Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar

Pehla Nasha,Pehla Khumaar..honestly this feeling in my life was gifted by certain other agents apart from the usual case of 'pretty faces'.Of course the highest common factor had its share,but thinking about childhood love,there are several others which come to my mind.So time for someconfessions,some of my earliest encounters with this sweet sensation,that world calls love....




CRICKET: I know I didnt start playing cricket,the first day of my life,yet its difficult to believe.Cricket has been my passion since time immemorial(for me).A mere thought of those cricketing days floods my heart with nostalgia.This love for the game had two aspects:playing it and other including watching and reading about it.As I mentioned,I find it difficult to believe that I didnt start playing the game the day I was born,on the other hand,I remember the roots of this 'watching aspect'.It started during 96 Wills World cup.Sachin's 127 against Kenya probably was the first century I witnessed.It was love at first sight and only a couple of years later,I was an expert on cricketing issues like half of the country's population.Michael Bevan remained my hero for the next 6 years that he played,and it was then that my weird habit of getting significantly attached to various people at the emotional level began.I cheered for Bevan every time he played well and when his career came to an abrupt end,I cried for almost a couple of hours.Indian defeats also often sent me into tears.'Cricket Samraat' became a must read for me,general knowledge for me meant remebering smallest of details about any cricket match that I saw or read about.Watching cricket matches was more important than most things, innumerable exams got messed up but cricket was the priority,after all it was my first love.The way it was all over my mind,I feel it literally qualifies to become my first crush.



Now to the playing aspect...however immodest it may sound,I will have to admit that i was gifted in some ways.My physique never allowed my shots to be dangerously powerful,still at an age when my age group was learning to have a proper grip on the bat I could play wristy shots.However much I hated Azhar,I loved the grace in his batting and tried to emulate it.Till the age of 10,I had no ambition part from becoming a cricketer.Strange though it may sound,there is almost no corner of my house where I havent played cricket.This is one among many things which make every nook and corner of my place so much special for me.Playing cricket,all by myself,for 4 to 5 hours at a stretch was a prt of my routine.Slowly sanity prevailed...mera pehla pyaar zinda raha,ab bhi hai...maybe it became more mature with time :)




RAJ COMICS: One thing which is common among childhood crushes is that you have incredible memory when it comes to matters pertaining them.I surprised myself a couple of years back while reading "Miss Killer" when I could recognise that this was the first comics I had read,again as a small kid.Reading comics started with Krook Bond and Bankelal actually which Papa used to bring for me,but I hardly have any recollection of those.Nagraj and Super Commando Dhruv were the ones who ensured that I fell in love again in my childhood.Soon Raj Comics were a part of my train journeys and my tender heart gave a special meaning to Raj comics in my life.I lost my entire set of comics once but such tragedies came and went,nothing could deter me.I remeber about certain journeys by the comics I bought during them.Super Commando Dhruva soon had an iconic status similar to that of Michale bevan.Well he wasnt a person,but as a child,I so much wished that he were.SCD comics maintained high standards for a long time and I followed the life of my hero very closely.My attempt to distance myself from comics began at an age of 13,but the bond was too strong.Present status: I have read almost all SCD comics released till date (Circus is one exception) and am still totally passionate about it.An year ago when I bought a comics from Ranchi station,after a significantly long break,I was in tears(yes actually),and since then whenever I buy a comics its a matter of sheer pleasure for me.Things have changed significantly,SCD comics arent as wonderful as they used to be,but I stand by it...after all its Mera pehla pehla Pyaar!!




RANI MUKHERJI: Ok so I did say that pretty faces had their share.I watched Ghulam as a 10 year old,and saw,what was the the most stunning thing of my life till then.Though I wasnt a complete novice when it comes to things one often feels for the oppositite gender,this was to be my first celebrity crush.It surprises me how I have been loyal to these childhood passions,those heroes that I had,and people I began to admire at a very tender age.Rani Mukherji has been my favourite or the past 10 years(and counting).She mostly acted in nonsense stuff earlier,but I didnt care much about that.For me she defined beauty,and was the most beautiful thing in the universe,the very thought of whose acted as a multiplying factor for my heart beat and adrenaline rate.Again the love never faded,but became more and more mature with time,and so did my favourite actress who went on to give some of the wonderful performances later.




HINDI: This was always coming,isnt it?Hindi,the language,is surely a part of very definition of my existence,something which makes me complete.The seeds for this life long association were sown a long time back and again without sounding immodest,will have to point that a latent talent was alwys there.In class 2,when we still used to practice improvement of handwriting in special booklets,and we were learning to build up proper sentences,I was writing stories,however stupid they maybe.Fantam and Fantama were my first heroes who were warriors that fought the devils."chattan fekna" was one of my favourite expressions.Udti khopdi and Khooni Khanjar were my earliest stories.I still swell with pride thinking about the fact that,as a 7 year old, I wrote a story about a knife taking revenge of a murder where it was used.During the "namaste" period of parties,my relatives used to ask me about my stories.Gradually my studies took over this mantle,people probably discarded the story writer as a childhood craze,but like most of my crazes of those days,this lived up to become my passion.For all those who know me,I dont need to mention that am still very much in love with Hindi,which again is among my earliest associations with love......


Thats it about Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar...it was great recollecting those best days of my life..and I do hope the readers are encouraged to do the same :)

The Phenomenon called Rahat Fateh Ali Khan!!

Ye mera geet,jeevan sangeet,kal fir koi dohrayega....when Mukesh gave voice to these lines little would he have realised that the wish expressed here will largely remain unfulfilled.In the years and decades that have followed the Rafi-Mukesh-Kishore era,no male voice came close to recreating the magic of these legends.I am often accused of being prejudiced against new songs,though I always have tried to maintain a balanced viewpoint on the issue.In fact I do like many modern ones,but they have failed to create(with a few notable exceptions) the magic of the evergreen oldies.Singers are pretty good,lyricists range from below par to brilliant,Music directors from very bad(Xerox machine pritam) to good ones.Even with several godly lyrics by Gulzar sir and music by likes of SEL and Rahman,songs came and went without creating themagic that my music loving heart craved for.Something was amiss,that extra spark which could make me fall in love with the song.There are several songs which I can easily listen to ten times at a stretch(during last sem,there was a period of half a month when I listend to 'zeehale muskin" for whole morning...everyday!!),but just a handful such from the last decade or so.

I remember downloading the ringtone of Jiya Dhadak dhadak on my cell phone when I had just heard it on a couple of occasions.This summer when one of my friends asked me about my favourite singer among the present crop,I named Kumar Sanu and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan,which was a new name for him then.But now he is a big fan of his...and so am I.Slowly and steadily my admiration for this immensely talented,incredibly wonderful singer singer has increased."Bol na halke halke" took the liking to a certain fanatic level,while "Teri Ore" sung by my favourite contemporary combo intensified the feelings."Lagan laagi' was discovered a little late but again it was special. After listening to the song "mohabbat to ek javeda zindagi hai' for more than 30 times today,I realised what I had discovered.Now I feel that since Mukesh Mania happened 5 years back,no voice has had this kind of effect on me(this isnt comparable to the craze level I have for Mukesh songs,yet this is special).Hemlatas and Shreya ghoshals did sound very cute, but this is ultra special.Maybe this was the extra spark that I longed for.I may now start taking interest in newer music albums with a hope that it will have some "rahat" in the offering.This is one voice which can drive me to a level of appreciation where I can listen to it on and on and on .....I cant tolerate two similar songs from Atif but with Rahat,its special stuff.Mediocre lyrics may be forgiven and the similarity in songs would also not be looked upon by a critical insight,as this is Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at his vintage best.In fact I appreciated Himesh for giving "teri yaad saath hai",though his music clearly wasnt the sole reason. Finally I have something in the music of my generation that makes me crazy.I have heard a few of his earlier non filmy ones,and they are only a shadow of what he is producing today.So credit must go to the composers who have known how to exactly use him.I earnestly hope that bollywood keeps on getting the best out of Rahat...for the moment...I will just enjoy....."Mohabbat ki hai daasta zindagi,mohabbat na ho to kahaan zindagi..mohabbat to ek javeda zindagi hai"

Albert Pinto ko gussa kyon aata hai!!!

He came,he saw,and he wasnt happy....this is something which aptly sums up what I have often felt for the college BIT Mesra.Now let me put this straight,I love my college and am really proud of it.Yet there have been quite a few things which have often left me disturbed.In fact my initial days were the most eventful and a pretty strange combination of the extremes;some wonderful experiences and some very forgettable ones.Anyway I will have to agree that lot of this has got to do with me as well.In fact I intend to do a little introspection here,and thus it will be the second consecutive post which is totally spontaneous,straight from the heart(and no rough work)

"You Can Win" mentions attitude as the most important thing for success,but then this is one aspect which can be ur biggest enemy if morphosised in an improper manner.I have realised for long now that I am one really short tempered guy,in fact being a huge self admirer that I am,I feel this is one of my rare bad qualities(but a very significant one).For the last couple of days(in fact within a few hours I have had a few bad experiences where most factors mentioned above were the villains,the temper and certain other things around me,which have always been a disturbing element for me.Yesterday evening, I had a simple quarrel with one of my 'friends',well in this case one of the guys around me which I really really dislike and still things seem so normal between us...hipocricy is such an integral part of the daily routine it seems.So due to the obvious reasons,I was completely unaffected by the turn of the events when things worsened.Using abuses for each other was never a novelty between us,but there things "slightly" went out of control.It started with my "temper" over powering my conscious,when I talked about "tumko to Mumbai mein ghuske maarenge"...there was even a possibilty of things taking an ugly turn when there was an odd remark of Raj Thakre(surprise!!!).Luckily it didnt get out of hand.We are pretty much on talking terms(hypocricy u know),in fact we did some cheating together in our practical exam today :) ...such is life,I didnt get much chance to think over the matter,so having regrets doesnt really come into the equation.Still there is something about me which makes me a frequent participant in such "not so desirable" situations.

The very next day(today) had worse in store.There was a general agreement among the majority about not submitting an assignment today,and I was unfortunate enough not to be aware of it.Being unaware is again something which comes very naturally to me,so no surprises here.So like any average student I took the assignment to the class and was completing the cover page for it.Lady luck played a prank on me and certain seemingly insignificant events subsequently became a source of headache for me.It was when our 'esteemed' teacher walked into the class(why the hell did he have the first period...why the hell did I go early like always).One glance at my assignment,a little curiosity and he had a good look over it,when he eplained that this wasnt what he expects from us.Ok need to clarify that we have 3 common questions(for each of us) and as is expected from good engineers only one had worked on it and rest were expected to copy it down.The fact that our "esteemed" one asked us to make changes had to bring about a sense of frustation as many people had given a couple of precious hours to it.But what surprised me was that some sensible ones thought that it was because of me that the question was changed.As is the usual case,some of the close ones did understand me but then the general opinion formed here is a different thing alltogether.Not that it matters much,but somehow being the 'over emotional' person that I am,such "meaningless" stuff affects me,at times pretty seriously.It was during this episode that another person managed to get onto my nerves.Once again he is someone who doesnt exactly fall in the 'loved ones" category of mine,well he is a friend though...thats life.It was a 'discussion" which lasted a few seconds,but got pretty heated up.Well a certain comment which was on the grounds of 'maar-peet' was slightly over my threshold limit and I had my second proper fight in few hours.

Then there was the incident with a person about whom I had commented yesterday "today is the first time I have seen him angry"and I got to witness the second time just a day later,and being at the receiving end wasnt a pleasing affair.Anyway he happens to be someone I have admired,and like being with(ok this is different),but this altercation was somewhat of a lesser degree and so it had a levelling effect.Anyway feeling nostalgic is something which comes very naturally to me,all this made me go down the memory lane,into the valleys of my first semester when I realised that how powerful the situations can get in a world where people around you are like waiting to get influenced by whatever they get to see,hear or hear that someone else has heard or seen!!The time I have spent here made me aware of a certain peculiar characteristic of mine...statistically speaking,over 80 percent of people I meet garner a wrong first impression of mine...some of my present close friends once had a very very negative impression of mine.Such things are a point to ponder about and often they make me realise something,probably even help me understand myself better.

The Million Doallar Question..Do I change myself?Isnt this getting angry at small things an activity which technically will qualify as a bad habit,and thus needs to be rectified.They say life is a strange teacher,it takes its test first and then gives the lesson.From whatever I have learned from this teacher,I believe there are certain shortcomings in me which actually make me complete,the whole temper thing being one of these.There have been infinite instances where I kept taking pangas,and certain hostilities never add delight to your life.But then it was this "negative" that made me go crazy when a teacher scolded my friend in the class for no genuine reason,to the extent that I argued with him over it.I know out of 120 students in the class,119 wont do such a thing,and it does feel awesome(really couldnt find a more appropriate word for this) in not being in these 119,but then you have to pay price for not being among the majority at times.Another thing is that I dont usually say things I dont mean,and yes even with all the default hypocricy that is a part and parcel of the daily routine.Once I was sent out by a teacher(of course it has happened many times,just dicusing a particular case) when I just went out without saying anything to him.Later several people commented that I should have said sorry.There were certain things which I tried to explain,but maybe it was too "different" for people to accept and in the end it was just regarded as a rude gesture on my part.For someone who was mocked for touching the feet of the worst teacher of the school on teachers day,being disrespectful never came naturally,well it never will,am pretty sure about that.Still you wont find many who will understand you when you are different,as I mentioned the crowd is just too keen on getting influenced by the popular opinion.There have been quite a few similar incidents where I have fought it out for something,and whenver its been for someone else,it has made me believe that the temper-a-mental aspect isnt such a negative after all.

I havent had the best of time during the last 24 hours,things may even get worse in near future,but at the end of the day its all about the choices you make,and the priorities that you decide upon.Self satisfaction is something which has mattered more to me than anything else,there are certain things that complete me,which make me what I am,and I have been proud of it.Sajal wont change,there would be more fights,more grudges,certain tense moments...but few odd ones here and there which mean much more to me....He came,he saw....he wasnt happy....but certainly...made a difference :)

In Life and in Cricket...some voids can never be filled!!

Though the heading indicates two aspects, namely ,life and cricket,here I intend to discuss just
one of them...and for a change,the less philosophical of the options available.Indian cricket team,by the end of this series,would have lost two of the greatest players that ever played
the game.Sourav Ganguly retires after the 4th test while Kumble announced his abrupt
retirement,something which I came to know a few hours back.For someone who saw cricket as a very integral part of his life for around 12 years now,these retirements mean a lot to me at the emotional level.I couldnt stop myself from expressing myself on this,and I want this to be completely spontaneous,and thus,after more than 20 posts and an year of blogging,this will be the first post which is directly being typed(no rough work).Anil Kumble,to me is someone who is as important as Sachin Tendulkar,but with much less credit and importance given for his service.Even the eras where the two were the most important ones in their respective departments,have surprising similarity(late 90s).Kumble probably won more tests for his country than any player for any country...and mind you am not exaggerating facts..I really cant think of another example where one cricketer had so much impact on the victories of his nation.Azhar won 14 tests as captain while ganguly won 21,and Kumble made the difference in most of them(except Azhar's earliest ones).People started taking him for granted,and he was never really given the status he so richly deserved.The obsession of fans for batting and batsmen also contributed to the same.300 wickets happened(probably Hoggard),400 happened(probably Simon katich),went past Kapil and went on to become first indian to take 500 and 600 wickets(certainly Harmison!!).Kumble ends his career as the highest wicket taker for India in both forms of the game.He did fall just short of 1000 wickets,but then the career isnt short of major
landmarks anyway.I remember listening to the match on radio,where Kumble picked up 10
Pakistani wickets.When he picked up 8,i began to pray that he gets the last 2,and that happened.There was a time,when most of the times India went to ball,the opposition innings
followed a certain pattern.They got off to a flier,but then Kumble came,brought things under
control.For years he kept doing this over and over again.I personally remember a match against
Pakistan,where Afridid struck him for 5 fours in his 1st over,and he still ended with 4/53 in his
10 overs,this was Anil,the fighter,the warrior.When Kumble had his off days,like any human soul has,it became so much dificult for India.When Anwar scored 194,he lofted Kumble for 3 consecutive sixes in 1st of the slog overs,and that changed the entire complexion of the innings.The last decade did see the discovery of Turbanator,who now becomes even more important after kumble departs,yet Kumble remained the best spinner for the country,for all the years that he played.Watching Kumble bowl at his best was such a special feeling.There isnt much you can enjoy in the bowling,but when it was kumble with the bowl,it was different.Even with al the fuss about him not being a big turner of the ball,when he started turning it,he was simply unplayable.Like thousands and thousands of die hard fans,am going to miss this cricketing legend for a long long time to come.As I said,there are a few voids which remain unfilled,there certainly can not be any replacement for Anil kumble.Wish him all the best in everything he does in the future,I salute the champion.

Any cricket fan goes crazy over a hard fought Indian victory,such matches have a special
significance for them.But when one talks about natwest final,it was made special for more than
one reason.The passion that the Indian captain displayed,even when he was in the pavillion is a
sight to remember.That sums up the "dada" and his character.I once read about Sourav...Love him or Hate him,you cannot Ignore him"...how prophetic the words sound.Personally I have been one of those who had his share of love as well as hatred,as i never was one of the "biased" fans of dada.One thing which always amazed me was the "variety" in his performances.I mean when at his best, one could actually use the expression "first there is god,then there is Ganguly" and the smae batsman at times batted like a no.10 batsman.I remember the embarassing match vs England where he got at least 5 lives,most of the runs he scored were off edges and was
consequently out for just about 15 runs!!..and I also remember infinitely many instances(ok this
is an exaggeration) when he stepped out to a spinner as if he was getting out for a morning
walk,and lofted deliveries out of the ground.Ganguly gets heap of praises for his off side play,but for me,watching him hit sixes,were the most special moments.In one of his SA tours when he was hitting a lot of sixes against faster ones as well,it was like watching cricket at its best.Left arm spinners feared bowling him,and when he stepped out our subconscious would add half a dozen to the Indian score without any time delay!!...now something about Ganguly,the captain.I already rate Dhoni as the best Indian captain ever(everybody will after 5 years,am sure) but presently ganguly is the most "successful" one.Indian cricket team had won a
little over 50 tests when Ganguly bacame the captain,and the team added 21 more in the next
few years.Even with more results being produced,the fact that only 26% of the matches in
his captaincy ended in draws(even with so many dead pitches in the subcontinent) speaks volumes about the aggression in his captaincy.A lot of credit for shaping the future of Indian
cricket,goes to dada.The agression and the attitude that we see in the team of today owes
largely to the Bengal Tiger.One can laugh his ass off on a video available on youtube,where Ganguly is upset when an Injured Yousuf is getting treatment and comments something like"time waste karenge ye log aur fir mera paisa katega"..Ganguly is also one of those who was
successful in all sorts of conditions,and for those who still feel he cannot handle the short
ball,I would like to mention that on the most bouncy tracks of the world,his record is as good
as that of Tendulkar.

Rahul Dravid,I feel will shortly join this group of retired cricketers.The kind of lean patch that
he is presently undergoing,will probably qualify among the 10 of the rarest things on this
planet!!..Watching these players say goodbye to the game has its share of sentimental as well as
philosophical importance,when it comes to me.I grew up watching them play,I messed up many exams to watch them on the tv screen,I abused the,I praised the,I danced when they won,sometimes did cry when they lost..and there are millions like me...Just goes to show that nothing is permanent,even the best comes to an end,careers end,eras end..we become really really senti(as I am now) and then we move one...but then..THERE ARE VOIDS WHICH WILL NEVER BE FILLED,LEGENDS WHO WILL ALWAYS REMAIN UNPARALLELED..

A Wednesday...fakr hai!!

"usne mujhe apna naam bataya par main wo naam kisiko nahi bata sakta,insaan naam mein mazhab dhoondh leta hai"this is just one of the many brilliant dialogues in a really brilliant movie.A Wednesday is already somewhere among the highest rated ones in my favourites list,its too close to me,in fact its a part of me.

"I want to do something like this" is what one of my friends said when I asked for a comment on this movie.It was a special moment for me.Soon three of us were discussing about the ways we can serve the country,the needs,the possibilities and above all, the dreams and the aspirations...At a time when placements are slowly becoming the talk of the town,we discussed,at length,about trying for IAS/IPS instead,money matters,but service to the country
comes first(as the motto of my school goes"service before self").Watching the youth of my nation discuss these issues,and formulate these ideas,was already a matter of joy,and being a participant in it made me feel even more proud.This was the result of believing in the power of "one common man who has the guts".This was the effect of a phenomenon called "A Wednesday'... :)

A Wednesday,in its title sounds like just another routine bollywood stuff,and then if you hear about the concept,terrorism,police,bombs etc etc, sounds even more monotonous...where and how does this movie aquire this special status,which some people like me are so hell bent on giving it.A basic question...what makes it a special one??

Presenting a systematic analysis in an attempt to explore for an answer to the above question...one point to be noted is that this isnt the work of some film critic,its just the feelings of someone who could feel the movie...and felt like sharing them...and once again its the strong points that I mostly noticed during the 95 minutes,and am hereby discussing them...

MESSAGE: "the morale of the story is" a phrase which all of us have heard on numerous occasions,just like the stories with strongest impacts are often the ones with this morale aspect as their strong point,similarly for movies its the message front which has a similar status in terms of importance(not talking abt the megatalented johars and farah khans)..the impact of the movie is,to a large extent reflected in this message factor...."one common man had the guts"this is for us to realise,each one of us is "a" common man,and any of us can become "that" common man.its not about going around killing the terrorists,in fact,taking another quote from the same movie "aaj main tareeke ke baare mein nahi nateeje ke baare mein soch raha hoon",we may have our own different ways,with different effects,the belief in the idea of a common man making the difference is what is crucial.Simple,yet intensely strong,ever inspiring idea,full marks to the message the movie conveys.

PERFORMANCES:This is something which personally impressed me a lot.Naseeruddin Shah(my favourite actor) and Anupam Kher are two of the world's' best actors,and their performances in the movie can serve as acting lessons,you need to see it to believe it.Actually one also needs to have some understanding of finer naunces of acting to realise
how technically brilliant the two stalwarts are in the movie.The 10 minute long conversation towards the end stands out,Naseer Sir at his very best(this is easily a filmfare winning performance)...other actors provide able support,Jimmy Shergil being the surprise package,and he really impresses.One of my friends compared this performance to Nana Patekar ones.Full marks again.

STORY,SCRIPT AND DIRECTION:Story,script and direction by Neeraj Pandey.The name is new for me but am already a huge fan of him.All the three aspects are awesome,my preference list would read story,script and direction in descending order.The fact that I rate this as one of the best directed movies in last decade sums up how much I admired all these three efforts.The
story has just a few twists(watch race instead to see an insanely twisted storyline) but they are apt and beautifully thought of.To my knowledge,this is an original storyline(in fact Hollywood would be proud to copy such stuff)which has agin been scripted with an equal elegance and expertise.Imaginativ,as well as technically correct direction,gives that added dimension to this movie.
Some of the scenes will remain etched in my memory for a long time.The long conversation towards the end(10 mins!!) no doubt,stands out,but some of the short conversations that Commisioner rathod has with Arif and Jai are also not far behind.Brilliant dialogues are like a necessity to a brilliant movie,and we are not least dissapointed at this front.There are certain minute things which need a little after thought,a slight analysis to get the real taste of
it.The potrayals of Arjun Khanna,CM and his secretary,the media(this could have been better though) and even the police in general(being projected,for a change,as a responsible hardworking unit,though not always equipped enough to counter the situation)are well chalked out and beautifully presented.Its easy for the CM to say things in rallies,also easy to give orders and express worries,difficulty always lies in the actual implementation level.The 'minority group'
comment by Arjun Khanna and the words of Commisioner"ye bacha kaun hai" are among the favourites of a couple of my friends.Also the way Anupam Kher pleads helplessness,and thus makes CM order the encounter of the last terrorist,when he was very sure that the person had not planted any bomb(reflected in the last conversation he has with Naseeruddin)....isnt it all brilliant? :)

Naseeruddin Shah's role is something which actually turns this movie from very good to brilliant.It makes it so much more special,at least for me,when I can watch him at the peak of his charisma,for the good screen space that he gets.The abuse by Naseer Sir,frankly speaking,is another very special moment(I totally support it) for me,just shows how intense the anger is.Indeed its the time for the common man to act...and I do hope that such "wednesdays' are released every friday.

Ek Adhoori Kavita....ek baras baad :)

19 August,this year,saw another milestone accomplished.A week after "Jaane Bhi Do yaaro" completed 25 years,my blog "Ek Adhoori Kavita" completed an year.Like infinite other things in
my life,whenever I look back at my blogging journey,it does make me feel a bit emotional.It started simply by an attempt to share my poems on a forum but for the past few months I have
enjoyed writing on a variety of topics.I know there are a few,who are eager to have me back to my poetic ways,have a Hindi post from my side,actually I myself want this badly.Its just that I havent been much into Hindi poetry lately but will definitely try and come up with,what was the primary driving force behind this blogging idea.Yun bhi kalakar ke marne se pehle kala to maregi nahi...kuchh der so zaroor sakti hai :)

Thank you all for your support in making this a sweet and, indeed a memorable journey.I take this as an opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude towards everyone who contributed to
this.

Kavya,you have been the biggest inspiring force,a friend who always encouraged me to try and improve,one who always made me love my own imagination.A very special thanks to you.

My sister Ankita who often surprised me by commenting on my blog and it was always special
to have support from such fronts.Hope I live upto your expectations in my efforts always.

My friends like Gauri and MK deserve a special mention.You two were the forces behind 4 to 5
posts on this blog."Kya Hindi aisi bola jaati hai" about MK's linguistic genius has the maximum
comments while "Lafzo ki Imaarat" inspired by a line Gauri (Gaurav Saxena from Gzb remember??) uttered remains my personal favourite among my compositions till date.

Pushpak,Nivedita,Vivek,Pallav,Vandana and all others who joined me in this journey of mine from time to time,you made me really enjoy it.I hope I find you people by my side in the future as well.

Now time to mention the biggest contributor,Prashant Bhaiya,the person who inspired me to get into blogging and has been a constant source of motivation and guidance.Bhaiya aapka aashirvaad milte rahe hamesha.In the past few months I have seen quite a few people around
me getting inspired by me to start their blogs,and it really felt special,felt importantant,and it was all because an year back you had a similar effect on me.

I wind up with a note of thanks to this place,called blogspot,where Sajal,the poet,Sajal,the person,Sajal,the dreamer...expressed himself on various topics.

"Mulaakato ke mele lagte rahenge yun hi...zindagi ka kaarwaa jab tak chalta rahega"

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro....25 years later!!

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro..summing it in one line I will say "remarkably simple,simply remarkable".Released on 12 August 83,it completed 25 years a couple of months back.Taking some time out of my,anyhow,not so busy schedule to pen down some of my thoughts about what went on to create this masterpiece.A classic,which not only entertains,but also enlightens.I wont comment much about the plot so even those who havent seen the movie are most welcome to go through my take on the movie.I do hope some of them get encouraged to watch it...as the saying goes(again it doesnt,I just made it up) "there are two kind of people in this world,one who have seen Jaane bhi do yaaro...one who havent".

Any movie may be said to be composed of two aspects,the strong points,and the weak points.But at times you come across works where you get to notice just one of them.Lets dicuss some of the
factors which make this movie wonderful,and I leave the negatives to people who were not
intelligent enough to appreciate its brilliance at some occasions.Here we go...

STAR CAST:Probably the best star cast ever assembled,the movie has some of the best character artists.Apart from Naseeruddin Shah and Om puri,all others were fresh faces then.Starcast includes acting stalwarts like Pankaj Kapoor and Ravi baswani,ably supported by fine actors like Satish shah(who brilliantly played a corpse in the movie),Satish Kaushik,Rajesh Puri,Neena gupta,Bhakti barve.Only other movie I can think of being compared to it in terms of starcast is "ek ruka hua faisla".The reason why I rate the cast so highly is that it isnt a combo of biggest stars,but the biggest actors.This ensured that all performances were top class.Ravi Baswani won the best comedian award for the moviewhile Om Puri's comic skils were discovered for the first time in this movie.

STORY:I would like to lay emphasis on the fact that the movie has a brilliant storyline,being presented as a satire(or a farce).There is no forced laughter,in fact the movie actually has some very emotional moments and some serious questions being raised on the social framework.Some of the scenes have dry humour which may not make you laugh but you cant admire the beauty of sarcasm in it(wo gutter ke liye jeeye aur gutter ke liye mar gaye).Many scenes depicting the character sketch of Tarneja fall under this category.

CLIMAX: Personally I consider it as the best climax ever among bollywood comedies.The mahabharat scene is beautifully scripted,excellently enacted and very well developed on the screen.The parody is awesome(watch out for a young Vidhu Vinod Chopra playing Dushasan).The twists and turns keep adding to the fun element.The chase sequence earlier is also damn hillarious.Be it the characters falling on the roller skates or jumping from the first floor,its so much enjoyable.In fact one gets the impression that its very much the inspiration behind all Priyadarshan comedies.The more you pay attention to the scene,the more you can appreciate its beauty.Do not miss out on Satish Kaushik's comment: "Sir laash bhaag rahi hai"The ending of the movie is also a very touching moment,and you are left with a strong after effect.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS: The movie was made on a small budget(of less than 9 lakhs).Some of the better products of Film Institute Pune got their act together and made a
masterpiece out of this small budget.People involved in making and presenting this movie are
some of the talented people from the world of Indian cinema,and thus the movie showcases high
technical brilliance in most aspects.The more one gets to know about the movie the more one can appreciate its class.Kundan Shah's name deserves a special mention as he was the brain behind this movie.

The movie didnt work at box office when it released,but 25 years since its release it has
gradually acquired a cult status(similar to the fate of Kundan Shah's other brilliant work Kabhi
Haan Kabhi Naa)"thoda khao thoda feko" and some lines during Mahabharat Parody are dialogues of eternal value...often regarded as the "baap of all comedies",though in my opinion,its not just a comedy movie,in fact its not just a movie,its a heritage that we can all be proud about.I salute everyone involved in gifting this immortal gem.If you havent seen it,you are yet to have one of the wonderful experiences of your life.Give it a shot :)