[Book review] Love, That Shit by Chandru Bhojwani

Title- Love, That shit

Author- Chandru Bhojwani

Pages- 143

Cost - Rs 195/-

One day, I received an email from Chandru asking if I would like to review his book. Since I enjoy reading and have no qualms about reading across genre, I replied with a confirmation. Within a few days an Amazon parcel arrived at home with the book in it. All of 143 pages, this is a light read indeed. 

The book opens with a note about how being in Romance is such a euphoria while breaking up is quite depressing, it is a book that goes on to explain why we feel what we feel. Every single person who has ever been in a relationship will be able to relate with this book with ease. 

Extract from the book: Like a rollercoaster, relationships have their nauseating ups, downs, twists and turns... Sure, like a rollercoaster, relationships are also fun and exciting but what happens when the ride isn’t as smooth as you thought it would be?..... 

Now those of us who have been in love know that it is no cat walk, far from it. We go through crazy range of emotions, feelings, mood swings and our entire life goes for a toss.. The pages take us through the journey called "being in love" " the aftermath of a broken relationship" and all that happens in between.  Spread across 23 chapters, each one starting with a witty quote, there are instances where the author has used anecdotes to explain the whole concept to us. The one thing that the author mentions every now and then is that we are not alone, there are quite a few others going through something similar.  

Unlike other self- help books, this book is not preachy, not does it judge you for doing what you do. He has stuck to being general, while making sure the readers connect with all that he says.  There were instances where I was left wondering if it is the author's lessons from being in love, but then shrug that thought away as I move on to the section about single men/women and their attitudes, the different circumstances and situations in a relationship and much more. Oh and he has also spoken in length about matrimony woes, arranged and love marriages, the In law factor and why marriages fail a lot more these days.  Going beyond just romance, he teaches us how to deal with LIFE... 

It was a breezy read, I think I was done with it in a few hours. Quite liked his simple style of writing. But if asked about how the book stood out or was it wow, I would have to say No. For all of us who has been thorugh atleast one relationship, we know what we went through and how we dealt with it. Apart from this, we do have friend/family circle from where we have learnt about different experiences as well.  Do give it a read if you are into the whole Men are from Mars -Women are from Venus or other such books.. 

[Movie] Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi

Last weekend I watched yet another Malayalam movie, this time a movie with a long title, but one that had a beautiful meaning. It was Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi [English: Blue Skies, Green Waters, Red Earth]

Directed and co-produced by Sameer Thahir

Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Sunny Wayne, Surja Bala Hijam,Ena Saha, Dhritiman Chatterjee,Joy Mathew,Pearle Maaney, Paloma Monappa and Avantika to name a few. But the main stars are Dulquer and Sunny 

Over the past few months, I must have seen close to 10 Malayalam movies and I have discovered they are quite good. Especially since I began understanding the language, I looked forward to watching more of these flicks. Sunday morning 10am show at PVR was what was on the agenda. I reached the theater around 9.45, grabbed a sandwich & cold coffee at CCD and got ready to watch the movie. 

The story is losely based on 2 college guys who head out on a road trip on their bikes. Destination: unkown. Along the journey, Kasi [Dulquer] decides to head over to Nagaland in search of the girl of his dreams, and Sunny joins him on the mission. At every stage, they meet interesting people, come across challenges, are helped by random strangers, leave with lessons learnt from people of small villages, and there is a spark every now and then with the girl in the town they camp in. There is quite a bit of drama, a tinge of humour and a lot of life's valuable lessons in this movie. It basically goes to show that everybody we meet has something to teach us. All we need is an open mind to absorb these points.. 

The one thing that captured my heart in this movie was the cinematography by Gireesh Gangadharan. SImply outstanding. Even though the movie feels long, he kept me glued in with the sights and sounds captured so beautifully. I have never seen our country look so gorgeous and it left me wanting to travel and explore all these places. From the beaches of Puri, to the hills of the North East, the wide highway in the middle of nowhere flanked by red mountains, the visual were breath taking to say the least.  How can i forget the scene where a group of riders help them and take them with the group to Puri. Oh what a sight. Men on bikes- heart stopping !! :D 

The songs and background score was lovely. It blended perfectly with the rhythm of the movie. The songs that stood out were Doore Doore and Thaazhvaaram. The Manipuri actress is so delicate, while Gauri from the small village near Calcutta comes across strong willed, and the surfer chick in Puri the caring one.  But the one who stole the show has to be Dulquer-  He moves between the various roles with ease and grace, be it the playful college kid, the SFI activist protesting against commercialization  the son , the uncle who dotes on his niece and above all, the confused youngster  in search of his goal... 

Overall rating: 4.75/5 [had it been half hour shorter, would have been crisper]  

[Book] My Brother's Wedding by Andaleeb Wajid

I came to know of Andaleeb Wajid through a friend when he sent me her book to read & review- Blinkers off. Since then we have been in touch through Facebook and Twitter and so it was nice to meet this lively author when she launched her new book "My Brothers' wedding" at Crossword Bookstore in Chennai. It was a fun filled evening where we got to interact with her on a personal level, and hear tales of how she writes, where she got the inspiration for the book from and what else is in store from her treasure chest.... 

Book Name: My Brother's Wedding
Author: Andaleeb Wajid
Publisher : Rupa Books
ISBN : 978-8-1291-2399-2
Genre: Fiction: Romance, family drama, chic-lit [call it what you want, it is a very breezy light read]
Pages: 264
Price: Rs 295/-

My Brother's Wedding is a book based on the chaos called 'wedding in the family".  But it goes beyond the groom and his family, there is quite a bit of craziness connecting people beyond the immediate family members. It has a splash of drama, a generous amount of spice and romance as well.  It is a book that is as close to reality as you will get~!! 

I for one hate weddings. Why? To me weddings are synonymous with tempers flaring, craziness bursting everywhere, expenses sky rocketing and unnecessary squabbles coming into the scene. Weddings according to me should be simple sweet affairs, where the focus remains on the bride and groom, but instead it is all about who gives/receives what gifts, the sudden chaos within the house related to other members, an illness, god forbid a death, how elaborate the menu is, who has been invited, what are the return gifts and what not... These paint quite a disturbing image right, but then that is the reality..

“My Brother’s Wedding” opens with Saba’s blog. All of 19 years Saba starts an anonymous blog, a platform where she can vent, rant and share.  She gives alphabets as nicknames for her characters- her sis, her best friend, her cousin who she has a huge crush on, other friends and so on. The book actually has 2 parallels to it- one the main wedding related chaos and other is saba's blog.  The entire plot is set in Bangalore and revolves around how this wedding is planned and its impact on Saba's life.  

Andaleeb takes the readers through a typical Muslim household and the wedding preparations.  It is also about how families maintain a brave face when meeting others but within the four walls their lives are falling apart. There is the sister who believes her husband is possessed, a Djinn, the guy who lusts after Saba's sister at the wedding who secretly meets Saba and ultimately how all the pieces of the puzzle fall into the place and comes to a happy ending or not.. ;o)  

It took me all of 3 hours to read, the last half hour dragged on, only because I wasn't ready to be done with the book yet. :-) It was such a delightful simple breezy read, ideal for anyone who wants a light book.

For those who want to buy the book, pick up your copy from Flipkart or the nearest book store

Andaleeb also has another book ready to be launched in a month or so-->  More than Just Biryani  and she has started a blog which was about recipes but is also about this book of hers..

[Movie Review] Kumki

After hearing rave reviews, i nudged a few friends to watch Kumki. Alas, it was not to be, we were at the theater, Inox, waiting for the doors to open when a staff came over to tell us there was some technical issues and the screening was cancelled. Our hopes fell and we were disappointed. Anyways, that weekend an excolleague of mine called asking if i would like to catch up, and what do you know, it began with us watching Kumki, at Escape Cinemas, Express Avenue. 

I had seen and enjoyed Director Prabhu Solomon's earlier movie Mynaa, which is set in the village and is very rural. Wondered if maybe this movie too would be similar. There ends the similarity. The setting was the only common factor between the two flicks. 

What was Kumki about? 

It is a fairly simple tale about Bomman (Vikram Prabhu, Sivaji's Grandson & Prabhu's son),a mahout who along with his uncle and another help[played quite well by Thambi Ramaiah and Aswin] go from town to town with their elephant [Manickam]. They get invited to temple functions and other such small festivals. On the other side is the village of Adhi kadu [in the region of Panimalai, Marthandam)]where a wild elephant Komban has been on rampage. The wild elephant attacks women who are out in the field and has killed quite a few, especially during harvest season. Unable to deal with the menace and determined to not run away to another town [which is what the cops suggest the villagers do], the village chief calls for a Kumki [a trained elephant used to tame wild elephants] 

The scene where we are introduced to Komban and his rage is quite disturbing. He is all set to trample Alli [Lakshmi menon] when she slips and just about escapes.  One day when heading back to base after a brief spat with the officials after Bomman fails to show Manickam's papers [which his uncle had lost somewhere along the way], the man who helps them Mani annan receives a call from the village asking if the Kumki elephant is ready to be transported to the village. 

The twist in the tale happens now, the ordered Kumki elephant's mahout is stuck with some personal emergency and says he will take about 3days to reach the village. In the meanwhile, Bomman volunteers to go to the village and hold fort till the real Kumki elephant takes over. The villagers welcome and treat Bomman, his clan and Manickam with great revere. While they are under the assumption that Manickam is a kumki, reality is that Manickam is indeed a very timid elephant who shies away from breaking coconuts

In a turn of events, Bomman sets eyes on Alli and falls in love with her, forgetting the real purpose of thier visit to the village. He decides to stay on, telling the owner of the real Kumki that he will manage, and train Manickam to deal with any kind of emergency. Eventually, he understands the severity of things and comes to a point where he says  "i cannot mislead the villagers, i am putting everybody's life at risk, we should just leave" What happens next is the climax of the movie...

As real as the visuals are, i felt the director could have shown more scenes of Manickam and his antics, and of Kumban as well. The songs are beautiful, especially Sollitaale Ava Kaadhala ,Ayyayayo Anandhame and Onnum Puriyalai. The romance is sweet, the pride the villagers have of their property and heritage is amazing.
Vikram Prabhu has done an amazing job, for a debut artist. The scenes where he cajoles and pampers the elephant, the push ups he does on its tusks, wow... shows the relationshiop between a mahout & his elephant.   Lakshmi Menon fits the role perfectly and has played her role well.  Thambi Ramaiah is wacky as always, and infact i felt he got more screen space than others.

A movie worth a watch.... yet another offbeat story..

I would rate it 4/5

The Landmark Sale....

The Landmark Sale..

"Books Books and More Books.. all of this at a discounted price!" is the song that plays in my head everytime i read about a Sale or offer. And so with all the eagerness of a child going Toy shopping, i headed to Landmark, Apex Plaza, Nungambakkam Saturday evening...

Landmark is a store i used to frequent, almost daily during my college days. So much so that almost every staff knew/recognised me. And then, i saw the other outlets [Citi center & Ampa Mall] come up, and i began visiting them as well. So, this sale was like opening doors to a Treasure chest....

Was i excited? Yes
Was i eager to grab a few books? Yes

But within minutes of scrounging through the tables and mounts of books across the tables, i was disappointed... to say the least...

I then began browsing through the shelves looking for a few books i had been wanting to pick up/read, but couldnt find any. And the shelves seemed empty, almost, there were very few books, and most of them were old and seemed like they had been left there to be sold during the sale.

I was looking for A Brief history of time by Stephen Hawking, and after much searching, couldnt find it. One of the staff pointed me to the Science section, but alas, there was just one book by Hawking. The same story for almost all the other authors but for the Romance and Humour section. They were full...

I did notice they were selling Sherlock Holmes at Rs199/volume. Which was tempting, but i knew my cousin had the entire collection....

There was also the cool 3 for the price of 2 offer going on. And the good thing about this offer was it wasnt restricted to a particular genre, you could pick any book from across the store that had the 3 for 2 sticker and ta da... you were in for a treat.... 

I spent a few more minutes, picked up a few books- one for me, few for friends' kids and none of them had any offer. It was then off to the stationery section, where i picked up the 2 very sad worn out Stamp albums[albums to store stamps], and quite a few VZ India postcards [ which was the highlight of the visit] and headed over to the billing counter.

Walking out i wondered if this sale should be renamed "Clearance sale" or maybe i should visit one of the other outlets before jumping to conclusions....