ae dil hai mushkil..

the name of the movie is better suited to a critique of the movie rather than the movie itself. the way i see it, it's like watching a sugarcane being squeezed through a crusher and eagerly waiting for the juice only to be served the crushed mass instead.

Karan Johan took everything that is sublime about love, tried to rationalize it in every painful way and served us a mess of confusion and childish passion. I was so cheated by the beautiful songs and lyrics that I went to watch the movie despite the poor reviews and now I almost wish that I could forget I ever watched the movie.

Ranbir for all his performance - came across as so childish and the whole movie was a giant mistake that should have never been made. The only highlight was, and I never thought I would ever say this, but it speaks to the human ability to learn and grow - Aishwarya rai! She was beautiful, hot and had done a great job acting. Simply loved her.

The number of scenes in clubs and the meaninglessness of the protagonist's life seemed to mirror Karan Johar's life itself :/ The only thing that scares is this: is my reaction because I am older and can't appreciate the finer things or because it was simply a horrible movie?

Maalika

PS: Should i remove all these emojis? A picture is worth a thousand words, true. But for those who enjoy the play of words, pictures are superfluous! :)

becoming jane and falling in love with mcavoy!

I saw the movie becoming jane (at the least, I watched the interesting bits while I fast forwarded through the others). It gave me a fascinating insight that I had to pen down immediately. the movie shows jane as an intellectual (which should be obvious to anyone who has read her books). it also shows helplessly in love with a penniless lawyer..

they eventually elope. but get this.. at some point she realizes that he won't be able to support his family and that it will eventually take a toll on love and happiness. so you should either be so calculative as to never make the mistake of falling in love with someone unsuitable, or be so passionate that you blow all caution to the wind. the unique combination of high passion and high intellectualism that an author like jane austen is gifted with required her to give up on marriage.. because couldn't help fall in love with an intelligent and witty man and couldn't marry him either, because she knew it was unsustainable.

the question in my mind is this: will the love truly have wilted? having lived past so many obstacles in life, I want to say - no. love wouldn't have wilted if the two people are strong minded. but it's also hard to predict whether the person you want to marry will be that strong. marriage is the ultimate test of your judgement of character and you have to be conservative. a false positive is too dangerous!

anyhow - fell in love with james mcavoy in the process... at 5' 7" he is short, but sweet :)

and here is yet another insight! it doesn't take very long at all for the two fall in love with each other! having a closet single and actively dating friend of 32 really helps in understanding how the matters of the heart works! it takes a few conversations, physical attractiveness, wit and humor, and of course the level intimacy achieved in these conversations for two people to fall in love! time is only needed when this love has to conquer difficulties.. that's why arranged marriages in india work so well.. here, eligible boy and girl meet, have a few conversations.. and voila.. they are in love! and of course they don't have to move the earth for the other.. the parents will see to it.. the issue with the movie is that the guy is ready to elope with her after only a few conversations which seemed a bit absurd to me. he says "I am yours, heart and soul" and I think "yes, I am sure you are - but can you starve for her for 10 days?"

this is where our friend mani ratnam comes in.. shalini in alaipayuthey asks mathavan - you saw me a few times, you made me laugh and now you made me cry.. what great love is there between us? my parents brought me up, and now I can't leave them.. but sometimes.. the few conversations, and the unique nature of your relationship and intimacy is such that you are convinced that you will never experience this with anyone else.. and then it gives you the power to move the earth :) wait - am i contradicting myself here somewhere? perhaps.. but its fun to ramble on :)

channa mereya..

the new movie ae dil hai mushkil that purports to be the authority on life after heartbreak definitely has some amazing numbers.. while the most famous song of the movie seems to the song named after the movie itself - I don't find the lyrics interesting. It is too direct and lacks subtlety.. a key feature of unrequited love - everything is intense and everything is subtle. but this song here, captures it beautifully... and apparently is the favorite of the director - so guessing he probably does know a thing or two about broken hearts :)

achchha chalta hoon

duaaon mein yaad rakhna

mere zikr ka

zubaan pe swaad rakhna

okay, I'll leave now.

remember me in your prayers,

keep the taste of my mention

on your tongue...

dil ke sandookon mein

mere achchhe kaam rakhna

chiTThi taaron mein bhi

mera tu salaam rakhna

keep my good deeds

in the boxes of the heart,

and keep my salutations

even in letters and telegrams.

andhera tera maine le liya

mera ujla sitaara tere naam kiya

channa mereya mereya

channa merya mereeya

channa mereya mereya beliya

o piya..

I have taken your darkness,

and my bright shining star is yours now.

O my moon,

O my, my moon,

O my beloved moon..

O beloved.

mehfil mein teri

hum na rahein jo

gham to nahi hai

gham to nahi hai

kisse hamaare, nazdeekiyon ke

kam to nahi hain

kam to nahi hain.

kitni dafa subah ko meri

tere aangan mein baithe maine shaam kiya

if I am not there in your gathering,

there is no sadness,

there is no sadness..

stories of ours, of our closenesses,

aren't less,

they are plenty.

so many times I have turned

my mornings into evenings sitting in your courtyard.

[that is I have so many times passed my time there.]

tere rukh se apna raasta moR ke chala..

chandan hoon mainapni khushboo chhoR ke chala..

mann ki maaya rakh ke tere takiye tale

bairagi bairaagi ka sooti chola oRh ke chala

I turn my path from your face,

I am sandal, leaving my frangrance (with you)...

keeping the worldly illusions under your pillow,

this ascetic wraps the cotton cloth of an ascetic and leaves..

influencers

there is a chicken and egg to the influencers of our life.. there is a natural gravity inside us towards to certain types of people.. and then these people influence us. growing up I was obsessed with and even now am obsesses with srk... I loved him.. loved his energy, his excitement, his love of life, his capacity for passion (as much as I could see through the screen :) ). I had his poster on my wall for 4 years in my undergrad.. and i found my husband.. as close in looks to shah rukh khan as anyone I have ever seen :)

today I came to know one of my colleagues is leaving my company.. he was one of the few people from whom I learned some important concepts in my role.. he is super smart.. and leaving :( and when such things happen, a small piece of me breaks.. i have said so many good byes.. so many relationships have been left on the way side.. in this weird life.. in which we come with nothing and leave with nothing.. but i am so glad of the amazing people I get to meet everyday.. people like me.. simple, hard working, happy people.

And as I work harder and harder, I get to meet smarter and better people! so it's all good and self-fulfilling. The person you want to be, the person you become.. and surround yourself with similar people!!

ddlj

I finally bought DDLJ.. this is an art worth owning :)
and found out that the writer/director is a gemini too.. why am I not surprised??

I only have to watch this evergreen movie once to feel my heart puddle around my feet :) the unimaginable quick acting of SRK, and his mobile features.. the pure and beautiful smile of Kajol.. it's beautiful.. there are two kinds of people on this earth.. good and positive people and everyone else.. god - as long as I am alive, please keep me good and positive.. that's all I ask.. keep me young in heart, alive in spirit, beautiful in thought and immortal in deeds.. give me the power of words.. so that I may influence as many hearts as the few with the skill have influenced mine! And keep the romance alive.. always!

a mother and child

i have always thought separating a mother and child was the worst torture a human being could endure (or not). but seeing this movie philomena moved me so much.. to be so tortured by people who calls themselves creatures of god.. the nuns is unimaginable..

why is it so hard to love? my heart bleeds to think of this mother and child..

southbound..

some songs you listen.. the very first time and you  know that it will stay with you forever.. that you are going to turn to it every time you feel blue...

that was my relationship with this song - Southbound.. it is about a train hopper and what makes him shun home and hearth and go with the wind..

the movie itself is really nice if not great.. but the music is amazing.. "birds fly" is another song in this track.. that is also amazing.. I love Ben's voice and his character portrayal.. listen to this and let me know if you don't feel the same way..

Let her go

here's a nice song.. when you think you've exhausted all material pertaining to love and its pains.. there is one more :) the voice is bewitching too..

Well you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go

Staring at the bottom of your glass
Hoping one day you'll make a dream last
But dreams come slow and they go so fast

You see her when you close your eyes
Maybe one day you'll understand why
Everything you touch surely dies

But you only need the light when it's burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you've been high when you're feeling low
Only hate the road when you're missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go

Staring at the ceiling in the dark
Same old empty feeling in your heart
Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast

Well you see her when you fall asleep
But never to touch and never to keep
Cause you loved her too much and you dived too deep

my rochester..

the longer i live, the more i am baffled by the power of youth.. the memories and books and music that you listen to at youth, define you so thoroughly, that it is almost scary..

i have been reading jane eyre.. again. for the 100th time.. and i realized one thing.. that i am utterly in love with rochester.. he sees a plain simple girl.. and puts her through so many tests.. and loves her more than anything.. and his sense of humor is so unlike anything I have ever read or come across.. it is the most beautiful feeling in all the world..

his is a love that doesn't kill.. but makes you stronger.. because while it a love for another person.. it also rooted in the love for the sublime.. there is a combination here that makes it beautiful.. i am on my way to defining it :)

Like Sunday like rain

Just when I thought I was over this, no more writing etc.. I even saw Chocolat - a movie that moved once so much, that I could never bear to see it again... I saw it yesterday and despite Juliet Binoche's moving rendition - it failed to make a dent in my emotional surface.. I was happy in a way.. quite happy to not be in this emotional state of heightened awareness.. I am happy to be an ordinary person..

But tonight, I saw this movie which caught me so off guard.. Like Sunday, like rain. It's about a precocious 12 yr old experiencing a connection perhaps for the first time in his life with a young nanny who was also a struggling musician, who had to sell her cornet for money.. the boy is also a musical genius and writes his own compositions and plays the cello..

the movie is so subtle.. no drama.. no mention of the word love or crush or anything.. but it celebrates the connection that people sometimes have.. and in particular a connection that is strengthened through the experience of music together.. the boy's acting is still, poignant.. he manages to convey a depth that belies his age.. and his wide eyes seems to see everything.

I loved it. Just like I love Sundays and rain :)

the gemini and cancer brand of romance...

I have come to believe that there is a unique brand of romance to every horoscope sign.. protrayal of love and life.. and i think this is why i like mani rathnam's movies and the most famous actors who did his movies justice - arvind swamy and madhavan.. all of them are gemini!

my own moon sign is gemini and that's probably why i am such a huge huge fan of mani rathnam's movies.. to me they define romance.. and i put him on such a pedestal! ok - so let's explore this brand of romance and the key aspects of this:

1) Snap judgment - they fall in love at the drop of a hat. Alaipayuthey, raavanan, roja etc.
2) They take action - they immediately share their feelings.. they have no patience...
3) They have no fear- Bombay - he tells his dad i can't wait for you to die.. i have to marry her.. in Roja - he tells the village he wants to marry the second one..
4) They hold the love of their life on a pedestal - in all these movies the heros have enormous respect for their wives.. their loves.. its the cutest..
5) They like to surprise - romance is about surprise.. these guys love them.. they do simple things and keep the flames burning..

basically.. these guys invented romance..

Cancer on the other hand is also romantic.. my next three most favorite directors (bharathiraja, Shridhar and balachander) are all cancerians (my sun sign).. their brand is just as strong.. although a lit bit more subtle.. less chivalrous.. less fearless..

but it is interesting.. i wonder if i like these guys because they think like me? or does the whole world enjoy this brand of romance??