Past Present Continous - Revolution 2020

Chetan Bhagat has again nailed a everyday ordinary story in a simple yet extraordinary way. No doubt the right to the story has been bought out by UTV and very soon we might see a bollywood movie...
Ok, now with the novel Revolution 2020; yes I would have to agree that this novel would find a close link with people born after 1980 till date; because most of it revolves round the experiences of that generation.
The story starts in the religious town of 'Kashi' (Varanasi) and revolves round the indvidual struggle of two freinds Raghav and Gopal; and what links them - their love for the girl Aarti.
It is however a very different script from the usual love triangle stories. The primary character is Gopal, who struggles out of the typical Indian story where any one who hasn't got into an engineeringg or Medical college after there school, is treated as dumb and unsuccessful. It also stiches a beauiful love story between Gopal, Aarti and Raghav. Though I strongly believe that Chetan could have done a bit less with the 'sex' side of things; this story needed some seriousness. (please note: I do not have any angst against sex, but just that part of the novel felt as if it was forced into the main scheme of things.) Raghav as a character was strong enought to have been given a bit more to play. His side of the story, regarding the corruption in our society, was equally important; I felt he played the second fiddle through out.
End of the day, I believe Chetan Bhagat through his novels, brings out the negative aspects of our society very smartly. Though at the same point of time he also portrays the strength that the young generation has and what as Indians we can achieve. I believe this is what makes his writing so acceptable amongst the young genration, because most of us feel so much can be done but everyone waits for that single chance....which Gopal and Raghav get in this novel called Revolution 2020!

My Rating: *** & 1/2

Is Ra-One the Number 1?

This is the most expensive sci-fi movie in the Indian film Industry till date, but would it be equalli heavy in the content?
From a technical point of view I believe this movies is a major milestone in Bollywood regarding the Sci-fi special effects and animation; But the movie lacks the solid base of story line, acting and screenpaly.
Subbu ( Sharukh Khan) works in a company which makes simulated video games and somehow ( How? well you need to see the movie to understand the concept) one of his negative creations comes to life!!

This is where the whole twist is ....I cannot go any further but Yes, as Ra-One is a pun on the Hindu Mythological demon - 'Ravaan'. Similarly, this movie has a character which fights 'Ra-one'and his name is 'G-One' a pun intended for 'Jeevan' meaning Life...
The movie does have its own Sci-fi effects and would appeal to the kids...sometime I felt watching modern Shaktiman! (The old serial in Doordarshan). The songs are good and specially the song 'Chamak Challo' sung by Akon is very catchy.
I would not commet on the acting, because this movie script doesnot require one...well the screen play and storyline could have been more interesting, none the less a good try...and I am sure Kids would enjoy it....

My Rating:**&1/2

Everyone falls in Love....and then wants to get married!!

Seeing Movies about Marriage (the grand Indian way) makes me feel why not get married again ! ...Hold on before you jump to any conclusion .. I just mean why not celebrate marriage ( with the same lady I am married to) every 10 years or 5 years ... it's such a great colourful celebration.
Now, let me come back to the point of this movie which I saw yesterday - "Meri Brother ki Dulhan".
The movie starts with Luv (Ali Zafar) having a break off and then asking his younger brother Kush (Imran) to search for an apt girl for his own marriage. The story revolves around this plot offcourse with a twist where Kush falls in for the same girl - 'D'(Katrina) which he had choosen for his brother...offcourse it has other drama revolving around this plot and would keep you entertained for most of the part...
Music does not impress, but for few songs choreography does and that's what makes the songs a bit more interesting...The actors did do a good job except for Ali Zafar, who could have done better given the role he got.
The script is not so enticing but the presentation has been good.Imran has matured as an actor, though he still has that 'Good boy' aura all over him and Katrina with her british accent fits in well with the character.
I would say it's worth watching with the family for a saturday night....

My rating: *** stars

Beautiful and Exciting CAIRNS ....

I strongly feel that there are very few places on the face of Earth which are both Beautiful and Exciting...Cairns, in Queensland Australia is one such place.

Recently, during our Easter holidays we planned a trip to Cairns...

Situated in upper tropical region of Australia, this city has a tropical weather...surrounded by mountains, rivers, creeks, Word oldest rainforests and the an enchanting Ocean with the Great barrier reef.

Accomodation is not a problem in Cairns it has options for everyone, starting from the Backpapacker budget (25$ per night), Family budget (100 - 200$ per night), Honey moon budget (200-350$ per night) or any budget!

Regarding adventures you can go from extreme to serene...from white water rafting to tubing to a romantic cruise.

We being the faint hearted...hence did the last two. Honestly tubing does have its challenges as well; you should have seen the faces of the participants during the rapids...(attaching one example..offcourse its me...the brave one!)
Well, this tubing adventure had another positive entrepreneurial story; Peter and his partner run this company with amazing confidence and spirit.

You can visit them at - http://www.aussiedrifterz.net/

Talking Cairns one thing surely comes to the mind and that is the Great Barrier Reef. Amazing colourful corals, variety of marine life and gust of sea breeze...

We went to green island , perched on a coral bed just 50 minutes away from the main city.

There are a variety of activities that you can do in the Green Island like Para sailing (135$), Snorkelling (35$), Sea bed walking (150$) etc...

Another major attractions around Cairns is Kuranda - a rainforest village, which can be accessed by the:

• Sky rail - Worlds Longest Sky Rail 7.5 kms, glides over the Rain forest canopy, Barron Gorge.



• Kuranda Scenic Railway - MOre than 110 years old



• 1.5 hr scenic drive by Car.

Also, once in Kuranda its a good idea to go ahead and do the Barron river river cruise, we had a very informative guide who shares a lot of information about the rainforests an its importance.

To change the pace, we went for a relaxed crocodile tour on the last day, where we saw crocodile in the natural mangrove habitat and also visited a Crocodile farm! Yes you read it correct a farm...from where crocodile skin is exported to Fashion houses in Italy and France!!

Who else other than a true Indian can appreciate the concept of a Night Market ... Yes they have it in Cairns right in the heart of Cairns. It starts at 4:00 PM and remains open till 11:00 PM. It has variety of shops starting from delicous food (My Favourite though is the Indian curry house there), Chinese Accupressure Massage, exotic Souveniers and a very interesting live manufactured glass sovenier shop where you can customise your own glass souvenier!

Yes I have to agree, we went there only 4 .5 days and that was not sufficient...you should have atleast 7 days to completely enjoy Cairns...and the places around it like Port Douglas, Daintree rainforest and other Great barrier reef islands.

Hope you enjoyed reading this article....and would plan your trip to Cairns soon!

Important inputs:

• Best time to Visit - May to Ocober



• Approx Expenditure - 1500Aud ( Inclusive of Accomodation {3 star}, food and other expenses - 2 person, for 4 nights [excludes flight Travel])



• Airport to Cairns City - Taxi would charge 14 - 17 Dollars (Approx)



• You can hire a cycle for as less as 25 $ per day, this would help you in going around Cairns



• Locals are very helpful and friendly

My Rating: ****

Finding true love...could be good fun!

Hello everyone...
I know the movie which I am going to discuss in this blog is almost 1 to 2 months old. But honestly, these reviews are meant for people who are planning to see it in coming weeks, people who have been busy and couldn't catch up with the latest flicks...
Dil to bachha hain Ji
Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Emran Hashmi and Omi Vaidya

Well the movie rotates around the life of these three guys, other actors in the movie are just cogs in the whole setting.
Ajay Devgan plays the character of a middle aged, about-to-be-divorced father of a kid. This character amazingly portrays what's going on with 'Men' folks in their married life in these days. Looking out for somethng new, more exciting and often forgetting that you are too old for excitements lest you are looking at the right age group.
Emran Hashmi as usual plays the role of a casinova and one hwo falls in love every day with a new girls, till he meets with his dream girl, who dicthes him to show him the right picture.
Lastly, Omi Vaaidya - hope you remember him from teh 3 idiots, has done an amazing job of an honest and good humanbeing, inspite of which he gets ditched just to find at the end, his perfect soulmate.

Acting has been superb from all the three guys, except for a few characters, which I am sure you would be able to find out in the movie. Screen play is superb and easy flowing. Music is ok from Pritam.
Last question: When should you watch this movie?
You should watch this movie when you are in a gloomy piece of mind or your your partner is too angry on you or you have just recieved a scolding from your parents regarding the pocket money or you had a bad day at the office...take my words watch it, it won't dissapoint you!
Rating: ***1/2 star

No one is above the law....Encouraging!

Hello everyone, It has been a long time since I posted any review ...well I am back with a movie - "No one killed Jessica" . It is an inspiring and encouraging tale of how justice was done to the aam aadmi.

The script was strong, and off-course stories like these have had been a common happening in an around India because of its corrupt bureaucratic and judicial systems. The story has been told through the narration of Meera (Rani Mukherjee), who is a reporter with NDTV and has strong character and presence in the movie. It starts with the scene set in Kargil where the nation is fighting a war with the infiltrators from our neighboring country and it flows seamlessly to celebrity party set up in New Delhi where an innocent a girl - jessica Lall, is fatally shot just because she did not budge in to the demand of an extra glass of drink, from the kin of a influential politician. The story that follows is an ordeal of two ladies Sabrina and Meera.

Sabrina Lall (Vidya Balan) is the younger sister of Jessica who fights relentlessly for 7 long years jut to be denied justice. Then comes the second part where Meera takes in the case and shows how media can and could be powerful enough to change the face of this corrupt judiciary, law enforcement and bureaucratic system.

Both Vidya balan and Rani Mukherjee have shown strong screen presence. I must agree Vidya is turning out to be a actor with strong sense of script and the role. Direction has been good through out except that Meera's character could have been done with less 'F$#k You' and 'WTF' words. Music did not impress much, but scripts like these can do with out songs.

All in all a good package.....worth 3 start

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Rating - 3***