DHONI movie review - Sushant soars; the movie doesn't

If the first half of the movie appeared promising and managed to build just the precise momentum, the flagging second half loses it completely. The pedestrian storyline, the glossing over of certain controversies around him and going off course with the tame romantic plot (unnecessary love songs to digress further) beside the unbearable length of the movie makes it a pretty mediocre watch in the end. Nevertheless, the first half had it’s moments tugging you towards the movie. Second half is where it got all wrong. The early euphoria gave way to monotony.

The movie seems to be a hymn made in praise of Dhoni, sidestepping some very significant stages in his life, airbrushing some controversies he was dragged into, namely, the spot fixing controversy in 2013, his difficult relationship with Yuvraj, the storm over his conflict of interest with Rhiti sports and the apparent rift with some of the senior players. We don’t get any kind of cricketing relationships at all.  It failed to delineate the journey within, losing track completely in the second half.  No insights either of anything ‘UNTOLD’ here. A total screen time of almost 3hr 15mins takes you to another level of boredom. However, watch it once if you may,  for Sushant Singh Rajput, who imbibes Dhoni completely- his lopsided walk, calmness and mannerisms- thus, convincingly striding in his shoes and doing justice to the role.

The movie starts with the epic World Cup final 2011 at Wankhede, with Dhoni deciding to come in to bat ahead of Yuvraj before taking us back to his hometown from where he started his journey.  We enter into the small sleepy town in the middle class setting where a ‘settled’ life is all about a government job and surviving the societal conventions. Dhoni as a school kid, was spotted by his sports coach and was introduced to keeping. Dhoni rose to play the state level and beyond, much against his unwilling father, who was keen to see his son do well in studies and settle down with a job.  He started practicing and even learnt the now famous helicopter shot from Santosh. ‘Thappad shot’ was what he called it.

After much struggle and missing out on playing for Under 19 India, Dhoni landed a job in Kharagpur railway station and started practising after his shift before finally deciding to give all his devotion to cricket, leaving his job. The mechanical rut he was stuck into, frustrated him no end and he yearned to break free. A dramatic scene particularly defines his transformation towards the end of first half:  While DHoni sat despairingly on the empty platform amid the rain, a train arrives and when it was about to depart, he got into it. The departing train was the fitting metaphor of letting go of what’s holding him back and taking the leap of faith; listening to the still small voice of his conscience. Brilliantly executed scene in monochrome.  

Second half is where it got all wrong. It hit a few false notes and could not recover from there.  The movie could not soar, though it had the potential.

Mohenjo Daro review: Lost in narration

This grand outing of Ashutosh Gowariker fails on an epic scale. Along with his reputation, he had the powerhouse of talents in Hrithik and AR Rehman (with very experimental, quirky music) and yet, Mohenjo Daro failed to soar at all with it’s dull storyline, out of place characters and brash overindulgences.  The director never claimed the period drama to be an accurate presentation of the past and has mostly filled the canvas with his imagination.  However, the movie failed to impress from the very outset and didn’t deliver till the very end.

Set in 2016 BC, Sarman, a village guy and the go-to person for everyone, forays into Mohenjo daro after relentlessly pursuing his uncle. The planned city seems familiar to him and soon he discovers the majestic city under the grip of a tyrant premier/ruler. He fell for the priest’s daughter  and both profess love for each other before Sarman being caught and exposed as the rebel who also protested against the rigid tax rules.  A collosium like battle followed in the arena with two lethal warriors which was one of the high points in the movie.

Sarman also comes to know about his past and the fact that he is the lineage of his father who ruled Mohenjodaro & was framed and killed by the present ruler breaks his heart.  Once justice is served and the present ruler is tied to a pole for good, Sarman and the denizens rallied together to build a bridge on the other side before the city is flooded by Sindhu.

The costume and the headgears look atrocious sometimes and the female lead didn’t have much emoting to do. Hrithik was industrious and yet he could not save the movie from sinking rock bottom.  After Jodhaa Akbar and Khelenge Ji Jaan se, Ashutosh needs to find his mojo real soon. So should Hrithik too. An average film which one can avoid.

Logical Fallacy : Either/Or

                                           

 When the great ancient Greek philosopher,Aristotle,2500 years ago, established the basis of persuading audience on three major factors; ethos, logos, pathos, he probably would have never thought that these factors would stay so relevant even after centuries. Ethos, which means ethics in Greek, focused on honesty of writer, painter or creator of drama. In current terms, ethos explained to avoid plagiarism in art. Pathos means emotion. Aristotle based this factor of persuasion on artist's skill to use methods to utilize usual emotions of humankind, such as anger, attachment, frustration, happiness etc. Third and the last is Logos, which means logic. Aristotle spent a lot of time working on it. He realized that artists make all kind of suggestions and arguments to persuade their audience and many a times those logics are either false, baseless or incomplete. He noticed that artists brought those sort of arguments in their art from their or people's routine experiences. This made him prepare a huge list of numerous arguments which seem false or baseless somehow or other. He called them logical fallacies and the list as logical fallacy. It would be injustice to these fallacies if all of them are included in a short article like this. It may be wise to choose something which can relate to our day to day life, which is the logical fallacy- Either/or, also known as, Black/ White, False dilemma or even Binary logic.

         Either/or is a logical fallacy where Aristotle showed that our argument or suggestion has just two solutions and that is why it is also known as Binary(two) logic. For instance, either,one is doctor or unsuccessful; either we are patriotic or we are not patriotic. And there are many more which I am sure you can think of. Few would be very basic and rest could be sensitive. There could be few situations which dictate one's inclination towards this logical fallacy and coining it as wrong logic ironically puts us under same fallacy. Therefore it’s good to understand the logic and circumstances behind this fallacy. A vivid example might help to understand it better and choosing a basic example over sensitive ones is usually murderous for a writer, however this example might suit both criteria of basic and sensitive. As I mentioned before “either one is doctor or unsuccessful” is one logical fallacy, prevalent in our culture and our country. Things have changed however few professions have still been best choice for a major segment of our society. People who born in 80s or 90s grew up targeting specific professions of engineer, doctor , IAS and may be CA. For us and our family either we land into one of these professions or we are going to be dead ducks. As much as frustrating it was for parents and children , it was equally competitive and killing for them and probably it still is. There still are stories of kids taking their life for the fear of being unsuccessful. Options are so clear and demarcated that we sometimes just see ourselves as poor and pathetic in coming years if we don’t get into one of these professions.

              Who should we blame for this tremendous pressure and frustrations of kids, their parents and our society as a whole. Parents wanted their kids too be engineer or doctor in early 2000s because those were proven success factors and apparently they still are and perhaps they will always be. Our country’s economy and system is created in such a way that only few professions look and prove to be successful. The core of this logical fallacy exists here. We definitely have people building career in various other industries now a days, however somewhere or other we are not able to get over the old school parameters of success. Unfortunately I have seen engineers who are unsuccessful, and trying to study further or change career. I still remember meeting a mechanical engineer couple years back at railway station of Bhusawal and he clearlly mentioned that getting into engineering is not a challenge in Maharashtra, its to use the course to get a good job. Not everyone is there to go into software engineering and therefore many a times, engineers study further , many a times overseas. However, indian government’s initiative in early 2000s to assess and predict the demand of software engineers which led into opening many triple IT institutes is highly commendable. Wish government could have taken similar steps in other sectors/ professions. Anyways, we cant just pin point one aspect, we also need to somewhere blame our intermediate and bachelor level of education system for the rise of this logical fallacy.

        A vivid example is, when a student of Pune institute of film and arts quote on the huge forum of India today that it takes 5-6 years to finish 3-4 years program, everyone seems to be surprised and questions are raised to point the blame in right direction, it amuses me and I am sure, many others. It is shameful and terrible to play with students and youngsters, even teenagers future by introducing slackness in college and universities in modes of strikes, system failure, shabby organization of support staff and professors and last but not least, the introduction of the mighty Politics in universities. I have grown up seeing these factors failing our education system, our kids, their future , us and everyone in the society and irrespective of any government the situation is same. Its not unknown that numerous government colleges take more time than stipulated time of program. Rise of private institutes which started with professional degrees have entered into each and every program these days, unfortunately proves Aristotle wrong on this logical fallacy in India. It is a shame that when developed countries believe and focus on strengthen their public education system and provide financial aid to each and every student, we here in India sit aside and clap when one maverick teacher (Anand Kumar,from Patna, who was awarded at international level for providing free tuition and food and accommodation to underprivileged but talented engineering/ medical aspirers) alone, out of millions, try to help handful of underprivileged but talented students. Bravo to him, indeed. Other thing, which provides for thought is our need to go overseas to study. Why after masters degree in India we go overseas and do back masters when Indians are known to be one of the best in academics?

          And if that is the only way to get good education and jobs, then one should not waste time and money behind bachelor or masters education in India. Ideally parents and students should think about studying in the USA or other countries which care for their youngsters. Education system and people in this system are highly student friendly and root for students success by even providing tuitions in the respective subjects, free of cost, which is fully funded by government. Sometimes college fees are cheaper than fees of private institutes in India and even if it’s not, the education quality is amazing. Now, we do have colleges which are one of the best in the world, however people who are studying there are intelligent or highly laborious, also known as book worms. Our education system does not help, encourage or support people who are average but have zeal to do better. Unfortunately all these poor circumstances force students to take hasty decisions by choosing wrong college or program. That is why it is very important for youngsters to choose right field and college and take help or guidance of experience people or counsellor rather than take huge steps on half baked information.     Its time we get over this logical fallacy of either/or and strengthen our education system and open doors to multiple prominent solutions for our youngsters which could run parallel to career options of engineer or doctor. Else India will see a huge brain drain in coming years. Aristotle was right then and he is right now, unfortunately, it seems we are too busy burying the past and hooked up building future, present seems to have lost and therefore we have just decided to carry on with this rudimentary logical fallacy. 

About writter - Written by guest blogger Neel. He can be contacted on neelclaytons@gmail.com

He teaches English for IELTS and TOEFL or even to people who want to develop it for personality development or job. He teaches personally or through http://tutorindia.net/Tutor_Profiles-NTE4Mjg-Mr_Neel_Clayton. He is counsellor on the education website www.yourvision.in

Rise or Demise of English in India

      We love to speak English in India and we have a thriving industry which asks for English as a skill. We use English in our education, jobs, communication, retail transactions and the list goes on. We also use English for communication with our fellow Indians because that is the only common language in India instead of its official language, Hindi. That is both fortunate and unfortunate. Fortunate because the huge range of languages shows diversity in our culture and unfortunate because we need English, an alien language to run this country. I don’t think Spain or Germany or even developing countries like Brazil or Mexico needs English to communicate among their fellow citizens. Anyways, we also fancy to go overseas, especially English speaking developed countries to study and work which makes it imperative to have good understanding of English. Lot of us also fancy speaking English. It’s no secret that youngsters use English language to impress their opposite sex as well. All these needs to use English as a mode of day to day communication makes it very important in our routine life.  That makes me think about the number of people employed in India in teaching English. I am sure the number has to be way over than in the United States. I strongly believe, India has more English teachers than teachers for any of its own language. And we still end up speaking Hinglish like those folks on “Coffee with Karan”.

            I remember my days when English was not one of my best skills and I used to love using big words which were so effective in writing skills. I was not bad at speaking either, however somewhere or other, I knew I am not at the level, I should be. I had couple good English teachers in school and teachers from college is not worth mentioning. Not because they were not educated or good, it’s because our college system hardly values English as an important subject. Anyways, so these teachers from school taught me Vocabulary, grammar and everything needed to make my English national standard. I indeed got some good learning but honestly I got no idea, why and what I learned. I just learnt it. And then came the phase when I saw the boom of BPO.

Hope you liked the word “Boom”. It was often associated in early 2000s with the rise of BPO industry or as we call it “Call Centers”. I was once part of this magnificent industry of graveyard shifts and variety of new concepts. I tried my luck with my mediocre English in multiple interviews and I indeed finally got through after umpteen attempts. I was racing like rabbits to get into this industry which pays good to speak responsible English. It was not easy. I was advised to work on my grammar, listen to BBC news, and communicate with mirror in English and few tricks I am not so comfortable to mention here either. And then I put forward my 1^st step in this industry with my selection at IBM Daksh in 2005. The voice and accent training was superb. I was all set to hit the floor and when I hit it, I bounced back harder than I hit it. I could not understand those native English speakers on phone from England or even America. I was confused and I took few days to settle down. I felt I am in a competition where those customers of ours are trying to show me that I can never win this competition of English. They did not speak the way we speak English, at all. That questioned me my learning, the learning process and the people out there who train you in English speaking skill. That also made me question their methods of teaching. I left the BPO industry within a quarter. I realized that it’s not my cup of tea. It needs a lot of focused work and hats off to people working there. Hours of travelling and then hours of focused listening and solving issues on each and every call for 9hrs is just stupendous. However, I strongly believe their tasks could be made easier by training them rather than overwhelming them.

After I left BPO, my search for gaining expertise in English communication continued for years until I met my wife. She is a native English speaker from overseas and her communication is quiet beautiful, however her writing are claimed as elementary by many Indians. And I don’t doubt anyone because I am sure her English as a native speaker is as simple and elementary as is our Hindi or our regional language. I started sharpening my English skills without paying her a dime. I am sure one can understand the side effects of love, however there are multiple advantages which come with love as well. Mine was learning and enjoying English communication with her. It was somewhere around 2007 and there were very limited modes of communication with people overseas. Whats app, Viber etc. had not even born by then. The expensive text and calls were the primary mode of communication along with online chatting websites such as Gmail/ Gtalk, yahoo messenger and Orkut to name few.

Our initial conversations were shocker for me because I could not understand her many a times and her jokes were as new as mine for her. My quest to understand her better took me to a new journey of understanding the people and the culture of her country and the other countries which speak English. In this time consuming but effective process, I realized that English is not just a language which could be learnt and mastered the way we have been taught in India, it is like any other language which is culturally attached and their usage varies geographically and socially. Finally, I learnt to enjoy their humor. And humor is one substance which varies drastically from one region to another, all over the world, even right in India a lot of times. I got to know that this language is about simple communication and not at all about big words which we love to fit here and there in our communication.

            Let me give you an example to explain a bit. Decade ago, when I was in India, I was a big fan of using big words and sometimes I used to feel so proud to be distinct that I had no idea that all I was doing was a giant blabbering like many of us. Then this dialogue from a movie with Tom Hanks as protagonist changed my perception towards learning English. The line was” Even a broken clock shows correct time twice a day”. And if you noticed, there are no big words in the line and it is as effective and meaningful like truth. The old fashioned method used by mighty teachers of English looked pretty dull at that moment. Years after that movie, one day I was checking out Rediff website to check out review of a movie and I could not understand half of the reviewer’s review. I felt limited. I wondered if he wants his readers to enjoy and learn the review or get frustrated and join an English vocab class. I doubt he ever was trained on the basic relationship of writer and reader. And that is just one example. It’s just amazing how talk shows could help us to understand the level of English and is equally effective to help us learn the English language based on behavior. That is one of the new and effective methodology to learn and enjoy English. The behavior and culture based learning of a language can only, help us to enjoy the very sweet language of English.

            When I work with people trying to clear IELTS or TOEFL tests, their previous scores amuse me. They have qualifying score in listening and reading, however Speaking and writing scream a different set of scores. All these four aspects change their spots quiet often on results. I wonder, if a person can write, what makes him speak the same sentence or if he can listen and comprehend so well, why he can’t speak or write on a very basic topic such as “My favourite vacation spot”. I took some time to understand that, however I finally nailed it. It is because we don’t write how we speak and vice versa. It is time, we understand this beautiful language of English rather than mug it up, because no matter how much we crib or don’t accept that this very language plays a major role in our life, it is time we find someone right to sharpen our communication skills right away. Else we will be part of those headless chicken speaking English, just for the sake of it and not for the fun of it.

Written by Neel, the guest writer. He can be contacted on neelclaytons@gmail.com

           

            

The Revenant- Review

What kept him going, surviving the harsh wilderness, withstanding the soul destroying chill, fighting relentless savage Rees tribe and the brutish nature while staring at death every time as a 19^th century fur trapper Glass(Leo), who was all but left to die, all alone? How many deaths he must have died in his journey from ‘dead’ back to life (that’s what Revenant means) just so he could have some moment of tranquil  by exacting revenge?  Is it the searing revenge, so consumed that reared within him every time he faced life threatening condition in the merciless expanse of nature, with danger lurking at every step? Is it his vision of his dead native American wife and his son and their philosophical nuggets that kept him going? Whatever it is, Glass endured it all with his superhuman life-force.   We can interpret it the way we want to; however, none can deny, Revenant is Leonardo Caprio’s one of the most nuanced performance till date.  A movie, where he barely spoke, and spoke in a pained murmur and crawled in agonising pain for most part of the film, defying death at every stride, he surely takes the movie to lofty heights.

Being mauled by a wild bear, his companions left him for dead while 2 of ‘em stayed to give him a fitting burial. His death was just a matter of chance, they knew. Even Glass (Leonardo) must have given up. However, fate had something else stored.  Watching helplessly his Native American son being murdered by one of the comrades, Fitzgerald, as he winced and wriggled in pain, spewing blood,  the idea to avenge his son’s death got etched in him feverishly; every moment from there on defined his uncompromising spirit of survival even when perils lurked nearby. And then, of course, you know he went through hell while shooting the film, with rest of the cast and crew. He ate that famous raw bison liver, slept in a horse carcass, wore pelts and practically crawled through half the film.  And he’s bearded, soaked in blood, bitter and flailing in pain.

The film holds you with a vice like grip from the first scene and doesn’t loosen it for even a while. Glass, in the survival saga of a lifetime, does everything to live, even if it means removing the innards of a horse, stripping off his clothes and snuggle inside a dead horse to escape terrible deathly cold- one of the arresting scenes you can’t take your eyes off.

A one time watch indeed.      

Jai GangaJal- Formulaic story; Prakash Jha, the actor blows you away.

In a village run amok by reprehensible goons and corrupt, creepy MLAs , hand in glove with the police, Jai GangaJal is a predictable plot which does not borrow anything from GangaJal , another Prakash Jha movie a decade ago and plods a predictable line. The land mafias rule the roost with the cops lying low, the perfect nexus, only to be thwarted by the resolute and honest PC, the new SP of the village.

Prakash Jha making his acting debut steals the show in this average, formulaic movie, who simply knocks your socks off.  From being a heavily compromised cop to a transformed conscientious police, he takes the goons (literally) and the movie(figuratively) by the scruff of the neck. While PC does an average show, mildly convincing, Jha is the one to watch out for as the towering, seething man, out there as a crusader of justice.  He looks his part to the tee, with the smirk in the first half turns into a brew, foaming and fuming in the second half. To me, he’s the one who steals the thunder. I really wish to see more of him and where was he all these years.

The movie is average and you may watch it once. There is a spine-chilling scene which might disturb you well before it’s executed as you foresee the worst fear coming true; some extra throbbing beats there.  

In deference to Martin Crowe

NO, it wasn’t Sachin or Team India that got me baptised into cricket. My baby steps in the world of cricket started from somewhere in the mid of 1992 Benson & Hedges Cricket World Cup, when Martin Crowe suddenly piqued my curiosity with some of his knocks and I, all of 8 years ,started following him; started watching cricket and started loving it. Cricket for me was a player called Martin Crowe and I wanted NZ to win that world cup only because of him.  And I was extremely disappointed, my heart broke when one Inzimam ul Haq(whom I hated for a long time), took the game away from NZ and Crowe’s defiant 91 something innings went futile, after he left the field retired hurt. For a brief time during the World Cup he was not only the best batsman in the world, he was the best captain in the world.

Prior to Crowe’s feisty presence in my life, cricket for me meant nothing. I didn’t care much about any team or a certain Wonder boy(Sachin), whom the English fondly called Diego, bursting into national consciousness. Cricket didn’t even exist as a passing mention in my conscious; I didn’t play it either. If I can recall that 1 moment, that shepherded me into following cricket and determinedly playing the game,  it was the charismatic Martin Crowe’s 1992 World Cup who for the 8 year old  me, could do nothing wrong. Cricket for me was an acquired taste and Crowe is the reason.

With time, I learnt how Crowe revolutionised cricket in that world cup which other countries would soon follow and become a common practice. Opening the batting order with Mark Greatbatch, an unusual position for him, where opening batsmen were expected to see off the new ball rather than dent it. to take gains from the field restrictions with his slogging and opening the bowling with spinner Deepak Patel, with mixed results, were unheard of gambits and bespoke his fascination for the bold and the unconventional. Crowe laid the foundations for the rise of Twenty20 cricket and inspired a nation with his captaincy.

Martin Crowe is singularly the reason for me playing cricket, playing it pretty decent, for being honest in the game and for chaperoning the guileless me to the world of cricket.