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.
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,
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 “ArijitOfficial“, and made 4+ successful short films in 2017.
To know more about the director and his works visit his website
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.
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…
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.
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.
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 round. The book is going to be released soon …..
Vraj Kaniyawala has been credited with a simple yet outstanding cover design of Ending-New Beginning. Check this out :
You will come across some write-ups with optimistic point of views and some pessimistic views about life.One of the best thing about the anthology is that the theme is intriguing and doesn’t stick to the same ghisapita romance of other Indie anthologies. The contributing authors and poets are as follows :
Bhai bhi hain na 😛
Stay tuned for updates and the pre-order is going to start very soon. Will provide the buying link on my blog , facebook , twitter and other social media. You are free to criticise my writing . 😀
Now the people who made this one possible. Keep it up guys…Loved the interview Aditi.
Top Left – Abhisar , Ravina Aditi and Vraj
The Pre-Order is on..
I know you people are very rich ..so don’t be a miser and order the book
The style
The enigma
The attitude
The man who literally screwed the Britishers
Rajkummar Rao is unaplogetically the Dark Knight of Indian History , SubhasChandra Bose.
Rao’s act is comparable to the soft spoken portrayal of Kingsley’s Gandhi and I’m not exaggerating…
Because the portrayal is one hell of a ride #Subhaskebojhashokto#BoseDeadAlive#ALTBalaji
He has infused the brawny with the brainy through his body language.
Aamir Khan displayed such versatility while essaying the role of the gallant Indian freedom fighter Chandrasekhar Azad in Rakesh Omprakash Mishra’s cult classic Rang De Basanti (2006) ; however Rajkummar Rao (Bose:DeadorAlive , a web series) provides the intellect of an international strategist in his portrayal of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose , clearly one of the best acting in recent times .
Benegal’s Bose-The Forgotten Hero (2004) was one of the most historically accurate movie of all time . It boasted superb cast , praiseworthy production values, soulful score and excellent acting but the narration couldn’t match up with the dynamism of Bose’s personality.It is still an excellent watch.
Shyam Benegal’s hero Sachin Khedekar looked every bit of the revolutionary leader and no doubt he played it brilliantly on the 70mm but Rao’s act is way ahead , since it inspires and makes you feel about the character….coz it is not easy to understand Subhas and essay it with so much conviction..
#Subhaskebojhashokto…
For your kind information there was a Bangla full length feature film titled Subhas Chandra in the year 1966 , directed by Piyush Bose . Samar Chatterjee essayed the role of the grown up leader. Three actors played the part and it focused upon the spiritual and philosophical growth of the character. Lata Mangeshkar lend her voice for the one of the most beautifully written elegiac song of all time: Ekbar Biday De Ma (composed on the martyrdom of the daring revolutionary Khudiram Bose).
Honourable mention :
Kenu Basumatary as Subhas Bose in the 2017 film Raag Desh.
Film: LIFE
A Close Look
