The Prestidigitator

I love the way this country smells. I’ll never forget it. It’s kind of spicy.

Wes Anderson, in many interviews has stated that this film was intended as an homage to Satyajit Ray (and even inspired by Jean Renoir) and that’s exactly what hits you from the first frame; a poignant, stylized and funny opening sequence shot somewhere on the streets of Rajasthan. A character (referred to in the credits as The Businessman) played by Bill Murray rushes to the railway station in a cab and chases a train that has already started moving. Enter Adrien Brody with a couple of bags, cue slow motion and the track, ‘This Time Tomorrow’ by The Kinks. If you’ve seen a Wes Anderson film, you’ll know this is a sign of good things to come.

Wes Anderson, pardon the cliche, is one of a kind. His worlds are inhabited by people born into decadence with quirks and eccentricities that seem far too unreal but still manage to exhibit emotions and oddities that are quite humanistic. The Darjeeling Limited is hardly concerned about conventional plot mechanisms but flits across many familiar themes; sibling rivalry, love, family, oedipal conflicts and of course, closure.

Three brothers who have fallen apart over the years meet up on The Darjeeling Limited under the insistence of one of them who feels they need to feel something on the lines of a spiritual awakening. As they visit temples, meet people, share adventures and embrace the culture, they come apart at the seams. One of the more beautiful scenes is when the youngest brother Jack wonders if they would have ever been friends if they weren’t brothers (I wonder if the three of us would’ve been friends in real life. Not as brothers, but as people.).

Ever since Rushmore, I’ve been a huge fan of Anderson. While critics think his films are more stylistic than anything else, I think that’s pretty much what Anderson strives to create, that and characters who in spite of their inherent weirdness still manage to redeem themselves. Anderson’s choice in music is impeccable. The score features tracks composed by Satyajit Ray himself and obligatory punk rock songs from the 70s.

The cinematography by Robert D. Yeoman is as usual very Andersonesque; wide angle lenses and some pretty inventive shots. The settings and locations are a tad bit over dressed but this isn’t unusual considering the man at the helm. The casting is near perfect too. Apart from the main characters, it will be criminal not to mention the beautiful Amara Karan who I intend to immediately hunt down and propose to. She has an amazing screen presence and oozes with sensuality.

Of course, India is portrayed as exotic (to Anderson, India doesn’t seem to have changed since the 1970s) which isn’t such a bad thing since he points to Ray as his inspiration. Also, some of the Indian characters have very noticeable Yankee accents; all forgiven, mostly because I feel Anderson has created his best film to date, moving, heart warming and stupendously beautiful to look at.

9/10

PS: Hotel Chevalier is a mandatory companion piece to the film.

I recently found out that there’s a cinema in Melbourne (Cinema Nova) that plays offbeat films; so I decided to catch the french flick Paris, je t’aime which I’d been dying to see ever since I heard about it. Also, the lovely Ms Portman has a part in it.

Now, friends and family will vouch the fact that I’m terrible at directions. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I find it extremely challenging to read a map. I printed a map off the net and set out (on foot) to find 380, Lygon St. I walked for over an hour to find the place only to realise I’d walked in exactly the opposite direction.

Dejected but still determined, I walked all the way back to find that they needed an ID proof of my age! They actually didn’t believe I was over 18. I tried arguing saying that in spite of my boyish looks (and charms) I was almost 23. No luck. They still wanted to see my passport which I had conveniently left back at the hotel.

I know I was supposed to be upset, but somehow the fact that people actually thought I was barely 18 made me smile. I was getting tired of being told that I was too stiff and serious all the time. Take that!

I rewarded myself with a Thundercats T Shirt. It’s amazing how much a cartoon from my childhood still manages to excite me every time I see the insignia.

Nostalgia can work wonders.

As it is, I’m not too big on flying…so a 13 hour flight (with a stop at Bangkok) can get a bit unnerving. But what if matters take a turn for the worse?

First, I had difficulty clearing my bags from Bangalore (too heavy they said) and then it turns out that one of my bags missed the flight from Bangkok to Melbourne. Paperwork took over an hour and a half and I hopped on a cab (driven by a…*gasp*…woman) to be dropped at the address I was given, only to find it bolted from the outside. I lingered around the place for over 15 minutes and it dawned on me that I would have to spend my first ‘Melbourne Night’ out in the cold. Luckily, I’d met this guy on the plane and he was nice enough to let me crash at his place. Man…now that is pure coincidence!

So, I skipped work today and decided to have a look around South Yarra. The place is amazingly beautiful, the weather is chilly and the people are sweet s saccharine…to the point of inducing diabetes.

The first thing you notice once you land are the people (well…really); the kindly smiles and the overall politeness (which I suspect is a conscious effort to not come across as racist).

That…that makes almost all the trouble seem worthwhile.

Disclaimer: The author wishes to state that the following pointless rant (as always) is the fault of  Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) who in their great wisdom gave him the last seat on the bus from Hyderabad to Bangalore as a result of which the author was unable to get any sleep. To add to his woes, his co passenger was drunk and kept singing hindi songs whenever he woke up (which was quite a few times).

I’m already at that point where work is taking far too much of whatever time I have. Time.

Time is a fundamental structure of the universe, a dimension in which events occur in sequence. Breakthroughs in theoretical physics and long lectures by my bro have given me reason to believe that it is practically impossible/difficult to alter the sequence, extend it, reverse it or go back to a previous or future point. In essence, time sucks. Big time! Time is entirely non customizeable and just not that cool.

If there is anything that stops us from doing anything, it’s just time. I mean everything else you can build or develop over a period of…well…time. Time makes us regress, time makes us age, time makes things obsolete, time makes you smell if you don’t take a bath, time makes bread go mouldy, time causes people to drift apart etc…In short any effect in the entire universe will have it’s cause as time. Time is the ultimate cause.

I’ll be 23 in less than half a year and the thought itself sends shivers down my spine. Not becuase it hurls me closer ot death or anything but simply because I have this stupid feeling that I NEED to do something(s) with my life.

Now, over the last few weeks, work has been taking way too much of time and sometimes it pisses me off when I get calls from work during the weekend but being the ‘newbie’ I am, I can’t do much. Blogging during work hours is my way of laughing at The Man’s face. Ok maybe chuckling. Fine…grinning at The Man’s face.

I’ve got a pile of unread books, unwatched movies and more than a fair share of friends/family I haven’t been able to keep in touch with!

“To live is so startling, it leaves little time for anything else.”

                                                    -Emily Dickinson

Listening to Stuck in a Moment by U2

Back to work…

I made a very impulsive decision to go to Bangalore for the weekend and I guess it was the smartest thing I’ve done in a long time. I spent awesome time with some of my closest buddies (though there were people missing), had major realizations and did something I thought I’d never do. Results were nothing like I expected though.

My first drink! Yes, yes I’ve been against it very adamantly for a very very long time but I guess inspite of everything I said, I did it anyway. So this is what happened.

I was first offered a Breezer which I was assured had minimal alchohol content (4.2 %). It tasted like a bitter version of Limca. Nothing happened. Inhibitions lowered, I went on to try Vodka…48 % alchohol content.

It was pretty late into the night and I put on Lucky Number Slevin (a Tarantino inspired movie that I hoped would have scenes that would be appreciated more when ‘high’). One sip later, the bitter and frankly disgusting liquid passed through my throat with a slight burning sensation. I waited for something to happen. Nothing. Another sip. Nothing. Still another one. Nothing.

Two glasses of Vodka and some national drink of Turkey (Ajoe cha, I forgot the name) later, I was convinced that the effects of alchohol were overrated. I felt nothing. No moment of clarity. No ‘enlightment’. Nothing. And to top it off, the movie wasn’t that great…just a sort of wannabe Pulp Fiction.

At around 2 am, I got up after the movie and that’s when it happened. I exhibited something Daniel calls ‘The Spiderman Effect’. I couldn’t keep my hands off the wall…was all wobbly and dizzy. All I could do was go and sleep.

So there…my tryst with ‘the spirit’ was a disappointment and I don’t really understand why anybody would shell so much cash on something that tastes so disgusting and makes you nauseous! I still prefer Coffee!

That said, had a fantastic time in Bangalore. I actually miss a lot of people.

Yesterday was one of those days I was all smiles and the reason being that I was part of a group (Pankhudi) that visited an orphanage, Sidur in Hyderabad.

It’s amazing how little things like these can put some of the bigger things into perspective. It’s still more amazing that there were kids there who were extraordinary dancers! The things we take for granted are the things that they don’t have but somehow they still manage to have a smile on their faces that would put many of us to shame.

All in all…a great trip and can’t wait for the next one. Take note Ms Imperfect!

3 hours and 14 minutes! Nope, it’s not the running time of Lord of the Rings! Actually it could have been…I really don’t know…but anyhoo that’s how long I walked today!

I’d always loved walking but who knew that Hussein Sagar Lake was a lot farther away than the 5 minutes I always assumed it to be!! For the uninitiated, Hussein Sagar Lake is a huge (240 sq km basin area) artificial lake in Hyderabad/Secunderbad built sometime around 1560 (Stop looking so shocked! I read it on a board near the lake.) by some guy named Hussein and it pretty much divides the twin cities. It’s surrounded (Atleast I think! Hyderabadis, feel free to correct me! ) by the Necklace Road and the view (especially sunset) is amazing!

Anyway, I took a long long walk around the place and the first thing that comes to my mind is the multitude of couples. It is depressing especially if you happen to be single. Moreover, our ’simple and traditional’ society may be catching up with the west in more ways than you think! The place is great if you love corn too which yours truly adores!

After an hour of loitering, I decided to walk back because…well…I’m currently broke! Made it in one piece though I think I may need somebody to carry me back home! (*groan*)

Shall post some cool pics (read pointless,narcissistic and self indulgent photos) soon.

A certain Ms Imperfect said my name was too hard to pronounce and I tried repeating my name to myself in an attempt to prove her wrong and now I’m not really sure how it’s actually pronounced! My heartfelt thanks, Ms Imperfect!

By the way you may want to check out www.scribez.wordpress.com. It’s this community blog thing started by 5 (and counting) individuals with too much free time on their hands! It’s already attracted a fair share of controversy too.

Later

Listening to Acoustic #3 by Goo Goo Dolls (www.pandora.com is an awesome awesome site!)

Edit: I would like to take this oppurtunity to thank Ms Imperfect without whose constant encouragement and support, I would not have been able to make it back home today. Thankyou! I would also like to state that she has NOT asked me to mention her name on this post. (:-) Happy?)

My family (minus me) is on a whirlwind trip to Italy and France which I suspect has something/everythng to do with a certain book called Da Vinci Code. It has me thinking about how some english teacher by the name of Dan Brown from across the Atlantic had an effect on a middle class NRI family in India.

Anyhoo, I need a getaway of some sort too. Like a long drive. Like those road trip movies…and I need to do it alone. Whilst at it, I could put on a CD with an awesome compilation that includes the likes of Bonnie Sommerville, Tom Petty, Nick Drake, The Shins and Remy Zero. Aaaah…sounds too good doesn't it? I mean, think about it….just you and the road and some of the best music on the planet.

Now all I need is a car…and oh yeah…I need to learn to drive too!

Later

PS- Watched MI3 again and I thought it was a really good action flick with a very intriguing scene at the Vatican. Great escapist fare!