PK

Movie Review : PK

Director : Rajkumar Hirani

Genre : Drama / Comedy

Language : Hindi

Released : December 2014

Starring : Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sanjay Dutt, Boman Irani

My Rating : 7 out of 10

I don’t get to watch too many new Bollywood movies, and whenever I watch, more often than not, I end up being disappointed at the waste of time. I have yet to understand the hype behind most of the big names, be them actors, or filmmakers. A few exceptions being Aamir Khan, Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, all associated with this movie. So it was imperative for me to see it.

I try very hard to watch any movie with as little information as possible. In the same spirit, I will try to reveal as little as possible in this review. So in case you like to watch a movie without knowing any plot details, your enjoyment will not be reduced by reading this.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra, has had both hits and misses in his long successful career. As for his directorial work, nothing will ever come close to the 1989 movie Parinda. As a producer, his teaming up with Rajkumar Hirani has produced wonderful movies. The previous movie "3 Idiots" was phenomenally successful at the box office, both in India and abroad. It was a fabulous movie by all measures, so naturally it raises the expectations when the same team gives us ‘PK’.

Unfortunately, it fails to reach those lofty standards of entertainment. In ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, Hirani masterfully blended Gandhism with humor. In '3 Idiots', beneath the roaring comedy, the undercurrent had many socially relevant themes that made you ponder. In ‘PK’ the formula is similar, mixing entertainment, with a strong social message. Although here, the concoction lacks potency. Because the comedy is laugh-out-loud only in a few scenes, and the social message is delivered in a borderline crude fashion, lacking any subtlety.

The movie is still very watchable. The topic is blind illogical faith in religion, and it’s misuse by the so called spiritual leaders. It’s a very important topic, and very relevant in India. I would say even necessary.  This same topic was quite nicely handled by Paresh Rawal starring ‘OMG’. I don’t think ‘PK’ delivered the message better.

Aamir Khan never disappoints as an actor. He gets most of the screentime. Anushka Sharma lends perfect support. Rest of the cast, including Sanjay Dutt and Boman Irani don’t get much opportunity.

The music is forgettable, and the picturization just elongates the movie that should have been at least 30 minutes shorter even otherwise. The length of the movie also makes it repetitive. 

I am fond of movies that are entertaining, as well as thought provoking. Over the years, many directors have made commercial movies that are also socially relevant. BR Chopra had his own style. Hrishikesh Mukherjee did it his way. Bimal Roy was the best in my opinion. Now Rajkumar Hirani has established his own style. Using contemporary comedy to drive home the point. For that he deserves full applause.

I recommend the movie, by saying, “good, but not great”. I think it’s appropriate for older teen agers, and they will also enjoy the movie, as well as agree with it.

Yogisms

When I moved to US from India, I had no idea who Yogi Berra was. Soon, I started noticing that journalists sometimes insert his quotes in their stories on many diverse topics. In India, the term "Yogi" has some specific meanings. With that kind of name, and those uniquely styled quotes made me really curious about him. He seemed like some modern day Confucius!

Wikipedia didn't exist then. (Really!) So I found out about him the old fashioned way - by asking around. Turned out that he was one of the greatest Baseball players, Lawrence Berra, and a celebrated Yankees coach, and the name "Yogi" was given to him jokingly for his sitting style.

He stopped playing even before I was born. Although I enjoy Baseball, and watch the play-offs, specially when SF Giants are playing, I am not a fan enough to learn history, or dig up old videos to see him in action. But I did try to read up about his quotes. Were these intentional? Turns out, these brilliant quotes were just accidental.

I just decided to note my favorites, "Yogisms". Why and why today? Why not? :-)

The following are used so often, that we have stopped noticing the tautology and the paradox. I really find it amazing that we have actually adjusted our minds to use these appropriately.

It ain't over, till it's over.
It's Deja'vu all over again.
Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

Some can be very thought provoking. It's remarkable that someone can say these without actually meaning to be intellectual.

The future ain't what it used to be.
If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be.

Some are just funny, but still require a bit of attention to notice the humor.

I usually take a two hour nap from one to four.
Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours.

The real Yogism's to me are the ones that make you go, "What? Come again ...".

When someone asked him what's the time, he replied, "You mean, now?"
It gets late early out here.
90% of the game is half mental.
While giving directions to his home, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
You can observe a lot by watching.
If the people don't want to come out to the ballpark, nobody's going to stop them.
Never answer an anonymous letter.
We made too many wrong mistakes.
A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.

Naturally, the question is, how much of this is falsely attributed to him. I don't know. He has published a book called the "The Yogi Book" that explains the stories behind his quote. I haven't read it. May be I should. But he himself answered that question best, by saying,

I didn't really say everything I said.

My first song :-)

More than a year ago, I noticed that one of my blog articles is getting lot of hits. I wrote that article, ”How To Write Lyrics For Hindi Movies”, as a sarcastic take on the quality (or lack of it) of lyrics found in Hindi movies. It was written almost 20 years ago on a Usenet group, and I just archived it on my blog. The search engines don’t have much sense of humor, so as you can see, this article appears at the top of search results! My apologies to those who were looking for real information.

That got me thinking. Why just lyrics? Why not compose a whole song? So here it is. A song written by me, tuned by me (!) and also sung by me :-) Don’t be afraid, read on.

First the lyrics.

agar maiN tum se yeh kahooN, mere dile mein hai too hi too
     mujhe hai bas teree hi aarazoo,
meree saaNso meiN hai too basee, aur manzil hai too meree
     ruh ko bhi hai teree justajoo

tere deedaar-e-ruKH-e-roshan binaa, zulmat-e-shab ho kaise fanaa
    gar haal-e-dil yeh kar duN main bayaaN
kya mere pyaar ko apnaaogi, ya rooth ke thukaraaogi
   kya hogaa tumhaaraa faisalaa

o meri jaan, o meri jaan
tere bin main kaise rahooN mujhe na KHabar hain na pataa
o meri jaan, o meri jaan
kuchh to kaho, yuN chup naa raho, ab aur naa lo imtihaaN

If you are feeling adventurous enough, you can listen to me singing it.



Now some clarifications. I have no illusion of being any artist. I am no singer, no lyricist and no composer. This is just a bit of fun. The lyrics are indeed written by me, and yes, I am the one singing it, if at all it can be called singing.

But the tune is not mine. It’s from one of my favorite Country songs, I told you so.

That’s the point of this exercise. If you are willing to plagiarize a tune, it’s extremely easy to come up with “your” song. The original lyrics give you an idea on where to start. The ready made tune provides a nice rhythm so that you can write fluid lyrics without having to worry about mundane stuff like meter ;-). In a couple of hours, you have a “new” song ready. No hard work required.

Maybe even more clarifications are needed. I am not advocating theft. Plagiarism is bad. It’s indefensible. Arguments such as “paying tribute”, “borrowing ideas”, or “making it more popular” are all flimsy, and wrong. I am just trying to illustrate how easy it is to plagiarize.

Cool to be a fool

Sometimes you like just one or two songs from an artist, but not many other. That's what happened to me with this song from Joe Nichols. He has a few other songs that have made it to the Billboard charts for Country Songs, but this is the only one I really like. Mainly because of the lyrics.

It's from the 2002 album "Man With A Memory". The album earned him Grammy nominations, and an award from Academy of Country Music. A couple of other songs from the same album were more popular than the one I have chose. The most famous, "Impossible" is quite good too.

It's a short song, so I am presenting the full lyrics here. The self-mocking is quite common in country songs, and this is a great example.

Here I sit, a nobody with no one
Bein' me, ain't really all that fun
Leavin' her, wasn't very smart
Admittin' I was wrong wouldn't be so hard

If it was cool to be a fool
I'd be the hippest guy around
If a heartache made you famous
I'd be known from town to town
If tears were made of pennies
And a cold beer brought her back
My bank account and self esteem
Would both be in the black
If some Hollywood producer made a movie that was sad
About some guy who lost the best thing he ever had
Hey, I could be a star
If it was cool to be a fool

But we all know the way it really is
You don't get recognized, for doin' things like this
You spend a lot of time, feelin' sorry for yourself
It doesn't really mean that much to anybody else

The video didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but that's not uncommon with music videos. Enjoy ...

Work In Progress

One of the strengths of Alan Jackson's music is the lyrics. If "Remember When" was very sentimental, this "Work In Progress" is a humorous admission of every husband's incompetence, and their inability to win some approval from their better half. Let's call it Husbands Anthem.

Admittedly, this tune is not all that great. But Alan's singing makes up for it, and it is funny.

Alright, I admit it; I forgot our anniversary.
I did pick up the baby this morning at the nursery.
That ain't no big thing; It's a gold star for me.

You get tired and disgusted with me,
When I can't be just what you want me to be.
...
I even asked the Lord to try to help me:
He looked down from Heaven, said to tell you please;
Just be patient, I'm a work in progress.

My personal favorite is

I try to do that health thing like you want me to do,
That low-fat, no fat's gettin' hard to chew.
Now, I love your cookin', honey,
But sometimes, I need some real food.

Previously :
It's a little too late
Remember When

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Book Review : Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Author : Mindy Kaling
My Rating : 3 out of 5

The complete title of the book is "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)".

Like so many other books, I came to know about this book when the author was interviewed on The Daily Show. I became interested, because I had never heard of Mindy Kaling before.

So a couple of admissions before I begin the review. I have not watched the NBC show "Office". I have heard great things about it (and the original BBC show), but never saw it. After reading the book, I definitely plan to watch it on DVD.

Secondly, I am not a fan of the genre "auto-biography" or "memoir". I think there are very few people in this world who live a truly extra-ordinary life, and should tell the details about their own lives to others.

With this bias and the complete lack of knowledge about the author, I started reading the book with some curiosity. Curious, because I was pleasantly surprised to find a lead writer of "Office" to be a child of Indian immigrants. And the title is definitely catchy.

This is a memoir sprinkled with many random observations. Some chapters are about her life as child of loving parents. Some about how she got to be where she is today. Some chapters are just randomly inserted observations.

She comes across as a very normal person. Someone who you would love to have as a friend. She doesn't shy away from bragging once in a while, but is mostly honest. The writing is smart, frank, quirky, cute and definitely funny. All this adds up to a book that can be hilarious at many places and be read quickly.

But still, all that cannot hide the flaws. One of which is, the book oozes with narcissism. I do not want to take away any of her achievements. I just don't think these are great enough to write a book about - yet. I wish her well, I hope she continues her success. But right now, there is not enough substance to be written about. Hence, lot of small chapters are added about various lists, such as what is her definition of friendship, what she looks for in a guy and all those topics that everyone thinks of themselves as an authority. Then, there are many inside jokes that I didn't really care about.

I am on the fence about recommending this book. It is funny. Maybe you can browse through some chapters (in any order, it really doesn't matter), and see if you want to read more. It's a pleasant read that will make you laugh, but I am not sure if it's worth the time to read from start to finish.

Alaskan Humor

I have heard this kind of joke before, but never seen/heard anyone actually make the mistake.

Just last week in Alaska, we needed to carry food with us for the whole day. So I went to a Subway and ordered a few footlong sandwiches. I requested them to cut each in 4 pieces and wrap it as two 6 inch subs, and put a label in every bag.

When I went to pick up my order, every bag was labeled, and on the back of each label were these notes.

They were really nice people and obviously not native English speakers. So I don't want to publicly embarrass them and hence I won't reveal which town this was in. But I can answer one question right away that many of you might have. No, they were not of Indian origin.

Familyhood

Book Review : Familyhood
Author : Paul Reiser
My Rating : 4 out of 5

We all know Paul Reiser for producing and acting in the famous sitcom "Mad About You". Apparently he writes books as well. And he is pretty good at it. His first 2 books "Couplehood" and "Babyhood" were both New York Times Bestsellers. "Familyhood" is his third book.

I haven't read his previous books. I picked this one up because I liked what I read on the back-cover. An admission of how inadequate he feels his parenting skills are. I felt an immediate connection !

The book is just a collection of short essays. Mostly about his handling of family affairs. And some about seemingly unrelated topics such as a GPS and a chair ! In all, he is the stereotypical dad - goofy, insecure, well-intentioned - just a regular guy. With an emphasis on being a "guy". It's a father's view. And as such, all mothers must read it :-)

You won't find any advice here on being a better parent. The book has the feel of a stand-up comedy act. Every good comedian needs to have great observational skills. They use those to point out our own absurdities, idiosyncrasies, and make us feel that they are reading our mind. That's what makes it fun. Paul Reiser will make you chuckle, smile and laugh. And he will not bore you.

It's not just all comedy. It's about being a family, so there is that special warmth too. But nothing melodramatic. He has his tough times, but he is not trying to win your pity. You will be surprised at how he maintains a positive tone even while discussing the sorrowful parts of his story.

It's been a while since I read a humorous book. I am glad I read it. It's a short book and I definitely recommend it. In fact, even though I haven't read them, I can still recommend his previous books (Couplehood, Babyhood) - depending on which phase of life you are in.

There is no inflation

I can keep ranting about the absurdities of  current economic policies in US forever. But videos like this capture the essence perfectly. Only the budget deficit drama theater in Washington is comparable.

Somehow, people - when in very large groups like a nation - are completely incapable of fixing the root cause. Sad. Too much debt, too much money printing, too much entitlements are the root cause of our current economic malaise. Nothing will be fixed until it's too late. Because no policy maker wants to be the tough guy administering a bitter medicine.

This cannot end well.

Obesity Crisis :-)

Heard on Colbert Report.

Folks, there is an obesity crisis in America. Do you know that 33% of Americans haven't had a chance to be obese yet ?

The Big Bank Theory

The only real financial journalist in the country happens to work for the comedy channel ! Why is it only Jon Stewart's responsibility to catch someone lying ? This time it's The Bernanke who is lying about "printing money".

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The Big Bank Theory
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Jon Stewart Goes Nuclear On Fox News

They are either Evil or Stupid !
And the conclusion is : If you do not want your money to be used for terrorism, stop watching Fox News !!

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Bumper Stickers - 2

Not very politically correct in this economic climate, but in it's own insensitive way, does have a point.

Work harder ! Millions of people on welfare depend on you.

In Dodd We Trust

If there is a journalist who understands the financial mess we created and our inadequate reaction to it, it's Jon Stewart, who on this aspect, is miles ahead of etire CNBC crew combined. Watch this ...

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Silly and Poor Jokes - 2

Heard this on "The Big Bang Theory".

Q: Why did the chicken cross the Mobius Strip ?

A : To get to the same side.

A neutron went into a bar and ordered a drink. The bartender served it and said, "No charge for you".

I am thrilled to hear geeky jokes on a mainstream sitcom.

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Bumper Stickers - 1

Probably the best I have read so far.

Support American Democracy.
Buy a Congressman today !

Jon Stewart and India

Here are some nice Jon Stewart episodes related to India from 2009.

First about the suspected mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks being caught in Chicago - "Scary Plotter".

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The best was about Indian Space Agency discovering water on Moon - "Deep Space Naan".

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The one about Shah Rukh Khan was just OK. Nothing great.

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Dekh Idhar Ae Haseena

For some reason, I have been humming this song today. From the movie "12 O'Clock". It's a Rafi-Geeta Dutt duet. Very nicely sung by Rafi, for Johny Walker. A typical OP Nayyar composition that combines multiple rhythms and tunes into a song. It's a very nice tune, but it's not as famous as other OPN compositions.

But what I like most about this song is the "mukhada". It uses a common theme of traditional Urdu poetry "zulfoN kaa saaya" in a very humorous way.

dekh idhar ae haseenaa, June kaa hai maheenaa,

Daal zulfoN kaa saayaa, aa rahaa hai paseenaa

- Majrooh Sultanpuri

देख इधर ऐ हसीना, जून का है महीना,

डाल ज़ुल्फ़ों का साया, आ रहा है पसीना !

- मजरूह सुल्तानपुरी

The rest of the song is quite normal. Just the "mukhada" is imaginative.

Silly and Poor Jokes - 1

Q: Why did Shahjehan build the Tajmahal in Agra ?
A: Because land was very expensive in Delhi.

Jon Stewart vs CNBC

If this was a soccer game, Jon Stewart won it 12-0.

Journalism usually :-) means bringing the truth out ! And the truth is CNBC is bad for your financial health. It is a reasonable source for news, but when it comes to thoughtful analysis, it is arguably one of the worst. The evils of CNBC have been argued on many sites. But the best critique is offered in "The Dily Show".

It all started with Rick Santelli did not show up for an interview. It is clear from the following video that one should not mess with Jon Stewart. It exposes CNBC for what it is.

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Then to patch things up, Jim Cramer tried to argue the case for CNBC, and he was eaten alive.

Here is part 1 - just an introduction of things to come.

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Here is part 2 where the real meat is. It's very gratifying to see Cramer the Clown having that tortured look on his face. It's also pathetic that Jon Stewart the comedian seems so much more knowledgeable about Finance that the idiots on CNBC.

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Jim Cramer Pt. 2
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The massacre thankfully is over for Cramer in part 3. Cramer needed to be told a fundamental aspect of journalism - "Do not take their word at face value, do your own investigation" !

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Now that's what I call journalism.