Honest hearts produce honest actions

Ever since I came over to Bangalore some ten months back to take up the new job, I haven't been able to visit my parents. Work has kept me really busy. My parents were feeling very troubled as to whether their only son was happy in his new dwelling or not. They were eager to see through their own eyeshow the city was treating me, especially Maa. She was concerned about my food and my health more than anything else. I would often have a hard time in convincing her about the quality of the hotel food that the caterer delivers to me, during our telephone chats. She always had the same questions to ask - whether their food tasted good enough and whether they prepared the meals in hygenic conditions. And then she would raise the marriage topic, how my life would change for the better and I wouldn't have to suffer eating from outside if I brought a wife into my life while I would try hard to evade the topic. Our arguments would continue until she would finally end the call.

But then her worst fears came true when I fell ill with severe food poisoning after eating the dhaba's food. My parents got worried when they came to learn about my illness, as there was no one to look after me. So both Maa and Baba set out for Bangalore immediately, the next morning. I have to admit that news about their scheduled arrival did bring some succour to my heart as ever since I got bed-ridden with my illness, I was not only feeling very lonely but actually was also finding it difficult to take care of myself, although some friends used to visit me every now and then. But I was also worried about my parents travelling so far away. They hadn't travelled long distances for quite some years owing to their knee problems and they were coming to Bangalore for the first time.

Thankfully their train wasn't late by much as Baba called me up to inform me. I insisted on going to the station to bring them home but they outrightly turned me down, saying that they could hire a taxi and that I need not worry. After an hour or so, I heard my door bell ring and as I opened the door, they were there before me, safe and sound. My sickness suddenly vanished away the moment I hugged them. We were meeting after ten months and so we had a lot to say to each other. But they were dead tired too after the two day long train journey. So while Baba went to take a shower, Maa immediately got busy in preparing a meal for all of us. None of us had realised until then that they had absent-mindedly left one of their suitcases in the taxi. It was only after Baba came out of the bathroom and started looking for that suitcase to take out his clothes did we realise that it had got left behind in the cab. Baba was distraught because along with the clothes, it also contained our ancestral property papers that he brought along.

Just then the door bell rang once again. When I opened it, I found a smiling man standing before me who was holding the suitcase.
"Uncle, you had left your suitcase by mistake and I only saw it when I opened the dicky of my cab. Though I remembered that i had dropped you off at this apartment but I had no idea about your flat number. Luckily I also found the small piece of paper on the back seat, the one that you were holding and I found your address written on it", said the cab driver.

My parents felt really grateful to him and so was I. We tried to persuade him to accept some cash as the fare for his trip that he took the second time around but he politely refused, saying that helping others is priceless and that he was happy that the luggage finally found its rightful owner.

This simple incident goes on to show that there are still decent men living in this world, who are so honest that they go out of their way to doggedly track down the owner of a misplaced article and hand it over to him.

Image used - www.smartambala.com

(This has been written for "Look up story" for Housing.com. Visit their website www.housing.com to know more about them)

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A Memorable Day

It is impossible to imagine life without friends, for without them, life would be meaningless. Friends play a major role in our lives. Everyone would perhaps agree with me that good friends make our lives richer. Our family may have the biggest influence on our lives but perhaps there can't be a better teacher in life than friendship. Among all other things, it is our friends who teach us how to build relationships with other people. I consider myself really lucky to be blessed with some really good friends, who have always stood by me, both during my good times as well as during my bad times. No matter how old we get, but close friends remain dear to us all through our life, they are people we can always count on. In one way or the other, our closest friends would have surely had some positive influence on our lives. I feel lucky to have got one such friend in Pramod. We have been friends since our school days. He is one such friend who truly cares for me. He has always stayed with me through thick and thin and even when he isn't physically present, he has always extended his moral support whenever I have needed him. I have lost count of the number of times when he has steadied me just as I was about to stumble. I remember how demoralized I had become when I couldn't clear the Medical entrance examination. I had sort of locked myself up in a cocoon and had lost all zeal for life. It was he who motivated me and helped me rise up again. I can never thank him enough. Thus even a few minutes spent with him gives me a lifetime of wonderful memories.

But unfortunately as we get older, we get so bogged down by various responsibilities and duties and life gets so busier that we no longer find time to even meet our old friends as we once used to do. Sometimes we get so entangled with our familial responsibilities that we fail to even make calls to our friends as often. Thus gradually the number of calls and meetings start diminishing and before we know, we get somewhat distanced away from our friends. However this isn't exactly inevitable, rather it can be prevented.

When we are in the company of an old friend, even a mundane activity seems so exciting and every meeting becomes a memorable one. I had one such recent experience when I had gone to my native place for a few days. Ever since we moved to different cities for professional reasons some seven years back, I hadn't met Pramod, though we used to catch up on each other on social networks and through occasional phone calls. But this time, to our luck, both of us were in our native city at the same time. Pramod too had come on a vacation to meet his family. Thus when we got to know about each other's presence in the city, we didn't need any invitation to meet each other at the earliest.

It is said that there are two types of friends in life - the kind that makes us feel like it has changed over time, and the second kind being the one which makes us feel like nothing has changed even after so many years of remaining away from each other. Pramod belongs to the second category. Even though we were meeting each other after seven long years, but time couldn't affect our friendship. We had decided to visit our old meeting point - our college canteen, where we used to spend our leisure time laughing, gossiping and chatting inconsequential matters that had no relevance. Though a whole lot had changed about the place over the years but when we sat down across the farthest corner table to have the regular Raghu chai, the old memories started flashing before our eyes, the things we did back then, how we used to have so much of fun, how we used to sometimes bunk the lectures and instead would go for movies and when we used to get caught, how we used to cover for each other before our teachers and parents, how we used to comfort each other on being chided by our parents for not scoring enough marks in exams and how we used to sometimes cycle all the way to Dhauli to sit on the banks of river Daya, just to watch the sun set.  That is exactly what we again did that day. Though we couldn't find cycles (moreover, given our age, we wouldn't have probably managed to reach Dhauli by cycles), but we rode on our bikes to the Daya river and spent a good long minutes on the river bank watching the sunset and clicking photos. While returning back, we also stopped by Raghu bhaina's dahi bara alu dum shop and ate to our heart's content as we used to do during our younger days. Any day spent with Pramod is special for me but this day had something extra-special in it, in that for a few moments, we let go of all inhibitions and felt like we had once again become little kids. I wish the day hadn't ended at all. Sadly we couldn't spend another day together as he had his return flight to catch to go back to the United States. But I am sure time will bless with more such together moments in the future as well and our friendship shall remain as strong as ever. That day we created some truly golden memories to last a lifetime!

Image used - www.imagesbuddy.com

(This has been written for "Being Together" for Housing.com. Visit their website www.housing.com to know more about them)

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Asus Zenfone 2 would redefine my smart phone experience!

Though I am not really a gadget freak but I have been thinking about buying a new smartphone for sometime now. This Blackberry phone that I am currently using is almost three years old now and needs to be replaced with a new smartphone. Though my current smartphone had stood me in good stead all this while, but then in this era of advanced mobile technology and with so many fascinating mobile phones coming into the market, one does gets tempted to buy a new smartphone. Moreover, the prices too have come down drastically. Also since the last two years or so, the mobile companies have pushed the boundaries in terms of endowing the smartphones with rich features. Thus the smartphones have continued to get bigger and faster, and now come blessed with a whole lot of never-seen-before features.

So while I was browsing through some exciting smartphones on a few popular online shopping portals, I got to know about the upcoming launch of the new smartphone from Asus India - Asus Zenfone 2. I visited the parent website Asus India and studied closely the features and specifications of the phone, and in no time, I made up my mind to buy it as my new smartphone. The phone's stylish and sleek look grabbed my attention at the first glance itself. However not just lookwise but also with its rich and advanced features, it won my heart. With the wealth of so many exciting new features that the Zenfone 2 is providing, I am sure this smartphone will redefine a person's smartphone experience!

1. Luxurious Ultra-Thin Ergonomic Arc Design
Among the wealth of exciting new features that ASUS ZenFone 2 provides, it is the sleek and stylish outer look that catches one's attention, what with its brushed-metal finish and its graceful tapering of the Ergonomic Arc case that results in a thickness of just 3.9 mm, makes it look not just bold but also very elegant. The design engineers have smartly innovated and have positioned a volume-control at the rear as well as a shutter button, ideally to be pressed by our index finger. Also with its 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display, it gives one an incredible 403ppi pixel density on the screen and so one gets the maximized viewing experience. Now me being a movie buff, such a remarkably big display screen would result in a fabulous movie-viewing experience!

2. Powerful Performer
Being powered by 2.3GHz 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 processor and a 4GB RAM, Asus ZenFone 2 is surely going to prove to be a powerful performer, not just for day-to-day phone activities but also in terms of gaming performance. Given its powerful processor, one will be ensured of smooth video playback, web surfing and great gaming experiences. Multi-tasking too I am sure won't be uncomfortable.

3. 13 Mega-pixel Rear Camera and a 5MP Front camera
Another strong feature that I very much liked in ZenFone 2 was that it is coming with a 13 Mega-pixel Rear Camera and a 5MP Front camera. Also since they come with f/2.0-aperture lens, so the smartphone will be able to capture really good and high-resolution photos without any shutter lag. The smartphone's Low Light mode uses pixel-merging technology because of which I will be able to capture brighter photos (up to 400%) at night or in low-light situations, without even using the flash option. The phone is also enriched with a Super HDR. Being a traveller, the phone camera will come in handy whenever I would be wishing to capture a snap.

4. Asus Zen UI that is simpler and smarter
Zenfone 2 also comes with a brand-new ZenUI that results in some awesome features like ZenMotion, SnapView, Trend Micro Security, ZenUI Instant Updates etc. Thus now we will have a seamless mobile experience that would include an enhanced usability, security and privacy.

5. Aus BoostMaster Technology
Because of the ASUS BoostMaster technology, this Zenfone 2 would get charged much faster, Probably it would take only about 39 minutes to charge almost 60% of the battery! This is one of the biggest advantages that Zenfone 2 provides. Because we have had quite a few other smartphones which were stunning to look at but could barely last even a half a day! We may be having a smartphone blessed with a whole lot of features and a big HD display as well but if the battery doesn’t last very long or takes a lot of time to charge up, we won't even be able to watch a movie on the go.
Thus with so many powerful and innovative features, I am sure that Asus Zenfone 2 will redefine our smart phone experience and will usher in happy times for the smartphone users in the coming days.

(Image courtesy: Asus India)

(This has been written for "Redefine your smart phone experience!" for Asus Zenfone 2)

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Ab Tak Chappan 2 - A review

If we talk about sequels of movies that got released in Bollywood, not many fared as well as the originals did. Sadly Ab Tak Chappan 2, which is the sequel of Ab Tak Chappan (that came in 2004), too meets the same fate. A whole lot of factors are to be blamed for its debacle. But one of the primary reasons for its failure this time around is because it is outdated, apart from an unimaginative plotline. The movie is said to be inspired by the life of real life encounter specialist Daya Naik. There have been better cop dramas earlier too. Ten years back when Shimit Amin had directed Ab Tak Chappan, there was a nice intensity to the direction to go with a fairly good script. But this time around, the script looks very unconvincing. The characters too in this movie seem to be sketchily written, for instance the character of Gul Panag as the crime reporter. Other veteran actors like Mohan Agashe and Dilip Prabhavalkar too got wasted, they got nothing much to do.

The story starts from where it had ended in the 1st part, following the life of encounter specialist Sadhu Agashe (played by Nana Patekar) of Mumbai Crime Branch. n Ever since his wife was shot, he has been leading a peaceful life with his son in a small village in Goa, after having left the police department and his dreaded past behind. He now spends time in fishing, cooking, playing marbles with the village children. Meanwhile in Mumbai since crime graph has been on a high once again, the politicians want Sadhu to be reinstated into the Police force and so he is brought back from oblivion to re-establish the rule of law. He refuses to rejoin the force but then relents when his son encourages him to take up the task once again. As soon as he rejoins the force, he goes about his business by activating his old trusted informers and reliable sources. There is also a fellow policeman played by Ashutosh Rana) who isn't too happy to see Nana Patekar back into the police force because he felt that had he not been there, that post would have gone to him. So he always looks out for an opportunity to hinder his Sadhu's mission.

The plotline actually looked very odd because what we were expecting from Patekar's character was to see him killing criminals and pumping bullets. But what we got instead were just warnings sounded out by him to them as well as to his corrupt colleagues. Also there were times when i felt as if Nana Patekar looked disinterested. Then his son gets killed by shooters which leaves him totally devastated. While looking out for his killers, he comes across a shocking truth that Jagirdar (played by Vikram Gokhale) had in fact got the CM killed so that he could take that position. So Sadhu kills him in full public view and remains unrepentant about it. Ab Tak Chappan 2 actually looked like a pointless film to me.

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Badlapur - A review

[caption id="attachment_16" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Picture Copyrighted to Eros International[/caption]

Though I was hugely disappointed by his previous movie "Agent Vinod" but nonetheless I was still looking forward to watching Badlapur after seeing its promos because I still remember how well Sriram Raghavan had directed his earlier thriller movies "Ek Hasina Thi" and "Johnny Gaddar". But sadly he couldn't do an encore with his latest release Badlapur. I was expecting a riveting storyline and some terrific performances going by the ensemble star cast that Raghavan had got for this movie. So I had kept high hopes from this movie but I was terribly disappointed by the plot as well as by his direction, even though Varun Dhawan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui played their parts superbly.

The movie's story is about an advertising professional Raghav whose happy life suddenly gets overturned when his wife (played by Yami Gautam) and kid get killed by Liak (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and his accomplice Harman (Vinay Pathak) while being chased by the police. The two robbers after committing a bank robbery, try to flee from the spot by taking Yami and her kid as hostages and use Yami's car but both she and her kid get killed. Though Harman his accomplice manages to flee with the money but Liak gets caught by the police and is sentenced to 20 years' jail imprisonment.
Raghav then sets out to take revenge. Though Varun Dhawan puts on an endearing performance, Nawazuddin too is superlative as Liak and Huma Qureshi too plays her part exceedingly well but the brilliant performances and the gripping narrative notwithstanding, I felt the movie became too sluggish in the second half, it just kept meandering. The tempo just didn't quite build up.

At some parts, I also got a nagging feeling of deja vu as if I was watching Ek Villain yet again. Though Varun Dhawan looked real in most scenes and impressed me with his measured acting and the way he enacted the emotional scenes was endearing too but the direction I felt failed him at certain places. Like though he hires a private detective to find out all about Liak but on discovering that he had a girl-friend, all he does is to force himself on the girl (played by Huma Qureshi). The climax too looked unconvincing that Liak after all the years in jail, goes to the police and confesses about he being the man behind the murders of his accomplice and his wife, out of guilt and remorse, just because he was dying from stomach cancer. I felt the ending somewhat abrupt. But the movie can be watched for the superb acting performances, especially of the young Varun. The movie is undoubtedly his best performance till date and he can only get better.

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BABY - A review

The trio of director Neeraj Pandey and the actors Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher had impressed me a lot with their last movie together "Special 26". So a lot of expectations were riding on this movie, "Baby" when they again got together. Though I felt Baby to be a bit tedious and boring during the initial stages and mind you, Baby is not of the same class as "A Wednesday" belonged to, but the solid performances of the star cast (Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon, Danny Denzongpa), especially the restrained acting of Akshay Kumar almost made up for the lapses. Baby would definitely be counted as one of his best performances of his career. Not only was he impressive with his swift action moves in the movie but he was also perfect with his composed and restrained performance, he wasn't the usual larger than life hero that we usually see in Bollywood movies, rather he played the character of a tough cop with great panache which looked very real and felt life-like.
Add to that an engaging and riveting plot, so the movie surely succeeds in holding one's attention till the very end.

The story revolves around a special secret team formed by Danny Denzongpa to thwart terror activities and is led by Akshay Kumar who plays the character of Ajay Singh Rajput, a secret agent. The group comprised of specially trained paramilitary officers with no official records. Since the special unit was still in its infant stage, so they name the group as BABY. Its mission is simple - to derail every evil plan that was being hatched against India and it had been succeeding at that too.
However the continuity of their team rested on the success of their last mission, whether the team would be able to execute the most daring secret operation of capturing Maulana Mohammed Rahman alive at Istanbul and bring him back to india for interrogation. Because he was the mastermind behind all terror attacks directed at India and was forever searching for an opportune moment to strike a terrorist attack in some indian city.

Well, speaking of performances, the lead actor Akshay Kumar has put his best foot forward with a brilliant performance, but even the supporting cast does a commendable act, what with Danny as the chief of the special team displays tremendous versatility. Anupam Kher too delivers an endearing act and keeps coming up with subtle humour every now and then. Tapsee Pannu too does a fine job and delivers a griping fight sequence opposite Sushant Singh (he only has a minuscule role) with tremendous ease. Sadly for an actor of his calibre, the character of Kay Kay Menon could have been written better with more life in it. Yet he manages to perform very nicely even in the minutest role that he got to perform in.

Thus brilliant acting performances, sleek action, superb screenplay, a gripping narrative and a razor-sharp storyline and editing makes Baby a must watch movie.

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Shankar's "I" (Tamil) - A review

After reading some rave reviews written about the movie, I too felt an urge to watch Shankar's I. He had impressed me with "Robot" that starred Rajnikanth and came in 2010. I was also heard a lot about Vikram's acting prowess and so was eager to see him act, this was going to be my first Vikram movie, so I was surely enthusiastic about it. He didn't disappoint me either, I thought apart from the superb VFX effects and some breath-taking action sequences, it was Vikram's enthralling performance as the disfigured hunchback that kept me interested in the movie. He gave the role his all. Otherwise the plotline was very poorly written. They had a beautiful love story built up but I think the script went haywire by the interval. And the revenge part too didn't look that convincing. The characters were too poorly sketched to have any impact. Moreover so poor was their acting that none of the antagonists could hold the viewer's attention. I also felt the chemistry between Vikram and Amy to be quite cold.

The story is about a countryside body-builder Lingesan (played by Vikram) who aspires to be the next Mr. India by winning the body-building championship and so he duly prepares for the competition. He is also obsessed with a model named Diya (played by Amy Jackson). Meanwhile Diya (Amy Jackson) is constantly harassed by her fellow colleague John (played by Upen Patel) with whom she shares a lucrative modelling assignment. So to resist his advances she approaches Lingesan to act in an ad film with her and he reluctantly agrees because he has to forego his dream of participating in the Mr. India championship that year. For the ad shoot, both of them leave for China. To make the ad work, Diya pretends to have fallen in love with Lingesan so that he would let go of his inhibitions and there would be a natural chemistry between them. He also undergoes a complete makeover for the ad film and while shooting, the two fall in love. The ad film too gets successful and the brand climbs up the ladder.

Thus Lingesan earns the ire of five enemies - a fellow contestant from the body-building competition whom he had defeated, the reigning supermodel John who loses all his ad contracts to Lingesan, a gay make-up artiste whose advances Lingesan rejects, the brand owner whose next ad campaign Lingesan refuses to act in and so also his doctor friend who had all the while been eyeing to marry Diya. So they all team up and get the doctor to inject Lingesan with an I virus to terribly deform him. Thereafter it gets all yawningly predictable. How Lingesan avenges his deformation and wins back his love is what follows.

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