Z for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

In today’s material world how many of us are lucky to have friendships lasting for decades? How many of us have that bond with our schoolmates or college mates?

 

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a cult movie that initially felt like a simple movie of three friends going on a road trip but then, the complexity of the characters, the issues of the individuals playing the three main leads somehow could relate to the real-life problems. Anyone could relate to what the three individuals were going through in their life. It is not about going distant from a friend due to misunderstanding or failing in a matrimonial relation misinterpretation of events. It is much more than all of that.

 

Every individual has some kind of phobia or history, that sometimes no one shares. But when friends like Arjun, Imran, and Kabir meet, skeletons tumble out of the closet. 

 

The movie is also above conquering our fears and overcoming our shortcomings by facing them. I just loved that movie and watch it again and again and again. I loved the manner the three male leads, Hrithik Roshan Bobby Deol and Farhan Akhtar have played their characters with their natural acting. It is a film which one requires to reduce your stress. It is a lighthearted, refreshing movie which you can watch alone or maybe with your group of friends and which will make you smile throughout and make you forget your worries and be happy. 

 

And that’s a wrap for this month-long blog challenge. I would like to offer my gratitude to all who have read and commented on my posts, be assured will do the same for you in the coming months.

 

Heartfelt gratitude to our WhatsApp group members, Deepa, Afshan, Renu, Jayshree, Anuradha, and Ranjana who not only supported, motivated, and but also encouraged each other throughout this challenge. Special thanks to Deepa who came up with the idea of making this group. 

 

Till next year, keep blogging, keep reading… Ciao!!!

 

To check out other posts of A to Z challenge click on links below

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Y for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

 

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is a coming-of-age romantic comedy movie featuring some of the best artists in the Bollywood industry. 

 

This film is one of my favorite, not only for the heart-warming music but also because I could instantly connect with Naina because of the way she was. Naina never got to enjoy life. She always concentrated on getting good marks in academics and how being an introvert bothered her. The locales, where the movie were shot are just mesmerizing. 

 

I loved the acting of all the artists, the rapport they shared, could be felt on-screen too. I can watch this movie any number of times for its humor, comedy, and the foot tapping songs, and for the actors and actresses, I just love this movie. Every time I watch this film, it not only brings a smile but always drives away the blues clogging my brains. 

 

Did you watch this movie? Which part is your favorite? Do let me know in the comments. 

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X for A movie 'X' based on your life (Guest Post)

Again today is a guest post written by a blogger friend Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli. She is a mommy blogger who blogs at Mom And Ideas, where she writes about her experiences and journey as a mom. I love reading her posts; they like a breath of fresh air. Her humour and how she makes light of every situation are commendable.

         Let us ask Annu (as she is lovingly called and known to us 💖💖) what she has to tell about her favourite movie in this post.

 

A movie ‘X’ based on your life

 

         Remember that X variable of your Mathematics problems? Oh, the joy we had when we found what it was and the disappointment when it left us confused!

         Now, what if there was a movie to be made based on your life? After all, our life is nothing less than a hit movie story, isn't it? Emotion, drama, romance or crushes, failures, achievements, struggles… It has all the ingredients of a movie script, right?

         Let me call it ‘X’, for now until you figure out (and please share in the comments) what you would like to call it.

         It is not that I am unable to find Indian movies with the letter X in the title, but let me assure you that your story would be way better than the four of these:

            Mr. X (1957): starring Ashok Kumar, involves a potion that makes him invisible. Innovative, particularly at that time, but it wasn’t a hit.

        Mr. X in Bombay (1964): is a romantic sci-fi film starring Kishor Kumar and Kumkum -  definitely not a hit but it had a beautiful song Mere Mehboob Qayamat Hogi.

           Xcuse Me (2003): would make the movies above seem much better. Excuse me, but let's not talk about it in this blog series that lists some of the most wonderful movies of our times.

           Mr. X (2015) is a 3D sci-fi film starring Emran Hashmi. No, not worth talking about it here. Don’t even ask why!

            So, coming back to your X, where X is the title of the movie based on your life. I am certain that it is way better and more interesting than the ones above. So what would it be? What would be the plot?

 Would it be about romance, finding or losing love?

Would it be about your struggles and challenges?

Would it be about friendship?

Or a thriller?

Or the drama in your life?

Or just the fun parts?

          Would it be a biography focussing on your achievements? Trust me no achievement is small when you overcome the difficulties in your life. You don’t need to be a famous person, everyone’s struggles are real.

            Okay, let me lead by eXample!

           My X would be a series as I can go on and on as you can figure out by the length of this post. I am still awaiting that call from some Academy award-winning director who would make a movie on my life… and then that movie would be a hit, then there would be a book, interviews, money… then a movie on the new success… it can go on and on ;)

Maybe my X is Daydreaming… LOL. What is yours?

To check out other posts of A to Z challenge click on links below

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W for Where'd you go Bernadette

 

Why is that every time a child is sick, a mother has to sacrifice her career, and her passion and stay home to take care of that child? Sigh! (Sadly, my Mom did the same when I had some health condition and Dad made her resign from her job and stay home so that I could be taken care of properly and recover. I can understand her plight now that I am a mother too).

 

I chanced upon this movie while flipping through the channels one fine day. I watched this movie for Cate Blanchett. It connected instantly and I think lot of moms who have given up their career and passion for sake of their kids or elders at home can easily relate to this movie. I love the manner Cate played the role of a frustrated, desperate mom Bernadette, who is a well-known and famous architect, and yet for sake of her daughter Bee gave away all her passion. But she is the apple of her eye and their lives revolve around each other.

 

I appreciate the director, writer, and Cate for showing the emotions of what of mother goes through, how she feels frustrated, and how isolated she feels when her husband, whom she trusted and loved refuses to understand her dilemma and calls her mentally unstable.

 

I loved watching this movie and would recommend one and all to watch it. 

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V for Vaaranam Aayiram (Guest Post)

Today’s post is a guest post by a very dear friend of mine Deepa Duraisamy, who owns a blog called FictionPies. Writing short fiction is her heartfelt passion. I love reading her posts, and her short stories. They are humorous and quirky but in a good way as they are different. 

 

So, now let’s hear from her about her favorite movie for today’s alphabet and why she loves that movie. 

 

Vaaranam Aayiram (Language: Tamil, Release: 2008)

 

Thanks to Aparna doing her A-Z on film recommendations, we discovered some English, Hindi, and Marathi gems here, and reaffirmed some of our all-time favorites as well. So, I thought why not bring in something completely new here? My recommendation for today is a Tamil movie called Vaaranam Aayiram (translated: A Thousand Elephants). 

 

The younger Suriya plays an army officer, and the movie outlines his growing up years, circumstances that lead him to join the army, personal tragedies that he goes through, finding love, re-finding love, and comfortable solace, all the while with the support of his mother, played by the beautiful Simran and of course, his father played by – Suriya again! 

        Playing both the son and father in this movie, emoting, and acting out the characters physically and emotionally going from 10 to 72 with such aplomb and ease, you can see why Suriya is so well-liked. 

 

The reason I pick this movie is for a few reasons. Firstly, the way it covers a gamut of relationships, emotions, and phases in life. And I can say with much confidence, if you re-watch it at different ages/stages in your life, you’ll relate to it differently every single time. What warms your heart consistently is the beautiful, emotional strength-filled father-son bond throughout – even when both characters are not sharing screen space, the faith and knowledge that his father is there for him, shine through – this is the stuff fathers are made of. 

 

The second reason is more personal, but then I suppose more shared too. Watching this movie, especially the parents – older Suriya and Simran (their younger love story is also shown!) I kept catching glimpses of my parents so much in the movie, once the movie ended, I ended up making an ISD phone call just to talk to them and tell them about it, and at that moment, I missed them so much! Parents usually are such an emotional safety net, even when they don’t make it obvious, even when they don’t spell it out, the silent confidence that they are around to catch you if you fall – it’s a Godsend. 

 

Gautham Vasudev Menon does a fabulous job with direction, and Harris Jayraj’s music is amazing. A couple of numbers stay with you! I still hum them from time to time. This isn’t a teary-eyed emotional drama (well, a little maybe) with lots of lectures or ‘gyaan’ as they say. There is no social message. Except what it leaves you with is happy emotions and warmth filled heavy heart. And isn’t that something really good? 

 

As of this writing, you can watch Vaaranam Aayiram on Voot, Zee 5, Hungama Play, MX Player, and VI movies. 

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U for Udaan and Uri

 

In this post, too, I am writing about two movies that I loved watching and belong to the great movies list: Udaan (2010) and Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019).

 

While Udaan is a coming-of-age kind of movie, Uri is an action film based on true events. Both films are different and yet unique in their own way.

 

Udaan

 

We all know how dominating and controlling Indian parents, especially fathers, can be. But some are so dominating and hot-tempered that life becomes hell for the kids as the amount of physical and verbal abuse takes a mental toll on them. 

 

Udaan is a story of such dominating father and his two sons. We always blame upbringing for any kind of abuse or bad habits a person has but then how come one sibling Bhairav Singh is alcoholic, abusive, and dominating while his younger brother Jimmy is completely opposite. This film is about Rohan, the elder son of Bhairav, and his struggle. 

 

I loved the picturization, the acting, and the actors; in other words, it’s a good watchable movie with loads to understand and tell.

Uri

 

Uri, on the other hand is an action film based on true events. I can’t write much about it because one blog post won’t be sufficient for it. Whenever I watch movies or web series based on intelligence officers, the army or such, my heart swells with pride in their brave heartedness while my eyes cry on their sacrifice.  

 

Plus, the music of the film is awesome. Hats off to Sashwat Sachdev, for creating such a piece of brilliant music. 

 

What’s your take on both the movies? Please do let me know. 

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T for Taare Zameen Par

        

         Taare Zameen Par (2007) was a movie that made a special place in my heart as it was released when we were coming to terms and accepting our daughter’s condition. Even today couple of songs make me cry, while each dialogue of Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikumbh screams truth and reality and facts.

        This 2007 movie is about a child Ishaan lovingly called Inu, who is suffering from a condition called Dyslexia but his parents and teachers label him as ‘lazy and careless’ as they are unable to understand his condition. It’s a common notion that ‘such’ kids can be reformed by severe beating/scolding or by being strict. Why doesn’t anyone understand not every child wants to be a doctor or engineer? Each child has a different capacity. Just like all fingers in our hands are not the same and equal similarly it is not necessary that both the kids of the same parents have to be equal in academics. When will Indian parents stop comparing one child’s achievements with the other and vice versa? 

        Some of the dialogues are hard-hitting and also heart-touching like the ones below. 

And this song breaks me down completely even today amongst other songs of the movie.

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S for Sky is Pink

 

This movie is special for various reasons. It has showcased the mental, physical and the emotional struggles of a mother who is taking care of a child with special needs or who is a caregiver or a caretaker of that child. Most of the films portray or showcase the difficulties that a child faces and how society sees that child but no one acknowledges or shows what a mother is going through. But in the film Sky Is Pink, Priyanka Chopra, who plays the role of a mother (Moose aka Aditi) has beautifully and very aptly shown and expressed her trauma, her frustration, her distress of what she's going through when she is struggling to bring up and find what is best for her daughter who is suffering from a very rare disease called SCID(severe combined immunodeficiency). In other words, the film is shown from a parent's point of view.

 

One of my friends who saw this movie told me that instead of Priyanka Chopra told me that she saw me instead because she has been seeing me for a couple of years taking care of my daughter. So it's not because she told but anyone who is a caregiver or who has observed a caregiver closely will relate to this film. No one sees the struggle a mother or what she is going through while playing the role of a caregiver. Everyone takes the mother for granted because she keeps hearing, "you are a mother so you have to do it. It is your duty". There is no such written rule that because I'm a mother I have to do it.

 

We have no other choice, we do a lot, we give away a lot, we sacrifice a lot, and many things go through us when we see our child suffering. A part of ours shatters and bleeds when we see other kids living normal life whereas we can't do anything except look at our children helplessly because we are just not able to do anything to reduce their suffering and drive away their pain.

 

But this movie is one of a kind movie that I would say everyone must watch and understand that living a life of a mother who is a caregiver be it for her child or parent or sibling or anyone it is not easy. It takes a huge toll on her physical, mental, and emotional health. She also undergoes a lot when she is playing that role, willingly or unwillingly.

 

Next time you come across any caregiver, don’t sympathize or preach because that is not what we need. Also, don’t put us on a pedestal, we don’t want that too. We are doing our best. And just as one pill doesn’t cure all illnesses, one treatment doesn’t suit all conditions. 

  To check out other posts of A to Z challenge click on links below

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