Sunday, 7 February 2016

WOW… ‘Nobody Knows That I…’


Well, for a talkative person like me, it takes lot of effort to think about something that I know and haven’t shared with even a single fellow.

Okay…. So what could be something that is not meant for the public eye? Dark secrets…. Embarrassing stories… A love affair….Or anything that will scare me of being judged! Hmm….I got nothing… Haha… seems my life isn’t that fun!! (Although my friends tell me that it’s a fairy tale ;))

So, before I put out my only secret on a public forum, here is a little about myself… I like reading love stories and am a believer of happy ever afters; and keeping a secret is not lying ;)

June of 2008; it was during the beautiful days of MBA that I found these treasures of my life. She was my hostel - neighbour and he was a member of my Economics group project. Now I don’t remember how and when did I introduce these two but I am glad I did.

Here’s what happened!  Every night my two besties would voice chat on Gtalk and then the next day I would spend listening all about it by him in the class and by her as soon as I returned to my room. She used to go all gaga about him; his humour, his ambitions, how she really likes talking to him and on and on….. He wouldn’t stop blabbering about her innocence, her passion and how he really likes talking to her and on and on….  Basically, they talked to each other all the time and talked about each other for the rest of the time. And in the middle I, the chatterbox actually happened to listen!

It was the last month of college and they hadn’t even gone out on a date. Basically they acted dumb heads who hadn’t expressed their love to each other but me.

It was one night when she sobbingly told me that her father had shortlisted some bio data’s for her to see. I was angry with my BFFs for acting such chickens and it was just then, I decided to play cupid.


I had watched lot of romantic movies and thought to test them for real. So, I bought two beautiful cards and wrote in both of them –

“I like myself when I am with you. I am not sure…..but I think I am in love. So, if you feel the same way, be at Serendipity CafĂ© at 7pm tomorrow…. IT WILL BE A DATE!
However, if you don’t feel the same way, forget about this card and don’t turn up…..I promise, we will still be the best of friendsJ

Then I undersigned their names and ensured that both of them got those cards… And guess what! An hour later, they both were telling me about the cards they received. (They were going crazy!)

I must admit that I was thrilled to hear them being so happy but at the same time I was hell scared of being killed when they would find everything out! I decided to hang on to my halo and help them a little more. I picked out an adorable dress for her to wear and went shopping with him to buy her the perfect gift.

Well, it was no wonder that a day later, I listened to THE DATE story twice! Ah! I wanted to be acknowledged when he blushed about her charming looks in that blue dress. I wanted to pat my back when he continuously kept singing “I’ve had the time of my life….No, I have never felt like this before”. I wanted to be high fived for being an awesome planner when she shared the tiniest of the details of their romantic candle light dinner. I wanted to shout “Yay… I chose that song” when she pulled me into a dance while humming ‘Pehla Nasha, Pehla Khumar’.



Okay, It was no surprise that they had hopelessly fallen in love with each other. What though is a surprise is that now they have been happily married for four years and a baby is on the way!

PS - I am really close to both of them and we still talk about every damn thing; however, none of them has ever raised an eyebrow of their first date. So, I guess my secret (that I thought would be out on their first date and would get me disowned by my besties) is still safe!

‘Nobody Knows That I played a cupid!’ Oops... I guess now ‘Everybody knows!

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Image Source: Internet

Cheers,
Shruti 

Thursday, 4 February 2016

Wednesday, 25 November 2015

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

Sunday, 26 July 2015

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




Wednesday, 10 June 2015

shiddat

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



Wednesday, 25 March 2015

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 30th birthday at 25th 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.

25th 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 30th 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

Monday, 9 March 2015

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