Well...I'm enjoying my poetry. :)
The recent controversy surrounding the Wall Project was a topic of hot conversation all over. Now...I'm COMPLETELY FOR such projects. And I'm COMPLETELY AGAINST any damage done to such things of beauty. Having said that, it was the arrogance of the outrage combined with the indifference of the "activists" towards so many other issues far more critical that inspired me to write this piece.
Where do you vanish when passers-by spew paan & tobacco on walls & roads?
Where do you vanish when people dump garbage all over in loads?
I’d love to know your whereabouts when the silence of the night is drowned by speakers blasting to the max.
Or when walls along railway tracks are adorned with graffiti advertising quacks.
Two big inconveniences we face are political rallies and religious processions.
Speak up against them if you have the balls, instead of signing mindless online petitions.
Take a stand against POP idols and vicious rhetoric thrown around in rallies.
Pink chaddis aren’t enough to counter the ill-effects of this malice.
You marched with candles when your comfort zones were attacked.
There were dozens of online groups “championing causes”, that each of you backed.
But all that enthusiasm fizzled out in less than a year.
True champions last way longer than that, I’m sure.
You think that an involvement of 6 months can clean up 60 years of mess.
So you take a sabbatical to join the political process.
You have no idea about issues concerning the grassroots.
Farmer suicides? Education? Employment? Aaah!!! I’m only concerned about stock market collapses, about the rest I care two hoots.
You’re a great specimen, esteemed token activist. And I salute you.
But on a yodaesque sidenote, much better without you we could do.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Changing friends in changing times
This is my first attempt at poetry. The subject is something that has disappointed me for years now...so much so that I've stopped subscribing to or buying newspapers. The two times that I did buy one in the last couple of months added to my feeling that a newspaper is no more what it used to be or what its supposed to be. So, here goes my comment on the state of the newspaper today.
I recall with nostalgia those jolly days from school.
When public speaking during the assembly was a rule.
Most of us would speak about places, dreams and the like.
But those were the last things I’d feed down the mike.
For I was the born activist, always eager to take a stand.
And what better source of news could be, than a newspaper in my hand.
It told me all about what went on in the world around me.
Maradona, the cold war, Pink Floyd & the PC.
My then best friend – the newspaper.
Years have passed since, and we’ve both evolved.
But my friend’s evolution has me appalled.
Its grown into a goliath, but one without a spine.
Sensationalism and commercialization are today’s newspaper’s lifeline.
Each newspaper is some bigwig’s minion.
They pass off opinion as news and propaganda as opinion.
Celebrity gossip & irrelevant perspectives are the order of the day.
The pits are the WAG pics of the Times & the bikini babes of Mid-day.
No more my friend – the newspaper.
On an optimistic note, that’s not the end of the world.
For from the curdles of despair is the cream of change churned.
And I’m proud to be a witness to this change taking place.
We’re on our way to glory with the internet at its base.
With independence as its centre of gravity, the net heralds a new dawn.
Where everyone can speak his mind like a king and not be anybody’s pawn.
Damn!! This thing has potential, but it might go the newspaper way.
Unless we act responsibly and handle it with care, as they say.
I implore upon you all to make the best use of my new friend.
Let’s make openness, inclusiveness and constant critical communication the new trend.
I hope to live to see the world as a better place.
And if we are to create a revolution, the internet is our ace.
My new friend – the internet.
I recall with nostalgia those jolly days from school.
When public speaking during the assembly was a rule.
Most of us would speak about places, dreams and the like.
But those were the last things I’d feed down the mike.
For I was the born activist, always eager to take a stand.
And what better source of news could be, than a newspaper in my hand.
It told me all about what went on in the world around me.
Maradona, the cold war, Pink Floyd & the PC.
My then best friend – the newspaper.
Years have passed since, and we’ve both evolved.
But my friend’s evolution has me appalled.
Its grown into a goliath, but one without a spine.
Sensationalism and commercialization are today’s newspaper’s lifeline.
Each newspaper is some bigwig’s minion.
They pass off opinion as news and propaganda as opinion.
Celebrity gossip & irrelevant perspectives are the order of the day.
The pits are the WAG pics of the Times & the bikini babes of Mid-day.
No more my friend – the newspaper.
On an optimistic note, that’s not the end of the world.
For from the curdles of despair is the cream of change churned.
And I’m proud to be a witness to this change taking place.
We’re on our way to glory with the internet at its base.
With independence as its centre of gravity, the net heralds a new dawn.
Where everyone can speak his mind like a king and not be anybody’s pawn.
Damn!! This thing has potential, but it might go the newspaper way.
Unless we act responsibly and handle it with care, as they say.
I implore upon you all to make the best use of my new friend.
Let’s make openness, inclusiveness and constant critical communication the new trend.
I hope to live to see the world as a better place.
And if we are to create a revolution, the internet is our ace.
My new friend – the internet.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Movie Review - Tropic Thunder
Movie - Tropic Thunder
Director - Ben Stiller
Cast - Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Tom Cruise
Flashback to 2008 : There was this 2008 Bollywood release called Luck By Chance. It was probably one of the best directorial debuts I've seen in recent years. The movie was a stark exhibition of Bollywood & its internal dynamics. However, I had one small complaint with the presentation of the movie - although it tried to indulge in self-depreciating humour, it failed at that since the tone of the movie was so "in your face" dark.
Cut to early 2009 : Ben Stiller is to hollywood today what Govinda was to bollywood a decade ago...and some more. What I mean is that 10 years ago, I would have walked into a Govinda movie without any qualms since I knew that there would definitely be entertainment of the "leave your brain home" kind in the movie. Same goes for Stiller today.
I had first seen a poster of Tropic Thunder a few months ago - Robert Downey Jr. wielding a gun in an exaggerated pose. And my first thought was that its a war movie. But there was also this nagging feeling at the back of my head - Why on earth would Ben Stiller make a war movie? And what would he make of it? The feeling lingered for a while and then slowly died off, placing Tropic Thunder on a mental back burner while I moved base from Goa to Mumbai and jumped straight into the grind of dreary commutes and an uninspiring workplace.
Cut to present : Finally watched the movie yesterday. And trust me, I'm simply unable to control those occasional spurts of laughter even now. My colleague sharing my cabin must be wondering what I've smoked today. Tropic thunder was not a war movie...almost. And Stiller, true to reputation, didn't disappoint.
So, we have three movie stars with distinct on-screen & off-screen personalities. We have the multiple Oscar winning Aussie perfectionist Kirk Lazarus (Downey Jr.), the superhero typecast Tugg Speedman (Stiller) and the king of cheesy comedies Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black). Add to that a newcomer actor Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel) and a crazy rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and we have the cast for the greatest ever war movie. So far so good. But then, Murphy's law strikes...and things spiral out of control. The rest of the film is a roller-coaster ride full of pee-inducing slapstick and some subtle, some not so subtle references to notable Hollywood personalities.
Now, the reason why I referred to Luck By Chance. The point where I feel LBC failed is where Tropic Thunder comes out tops. It makes similar scathing comments at the prevalent system in Hollywood but it does so with an extremely endearing comic panache. I'm sure Russell Crowe & Harvey Wienstien must've cringed at the way they were parodied by Downey Jr. & Tom Cruise respectively.
The performances in the movie are all standouts. Be it Stiller as the actor unable to break the shackles of his onscreen image; Downey Jr. with his arrogant swagger; Jack Black as the heroin addict going through withdrawal and above all, Tom Cruise in his cameo as the ruthless studio head. In fact, this has to be one of Cruise' best ever performances.
Another thing that really works for Tropic Thunder is that it can touch a chord with any kind of audience. For a layperson, it's one of the best comedies to have come out of Hollywood in recent years. For the movie buff, it's a treasure trove of references. For the discerning viewer, it's a tongue in cheek comment on how self-defeating the Hollywood system can become.
Too bad that I couldn't watch this on the big screen. Would've been awesome. However, I can always watch it on some projector somewhere whenever I get a chance. This is one movie I wouldn't mind watching any number of times.
Warning : This is not for the weak-hearted or the sensitive kinds. Can offend you to the point of suicide and/or murder.
Director - Ben Stiller
Cast - Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Tom Cruise
Flashback to 2008 : There was this 2008 Bollywood release called Luck By Chance. It was probably one of the best directorial debuts I've seen in recent years. The movie was a stark exhibition of Bollywood & its internal dynamics. However, I had one small complaint with the presentation of the movie - although it tried to indulge in self-depreciating humour, it failed at that since the tone of the movie was so "in your face" dark.
Cut to early 2009 : Ben Stiller is to hollywood today what Govinda was to bollywood a decade ago...and some more. What I mean is that 10 years ago, I would have walked into a Govinda movie without any qualms since I knew that there would definitely be entertainment of the "leave your brain home" kind in the movie. Same goes for Stiller today.
I had first seen a poster of Tropic Thunder a few months ago - Robert Downey Jr. wielding a gun in an exaggerated pose. And my first thought was that its a war movie. But there was also this nagging feeling at the back of my head - Why on earth would Ben Stiller make a war movie? And what would he make of it? The feeling lingered for a while and then slowly died off, placing Tropic Thunder on a mental back burner while I moved base from Goa to Mumbai and jumped straight into the grind of dreary commutes and an uninspiring workplace.
Cut to present : Finally watched the movie yesterday. And trust me, I'm simply unable to control those occasional spurts of laughter even now. My colleague sharing my cabin must be wondering what I've smoked today. Tropic thunder was not a war movie...almost. And Stiller, true to reputation, didn't disappoint.
So, we have three movie stars with distinct on-screen & off-screen personalities. We have the multiple Oscar winning Aussie perfectionist Kirk Lazarus (Downey Jr.), the superhero typecast Tugg Speedman (Stiller) and the king of cheesy comedies Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black). Add to that a newcomer actor Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel) and a crazy rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and we have the cast for the greatest ever war movie. So far so good. But then, Murphy's law strikes...and things spiral out of control. The rest of the film is a roller-coaster ride full of pee-inducing slapstick and some subtle, some not so subtle references to notable Hollywood personalities.
Now, the reason why I referred to Luck By Chance. The point where I feel LBC failed is where Tropic Thunder comes out tops. It makes similar scathing comments at the prevalent system in Hollywood but it does so with an extremely endearing comic panache. I'm sure Russell Crowe & Harvey Wienstien must've cringed at the way they were parodied by Downey Jr. & Tom Cruise respectively.
The performances in the movie are all standouts. Be it Stiller as the actor unable to break the shackles of his onscreen image; Downey Jr. with his arrogant swagger; Jack Black as the heroin addict going through withdrawal and above all, Tom Cruise in his cameo as the ruthless studio head. In fact, this has to be one of Cruise' best ever performances.
Another thing that really works for Tropic Thunder is that it can touch a chord with any kind of audience. For a layperson, it's one of the best comedies to have come out of Hollywood in recent years. For the movie buff, it's a treasure trove of references. For the discerning viewer, it's a tongue in cheek comment on how self-defeating the Hollywood system can become.
Too bad that I couldn't watch this on the big screen. Would've been awesome. However, I can always watch it on some projector somewhere whenever I get a chance. This is one movie I wouldn't mind watching any number of times.
Warning : This is not for the weak-hearted or the sensitive kinds. Can offend you to the point of suicide and/or murder.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
