Review-Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji

Story: Naren (Ajay Devgn), Abhay (Emraan Hashmi) and Milind (Omi Vaidya) need to add some spark to their love life. They may be roomies but the three of them have diametrically opposed love stories. Naren's lost his heart to his twenty-something secretarial intern (Shazahn) despite being a divorcee on the wrong side of forty.

Abhay is happy to play toy boy to rich and bored housewife, Tisca Chopra until he meets her free-spirited daughter, Shruti Haasan, while Milind Kelkar is willing to do anything for wannabe actor, Shraddha Das, even if it means spending his life's savings for a shrewd climber. Will the three guys live happily ever after?

Movie Review: Madhur Bhandarkar tries to change tracks. He attempts a switch-over from serious, hard-hitting cinema that chooses to expose the underbelly of society to a light-hearted look at the affairs of the heart. Does he succeed? Well, partially so. For Dil To Baccha Hai Ji may have its heart in the right place but the tone is a bit tenuous and the comedy only intermittently breezy.

Each of the three love tracks have their pros and cons. The highpoint of Ajay Devgn's romance is Ajay Devgn of course. The actor does look visibly uncomfortable with all that talk of virginity and when-did-you-lose-it business and actually brings out the guffaws when he breaks into a '70s ballad at a yuppie party. Emraan's dil dosti story stands out for its gleeful dirty rotten scoundrel act and for the sheer dignity that Tisca Chopra adds to the predator woman cameo. With Omi Vaidya, you know what's there to smile about: the guy's boyish innocence and his never-say-die zeal which, as in 3 Idiots, is totally misplaced again. The girls too comfortably slip into their respective shoes, playing heartbreakers to the hilt. While Shazahn is bubbly and sweet, Shruti is cold and calculating, Shraddha is outrageously exploitative and Tisca is mature and moody.

So where's the glitch? First, the love tangle gets repetitive; the length is a bit too long; the humour missing in many places and the Madhur make-over as a comedy maestro somewhat half-hearted. Nevertheless, there's enough mood and attitude in the film to make for a pleasant viewing. And there's Mohit Chauhan too. Check out his melodious ditty, Abhi kuch dino se, which forms the leitmotif of the film. Very hummable.

BOOK & AUTHORS

Book Name	Author
A bend in the river	V.S. Naipal
A brush with life	Satish Gujral
A House of Mr. Biswar	V.S. Naipal
A Million Mutinies Now	V.S. Naipal
A Passage to England	Nirad C.Chodhury
A Prisoner's Scrapbook	L.K. Advani
A River Sutra	Gita Mehra
A sense of time	H.S.Vatsyayan
A strange and subline address	Amit Chaudhary
A suitable boy	Vikram Seth
A village by the sea	Anita Desai
A voice for freedom	Nayantara Sehgal
Aansoo	Suryakant Tripathi Nirala
Afternoon Raag	Amit Chaudhari
Ageless Body, Timeless Mind	Deepak Chopra
Agni Veena	Kazi Nazrul Islam
Ain-i-Akbari	Abul Fazal
Amar Kosh	Amar Singh
An autobiography	Jawaharlal Nehru
An Equal Music	Vikram Seth
An Idealist View of life	Dr. S. Radhakrishan
Amrit Aur Vish	Amrit Lal Nagar
Anamika	Suryakant Tripathi Nirala
Anandmath	Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Areas of Darkness	V.S. Naipal
Arthashastra	Lautilya
Ashtadhyayi	Panini
Autobiography of an Unknown India	Nirad C. Choudhury
Bandicoot Run	Manohar Malgonkar
Beginning of the Beginning	Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh
Between the Lines	Kuldip Nayyar
Beyond Modernisation, Beyond Self	Sisirkumar Ghose
Bhagvad Gita	Ved Vyas
Bharat Bharati	Maithilisharan Gupt
Bharat Durdasha	Bhartendu Harischandra
Border and Boundaries: women in India's Partition	Ritu Menon & Kamla Bhasin
Bharat Bharati	Maithili Saran Gupt
Breaking the Silence	Anees Jung
Bride and the Sahib and the other stories	Khushwant Singh
Broken Wings	Sarojini Naidu
Bubble, The	Mulk Raj Anand
Buddha Charitam	Ashwaghosh
By God's Decree	Kapil Dev
Chandalika	Rabindra Nath Tagore
Chandrakanta Santati	Devkinandan Khatri
Chemmen: Thakazhi	Sivasankara Pillai
Chitra	Rabindranath Tagore
Chitralekha	Bhagwati Charan Verma
Chitrangada	Rabindra Nath Tagore
Circle of Reason	Amitav Ghosh
Clear Light of Day	Anita Desai
Confessions of a Lower	Mulk Raj Anand
Confrontation with Pakistan	B. M. Kaul
Conquest of Self	Mahatma Ghandhi
Continent of Crime	Nirad C Chaudhary
Coolie	Mulk Raj Anand
Court Dancer	Rabindranath Tagore
Culture in the Vanity Bag	Nirad C Chaudhury
Days of My Years	H.P. Nanda
Daybhag	Jeemootwahan
Death of a City	Amrita Pritam
Devdas	Sharat Chandra Chatterjee
Discovery of India	Jawaharlal Nehru
Distant Drums	Manohar Malgonkar
Distint Neighbours: India	Kuldip Nayar
Divine Life	Swami Shivananda
Durgesh Nandini	Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Dynamics of Social Change	Chandra Shekhar
Eight Lives	Rajmohan Gandhi
English August	Upamanyu Chatterjee
Essays on Gita	Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
Eternal Himalayas	Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia
Eternal India	Mrs Indira Gandhi
Faces of Everest	Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia
Foreign Policy of India	I.K. Gujral
Forty Nine Days	Amrita Pritam
From Rajpath to Lokpath	Vijaya Raje Scindia
Gaban	Munsi Premchand
Ganadevata	Tara Shankar Bandopadhyaya
Gardener	Rabindra Nath Tagore
Geet Govind	Jayadev
Ghasiram Kotwal	Vijay Tendulkar
Gitanjali	Rabindranath Tagore
Gita Rahasya	Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Glimpses of World History	Jawaharlal Nehru
Godan	Prem Chand
Golden Threshold	Sarojini Naidu
Gora	Rabindra Nath Tagore
Guide	R.K. Narayanan
Harsha Charita	Bana Bhatta
Harvest	Manjula Padmanabhan
Heir Apparent	Dr. Karan Singh
Himalayan Blunder	Brigadier J.P. Dalvi
Hind Swaraj	M.K. Gandhi
Hindu View of Life	Dr. S. Radhakrishan
Hinduism	Nirad C. Choudhury
History of India	Romila Thapar
Hullabaloo in a Guava Orchard	Kiran Desai
Humanyunama	Gulbadan Beghum
Hungary Stones	Rabindranath Tagore
I follow the Mahatma	K.M. Munshi
Idols	Sunil Gavaskar
India After Nehru	Kuldip Nayyar
India Divided	Rajendra Prasad
India Unbound	Gurcharan Das
India of Our Dreams	M.V. Kamath
India Wins Freedom	Abdul Kalam Azad
India's Priceless Heritage	N.A. Palkhivala
Indian Philosophy	Dr. S. Radhakrishan
Indira Ghandi Returns	Khushwant Singh
Indira Gandhi: Badhate Kadam	Khushwant Singh
Inscrutable Americans	Anurag Mathur
Interpreter of Maladies	Jhumpa Lahiri
It's Always Possible	Kiran Bedi
Jai Somnath	K.M. Munshi
Jayadev	Geet Govind
Jhansi Ki Rani	Vrindavanlal Verma
Kadambari	Bana Bhatt
Kagaz Te Kanwas	Amrita Pritam
Kamasutra	S.H. Vatsyayan
Kanthapura	Raja Rao
Kapala Kundala	Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Karmabhumi	Munsi Premchand
Kashmir: A Tale of Shame	Hari Jaisingh
Kashmr: A Tragedy of Errors Kayar	Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
Kitab-ul-Hind	Al-Beruni
Kitni Nawon Kitni Bar	S.H. Vatsyayan
Kulliyat	Ghalib
Kumar Sambhava	Kalidas
Kurukshetra	Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
Last Burden	Upamanyu Chatterjee
Life Divine	Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
Lipika	Rabindranath Tagore
Lost Child	Mulk Raj Anand
Mahabharta	Ved Vyas
Mahatma Gandhi and his Apolstles	Ved Mehta
Malgudi Days	R.K. Narayanan
Malti Madhav	Bhavabhuti
Meghdootam	Kalidasa
Mitakshara	Vigyaneshwar
Mrichhakatikam	Shudrak
My Days	R.K. Narayanan
My India	S. Nihal Singh
My Life and Times	V.V. Giri
My Music, My Life	Pt. Ravi Shankar
My Presidental Years	R. Venkatraman
My Truth	Indira Gandhi
Mudra Rakshas	Vishakhadatta
Natural History	Plini
New Dimensions of India's Foreign Policy	A.B. Vajpayee
Nisheeth	Uma Shankar Joshi
Operation Bluestar: The True Story	Lt. Gen K.S. Brar
Our Films, Their Films	Satyajit Ray
Padmavat	Malik Mohammed Jayasi
Painter of Signs	R.K. Narayan
Panchatantra	Vishnu Sharma
Parineeta	Sharat Chandra Chatterji
Past Forward	G.R. Narayanan
Pather Panchali	Bibhuti Bhushan
Plain Speaking	N. Chandrababu Naidu
Portrait of India	Ved Mehta
Post Office	Rabindranath Tagore
Prem Pachisi	Munsi Prem Chand
Prem Vatika	Raskhan
Rajatarangini	Kalhana
Ram Charita Manas	Tulsidas
Ramayana	Maharishi Valmiki
Raghuvamsa	Kalidas
Ranghbhommi	Munsi Premchand
Ratnavali	Harsha Vardhan
Ravi Paar (Across the River)	Gulzar
Red Earth and Pouring Rain	Vikram Chandra
Ritu Samhara	Kalidas
Saket	Maithili Sharan Gupta
Satya Karischandra	Bhartendu Harischandra
Sakharam Binder	Vijay Tendulkar
Secular Agenda	Arun Shourie
Seven Summers	Mulk Raj Anand
Shadow from Ladakh	Bhabani Bhattacharya
Shahnama	Firdausi
Shrikant	Sharat Chandra Chatterji
Snakes and Ladders: Essays on India	Gita Mehta
Social Change in Modern India	M.N. Srinivas
Sultry Days	Shobha De
Sunny Days	Sunil Gavaskar
Sursagar	Kabirdas
Swami and Friends	R.K. Narayanan
The Bride's Book of Beauty	Mulk Raj Anand
The Cat and Shakespeare	Raja Rao
The Company of Women	Khushwant Singh
The Critical Years: In Jail	Kuldip Nayyar
The Dark Room	R.K. Narayanan
The Degeneration of India	T.N. Seshan
The Glass Palace	Amitav Ghosh
The God of Small Things	Arundhati Roy
The Golden Gate	Vikram Seth
The Judgement	Kuldip Nayyar
The Men Who Killed Gandhi	Manohar Malgonkar
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success	Deepak Chopra
The Songs of India	Sarojini Naidu
The Story of My Experiments with Truth	Mahatma Gandhi
The Strange and Subline Address	Amit Chaudhuri
The Sword and the Sickle	Mulk Raj Anand
The vendor of Sweets	R.K. Narayanan
The way of the Wizard	Deepak Chopra
Train to Pakistan	Khushwant Singh
Two Leaves and a Bud	Mulk Raj Anand
Untold Story	B. M. Kaul
Urvashi	Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
Visarjana	Rabindra Nath Tagore
Waiting for the Mahatma	R.K. Narayanan
Wake up India	Annie Besant
We, Indians	Khushwant Singh
Wreck, The	Rabindranath Tagore
Yama	Mahadevi Verma
Yashodhara	Maithili Sharan Gupt
Years of Pilgrimage	Dr. Raja Ramana

Film Review- Dhobi Ghat

Film: ‘Dhobi Ghat’; Cast: Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, Kriti Malhotra; Director: Kiran Rao; Rating: **** 1/2
Every year literally hundreds of thousands throng to the city of dreams, Mumbai. To cover so many dreams in a small span of an-hour-and-a-half calls for some brilliant filmmaking. And watching ‘Dhobi Ghat’ will make you realise that there indeed have been very few debuts as stunning as this one.

‘Dhobi Ghat’ is the story of five characters – Yasmin (Kirti Malhotra), Arun (Aamir Khan), Shai (Monica Dogra), Munna (Prateik Babbar) and the city of Mumbai. After a one nightstand with Arun, who is a painter, Shai, an investment banker from America and an amature photographer obsesses over him, while her dhobi Munna pines for Shai.

Arun, meanwhile, discovers a few tapes in his flat from the previous tenant and,watching them, falls in love and find a muse in the woman who has made them – Yasmin. Each of the character is thus looking for something in one another, while the fifth character, Mumbai, simply stares blankly at them without comment or prejudice.

One of the best things about the film is its casting. Each of the actors complement the film, its director, and the city of Mumbai perfectly. Each is believable in his or her own garb. Prateik is bound to become the heartthrob of the generation, while Kirti Malhotra’s innocence has to be seen to be believed. Real life singer Monica brings out the uncertainty of her character beautifully.

The only one who is a little out of place, and hence the small sore point of the film is actor Aamir Khan. He begins shakily and is self conscious, unable as he is perhaps of shaking away two decades of Bollywood’s acting baggage. By the end of it though, he manages to get into the film’s rhythm and gives a believable performance.

It is hence not Kiran Rao’s luck that she got superstar husband Aamir to act in the film, but Aamir’s luck that he is in this film, which will go down in the history of cinema as one of the best character sketches of a city and its people. Very few people in the world have sketched any city with such tender love, care and affection. And to add to the lilting melody that is Mumbai in the film is composer Gustavo Santaolalla who gives a haunting background score.

Director Kiran Rao brilliantly manages to find a physical representation of Mumbai city, in the old woman who blankly stares at all the characters, but says nothing. The metaphor is simple but powerful – Mumbai is a dying, decaying city, but one that is definitely alive and watches over all.

And like the character of Arun who becomes a voyeur into the life of Yasmin, it is Kiran Rao that has played voyeur on the city of Mumbai.

Another good thing about the film is that nowhere does it slacken or lose pace. On the contrary, it unfolds almost like a mystery, like a rose bud, only to scintillate the senses in full bloom. It thus might become the low budget indie Indian film that will finally make money like big-budget Bollywood fare.

In the end though, that wouldn’t matter much to the audience who will find themselves somewhere in the film. Each one of the characters in the film is like Mumbai, and Mumbai is like each one of us who inhabit it.

5 Most awaited Hollywood movies of 2011

The year 2010 brought us handful of Hollywood movies that turned out to be the blockbusters for the year that was. The all new 2011 also has something similar for the Hollywood movie buffs to be excited about. There are plenty of exiting movies coming up this year that will make you drop your awestruck jaws. Here is a list of five most awaited Hollywood movies of 2011, but let's be clear that these are not something that make you go rational. Here we are talking about films that can entertain you with their larger than life content. Here we go.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint will all return for one last adventure at Hogwarts in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2", the second installment of a two-part film based on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling. Scheduled for release on July 15th, 2011, this would be the final film in the Harry Potter series, bringing an end to the journey of the wiz-kid and his friends. The film is directed by David Yates.

Captain America: The First Avenger
This July, be ready to witness the adventures of a scrawny World War II American soldier who is injected with the Super Soldier Formula and gets amazing fighting abilities. Yes, we are talking about the Marvel Comics superhero Captain America, who is coming in silver screen this year. "Captain America: The First Avenger", directed by 'Wolfman' director Joe Johnston, stars Chris Evans as Captain America. The movie is releasing on July 22, 2011.

Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn
Directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson, this motion capture 3-D film is bringing the Herge's vision into the big screen. 'Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn' is based on the central character, Tintin, a young reporter, created by Belgian artist Georges Remi, also known by his pen name 'Herge'. Likely to be released on December 23, 2011, this will be the first Spielberg film to be shot digitally.

The Hangover (Part II)
With cameos made by Bill Clinton, Mel Gibson and Zac Efron, "The Hangover (Part II)" directed by Todd Phillips is getting bigger this time. The laughing riot is expected to create more laughter as the prequel had set the mood. The expectation from part II is sky high. "The Hangover (Part II)" will hit the cinemas on May 26, 2011. So, hold your breath.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Captain Jack Sparrow played by Johnny Depp will continue his search of the Fountain of Youth through the stormy seas, and this time he'll be accompanied by Angelica, the daughter of the infamous Blackbeard played by Penelope Cruz. Unlike the previous films, which were shot primarily on location in the Caribbean, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" has most of its production in Hawaii. Directed by Chicago director Rob Marshall, this 3D fantasy action-adventure film is releasing on May 20, 2011.

Top 10 gadgets to watch in 2011

A decade ago hardly anybody had any clue about the technological advancements we are obsessed with today. No one heard about Facebook, no one knew how to use a touch screen phone or even thought of a product like iPhone. But it took only a few years to change the whole scenario. As the decade went on we came across new technologies and gadgets we were clueless about. Even today, we don't have much idea about what technological surprises the next decade has in its store for us. Here is a sneak peek into the top 10 gadgets to watch in 2011.

Sony HDR-TD10
It is the company's first ever 3D camcorder. Although it's not the first 3D camcorder from a leading manufacturer, Sony HDR-TD10 is equipped with "Double Full HD" which means that the device has two lenses, two sensors and two image processors. Thus, the camcorder is able to capture two separate frames of Full HD video at a 1920 x 1080 resolution. Loaded with 64 GB of internal memory, Sony HDR-TD10 is expected to hit the stores in April 2011.

Apple iWatch
Are you looking for something that can provide the effectiveness and reliability of both the iPod touch and ipod nano at the same platform? Your search will end at the all new Apple iWatch, the upcoming Apple sensation which is likely to arrive in February 2011. For the masses of Apple geeks who want their iPods to get smaller and thinner, an iWatch will be a perfect choice.

BlackBerry PlayBook
Running a brand new Blackberry Tablet OS and powered by a 1GHz Cortex-A9 dual core processor and 1GB of RAM, BlackBerry PlayBook is all set to escort RIM in the tablet market in the first quarter of 2011. This 7-inch gadget supports Flash 10.1, HTML 5 and HDMI. It also has a 3MP front-facing camera and a 5MP rear-facing HD camera.

Xbox 720
For all those game-loving junkies, Microsoft is bringing something special. The company has announced that in the years 2011-2012, Xbox 720, the latest version of the Xbox series will arrive. The upcoming Xbox 720 will boast of cool features like internet connection, wireless USB, and a 4GB memory.

Apple iPhone 5
Continuing the iPhone saga, Apple is expected to launch its all new iPhone 5 in 2011, the newest member of the iPhone family. Speculations have been made that the iPhone 5 might employ NFC (Near Field Communication) short-range wireless technology to function as an electronic wallet of sorts. The new device is also likely to complete with debit/credit cards and identification/passkey applications.

PlayStation Phone
Code named "Zeus", the PlayStation Phone by Sony is likely to arrive in the first half of 2011. To be run on Andriod 3.0 Gingerbread operating system, Zeus will be loaded with 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 processor and will come with 8GB of memory. The device is expected to have 1GB ROM and 512 MB RAM.

Liquid Image Summit Series HD
With this all new snowboarding goggles snowboarders, snorkelers and bikers will be having great experience while recording their exploits in glorious high- definition video. Liquid Image's Summit Series HD 1080P snow goggles have a 136-degree wide-angle lens that can record action while skiing, boarding, sledding or snowmobiling. Images and videos are stored to a micro SD card slot and the goggles can also be connected to a computer via USB. The device is expected in October 2011.

ElectroHub
With an offer of compatibility for a huge amount of devices including the TV remote, toys and smartphones, ElectroHub is a new wireless charging station. What makes it unique is that it doesn't require the device to have a special case. It provides ElectroHub batteries, which come in both AA and AAA. The device is capable of charging six devices at one time and is expected in the first quarter of 2011.

5 Less explored hill stations you must visit

Are you a lover of trekking and camping in jungles on hill slopes? Often mesmerized by cool salubrious air and stunning scenery of mountains and hill stations? If yes, then take a few days off from work and zoom to one of the exotic hill stations for real refreshment. India is home to a number of eye-catching hill stations. While some of them are very famous all around the world, some are still less trodden. Below is a list of five less explored hill stations in India, which can be a real treat for any passionate traveler and nature enthusiast.

Tawang
The land of Monpa tribe, Tawang is a district in Arunachal Pradesh. It is among the most preferred travel destination for Buddhists. Tawang is located at a height of 12,000 ft. above the sea level and shares its border with Tibet and Bhutan. Packed with divine nature and peace, Tawang is also an adventure option for the outdoor buff. Although it is little tiring getting into Tawang, but once you reach there its splendid view will make you realize that it is worth all the trouble reaching this place. Tawang is around 525 km away and a 20 hour drive from Guwahati. From Tezpur Tawang is 345 km or a 12 -13 hours journey. Regular bus services are available from Guwahati and Tezpur.

Kalimpong
With its quiet atmosphere, Kalimpong is a major attraction for travelers. It is in Darjeeling district in the northern part of West Bengal. There are a number of religious sites to see, including the Catholic church and Zong Dhog Palri Fo Brang monastery. Located in the foot-hills of the Himalayas, amidst verdant green environment, Kalimpong offers breath-taking views of snow capped mountain peaks. The nearest airport is Bagdogra which is 80 kms from Kalimpong. Jeeps are also available from Darjeeling, Siliguri and Gangtok.

Chamba Valley
Noted for the magnificence of its beautiful scenery, Chamba Valley has three well-defined snowy ranges, the Dauladhar, constituting the outer Himalayas, the Pir Panjal or the mid Himalayas, and the Zanskar range or the inner Himalayas. The land of mystic serenity and lofty mountain passes and slopes, Chamba Valley is situated at the height of 996 m. above sea level on the south bank of the Ravi River. It is just 56 km from Dalhousie. Daily bus service is available from Dalhousie.

Palampur
Also known as the ?Tea Capital of North India?, Palampur is at a height of 1,220 meters above sea level and is situated in the Kangra valley, close to the Dhauladhar Range. It is in the northwestern region of Himachal Pradesh. One can enjoy the scenic beauty of the Dhauladhar range and the slopes of the Kangra valley from Palampur. The scenery presents a sublime and beautiful contrast, while the hills are majestic. The nearest railway station is at Maranda, which is 2 km from Palampur. Bus service is available from Palampur to Dharamshala, Mandi, and Pathankot.

Dhanaulti
Located amidst the thick virgin forests of deodar, rhododendron and oak, Dhanaulti is a woody paradise and the launching point for numerous treks into the snow-capped Himalayas. It is situated on Mussoorie ? Chamba road at an elevation of 2286mts above sea level. The region receives snowfall during winters making it even more captivating destination. Tourists can come to Dhanaulti at any time of the year. Nearest airport is Jolly Grant, Dehradun. Dhanaulti is well connected to Dehradun, Delhi and Rishikesh.

Film Review-No One Killed Jessica

No One Killed Jessica': Over-dramatized?

Bollywood seems so stuck with the idea of the heroism that even while creating a biopic, it is forced to add characters who show strength on screen through sheer machismo. And so, we have a journalist who is brash bordering on uncouth, mouths expletives, smokes cigarettes and calls herself a B.I.T.C.H. Being from a news background, one must say that such people only exist on the silver screen!

The movie, which recreates the highly publicized murder of a celeb bartender Jessica Lall during a New Year party in New Delhi, picks up the story after this incident and traces it across the entire trial period when witnesses are bought, evidence tampered with and justice denied. It goes on to capture the media's role in reviving the case and the eventual closure of the case.

The movie sticks to a taut narrative and a reasonably tight script, though one really cannot understand the reason behind director Rajkumar Gupta's belief that only fire-spewing television anchors can fight crime and injustice and that heroism equals machismo. One shudders to think what Gupta would have made of the Father of our Nation if he were ever asked to make a film on Mahatma Gandhi!


Five reasons to watch 'NOKJ'

1. The one obvious reason to watch the movie is the crackling performances of its two lady actors, something that one does not often see in the male-dominated film industry. Of course, the way Vidya Balan (as Sabrina) and Rani (as journalist Meera) complement each other in terms of temperament can be called a bit contrived. However, it works well with the audience who love to see two actors with diametrically opposite traits strutting their stuff on screen.

2. Among the two leading ladies, one must give credit to the intense performance by Vidya, who plays a character completely opposite to her femme fatale role in last year's hit 'Ishqiya'. Vidya has taken pains to underplay the role as the situation required and brings across a whole gamut of emotions, from anguish to helplessness to utter hopelessness and an eventual sense of gratitude. We believe, this movie, coming on top of her powerhouse performances in 'Ishqiya' and 'Paa' should ensconce Vidya as a performer in the world of divas.

3. Coming to the much-touted comeback performance of Rani Mukherjee, the Bengali beauty reverts to her "Bichoo" look after playing several Ms. Goody-two-shoes roles in mindless movies. Her firebrand TV news reporter role is what heroic stuff is made off though one finds hard to believe all that she does on screen for a few 'whistles'. Of course, somewhere Rani could have piped down a bit as she does overplay the angry scribe once too often with the director doing his bit with some jingoistic slo-mo shots that would do a Rajnikanth proud.

4. The best part of the movie is the attention for detail that director Rajkumar Gupta has displayed to keep up the authenticity. So, you have Delhi roads littered with Toyota Qualis of the 1999-2007 period, the PC runs on Windows 95 and the cell phones are bulky and ugly. Gupta, whose first film 'Aamir' attracted critical acclaim, tries to do an encore with some stylized shots like the opening credits and the authentic court room scenes.

5. The surprise package of the movie is Rajesh Sharma who plays the corrupt cop who takes a huge bribe in return for promising not to use the third-degree on the accused and eventually comes across as the one honest link in an entire corrupt system. Sharma was seen as Khurana's lawyer in 'Khosla ka Ghosla'.


Five reasons to miss 'NOKJ'

1. Given that this is the second attempt to revive the gruesome real-life tale of upcoming model Jessica Lall, one went into the cinemas believing that director Rajkumar would refrain from dramatizing what must have been a sordid saga for those involved. It was a sort of 'JFK' that one expected, but came out feeling that Gupta wanted to make something of a 'Chak de' that feeds on the audiences' feeling of moral righteousness where one sub-consciously wants to "right the wrong".

2. While the director has tried to keep the narrative as close to the truth as possible, he once again tries to use cinematic license to tug at our hearts using interludes that take away from the seriousness of it all. A tense courtroom scene where Sabrina smirks is one such scene that was probably scripted in at a later stage. Though enacted well, the scene takes away from the intensity and seems a tad artificial that is aimed only at involving the audience.

3. Somewhere along the line, the script plays second fiddle to the characterization. This despite the fact that one of the two protagonists is inspired from a real life person. The fact that Rani and Vidya hardly have scenes together in the movie and probably spent more time promoting it than acting is inexplicable. While Vidya gets to display her wares in the first half, Rani simply lords over the second and is often irksome because of a uni-dimensional approach.

4. Gupta tries very hard to keep the narrative taut as he needs to cover a seven-year span from the time the celebrity barmaid was shot dead to the point where justice is meted out. This is probably where he would have done well to focus on the latter part of the drama than spending close to half the movie on evoking pathos for the family that were done in by the corrupt system. It is almost as if this cook believes in creating hunger and serving up a dish!

5. These days, it has become a fad to mouth expletives in movies whether the situation demands it or not. So, we have Rani Mukherjee using the "G" word during a chat with a co-passenger, leaving the latter shocked. The fact the sequence seems contrived to raise "shock and awe" whereas the same word mouthed by Raghubir Yadav in the opening scenes of 'Peepli Live' evoked mirth and surprise.

Verdict: Despite some scripting flaws and over-the-top performances, the movie is watchable, if for nothing, the therapeutic effect that it provides to us. However, just like its weird title, one feels that the movie belongs to no one in particular, though it was probably made with the middle-class multiplex audience in mind.

Sony Ericsson 12.1 Megapixel Phone

Sony Ericsson has launched a new camera phone. The phone is expected Idou, which contains the 12.1-megapixel camera with auto focus and a set of touching the camera advanced features such as true 16:9 widescreen and xenon flash. In one of a number of projects that will be launched this year under the umbrella of the entertainment is unlimited. Idou encapsulates the future of mobile entertainment in the palm of your hand to provide visual communication like never before. Building on what will become an institution of the Symbian operating system, and thousands of applications available on the Internet to allow applications to install new and exciting content from loading "PlayNowa to make Idou really for you.Specifications : Size of 112.0 x 55.0 x 13.0 mm (4.4 × 2.2 × 0.5 inches) Weight 126.0 g Screen 360x640 pixels 16,777,216 color TFT touchscreen Available in black, silver Bordeaux SanDisk microSD memory support

Happy New Year

Hello friends first of all happy new year to u n ur families......now sorry for being late in updatation of my blog...actually i was busy in my study n exam so i couldnt do that...bt frm today onwards u we will b in touch n updated with new exciting n valuable knowledge...

your friend

Ramchandra Gurjar