Kaam Ka Plot

Well, it truly was Kaam Ka Plot. I think its a great initiative by Zoom to feature miniscule budget-truly creative movie premiers like Kaam Ka Plot. The movie is directed by journalist Minty Tejpal and features Ranvir Shourey, Sandhya Mridul in lead roles and Vinay Pathak in a kickass guest appearance.

The magic that spunky Sandhya Mridul and versatile Ranvir Shorey create on screen is fabulous. I think great performances is a given thing with Ranvir, Sandhya and Vinay. The plot (story) of the movie is the best part about it. Its woven jazzily, its simple, its tricky (where it needs to be) and its well written. The climax will unfurl fantastically. It beautifully captures the nuances of a middle class, married, unemployed due to recession character played by Shourey who is smoothly glided into a big scam being plotted by the foreign returned, unhappily married photographer Mridul. Now this is scam is the biggest twist of the movie which you gotta watch out for. Ofcourse, special mention for Pathak who is simply Brilliant in his truly "special" appearance as a marathi cop.

Another small wonder from the world of Indie films. Refreshing
Must watch if you haven't. I am sure Zoom will have repeat shows!

Aloo and me

Aloo and me go back a long long way. Presumably, after milk, the next form of food that I was fed with was aloo and thus begin my tryst with Aloo. Now, its actually more of a never ending saga with me trying to run away from it and aloo trying to always magically land at my breakfast/lunch/dinner plate in a desperate hope to please me.

So the story goes like this-As a marwari family, aloo is supposed be our staple diet. So be it Holi, be it Diwali, be it birthdays, be it anniversaries, be it any of the zillions of other festivals and occasions, one thing that unfortunately has been an integral part of the celebrations is aloo-desperate seeker of attention.

Okay, I will some credit to it as, after all, it is considered to be the "king of vegetables" (whatever shit that means!) But does it have to mess with all the other existing vegetables that are capable of having their own individual identity. Have you ever asked beans or capsicum or brinjal if they even enjoy aloo's company? I am sure they are sick of it. And so am I.

Aloo hijacks every alternate meal at my home. While I have had the luxury of ignoring aloo for almost five years when I stayed on my own but now since I have come back to live with the marwari family (my folks), aloo is acting vindictive and attacking all my meals. Ofcourse, the rest of the members of my family would not dare offend aloo. So on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday Friday, Wednesday, and Sunday, its aloo that sarcastically smiles at me from my own shiny glass plate and sometimes it is in an awfully uncomfortable liaison with poor other cute vegetables, without their consent! Hate you aloo. Hate you.

Dont ever ask me why I wana move back to Bombay

Delhi. This is a city which should be awarded for having the largest chunk of horny perverted men roaming freely on the road
This is a city which is cold (And I strictly refer to the metaphorical meaning of the word cold)
This is a city which is frigid.
This is a city which wants to keep staring at you and make you feel uncomfortable
This is a city which makes you feel alienated
This is a city which does not have a sea
This is a city which is slow
This is a city which does not respect time
This is a city which doesn't inspire me
This is a city which does not smile at me
This is a city where I hate even stepping out of the confines of my house
This is a city which is not polite
This is a city where neighbours are nosey
This is a city where I dont get a cab as soon as I get down
This is a city where I am completely lost
This is a city which makes me feel more lonely then ever

Now, don't ever ask me why I want to move back to Bombay!

Drinking a glass full of dreams
Trail of light follows my path
I am wobbly but alive
The world is a bit lost
I am thriving in the madness

Corruption is good

Today morning was pretty bizarre. How would you react if there are two police men standing outside your door and announce that they have a non-bailable warrant against your father from Ghaziabad court?

As my dad wasn't at home, initially I reacted like how a panic stricken person would react but then I decided to be the man of the house and tried to make sense out of a fictionalised nightmare kind of a problem as my dad is a simple sweet humble middle class working man and I don't really think he even has the potential to try out any cool illegal activities. So after much prodding by the three worried ladies in the house, the issue was explained to us. Anyways, so the issue was this-Me and my brother were in our car about two years back and were given a challan for not having a pollution certificate and out of forgetfulness and carelessness we forgot to pay that meager amount of challan that we had to. There was never a further notice after that and obviously it faded from our memory. And for this "crime" they issued a fucking non-bailable warrant!!!!

This is as ridiculous as it gets. Though we have been assured that, thankfully due to corruption, we can deal with this problem easily. Apparently, this has become a common problem. The police guys easily dismiss the cases if you "deal" with them nicely.

This puts me in a strange strange position! I cant get over the ridiculousness and banality of the law in this country which issues a non-bailable ARREST WARRANT for someone who could not/did not pay Rs 400-500 challan for an expired pollution certificate of a car without even a prior notice. I want to thank Corruption for helping poor people like us in bizarre situations like these where we can save our poor little lives by dispensing some hard earned cash!!!!

The show is on time

The show is on time.
The audience dispensable.
The stage empty.
Soliloquy of the soul
Yours or mine?
A loud shriek,
a deep wail,
a somber smile,
and a few lines.
It is now or never.
Get on the stage.
Die under its debris.
Feel the guilt of its weight.
Its lonely without you.
The co-actors are missing too.
Let me see you fall here.
Let me see you rise.
Turn the stage upside down.
Inhale it and exhale it.
Let the smoke shine with you.
What are you waiting for sweetheart?
Come and take the stage.
The show is on time.
The audience dispensable.
The stage empty.

Political Cartoonists- Abu and VIjayan

At the outset, I have to declare that this post is completely inspired by this amazing piece on 'Death of Political Cartoon' published in the Open magazine on 14th August 2010. This is written by a cartoonist himself Hemant Morparia.

In the article , Morparia mentions two cartoonists who are an integral part of the political cartooning "history" of India- Abu Abraham and OV Vijayan. And this is where this post comes into the picture. Have tried to find some old cartoons of these two geniuses.



The next one is from Guardian













Found some of OV Vijayan's cartoons here and some more here.