Those college days

Oh what days they were, waking up late, entering late into the lecture and then the ultimate question, "attendance ho gyi kya? ". Sitting with friends talking about irrelevant topics or coming up with quirky names for our batchmates
One guy Anil was called BOND because his roll no.was 007!
After every few minutes a ringing sound of Oh BC! filled the air. The smile that never vanished when a lecture was cancelled and Pulkit's ultimate lectures.Looking at the time table to decide when to go back home.
Looking for that new hot fresher then realising someone found her before us. Such loss is incomprehensible and only quelled by a Thumbs Up at  Pahari.
"Bhai talap mach rhi hain chal THUMBS UP lagate hain! "
While we never moved on Sohan Pal's business grew from the footpath to his own shop.
I found a great bunch of friends all equally lazy and everyone with some innate quality.
Eventually going on a trip to Uttrakhand hills. Playing cricket beside the river or staying awake all night and talking about some really creepy stuff. But we were young, and I can never forget some caricatures in the sand, probably still there mesmerising tourists till this day.
"pit jayega"
No one can forget that raft down those whirlpools and where some people saw the DARK SIDE OF THE MOON ;-).
Though some chickened out of a 20ft jump, the evidence is long gone. <br>
That long trek for a bite of Aloo Poori or the trip down to Dehradun where I saw a new GODFATHER. A game of cards and acting like idiots at 3 in the morning. A long trip to Mussoorie but the rewards were plenty, getting to live in a mansion on a cliff, or greeted by the old white witch with a song on the note of "Gumnaam hain koi". Though I never have accepted but "meri fatt gyi thi" and I was joined by some others. A few of these adventurers went out on a night stroll while we inside argued who will be bumped off first and while they ran back and away from a dog, we all agreed it would be Sam.
"mml"
Anyways the witch rested for the rest of the trip but one angel was Thapa, what a man it started with Tea on the egde of the hill, to Maggi and Bread inside where KP draped himself in Butter and Sauce. The food was delicious and legendary. Always planning to wake up at 9 but we would always be late by 5 hours. That long trek down to Kempty Falls can never be forgotten and chilling the THUMBS UP in the ice cold water. The long walk from Mall Road to home. Where there was an adventure at every step. As long last we did travel back to Delhi, but with new memories and stronger bonds.
Last days of the exam and running frantically here and there to complete our files and get all the notes, I never really learned the name of the Photocopy Guy but he saved many a souls from that dreadful word BACK. Everyone asking the same questions tune kitna padha and noone ever believed my answers. While the whole semester was a combination of leaves and avoiding classes, everyone was present in the penultimate days. Bunking was hardly used as a word rather we used the more appropriate "Attend karni hain? ". Everyone waiting for someone to take the initiative and then the one who asked always backing down. Some days will always be etched like those nights at Sarthaks house playing on the PS3 or when I saw the WC Match in Delhi or the semi final at Noida.From KDH to CHT's house and especially, PB and Sam on that day. Sandy Bhai's marriage in Meerut,what a trip that was!Most of all dancing like mad men at the first beat of music. There have been many such incidents and not enough words to relive them. But those days are long gone.All of us have moved on to far distances but these memories will always exists reminding us of each other and those college days!!!

MIB 3 : Decent entry into the franchise.

Fulfilling. One word sums up the new Men in Black. It had no spark of brilliance, it had no extraordinary moments but still it was completely watchable.
A simple story of time travel, told in usual fashion, predictable and enjoyable. After the first movie, I believe that element of surprise cannot be found again, so what we get is a very simple story, well executed with lots of gags and jokes most of which hit the bull's eye.
Agent K is wiped off by the world's most dangerous alien by travelling back in time, so guess who has to go and set history right. Thats where Will Smith meets the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) and they work together to save the world.
The actors all perform well, the chemistry between the main protagonists is delightful and Will Smith's Charisma always helps.
Can this be alleviated to anything above an average watch and forget Summer Movie, I believe not, but it deserves a watch for the sake of keeping yourself faithful towards this franchise.
On a side note, the climax is heart melting and hopefully a worthy send off to this trilogy
My only hope from the makers dont ruin the end with another hashed up movie for the sake of monetary gains.

Chakravyuh

Are we slaves of our dreams or are we free spirited beings looking to bring transcendent change.
A few years back when I was in college,a friend of mine gave me a video titled "School kills Creativity". I believe many of you have seen it, and most of you have lived it.
A few days ago Mohit Chandra from KPMG wrote an article about how Indian graduates are unambitious, within this he highlighted a few points. He spoke about how we are followers rather than leaders, how we don't question hierarchy and how our creative juices are limited to task execution rather than creative solution.
As a part of the so called Indian Education System and being helmed as leaders of tomorrow and drivers of our growth, I don't find myself equipped to take on this mantle. Do I lack the ability to innovate or am I lacking in self confidence. But how many of you can be that innovative spirits, this is not a question of ability but a larger question on cultivation of it. In schools especially in an Indian school we are taught to cram and throw up on the notebook to get marks, that was the ultimate goal. We were always taught to follow a straight line but never appreciated if we fell out of it. I learned in college how easily we could build a line following robot, which begs the question are we robots, have we been programmed. Don't misunderstand my basic premise, our country is blessed with such visionaries but relative to our population there are too few of them.

The Indian Dream
What is the Big Dream for these Gen-Next. Since I was in class 5th, I heard these words spoken so frequently they are edged in my head. The children are our future, they will be the one's taking the country to great heights. Somehow after 12 years that generation of dreamers has never arrived, it seems our elders lay down their hopes on each oncoming generation hoping a day will come, when these words come true.
So much of our workforce is working in places where their abilities and dreams both get squished. They pin our hopes on us, but they want us to work within the system from which they couldn't escape. But what they need to understand is the fruit does not fall far from the tree.So the only way we change is when our elders bring that change and drive the Gen-Next into believing in their abilities rather than stowing away their creativity for a static, monotonous and repetitive lifestyle, its a vicious circle.
Its a CHAKRAVYUH

From the Heart

What happens when suddenly you find yourself staring down a dark path unaware of what it holds. There is sadness in every story and a hint of tragedy, you cry, you sob but you just cannot pull yourself out of the rut you are in.Then what do you do, you could smile and let the world know you are fine. You could be killed inside, feeling like every organ inside your body is twisting turning on itself, you could be losing sight of your life, but as long as you smile even though that smile is fake. Two things will happen, people around you would smile with you, they will not notice your pain but only see your plastic laugh. Their surreal happiness could make you feel relaxed.All our life we are asked to smile, the power of a glowing smile is enormous, it can heal wounds, mend fences but more importantly it can cheer anyone. We are always under constant pressure under some stress or the other. But I always believe what is my pain, someone else’s is greater so smile for them.

When in life you are broken and your soul resolves into nothingness, when you can find nowhere to go.Suddenly life comes crashing down on you with all its might and tests all your vulnerabilities. When crying feels weak and laughing seems absurd. When you are in a trance and don’t know how you got there. When you are spinning as your whole life unravels around you, confuses you, dazes you. When you find nowhere to go, you lose the rigor to fight, to survive when you let life dictate terms and you lose your battles without even fighting them. When your future is in jeopardy but you are helpless, when you have lost the resolve to fight and you want to give up and go through the motions. When there is suddenly no hope left all you have to do is

SMILE

Let the world know you are fine and soon you will be.

Bring on the Avengers and the whole world bows down.

Joss Whedon had a clear picture where he wanted to take this franchise and he did it in style. Every character was well sketched out and they all played their part well.

The story of good vs evil always works well with the audience but what hits the mark with this one is that it is an entertainer throughout with not one dull moment. Each superhero holds his own but for me it was Iron Man who held the movie together and made others shine. He was suave, charismatic and witty. For the first time we see a Hulk more human than before. Finding space so that all these superstars could co-exist must have been hard for Whedon but he somehow pulled it off in great style where none feel left out.

Plenty of smaller character go in and out but they all add up to the drama. Most of the dialogues are were written and they create an adrenaline within you. Some scenes were so impressive I just couldn’t stop myself from clapping.An out and out entertainer this one takes the cake for being the perfect start to a summer of awaited blockbusters.

The movie is one ride from start to finish and once you hop on there’s no stopping it.

Ishaqzaade: Mess

Two newbies trying to make their space in the big bad world of Hindi movies. One son of a long time producer, another cousin of an established actress. What we would expect is fireworks and hardwork. What I got in Ishaqzaade was a lot of confusion.

A story of two warring political families in a small town of U.P where the leading man Arjun (Param) and Zoya belong to different castes and different traditions end up in love.

It seemed while planning this movie Habib whose last venture Do Dooni Char really touched my heart was confused between what direction he wants to take, whether he makes an out and out romantic drama or he creates a rustic political thriller with trinkles of romance. The movie had flaws and a lot of them.Lets get into it.

Firstly, the script failed because it kept changing the basic premise of the movie. We start of with a political drama which turns into a love story, back to politics, suddenly to a romantic thriller. It looked like the writers wanted to put in a lot and ended up created a hashed out product.

The actors just could not convince me at any point. Arjun Kapoor or Param just could not pull of a rustic village vagabond, he could not give the character any fire. On the other hand Zoya lost me on the first scene because she went all out and lacked restraint that was required to pull of a rebel girl with flair. Both of these actors need to find their space to continue in this industry. Someone said to me that Parineeti Chopra is just not leading girl material and I agree.

Their character arc was in shambles from the start and it kept falling or downgrading in every scene.

The premise of the movie is the love story but the characters fall in love way too easily the transition from hate to love is astoundingly amateurish. Even their interactions fail to ignite the passion needed from lovers.

What follows is some insensible and unbelievable plot twists somehow it felt that the director had set himself on an ending towards which he took the movie in anyway possible. The climax was also too cluttered and unconvincing.

I saw no spark of brilliance from either actors and Parineeti who was amazing in Ladies v Ricky Behl somehow lost that grasp of character and gave me an unsatisfying performance. Arjun Kapoor was baseless and had no sensible acting talent on display, I could seriously doubt whether he is leading man material.

This movie could be given a miss and you could find something better to do surely.

Vicky Donor- Impeccable Effort

I had low expectations from this one, but reading the first day reviews I dared to try it and believe you me it was tasty, delicious and completely fresh.John Abraham in his first home production makes a ballsy move to give us this comic caper. Nothing in this movie is disappointing and barring the flimsy climax everything was perfect.

From start to finish Vicky Donor does one thing “Entertain, Entertain, Entertain”. Reading into the title you would think a movie about sperm donation is going to hit some nerves, but I can gladly say you are not offended by any joke and I was completely taken by surprise at how clean the comedy was kept. Every line in the movie was worth applause, I have not seen such brilliantly executed comedy in a long time.Being a Delhi guy, I see the language spoken and for the first time I found a movie which truly captures the aura of the city. The stereotypical attitude and the language words like lahsun,chep, chul,syappa so typical of a Delhite.

OMG Ayushmann where were you for so long. A perfect debut for him such a meaty role and such comic timing he rocked the whole show and never let it fall. The best couple award should probably go to his mother and grandmother what a duo, their chemistry lights up the screen.

Annu Kapoor as the sperm speaking doctor who gets Vicky into the business is absolutely creepy, he speaks of things and no man would dare to speak and does it with panache. His language is the language of sperm. I cannot believe this actor has been so underrated and never truly given the respect he should command.

Yami Gautam the female lead or as  I like to call her Yummy Gautam, the girl is completely flawless. Her poise is so breathtaking and you can forgive her for her acting flaws because she makes up for them by just being there. She adds a different spice to the movie and her charm just blends into your heart.

The direction is decent but what sets it apart from so many horrendous Hindi movies is a story. A well crafted gripping story fresh and buzzing with creative juices. Credit is completely to the writers you took on such a daring topic and made it into such a bright movie.

As long as John Abraham continues to produce such movies, I can forgive him for any or all the overacting he has done.

You cant miss on this one, so run like hell and watch it ASAP!!