Baahubali Review : From an audience perspective

To put it in a gist, this was a brilliant movie and I sure hope that it will set precedent for the Indian cinema, as a whole. To all the critics who say this is not original or we have seen it 300 or LOTR or Ben Hur, please give yourselves a break and stop being so miserable!!
Followers of Hollywood in India form only a small part of the population and Baahubali has introduced a whole new genre of cinema to a very large section of the population. So, sit back, and applaud the crew:)

To further analyse it, here's why I thought it should be classified as exceptional film-making.

What stands-out and is obvious, is the excellent cinematography. The thought is seamless from the beginning till the end, the effects and execution are on-par with any international, epic/war/period movie. You would not mind going back and watching the entire movie in mute, to be awed once again.

Next, is the fine choreography of the action sequences, be it the simple demonstration of a sword, a duel or a war strategy, there was drama and something theatrical for the audience. They were not just ordinary war sequences, nor were they something unreasonable or impossible. There was thought and innovation put into it, and definitely put me at the edge of my seat.

What is important for any period drama, is to get the art and fashion of that period right. Even while this movie was dealing with three different tribes, all the characters, their culture, language, fashion was quite well-sketched and spot-on. The element of surprise was of course, bringing in a new tribe and writing an entirely new language for them!! Well done!

Now, while this movie stood out in most obvious areas, there still are departments which warrant attention.

The plot line of the movie was really ordinary. You would expect that an epic or war movie to have more intricate sub-plots or characters analyses.The reason many international movies run into two or more parts are
1. There is lot more story to tell which cannot be captured in a 3 hour frame
2. There are new characters and/ or sub-plots to be revealed which usually play folly or add to the mystery of the first part.
3. They are a part of anthology series
Invariably all of these movies are adapted from books and hence have a good plot line to back them up, and also the reason why there was no need for two parts of the movie. So, the thin plot line, the slow paced first half and the predictability of the second part are the movie's Achilles Heel.

The soundtrack of the movie, the songs and the background score did not really match up to the cinematography. Also, a reason why I said, you would be equally awed, if you saw in mute.

The dialogues are not the strong point of the movie. For some reason, you think something, brilliant is going to be said or revealed, but there is no "punch".  This could be tied to the weak plot line. There are many Indian movies with exceptional dialogues that leave you brimming with emotion and chanting the dialogues for generations after. This movie does not do that. There is really nothing catchy, the movie sounds more like a boring narrative, if we were to forget the cinematography for a few seconds.

Closing, I would say this is overall a brilliant movie (at the cost of being repetitive), with areas of improvement, but for now there is a new feather in our caps and we should wear it proudly!!

Good Job Mr. Rajamouli!!

Seek

To say that everyone in this world aspires for the same needs, expects the same from life and people around is trivializing each individual's aspirations. A person may want to travel the world, learn a dance form, a musical instrument, excel at work or try exotic cuisines the world has to offer. For every desire mentioned above, you will find a million more who wants to do the same, so what's new or what's different one might ask. Well, finding the company definitely makes the experience delightful, but the experience in itself is a manifestation of a deeper expression within. The expression of FREEDOM. In each of the above expressions is the desire to be free, to be one with the soul, to care less for what the world has to say, to experience what I might say for the want of a better word, "NIRVANA".

The list stated above by itself looks pretty simple and achievable, but we know that as life progresses and when more variables are added to it by the day, we often take a step back and ask "What if?". Freedom, as rightly said, unfortunately comes at a great cost and a free man is only seen as a liability. Possibly because we all, my apologies... majority of us, want to "fit-in", and because we have "fit-in" we want others to follow suit. But in this process all we are trying to seek is a license to be free and not to be free in itself, and hence the whole essence is nipped in the bud.

In this life that one can remember ( it is argued that we live many lives but since as mortals we do not recollect our previous incarnation and cannot predict the future one, we may as well talk about the one life that we can and will remember), it only seems fair that we quest for a soul that longs for the same and once it  finds you, it is no longer afraid to be one with it self, no longer afraid to be free.

Finding a soul mate is worth every shackle that one has to break, and if finding the soul mate is the second best thing to happen, finding your own SELF is the first :)!!

   " Love and affection will keep you warm,
     Laughter,smiles will make you happy to please,
     But to find you, these emotions do not bring ease,
     'Cause what you seek is the freedom to be.

     Friendship helps you face obstacles,
     With strength to break the strongest of shackles,
     But beyond just a shoulder to cry,
     What you seek is to break free and fly.

      When you see a feather or a kite,
      Not resisting the wind's might,
      You already know that, stronger than the blow,
      Is the one that has let itself go.

       Life can neither be a reason nor a rote,
      It has to be a song new in each note,
      So take the leap, walk the path that was hidden in your heart
      For to set yourself free, you don't need to follow, you only need to start!!!:)"


On the jukebox: Where angels fear to tread.....

...So long then.... :)

Moments

"..You see her, she is scanning through all the passengers getting off the escalator to see if the next one is you, you catch her eye and both of you wave at each other so vigorously that other passengers wonder what on earth has occurred? But what do they know that you guys are meeting after 7 months. You move towards the conveyor belt impatiently to quickly collect your bag. Damn it has not started yet...will take another 10 minutes, you still keeping looking back at the exit , she is still waving at you! and you are all smiles, she is as excited as child going to school for the first time and the grin just doesn't seem to fade, there finally the bag has arrived, you grab it quickly, put it on the trolley to rush towards the exit, towards her. But you can see your steps slowing down, with each step you take you can hear you heartbeat even more clearly.You notice that she has changed a lot since you last saw her, may be pulled down a little, oh! there she is wearing the saree which you had gifted her on her birthday, she is probably the most decked up today than she was on any other day of the year...the steps only get heavier, adrenalin rush higher...what do you say when you meet her?... Seems so strange! you have been waiting for this moment but suddenly you can't remember anything, there's a huge lump in you throat...What was the last thing you told her over the phone?? don't really remember... see you in 2 hrs .. you guess...she looks at you as if you were taking your first steps towards her!....there, you both are standing in front on each other fighting back tears, you can still see the twinkling stars in eyes which speak more than words can betray!!... "How are you? mom"... She says... "Hmmm..You, have not been eating well..come let's go.." and gives you a big squeeze... and you know you are HOME!!!..."

Have you realised that the most beautiful, the most special moments in your life have lasted for just about few minutes or even few seconds? The dreams you have in the night, the day your mom hugged in the airport, the times your dad told you bedtime stories, the day your brother told his friends that his sister was the best!when your friends gave you a big surprise party on your birthday, when you got your first salary, when you bought your first mobile, when your crush in college asked you if he can borrow your notes, when your b-school results were announced, your first step into your school... all of them and many more. What is that, that makes them so special? Anticipation. The excitement that we build around them, the days and nights of planning, thinking, rethinking, visualization and revisualization, smiling to yourself as to how would you react when it would actually happen. It's all the euphoria that surrounds it that makes them so special even though they are so few.

What if someone were to take out all this and just give you those few seconds so that every moment is quantifiable? What if Sachin had made the "200" right at the beginning of the match without keeping us waiting? What if the Messi just keep scoring goals rather than running on the field for 89 minutes and doing it in the 90th minute when the stadium and world bows to him? I bet the excitement would not be the same, it would just take away all the fun out of life!! You just would not value it!!

Reminds me of what Boman Irani tells Abhishek in the movie Bluffmaster.. " in your 30 years you might have had just about 10 moments which you cherish!! which means if in the next 30 days you make such moments you are gonna live 30 years longer!!! more than any of us!!"

Each of us have these special moments in our 20 -24 years which actually define "LIFE". To put it like Hitch says "Life is not about the number of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away!!!"

On a slightly different note, for those you are celebrating diwali this year with your near and dear, cherish every moment and make it one dhamakedar diwali!!!

Here's wishing everyone a very HAPPY and PROSPEROUS DIWALI!!!!

Journey to fantasy world

It's three exams down and the marathon of my end terms has only begun. Two weeks from now I'll be flying home after good 7 months!!!. Now that my most dreaded exam is over.. I am back to my daydreaming. Well daydreaming in my case happens 90% of the day, so it can be safely said that I take breaks from it to do other things!
My fantasy world starts with a song that's been on mind for couple of days... to a long drive in my convertible along twists and sharp turns of a mountainous terrain with the ocean roaring on one side below while the golden red sun sinks into it, a stop at a roadside coffeehouse for cuppa while there is country music being played by local folk, drive along further back to my home, enjoy the rest of the evening lying on a hammock reading a book... This is just one episode of the fantasy journey. There is always so much to express, but more often than not it seems a little incomplete when I cannot put my emotions into picture... Chalo I am going back to my fantasy world.. Will be back soon...

On the jukebox "..I drove for miles and miles and wound up at your door I’ve had you so many times but somehow I want more I don’t mind spending everyday out on your corner in the pouring rain ..."

Essence

Human psychology is something which has been fascinating mankind since time immemorial. Like Einstein had said "Two things in this universe are infinite, Human stupidity and the size of the universe, I am not sure about the latter", or as Calvin says " There has not been enough research dedicated to find a cure for jerks" or to put it simply like Prantosh sir had said "People come to me and ask me whether I can measure human fickleness through correlation". Though all these seem in a lighter note, the truth is that it is extremely hard to understand why people behave the way they do, even if you dedicated a life to this research. But people who empathize with the emotions of those around them have certainly mastered what is of late called as emotional intelligence.

With the way the things are turning around me,I've been trying to figure out answers to certain questions myself, trying to understand an aspect of human behaviour and needs.What is it that really mattes in one's life? Success? Happiness? Love? Empathy? Company? The answer to this probably lies in the events that have taken place in my life recently.

Happiest person is the one who has the the people running to him to empathize when he is pouring his heart out. Happier man is not he who is independent and handles his problems by himself but one who can get people to pull him out on his worst day and throw a party for him so that he does not have to sit by himself to mull over them but get drowned in the laughter around. Successful man is not he who has reached the pinnacle first but he who has reached with a bunch of idiots like himself so that they can sky dive from there. If one understands this then, I think one knows what is the essence of one's life.

Success can never be measured by the number of grades you get, number of promotions you get or the number in your bank account but by the number of people who stand up for you during the need of the hour.

To put it in another way, as Chetan Bhagat had said there is really no point in getting placed on the day of your break up, no point in filling money in your bank account when you do not have the time to take your kid on a vacation. It is important to get there, to the goal, but not so important that you miss giving a lift to someone on the way, with whom you might just end up sharing a glass of champagne down the years. It is important to reach your destination but not before you have taken pictures of sceneries at the detours cause there are going to be many...

At least in this aspect of human psychology, more than one of us would concur with the statement that success, love, company, empathy, are our needs and they can all
be got only if we realize in which sequence to start..