended. We tried out a pizza and a spaghetti carbonara which once again reinforced my belief that as much as I may love Italian food, authentic Italian is not my cup of tea!! The pizza was wonderful and crisp but a little too bland for our palette and so was the pasta. I’m half afraid to go on my dream trip to Italy lest I discover my favourite cuisine in its pure form is not anything like what I appreciate!!

So ended a long day well spent….and the next day calls for another post….later then…

Slumdog Millionaire reviewed

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"Forget the Us vs Them debate. Go for the pure cinema experience". This is how Nikhat Azmi (TOI) signs off her review of Slumdog Millionaire in today's paper.

You know what? She's right. The only way to enjoy this movie is leave your cynicism at home and enjoy pure art. Because thats what it is. As the world probably knows the story by now, the movie is about a slum kid who wins "who wants to be a millionaire". Everyone cries foul on this and suspects he's cheated and he painstakingly explains how each question was linked to an incident in his life.

A script that goes back and forth between a gameshow and the contestant Jamal's life is a great way to make the film and makes me want to get my hands on the book from which this is adapted (Q&A). The movie is not about portraying India or poverty or flesh trade. The movie is about hope. And how it survives in the darkest of places. About love and how it thrives when all else dies. And about determination. To make one's own destiny.


The best acting in the film is surprisingly by the children who play early years of the main leads. It is not so surprising, once you discover that they're not actors but slum children. Their honesty shows and touches your heart. The other actors do a fair job but not one to be applauded. One person wasted in the movie is Irfaan Khan. The actor has shown his brilliance in many movies and could have been given a meatier role. His hawaldar (kallu mama), on the other hand, does a great job in the tiny role he got.

AR Rehman doesnt disappoint but he doesnt dazzle either. I can understand why hollywood would go gaga over the music and to be honest, the background score is good. But we, who have grown up on Rehman's genius in Roja or Bombay or Dil Se and so many more know that 'Jai Ho' is not Rehman at his best. It's just a decent piece from a genius who creates music from his soul.

The one aspect that I felt the movie lacked was the accented english of the main leads. The children did great...and talked in the local dialect and tone of Mumbai. But the actors fell into this english spoken in an accent that can in no way be Indian. Jamal, one can understand (if one must)as he works in a call centre. But the local gangsters of Mumbai just dont cut it. The only reason I can think that the director did this is to keep this film in the mainstream cinema category at awards and not in the foreign film category. But, it may have been more impactful if the actors were allowed to speak in the local accent (if not language).

But let us refrain from being too critical. 4 Golden Globe wins, 10 Oscar nominations, many other accolades. Is it worth it? I would say yes...many times over.

Dont watch it as an accomplishment for India. Dont watch it as a critic of poverty tourism. And dont watch it as a documentary of Dharavi Slums. In my opinion it is none of those. Watch the movie for the pure joy of entertainment. And you will not be disappointed.

Rating: 4 on 5

Accolades for Slumdog Millionaire

Yes, I tried…and no, it did not work! Apparently the writer in me refuses to die down just yet!! So, I paid heed to its kicking and screaming and here I am back in the arena….

Slumdog Millionaire makes it big….wins the Golden Globe and so many others!! 64 awards since its release in November!! Whatever the critics may say, this counts for something!!

The question that The Husband asked me yesterday and I still haven’t answered, is whether there is so much reason for us to celebrate? We have this uncanny ability to take credit for anything as disconnected as it may be from us. Sunita Williams shoots to fame after being chosen for a space mission. All Indians smile and feel smug about their achievement. Ofcourse, the immaterial facts include the fact that she is born in Ohio, lived in US all her life, served in the US Navy as is not nor has ever been Indian. But lets not burst the bubble….she traveled to space didn’t she??

Aravind Adiga is a sensation overnight having won the Booker. Every Indian looks at the mirror and says, “See how far India has reached?”. Forget the fact that he immigrated to Australia when he was in school itself and spent most of his life in US and only returned to India recently when he wrote this book. So all those insights into rural Indian culture and how we are evolving probably came to him while he sat in his comfortable room in New York if not his hostel in Oxford. I can bet that of the 10 people you hear talking about it, perhaps only one would have read the book….else why would we feel proud of a book so dark and so tainted in its perception of India?

I could go on but this is turning into a monologue. So should I feel proud of awards being bestowed on a British film directed by a Britisher, produced by one of them as well which released in North America 3 months back and still hasn’t bothered to come to India? I don’t know….and I don’t want to be so critical before seeing the movie. This is not, after all a review…

But yes, in response to his question, I concede that I should be as happy about this film getting awards as I should be if Heath Ledger gets the Oscar.

Purely, for the sake of art!