Gangs of Wasseypur II: The Rampant Romance of Dubious Shadows and Brutal Bloodshed

Two shadows sit on a raised platform on a moony night under the shady sky of Wasseypur. One of them is too complex to be comprehended in their clam talks. In the beautifully blue frame filled with grey smoke of ganja that he had been smoking right from the beginning of the film, you see nothing happening. The tension grows, the soft background music begins to loud the conflict because you know he was there to kill. In the same frame, beautifully blue and grey, he quietly pulls out a knife, attacks and continues cutting the other shadow into pieces brutally until you sweat.

Oh yes! “Teri keh ke loonga!”

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…and The Dark Knight Rises in the End

You must fear death.

Lovers of Nolan and fans of Batman will, at once, appreciate the beauty of this fair statement which makes Bruce Wayne the Batman of Gotham in this finale of the Batman series. Nolan’s way to translate the past into the present is yet another example of cinematic excellence without juxtaposition of conceptual characters from the film’s prior two parts.

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O Womaniya explained (Meaning, Music and Singers behind the gem)

Gangs of Wasseypur changed many things. One among them was the way songs are written, recorded and sung in the mainstream Bollywood. While we got to listen to many weird gems in Gangs of Wasseypur I (including Hunter and Bhaiyaa -The Musahar of Sundarpur), There was this song which registered itself as an altogether different anthem, by the sheer tune, words and music of it.

O Womaniya.

While we keep waiting eagerly for the release of Gangs of Wasseypur II, I can’t resist myself from digging deep into the way this bubbly song has been written and sung. It incidentally is the first song review at aS.

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A Cocktail of Orthodox Ideologies!

Mix a Parwati bhabhi, a Pallavi and a nagging mother in law as good as Savita bahu with a topping of son Mihir Viraani and you would shake a perfect Cocktail! Raising a toast, I wonder what the director would have called it, had the scriptwriter added an immortal Baa to the worthless drama! A Mock Tale? No seriously, I was taken back to the Ekta era of never ending soap operas, scene after scene, as the film refused to progress at all! The only good thing about the film is Dimple Kapadia  who continues to take your breath away with her flawless acting.

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The Majestic Himalayas and Serene Ladakh

It takes either an adventurous mind or a crazy mind to go to the Himalayas, to an elevation of 18ooo ft and almost touch the China as well as Pakistan borders. All in one week. But yes, it was decided and before I knew it, I landed in Leh -- the capital of India's Cold Desert.
The first two days went in resting. Very crucial, mind you, since the low oxygen levels in the air can take a toll by the following day and you can be immediately deported! All you can do is to admire the wooden insulated ceiling of your hotel room.

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Qatar diaries: “Wait, of all the places to visit, Doha???”

“Of all the places, Doha???” was what I got as a comment when I innocently posted, “What’s there to visit in Doha?” on a highly frequented travel website.

“Of all the places, Doha???”

Interesting question. Well, I didn’t have much of a choice. The CEO of my company wanted us interns to visit either Qatar, Oman, Bahrain or Kuwait.

I liked the name ‘Doha’. I reminded me of some Rahims and Kabirs. Some two weeks later, I was lying on a cushioned bed in a three star hotel in Ad-Dwahah, Qatar.

Names. Always deceive.

Now, as I was already in a place which was not supposed to be in the list “of all the places”, I decided to make the most of it. 10 days in the capital city of a country I would have never even dreamt of visiting.

I opened some travel sites. BBC travel and lonelyplanet came to rescue. I made an itinerary for the 10 days and went ahead. Thankfully I had brought my old faithful Sony H55.

That old bastard friend of mine which refuses to leave my hands. Here’s what both of us captured in Qatar:

  Restaurant Deja Vu: May be in some vague dreamy vision, I had been to this place before.

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The Indianness of Indians.

Photo By: Vishesh Gupta

I was dazed when I heard that a guy no longer wanted to prepare for the IAS because he foresaw lower corruption rate in India in the coming years owing to all the ongoing movements. I was enmeshed in abysmal thoughts for a week!

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