Festiwitti #5: The Year That Was

Reflections on 2016 ?

Saw a new country, and some new animals;Heard some old music;

Lost 5 kilos and jumped into a 2013 suit;
Broke a bone;
Rode a Segway;

Lost some old friends (there’s more than one way to lose a friend!);
Made none;
Met a few more, after a 35-year gap;

Read plenty of old books, no new ones;
Set a record for the longest-held job in 11 years;

Found Vasuda Sharma on YouTube (listen to “Jaagi Jaagi Raina”);
Chanced upon Vivek Govil on Soundcloud;

Crossed 10,000 likes on Instagram;
Didn't cross 10,000 hits on the blog;

Discovered Letterboxd;
Dropped some pills and picked up some others;

Barely blogged;
Passed the 6-year no-smoking mark and forgot to celebrate;

And heard, for the first time, a bank manager say that his safe was empty.

Yes, it’s been an eventful year !

Here’s wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas and a joyous 2017.

Take #37: Arrival

While the film "Arrival" is built on an undeniably absorbing set of premises, the execution make you think longingly of Departure. 

The lighting is unnecessarily dim throughout, even in daytime; the sound is muted and spikes suddenly from time to time, and several scenes drag in a manner that reminded me repeatedly of Gravity, a film I decidedly did not enjoy. Even the presence of Amy Adams didn't help.


This one is pulling them in during its first weekend - but I'll lay long odds that there won't be a second.

Take #36: Dear Zindagi

"Dear Zindagi" is definitely not a film for everyone - but to those with whom it resonates, it is a beautiful film. 

Alia is superlative, turning in a nuanced performance, leaving you astonished that someone so young and so relatively inexperienced can essay a role with so many different layers. SRK is restrained and watchable and actually steps back to make room for the talent that unfolds in front of him. The supporting cast have all turned in sterling performances.

Gauri Shinde can certainly craft a story, and direct it to hit its target dead centre. A gifted young cinematographer who lays her inner devils to rest with the help of a hatke psychiatrist with an unconventional modus operandi: an unusual tale, unusually told; we need more such films.

I'm no connoisseur, but I thought that Alia's costume design was exceptionally good and completely in sync with her character. And the music was absolutely on point.

Perhaps I'm going overboard, but I'm ok with that: I'm an unabashed Alia fan, and this is a performance that she is going to be proud of.

And the sheer hilarity of the line: "Are you a Lebanese?"

Take #35: Kahaani 2

The hype around this film ensured that it was impossible not to come away disappointed.

What could have been a very watchable whodunit tripped a couple of times in the second half and all but fell flat.

The performances weren't particularly exceptional either, and the cinematography was fairly ordinary. Vidya Balan needed to do something remarkable to outdo her performance in the original film- and she turned out to be unequal to the task.

If you miss this one, rest assured that you haven't missed anything.