Revolution 2020 - A Book Review

I read this book (if you can call it that) a few weeks ago and thought jotting down my opinion of it.

Revolution 2020 is the fifth book written by India's most celebrated and popular "English language author" Chetan Bhagat. Personally, I am not a big fan of his writing, on the contrary, I quite dislike it. However, I accept that I have read all his books. The question is, if I do not like anything about the books he writes, why do I read them? Simply because, they are no-brainers and easy to understand. So, if you are in the mood of reading some very light-hearted books, which do not require you to apply even an iota of the gray matter present inside your head, then I would recommend you pick one of his books and read. I am dead sure that after you are done with his book, you will crave to read something intelligent and worthy.

So, coming back to the book. If I had to describe it in a single sentence, that is, if I had to write a review on twitter, it would say:

"Revolution 2020 is a readymade Bollywood script, waiting desperately to be made into a masala movie by some celebrated Indian director."


The book is a love triangle between three childhood friends—Gopal, Aarti and Raghav. Predictably, one of them is poor, lives with an old and ill father, and has only enough money to have two meals a day. The other two are from well-off families, but never let their friend feel inferior. Now, the two guys want to become engineers, and obviously slog hard to get admission into IIT. The rich friend cracks it while the poor one doesn't. As it happens in most of the Hindi films, the girl also falls for the rich friend. After this, the book is nothing but a tale of love, betrayal, infidelity, and sacrifice. There is a hero, a villian and a damsel in distress.

There are a few positives in the book. First, the story is set in Varanasi, and the author has given a good description of this holy Indian city. He has, to some extent, tried to describe the emergence of a modern Indian city from the religious and traditional city of yesteryears. It is interesting to read how a city, which is considered to cleanse a person from all his/her sins and open the doors of heaven for people, is itself so dirty and corrupt. The other thing I liked about the book is the way Chetan Bhagat has shown the extent of corruption at various levels in the Indian education system. Although the explanation is very simple and straightforward, I, for the first time, understood the reason behind the sudden spurt of private engineering colleges at every nook and corner of India. What goes on behind the scenes, how each person is bribed, basically the whole corporate business of education has been described. It was a little shocking to read that even teachers are bribed to teach in these private colleges. Thirdly, the book also gives a glimpse of a student's life during the pre-engineering entrance examination phase. How a student's whole life suddenly depends on your rank in various exams, how the so-called "coaching centres" make money by showing students the dream of getting into an IIT or an equally good college, and what all do most of the students—who are not able to crack the exams—have to go through. I could distinctly remember the time when I was going through the same. The stress, the expectations, the joy, the disappointments, everything came alive while reading this part of the book. As far the positives go, that's about it.

Overall, the story is very mediocre. It seems that the author has written it simply to please some hot-shot director/producer like Karan Johar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and Yash Chopra, to rope in two Khans, and a glamorous actress, and make a Bollywood potboiler out of it.
Further, to give a modern feel to the book and supposedly "connect" with the readers, the author has used too many profanities. The "F" word has been used liberally throughout the book (once in every 2–3 pages), irrespective of whether it is required. There are also some common Hindi expletives used at the same time, to give some characters a rustic feel.
Also, as is a routine in all Chetan Bhagat novels, a love-making scene has been written, just to please the average reader. Although it seems to be an integral part of the "plot", in my opinion it was not needed at all.

I would give the book a rating of 4 out of 10!

I Absolutely LOATHE "that person"!!!

I had never thought I would write something like this for someone. But, "that person" has forced me to vent out all my anger, hatred, extreme dislike, and detestation against him/her on this blog.

I swear to god I have never felt like doing physical harm to anyone. However, today my limits were tested to the maximum, and if "that person" had said another word, I would done something truly inappropriate such as slap/kick/abuse "that person"!!!!

"That person" is the filthiest creature on the face of this earth, and I am waiting for that day when I will be able to say this on his/her face!!! Calling "that person" a bitch/dog is nothing but an insult to the canines.

I have been mentally tortured at the hands of "that person" for over two years, and now my control has reached a tipping point. I don't know for how long will I be able to keep myself in check. I pray to god that "that person" does not cross my path at least for the next few weeks or else there will be a very unpleasant scene!!

I utterly and truly wish ILL of "that person". Whatever has happened to "that person" in the past is nothing but the result of all of his/her karma and "that person" truly deserved it!!!!

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu....Agneepath

I recently saw two movies, the names of which form the title of this post. They are as different from each other, as two movies can be. Basically, if Agneepath is Chalk, then EMAET is definitely Cheese. But both of them are equally engrossing, interesting, and very well-made movies. The best part is that they have been produced by the same production house—Dharma Production (Karan Johar's company)—and both have been directed by debut directors. Since I was at a loss of topics once again, I thought of writing a mini review for both of them.


Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu


If I had to describe this movie in one phrase, I would say it is a 'feel good movie', simply because it leaves a smile on your face, and feeling good about yourself. The story, as you all must have read/heard/seen by now, is very simple and uncomplicated. There are no larger-than-life heroes in it, just real-life ordinary characters. On the contrary, the "Hero" of the film (Imran Khan as Rahul) is introduced as a guy who would in all probability, be called a Loser in reality. Rahul himself is shown to be quite irritated and frustrated with himself on being just Average, while his parents want him to be super talented and extraordinary. I am sure most of us (out of those who have watched the movie) must have identified with Rahul—I know I did. But, as the movie progresses it tells you that it's not bad at all to be average. As Kareena Kapoor's character (Riana) says to Rahul, " Average ka matlab ki tum kuch bhi kam ya zyada nahi karte." This is such a different perspective, that I was actually nodding my head in agreement on this statement. Further, the movie has no dramatic moments, and no so-called high power scenes. The movie unfolds slowly and flows smoothly; you move along with the flow and get intertwined in the stroy of Rahul and Riana.

For me, there were two highlights of the movie. First was undoubtedly Kareena Kapoor!! She is just brilliant! I feel she has inherent spontaneity, flamboyance, and the spark to carry off any kind of roles. I loved her as Riana. In my opinion, Riana's character is a mature version of Geet from Jab We Met, because Riana has gone through a lot in life but she still has that zeal and passion in herself to meet her goals, and knows how to be happy. Although everyone has acted well (even Imran Khan!!), Kareena is easily the best. Second highlight for me was the climax of the movie. It is very unconventional, non-bollywoodish, and very apt I must say. In fact, after a long long time I saw a movie that leaves you wanting and craving for more. EMAET is very short, 1 hour 40 minutes running time, and I wouldn't have minded if it were longer by 20–30 minutes.

Agneepath


This movie is a typical Bollywood potboiler and an out-and-out commercial masala movie. It has all the ingredients of a superhit Hindi film. There's Action, Emotion, Romance, Tragedy, Comedy, Revenge, and Drama all mixed together. The result is a WOW! movie, which will leave you breathless. The strength of this movie easily lies in its actors. What brilliant acting by all of them—Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt, and Rishi Kapoor. The surprise factor in this impressive line-up is Rishi Kapoor as Rauf Lala. He deserves a standing ovation for the way he has portrayed this negative character, just Amazing. And yes, how can I not talk about Sanjay Dutt, who as Kancha Cheena has given his best performance after Vaastav. He looks menacing, scary and every bit as evil as he is meant to be. Although it has been touted as an action movie, for me it was a heart wrenching tale of a family wronged by a cunning man. I think I have not cried so much in a movie ever! I was wiping my eyes after every 10-15 minutes. Another very different aspect of this film is that the "Hero" is not your typical self-righteous law abiding common man, but is more of an anti-hero who works with smugglers, is involved in trade of cocaine, and does not think twice before killing someone. No doubt there is a lot of violence in the whole movie, but you don't feel disgusted and are on the edge of your seats for most part.

However, there is one sore point in Agneepath, and that is the Chikni Chameli song. I have nothing against the song as such, but the actor—Katrina Kaif. She looks so out of sync with rest of the set up and feel of the song. She has no grace and the dance looks crass and vulgar. I am sure Rakhi Sawant or Malaika Arora Khan would have done a much much better job than Katrina. Apart from this, the movie is fantastic!

There is no comparison between the two movies. Both are fabulous and brilliant in their own sense. I would recommend people to watch both of them to get a feel of the diversity of Indian cinema.

Signing Off,
The Movie Buff!

I Hate December!!!

Yes, yes..Before you all spell it out for me, I agree that this post is officially 2 weeks late. Half of January has already passed by, and now I come around to write about December. In my defense, let me clarify that I had written and re-written it in my mind around 3 weeks back, but could not get it on my blog, because of—a cliched answer—lack of time. I had eventually thought of not writing this post at all, but then I realized a few things:
1. I did not have any other topic to write on.
2. My blog had gone too long without an update.
3. Better late than never!
4. It's MY blog, so that gives me the liberty to write about anything I want. :-) :-)

OK, enough of blabbering. Now back to the topic at hand. For majority of the world population, the month of December is considered to be the best among all the 12 months. It is the last month of a year—so it's seen as a month of festivals, parties, vacations (for some people at least), generally a good time. But for me, December has turned out to be the worst month, at least for the last two years. Even before 2010, I was not too fond of December simply because it signifies the official arrival of Winters—a season I absolutely HATE!! There's nothing I like about this season. The fog, the chilly winds, the fruits (Orange - YUCK!!), just about everything. However, the last two Decembers, that is, 2010 and 2011 have been disastrous for me personally in one way or the other. Let me take you through each of them separately.

December 2010: This month spelled doom for me on the professional front. I got staffed on the most horrible project to date, which got screwed up badly (partly due to my fault, but majorly due to someone else). On top of that, I got such a PL (project lead), that I don't have words to describe. Let me just say that for the first time, I cried (yes, actually cried with tears pouring down my face) over office work—both at home and in the office itself. It was a lesson in firsts for me, because I experienced certain things for the very first time in my life:
 - I stayed in office till 9 or 10 PM everyday for 4 weeks straight.
 - I did a night-out in office, meaning that I arrived at 8.30 AM and left at 6.00 AM the next day.
 - I worked on all the weekends in December 2010, for minimum 12 hours each, on Saturday and Sunday.
 - I made stupid mistakes in my work, which I would normally never do.
 - I got scolded by my PL on more than one occasion, through all communication means possible—face-to-face, through e-mail, on the phone, on the IM, etc.
 - I got the worst possible feedback I have ever received in my professional life.

You can very well imagine my state. Each and everything that took place during that time is engraved in my memory in agonizing detail. It suffices to say that I still shudder whenever I remember any instance of that period. Believe me I am not exaggerating when I say that I still sometimes get nightmares about that project, and wake up in the middle of the night with a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.

Till two months after the project ended, I was very scared and unsure of my work, with zero confidence on my capabilities.I am still surprised that I survived through that ordeal at work, and eventually gained my self-confidence back.

December 2011: This was again the worst month of 2011 for me. On the professional front, it was perfect (except for the first week, but that's something else altogether). I got easy projects with an Awesome PL, and some really cool feedbacks. However, on the personal and home front, it was all screwed up! There were too many fights and too many unpleasant scenarios. After controlling my temper and not fighting with anybody for 4 months (which is no mean feat, considering that I am famous, or rather infamous, in my family for arguing with my folks at least thrice a week), all hell broke lose. I fought, shouted, screamed and yelled on petty things, had some nasty fights with my parents. I don't know what happened, maybe some chemical imbalance,  but it was like everybody is out to provoke me and calling for a fight. Basically, it was a very stressful, frustrating and unpleasant month for me.

Things got much much better with the start of January, and have gone uphill since then.

I just hope 2012 breaks the December jinx for me! I am positively tired of this month, and the new trials it brings with it.

So, which is your least favorite month of the year? Do let me know.

Signing Out,
December Fearing Soul!

......

Ek ajeeb sa darr lag raha tha...Jaise koi train chhootne wali hai...

Bigg...Bigg...Bigg Boss!!!!

I hereby declare that I am officially in love with this show called BIGG BOSS!! I have religiously followed every season of this show (except season 3, which was pathetic), and I happily proclaim that I haven't missed even a single episode of the current season (season 5), as yet. After reading the above sentences, I am sure quite a few eyebrows would be raised, and you all will have one or more of the following thoughts going through your minds and hearts:
 - Ewww!! she watches Hindi shows, and that also something as tacky as big boss.
 - What is there to like in such a cheap show??
 - Phew! Thank god I am not the only one whose crazy about this show
 - At least someone accepts that she likes and watches the show

I agree that BB has nothing in it but weird losers fighting with each other over totally absurd and insane reasons. But that is precisely why I love this show, for its bitchy housemates, gossips, fights, link-ups, break-ups, character assassinations, the drama and the vulgarity! Basically, you can conveniently shut off your brain and enjoy watching this nonsense, and laughing at all the idiotic people who are its part.

Now onto some of my most and least favorite housemates. I would like to express my opinion about some of them. But, that cannot be done properly in English. So, here I switch over to my matrbhasha - Hindi to describe some (in)famous housemates.

MAHAK CHAHAL - Mahak meri favorite contestant hai. Bahot hi mast aur bindass bandi hai. Usko kisi maai ke laal se darr nahi lagta aur usse jo bolna hai, logon ke muh pe bolti hai. Bas kai baar doosron ke mamlon mein faltu taang adhaati hai aur zyada bol jaati hai, but on the whole shes's AWESOME!!


AKASHDEEP SAIGAL (SKY) - Saare Bigg Boss seasons ke contestants mein se ab tak ka sabse GHATIYA banda. Uski shakal dekhke mann karta hai khoon kardoon ka***e ka!! Khud ki koi aukaat nahi hai aur doosron ko loser bolta hai..Buddha kahin ka..Pooja Bedi ke support pe ooncha udta hai bas. Na bande ki shakal, aur na usme akal. Ek din solid Waat lagegi iski ghar mein!


POOJA BEDI - Iss season ki sabse irritating contestant. Har kisi ko gyaan banti rehti hai, aur har fight mein zabardasti ghus jaati hai. Sky pe fida hai aur woh jo bole wahi sahi hai iske liye. Isse lagta hai ki sabse intelligent yeh hai ghar mein aur baaki saare bewakoof bhare hain. Bloody immature buddhi! Achha hua evict ho gayi :)


SHRADDHA SHARMA - Yeh hai BB season 5 ki Dumb contestant. Jab bhi ghar mein koi fight, argument ya event hota hai, toh sab khatam hone ke baad iska ek hi question hota hai - "Kya Hua? Mujhe toh pata hi nahi chala? Arrey batao toh akhir hua kya?" Basically, Ramayan khatam ho jaati hai, aur yeh poochhti hai Sita kaun thi :) Par jab isko gussa aata hai toh asli apni asli aukat pe aa jati hai aur saamne wale ke past pe chali jaati hai. In short, Waat laga deti hai!


AMAR UPADHYAY - Yeh hai sabse Chaloo aur Shana contestant. Solid game khel raha hai. Kabhi kisi ki fight mein interfere nahi karta, but peechhe se sabko ek doosre ke khilaf bharhkata rehta hai. But, he's sophisticated aur agar ladta bhi hai toh tameez se :) Very strong contestant!


SIDDHARTH BHARDWAJ (SID) - Iski apni koi identity nahi hai. Doosre contestants ke peechhe ghumta hai. Pehle Sky ka right hand man tha, aur ab Amar ki team mein aa gaya hai. Kaafi unpredictable hai, and isko kabhi bhi, koi bhi baat buri lag jaati hai. But overall he's entertaining.


POOJA MISHRA - Ab iske baare mein main kya boloon..ekdum Psycho aur mental bandi!! Iske dimaag mein solid chemical locha hai. Faltu baaton pe jhagadti hai aur logon ko maarne pe utaaru ho jaati hai. Iske 2-3 favorite dialogues hain jo har time bolti hai - "Spare Me!", "Aap sab log mujh par negative attacks karte hain.", "Main iss ghar ki sabse co-operative, shaant aur adjustable contestant hoon.", "Talk to my hand/ass.", "Watch It!" Par yeh sabse zyada entertaining thi. Isko big boss ne khud ghar se nikaal diya, aur ab show thoda boring ho jayega.


JUHI PARMAR - Yeh hai Bedi aur Sky ke group ka teesra hissa. Yeh kabhi mujhe achhi lagti hai aur kabhi nahi. Actually, she reminds me of someone I know quite well :P Anyway, itna hai ki agar koi galat karta hai toh usko seedha bol deti hai. But kai baar chhoti chhoti baaton ko badha chadha kar bolti hai aur tension kar deti hai. Again a strong contender!


There are/were many more contestants like Shonali Nagrani, Shakti Kappor, Laxmi Narayan and Vida, but none as popular as the above described. Also, a special mention here for the great actor - Kamaal Rashid Khan (KRK). His tweets about BB season 5 are really hilarious, and extremely enjoyable. Keep up the good work KRK :) :)

So, all you Bigg Boss addicts, who are your favorite contestants in the current season??

Signing Off,
"Spare Me!!"

Belling the C.A.T....

As is very apparent from the title, I just gave my CAT. For the uninitiated, full-form of CAT is Common Admission Test, and it is an entrance examination for India's most prestigious B-schools (IIMs, FMS, and other private colleges). I gave this test once again on 18 November 2011, exactly after 3 years and 2 days (last time being 16 November, 2008). Now, I am sure you all must be wondering why did I wait for 2 years before appearing for CAT once again. Following is my list of reasons (in brief):

1. Just as I had done during my Engineering entrance exams, I had sort of made this declaration that I would be giving CAT only once. If I got through the first time, well and good, and if not, then its the end.
2. I dreamed about going to the US, to a prestigious B-school and doing MBA from there.
3. I did not have a sword with the word MARRIAGE hanging on top of my head.
4. I was not super frustrated with my job (as I am now), and hence, not desperate enough to get into a Masters course.

So, I did not get an admission in the US despite wasting around 1 lakh rupees and one whole year. On top of that, I got an ultimatum from my family that if I did not secure an admission in a Masters course this time, then there'll be no more chances for me, and they'll marry me off. Therefore, I gave CAT!

To "prepare" for the exam, I got a leave of—hold your breath—full THREE DAYS from my office!! (Unlike my friends who got three to four weeks off). Well, I had started some amount of studying for the last two to three months, but it was more of a formality and an eyewash. Anyway, so I was at home for the last week, studying intensely. Now, the deal with my folks at home is that they are equally (if possible then more) involved in my studies and examinations, as myself. This led to quite a few funny instances and questions when I was at home. I have categorized them into Before CAT and After CAT.

Before CAT


1. Whenever I used to give a MOCK test, there used to be pin drop silence at my house. My grandparents did not allow anyone to speak for 2.5 hours, so that I do not get disturbed. That's a different thing that they used to repeat the same dialogue in full volume to any person who entered the house :) Also, when I used to complete the test and emerge from my room, everyone used to pounce on me and start asking several questions. For instance, How was the exam? Did you know all the questions? Did you clear the cut-off in both the sections? What was your percentile? What was the difficulty level? etc etc etc. It was like I just gave the actual test and everything depended on it.

2. Two days before the exam, questions regarding my "level of preparation" started popping up. So, my dad asks me, "Have you completed the syllabus? Do you remember everything?" After that my mom puts a very analytical question, "So, when you compare your preparation level this time with your level of preparation in 2008, is it more, less or equivalent?" My response to this was, "Let me explain it to you mathematically. Compare 10 months of intense studying + 100s of Mock tests + regular coaching classes with 10 days of simple preparation + around 20 Mocks, so what do you get, make a calculated guess!" Also, everyone started telling me, "Give it your best shot. Do the best you can in the exam." I am thinking, "Obviously I'll do my best. That's the whole point, right? I won't go into the exam hall thinking I'll give my worst!!"


3. On the eve of the exam, my folks got into an inspirational mode and started quoting famous writers (Hindi, English and Urdu) and wherever I went, I got to hear inspirational quotes. Then, on the D-day my dad suddenly got filmy, and started mouthing Shahrukh Khan's famous 70 minutes dialogue from Chak De India. He said, "You have 140 minutes with you. Nobody can steal them from you. Give the test your best shot. You are free to do whatever you like in these 140 minutes, because these will never come back." I was thinking, "WOW!! That's something new :)"


After CAT


1. When the exam finished, the standard question was, "How did it go?" My standard answer was, "I did the best I could. I don't know after that." I gave this answer so many times in the one hour after the test, that I actually felt like recording it and just keep on playing in front of anyone and everyone I met.

2. A few people were satisfied with my answer to the above questions, but not all of them. My grandad, for instance, analyzes each and every test till great depths. To be quite frank, I get quite nervous discussing any exam with him, because I know the type of cross-questioning involved. Here is my interview with him regarding CAT:

G (Grandad): How did your exam go?
M (Me): It was fine. I did the best I could do.
G: What kind of an answer is this. How many questions were there?
M: 60 questions in total. 30 in each section.
G: So, you attempted all of them?
M: No, it is not possible to attempt all the questions. I did around 40-42 questions.
G: What? Why so less? Is the exam difficult?
M: Yes, very difficult. This attempt is considered good.
G: So, how many marks will you get?
M: I really don't know.
G: You should know that. OK, so what percentile are you expecting?
M: I can't calculate the percentile. It's a very complex process.
G: How, explain it to me...and so on.

Well, I know all of this shows mt family's concern for me, and to be frank, it's all very cute :) But, sometimes these serious situations also turn unintentionally funny! :) :) :)

So, all you CAT givers, have you faced such situations in your life too? Do let me know the details.

Signing Out,
Trying to Bell the CAT