Idle musings

November 27, 2016 Gauri Shinde's second directorial venture, Dear Zindagi, starring Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan in the lead roles, has already garnered attention for its offbeat take on life. Though it was not as soul-uplifting as I had expected, it was worth the time.The film can be called a letter to life; an introspection of how we lead our lives, the mistakes we tend to make, love, loss, fears, and how to live happily each day despite the obstacles thrown into our path. Alia delivers a convincing performance as Kaira,a young cinematographer, yearning to shoot that first feature film, rather then being trapped in the advertising world forever.She is still reeling from being abandoned by her parents in her childhood, and her relationships fail since she fears a similar abandonment. In comes Shah Rukh (Jehangir Khan),an unconventional therapist , or dimaag ka doctor , who breaks the shackles on taboos surrounding mental health and multiple romantic relationships, helps Kaira e...

The all-pervasiveness of social media is maddening.Silly issues are blown up, the important ones get sidelined, or are brushed away after sparing a few tears. Is that not what we do today? Instead of focusing on one thing at a time and exhausting your resources on it, you keep jumping to different distractions. That's the word for the moment: distractions. I used to think that celebrities must hate the media worst of all, because modern paparazzi has made it their duty to intrude into the lives of whomever they can and make a spicy story out of it.Lord help you, with the possibilities of publicity!You never know around which corner you might spot a camera staring at you.It's always going to be a lens, other stares are focused only on screens these days. Ad now I finally come to the point - film promotions, which have only added to the burdens of actors and takes out all the fun of watching the final product, for the viewers. But the fans don't seem to mind. They are just...

Marvel's 'Doctor Strange' has great talent onboard,including Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams and Mads Mikkelsen. Clothed in stupendous motion graphics is a tale touching upon spirituality, good triumphing over evil, reflections of Dr.Faustus, Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' and Harry Potter(magic,of course).