Posted by: pankajunk on: January 23, 2008
The following song by Bruce Springsteen is for me, the best description of a young mind. With its fantasies of heroism, interlaced with images of the fantastic tales one has read. About its stubbornness, to always go against what “they say”. The obsession with ones hair. The best description of the song is the song [...]
Posted by: pankajunk on: July 19, 2007
As you must have guessed after watching the promos, Aap ka Suroor is a suspense thriller. Great mystery and intrigue shrouds the core theme – what lies under Himesh Reshmaiya’s cap? Years of speculation and theorizing by pundits and commoners alike about “what lies beneath” – a turnip patch, a thorny bush, a grassy knoll, horns, a [...]
Posted by: pankajunk on: June 18, 2007
It’s ironical that I should be writing an introductory piece on a subject I am so critical of. But as they say, adore it or despise it – ya cant’ ignore it, especially if you are in India. That’s Bollywood for you – the veritable Indian film industry – an inseparable part of the paradox [...]
Posted by: pankajunk on: June 18, 2007
All the recent “Gandhigiri” lip service and talk of Gandhi being back in fashion rang superficial and ingenuine. Will Gandhi in his new “cool n cute” avtaar with his toothless smile, adorable lisp, twinkly eyes; making girls go awwwww and helping males with romantic advice (i suspect he wears a jockey underwear under his dhoti), [...]
Posted by: pankajunk on: February 20, 2007
He looked something between a gawky teenager and a gnarled old man. Disheveled mop of hair rising awkwardly over his head, skin drawn tightly across his bony skull whose lines betrayed a strain much beyond its years, frail of frame, coat a little too tight and trousers a little too baggy, deep-set restless eyes which [...]
Posted by: pankajunk on: February 19, 2007
Recipe for Masala’ e’ Hindi Pikture
DIRECTIONS
Put the base, i.e., a plain Hollywood movie in a large based utensil over medium-high heat. Let the mixture simmer over the fire a little. Drain off core theme, serious dialogues and meaningful messages – if present.
Pour in wise, vulnerable, sincere, on a social reformist mission, uncompromising on values, [...]
Posted by: pankajunk on: February 19, 2007
A Jeep screeches to a halt in a crowded marketplace, its occupants, grimy fat goons with gruff voices and bloody toad eyes which threaten to pop out any second, jump out and rush inside a shop. A scared murmuring crowd gathers around the entrance, as the goons drag out the struggling, writhing, pleading shopkeeper. The [...]
Posted by: pankajunk on: February 16, 2007
The song begins ominously with a fast paced acoustic rhythm, soon joined by the freewheeling wail of a harmonica, and soon to follow rat-tat-tat beats of a drum. The tenor and mood of the song is ominous, like that of rolling thunder on a stormy day, even threatening, creating an atmosphere of inner conflict, restlessness [...]
Posted by: pankajunk on: February 15, 2007
1) The name of the movie which has you wondering if it has two “r”s, “s”, or “h”s.
2) Hrithik Roshan’s loathsome perfect looks which have u seeking solace in metaphors like “true beauty lies within”. He is a few light years ahead looks wise if you’re a male and much more beautiful if you’re a [...]
Posted by: pankajunk on: February 15, 2007
The song starts nicely enough with a sweet melodic line played against the soft strumming of an acoustic guitar. But listening to the rest of the song, I can hardly understand why the song is so hugely popular. The sound although melodious, is hardly anything special. Heck, Blue can do sweet melodies.
The lyrics are merely an attempt [...]
