Dabangg

Its been a while since I saw an entertaining movie, so watching Dabangg was definitely an enjoyable experience. The keyword here is 'entertaining'. The movie is not an intellectually challenging one or a movie with a statement to make and it doesn't claim to be one from the start. However it was fun to watch a movie that so resembled the 80's genre of Hindi movies that somewhere in between i caught myself searching for Jeetendra and Mithun.

Two brothers each with a girlfriend of his own, no complications of a love triangle there. A villainous step father who accepts the step son when the mother passes away. A villain who has no secret agenda but is evil. In fact there was nothing to guess or rack your brains with. You could sit back and just go through the motions of family drama which we are all familiar with. The ever predictable ending of family coming together and good triumphing over evil.

The movie is an out and out masses movie and I am sure one which will be seen by many at least more than once in the theatre. So when I saw a very direct message of polio vaccination well woven into the script, I felt very proud of the film. It was definitely a good medium to do so and showed a sense of commitment to public health.

Sonakshi Sinha, daughter of Shatrughnan Sinha debuted in the movie. While we had a good run of medium sized heroines after the long legged ones from the 80's, it looks like the wave is turning again - what with Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor and now Sonakshi. She looks earthy and even with the perpetual frown in the movie quite fetching to look at. Portrayed as a small city girl, it was refreshing to see the heroine in Indian attire throughout the movie in keeping with the character. Most movies you start out seeing the heroine in Indian garb and then midway through she is running around the trees in her mini skirts looking as if she was brought up in USA after all.

Salman looks old and well he should, being 45, however he still hasn't lost his charm. Although I am not sure he can carry more such movies, as this movie is quite similar to his movie - Wanted which was released not long ago. Hats off though for taking on both a villain and a heroine who look taller than him and still coming out the hero whom girls can swoon for.

So for those of you who are looking out for a chance to let go and laugh please go ahead and watch the movie. For those of us who don't please stay away, the headache wouldn't be worth it. For my part I loved the movie for making me laugh crazy and helping me shed my office tensions with seemingly no effort at all.

Grand Finale

And so the Edinburgh festival came to an end, the tourists are still loitering the city streets, albeit fewer in number and the festival theatres have started to wear a deserted look. The city is settling into autumn with the winds getting colder, the leaves turning brown and temperatures not daring to to go beyond 18 degrees.

Before bidding farewell the Edinburgh festival did have its Grand Finale. A lovely concert was organised in the gardens below the Edinburgh Castle. While connoisseur's of music who were rich as well chose to buy tickets and attend the concert, lesser mortals like myself decided to wander around the streets near the gardens where strains of music floated through. The concert was followed by a display of fireworks.

People around me had been raving on and on about the fireworks days before the actual grand finale and each time I heard them, I thought to myself that I come from Trichur and whatever else, fireworks are something we are good at. In fact I felt that the Edinburgh festival fireworks could never match the splendour of Thrissur pooram fireworks. I must admit that I still continue to hold my view after watching the Grand Finale, however, my conscience says that it is my fondness for my hometown which forbids me to think otherwise.

The scots are quite creative, they had music (compositions from great English music maestro's) running in the background and then orchestrated the fireworks in tune with the music playing. The fireworks were so well orchestrated that they arranged themselves like military arrangements, in perfect lines and crosses. With the Edinburgh Castle as the backdrop, the fireworks worked to accentuate the history and culture of Edinburgh. There were times when you felt the castle was lit as prettily as our houses in India is during Diwali and then there were times when you felt the castle was on fire and it needed to be rescued. Almost as if to convey that

the scots had times of harmony and peace and then times of turmoil. Perhaps that's fanciful thinking on my side but I sure did enjoy the fireworks.

Ballet and Ustad Zakir Hussain

Shaiwal and i went to watch a ballet performance here. The primary reason being that Ustad Zakir Hussain was playing at the ballet. I have never been to a ballet before and i was keen to experience it and add a touch of culture to my existence. 

I vaguely remember being taken to a ballet class when i was perhaps in the 1st standard or so, the idea was to get students interested and then if they wished to enroll them into the class. The idea never registered - I went, I watched and I wandered away. The entire concept and image of ballet was so foreign to me that i just couldn't imagine being part of it, that and the fact that I have two left feet. :)

My night at a ballet performance was a night of many firsts. The first time i have been to an English theatre, the first time i saw a ballet performance and the first time i had heard Ustad Zakir Hussain playing live.

When i entered the theatre it felt like i had been transported to a different world. The first floor had a bar where the audience could partake in any alcohol they wished provided it wasn't beer or something as shabby. The floors had been carpeted a magnificent red and all through the decor remained stately and grand. As we were seated i looked around to take in the size of the theatre, there were box seats for people who were the truly rich and famous, people in the audience had brought along their opera glasses to watch the stage through, the stage itself was at 9 ft and it was 25 ft tall with different types of lighting available on top of the stage and throughout the theatre to create the desired effect.

As soon as the ballet dancers started their performance, everyone went hush. My ignorance of the dance form came to forefront as i failed to garner what the dancers were trying to convey. I did however feel in awe of how beautiful and flexible the human form could be - both male and female. The dances had nary an extra ounce of flesh on them and their skin taut with muscles rippling. I know i sound like a bad Mills and Boon edition there but I cant seem to put together a better description of these dancers. :)

I must confess though that after a point i got bored, there is only so much you can appreciate of the human form and only so much time you can take to do it. So after the first half of the performance i felt disappointed in myself that i wasn't able to enjoy it as much as those around me seemed to be able to.

During the break after the first half there were volunteers bearing food items to serve the audience, since i didn't want to miss out on any part of the whole experience. I went up to buy their wares, turned out they were selling ice cream. However I hadn't seen that particular brand of ice cream in the supermarkets here. Anyways I didn't want to disappoint the lady selling them so I brought one each for ourselves.

The second half was one of the best nights of my life. Zakir Hussain started playing then, he wove his magic slowly but steadily. One of the surprises I had was that I didn't realise he could sing. During the show he did sing and I guess he is a trained Hindustani singer as well. The ballet dancers picked up too and soon they were sprinting from one end of the stage to the other and back at the speed of wind. The audience began tapping their feet and the whole theatre felt alive.

I am sure technological advances have brought in a whole range of  superior audio systems and speakers but I wonder if they can truly match the experience of live music. Having never owned any such superior system I know I am biased when I think - perhaps not.