The Sane Lunatic

One does not get to choose their family, and a family is often not a haven. The protagonist who shares his name with the film title, Titli, was raised by and lives with his father and two brothers, who lead by example, into a life of darkness.  Director Kanu Behl's debut feature gives a real world insight into the parallel of the criminal life in Delhi NCR, in a manner that you probably wouldn't have seen before in Bollywood. Which makes it a bit difficult to review without sounding like one of those pretentious jerks who write reviews for a living.  It is a family that eats together, and then goes out together. For a hearty share of violence, bloodshed and petty crime. Titli (Shashank Arora) is the youngest of three brothers who live with their father (played by Lalit Behl, the director's own father) in a lifeless hovel on the outskirts of the capital. Vikram (Ranvir Shorey), Pradeep aka Bawla (Amit Sial) and their father are people going nowhere very quickly, slow...

Its not rare for films to fail at an attempt to pay tribute to important figures, or less known historical characters but few fail as badly as this, considering the line up they had. Rock the Kasbah loosely inspired by the true story of Setara Hussainzada, an Afghan woman who braved death threats after appearing on the country's version of American Idol, wherein she broke into an impromptu dance which made her head scarf slide off. Even its cynical jabs at American foreign policy, or its cuddly ode to the unifying power of music, fail to entertain. Bill Murray, probably at his least charming, plays Richie Lanz, a selfish, irritatingly loudmouthed, out-of-luck music manager. Spouting off tall tales of his decades in the trenches, depending on who he's conning, he'll either claim to have discovered Madonna or to have convinced Hendrix to play the star spangled banner at woodstock. He has only one real client, Ronnie(Zooey Deschanel), a cover-singer-slash-secretary, with pr...

The witch hunter feels like one of those films based on a game or comic that didn't quite catch on because there seemed to be a dozen more like it. But perhaps it is an original action-fantasy idea conceived by the star, Vin Diesel, and screenwriter Cory Goodman, that has regrettably been drained of energy and character in the finished product, directed by Breck Eisner. In this storyline, armies of witch hunters, led by the  have battled vile supernatural creatures for centuries. Among them, one of their best, is Kaulder(Vin Diesel), a brave warrior who was "cursed" with immortality by the Queen Witch (Julie Engelbrecht) right before he slayed her. Eight hundred years later, he is their ultimate weapon, and the last surviving witch hunter, tracking down rogue witches who violate the rules of the truce between witches and humans that maintains their peaceful coexistence. However, it all goes south when the Queen's loyal followers decide to end the peace by resurre...

I've heard a mountain of jokes about how my generation spends more time interacting with their mobile phones then with the people sitting next to them, even friends. But it is still interesting to observe it happen within one's own social circle. Just the other day, I was at my friend's place for her birthday, and also there were her sister and two friends. Her friends had prepared a surprise for her on her return, decorated and set up the gifts all pretty in her room, and what happened next is what I would like to point out. There was the initial shock and excitement of the surprise being successful, then they spent the next few minutes taking photos of the whole set up to share on a plethora of social media, rather than celebrate this moment first. And it was all four of them, the birthday girl AND the girls who set it up. Second notable point, after the cake cutting, once we were all sat around the bedding, the next 15 minutes or so were spent watching those four ta...

A movie with Tom Hanks as the lead character, with great supporting cast, directed by Steven Spielberg, telling a story based on true events, is a perfect recipe for a great cinema experience. The story is based on events from the Cold War era of espionage, the film starts by introducing to the audience, Rudolph Abel(Rylace) who is painting a self-portrait with the help of a mirror besides him. This opening scene has already settled you in for a visual artistic treat of Spielberg magic that is to follow. It is evident that Abel is being followed by the FBI and is arrested for being a Russian spy soon after receiving a secret message that was in a coin, stuck to the bottom of a bench in a park. This is where insurance lawyer Jim Donovan(Hanks) enters the picture. Abel is to be given a 'fair' trial, if just to show the world the American way of justice, and the task falls upon Jim's firm, who assign it to him, thanks to his earlier credentials as prosecutor in the Nuremb...

Guillermo del Toro's new set of unforgettable visuals in the star studded large scale horror film, Crimson Peak, has had mixed responses. This gothic romanctic ghost story follows Edith(played by the graceful Mia Wasikowska), an aspiring writer at the turn of the century who is more interested in tales of ghosts rather than play the society games her peers are fascinated with. When she meets the foreign sibling duo, Thomas(played by the eloquent Tom Hiddleston) and Lucille Sharpe(played by the elegant Jessica Chastain), she is quite taken by Thomas' romantic gestures and soon married. They are then off to England, as winter sets in, to take up residence at the Sharpe's estate, Allerdale Hall-which the locals call Crimson Peak due to the blood red clay deposits that lie directly beneath the house. Alone in the country side with the pair, Edith soon starts to see apparitions, spooky, spindly and disfigured phantoms that seem to reside in the house. She discovers quickly,...

I just reviewed the movie, 'The Walk' in my last post. However, this is more personalized, sharing with you the experience of a film I've wanted to watch since trailer came out. Joseph Gordon Levitt is one of my favorite actors, and I haven't seen him give a disappointing perfomance till date. Couple that with Ben Kinglsey as part of the cast the the Director who made Forrest Gump, this film had a lot to live it up to, and it did more. At the start of the movie, I was a bit put off by Levitt's french accent going haywire in his monologues. But as the film progressed, and characters were introduced and developed, I got more and more engaged in the film. However, it was not until after the interval that I found myself immersed in the film. The tension, the excitement, the fear, I felt like I was sharing it with the lead character himself. Robert Zemeckis' excellent use of 3D viewing experiences is a sheer delight. The visuals of the view from atop the Twin Towe...

This movie, is a true 3D experience. As the story of a monstrous feat is recounted by the lead character of the story, this movie makes the most of the 3D viewing experience to keep the audiences engaged and share the moments of their lives. A film from the director of Forrest Gump, the Back to The Future franchise and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Robert Zemeckis delivers on the hype and expectations of the viewers. Based on a true story of an insane, French high-wire artiste Phillipe Petit, played by Joseph Gorden Levitt, in perhaps one of his best performances yet. He is driven by his dream to walk on a high wire between the Twin Towers in New York, and perform, as he calls it, the artistic coup of the century. He leaves his home in France with his girlfriend Annie (played by Charlotte Le Bon) and takes his training from his mentor Papa Rudy (played by Ben Kingsley), gathering more acquaintances along his way to help him succeed in this monument of a challenge. The linear story...

The highly anticipated Ridley Scott film "The Martian" starring Matt Damon as the lead character, Dr. Mark Watney, was released last week. I just saw it today, and I have to say, I was skeptical about it concerning the hype, but the movie delivered. A team of NASA astronauts blasts off from the Mars surface, aborting their mission, to escape from a fierce storm. In their escape, they leave behind one of their crew, Mark Watney, presumed dead when a debris slapped him away. With no means of communicating with home, and scarce resources, Watney has to use all his wits and knowledge to stay alive long enough to be rescued by NASA's next Mars mission in a few years time. Or as he says "Science the shit out of this". This scenic action drama of life in space, being the only person on a planet and the unwavering will to survive is dotted with comic instances and pop culture references to keep the audiences engaged and to lighten the mood from what seems like impen...

Now, I've never been one for patriotism as a person, and while I do feel some people take it too far, my stand (or in this case, my seating position) has been same as mine on religion. You do what you wanna do, I'll do what I wanna do, you don't interrupt my life and I'll do the same, without any intent to disrespect your choices. That said, the doctrine like command of having to at least stand to attention if not sing along when the National Anthem is played, has bothered me since early days in school. The first time I came across it was in the school assembly, and with no prior information on such a ritual, I got quite a scolding for goofing off during the anthem, wondering why everybody had suddenly gone stiff like robots. Of course, like any form of brainwashing, 12 years of schooling with almost weekly assemblies where they play the national anthem at the end, I got immune to it. Since we lot were standing anyway or would have to get up to leave, fair enough. I ...

One of the highlights of my recent solo road trip to Agra, was stumbling across this awesome place called The Sheroes Hangout.  A cafe that employs women who have fought back for life and survival through heinous chemical burns and are now, on a course to define themselves as 'fighter's. It is a small but significant step in making our society better, in Agra. This cafe was an initiative that would imbue those who had faced unfair tragedy befall them and to not be defined by it. I was there at off hours, around 4:45 PM, so there weren't many customers there. But many wanderers did stop by to take pics of the place, and there were some hipsters who dropped by, clearly having read of the place on social media. Here's the link to their Facebook page, check it out for more information on the place and upcoming events. https://www.facebook.com/SheroesHangout/timeline It had both indoor and outdoor seating arrangements. As I later found out, they also...

Some time after lunch, it was time to head out into the city with my camera. Unfortunately, that time was 3 in the afternoon and the heading I took, turned to be the way OUT of the city. However, both worked out in my favor. It was after walking in one direction for 40 minutes that I realized I was going out of Agra and towards the next town. I was on the road that has the exit towards the Taj Mahal, and saw nothing unusual at the time. The main road was lined with hotels, restaurant franchises(Dominos, Subway, KFC, McDonalds, in that sequence), a multiplex, small shops selling 'handicrafts'(tea, shoes, ethnic wear, gift shops, leather shops), petha  shops and baraat ghars. Then there were the usual town basics like wine shops, grocery marts and the like. In the gaps between those, I saw dusty, broken lanes of the residential housing of the locals. I assumed by their proximity and economic status, that these were constructed when the hotel industry generated employment op...

I reached my hotel a lil before noon, and there was no parking space. Now, a lil context for what follows. When I was thinking of making this trip, I had gone to several websites, before deciding to use Expedia to book the cheap but comfy room for the one night, for myself. I found the best deal to be a room at Hotel Idea Inn, for price, location and requirements(WiFi and Parking were advertised). And with no advances or cancellation fees till couple of days before the booked dates, I'd booked the room more than 2 weeks in advance. When I got there, and found it to be located on the main road as advertised, but in an alleyway, with no parking, a panic of poor choice started to rise. So, I persuaded one of the store guys to lemme park for a few mins in front of his shop to sort it out. When I reached the reception and showed them my itinerary and reservation print out for the room, the girl said "I'm sorry sir, we don't have your reservation." As soon as she sa...

I've always wanted to go on road trips and travel around. But I see it as a costly interest, and with no source of income, even more so. And as I got older and grumpier, the list of people I would probably like to travel with got shorter and shorter. Now I'd like to travel alone. And when I got the keys to the old Accent in Jan this year, I figured I could probably do that. But then I got busy with my internship and final assignments, losing my enthusiasm along the way to go out at all. Not to mention the fuel costs of driving an old car, with still no source of income, it seemed an even costlier affair. But this month, a month after having quit my first paid job(Trainee in Client Servicing, JWT), I decided to go on a solo trip. Best birthday weekend yet! (3-4 October, 2015) So, the Yamuna Expressway is 160+ kms of driving heaven from Noida to Agra. A road so wide, sans-potholes and clear that the trouble is to remind one to stay within the speed limits. The travel time in...