Smart Advertising

Religious arms have often showed some really creative advts in recent times. The most recent being the snap below



Found @ Amber Mac's Flickr


uninventive,
Neo.

Dor: Music which will take your breath away

So, what’s playing in my Winamp nowadays? The obvious answer could be Himesh. But life is full of surprises and so is the answer. Dor, the new offering by Nagesh Kukunoor, has some brilliant music.

Going by the promos, the movie seems to be set in rural Rajasthan and the music also has a rustic feel to it. The main track - Yeh Honsla Kaise Khule, Yeh Arzoo Kaise Ruke, is a poetry (and not a song) written by the ink of inspiration. Mir Ali Husain who has penned the poem draws a picture of a fighter struggling in his battles of life. The songs finds its place among the list of inspiring songs like Yeh Safar Bahut hai Katheen from 1942 – A Love Story, Zindagi Har Safar Ek Nayi Jung Hai from Meri Jung or Ashayein from Iqbal.

Another song from the album which is worth its salt is Imaan Ka Asar. The lines go as
Jalti Dhoop Mein Halki Hava Chal Gayi….Mila Bharosa Yaar Ka….Jaan Phir Sambhal Gayi…. I need not say more. And unlike the previously song, which has a classical tone, this one has a western undertone running through it and makes a huge impression without being loud.

Both these songs are not catchy like the tunes of our rock star Himeshbhai, but they grow on you with time and will keep on playing in your mind long after you have switched off your iPod.

If you ask me, am really happy that the baton which was held by Gulzar and Javed Akhtar in recent times is safely been passed on to the likes of Prason Joshi, Mir Ali Hussain , Sayeed Quadri.

Do you have a taste for songs with meaning, a liking for quality lyrics and music which makes a mark subtlety then Dor is specially cut for you.

Inspired,
Neo.

Lage Raho Rajubhai!!!!!!!!!!

Manager's (a.k.a Mihir kanakia) take on Lage Raho Munnabhai and the message it encapsulates.

Why Rajubhai;alias Rajkumar Hirani? Well.he is the real hero of Munnabhai Lage Raho.It is HE who has brought to the fore,a movie which has delivered entertainment like an art movie but still maintaining the status of a mainstream bollywood movie(almost).Well usually the load of making serious movies with meaningful stories with a so called message or learning ,lies on the shoulders of ray's & jha's of the directors guild.But the problem with such movies is that they are very clearly classified as "art movies" which are generally not patronized by a large audience,which in fact,tends to defeat the whole purpose of taking such concepts to the general public ,as such.Needless to say,they hardly make any economic sense, with the entertainment value for most viewers,restricted to the acting brilliance of the likes of devgan's,the sen's & the shah's.

Rajubhai,however has used the same characters,continuing his endeavour to drive home the most obviuos but simple truths of our lives and our frustrating events around it. It again throws light on the fact that we leave so many oppurtunities to learn and improve our standards of living,generally defined as 'material' standards of living and not the quality of our thoughts,our acts and the way we conduct ourselves in the continuous cycle of life.Categorising this movie as a comedy would be not only be unfair but also undermine the underlying message of the movie-Gandhigiri.One must appreciate and realize that till now doing Gandhigiri was being unnecessarily honest,naive and impractical as per the current times.But suddenly,Gandhigiri sounds quite practical and correct,as a policy to get our way,without having to use any real diplomacy,contacts,favours as the tools....and hilariuos at it!!! The best proof about the directorial excellence is the fact that it has all been brought forward in a very light and jovial fashion and the apparent serious irony of Munnabhai & Circuit(read as a difficulty faced by any lay person) comes across very straight.The breakthrough solutions to our life using Gandhism look quite achievable without going thru the usual but inappropriate(in the long term) short cuts which tend to add to our woes,more often then not.Being altruistic in fact ,looks more enjoyable and satisfying then being selfish.

So what really is this Gandhigiri. I have read the autobiography- "My Story of Experiments With Truth" of Gandhi and he says-"My life is my message" Thats the beauty of Gandhigiri.Its tried & proven as the means of self purification by following the path of 'Truth' as the only religion...its an infallible means of leading a simple but ideal way of thinking.What Rajkumar Hirani has done,is make this fact relevant in todays times with the kind of problems we face "now".It manages to depict some of our day to day issues. Munnabhai's struggle with getting over truth and become humble while apologizing to Circuit,depicts how effortlessly we hurt our own loved ones but still need a lot of effort to realize and reverse that.The typical mumbaikars life which starts with putting the earphones on and listening to their favourite RJ's who fill the vacant gaps of any major inactivity, like travelling.The mild attempt at hinting that irrespective of age and stage of life,one must nurture his or her dream.The end result is not as important as the journey towards achieving that dream...the oldies from the 2nd Innings House did prove that life is but a mix of various innings and the game continues till the time you want it to.. All this along with 'Lucky' as the character which resembles one of the most common breed of selfish people(not too hard to find) who can ignore and walk over the others well being,blinded by their vested interests.Most importantly,here it may be observed that a character like Munnabhai can in fact meet such 'Lucky's' with 'tit-for-tat' policy but holds to test Gandhi's way of dealing,ie.to hit and solve the problem where it started,the heart & mind of Lucky.Its the same story of all of us..it inspires us to try this path with the key ingredients of patience,determination and genuine intention.It shows that if the motive is righteous,then these ingredients will make a good recipe to meet our problems face to face.One needs to distinguish here between philosophy and pragmatism but at the same time realize that in fact both of these go hand in hand .....BUT one must try.One may never know if it can work unless one tries and persists..and as suggested in the movie,enjoy it!

Lage Raho Munnabhai is one of its kind and it deserves its praise and appreciation for once again touching upon the possibility ,of finding the most coveted and sought after feelings of joy,happiness & probably solutions to our miseries and problems....within.How...?By being true to yourself and enjoy the process.Rajubhai has very wonderfully shown that 'It is only through experience of trial & suffering can the soul be strengthened,ambition inspired and success achieved."

All I can ask for is more of such thought provoking and motivating "acts" to encourage us to reflect and attempt an approach,that can & will improve our lives manifold.

That's why I started with ~Lage Raho Rajubhai!!!!!!!!!!

Best Regards,

Mihir

My Space is Our Space

My Space is now going to be shared by my fellow mates who want to voice their opinions, share joy,grieve hurt,give advice,or just want to express themselves. I will be posting notes written by my near and dear ones and also invite others to share their experiences.

Starting tomorrow, you can share and touch others lives.

excited,

Neo

A Great Poem by Harivanshrai Bachchan

The lyrics of this poem were used in one of the title songs of a movie called " Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Maara" . Let me know if any body has that song

searching,
Neo.

Lage Raho Munnabhai Review: Refreshing as ever before.

So finally came the D-day of the much eagerly awaited second innings of the hugely popular Munnabhai MBBS. First things first, let me clear all doubting clouds; the movie is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the earlier one. It can safely be termed as a second edition.

Three years back, two characters got shaped and sculpted from the laymans’ scalpel. And this time they are back with a bang. Munnabhai, rogue with a golden heart and his totally adorable side kick – Circuit. Apart from these two, all the characters are new and even some actors.

The plot is quite simple but often simple things have sharp twist. So the twist is that Gandhi is back from the old history books. Munnabhai has some “chemical imbalance” and ends up seeing the Mahatma himself. So for a while Munna is his usual self but soon finds Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi as his agony uncle - infact his agony bapu.

Munna is madly in love with a RJ and pretends to be a professor of history in order to impress her. But in the course of events he finds his tried and tested ways of using unlawful power utterly useless. He turns to Mahatma Gandhi – the greatest man who ever walked on this planet as proclaimed by the man of the century, Albert Einstein.

Gandhi guides Munna towards the ghandhian principles and Munna in turn leaves his dadagiri and gets in to Gandhi-giri.

The script is top notch, infact if you ask me, its one up than the previous one. The acts are also of a higher order. Sanjay Dutt, I believe, is just born to do this role. Arshad gives more current to ‘Circuit’ than ever before. Boman Irani as ever gives a classy act in a mixed role and Vidya Balan is grace personified.

The music might sound a bit damp but it gels really well in the movie and works wonderfully. So what’s missing, the adorable jaddu ki jaapi. There are some glitches here and there but the numerous hilarious episodes peppered in the entire movie make you glide smoothly over them.

Ending note: The movie manages to make you laugh, cry and at the end think about the forgotten values of Gandhi. It manages to do all this without sounding preachy (just like Rang De Basanti). It’s about finding Gandhi once again - and this time not in museums, text books or on a 500 Rupee note but in Ourselves.

beaming,
Neo.

From Rags to Riches

Here's story which is heart warming as well as inspiring enough. Its about a classic rags to riches story of a boy born and brought up in slums and goes to complete his MBA from IIMA!!!!
And then gives it up all ( read a 8 lac job) to become an enterpreuner. Infact, I would term his as a social enterpreuner.Go ahead and get touched.


inspired,
Neo