June 2012 - Cricket @ BMSCE

Been almost 8 years since that day, don't know why i remembered it all of a sudden, so putting down whatever i can remember now.
Think the event name was Sangam, as fate would have it our first match was scheduled to take place at my place BMSCE, it was the place where iv whacked it around nicely a couple of times during engineering days, so things could not go wrong...at least that's what i thought anyways.
Reached there early practiced around with folks a little bit for warm up hitting a few shots here and there. The toss got done, bugger Niranjan was the captain, who had SINGLE HANDEDLY won us the ITTS cup last time around with some of the best hitting I'd seen back the, he still is the best leftie iv seen to date....those were the days🤷🏽‍♂‍. Coming back to BMSCE, I think we chose to bat first and after deliberation i was sent in open the innings (to my jubilation). The first ball i faced, bam it went flying over for a six on the offside, i was as much in disbelief as i was playing after ages in a competitive match. Felt a good touch with the borrowed MRF bat😁. Next ball same thing n hit on the football goalpost; it was declared a four while should’ve been a six. It went on that way the whole match, i might’ve scored some 30 odd and got out maybe in 4th or 5th over. What i remember even more distinctively is the bowler after getting beat up so much was sledging me on the way back and i was smiling at it all.  This "not so me" reaction is what iv remembered countless times over the years and is probably the reason why am jotting these down. We ended up losing the 3rd match by 2 runs in the 2 days that we played there and were booted out of the tournament, all other buggers managed to slip away immediately after the loss (nobody to direct my wrath at). Have not yet managed to win a cup for a long time, will hopefully change that sooner rather than later.
It was and still is a weird feeling after that first match, a sense of pride n amusement at the same time. Pride coz i managed to successfully win the match, amused coz i managed to rile up the opponent without intending to do so, being sledged was very new n even more so was my non-aggressive reaction to it.
Moral of the story - There will be people to try to bring you down on your path to potential victory, feel accomplished at your fall even though might be deep down under themselves, critique your failure - What matters is not what your opponent’s make of you, but what you make of yourself.
Be the -
best of what you can be,
best of what you can do,
best of what you are...
at the end of it all, the fiercest competitor that you can face is the person staring back at you into oblivion everyday in the mirror.

- @r(_)n👊🏽.

Movie Review - Tanhaji

Blood and dust - That's what we are. I don't know where I've heard the phrase before but that's what came to mind when jotting these lines. We are all forged in blood and eventually will become dust. No matter the positions held, no matter the accolades, no matter the good, bad or the ugly done, the one true certainty in LIFE is DEATH and the eventuality of turning into dust. We are alive and free, with what we are today and owe it all to the enormous sacrifices of our ancestors from hundreds of years ago thru to our soldiers lining along the borders to prevent any acts of invasion...A salute to every soul out there who knows that their blood will also eventually be just dust.

Tanhaji - Is one such story among infinite other brave warriors who gave their blood  in the fight against foreign invasion and ended up as dust in the pages of history.
The movie revolves around the epicenter of clash between Mughal's & Maratha's over their decades of fight to gain dominance over what we now have as India. The story here revolves around the fight between the protagonist on whom the movie is titled, Tanhaji Malusare(Ajay Devgan) - the maharashtrian military leader under Chatrapati Shivaji and the antagonist Udaybhan Singh Rathore(Saif Ali Khan) - the guard turned military representative of Aurangzeb sent to take over Kondhana. Ajay Devgan was at his serious best while for many folks Saif reminded them of Ranveer from Padmaavati.

Like most movies these days it is very CGI HEAVY, some of the action sequences are a breath of fresh air even in the midst of all that CGI, few of them are over the top(Read Bahubali) but still leaves wanting for more. Icing on the cake would be to have more pure raw action sequences to be reminiscent of those times which would make more justice to the warriors from that Era.
Even though it might seem that way but movie is not as bloody as the pages of history actually are.
Apart from few instances of arrow flying thru towards me, i did not get the feel of this being a 3D movie. Could be just me or the ambience but would've been more fun to watch the 2D version.
For folks who don't dread the sight of blood from war, you can easily watch this movie and might as well take your family, friends and kids along. Movie in all it's glory night not give an actual account of history but will nonetheless introduce you some parts which has been conveniently left out. The books we've read that was supposed to teach us history - never did impart the correct information, neither does this movie but certainly does provide a glimpse of what could have been.
An easily one time watchable movie if in a theater. Else you could always wait for it to show up at the comfort of your home later via online streaming or on some other TV channel.

- @r(_)n👊🏽. 

Fear - is nothing to be afraid of.

Per the definition of what someone has posted on Wikipedia - Fear is a feeling induced by perceived danger or threat that occurs in certain types of organisms, which causes a change in metabolic and organ functions and ultimately a change in behavior, such as fleeing, hiding, or freezing from perceived traumatic events.
In simple terms - Fear is what pushes someone to do certain acts that they never would have have thought they would do under certain circumstances.

Fear of hunger, fear of loss, fear of death, fear of failure, fear of god  etc. Some have fear towards very basic things - water, fire, height which forces them to take a step back every time the need to come in contact with fear comes up.

The presence of these among many others cause people sometimes to take decisions which are irrational and in due course cause hurt to themselves and others. Once in, Fear makes people do stupid things, say stupid words, commit stupid acts. Fear is a good thing in certain ways only when it stops people from doing these stupid things.

There is no one easy way to fight fear; As the popular quote goes "You have nothing to fear but fear itself". 

A great man once said " courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear".

Identify your fear, respect your fear, acknowledge and accept your fear, take necessary steps to tackle your fear, fight your fear even though it could be a constant struggle and one day you will overcome your fear. Confidence is the only boost ever needed to overcome fear.

Do not give in to fear, rise up, think thru and look fear in the eye. Fear will then be a thing of the past and you will be the conquerer.

We define fear in many ways but fear should not define us.

Movie Review : What Da-bangg 3

The 3rd installment of this movie franchise is something that even if you give it a miss, you would not stand to lose anything.
Movie revolves around salman aka Dhaakad Chulbul pandey and other usual suspects from earlier ones, New noticable entrants are among Vinod khanna's role essayed by his lookalike, Saiee Manjrekar and antagonist Kicha Sudeep aka Baali Singh who does 200% justice to his villainous character.
Story is it's usual comical self, with most other new entrants have their roots before the first installment. So it's like a prequel to first movie explaining how all the characters came into existence to where they stand today and is more often than not a drag.
It's not the usual hindi movie that someone would expect with songs thrown in left right and center. This does make it lose it's grip of ploy and plot( not that there was any).
The story at one point moves East, West then North and finally goes down South before wandering off in every other direction. Someone decided at one point, maybe it's about time we made Dabangg-3 but did not know how to execute it and make it gripping. It has a decent storyline though but lacks execution in most departments. If someone watches movie then it would only be for Salman and Sudeep because there is nothing else worth the mention.
At best this would serve up as an entertainment, one time watchable at most if you have nothing else planned for this year end.
May the force be with you on this🤷🏽‍♂️. 

Movie Review - URI

Originally posted - Jan 28th 2019

URI:The Surgical Strike.

This a very late review considering half of India must'v already watched it and it's been some time since it released, better late than never i suppose.
It was 27th Jan, the Day after Republic Day. Like all movies these days, this also preceded with the national anthem only difference being in the video it also included national athletes who'v made my country proud... Very proud. At the end of the national anthem, it was unexpectedly quiet considering the movie but my almost 5 yr old daughter would have none of it and let out a resounding JAI HIND after which few more added to the chorus . I felt very sheepishly proud with all the eyes looking back to see who it was which included a few trainees from armed forces.😎😎😎😎
URI-The Surgical Strike... is based on true events which have transpired within the last few years. It ticks all the boxes that i feel needs to be in a movie but it in reality is really not a movie but an emotion. Fist pumping, knuckle cracking, all guns blazing, adrenaline thumping, gut wrenching emotion that will leave u in tears of sorrow at one part and tears of Joyous pride in another.
Most of us going to watch this might have known what this is about and how it's going to end so it's a bigger challenge to narrate a story to an audience who already know what's coming their way. The maker's have made fabulous work in making sure that it stays that way - Keeping nothing subtle about what this is about and rightly so is smack right in your face. This reminded me of BORDER in some ways but with much less drama which is the preferred way for the current lot of movie audiences like me.
I liked the way the movie started, introduction of the main characters without much of a fuss, how they slowly got entwined in the story to deliver a masterclass thru out . I can't speak for factual accuracy of the whole storyline, however the part where daughter gives out the war cry for her martyred father was picked/inspired straight out of Colonel MN Rai funeral procession. Could not hold tears when news first broke out in 2015, was pretty much the same here as well.
Of all the parts portrayed to depict various politicians - a far shot for many others but it looked like it was actually parikkar in some ways. Vicky Kaushal is no stranger in the film fraternity, still was in his nascent stages till Sanju came up and has announced himself BIG TIME with URI. Only a small percent of big things coming his way.

There has been quite sometime since such a movie was made, right in all aspects of a very well depicted emotions on the armed forces post URI. Pumps up the adrenaline the right way so to speak.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie - wouldn't be surprised if i plan for a second outing.

And yes indeed - Yeh Naya Hindustan hain, ghar mein ghusega bhi aur maarega bhi. 😎👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽

#Howzthejosh you ask...High as high can be.

JAI HIND. 💪🏼👌🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼.

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Movie Review - KGF

Originally posted - Dec 26th 2018

#KGF... A.K.A Kolar Gold Fields, like mentioned in the disclaimer story is all fictitious for anyone trying to relate it to actual events in history. This movie rightfully deserves the accolades that it is garnering thru out and for all the right reasons. At this age of CGI heavy movies to see something so raw, high octane energy, so very powerful and yet very little use of CGI is truly commendable. Makes all the work put in by the production team for 4 years worth it all.

Folks who would have watched ugramm could relate to the movie making style of the director Prashanth Neel, who has grown in huge proportions from his previous venture.

Yash starrer movie, so would obviously have look and feel which appeals to the MASS audience and the storyline follows suit to address those audiences as well.
I really liked some of the nuances introduced to have that 70's look wherever possible, it just goes to show attention given to detailing in storyline - be it the styling, the modified continental GT, vintage vehicles et al. I bet not many people noticed GOLD SPOT, the cool drink of the late 70's which was given some screen time at the backdrop despite being dead for over a decade.
What has surprised me is the lack of or more so the limited talk time by Yash inspite of occupying majority of the screen space given his appeal to the masses and the usual liking people take to on the dialogue front, Something which i could relate to with Ugramm as well. On a funny note, Prashanth Neal's lead actors get to do very  little chit chat and more of kick ass dishoom.

Srinidhi shetty who so far has got to do very little, unless the sequel offers a better significant role, i feel would only be adding to the Glam quotient. Which anyways was not lacking, not required and to be more honest was pulling the story back in trying to add a bit of cheesy romantic drama which could have been done away with and does no justice to the story being told so far. Comedy in between to play around her  just held up what was truly a serious gripping storyline but hey thats what audiences ask for i guess.

My other wish was to see this part of the movie wrapped up 5-10 minutes before where it actually did. Would have added that extra surprise flavour to keep the audience waiting in anticipation of how, what, when, where does it happen.

To summarize it all - a good movie, thorough entertainer, worth the watch, a treat to the Mass Audiences and in all ways would do justice to someone who looks for a good storyline in a well made movie. I could actually go and watch this again as well.

To the Director -  ಗೀಟ್ ಎಳದಾಗೋಗಿದೆ, ವೃತ್ತ ಬರದಾಗೋಗಿದೆ, ಆ ವೃತ್ತದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರೋದೆಲ್ಲಾ ...ನಂದೇ. ಇದನ್ನ ಹೇಳಿ ಶುರು ಮಾಡಿದ ನೀವು ವೃತ್ತ ದೊಡ್ಡದಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೀರಾ. ಇನ್ನೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ದೊಡ್ಡದಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಎಂದು ನಾನು ಆಶಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.

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Movie Review - Kabir Singh

Originally posted - June 26th 2019

My few rupees worth of time for what i thought of #KabirSingh😉

For starters...If you are one of those folks who enjoy a movie for what it is, based on storyline,it does kinda grip you for most times  among other stuffs and won't leave you disappointed. If you are anybody else who like to pass judgements on storyline to mark territories based on certain moralities and are easily influenced by stuffs around then PLEASE STAY AWAY as it will hurt your feelings in all sorts of ways.

KABIR SINGH is a remake of hugely popular Telugu Movie ARJUN REDDY which bombarded the career of a certain Vijay Devarakonda into superstardom and is in most ways almost a carbon copy. So if uv watched the Telugu Version, this is gonna be just a translation of sorts.
The main character Kabir Rajdheer Singh whose role is essayed to perfection by Shahid Kapoor is introduced as a highly short tempered, volatile, completely full of himself, impatient, it's my way or the highway kinda person who in his own words "Is not a rebel without a cause nor a murderer with a hand blade". Is the college Topper and rightly so respected among his tutors for his academic excellence and equally feared among peers moreso considered as an alpha male. He is what someone could call a concoction of most things wrong put inside a highly successful academic. It's a mixture of breed which is rarely found in reality but finds its way into movies more often than not.
Kabir's love interest Preeti played by Kiara Advani is quite timid in nature, not limited to just a pretty face but has her own fair share of short bursts where the true potential of her character is shown - You never know what a person is truly capable of unless pushed against the wall in face of adversity.
Kabir and Preeti have a rock solid relationship thru college and afterwards, with the build of character's it looks like nothing can go wrong but life is not as pleasant how college life depicts and it takes an upside down spiral within 2 days of "Meeting the Parents".
It takes Kabir's life down the road to being kicked out of the house, turning to an excessive alcoholic to a drug addict junkie clubbed with his usual trait of being short tempered jerk.

What this story says and not many folks comment on is the kind of friends we should have in life. Shiva is like the one friend everyone should have - Stay put thru thick and thin, would'v loved his character more if he were given some freedom to smack the sense into his friend.

Kabir goes thru all that could go wrong in his life and how he manages to wade thru this shithole of troubles he is solely responsible for is what the story is all about.

Music is too good, not that it made too much difference to the movie, but is an icing on the cake nonetheless. Sandeep reddy Directed the Telugu Version as well and that's more the reason for why this like a carbon copy version of the original.
For today's T20 version of movie goers, this could be too long of a movie as it stretches to almost 3 hrs so make sure you watch this after your nap time.

Not the usual stereotypical movie that we are used to - a breath of fresh air at the same time will have it's fair share of controversies since we are a society of "High Morals" where people are saints, untainted and straight as an arrow.
Haters gonna hate anyways - Life moves on otherwise. Like how this posted, your response to the movie will be based on what category you consider yourself to be.

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