Someone close to us passed away last week. Barely three months after his mother. Who was closer to us. To Dhanno and me. Death and funeral rites and sorrow notwithstanding, a feud rages on within the family for the small sliver of an apartment that has been home to 10 people in the last 20 years. 200 square feet. I look at the walls, blistered … Continue reading Gaman (Muzaffar Ali, 1978) – waiting for that embrace
Dhanno was 4 when ‘Dil To Paagal Hai’ (Yash Chopra, 1997) released. It was the first film she saw in the theatre. She had had a glimpse of ‘Midnight Cowboys’ from her pram at the CRT in FTII. Barely 3 months old, she stayed for not more than 10 minutes. In ‘Dil To Paagal Hai’, she danced in the aisles, decided she wanted to marry … Continue reading Dil To Paagal Hai – red balloons can fly anywhere
The haunting music of ‘Broadchurch’, (British crime drama series, Chris Chibnall, 2013) the lingering sadness of death, of betrayal, of deceit, the breathtakingly beautiful landscape of Dorset, the quality of light, reflects everything I love about my favourite crime writers Ian Rankin, P.D. James and Alexander McCall Smith. Reflective, philosophical, triggering thoughts on family, love, forgiveness, humanity, the city, the neighborhood. Dhanno, however, is prone … Continue reading crime, music, too much tv viewing leads to insomnia
Reading this article http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Single-moms-quest-for-no-fathers-name-on-passport/articleshow/53246715.cms – Priyanka Gupta’s fight for a change in passport rules that makes listing the father’s name mandatory, brought up once again, so many jumbled up strands in my life. I’ve often felt like a coward, because I didn’t take up this fight myself. I evaded it. I was caught up in making a new life for my daughter and me. I … Continue reading in the father’s name
(And I chose this cover, because her gaze reminds me of Dhanno’s) I’ve always found ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ (Henry James, 1881) ominously disturbing. I think this was my second reading. I was hoping, in some strange way, that it would be different this time. Maybe the story would have changed. Maybe, after all these years, the characters would have changed, that they would … Continue reading the portrait of a lady (henry james, 1881)
Just before they go, we see many, many silly films. ‘Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hain’. Tushar Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor. ‘Haseena Maan Jaayegi’. Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, Kareena Kapoor, Pooja Batra. ‘Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya’. Bobby Deol and Aishwarya Rai. Thus ‘Housefull 3’ (Sajid-Farhad, 2016). Just because it’s going to be a long time before we watch silly films together again – Shy, Dhanno and me. It … Continue reading housefull 3 – who says it’s only words
Dhanno thought that the people who made ‘Finding Fanny’ “were so happy with the look of the film, oh how pretty everything is, and these quaint characters, and Deepika against the light in sheer clothes, that they didn’t bother with anything else.” And Deepika she says, “I wish she would do more. It’s not enough to always be nice, and cute. Even when you are … Continue reading finding fanny, daawat-e-ishq, khoobsurat (2014) – and Dhanno says
