The Artist

A silent tribute to silent movies of bygone era.Hats off to director Michel Hazanavicius for his courage to take a film in silent mode in this noisy world of entertainment. Don't be in a rush to judge the movie as it is a silent one.Watch it for Jean Dujardin's and Uggie, the dog's wonderful acting and Ludovic  Bource's music. Jean Duajardin's mannerism and his charismatic smile will be a big contender for this year's Oscar for best actor.'The Artist' was definitely one of the most surprising  and delightful movie of 2011.

The story moves around Valentin and Peppy Miller.George Valentin was a dashing ,dynamic and somewhat arrogant actor whose daring roles in silent movies made him one of the top star of the entertainment industry but he loses everything on the arrival of  talking movies. He loses his wife and film roles as his producer decided to do talking movies as it is the future.Valentin did not move, he sells everything he has, to make a movie - 'Tears of Love' but it loses to the talking movie in box office.

Peppy Miller once a co-artist in Valentin's movie has become a darling of the masses as everyone like the talking motion picture.In times of Valentin's trouble she helps him and when he met with fire accident she takes him to her house and treats him.Their love become strong and Peppy Miller begs her producer to take Valentin in.The rest of the story is about how they managed to act together.

I like the scene in which Valentin dream of world full of sound but he has lost his voice , wonderful shots and beautifully performed by Dujardin.Another scene i like was the one in which Valentin's driver reluctant to leave in spite of him not paying his one year's salary.

Uggie , the talk is the one of the big highlight of this movie,this little dog has stolen my heart.Berenice Bejo as Peppy Miller was wonderful .The chemistry between Dujardin and Bejo was perfect and they did wonderfully well to emote without speech.James Cromwell as driver Clifton and John Goodman as Zimmer were excellent in their respective roles.Everything in this movie is watchable and enjoyable.

Already this movie won "Golden Globes" and many other awards, nominated for Oscars.. definitely i believe that this movie will receive many more awards.

A unique cinematic experience.Don't miss it.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

A beautiful story. The novel explores the life of Changez(Gengiz) ,a pakistani who studied and worked in US. He was well paid , had a good relationship with a beautiful girl and pretty much happy with his life until September 11 terrorist attacks.

The best part of the story are 1)  the romance between Changez and Erica 2) the Changez feelings for his home people. Erica was beautiful rich girl who is trying to become a novelist, she had written a novella and sent it to agent .She was unable to come out of her thought of Chris her childhood boy friend .Changez tries his best to bring Erica to normal but he fails and Erica was admitted in a hospital and refuse to see anyone for sometime.Latter he came to know from the hospital staff that Erica never returned after her walk.

He visits his home town in Pakistan and he came to knew the real situation of his family and his people. He loses interest in his work and saddened, he decided to quit the job and do some work in Pakistan itself,latter he became teacher/professor.

Below paragraph taken from the book says so many things to me , this was when Changez visits his hometown for the first time after getting job in America:

"There are adjustments one must make if one comes here from America;a different way of observing is required.I recall the Americanness of my own gaze when i returned to Lahore that winter when war was in the offing, i was struck at first by how shabby  our house appeared, with cracks running through its ceiling and by bubbles of paint flaking off where dampness had entered its walls.The electricity had gone that afternoon, giving the place a gloomy air, but even in the dim light of the hissing gas heaters our furniture appeared dated and in urgent ned of reupholstery and repair.I was saddened to find it in such a state- no, more than saddened, I was shamed. This was where i came from, this was my provenance, and it smacked of lowliness.

But as I reacclimatized and my surroundings once again become familiar, it occurred to me that the house had not changed in my absence. I had changed;I was looking about me with the eyes of a foreigner, and not just any foreigner,but that type of a entitled and unsympathetic  American who so annoyed me when i encountered him in the classrooms and workplaces of your country's elite.This realization angered me, staring at my reflection in the speckled glass of my bathroom mirror I resolved to exorcise the unwelcome sensibility by which I had become possessed."

The narration goes like a thriller,i expected a bit different ending but nevertheless a good one. Overall a good read.

Mohsin Hamid is one of the new generation pakistani writer.He has written 2 novels and many essays in various papers and journals.

More about the author

Makers&Breakers of Modern India

I bought this book at New Delhi Airport thinking that the book would be a typical anniversary book but the content of the book proved me wrong.The cover title  " Makers & Breakers of Modern India", intrigued me and i started reading the cover story first.Wow.. so many new things i learnt about India.

The Seven Makers and Breakers of Modern India chosen by the IndiaToday were

1.Mahatma Gandhi-1940s
 I have read Gandhi's "My Experiment With Truth", which was eye opener for me.Bit hard to digest when i read that book almost 12 years before, but when i read some months back i realized how truthful Gandhi was.The article " The Brave Law of Love" written by Stanley Wolpert discuss Gandhi's values,nicely written and very interesting.The article starts with Gandhi's quotation " The World is sick of the law of the jungle" and explores Gandhi's life and struggle.
Some interesting facts:
*Gandhi slept with Abha, the 16 year old wife of his grand nephew Kanu to perfect his celibate state.
*In 1942 during the Quit India movement Gandhi read "My Valley" by Richard Llewellyn.
click here for more info

2.Jawaharlal Nehru-1950s
I regret that i neither read Nehru's biography nor his own writings so far.The article  "I Wrote My Will Across the Sky in Stars" written by director of India Today M J Akbar is a good start know about Nehru , the man and the politician.
Interesting fact:
*Joe Nehru was his nickname during his schooldays in England
click here for more info


3.Indian Soldier-1960s
 Amarinder Singh's "Men of Valour" about Indian Soldiers was awesome piece.Touches Indo-Pak and Indo-China wars and the different officers's deeds.He says "What the Indian jawan looks for is leadership.His motivation is always his honour and his paltan ki izat.If you lead, they will follow".
Some interesting facts:
*India is the world's single purchaser of military equipments.
*1.3 million Indian Soldiers served in WWI and 2.58 million in WWII.
click here for more

4.Indira Gandhi-1970s
 "India's Daughter" by Ashok Mitra was a good introduction to Indira Gandhi's life.Half of the article explains the role played by Parameshwar Narayan Haskar ,Indira's secretory,who helped Indira in all crucial decisions.Avery interesting read.
Some interesting facts:
*Indira was called ugly and stupid by her aunt Vijayalakshmi Pandit.
*Katherine Frank in hier book "Indira" says Indira failed at Oxford's Somerville College and dropped out at the age of 22.
click here for more info

5.Bhindranwale-1980s
 Im very sad to admit that i have never heard of Bhindranwale!The article "The Suicidal Missionary" by Chandan Mitra was an eye-opener for me about Punjab's violent 80's.
Interesting fact:
*He never learnt English but was a great orator in Punjabi.
Click here for more info

6.Atal Bihari Vajpayee-1990s
I did know something about Vajpayee, my neighbors used to say "Right man in a wrong party". Exceptionally talented leader,bold enough to give permission for nuclear test. His effort to bring peace with Pakistan is well known. The article " The Right Humanist" by Sudheendra Kulkarni is a wonderful piece about Vajpayee.
Interesting facts:
*Only parliamentarian to be elected from four states(UP,MP,Gujarat and Delhi)
*His term as prime minister in 1996 lasted only 13 days.
click here for more info

7.The Terrorist-2000s

"The Grave New World" by Brue Riedel is a good article and gives the current problem we are facing.
click here for more info

Apart from the above 7 , I knew there will be makers and breakers in each and every state: in case of Tamil Nadu.. i can think of only makers not breakers(??!!) and im not good at old politics , here they are
1)Periyar
2)Anna
3)Kamaraj
4)MGR
5)Rajinikanth
6)Ilaiyaraja
7)Viswanathan Anand

Honorable mention : Sahayam IPS(Madurai District Collector) for proving that with honesty we can work in Indian Public Service and of inspiration to thousands of youngsters, hope he will continue to remain honest.
May be i can put  "Auto" Shanker in breakers list(??!!).

War Horse

The remarkable story of friendship between a horse and a man in times of war.To his wife's dismay Ted Narracot bought a colt which is not a ploughing one. Albert Narracot their son asks them to leave the colt to his care and he promises them that he will make it to plough the land.He names the horse Joey.There starts the story. Albert with his friend Andrew Eatson trains the horse .

Albert with great effort and to the astonishment of the neighbors made Joey to plough the stony land to plant turnips.His mother Rose gives him Ted's medal which he received during Second Boer war in South Africa.The stormy weather destroys all the turnip field and the hopes of  Ted paying the overdue to landlord also fails.Forced , Ted sells Joey to Captain Nicholls who is an officer in duty as war nears, without informing to Albert.

When Albert comes to know about the absence of Joey , he runs and begs Captain Nicholls to return Joey to him but Captain says he will take care of it well and if everything goes well he will return Joey back to Albert and takes Joey to France to fight against German.Captain Nicholls dies at the battle and the Germans takes Joey with them.

The Germans trains Joey for military purpose , Joey makes friendship with Topthorn,anothor thorough bred.Then there is a story of Gunther brothers who uses Joey and Topthorn to escape to Italy and  from going to war.But the Germans finds and kill them.Emily, the farm girl finds the horses and starts liking them.She is living with her grand father.One day the German soldiers arrives and takes all the foods in their house but some how she saves the horses. But she loses both of them to Germans when she rides Joey for the first time.


Joey survives the war ordeals but Topthorn succumbs. Joey runs into no man's land and entangles in barbed wire.To help Joey gets out of the wire, Collin ,British soldier and Peter, a German Soldier comes out  of their respective trenches and meets in the middle.Using cutters they frees Joey and decides who will take Joey with them by tossing the coin.Collin wins and takes Joey to the military hospital, in the mean time Albert temporarily loses his sight at war front.He too is in the military hospital. The rest is the happy ending...

Around 8 million horses died during the war 1914-1918, thats why this particular story of survival and reunion is amazing and heart felt. This movie is a adaption of the navel "War Horse" by Michael Morpurgo.Steven Spielberg once again proved how good a directer he is. He is really a master story teller. One particular scene i liked most -when the soldiers helps Joey to come out of the entangled barbed wire,very emotional.

The horror of war was shot beautifully specially the rampage of Germans against British and Germans aristocracy against their own people .Emily and her grand father's part was told brilliantly.Jeremy Irvine as Albert was wonderful ,he is a stage artist and it proves to be a very handy one for this role.Peter Mullan as Ted,Emily Watson as Rose.Celine Buckens as Emilie were done their job to perfection. But the highlight of the movie is the Joey's performance,simply superb.

I wondered how come animal rights activists did not object to certain scenes in this movie but when i researched more i found out the reason.Those scenes were created by using animatronics technology. In fact  the team used puppet to shot the scenes where Joey entangled in barbed wire.

Read this for more info about animatronics team's work in Work Horse.

Music by John Williams was awesome, he captures the feelings, the emotions... Cinematography by Janusz Kaminski was breathtaking.Overall a great movie and must watch.War Horse is a strong contender for this year's Oscar.

Check out the puppet team's Ted talk below :

John Steinbeck's letter about love to his son

'Grapes of Wrath' and 'Of Mice and Men' author John Steinbeck's letter to his son when his son wrote him that he found a girl and he loves her.

The great author - John Steinbeck

His explanation of types of love was something we all have to think before we embark in a journey of love. He explains that there are types of love - first one 'selfish' and the second  'outpouring of everything good in you'.Most of the time people will falls into first category -thinking so much of self than the receiver as he wrote 'its ugly and crippling kind'. But when we accept and respect another person as unique and valuable then we will love them with  whole- heart.

Another very important line in that letter says that "If you love someone there is no possible harm in saying  so", how true it is.Most of the time we never express our 'good' feelings to others which is not good for  the relationship,one has to open up and express it ,specially in case of love. There are so many other wonderful things in that letter , below is that letter, read and enjoy.. This letter was taken from the wonderful  book "Steinbeck:A life in letter" , very enjoyable and thought provoking book.

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New York

November 10, 1958

Dear Thom,

We had your letter this morning. I will answer it from my point of view and of course Elaine will from hers.

First-if you are in love-that's a good thing-that's about the best thing that can happen to anyone. Don't let anyone make it small or light to you.

Second-There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you -- of kindness and consideration and respect -not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn't know you had.

You say this is not puppy love. If you feel so deeply-of course it isn't puppy love.

But I don't think you were asking me what you feel. You know better than anyone. What you wanted me to help you with is what to do about it-and that I can tell you.

Glory in it for one thing and be very glad and grateful for it.

The object of love is the best and most beautiful. Try to live up to it.

If you love someone-there is no possible harm in saying so-only you must remember that some people are very shy and sometimes the saying must take that shyness into consideration.

Girls have a way of knowing or feeling what you feel, but they usually like to hear it also.

It sometimes happens that what you feel is not returned for one reason or another-but that does not make your feeling less valuable and good.

Lastly, I know your feeling because I have it and I'm glad you have it.

We will be glad to meet Susan. She will be very welcome. But Elaine will make all such arrangements because that is her province and she will be very glad to. She knows about love too and maybe she can give you more help than I can.

And don't worry about losing. If it is right, it happens-the main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.

Love,

Fa

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That was a wonderful letter written by a great man,so loving and gentle.

Nanban and Billionaire's principles

A wonderful remake of a wonderful movie.Shankar did not try to do anything extra in this wonderful script- a good decision. I did not had any expectation on this movie which made me to watch and enjoy this movie.

We all knew the story ..

Vijay did justice to his role, but its better not to compare with Aamir khan's performance.Both are entirely different entertainers.Srikanth who played Madhavan's role too did wonderfully well.But the highlight was Jeeva's role , he was amazing and his timing comedy was awesome.Sathyaraj,Ileana ,Sathyan and SJ Surya did their job.

Manjoj Paramahamsa's cinematography was excellent ,specially the song sequences and the climax.The one negative aspect of the film was songs and some part of background music .Personally i did not like the songs, expected bit more from Harris Jeyaraj.

Take the good thing from the movie "Follow your dream, do what you love." Even after watching these kind of movie most of us just do the things which we are not interested and do it just for the sake of doing specially our daily work.Yesterday i read an article by Jonathan Holburt about successful(billionaires) business men's 5 principles, check out the first one :

 1.Do what you love 

 2.Age isn't a barrier 

 3.The more you risk, the more you live

 4.Failure is a stepping stone to success 

 5.Be unconventional

2011 Man Asian Literary Prize Shortlist

I always feel happy when  the Asian authors getting noticed internationally and this award is one way to make a author popular globally. I'm even more happy to see many Indian names, to be precise three, in this years shortlist. Here is the list :

No.	Author	Book	Nationality
1.	Amitav Ghosh	River of Smoke	Indian
2.	Jahnavi Barua	Rebirth	Indian
3.	Rahul Bhattacharya	The Sly Company of People Who Care	Indian
4.	Jamil Ahmad	The Wandering Falcon	Pakistani
5.	Shin Kyung Sook	Please Look After Mom	South Korean
6.	Yan Lianke	Dream of Ding Village	Chinese
7.	Banana Yoshimoto	The Lake	Japanese

2010 Prize was won by Chinese author Bi Feiyu for the acclaimed novel 'Three Sisters'.

I bought Amitav Ghosh's  'River of Smoke' last month , have to start reading it.Rahul Bose tweeted about this book that it was an excellent read.. When i was in New Delhi i saw "The Wandering Falcon" by Jamil Ahmad at the book stalls , and it was in the bestseller list, have to buy and read it too.

All the best for the shortlisted authors, the winner will be announced on March 15 in Hong Kong.