Balle Balle !

Must-watch savage celebration of Sreesanth (with Bollywood background music)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt1-GsMjQmI

With ARR BGM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjEYzm-nHrw

Another older one...this time its the hip thats hopping...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sPChZecDGo

Btw, why is it fair that Sreesanth be fined for his celebration of a wicket while Andre Nel was let off for his sledging? Soooooooooooooo unfair. Dancing is the only way to get rid of the frustration and Sreesanth did that well ! Ensoiiiiiiiii

Lib-eh-err-al?

Recently I had a conversation with a friend about gay rights and abortion. He was of the opinion that the majority population had so many pressing issues (e.g Medical insurance) that its hard to look up from those to notice what essentially affects a smaller section of the population. I know he is reading this and for the record I have the greatest respect for his opinions in general and I understand that he truly felt for the minority as he spoke this. But this got me thinking about 'justice' vs. 'happiness' - if I were an administrator would I fairly distribute the resources of the society or concentrate on increasing quality of life for the greatest number of people? As a woman I know I would rather be given an equal right over what meager opportunities might be available rather than spend my life fighting for both a fair share as well as a better share, which everyone, be it man or woman has to work for anyway. This political-philosophical debate in my mind would have ended had I not read something in a book called 'Power of focus' - a professional management book by Canfield, Hansen and Hewitt. It said that lot of times the people who bear resentments and anger are the same people that life has treated unfairly. Nothing novel about that. But they went on to advise that in order to gain greater satisfaction out of one's job and life, one must abandon the "fairness doctrine" and take up the "happiness philopsophy". It seemed an excellent principle akin to the very famous "karmanye vaadikaarasye maaphaleshu kadaachana". (Rough translation: You have the right over action but never over the fruits. Source: Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Indian text). But isn't it a similar assumption of tolerance that has led to the oppression of minority and women in many places? Had more people thought about what is fair and not just about what makes them happy wouldn't there be much less heartache today in the world?

In life how do we differentiate "settling for less" from a tolerant compromise for the sake of happiness?

Umrao-No-Jaan

I watched a few scenes from the recent re-make of Umrao Jaan with Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachhan. What the *&^*^*&(? where they trying to do? I came away with the taste of having watched a somewhat classy film-school movie whose plot went nowhere and the dancing and acting was utterly lifeless. And let's not even get started on the songs. Anu Malik versus Khayyam. The only other comparison can be "Manichithrathazhu" and "Chandramukhi". Same problem. The new versions just don't cut it.

But getting back to the key ingredient that was missing from Umrao Jaan. The Jaan part. I have never seen someone who can dance so well and yet appear totally devoid of grace. How does she manage it? I am a big fan of dance in general and I think Ash is awesome when it comes to the correctness of movements, etc. However what she danced here - it looked neither like Kathak nor like Bollywood wiggle. (To get an idea of how true Kathak is performed refer to "Kaahe Chhede" from Devdas by the ever-enticing Madhuri Dixit). To her credit though, much of the lack of novelty is on part of the choreography. I don't know why choreographers assume that if you put enough twirls in the dance then it can pass off as good Kathak. I didn't expect this from Vaibhavi Merchant. To shake off this effect I must promptly get a copy of the Umrao-Rekha and watch her dance - in intricate, almost tiny movements...where she moves her fingertips and her eyebrows and it feels like the God of sensuality just fell on the ground in fine little dewdrops. The only thing that I can feel glad about is the fact that mediocre or not, classical dance and music is at least making its way back into mainstream Indian cinema which is a refreshing change from the norm.

As for the chemistry (or lack thereof of the same) between Ash and Abhishek - its so pathetic that Abhishek could have been replaced by Narasimha Rao and he would have shown more facial expressions.

Anyways...some day I will shake the dust off my heels and make Rekha proud. Hee Hee. Until then no more griping... :)