Tanu Weds Manu

I had the misfortune of watching this movie last night. The promos seemed different- a part of me wondered if Maddy and Kangana's pair would work. This is the first movie in which Kangana is the lead... and not playing some psycho character. I liked her earlier... good fashion sense, can act, thoda hatke from the other actresses. This was her opportunity to shine.

The movie sucks... it is such shitty drag. Maddy is fat and a total loser who is in love with Kangana even though she is sooo not his type. Kangana is a slut who have numerous bfs, her way of rebelling against her parents.

I will spare you the details... please avoid. Kangana has shown off her newly bought cleavage. How many girls would wear backless and low cleavage clothes in Lucknow and Kanpur? Why even base the story in the small town if you want to show cleavage.

KC was wondering if it the season of "losers". After Break ke Baad we have this dud.

Do the film makers think the audience is stupid? That they can make any shit and get away with it?

Again, do not watch this dumb movie.

I advocate piracy

RT and me were discussing about piracy the other day. She never watches movies on pirated CDs. I do not buy pirated books... now that I can afford to buy the originals.

But, I have no qualms about watching a pirated movie. Here are the reasons:

• Isn't it insane to pay 250 bucks for a flop movie like Dil toh Bacha hai jee? I mean...shouldn't the rates vary basis the potential? Add another 150 bucks for popcorn... 400 bucks per head is insane. I'd rather download and watch it when I am bored
• The DVD of 'Being Cyrus' cost me 500 bucks and the movie was crap. Why would anyone price it so high? Especially when the movie was a flop
• Atleast a book worth 500 bucks has more than 500 pages... atleast there is quantity if quality is not guaranteed
• And the price of books does not fluctuate on basis of the reputation of writer...so, Chetan Bhagat's books will always be priced around 200 bucks no matter how many books he sells. The price will not shoot up suddenly
• I read that a particular movie's songs were being sold at minimum price online... 10 bucks per song to prevent piracy. Why will I pay 10 bucks for something that I can download for free? It is not about the price but the fact that something is available for FREE
• These days, movies make money even before their release... they sell distribution rights for theatre release, global release and TV release. Why should my 250 bucks add to the profits if the filum is not worth it? For books, the only source of profit is sales

I think piracy is good... it keeps the movie industry on its toes and pushes them to make "good" movies.

Dork

I thought this is a usual book about MBAs or engineers (Chetan Bhagat types) and ignored it for the longest time possible. But the review on Anita's blog got me interested.

The book is about a MBA- pass out from a top B School who joins a consultancy. He is quite naive and usual MBA types. He fucks up real bad in the company but luck is on his side.

Time pass read.

Being Cyrus

I have wanted to watch this one for a long, long, long time since its release 4-5 years back.

I think it is the only art movie starring Saif. I wish he would have picked well.

Nasseruddin Shah and Dimple Kapadia are a married Parsi couple staying in Panchgani. Saif comes to their house to learn pottery from Nasseer and befriends them. Nasseer's brother is Boman married to a much younger Simone Singh staying in Mumbai. Their father lives alone in a dingy flat. Saif kills the father and Boman. He frames Nasseer and Dimple for the crime. They are unable to prove his existence.

The suspense is that he is Simone's brother and was trying to help her escape the tyrant Boman. Of course, Boman had a lot of money hidden everywhere and they become rich. But Simone is not satisfied. She starts looking for her next target. Ultimately, Saif leaves home.

I Dare

I like biographies and picked up this one on Kiran Bedi. It is a good book with a detailed account of her professional life.

Very little is written about her personal life... I do understand that part. Maybe she is a private woman and believes in keeping it personal. But I could not understand "HER". What is she like? What does she believe in? What gave her the strength to go on? Why did she retire before her time?

I could not understand her as a person... and thats why I read only 3/4th of the book.

Saat Khoon Maaf: Garama garam review

I planned to watch this movie last night and then decided against it 'coz I was feeling too lazy.

KC is not here and I watched it alone.

Everyone already knows the story- Priyanka Chopra marries 6 men and kills each of them. She gets away with the murder. The movie is based on a short story by Ruskin Bond and gives it due credit.

Spoilers ahead:

Husband no 1: Neil Nitish Mukesh. I think maximum time has been given to the first story. All the characters have been introduced and it was important to establish why Sussane (PC) killed and where she got the strength from. Neil is an army major who is jealous, possessive with an evil streak.

Husband no 2: Enter John Abraham... arch nemesis of hubby no 1. A singer who takes away Sussane breath. But... he steals songs, becomes famous and gets into drugs. He is bumped off through heroin overdose

Husband no 3: Enter Irfan Khan... an amazing poet. Sussane changes her religion to marry him. But... he turns a beast in bed... raping, beating and hurting her. He is buried alive in the snow.

Husband no 4: Enter some Russian actor... he has another wife and kids in Russia... he is sent to a well full of poisonous snakes.

Husband no 5: Annu Kapoor... he is a police officer who realizes Sussane has killed the previous husband. He gets her free in exchange for sex... and then wants to marry her. He is bumped off through poison

Husband no 6: Enter Nasseruddin Shah... he saves her life when she tries to commit suicide out of loneliness. He then tries to kill her so he can take her money. But, she kills him first.

My likes:

• Loved Vivaan... Nasser's son. What an amazing actor... he is just a teenager but plays the part of a married adult damn well. Vishal has picked well... very few directors would make a newcomer the narrator and give him as much screen/voice time as PC
• PC is damn good... I can't think of any other actress who could have played the role soooo well
• There are many love scenes and well shot
• Annu Kapoor's orgasm wala scene is amazingly done...gives competition to Meg Ryan's scene in When Harry met Sally
• There is a scene in which John Abraham is nude with only a guitar and PC is wearing clothes. Signs of changing times... women want to see nudity too
• I love how Vishal adapts movies... unlike other directors who blindly copy anything... he is a thinker. I am glad there is atleast one director who is making such movies and bringing something new to the audience

What I didn't like:

• The movie is not scary... I do understand that Vishal tried to put humour so it can appeal to one and all.... but I wish he had given it the Ram Gopal Verma touch... maybe made it thrilling. He could have shown PC committing the murders.... that would have made her scary
• The end is a bore and unexpected. The tension built up in the beginning just fizzles out
• There should have been some relationship between Vivaan and PC. I mean... he has a crush on her throughout and does not take it forward? Strange

Don't miss it for the world.

Black Swan

I was planning to watch Saat Khoon Maaf but then decided to do it over the weekend... there will be ample time.

I had read amazing review for this movie and downloaded it last weekend. The plan was to watch it tonight since KC is not coming home.

Well, scary movie... and not to be watched when alone at home. The story is about ballet dancers... the obsession to be perfect which leads one of them to become crazy and do insane things. She is to perform in a play and actually becomes the evil character.

It is an ok watch. I expected it to be about ballet, dance and all things happy...so was taken aback by the scary scenes.

The good part are the sex scenes... very bold. I guess they will get chopped off in the theatre.

It was a pleasure to watch Mila Kunis ('Jackie' from 'The 70s show')... she is so pretty.

Diary of a wimpy kid Rodrick Rules

I like this series... I can finish reading them in a few hours. It gives me great satisfaction. This is part 2 and deals with Greg's hate (there is no love) relationship with his brother Rodrick.

Worth a read. I will buy part 3 this week.

Things to do

So... I went for manicure and predicure today. I have been hating my nails, fingers and feet recently. They really needed some pampering. Instead of spending 3 hrs in the parlour in 1 day I have started going on 2-3 different days. So, tomorrow should be facial. Sigh!!! Bliss. I am so restless than even during 1.5 hours of facial I cannot keep still and get bored.

Plans for tom:

• Grocery shopping
• A movie... maybe
• Buy cartons from nearby shops to start packing... will start with my books

The living room is becoming a store room. Giving company to the carton of Bose player is now the new AC. Sigh!!!

I have lost all motivation to clean since I am leaving soon.

Veg Lasagne

I have wanted to try this recipe for sooooo long. Finally... mission successful.

Here is the recipe:

For Pasta:

Take 4 sheets of lasagne, put in hot water, when soft put it in cold water and place on plate without touching the other.

For Red sauce:

Chop capsicum, carrots, french beans, mushrooms, baby corn, broccoli and whatever else you fancy. Heat olive oil, add garlic and onions. Add veggies and cook for 2 mins. I boiled the veggies first for 5 mins and then put them in. I didn't want to make sure they are cooked properly. Add tomato puree, tomato sauce/keptchup, salt, black pepper, oregano, red chilli flakes, basil and parseley. Adjust seasoning according to preference.

For White sauce:

Heat butter. Add garlic and onions. Add same veggies as above (again- I used boiled). Add very little maida- few spoonfuls (I added too much). Cook for 2 mins. Add oregano and chilli flakes. Add milk and stir. Add salt, pepper and palak (chopped and put in hot water till soft). It should feel creamy and tasty cheesy. It should not be dry.

Pre-heat oven at 150-180 degrees. Take a flat pan, grease with butter, place one sheet of lasagne, pour some red sauce, sprinkle cheese, place another sheet, pour white sauce, sprinkle cheese... so on and so forth... the red sauce should be on top. Add lots and lots of cheese on the top and bake for 15-20 mins.

Notes to myself:

• I used pre-cooked lasagne and did not put it in hot water. Big mistake. Put it in boiling water just few seconds before placing in the oven
• Make some red sauce without veggies. This can be sprinkled on top
• I did not place cheese between layers and only on top. Lasagne is all about the cheese

Preparation time: 30 mins

Baking time: 20 mins

Big News... Life comes a full circle

Hi. So, I have meaning to make this announcement for quite sometime now. I had to use all my willpower to keep my mouth/fingers shut.

KC and me (or should it be 'I') are relocating to Gurgaon. Yes... Yes... I know... I know. People who know and have read my previous blog will wonder if this is the correct decision. I did have a miserable time last time I was there. But... if this is what it takes for KC and me to be together, we are willing to do it.

At one end we are excited... our married life can start finally... we will actually be living together on the marriage anniversary... at the other end... we do wonder how we will manage. I mean... together everyday... me- all organized and time tablish... and him- lazy and disorganized. Now is the real test of the relationship. We can stay apart... but can we stay together?

As for Gurgaon itself, I guess I will survive. It is not the location which matters but people around me. Thankfully, Abhinav and Katty are in Delhi NCR. So is Tanuj.

Below are things I want to do after moving there:

• Join Jazz classes on weekdays
• Join Salsa with KC on Sundays
• Join swimming everyday
• Join a cooking class when time permits

And we plan to stay in a 2 bhk... sigh, what a relief. Since we do not expect visitors the 2nd room will be a study cum PS2 room.

Ciao...with happy thoughts.

Valentine's Day

Holla people... Happy Valentine's Day!!! Any excuse to take a day off and spend with hubby dear is most welcome.

Valentine's was very low key. We didn't do anything. I just took KC was lunch to The Great Kebab Factory. They have the most amazing galouti kebabs and I wanted him to swoon over them with me. Unfortunately, he was tired and didn't enjoy the meal much. But then... maybe thats love... I want him to taste all the good things I do... and he will come along to please me. I am happy with that kind of love. Its good enough for me.

I baked a four layered cake... alternating between vanilla and chocolate sponge. Not bad... I just

wish I had enough time to spend on it.

Also, I made chocolate mousse out of a box and it was delicious. Weikfeld (hope I spelt that

right) has a mixture for the same. Just add milk, beat, refrigerate and you are done.

Here are the list of things I plan to make this week:

• Chocolate Mousse... from scratch
• Muffins/cup cakes
• Savouries

I am watching Masterchef US right now and it is pretty bugging. There is too much drama. I think MasterChef Australia is the best... good chefs, no drama, extra ordinary food. A lot of Indians have become aware about food 'coz of this series.

Bryan Adams concert

I was very, very excited about the concert... my first concert. I have been to Indian Ocean and Euphoria at Chaos in IIM-A but they don't count. I was very unsure about the time when Bryan will arrive but not too worried 'coz I have heard of artists turning up 2-3 hours late all the time. We left home at 7 pm confident that at 8 pm we will be in. Of course, Mumbai traffic intervened and then we spent 15 mins finding a parking spot. To add more masala to it, I forgot the tickets at home. I had an email confirmation and was hoping it would work some miracle. KC patiently stood next to me through all the turmoil. The Kazoonga guys were not willing to let me in... I begged and pleaded and the guy gave in. God bless him... I hope he has hot, panting sex on Valentine's. By this time we had missed half of the concert but the rest 60 mins were completely worth it. Bryan Adams looks awfully old now but still has energy. Damn good.

Dinner was at Cafe Mangii. I have passed by this restaurant plenty of times. It is opposite Powai lake and has seating outside. Looks wonderful. We requested for seats outside and the waiters were surprised. Generally, people prefer sitting inside... I realized soon why. There were mosquitoes outside and we had to move indoors. It took them 20 mins to get my drink... after 45 mins there was no sign of food. I started giving them dirty looks and they brought us assorted breads and butter. Our meal arrived 2 mins later. Why didn't they serve the breads earlier? It would have kept us busy. We had ordered Risotto in red sauce and Mangii chicken. The Risotto was strictly ok... I have had better. There was less rice and too many vegetables. The Mangii chicken had a stuffing of spinach in chicken breast and pepper mushroom sauce on top. The chicken was soft and cooked well. I loved it. A meal for 2 with 1 drink cost 1400 bucks which is on the more expensive side. Worth a try once.

Yeh Saali Zindagi

Hmm... good movie... Arunoday is good... really good. I didn't think he could play the part of a common man 'coz he is so damn good looking. Irfan is great and so is Chitragandha.

There is a newcomer... Aditya who is Arunoday's love interest. The filum drags in parts and could have been easily edited it but overall it is a timepass flick.

Worth a watch once.

Diary of a wimpy kid

I wanted to read this book for a very long time. There is also a movie based on it.

This is part 1 of the series and was discounted at Crossword when I picked it up. It is a unique book.. a cross between a comic and book. The story is of a young boy who starts penning in his diary. He is like any American teenager... selfish, materialistic etc.

It took me 2 days to finish it and am waiting to pick up the 2nd part.

Its been a bad day

It has been a not so great weekend... there are many positives but also some negatives:

• I have been very homesick and teary this weekend. KC decided to spend more time to make me feel better
• Work is not very appealing right now. Sigh!!! One person can ruin all that you have worked for
• I had planned to make a double layered cake- bake one chocolate, one vanilla- split both into 2 and have 3 layers of icing (vanilla+chocolate) plus another on top. I have been dreaming about it. The first chocolate cake broke because I did not wait for it to cool before removing it. I was in a hurry to start baking the next cake. The vanilla cake was under cooked today. Finally, I decided to go ahead with only the chocolate one. Cake was perfect. I used Pilsbury icing and it tastes like shit. The one from fresh cream was so much better. Unfortunately, I do not have fresh cream or any time left on the weekend or the energy. Sigh!!! Maybe next time
• For some reason the gobhi tikka and paneer tikka were bad. I think it is KC's presence that has affected the food
• I could not find anything decent in the Globus sale. It seemed like they had collected all the shit from all stores and put it in the sale. The first time I left without buying

Now the positives:

• Meeting KC after 2 weeks
• Good dinner at Kobe Sizzlers. Generally, we never move out of our radius- from Thane to Chembur. But yesterday we went to Saki Naka for sizzlers. Thankfully, there was no traffic and food was good.
• Grocery shopping at 10.30 pm- best thing about Mumbai. I had no hope that any shops will be open after 10 pm. There were no veggies at home and I was desperate. But... DMart was open and people were shopping... I had lots of company
• Yeh Saali Zindagi... timepass movie... kinda slow and drags in parts but not a bad option

My effect

I have this effect on many people- they want to try and change me. Unwanted feedback has become a way of life for me. I don't remember the first time it happened... but my blunt, straight forward, aggressive attitude gets to many people. I won't ask why. In India people are expected to be mild mannered, polite people. Nothing wrong with it... except some of us are not like that. It is more shocking when seen in a woman.

Sigh!!! I do realize some things have to be toned down but there is this thought that people giving the feedback are not perfect. And the most interesting point is I have never given people feedback. It is just an opinion, after all. I cannot make it a yardstick to judge myself. At the same time, I do not take most appreciation seriously. Yes... it feels good.. makes me confident. But I also remember the time when it was not forthcoming or was negative. I am the same person... but perceptions have changed. Work has a lot to do with it. Performance can change personal opinions or atleast mute negative opinions.

Even though there is scope for improvement I believe in judging myself basis my yardsticks and opinions do not matter.

Don't let the world change you... that is my belief. After 3.5 years I have worked with all sorts of people and even though we want same qualities in everyone- independent, open minded, lenient, believes in work life balance, knows his job well, no egos, good negotiation, sensible etc etc etc... it doesn't work like that. Everyone is different and you cannot change them.

Do not let your job change who you are.

I recently got a feedback that I work with my mind and not with my heart. Well, thats the only way I can do it. I can love what I do but not who I do it with... 'coz the corporate world is filled with the most unreliable people of all. Every organization has goals that people work towards. The goal and company come before people. I have seen it happen. That is the world order. Work is about the mind... there are plenty other things for the heart.

Nothing helps bond a team better than...

a bad boss.

Remember Chak De? When Shahrukh gave the team a reason to bond against him?