Take #16: Pawn Sacrifice

Now, this was a lovely weekend surprise.


Even if (like me) you don't play chess, don't follow the game and know very little about Bobby Fischer, you can't fail to enjoy this crisp little biopic.


Toby Maguire was a revelation - I disliked him intensely as Spider Man, but it is unthinkable to imagine this film without him. Liev Schreiber, the bad guy from "Salt" was, in his role of Boris Spassky, a most effective counterpoint - even though he had barely any lines to say.


Catchy retro music, 1960's automobiles and interspersed frames of black and white (including real news footage) only add to the experience; an excellent supporting performance from Peter Sarsgärd and unexpected moments of humour are the other bonuses.


If you're at a loose end this weekend, this one is a better filler than most !

Take #15 : Katti Batti

What can I say ?

This film is really an absolute mess, with yards and yards of vacuous celluloid.

Redemption comes literally at the eleventh hour - in the last fifteen minutes, one begins to understand the enormity of Nikhil Advani's various blunders. A lot could have been done with this storyline, but wasn't.

No doubt a number of female hearts will bleed for the unshaven Imran; but for those males who wish to see this movie only for Kangana, please don't - it's like buying a Penthouse just to see the Pet of the Month : over in minutes.

For this "batti", Advani should have used LED; but alas, that was Irrfan's advice, wasn't it? Not that of his homonymous Khan.

Take #14 : Black Mass

This documentary-styled film made along the lines of 'Argo' and 'Zero Dark Thirty', is about a South Boston street kid named Whitey Bulger who started out as a petty crook and went on to become a powerful crime lord - with the active connivance of the FBI.

The film would have been quite ordinary, had it not been for the inimitable Johnny Depp, who showcases his versatility yet again by giving us a finely layered performance that keeps you riveted to your seat, wondering if this is an autobiography or an act.

Definitely a must for Deppophiles; the rest of you can comfortably give this one a miss

Take #13: Welcome Back

It's all very well for the critics to say that you need to leave your brains at home when you go to see this movie......but you still, alas, have to carry your skull with you - a skull that is unlikely to survive the cacophony of sound in this film.

I have finally realised why Anees Bazmee's name has so many vowels in it - you're supposed to extract them, club them together and put three exclamation marks at the end: this will give you a flavour of the emotion you will experience while watching this film.

There are many other highlights - the colours are even louder than those used in "MSG" and "The Dirty Picture"; Shruti Haasan invites you to forget Katrina Kaif by acting like she's the new vegetable in Bollywood; and newcomer Ankita Srivastava attempts to become your new "bosom" pal, by trying to prove that less is more.

If you decide to see this film, you will need to borrow one virtue from Nana Patekar: Control.

Take #12 : The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

" The Man from U.N.C.L.E " is a delightful spy film.


With two great male leads, the characters of Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin entertain like never before.

The women are gorgeous, the music foot-tapping and absolutely on point, the locations exotic, the humour constant....and Hugh Grant's little cameo is classic.


Welcome to two hours of an alternate James Bond - in duplicate ! If you're at a loose end and just want some pure entertainment, this one is for you.


And yes - don't leave before reading all the end credits !

Salad #18 : The Way Of All Flesh

And so, after a very, very long time, here's one more trip down memory lane.

You could call this my coming-of-age poem. It was written in 1984 - I had just turned 20, was about to graduate, and my mind was churning with the accumulated impact of so many experiences - many of which I had found too hot to handle.

Surprisingly, I look at these lines in the context of the present day and realise, with a little surprise, that nothing has changed very much in the past 30 years. Electronics and digital worlds notwithstanding. a lot of my younger readers may have experienced these emotions themselves.

As always, please be kind if you are leaving feedback ! Thank you !

Thinking of relationships

The long hours that go
into building them up,
the short minutes they take
to come crashing down.
Thinking of animosity, that
impregnable steel barrier
that leads the rest of the world
to isolate a single individual
whom they cannot fully understand.
Thinking of words
spoken in jest, taken in seriousness
ugly rumours
that cause their victim to retreat
into an emotional prison
for the rest of his or her life.


Thinking of parents and the Establishment
Restrictions, refusals, castigation
Thinking of arguments, migraine-like headaches
foul language in raised voices
sharp stinging slaps
Thinking of blood pressure
scaling new heights
Electrocardiograms going crazy
one thing leading to another
sympathetic detonation…….
Wondering
at the fearsome power of the explosive
that sets the reaction off


Thinking of little girls
Giggling, squealing, irritating
Thinking of teenaged nymphets
in tight jeans
                         chewing gum
                              blowing bubbles
                                 sprouting pimples
Thinking of women
long-haired, doe-eyed, soft voiced
Of more women
intelligent, self-centred, assured
Still more women
neurotic, uncertain, vulnerable
Wondering
just where the key is
that winds all of them


Thinking of pranks, blunders, indiscretions
smiling at the many moments
of acute embarrassment
fondly recollecting the first pangs
of puppy love
Thinking of childhood, and wet beds
                 of adolescence, and wet dreams
                 of adulthood, and wet pillows
Wondering
just what connects the beginning of one
to the end of another

Thinking of studies
Sheer desperation
mere hours before the exams
Long, silent nights
Gnawing headaches
Sticky eyelids
The ferocious heat of a powerful table lamp
The psychology of hot
                                  black
                                  bitter
                                             coffee
Absorbing just so much, and no more
Wondering
just where it all is going to end


 Thinking of the baser characteristics
of man
Of envy, that makes some conspire                 
to bring about the ruin
of one better than themselves
Of cowardice
that makes some turn tail and run
leaving a handful of hapless others
to face the tuneless music
Thinking of selfish people
who consider the welfare of
but one person in this world
Wondering
just what Dante would say of his own book
if he were here to say all this.