Licensed to drive

It’s almost 15 years since I first discovered and fell in love with riding a bike. It’s been close to two years since the time I set out on mastering driving a car. But, in all this time, I never had a Driver’s License for either a bike or car. Yes, I did have a [...]

The happening

Last week, I watched the latest offering from Manoj Night Shyamalan. Not as bad as Signs, Lady in the Water or The Village. Not as good as Sixth Sense or Unbreakable. Overladen with every Hollywood cliche. Still, the end has you thinking. Could be watched one Saturday evening at the movies – if you don’t [...]

Dreamgirls Vs Moulin Rouge

A couple of years ago, when Dreamgirls picked up two awards at the Oscars, I was curious about the film. But a colleague, whose opinion I value, told me not to bother with the film. But, this week, I picked it up amongst my ‘time pass’ romances. As it happens, I was watching Dreamgirls almost [...]

Moulin Rouge: The musical lives on

Many years ago, when Bangalore’s boulevard still stood and Plaza still played movies, Sowmya and I walked down the boulevard, attempting to capture the essence of Bangalore in photographs. That’s when we saw it… Plaza playing Moulin Rouge. Strangely enough, we were not curious about the film. We were concerned about capturing Moulin Rouge shot [...]

Sometimes, nothing beats a good romance

There are times when you are tired and your mind can focus on nothing in particular. On days like these, Manoj likes to watch a good action movie. But, I find that for me nothing works like a good Hollywood romance Aah… To just be able to laugh and cry at a predictable story that [...]

Indiana Jones

Like others of my generation, I first bumped into Indiana Jones when I was growing up. Like others of my generation, I also enjoyed the experience throughly. This weekend saw us back in the theatre for the latest in the series – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In what is a [...]

Random ramblings on urbanization

A brief trip to Delhi brought along with it some random ramblings on urbanization. I write about it here only so that I may not forget… After all, being a traveler does give you a unique perspective and you notice details that could be missed by more accustomed eyes. This was of course not the [...]

The Blue Umbrella vs Taare Zameen Par

There is a poignancy about growing up. Children have a way of experiencing joy and sorrow in all its completeness. Nothing matters as much as the possession of a beautiful magical toy. No loss in later life will equal the loss of that treasured possession. In The Blue Umbrella, Vishal Bharadwaj brings the simplicity and [...]