Variety is the spice of life

More than a movie review it’s yet another lament on where we are heading as a society. Its not that Indians runs their life by looking at the movies but definitely as a mob, we are largely influenced by what the matinee idols depict on screen – be it wardrobe or for lifestyles. Though “creative” people pounce to argue that art reflects life, the converse also holds true equally. If tasmac, the state run liquor industry, is blamed for bringing that evil right near our doorsteps, by glorifying it on screen our matinee idols have made it as a non-taboo item. If people from 2 decades back, do a time travel to 2020, they would be surely shocked to the level at which tasmac and liquor has infiltrated daily life of common people. In a state that used to pride itself on “ban liquor” movement a generation ago, has turned to the brewery taps to even run the government is shameful to say the least. In fact, tasmac earnings have become an undeniable source of income, goes on to show the apathy of ...

I have been a big time fan of Hitchcock. Watching his movies “Birds”, “Rear Window”, bits and pieces of “Psycho”, for I could never watch it fully, have given me nightmares whenever I watched them. May be there is an inexplicable magic in black & white movies, that gives an aura of authenticity about the stories. Rebecca, after watching the movie while I was googling for the story writer got to know that, had been one of the master’s masterpiece and the one I saw on Netflix is a re-adaptation. They’ve done their best not to mess up the story line and since I didn’t see the older version, watched this one with no expectation. Upfront, credit to Daphne du maurier, the author of the book which has been made into the movie. For some reason, certain names gets stuck in your mind and this is one such name. I’ve never read any of her books before, but as part of quiz competition during school days, we used to mug up all capitals, currencies and famous authors. This name for some reason go...

I have always wondered how home schooling works as a concept. It is something that is quite common in Western nations I guess and have always wanted to know how those leisurely schooled kids will fare against our factory assembled ones, who are drilled for marks from act one day one class one. With corona causing the havoc that it can possibly can, junior hasn’t attended school since last 2 years. Now with plans of reopening taking shape much more concretely, we are actually tensed how he will cope up with that setup. We may not be alone in this ship though, with many anxious parents unable to decide between keeping their kids at home against making them more adaptable to regular setup. One thing that I loved about this whole thing is having been able to spend so much time with junior, who calls me his “best bro” and “friend” 😊😊. I am his go-to-play person who teaches naughty things and pranks. One day while attending online class along with him noticed some of his classmates names a...

When you are awake at 4AM in the morning with not an inkling of sleep possible, its time to visit those long pending unread book list. Had long been avoiding James Patterson novels, ever since I read “Pop goes the weasel”. Interestingly it was a recommendation from my dad, who was given that book by his office colleague, hearing about my book reading habit. Not that it was a bad book, but felt the concept of serial killer was too much at that time to follow. Nowadays, with every other alternative thriller creation, be it on book form or on screen, dealing with more gore on a much casual note, that novel felt universal rated than “R”. Insomnia apart, the other reason to read his books was the tagline that he holds the Guiness record for being the #1 best seller in NYT list for the longest period. Not that NYT is the ultimate authority on good books, but definitely an accreditation for something interesting to read. When we used to buy Hindu newspaper, every Sunday, I would spend at leas...

A title that couldn’t have been any more straight forward. It reminds me of a movie titled “Oru kolai iru kangal” released decades ago. The only reason I remember that movie, even though I hadn’t seen it till now is its title. For a supposedly thriller genre story, you couldn’t have a more revealing title!!. Bro Daddy, brings together the combo of Prithviraj and Mohanlal, in yet another directorial venture of the former. The cast also brings together Meena with Mohanlal, the Drishyam couple who couldn’t be paired for a more different role, kaniha and Kalyani Priyadarshan whose elusive search for an establishing hit still continues across Molly/Kollywoods. Prithviraj and Kalyani are kids of two friendly families and for some reason, keeps their relationship a secret, despite possibly no chance of any approval concern. They also have a live-in relationship in Bangalore which leads to accidental pregnancy!!! If at all there could’ve been an accident more planned, this would be it!! While ...

I read an article recently about how people who have settled on foreign countries, even after becoming citizens still have that sense of loneliness. Not that being citizen has anything to do with it, but the thing being, if you’ve spent that much time to attain citizenship, you are expected to be accustomed to the culture and lifestyle of those nations, especially US. The article mentioned that, even though, as a neighbour you may be invited to events and parties, even thought people may know you and be friendly, never does those relations get to the level of discussing personal life. Unlike India, where in the third conversation that you may have with a person could possibly be about your third cousin from a distant relative long forgotten, people abroad treat personal life as something quite close to their heart and not even our folks who settle their, even within their own circles they rarely discuss about such topics. The essence of the post being, how our guys, settled abroad, sti...