Minia's Mundane Musings

Mardaani 2 This is a must watch for those of you who are Rani Mukherjee fans. I am one and I really enjoyed it. She is in superb form and on screen after long, so it kind of settled my Rani-craving a little. All the necessary cop elements are present in this one. An honest cop, a superior who is ready to suspend her and a subordinate who is initially anti the brave and honest cop, but then redeems himself by helping out when it really matters. The story is one of a psychopath obsessed with a cop, as opposed to the genre where it is one brave and honest cop against an entire behemoth of corrupt politicians (do politicians really need adjectives any more? It's a given, isn't it?), and mafiosos. The story worked for me  because of Rani and the stupendous talent of the antagonist Vishal Jethwa. This 25 year old or rather young actor has been on television for a while now. His definition of the role is a complete credit to the writing and direction and also a testament to his own ac...

Panipat  The people of my generation, must be remembering the days when we had newscasters like Salma Sultana and her ilk reading out the news like one would a checklist. I would often watch that news and a silent tick mark would appear in my head at the end of each of their sonorous comments. I had that same funny sensation whilst watching Panipat. The movie was just a spate of incidents strung together, and me having read the history of this particular battle avidly, kept feeling that the myriad collection of individuals who had scripted this movie were just ticking one check box after another. It is just a bland recitation of fact after fact, and somehow the grandeur that one associates with historicals was absent. In fact Lagaan had better sets than did Panipat. Gowariker must have known that comparisons to Bajirao were inevitable and given that this battle occurs just two decades after Bajirao's demise, this movie could be considered a sequel to that one, he should have been m...

Knives Out. This was a very gripping movie in the style of Agatha Christie's whodunnits. It's pace is fast and sinister and one keeps guessing, but I for one was unable to sort it out in my head, till the grand reveal. It deals with the murder of a Head of the Family, who has potloads of money. Just like any good whodunnit, there are wild goose chases and dead ends and red herrings. But the writing is very, very good and ultimately it all concludes quite satisfactorily. Before I go on to the performances, let me tell you that I will pretty much watch anything that Daniel Craig is in. This one was no exception and I quite liked the way they put him in the shade(literally) and he still made an impact. It is a very Hitchcockian filming technique and you feel the mark of the actor by his absence. Daniel Craig is sensibly aware that there is more to life than being an agent with a License to Kill. Given what he is choosing to do these films these past years is a sure indication of a...

You have a smile that reaches not your eyes. You have a laugh that is warm, but it reaches not your heart. You have a teasing way about you, that holds me in thrall, But it reaches not your soul. You have a demeanor that is refreshing and calm, But it brings you no peace. You live for others, and yet have no one who could smooth your furrowed brow. If i could be granted one wish, It would be to see those beautiful eyes smile. If i could i would erase that frown. If i could i would hug your soul and bring you peace.

I know you didn't mean to. I know you didn't want to. But you touched a life. I know you are a rolling stone. But I know your heart is like a sponge I know you must absorb it all. And though you shouldn't have to, I know you carry it all, Yet through it all, You touched a life. I know you are a lone soldier, But I know you can be a knight in shining armour too, I know the blows you must have taken, Even though you say nothing at all, And even though you shouldn't have to, You bear the scars, Yet through it all, You touched a life. I know you are a tiger that prowls the forest in lone splendor. But I know you are the Bear that nurtures its own. I think I know the ambushes you must have repelled, And even though you are silent about them all, I think I know what you have lost, Yet through it all, You touched a life.

Do you know that in all the days that I have known you, I haven't heard you laugh even once? Do you laugh? Do you find anything funny? Do you have a sense of humor? Oh wait! What? What is that? You find my questions amusing? It's these that are making you grin? Of All the things I say and do, it's my questions which are making you smirk? How come I never noticed that one of your tooth overlaps the other? Just like a lion bringing down a deer. How is it that I never realised how one of your eyes closes almost completely when you smile wide? How did I never realise that your smile starts at your lips and becomes a twinkle in your eyes? How did I never see the twirl you give your moustache when you are shaking with laughter? How could I never know that mirth can be silent too? How many times did you laugh with me and I didn't even know? How many times did you laugh at me and I didnt even know? How many times did you turn away to hide a smile when I wasn...

Fracture I have several fractured bones, Some are just cracks, But the bone is still together. Some of them are more severe and have screws holding the bits together. A piece of  bone is even missing, it was beyond repair you see. I remember each and every time, I remember the pain lancinating through my body, I remember the drugs, I remember the helplessness, I remember the will it took to get me through each time. What I don't remember though, Is the times you fractured me. I can't count how many cracks you caused my soul to have. I don't even know when you caused the fissures in my heart to appear. Were the blows sudden? Were they pre-planned? Did you never know what your actions did to me? Or did you know and simply not care? Do you see this deep crack in my soul? It appeared when you created multiple Orkut accounts. Do you feel this fissure in my heart? You caused it when you cheated. Do you see these wrinkles on my soul? You brought them into b...