Luck by Chance

For anyone who likes Farhan Akhtar, this is a good film to watch.

He's at his playful best - playing this competitive and shrewd aspiring actor with dreams of becoming it big in Bollywood. No gutts, no glory is his motto. He's always trying; He's always taking a chance.

In contrast to his love, played by Konkona Sen who doesn't take chances and keeps her hopes pinned on the corrupt Bollywood producer - but not on herself and her talent.

There are some REALLY funny scenes in this film. I think Juhi Chawla played the bimbette producer's wife really well -- as did Dimple Kapadia who played the famous actress from yesteryears. You can see that Bollywood is a bitchy awful place in the film - but then, so are a lot of places right?

How do you know you'll never win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket? Sometimes for luck to work out for you - you too have to take the first step. So keep trying is the motto of this blog. And the motto of the film.

I watched the film at Priya in Delhi with a couple of very good friends. I haven't been to Priya since my college days - which was like - 10 years ago (Sheesh even writing this makes me feel like I'm getting old!!). The Priya complex near JNU has changed so much. I feel like I was living in the socialist era in Delhi when I went there last. Now there are MNCs and brands everywhere - restaurants and joints to hang out in. Truly amazing how much India has changed.

Nazis, the Crusades and the Oscars

So Tom Cruise is playing a German Nazi officer in Valkyrie (2008). German Nazi officer - aren't they the bad guys you think? Well, actually - not all the officers in Germany agreed with Hitler's policy of a superior race and his methods for its achievement. This movie portrays the resistance movement that was present within Hitler's own Army.

It's a good film - and I would recommend anyone interested in History to go watch it. The pace is good - and something that does come across quite strongly - that a military operation will never go according to plan - is highlighted well in this film. You sometimes think - well, what if Hitler had been assassinated? What if they had succeeded? Was it a good plan?

I'm also reading "The Last Templar" by Raymond Khoury. Though I bought it last year in the Delhi Book Fair, I've only just started to read it and I'm midway through the book. It's a fast read, and anyone who has read "The Da Vinci Code" will also like reading this one. In some places though it almost seems as if the author is making fun of the Da Vinci Code and its fans, referring to the interest in Mary Magdalene contemptuously through some of the characters.

Sometimes I feel though, while reading this book that the linkages are quite contrived. But all said and done, it is good time pass.

The Academy Award results were released today and happily enough, Slum Dog Millionaire leads the Oscar count having won both Best Picture and Best Director. I was happy that A R Rehman won two Oscars - he is brilliant and I'm glad he's gotten these accolades. I don't know why so many people thought that the movie portrayed India in a bad light. The movie just portrayed India. Plain and simple. And we are simply too big a country to claim that we have one unique identity.