Jodha -Akbar

I watched Jodha-Akbar last Sunday. It could definitely be termed as one of the most-awaited movies of recent times; for one, it is directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, secondly it stars the two of the hottest stars of contemporary Bollywood: Hritik & Aishwarya; and last but not the least, it has AR Rehman as the music-composer.

The film does not disappoint on any of these counts.
Jodha-Akbar is basically a tale of two lovers, who first come together for strategic reasons rather than love; but soon develop a true affection towards each other. Rest of the movie revolves around this, never mind the political intrigue.

Hritik is magnificent. He lends poise and elegance to his character of Emperor Akbar. In the military attire, he looks more of a Roman warrior than a Mughal, but once he dons the Mughal 'jiretop' you hardly notice that.

Aishwarya looks stunning, as always. Those who still refuse to call her 'beautiful', God forgive you!
The two complement each other perfectly, and one can definitely feel a certain comfort between the tow of them.

Rest of the supporting cast performs well. Was it Ila Arun in the role of Akbar's 'daai-maa'?

AR Rehman has composed another stunning score, varied from "Manmohana Kanha" to "Khwaja mere khwaja", via "Kehne ko Ishq". But my personal favourite – even before I watched the film - was "Inhi lamhon ke daaman mein", and it was nice to see it picturized so sensually.

So much for the good news, and now here's some not so good one... if not exactly bad.

The film is over 3 and half hours long. The length may not be agonizing, but it does tend to get unbearable after a particular point. One of the reasons is that the script hasn't much of suspense or moments that really keep you on edge or wondering about what would happen next. The movie could have done with at least half an hour chopped off.

And secondly, dialogs are dull. Of the cast, only Hritik seems to speak the Urdu somewhat effortlessly. Others speak which seems to be a cross-breed between Urdu & Hindi.

Yet, the movie is worth the bucks, a delight to the eyes, as well as ears. Watch it for the sizzling chemistry between the lead pair if not only for the costumes and sets.

[Biography] Einstein: The Life and Times

Adolf Hitler, the ultimate dictator, Mahatma Gandhi, the ultimate pacifist and Albert Einstein, the ultimate scientist…three people in world history, who, in spite of a huge number of books having been written about them, still continue to have an aura of mystery about them.
There could be some doubt whether Hitler was as evil incarnate as he is picturised to be ( yeah, there are people who nearly worship him), there could be a some doubt as to whether Gandhi’s principles are still applicable in these times, but there could be no doubt that Einstein’s genius has changed our perceptions of time and space for ever.

In fact, TIME magazine declared him the Person of Century in 2000. He ranks up there with Newton & Galileo. (Some people add Stephen Hawking to this elite club, but am not sure if that is a unanimous sentiment across the scientific community.)

Einstein: The Life and Times by Ronald W Clark fulfilled my long standing desire to read a well-researched biography of one of the greatest geniuses ever. It consists of almost 900 pages of small print and over two dozen photographs.

The biography begins with details about Einstein’s birth place, Ulm, and his grand-parents. Then it sketches the lives of his parents, before delving into young Albert’s childhood. He was in Berlin throughout the First World War, and witnessed the rise of Nazism. Hitler’s hatred of Jews forced him to relocate to America, where he worked at Princeton’s Institute of Advanced Studies throughout the later part of his life.

Author has drawn his material mainly from Einstein’s correspondence, which was quite extensive. Einstein regularly wrote long letters to his fellow physicists across Europe, in which he not only discussed problems in theoretical physics but also those that plagued the world of his times. Throughout the book, Einstein comes across as a person of the world, one who had the vision to foresee the nuclear race. His thoughts on various aspects of life such as politics, religion, and society have been extensively analysed.

Of course, to most of us, Einstein would remain the absent-minded scientist ( which he indeed was, when it came to remembering ‘trifles’ like his own telephone number or house address), one who often helped kids with their homework ( he once wrote to a young girl, “do not worry about your math problems; mine are much bigger”) and had a fine sense of humour ( he once autographed his portrait sketch as “ This well-sated pig you see, professor Einstein purports to be”). All these qualities only enhanced the aura around him, which remains intact till this day.

Indeed, today the word “Einstein” has almost become a synonym for “genius”.

Reading this biography not only helped me understand this man better, but also to appreciate his work and his views even more.

I came across this book in personal library of RVP; and the fact that I wouldn’t budge without taking it, made her donate it to me. Thank you!

7 Reasons I Loved Taare Zameen Par

Taare Zameen Par is movie produced & directed by Amir Khan, starring Darsheel Safari,& Amir Khan. The movie released on 21st December 2007, but it was only on 20th Jan 2008, that I could watch it.
I loved the movie, and here are some of the prime reasons why:

• The movie begins with a dyslexic kid, and stays that way. Aamir Khan, producer & director, and arguably the best actor in Bollywood today, appears in 2nd half, in a supporting role
• The principal of boarding school isn't Anupam Kher, with some Ms. Braganza to horse around.
• The lyrics of all songs
• No dream-sequences, no flash-backs to make life difficult for the viewer
• Cinematography: Mumbai at its realistic best, and beautiful shot ofPaanchgaNii
• The kid doesn’t give a speech towards the climax.
• The movie doesn’t evoke sympathy; but understanding about dyslexic kids. It actually adds to your knowledge; I didn't know Edison, Agatha Christie, Walt Disney, Pablo Picasso, and Abbie Bacchan were dyslexic; neither was I aware that Indian Constitution makes it mandatory for school to treat differently-gifted children on par with other children

[Autobiography] iWoz : Steve Wozniak

IBM may have started the revolution, but the era of personal computers began with Apple 1 and Apple 2, created almost single-handedly by Steve Wozniak. Hence, when I came across his autobiography, it was hard not to pick it up!

iWoz differs from other memoirs in the respect that there is no undue stress on dates and places; instead the focus is on events that shaped him. Particularly interesting is the part played by his father in developing the curiosity of an intelligent child.

Steve emphasizes the pride he feels to be an engineer, a statement that recurs throughout the book. He recounts the early days of Apple, its amazing rise to become one of Fortune 500 companies in a decade, and the reasons that led to many of the controversies. He concludes with “Rules to Live By”, a chapter in which he discusses his philosophy of life at length.

Language is disarmingly simple and unpretentious. Every thought is dealt in short paragraphs, focusing on the bare essentials. The book gives an insight into the life of a man who can undoubtedly be said to be one of the pioneers of computer age, and clears a few misconceptions about Apple, one of most innovative companies of our times.

[Book] The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Well, I read this book last weekend.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon
David Fickling Books (a division of Random House)

When I picked up the book and read thru first page, the style of the author seemed funny--short sentences, precision where you would least expect it-- and, interestingly fresh. That's the reason I bought it.

The book is in first person, and as Christopher Boone, the narrator puts it, is intended to be a murder mystery. Christopher is a 15-year kid, with a photographic memory and amazing abilities in math & science. One night, he finds his neighbour's dog killed. Being a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, he decides to become a detective and solve the murder mystery. What unravels is a amazing journey that touches math, science, psychology, philosophy, literature in most amazing ways.

A few pages later, it becomes increasingly clear that the book isn't that funny. The humour-- and there's plenty of it-- arises out of an autistic boy's perceptions of things and events around him. On one hand, you feel like laughing out aloud, but on other hand, your heart reaches out for the boy who seems unaware of the most basic realities of the life. You also realise the difficulties that the parents of such children have to go through.

Do try this book at least once. I read it twice in a single day. It made my journey of 800 kms much bearable.