बहुत रोई होगी वो खाली कागज देखकर
खतमें उसने पूछा था 'जिंदगी' कैसे बीत रही है

(Forwarded)

These days I often find myself wondering where should one turn to for a no-nonsense unbiased coverage of what's really happening in the world. The other day I tuned into CNN half-dreading to hear another Trump Vs. Clinton Vs. Cruz discussion. They were, however, covering the terrorist shooting that took place in a public area of Lahore. The anchorwoman was talking about 21-year old newlyweds who had perished in the blast just four months after getting married. The camera was focussed on the groom's mom who was besides herself with grief that I cannot even begin to imagine. But a few moments later I felt really uneasy. Though her grief must be genuine, I began suspecting that much of the theatrics - the waiving of hands and use of superlative statements like 'my lion of a son' - were more for the benefit of the camera. It is blasphemous to even think that a mother can resort to such things but I just could not help but think that way - hence my unease.

The television has brought crime and terrorism from all corners of the world right into our living rooms. They have to cover what's happening, I get it. But shouldn't we be drawing a line somewhere?

Superman Vs. Batman

My mind was made up even before I stepped out of the house. No matter what made these 2 superheroes stand against each other, I was going to root for Superman. He has been my only favorite superhero - primarily because I was a super-fan of the late Christopher Reeve. Also because I don't much care for people who hide behind silly masks. That said, I have always wondered how people have been unable to figure out that Clark Kent and Superman are the same person - surely a pair of spectacles isn't sufficient to disguise one's true identity. Though I don't care much for Batman, I liked Val Kilmer and Christian Bale. George Clooney, in my humble opinion, was a total misfit for the role - he looked as if he has wandered off some other movie set by mistake :-)

Okay, so now about the movie. Firstly, there was not much 3D stuff in the movie so I wondered why they released the 3D version of it. Then they have turned the whole superman story on its head. I think the world knew about Superman much much before General Zod made his appearance on earth. Why change the story line now? There was no need to show Batman's background, I am sure most of the audience knows it. On top of it, they did Superman an injustice because there was not a word about his background. Come on, you cannot be partial :-) To be very frank, the whole Superman Vs. Batman battle seemed totally contrived. I nearly fell off the chair laughing when Lex Luther kidnapped Superman's mom so he could make him fight Batman - the whole scene seemed straight out of a Hindi movie script. Like a Hindi movie leading lady, Lois's role was limited to getting herself in the wrong place at the wrong time so the Man Of Steel could come and rescue the damsel in distress at the drop of a hat. How masochistic! I clearly expected better of Hollywood movies. And can someone please explain to me why they didn't simply resurrect Zod instead of bringing that computer generated monstrosity to make both the superheroes get together to fight? That Superwoman seemed as unnecessary as a raincoat in the SubSaharan region. :-(

As far as the cast goes, the new Superman isn't nearly as cute as Reeve but he will do - I loved those eyes (x-ray vision or not!) and that dimpled chin. I wasn't too thrilled about watching Ben Affleck as Batman - seemed like someone in the casting department wanted to play the 1st April prank in March itself. But not a bad job at all. Having said that, I hated him every time he punched Superman and practically winced my way through the whole fight. Lex Luther acted as if he has watched too many Shahrukh Khan movies. Seriously, in few shots, I wondered if I am watching Shahrukh instead. Can someone please bring back Kevin Spacey? Lois definitely looked older than Superman. And that last scene in which she sits with the supposedly-dead Superman in her lap, I almost expected her to cry out 'For heaven's sake, open your eyes Clark' :-)

No one will buy the 'Superman Is Dead' trick for sure but I am not looking forward to the sequel - especially because Batman has proposed building an army of superheroes. Does that mean Spiderman will make an appearance as well? If so, I am going to give it a miss - even Superman (and his dimpled chin!) won't be able to drag me to the movie.

मंजिले उन्हे मिलती है जिनके सपनोंमें जान होती है
पंखोसे कुछ नही होता हौसलोमे उडान होती है

(Forwarded)

When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi

Behind Deep Blue - Building The Computer That Defeated The World Chess Champion

Thing Explainer - Randall Munroe

The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara

And finally one big round of applause for the team of Afghanistan! They played a hell of a match against the West Indies today. I was rooting for them right from the beginning of this match and suffered some anxious moment towards the end. But they pulled through. Way to go guys!

The other day one of my friends made the mistake of asking me who I am I rooting for in this world cup. I threw my rule-book at him, sort of. Here goes:

1. Any match involving India, I am obviously rooting for the Indians.
2. Any match involving Pakistan, I am obviously rooting for the other team.
3. Any match involving a South Asian country except for Pakistan, I cheer for the South Asian country.
4. Any match involving England, I am rooting for the other team unless the other team is Pakistan, in which case rule no. 2 applies.
5. In all the other cases (e.g. Australia vs. New Zealand) I am neutral.

Neat, isn't it? :-)

Hounded (Elementary, Season 4)

Whoa! This one was a major disappointment. 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles' is one of my all-time favorite novels. So I watched this modern take on the it with great interest. Of course, as in the original story, there couldn't have been anything supernatural about the hound that chases the Baskerville family member to death. But a robotic animal controlled remotely? And that Baskerville guy couldn't figure it out - given that he had dealt with the company manufacturing it before? Sounds pretty far-fetched to me.

But I like this changed Sherlock. True, he is far from being the life of the party but at least he is helping his neighbors (and an odd colleague or two) out. Plus, he has a girlfriend. So I am finally free of the paranoia that I will have to watch Watson and Sherlock share a romantic moment. A massive load off my chest :-)

Safe House (Supernatural, Season 11)

Ah, finally an episode after such a long hiatus! And thank God it was a case - a bit convoluted one, what with Dean and Sam walking in the footsteps of Bobby and Rufus. The narrative kept switching back and forth between past and present so you could easily lose the context if you missed a few moments. The plot, however, was thinner than a potato chip. A supernatural force that's sucking peoples' souls out landing them in a coma? Seriously? But hey, who am I to complain? Anything that doesn't involve Amara, Lucifer and the impending end of the world is jolly good :-)

Anupama (Spoiler Alert!)

Every time I saw one of the songs, I would remember that I want to see this movie. But there were mainly 2 reasons why I hadn't been able to do so over the years. First and foremost, the channel that plays this movie often (B&W) doesn't list out the names of the movies in the TV guide, so I would often chance upon the movie a good half an hour or so after it started. The second reason is that I am not fond of movies that require you to keep the box of tissues handy. And from what I had heard about this one, it is a sure candidate for that type.

But a few weeks back I again landed on the B&W channel when the movie was already going on. The scene looked a pretty normal one with the hero Dharmendra just arriving at a hill station with his mom and sister in tow (I wonder why the hero always has to have a sister and a widow mom!). I just love the hill stations shown in the movies of the 60s and 70s so I decided to hang on for a few minutes, one finger on the remote, ready to bolt at the first sign of an impending emotional drama. That moment almost never came. I watched the movie right till its very end and loved it :-)

Okay, to be frank, I guess most of the drama was over by the time I had tuned in. This story is about a woman called Uma whose mom passes away after bringing her into this world. Her dad, fond as he is of his wife, holds the daughter responsible for her death and doesn't pay any attention to her. Uma never lacks for anything except for her dad's love. But this takes a heavy emotional toll on her - she becomes a lonely, introvert woman who doesn't talk to strangers. The rest of the movie is about what happens to her when she meets the hero. :-)

The casting is perfect. Hero Dharmendra, though poor, comes across as the perfect husband material. A guy you would love to take home to mama, secure in the knowledge that she would approve of him wholeheartedly. When it comes to the leading lady, honestly, Sharmila Tagore, did get on my nerves more than a couple of times. Frankly, I think she overdid the character a bit. At times I wanted to shake her up and shout 'Say something lady' :-) Shashikala, cast as her friend Anita, sounded a little too bubbly at times for my taste but I was thankful that she wasn't competing with Sharmila for Dharmendra's love. That song 'Ya dil ki suno' had given me wrong ideas about the plot all these years :-) Durga Khote was of course every woman's dream-come-true mom-in-law. I just loved her in that scene in which she goes to dine with Sharmila upon learning that Sharmila won't sit with others to eat. भगवान ऐसी सांस सबको दे. :-) Oh, and did someone forget to tell Tarun Bose that he wasn't supposed to play run-of-the-mill villain? Anyone watching the scene where he comes to pick Sharmila up from Dharmendra's place could be forgiven for thinking that he is kidnapping her to hold her as a hostage :-)

The songs are, of course, all melodious. कुछ दिल ने कहा is one of my all-time favorite ones. The chirping of the birds when the song begins transports you to straight to a valley full of birds and fresh air. भीगी भीगी फिझा makes me wonder about the bygone era when people could spend time in such a leisurely fashion. Every time I watch this song, I feel as if I have just been on a picnic. :-) या दिल की सुनो दुनियावालो is a sad song but it has never filled me with sadness. The music has always had a calming effect on me. I wonder how the singers, composers and music directors of the Golden Era used to manage this. This is a song sung in a party but Shashikala dims the lights just before the song starts and the effect is marvelous.

I would like to watch this movie once again sometime in future for sure :-)