My tuppence worth.....

Now, my take on Black:

Mediocre or no plot, nothing special, didn't even tug at my heartstrings. The opening credits acknowledge the Helen Keller Institute, so that's it for originality; it's very easy to see that it's loosely based on the life of Helen Keller herself. If you haven't watched it, don't hurry. Take your time. It's not worth all the superlatives and praises that have been heaped on it the past two weeks or so. Don't expect to see an iconic film.

What makes this film brilliant, though, are the performances. The direction. The cinematography. The treatment given to the subject. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has, undoubtedly, made a different film. That is what sets this film apart from all the other trash that rolls out of Bollywood. No histrionics, no boy-meets-girl-runs-around-trees, no songs, no villians. The cast is different, Shernaz Patel, Nandana Sen, Ayesha Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee.

It is without doubt that the lead roles could not have been essayed by anyone else other than the Big B and Rani Mukherjee. I cannot imagine a Preity Zinta or Aishwarya Rai or Sushmita Sen doing the role that Rani Mukherjee has done. Not even a Nandita Das or a Konkona Sen. Of course, an astonishing performance by Ayesha Kapoor, who dons the role of the young Michelle McNally quite effortlessly. And by selecting a supporting cast that's out of mainstream Bollywood, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has had the fortune to draw on some of the better talent to provide excellent supporting roles.

I'm not going to be surprised if Black doesn't win the Best Film award next year, though the Best Actor, Actress, Director and Cinematography are already sealed and signed. I will also go so far as saying that even Black is not the Oscar-winning entry that India has been so eagerly seeking so far, because it is not a unique film for international audiences. The jury will have no hesitation in relegating it to another has-been, because there have been more poignant and sensitive films that have won the Oscar. For Indian audiences used to the Bollywood formula however, it is a pathbreaking film. Sanjay Leela Bhansali should be given credit where credit it due, for daring to opt for a film that is simply a cinematographic treat, where the eyes are the target audience.

Hek, I've found her!

I've found the Witch. Whizzing about on her broom, she seemed to have flown into a kink in the space-time fabric and disappeared. Or more simply, I guess witches can disappear. So she did. Then, the other day, I found her. The Witch has simply transmogrified and turned into an ink blot.

I came across Hekate late last year while idly reading through somebody's comment-board. And I soon found myself visiting her blog as often as thrice a day. I enjoyed reading most of her posts. I found myself chuckling while reading her in-your-face and unapologetic observations. (I couldn't laugh out loud - blogging is a strict no-no in the office.) She was promising, this girl.

And then one day, she disappeared. Just like that. Poof. Nothing. No more Hekate. I'd grown to love the girl and her blog. Alog with a whole bunch of talented and verbose bloggers, Hekate simply vanished. I was heartbroken. I attributed it to another case of burn-out. Too many posts and visitors, and you start spending more time defending yourself. I mean, no matter how thick-skinned you are, somebody does get through and you have to respond. I thought the same thing had happened to Hekate. Another casualty of premature and forced fame.

I was pleasantly surprised to find, therefore, the same style of comments and observations on another comment-board a few weeks ago. "What the Hek!" I thought, "Could this be the Witch again?" I followed the link and did a little sniffing around. Yes, the style was vintage Hek, the place was different and the anecdotes were funny, but I couldn't be sure. Finally, I delved into the archives and there I found the same old posts that she had put up just before pulling the disappearing act.

Bloggers don't disappear, I guess. They just publish elsewhere.

Hek - or Inky - whatever you call yourself now, you lovely Witch, welcome back to the Blogsphere.

Solid Rock

So, the man is rolling into town! Mark Knopfler, the legendary lead guitarist of Dire Straits, is going to perform in Mumbai early next month. After the disappointment of missing out on the concert by Sting - sorry, Sting giving Bombay a miss - I'm elated that one of my favourite artistes is coming to Bombay. The venue is quite near my office and I hope my boss doesn't plan on sending me out on tour that weekend!

Knopfler has been one of my personal favourites and is known for rendering hits such as Money For Nothing, Walk of Life, Sultans of Swing and Brothers in Arms with his original group DIre Straits. A second rock group, the Notting Hillbillies, released only a single album in 1989. Though of course, IMHO, I think the real gems only came when he started his solo career.

With this concert, I can tick off one more artiste from my list of "must-see-once-in-my-lifetime". That leaves Pink Floyd, U2, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Cranberries, The Corrs, The Wallflowers, Travis.....OK, I'm definitely going to have to have a very long life.

Georgetown!

Reading Rash's blog a few weeks ago, I was amused with her post describing Gurgaon. Present-day Gurgaon, that is.

This week, I experienced it myself. Visiting Gurgaon after a gap of nearly four years, I was struck dumb by the transformation it has undergone. The last time I was here, I only remember a couple of residential complexes that were still coming up. DLF City at the time, was largely nonexistent. I remember driving down the Gurgaon-Mehrauli road which had large tracts of forested land on either side. Now, I couldn't recognise the same road.

Right from the time I got off the airplane and travelled to my office in Gurgaon, I was amazed by the number of - ostensibly - international hotels that lined either side of the Delhi-Jaipur road. Of course, quite a few of these hotels were there even four years ago, but now they had upgraded themselves...they looked agreeably chic.

The heart of Gurgaon is now a number of swanky highrises, replete with utilities like key-pad security doors, guards, intercoms, backup power and, I daresay - CCTV surveillance in some complexes. The soul of Gurgaon, however, is a series of glitzy malls and shopping arcades. If Bombay is proud of the number of Imax, Adlabs, CR2, Crossroads, Big Bazaar and (Malad) then it should quietly give up the ghost and hang its head in shame. MG Road in Gurgaon has at least seven malls on either side of the road. HUGE malls, complete with two levels of underground parking, one parking lot at street-level, security barricades. And oh, of course, don't forget the blue mirrored facades.

The insides of the malls however, are almost identical. Shops with glass walls, selling every conceivable brand. Shoes, clothes, restaurants and coffee-shops, electronics, vehicle showrooms, the now-ubiqituous - omnipresent? - PVR. Roti, kapda aur makaan. Aur vahan.. And there's more malls to come. My friends - who stay in one of the posh high-rises - told me that as many as 32 malls have been planned by one chain alone. In Gurgaon. 32?? 32!! So now we've got branded malls! Chain malls, chain molls, what-have-you!

The other face of Gurgaon is the number of business houses that have set up offices in an equal number of business complexes - which, like the malls, are ready and others that are under construction. From my office, I could see the Qutab Minar in the distance - across a expanse of glimmering glass edifices. My company is HQed in one of the newer corporate parks and shares space with names like Nestle, Huawei, Lucent, Avaya, IBM, Fluor. Ericsson has an ultramodern building a few minutes drive away. Microsoft's new office is also in an upcoming building - this one partially burned down a few days ago - which is in line with and across from other business and residential complexes.

From what I could tell, Gurgaon has been largely bought over by two construction giants, DLF and Unitech. And the Rahejas also announcing their entry. Even when I was in Gurgaon the last time, DLF had its signature tower, something that closely resembles the Burj-Al Arab in Dubai. Now, there's vast tracts of land under development by both Unitech and DLF - DLF City, Unitech City, South City - with a variety of options to suit every lifestyle. Multi-storey apartments - Multi-tenant Dwelling Units - MDUs, row houses, independent bungalows. And with it goes infrastructure development. At many parts along the Delhi-Jaipur road from Delhi to Gurgaon, construction for flyovers is underway. Widening of the Delhi-Jaipur highway is going on at a rapid pace. Townships with well-illuminated, wide, sweeping roads and avenues, traffic lights and high-visibility signage.

Given the penchant for Delhiites to ape the Western world, it won't be long before someone starts lobbying to change the name to Georgetown! Wishful thinking or not-too-distant-reality?

Mad season

The start to another season is almost upon us. And this one promises to be different. Of course, not that I'm saying Michael Schumacher's domination of the sport is over, but for once, my loyalty is wavering. Narain Karthikeyan has become the first Indian to break into F1 racing; he's signed with Jordan for this season. Narain is a relatively late entrant to the F1 scene, given the fact that most F1 drivers start in their early 20s. It remains to be seen whether he can keep up with the pressure and rigours of a high-speed race every two weeks, a question of fitness and stamina, not something that Indians are known for.

This season will see only Ferrari and BAR-Honda retain their drivers from the last season. Toyota, Jordan, Minardi and BMW-Williams have completely new drivers, Jaguar Racing has died away to be replaced by Red Bull Racing - albeit still powered by the Cosworth engine - and McLaren-Mercedes has one new driver. Coming on for Toyota are Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, Jordan have Narain and Portuguese Tiago Monteiro making their debut in Formula 1 racing, Patrick Friesacher and Christijan Albers debut for Minardi, while David Coulthard has found a driving seat with Red Bull and partners Christian Klien.

Juan Pablo Montoya has moved to McLaren-Mercedes in one of the most closely watched team changes. It'll be interesting to see whether the reliability problems that plagued him when he was with BMW-Williams, will disappear with McLaren-Mercedes. Of course, Montoya has also got an equally aggressive - and impetuous - teammate in Kimi "Iceman" Räikkönen. In addition to the rest of the pack, these two will be racing each other just as hard.

This season also sees the return of the mercurial Jacques Villeneuve, who will drive for Sauber Petronas replacing Giancarlo Fisichella after his move to Renault. Villeneuve was forced to sit out the last season after losing his driving seat with BAR at the end of 2003. Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld move to BMW-Williams from Jaguar and Jordan respectively.

That apart, all the changes in the regulations and qualifications will definitely make a big difference to Ferrari. The engines will have to last longer, the tyres will have to last the duration of the whole race and the qualification process itself has been changed to provide a level playing field. That will slow down the pace of the race considerably. The biggest challenges to Ferrari will come from Renault, BAR-Honda, Toyota and Williams. The analysts predict that these changes will definitely put a spanner in the works for Ferrari. However, it also means that the reliability and performance of the other teams will also have to increase, because Ferrari have been the most reliable in terms of engines and strategy in the past - especially last season! It remains to be seen whether the other teams click this time around.

Know something? I think they won't. I predict we'll see the Tifosi run away with yet another title!