I know it is quite late for Paa review.. just happened to see some visuals of Auro on TV and some cynical reviews about the film on the net and could not resist writing .. Well, better late than never, don’t they say?? First things first, it was the best film I saw in 2009.. In a year that saw no releases from Maniratnam (my sisters and I are Maniratnam fanatics.. not just fans !!) and an over emphasis on the dark side of the society with so many films focusing on bomb blasts, terrorism and its aftermath, this film focused on the bright side of life, about positive people, honest politicians and the sheer purity and innocence of the most fascinating phase of anybody’s life – childhood..
And what a performance from the grand old man!! And what a casting coup!! The film is a winner right there .. the sheer brilliance of casting Amitabh, the greatest Indian actor (after this film there are bound to be no doubts about that !!) as the son of Abhishek speaks volumes of the shrewd brain of Balki.. but it is not just Amitabh and Abhishek.. Vidya Balan, Arundathi Nag, Paresh Rawal.. each and every actor fits effortlessly into the character he/she plays, that after a while it is no longer a film.. its an experience.. This is undoubtedly Amitabh’s best performance till date.. What a role to play at 67!! He brings Auro alive in front of our eyes.. From the scene where he skips around the pole in the metro rail with Abhishek watching with a twinkle in his eyes, to where he refuses to enter the rashtrapati bhavan and later explains, ever so sweetly, that he wanted to do potty, to wondering aloud to his grand mom about what might have happened the previous night when he sent his parents home together ..wow, Amitabh at his best .. well, Auro at his best I should say.. since u almost forget Amitabh in the whole process, all you remember is Auro, Auro, Auro ..
Whoever did the costumes for Vidya Balan in this film sure knows his/her job well.. She looks well dressed and dignified fitting her doctor persona in the film.. Her acting skills need no introduction .. and she has an unique face that fits the demure housewife and an intelligent professional in just the same way !! Abhishek does well .. Paresh Rawal and Arundhati Nag are seasoned veterans.. so u expect such performances.. P C Sreeram casts his spell with great visuals and almost makes us believe that Amitabh is indeed a thirteen year old.. And what can one say about Ilayaraja’s music? We have heard some of the tunes in thamizh earlier, but they still sound so fresh .. so evergreen.. this man is a genius.
There has been a somewhat muted response about the film from some sections of the media .. apparently ‘cos of the unnecessary media bashing, as they call it.. I still feel, it is a very intelligent take on how media can be used constructively .. how it is as receptive to the hero, as it is to the villain .. Abhishek is shown as using the same media to own up to his mistake.. The film also shows the healthy mind set of today’s generation who are willing to accept the mistakes of their idols as long as they are honest and ready to make amends .. So I really don’t understand what the noise is all about .. In an era where the news channels are ready to “break the news” of the so called celebrities waking up in the morning and using the loo, Balki just reflects the mindset of the wider society which is getting fed up watching sensationalized news, day in and day out.. It is his way of gently reminding the media may be, that one day even news about them could be sensationalized .. and they better be careful therefore..
Overall, Paa is a very refreshing film with fantastic performances on and behind the screen… Balki clearly knows what he is doing and should not mind short sighted, cynical reviews, ignoring them as aberrations.. Watching Paa is like sitting by the window, reading a nice, cosy novel and watching, hearing and smelling the falling rain :)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The Finger Bowl Story
This is one of the most inspiring stories I have heard ..one am carrying from my college days.. I was pursuing a professional degree at that point in time and Management was one of the subjects that was taught as part of the course.. C Sir used to teach us Management .. well, in the name of Management he was actually teaching us life skills..
Just a small introduction about C Sir.. He is one of the most important people who has had a telling impact on my personality apart from my parents.. Well, not only me .. He had almost a feverish fan following across the institution .. Such was the impact of his classes that every single student was almost in a state of trance after each class got over.. V used to literally scramble for our seats. He was a stickler for punctuality and he used to ruthlessly refuse entry to students who came late to class saying “U r early for the next class”.. And then one day, he came late to class.. He was very quiet for a while.. pacing the classroom restlessly.. We thought he was, may be, preparing for class.. After five minutes, he said, “I want to first apologise to all of you.. for two things – one, for coming late today and two for being so ruthless when some of you came late.. Today, I got stuck in an unlikely situation and could not prevent my coming late.. And as I entered the institute, I was so guilty, ‘cos so many times I have failed to understand the situation that some of you probably could have been in when you came late.. I asked S (S was one of the students who got punished in the previous class for coming late) where he came from.. He said Tambaram.. Coming from T Nagar which is fifteen minutes from here, if I can get caught in a spot and turn up late, it is so much more possible for S to encounter scenarios like that and I feel especially sorry for punishing him last class.. This apology is for all those who have gotten into similar scenarios and got the rough treatment from me.. NOT for habitual late comers”.. The whole time he was saying this, he looked so sincere and humble.. There was pin drop silence in class and we were almost ready to break into applause when he finished.. We learnt two important lessons that day – One - To err is human, so before you pass judgements about any person, for a moment, put yourself in his/her shoes.. And Two – It is okay to say sorry. There is no need to feel ashamed or embarrassed .. All you need to feel is humble and sincere… Well, this is just one sample of so many such lessons he tossed our way while he incidentally taught management..
Coming to the finger bowl story.. C Sir was very well established in his career when we attended his class.. He came from a very humble background though and again he used to never feel embarrassed to talk about where he was at one stage and how he came up thru hardwork and determination.. His growth from a simple middle class innocent young man beginning his career to the highly respected professional he had then become was one of the most fascinating and inspiring stories we had heard.. So many of us could relate to him completely and so, he became the shining example we wanted to emulate.. His most famous anecdote was the finger bowl story.. It was the time when he was taking his baby steps in his career.. slowly learning the nuances of the corporate world.. In his own words “Some lessons are learnt the hard way.. I will always remember the first time I went to an elite restaurant with my boss and some clients.. It was the typical low roof, dimly lit, quiet restaurant meant for the A Listers of the city.. I had not been to restaurants often, and wherever I went till then were the noisy, brightly lit restaurants with so much bustle around you, that I instantly felt out of place in this place.. Then we started ordering.. I had absolutely no idea what to order .. everything in the menu card looked like greek and latin to me.. Sensing my predicament, my boss ordered the food for both of us.. ha, one thing out of the way.. then the food arrived.. I started eating immediately.. I was very hungry and I did not even notice what the others were eating.. When I finished I looked up.. The others had hardly eaten anything.. Was anything wrong? I didn’t know where to look.. Then my boss noticed me and said, ‘Ha C, so u have finished already?!!’ .. I was startled.. my stomach was not even half full and here he is asking me if I have already finished.. I gave him a sheepish smile and murmured yes… two lessons learnt already - one, corporate lunches are meant to be eaten slowly.. where conversation is as much a part of the meal as is the food.. two, u r not expected to fill your stomach during such lunches...I drank a glass of water to settle my growling stomach.. this time I managed to drink slowly and not gulp .. all the time, pasting a ready smile on my lips.. My ordeal was not over yet.. The waiter saw that I had finished and brought the finger bowl.. I had never seen a finger bowl in my life before.. I was stumped.. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it.. Am I supposed to drink it? I touched the bowl.. it was warm.. there was a piece of lemon and a couple of rose petals floating on it.. I was not so sure.. Why rose petals? Surely nobody would expect me to drink warm lime water with rose petals!! Is it some publicity gimmick? I decided to wait.. Once bitten, twice shy.. After an inordinately long time, my boss finally finished what was on his plate and his finger bowl arrived.. As I was watching astonished, he casually washed his hand in it and then wiped in the napkin.. Happa, finally I knew what I was supposed to do.. I heaved a sigh of relief that was so loud, I was worried that the others might have heard it ..” .. He said this and smiled .. paused a few seconds and repeated.. “some lessons in life are learnt the hard way” ..
Now, even after so many years, when I look back, I smile at the thought of the precious lesson he taught us that day – a lesson that was gonna stay with us as each one of us, in turn, took our baby steps in our respective careers – that there are bound to be such incidents - some interesting, some awkward, some funny, some embarrassing - that u go through every day in your work life.. If C Sir can go thru it, why not you? The important thing to remember is not the embarrassment but the lesson u learnt .. And with each such lesson you grow.. C Sir, as I said before, was very well established in his career when he narrated this to us .. He was a noted personality in the corporate world by then, but he had his feet firmly on the ground.. That was another lesson.. Wherever you go, whatever u become, always remember where u started from and retain the ability to be able to look back and smile at yourself and talk about it .. There is nothing more inspiring yet humbling than to reflect on the path you have taken.. And it only made us all the more determined to succeed and one day become like C Sir..
As I write this, am remembering more and more of such life lessons he taught us.. may be, u will hear more about him in the days and months to come :)
Just a small introduction about C Sir.. He is one of the most important people who has had a telling impact on my personality apart from my parents.. Well, not only me .. He had almost a feverish fan following across the institution .. Such was the impact of his classes that every single student was almost in a state of trance after each class got over.. V used to literally scramble for our seats. He was a stickler for punctuality and he used to ruthlessly refuse entry to students who came late to class saying “U r early for the next class”.. And then one day, he came late to class.. He was very quiet for a while.. pacing the classroom restlessly.. We thought he was, may be, preparing for class.. After five minutes, he said, “I want to first apologise to all of you.. for two things – one, for coming late today and two for being so ruthless when some of you came late.. Today, I got stuck in an unlikely situation and could not prevent my coming late.. And as I entered the institute, I was so guilty, ‘cos so many times I have failed to understand the situation that some of you probably could have been in when you came late.. I asked S (S was one of the students who got punished in the previous class for coming late) where he came from.. He said Tambaram.. Coming from T Nagar which is fifteen minutes from here, if I can get caught in a spot and turn up late, it is so much more possible for S to encounter scenarios like that and I feel especially sorry for punishing him last class.. This apology is for all those who have gotten into similar scenarios and got the rough treatment from me.. NOT for habitual late comers”.. The whole time he was saying this, he looked so sincere and humble.. There was pin drop silence in class and we were almost ready to break into applause when he finished.. We learnt two important lessons that day – One - To err is human, so before you pass judgements about any person, for a moment, put yourself in his/her shoes.. And Two – It is okay to say sorry. There is no need to feel ashamed or embarrassed .. All you need to feel is humble and sincere… Well, this is just one sample of so many such lessons he tossed our way while he incidentally taught management..
Coming to the finger bowl story.. C Sir was very well established in his career when we attended his class.. He came from a very humble background though and again he used to never feel embarrassed to talk about where he was at one stage and how he came up thru hardwork and determination.. His growth from a simple middle class innocent young man beginning his career to the highly respected professional he had then become was one of the most fascinating and inspiring stories we had heard.. So many of us could relate to him completely and so, he became the shining example we wanted to emulate.. His most famous anecdote was the finger bowl story.. It was the time when he was taking his baby steps in his career.. slowly learning the nuances of the corporate world.. In his own words “Some lessons are learnt the hard way.. I will always remember the first time I went to an elite restaurant with my boss and some clients.. It was the typical low roof, dimly lit, quiet restaurant meant for the A Listers of the city.. I had not been to restaurants often, and wherever I went till then were the noisy, brightly lit restaurants with so much bustle around you, that I instantly felt out of place in this place.. Then we started ordering.. I had absolutely no idea what to order .. everything in the menu card looked like greek and latin to me.. Sensing my predicament, my boss ordered the food for both of us.. ha, one thing out of the way.. then the food arrived.. I started eating immediately.. I was very hungry and I did not even notice what the others were eating.. When I finished I looked up.. The others had hardly eaten anything.. Was anything wrong? I didn’t know where to look.. Then my boss noticed me and said, ‘Ha C, so u have finished already?!!’ .. I was startled.. my stomach was not even half full and here he is asking me if I have already finished.. I gave him a sheepish smile and murmured yes… two lessons learnt already - one, corporate lunches are meant to be eaten slowly.. where conversation is as much a part of the meal as is the food.. two, u r not expected to fill your stomach during such lunches...I drank a glass of water to settle my growling stomach.. this time I managed to drink slowly and not gulp .. all the time, pasting a ready smile on my lips.. My ordeal was not over yet.. The waiter saw that I had finished and brought the finger bowl.. I had never seen a finger bowl in my life before.. I was stumped.. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it.. Am I supposed to drink it? I touched the bowl.. it was warm.. there was a piece of lemon and a couple of rose petals floating on it.. I was not so sure.. Why rose petals? Surely nobody would expect me to drink warm lime water with rose petals!! Is it some publicity gimmick? I decided to wait.. Once bitten, twice shy.. After an inordinately long time, my boss finally finished what was on his plate and his finger bowl arrived.. As I was watching astonished, he casually washed his hand in it and then wiped in the napkin.. Happa, finally I knew what I was supposed to do.. I heaved a sigh of relief that was so loud, I was worried that the others might have heard it ..” .. He said this and smiled .. paused a few seconds and repeated.. “some lessons in life are learnt the hard way” ..
Now, even after so many years, when I look back, I smile at the thought of the precious lesson he taught us that day – a lesson that was gonna stay with us as each one of us, in turn, took our baby steps in our respective careers – that there are bound to be such incidents - some interesting, some awkward, some funny, some embarrassing - that u go through every day in your work life.. If C Sir can go thru it, why not you? The important thing to remember is not the embarrassment but the lesson u learnt .. And with each such lesson you grow.. C Sir, as I said before, was very well established in his career when he narrated this to us .. He was a noted personality in the corporate world by then, but he had his feet firmly on the ground.. That was another lesson.. Wherever you go, whatever u become, always remember where u started from and retain the ability to be able to look back and smile at yourself and talk about it .. There is nothing more inspiring yet humbling than to reflect on the path you have taken.. And it only made us all the more determined to succeed and one day become like C Sir..
As I write this, am remembering more and more of such life lessons he taught us.. may be, u will hear more about him in the days and months to come :)
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