Unconquered!!!

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

—Invictus (Unconquered)

My friend Samapda (thanks Shampoo) quoted a line from Invictus the movie, which made me read about it. The poem above is the poem Nelson Mandela used to keep up his spirits while in prison for 26 years.

I am lucky to have shared the world with two legends:

Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela

I hate love stories..esp when KJo is in self celebratory mode…

Oh my god…I am going through this torture my husband is putting me through. Nope he hasn’t decided to launch into SAP technical. He wants me to watch I hate Luv Stories. Should I be taking a hint?????

What a dumb story! The movie is about KJo going into a ‘Jai KJo, Jai KJo’ mode. The narratory mode of the movie is similar to Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa.. But that movie was uplifted by its better story line, not its acting.

IHLS can’t even boast of that. God knows what the hoohah over Imran Khan is. Samir Soni is way better in looks and acting department. And Sonam wouldn’t have come this far without the Kapoor tag. The attempts at humor are just that, attempts! An hour of Comedy Circus is million times better than this torture.

Please KJo stick to your coffee. Unfortunately there too you are pretty stale on guests. When new age directors are trying to break new ground, here comes this dinosaurian attempt at rehashing love. Jeez gimme a break!

Toy Story 3? Watch it..

Had a super long weekend here and decided to simply laze on the beach, read a book, catch a movie and eat out!!!!

Did all that with wavering grades of satisfaction. The beach was the best (free and beautiful, every time) till the time I was in water but the oppressive weather made me long for the air-conditioned confines of my home. Instead traded for the air-conditioned confines of the movies.

Watched Toy Story 3 in 3D. Liked the movie, loved the story idea but loathed the adverts before the movie. Too much, way too much adverts! Was almost about to doze off but the loud Dolby stereo kept shaking me out of my stupor.

I haven’t seen the previous two installments but Toy Story 3 had a good enough stand-alone story. I loved the idea of toys always wanting to be played and getting royally ignored. I hate the fact that my daughter barely touches her big Kitchen complete with a microwave, an oven and a sink or her beautiful dollhouse. Pity I didn’t get any of that when I was a kid. I remember having only one toy, a tea set. We were a group of nearly 10-15 kids who would play “REAL” games versus “REALITY” based games. Ahh but the fun we used to have!!! I remember always being Kapil Dev, my neighbour Vaishali used to be Ravi Shastri and her younger sister Purvi, Sunil Gavaskar. We were a team! Always together.

The movie gave several good messages but it’s a waste considering most kids in the audience have way too many toys and too little friends to care about anything. Some of the moments were hilarious like the Barbie-Ken meeting. “Buzz” in his Spanish mode. Otherwise the movie tries to tug at your heart, gets it right, Almost!

Go watch it but save the money on 3D if you can!

Also caught up with Chetan Bhagat’s Five point someone. If V.V. Chopra says the movie was just ‘inspired’ by the book, its a downright lie. Most of the incidences in the movie 3 Idiots were a direct lift from the book. The only thing that one can say for the movie maker is that the add-ons in the script were mostly good and augmented the story thereby taking the movie to a higher level than the book.

The book would appeal only to IITians / premium institute engineers, but the movie appeals to everyone who is/was a student. The movie is definitely better than the book. The movie, however had million bucks behind it.

Chetan Bhagat should have been given credit to the story. No wonder not very many original writers exist in Bollywood! I believe Chetan Bhagat will surely have a tough time to survive in tinsel town now that he has offended BIG people and B Town folks stick together.

There goes my vision of becoming a top writer. Poof!