Wednesday 23 September 2015

India's entry for Oscars: Court

India has finally selected a movie for an official entry into Oscars and to everyone's pleasant surprise the decision this year unlike last year which was The Good Road(a Gujarati movie) over Ship of Thesus or the popular lunchbox, is the internationally acclaimed Marathi movie Court. It is the directorial debut of Chatainya Tamhane and post this movie he has been recognized as one of the most potential film makers of the nation under 30. 

The movie released in India on 17 April 2015, however it was first premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2014.  The movie is a courtroom drama, wherein a aging folk singer cum social activist is arrested for instigating suicide of a sewage cleaner, whose body is found inside a manhole. His singing is blamed to have inspired the youth to kill himself. As the movie unfolds it addresses real life problems in the Indian judicial system and most importantly the most critical question in the democratic nation of ours "the freedom of speech". 

The essence of the movie is clearly evident in this very compelling international poster of the movie, where the lead character, activist Narayan Kamble played by actor Vira Sathidar, emerges with a microphone from a pothole, with the background of a courtroom. 

The movie has been chosen from 30 entries, including Masaan,PKHaiderKaakaa Muttai and Baahubali. After Mother India, Lagaan, Black and Salaam Bombay failing to grab the Oscars, we wish we finally make up for all of it with a strong contender like Court. Wishing the team all the best, India shall be surely praying for you. For now lets watch this trailer (with subtitles):





Friday 11 September 2015

Outlier 1: Mr. Sumant Batra

Once upon a time…a solo traveler while travelling through the mystic lands of Himachal came across
a beautiful village, Dhanachuli. He stopped by to imbibe in its fresh air, its beauty within him to be able to deal with mundane life in the city amidst pollution later. As he climbed the ladders of his career, he kept going back to the place, now looking at it more closely, understanding its culture, its people and unlike a tourist thought of preserving and building upon it a centre that would help this little place stand proudly as one of India’s cultural hubs on the global map - Mr. Sumant Batra. He is a Corporate lawyer by profession and one India’s leading ones at that.  He was the founder and managing partner of one of the top law firms Kesar Dass B. & Associates till 2011, where he now serves as Mentor and Chairman. He is a writer, a poet, a museum curator, collector and now moves on the path to philanthropy. His vision and mission towards restoring and building upon our nation’s natural and cultural heritage is what makes him, the first “Outlier” to be interviewed.

Q: First of all thank you sir for your valuable time, having this session with us?
A: The pleasure is mine.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
A: I am a corporate lawyer and believe in doing my best at what I do. I  took my career very seriously, and with God’s grace, very early in life, reached the top. There and then as I had decided right at the beginning, I left when I was right at the top; which was to live those hobbies that were left somewhere on the way. The other face of my persona is that of a collector, I preserve even an old matchbox I find artistic. That sums up most of me.

Q: Why have you chosen Dhanachuli as a base for all your activities?
A: For me Dhanachuli was love at first sight. The day I stepped foot on it, I loved it so much that I didn’t want to go back. I build a house there in 1997.  I first built a resort there and slowly as I started the process I understood the place, its people and their enthusiasm, needs, etc and decided to do something more. That is where I slowly started dreaming of my work being more of a platform towards development of a place I love so much.

Q: What is your vision with Dhanachuli?
A: I aim to transform Dhanachuli into a smart village where economic opportunities are created out of art, culture, literature etc. It began with my resort which was lovingly created out of every antique piece of furniture I collected over the years.

Q: You left your career when you were at the peak, how difficult has it been?
A: Well, to be honest it was a tough decision, surely for the lifestyle that came along with my position, the respect and attention but I always knew I would take a decision to leave things when at a prime position. I was conscious of the choice and the limitations that came along with it. But yes even then it did hit sometimes for example when you do not get invited to the conferences you have been keynote speaker at etc. or fly first class but I look at the big picture then and my aim of doing something for a greater benefit of society and in that moment this feeling evaporates.

Q: What are the events so far conducted at Te Aroha and how has the response been?
A:  We have done a series of retreats – painters’ writers’, food, tea tasting, bloggers and others. But KLF is the first mega festival planned.

Q: Why a literature festival?
A: I am a writer and a book collector. My next museum – The Room of Classics is planned around the art of book making; also, I love reading. I admit I haven’t read as much as I should have during my work days, but I plan to do that now. Literature is an intrinsic part of culture and serves as a powerful tool to communicate. India is going through a massive transformation and her youth need guidance to comprehend this change effectively.  Writers and poets play an important role in mentoring youth. Therefore I decided to do a literature festival.

Q: What are the USPs of the Kumaon Literature Festival?
A: First of all it is not just a literature festival, but a complete experience. Firstly, we do not have the authors brought in, give the talk and then taken away in separate hotels away from the crowd. We have arranged every event such that the readers get maximum interaction time with their favorite author. You will go for walks with them, have all the meals with them, in short spend the entire duration in their company. This is one thing I personally found lacking in all literature events and I was very particular to ensure we do not have barriers between the writer and the reader.

Apart from this, there is much more for everyone to savor, for example there is Balad by Basanti Devi, Sufi songs by Harpreet Singh, performance by Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan, folk dance of Kumaon, for the music and dance lover in you. A trek to old Dhanachuli and Nainital, star gazing and astrophotography workshop for the nature lover. There are also cyles sponsored by Hero and one can just pick up one and ride around the region, and get in closer proximity of the natural surroundings.

Q: What were the major challenges in putting the lit fest together?
A:  To me the single challenge has been to convince people that a world-class event can be held in a remote village. Sponsors are hard to come by. Believe you me I have received an overwhelming support

Q: You have an impressive panel of authors for each session, including many big names, was it difficult approaching any of them?
A: Surprisingly No. All the people I approached didn’t show any hitch in travelling to a destination not directly connected by air. Some were even kind enough to tell us that they would reach on their own. The support from the entire community has been enormous and that is one more reason I would love to do this activity each year.

Q: Tell us a little about future events in the Kumaon that are being planned by you?
We will champion four major festivals that will become a regular feature – KLF, Dhanachuli Film Festival, a theatre and a poetry festival.

Q: What are your favorite books?
A: To Kill a Mocking Bird, Old Man and the Sea amongst the classics, and The Second Lady and Godfather amongst thrillers. They are embedded in my memory.

Q: You have been involved in so much, what is your time management mantra?
A:  It is simple. I am an early riser. I do most of my work in the morning. I am focused and determined. I do not go for parties much instead I enjoy spending that time with my family, especially my children. I ensure I spend as much time as I can with my kids, be it taking my son for cricket or reading a book to my daughter. I also ensure I spend one day of the weekend entirely with them which keeps me happy and energized.


Q: What has motivated you the most?
A: The mantra if you work passionately and honestly you can achieve any goal.

Q: In one line you call yourself as?
A: I enjoy the journey as much as the destination but I must keep moving and doing more and more.

Q: Complete the following line: The world would be a better place if…..?
A: Successful people were humbler.

Thank you so much for your time sir, we wish you and the festival all the best.

for more details on The Kuman Literary Festival please log on to http://kumaonliteraryfestival.org/



Thursday 10 September 2015

Save The Bhai

A lot has been said and debated about Salman Khan. Especially after the hit and run case. Not only are Salman Khan's movies being repetitive (save for Bajrangi Bhaijaan) but his strong fan following has not given up on him and the trend of each of his movies make it to the 100 Crore club continues. He is truly "The Bhai". So for the unintiated here is all about Bhai and why people really love him. The best video on Salman Khan ever! Kudos team Screenpatti.

Do subscribe to their channel once you have seen the video.



Wednesday 9 September 2015

Movie Review : Kick

Directed by:  Sajid Nadiadwala

Starring:         Salman Khan
                              Jacqueline Fernandez
                              Randeep hooda
                              Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Language:      Hindi   

Run Time:      146 Minutes

Salman Khan plays the role of Devi Lal Sigh, who is a care free adventurous lad and does only those things that supposedly give him a "kick" justifying the title of the movie. The hot  Jacqueline Fernandez who is a Psychologist in Poland meets him at a friends wedding. The wedding is where the bride and groom elope from home and marry. The first introduction of Salman Khan in making this wedding successful is the typical "Saloo bhai" scene that only his die hard fans would appreciate. For the rest of the audience this is the time to realize your error in deciding to watch this movie and run away. However if you continue the two do fall in love after much persuasion from Salman Khan.However, him being a rolling stone that gathers no moss, it becomes difficult to do anything at all and so the bride's father, a businessman doesn't agree to the match till he is capable enough to support his high maintenance daughter. So they break up.

She then meets Himanshu Tyagi (played by Randeep Hooda), as a prospective match.They share their stories where he is trying to catch a goon named "Devil" who like Don makes it "mushkil hi nahi namumkin". he is on the look out for him. The story continues till he faces Jacqueline once again as a psychiatric patient. How did he land up there? Is it another scheme y Devil? Why did a fun loving man turn into a goon? The answer to these questions is the crux of the story or really not because it wont surprise you. Bollywood always has a way to make the lead actor "a hero" as he is called mostly.

The writers which surprisingly also has "Chetan Bhagat" have tried to introduce novelty in the entire script only for it to be more age old, like the twist in 90's and the movie fails to entertain and surprise you.There is also use of advanced and modern animation in the film which was just not needed. Overall its a movie to not waste your time over unless you are "bhai's fan".

Rating: 1.5 stars on 5.

Movie Review: Dum Laga Ke Haisha




Directed by: Sharat Katariya

Starring:      Ayshmann Khurana
                    Bhumi Pednekar  
             
Producers:   Aditya Chopra 
                    Maneesh Sharma

Language:    Hindi  

Since its trailers and then the 90's theme based song 'dard karara" that stole my heart I was eagerly waiting for this movie to be released, and so I watched it yesterday. As the trailer suggests its a different, unusual love story. In rural India where arranged marriage is still the norm and so is following what your parents wish, Prem (Ayshmann Khurrana) the male lead is pressurized to marry Sandhya (Bhumi Pednekar). 

The movie is set in the partly serene and mostly the lanes of Haridwar. Prem and Sandhya are opposites. While Prem fears English and has never cleared his SSC examination, Sandhya is a BEd and teaches in a school. Prem runs a cassette and recording company which isn't doing great, almost facing extinction with evolving CD world. Prem's family convince him to marry the overweight Sandhya as she is educated and employed, therefore a source of income. Sandhya likes him at first sight and why not, he is good to look at and marries him. Within a month they realize that it was a mistake. Prem's dislike of Sandhya prevents him from consummating the marriage. He avoids being spotted with her publicly, dislikes her looks and cannot go ahead. One day when at a friends wedding he insults her in front of his friends, Sandhya decides to take a call a "divorce". They are given the courtship period of six months before the court can give them a permission for divorce. 

It is in this period that Prem realizes he hasn't done anything with his life. The story takes further a lighter tome as "Dum Lagao Pratayogita" which is the centre of this film then begins.  Then begins the challenge of proving oneself in a game which is all about compatibility.  As he discovers himself will he also realize Sandhya's love for her? Will he find the compatibility with her and win the race? Will he find love for her. Well to know do watch this movie.

Its unique concept is certainly a breather in the romance category from the same old love stories. The unusual character of Sandhya will definitely draw the audience to theatres. It is a movie where even for a moment one doesn't get bored and the pace is maintain light and hilarious throughout. A movie after long one can watch with family. Bhumi as a debutante has done a fabulous job and Ayushmann Khurana is completely into his character. The supporting cast has done an outstanding job as well.

Rating: Overall this film deserves 4/5. Go watch it today!!!

Outliers

Everyone works for themselves albeit for many similar things, the most basic ones "food, clothing and shelter". However, a society as a whole doesn't progress with everyone just doing enough for their survival. We as a race, have progressed beyond all other species in the animal kingdom not just because we think, but for the fact that our thoughts are holistic, about making our lives, lives of our families and our society as a whole better. This altruistic sense of achievement has had a huge cost on the individual, like the father of Genetics Gregor John Mendel, dying of depression, being mocked for he could reproduce his experiments only with sweet pea. A more familiar example being that of Galileo Galilei being held in house arrest for entire life and his work being condemned for supporting Copernicus's heliocentric structure of the universe. 

Going by the 80-20 principle, this 20% of population in their small yet significant ways, do more than just for themselves and their families. They step beyond their comfort zone, sometimes struggle and even fight for what they believe is needed for a progressive society. These people are "Outliers". In this section we aim to write about their lives and work, for they inspire us in those times when we want to give up. This section will cover people from every walk of life, a housewife victimized by domestic violence, turning into an entrepreneur to support women like her; to the creative wizards who entertain us through youtube, taking over the giant television industry. It highlights a step taken for the society. With a hope that when the tenth experiment of your life has failed, this section inspires you to go do the eleventh, we would regularly bring stories/ interviews with personalities that inspire and motivate you. Summing it all up by the following lines by Steve Jobs...



If you know someone that inspires you, please do write to us at matrixlife01@gmail.com.