Gems from Jesse and Celine

I saw Before Sunrise yet again yesterday. While I can talk for hours about this film and its sequel which serve as the most fascinating meditation on all things love, I thought I'd let the dialogues, which are generously littered with absolute gems do the talking. Here are some of my favorite bits.

Jesse: Yeah, I, I know, but, [love and] sexual feel... Those are two very different questions. I mean, I could've answered the sexual feelings thing, no problem, but you know, love. Well, what if I asked you about love?
Céline: I would have lied...but at least, you know, I would have made up a great story.
Jesse: Yeah, well, you would have lied. Great. I mean, love is a complex issue.


Celine: She was only 13 when she died. That meant something to me, you know, I was around that age when I first saw this. Hmm. Now, I'm 10 years older, and she's still, 13, I guess. That's funny.


Céline: Yeah. I think it's because I always... I always have this strange feeling that I am this very old woman laying down about to die. You know, that my life is just her memories, or something.
Jesse: That's so wild. I mean, I always think that I'm still this 13 year old boy, you know who just doesn't really know how to be an adult, pretending to live my life, taking notes for when I'll really have to do it. Kind of like I'm in a dress rehearsal for a Junior High play.


Céline: I always feel like the general of an army when I start dating a guy, you know, plotting my strategy and maneuverings, knowing his weak points, what would hurt him, seduce him. It's horrible.


Jesse: You know -- you know what's the worst thing about somebody breaking up with you? It's when you remember how little you thought about the people you broke up with, and you realize that that is how little they're thinking about you, you know. (loses ball) You know, you'd like to think that you're both in all this pain, but really, they're just, Hey, I'm glad you're gone.
Céline: I know. You should look at bright colors.


Céline: No, no, no, wait a minute. Talking seriously here. I mean, .. I, I always feel this pressure of being a strong and independent icon of womanhood, and without making... making it look my... my whole life is revolving around some guy. But Loving someone, and being loved means so much to me. We always make fun of it and stuff. But isn't everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?
Jesse: Hmmm. Yeah, I don't know. Sometimes I dream about being a good father and a good husband, and sometimes that feels really close.
Céline: Hmm.
Jesse: But then, other times, it seems silly. Like, it would, uh, ruin my whole life. And it's not just a, uh, a fear of commitment, or that I'm incapable of caring, or loving, because I can. It's just that if I'm totally honest with myself, I think I'd rather die knowing that I was really good at something, that I had excelled in some way, you know, than that I had just been in a nice, caring relationship.

The Year of Deaths

That this has been the cruelest year in recent past, there is no doubt about. 2011 has seen the deaths of, among many others, the world's most wanted man, the world's most innovative entrepreneur in the digital age, the world's last real royal cricketer, the subcontinent's most popular ghazal singer, the dictator of the most paranoid and heavily armed nation. There are still six days to go before the year ends, and given how things are going, this post may yet be premature, but I will attempt to map the noteworthy and nebulous of this year's innumerable demises.

Creepy Death of the Year: Mikey Welsh (1971-2011)

The former bassist of Weezer predicted his death on twitter pretty much down to the last detail. He tweeted 'dreamt I died in Chicago next week' prophesying the time and location of his death. Other creepy details included his prediction of one his art works appreciating in value 'exponentially' seemingly on account of his imminent death.

Most Mourned Death: Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

He, of the turtleneck sweaters and keynote speeches. Jobs created a corporate cult like no other, so much so that we did not care that there might be cheaper products with more features. This, he did by creating products which were gorgeous and came with the most intuitive, user-friendly interface. For this, the day he died, falling prey to pancreatic cancer, which he tried to treat with hippie alternative medicine, the number of mentions of his name online were - 3834301 on Twitter and Friendfeed, 47215 on blogs, 65630 on Forum Replies, 28160 on Facebook, 9221 on mainstream news, 27802 on Comments, 1361 images and 1719 videos.

High Profile Death of the Year: Osama Bin Laden

Given the extent to which the last decade has been connected in one way or the other to this man, the bad-ass manner in which his execution was carried out, the extreme reactions his death evoked and the conspiracy theories about his death, this has to be the most high profile death in a long time.

Disturbing Death of the Year: Muammar Gaddafi (1942-2011)

The dictator of Libya since 1969 was literally hunted down from a drainpipe, disrobed, rolled around the ground, sodomized by a bayonet, and shot to death while most of it was captured on video.

The "Having Done it All" Deaths of the Year: Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) and Dev Anand (1923-2011)

Liz Taylor went through eight husbands and 20 major surgeries, became a grandmother at the age of 39, lost and gained weight like yoyo, pushed the envelope on female sexuality onscreen, broke her back multiple times, fought alcohol and prescription drugs addiction, survived scares of brain tumor and lung cancer and fought for Jewish causes most of her life. 

Dev Anand broke his way into stardom on back of an offscreen romance with Suraiya, and went on to become one of the biggest stars in India ever. At his best when playing morally ambiguous characters, Dev Anand's style of acting was something out of a 30s screwball comedy with rapid-fire dialogue delivery and vigorous head bobbing. The highlights of a his very long career included giving Guru Dutt his break, adapting RK Narayan's classic, opposing Emergency and continuing to make movies till he died undaunted by how bad they were. His lasting legacy though is having more great songs picturised on him than any other actor in the history of the world. 

Personal Mention: Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (1941-2011)

The celebrity death that grieved me the most was that of Tiger. Tiger was the most romantic of cricketers, a one eyed-aristocrat, succeeding to the throne at the age of 11, handsome, proud, battling comparisons to his very illustrious father, groomed the famed spin quartet in the late 60s, romanced and married the classiest actress of his time, sired a son who grew into one of the finest actors of this age, had more wit and charm in his brief foray into cricket commentary and writing than the entire cast of ESPNStar, and led Indian cricket with more pride than anyone before him and less vitriol than the likes of Gavaskar and Ganguly who followed him. It was even more sad than his death came at the back of India surrendering the trophy instituted in the honor of his family in the most abject fashion.

Love Triangles

Love triangles are fascinating. They are excellent literary devices and allow for 'thickening of plots' like few other things can. Most of us have been in love triangles ourselves. There are many things that make love triangles interesting - the awkwardness when all the three parties are together; the dilemma which the choosing party faces as we all are when faced with more than one options but this being the most gratifying and self-important of dilemmas, she (usually the choosing party is a she) stretches it out as much as she can; the way we align our loyalties with one of the contestants;  the general frustration of a worthy yet wracked-with-self-doubt candidate who will not act until it is too late, but, most of all, how the two competing parties behave around each other. There is a fair amount of sizing up, often reserve or a false sense of bravado, at times an undercurrent of hostility; yet, in other circumstances double-entendres and if the parties manage to bond, even inside jokes. In my experience, it usually leads to a strange kind of camaraderie which is unlike any other; the bond of a shared taste is a strong bond.

Some of my favorites stories are built around love triangles. The most interesting sequences come about when the suitors are thrown together leading to tension, banter, repartee, bonding and often all of the above. A drunk James Stewart hiccoughing animatedly against a bemused Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story, a curious Amit trying to size up an overconfident Haresh in A Suitable Boy or a patronising Casey discovering Gordon is actually a pretty formidable rival in Sports Night, they all makes for fascinating contests.

Some of the most interesting love triangles come from real life. Be it Nehru-Edwina-Mountbatten or the very marriageable Sanjeev Kumar and the very much married Dharmendra falling for the very Iyengar Hema Malini on the sets of Seeta aur Geeta. But the most fascinating modern love triangle is without doubt the Harrison-Boyd-Clapton episode. George Harrison and Eric Clapton's love for Patti Boyd was the stuff of legends and gave us some of the most fascinating love songs of the last century from 'Something' which Sinatra dubbed as the greatest love ballad of all time to the brilliantly desperately pathetic 'Layla' and 'Bell Bottom Blues'. Clapton fell in love with Patti Boyd while she was still married to Harrison and short of inviting Harrison for a pistol duel (though they did sort of duel with electric guitar and amps once for Patti according to her) did everything to snake away his good friend and music collaborator's wife including writing her desperate love-letters daily, emotional blackmail, dating her sister as a sort of consolation prize, not to mention writing some of the finest songs he ever wrote. Strangely, even after Patti left Harrison for Clapton, the two remained friends and used to refer to each other as husbands in law!

Another fascinating tale to another man's wife inspiring some beautiful writing is Leigh Hunt's poem Jenny kissed me written for Thomas Carlyle's wife Jane. I reproduce the story here taken verbatim from a website.

In 1835 Leigh Hunt and his large family moved to Chelsea in London and became neighbor to poet and author, Thomas Carlyle, at his suggestion. The two became close friends and Hunt’s home was always open to his circle of friends, of which there were many.
Two stories exist. One story is that Leigh Hunt visited the Carlyles to deliver the news that he was going to publish one of Thomas Carlyle’s poems. When the news was delivered to Carlyle’s wife, Jane, she jumped up and kissed him. The other story is that during one winter Hunt was sick with influenza and absent for so long that when he finally recovered and went to visit the Carlyles, Jane jumped up and kissed him as soon as he appeared at the door. Two days later one of the Hunt servants delivered a note addressed, "From Mr. Hunt to Mrs. Carlyle." It contained the poem, Jenny Kissed Me. 

Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in.
Time, you thief, who love to get Sweets into your list, put that in.
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad;
Say that health and wealth have missed me;
Say I'm growing old, but add -
Jenny kissed me!

Reputedly, Leigh Hunt was a flirtatious man, often in trouble with his wife. Also reputedly, Jane Carlyle was a bit sour and better known for her acid tongue than for impulsive affection.

Top 5 Screenwriters

No. 5. Salim-Javed

Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar brought screenwriting in limelight like noone before and noone since has done in Indian Cinema. They created the 'Angry Young Man', in my view undoubtedly the most important single phenomenon in Bollywood, gave Amitabh Bachchan his best roles and wrote some of the most entertaining films ever written. Javed Akhtar is supposed to have been adept at dialogue while Salim Khan's forte was complicated plots.

Crowning Achievement: Sholay. The Seven Samurai meets the spaghetti westerns meets Mera Gaon Mera Desh. I cannot think of another movie with a larger canvas, yet not being stretched or boring at any point.

No. 4. Ernest Lehman

Lehmann is best known for his musicals (The King and I, Westside Story, The Sound of Music) but his body of work also includes some very fine comedies (Sabrina, Hello Dolly), satires (Sweet Smell of Success), thrillers (North by Northwest, Family Plot, Black Sunday) and one of the finest dramas ever written (Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf).

Crowning Achievment: The King and I.

No. 3. Woody Allen

His body of work is huge and ranges from farce to fake documetary to tragicomedy to serious drama. Allen is  possibly the most important American filmmaker we have had. His range of influences are extremely diverse be it Swedish Cinema, Jewish neurosis, Russian Literature, Psychology, Philosophy, Jazz and many others. Aside from writing some of the most cerebral and neurotic humor, Allen combines it with a depth of feeling and poignant self mockery, often achieving a balance which makes his films funny as well as heartbreakingly tragic at the same time.

Crowning Achievement: Annie Hall. I am partial to the gloomier Manhattan but Annie Hall is where he writes his best. The lines remain comic yet there is a somber and serious feel to the proceedings. The fourth wall is broken at the right moments where we empathise with what Allen feels. Annie Hall is also one of the finest female characters ever written.

No. 2. Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin is without doubt the best screenwriter of this generation. Noone has written dialogue better than Sorkin. His writing is fast, engaging, smart, and funny in a dry way and fits in perfectly with long time collaborator Thomas Schlamme's walk and talk routine. Sorkin is also one of the rare writers to move effortlessly from theater (A Few Good Men) to film (Malice, The American President, Charlie Wilson's War, The Social Network) to television (Sports Night, The West Wing, Studio 60). Clearly resentful at being labelled by the right as unpatriotic Hollywood Liberals, his writing echoes a strong sense of Americana one would associate with the likes of Frank Capra coupled with the rapid pace dialogue reminiscent of Cary Grant and James Stewart in the 30s screwball comedies. His screenwriting involves a lot of verbal sparring, flirtatious banter and references to obscure trivia making him the most literate writer around.

Crowning Achievement: The West Wing. It's a fast paced, gripping, serious yet funny White House drama. What more do you need?

No. 1. Billy Wilder

Wilder wrote each and every one of his films. And he did it consistently for over 40 years. Consequently, his body of work is unparalleled in American Cinema (with the exception of Woody Allen). Wilder's films were minimalistic and precise, and while his pictures were intimate and unpretentious, what stood out was his writing. Wilder wrote sour, bitter comedies and harsh, morally compromising dramas. It was a sharp and refreshing contrast from Hollywood's sappy sweetness. His films were bitter, acerbic and cynical but they also came with  a sad sort of hope and tentative love. Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, The Apartment, Stalag 17, Ace in the Hole, Some like it Hot, Sabrina, The Lost Weekend, Witness for the Prosecution. Need I say more?

Crowning Achievement: Sunset Boulevard. While I enjoyed Double Indemnity almost as much, Sunset Boulevard is the more polished product. Wilder was unique in that he made movies on many diverse subjects, but it is fitting that his crowning glory remains one dealing with Hollywood itself.

Top 5 Supporting Acts

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; 
Am an attendant lord, one that will do 
To swell a progress, start a scene or two 
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool, 
Deferential, glad to be of use, 
Politic, cautious, and meticulous; 
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse; 
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous— 
Almost, at times, the Fool. 

- T S Eliot

No. 5 Jude Law for The Talented Mr. Ripley, Wilde, A.I., Sherlock Holmes, Road to Perdition, Gattaca - I have always liked Jude Law. He is handsome, has a wide range and is a fine actor. Yet, for some reason, he is yet to carry a big film on his own and is most comfortable playing second fiddle to other actors, which admittedly he does often to perfection.

No. 4 Amitabh Bachchan in Anand - Rajesh Khanna was at the peak of his powers and nothing could have conceivably stolen the thunder from him in essaying the eponymous role which gave him the sufficient scope for his histrionics. Yet, at some point mid-way we realise that the movie is actually revolving around the unfashionably depicted quiet, intense, idealistic Dr. Bhaskar Bannerjee. Rajesh Khanna is everything you can expect as the effervescent, over the top, dying cancer patient but it is the Amitabh's portrayal of the physician's frustration and the friend's pain that touch us the most.

No. 3 Derek Fowlds in Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister - In what was both Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne's career defining roles, Derek Fowlds stars as Bernard Woolley. He is the most conscientious character in the show and usually must juggle his loyalties to the minister and the principal secretary often leading to very interesting situations. This show involved many amusing series long-winded lines from both Eddington and particularly Hawthorne which would usually end with a one-liner from Fowlds which would be the funniest.

No. 2 Rahul Dravid for the last decade and a half - From his first steps in test cricket when he scored a 95 to co-debutant Ganguly's 131, Dravid has made it a business to do a great job only to be overshadowed by someone else. His supporting acts include among others, the 180 in Kolkata in 2001, his two highest one day scores and the distinction of being involved in the maximum number of century partnerships with Tendulkar. As someone who prefers to remain in shadows himself, I have always felt a sense of kinship and fondness for Dravid and perhaps that is why he remains my favorite cricketer. 

No. 1 James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story - This movie stars Kate Hepburn in a role written for her and intended to relaunch her after she was branded as 'box office poison' and Cary Grant at his handsome best. Yet, it is Jimmy Stewart, not a big name when he cast after Spencer Tracy, Hepburn's first choice turned down the role, who steals the show as Macauley Connors, the rapidly-talking, middle-class writer turned tabloid reporter bristling with every contact with the idle rich. His hiccoughing drunken bit with Cary Grant and 'holocausts and hearth-fires' bit with Kate Hepburn are absolute gems.


Honorory Mentions: Lord Emsworth in the Blandings Castle stories by P G Wodehouse, Iftekar in his various roles as the gentlemanly police officer in the 1970s, Naseer and Om Puri as the cops(witches) in Maqbool, Claude Rains in Casablanca, V P Menon for his role in integration of independent India, Deepak Tijori for his inhaler-sniffing-real-brains-behind-the-plot role in Khiladi, Naseeruddin Shah in Ardh Satya.

A Bit on Fry and Laurie

A Bit of Fry and Laurie is my favorite comedy sketch show of all time, even eclipsing the likes of Monty Python's Flying Circus for me. Nobody can do comedy like the Brits, and this show was typically English, with quirky and odd humor, clever wordplay, sexual innuendos and laced with references to British politics. The show often had Hugh Laurie playing a musical instrument and singing a hilarious number with it, with Stephen Fry taking upon himself to provide some perfectly idiotic choreography as accompaniment, which were a complete riot. Another quirky aspect of the show was the use of some nonsensical phrases supposedly from Strom, a Central European language invented by Stephen Fry! According to Wikipedia, it "comprises nonsensical single-syllable words often meaning different things in the same sentence, even shorter words that can only be expressed in over a full sentence in English, and vulgar faux amis." The most popular Strom phrase was 'soupy twist' uttered at the end of most episodes by both the actors, which in all probability meant 'cheers.'

The double act of Fry and Laurie, in fact is not limited to this show but they have collaborated most brilliantly in prominent works like Blackadder, Jeeves and Wooster and Peter's Friends and innumerable lesser known radio and TV programmes. Both Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie go back to Cambridge Footlights which has produced some of the finest British comic figures in the last 40 years, be it Douglas Adams, John Cleese,  Eric Idle, Emma Thompson or more recently, John Oliver. 

Both Fry and Laurie were born in the late 1950s. Fry overcame a felony  as a minor and three months in prison to come to Cambridge and majored in English Literature, immediately taking to theater and joining the Footlights. at the insistence of his friend Hugh Laurie. Laurie followed in his Olympic Gold medal winner father's footsteps and was a promising oarsman in high school and college, earning his Blue while at Cambridge before a bout of glandular fever nipped his athletic career in the bud. He then tried his hand at acting, joining the Footlights. He was introduced to Stephen Fry by his college girlfriend, a certain Emma Thompson. In 1981, Laurie served as the President of the Footlights, with Emma Thompson serving as vice president.

The first break for Fry and Laurie, and in fact, Emma Thompson, too, was when their annual revue at Cambridge, The Cellar Tapes won the Perrier Comedy Award. This gave them some publicity and led to the television adaptation of the revue. This showed led to a contract with Granada TV for all three to collaborate with Ben Elton in There's Nothing to Worry About, later called Alfresco. (which was a response to BBC's highly successful Rowan Atkinson starring Not the Nine O'clock News, written by among others, Richard Curtis) By this time, Fry and Laurie's double act had gained popularity and BBC offered them their own two man show The Crystal Cube which was soon shelved and later their most celebrated show A Bit of Fry and Laurie. In the meantime, they essayed various roles in Black Adder, another excellent comedy series from the 80s which Ben Elton co-wrote with the other set of twin comic collaborators, that of Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis from the Oxford Revue and were regulars as a comedy double act on Channel 4's Friday Night Live.

Their next big break was an television adaptation of several of PG Wodehouse's Jeeves and Bertie Wooster stories and novels. Both Fry and Laurie are ardent Wodehouse fans and this is evident in their portrayal of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, respectively. While Fry seems perfect in the role of the impassive, supercilious, cunning butler, it is Hugh Laurie's quirky protrayal of Bertie as a well-meaning but complete twit with an air of optimistic carelessness that stands out. 

Thereafter, both Fry and Lauries went on achieve a lot of individual success, continuing to come together only for a few comedy acts, like reprising their earlier roles in the one off installments of Blackadder. Stephen Fry ventured into different roles on TV ranging from playing a game-show host (Qi) to documentaries (The Secret Life of Manic Depressive) to producing the legal drama, Kingdom. His also dabbled in films, playing various suporting roles. However, his most significant roles were in Peter's Friends (co-starring Hugh Laurie) and Wilde, in which he played Oscar Wilde in a much acclaimed role. Hugh Laurie, on the other hand, portrayed primarily supporting roles in films like the Emma Thompson written and starring Sense and Sensibility and the Stuart Little films. He played the lead in Ben Elton's Maybe Baby. However, his finest role remains that of Dr. House in the American TV show, a nacissistic anti-hero inspired from Sherlock Holmes. Both have written reasonably succesful books and have also tied their hand at direction.

Though Fry and Laurie have not collaborated in any substantial way in the past fifteen years, the remain the best of friends. Fry was the best man to Hugh Laurie's wedding and is the godfather to all of Laurie's children. They have both continued to acknowledge each other for their support and inspiration. 'M'colleague' is how they refer to each other and their books are usually dedicated to the other or acknowledge their contribution. A couple of days ago, I read that Stephen Fry has been signed on to play the role of Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's elder and suposedly more brillaint brother in the second part of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes trilogy. Fry seems to fit the description of Mycroft as a large and stout man, astute yet lethargic. It is all the more fitting that his younger partner has been portraying a one of the finest character inspired from Sherlock Holmes for the last six years.

Even though Stephen Fry and Hugh Lauri haven't worked together in a long time, both have expressed a desite to renew their partnership at some time. Here's hoping it happens. Soupy twist!

25 Random Things About Me

1. I find things distasteful very easily - perverted jokes, slapstick comedy, metal, too much ginger but I almost never find something physically disgusting;  blood and gore, ugly pornographic scenes, bad hygiene, people taking a dump, poultry getting butchered - none of these would bother me, say, while I am eating.

2. I truly believe that as I get older I will grow handsomer, i.e. unless I go bald.

3. I have a thing for people's ears. I notice them, I compare them, I remember people by them and I like ear jewelery on women.

4. As a child, I was tricked into believing that Nana Patekar is a dwarf and that he stood on a stool to give his takes, which was later touched up by special effects. I believed it for longer than I am proud of.

5. For someone generally mild mannered and non-confrontational, I got into more than my share of fist-fights through high school. I don't know why.

6. For as long as I can remember, my most innate desire has been to be a cricket analyst. Someday, I want to have a blog on Cricinfo.

7. I am remarkably untouched by anything spiritual in nature. Nothing religious or spiritual ever moves me and I am completely untouched by the question of the existence of god. I sometimes find that strange.

8. From 1998 to 2006 i.e., roughly from the age of 11 to 19,  I went through a no tears streak. I did not cry even once in that period.

9. Significant influences in my adolescent years included The Godfather(novel),  Ayn Rand, Atticus Finch, Rahul Dravid, the Angry Young Man movies of Amitabh Bachchan, Letters from a father to a daughter by Nehru, Galahad Threepwood and Norman Lewis.

10. Despite having a deep baritone, I shriek girlishly in a high pitched voice when taken by surprise or in pain. Why this happens remains a mystery to me.

11. I like to collect trivia on any subject of interest to me. I spend hours on Google and Wikipedia.

12. I think VVS Laxman is the most gifted batsman I have ever seen bat.

13. I am not a big fan of the movies Bollywood churns out but if someone says that a certain movie 'insulted their intelligence', I find it extremely annoying.

14. I am obsessed with The Beatles, Hugh Laurie, Rahul Dravid, Kate Hepburn, A Suitable Boy and the song Autumn Leaves.

15. I went to what was primarily a girls' school for quite a few years, as a kid.

16. I do not think that there is another book as full of wisdom as The Godfather. I believe it truly contains the answer to all the questions in life. In the words of Nora Ephron, it is the I-Ching, the sum of all intelligence.

17. James Stewart is my favorite hero of all time.

18. I have a sharp memory and am generally good  at remembering all sorts of dates, entire conversations, people's faces, movie dialogues, short stories and songs. I want people around me to create history so that I can chronicle it.

19. I have not read or seen any of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

20. My favorite things would include the following - Billy Wilder's films, Salim-Javed's screenwriting, Nat King Cole's singing, Shane Warne's bowling, John Donne's The Expostulation, John Lennon's voice, the TV series BlackAdder, Bade Bhai Sahab by Premchand, the Beatles songs composed by George Harrison, Love Letters by A R Gurney, Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, the movie Dil Se, Ruskin Bond's essays, Rahul Dravid's late cuts, Amma's curd chicken dish and the Christopher Walken sequence from Pulp Fiction.

21. How Irfan Pathan could lose his prodigious swing bothers me a lot. Is it really possible? How can you know how to move a ball like that and forget it!?!

22. I enjoyed Biology a lot in high school. The cardio-vascular system was my favorite organ system.

23. English Breakfast is my favorite cuisine.

24. Wuthering Heights is my favorite classic.

25. My eyes are not particularly small. But they are deep-set and beady.

Top 5 Amitabh Bachchan Roles

Top 5 Amitabh Bachchan roles

No. 5. Bemisaal

This would not usually make it to the list of the legendary Amitabh performances. It is not even that well known a movie. Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, it portrays AB as a soulful pediatrician. In a tale of loyalty, sacrifice and revenge, AB has enough scope to portray his powerful suppressed rage, yet the parts that stand out for me are the flirtatious bits where he competes with his buddy Vinod Mehra to woo Rakhee and coldy seduces Sheetal to avenge his elder brother. (also played by AB)

No. 4. Deewar

Vijay in Deewar is perhaps the most analysed and dissected Indian movie character. I doubt I can add anything of importance to what has already been said. In the most taut and tense screenplay by Salim-Javed, AB is scorching, explosive and understated. Be it the famous “Uff tumhare adarsh, tumhare usool” scene or the explosive anger with which he grabs Sudhir all of a sudden, AB pulls off everything with aplomb.

No. 3. Don

In my perfect fantasy world, AB is Don, with a price on his head in eleven countries, jetsetting around in his Mercedes, sleeping with women and then using them as a bait to escape from the police and addressing the gentlemanly cop Iftekhar with the amused drawl “DSP” before flinging a suitcase in his face and blowing up everything. Don gives Amitabh his most stylish and cavalier role ever. The dialogues by Salim-Javed are an absolute gem, next only to Sholay. Midway, though the real Don dies, and his double Vijay steps in. Though I prefer the first half, the second half is more pacy and probably better cinema as a thriller, wherein the often at a loss, yet quick-witted double manfully tries to step into Don’s shoes. It is a very convincing performance and very soon, you set aside the disappointment of Don’s death and start rooting for his double.

No. 2. Mili

Mili stars AB as Shekhar Dayal, as the despondent, lonely, rich neighbor who screams at kids for making noise and cuts himself at random in bouts of depression. Hrishikesh Mukherjee was the first director to identify most of Amitabh’s talents; his long monologues and voice overs which became a regular feature in many of his later films, his gait, his repressed anger (Anand, and not Zanjeer was actually his first Angry Young Man role for me) and his flair for comedy. (Chupke Chupke) In Mili, he is at his handsome best and gives a restrained and gloomy performance as a man struggling against his background and seeking redemption in an ultimately ill-fated relationship.

No.1. Trishul

Trishul is the classic oedipal tale of love, resentment and revenge. AB, the illegitimate son comes to Delhi to avenge the treatment meted out to his poor, dead mother by his rich father who chose success over love. The entire film is bubbling with AB’s resentment, his dialogues with Sanjeev Kumar are laced with double meanings hinting at their past. He is willing to do anything to trouble his father; notable moments include trying to snitch away his half brother’s girl (Hema Malini at easily her prettiest), bribing and poaching his father’s employees and humiliating him publicly.

Top 5 Romantic Scenes

No. 5: Where Mr. Darcy confesses his love to Elizabeth and she turns him down.
Despite my dislike for the much hyped novel, this is one scene which I love. He confesses his love and proposes marriage, a proposal seeking to present the depth of his feelings through the conflict of mind her circumstances put him in and his complete helplessness when it comes to her marked by the unwillingness with which he bestows his affection. She, to his complete surprise does not take kindly to it and turns him down flat.


No. 4: Where the number makes its iconic appearance
"You know something?"
"What?"
"I love you."
"How much?"
"Huh?"
"How much do you love me?"
"A lot. A lot lot lot."
"How much is that?"
"Umm...(lightbulb glows)..27.5"
"What?"
"Yeah. I love you 27.5. Thats how much I love you"
"Only 27.5?!"


No. 3: Where Mike(James Stewart)Connors kisses Tracy Lord (twice)
This is the night before Tracy Lord is supposed to get married to George Kittredge, a complete ass. But in the scene preceding the party, Tracy and Stewart seem to be getting drawn to each other.
"What's the matter with Tracy?" He asks.
"You tell me, will you?"
"Darned if I know. I'd like to."

After the party, they're both completely drunk on champagne. She's mocking him, calling him 'Professor', when his fascination with her comes to the fore.
"There's a magnificence in you, Tracy. A magnificence that comes out of your eyes and your voice...in the way you stand there, in the way you walk. You're lit from within, Tracy. You've got fires banked down in you...hearth fires and holocausts!"
"I don't seem to you made of bronze?"
"No. You're made out of flesh and blood. That's the blank, unholy surprise of it. You're the golden girl, Tracy...full of life and warmth and delight."

The he kisses her. "Golly!", she says. He kisses her again. "Golly Moses!"


No. 2: Where they almost kiss in Dil Se and the song Dil Se
They discuss the things they like and dislike the most in Ladakh. Shahrukh is still trying to court her, she gradually getting drawn to him; this scene and the one preceding it where they walk and discuss what sort of kids they would have is charged with chemistry. She actually never lets on how much she is beginning to like him, but you can see it in her glances. He, on the other hand is completely awed by the mystery surrounding her. ("Mujhe sabse pasand hai tumhari ye aankhein, kyonki main kitna inme dekhta hun mujhe kuch dihkai hi nahi deta")
The title track is shot most beautifully. He, imagining a whole whirlwind romance through the song, imagining himself as her knight in shining armour in a terror-ridden Assam.


No. 1: Where they steal glances in the listening room in Before Sunrise
This scene is absolutely brilliant and anyone who has ever been, nervously in love will relate to it, immediately. The keep glancing at each other and try not to let the other catch them doing it. Julie Delpy is cutness incarnate, and Ethan Hawke's expressions are priceless in various places, most notably where he takes a long look at her, smiling to himself all through that you can almost feel how much he is enjoying looking at her.

Family

"There is nothing more important to a man than his family."
-Vito Corleone

I am very fond of an occasional drink. I have grown to enjoy the taste of most kinds of alcohol, I love trying out new drinks and I love the feeling of a slight high when you have just had the right amount of alcohol that is so conducive to brilliant conversations without you really toppling over or losing control. Yet, sometimes I get smashed, maybe puke and lose control over myself and worst of all, someone has to take care of me. Sometimes, one gets silly and it is fun for people around you until they have o take care of you and it is certainly no fun for yourself. Every time one of these bouts of uncontrolled drinking occur, I get very bothered. No one likes not to be in control (I especially abhor it), I don't like being silly and I hate the idea of someone having to take care of me. Most of all, I feel very embarrassed at being a nuisance. For some strange reason, off late, these experiences are accompanied by me imagining my father's disapproving gaze.


For someone not really close to his family, I love to talk (and think) about mine. I often wonder about how my father would judge all my actions, what remark my siblings would have to make. It's actually funny because all my life, I have been something of a rebel. I have always tried to chart my own path, bristled under the weight of any filial expectations, however little of it there might have been, notions of family unity suffocate me, in fact sometimes just being around my own people for too long makes me uncomfortable. Yet, I could bore you with intricate details of my childhood and family. Hell, some day I even want to chronicle my family history in a book! The truth is that however further I move, images of where I came from remain around me. I have started resembling my father, my voice and the way I speak or get angry is a lot like my brother, my story-telling abilities are a throwback to my uncle, I am gradually becoming a person a lot like my sister and I am beginning to believe, I search for my mother's sense of equanimity in the women in my life.

There is a line in Before Sunrise where Ethan Hawke says, "Everybody's parents fuck them up. You know, rich kids' parents gave them too much, poor kids' not enough. Too much attention, not enough attention. They either left them, or you know, they stuck around and taught them the wrong things."

This is very true and I don't really mean in a bad way, necessarily. We are what we were brought up with, what our parents and siblings are, inane childhood incidents which left a stamp on us. We are in some ways defined by our neurosis, and mostly, it all goes back to the four letter word called home.

Top 3 Underworld Movies

1. Goodfellas
The fact that it has topped Godfather alone tells you how good it is. Possibly my favorite Martin Scorsese(can't be certain between this and The King of Comedy), this movie is a fast-paced, almost comical portrayal of the world within which develops almost like a docu-drama. Great ensemble cast, freeze frames and long tracking shots and above all, an excellent narrative.

2. The Godfather
Given my obsession for this movie, I am not putting at No.1 with something of a heavy heart. The Godfather is one of the most thrilling cinematic experiences of all time. Perfectly chosen cast, brilliant screenplay taking out the best and the most pivotal parts of an extraordinary novel, excellent soundtrack and the period decor feel of the 1940s are what stand out.

3. Company
Everything about this movie works for me be it the tight screenplay, excellent narrative with some memorable voice overs and dialogues, inspired performances, one of the better soundtracks in an Indian movie and the way it is shot.