RDB!

Saw Rang De Basanti today! It is a very nice movie and will do great business outside India. I am not going to come out with the spoilers though! Performances by everyone were darn good. Contrary to what I thought, it was not an Aamir Khan movie alone. He did not do any screen-stealing at all. And thank god for that (If it was SRK, the movie would have turned out very differently!). His performance, needless to say was excellent! Every character was etched beautifully and each of them do justice to the role. Atul Kulkarni, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and Soha Ali Khan were extremely good. Madhavan, Om Puri, Waheeda Rehman, Anupam Kher and Kiron Kher chipped in equally with their performances as well. Siddharth's performance deserves a special menation. He was nothing short of fantastic (For the uninitiated, he played Vivek Oberoi's role in Yuva's Tamil version)! He emoted really well in the climax and had as much screen share as Aamir himself.

One specific scene that comes to my mind is, when they all wish to have a running race, Sharman zooms ahead just to see that others did not even start. Then they eventually start running when Sharman backs out (literally), except for Siddharth who just walks haphazardly, with coolers on, and a cigar in his hand. That was amazing!

8 points!

I have been tagged by Anck Su Namun (who I thought was actually a guy!) to do a 8 point post on my probable partner. And here are the 8 points for my probable Sati Savitri:

(1) She should (learn to) 'Love' me unconditionally and vice versa. No compromises here. Compatibility, honesty, trust, mutual respect et al will need to be added in appropriate proportions to the main dish 'Love', for the benefit of both and the very relationship.

(2) She should be strong. Jayalalitha kinda strong (not physically!). Seriously. She should be able to confidently face any adversity with dignity and not chicken out.

(3) I have seldom seen girls with a sense of humor (No offence, mebbe I have just known the wrong ones!). Being fun to be with definitely helps.

(4) She should be smart. Dumbness is a very difficult thing to be tolerated.

(5) She need not look good. Or even cook good. Period. I am interested in her being a beautiful person on the inside. Just looking presentable when going out will suffice. More than enough. There is no necessity to live on fat-free yoghurt, fat-free milk, fat-free water to maintain your shape! Spending loads of money on buying the makeup deparment at Macys and Filenes can be avoided. Infact, any makeup material known to mankind available in any size, shape, color, texture can be avoided. I hate lipsticks. I think it can go down in history as one of the worst inventions of all time. Personal opinion. No offence again. A person with a like-minded view on lipsticks is preferred! But sadly, the author knows it is highly improbable.

(6) She should not have loads of typical girlish characteristics! Anything within a tolerable limit is ok. Giggles, Gossips, Envy et al can be kept to the bare minimum. Tomboys more than welcome to come onboard!

(7) Mood Swings. I just dread this part. I am sensible enough to understand that every person gets moody once in a while, and girls tend to be more moody sometimes/days. Understood. But just dont be a different person everyday of the month. I will go bonkers!

(8) She should be down-to-earth and helpful and have an unbending spine of morals; and also be able to handle herself well in public.

Expecting a lot from your partner, but offering nothing in return is cheap. I shall strive ( :-) ) to offer all the qualities that I expect in my partner, in addition to living upto her minimum expectations!

PS: I lied. Good culinary skills definitely helps...

PPS: No need to change surname, middlename, roman numeral in your name (if any) later... I rather that she insist on keeping her dad's initial through life.. like my sweet mom :)

Couples

I have known a lot of 'couples' in the last three years. "Live-in" couples, "Eat-in-one-plate" couples, "You-dare-touch-me" couples, "You-can't-stay-overnight" couples, "Kuch-bhi-chalta-hai" couples, "Long-distance" couples, "Time-pass" couples, "Use-and-throw" couples.. "We-are-oblivious-to-the-existence-of-other-humans" couples.. "We-both-have-five ex'es" couples .. etc.. etc.. Many don't know where their relationship is heading; hell some don't even know whether they are in their fourth or eighth relationship (that is.. counting only ones after the new year' eve). On the other hand, there are these somewhat "genuine" types. They have been together thro' thick and thin for 7, 14 or 21 years (all multiples of 7), and are still going steady.

Sooner or later fate will decide such relationships. Well, options are not too many. Either they are heading towards wedlock or go their seperate ways, i.e., to their next bf/gf (Errrr... I told you before... there are never more than "2" choices... NEVER EVER ;-) ).

I have been a silent observer of these different types of people over time, and I have seen that most public in my friends group fall under this pattern --- has been a ex- or a current- or a would be- gf/bf of someone else in the same group (No... no same-sex partners that I know of). Someone's ex would have been my school-mate or someone is seeing my school-mate's ex or hitherto unknown cousin of best buddy etc.., and since desi gossip machines are always working overtime, hook-up and break-up news spread faster than California forest fires. Also, they happen at such speeds that it is almost impossible to keep one-self updated with the current flings of friends, even if the time frame is just a week.

Weekend party:

Me: "Hey! How are you? Where is Anchal/Bindu/Chitra/.....Who-ever-I-last-saw-you-with...?"

He: "Fine man. Have you met Karishma/Lakshmi/Meera... the-arm-candy-you-see-now-u dumbo...yet?"

Me: "Oops! Sorry I have'nt, (turning her way) Nice to meet you"

Then I go to the group of friends and I am informed of the news of "his" breakup with his ex, and also about the current betting scene as to how long these two would now last. Bets range anywhere between 18 seconds to 18 months. Also, group discusses other hook-up and break-up news of friends, friends of friends, friends of friends of friends... and then we finish our discussion after we reach Brad and Angelina thorugh our friends' circle (Wait.. How did we get to them.. Err.. Uh.. Who cares).

Given such a scenario, I always wonder what is on with the minds of most people. They all seem to be in a relationship for the heck of it, and "Being loved" is more important than "Loving". When it is fresh, they eat in the same plate, check each other's email, do each other's chores.., only to find themselves in a mess after the relationship ends and spooning enough for others to gossip about. No worries here, coz someone will be soon found to replace the one lost! It is hard to see that old values are being lost sooner than we realize and we are getting more "modern" or "western" and have somehow gotten the "kuch-bhi-chalta-hai" attitude.

And in this world, I sit here, lost and confused, searching for Sati Savitri in a "Girls-booze-free-all night" pub :(