Sanju – My thoughts after seeing the movie!

When Sanjay Dutt’s biopic was announced, I was quite clear that I was not keen on seeing the movie as I pretty much knew Sanjay Dutt’s story almost completely. So I was wondering why I would want to watch it. Since my mother was keen on seeing it, I agreed to go plus Ranbir Kapoor’s transformation for the role had impressed me.

The movie starts with Sanju trying to get his biography written and the first writer who attempts it is thrown out of his house by Sanjay Dutt since it seemed more like an attempt at flattery rather an honest account of his life. After that, Sanjay Dutt’s wife Manyata approaches Winnie Diaz(Anushka Sharma) to present his side of the story. It takes several attempts for Winnie to be convinced about writing the story as she hears different accounts from media, his friends. Slowly, she discovers the truth and finishes Sanjay Dutt’s biography.

The film shows how the media manipulates the truth, gets away with saying almost anything by just putting across the statement as a question and even convinces Sanjay Dutt’s closest friend that he was actually a terrorist. The movie Sanju tries to explain how a young man who was immature, naive, confused, dominated by his father can go on the wrong path and make stupid choices in life. The movie shows Sanjay Dutt as a victim of his stupid choices which were due to the lack of maturity and not a criminal’s mind.

Sanjay Dutt’s dearest friend who stood by him in all difficult times but got influenced by one media report, the transformation of Sanju’s father to a caring and supporting father who was his rock solid support in very difficult phase of his life are the two biggest highlights of the film for me. Sunil Dutt teaches his son very important and touching life lessons on his difficult journey of life.

Ranbir Kapoor has astounded me in the movie with his transformation and awesome acting. Hats off to him. I will not share my views on whether I believe what Sanjay Dutt says or not in the movie about his mistakes because I would prefer it that people see the movie and make up their mind themselves about it. However, whether you believe Sanjay Dutt or not, I would highly recommend watching it because it is a heartwarming feel good story with many beautiful, touching moments.

Bucket List – Don’t put it on your Bucket List

I am a big Madhuri Dixit fan and when I saw the promos of the movie Bucket List in theatres, I was very excited and looked forward to the movie. A woman who has an heart ailment needs a heart donor. She gets the heart of a girl who dies in an accident. She discovers that the heart donor had a bucket list that she wanted to complete in her life span. Sounds like an interesting story, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, it turned out to be exactly the opposite. The movie fell flat on it’s face and was a totally damp squib. Let me tell you why.

The woman with the heart ailment is a 45 year old Maharashtrian housewife with a slightly conservative outlook towards life. The heart donor was a 20 year old girl who was modern and a typical fun loving 20 year old. The to-do items on her list were things like wear a bikini on the beach, get arrested at least once.

Madhura, the housewife gets curious about who her donor was and gets her address. She goes to her house and was greeted cordially by the parents but got a very cold shoulder from the twin brother of the dead girl. She gets to know about the bucket list and sets her mind on fulfilling it.

From here, the movie gets very boring. She completes 2-3 things from the bucket list, one of them was to get arrested. She gets a tough time from her family for that and she stops pursuing the items on the list. From here, I have no idea what happens in the movie. I was so bored that I completely zoned out. In between, I just saw that she just keeps ticking items on her list but she is never actually seen doing the things on the list. She is just sitting in her house and ticking the items on the list. So I am not sure what we were supposed to watch. In the end, I find her dancing to a song and again, I have no idea why. I just realized that this was the end of the movie and wanted to run out of the hall as soon as I could.

The Reality of Breakups

As you all already know since I have been boring you with posts about it, I have been watching the TV serial Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai. The show talks about the teenage love story of Sameer and Naina, Sameer starts getting close to Naina to win a bet and eventually realises that it is true love. He loses Naina when she finds about the bet.

Now the serial is at a stage where he is trying to win Naina back. The serial shows the real heartbreaking reality of breakups and how it affects the mind and heart. When Naina comes to know about the bet, she is an emotional wreck. Her anger, her pain will sear your heart. The way it is shown in the serial – nothing is held back. It is a complete raw depiction of what someone goes through when they are betrayed in love.

Nowadays, in movies and TV serials, it is shown that people move one easily after breakups which is not the truth in reality. That’s why love has become a very casual term and just a four letter word. This serial will show the harsh reality of the pain of breakups. It will shatter your heart, make you cry and realise how terribly painful breakups are. The youth of today need to watch this show. The transformation that happens in Sameer when he realises that he broke the heart of a girl who completely and unflinchingly loved him has to be seen. He can’t forgive himself. He has a strained relationship with his mother and he realises the truth of his mother’s words that he is not capable of maintaining any relationship. This completely changes him as a person.

Naina comes from a very conservative family where the norms are very strict for girls. But she is so much in pain and shock that she is beyond caring. She stops talking, eating, fights with all her cousins and is completely changed. She is eventually hospitalised and there her family shows her so much love and care that it is at that point that she realises that she is not only hurting herself but the people who love her too. At that point in time, she decides to put the Sameer chapter behind her, start smiling again and look happy for the sake of her family and concentrate on her studies.

What is our hero Sameer doing in the meantime? After losing Naina, he is completely quiet for the next few days. When Naina confesses her love to him, he is about to tell her the truth before he expresses his feelings to her. But the guys with whom he had kept the bet come and reveal everything to her before he can say anything. Naina confronts him and he is left speechless. She starts withdrawing from him. Unable to face her, he walks off. His close friends, Munna and Pandit, try to tell Naina that this isn’t true but seeing Sameer walk off, they follow him. What is the effect on Sameer? He goes completely quiet for two days, is unable to live with the guilt of what he has done and Naina’s tear filled eyes keep appearing in front of him.

Eventually, unable to bear it any more, he decides to ask Naina for forgiveness when he meets her at school next. When he sees her at school, Naina greets him with a big smile saying Hi Sameer, He is completely confused. He says,” I am sorry, Naina.” She asks – what for? He tries to bring up the topic. She says – I have no idea what you are talking about. She says – see you later, bye and walks off. That’s when Sameer realises that this isn’t going to be easy as she has cut him off emotionally. He realises that as easily as he had won Naina’s love, it will be equally difficult to win her love and trust again.

He makes numerous efforts but she is always smiling and normal with him and refuses to acknowledge that anything had happened between them, except for one scene where he corners her in school to say sorry. You have to see that scene to realise how amazing the serial is and what awesome performers the two actors are. The words that Naina says to him, the harsh truth that she puts in front of him hits him in the guts, he is unable to face this changed Naina but is determined to win her back, no matter what happens and how much ever time and effort it may take.

With this determination, I am completely sure he eventually will. But it is terribly painful to see both of them in so much pain. Now for the scene that I am referring to. I could not get the scene that I am referring to separately. I am including the link to the episode where he tries to apologise to her and how she responds to him. Do see it if you can. It is a beautifully made scene.

http://www.sonyliv.com/details/episodes/5695772025001/29-December-2017—Yeh-Un-Dinon-Ki-Baat-Hai

 

 

The Book that influenced me most in 2017





I am an avid reader and am mostly never without a book in my hands. Reading is my pleasure, stress-reliever and a source of great happiness to me. Hence, I don’t like to set a target of the number of books that I will read. That takes away the pleasure of reading for me and makes it a task instead of something that I enjoy.

2017 was a very eventful year for me as far as reading was concerned. I was introduced to a lot of genres and different types of books, thanks to a book group I am in on Facebook. It has really broadened my horizons and made reading even more fun and interesting for me.

The latest Indispire topic #Books2017 is a topic I had to write on. I have been introduced to an author I had never read earlier – Kristin Hannah. She is an American author who has won many awards for her books. A lot of her books revolve around the incidents that happened during World War II. The book written by her that really had a deep impact on my mind and affected me profoundly was Winter Garden.

Winter Garden

The story starts with telling you about two sisters who are as different from each other as chalk and cheese. One stays at home to take care of her children and the family apple orchard and the other is a famous photo journalist, travelling all over the world. The two sisters are almost estranged from each other due to a very strained childhood with an emotionally unavailable mother, even though they had a very loving father.

The two women come together again when their beloved father falls ill and face their cold and unapproachable mother(Anya) again. The only connection that they have with their mother is a Russian fairy tale that she told her daughters at night sometimes, though always incomplete. On his deathbed, the father extracts a promise from their mother that the fairy tale will be told till the end this time. With this begins the journey into Anya’s past in Leningrad during the World War, five decades ago.

The fairy tale will tell you all – who Anya was, what she experienced in life, the truth behind her cold behaviour. You will be introduced to the completely raw, exposed face of Anna. The story will have you crying, break your heart, but don’t stop reading it. The end of the story is totally worth it. It will surprise you, warm your heart and make you cry again. This book is a must must read. This book was definitely my best read of 2017.

A TV Character I love!

When I first started watching this TV serial, I never thought that it would have so much of an impact on me. I just started watching it as a sweet, simple show that was so different from the trash that we see on TV nowadays. The character who really touches my heart is not someone I had expected would, nor would anyone else I think. He is Sameer from Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai.

He is shown as a spoilt, rich boy who thinks he owns the world and everything in it because he comes from a rich family. He is also very good looking, so he has people swooning over him. With a combination of money and good looks, he is the hot favourite of everyone in school and everyone wants to be known as his friend. He only has two close friends in school. But he lets everyone think that they are close to him because he enjoys the attention. This was when the serial started.

But as the serial progressed, different layers began to be revealed of this spoilt boy and suddenly we realize, he is all of us. We hide our real self behind layers of arrogance, don’t care attitude, always pretend we are happy even if we aren’t because we are afraid of revealing our real selves to everyone and show our vulnerable side.

Sameer becomes friends with the female lead in the show, Naina, to fulfill a bet. Naina is a sweet, charming girl next door and definitely not the kind of girl that the flamboyant Sameer can imagine falling in love with. But he has entered into a bet with his friends that he will make Naina fall in love with him. He starts wooing her and slowly this seemingly simple girl starts to unravel this flamboyant boy and we are introduced to the sensitive, caring Sameer that he himself doesn’t know(or remember) as he has hidden that side of his behind layers to protect himself from being hurt by the world. She believes and sees the good in him when he himself can’t till he is completely exposed in front of himself and us as the wonderful person he is. Of course, he falls in love with Naina but realizes it too late and loses her.

We all have a Sameer in us who acts strong, uncaring, covers himself/herself behind layers for self protection, but is like soft clay in the hands of the right person. We think that the world will judge us if we reveal our real selves, so we keep a mask on our face for other people. Also, just like Sameer, many times we let our ego get the better of ourselves and set out to hurt someone or belittle them, take revenge to satisfy our false ego. Just like Sameer realised his love for Naina too late, we realise the value of something really good in our life only after we lose it.

He is a character I really identify and this was a realization that hit me yesterday. Of all the different characters in the serial, it is this supposedly black sheep of the family that has touched a chord with me and has suddenly become my favourite character in the serial as he is surprised at the decent human being inside him who is revealed to him by this simple girl. I am now waiting eagerly to see how he wins her love again and become the person he deserves to be before the world ingrained in him the feeling of being unworthy.

The Author Who Made Me Fall In Love With Reading!

 

I was 11 or 12 years old when I came across her book in the library. I was entering my teens, going through the confusion of the desire to grow up and wanting to remain a child. Her book felt like a guidebook that I could identify with and it stayed with me in all my teen years till adulthood. Even today, the book is one of my favourites. The book is Little Women and the author is Louisa M Alcott. It was her birth anniversary on 29th November.

She was a woman well before her times and her books reflected that. Little Women is a book set in the 1800’s and is the story of four sisters and their journey of growing up from little girls to grown women, their trials and tribulations, their happy and sad experiences. It is a book ahead of its times, it shows a mother who teaches her daughters to be happy, contented and accomplished women whose only aim in life should not be to get a rich husband. She teaches them that a marriage should be based on love and not on material possessions. This book is set in the 1800’s where women were taught that marriage was the ultimate goal of a woman, this book has a mother who tells her daughters that she would rather see them as single, contented women rather than running around looking for husbands or marrying for the wrong reasons.

This book is autobiographical and has many incidents from Louisa May Alcott’s real life. The other refreshing part of the book is that she shows men as real human beings who cry, laugh, feel emotions and are sensitive. The book also shows the beauty of family life, celebrating togetherness and small moments making a home full of love which is better than a big house full of riches and all the luxuries.

This book is my guide and support even today and my go to feel good book and will be forever. I will pass it on to my nieces and daughters, if I ever have any and it will be their lifelong guidebook as it has been for me.

Caring for your Contact Lenses

I have been wearing contact lenses for over 20 years now and I have heard a lot of people say that they find it tiring and a daunting task to wear and care for contact lenses. However, wearing contact lenses is better for your eyes as they provide better vision for the eyes, thus increasing eye health. In my case, I have Progressive Myopia and wearing contact lenses has helped stabilise my number a lot. In fact, my number has reduced in the last few years since I became more regular in wearing my lenses. So I am going to share a few tips to care for your contact lenses which will make it easier for you to maintain them.

Monthly Disposable Lenses are the best choice

In today’s polluted atmosphere and with all the dust and smoke that we face every day, it is no longer sensible to wear lenses which last a year or so. It is much more practical and safer for the eyes to wear monthly disposable lenses.

Handling the Lenses

Always wash your hands with soap and water and then dry them completely before touching the lenses. Never touch your lenses with wet hands. The bacteria in the water contaminates the lenses and makes them completely unsafe to wear. If you accidentally touch your lenses with wet hands, discard the lenses immediately.

Disposal of the Monthly Lenses

The contact lenses must be disposed in exactly one month from the date you took them out of the packaging. If you took a pair out of the box on 14th of a specific month, you have to dispose it off on the 14th of next month. Even if you haven’t used the lenses for a specific number of days in the month, the disposal date remains the same. You can’t extend the use of that pair by the number of days that you haven’t used them. It is detrimental for your eyes and can affect your eyesight in the long run. Change your lens case every month too when you are changing your lenses. Chnaging the lens case may not be mandatory but I follow it.

Usage of the Lenses

Never wear your lenses while sleeping as that blocks the air supply to the eyes and can seriously damage the eyes. However, there are specific lenses available that you can wear for 2-3 days at a stretch, even while sleeping.  But, most of us live in very polluted areas. Hence, it is something I would never recommend. Always take your lenses off before you sleep at night. Never wear your lenses in the shower, especially while shampooing hair or washing the face with soap.

If you follow these tips, wearing lenses will be a breeze. Here’s to Happy Healthy Eyes 🙂

 

 

 

 

Wagah Border – Beating the Retreat!

A Painful part of Indian History – Jalianwala Bagh

There isn’t one Indian whose heart doesn’t ache on hearing the name Jalianwala Bagh. For those who aren’t aware, here is the history behind Jalianwala Bagh in brief. General Dyer had heard about something major planned by the Indian freedom fighters. Punjab celebrates Baisakhi on 13th April. People had come together to celebrate Baisakhi at Jalianwala Bagh. General Dyer arrived there with the British Indian army and ordered firing at the people congregated there without looking into the agenda of the meeting. Innocent men, women and small children were shot at with machine guns. Many people jumped into the well there to save themselves. While British sources say that approximately 379 died with 1,100 wounded, the real estimate is said to be 1,500 people injured and approximately 1,000 people dead. This place has been turned into a memorial for those who lost their lives on that day.

When I visited Jalianwala Bagh, I was really appalled to see that people treat it as a picnic spot, taking selfies and picnicking there. It is not a picnic spot. Where is our sensitivity? Some pictures of the memorial.

 

Names of the people who died there.

The entry from where firing was done, leaving people with no escape route.

The Memorial.

The well in which people jumped in to save themselves. 120 dead bodies were extracted from the well.

A Visit to the Golden Temple in the morning!





It was very cold and foggy and it just added to the beauty of the Golden Temple. Here are the pictures from the visit.

How clean the water is kept that you can see the reflection so clearly even on a foggy day!

Akal Takht