Beautiful Trees of Gulmohur

Life after Boston Bombings

Its strange Boston Bombings got so much media attention and free publicity for those who give excuse of religion for such heinous crimes against humanity and have no respect for their own country that nurtures them.Why CNN has given so little coverage to Texas fertilizer plant explosion where 35 precious lives were lost and more than 200 people injured.That could too be a work of some Terrorist group,and if its somebody's criminal negligence that was responsible for the Blast that according to US Geological Survey measured 2.1 on the Richter scale,then its their job to bring to light the person or persons responsible.Till date the media and the government has failed to fix the responsibility for this terrible tragedy.

Very little coverage is given to plight of those person injured who lost a limb,whose life will be changed for ever.Who may not run as fast as they could with the help of those prosthetic limbs government may provide.How they would go around their daily routine doing house-chores,going to work or getting a job.These mischief mongers these "losers" ruined so many lives for ever citing their reason as "defending Islam" .Islam or any religion never teaches its followers to hurt other people or disrespect other religions.You did this to a country that gave asylum to you,that provided you all opportunities to grow into a healthy individual providing you equal rights.

The younger of the two Chechen brothers suspected of the Boston Bombings Dzhokhar Tsarnaev,came out as a nice young man,great in sports and loved by his friends,and having a great future.How he got so influenced by his older brother that instead of reporting him to authority and revealing his devilish plans,he became a co-conspirator.

Who was the guy Police asked to remove all his clothes?Who sat in the Police Car completely naked and hand-cuffed.Did the authorities apologized or is he suing them for harassment.

As CNN's coverage went all night its Reporters fought sleep to continue reporting for hours.It was so sad to learn of Patrol Officer Sean A. Collier's death who looked like a cute baby,he was just 26 a resident of Somerville, Massachusetts.

For us viewers that night was like out of a Hollywood movie like The Getaway or Humphrey Bogart's "The Desperate Hours".When all residents were asked not to open their doors to any stranger but only to a identified police man.Frankly I have never ever seen anything like this in my entire life or even read about such an incident.That whole one week and its events are as unique as that devastating Tsunami that hit Japan few years back.

Wizard of Oz - Inspiration Forever

"Wizard of Oz" is one movie that has inspired generations of Film-goers and Film-makers. And this was so evident in "Australia".

Amitabh Bachchan and Music of Aankhen (2002)

Jatin Lalit were doing music of Aankhen (2002),earlier on they had recorded several lovely tracks for this Movie like "Kuch Kasmen Hain Jawan",also movie was called "All The Best" previously,but later on name was changed.Dharmendra's Aankhen is a cherished Rama Nand Sagar's Classic,while Govinda's Aankhen is a great David Dhawan Classic screw-ball comedy.

"Jatin - Lalit´s "Kucch Kasme Hain Jawaan" is a beauty! The music duo return to a genuinely inspired state after a long slump. What sets this short Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik ballad apart from the team´s past efforts is its ability to weave between soothing and rocky moods at different periods. We ought to thank Vipul Shah for not using the hokey wordsmithing of Sameer too. Praveen Bhardwaj´s lyrics are sooooo much better.".Of course this music critic did not knew Vipul Shah would be a spoil-sport and not keep this gorgeously filmed song in the movie.

But on Amitabh's insistence Aadesh Srivastava who is of the same caste as Mr Bachchan was brought in.Producers were fickle and gullible enough to drop all of Jatin-Lalit's tracks and include cheap tracks of Aadesh like "Phatela Jeb" etc.Incidentally Aadesh Srivastava  is married to Vijeta Pandit, the sister of Jatin Lalit.

{1. Aankhen was previously called All the Best, which is the name of the Gujarati theatrical play that the script by Aatish Kapadia is based on, directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah.
The title was later changed to Aankhen because the the film's distributors felt that the English title wouldn't sit well with the rural audiences. Producer Gaurang Doshi, in an earlier interview states that he liked the name Aankhen even though the central characters were blind because 'Aankhen na hote huwe bhi, yeh film aankhon ka khel hain [Even though they don't have eyes, this is a tale of vision].'
Aankhen was also the name of a 1993 film produced Pahlaj Nihalani which starred Govinda, Chunky Pandey, Shilpa Shirodkar and Kadar Khan. Gaurang Doshi said that the film's Delhi-UP distributor, G D Mehta, who was a friend of Nihalani was instrumental in helping them obtain the rights to use the name for the film. Pahlaj Nihalani even gets special mention in the film's credits. There were two other Aankhen's prior to this, released in 1950 and 1968 respectively.
2. Gaurang Doshi met director Vipul Shah through the former's fitness trainer who was one of Shah's pals.
At the time Shah was a well-known theatre personality and successful serial-maker. Shah has to his credit the 800-odd episode old serial Ek Mahal Ho Sapnon Ka, which might soon turn out to be Indian satellite television's longest running soap.
Vipul Shah is married to actress Shefali Shetty who he fell in love with on the sets of a Gujarati film his film directorial debut Dariya Chhoru.
3. The story of Aankhen is adapted by writer Aatish Kapadia from his own Gujarati play, Andhla Pato (the Gujarati equivalent of Blindman's Bluff), first staged in 1992.
Aatish also worked as a writer for the soap Ek Mahal Ho Sapnon Ka, which Vipul Shah directed. He has written Indra Kumar's Mann.
4. Gaurang Doshi who produces the film is the son of noted producer Vinod Doshi, who has produced film such as Blackmail, Nastik and the Nandita Das starrer Bawandar.
Aankhen has been one of the few films that has been financed by the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI).
5. Aankhen was to originally feature Raveena Tandon in the female lead. But she was inexplicably dropped and replaced by Sushmita Sen. Sushmita, on her part, did a lot of home-work for her role as a teacher in a blind school. She visited handicapped schools and communicated with the visually impaired for a realistic feel to her role.
6. Aankhen boasts of four music directors for one song. A definite first for Hindi cinema.
A hue and cry was created about the film's credits which mention the name of Aadesh Shrivastava, who composes only three of the film's tunes but omits Jatin-Lalit, who have composed over five songs. Gaurang Doshi says the duo didn't have the time for my film, which is why he signed Aadesh. He says that they didn't have any new tunes to offer and said that they didn't respect their work as they were absent for a majority of the sittings.
7. Bipasha Basu makes her first special appearance in the film for a song number called Gustakhiyaan.
8. Apart from his good-cop-turned-evil-doer act in Aks, Amitabh Bachchan plays the villain after nearly 30 years. His previous outings as bad guy were in Parwana (1972) and Gehri Chaal (1973).
9. Director Vipul Shah and actor Arjun Rampal both turned fathers during the making of the film. Now we hear that the stork is due for a visit to the Kumar household too as Akshay's wife, actress Twinkle Khanna is pregnant.
10. The Indian International Film Association (IIFA) has selected Aankhen for the premiere at Genting Highlands, Malaysia.
Gaurang Doshi hopes that like Lagaan, which premiered at the IIFA event at Sun City in 2001, Aankhen will also merit international acclaim as a 'path-breaking' film.
Compiled by Vivek Fernandes}

http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/apr/03aank.htm

Chashme Baddoor (2013)

A warm youthful exuberant refreshing film.a must-see.rally loved it.Siddharth delivers a scintillating performance and surprises by his comic timing and acting prowess.In "Rang De Basanti" he was so dull I wondered why they cast him.In Striker (2010) he delivered a good performance,but here he is just great.

Rishi Kapoor and Lillette Dubey are endearing as love birds.Bharati Achrekar is funny as slap happy mother of Anupam Kher.Audience seemed to love  Divyendu Sharma and his rib tickling "Shayari".Ali Zafar acts the same in all his movies and should take up acting classes.He may have charm but does not know "Acting".Finally a great entertainer from David Dhawan after "Partner" and the credit goes to the writers here who wrote crisp funny witty dialogues and some lovely humourous songs.Also story-telling and treatment is engrossing and refreshing.

Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008) and Raguvaran

Remember who played Suniel Shetty's back-stabbing friend  in Rakshak (1996).The same person who impressed us with his villain stint plays funny lovable eccentric quarrelsome father of Dhanush.Udit Narayan's song in the beginning introduces us to the romance that Dhanush feels towards Nayanthara.The DVD on Moserbaer thankfully has subtitles which is rare.

Karthik Kumar who plays Dhanush's friend and Nayanthara's fiancee delivers a flawless and absolutely charming performance.Second half of the movie is immersed in Tamil culture and family values,which make it a must watch for any person who wants a glimpse of Tamil culture.

Its a long movie almost 3 Hours but second half is so lively that you never know when movie reaches its climax.Also the Father son altercation and repartee really makes this movie interesting in first half,until the father dies of a Heart-attack.

Hanging Up (2000) - Father's Day Special

A heart-touching movie about Father Daughter relationship that emotionally overwhelms you in the climax when father (Walter Matthau) dies and Meg Ryan later on is shown lost in flashbacks of her days of childhood,warm memories of her life with two sisters Diane Keaton and Lisa Kudrow and her Father.

Movie focuses mainly on Meg Ryan looking after her eccentric boisterous father whose wife left him few decades ago.Sisters are shown visiting their old house and discovering their father in bed with Edie McClurg.Walter Matthau later on invades Meg Ryan's home on her son's Birthday,calling his friends midgets and ruing his Birthday party,leaving his grand-son in tears and departing on bitter terms with Meg Ryan.

Lisa Kudrow plays the youngest sisters and delivers her best.Diane Keaton plays the eldest sister and directs this movie.Its a lovely watch on any day or especially on Father's Day. This was Walter Matthau's last movie he died on July 1,2000.

Rajkiya Udyan Lucknow

Agra and Bhagwan Talkies

On my first visit to Agra recently I was surprised to hear "Bhagwan Talkies",the name of a popular cinema hall in Agra.Bhagwan means God,so God talking is a strange conception to contemplate and so is buying a Bus ticket to it.

If you stay near Cantt. Railway Station,you get several Low floor A.C. Buses and normal Buses too that operates from there to Bhagwan Talkies."Inter State Bus Terminal" is located just few kilometers from Bhagwan Talkies.I stayed at Ranjeet Hotel in Cantt.and the manager there guided me to take a Auto or Taxi that takes just six Rs to drop you from Bhagwan Talkies to I.S.B.T..Lucknowites can take Bus if they miss Agra Lucknow Intercity Express that departs from Cantt Railway Station at
6:10.

And on the road adjacent to the Talkies is located the Best "Petha Sweet Shop" in town that is "Panchi Petha" which has dozens of varieties of exotic Petha  exclusive to the city of Agra,and your visit is incomplete without purchasing several types of this delicious sweet.

Many Restaurants and Hotels lie opposite to Bhagwan Talkies and a Fly-over runs Parallel to the Cinema Hall just above the Road adjacent to it.

Smriti Upvan Lucknow