A lone protestor climbs the first pole near the sidelane outside the Rashtrapati Bhawan, his one arm reaches his pockets as he dangles with the support of the other, and throws coins at the reporters and the police on the other side of the barricades. The crowd erupts with the slogan, "Paise le lo, Phaansi do"(Take money, but hang the culprits). Delhi was angry. Delhi was ashamed.
The weekend saw the biggest protest in India ever, that was not instigated by a political cause. Students, children, mothers, teachers, the working class had taken to the streets, to demand safety for women and speedy justice for a "fighter", a girl who has shown a spirit to the nation, I personally couldn't have dreamt of, no one could. The same spirit drives Delhi today, and I am proud of it, proud of the people. As I travel in the metro, as Mandi House station, Barakhamba and others pass by, I can't help but admire the strength the protest has gathered. And it should stay the same way, infact it should only grow stronger.
Yesterday was a bad day, but do not let it define what the protest stands for. Do not let images from the media, the lathicharge, the christmas holidays, the cold wave, the new year deter you from making an appearance. Yes, we belong to the working class now, we have just one weekend, or one holiday, the metros are closed, friends are meeting and blah blah blah.. If you really feel angry, if you feel the girl deserves justice, the culprits deserve to be subjected the most brutal punishment you can think of, the rape law needs to be changed (Do read about the Rape Law ), no girl should ever go through, what "she" did and if you believe that no uncle, no cop, no hooligan has the right to shove his sick idea of morality on to you, to teach you a lesson, just join the protests happening near you and show your support even for 1 hour. It will change you.
I am not from Delhi, I am from U.P., if the same had happened there(and yes they happen so often, but never has the media taken up a case so strongly), I can't say with conviction that the result would have been the same. But I believe in Delhi. I believe in this new wave in the nation. And so should you.
Congratulations to all those, who watched Talaash on the
first day, and dismantled an otherwise engaging thriller by giving away the suspense
on statuses, messages and personal calls! When I went for the movie, I had
three rumors to verify and judge, “Which one is the correct one, the ghost,
the serial killer or the psychopath!”. Though I knew the suspense, I personally
loved Talaash, and I was surprised to know that it wasn't the general
perception.
I heard a lot of people that they were let down by Aamir
Khan, a reviewer felt cheated by the end, and then there were the ridiculous
notions, “Ye kya baat hui, end me bhoot nikal gyi!”. I have just one question, why
such a closed response? Why couldn’t an Aamir Khan movie have a supernatural
element? Just because, it wasn’t promoted like that (for obvious reasons)! Or
because, you were expecting a “contemporary” murder mystery. And if it were the
latter, you weren’t really expecting an Aamir Khan movie, were you? Talaash is
just a movie, killed by high expectations, infact, the word is unrealistic.
A movie audience that has hailed “The Sixth Sense” or “The
Others” as masterpieces, has lambasted a very genuine and honest effort on the
part of the writer and director Reema Kagti, and it somewhat bothers me. “Mera
Saaya”, “Wo Kaun Thi”, “Teesri Manzil” were all classics woven together around
the supernatural, and I can’t seem to remember any movie in the recent past that
I could even list with them, infact there is none. Its a genre long forgotten,
where shock wasn’t used as a medium to scare, even a women singing on a cliff,
sent chills down the spine. Its one of the few sensible movies made recently (if
you are one of those, who can’t digest sensible and supernatural in the same
sentence, please try and understand that I am writing about a piece of fiction.),
and when I say sensible, I mean to discourage movies like Dabang, Dabang 2,
Race 2, Agent Vinod, Student of the Year and the likes.
Yes, the movie is flawed, I don’t deny that. The Rani
Mukherjee and her dead son saga is overstretched, just for the sake of the
entire premise to make sense. There are clues at regular intervals for anyone
to decipher, there are dialogues that seem forced and there was no need to show
the helping-ghost-underwater sequence at the end. It’s not perfect, but Talaash
does come so close and makes an earnest effort with touching characters(yes, I am talking about Kareena Kapoor and Nawazuddin). Its good to see, a Bollywood
movie break the norm and attempt something different, so beautifully. To me, its a script, betrayed by the audience.
"Everybody needs a hobby.." "So whats yours?" "Resurrection."
Skyfall had been stuck in the pipeline for 4 years breaking the Bond-film-every-2-years momentum and judging by Daniel Craig's old looks in the trailers, I was afraid, it would be his last Bond outing. Directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall has a stellar cast, Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes join Daniel Craig and Judi Dench in Bond's 23rd adventure on the silver screen.
After a long and artistically crafted entrance, as James Bond falls into the waters, you cant help but admire the tension on the screen, "Take the bloody shot!" and the silence that follows as the title track by Adele grows in the background. The premise is promising. M's (read flawed) judgement call, causes 007 to be KIA while trying to retrieve back a hard disk containing identities of British undercover agents throughout the world, raising doubts over M's ability to run MI6. An attck on the MI6 headquarters in the heart of London forces Bond to return from his death-vacation. But the transition is not smooth, Bond is reeling under physical trauma, MI6 is in hiding, British agents all over the world are being slaughtered and a psychotic terrorist leader is hellbent on destroying M and has more in common with Bond than imagined.
Daniel Craig as the rusted Bond is super. He has a very smooth presence this time, with his one liners and wry smile unless he is jumping off trains or battling bad guys in icy lakes. He is back to his shaken-not-stirred ways, a phrase which I believe has more to do with Bond's persona than his drinks. Judy Dench as M , drives the whole drama, and drives well. Just the presence of Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory in the cast brings a different sort of heaviness to the proceedings, a quality previously exhibited by the likes of DeNiro and Pacino. Ben Whish as Q is a delight, perhaps the youngest actor in the entrie movie! Berenice is just stunning, and well, it ends there because she doesn't have much of a role. Sam Mendes has given a really dark, serious tone to the movie, and there is a tension associated with the characters unlike any of the previous bond movies, with the characters scrambling to get the upper hand.
When Sam Mendes said that he was inspired by Nolan's take on the Batman saga particularly, the Dark Knight, he wasn't joking. Silva in custody at the new MI6 headquarters, only to hack into MI6 security, with a plan to take down M, feels so close to Joker at MCU with a plan to take down Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes. Doesn't sound similar? Wait till you watch the sequence. As Judy Dench recites poetry in the voice over, we have Bond running frantically out of the tube to save M while Silva blasts his way into the meeting hall, a sequence that deserves a mention as one of the best Bond sequences filmed to date. Now that I think of it, a hero not in the best of shapes, forced to return, because his cause needs him or a famous character that reveals its true name at the very end only to be applauded with 'ooh's and 'aah's, would be overstretching the similarities part a bit, but its just a Nolan fan speaking. Skyfall is a totally different film, a totally different genre I might say.
Resurrection. With Skyfall, Craig and the franchise return to the good old-fashioned cocktail of Bond without the Bourne. The boy-toys are back, the 9mm short that reads palm prints, transmitting devices and vintage Bond cars, but the exploding pens will still be missing from the arsenal for quite a while. The Bond girls are back to being 'just' Bond girls again, without wrecking any emotional havoc on our hero. But in Gaming jargon, if I am to pinpoint, the most important piece that was missing in the last two movies, it has to be a real bossfight. Javiar Bardem gives us back a real Bond villian, a smiling, gentle and creepily sophisticated monster, who can take down economies and crush countries while still mouthing dialogs like "Mommy was very bad". The character, his idiosyncracies, the blonde hair, everything fits perfectly, clearing doubts why Bardem would do something as commercial as a Bond movie, it's all about the character. He almost steals the thunder in this one.
Personally, I find Daniel Craig as the best Bond ever, he brings a particular vulnerability to the role and it has more to do with the characterisation than the actor himself. Skyfall moves down the same road on a bit personal note, exploring the relationship between Bond and M and rather beautifully. Skyfall is a bold and intelligent film, without revealing much, the second half is a very different experience, it almost puzzled me. I was like, "this isn't Bond", and its the layered script that works the charm. Its a M/Bond versus Silva battle, no end of the world, no satellites melting glaciers, no Russian submarines, its all personal.Sam Mendes has done an exceptional job, he has tamed the series and returned it back to its owners in a fitting avatar. The film is an action-packed multi-layered revenge saga delving a little bit deeper into the motivations of the central characters, and of course we have a grinning sinister Bardem on the loose. The best way to commemorate 50 years of Bond.
What better way to end my birthday than with a sweet dish,
Barfii. Anurag Basu dons the directors
hat once again after the forgettable ‘Kites’ and weaves together an enchanting fairy tale mesmerizing you for over 2.5 hours. The best part about Barfii is
that it comes as a surprise, films like it are not made too often and when they
are, they are always promoted in a way that makes them an “award-contender” from
the start, and that’s where Barfii hits you.
Set in the 1970’s in Darjeeling, Barfii is the story of a
hearing and speech impaired boy who touches the lives of some people around him
and redefines, what it means to live and more importantly, love. Barfii (Ranbir
Kapoor) is the son of a chauffeur who works for Mr. Chatterjee, father of
Jhilmil(Priyanka Chopra), an autistic girl who has been brought to Darjeeling
on request of her grandfather who is very sick. He falls in love with
Shruti(Illeana) at first sight, and tries his best too woo the girl of his
dreams, inviting her to his world of innocence, freedom and mischievousness.
But its not to be, as Shruti gives in to the pressure of family and norms of
the society and goes on to become Mrs. Sengupta and moves to Calcutta(Kolkata).
A twist of fate brings together Jhilmil and the heartbroken Barfii, and what
follows is a touching tale of two challenged people, embracing the belief that
true love can be found in the most unlikeliest of places.
Ranbir Kapoor swept the best actor awards last year for
Rockstar, Barfii puts him in the same league again. One can feel the pain and
frustration that he brings to the screen when he is heartbroken, cursing
himself for being so poor, hating himself for his shabby clothes, his old
bicycle, and emoting everything without any sound. On occasions he is the Charlie
Chaplin of Bollywood, amusing you with his antics, and later, becoming this
loving, caring and responsible friend, he evokes deep sympathy. His scenes
with Jhilmil are the highlight of the movie, reminding you of the Kamal
Hassan-Sridevi chemistry in Sadma,
a movie which fetched Sridevi, a national award. This brings me to Priyanka
Chopra, I honestly don’t remember the last movie of hers that I loved, but in
Barfii, she’s born again as an actress! As an autistic girl, the innocence that
she brings to the movie is endearing. The particular scene where she is hit by
a tram in Kolkata, because Barfii is not paying attention to her, will leave
you bruised! Illeana as Shruti is perhaps the only character that you will be
able to totally relate to, because ofcouse she is the only one behaving as
society expects you to. Standing on the platform with a ticket in her hands, or
standing in the rain, eyes filled with tears as Barfii realises his true place
in her life, it’s beautiful to realise how she emotes with just her eyes. Even
in her debut movie, aside such powerful performances, she is not over shadowed. Even side actors, Saurabh Shukla as the Police Officer who has spent his entire life chasing Barfii does an exceptional job.
Over 2.5 hours long,
the movie might seem a bit lengthy but you will enjoy the ride nonetheless. There
aren’t too many songs but after leaving the theatres you won’t stop humming Main
kya karoon, and the riveting Phir le aya. Ravi Varman deserves a special
mention as the cinematographer of the movie, never before has a hill station,
the fog, even the rains in Kolkata, been filmed so beautifully. The different
perspectives as seen from the eyes of the protagonists, the worlds they live
in, especially the ones focussing Jhilmil will inspire you. The music is
different, you will smile as the opening credits roll, and that will continue
till the very end. The only glitch came in the form of the non linear
narrative, it kind of becomes too much as the movie scrambles back the peices
to make a complete whole, but that too works to some extent, especially the
end.
After Wasseypur, Barfii too raises the bar for Hindi Cinema,
bringing the diversity that cinema so needs right now. I would like to call it, as a movie defined by moments, rather than the story and it will be the moments
that will touch you. Barfii's test of friendship, Jhilmil's jealousy when she meets Shruti and Shruti's fear at the very end when she hears Jhilmil's voice, these are some very basic emotions, but the way they unfold before you, will make you admire how different the movie is, but so real. When you go to the theaters please don’t go expecting anything,
just pop it in, wait as all the sweetness crumbles and melts in your mouth, and
I assure that as you leave the theatres, it will leave you with a very soothing
aftertaste.
Ya, I know, the title might be a bit misleading. Because the post is in no way related to the Second Season of Suits, the hit TV series based on, well...lawsuits.. As much as I love the show, its not the current topic of discussion. The focus right now is on two lawsuits that are going to change the rules of the game, one of them quite literally! If you haven't been following the tech buzz, well here's a glimpse.
Yes, the Apple-Samsung trial is finally underway. Apple and Samsung had long been technology partners, Apple being a world leader in innovation spearheaded by Steve Jobs, and Samsung being a household name in electronics arena. With the release of Android, Samsung upgraded its arsenal of mobile phones, but everyone knew that Iphone was a different league altogether. Thats until, Galaxy S hit the market, a phone very similar to the Iphone in design, but most importantly in features particularly some that Apple had not licensed to any company. Samsung meanwhile, riding high on the Android wave, knocked Nokia to emerge the leader in the mobile market, also making Android the top selling mobile OS. Back in 2010, Apple preferred that Samsung had applied for a licence beforehand and asked for a royalty of $30 per Smartphone sold in US which in 2010 meant around 250million for Samsung, with Steve Jobs personally handling the deal. Not only did Samsung decline, it unveiled new products in the market including its own tab. Finally, Apple filed a much publicized lawsuit against Samsung for 2.5 billion US dollars, but it doesnt end there, the stakes are too high. If Apple wins, Samsung would have to stop the production and shipment of its smartphones infringing the licenses in US.
Also if Apple wins, surely HTC and the likes will be attacked. The lawsuit is clearly a Apple-vs-the World kind, because apart from the mobile giants, Google's Android would be severely affected. Steve Jobs said once that he wanted to "destroy" Android which he considered a "wholesale" ripoff of the Iphone. Samsung on the other hand has accused Apple of counter-infringement and has even said, that "Apple is fighting over a rectangle! If customers want a rectangle phone, we will give them rectangle phones." Samsung has backing of Google which although isn't directly involved but has a lot riding on the outcome. The case is currently on going in California, and will be ending around August 24. From releasing of sensitive material to jury, which was not to be disclosed, to the destruction of emails, the case has all the ingredients of a hollywood potboiler. Even a lot of Apple's secrets are being spilled including the design secrets of the Iphone, the company sales figures, the revenue Apple makes from each Iphone sold(100-150$), to the agreement between the biggest rivals Microsoft and Apple, that they would never copy each other's technology. The most prominent evidence till now has been side by side comparison images of icons and graphics used in both phones. Apple has even managed a preliminary injunction against Galaxy Tab 10.1 with the judge using the statement , "Although Samsung has the right to compete, it does not have the right to compete by flooding the market with infringing products." Currently, Apple has presented their case, and is now resting. Lets wait and watch, what Samsung has to say.
Zynga, a pioneer in the Social Gaming arena, particularly known for titles like Mafia,FarmVille and Zynga Poker, has been in news lately for all the wrong reasons. The company has been accused of insider trading. Last year, when Zynga's stock prices were high and the company had met the annual projections, Zynga projected even higher returns for the next year owing to its steeply increasing userbase. And then Zynga's stock crashed. The company is being accused of providing wrong estimates even though insiders had prior knowledge of the same. During the public offering, CEO Mark Pincus and a number of investors cashed out, selling 516million in stock. While the company is now at an all time low, lingering near the stock price of $3 from $12 in april this year, CEO Mark Pincus has purchased a 16million mansion on Gold Coast. But this isnt the least of Zynga's trouble.
Over the years, zynga has developed many titles that had "close resemblance" to many games developed by smaller publishers like the tiny tower resemblance to Dream Heights. But nobody raised an eyebrow because basically Zynga is a big dog, and you dont mess with a big dog. So when Zynga released The Ville, it appeared as a simple follow up to FarmVille and Co, but a closer look revealed that it was very much like our beloved Sims Social, part of the Sims series released by EA and for starters, you don't mess with EA. Gaming giant Electronic Arts has decided to put a leash on the big dog saying, "The legal reasons are solid, but for creative teams who feel that their hard work and imaginations have been ripped off, there is an emotional element too". Zynga retorted that "It's unfortunate that EA thought that this was an appropriate response to our game, and clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of basic copyright principles." So what did Zynga really mean?? Clearly zynga has been utilizing a very basic loophole in Laws of Copyright in games, that there is no clear law! First of all, the laws for video games are not very well defined, so if this lawsuit makes it to court, the best that it would do is to redefine intellectual property rights in games. The key problem here is the idea/expression dichotomy, idea can be the same but its expression has to be different. But how similar can the expression be, the visuals, the sound, the gameplay, there are too many factors at play!
K. C. Munchkin and PacMan(right)
When Atari(PacMan) slammed a lawsuit on North American Phillips(K. C. Munchkin), the court ruled in favour of PacMan even though K.C. Munchkin had only a dozen dots, the walls shifted and the dots moved to avoid being eaten. EA clearly has the upper hand, claiming that the many things have been copied directly like design of the furniture, the shape of the fridge, even the evil character called "The Villian" has been replicated with the exact skin tone and gestures particularly the bend of the knee shown in the screenshot.
Zynga on the other hands released a statement saying that it was proud of its developers quoting examples of Facebook as not being the first Social Network or Google as not being the first search engine. The ideas had been implemented before them(Facebook and Google) too, but they survived because they were the best.
Whatever be the result of the lawsuit, EA would do the gaming community a big favor by defining the boundaries of expression. The gaming industry has not seen a lawsuit of this scale, and independent game developers couldn't be happier. As for Zynga, the nightmare has just begun.
The
Dark Knight Rises, the last movie of the Christopher Nolan’s Batman universe
was also the most awaited movie of 2012 summer. The movie released on 20th
July worldwide, one of the few Hollywood biggies that didn’t release in 3D,
and instead in IMAX with over 50 mins of IMAX footage. Rises has too much
riding on it, as it follows the commercially and critically acclaimed The Dark
Knight, it marks the end of Nolan’s Batman Saga and fans from all over the
world have sky-high expectations from this one especially after Inception.
The Dark Knight Rises is set 8 years after the events of The
Dark Knight, when Batman(Christian Bale) takes the fall for Harvey Dents(Aaron
Eckhart) crimes, a secret kept by Commissioner Gordan(Gary Oldman) all this
while, so that the The Harvey Dent Act remains intact. Since the night of
Harvey Dent’s murder, there has been no sighting of the caped crusader. Bruce
Wayne is now a recluse, who hasn’t stepped outside Wayne Manor in months.
Miranda Tate(Marion Cottilard) is a new member of the Wayne Enterprises, who
along with Alfred(Michael Caine) and Fox(Morgan Freeman) wants to help Mr
Wayne, his enterprise and Gotham. John Blake(Gordon-Levitt) is a “hot-headed”
police officer and one of the many in Gotham who wants the Batman to return.
Selina Kyle(Anna Hathaway) also the Catwoman, though the name is never
mentioned, is a slick burglar who drives Bruce Wayne out of his self imposed
retirement. Hell breaks loose when
Dagget, a businessman who wants to overtake Wayne industries, brings Bane(Tom
Hardy), a half-masked terrorist to run his operations in Gotham. But Bane has
his own plans for Gotham and when the city is defenceless, Batman is forced to
return.
There had been a lot of apprehension, especially after a
review of The Dark Knight Rises posted on Rotten Tomatoes that Nolan’s third
attempt does not deliver. IT DOES. Essentially, what makes Christopher Nolan’s
adaptation different from the rest is the fact, that it is not the story of
just Batman, it’s the story of Bruce Wayne, and how he transforms himself, his
ideals into a symbol, his fall and how he rises back. As for Bane, yes, he is no
Joker. I believe no character or actor could have done what Heath Ledger did
for Joker in The Dark Knight, it’s a performance that made The Dark Knight a
classic and forever changed the Superhero genre. Bane who wears a mask having an analgesic
device to ease his pain, believes in carnage unlike the mind-games preferred by
Joker, the only villain physically superior to Batman and infamous for breaking
Batman’s back. Tom Hardy does a great job, especially with his accent, and gives a distinct feel to the character but somehow the mask
undermines his performance and the fear he is to instill does not appear on screen as it was intended to. Anna Hathway as Selina Kyle does the rest of it for
the film and deserves a round of applause. She brings the sexy and mischievous
feel back to the dark theme, at the same time displaying a range of emotions
including remorse for our fallen hero. The conversations between Selina and
Bruce/Batman, their chemistry are a treat to watch and fill up a little for the
memorable Batman-Joker. The only glitch in the script and character development
appears in the form of Miranda Tate, who has very little screen time, and the
roots of her characters are not very well defined for a film that introduces so
many new characters and with a running length of over 2 hours and 50 mins. Also
the entire police force behind Batman without a single unit behind the
attackers of the Stock Exchange, isn’t something you expect in Nolan’s
screenplay.
The Dark Knight trilogy is based on 3 themes, Fear (Batman
Begins), Chaos (The Dark Knight) and Pain (The Dark Knight Rises). A scarred
hero with a lost love is a common theme in all of Nolan’s works whether it was
Cobb from Inception, Robert from The Prestige or Leonard from Memento. Bruce Wayne
has lost purpose, he considers himself responsible for the death of his
childhood love Rachel and retires to prevent any more casualties. He is
downright miserable, uses a cane to walk, has no clue of his business as
always, the gadgets, the detective skills are still there but he is waiting for
something. Micheal Caine does an excellent job as Alfred reminding Bruce that
he is no longer Batman, his body cannot take it anymore, and he needs to move
on. Rises is very high on the emotional scale and very close to Begins, the way the film unfolds is to provide a very strong build-up for the climax. Christian Bale delivers a memorable performance as a broken hero, with a strong resolve to come back and save his city, "I am not afraid, I am angry".
The Dark Knight Rises is Christopher Nolan’s most ambitious
project to date. The scale of the movie is epic. Gotham is under siege, cut off
from the world, and armies are being gathered for the final showdown, a sight
to see in IMAX. “The Bat” makes an appearance as Batman’s new transport,
dodging missiles and providing escape in tight situations but still nothing
beats the truck flip of the The Dark Knight. Manhattan is taken up as Gotham in
Rises, unlike Chicago which was used in the previous two films. The cinematography
is flawless, Wally Pfister does a great job again keeping in mind the scale of
the movie, the prison sequence being a highlight. Hans Zimmer provides the
score for the movie, and uses a peculiar chant Deh Shay Bah Sah Rah(meaning "Rise") whenever
Bane makes an appearance. The soundtrack has a gloomy feel to it and uses parts
of the tracks from Begins to relate better to it, with my personal favourites
being Rise and Despair.
The
incredible thing about Rises is the way the story of Bruce Wayne connects to
its root, Begins. Rises is more similar to Begins than the Dark Knight, the
plot is emotional and sets the stage for the climax of the trilogy. The Dark Knight Rises is a great film, it delivers an amazing emotional, supercharged climax to the trilogy, going full circle.It marks the end of Bruce Wayne's journey as Batman as only cinema can deliver. As you leave theaters, you cant help feeling awe and admiration for Christopher Nolan, one of the greatest directors of today, you built a legend from scratch. "You don't owe these people anymore! You've given them everything!" I still wish the answer to that one was "Not everything. Not yet."
