92 days

I started writing this blog on the 11th of September. Ever since then I've been meaning to write a match report of a Liverpool FC match. Since it would be my first match report, I wanted to write about a match which they won. But it took 92 days, thats right 92 days, between two victories that I saw Live on TV. The last time I saw Liverpool win was against Arsenal, on the 20th of August, a whole 3 weeks before I started writing this blog. Ever since, when I've watched, they haven't won, and when they've won, I haven't been able to watch!
All that changed on the 20th of this month when they played Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. If ever there was a away performance which was exceptional and fully deserving of the 3 points they picked up, then this was it. Goals from Maxi Rodriguez, who incidentally, was in the starting line-up for the first time this season, and a brilliant goal from Glen Johnson, who left his fellow English defender Ashley Cole in his dust, before finishing clinically past Petr Cech at the far post(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUXs1SjLXqQ&feature=related). But the performance of the match goes to Charlie Adam who played a major part in both goals, dispossessing Mikel for the first, and providing the accurate cross-field pass to Johnson for the second. He was brilliant all over the pitch, breaking up the opposition's play, linking up with the wingers and the forwards with crisp passes and working really hard off the ball to keep the pressure on the opponents.
And then there was the match yesterday, against the league leaders, the only unbeaten team in the Premier League, the team riding high on the power of money to reach the top of the standings. Liverpool dominated the match. City were lucky with their goal, the ball coming off Vincent Kompany's shoulder instead of his head to end up in the back of the net. Liverpool were even luckier with their equalizer, with a weak effort from Charlie Adam, which was heading away from the goal, deflecting off Joleon Lescott and past the wrong-footed Joe Hart. And talking about Joe Hart, he is the only reason City got away with a point last night. After the equalizer, it was one-way traffic with Liverpool piling on the pressure, and City hanging on for dear life at the end. A few incredible saves by Hart helped them secure what turns out to be a well earned draw at Anfield. A save with his legs while he was going the wrong way from a Charlie Adam drive, a save to deny Suarez a goal at the end of a driving run and a diving save to deny Andy Carroll a last gasp winner were the highlights. Liverpool were helped in their cause towards the end with the dismissal of Mario Balotelli for a second bookable offence. Having earned praise for the sense of composure which he had been displaying in recent weeks, Balotelli was back doing what he is infamous for, and he paid the penalty for it. A pull back on Glen Johnson and an elbow smash to the side of Skrtel's head earned him his marching  orders. At the end, Liverpool were left disappointed at their inability to get the eqauliser. Man of the match Lucas played his usual role in midfield, forming both the sweeper as well as the link to the forwards.
There's another important fixture coming up tomorrow, the Carling Cup quarter finals against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Let's hope they can build on the past two performances and make progress in the rest of the season.
Signig off...

When I Don't Have a Lot to Write

Ever had that time in your life when you couldn't think of how to express your thoughts even though there were a whole lot on your mind? I've been meaning to write the things that's been going in my life on this blog for quite some time now. But, every time I start writing, I can't think of two good sentences to put together. Maybe this what they call writer's block....
Okay okay I admit it, I'm no great writer, so I don't think writer's block apply to me :-p. But it is true that haven't been able to write enough in the past couple of days. Haven't been getting enough time to think about anything to write. So, as a solution, I thought maybe I should write about my problem of not being able to write! Well this isn't the most interesting post you'll ever read, nor is it the most informative, but a blog post is a blog post, and it's my blog post. You can tell by now the reason for naming this post what i have. It's not that my life has suddenly gone into hibernation, but it's just that, the things that keep happening seem to be too routine to elaborate.  There are the occasional bright sparks, like birthdays, movies and certain electronic gadget purchases(I missed my cousin's wedding in Delhi though, sorry Vini didi :-/ ), but they don't seem to be happening regularly enough. Life seems to be bound by a time-table now. Hopefully, the routine would become kinder and more flexible once the 5 day work week starts. Training ends in about a week and that's all I'm waiting for right now.
Winter is on the verge of setting in in Calcutta and this just happens to be my favourite season. The next 3 months are the best time of the year in this city, and it all leads up very nicely to the one day of the year dedicated to me, my Birthday :-).
Let's hope the next time I write I'll have something a lot more interesting, or atleast a concrete topic to write on.  Maybe I'll patent this type of blog writing as 'Abstract Prose', inspired by the very less understood abstract art :-p. Anyway, I've bored all of you guys enough for one day. Signing off...

A Rockstar's Love Story

Watched the 3rd day 3rd show(as opposed to the craze of 1st day 1st show viewings) of Rockstar today evening. The film should really have been called what I've named this post(thanks Shambo for giving me the idea for this name).

The film is about the travails of an awkward small town boy Janardhan Jhakar(JJ), who wants to become a singing sensation. From as long as anyone could remember, he had been playing a guitar and singing songs which he wrote himself. After unsuccessfully trying out in various auditions and being told he doesn't have the required stage presence, he goes to Khatana uncle(played brilliantly by Kumud Mishra) for advice. The unlikely advice he receives is what defines his future. He is told that for him to sing from the heart, he has to have his heart broken atleast once! And then he meets Heer, Heer Kaul, played by Nargis Fakhri, the master of breaking hearts. He thinks he has found his secret weapon to kick-starting his music career. What starts off as fun for Janardhan, ends up with the two of them spending quality time together with each other for quite some time. Some of the things they end up doing are quite shocking indeed(:-p). So much so, that Heer invites him to her wedding so that she could take time off from the preparations, which according to her, was quite boring. Eventually they part ways, as Heer gets married, and JJ returns back home. On his return, his family refuse to take him back and he is forced to live at the Darga for two months. It is here that he really starts putting his heart and soul into his music. The picturisation, lyrics and music of 'Kun Faaya Kun' at this juncture is awesome. He gets his first break subsequently and his album becomes a big hit. Soon he gets a chance or rather forces his boss to take him on the company's tour to Europe. The reason for his going there is, once again, Heer. And the cycle begins again. They spend nearly all of their time together , and end up getting physically intimate before JJ has to return home. Before he finally returns, he manages to get himself arrested for a couple of indiscretions. This, however, only seems to enhance his 'Rockstar' image. His shows become bigger and crazier than ever, and he reaches new heights of stardom. 

But by this time, the fall of the sweet, simple human being had already begun. Regular run-ins with the law, missed shows, regular disappearances and frequent bad press become a part of his routine. The only time the old simple human returns is when he hears that Heer has a terminal disease. But how much of his reactions were a part of his selfishness also remains a pertinent question. Miraculously though, Heer starts to improve when she is with JJ. But then, life doesn't have anything simple planned for them and their fate remains undisclosed. The best song of the album has been saved for the end, with the movie ending on a quite open note, as JJ, or Jordan as he had come to be known, belting out 'Naadaan Parindey', pleading with the love of his life to come back home.

The movie really has four heroes, the locations, the cinematography, the music by A.R. Rahman and Ranbir Kapoor, a true Rockstar. This boy, or man, whatever suits you, has real talent. And boy, can he act! Its not just in the genes, the hard work he had put in has paid dividends with the performance which stole the spotlight from everything else in the movie. After quite some time, the album of this movie by Rahman is really upto his standard. His past few movie works have been disappointing. This album is more like what we have come to expect of him. Hopefully this will be the start of his comeback. The songs and the performances were ably backed up by the amazing camera-work, cinematography and the choice of locations. Kashmir and Prague shown here were picture postcard beautiful. The songs have been excellently shot with my personal favourite being the colourful 'Hawaa Hawaa', which displays the culture of Prague as well Nargis's dancing skills. The image of the scene in Kahmir with JJ standing leaning back against a tree and chatting with Heer remains in your mind for a long time.

However Imtiaz Ali, the director, could perhaps have a done a better job. The start was good, with some really enjoyable scenes, especially the interactions between Heer and JJ, and the scene in which JJ comes to Khatana feigning a broken heart being memorable. The ending is also appropriate, with not much melodrama included. Its an hour in the middle which probably drags a bit too much. And also, as much as he may deny it, the portrait of a 'Rockstar' as presented here, has all the usual cliches atteached to it, tragedy, heartbreak, drinking, stardom going to the head, etc.
Nargis Fakhri looks stunning, no doubt about it. And she can dance very well. But she needs to work more on her acting, actually she needs to work a lot on her acting. Her performance here can be said to be average at best. On the other Aditi Rao Hydari is refreshing in her miniscule role. She should have been given more screen space, and she is definitely one to look out for in the future. A special mention for Shammi Kapoor in his last movie. He plays a Padma Bhushan Shehnai musician who has a hand in giving JJ his first break. Seeing him on screen after such a long time is a bitter-sweet experience, knowing that this was his swansong.

All in all, the movie was enjoyable. It was different from the usual fare served up to us in the theaters. And yes, it is worth a watch, atleast once. So go catch it, and become one with the dreamer, the lover, the Rockstar.

My Verdict : 7 on 10

Not Quite a Revolution

Just finished reading Revolution 2020 by Chetan Bhagat. Not a bad read, especially because it's not very long. But it is predictable. Warning : Spoilers ahead!

It's a story about a boy, Gopal, who lives in Varanasi, and the life he lives as he grows up to his present day age of 26. He has two friends in Raghav, his childhood buddy, and Aarti, the person he is closest to and indeed the love of his life. As they grow up, Gopal starts drifting away from Raghav and increasingly closer to Aarti, upto a point where he can't imagine life without her. Unfortunately for him, Aarti doesn't feel the same about him. The book goes on to explain the emotional turmoil he faces as his numerous attempts at gaining Aarti's affections don't succeed, his failure to get a seat in either IITs or even(!!) the NITs, while Raghav manages to secure an excellent rank in both the exams. The way in which the writer captures the change in the behaviour of Raghav, as well the contrast in the attitude of the neighbours and relatives towards the two boys  is praiseworthy. The subtle cynicism cannot be missed in almost every sentence. He goes away to Kota for a year, to make his father's dream of him becoming an engineer come true. In the process, he loses Aarti to Raghav, loses interest in his studies, and fails to secure a good engineering college seat a second time round. Soon after this disappointment, comes the tragedy of his father's death, the huge loans left for him to pay, the failure to get admission in any private college(the harrowing events at the career fair are downright sickening). Then comes the twist. The story shifts gears as the small time boy with absolutely no experience in plunged into the deep end as the Director of an upcoming college on the outskirts of his hometown with the "Blessings" of the local MLA Shukla-ji. he has to employ methods which are not what one would call ethical, methods which at first shock him, but very soon he takes them in his stride, for the good of his venture. His hard work of three years finally pays off as he is able to open his college to the world. Luxury cars and huge bungalows follow. But all this doesn't come without hitches either. On the day of the college inauguration, the MLA is accused of a scam in the local newspaper. The reporter of this article is none other than Raghav. Gopal overcomes this setback and his college takes off at full pace. The MLA's influence costs Raghav his job. He however has the last laugh in this matter as he publishes proof of the scam in his own newspaper called 'Revolution 2020'. This results in the MLA's resignation and subsequent arrest.
By this time in the story, Aarti and Raghav had been drifting apart. Gopal, who had shown tremendous restraint in keeping away from Aarti all this time, found this as the ideal oppurtunity to try one last time to regain his lost love. And he succeded, almost. Aarti had reached the point where she had made up her mind about leaving Raghav for Gopal. But then, Gopal's visit to Raghav's office, ironically to tell Raghav that Aarti wanted to leave him, brought him face to face with a poor farmer and his sole surviving boy. This chance encounter changed something inside Gopal, who went from the money loving ambitious man back to the simple small town boy he used to be. In the end, conscience wins over ambition.
Truly speaking, this isn't my favourite Chetan Bhagat book, just for the fact that he could have made it more intriguing. His last book, 2 States, still remains his best work. His work on the language aspect, for which he has received the most flak, hasn't really shone through here as much as it had in his previous installment. But I will say this, the characters are quite real. It is not hard to imagine Gopal, Aarti or Raghav as someone we know. The situations which the protagonists find themselves in, are also quite reflective of the times we live in. Ok, maybe there are some exaggerations along the way, but all in all, the research work done is commendable. So do pick up the book if you are a Cheatn Bhagat fan, or someone who likes a light read. People who are more interested in novels and the sort might not find it up to scratch.

My Verdict : 6.5 out of 10