Take #11 : Ricki And The Flash

Watching Meryl Streep is always a treat - and this little film, in which she plays a penurious musician who once walked out on her family and is temporarily drawn back in, is no exception. 

The lady sings a mean note, and packs a subtle punch in this dysfunctional mother's role. Musician Rick Springfield is present to add the rest of the realism to the music.

Families bond in strange ways. As Rick says "You can't expect your kids to love you - that's not their job ! It's YOUR job to love them".

This movie is not for everyone - but for a few, it will strike many chords.

I'm so glad I decided that I was among the half-dozen people on a balmy Monday night who decided to see the film; if you're a Meryl Streep fan, do NOT let this one go !

Take #10 : Drishyam

It wasn't difficult to work out why this movie is still running to packed houses in its third week.

I can finally say that I liked an Ajay Devgn film: difficult not to - his portrayal of a simple family man leading an idyllic life in a small Goan village, and the wayinwhich he schemes to protect his family after a sudden incident turns their lives upside down, is brilliant in its simple intensity.

Add to that a great background score; sprinkle on the charms of Shriya Saran; pour Tabu into a catwoman-tight police uniform- and you have the ingredients for a compelling watch!

En Passant #1 : Celebrating Gene Pools

Dare I open a can of worms by initiating this debate ?

I am as happy about Sundar Pichai's success - and for that matter, of Satya Nadella before him - as any other Indian (and for that matter, the rest of the world) is. But the fact is, they are no more "Indian" today than Bobby Jindal, Preet Bharara and Indra Nooyi are.

Once upon a time, for their own reasons, they went to the U.S., and ended up pursuing the American Dream; soon, they became part of it; they settled there, married there, had their children there - children who are proud to call themselves Americans.

India is today, for them, many things - an optional holiday destination; the land of their parents; a burgeoning economy that spells "opportunity" in big neon letters; and a country that insists on basking in their reflected glory. But for them, India is no longer home.

We need, therefore, to stop behaving like empty nesters and simply recognise what has been out there for a very long time - that we have a pretty good gene pool, that these are not just rabbits that are emerging out of hats, and that stuff like this is going to be happening - in the U.S. and elsewhere - for a very long time to come.

In the meantime, we have a house that we need to get in order.