R.I.P. Shammi Kapoor

And thus passes away a legend of Hindi cinema.

Though the magic of Shammi Kapoor was experienced by generations away from the one I grew up in. His songs, and the stylish, light-hearted portrayal of the romantic hero was quite popular during my growing up years too thanks to weekly movies and the chitrahaar sessions on DD.

In the later years, his warm grandfather image in ads like Pan Parag and a few movies was also quite endearing.

May you rest in peace!

Leaving you with some super awesome, unforgettable, evergreen melodies that have been synonymous with the epic that is Shammi Kapoor. And this is going to be one long play list - a good companion for your Sunday...

- Tumse achha kaun hai...

- Badan pe sitaare lapete hue...

- Yeh chaand sa roshan chehera...

- Deewana hua badal...

Baar baar dekho...

- Kahin na kahin...

- Akele akela kahan jaa rahe ho...

- O haseena zulfon waali...

- Deewana mujha sa nahin...

- Tumne mujhe dekha...

- Aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche...

- Aaja aaja main hun pyaar tera

- Aasman se aaya farishta...

And I could go on and on...what are your favorite Shammi Kapoor numbers? Some big ones that I'm forgetting?

[Image source: Google Images]

Dakshinachitra

I finally succeeding in dragging Vish to Dakshinachitra – quite literally translated as the “picture or vision of the South (India)”, and much against the locals’ quips that the place is not worth the hype – I enjoyed my trip.

Dakshinachitra, DC for short, is promoted as a heritage village site with the objective of recreating the rural life of the four states of Southern India – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

For Bollywood fans out there, this is the place where Shilpa Shetty and Salman Khan spent “the two days” in the movie Phir Milenge :).

Situated on the east coast road (ECR), DC is a perfect family getaway on a weekend/holiday morning with not only sight seeing to do, but fun activities such as basket weaving, pottery, puppet making etc., and ofcourse shopping that add to the tourist value of the place.

The best part is that it does not get too crowded; though being in the open, a hot summer day may not be the ideal time for a visit.

DC endeavors to preserve the traditional art, craft and architecture forms by providing a platform to the artisans to showcase their talent in the form of demo booths (sari weaving, glass blowing among others) and exhibitions.

Pitched as a cultural odyssey of the South, DC does try to live up to the buzz around it – The Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh sections are still under construction whereas the Tamil Nadu and Kerala sections are complete and offer a fairly detailed insight into the various aspects of the village life.

So, I would recommend that if you are in Chennai or visiting Chennai, take a half day out for a trip to Dakshinachita and you won’t regret it.

Here are a few pictures from our trip.

A view of the craft bazaar that greets you right at the entrance…

The structures of village houses…

A peak inside the houses…

Now for some demo and fun stuff…

Silk sari weaving…

Pottery (A statutory warning: The potter thatha is one impatient guy – he was screaming at me in tamil that I was not doing it properly without even teaching me how to mould the clay first :(.

You can also take a shot at grinding rice :D...

Kili jyoshiyam or the parrot fortune teller is another interesting stop over. Following instructions, the parrot comes out of its cage, randomly selects one card from the pile of cards, takes it to the god’s picture and the gives it to the guy sitting there – who then reads out your fortune.

And finally, some shots, which I think were in Phir Milenge…

If you have seen the movie, you couldn’t have missed the amphitheater…

------------------

Added:

Here's the song from Phir Milenge, shot at Dakshinchitra (Thanks a ton Aastha!!!)

We are family…

The official bollywood remake of Stepmom brings to Karan Johar’s fans a heart wrenching tale in an NRI setup, yet again – after all, that is the limit to which Johar can “indianize” Hollywood for us :D. And, as usual, I don’t mind that a wee bit!

A disclaimer: When you go for the movie, forget the original. Comparisons never help, do they?

To give We are family its due credit, it brings to Hindi cinema a refreshingly new perspective to the concept of the other woman rather than the stereotyped and clichéd wicked witch she is made out to be in every soap and movie! Never once are you made to hate the stepmom, never once does the stepmom show any traces of evil in her. And full marks to the director and producer for that.

While most would be tempted to dismiss this offering as a typical tearjerker, a genre I dare not defend, I would still go on to say that there were numerous aspects of the movie that tugged my heart so many a times.

Kudos to the story tellers for making the movie crisp and to the point - no sympathy arousing tale of the before love and the reasons for separation of the divorced couple, no confused commitments – a modern day nuclear family saga that borders on realism.

Another saving grace was that the oft-repeated track of “it’s all about loving your parents”, and “our Indian culture and roots are our saviors” was downplayed for once!

A special mention to the kids – they were damn cute. I loved one particular scene where Arjun Rampal is empathizing with his son for having been confined to the company of complicated women and the tongue in cheek response to that “Tell me about it, And you have got one more! (referring to the step mom ofcourse)”

However, don’t forget this is a bollywood movie – to the core. The elaborate medical ordeal of Kajol (she is a wonderful actor) and the love triangle between the kids and the two moms interlace the movie with heavy emotions, which sets it drastically different from the more light-hearted and effervescent Kal Ho Na Ho. While both movies try to end on a positive note, We are family leaves you with a feeling of loss and a tear-stained face!

‘Humesha and forever’ is destiny’s greatest lie. Sigh.

My recommendation: go ahead and watch the movie. A good cry once in a while helps not just the eyes :)!

And here’s my favorite song from the movie…

rehm o karam hojaey dobara

rehm o karam ho jaane do ishara

rehm o karam hojaey dobara

rehm o karam hojaane do Khudara

3 weeks later!

Naah, this is not the latest Danny Boyle zombie movie – 3 weeks is the time I have been away from the blogging world, dormant on FB, totally inactive on Orkut, completely out of circulation on Twitter, and silent on my phone!

So, even if you didn’t really miss me on any of the channels above and couldn’t care less about what kept me away, in the true spirit of being me, I shall go ahead and burden you with the bloody details :D!

It has been work, work, and helluva work – almost the entire 3 weeks were spent writing documents, conducting reviews, “following up”, sitting late nights burning the midnight oil, less of food intake, more of calorie burning (still no reduction in the uneasy number people refer to as weight), reworks, last minute troubleshooting, near cardiac arrests, not-so-easy recoveries, dull weekends, and everything else that symbolizes a product release in the big bad IT world! The good news is I am done duna done done! (however silly and irritating it sounds)

The missed “blog” moments…

I really wanted to blog about the Kasab drama (a well deserved death sentenced), the Nirupama tragedy (a giant leap back to the stone age), the Burqa: to be or not to be (I think I can still write on this one – will make a note) and finally my tryst with Laila (for the ignorant, laila is the name of the cyclone that recently hit Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and created some havoc in my life too – I was stranded in the middle of the flyover and etc etc - none of which was remotely humorous :().

What else has been happening?

Apart from work, some other news too!

# My darling brother has finished his 4-yr degree program and is back in Delhi – this directly translates into me being all by myself on the weekends – he has been a wonderful companion for all my shopping sprees and gastronomic indulgences! Will miss u Priyank, enjoy and take care :).

# I finally managed to plan my long due vacation – It’s going to be a wonderful Californian summer – remember to check out this blog for the updates on that!

# My school years’ crush on Hrithik Roshan has kind of re-inflamed – it takes a lot to get me star struck and oh I am so in love! I go for Kites today and am hoping there’s lots to write when I am back!

# And finally, some songs refuse to leave my lips – and have been instrumental in retaining my cheer in the dark ages (3 weeks). Posting them here for your consumption too…

>> Uff teri adaaa – An instant mood lifter

>> Zombies…in your head!

>> Ranjha Ranjha – from Mani Ratnam’s Raavan

>> Blackbird – singing in the dead of night…

>> Pal pal har pal – from the second Munnabhai movie

>> There are a few more all time favorites, which gave me company - but I stop here at Wake me up when September comes…