Whats your Rashee ?

Overall "What's your Rashee ?" is PAIN! And much of this pain is caused by it's more than a dozen, yeah... more than a dozen, mostly insipid songs! There is also the usual melodramatic drag. I personally don't mind it much, because... over the years, on a feast of Hindi movies, I have pretty much grown immune to it!

There are twelve girls and they all look the same, it wouldn't have been much of a problem if they had come and gone in a tidy sequence. But then, it would have been even more boring... so one or two of them pop in here and there in between and you are left wondering which one was she? A pen and paper to take notes as you watch, might help! Oh, did I mention the movie runs for a full three and a half hours? The climax, according to me is super stupid and takes away any regards you have managed to preserve so far for the movie and it's makers!

On the positive side, I found the plot quite interesting! The unfortunate protagonist HAS to get married on a given date, but there's hardly any time! Fortunately he's in India, and as we know here... it's not our problem to get ourselves married! So the stage is all set for an arranged marriage! But then, our hero always wanted to fall in love, and so he works out a little plan! Through a book he knows, that there are twelve rashee's and hence twelve kind's of girls... and so he decides to meet one of each type; thereby giving himself every possible chance on the planet(given his assumption that there are only twelve kinds of girls) ... to fall in love! There are some funny moments especially in the beginning, and the movie seems to be slowly tightening it's grip on the viewers attention... but sadly it doesn't last for too long!

Watch it on a DVD(when it's available), forward the songs.

Chanakya

Many years back, when the cable TV did not exist, and I was very young... I really enjoyed watching 'Chanakya' on Doordarshan. I dont think it made much sense to me, but the look and feel of historic India fascinated me! It continues to fascinate me!

So, yesterday, I hired a VCD of the first two episodes of 'Chanakya'. I did not know that I would sit and watch both the episodes at one stretch. I did.

I am bowled over by the intensity of the film. It is really exciting to witness life as it would have existed hundereds of years ago. Life in Patliputra, the capital of a relatively prosperous Magadh. During the day, the streets are busy with people, horses and maybe an odd 'high profile' chariot. One man sits between perhaps a dozen pots of water, near the gates of the walled city, and serves water to the passers by - noble men and the ordinary people - all alike!

Maybe somethings never change, so just like we have a corrupted political scenario today, we have a corrupted political scenario in Patliputra. Maha Mantri, who lives in a very simple and very believable big house (with regards to the standards set by Mahabharata etc), stands for the good. The King lives in a 'not so fancy' palace, and thankfully without some "dumb looking and completeley oblivious of whats happening around" sepoys. He's corrupt, and he has the support of most of the other mantri's. Then there is Acharya Chanak, who heads one of the gurukuls. He supports Maha Mantri. One of his students is Vishnugupt (and perhaps his son too). Vishnugupt will go on to be known as 'Chanakya'.

Unlike most of the programs that we have on television these days, the language is not flowery and the clothes are not flashy! 'Chanakya' is real and indulging!

Hats off to Dr Chandraprakash and all others who have made this masterpiece!

DONT INSULT MY INTELLIGENCE

DONT INSULT MY INTELLIGENCE!!! Did I insult yours ?

Thats perhaps the most honest and the most accurate expression for the ever so common phenomenon of human beings getting into aruguments!

Its from the movie "Being Cyrus" and it had me in splits... :-) :-)

The inspector (the motu from Office Office) is confronting Naseeruddin Shah and Dimple Kapadia on charges of a murder! And Dimple goes blurting "But did you go there ? check this ? check that ?" and so on... The inspector's sentiments get hurt and he rattles out this strikingly honest and brilliant one liner!