KEY
The title iam going to discuss is a regional movie, i was impressed with the content of the movie. No doubt it is a low budget movie without duets, it is not a love story or a thriller or a drama or socio fantasy, but it is just about a selection of a right candidate for an important position of a reputed organisation. Hatsoff to the producer to really encourage such a subject. The plot is that 9 candidates are shortlisted for a final stage of selection. Each candidate has professional achievement and profound in their relevant fields like journalism,science,law,business. model etc etc.
Now how are they selected? what is that they are asked? is the plot of the movie.The candidates are taken to a custom made hall which has a security guard with pistol and ofcourse they are observed by a CCTV. The examiner tells the rules.
Rule number 1- the candidates intentionally ot nonintentionally should not spoil the paper else he will be thrown ot and disqualified.
Rule number 2- the candidate should not try to talk to examiner nor should not go out of room nor do such acts which the guard will pull him/ her out and disqualify
Rule number 3- The duration is 150 minutes.
The examiner leaves the room, now the candidates see the paper on the desk and all are astonished because there is no question.Now they have understood that they have to search the question in the room and answer but how? one candidate takes a chance speak to other the guard has not reacted, so they can speak to each other. The candidates started discussion on what would be the question and the ways to find it. First they tried the paper with light but there no encryptions, meanwhile one eager candidate has written "OM" on his paper he was thrown out, now one competitor is down.Now the candidates take the answer sheet of the disqualified and shade with pencil but this is also futile.When the candidates discussed with each other, each had own view of why they applied this job, one said for money, one for money and status, one for a change, one for doing a good job, one for marriage etc etc.
Now the time is ticking down they are left with 90 minutes, one candidate who is a lawyer intentionally spoils a model's paper she was sent out.The competitors came down, again he does same trick with other candidate whose finger has a cut when they broke a glass. Soon the other candidates realizes the crooked mind.One scientist unknowingly puts pencil on paper he too gets disqualified. Now 6 candidates are left with 60 minutes remaining.The lawyer candidate has a medical problem he has to take a capsule at regular intervals ohterwise he will get unconscious and die. The other candidates ties him to the chair and one candidate throws the capsule into the drain.The law candidate says he knows the question but he tells only after he is saved.Meanwhile one candidate tries to talk to examiner as the law candidate is about to die, she is also disqualified. One candidate ties the psychological canddiate and interrogates her whether she knows about the examining organisation. She confesses that she already worked in the company and it is a medical foundation somehow she is also disqualified, but to know the question the candidates frees the lawyer.
Now the time left is 20 minutes with five candidates, then the lawyer picks the pistol from the guard and fires a candidate and says if he kills the rest he is the one remains and he will be selected. Just he opens fire the candidates rush ou of the room and off the lights. He completes his round but just before time tick to 0 one candidate hides behind a door switch on the light.
Now three candidates are in room one is shot. The examiner comes and disqualifies the lawyer and the selects the other candidate.
She asks why this kind of examination, the examiner then introduces himself as the CEO of the organisation who wants a selfless and dedicated person for an important post and explains how the inner character of the candidatesv like pride, moneyminded, arrogance,impatience, sorrow, slothing disqualified them. The shot candidate is not dead and is just a anaesthetia, however he is also disqualified becase of his rudeness.
So this is the KEY.
Warning: This article contains spoilers. To be read at your own discretion
Cast:Shahid Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Anupam Kher
Director: Pankaj Kapoor
Pankaj Kapoor's 'Mausam' is a romantic story between a Punjabi Harinder Singh aka Harry (Shahid Kapoor), and Kashmiri Muslim girl, Aayat (Sonam Kapoor). The story is set over a ten year period with interupting events of operation Blue star,Babri Masjid destruction, Mumbai bomb blasts, Kargil war, September 11 attacks in US and finally Godhra riots.
The romance lives upto the point of Harry getting letter to join Indian Air force. From this point the film loses its sheen until the air fight scenes that add some charisma. Surely men in uniform do attract a lot of attention :) .The film focuses on how the characters fail to contact each time due to one event or another arriving at the absurd climax of saving from fire the heroine, a horse and a crying child with the weirdest corny lines. We Hope we didn't hear that :)
The principal problem with the movie is that in the interviews the promise of the romance in different stages of life over a period of 10 years like different seasons was indicated as the theme and reason for the title "Mausam". But as a viewer this premise is not delivered which is similar to serving pasta on the promise of ice-cream. Mr. Kapoor as a director disappoints though the other Kapoors score looks wise. The songs are the saving grace and the locations are too good to waste on a story like this. The film is a tad too long and the reasons for the main characters not able to meet are too illogical. Even films in 60s and 70s had a better means of communicating. Way better that people in army had always received letters and have a P.O. box set in their name. The film though has its own loop holes script wise would have been bearable had the pacing been a little good and the foot tappers in middle. The audience certainly doesn't sit for the end credits to roll just for mallo malli number. One wishes it would have been better had ended by intermission.
Watchable elements:
The air fight sequences are good upto the point of Aayat's interruption which had the audience laughing instead of crying.
Sonam and Shahid have good chemistry and equally good looks.
The railway scene and airforce scenes are pretty good.
Avoidable:
The climax.
Sonam's nightmares
I finished my coffee and placed the mug on the window sill, looking clumsily at the tiny drops of water on the glass. It was a cold December evening, with the chill crawling up my spine like a vicious serpent. I looked at the wet streets outside, craning my eyes to spot a speck of joy in the stressful panorama. The streets ran empty, trees stood with an expression of loss. Shops closed down with the skepticism of a stealthy rain and the chilling winter air pelted its ferocity on every poor thing in its reach.
Appalled by the devious sight, I picked up my coffee mug and rose to leave for more, when, suddenly, my eyes fell on the strange little creature on the other side of the street. It was a different sight, sarcastically aided by the fearful west wind. I looked at the distance, trying to engulf the reality, struggling to reason out the sudden deviation from normalcy. I saw a girl crouching behind the shadows, fighting the piercing cold with a set of tattered rugs on her body. Aroused by the sudden rush of adrenaline, I plunged my head out of the window for a better look, but the raging torment of raindrops bleared my vision of certainty.
There were many questions rushing up the stairways of my mind, but the confusion between ‘who was she’ and ‘what was she’ provoked the stigma of demonic forces inside me.I narrowed my eyes to reconcile the surge of curiosity within me. What was she doing on an empty street, when the churlish downpour turned every place into a no-man’s land.I had to know. There was a reason that out of the many geographic directions, this strange creature looked at mine, and I had to find out why. I did not stop to think. The next moment, I was out in the streets, the rain piercing my face like a magician’s scimitar.
It took me some time to spot the black-robed figure. I walked with heavy steps towards her, frantically observing the fact that she was staring at me, as if she already knew that I would come for her. Somehow, groping for proper directions in the darkness, I reached the place where she stood. There she was, clutching on to the side rims of the lamppost with one hand, while the other grabbed the filthy old rug around her chest. She looked at me with cautious eyes, eyes that tacitly defined the other side of hedonism.
It was a young face, yet the wrinkles of pain had crowded the soft texture of her skin. I went closer, wiping off the thick drops of rain from my face and leapt off with a cry of utter amazement.
“Emily?” I squeaked, doubting the permeability for my inaudible voice in the terrible rain.
I wondered whether she heard me, her feet stayed rooted to the ground, her eyes immovable like an age-old rock. I wondered if she was the same Emily I knew 3 years back. There were no signs of proximity from her, her eyes gazed unblinkingly at me, red as blood, as if they’d been open for an eternity.
There were extraordinary times in life which demanded extraordinary measures. I pondered how a bright sunny day could turn into a profound night of terror.My mind knew that the skeptic figure in front of me was an old acquaintance, but my heart feared the dire consequences of this unexplained rendezvous with her.
No one spoke for what seemed to be an eternity. Only the sound of thumping rain tortured our ears like a painful cry. I looked around in diabolic haste, hoping that there would be some place to shelter this unfortunate friend of mine, but the devastating downpour continued to devour all possible signs of life in my vicinity.I had to do what I was about to do. There was no way that I would leave Emily to wither in that dreadful weather, though the uncertainty of her stochastic emergence circled my mind like an American hurricane.
“We should not be out here,” I said, “let’s go inside the house and have something to eat, you look weak,” I finished, stretching out my hand adroitly to hide my hesitance.
She looked at my hand for quite long before stretching her own, as if calculating the risks of an overnight interview with me. I held her hand tight, it was cold, very cold. She limped painfully with little help from her two jaded legs, her fragile body falling in my shivering arms at each step.Somehow grueling with the stubborn rain, we reached the aisle of my apartment. Emily had still not spoken a word, and I had already started to fear the aberrant sense of diligence from a long lost friend. I walked my guest past the already open door and directed her towards the couch, looking disgustedly at the slurry of mud that her malodorous feet had brought in.
The room was suddenly cold, as if my apartment was shifted to a distant army base on the Everest. The light from the 200 watt bulb suddenly seemed insufficient, the walls appeared darker with a hint of gloom all over them. I tried to reason out the sudden absurdities around me, but with each passing moment, the incisive manifestations of paranormal activities stirred a hypnotic stigma in me. I looked at the trespasser, who slouched on the sofa with a hunch, water dripping all over the floor from her unusual uniform. Clothes and food was all she needed, or so I thought.
I opened my cupboard and stared at the heap of dirty clothes that I hadn’t washed for months. After a rumbling of 15 whole minutes, I found an old sweatshirt that I used to wear back home. I folded it neatly; skillfully hiding the stains of ketchup it had on it, and went towards the living room, where Emily sat, unmoved.
“Here, take this shirt, you must be pretty wet in those clothes. You can change in the bathroom,” I said, pointing towards a small door at the end of the hall. “I’ll be back with something for you to eat,” I added in a friendly tone.
Why isn’t she talking? What on earth was she doing in this part of the world, when she settled in California 3 years back after marrying her rich boyfriend? What is wrong with her face, her clothes, her body? There were so many questions to ask, but all the answers waited at the other side of her tired lips. Probably, she was too weak to talk, I reasoned.
I opened the refrigerator to find some food for my poor friend. There was not much leftover, especially when you’re a 25 year old ‘teenager’, but fortunately, I hadn’t had any dinner that night due to a minor stomach ache. I took out the apple pudding, a bottle of beer and some freshly baked biscuits and strolled towards the living room, hoping that the dinner was sufficient for a starving unfortunate as her. I placed the pudding and the bottle on the table, noticing in anguish that the kurta lay untouched beside her. I leaned forward to pour the pudding in a bowl, but I was too late. Emily had already snatched the spoon and began stuffing the food into her mouth.
I sat on a chair facing her, watching her devour every bit of the pudding I gave her. Old scenes flashed in front of my eyes, those parties at the college canteen, the refreshing hangouts before exam nights. I recalled the bike rides around the city, with Emily sitting on mine. She had a thing for me back in college, but the shackles of education compelled me to miss every bit of the beautiful life I could have had with her. It had been 3 years since we talked, the many moratoriums of life had taken us far apart from each other. And here she was, sitting right in front of me, in a state of complete melodrama. I wondered amazedly what time could do to us, while she munched hastily at the biscuits, two at a time.
I rose from my chair, and walked towards the telephone. A sudden thought drifted into my head as I flipped the pages of my diary hurriedly. I wondered if I had Karl’s contact number with me, probably he could explain the pathetic state of his wife, I thought.After an animus tussle with the tattered pages of my diary, I found what I was looking for.
“Karl Donavan, 56 President Street, California.”
I picked up the receiver and dialed the number, my heart racing at the pace of knots. I glanced back at the couch where Emily was seated, munching away merrily at the biscuits I’d given her. The bell rang at the other side and a deep grumpy voice answered it.
“Hello, is it Karl? I am Dan from college, remember?” I asked hopelessly, pretty sure that the rich bastard had flushed me out of his memory long ago.
“Hello Dan, long time,” confirmed his deep voice, much to my surprise.
“Karl, can I speak to Emily for a second?” I whispered, holding my breath, fearing how aberrant his next statement could be.
“She died in an accident this very evening,” he said.
I could still hear Emily, munching away at the biscuits as Karl hung up and the line went dead…..
English Translation of Zindagi Na Milegi Doobara Poems
Dear All,
This is my first attempt to translate Hindi poems into English
Please enjoy reading!
Thanks!
Poem-1
Jab jab dard ka baadal chaya
When the clouds of pain spread
Jab ghum ka saya lehraya
When the shadows of sorrow wavers
Jab aansoo palkon tak aya
When the tears came till the eye lid
Jab yeh tanha dil ghabraya
When this silent heart got scared
Humne dil ko yeh samjhaya
I made my heart understand this
Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai
O my heart why do you cry?
Duniya mein yunhi hota hai
It happens in this world
Yeh jo gehre sannate hain
That this strong silence is there
Waqt ne sabko hi baante hain
Time makes all these things
Thoda ghum hai sabka qissa
Little pain is for everyone
Thodi dhoop hai sabka hissa
Little sunshine is everyone’s part
Aankh teri bekaar hi nam hai
Eyes of yours is simply wet
Har pal ek naya mausam hai
Every second is a new weather
Kyun tu aise pal khota hai
Why do you leave this moment undone?
Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai...
O dear heart why do you cry?
Poem-2
Ik baat honton tak hai jo aayi nahin
There are some words on the lips that never was spoken
Bas ankhon say hai jhaankti
They are dancing around the eyes
Tumse kabhi, mujhse kabhi
Sometimes for you,sometimes for me
Kuch lafz hain woh maangti
There are some words that demand
Jinko pehanke honton tak aa jaaye who
Which when worn will be spoken by the mouth
Aawaaz ki baahon mein baahein daalke ithlaye who
Those who embrace in the arms of the voice
Lekin jo yeh ik baat hai
But for this one word
Ahsas hi ahsas hai
Feeling itself is in feeling
Khushboo si hai jaise hawa mein tairti
Like the wonderful smell in the breeze that moves
Khushboo jo be-aawaaz hai
Like the wonderful smell is the in the voice
Jiska pata tumko bhi hai
Like how you will conquer
Jiski khabar mujhko bhi hai
For whose news even I have
Duniya se bhi chupta nahin
It is not hidden from the world
Yeh jaane kaisa raaz hai..
Oh what a mystery is this?.
Poem-3
Pighle neelam sa behta ye sama,
From the melted sapphire time begone
Neeli neeli si khamoshiyan,
The silence is blue-blue
Na kahin hai zameen
Nowhere is the land
Na kahin aasmaan,
Nowhere is the sky
Sarsaraati hui tehniyaan pattiyaan,
Moving with crackling sound these leaves
Keh raheen hai bas ek tum ho yahan,
They are saying that only you are here
Bas main hoon,
Only me
Meri saansein hain aur meri dhadkanein,
My breath and my heart beat
Aisi gehraiyaan, aisi tanhaiyaan,
This strong emotions, this silence
Aur main...Sirf main.
And me…only me
Apne hone par mujhko yakeen aa gaya.
Being mine I have realized now.
Poem-4
Dilon mein tum apni
In your hearts
Betaabiyan leke chal rahe ho
You are taking with you the enthusiasm
Toh zinda ho tum
So you are alive
Nazar mein khwabon ki
In the eyes there is dreams
Bijliyan leke chal rahe ho
You are taking the lights and walking
Toh zinda ho tum
So you are alive
Hawa ke jhokon ke jaise
Like the gust of the wind
Aazad rehno sikho
Try to live in freedom
Tum ek dariya ke jaise
Just Like a river
Lehron mein behna sikho
Learn to move like waves
Har ek lamhe se tum milo
Try to meet each and every second
Khole apni bhaayein
Open your arms
Har ek pal ek naya samha
Every second is a new time
Dekhen yeh nigahaein
See these view
Jo apni aankhon mein
Which is in your eyes
Hairaniyan leke chal rahe ho
Take with you the excitement
Toh zinda ho tum
So you are alive
Dilon mein tum apni
In your hearts
Betaabiyan leke chal rahe ho
Take with you the enthusiasm
Toh zinda ho tum
So you are alive
The Blue Umbrella (Chhatri Chor) is one of those few movies which is rich in cinematic experience but limited in its reach. The movie comes from one of the most creative directors of our time Vishal Bhardwaj and is based on a book on the same name by one of the most loved writers Ruskin Bond .
The movie revolves around Nandkishor(Played by Pankaj Kapur) & Biniya (Played by child artist Shreya) residing in a small village in Himachal Pradesh. Nandu as he is called in the village is a shop keeper who has a liking towards pickle & has a habit of acquiring attractive things in return of small debts. Biniya the smart nine year old sister of a wrestler understands his motives & always finds a solution to his crooked ways along with her friends to keep him at bay.
The twist in the story comes when the girl falls in love with a beautiful blue umbrella brought by few Japanese tourists & gets it in exchange of her bear claw necklace. Ass She roams around the village with the pretty umbrella in beautiful backdrops of Himachal, she has all the eyes set on her & herpossesion. Whileshe shares it with her friends & poses for photos with the tourists, she snubs all attempts by Nandu to wrest it from her. In theee meanwhile Biniya's Umbrella gets stolen,but how through her intelligence Biniya finds the umbrella & makes the thief to repent & realise his/her mistake forms the rest of the story.
The film is great in terms of the suspense regarding the thief & stands out due to its emotional phase depicting loneliness & struggle due to social outcast. The camera angles are sometimes taken from a character's perspective which makes it interesting & works in combination with the background score to enhance the emotions. There are several scenes which takes your heart away like the scene in which Biniya finds that her umbrella has been lost ,the scene in which Nandu explains the reason of his obsession towards the umbrella,the marriage procession in the village where Nadu is ousted,the umbrella struck in the bus door. There is a lot of humor in the movie through the interactions of Tikku (Played by Rahul Kumquatatatat) the helper in the shop & Nandu and even through Masterji & his wife Lillavawell. PankajPankaj Kapur does a valiantjob once again as the pahadi man with a sweet accent & the lonely old man in later part of the movie. Shreyaas a first timer comes up with a mature performance as required ,while the marvelous looking umbrella which opens up in a lovely circle is treated as the real protagonist in the movie.
Since it has a strong moral value at the end , its a great way to introduce the art of cinema to children! It can take you back to your "Malgudi days" kind of cinema & holds good for people from today's generation as well .The lyrics penned by Gulzar & music given by Vishal himself is soft & refreshing & compliments the scenic beauty of Himachal .As this is a movie which is watched or even heard by a few , my suggestion is to enjoy this on weekend on a DVD with your kids & family.
Trivia:The movie has won the National Film Award for Best Children's film in 2006.It is a 90 minute movie distributed by UTV classics & comes from the director of Makdee, Maqbool, Kaminey, Saat Khoon Maaf.
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