Total Pageviews

Monday, August 30, 2010

Rejoice the old days with this rare collection


Here’s a collection of some rare Old Advertisements and Brand Ambassadors of India. Amjad Khan, Kishore Kumar, Mithun, Dharmendra, Dilip Kumar, Sunil Gavaskar, Ashok Kumar, Vinod Khanna, Salman Khan, Sangeeta Bijlani, Jacie Shroff, Suresh Oberoi, Shatrughan Sinha, Juhi Chawla, Kapil Dev, Saif Ali Khan and a few others can be seen in these old ad prints and hoardings.
Rejoice the old days with this rare collection.

and the Best Old Ad Award goes to: Gabbar ki asli pasand Britannia Glucose-D

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Christopher Nolan comes with a rare gem – Inception

After creating memorable movies like Memento, Prestige, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan comes with a rare gem – Inception. The protagonists of the movies directed by Christopher Nolan generally have a dark side, and he follows the same ritual in Inception. The director has ensemble a great cast for the movie, which adds grandeur effect.

Inception is about dreams and most of the movie and action sequences take place in the dream. Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio) makes a team for a mission, which will make them rich and clear of all the charges of the protagonist. Dicaprio is haunted by his wife in his dreams during mission. The work they do is to steal ideas from the minds of business tycoons but the last mission requires them to plant a new idea – Inception. The sequences of dream within a dream will surely blow your mind. The movie demands attention of the viewers, if you miss some efficient parts of the movie, you will stay confused. Inception needs multiple viewings for sure. The gravity action sequence of Arther (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is exhilarating and half the audience clapped as this gripping scene ended.

The editing of the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat. The word which defines the cinematography of the movie by Wally Pfister is remarkable. By the end of the movie you will realize that Christopher Nolan has successfully planted a resilient parasite, an idea and a dream in your mind. The script is so cleverly written and executed that the viewers can't help but indulge themselves in the movie. It is one of the most complicated scripts to write and visualize. A script like this can easily be followed by errors but everything in Inception is precise. The movie deserves four Oscars for sure Best Director, Best Writing Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Cinematography.

My rating: 5/5

LSD - The brave new side of Bollywood

A meaningful poster

Dibakar Banerjee is modern age director who shows the sweet lies and bitter truth on screen with ease. Known for his popular movies like Khosla ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dibakar Banerjee comes with the brave, poignant, disturbing movie Love Sex Aur Dhokha. It is one of the boldest movies of Bollywood and it opens the gate of creative modern age cinema. Love Sex Aur Dhokha is made for those movie goers who want to see something new, apart from the series of stereotype comedy, family melodrama and identical romantic movies.

Love Sex Aur Dokha comprises of three stories associated with LOVE, SEX and DHOKHA. First one is a tragic love story of a couple where the guy is a low budget movie maker who falls in love with the daughter of a rich business man. Second story shows the harsh truth behind the sex clips being made. A girl working in a store falls in love with a guy, who sells their sex clip for money. Third story is related to Dhokha. A media person helps an upcoming model in taking revenge with a popular singer. First and second story have a disturbing and tragic end, whereas the third story ends up with compromise between the three.

This is the first digital Bollywood movie in India, which is entirely shot by digital cameras. In the movie, audience is the camera and looks the movie from the point of view of the camera. It was a brave attempt from Dibakar Banerjee as this could have ruined the exceptional plot if not used the trick properly. The moviegoers will either like it with two thumbs up or hate it. There is no mediocrity for the film, for me it worked out superbly. The use of fresh starcast and unseen actors made the movie look much more real. There are a few comic elements in the movie at times mainly because it is real.

Cinematography by Nikos Andritsakis is top notch, direction is perfect, editing is crisp and performances are very real. A unique experience to watch out for which you rarely see in Bollywood. Dibakar Banerje sets new standards for him with Love Sex Aur Dhokha.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Avatar - A New Beginning


Cameron wanted Avatar to release in 1999 but it was destined to release in 2009 and it created a wave of visual extravaganza. The story is embodied by the expert filmmaker, Cameron in a unique way by creating a never before seen world. As the movie ends you will feel like you have been brought back to planet earth, because when we are watching Avatar we are in Pandora. The plot of Avatar somewhat resembles with The Last Samurai and Dances with Wolves but it is a completely different ride in a magnificent world.

Jake Sully is an ex-marine who lost his legs, to make a fresh start he arrives Pandora to join Military. The business of the military is to bring humans in contact with the Na'vis. The mission of military is to relocate the blue colored Na'vis so that humans can use the large deposit of valuable minerals. Colonel Quarich who runs the operation, ask Jake Sully to go under cover as a Na'vi, to learn the secrets of Pandora and to win their trust so that humans can take the advantage. Jake Sully is moved by the beauty of Pandora and his heart gets lost to the Na'vi princess Neytiri. The film thus turns to a kind of light hearted adventure story. His loyalty to the humans starts to turn when he feels that humans would ruin the world of Pandora. Will he fight for the blue side?

The landscape of Pandora is the most creative and inventive of the decade. The creatures and plants you might find in your wildest dreams or your worst nightmares are beautifully shown in Avatar. Despite great visual effects of Avatar, creative world of Pandora and being latest in the film technology, Cameron uses typical old formula which works well. Avatar is one movie which will be known for years and it will also act as an inspiration for sci-fi genre movies.

My rating: 4/5

Ingenuous and heartfelt movie about love


Initially i thought that 500 Days of Summer would be like any another romantic movie with unjustifiable trailer, but i was wrong. It is a story about a boy (Tom Hansen) shown in 500 days that he spent with Summer Finn. The story is clear and simple of a complicated relationship. Both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel carried their role with ease, they both are my new favorites. The soundtrack is too good to resist and it fits with the movie very well.

Director Mark Webb's work is sincere and he has successfully captured the best possible reactions. Mark Webb's way of unfolding story adds amazement to the movie. Cinematography will make you fall in love with the characters. The movie consists of several fresh and creative way of representing story.

500 Days of Summer is intriguing and relating yourself to it can be both heartbreaking and motivational. It represents the harsh truth of complications in a relationship when one of the partner gets serious and other doesn't. It is one movie that you can watch it again and again.
Strongly recommended!!!
My Rating: 4/5

Love at first sight with the Himalayas


Chopta - Tungnath - Chandrashila
Date: 29 December 2006

I was always passionate about travelling, especially in the unknown and unnamed mountains. But never got a chance to evoke the adventurer side of me. The beauty of nature has always inspired me and I feel pity for its destruction being done by human beings. My brother, Deepak and a bunch of friends planned a trip to escape the hectic schedule of Delhi so as to celebrate New Year in peace. People usually go to places like Shimla and Mussoorie as a weekend trip but we all knew which places are worth visiting to get a break from city dreams. We planned a trip to Chopta and Tungnath Temple in Uttarakhand state. I happily agreed, when I was offered to join the group for the trip. Later, I thought that I will get bored with bhai and his friends because of the age difference. But none of this happened, and the company was to die for.
We booked Tata Sumo Deluxe and our journey started from Delhi in the chilling night of 29th December. There were 6 of us in the cab me, Deepak, Bhupi, Saini, Bhuwnesh and last but obviously not the least, our driver. He was not driver actually, he owned the cab. The driver played a very crucial part in our trip to Chopta. He taught us many things like 'things not to do stuff' in your first trip, you will soon get to know what exactly I am talking about.
So finally our journey commenced with the words “jai bholenath”, we crossed the Delhi border and it was damn freezing night. Thanks to mother that she packed a blanket in our bag (in our absence). It was a relief as soon as we covered ourselves in the blanket. People who are addicted to travelling hardly sleep during the journey, we followed the same ritual.  
Tata sumo

first encounter with the himalayas

Every moment of the journey consists of those special moments which you will cherish even after decades. While traveling you are on your own; free to do anything, go anywhere, and do whatever you want (but don’t hurt the privacy of others). That night was the foggiest night I had ever seen as we could barely see around 2-3 meters ahead. We stopped somewhere around 80kms before Haridwar. There were three reasons that stop by:
  • it was very foggy
  • one of our Sumo’s headlight stopped working
  • another was awfully dim
So we had to stop in order to avoid any accident as trucks were preparing for F1 Race.
We started driving again at 4 o clock in the morning, had a cup of tea at Haridwar and breakfast in Srinagar (Uttarakhand). After having breakfast we took the cab to a car repair shop where the mechanic took nearly 2hours to repair the headlight which still wasn’t perfectly working. We travelled nonstop upto Chopta and carried a few packets of chips, juice, Glucon –D, and chocolates with us. Always carry glucon – d and chocolates whenever you are going for a hike as it provides energy to the body. The sun was setting and we were about to reach Chopta. Travelling on the road 2,500mts above sea level, was an adventure in itself, snow capped Himalayan peaks were distinctly visible. This was my first encounter with the mighty Himalayas. The sun was about to set and our cab got stuck on an icy road 2km before Chopta. Somehow after a few attempts we managed to cross that snow covered curve (a curve to remember). 
the curve

Finally we reached the Mini Switzerland of India – Chopta. It was the most beautiful place I ever saw with my naked eyes till date. 
(Me, Deepak, Bhuwnesh, Saini and Bhupi in black jacket)

Two guys were running a Dhaba in Chopta and took care of accommodation facility. Dying with hunger, we ordered dinner as soon as we reached. The Dhabha owner told us that one married couple in the late 30’s was also staying in another cottage. They came all the way from Kolkata to this remote place and that too in winters, hats off to their guts and adventurous spirit. In front of the bonfire, we had our dinner. The night was freezing and hauntingly beautiful. After seeing an undying interest for traveling in the soul of that Bengali couple, I made a resolution to visit the Himalayas at least once, every year. Rather than luxury beach resorts or naked sun bath in Goa, I seek peace, beauty and adventure in the splendid Himalayan range.
The trip to Chopta and Tungnath Mandir brought many surprises for me some were god gift and other were by our legendary driver and his Dhanno (Cab).
It was hard to get a good sleep because of the harsh winter, and even the most childish thoughts were coming into my mind like “what if the two dhabha owners and the Bengali couple are ghost or dacoits”. I laughed on my stupidity and went to sleep. We woke up early in the morning to capture the spectacular sunrise of the Himalayan range. We cocooned ourselves in good warm clothes but were still shivering with cold. The sunrays were kissing the cliffs of the snow capped peaks; we clicked some snaps while walking down the road because we dare not miss that. I instantly fell in love with the Himalayas, it was love at first sight. While looking down the forest I saw a fox, searching for food I guess. I called Bhupi Bhaiya to click its picture, but maybe I was too loud to make him run away. He might have sensed danger after hearing the tiger’s voice (mine), lolz. 
early morning view from Chopta
The mighty Himalayan range and me
Chopta - Mini Switzerland

Each and every animal respect god’s best creation and is afraid of him, which is human. Only in most strange circumstances animals attack humans. It was great adventure watching the fox free to roam anywhere. You might be wondering “why is this guy feeling so exhilarated over just a fox”. Let me explain when you see animals in a zoo your expression is like “wow I am so much near to them” and you are able to see many animals at one place. But when you see any animal in real roaming with a free spirit, the feeling is completely different and one senses amazement in his/her heart. It is like when you watch a movie in a theater and when you watch the shooting of the movie. When you watch a movie you get to know the whole story, see different characters and locations and it’s a great experience. But when you watch a shooting of a movie you are able to see just one or two shots yet you feel amazed and share it with your friends and families about it for a long time.
 (driver bhaiya on extreme left)
We had breakfast and packed lunch for the trek to Tungnath Mandir from Chopta. We packed our bags with necessary items and started trekking to Tungnath. Our driver also wanted to join, we told him that although it is just 4km trek but quite steep. He joined us and we were also accompanied by a local bhutia dog, after we fed him some biscuits. The Dhabha owner said that the dog normally goes with people right up to the Tungnath Mandir and it was great to have him with us. So finally we commenced our trek by ringing the bell at the commencement point of the trek. The trekking trail was surrounded by oak, deodar and rhododendron trees. After trekking 1km we encountered the snow on the path. It was the first time I saw natural snow. 

The driver got tired after trekking 2km and returned, we told him to take a good sleep because we were to leave after reaching back down to Chopta. Now there were 5 companions and a dog on a mission to walk the snow-covered path to reach the new heights. Nature can be harsh at any moment at such altitude. We were like pandavas and a dog was also walking with us, what we were missing was draupadi ;-). The entire trek was steep and we started taking rest at regular intervals. Last 1½ km was totally covered with 2-3 feet snow. We didn’t carried too much of water with us and biscuits made us thirsty so we fed the dog with most of the biscuits (do carry enough water with you). Initially it was fun walking on the snow but later on it became quite tough for us but believe me it was an unforgettable experience. “When we go through tough circumstances the taste of achievement is priceless”. A person finds the true meaning of life and himself while trekking because when you're trekking your mind is clear and free from all confusions. You have focus, target and powerful presence of life in the form of natural beauty.
the trail to Tungnath temple



At last we reached the highest temple of Lord Shiva Tungnath Mandir set at an elevation of 3,684mts above sea level. Tungnath Mandir is third of Panch kedar, rest are Kedarnath, Madhmaheshwar, Rudranath and Kalpeshwar. Sixth kedar is situated in Nepal by the name of Pashupatinath. The temple was empty and all houses around it were covered with snow. Even though the town was lonely, it depicted sheer beauty. 
Tungnath Temple

The locals stay at Tungnath only from May to October and they usually come down when the gates of the temple are closed. The view of the Himalayan range from Tungnath Mandir was enchanting. We took off our shoes and walked barefooted in the premises of the temple “bhakti jaag gayi thi yaar”. The ancient stones lying there were as freezing as the ice slab. I saw a beautiful brown mouse running behind those rocks and told everyone to take a look at it but they were not able to take a good sight of him, I encountered him twice and was happy, but my brother who didn’t got a glimpse of that mouse said to me that ”it’s no big deal”. 

After wearing our shoes on we started trekking to Chandrashila the summit of the mountain situated at 4000mts above sea level. Chandrashila offers 270 degree view of the Himalayan range. I was leading and mistakenly we picked up the wrong route, the dog didn’t accompany us further and returned. I forgot to tell you but we named him as ‘sheru’. The climb was getting steeper with every step we took. We wondered if we are following the correct path or not, but then the famous quote crossed my mind; 'I chose the path less travelled by'. 

We didn’t bothered to return and head towards the summit, but soon we realized that it wasn’t path, it was a slope of the mountain. The steep climb was dangerous; we gathered all our fears and dumped it with every step we took. After trekking on the thick blanket of snow for 1km we finally saw a yellow flag playing with the wind, it was the Chandrashila peak. We didn’t utter a word after reaching the summit and enjoyed the fascinating views of the Himalayas. This was the moment when I totally fell in love with the mountains, it was an affair to remember. We were standing on the highest point around. You might not find luxury, crowd, and facilities at Chopta like you get in places like Shimla, Mussoorie etc. but the beauteousness of nature from Tungnath and Chandrashila is worth watching at least once in a lifetime. 

After getting allured and praising the beauty of nature we trekked back fast to Chopta as we were supposed to depart the same day. While trekking back, we rolled down the snow slopes. As soon as we reached down to Chopta, a baba asked us how weather was and we told him that the sky was as blue as the ocean. He asked whether anyone saw a mouse at the temple. I was amazed with his question and I gave him a “how did you know” look. “Yes I saw it twice”, I replied quickly in order to solve the mystery. Then the baba told me something that I am not going to forget ever, his words were 'samajh lo Ganesh ji ke darshan ho gaye'. It was wonderful to hear those words from him. 

We had lunch there and started the cab to return so that we could reach Delhi by the morning of 1st January. The driver bhaiya said, “ab toh new year Delhi mein hi banaoge naa, pahuncha dun raat tak Delhi”, we said – thik hai. He drove the cab like one driving on Jaipur Highway. We told him to slow down a little, because when driving in the mountains you never get second chance to prevent the accident. Some 30kms before Rudraprayag both the headlights of the cab stopped working and we were left in middle of nowhere. We repaired the headlights after reaching Rudraprayag. Wanna know how we covered those deadly 30kms in darkness?? - By following other trucks and we were able to see the road by the tail light of the trucks. Those 30kms were the longest 30kms of my life. But on an all these are the things from which one gets to learn and so as to prevent it from re occurring in future. “While travelling, do focus on the destination but remember it is the journey which is taking you there” so enjoy your trip and learn from it. We drove back to Delhi after the headlight was repaired. 
the empty town of Tungnath
route to chandrashila
chandrashila
rolling stones

Tips:
·         Before booking a cab do confirm that if the cab is properly working and well maintained or not, else your precious time will be wasted.
·         Respect nature and do not harm natural beauty.
·         Bring back plastic bags with you if you are carrying any while trekking
·         Do carry a torch, lighter and match box.

For detailed information about Chopta: http://www.euttaranchal.com/tourism/chopta.php