Reliving the Glorious Past : Jaipur, Fatehpur Sikri , Agra

Date : August 15, 2014
August 15 is a special date for every Indian. It bring immense joy and fills you up with the undying spirit which even defeated the world's most powerful imperial power. This time it was even more delightful for IIM Lucknow students as it marked the beginning of a rare 4-day long holidays, which is a luxury in any  B-school.  At 0030 hrs , the idea of going on a solitary trip crossed my mind . A trip where there will not be any companion, not much of pre-planning and no acquaintances in the city. Quickly, I zeroed-in on Jaipur, the pink city . The next step was to figure out the ticket availability. A little search on Internet and I booked the ticket  in rsrtc Volvo starting at 1820 hrs. Before going to bed, I browsed a little regarding the popular tourist attractions in Jaipur.I packed up the required things in a backpack and was at the Alambaug bus terminal well before time. The bus left at the scheduled time. Though one cannot expect the luxury of a train in bus, but I would say it was a pretty comfortable journey. 

On the way to Jaipur

Date : August 16, 2014

I reached Jaipur Sindhi Camp bus terminal at  0730 hrs and checked-into a nearby hotel.The next decision was to decide upon the means of communication for site-seeing . There were two available options : sight seeing bus or auto. Sight seeing bus was available for Rs. 250, but they would show only those monuments which were within the city limits. This excludes the Nahargarh and Jaigarh forts. So I decided to hire an auto for Rs. 700. The auto driver also served as a amateur guide. We first reached the Shiv temple (situated on the hill) and the Birla Mandir. The Shiv temple opens only once a year i.e. on the Mahashivaratri day.  Since I had shortage of time, decided to witness the Birla Mandir from outside only. Next we reached Albert Hall museum. I bought a combined ticket for several monuments which I had planned to visit. I was elated to get the student discount on producing the IIML Id card. The museum had a rich collection of artifacts like paintings, carpets, ivory, stone, metal sculptures, colorful crystal works etc. The one thing which attracted my attention was the Norton's patented turnstile. 

 Norton's patented turnstile at Albert Hall Museum

Next we headed towards Jantar Mantar, which is a solar observatory consisting of various geometrical devices and structures.  En-route we crossed the Pink City. Though the Pink City looked more of orange color rather the pink color.

The Pink City

Jantar Mantar looked magnificent . There were several huge structures for the purpose of measuring time, predicting eclipses and calculating shoeshines. It was build by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh.

It was already 1300 hrs and I as feeling very hungry. So , before moving to next destinations, we decided to have lunch. After filling up stomach, we moved towards Hawa Mahal and Jal Mahal, respectively. Hawa Mahal needs no introduction . Jal mahal is a palace located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake . But the public is not allowed the access to Jal Mahal. So I had to be content by witnessing it from a distance. 

Our next destination was Nahargarh fort, which is situated atop hill and one has to climb 10-12 km. up the hill. Nevertheless, it took us 30 mins from Jal Mahal .Nahargarh Fort has gained prominence recently, after Bollywood movies like Rang De Basanti and Shuddh Desi Romance were filmed here. The boundaries of the fort were visible from quite a distance. The fort itself was mostly in ruins. But the view of the Jaipur city from the fort was mesmerizing. It was a feast for the eyes. The scenic beauty coupled with pleasant weather, was making the environment magical. I couldn't resist myself from spending close to 2 hrs at the monument .

 

Nahargarh Fort

Jaigarh fort was not very far from Nahargarh fort. Jaigarh fort hosted the world's largest cannon on wheels : Jaivana, which was the center of attraction there. Jaigarh fort also had the remains of cannon foundry. The structures and the instruments used for the purpose were preserved and gave an insight of the process. Fort also housed a small war museum.

 Jaivana Cannon : World's largest cannon on wheels

View from Jaigarh Fort

It was already 1600 hrs by the time we left the jaigarh Fort. We headed towards Amber (Aamer) Fort. which was probably the grandest of all. The fort overlooks the Maota lake. I had to climb up hundreds of steps to reach the monument. The palace was spectacular. Two cannons were placed at the entry gate. The entry gate led to a parade ground, called as Jaleb chowk , derived from a Arabic word which meant gathering place for soldiers. Architectural design and the wall paintings had the features of both the Rajput and the Mughal styles. Probably this was the effect of the matrimonial alliances between them.

 

Amber (Aamer) Fort

I closed the day with Amber fort and returned to the hotel room. It had been an eventful day. Now was the time to chalk out the plan for the next day. I had two options : i) Return to Lucknow, ii) Extend the trip to cover the the historical towns of Fatehpur-Sikri and Agra. I was excited at the idea of visiting the Taj, one of the new seven wonders of the world. So, decided in favor of  the second alternative. 

Date : August 17, 2014

I got up at 0530 hrs and checked out from hotel by 0615 hrs. I went straight to the Sindhi Camp bus stand looking for a bus to Fatehpur-Sikri. Soon I was inside a bus . But , somehow I had the feeling that something is wrong. I asked the bus operator to confirm that the bus is headed towards Fatehpur-Sikri which lies near Agra. I was taken aback to find out that the bus was destined to some other place in Rajasthan, called Sikar Fatehpur. Without wasting anymore time I got down from the bus and took a rickshaw for the bus stand. This time I ensured that I boarded the right bus. However, 45 minutes got wasted in the process. The bus left at 0715 hrs. 

After crossing several towns and villages , I reached the historic town of Fatehpur-Sikri at 1215 hrs. Once upon a time it was the capital of the greatest Mughal emperor : Akbar and the epicenter of political activities. I took an auto reach the fort. The monument can be broadly divided into two parts. The first part consisted of Jama Masjid and the Mazar(tomb) of sufi saint Salim Chisti. Emperor Akbar was a adherent  disciple of the sufi saint, who blessed him with his heir. The  structure which housed the Jama Masjid and the Mazar was characterized by two massive gates : Buland Darwaza and Badshahi Darwaza . Bulnad Darwaza, in particular, was a grand structure and depicted the architectural splendor of the Mughals. The Salim Chisti tomb was constructed in beautiful white marbles.

Buland Darwaza

The second part of the monument consisted of several buildings: deewan-e-aam, deewan-e-khas, Panch Mahal , Birbal house etc.  The buildings were spread over a large area and echoed the royal glory.

Panch Mahal

Deewan-e-Khas

I left for Agra at 1415 hrs. It took almost an hour to reach the city which boasts of one of the seven wonders of the world, a symbol of eternal love. From bus stand, I took an auto to reach the west gate end of the Taj complex. I had not eaten anything since morning, but was hardly feeling hungry. This could be attributed to the excitement of witnessing the everlasting beauty of Taj. After depositing my bag at the cloak room, I proceeded towards the ticket counter and bought an ordinary ticket which cost Rs. 20. Soon after I realized that I should have bought a high value ticket as there was a lot of rush, probably because of the extended weekend. Nevertheless, this didn't deter my spirit. 

As expected, the exquisite first look of Taj was magical. I remained frozen at the gate for few minutes to feel the moment.

After waiting  in queue for a long time, I could step onto the grand mausoleum. Next , I entered in chamber which housed the tombs of emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaj Mehal, side-by-side.

In the whole process, I clicked several photographs of Taj mahal, from various angles.

I left the Taj complex at 1830 hrs and immediately rushed into a nearby restaurant. By the time I finished my meal, it was 1900 hrs and the darkness had started to envelop the surrounding. My bus for Lucknow was scheduled to depart at 2200 hrs, so I still had some time in hand. Therefore, I thought of making good use of this available time. I reached another grand monument , The Arga Fort or the Red Fort of Agra. Constructed with red stones, it was another spectacular building telling the story glorious past. But it was dark by the time I reached there, so couldn't explore the monument much.

The Agra Fort

A "Sound and Light show" was scheduled to begin at 1930 hrs. I decided to attend it. The show gave an insight of Agra's history ( or rather Mughals'). I suppose most of the visitors would be missing this show. But I would recommend people to attend it. The show ended at 2020 hrs . With the show, two days' of exhilarating and memorable trip came to an end. A trip which took me through realms of time and gave a chance to relive the glorious past of India.

Humpty Sharma Dulhania Le Jaayenge

Remember those immortal dialogues :  "Jaa Simran jee le apni zindagi" ? 

There are numerous examples wherein the remakes have been critically and commercially more successful than the originals and in certain cases have gone to achieve the cult status (An Affair to Remember , Departed etc) . Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania is surely not going to enter that elite league. Dharma Production's attempt to recreate the magic of Raj and Simran falls flat on the ground and is no where close to DDLJ which , once upon a time,  had become the face of Bollywood.
                                                    

 The film is NOT completely useless though . Varun Dhawan (Humpty) and Alia (Kavya), backed by some cheeky dialogues ,  do bring a refreshing feel to the generation old love story.  Kavya, a 'pataka' Ambala girl, is  all set to marry a perfect NRI in a month's time . She comes to Delhi  to buy the designer lehanga for the wedding. There she meets this Delhi Ka Munda Raj....hmm Humpty. And as one would  anticipate, they fall in love. Just like the old Raj, Humpty decides to win-over  Kavya's family, even if it means risking his life.

The music is average. "Tainu  samjhawan" is soothing but the remaining songs fail to impress. The supporting cast , including Ashutosh Rana, has been almost wasted . Though, Alia needs special mention. The Hindu had mentioned in one of it's articles on Alia, "She has a tremendous range; she’s Bollywood’s Carey Mulligan — a picture of vulnerability, great beauty and the promise of youth." This is certainly not an overstatement.

My Rating : 2.5/5

Shadi Ke Side Effects : Review

Warning : Watching this film with your newly wedded wife may have few side effects!!!

Sid  (Farhan) and Trisha (Vidya) are happily married  and have unique ways to keep the spark alive in their married life.  Once in a while they meet in a bar like two strangers, have drinks and spend an 'exciting and happening' night together in a hotel room. Everything is like a fairy tale until 'unplanned' pregnancy strikes. Suddenly Trisha, the wife is overshadowed by Trisha, the mother. The complete focus shifts towards the baby and the romance takes a backseat. Sid tries hard to be a good father but all his efforts are futile and in no time their marriage is on rocks. As a last refuge, Sid turns towards his brother-in-law (Ram Kapoor), whom he considers as an absolute idiot but is supposedly an ideal husband and father. And here's Ram Kapoor's million dollar advice : ' Log kehte hai na, happy married life ki buniyaad hoti hai PYAR, BHAROSA..BAKWAAS..Happy married life ke liye chote chote jhuth bolne padte hai. '  Upon his advice, Sid masters the art of lying and carves out  a pseudo-bachelor life for himself which would balance his otherwise frustrating family life. But is it really going to  help , or is the situation going to screw up further?

The films starts off quite well.  Farhan has brilliantly and effortlessly essayed the role of a confused, frustrated husband turned father. The dialogues make you laugh uncontrollably , "Tum chahhti ho ki main nahi chahu  ki tum kya chaho...kya chahti ho tum...", and you feel sympathetic towards Farhan . A large number of married or soon to-get-married audience will be able to relate themselves with his agony. But as the film progresses, it fails to capitalize on it's start and gradually start to bore. It's almost intolerable towards the climax. 

I would recommend this film for it's brilliant first half, even though the last an hour or so makes you feel as if you are watching one of those boring Indian TV soap operas. 

My Rating : 2.75 / 5

The Monuments Men : A Disppointing Quest

Towards the end of WWII, while the allied forces are successfully marching towards Berlin , there is the fear that the Germans might destroy the valuable works of art which were looted and stolen by them. With those marvels, an entire chapter of human excellence might get lost forever. A special task force comprising of art experts is formed with the aim of recovering the 'monuments' before they are destroyed by the Germans or acquired by the Russians. But is it worth risking human lives for  lifeless monuments?

The Monuments Men , directed and co-written by George Clooney , rests on this interesting premise. It is  based on the  the quest and adventures  of  the Monuments Men.  But the the story moves at  snail's pace and has hardly any interesting sequence which could keep the audience guessing. It requires a lot of courage to sail through the two hour film. The background score is equally disappointing . The film boasts of an impressive star-cast which , apart from Clooney himself, includes Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett.  But contrary to the expectations, it fails to impress and is a big disappointment. 

My Rating : 2/5

Highway : A Complicated Journey

With Highway, Imtiaz Ali  explores yet another dimension of Love. The fondness developed  in one of the most unusual circumstances. A feeling which is difficult to understand or justify and may sound completely irrational. But the impressive performances by the lead actors combined with the picturesque locations and magnificent camerawork leave you speechless. Randeep Hooda has always been an understated actor and has showcased his brilliance  His silence speaks a thousand words. Alia Bhatt has proved that she is much more than a cute little barbie doll. 

    

Veera (Alia) , a bubbly girl from a rich and powerful family, is kidnapped by Mahaveer (Hooda) and his men. But she finds solace with her kidnappers . She feels like a bird liberated from a golden cage and wants to go away from the fake world of lies and abuses. She doesn't want to go back, neither does she want to reach any destination. The captivity makes her feel free for the first time in her life. There begins her journey with Mahaveer, who initially sees her as  a bait for hefty ransom but later submits to her innocence and cheerfulness. A journey that takes you from highways to the breathtaking scenic altitudes. The beautiful terrains are well supported by the magical background score.

Highway scores high on the emotional quotient and  also raises the issue of child abuse in a strong manner . The locations will tempt you to take a break from your usual  routine and go on a journey of self discovery. But given it's slow pace, it  may not strike  a chord with all sections of audience. 

My Rating : 3.5/5   

The Insane Money Wolf

Martin Scorsese : Is that name not enough a compelling reason to rush to the theaters? 'The Wolf of Wall Street' is the latest jewel in the crown of the genius filmmaker. This time he chooses to tell the riveting 'rags to riches' tale of the real life stock broker Jordan Belfort, based on the memoir written by Belfort  himself.

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Soon after Belfort starts his career as a stock-broker, he loses his job after the 1987 stock market crash. But in no time he figures out a way to make big bucks by selling worthless penny stocks . He  starts his stock trading firm, hires a bunch of 'good-for-nothing' chaps and trains them well . There begins his extraordinary  journey which transforms him into a maniac billionaire. He snorts cocaine off his girl's bosoms, hires prostitutes, buys a luxury yacht to his wife as the wedding present, sinks that very yacht  , crashes Lamborghini and even tries to bribe the FBI officer. There doesn't seem to any limit to his insanity. Belfort represents the inner-black-desire of each one of us and you would feel jealous of his lifestyle.

Leonardo DiCaprio has time and again proved what a terrific actor  he is (Blood Diamonds, catch Me if You Can, Departred, Aviator, Shutter Island...and the list goes on). He does the complete justice to the complex character of Belfort. The work of supporting cast has been equally impressive, especially Jonah Hill ( 21 Jump Street fame ). 

My Rating : 4.5/5



 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

In the second installment of The Hobbit trilogy, which is prequel to the LOTR, the Dwarves along with Bilbo Baggins and wizard Gandalf, the Grey continue their journey to win back their fallen Homeland from the fiery , fire breathing Dragon. The journey is indeed a swift one and it has all the ingredients that made LORT  an all time classic. There are the familiar orks, the Elves,  the 'precious' Ring, the spells; everything except for Gollum. The action sequences are again on familiar lines, but do we ever get bored of classics?  The sets and locations are incredible and  feast to eyes.

A LOTR and/or Peter Jackson fan cannot afford to miss this flick. It sets the stage for the Grand Finale.

My Rating : 4/5

RamLeela : Pure, Passionate and Intense Love of Star Crossed Lovers

RamLeela isn't Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet; neither it's like any other earlier Bollywood adaptions of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. It has been said to be based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and closely follows it's trail in the first half ; but the post interval part deviates a lot from the original drama. This deviation is one of the various factors which make this film a special one. Just like few other earlier ventures of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film has been majestically shot and beautifully blends the colors of Gujarat with the numerous folk songs.The visuals in every frame have been magically stunning. The chemistry between the lead actors is  quite sensuous and has been wonderfully and aesthetically portrayed.Undoubtedly, one of the most intense one in recent times. 

As one can guess, it's the age old story of a boy and a girl from violent rival clans who madly fall in love with each other . But all the odds are against their union and their passionate love would burn the world to ashes.

Even though certain scenes are too dramatic and few songs (eg. Ishquia Dishquia ) seem to be forced into, Bhansali has been quite successful in adapting the story of Star Crossed Lovers from Fair Verona to a grand desi canvas.  Apart from terrific lead actors, Supriya Pathak and Richa Chaddha's work need special mention. Priyanka Chopra's hour-glass figure in the item number would bring any man to his knees.

My Rating : 3.5/5

Krrish3 Review

The entire first half you keep on wondering , which is the worst aspect of the film : Story, Screenplay, Special Effects or the Background Score. However , some reprieve is provided in the second half where story moves at a fairly good pace and where the action sequences, even though 'inspired' from various Hollywood flicks , are not bad.

The story of Krrish3 takes off from where it's earlier installment had ended. Superhero Krrish ,disguised as Krishna  , is happily settled with his family which comprises of his wife Priya Mehra (Priyanka Chopra) and genius father Rohit Mehra. Hritik has convincingly played both the roles of  father and son and at no point you get the feeling that the same actor is playing both the characters. Rohit works at a laboratory while Krrish is busy saving the Mumbai city from goons and disasters.  Then, as customary with superhero flicks, there is a supervillain kaal (Vivek Oberoi) , who with his army of mutants (Maanvars) dreams of eradicating 'inferior' human race. And the onus of saving the world lies on our Superhero.

The performance of all the actors, particularly Hritik has been good.  Both Kangana (as mutant Maya) and Vikek Oberoi have done well. But the various elements of the story and the action sequences have been directly copied from several Hollywood movies : X-men, Superman Returns, Man of Steel, Avengers etc. At times, you even start relating things with Doordarshan's Shaktiman. The special effects may be good as per Bollywood's standard ,but they are not up to the mark.  The music is a big let-down. "Raghupati Ragav" song can easily be the contender for the worst lyrics ever.

My Rating : 2.5/5

Shuddh Desi Romance : More Desi than Shuddh.

Shuddh Desi Romance is a take on Love, Live-in and Marriage; combined with the elements of timely comic punches. The film is set up against the picturesque backdrop of the Pink city Jaipur. This is no way a great film , but will not disappoint you if you would have ever liked to explore the live-in relationship and of-course if on-screen smooches do not offend you, as both the gorgeous leading ladies have generously exchanged plenty of them with the lucky guy Shushant!!

           

Raghu Ram Sita Ram (Shushant Singh Rajput) is a Jaipur based tourist guide who is set to get married (arranged marriage)  to Tara (Vani Kapoor). But he isn't sure whether he is ready to make the lifelong commitment called marriage. On his way to the bride's house in baraat bus, he befriends a modern day independent girl, Gayatri (Parineeti) , who has been hired to act as his sister. His confusion is further fueled after exchanging a couple of smooches with Gayatri. Finally he runs away from his own marriage. Later he convinces Gayatri to make him her live-in partner. Though when asked upon, they don't hesitate to call each other as brother and sister! They start to believe that they are in love each other . But are they ready to make a supposedly unbreakable commitment ? Meanwhile an accidental encounter with (now ultra-glamorous)Tara, brings her back into Raghu's life and adds to (already confused) Raghu's dilemma.

The film tries to depict the thoughts of present day youth on marriage. Is it really an important institution, or an end to one's independence for the sake of society? Why does one need to get married? What if you get all the marriage benefits without losing your freedom? How difficult is it to commit yourself for lifetime? 

All the actors have played their parts quite well. The ease with which newcomer Vani delivers her dialogues is quire remarkable. Comedy scenes really make you laugh. Although, at times the film seems to be somewhat unrealistic , it entertains you thoroughly. It's worth a watch.

Verdict : 3.5/5

Lost

"I am lost,
Lost in darkness,while chasing the Light
Light assumed to be the vivid radiance of felicity,
were the glittering gateway to the misery;
tricking you into the land of obscurity.
Promising you with the elixir of life,
but striking with  no-ordinary knife,
knife poisoned with hatred and acrimony,
pushing you into the endless pit of agony
devoiding of any life,
yet rendering you alive."

Madras Cafe : A Must Watch

                                               

If you committed the sin of watching Chennai Express, this is your  chance of redemption. Madras Cafe ,till date, is the best Indian film which gives an account of a political incident that has forever changed the history of a nation and grossly impacted the other. Shoojit Sircar has impressed for the third time in a row. He has taken the Indian Cinema to an entirely new territory where nobody else had dared to venture before, at least not in such details. Making a political thriller in India is a completely different ball game than in west, as here the filmmaker has to face politically motivated protests in one or the other part of the country. Full credits goes to the director Sircar and the producer John Abraham.

Film deals with ethnic clashes which has ravaged the island nation of Sri Lanka over last three decades and New Delhi's efforts in 80s to bring about a peaceful political solution to the crisis. However, the tactics of the Indian Prime Minister go wrong and eventually lead to his assassination . But neither Rajiv Gandhi nor Prabhakaran or LLTE has been explicitly named. The incidents have been shown through the eyes of an Indian Army Officer, Major Vikram Singh (John Abraham) , who is sent to Jaffna for a covert operation. Nargis Fakri is a London based war correspondent who is in Jaffna to cover the civil war. Debutant  Rashi Khanna ,as wife of Major Vikram, has been impressive in whatever screen space she has got .

The script of the film is so taut that it hardly gives you any opportunity to breathe easy. John Abraham has been exceptional. He seems to be completely immersed into the character. Never before, his performance has been so laudable. 

This movie is certainly worthy of being India's official entry to the next Academy Awards. If done so, given the fact that it addresses an international issue in such an impressive fashion, can be a serious contestant to bag the Oscar for the best foreign language film.

Verdict : 4/5

The Conjuring : Horror Reloaded

Conjuring is one of the very few horror movies in recent times whose attempt to scare you has been quite successful. The film claims to be based on true events, depicting a chapter from the live of demonologist (read supernatural investigator) couple Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The story closely follows the successful trend of horror movies from 80s and 90s. A family moves into a haunted house and soon they discover a hidden chamber. The family members start to witness supernatural activities. Children begin to see spirits. Their dog dies. All the clocks stop exactly at 3.07 AM. This lead them to seek help from experts: the Warren couple.

Although the story is an age old concept, the execution is good. The scaring scenes are decent. The climax has been filmed well. It's worth watching.

Verdict : 3/5

ISSAQ : Classic turned "Tragic"

Film fraternity across the globe has always been obsessed with the Shakespeare's tragedy set in Fair Verona.Many of these adaptations can easily be termed as timeless classics. But Bollywood had been deprived of an adaptation which would closely follow the book.Clearly, Manish Tiwari tries to keep his film very close to the original story. But he miserably fails to recreate the aura of Star Crossed Lovers at the holy banks of River Ganges.

Rahul Mishra (Prateik) and Bachchi Kashyap (Amyra), from the rival sand mafia families fall in love with each other.This  does not go well ,particularly, with Bachchi's influencial mama ,Teetas (Ravi Kishan) who arranges for Bachchi's marriage with a Police wala (Preetam).Rahul and Bachchi secretly get married but before they could make it public, at turn of events, Teetas gets killed at the hands of Rahul. Rahul is on run. While Preetam and Kashyaps are hell-bent on avenging Teeta's death. Meanwhile Bachchi is also being forced to tie the knot with Preetam.

Prateik Babbar has done a reasonably good job but in certain scenes he has clearly over-acted. Newcomer Amyra Dastur looks very raw and has struggled to act. Ravi Kishan has done a decent job. The main problem lies with the direction and screenplay.Dialogues fail to impress. Story moves at the snail's pace. The iconic "Balcony Scene" is not at all even close to being impressive.

The music and lyrics are among the very few positives in the film. Title track is soothing. Bhole Chale has got interesting lyrics. Then there are songs with folk flavour.

Verdict : 2/5

My first-ever composition ..

I was staring straight into those Insanely Beautiful Eyes
Eyes, more virtuous than the most blessed soul of the cosmos.
Eyes like sea of desire,
Laden with mysteries and blazing like wildfire
Dressed in attire of sanity,
Imprisoning me with their celestial delicacy
Are my senses decepted by an enchantment?
Immersed into non-existent?
Oh Lord! They are as real as it gets,
Glowing like the morning dew on the rose petals.
Wish the Earth would stand still for a while,
I would kiss them , and disappear into their sparkle!!!!