Sunday, December 18, 2011

Patchwork and Bollywood


What is liberation all about? In today's zeitgeist, and for me, it means stuffing my work overalls into that trunk in the attic and devoting self to making the home and hearth a thing of beauty and a joy forever (or at least till the mood runs its course). Quite a radical thought. 

I have been noticing on my travels, that the masses have taken up 'Being Human' with great gusto. Not even S.Khan would have envisioned a tribute as timeless and conclusive as this coming his way - fake imitations of his brand. Fake BH tees find themselves breathing the same rarefied air that an international fake is used to - clandestine consignments of them getting smuggled into the country all the way from hawk-town Bangkok, no less. Congratulations Salman, as the credit for this dubiously delightful distinction goes to your carefully-crafted mass appeal and punctiliously-performed public image.

So what have I been up to apart from drawing up wishlists and pontificating about the Khan-daan? Well, lots. For one, I saw The Dirty Picture.

Although I don't remember you asking, I would describe it as a great concept gone slightly awry. The three men in the life and times of 'Silk' (I can never get around to understanding how a person can be named that. It is like you see a construction worker walking by with a load of cement on his head and you decide to rename the heroine of your movie - Mud) and how they play dramatically different roles. Apart from N.Shah's lech act, the other two are poorly fleshed out and executed.Tusshar's character is lifeless and Hashmi's sudden transformation is too much to take for an audience who by the time that Sufi song rolls around, wants the movie to end. Vidya Balan is brave and wanton and uninhibited, a pleasure and the real reason, like her character in the movie, that people go to watch TDP for. Her acting, but mainly her skin-expo.

See, like 'Silk', I am playing to the gallery too - where would you be now had I announced my activities of the last few days largely consisted of charting out a development plan for categories in my area, looking at past trends, and market movements? Possibly, on another blog.

The year draws to a close and I still don't have a plan regarding where to wind it up - digress - last year, we went to Karwar, where we realized that tranquility does not become us, at least not unless we have paid hundreds of euros and are seeking it in the exotic locales of the Mediterranean islands or some such  - so yes, we don't have a plan. But as the best laid plans of mice and men often come to naught, I want for fate to play the lead this time and fling us against whatever rocks she thinks are deserving of our lethargy.

So, to adventures planned and unplanned - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year folks!