Reviewd: Love Aaj Kal

Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor, Rahul Khanna

Directed by: Imtiaz Ali

Verdict: Watch on DVD

It’s a story of love lost and love found – Now and Then. And as with all movies, this one too had its highs and lows.

The movie opens with Jai (Saif) & Meera’s (Deepika) whirl-wind romance (in London) – some kissing, some touching and some naach-gaana. Soon, for reasons of practicality and with the promise of being BFFs, they logically decide to part ways – their careers are taking them different ways (and to different parts of the world).

Here’s where Veer Paaji (Rishi Kapoor) steps in as the friendly neighbourhood Indian and tells Jai of his courtship in the yesteryears. And so begins the other story – Veer falls in love with Harleen Kaur (Giselle), only to find that her family is moving to Kolkatta. Unable to come to terms with the miles that separate them, he goes to see her. And ultimately steals her away when it is found that she is betrothed to somebody else (against her wishes).

The plot of both stories are the more-or-less the same – Boy meet girl, They fall in love, Villain 1 – Distance, Villain 2 – Possibility of girl’s marriage to another. The difference in the two stories comes when comparing modern romance (that has its basis mostly on practicality) and historical romance (where heart came before mind). I think what I didn’t like about the modern romance was how shallow it seemed, with the round-about, indirect way the realization hits both of them. I mean, who is the world realizes one day after the wedding, that the other guy is the ONE! I suppose the handkerchief quotient also went down quite a bit, because most of the movie was said from the boy’s point of view.

The songs seem like they have mostly jus’ been put in because it HAD to be there. Saif’s inability to dance absolutely kills the song-dance routines. Deepika’s wardrobe is fresh, down-to-earth and wearable fashion- a far cry from the traditional dinchak-ness of bollywood. Although Rahul Khanna is gorgeous as always, I wonder why he had to be cast in the bit-role of Meera’s rebound boyfriend/husband. New comer Giselle does a good job as Harleen Kaur and Saif as (young) Veer Paaji is interesting.

Pieces of 8

Pieces of 8, originally uploaded by Ryan Brenizer.

Honey, I hope you're reading this :) It is EXACTLY what i've been looking for :)

There is a flower, a little flower. . .

There is a flower, a little flower. . ., originally uploaded by mjmatt {lazy days}.

. . .with silver crest and golden eye,
that welcomes every changing hour,
and weathers every sky.

- James Montgomery, A Field Flower

Summer Holiday

"Were all going on a summer holiday.
No more working for a week or two.
Fun and laughter on a summer holiday.
No more worries for me and you.
For a week or two." - Cliff Richards

And so I am off on my super summer holiday, owing to my 25 years of having walked this earth :) ooooo..I'm soo excited that I'm quite unable to even write this post. I'm going on a month's Euro Trip :D [not the movie, but I hope close enough]. I'm visiting Switzerland, Germany, Austria and France. The fact of the matter is that my Elder is a part of the 41ers Club (Roundtable) and I'm really going on a YAP exchange program with 10 other Indian kids (who're total strangers to me). So I'm gonna be staying with families of fellow members of the European Chapter, which means I only pay for the air-fare and whatever I buy as souveniers :)

In addition to site-seeing (and not being in contact with technology or family), I get to sample local cuisine and get an up-close and personal insight to the local cultures too. So while everyone is warning me about the food (which apparently is quite unlike Indian food), I'm looking at it as an opportunity to eat gorge on local stuff (cheeses included). And if that doesn't work for me, I'm guessing that it'll just make me appreciate home food that much more :) But I've already begun brushing up my French, although I'm hoping to find some French guy (like in the M&Bs) to sweep me off my feet when he whispers sweet nothings in the language of love (and I'm ONLY refering to the language French..lol)
The people who organise this, claim that we'd be walking an approximate 100km in 30 days!! AAAAAAAA..the only bright side to this will probably that I'd come back India with a brand new willowy figure :D

The funny thing is that I'm not too worried about not carrying a phone or having to see a computer screen for the next month :) I'm actually looking forward to it, much to the dislike of those close to me. But the hardest part of this adventure is the packing!! :( As a girl, I usually tend to over-pack because face it, you never know when you're going to need something. Am I right? Our organizers are suggesting that we carry only 1 suitcase and 1 knapsack!! (because we'd have to take care of and lug our own stuff around and that because train stops are kinda short) How am I ever going to manage? And to think, I bought myself a pair of sexy boots, even sexier heels, new Crocs and even a couple of new clothes :(

The other thing thats scaring me is the weather. As a South Indian, I'm used to a tropical climate bordering pre-heated baking oven. Even so, I'm a summer child, meaning that while I can stand extreme amounts of heat, I can't bear the cold. And the average temp. in Europe in summer (which is now) is between 10 and 25 Degrees Celsius. Egaads!

Oh well. I'm off for a month. I will try to post pictures and sneak in a blog post every now and then. Until then Au Revoir :)

So my birthday came and went by. I had the most awsome time (I think...Damn..If only I could remember) :D Anyway here's the follow up on the gifts i got

4. Crazy Trip to somewhere (anywhere) - I have been gifted a trip to Europe!! yay!
8. Hair accessories [for my unbelievably LONG hair]
15. God's Blessings (??)

I also bought myself a lovely diamond ring that has most people in my family stunned :) I also got Givenchy perfume and moisturiser, a Clutch Purse, and a pair of Slippers :)

Birthday Wishlist

My Birthday is coming and I'm turning positively ancient (Booooo!!) I hate it when people tell me to think of it as a number and that I'm really only getting more mature and the works. Usually I get pretty excited about my birthday (only to be disappointed on THE day). However, this year considering that its a landmark year, I'm actually feeling a little blue. So to beat it, I made a birthday wishlist and I'm hoping that I get more than one of these items :D

1. DSLR (Nikon D60/ Canon 1000/ Olympus E420) [although I've got a Flickr pro account, I dont actually own a camera! Not even the aim and shoot kinds]
2. Photo shoot with the new DSLR [of everything that comes in my way]
3. Sexy Boots
4. Crazy Trip to somewhere (anywhere)
5. New Haircut [Long hair is positively boring!]
6. Floaters/ Sneakers/ Sexy Formal shoes
7. 1 TB Hard disk [that I can make into my movie database]
8. Hair accessories [for my unbelievably LONG hair]
9. White Shirt
10. New Boyfriend/ Husband [to appease the parents]
11. New (real) Job
12. New (super cool) phone [iPhone/ Android/ Nokia E71]
13. Skirts (Pencil Skirt, Plaid Skirt, Pleated Tweed (school girl) Skirt)
14. Extension of My Mac Warranty (so i can fix the screen)
15. God's Blessings (??)

This was as far as I got. I will add some more in the few days that remain. Until then, if you do see something you wanna gift and thats not on the list, please feel free to do so :)

In the Words...

, originally uploaded by Yvette Inufio.

Buddha

"When you realize how perfect everything is, you wil tilt yor head back and laugh at the sky"