Friday, May 30, 2008

Muqaddar Ka Sikandar

This Prakash Mehra hit of 1978 starring Amitabh Bacchan, Vinod Khanna, Rekha, Rakhee Gulzar, Amjad Khan and Kader Khan was my last birhday gift from my wife.
It is a story of an orphaned and abused boy who struggles to lead a respectable life amidst all the odds. The boy first try to find solace in the sympathy extended to him by his master's daughter, Kamna but a bitter misunderstanding tears them apart. He was then adopted by a kind-hearted woman, Fatima who names him Sikander who dies leaving her daughter Mehru in-charge of Sikander. It was while Sikander was in the graveyard following Fatima's death that he meets a Fakir who instills in him hope and the philosophy of keeping a smiling face while fighting the obstacles of life. Thus the broken-hearted Sikander turns determined and gradually builds a fortune mainly by helping police trap smugglers. In this juncture he meets Vishal, a budding lawyer who risks his life to save Sikander from a bomb threat. Vishal and Sikander becomes great friends and Sikander offers his residence to Vishal and his mother. Meanwhile Sikander becomes a frequenter of Zohrabai's brothel much to the rage of Dilawar, a criminal. Sikander's rivals takes this opportunity and enrages Dilawar further against Sikander. Vishal, in the meantime, meets Kamna and falls in love with him. Thus the stage gets set for the final showdown where on the one hand Sikander has to fight his rivals including Dilawar and on the other he has to choose between his friendship and his love.
The film, though is devoid of any serious suspence but has all the ingredients for an exciting drama. The acting have been superb and the direction praiseworthy.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

BhoothNath

A Vivek Sharma film starring Amitabh Bacchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Aman Siddiqui as the main caste with supporting role offered by Rajpal Yadav, Satish Shah and Priyanshu Chatterjee and a special appearance of Aashish Chaudhary and Nauheed Cyrusi.
The film is about a very old and uninhabited house in Goa, 'NATH VILLA' haunted by the ghost of the original owner, Kailash Nath. Kailash's ghost loves every nooks and corner of the house and doesn't allow anybody to occupy its rooms, even for a single day. Thus rumours and stories about the house makes it quite infamous locally. But things change when a marine officer buys it and leaves his kitchen-shy wife and only child Banku, a mischivious lad, for an official voyage. Then begins the main theme where Banku befriends the ghost and together they set on playing pransk on the local folks and on occassions on themselves too. But problem begins as Banku's parents gradually gets to know about Bhoothnath and becomes concerned. It was then found out that Kailash Nath was being deprived of his last rites and realizing this, the family contacts Kailash's NRI son anc carries on the proper rituals. But even then, the final scenes of the film promises a sequel!
The film is mainly a comedy but the best thing is that it delivers some very valuable messages to the audience, both young and old. Thus we find that when Bhoothnath uses his powers to assist Banku in his pranks but he never assists Banku to win school competitions using his supernatural powers. Also the film conveys the age old message of 'to err is human, to forgive divine' in a very nice way.
But the film overlooks some major points which raises questions on the detailing of both the movie and the storyline. Also certain songs, specially the one featuring children in punk outfits, could have been omitted. Special mention must be made of Aman Siddiqui, Juhi Chawla for their natural acting and Rajpal Yadav on a short role has again put the audience in a laugh riot.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Ek Dojon Goppo

The index runs as:
  1. Septopaser Khide
  2. Bankubabur Bondhu
  3. Bipin Chowdhuryr Smritibhram
  4. Dui Magician
  5. Anathbabur Bhoe
  6. Sibu Aar Rakhyaser Katha
  7. Pterodactyler Dim
  8. Badur Bibhishika
  9. Patalbabur Filmstar
  10. Neel Atanka
  11. Feludar Goendagiri
  12. Kailas Chowdhuryr Pathar
It was quite coincidental that back in 1985, within days of receiving two of my most precious gifts in the form of the books, ‘Joy Baba Felunath’ and ‘Sonar Kella’ that Calcutta Doordarshan telecasted one of the two films (I forgot exactly which one it was though if my memory serves me right it was the former). So till date I am not very certain whether it was the brilliant story telling or the superb directing that made me an instant fan of Ray at such a young age. In fact Feluda, Soumitra and Satyajit all seemed to me the same person at that time. Well that was the start and from that day I had become a devoted collector of Ray’s literary creations.
So it was with a nostalgic feeling that I took up ‘Ek Dajon Goppo’ again from my shelf and started once again savouring the works of the short story genius. This collection of twelve contains the famous science fiction, ‘Bankubabur Bondhu’ which seemed to pave the way for Spielberg’s creation of ‘E.T.’. The collection also includes the 1st of Feluda stories in ‘Feludar Goendagiri’ where the sleuth is seen to handle his 1st case set in the backdrop of Darjeeling. The volume also features another Feluda story, ‘Kailas Chowduryr Pathar’ but from the storyline it can be ascertained that this case was written at a much later date (as there is the mention of ‘Badshahi Angti’ here). One of the important points to note in these two stories is that the genius of Ray in producing a sharp twist to the events that singles out Ray stories from the others (that can only be compared to the style of O. Henry) greatly shadows the brilliance of Feluda that is felt in other novels of the private investigator.
The other nine stories include supernatural episodes, humourous stories and some classic ones. In all of them the outstanding knack of storytelling have given the collection a new dimension. In many cases, the main characters in the fictions are picked from the common Bengali crowd, which not only gives a realistic touch but also conveys the skill of the author in creating extraordinary drama with an ordinary caste. It leads you to believe that talent doesn’t require a support crew but it blossoms in its own way in the works.
Ray always had an eye for detailing which is apparent is his stories too. In places where it requires explanation, it has been offered in a very simple, easy-to-understand way such that the stories never turn boring while the detailing remains uncompromised. But here, one point need to be mentioned where it surprised me how the author, with a keen eye to minute events, confused in the social relation of Feluda and Topse (Feluda’s only satellite till Jatayu shared the field). In the 1st of the two Feluda stories, ‘Feludar Goendagiri’, they are introduced as cousins in the mothers’ side while in the other they seems to be cousins in the fathers’ side. Barring this one, the whole collection is unique in its own way.

Hemendrakumar Roy Rachanabali Vol – VII

Again another treasure trove of excitement as Hemendra Kumar Roy presents two of his thrilling novels, an adaptation and some of his finest chronicles of history.
The volume contains:
1. Abar Jokher Dhon
2. Nrimunda Shikari
3. King Kong
4. Aalo Die Gelo J(n)ara
In ‘Abar Jokher Dhon’ Bimal-Kumar are on a treasure hunt and again their exploits take them to combat the forces of nature and the evils of mankind in the jungles of Africa. ‘Nrimunda Shikari’ starts with Jayanta-Manik’s hunt for the murderer who severs and takes the head of the victim from the streets of Calcutta. Here we again come across the comic character of SundarBabu and his equally comic associates but the main surprise of the story is in the final chapters when the detective duo gets help from the adventurous pair of Bimal-Kumar.
‘King Kong’ is the adaptation of the classic tale of the legendary ape and here the climax is at Calcutta. Nowhere throughout the story has it appeared to be an adaptation and the masterly style of the writing again takes the breath away at times.
But the best are the chapters of ‘Aalo Die Gelo J(n)ara’ where the author has narrated and glorified India’s past by quoting the exploits of history’s unsung heroes and heroines. On occasions he had touched upon world history too. He has recounted tales from the days of Alexander’s invasion of India, the tragic history of Hasan-Husein, chronicles of the courageous Rajputs against the wrath of Allauddin Khilji and many more.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Bhrantibilas

It had been qutie some time that I again watched the Bengali classic based on the story written by Shri Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors". Though a very old movie but this classic piece of art can be relished again and again without getting bored. The main caste includes Uttam Kumar and Bhanu, each doing a double role and Sabitri and Sandhya Roy.
The story is about a family having twin sons both to the master and to the servant. In their childhood, the twins were detached from each other during a great flood where the boat containing the master with one of his sons and one of the servant's son was seperated from the other carrying the mother with her other son and the other son of the servant. Each of the sons became well established in life and one of them got married. His brother became a businessman. But both were unaware of the other's existence till fate brought them together in the same place. It was the businessman whose job brought him and his servant to the town where their brothers lived. Thereafter it commenced a hilarious series of misunderstandings where both sets of brothers got crazy in the muddled mix-up and the rest got annoyed in their apparent misbehaviours. In fact their nicknames being the same (Chira in the case of both the brothers Chiranjit and Chiranjib and Kinkar in case of the twin servants Bhaktikinkar and Shaktikinkar) added more laughter to the innocent comedy. These continued through the major part of the movie and ended in a happy note where the brothers were again united.
The movie illustrates the comic genius of Sabitri and Bhanu, who play their parts to perfection. Tarun Kumar is again marvelous in an important side role and Uttam Kumar is outstanding in his role as the twin brother with opposite characters.
The story, though an adaptation, but not for once does it settings seem outlandish due to its elegant 'Bengalification'. The detailing have been outstanding and the sequences were just perfect. This age old classic once again proves the proverb 'old is gold'.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

One Night @ The Call Centre

Had heard about the story from the year of its release and was aware that it was a best seller till now but somehow never got the urge to read this as I am not a fan of new authors. I generally believed that the stories of current day authors lost that appealing touch as compared to the old generation. But it really pleased when I found that my line of thinking was way astray when this book was recommended to me by my cousin and I surprised myself by worming through the pages, eagerly waiting for its exciting finish.
A very unique point about the book is the author's use of different Fonts to narrate the past, present, introductions and the frequent SMS & emails. This is a new experiment in literature and I found this quite an ingenious method of story telling where the fonts have been used to categorise the different events so that the reader finds it easier to form a mindset while following the main theme of the story.
A major part of the main theme of the story is in flashback and the use of excerpts of a future chapter at the beginning of the book is also a praiseworthy approach.
The story begins with the author on a return journey to his place in a lonely train comes across a young lady in the compartment who makes a deal with the author. The deal is that the lady will recount a tale depicting the modern day youth on the condition that the author pens that as his next novel.
Her story was about 6 call centre agents and we are introduced slowly to their crooked boss, their families and you won't believe it........... their encounter with God. Yes sir, this last event has been introduced in a surprise twist where Providence directs the characters to the right path. The whole span of the story is within one night with some occassional flashbacks. We are introduced to the protagonist Shyam, living at Gurgaon who works in the call centre Connnexions. He strives to be a team leader but his boss Bakshi (with a MBA degree but with a less, if at all, managerial ability, who loves to use management jargons for as trivial issue as photocopying) never recommends him to the higher authority as he feels Shyam is yet to achieve leadership qualities. Shyam is currently engaged to another girl though the latter doesn't bring much joy to his life. Then we have Priyanka, ex-girlfriend of Shyam who breaks the relation due to some difference of opinion. Currently we find her to be engaged to be married to an NRI settled at the States. She also hopes someday that she will be able to complete BEd. Then we have Vroom, who gets his name owing to his fascination to cars & bikes. He was earlier pursuing the career of a journalist but his too much truthfulness and patriotic attitude gets him in trouble with his bosses. Currently working at Connexions, he is not very satisfied and within his heart he has a dream of a better India. We then come across Esha, who could have been a model but her height gets in the way. So she works at call centres while secretly she nurtures her dream of becoming a super model in a later period. Next is Radhika, married with her love Anuj but on the night @ the call centre she dramatically discoveres Anuj has a mistress. Then we have Military Uncle, a much older person than the other 5, who had difference of opinion with his married son and strained his relations with him while staying at the States. As each vents their frustrations and marred hopes, there comes the call from God in what can be said a dramatic situation. Not only this is a surprising twist to the story but also the surprise in the manner the story thereafter turns on. Till chapter 31 the style of the story was unique, the set was perfect, the evolution was wonderful but from chapter 32 onwards it becomes the same as a poorly directed film where the director forgets about the detailing. Thus the ending is a oversimplified one with only a slight touch of realism. The main points where it fails to impress are:
  1. I can't buy the idea that all of the call centre employees and the Americal nation don't know the MSWord bug =rand(200,99)! These always keep coming from your friends thru fwd emails.
  2. It baffles anybody of the sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"! Anybody who is a web serfer someday or the other comes across this sentence.
  3. I failed to understand why in the last few pages, Shyam refuses Priyanka's proposal and minutes later he is seeing racing after her with a completely different mindset. Well a call centre agent forgetting to use a cell phone in an urgent time is quite difficult to digest.
As a whole this is an enjoyable read and I feel that a slightly different style of ending would have made this a better piece of art.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Hemendrakumar Roy Rachanabali Vol – II

From the days that I had started savouring Bengali fictions till a few days back, I had read only a few of the stories of Hemendra Kumar Roy. Somehow his writings had always passed unnoticed by me. So when I found a catalogue of the Asia Publishing House and discovered that they treasure the whole collection of Hemendra Kumar’s proses for the young, I was quite excited. I found that the catalogue also advertised the index to each book and a glance at them brought back cherished memories of school days when the mere mention of ‘Jokher Dhon’ and the names of the adventurous duo Bimal-Kumar accompanied a thrill down the spine. Added to these were the exploits of the detective pair Jayata-Manik and their fights against crimes. So at the first chance that presented itself in the way of the Book Bazar at Rabindra Sadan, I purchased two volumes of the series.
The index to the 2nd Vol runs as:
1. Amabasyar Raat
2. Manush Pishach
3. Ekhon J(n)ader Dekhchi
4. Shani-Mangaler Rahasya
5. Chora O Kobita (yet 2 b read)
6. Adrishya Manush
7. Chithi
The fictions (1, 2, 4) feature Bimal-Kumar & Jayanta-Manik and in this volume their ventures carries them to fight against the evil forces of nature that includes supernatural forces too. Normally meant for the primary school goers, but these narrations bring nostalgic feelings of the childhood past when the mind doesn’t understand logic and can smoothly drift to the lands of the unknown. The skilled way with which the author relates the events adds to the pleasure of an enjoyable reading.
There is also the Bengali adaptation (6) of H.G. Wells' "The Invisible Man" with a Bengali semi-urban setting as the backdrop of the events. The original characters have been cleverly camouflaged to suite the settings for a Bengali fiction. So nowehere it has been felt as a mere translation work rather it has unfolded the classic story for the Bengali speaking mass. This seems to be the author's tribute to the original writer.
But the writer's passion emanates in the tributes (3) to some unsung and some renowned personalities of Bengal and India. The first few chapters are dedicated to famed wrestlers of the time Gama, Chotogama, Hasanbaksh and finally Jatindra Guha who was more popular as Goborbabu. He goes through Goborbabu's journey to fame not only in the country but in foreign soils as well and the romance of his character blossoms beautifully in the pen of Hemendranath. He is passionate while describing Gobarbabu's rise to fame and is equally exasperating while narrating the dirty foul against him in the USA. I was even surprised to know that this great wrester was also an appreciator of music. Hemendrakumar also writes on the prominence of Jamini Ray and his paintings and while speaking of music, he offers his praise to the blind songster Krishnachandra Dey's lyrical musicals who lent his voice in Shishirkumar Bhaduri's plays after much persuasion and immediately earned praise there. The author also praises the works of poet Kalidas Ray and singer Dileepkumar Ray.
In ‘Chithi’ the author has paid tribute to Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore and his works including his work for the children and also laments at his loss. The author had always acknowledged the great poet as his Guru in the literary world and says how Rabindranath had been the best portrayer of the Mother Nature. He also admires the poet’s work for the children and marvels at the volumes he had written for the children. He goes even further in saying that no author before Rabindranath had given more time or had shown more interest in composing delightful literature for the young minds.

The Evolution of Physics

This is a book on the advancement of physics written by the master, Albert Einstein and Leopold Infeld. It begins with the early mechanical notion of the material world, how it gets transformed by the relativistic views and concludes with the understanding of the quantum nature of the universe. But quite surprisingly this physics book is completely devoid of any mathematics and is based purely on logic. Thus while on one hand it is quite appealing to en masse, on the other the philosophical flavour of the articles can be immensely appreciated by readers who are more tuned to traditional scientific articles. Only certain experimental results are quoted and based on these the book offers explanation to the fundamental theories governing the physical world. It explains the old laws, their successes and limitations, introduction of new laws and how they get modified with time. Starting from the laws of absolute motion and theory of corpuscular nature of light and ending with relativity and wave-particle duality of electrons and light, it doesn’t leave any corner of science unexplored. True, these articles do not reflect the actual models through equations and it doesn’t mean that reading these one can immediately start unraveling the apparently complex domains of the modern science but these help us to think in an unconventional way of the universe and prepare a philosophical background for the inquisitive minds.

As a whole this is a really enjoyable read and once more we are left mesmerized by the simplicity of the explanations that once had seemed much more complex, though personally I feel a bit of mathematics could have been incorporated for an even easier read.