10 movies you absolutely have to see on a priority basis.

I've been planning on making a list of movies you must watch since last year, but never got around to doing it. Here it goes, 10 movies you absoloutely-have-to-see-at-any-cost-urgently-because-they're-so-goddamn-good, in no particular order:

1. Silence of the Lambs: Watch it for Anthony Hopkins. Watch it for Buffalo Bill. Watch it. Its so weird, its so brilliant and it'll scare the living daylights out of you. Ask one of your friends to watch it too, so that you can discuss different elements of the movie that you might have missed out on. 
2. Notting Hill: While making the list, I knew that I wanted a Julia Roberts movie on the list, but I just couldn't decide on which one. Eric Brockowich is great too, and so is Pretty Woman, but Notting Hill is the mother of feel-good movies. And more than anything else, I kept on gawking at the London streets. 
3. The Pianist: I've seen a bunch of holocaust movies, but none of them had that impact on me that The Pianist did. The entire journey of Wladyslaw Szpilman played by Adrien Brody gave me gossebumps. I used to think of Roman Polanski as an average director at best before.. but that changed and how after watching this movie. Watch The Pianist because this is cinema at its depressing but enlightening best. When you finish watching the movie, you don't feel sad, instead, you get this spirit that no matter what, there's going to be light at the end of the tunnel. 
4. Bridesmaids: I know its almost criminal to put Silence of the Lambs and Bridesmaids on the same list, but hey! I never said that I was telling you to watch movies that were classics. So, Bridesmaids is undoubtedly the funniest movie I've ever seen. Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Mellisa McCarthy make you laugh so much that you find yourself gasping for air. Its cheap, tacky humour mostly, but its unbelievably funny, and that's a big thing coming from me, considering how I've sat through 20 Adam Sandler movies with a straight face. 
5. The Birds: Alfred Hitchock at his terrifying best. The movie frightens you with its strangeness. Why were the birds attacking? I guess we'll never know. If you're in the mood for a 1960s movie, watch The Birds. Its almost funny to see how cinema struggled before CGI, but the emotion of fear that Hitchcock brings out is amazing. A little did-you-know: Hitchcock did not write the words "The End" during the final credits of the movie because he wanted the viewers to feel like the fear did not end, he wanted them to know that the fear will stay on. Amazing, right?
6. Matchpoint: Like Julia Roberts, I wanted a Woody Allen movie on the list, and had a tough time choosing between all the amazing movies, but I went with Matchpoint because it kept me on the edge of my seat till the very last scene. Partially that, and partially because it has Scarlett Johansson ;)
7. Requiem for a Dream: Brilliance on celluloid. RFAD stays with you for months, if not years, after watching it. Its not a movie for the faint hearted. You must prepare yourself fo the ride of a lifetime before you start watching. Its about 4 individuals and how drugs affect their lives (for lack of a better.. sentence). 
8. Amelie: Its set in Paris and it has the most delicious camera work ever. Its a French movie, so prepare to read subtitles. Amelie screams cuteness, quirkiness and amazingness. Think: the lovechild of Stanley Kubrick and Nora Ephron. Its a simple story about a very complex girl. You want to watch it over and over again, because its that good. 
9. Julie & Julia: I saw it 3 years ago in a flight and I've watched it 20 times ever since. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams playing Julia Child and Julie Powell. The movie switches between 1950s Europe and 2000s New York City and it shows the lives of the two women through the years. You see some delicious food on the screen and some amazing acting by Meryl Streep. 
10. The Shining: I wanted to conclude the list with someone as brilliant as Stanley Kubrick, so I did. The Shining is just beyond brilliant. Its a whole new genre, whole new kind of cinema. Jack Nicholson gives the performance of a lifetime. It gives you an eerie feeling up and down your spine, with the very very big and spooky Overlook Hotel. With just 3 characters in a big haunted hotel, insanity and spook follow. Strongly recommended. 

The Pianist and its brilliance

Hola! Yesterday, I watched The Pianist. I know, I know, I don't really need to review a movie that won 3 Oscars and is at #51 on the IMDb Top 250, but the film has had such a great impact on me that it's been 24 hours since I watched it and I'm still thinking about it. 

If you haven't watched the movie, read ahead on your own discretion. There can't really be any spoilers for this movie, but just saying, don't blame me.

The movie starts off with Wladyslaw Szpilman and his family living in Warsaw. The family is articulate, posh, happy and of course, Jewish. The movie shows Szpillman's journey through the holocaust and how he survived by hiding in apartments, hiding in a hospital, living on potatoes and bread throughout the war. 

I've seen a bunch of Holocaust movies before, like Schindler's List, Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Life is Beautiful etc, but none of them really showed the lives of the Jews before they entered the concentration camps, so at least for me, I could sympathise with the Jews, but it never really left me devastated the way The Pianist did, because I was rooting for Szpillman's family all along. 

Also, I'm not a fighter. If I were in the protagonists' place, I would've given up long back and committed suicide, but he actually survived and when I saw the final scene, I had goosebumps, and I was ashamed of myself and I wanted to dance with joy, all at the same time. 

Its gut wrenching, beautiful, different. If you haven't watched it already, believe me, you're missing out on something huge. This is film making at its best. Not only is The Pianist the best Holocaust movie in my opinion, its my personal favorite movie of all times, solely because it evoked so many emotions out of me. 

Something about the movie Cocktail and its aftermath in the social media

Its going to be a short post about how every blog, status update and tweet these days is (or actually was, just that I'm a month too late) about how Cocktail was sexist. What I want to ask people is why they thought that Cocktail was supposed to be inspirational/ idealistic/ just etc? Its not like the movie was set in the real world or anything, because lets face it, no Indian girl is dumb enough to go to the UK without an address of her alleged husband.. or in no world does a hot Asian top level corporate boss hire employees after listening to cliched, laughed upon pick up lines. 

Just because one of the reviews shed light on how Cocktail was sexist/ chauvinistic/ cliched, everyone now has the same opinion. I didn't think that Cocktail was a masterpiece, or even tolerable for that matter, but when I went inside the movie theatre, I didn't expect to see a movie with a social message. I went to see a brainless movie with some decent music and .. Deepika Padukone. 

Social media has become the face of mob mentality. People have stopped using their brains. All they do is post long, elaborate, heavy worded status updates on Facebook that have nothing new to say; just the same old crap that you've probably already read a million times on other websites. Old wine in a new bottle.

Sigh. 

Dad's Birthday Celebrations.. at a Petrol Pump

Alright. So, for starters, I must tell you that I never blog about real life situations, but this is something I need to share with the world. Or the 3400 readers of my blog. Or whatever.

At 10 pm on the 26th July 2012, I went to a Bharat Petroleum Petrol Pump in Gurgaon, asked them to put 1300 ka normal diesel in the car. I checked the machine, it showed Zeros and it was all set to give diesel for Rs. 1300. Normally after getting fuel for Rs. 1300, the indicator in my car shows that the tank is full, however, this particular day, it showed that the tank was 3/4th full. Alarmed, I told the worker that my car always shows that the tank is full after getting diesel worth Rs. 1300. He argued for 5 minutes and ultimately said that he'd put in more diesel. I sat in my car, happy that I won't have to come to the Petrol Pump until next week, about to leave, when the employee asked me for Rs. 300. Why, I asked. He said "300 ka daala hai tabhi to tank full hua". Did he ask me before giving me diesel for Rs. 300? NO. Did he tell me that I was going to be charged for that extra diesel that I had just unknowingly 'purchased'? NO. Absolutely stubborn and mustering all the Baniya goodness in me, I started arguing. A mob of other employees gathered around, telling me how it was somehow my fault. I explained everything about 835 times and then they agreed on how it was the employee's fault, however, asking me to pay for that extra diesel that I consumed, because otherwise, it would've gone out of the employee's pocket. Heavy words like "insaniyat", "gareebee" and "bhagwaan sab dekh raha hai" were being thrown around. I was adamant on not looting my father of Rs. 300, but I just gave him cash and asked him to charge those Rs. 300 because I didn't want him to pay that money out of his own pocket (The guy was working at a petrol pump at 10 pm.. I'm sure even the smallest sum of money meant a lot to him).

I came home, told my mom what had happened, how I had paid Rs. 1600 for diesel worth Rs. 1300.. Dad was on the phone so he didn't listen. She asked me to cool it off. I came into my room, started listening to some Lana Del Rey and lied down on my bed. Suddenly, dad, the birthday boy, came into my room, asked me to come with him to the petrol pump because he was sort of disgusted by my lack of baniya turpitude and wanted me to fight for my fundamental rights. So, we went to the petrol pump, asked the employees to call the owner of the petrol Pump and called up the police (Which I felt was a bit much, but continue reading because the Police is.. well.. just read). We explained everything to the owners, who instantly refunded the extra Rs. 300, but said that they didn't have a complaint book. My dad wasn't ready to leave without writing a complaint in the complaint book and getting the contact details for the Vigilance Officer.  So, after many threats, they finally gave us a complaint book, made us sit in their sleazy office that reminded me of the kind of shady, scary offices they describe in books. I was blatantly accusing them of theft, forgery and batameezi while dad was writing a complaint. At around 11.45, the police arrived, half an hour after we made the phone call, and stood there. We explained the entire scene to them and they said some technical things that made no sense and then later admitted to not owning/ driving cars ever. So, that was that. We took the number for the vigilance officer, wrote a complaint and the machines at the petrol pump will be checked thoroughly some time this week. 

What I learned from the whole incident was that its not about not creating a scene or even about charity. Its about standing up for yourself and stopping the rampant corruption, or at least doing what you can to stop it.