Love by its very nature is unrequited. If love blossoms in two people at the same time, same pace, it would be a rare miracle. One of us is usually more sure than the other, or as is the case many times, has already walked down far along the road, alone. We keep glancing at the hand we think we are holding, but it is either a memory, or an idea of how we want our love to be. We then realise we are alone and keep yearning for our vision to come true, and that is what love songs, movies, poems, stories are made of. An endless hope of fulfillment and a destination of happiness we hope to arrive at with someone. While we yearn for someone, someone else longs for us. This unseen transfer of love and its swift transformation from hope to despair and back again makes the world go round. Its a cycle and the sooner we realise its very nature, we will stop trying to change it, and enjoy it while it brings us joy.
Author: sandeepadnani
Sandeep Adnani is the Amazon #1 Bestselling Author of ‘The Codes of the Exiled Rogue’ , ‘The Origin of the Exiled Rogue’ and ‘The Prophecy of the Exiled Rogue’ eBooks. He nurtured this metaphysical and transformational fiction idea for over six years before publishing the first part in July 2019. All three books of ‘The Exiled Rogue Series’, a trilogy about the purpose and meaning of life and beyond, are Amazon #1 Bestsellers in multiple categories.
His first book, The Codes of the Exiled Rogue was declared an Award-Winning Finalist in the Fiction: Visionary category of the 2021 International Book Awards.
His second book, The Origin of the Exiled Rogue was an Award Winner in the Science Fiction: Alien/Space category of the 2021 American Fiction Awards. It was also an Award-Winning Finalist in the Visionary Fiction category of the 2021 American Fiction Awards.
His third book, The Prophecy of the Exiled Rogue was an Award Winning Finalist in the Fiction: Visionary category of the 2021 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest.
The omnibus of the trilogy, The Exiled Rogue Series, won the Silver Medal at the Global Book Awards 2022, in the Metaphysical & Visionary Fiction category and Gold Winner at the ABLE Awards in 2024 in the Book Series category.
Embarking on new genres, he has seven new stand-alone books in the offing. In 2021, he completed writing a futuristic sci-fi-romance which he is currently querying. The unpublished manuscript was a finalist for the Writing Award in the 2022 Page Turner Awards.
He finished writing a mystery novel in 2022 and an Alternate Fiction novella in 2023. He has published three non-fiction novellas in the YOU DECIDE series. He is currently working on an illustrated children's book.
He changed careers from the advertising/media industry and is now a mental health counsellor in Melbourne, with bases in Mumbai and Dubai as well.
Now You See Me
Magic is deception, we trust the magician and believe the trick. This film shows the skills of 4 illusionists and others entwined in their story. High production value scenes packed with crowds and spectacles, interspersed with a FBI/Interpol agent chase give it a fairly fast pace. The acts leave you wondering ‘how??’ and thankfully, you are given answers. Soon the plot takes on a ‘whodunnit’ angle and you are left guessing. The end was not predictable, but a bit of a downer. Probably one scene less and the punch would be just right.
3/5
Hangover 3
What made this franchise fun? A drunk night that nobody had a memory of, followed by events where the ‘wolf pack’ tries to fix and remedy the situation. The tension in this one is different. I wouldn’t say it is entirely not entertaining, but it definitely doesn’t have the humour or the madness of its predecessors.
While this situation is comic at times, but there are certain jokes (PETA take note) which don’t work at all. Mr. Chow is doing all the dirty work here to make sure we laugh, while the rest are trying their best but not succeeding, except some lines from Alan (Zach).
Overall, it wasn’t a fitting end to a franchise which was notoriously funny, wild and shocking.
2/5
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Director Ayan Mukherji brings a variety of emotions and nuances of relationships alive on screen, in this closeted musical film. I guess he had hoped but not imagined that all the songs would be so well received, but they are not the only reason this film is good. Here goes…
The writing of the film is meaningful. You have a lot of depth packed into a few dialogues, scenes are short and crisp and so much is said and inferred with body language and eye contact that this doesn’t seem to be a second film of a 29 year old director. People have found the first half packed and fun and the second half slow. Well, the pace was meant to be a slower, and yes I found both halves in appropriate speed limits.
It is difficult to make Deepika look different, or act different, but they have achieved that. She has communicated silently, mostly using her eyes, which is a feat for a young actress. Kalki is a feisty young girl, and fits her character to the T. Aditya is suffering from a different addiction this time, but the last one made more than 100 crores at the box office, so go ahead, indulge! Ranbir, is, well, Ranbir. The perfect combination of genes, talent, looks and sheer hardwork, this man is flawless.
The songs are catchy, fun, different and well shot. I think it was a masterstroke idea to get the crowd revved up by starting with Madhuri’s item number. The womans’ still got it and we get a tiny peek into what entertainment awaits us.
We get to see some beautiful locations around India and the world, which act as mere props because the story is stronger than the visual. A Karan Johar production through and through!
The spectrum of human emotions served delicately, this film is friendship, love, family, work and passion!
4/5
The Great Gatsby
The excess, success and progress of America come alive on screen in a vivid, almost poetic form by director Baz Luhrmann.
Its in the many details of the film that you will find the various forms of love. The love that can endure, wait and persevere is present alongside love that can sway, be short lived and is perhaps fickle.
The irony here is not love itself, but the grand stage one sets for something which is always intended to be a personal moment. Its the balance that the film strikes between the noise and the silence, the grandeur and the pain, the selfishness and the selflessness that you step back and question your own belief of love.
Leonardo has once again walked the tight rope and shown the complexity of an ambitious man in love. Carey Mulligan is a victim of her own choices, showing wondrous fleeting moments of love, amongst her spoils. Tobey Maguire plays the fine narrator of a quixotic tale he didn’t want to be a part off, but was swept away by it like the rest of us.
Its artistic treatment and sparks of brilliance indeed make it ‘Great’.
Indulge yourself, old sport!
4/5
All in a day…
5 malls. A 90 minute massage. A coffee with a friend. Checked out the new Q 10 blackberry.. Me likey! My favourite Fleur de Lis cake at Pauls. Picked a birthday present. Bought another set of pressies. My favourite Cafe mOre, caught up with another friend. Driving around the spotless city, listened to my favourite music. Now I know why I missed you.
Celebrating 100 years of Indian Cinema!
Courtesy:
http://filmcircle.com/2013/04/22/celebrations-100-years-indian-cinema/
Bombay Talkies
Celebrating 100 years of Indian Cinema, this film is a talented tribute by 4 directors; Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap. Four stories that cover totally different genres, social spaces, dreams, aspirations and goals. What ties them together is the string known as ‘our world of films’.
The story by each director is short, yet complete. The well written characters are played by a confident cast. Urban, rural, modern, conservative, everything is weaved in effectively with a message. As each story begins and ends, you feel you have had a balanced Indian meal, a little bit of every spice and food group, giving you complete nutrition and satisfying your palette.
There is a well shot and fitting song at the end, featuring many of our favourite actors and actresses, either through a montage of their previous work or live in the song. That was the best dessert for such a meal. A proud moment indeed for our cinema and the ones that enjoy it.
It is a time capsule worth watching.
4/5
Love. Laugh. Live.
Aashiqui 2
If there ever was an ‘Anti Alcoholics Anonymous’, its this film. I needed a drink to survive it, maybe even two. Pity we don’t have cinemas that serve alcohol in Mumbai. We were drawn to this film expecting great music, a Kapoor girl and a Kapur guy.
Mohit Suri sorely disappoints in a film named after Aashiqui which had brilliant music. Here too, the music is good, but the pace of the drama and the placement of the songs doesn’t do them any justice.
I was waiting for the film to finish and found myself laughing in scenes which were definitely not funny. Forced drama, romance, empathy, anger, every emotion seemed orchestrated and not natural.
Thankfully, Shraddha doesn’t take any genes from her dad Shakti, but looks like a replica of her mum Shivangi (Padmini Kolhapure’s sister). She has a good screen presence and body language. Her dialogue delivery tends to fall flat, but is saved by a pleasant voice. Aditya has done ‘Action Replay’, but takes on a lead role with confidence, though the character is very poorly written.
1.5/5
Spoilers ahead:
The sole weakness in the film lies in its baseless complication. It appears laughable and almost forced and one wonders why the hero is an alcoholic in the first place. His faceless father and many other loopholes in the story give you many ‘why?’ and ‘huh?’ moments. The end was predictable. Terrible waste of talent and music.
Movies&Musings 