Me Movies More

Long back, when I watched Ketan Mehta's "Hero Hiralal", it felt quite funny to see the antics of the protagonist, Hiralal, played flawlessly by Nasiruddin Shah. Now I understand what an advanced form of satire the director had visualized way back in the 80s when generally romantic or drama films were ruling the screens. I was researching and thinking about such satires produced in the Bengali film industry and found quite a few. 1. Hirak Rajar Deshe (1980): This is the first movie that comes to mind when I think about Bengali satires. This story is about the blinding dictatorship of a dominating king who brainwashes the people of his kingdom to just follow his instructions. Although it has been made as an entertaining watch for the young audience, underneath the joy ride of Goopi and Bagha, Satyajit Ray presents a very important political message. The performance of Utpal Dutt as the funny yet absolutely devilish king makes this movie one of the finest in this genre. 2. B...

I have never tried to write down my travels. There are a few reasons for that. Sometimes, I forget places, faces, and names. But today, as part of #BlogchatterBloghop , I thought of writing about the most memorable spot we visited during our trip to Sikkim this summer- Yumthang Valley. We started early from our hotel in Lachung. This was the last spot in our travel itinerary. My daughter and I were excited and hoped to go for a yak ride there, as we had missed going for one at Thangu Valley. The road was very steep, but the view was stunning. The call of the Himalayas can never be ignored- sometimes it's serene, sometimes sombre and occasionally stormy. We could see the remains of places and bridges that had been washed off during the fateful floods of 2023, which had devasted the entire state. It was a wonder that they had overcome such a significant loss and were again back to normal.  It took almost 3 hours for us to reach Yumthang Valley. Frankly, I am short of words regard...

I was sleeping when a sudden shrieking sound woke me up. The lights were turned off, and I was thirsty. I walked to the living room and grabbed the water bottle from the dining table. Again I heard that same sound, this time closer. It was like some bird screaming out, with a lot of rage. I thought maybe some owl or bat was out for their nighttime hunt and calling out!! But once I returned to my bed, the sound became so close that it almost felt from inside the room. I got up, scared, sweating- what was it!! I could hear something dragging itself from under my bed. I froze in fear. I was staring blankly at the wall across, not able to move an inch. The dragging sound moved as if it came out from under my bed. I could feel a huge shadow forming beside my bed. I went totally numb.  It felt like something was holding my limbs tight and I had no nerves to look at what was happening just beside me. The shadow made its way towards the edge of the bed, standing just in front of me. It had...

For a long time, I have meant to write about Con movies, or rightly said, movies about Conmen. This dormant thought resurfaced a few days back while watching one of my favourite Con films for the 2nd time. I will talk about the film later in the post, but for now, let me tell you why one of the most popular films in this genre did not make it to my list. I am talking about Ocean's Eleven. When I watched it at the time of its release in theatres, I was more into romantic films and would have picked Pearl Harbor instead of this kind of film. However, when I watched it now, I watched it from a point of general interest in the specific genre. And I had so many other films to discuss that this does not make a mark on that list. I am writing about the movie because it is one of a kind and a pioneer in film about organized conning. I have not watched the original 1960 version, though. It's the 2001 remake and its 3 sequels I am talking about. (I have yet to watch Ocean's Thirteen...

"Get up soon; it's time for Chemistry now." I peeped with one half-opened eye from under the blanket. "Ma, five minutes more." "Nope, you are getting up now."Unwillingly, I had to get up. Today, we have that unwanted weekly test of Chemistry; I can't escape.  "Damn! The water is so cold! Why can't they supply warm water during December ?" murmured the grumpy me inside. A huge glass of milk and bread toast awaited me on the table. "Ma, Bournvita?" "Not every day, you just had a stomach ache the day before yesterday, remember?" Oh! sure I did, it was bad! And what my mother did not know was that I had 2 plates full of Puchkas after the evening Maths Tuition. So, I had to oblige with the plain milk and toast breakfast. That warm milk was enough to shake off the chilly cold.  It was study time now. It was very foggy outside and still dark, I could barely see the tree next to my window. I hoped my cat was safe outside. ...

Every year, before the onset of Durga Puja, readers of Bengali literature receive some precious gifts in the form of the Sharadiya Pujabarshiki (Yearly Literary Magazine). For the past 70 years or so, we have seen some outstanding works from the Creme' of Bengali literature like Samaresh Basu, Sunil Ganguly, Shirshendu Mukherjee, Ashapurna Devi and many others being published in these magazines for the first time. This trend continues; this year, too, my husband gifted me a few such magazines before Durga Puja. Kishore Bharati is one of the magazines I got and today I picked a story called "Vaijayantimala"  from that. for November's #TBRChallenge . About the Author: The author Bhaswar Chatterjee is a popular Film and Television actor who works predominantly in the Bengali Film Industry. He started his career as an actor in 1998 from television serials and later worked in Rajkumar Santoshi's The Legend of Bhagat Singh. In his elaborate career, spanning almost 30 y...

"Hey buddy, I got Roti Rolls today. What have you got?" Pari asked, full of excitement. I was unaware of the contents of my tiffin box, as I was sure Ma would give me something nice. So I shrugged my shoulders and told Pari, "Surprise." Pari smiled, her eyes twinkling with anticipation. I am sure by now she was deeply investing her imagination about the probable content of my tiffin box. The classes had just begun and at least 3 periods were left for the lunch break. Pari had a special liking for my Ma's home-cooked food. When it came to novelties in snack recipes, my Ma was very experimental. And most of the time, the experiments were super-successful. So, I got to taste yummy macaroni, mouth-watering Hakka Noodles, Shahi Paneer Sandwiches and super delicious Egg Biriyanis, all in my tiffin box. Most of my friends, including Pari were aware of that. They waited eagerly for the lunch break and gathered near me with ample of curiosity and enthusiasm.  This time t...

Although I am not much into Animated Films, still I sometime do watch, just to give my daughter company. Since Children's Day is just a few days away, I thought of creating a list of Indian Animated Films that the entire family can watch together and enjoy. 1. Bal Ganesh (2007): This was a time when the concept of animation was confined mostly to television channels. But the makers of the film went ahead and created a very beautiful animated film. From a technical point of view, the animation is pretty average but what makes this film engaging is the story.  Bal Ganesh's pranks and his wit also makes it an enjoyable watch for kids.   2. Roadside Romeo (2008): I think this was the first time when big stars voiced for cartoon characters when it comes to Hindi films. The film was not a commercial success, but I found it quite funny. Romeo's character is very cute and loveable. At the time when Saif Ali Khan, was known for his cool yet confused attitude (with his signature ...

Part 1 Continued.... Rupi was scared but could not control herself from staring at him. How can someone be so good looking! Suddenly she got back to her senses and pointed at the wound on the man's foot. The man said he has to see a medicine-man to treat that. Rupi laughed at him and said that these are common wounds and she could cure it. She asked the man to wait and ran to the nearby bushes to get some medicinal herbs. She took his foot on her hands and pressed the leaves on the wound. The bleeding stopped in a few moments. The man looked at Rupi, surprised and with gratitude. He now got down from the horse, looked into her eyes and stroked his fingers over her cheeks, lovingly. His eyes sparkling with thankfulness behind his long lashes. Rupi got scared but could not move from there. She knew she was a very attractive woman and a lot of men had tried to approach her but she had rejected everyone. But there was something in this stranger's eyes that she could not ignore. She...

Rupi woke up at the sound of a thud. It was her 5 year old daughter, Bitti. She had fallen down while trying to chase a mouse. She was a jovial girl, always happy and playful. She got up and smiled at her mother. Rupi got down from the leaf-bed and hugged her lovingly, while playing with her long brown hair. She was the apple of her eyes.  At dawn both of them went to the nearby river to get water for cooking and drinking. It was their daily task. Women from their community had to fetch water before anyone from the upper caste woke. They should not see eye to eye. Even their shadow was considered to be untouchable. Every time Rupi looked at Bitti, she trembled at the thought of the fate of her friend Lipu's son, a few months back. The poor boy was a bit feeble-minded and unaware of the differences, do's and don'ts of their caste and went to play with his dog by the river banks, when the women and children of the upper caste were taking bath. The boy ran to those kids to pla...

It was 7 in the morning, I opened the door to get the milk packet from the bag, hanging from the latch. As I reached out to get it, I was startled to find an envelope, neatly sealed. It bore my name and address but there was no stamp. I assumed it was delivered by courier. I kept it on top of the shoerack, next to the door and went on to finish my chores, my daughter  had her school and since my husband was out of station now, I would have to drop her at 7:30. The day went by and I entirely forgot about the envelope. It was only in the evening, after I returned from my walk, it caught my sight and I immediately grabbed it. I tore it open and got absolutely jawstuck. Oh, is it some kind of a joke? Is someone playing a prank with me? Is it my daughter, who often plays kiddish pranks with me, but not to this extent. Then who can it be?  The reason for these stream of questions and possibilities clouding my mind was due to the queer content of the letter. It read: Dear Reubenna, B...

I have never watched Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas, in fact I have not watched any film based on this iconic novel by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay, except for Dev D ( I loved the positive ending). This Sunday, when my husband took charge of the kitchen and explored his way into making the perfect Kolkata Style Biriyani, ( he dons the cap of being the better chef) I had enough time to ponder over the other things in life. Then I started to think what are the novels from which movies have been made in Hindi. The first name that came to my mind was Devdas. So today I am going to list a few Hindi Classic films adapted from Bengali novels that I would love to watch. 1. Devdas (1955): I would definitely love to watch this film with Dilip Kumar playing the titular role. I have chosen this instead of the 2002 version because I felt the originality of the novel might be kept intact in this version. Another reason are the lead actors in the film- Dilip Kumar, I mean who better than the Traged...