MBA(Healthcare Administration) is OVER

I gave my Thesis Viva today and realized immediately that after three years of balancing the professional, student and family lives(actually exactly in that order), its time to bid the STUDENT life Goodbye FINALLLLLLLLLYYYYY!!!!!!!!!
It has been a tough six months where all of the Batch actually felt that it was water over the nose level and wanted it to end desperately. We would soon have a Batch Party with family to celebrate this relief and would be now a MBA as soon as the results are out in June this year. This journey has given us good friends for life and also the tag that we all would need us as we strive for excellence in field of Healthcare Management.
LUV U ALL U WUNDERFUL GUYS AND GALS OF BATCH OF 2009

English Movies

There are two kinds of English Movie lovers
(A) The first one are there in that cinema hall for either or all of the below reasons:

1. It’s the fashionable outing as said by all their friends
2. The corner seats of the empty hall does soothe their raging hormones
3. It’s a bet with a friend that they would catch on to more dialogues than the competition
4. Some friend said that there was a 'wonderful scene' after the interval
5. It goes well with the aviator shades, Pulsar 220dtsi and the chick from college
6. About to join a BPO
7. Planning to get that H1B visa and need to be oriented with American culture in a hurry
8. The stunts and VFX are cool enough to deserve spending 200 bucks, who cares about the storyline, direction and the acting.
9. The girl crowd is better looking and adequately underdressed to attract them to the movies.
10. Thank God the flowers dont lean on to each other to signify an intimate emotion and activity
    

(B) The second category
These are the true lovers of cinema and would even be willing to watch it alone if it takes to catch that flick. The kick they derive from films keeps them away from LSD, coke and fags, as their Ecstasy has reached its climax when the end credits are rolling out in that darkened theatre

WHICH CATEGORY DO YOU BELONG TO?

Revolutionary Road

Sam Mendes who has served us heady cocktails like American Beauty, Road to Perdition and others comes up with a corrosive rendition of the America in the 1950's with the Eisenhower era struggling with the the ever entangling fabric of marriage where the despair on the assembly line like workmanship was shredding the institution of marriage. Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet reunite after Titanic (that was ages ago) and their onscreen chemistry has not lost any of its sheen rather matured like old wine and is crackling throughout the film. This has to be one of Leo's most maturd performance and Kate sweeps through the film canvas with a towering performance with her expressions of despair saying more than a page of dialogues. They are a couple who marry after meeting in a club and soon realise that though they are considered special in the neighbourhood, he is working in the same organizations as his father which he wished would never happen while she is a failed actress. The fantasy of Paris providing them all they never had becomes more than a fleeting thought much to the ridicule of the people they know. The insane Michel Shannon serves as the sane voice of the room and is spot on with his observations which undress the shields worn by the characters around him. He has woven an unforgettable piece in the short but vivid screentime in the film. The director does justice to the book by the same name by Richard Yates on which it is based upon, with a constant undercurrent of disillusionment where the Wheelers look towards extramarital sex as a cure for their problems or atleast as a respite. The ordinary couple get crushed by the false image created by the people around them and let loose the inner demons on to each other. Kate gets pregnant which Leo, who has suddenly found a possible promotion round the corner in his job and is having second thoughts of going to Paris, even uses the pregnancy as a justification for not crossing the Atlantic. The most moving scene is Kate standing in her living room after a messed up attempt at an home abortion to get back at Leo. This bout between the two ends with a tragedy which was inevitable and you shall leave the theatre with a punch to the gut. The couple of intimate scenes are an expression of the coiled up emotions letting go in the sack and the fluctuating emotional fortunes of Kate are reminiscent of almost a Jack Nickolsonesque performance, only much less loud but still very effective. She thankfully won a Oscar this year for the Reader and is turning out to be top notch Actor with a tremendous long term heritage in the making. Sam has extracted the best out of his wife in the film and Leo has shades of a schoolboy refusing to grow up and unwilling to take the bull by the horns for which he pays dearly in the end.
If you are in the mood for a feel good light entertainment then please dont go down Revolutionary road but for a movie lover to the core with a strong gut and a heart do go down this road and you shall get a lot to chew upon and ponder about, and carry home three performances of memorable proportions.

Rating: ****

iPhone Review

The iPhone by Apple had a major uplift when they came up with the 3G version last year and India had a taste of the official version in August 2008 with Airtel and Vodafone being the locked Carriers for this iconic phone. The hype of the Indian launch was on expected lines but the sales were very lukewarm with the sales in the first two months being just over 5000. This was predominantly caused by the high pricing(31K for the 8GB and 37K for the 16GB version) which was 5-6K higher than what the experts had recommended and the waiting public had expected. This was not at all a reflection of the product which I bought on the very first day(Airtel). This was a Phone with a huge reputation and I after 7 months of use even convinced myself and more so my pocket to gift Shaifali an iPhone on her Birthday in November. I am a Apple devout having purchsed a MacBook in June last year but there is a reason for this dedicated submission to the No. 1 respected Company of the World, as mentioned in Fortune Magazine in March 2009 for the second year running.
This phone has the so obvious shortcomings which Bill Gates, Nokia, RIM, Sony Ericsson and Samsung CEOs have spread with sustained vigour 24X7. They are the poor camera with no flash and video recording, no cut/copy/paste, no MMS, cant forward messages and no blutooth with traditional devices. But these all minus the camera functionality are being solved in the much awaited Software version 3.0 coming this Summer. The phone is not just a phone but a lifestyle device. It’s a iPod, amazing portable netsurfing device and a platform for all those awesome applications to be there in one place. The Safari Browser makes Internet a amazing experience with a swipe zoom a great help. The pictures in the Photos are also using the swipe zoom to view the pictures like none other. The iPod is the best music platform there is and is a great addition and then there is the Stocks for your shares on the go,Weather bug, You tube for all videos and the Google maps to find your way. I best love the applications of which I have around 130 of them with 15 paid applications with the costliest being 6 Dollars and most of them between 1-3 Dollars. They are constantly updated through the Apps store which can be accessed through the iTunes. The call drops have reduced considerably after the Software update 2.0 and the 100+ feature of 3.0 would make the phone even better. THe Blackberry Storm which I laid my hands on recently from a colleague is years behind in the Touch screen functionality despite the click feature and the resolution is inferior, no applications and is not as user friendly as the iPhone(which Apple product is no by the way). The cool applications - TOP 20 for me are:

1. Backgounds: for Wallpapers
   
2. MotoChaser: Bike Game
   
3. Cannon Game: Artillery Game
   
4. Linkedin
5. Shozu: Post text and pics on networking sites
   
6. Facebook
7. Twitterific: for Twitter
   
8. ABGrouper: Groups for Contact list
   
9. File Aid: upload files from Comp
   
10. iCricket
11. MySMS: forward SMSes - non App store application
    
12. Swirly MMS: MMS from a non App Store application
    
13. Cycorder: Video Recorder from a non App Store application
    
14. Midomi: search songs with playing or singing a clip
    
15. iTalk: Voice recorder
    
16. Hangman: Word Game
    
17. Solitaire City
18. Speed Dial
19. CopierciN: cut/copy/paste from non App Store application
    
20. Cooliris: Search pics

I have solved the deficiencies from third party stores after jailbreaking the phone but would be gr8 to get the software support from Apple. The phone is delicate and slippery and with my tendencies its best to have a cover for it, though it does spoil its sexy figure, but spending Rs. 5.5K on a new screen it just not worth it. The 3G for the phone would do wonders for the phone and the Internet speed as reviewed on the US and European networks and hope Airtel bags the rights in the Delhi NCR circle come this summer.
The HD videos are a treat to watch though the speakers are a bit anemic and best heard on the headphones and the good news is the presence of a 3.5mm jack. There are hundreds of applications being added everyday and its always a bonanza when accessing the App store for the latest entrants.
The conversation style SMses a la Gmail is very convenient and the 3.5 inch LCD screen is awesome for videos and wallpapers which are best downloaded from Backgrounds. The Google maps for directions are very realistic and accurate and the current 500 MB free for a month plan for 12 months from Airtle makes the Data expenses nil, atleast for now. The ringtones from Apple are very morose but third party applications make life a lot more musical. The iPhone still remains the Phone to beat and all the so called iPhone Killers have missed the target by varying margins, with the Storm coming the closest. The Sales numbers still look very strong and sustained even in the last quarter of 2008-09 and the 3.0 would even win over the majority of the Apple bashers.
A great phone which gets better every day with an application for every need and desire from a very talented developer pool across the world

Slumdog Millionaire

Now this one is difficult one to comment upon after seeing what happened to poor Big B after one of the comments on his Blog which was not very charitable to the film and Big B did the unpardonable sin to comment on it. But my Blog has had less than a century of hits in its entire lifetime yet and I should not be able to raise a storm in a chai cup, even if I tried to.
So here I go with my take on the film which got 8 Oscars, a hundred + more Awards and had three Indians winning Oscars for a British film with an Indian Heart. I would have ruffled a million hearts by that opening statement itself about the the origin country.This one from Danny Boyle (Now this is a Director I dig!!) and he does portray the slums of Mumbai with more energy than a Salaam Mumbai though not equal pathos. It has the young kids giving mature performances all kudos the Director and you almost wished they didn’t grow old (no offense Dev Patel!!). It has AR Rahman catching the spirit with the right strain of music and Jai Ho was like a typical Bollywood Item Number, as it was totally unnecessary had group dancers, absurd location and foottapping rhythm.
This film is not glorifying poverty and the miseries, but only portrays with an eerie impressionable edge to it which is sometimes uncomfortably close to the reality. The script is beautifully woven into a string on film, the sounds rock, editing so Boylish as seen in Trainspotting, 28 Days later etc and the ending so euphoric that it jolts you into celebration of the human spirit. The kids speaking in English in accents is a bit jarring and the so is the convenience of justifying a Slum boy knowing the Quiz questions. Anil Kapoor gives a good performance as he tries his best to undermine the protagonist with his condescending attitude. The Washroom scene is one of the highlights of the film. Amitabh and Shah Rukh must be ruing not answering Danny's calls for this role. Irrfan Khan who has now made a few International films plays the Inspector with the right pitch and Freida is good for the part she is handed. The narrative does past forward rewind but all in accordance to the requirements and not to confusion which Christopher Nolan so usually does to his audience. The film length is taut and crisp while the British topline crew works magic with the Indian bottom line cast.
Fox Searchlight marketed the film vigorously and the triumph of the human spirit in these times of recession was the clincher for the Juries worldwide at all the Awards from the BAFTAs, Screen Guild to the Oscars.
The film does deserve the attention it has garnered but its surely is not Rahman's best work and it’s the Ensemble cast performance rather than one stellar performance which pushes this film to its heights. Jai Ho is the new Congress Poll Anthem, the kids are giving interviews while Sukhwinder is also giving them as to how he couldn’t make it to the Oscars.
Danny wants to make another film in Mumbai hoping to hit paydirt once again as the 15 million dollar movie is close to grossing $300 million worldwide (almost as much as the Bollywood makes in one year!!).

Rating: ****

Jerry Maguire - Review

This one by Cameron Crowe is a special film for me because I was so overwhelmed by it that I named my dog Jerry. I had the VCD and the soundtrack and once even thought of buying an original poster of the movie but somehow backed out at the last minute.This 1996 film which won Cuba Gooding Jr. a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award and would always be remembered for the celebration on the stage after winning the Oscar more than the role of the american football player Rod Tidwell. This film gave not one but three immortal one liners:-

1. "You had me at Hello" by the character Dorothy Boyd played by Renee Zellweger towards the end
2. "You complete me" by Jerry played by Tom Cruise in the end soliloquy
   
3. "Show me the money" by Rod to Jerry

This film took sports based movies and placed them intermixed with a janor of serious cinema with a lot of weight in the emotions and not just goose bump speeches and screeching end games. It had the pathos of the Bronx Black with the militant Bro' and their family bonding and the Agent with a heart, which calls for one standing ovation. It had wonderful soundtrack with gems by Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan and gave Hollywood a cute child star in Jonathan Lipnicki who later on starred in the Stuart Little films before inevitably fading away. The movie was another chance for Tom Cruise to nab the Golden Statuette, his best chance after the Born on the fourth of July but missed out to Geoffrey Rush for Shine. It tugged at your heart strings and the love story blossomed without impinging on the storyline and also has great repeat value so I guess don't go for a rental on this one PLEAASSEEE!!!!
Bonnie Hunt plays Dorothy's 'disapproving sister Laurel' with a charm that remains with you after the popcorn is over and the ready to cry Rod is the sweetest character even with all that brawn. Cameron Crowe has always been one of my favorite directors with gems like 'Singles' and a very decent 'Almost Famous' but he has left his imprint on our hearts with a great story and better performance in this one. He then fizzled with Vanilla Sky and Elizabethtown and am eagerly waiting for him to bounce back.
It exposed the underbelly of Professional sports and yet was never too moralistic to become obnoxious. It had Tom Cruise but the camera looked beyond him on some amazing ensemble cast performances to uplift the film out of the lot of ordinary dime a dozen sports based films. It had the heart in the right place and came out as a film with a great story pieced together by gems for moments to cherish like the Jerry-Laurel banters and the Tidwell family bonhomie.
This had the least footage of sports action for a sports based film and did not do very good for the image of the sports agents who came out as hardcore sharks with a moneybag for a heart. I must have seen this one for over 20 times and I even lip sync on many of the scenes when I rewatch it over the years. My dog lived for over 9 years and everytime I shouted his name a frame of the film danced in front of my eyes one more time. This one is in my top ten movie list (which I would share with you one of these days) and definitely worth many a dekko.

Rating: ****1/2

Dev D Review

Anurag Kashyap who showed awesome promise in the much delayed and a lot appreciated Black Friday outdoes himself and exonerates the ghost of No Smoking with the psychedlic yet charming take on Devdas in DEV D. It seamlessly integrates the rural landscape to the bylanes of Paharganj, from the Presleys from Patna to some eclectic but very well placed music. The rural urban cocktail was never for a femto second jarring and there were stellar performaces especially from the girl who played Lenny. Her pure Hindi accent never seemed out of place and here eyes revealed the pain buried in them without much effort on her part. Abhay Deol has become the new poster boy of Nouveau Cinema taking the mantle from Rahul Bose. He plays sloshed in most of the film and is very convincing in his acting or else Smirnoff was freely available on the sets. Mahi as Paro has the spark in its infancy which was in the flame of Smita Patil so many years ago. The Ode to Trainspotting is very much evident in the Cinematographic journey with the DOP on LSD taking us on the ride of our lives. Anurag has also paid his dues to Danny Boyle in the credits and that’s like a Good boy. He is the enfant terrible of the 'Artsy Cinema' and the infant has become an adolescent and I cant wait for his adulthood. It raises expectations from Gulaal to the skies.There is an uplifting ending to keep us from going with a heartache unlike the earlier Devdases so much dripping in melodrama. Here its there in short doses but mighty effective. Chunni becomes a slimy pimp and the underbelly of Delhi is for all of us to see in the seedy hotels of Pahar Ganj (I have visited them during my stint at Lady Hardinge Medical College, though mine pursuit was not of the 'Billi' but Internet at Rs. 5 per hour and Shakes and Sandwiches at even 4 o ' clock in the morning.
The scene that takes the Grand Prize is the one where Paro prepares her bed in the middle of the sugarcane fields only to be spurned by Dev and her ride back home has pathos you take home with.The use of the DPS MMS and the BMW case are so well interwoven in the case that it doesn’t seem opportunistic at all, while a fleeting role of the Momo wala is also very impressionable especially for the scene he guides Dev to the Autorickshaw for serving a customer momos.Its close to three hours but you feel bad that it ended so soon, while Emotional Atyachaar is by far the most ingenious song of the decade after Bidi jalayley from Omkara. The technical prowess of the technicians is for all to see and this film shall become a Festival favorite of all. This is by far the most brave interpretation of Devdas with it taking Devdas and putting him on drugs and booze and in jeans and makes him not as big a loser as other films do so.

Rating : Four and a half stars /Five