Marley and Me

I finally got to read this book courtesy the library ofcourse! And the book is so much more better than the movie!

John Grogan documents the life of his dog Marley, a Lab Retriever with ADD. Although Marley can’t stand still for even a minute he still comes across as a lovable by a doofy dog who does his duty of protecting the owners if the need arised.

The book starts off with a 2 pager on Saint Shaun, Grogan’s first dog who was the complete opposite of Marley and then kicks off with Marley’s story. Broadly the story covers how the Grogans pick up Marley from a farm, his first day home, how he grows up to be volatile yet lovable dog who messes up the furniture, dreads the thunderstorms in Florida and also loves and protects the Grogan children. As Marley reaches adulthood…Grogan describes the health problems that Marley faces yet determinedly tries to face the crisis until the very end where Marley lapses into a state of unconsciousness.

That part is where tears comes especially if you had or have a dog. I had plenty of dogs before and so I could empathize with it. It was a very touching story and one that every dog owner would empathize with. Anyways its a book that must be read to experience the story not one that could be told.

The movie however couldn’t capture that intensity that the book could portray. Here’s the review to the movie – Marley and Me film.

The Ugly Truth

After watching Katherine Heigl’s role in 27 Dresses and Grey’s Anatomy, I was wary to even pick this CD up. Deciding to be non-judgmental I rented this out. And my verdict …. I’ve enjoyed watching this flick so I thought it deserved a post of its own.

None of us like to face the truth that’s staring right at us…instead we take a round-about route to face it. Many a times we live in denial hoping that it would go away. But then what is life without the harsh conditions and challenges it poses us. And this is what comes out in the movie ‘The Ugly Truth‘ more so from a personal relationship angle than from other perspectives. This kind of syncs well with the other title “He’s Just Not Into You“. Somehow, they bring out the real-life issues to the larger than life screen.

Katherine Heigl stars as Abby Ritcher, a TV producer of a morning news show which is dwindling into non-existence thanks to the rapidly dropping ratings. Her boss brings in Mike Chadway, the host of a reality show called ‘The Ugly Truth’ much against Abby and her team’s wishes. But Mike with his frankness and the sartorial sense of humor wins their trust and acceptance not to mention boost the ratings of the show. He strikes a deal with Abby wherein he helps Abby work out a relationship with her hunky neighbor Collin while she inturn accepts his quirkyness and directs his show.

All seems to go well with just one hitch…Mike has fallen in love with an oblivious Abby. Things take a rather surprising turn when Abby and Mike fly in for Mike’s special appearance on the ‘Late Late Night Show’ and discuss Mike’s offer with another network. Sparks fly but Collin successfully dampens it with his surprise appearance and Mike joins the rival network the next day.

A hurt and confused Abby is left with no alternative but to hire a replacement and during the local Balloon festival, Mike and Abby get a chance to confront each other and ofcourse confess. A happy ending in the end telecast live on the network.

The best thing about this movie is that it is bold, funny and a no-nonsense. And it has none of those tear jerking moments of sorts instead the characters try to tackle their challenges head on. Abby comes across as this typical control freak who even takes the pain of printing out a conversation for her would-be date never realizing for once that her date is appalled by this proactiveness. She loves taking control of things and can’t seem to sit back for once and enjoy life. Mike on the other hand comes across as this personification of a typical guy who doesn’t care about what a woman has to say but as the movie progresses you see the sensitive side of him.

Sometimes the actors make the characters seem more real and lively and this is precisely what Katherine and Gerard Butler have done. Verdict – watchable atleast once!

Katha Collage

Winter time brought the Qadir Ali Baig Theater festival to Hyderabad. And one of the plays that I could take time out to visit was Katha Collage directed by Naseeruddin Shah, a veteran in the Indian film industry with extensive art and theater experience.

Katha Collage is essentially a collection of 3 short stories by Premchand.. representative of contemporary Hindustani literature. The stories – Bade Bhai Sahab, Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Sankraman aren’t translated but are told in the exact words as they were written.

Bade Bhai Sahab or Elder Brother is a tale of 2 brothers, primarily narrated by the younger brother. The story highlights the contrasts between the brothers – the elder brother is dour, studious but mediocre always criticizes the easy-going approach to life that his younger brother who is unknowingly intelligent takes. The criticism that starts during schooldays proceeds until their adulthood. This story is a study of contrasts – of mindsets and approaches to life; of tradition and modernity; and of natural brilliance and natural dullness.

Shatranj Ke Khiladi or The Chess Players is a satire set in the pre Indian Independence days and focuses on the lives of 2 feudal lords – Meer and Mirza Saheb who are barely bothered by the volatile political environment around them but dedicate themselves to playing chess. They barely bother when the Britishers invade their city but fate catches up with them when they kill each other over a game.

The last play was Sankraman or Circle of Life which went on for sometime. Sankraman captures the circle of life from the perspective of a typical middle class family caught up in the throes of every-day life. The narration starts off with the head of the house followed by his son and then finally through the reminisces of his wife after his death. It also highlights how the children finally imbibe the very qualities of their parents that they either hated or criticized once.

There was a gradual transition in the language used for communication as well as the play progressed – Bade Bhai Sahab started off with pure hindi, Shatranj ke Khiladi took on a mix of Urdu and hindustani and Sankraman had the actors speaking everyday hindi. The play was very well directed and seamlessly played out until the end.  The flip side to the experience is that bad stage setting not to mention the acoustics took away the experience. We could barely make out the emotions expressed by the actors.

Imaad Shad played Chote Bhai, Jameel Khan played the roles of Bade Bhai as well as the son in Sankraman, Seema Pahwa played the wife in Sankraman, Ahmed Khan was Mirza while Khaalid Muhammad was Meer. Naseeruddin Shah doned the role of the head of the family in Sankraman. It was truly a unique experience though.

For more details on this play – FullHyd, MumbaiTheatre

Wolverine

I’ve gotta admit…I’m very slow when it comes to catching up on the latest films. And so I finally managed to rent out Wolverine DVD and even find an hour or so to watch it.

Wolverine is one of the most  popular characters in the Marvel Universe…so aptly termed due to their unending tendency to create newer mutants or do a permutation/combination storylines. There are so many parallel comic books and series not to mention every possible combi of mutants out there…it makes you wonder if they outnumber the normal humans!

Not to digress…the film depicts the life of Wolverine – his origin, his family, his love life and enemies. He and Sabretooth are infact brothers and while manifests tendencies of a jungle cat/lion, Wolverine is well…wolfish in form and nature. Now what strikes odd here is how can 2 brothers with same bloodline become 2 different mutants…

The film begins in a mansion where a sick James Howlett/wolverine watches his dad (who is not his dad) being shot by the violent groundskeeper, and this accelerates his mutation. Wolvy grows claws with which he kills his biological father who reveals the true circumstances before dieing. Wolverine aided by his brother Victor Creed/Sabretooth escapes into the forests…and the the credits roll through various timelines where they are both shown to be part of WW2 and Vietnam war. Then they are contacted by William Stryker who offers them a place in his band of mutants. They are in quest of a rare mineral Adamantium believed to the strongest metal known to mankind. Certain incidences during the quest force Wolverine to abandon the group.

6 years later we see him leading a normal life with Kayla on the Canadian borders but his happy life is shattered when Sabretooth decides to hunt him down. Kayla is attacked and a distraught Wolvy decides to undergo a torturous transformation that would make him almost invincible. After a long goose chase, Wolverine discovers that Stryker and Sabretooth are together in a plot to create the ultimate mutant-killer, Weapon XI at a secret facility. He breaks in to discover that Kayla is not only alive but also a mutant who is under Stryker’s services. Kayla has the ability to manipulate emotions!

The premature Weapon XI is activated by Stryker who wants Wolverine annihilated but help from Sabretooth saves the day. Sadly the day also ends Kayla’s life and Stryker as a sort of revenge eliminates Wolverine’s memories. The mutants Wolverine helped escape are taken in by Professor Charles Xavier.

While the story is certainly interesting..it is slow-paced too. The plus side is we are introduced to Gambit and Cyclops who feature in the sequels. But whether Weapon XI is destroyed or alive somewhere in the rubble is not known. Atleast I couldn’t figure it out. Hugh Jackman just fits the part of Wolverine both in form and thoughts. While Kayla Silverfox comes across as a quiet yet intense character with a mystery of her own, it doesn’t come out in the movie much though. Sabretooth is deadly as ever! You can’t simply appreciate the movie or its intensity unless you are well aware of the characters and their origins or atleast followed the X-Men series.

Perfumes – An expensive taste?

Often when I mention that I love perfumes, people give me this incredulous look and mutter that I have an expensive taste. I disagree with that ofcourse

A taste or a hobby can be expensive depending on how deeply it is ingrained in your psyche. While stamp or coin collection might look like mere hobbies, they can prove extremely expensive as well as lucrative to its beholder. While perfume collection resonates along a similar note, it isn’t lucrative enough unless you happen to create special blends of your own.

Choosing a perfume can be a tedious task or just an afterthought depending on perspective. As you learn more about perfumes and the way they can alter the moods or an atmosphere, you’d come to appreciate the nuances involved in choosing the right blend for yourself. Imagine choosing a wrong one and having to face disappointment every time you open your wardrobe to find that bottle staring back at you!

As for whether it is expensive or not, it depends on your knacks for spotting bargains or discount sales where you can acquire a expensive perfume for a better price. But all good branded perfumes do come for a price. This is where samplers help you…make the right choice before you go onto purchase larger quantity.

For me the joy of discovering new notes seems endless as of now…and so is adding newer perfumes to my small  collection. The world of perfumes opened up a whole new world of smells and aromas that I never bothered about until now. When I venture into the countryside, I make sure to appreciate the fresh and relatively clean air not to mention the woody and floral scents it has to offer. I thoroughly enjoy picking out a perfume although I often end up spending over an hour at the store in a quest to find more. Like I said…its all in perspective!