Boss in the Town!!!

This weekend I met Richa (Khandelwal) after a long time. She is my first boss. We both joined IMRB Delhi on the same day, though she was an old member of IMRB family, she had been working in Kolkata and Mumbai. I was in Navneet’s team but then I was to report to her and that’s how she became my first boss. I have learnt a lot from her and not only was she a good boss but also a very good friend. Some personal problems made her move to Kolkata and leave IMRB. We have been in touch with each other thru various modes of communication, but its been more than a year since we last met.
She was in Delhi this weekend and called me up. We decided to meet for dinner on Sunday, both being Chinese Food lovers, decided to go to Mainland China. We had quite a few catching up to do, long time since we had been talking face-to-face. It was a long dinner and by the time we bid good bye, we had chatted away for more than two hours. A great way to end the weekend, What better way than to meet a friend after such a long time.

On the wrong side of LAW

I had this brush with the law this weekend. I mean the weekend was not at all hectic, laid back and very under toned, given that it was a Valentine Weekend. But it was different in many ways than one. For the first, it was the weekend I was to be in Mumbai but then I had to cancel it owing to certain work related problems. Then I met my first boss (Richa K) after a long time. But the most exciting part was yet to come. I had a problem with law, okay I am exaggerating. Friday evening Shiv, Mia and Me were to coming outta Mia’s office in Raddison Hotel when we met with an accident, a mino0r one. There was a Jat in the driver seat of the other car and as always we had quite a time explaining him the basic driving rules and after some explaining, some shouting, we left. Not knowing that we were being followed. So we were stopped near the Sarojini Nagar police station, and had to lodge complaint, both of us hard one FIR against the other. That night we forget everything as we got together for a night out at Shiv’s place and then the next morning woke up to the call of the S.Nagar SHO, then had to go to the Police station, nobody was willing to come and that’s why it was only me and Shiv who ended up going to the police. I really never thought that our friends would turn their backs on us (and hey guys I am blaming YOU all), so we ended in the station early in the morning hoping that we don’t end up losing our DLs or something like that. We had a lawyer and Shiv’s dad was generous enough to accompany us. We had a long day in the station and then finally it was all over, we had to pay a minor let-us-off-the-hook token money to the SHO and we were off and so were the other guys. It was an experience of a lifetime.

A planned weekend going Kaput!!!

My weekend was fully planned. A comp-off on Friday, all tickets booked to leave for Mumbai early morning on Friday and then the whole weekend there. I was to meet Swati. We were meeting after a year, but then something happened and I had to cancel the whole thing. Never before have I done this, I mean Swati and me are friends since the days we learnt to write ‘Friendship’ but for the first time I have done anything like this. Never before have I planned anything and then cancelled at the last minute. So when I called her up and said “Hi! I’m sorry I won’t be able to make it, got some work and therefore have to cancel the plan. Sorry, really I mean it.” She heard it all, or so it seemed from the silence on the other side of the phone, then there was a click and the call ended, she hung up. I knew the silence was the lull before a cyclone and I dared not instigate the same and let it happen than catalyse it, I thought.
I didn’t get any call till evening and that’s when I decided to call her up. After several calls that went unanswered, she decided to end my agony and took the call. I was my apologetic self, she was her silent one, definitely whoever said that silence kills was definitely speaking of this moment. After my endless blabbering on how sorry I was about the whole thing, she spoke “You know what, I was looking forward to meeting you this weekend, and that’s why taken an off from the office and now you have suddenly come up with some work-excuse and I have nothing to do this weekend. You tell me what should I do?” I was stumped. I didn’t know what to say, but of course I promised that next weekend I will definitely make it and it was then that she cooled down. Now I know, work no work I need to fly down this weekend to Mumbai.
Friends are not only very important part of life but they are the heart of life, for had it not been for them the life would have been just about surviving and not living. We know work has taken a lot of importance in our life but then we should understand that these are the people who know us more than we do, so here’s to friends and friendship... Longlive!!!

Good Luck Chuck

I think I am stuck in this 'Good-Luck-Chuck' syndrome. Only those who know would understand what this means... need to break free... Any help!!!

Dev D - Deciphering the Gen X Devdas

Dev D ain’t any Devdas that we expected it to be. The director makes it very clear in the first reel of the movie which says “Loosely based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya’s Novel Devdas”. Its certainly more than just a brilliant attempt at taking the essence of one of the most famous novels of India literary and putting into a modern age drama. The India in which Sarat Chandra wrote this novel, has changed, transformed and got a face lift both aesthetically and ethically. So what you see is grey and not black & white. Dillip Kumar and Shahrukh Khan made Devdas a brooding, weak and self destructive lover, who had loved just one woman in his life and for him love meant those countless moon-lit nights and pure and pristine for of eternal love. Nothing of that sort here. Anurag Kashyap is known for his brilliant movies, which encompasses the contemporary India in its various facets, this was no difference. But then he had a hard thing to follow as all the previous attempts, with the novel as the plot, has resulted success. So the legacy was to be followed.
But the audiences who think this one to be a Devdas revisited are certainly in for a surprise. So the first surprise, the Paro of Anurag Kashyap’s Devdas is modern, has her own identity and lives in a world where sexuality and virginity are not guarded behind iron bars of ethic and cultures. So when we see Paro carrying a mattress to the field just cause she couldn’t find a place else where to make love to Dev, she is speaking the language of modern woman who understands her physical needs better and does not shy away from that. Then you have Chanda, she of course draws a lot from Sarat Chandra’s Chandramukhi, she is a modern day courtesan. She is the new age escort-girl, who goes to college in the morning and by night she turns into a foul-mouthing ‘commercial sex worker’. Here too Anurag has used his brilliance in story by developing the character of Chandramukhi and not just copy pasting it from the Sarat Chandra’s creation. He brings in the DPS MMS scandal angle, as a prelude to Chandramukhi’s now-life. Now let’s come back to the Devdas, the man. Sarat Chandra’s cult novel had the hero as a lover who pined for his lost girl, the man who loved her with all the purity of his heart till his death, he was a weak but egoistic person, who turned to alcoholism only because he found solace there, he was self destructive cause he had no reason to live and therefore went ahead destroying himself, till he found Chandramukhi. Anurag’s Devdas, although not very different but at the same time had the signature of new age all over it. He dopes, he does not believe in the ‘purity’ of love, love for him is not only chemistry but physics and biology too.
Now looking at certain nuances that Anurag’s movie has, that lacked in earlier ones and even in the novel: He has given all his character an edge, that is they are not in black or whites they are grey, all the shades of grey. I always thought Paro to be a very uni-dimensional character, but here she is so much more, and Paro. Dev’s father was a strict and disciplined person in earlier one. But the Punjabi Dev's father turns a more lenient version of the earlier one. But the thing that made me feel really happy is Dev is no more a brooding, weak and tear-jerking hero. We don’t need to cry every time we see Dev crying, as he is mature in the way he does that. The colour of the movie and the way it has been presented is different. Dialogues, screenplay and cinematography is awesome. Every story has been narrated so very well and no character is less meatier than the other one. Devdas was so named cause, for Paro he was a das (as in, servant) and Chandramukhi worshipped him like a God, ala Dev. But you find neither here, Chanda and Paro of Anurag's Dev D are far away from the pre-independence era Paro and Chandramukhi. Even Chunni is no friend, he too has latent motives...
There are so many first times in the movie. You have the actress foul-mouthing like never before, acting in a manner which in India would be called immoral. You have two new actresses performing in a way that would put seasoned ones to shame. Music that uses bass-band party instruments for song. Anurag touches various evils in the society thru the movie in a way, where you actually look at those and think over them. He shows the MMS scandal in a way where you sit up and think. You empathise with the family that went thru all these situations. Then there is the BMW hit and run case also.
With so many things being told about the story and characters, lets talk about the actors. Mahi Gill is brilliant as Paro, she does it with élan. Its a difficult character and needs a lot of emotional balance and she does it with awesome panache. Kalki, who plays Chanda, does it like no one else. It was a tailor-made role for her. Her unconventional looks work really well for the movie and the character. She plays a very complex role but does it as a cake walk. Especially, the scene where she needs to fake an orgasm over phone, she does it so very well, it reminds me of Meg Ryan's on-screeen tryst with a similar (although, a different set up) attempt in When Harry Met Sally. But I think Kalki, given that it is her first movie, does it, if not better, at par with Meg Ryan. Now, Devinder Singh Dhillon, the new-age Dev from Chandigarh. Abhay Deol is a new age actor, who not only chooses his movies carefully but also makes sure that he plays the character with perfection. Oye Lucky Lucky oye, Socha Na Tha, Manorama Six Feet Under are kind of movies you associate with the actor. So as Dev he does not disappoint anyone. Infact the credit for the concept of this brilliant movie goes to this very man. Truly a very matured actor, who has taken the onus to deliver some brilliant off beat movies that infuses life into the formula driven Indian Film Industry (not bollywood, as said by Mr. Bachchan)
All in all this is an awesome movie that needs to be watched by every movie lover. Give it a slip at your own risk. Anurag Kashyap was long due for a movie of Dev D’s stature and he does it with this one. Beg borrow or steal, go ahead and see the movie. Its not ahead of its time, but definitely it will take a long time and a very bold steps to make a movie of this kind. The first half is brisk and fast paced, so you might just blink and miss things. But the second half is more easily paced and to some it might look as a drag as compared to the first half. Success no success this is a brilliant adaptation of Devdas.

In short Dev D is poetry on screen...

I LOVE MY TEAM!!!

It was a long tiring day. Its 1 am now and I am sitting infront of the lappy and blogging. Work has taken a front seat and other things have taken a definite back seat. The whole team is working there ass off, I think that’s the reason why we call it a team. Everyone works together and party together. So when I stayed late in the office, Ankur too stayed back to give me company. It’s a team and I am happy that I am part of this team. That makes me think what transforms a team into a great team, is it individual or the group? Had it been about individuals Real Madrid would have by now got all the major league trophies in its kitty, but no it is not about individuals. Every single member in the team makes an equal contribution to reach the common goal.
A team is like a jigsaw puzzle, every single bit is incomplete, but when you put them all together they come alive. Jigsaw puzzle also teaches us another thing about a team which at times we take for granted, which is realising the potential of each member and there place in the team. Only then can we achieve the right balance in the team and only a balanced team has the potential to deliver right results. And it is the leader who plays an important role at this point of time. Making every member realise what is their role, what is the expectation of the team from them and what is expected from them.
So what do you do when a team member does not abide by the rule or let’s put it this way when a team member does not feel like a part of a team? It’s like a piece of jigsaw going amiss and you have no clue where to find it.
Like the edges in the jigsaw every individual has some edge to their characters, some might get along in a team and others just don’t. Which means that the edges need to be smoothened, but how? Well your guess is as good as mine...
So till we get answer to this, lets scratch our head and do some brain storming.
Before I sign off, there’s another team which is making news all over, TEAM INDIA, they just won 9th ODI match in a row, first by any Indian Team, Dhoni is certainly a captain par excellence. So here goes a team with not bunch of individual performers but team players, a lot to be learnt from them... ANYONE LISTENING!!!

Rafa All the Way...

It was wonderful Australian Open final. In all true sense it was clashes of the titans and this one didn’t disappoint. It had all the ingredients of a pot-boiling finale and it was definitely a lot better than that. But I am not here writing about the match, cause if you are reading this article so carefully then you must be a tennis fan and no tennis fan worth his salt would have missed the Sunday clash. So this is about the player who I think have changed the way tennis is played, Rafael Nadal, the 22 year old Spaniard.
The way he plays he reminds me of Michael Chang, the indefatigable energy boosting Chang from US. Who else would have the energy and stamina to play two four hour plus games within 24 hours. He played an everlasting 5 setter with Verdasco and then the 4 hour Sunday finale clash. The first Spaniard to win the Australian Open. A title which he wears very casually on his levelled-head. Would he be able to match the Rod Laver record of winning all the Grand Slams in a single year? That time will say but right now everything’s falling in place for Rafa.
He started as the king of Clay, then Wimbledon happened and Grass was conquered and now in Australia the Hard Court has surrendered, what remains is the US open. And I hope that Rafa would definitely make it big there too.
It was a very teary fair at the prize ceremony, where Federer was all teary post the loss. It was certainly a big match and I definitely loved what I saw that day, a great match played by two of the greatest players of today’s time. Roger Federer is probably one of the greatest players that the game has seen but for the time being Rafa seems to getting into the psyche of Federer, who does not know how to exorcise the ghost...
So until then its Rafa all the way....

One Presentation, A wedding and Coke - puri

The week was really busy and hectic, so much so that I didn’t even get enough time to sleep. And it is true for the whole team working on the Daredevil project in the office. The presentation was on Saturday and that was the reason for the sleepless nights. The D-day came and we were there, the presentation was cool. I had a friend’s wedding to attend in Mathura, in the evening. So post presentation, Shiv picked me up from TERI. Prankie and Anit were there too. So thus we moved to Mathura. The 30k wedding evening was gonna be rush hour and that didn’t help our cause and thus we covered the 3 hrs journey in 5 hours. The wedding was good and fun. The best part was having coke in panipuri. Yeah it was Prankie’s idea, she was at her experimenting best and while She, Anit and Shiv had breezer in pani-puri (the papdi part), I had my coke. The dance and song routine was normal but then it wasn’t long one as all of us were tired.
It was Amit and Deepali’s wedding. Amit is my MBA friend and we hae known each other for three years now. I was hoping for a BIMTECH reunion but alas, we were the only ones there. We were there till the pheras got over and after that, we went to our hotel rooms and crashed. On Friday I had slept for barely three hours and post the hectic drive and baraati fare I was completely drenched out. I fell asleep even before I hit the bed.
We woke up early in the morning, as it was Australia Open finale in the afternoon and none of us wanted to miss it. Prankie didn’t trust the half-asleep guys to drive her back safely and that’s why she didn’t want us to leave early. But then the Australian Open thingy had bitten us so badly that we were ready to do anything to convince. She agreed after a lot of convincing and drinking two cups of coffee. The drive back was good. The roads were not filled and we had a safe drive.
I reached home in time to catch the final set of Hesh/Sania match. Hesh/Sania did it. I mean they won the Mixed Double finals. Then there was the big match, the final between, Federer and Nadal. It was great match, and it went into the final set. But the final set was a let down, Nadal sailed thru the final set easily. This 22 year old is improving with every single match. Federer seemed to be psyched by the presence of Nadal. Rafa is just one grand slam away from being a career GRAND SLAM. I had a bet with Richa and I am right now smiling from ear-to-ear when I say, I WON THE BET.
In whole it was a hectic but a fulfilling week. With the DD presentation getting over and the trip for Amit’s wedding it was really busy, fast paced and fun week, that had me tired but at the same time happy at the end of it...