Sacred Games: A Sensational Experience

Caution– This is my experience. This one contains criticism and cuss words. Proceed with caution. Adult show, thus a matured piece of writing.

Adaptation – Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games

Writers – Varun Grover, Smita Singh and Vasant Nath

Genre – Crime, Thriller

Directors – Anurag Kashyap & Vikramaditya Motwane

Players – Saif Ali Khan, Radhika Apte, Nawazuddin Siddique among others

Music- Alokananda Dasgupta

Original Network – Netflix

Number of Seasons – One (6th July, 2018)

Number of Episodes – 8

Country – India

A sinister plot to wipe out the city, the eccentric villain with God complex, a protagonist searching for some answers, terrific love affairs, exuberant ecstasy, an elegant eunuch and so on…

Well, that is the basis of DC Comics and other science fiction works. Look deeply, you find the above mentioned recurring patterns in them.

So Sacred Games is not something new or noble. The show is based on the novel by the same name which chronicles the life of a mafia and a police officer in the Maximum City. Well if you go through Hussain S Zaidi’s Dongri to Dubai, you would be able to relate to all the fictitious element in the plotlines of both the novel and the show. Ironically, the author of Sacred Games Vikram Chandra wrote the foreword to Zaidi’s book.

The eight-hour-long series falters mid-way when parallel plots pop up and slow hinder the pace of the show. Well, so many articles about Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s performance, yes he is every bit of God complex wala Gaitonde. He is the actual star of the show and naturally, he has been given the best dialogues and the one-liners. But, don’t you think he is repeating himself? Faizal Khan is Ganesh Gaitonde, Babumoshai Bandookbaaz is Ganesh Gaitonde, Liak (Badlapur ) is Gaitonde, Ramaan (Ramaan Raghav) is Gaitonde and so on…

But he is never boring, he manages to woo and I’ve been mouthing his dialogues among friends. Moreover a mafia, Gaitonde is a philosopher.

Saif Ali Khan as Sartaj Singh provides a stellar performance. He is troubled, he suffers owing to his honesty and he is not at all flawless. Saif provides a performance of a lifetime, he reacts, he blinks, he shows frustration, cries out in pain and gets stupefied in the end. He is the most realistic protagonist in the show. He makes ‘Behenchod’ sexy. Saif comes up with one of the most authentic portrayals of an Indian Police officer.

Radhika Apte’s act could have been much better, I somehow missed the angst of a R&AW officer and she is a staunch feminist over here, leading to the tragic plight in the end.

Neeraj Kabir as the DCP is one hell of a corrupt officer, a bloody bastard. Keep it up.

We have a gullible and honest sidekick of Saif Ali Khan, the constable Katekar aka Jitendra Joshi, such an effortless and brilliant portrayal of loving husband and dutiful cop.

You are here to stay.

How can I forget Bunty bhai ? the staunch Hindu extremist but loyal to the core. Jatin Sarna is the next big thing. The violent women abuser, the foul mouthed gangster.

Well, Kubra Sait as Kuckoo steals the show, the eunuch eats up all the scenes and she is an onscreen magic. She turns the show, hard-hitting portrayal of the third gender. Well, remember Khushwant Singh’s Bhagmati, the ultimate Hijra? Is she the fourth witch of Macbeth?

Shalini Vatsa as Kanta Bai, such a daredevil act. Anushree Deshpande aka Shubadra instigated the manhood and vengeance of Gaitonde, limited screen time and the boldest screen presence, you have got guts.

And then there is one man, who juggles efficiently between fakht Marathi and Bombaiya Hindi. The underdog organiser of Ganesh Mitra Mandali to the top-notch minister in Mantralaya. Girish Kulkarni proves that he is the bloody best as if the role was written for him. I don’t know, why the media is not mentioning his killer performance over here. Girish Bhau..bahot khub. The hero in Deool to the sarcastic cop in Ugly, from the jackass coach in Dangal to the Machiavellian Minister Bipin Bhosale, you are fucking fantastic dude.

tussi chaa gaye…changla

There is no complain about direction and execution by Motwane and Kashyap, but they have come up with better stuff. Somehow the screenplay falters between fourth and sixth episodes. The narrative technique is brilliant and it keeps the audience looking for more and more. Varun Grover, keep it up.Loved the gory texture of the series.

But the most striking features of the shows are background music and the credit designing. The Mandala art is impressive and the last episode reveals some brilliant insight about them and Aloka Dasgupta, what a beautiful and haunting composition? You are a pure sweetheart. Just remove the background music, the show will fall flat. Try it.

Verdict– Behenchod faad ke rakh diya..mazza aa gaya.

One of the best, Bose- Dead or Alive is also at par with Sacred Games.But this is pure sensation, you will love it. We want more stuff like this….

Pros

Awesome Acting.

Realistic Violence and Nudity.

The third gender, sensitively dealt with.

The screen colour turns red when Gaitonde starts slashing the inmates in jail.

Gripping Background score.

The historical juxtaposition with the major events of Postcolonial India.

Do not miss Rajiv Gandhi’s presence in the show.

Dashing Dialogues.

The cross-references with mythology, dam attractive..

The real picture of Indian Police Services.

Cons

Editing falters.

The screenplay could have been crispier in few places.

Pankaj Tripathi, the Guru, aur chahiye tha.

Those who watched the show in English, silent sobbing for them.

Ratings- 9/10

Disclaimer – Images from the internet.

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Yeh Aashiqui- Short Film; An Official Review

 

Players

Pratyusha – Main Female Lead

Saikat Das – Main Male Lead

Om – Son of Saikat and Pratyusha

Anindita Dutta – Friend of Pratyusha

Purbasha Maity – Friend of OM

Direction

ARIJIT MUKHERJEE

The Team

STORY: TANMOY DE

SCREENPLAY: MAUSHUMI MUKHERJEE

CINEMATOGRAPHY: BAPPA DASGUPTA

EDITING: TAMAL CHAKRABORTY

PRODUCTION MANAGER: MUKTI PADA MONDAL

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: MEGHA CHAKRABORTY

 

Musical Team

FLUTE: RITTIK GUCHAIT

SINGER: ANANYA OJHA

LYRICIST: SOUGATA RUDRA

MUSIC DIRECTION: AMIT SUR

MUSIC ARRANGEMENT SAINIK DEY

RECORDING AND MIXING TARUN DAS, STUDIO VIOLINA.

Other Technical Team

PRODUCTION MANAGER: MUKTI PADA MONDAL

MARKETING EXECUTIVE: PIKU CHOWDHURY

MAKEUP: MOU JAIN CHAKRABORTY

PROMOTION: ANIKET

 

The Film Craft

I never review a book or a movie unless and until I’m impressed by the art in totality. So yes, I enjoyed watching Arijit Mukherjee, Yeh Aashiqui. One of the most important aspects of Yeh Aashiqui is the relevance to the modern world. Art cannot be created in isolation to the present society, well some choose to ignore it, they are free to do it. But Mr.Mukherjee has chosen to work on the social aspects like the loneliness of a kid in a metropolitan(Rony), Suicidal tendencies( Life) among others. This time he ventured into the loneliness of an urban house-wife. We are the generation who are glued to the social media and in the process, we chose to ignore our near and dear ones in the vicinity. Social media has killed the distances and somewhere down the lane, it is creating tensed situations between two individuals. The story is predictable and that is where Arijit Mukherjee wins as a director, he knows how to narrate a story which is already predictable to the audience. I will give a thumbs up to the neat execution of the film.

 

Arijit Mukherjee has been technically well groomed with other aspects of the filmmaking, thus there were brilliant close up shots, the juxtaposition of black & white along with coloured sequences. Cinema is a big canvas and the painting has been neatly painted over here. Thus, full marks to Bappa Dasgupta(Cinematographer) and Tamal Chakraborty( Editor) for your contribution to Yeh Aashiqui.

The little protagonist of Rony is back in this venture and he is very promising over here. You have a long way to go. He knows how to emote without dialogues. Om, keep it up. Saikat Das gives a clean performance as a dutiful husband and doting father. He keeps it real over here. He is careful and rude, he has both the sides. The script did not glorify him, instead, it showed both the negative and positive aspects of man dwindling between office and home. He is the most powerful character of the film.

Pratyusha’s portrayal as the lonely wife looks commendable. She excelled in the close-up shots and dialogue delivery technique has been very confusing. She is lonely , she is very confused and the dialogue delivery has been blended well with the confused state of mind. Confusion has been beautifully dealt by the female lead.

You know what ? Loyalty is the most beautiful thing in the world.

I loved the climax. Thankfully, the film does not preach, instead, it shows what is happening and offers a solution.  Yeh Aashiqui is a noble film, go to Arijit Official Youtube Channel and watch it.

If you agree with my views, leave a comment

If not, please get lost..kidding..feel free to criticise.

Pros

The Climax has been beautifully handled.

Direction, Editing, Cinematography..loved them

Good usage of background score.

Relevant social subject.

Commendable supporting cast.

Cons

The opening song could have been shorter in length.

 

Ratings – 8/10

Disclaimer

This is an official review of the movie and I’ve received the permission to do so.

 

Full Movie

 

 

Yeh Aashiqui – A Quick View

English:

Today’s technology has developed outstandingly for the continuously growing mankind.

 

If any person is sitting in any corner of the world can easily communicate with other people through the WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger or e-mail.

 

It is very easy to facilitate the communication system, but the collapse of the complexity between peoples is now stuck in the hand of those apps, also the maternal mortgage documents have come with the minimal use of paper due to this development in technology.

 

In a word, the technology has created an ever-growing revolution in the continuous advancement of the communication system and in the different types of businesses.

 

Technology has brought people’s daily life to the wonderful changes and geographical distances. Now there is no real interaction between peoples only virtual, in the context of interaction with one another, WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger have come with many variations of traditional life.

 

Today people have learned about Social Media, but some peoples whose ideas for social media are totally wrong and they also defend to use social communication sites.

 

Unfortunately, some conservative people are using this social network to satisfy their distorted taste, especially in women’s case and as a result, some women keep themselves away from this “social media”.

 

This short-length film, the story of lonely lady “Trisha”, who forcefully get involved in Facebook by her husband to cut away her loneliness, but somehow Trisha was scared to get involved in those circles. But later she dared to come forward and relieved her loneliness by joining Facebook. And she begins to live happily married life with her husband SAIKAT by ending the misunderstanding and misconception between both of them.

Bengali:

প্রযুক্তি বিদ্যার আজ বিপুল প্রসার মানবজাতির কাছে এক যুগান্তরকারী ঘটনা। পৃথিবীর যে কোন কোণাতে বসেই একজন মানুষ আরেকজন মানুষের সাথে হোয়াটস অ্যাপ, ফেসবুক, ম্যাসেঞ্জার, ই-মেলের মাধ্যমে অতি সহজেই  যোগাযোগ করতে পারে। 

 

সহজ থেকে সহজতর হয়েছে যোগাযোগ ব্যবস্থা, জটিলতার খোলসে আজ আর আটকে নেই ব্যবসা বাণিজ্য, পরিবেশ বান্ধব সফটওয়্যার নিয়ে এসেছে কাগজের ন্যূনতম ব্যবহার। এক কথায় বলতে গেলে, প্রযুক্তি বিদ্যার বিপুল অগ্রসর যোগাযোগ ব্যবস্থায় এবং ব্যবসা বাণিজ্যে যুগান্তকারী বিপ্লব  ঘটিয়েছে।

 

প্রযুক্তি বিদ্যা মানুষের দৈনন্দিন জীবনে এনেছে বিস্ময়কর পরিবর্তন এবং ঘুচিয়েছে ভৌগোলিক দূরত্ব। এখন আর  অন্তরায় নয় একের সঙ্গে অপরের যোগাযোগের ক্ষেত্রে, গতানুগতিক জীবনে বৈচিত্র নিয়ে এসেছে হোয়াটস অ্যাপ, ফেসবুক ও ম্যাসেঞ্জার। অনেক অজানা তথ্য মানুষ আজ জানতে পারছে হোয়াইটস অ্যাপ, ফেসবুকের মাধ্যমে, অনেকাংশে মানুষের ভুল বোঝাবুঝির নিষ্পত্তি হয়ে যাচ্ছে এই সামাজিক যোগাযোগ রক্ষার মাধ্যমে যাকে ইংরাজি পরিভাষায় বলা হয় “সোশ্যাল মিডিয়া”।

 

দুর্ভাগ্যবশতঃ  কিছু সংখ্যক বিবেকবর্জিত মানুষ তাদের বিকৃত রুচির পরিতৃপ্তির জন্য এই সামাজিক যোগাযোগ রক্ষার মাধ্যম কে ব্যবহার করছে, বিশেষ করে মহিলাদের ক্ষেত্রে এবং এর ফলস্বরূপ কতিপয় মহিলা এই “সোশ্যাল মিডিয়া” থেকে নিজেদের কে সরিয়ে রাখছেন। 

 

এই স্বল্প দৈর্ঘ্যের ছবির মুখ্য নারীর চরিত্রে তৃষা যিনি একাকীত্বের শিকার, তিনিও প্রথমে মানসিক দ্বন্দের মধ্যে ছিল “সোশ্যাল মিডিয়া”-র সঙ্গে নিজেকে জড়িত করবার বিষয়ে, কিন্তু পরে সাহস করে এগিয়ে এসে ফেসবুকে যুক্ত হয়ে একাকীত্বের করাল গ্রাস থেকে নিজেকে মুক্ত করে এবং স্বামী সৈকতের সঙ্গে ভুল বোঝাবুঝির অবসান ঘটিয়ে সুখি  দাম্পত্য জীবনযাপন করতে শুরু করে।

About the Arijit Mukherjee

Arijit Mukherjee was born to Mukherjee Family of Maniktala on 19th March 1969. Father Sh Billesh Mukherjee’s passion for writing & painting left an impression on Young mind of Arijit.

            

World of Art & Culture Started haunting him. At the age of Thirteen, he got the first taste of a life where people comes out of his self and adds life to the character depicted in black & white the pages of books.An actor’s creation starts from where a writer’s creation stops. So it true with young Arijit.

Thirteen-year-old Arijit gave his first theatrical performance on stage in his school drama.While acting in drama, he started taking a keen interest in the nitty-gritty of technical aspects of drama and developed a strong desire for the directional venture. He thought direction would be his ideal cup of tea.At the age of seventeen, he took his first venture in the world of direction as Chief Assistant Director.Along with cultural activities, Arijit Continued with his studies and did a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.He also took an assignment in a Bangalore based Company and continued for four years.Love for silver screen brought him back to Kolkata. People saw Arijit as a full-fledged independent director in his first 26 Episodes Serial “Khali Jahajer Rahasya” based on “Kaka Babu Series” of Sunil Gangopadhyay.After that, he had never looked back and today Arijit is an established Director of Tollygunge with 4+ Short films, 16+ Telefilms & 8+ Mega Serial in popular Bengali channels at home and at abroad along with numerous Ad films, Documentaries, and Corporate Films to his credit.Then he stepped abroad, and in Bangladesh, he first started their country’s daily soap called “Aparajita”.

After returning to India, now he is running a YouTube Channel called “Arijit Official”, and made 4+ successful short films in 2017.

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To know more about me & my works visit my website

http://directorarijit.eu5.org

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Channel Profile

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The motto of Arijit Official YouTube Channel is to make the short film with the social issues, which is related to our society.

It’s my dream journey making this YouTube Channel “Arijit Official“.

This channel was made in 2014.

But I was unable to continue with this channel because last 3.5 years I was in Bangladesh due to My International Daily Soap Project.

Worked for Deepto TV (Bangladesh), and bring the very first daily soap project of their country.

After returning to India, Again I am started working on my Youtube Channel.

My motto is to bring some short films with the social issues, and then my journey started with Arijit Official, the first movie was Sesh Prohor and its deals with the subject “Anti-terrorism”.

Then Rony, it deals with the subject, “Child-Parents Problem” after that Aamra, it’s subject about the Women Power and in this subject, all the characters are the act from their real-life story and the true story also.

on 9th December 2017, at 5:30 PM released NAA which means NO, all the movies have the subtitle, so the language of the movies are not a problem, the subject is relatable worldwide.

NAA deals with the story of Women Abuse and here I bring a girl who did the main lead and have got a problem with speech pattern.

Many more to come..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UMA; The Cinema of Joy , A Movie Review

UMA; The Cinema of Joy

Director : Srijit Mukherji

Players : Sara Sengupta,Jisshu Sengupta, Anjan Dutt

Language – Bangla/English (India)

Genre – Drama

June, 2018

 

My View

Art is never perfect and there are no guidelines to judge it and thus, it is so difficult to judge an art. Srijit Mukherji’s latest venture Uma comes with its share of pros and cons as a piece of cinema, but it doesn’t fail to delight the audience and leave a permanent mark in their soul. Kolkata has been referred as City of Joy owing to its setting for the Lapierre’s novel of the same name. Mukherji’s Uma can be aptly titled as the cinema of joy for having the heart at the right place.

The Craft of the Film

The movie’s plot-line deals with a beautiful relationship between father and daughter but more importantly it is about the cultural heritage and the spirit of Kolkata. This is one of the few movies, where the city becomes the character. There couldn’t have been any other city for this beautiful piece of art.

 

Thank you, for making a film for the city, of the city and by the city. The main protagonists i.e. Sengupta and daughter are endearing as the reel life father- daughter combo, they follow the traditional acting style and leaves no room for complain. Anjan Dutt steals the show and after Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona, he provides a performance of a life-time. He is eccentric, he is psychic, he is frustrated but he is a true connoisseur of cinema. I’ve missed your acting as the helpless modern man of T.S Eliot. Sir, you are growing old and you are wearing your trousers rolled with grace and enigma. Manoj Mitra in that hospital sequence, delivers a powerful performance and steers the course of the film by channelizing the thought of Mr. Brahmananda aka Anjan Dutt. Ah, Bancharam is old, but he is a pure gold. Rudranil Ghosh, Srabanti Chatterjee, Anirban Bhattacharya excelled in their respective roles. I’ve enjoyed it to the core and the audience at Navina Cinema, Kolkata will abide by my words. Jisshu Sengupta, you are an worldclass actor, I was stupefied by your portrayal as a drug addict in Chitrangada and you have been raising the bar with almost every project. Saara, it is hard to believe that it is your first film, keep going.

I’m no one to judge a film and in once scene Anjan Dutt pokes and taunts the rise of pseudo critics in Facebook, it was so raw and hard-hitting. The screen-play, cinematography, background score and songs were highly enjoyable but the length of the film could have been chopped down, few emotional sequences could have been avoided. The first half after the interval, was bit slow but it builds up the climax at the immersion ground. Srijit Mukherji brings an ensemble cast and also a hullabaloo of special appearances in the end. Chotuskone was cerebral and this one is close to the heart. There was a dialogue in Kukunoor’s Iqbaal ,

Dimaag aur dil jab ek saath kaam karte hai na … toh farak nahi padta hai ki dimaag kaunsa hai aur dil kaunsa hai (Kukunoor, Iqbal)

I could feel it. Chotushkone has been my favourite but Uma is so pure and divine. I watched a bangla movie a in a cinema hall, after three years and this was a joy ride. I have been staying away from Kolkata for almost six years and I miss the greatest festival i.e. Durga Puja almost every year, I will watch this movie every time I miss the Puja. The last scene where Srabanti types in a laptop sums up the spirit of Kolkata and the movie. There are always flaws but as reviewer one should point out the collective greatness of this serenely subtle and immensely joyful cinematic experience, Uma. Watch it on big screen, you will love it, the cinema of Joy.

Ratings- 8.5/10 (personal ratings)

Pros

1. Excellent Acting.
2. Honest Film making.
3. Simple screenplay and narration.
4. Beautiful cinematic moments and poster design.
5. The smoke coils from Dutt’s cigarette, fuck..loved it.
6. Babul Supriyo’s truck ke upar ka dance and Arindam Bhattacharya’s transformation, commendable.
7. Rudranil’s refusal to accept the payment, brilliant again.
8. The title track was godly.
9. Durga Puja ,the city of Kolkata, Pandals and Kolkata Metro were perfectly used in the screenplay.
10. Lovely direction, you know your craft, fuck the haters.

Cons

1. Dragged a bit and few emotional tear jerking scenes could have been avoided.
2. Ektao khisti shunlam na ( ota miss korlam, just kidding)
3. The Paye dhora scene,ehhh.

 

Trailer

 

Disclaimer – Images from the internet.

 

 

 

Sundari Venkatraman’s Matsya: The First Avatar; A Book Review.

 

 

Format: Kindle Edition

Print Length: 38 pages

Publisher: Flaming Sun (Indie published) (11 March 2018)

Sold by: Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited

Language: English

ASIN: B07BDN1Q87

Blurb

Lord Brahma is highly disturbed when the four vedas are stolen from him the moment he goes to sleep at the end of the kalpa. It’s Asura Hayagriva who’s gotten away with the sacred scriptures.
Lord Vishnu offers to go to the creator’s rescue and takes the guise of Matsya, the fish.
King Satyavrath lands up with a tiny gold fish when he’s offering prayers to the Sun God one morning. Is the fish all that it appears to be?

How can Satyavrath help the fish?
Read more to find out the reason for Lord Vishnu taking the avatar on earth as Matsya.
This is a straightforward story of the first avatar of Mahavishnu, retold in simple English just the way it’s written over the ages. The target audience is the youngsters, children, who don’t know all that much about Indian mythology. It’s also for those parents who are keen to read aloud stories to their children and are looking for suitable books on mythology.

Know the author

This is the first foray into the mythology genre for the author and also the first book that she’s written for children.

Sundari Venkatraman is an indie author who has 28 titles to her name, all Top 100 Bestsellers on Amazon India, Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada and Amazon Australia in both romance as well as Asian Drama categories. Her latest hot romances have all been on #1Bestseller slot in Amazon India for over a month.

Even as a kid, Sundari absolutely loved the ‘lived happily ever after’ syndrome as she grew up reading all the fairy tales she could lay her hands on, Phantom comics, Mandrake comics and the like. It was always about good triumphing over evil and a happy end.

Soon, into her teens, Sundari switched her attention from fairy tales to Mills & Boon. While she loved reading both of these, she kept visualising what would have happened if there were similar situations happening in India; to a local hero and heroine. Her imagination took flight and she always lived in a rosy cocoon of romance over the years.

Then came the writing – a true bolt out of the blue! And Sundari Venkatraman has never looked back.

The Review

Sundari Venkatraman knows her craft and most importantly  she is aware of the target audience. In the year 1996 , I was travelling to Madras for an eye check up in Shankar Netralaya and kid sitting opposite to me in Coromondal Express , handed over a copy of Amar Chitra Katha , that was an unique feeling and while going through this book , I felt it once again.

In an age of over the top animated films on Indian Mythology , this book comes up as an delightful experience. The story focuses upon Vishnu’s first avatar as Matsya(fish) upon this earth and the narrative follows the exploits of Fish Avatar. Sundari Venkatraman keeps the narration simple with tight editing and perfect chapterization. Kids and the young teenagers will love it. I was waiting to read the prequel of Kurma: The Second Avatar , while it focused upon Samudra Manthan , this too deals with a crisis where the best resort for help is Lord Vishnu. He incarnates as a Fish and helps the Devas from the ultimate crisis i.e. the loss of Vedas.

The story shifts from Devalok to the Martyalok and Vishnu’s takes the form of a small gold fish and the amazing story in the palace of the Satyavrath unveils. What follows next, is up-to the readers to find out. Experience the fantastic tale of Vishnu Puran in the global language and the craftsmanship of Sundari Venkatraman. Unlike the successor, which I believed to be a great take on re-telling of Indian Mythology , this one is much better. I’m waiting for the third one of the series.

 

Pros 

Cover Design

The Characterisation of Hayagriva and Satyavrath

The simple plot-line and crispy editing

Cons

Nothing.

Ratings- 8.5/10

Buying Link

Sundari Venkatraman’s Kurma:The Second Avatar , A Book Review.

Print Length: 34 pages

Publisher: Flaming Sun (Indie published)

Publication Date: April 22, 2018

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Language: English

Available on Kindle Unlimited

Genre: Mythology, Short Story, Kidlit

Blurb

Sage Durvasa’s curse makes not just Indra, the Deva king, but also all the other Devas, lose their powers.

The completely shaken Devas rush to Lord Vishnu for help. The Blue Lord suggests that they churn the ocean of milk for Amrut, a divine potion, that would help them get back their lost powers and more.

For this, the Devas seek the help of their strong half-brothers, the evil Asuras. With Mount Mandara as the churning rod and the serpent king Vasuki as the rope, the Devas and Asuras begin the churning of the ocean.

When the mountain sinks into the ocean without support, it’s Lord Vishnu to the rescue as Kurma, the tortoise.

Read the story of Samudra Manthan to know about all the avatars Lord Vishnu takes in this segment to save the situation.

Know the author

This is the first foray into the mythology genre for the author and also the first book that she’s written for children.

Sundari Venkatraman is an indie author who has 28 titles to her name, all Top 100 Bestsellers on Amazon India, Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada and Amazon Australia in both romance as well as Asian Drama categories. Her latest hot romances have all been on #1Bestseller slot in Amazon India for over a month.

Even as a kid, Sundari absolutely loved the ‘lived happily ever after’ syndrome as she grew up reading all the fairy tales she could lay her hands on, Phantom comics, Mandrake comics and the like. It was always about good triumphing over evil and a happy end.

Soon, into her teens, Sundari switched her attention from fairy tales to Mills & Boon. While she loved reading both of these, she kept visualising what would have happened if there were similar situations happening in India; to a local hero and heroine. Her imagination took flight and she always lived in a rosy cocoon of romance over the years.

Then came the writing – a true bolt out of the blue! And Sundari Venkatraman has never looked back.

 

The Review 

Sundari Venkatraman’s objective is clear , she tells a story in a very simple way. Her plot-line is neatly woven and the language is crispy like the finger chips in Beer bar , perfectly salted to suit the taste of the reader. I’ve missed the prequel of Kurma: The Second Avatar, but it didn’t interfere the joy of reading this tale from Indian Mythology.

Sundari Venkatraman didn’t interfere with the original story written in Sanskrit. She knows the craft of storytelling and more importantly , she understands the pulse of both the reader. Thus , from the first page , she brings up the conflict and the rest of the narrative deals with the resolving of the same conflict.

Sage Durvasa  gets angry over Devraj Indra ,  King of Devas and he provides a terrible curse. Vishnu is the only one to provide a solution. We all know the story in an haphazard manner , Venkatraman presents it with proper introduction , beginning and the end. The book is well researched and neatly presented .

The churning of the Ocean provides so much data about the credibility of Vishnu, as the supreme God. The different forms of avatar , the concept of multiple existence and the treasures of Samudra Manthan were nicely presented in the book . Revisit the story of Indian mythology in English , without the literary jargons.

Pros

Who is your editor ? One of the best editors you have.

Simple Plot-line and Language

Lovely Cover Design and the index at the back

Cons

It ended , I was expecting more episodes of Mohini , Kamdhenu , Rahu and Neelkanth.

Ratings – 8/10

Get the book ..

Another Vishnu story is on the way.

 

 

Shahar , A Video-Hindi Poem

Shahar

 

 

Shahar (Hindi )

Tum unko gandi nazar se dekhte ho,
Tum unke jism ko noch khate ho,
Insaaniyat ko apne hawas ka shikar banate ho,

Aur badnaam hota hain shahar.

Satta ki aad main loot machatey ho,
San Unisho Churasi mein ek kom ke upar purey tarikey se dehshat macahtey ho,
Aur fir use dange ka naam dete ho,

Phir bhi badnaam hota hain shahar.

Odd even se tum nafrat karte ho,
Baap ka paisey jalate ho,
Patake gawaaro ki tarah fodte rehte ho,

Aur badnaam hota hain shahar.

Yamuna me saari gandegi visarjit karte ho,
Bridge ke upar, gaadi rok kar , bhari hui thaili nichey fekte ho
Phir ghar jake lappy kholkar  hashtag  Swach Bharat manate ho,

Par badnaam hota hain shahar.

Tum saare kehte ho na ,Raj path mein sab daaku baaste hai,

Aur Bambayi se accha abhineta toh saarey sansad mein bastey hain.

Gussa social media pe zaahir karte ho,

Aur jaab , apni aabru bachani ho , Police ko Baap ki hool dete ho

 

Lekin badnaam hota hai Shahar

Video Courtesy – Inkstation , Navi Mumbai.

 

Life: The Official Movie Review

Film: LIFE

Story: Tanmoy De

Screenplay & Direction: Arijit Mukherjee

Presenter: Teamwork Production

Staring Ayush Mukherjee Payel Majumdar Pom Chatterjee Gopal Ghosh Manisha Tham —

VFX, Promotion & BGM: Aniket

Cinematography: Bappa Dasgupta

Editing: Tamal Chakraborty

Music Direction: Somagni Biswas & ULFAT

Unplugged Vocals: ULFAT Unplugged (Abhijit & Rupali)

The Movie Review

Arijit Mukherjee’s latest directorial venture Life is all about loving your life and winning over negativity on all aspects. He keeps his objective short and sweet just like his first short film Rony which dealt with the alienation of an urban child from his parents. Life comes up with a commendable opening sequence where the director introduces a fast moving city embedded in powerful neon lights and people moving to and fro from here to there across the screen. There are some well captured moments where one of the characters picks up a broken piece of glass which signifies the broken state of the human soul in an urban landscape; thumbs up for using such imagery over here.

I’m thoroughly impressed by the editing of Tamal Chakraborty’s editing throughout the entire course of narration and yes Bappa DasGupta’s cinematography also deserves applause. Mr Mukherjee cleverly used special effects (read VFX) to portray a psychedelic situation where one of the characters converse from a place too far from the city of Kolkata. You need to find out that place by watching this drama of life. There are two characters over here in the film, a lonely depressed working woman in the huge metropolitan and a mysterious character from a place too near yet too far away. It is their endearing and relatable conversations which lights up the laptop screen. The dialogues are realistic and Arijit Mukherjee’s delicate handling of Tanmoy De’s storyline doesn’t lose focus or drifts away from the core.

The film discussed the issue of depression and suicidal tendencies among the urban youth and comes up with an optimistic message in the end .The best part of the movie Life is that it doesn’t preach anything but portrays the grim reality of death. Payel Majumder and Ayush Mukherjee comes up with convincing acts in the film and doesn’t give any major reason to dislike. Though I personally feel, the dialogue deliveries could have been better especially the voice over of the lead character. Nevertheless, the movie is a great attempt to draw our attention to towards suicide and clinical depression and wiping out the vague notion about the utopia of after-life. Thumbs up to the entire team of the Life for coming up with a fine piece of art. Do watch it. Do not miss this short film.

Pros

Relatable Storyline.

Strong Social Statement.

Smart Editing, Cinematography, VFX.

Tight Screenplay and direction.

Lovely Background score

Good Facial Expressions and Body Language by the Lead Characters.

Commendable & Economical Production Design

Cons

Dialogue delivery in few scenes (personal feeling).

The opening credit song didn’t leave a mark.

Ratings – 8.5/10

Check out the short film over here

 

Director : Few Facts

Mr. Arijit Mukherjee was born to Mukherjee Family of Maniktala on 19th March 1969. Father Shree Billesh Mukherjee’s passion for writing & painting left an impression on Young mind of Arijit.

World of Art & Culture Started haunting him. At the age of Thirteen, he got the first taste of a life where people comes out of his self and adds life to the character depicted in black & white the pages of books.

An actor’s creation starts from where a writer’s creation stops. So it true with young Arijit. 

Thirteen-year-old Arijit gave his first theatrical performance on stage in his school drama.

While acting in drama, he started taking a keen interest in the nitty-gritty of technical aspects of drama and developed a strong desire for the directional venture. He thought direction would be his ideal cup of tea.

At the age of seventeen, he took his first venture in the world of direction as Chief Assistant Director.

Along with cultural activities, Arijit Continued with his studies and did a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.

He also took an assignment in a Bangalore based Company and continued for four years.

Love for silver screen brought him back to Kolkata. People saw Arijit as a full-fledged independent director in his first 26 Episodes Serial “Khali Jahajer Rahasya” based on “Kaka Babu Series” of Sunil Gangopadhyay.

After that, he had never looked back and today Arijit is an established Director of Tollygunge with 4+ Short films, 16+ Telefilms & 8+ Mega Serial in popular Bengali channels at home and at abroad along with numerous Ad films, Documentaries, and Corporate Films to his credit.

Then he stepped abroad, and in Bangladesh, he first started their country’s daily soap called “Aparajita”.

After returning to India, now he is running a YouTube Channel called “Arijit Official“, and made 4+ successful short films in 2017.

 

 

To know more about the director and his works visit his website

http://directorarijit.eu5.org

 

Disclaimer – Images from the internet.

Padmaavat : The Movie Review

Padmaavat

 

Players : Ranveer Singh , Shahid Kapoor , Deepika Padukone , Aditi Rao Hydari

Director : Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Writers : SLB and Prakash Kapadia

Source : Malik Mohammed Jayasi’s Padmavat

Genre : Historical Fiction / Drama/ Romance

First thing first, the name of the movie should have been Khilji ki Khujli or just like Batman vs Superman  ( read Ratan vs Alauddin ). You might think that I’m trying to be funny (which is absolutely right) but I am exactly on the point.

The movie belongs to Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.

Characterization and Acting

Sanjay Leela Bhansali introduces the three principal characters within first 15 minutes and he does it right again this time. The movie hall was jumping with claps and whistles when the kohl-eyed lunatic  Alauddin appeared with his prized Ostrich in front of heavily beefed up Raja Murad, Ranveer made sure each and every frame belongs to him.Yes, the insane charm and delusive aura of this man as a performer makes you hate him and this is where Ranveer outclassed himself from others in the film. I don’t have enough words to praise …Chaa gaye . 😀

Shahid Kapoor compliments Ranveer in every frame , if Ranveer appears to be favourite among the audience, it is because of Shahid’s traditional and controlled sense of expressions throughout the movie. Kapoor had similar doses of insane characters in Haider and Udta Punjab. But this time he plays the point of reference for the audience to make a gullible distinction between two male leads of the movie. One thing, Kapoor knows where to draw the line and how to connect with the audience. Honesty, valour, righteousness were in his facial expressions, body language, dialogue delivery..well everything. This is actual acting where the audience can feel the character.

Deepika Padukone, you are a class but why didn’t you act? That flatbed expression from Ram-Leela via Bajirao Mastani up till here. You did such a brilliant job in Piku, what happened here? You had a tailor-made role which you could have easily pulled off, sorry not at all happy with your acting over here. You looked graceful and every bit of a leader, Ghoomar belongs to you but it was Aditi Rao Hydari who did a great job as an actress. She appeared more beautiful and convincing to me.

Malik Khafur essayed by the Jim Sarbh was a treat to watch on 70mm. He is an evil-minded genius and a horny individual. Well, I think this was the most historically accurate characterisation in the movie. Just work on your accent, it appeared funny this time.

Bisexual attitude was accurately portrayed.

 

The Craft of the movie

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is obsessed with triangular love stories. Just think about his all other films (except Khamoshi, Black, Saawariya, Hum Dil de Chukey sanaam..oh I miss Ajay Devgan ) where lovers doesn’t meet. You know the plot here or redirect yourself to Wikipedia. Bhansali doesn’t disappoint you as a director with a keen vision for cinematography, cinematic thrills, background score, extracting the best from the acting crew but he could have worked more on the art of story-telling. Somewhere the movie becomes too predictable and lengthy. This is not one of your best as a director, dude you made Black and Bajirao, they were far better directed. But no doubt this is a magnum opus and you deserve the credit for pulling it off. Claps for you. The movie is treat to watch.

Well, one thing for sure, there is a lack of unity among the Rajputs, refer to Jodha- Akbar also.

Mr Chatterjee the cinematographer, take a bow. Loved each and every framing of the movie, you are a real star over here and it is not an easy job to work on such a periodical piece. It was raw in Afghanistan, dark in Delhi, soothing in Sinhala and royal in Rajasthan. You deserve an award. The Jauhar scene was such a beauty…loved it, man. But why the close-up shots looked straight out of Smartphone cameras where the faces looked like they got rid of pimples, dark spot ..3D effect was not at all needed.

Believe me, the background score is a memorable one and two other songs Ghoomar and Ek Dil chain will remain with the audience, but what was that with Khali Bali, Ranveer tried a Malhari, please don’t do that again. The song picturised on Malik Khafur and Ranveer, spare the horror.

The Production Design is a class in itself. Hugs to the team of Production Design.

But Sanjay Bhansali is a clever man, he designed a product to connect with the audience and the experience was really a good one. You won’t sob in silence but  you will be delightful to watch it on the big screen.Ashutosh Gowariker is a master storyteller for historical fictions and Sanjay Bhansali comes next. But Bhansali is bolder and an expert in studying different cultures. But why does the characters falls for each other by getting injured ? Remember , Bajirao- Mastani and this one else.

 

Pros

Ranveer, Ranveer, Ranveer with his mannerisms, eye contact, dialogue delivery and craziness loaded package was entertaining and delightful to the core.

Shahid’s  effortless acting.

Superb Casting.

Background Score

The presentation of Ghoomar Song.

Excellent cinematography by Sudeep Chatterjee.

Perfect production design.

Well-choreographed fight sequences between Khilji and Rana.

The right dose of violence.

The Jauhar scene belongs to Deepika and she looked like a Goddess..Jai Bhawani.

Beautiful Colour Co-ordination.

The scene where the Rajput General keeps on fighting, in spite of his head being chopped off.Claps

The intense scenes between Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.

Cons

Deepika’s expressions

Horrible VFX

The script could have been much better

The length of the movie

The climax scene was rushed but highly enjoyable.

 

Ratings – 8/10

N.B – Ranveer is actually the SRK of Darr, ek tarfa Pyar / Havas..yehi Hota hain.

Huh – “ Ek jung, Husn ke naam”

Where was the parrot that was mentioned in the poem Padmavaat ?

Fun fact – According to the poem , Ratan Sen not Singh was killed by another Rajput who was eyeing Rani Padmavaati and Alauddin Khilji never got a chance to see any of them.

I’m still wondering why Karni Sena is upset?

The Jauhar scene deserves a song by Rihanna

Deepika singing – “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn.”

Ok, don’t kill me. 😛

Disclaimer – Images from Karni Sena’s personal web browsers. Lol..just joking.

Check out the trailer.

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Ending-New Beginning : Pre- Order Now

Pre-Order is on …Order now

Debraj Moulick

The Most Awaited Book, “Ending – New Beginning” is ready for Pre-orders.

Common Readers, shower you love on the contributing authors of the book.
InkQuills Publishing House

Buying Link

Amazon India: http://amzn.to/2BZwbuF
Only Book Shop: https://goo.gl/S8Zxzp

Blurb

A Close Look

This lousy blogger is going to be a part of an anthology entitled Ending-New Beginning.  The anthology has been edited by the talented persona Ravina Kaniyawala and it boasts an impressive (I’m not counting mine, though ) collection of short stories and poems. The entries were chosen through a nationwide competition organised by the same publishing agency, InkQuills Publishing House.

This Pune based publishing house comprises a team of passionate youngsters like Abhisar Garg, Ravina Kaniyawala, Aditi Shrivastava and few more. Do check out the varieties of short stories and poems in the anthology which speaks about an ending to a new beginning and the other way…

View original post 184 more words

A Book Review of Dr. Kanaklata Tiwari’s Pintoo’s First Bite

 

Title –  Pintoo’s First Bite

Author – Dr. Kanaklata Tiwari

Format: Kindle Edition

Print Length: 38 pages

Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited

Sold by: Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited

Language: English

ASIN: B077BQWKMY

 

Review

Pintoo’s First Bite is a collection of tiny tales authored by Dr. Kanaklata Tiwari. The author revisits the folk tales and pop culture of the children and narrates the century old stories with a pinch of modern storytelling of her own. The age old tradition of  grandparents reading out stories for the toddlers is back with a boom in this collection.

The narrative is simple and endearing without any complexities of the adult mind . Dr. Tiwari has voraciously used the literary device of personification , where the animals have got voices and they speak out in almost every short story of this collection . The human beings have received a mixed treatment in this collection ; some being kind while others are bit greyish. The storytelling is linear in structure and sometimes end with a morale. The influence of Aesop’s fable is visible throughout the book  but the author creates her own little word where the human kingdom lives happily ever after with the animals.The author provides some funny and relate able nomenclature for the characters like Pintoo , Chunchu , Gabru , Aalo , Bhalo , Thumb Singh etc.My personal favourite is Thumb Singh became the king. The editing could have been much better and it acts as a bit of roadblock in the smooth ride of the book. No doubt the author comes up with a good package….

Hurry up buy the book for the kids in the house and for you to revisit the childhood.

Buying Link :  https://www.amazon.in/Pintoos-first-bite-Kanak-Tiwari-ebook/dp/B077BQWKMY

 

Pros

Lovable characterization

Simple plot structures

Adorable usage of personifications

Honest story telling

Cons

Choppy editing

Excessive usage of watermarked images

Know the Author :

Dr. Kanak Lata Tiwari

 

Contact no 9819220411,

E mail :kanaklatatiwari@yahoo.co.in

Asst professor in KJSCE, Ph D in English Literature, Weekly Columnist In THE NEWSBAND, presented many papers in international conferences in Dubai,Athens<Bangkok etc. Pubblished many research papers in reputed journals.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND AWARDS

Recipient of Unnao Garav Award From U P Government

 Recipient of Rishi Shankar Dixit Award for her book “Mere Maun Ka Mukhar” from Kolkata Kanya Kubj Sabha

 Recipient of Kahani Pratiyogita award from Delhi Press

 Recipient of Women of The Year ASHMITA Award 2014

 A prolific writer in Hindi& English, many articles and stories published in various reputed magazines and dailies like Hindi Femina ,Vama,Sakhi Jagran etc.  Compilation of poetry “ Mere Maun Ka Mukhar” “Atm katha jo Atm Katha nahi hai and “The Novels Of Thomas Hardy and R.K.Narayan ” “ Alice walker ,a compilation” have been published.

 A collection of stories (in Hindi UNSULAJHE PRASHN) Published .It is her sixth book.