Crash: Movie Review

"Moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other"

It is hard to say anything negative about Crash. Having said that, I can’t pretend that I have any idea about how the people, as a community, feel at L.A. America. Does racial discrimination exist there? Do they have prejudiced ideas about people based on their skin color? Does there exist a nauseating aura of fear in a commoner’s mind? Honestly, I wouldn’t know!

But then, after the infamous 9/11 tragedy I have heard enough stories to get a rough picture. I have lived long enough in this world, which is far from perfect. And I most certainly know how an average person will behave when fear and distrust become an unavoidable part of his day-to-day existence.

Coming to the movie, it is hard to talk about the ‘story’ here. I feel that Crash is not for you if you are gonna watch it with a ‘then what happens?’ mindset. Crash tells us about racism and racial stereotypes. Meet the characters. Listen to them talking. Observe how and why they are responding to different situations.

Crash is a collage of so many characters and so many sub-plots. There are white characters who have prejudiced ideas about people with dark skin. There are black guys who are fed up of racism and the pre-conceived notions of white people; but they act just like how the racists suppose them to…threatening people with a gun and car-jacking.

Here is a white lady who is afraid of black people. She wakes up angry everyday and she doesn’t know why. In a city where everyone is behind the metal and glass, it is only natural that she can’t find anyone to turn to. Afraid and alone! How does that feel?

Meet a Hispanic locksmith changing the front-door lock for white lady. He overhears her saying that after he changes the lock he might go out and sell the keys to one of his gang members. Being distrusted for no fault of your own! How does that feel?

A racist cop pulls over an interracial couple. The husband, of African origin, is forced to stand by while the cop feels up his wife. Being harassed and humiliated just because of your skin color! How does that feel?

If I go on like this, I won’t complete this review today! Interestingly, there are no completely bad or complete good characters in Crash. At one point you may feel sorry for a victim only to find out later that he is also guilty of making snap judgments. Then, may be you will hate someone for being a racist and later find out what helplessness and frustration can do to a basically good human being.

With so many characters and sub-plots Crash could have been a half-baked movie. But, the screenplay and actors are first rate and it turns out into a beautiful piece of work. The haunting background score suits the feeling of the movie. If you are watching Crash, you have no choice but do an introspection. “People, man….people!” Yes, including you and me!


There aren’t many movies made brave at the same time do not harbor any negative feelings. Crash is one of them. This is rare opportunity not to be missed for anything. Watch Crash.

Categories: Movie, Review, Film, Hollywood

Deception Point - A novel by Dan Brown: Book Review

United States of America is facing another Presidential election.
Senator Sedgewick Sexton Vs the current President Zach Herney.

President Zach Herney: A man of strong principles. A strong supporter of NASA.

Senator Sedgewick Sexton: A master of the political game. Has powerful friends.

Rachel Sexton: The beautiful and intelligent daughter of Senator Sexton. Working for the National Reconnaissance Office despite her father’s opposes.

Senator Sexton raises the funding of NASA as the main issue in his campaigning, as all of the recent NASA missions had been failures.

PODS, a NASA satellite, locates a meteorite buried deep under the Milne Ice Shelf, situated in an Arctic island. NASA scientists find out that this meteorite contains fossils of well-developed life forms – bugs.
As this proves beyond doubt that life exists elsewhere in the universe, it is going to be a turning point in the history of science.

The President invites four civilian scientists and the intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton to validate this NASA claim to give it high authenticity in front of the cynics. All of them hail the discovery as genuine and revolutionary. A festive atmosphere sets among the scientists gathered in the arctic island. The President is preparing to announce this startling discovery to the world in live media telecast.


But Then……….


Someone spots a small discrepancy in the excavation site. Two of the scientists get murdered and Rachel Sexton is fleeing for her life along with two scientists. Who is behind the killer-squad chasing them? What is wrong with the meteorite? Will Rachel ever find out the truth? The plot thickens…


Deception Point is a fast-paced thriller from Dan Brown, the man behind The Da Vinci Code. Well, no! There is no reference to the Vatican or secret brotherhoods.

This is a science fiction with a helluva mixture of facts and fiction. An action packed story, which gives you no option but to visualize every sequence. As with all other Dan Brown books, the reader will come away learning so many amazing facts. Just take care to further research so that you will know what is fiction and what is fact. Dan Brown surely takes his research seriously!

If you are interested this website may help you in finding the facts in Deception Point http://www.spacedaily.com/news/arctic-04i.html


All this is not to say that there are no hitches with the Deception Point. For one, if you have read at least one of his other works, you are bound to know who is the villain after a few chapters. So, there are no surprises. The narration is highly mechanical and stresses your brain to work very hard to visualize every scene. And after a while you may give up and start to concentrate only on how the characters are finding out the truth.


So, do I recommend the Deception Point?

Of course! It is much better than Digital Fortress and is a good page-turner. No, don’t compare it with Dan Brown’s religious thrillers. You will be disappointed. The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons remain in their own class. And I personally believe that Dan Brown shines the best when he takes us to the world of mysterious brotherhoods and historic treacheries.

Categories: Book, Review, Fiction, Dan, Brown

James: Movie Review

No No No....I'm not turning this into a porn-blog.These are just pictures of the lead characters of the movie James, which I intend to review here. Okay?

James is produced by Ram Gopal Verma. he claims that it is his first full-fledged commercial film. Oh! whatever category did his other films fall into!!!

You wouldn't mind if I reveal the 'plot' here. Believe me, you'll never mind!

The movie starts with an item number by Riya Sen.

Then.......it starts. What starts? mmm......It starts.....What it? Oh ok...what the hell....the story yaar, if u insist in calling it so.

Mohit Ahlawat (James), boy from Goa with a great body, comes to Mumbai. Falls in love with Nisha Kothari, an upcoming model. So?Well.....the thing is....there is a big bad guy who loves (or lusts for) Nisha. And he has a big bad politician brother who will do anything for his younger bro.The villain in the story is so bad, so bad that he will murder a guy just to rape his girl friend. horrible no? well, not as horrible as this movie.Now that the hero and the lady are in love, and villain has found out this....its run time baby. Yup! the lead pair start to run from the villain and in between James do some fighting to show off his biceps.Again, this is the time you start looking at ur watch, i case u had the misfortune to watch this flick.

I would like to tell u about James' philosophy, if u please."A person who does injustice is a criminal,a person tolerating it is a greater criminal and the person who sits on the fence watching all this is the greatest criminal." It is a long time since the movie-goer has appreciated this kinda hero unless he is a police officer.

The dialogues are so good...so good....that u won't stop groaning.Thankfully, there aren't much words spoken. And whenever Nisha opens her pretty mouth, she irritates u to no end.

Ah well....about the skin show. Well, there is a lot they are showing us.Mohit and Nisha are indeed good to look at below their respective necks.

I have this gut feeling that Mohit can really act. May be he needs a lot of polishing of this skill. And of course he will have to land himself on some really good film makers. John Abraham has got stiff competition here. But hey! you can't beat Johny's smile.

About Nisha......Oh Nisha baby, u just can't be anywhere near Urmila, however hard u try! You gotta understand that u can't fake sex-appeal even on screen. Don't worry, may be u can do some music vidoes.

James is really a short movie. The wonderful thing is that u will never realize this fact. It feels like years and years and years........and the torture seems to have no end.

Hey u! yes U....The Reader. Why the hell r u reading this damn review about this damn movie?

Categories: Movie, Review, Bollywood

Salaam Namaste: Movie Review

Statutory Warning: The Plot of the movie is revealed in detail. But then, nothing happens that u can’t guess well in advance.

Salaam Namaste was touted as a popcorn-entertainer. The popcorn bit is there alright. The entertainer part is suspicious by its absence.

Another feel-good movie from Yash raj Films and you know what to expect. One of my good friends says that Salaam Namaste is a complete rip-off of the movie Nine Months. Well, I haven’t seen Nine Months. So, I won’t be comparing the two.

Okay, here is a novel concept in the world of commercial hindi movies – Living in relation. Nikhil a.k.a. Nick (Siaf) and Ambar (Preity) accidentally meets and finds each other attractive. They decide to explore this feeling by living together. They don’t want to get married. At least not first.

Hey by the way, have u seen Hum Tum? Salaama Namaste deals with almost the same kind of issues. U know, how guys and girls have different kind of minds (really?!) and how they come to clash and y it is such a big issue. Hum Tum was much better for its entertainment value in the first half.

No, I’m not saying all is bad here. Just that, u won’t see anything special. Not many jokes. The sentimental scenes towards the end are much predictable. Girl gets pregnant. She wants more attention and love. Boy is confused by her new attitude. By the end he miraculously finds out that after all marriage and babies is not such a bad idea.

Saif is said to be a successful cook who has hit it big time in Australia. But I didn’t see him cooking much in the movie. (Is there a chef-trend going on in Bollywood? First Madhavan in Ramji Londonwalley....now Saif)
Preity is a part-time Radio Jockey and obviously whole of Melbourne listens to her program.
Hey, Salaam Namste is the radio station she is working for. She has done a good job of being an RJ. I don’t know about the work culture of RJs. But this is exactly how I imagine them to work.

This could have been better, if only the treatment of the concept offered something new. But no! The director knows what the public is looking for. So, he delivers the moneymaking formula.


Y to see Salaam Namaste?

U get to see Australia. Nicely shot also.
U love Saif, Preity, Arshad Warsi and Abhishek. (Yes! Let me break this surprise also. Abhishek has done a special role towards the end of the movie. If u love him, here is something new and funny for u.)
And finally, u have nothing else to do and have money and time to burn.

Y not to see Salaam Namste?

U are fed up of nice-looking, feel-good dramas like K3G, Kal Ho Na Ho, Mein Hoon Na, Hum Tum etc.
U can’t tolerate one more performance by Saif playing the fun-loving, commitment-phobic, endearing and attractive bachelor.


That’s it guys. Thanx for tolerating my blah-blah.

Categories: Movie, Review, Bollywood

5 Point Someone - A novel by Chetan Bhagat: Book Review

In our college days most of us might have formed a group of friends who have almost the same kind of tastes and/or backgrounds. Well, we would have also christened our group something bizarre as Mighty8 (Groan!!!)

But, what happens when a little group is formed by three guys as different as they could be? And let’s put them in a college…make it an IIT for better measures. That’s what Chetan Bhagat did in Five Point Someone.

It’s the story of three friends from the moment they join IIT till they come out. It’s about how they become under-performers and then how they land into trouble after troubles. It’s not all funny. Chetan has put some insights into the high level of pressure in professional colleges and how it affects the students. There is some romance and the usual boy Vs girl observations.

5 Point Someone is a book that you can read in a single stretch. Better don’t read it twice, because it might loose the charm. Hey! Are you expecting some valuable insights to the life inside an IIT? Or something about how to excel at IIT? Well you can ask any graduate from any professional college and you will get more info.

This is just a simple story yaar! Enjoy it. Forget it.

Categories: Book, Review, Fiction

Sarkar: Movie Review

Agreed, this has become somewhat cold. But, I promised to write. So here we are.

First thing first. There is no comparison between The GodFather and Sarkar.

I had watched GodFather a long time back. And that too bit by bit.

Here I’m talking about the book by Mario Puzo.

There are so many situations and characters that are taken straight from The GodFather.

At the same time, in Sarkar, Ram Gopal Varma has given a twist to everything.

The most striking difference is the ideologies (if I may say so) of the center characters.

For GodFather, “it’s not personal, it’s strictly business!”

But, for Sarkar, it’s all personal.

Sarkar, played by Amitabh Bachan, gives justice to the people who come to him for help.

And everything he does is based on principles.

I think this shift from business to principles was necessary for the majority of the Indian audience.

But, for someone who is a diehard Godfather fan, this can be a put off.

The jarring ‘Govinda Govinda…..’ background singing, which was intended to create tension and apprehension, gave me a head ache. Instead, they could have gone all instrumental.

Amitabh’s performance is very restrained. And Abhishek brings back memories of the angry-young-man. This boy is a real package. With that killer smile……..well, don’t let me start!

The real plus points of Sarkar:

You love Amitabh. You love Abhishek. Here you get a double bonanza.

What’s more, you get a surprise gift called KayKay.

Man Oh Man! He IS awesome!!!!

Categories: Movie, Review, Bollywood, Amitabh, Bachchan

War Of The Worlds

It is one of the most awaited movies of the season. And I was going to watch the film in one of the best cinema halls – Europa hall of PVR Cinemas, Bangalore. Naturally, I was excited.

If not for the great movie-watching experience offered by PVR, I would have been terribly disappointed! You might have already read/heard about everything that is to be known about War of the Worlds.

For me the only plus point was the child actress Dakota Fanning.
While watching, I actually accepted the movie as a real good one. Especially loved the special effects shown in the first half. My alter ego was telling me “Hey something is really wrong about this movie dear!” But I brushed aside this comment as the habit of an overly criticizing cynic.

Then we came out of the hall and my companion exclaimed, it didn't look like a Spielberg movie. And there I was…facing my triumphant alter ego… who, true to her womanly habit, was shrieking “I did tell you, didn’t I?” Yeah Right!!!

What War of the Worlds lacked is the Spielbergian-touch!
If only we didn’t know in advance that it is from the great filmmaker….
If only we didn’t have so much of expectations…

My alter ego promptly reproaches me “Stop taking the if-only-path! Its over.”

Categories: Movie, Review, Hollywood

Tale of two movies

At last we are going to watch War of the Worlds & Sarkar.

I have been waiting impatiently for these two films.

Hope too much expectation doesn’t spoil our experience!

Sure, I’ll like Sarkar anyway. Just watching Amitabh is enough for me.

As for the other movie….well, let us wait and see.

So guys, watch this place for the tale of these two movies!!!

Taj Mahal : An Eternal Love Story

Imagine a full-moon night…and an Arabian Prince roaming in the desert…
His heart yearning for his beautiful Princess…

That’s exactly what came to my mind while listening to this wonderful album.

Just listen to two of the tracks:

~Apni Zulfein~
~Mumtaz tujhe dekha~

Well, I feel it is better if u don’t bother about the other tracks

Categories: Music, Review, Bollywood

Parineetha - The Married Woman: Movie Review

At last we got tickets and blissfully went to watch Parineetha.
If you saw us coming out of the cinema-hall….and saw our grinning faces…and thought that it was Munnabhai Part II that we watched…….
Well….what can I say! I was as much confused as u.

Because the last half an hour of the film made us laugh so hard.
Hm….I’m not sure if those laughable moments were provided intentionally or not.

It is undoubtedly a visual treat. Everything looks so beautiful. And u get too hear some melodious tunes which goes well with the mood of Parineetha. In fact, I'm still humming "Piyaa Bole...". Saif is really good in his arrogant-but-hopelessly in love-role. Sanjay Dutt looked old...but nobody is doubting his acting skills. Divya Baalan has done a great job. She is well cast as the woman who can evoke in men such respect as well as possessiveness. Ah! those eyes.........they do speak volumes!

If u are in a romantic mood....and loves the slow pace....Parineetha is well worth till the climax. No I won't tell the climax and stop u from having a few laughs.

As for me, till interval it was bearable. In case u didn’t know, I’m such a romantic idiot sometimes. And I do love music videos very much.
Don’t get what I’m talking about??? Go and watch Parineetha.
Since you are going for it, keep your brain somewhere safe.

Now, why are you staring at me like that?! Oops! forget that I said something about your brains, silly things.

Categories: Movie, Review, Bollywood

The Godfather by Mario Puzo: Book Review

“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” –Don Corleone

That is The Godfather for me.

A bit dramatic because those kinda things never happen around me. But, never over the top. Everything delivered with the right amount of chill, and without any gilt around the edges.

It never fails to thrill. And those to-the-point dialogues send a shiver through me.

Don Corleone seems to weave a charismatic web around the readers.

Categories: Book, Review, Fiction

The most awaited.....

At last, after passing through all these agonizing days, it has arrived.
The unparalleled, the most sought after, the one and only......Weekend. Claps and whistles!!!!

The most perfect time of the week: Friday 6.30PM
I come out of my office. I instantly erase all the work-related-data from brain (My pea sized brain can store only so much of data)
While waiting for the bus that will take me home, I give an imaginary pat on my shoulder and say “Good work lass! U just withstood another 5 working days!"

Hurray! I have whole 2 days ahead of me and I can sleep all the time that I please.

So guys, I hope u also enjoy this precious weekend.

Some Gibberish

End of the day. So, writing about some mundane matters.

I’m very new to blogging. So, wanted to get some tips and tricks from veteran bloggers.
Did a lot of browsing. And my eyes are paining. Did I learn anything? Well, a little bit of this and that.

But, didn’t understand how to have a niche audience!
Well, this is a personal blog. And I’ll be writing anything that comes to my mind.
Today it may be movies. Tomorrow it may be Chinese food. I sure have a wandering mind!!!

So, my dear audience (whoever you are) – bear with me.

Star Wars Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith: Movie Review

No, I'm not a Star Wars fan. Yet I watched Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, the only episode that I have ever watched. One of the Star Wars fan teased me when I joked about the light-saber-duels, which really looked funny to me. Hm……should have kept my mouth shut!

There was a lack of depth in the characterization (except for Obi-Wan Kenobi) and I couldn't relate to them. The events lacked any surprise. Even I was able to forsee the climax.

The romance between Anakin and Padme didn't look so strong that he would turn to the Dark Side to save her. But then, I guess Anakin was not good enough by Yoda standards. If he wanted his lover by his side all the time, how come he is selfless?!

In a nutshell I didn't care about anything that happened!

Categories: Movie, Review, Hollywood

The weekend

I wouldn’t rate this last weekend as an ideal one. Was a bit busy with the visitors. But, those two precious days were thoroughly wasted as far as I am concerned. Didn’t even do the laundry! (And there are a whole 5 working days ahead)

The only highlight is a few hours in a nearby bookshop. What did I buy?
The God Father. Oh! I have read it before. This time, trying to figure out why I like this book so much. I’m halfway through it and simply enjoying. Forgot all about using my critic’s talents!!!

To watch or not to watch?!

I have been planning to watch this new hindi movie called Parineetha.
But, now am wondering....will it be too sweet for my taste!!
hm...nothing against gushy-mushy stuff. only that, sometimes I can't digest things too sweet.

so guyz, if I watch Parineetha I'll surely write here.

A Welcome Note

Hello reader

A long time back.........I decided to start blogging. But, like everything else that I do, this also was postponed........postponed..........and.........well, postponed some more!!!

Anyway, as u r reading this, I would like to welcome you to my world (limited access).

Let me make something clear first. There is a Guru in India namely Sri Sri Sri RaviSankar. And the phrase 'Art of Living' is mainly recogonized as his teachings (I don't know anything more).If he has copy-righted the phrase....someone pleazzzzz inform me.

In this little blog of mine I intend to type-away about my interests. That will mainly include books, movies & music. And some musings......

So, if you intend to come along tomorrow or any other day...... Wish u happy reading!

Signing Off
-Krishna

I'm adding something to this post.

Important Info: This blog was named "Art of Living" previously, hence the above blah-blah. Some people end up here searching for some info about Sri Sri Ravishankar and Art of Living. For those here are two links>>

About Sri Sri Ravishankar

Art of Living foundation's official website

Again, thankyou for visiting my blog.