Diwali Day...

Feels nice to wake up without having a schedule at the back of your head. i'm sure my comp feels so much more happier that i'm not opening Autocad anymore. It kinda gave up before i did... 2 days before a submission!! And it's nauseating (by association, i guess) to sit in front of the comp. But i shall fight all that. Its the first day of a (really short) vacation... the first one since 3rd year started!!! Happy diwali to me, i guess...
Saw 'Don'. The Shahrukh version. Have already written about it and have tarnished it even before i could see it. And as usual, its foot-in-mouth time. But before i jump onto the new movie, i should mention i have never seen the original one. So unlike all the reviewers and the oldies who've seen the old one when they were my age and are seeing this one with a nostalgic bent, i can claim that my view of the movie are neutral. Except for the anti-Shahrukh bias.
First, the music. The songs suck. The background score is awesome, going with the pace and the feel of the movie, in fact rescuing some scenes in patches.
Whatever snatches of the old movie ive seen make it look almost cartoonish in its appeal. This one is so slick, i can re-oil my car by just sticking a poster of 'Don' on it's bonnet (sorry for that).
Arjun 'mumble-mumble' Rampal is miserable. Kareena sizzles in just the one song she gets to do. Priyanka Chopra, hot as ever. Isha Koppikar, non-existent. Two performances stand out though. One is Boman Irani as DCP D'Silva. Never imagined the funny man to give such a serious and sedate performance.
And Shahrukh Khan goes back to his 'Darr' days and gives a bone-chilling performance as Don. In fact, when his 'Vijay' avatar came up, it almost made me wish i could fast-forward to the real deal. For the first few minutes, it takes a little getting-used-to to see him in this role. But that's just me and my prejudices. Slowly, you see the effort to make it as different from Vijay or Rahul or whatever. The evil glint in the eye and the childish yet maniacal attitude makes it one of the best character treatments this year. Although Shahrukh hams a few scenes, its still a good performance.
The retro look to some song picturisations and the almost 'flower-power' clothes worn by the males in some scenes try too hard to make a connection the 70s. 'Khaike Paan Banaraswala' gets a new twist with Shahrukh's energy.
The movie has some nice touches. The fleur-de-lis print shirt in 'Khaike..' is obviously well publicised. The other one is not. Shahrukh and his henchman walk into a high security safe where all the drugs and stuff are stashed away. In the corner is a painting barely noticeable yet instantly recognisable as Munch's Scream, stolen a couple of years ago in broad daylight. The painting was found a few weeks ago, around the time the movie was deep into post-production... coincidence??

Speed post II...

Most dramas on the many Hindi channels we get here are family-oriented with a dominating female/male and many secondary characters.

Most comedies on the few English channels we get here are family-oriented with a dominating male/female and many secondary characters.

Thats all.

Question...

What are the chances of someone drinking tea and throwing the paper cup in some bushes such that it falls upright; and leaking water from an A/C on the 1st floor drips right into it??

(i'm really asking... cos i saw one today. And am really interested to know what odds that had...)

Billboard...

My favourite billboard has transformed itself again. (must write a book on it some day) This time into a slick 'Matrix'- green poster of Shahrukh 'Rahul' Khan trying to look uber-cool in Farhan Akhtar's Don. Trailers look slick. Priyanka Chopra looks hot (when doesn't she?). Kareena looks like Princess Leia for some reason. And Shahrukh is Shahrukh. In fact, there's no difference in the outstretched arms as well. 'Mitwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa' becomes 'Main Hoon Donnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn'. Only difference being the black suit. And the glass of champagne. And no violins (thank God for that!!). He doesn't seem to make a good 'Don'. Unfortunately, i'm so prejudiced while watching movies that every time i see Shahrukh, i see 'Rahul' or 'Raj' or 'Dev' or whatever KJo wants him to be tonight. Maybe after 'Baazigar' and 'Darr' he might have been grey enough to be Don, but not now after years of playing the diabetically saccharine characters he's played.

And on a completely different note, 2006 seems to be the year of the broken dream. Old fogeys France gallantly and steadily progress till the finals and lose to (corrupt and evil and moneyminded) Italy in the World Cup. While Schumacher, on the verge of retirement, comes this close to a seventh World Championship and loses to cranky baby Alonso. We need some angels with loads of miracle dust next year.

Orkut part 2...

After months of orkutting, scrapping and other assorted -ings, i have a few questions:
1) Why does the number of communities you join directly proportional to the amount of interest you have in each of them?
2) Why do all communities from 'Keira Knightley fan club' to 'I Hate Pakistan' have the post 'What does the person above you remind you of?' as the most replied to?
3) If someone scraps you while you're online, is it rude to not reply?
4) Similarly, is it rude to suggest you chat on messenger?
5) And when you chat on messenger, why does one realise there's nothing to talk about?
6) Does Google Inc. have a magic wand?