Dubai Memoir !

Happy Holidays to All !
Cheers,
Shruti

10.45pm show of Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

Everyone told me not to watch Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (PRDP), but still I did.... And after I actually did, I asked myself…… Why I did what I did?

Okay!! In my defence, I had really put in lot of thought before trading my almost midnight sleep of three long hours. My few reasons to justify watching this one despite the not-so-good reviews were -

   a) The belief of awesomeness in the maker of "my can’t ever have enough of” movie Vivaah

     b) The grandeur , the costumes , the jewellery and the thumkas in the title track

        c) Awesome shooting locations in my beloved state of Rajasthan

Now as a viewer, the story, the screenplay, the direction, the casting and everything else individually don’t matter to me coz all I care about is entertainment. However, PRDP has moved me so much that in the interest of those who haven’t yet taken any call about PRDP, here's what I feel about the movie. 

I say if you have already bought the tickets, you can either choose to be generous by gifting the tickets to someone you don’t much care about or you can experience the few moments of happiness offered by the maker. The comforters could be the double delight of Salman Khan in absolutely contrasting double roles, gorgeous and stylish princess look of Sonam Kapoor, the extravagant locations, the ornate sets, the beautiful costumes and the jewellery. 

I am personally annoyed with Sooraj Badjatya to have made this and Salman Khan for having signed this and breaking my heart with the failure of their magical duo. Although Salman has managed to save some misery, Sonam’s marvellous look hasn’t even remotely made up for her much unconvincing performance. For the first time ever, love story of Prem doesn’t feel believable given the fake chemistry between the 30 and 50 year old. All the other actors are mere extras and add nothing to the movie but time.

As far as the songs go, the hit Jodi of Salman Khan and Himesh Reshamiya has doomed too. The ten (not so hummable) songs in the movie feel like 25 given their rapid frequency and no reason to be played out. The overall music and lyrics are old enough to make PRDP look like a film straight out of the ‘80s.

Apart from the trivially sketched characters and timeworn songs, PRDP definitely lacks freshness. Stretching on family values and importance of relations through unnecessary elongated scenes to make up for a reasonable run time doesn’t really work in favour of the film. In this ever-changing world, Sooraj Badjatya hasn’t just carried forward the legacy of Prem but has also used the same recipe of a “family oriented film” spelling out the moral of “lucky are those that have the support and love of their families”.

Although the story is set in present time, it has an archaic feel which clearly indicates the wrong amalgamation of a contemporary drama and a period extravaganza leaving me as a viewer much confused. 

Overall, the movie is quite predictable, old-fashioned and overly melodramatic. Sonam's unpolished acting, the not-so-good direction, over-sightedness with respect to the story and screenplay and animation much below bollywood standards do not justify Rs.80crores consumed in the making of this film. 

PS - PRDP is a good family movie only if it was made a decade earlier than it actually has. 

Now looking forward to Tamasha, Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani!

Shruti

The tale of A Romantic !!

When I was little, my mother used to read me a bed time story… A fairy tale of how a prince charming came riding on the horse and took the girl away.  Night after night I used to hear the same story, secretly imagining that one day; my handsome prince will also take me away to live happily ever after.

I think God has programmed females to be romantic. ”. And, I am no different. …. In school, I had these crazy Infatuations. The guy who helped me with the assignments, the one who gave me the notes when I reached late for the class, the cute friend with the dimples, the handsome classmate that I haven’t ever spoken to were all part of my silly hallucinations. I watched Hindi romantic movies and I believed in them. I believed Rahul when he said “Pyaar dosti hai”. I believed Pooja when she said “Kahin na kahi, koi na koi mere liye banaya gaya hai…. Aur kabhi na kabhi main usse zaroor milungi”. I believed in love…. I wanted to fall in love!!!!

I watched English movies and I dreamed… I hoped…. I imagined my soul mate…..I dreamt of the perfect date… brunch at the upper deck of a yacht, a romantic movie, a private ballroom dance, moonlight dinner by the sea , romantic chariot ride and the proposal- “You make me happier than I ever thought I could be. And if you’ll let me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way. Will you marry me?” I imagined walking down the aisle in the most beautiful white trousseau with my father, exchanging vows of unconditional love with my soul mate and heading off Just Married in the car with tins rolling down the road.

To be continued...

Shruti

shiddat

Poem written by me, published in a newsletter :)
Hopefully many more to come !!

Shilpa's 30th Bday party - Ssshh.... It was a surprise !!!!

Me and my sister Shilpa, share the love for surprises. So recently, I threw a surprise party for her 30^th birthday at 25^th Dec,14. Here’s what happened!

24th Dec,10.30 pm - Her husband calls and informs that due to bad weather conditions, his flight has been diverted and thus he cannot make it to Jaipur for her b'day.
She curses the weather and becomes very upset.

25^th Dec, 12 am – Her mobile is flooded with the message from all her friends and relatives–

Her reaction – “So many people are sending the same message.... What’s happening?”

She is happy and confused.... She has no idea what’s going on!

12:05 am – midnight celebrations at her mayka -

4pm -

Welcomed at sasural by the in-laws...

The box says “Surprise Inside”. She opens this box and finds her first clue.... clue to what? A treasure hunt!

She can’t believe it’s actually happening!

4:15pm – She starts the treasure hunt. The clues are everywhere – under the table, in the fridge, below the pillow!

5.15 pm- She reaches to the 30^th clue –

Don’t give up!

You’re almost done!

Find your gift under the Christmas tree

And start un-wrapping the fun!

And what does she find at the decorated Christmas tree? Her 30 gifts and her entire family shouting “SURPRISE”

Is she happy? Yeah, she is delighted!!

5.30 pm – She opens some of the gifts....

She loves them!!

6:30 pm – The photo session

Angels wish Mumma a very happy bday and Merry Christmas !

Dress Code – Red!!

Yummy Food :)

The gentlemen posing between the Modi discussions...

Jiju (The love of the b'day girl's life) just makes in time for the family photo of Hum do humare do ;)

Peehar paksh :D

Super happy planner (that's me :P) after the party–

   

Comments of the Birthday girl Shilpa -  “I had no idea turning 30 can be so much fun. It is the best birthday I have ever had. I can’t thank everybody enough for making it so special. I feel like a queen”.

PS –
Thanks Mom, Neena Aunty, Sunakshi and Saloni :)
I hope you all liked the pictures and might want to use some of these ideas for your loved ones.
Comments appreciated :)

Cheers,

Shruti

WHAT DO I SAY ABOUT HIM—THE MAN!!

I said to the sky,
You are so high,
The sky smiled, and said,
You are higher than me.

I said to the sun,

You shine so bright,

The sun smiled, and said,

You shine brighter than me.

I said to the sea,

You are so deep,

The sea smiled, and said,

You are deeper than me.

I said to man,

You are great,

With attitude, he said,

Yeah!!!  I know, I am the best!!

Shruti

क्या मेरा गुस्सा गलत है?

सब केहते है कि मुझे गुस्सा बहुत आता है
पर मैं हूं हैरान कि इतना कुछ देखकर कैसे कोई शांत बैठ पाता है

जब किसी लाचार का फायदा उठाया जाता है 
जब कोई गरीब बीमार बिना इलाज के मर जाता है
जब परीक्षा में विफल होने के बाद छात्र खुद्कुशी करता है
क्या इन सब बातों पर आपको गुस्सा नहीं आता है?

जब आए दिन लड्कियों का बलात्कार होता है
लड्की ने ही उकसाया होगा….ये सब कहा जाता है
पूरे देश के विरोध के बाद भी जब मुलजिम खुला घूमता है 
क्या इन सब बातों पर आपको गुस्सा नहीं आता है?

जब पूरा अखबार घोटालो कि खबरों से भरा होता है
जब संपत्ति के लिये बेटा अपने ही बाप को मरवाता है
जब कोई खुद्के गिरेबान में ना झांककर दूसरे के घर में आग लगाता है 
क्या इन सब बातों पर आपको गुस्सा नहीं आता है?

आक्रोश कि चिंगारी अन्याय के खिलाफ संघंर्श कि आवाज है
जो आंखें मूंद के बैठे है उन्हें ना तो दुख,ना ही इस गुस्से का एहसास है 
अब आप ही बताइये, क्या दिल में बुराई को मिटाने कि आग जलाना गलत बात है?
क्या मेरा क्रोध गलत है? क्या मेरा गुस्सा गलत है?