Vivah (A brief movie review)

Note: This is a "re-paste" of a post I had made in my old Comcast website.

Hmmm. This movie is akin to inserting a pretty lil white mouse in a sea of snakes. The latter, of course, refers to the recent spate of Indian movies in which showing an unnecessary amount of skin and spewing double-entendre dialogues seem to be the norm. I am not against glamour in movies when used judiciously. Heck, I frequent Revere beach in my Speedos...with a swagger . But I digress. Anyway, for the most part, I turn to Indian movies to enjoy pieces like Vivah and, say, Mahanadhi.


I have seen Shahid Kapoor in another movie and was not impressed by his performance. But this movie's script allows him to "grow" up. Amrita Rao, naturally, plays the leading lady with the appropriate "docile-ness" required in a movie like this. The lead pair is likeable (once again, I suspect primarily because of the script).

Vivah has a simple story woven with some equally simple characters...or maybe I should say, simple souls. The story seems fresh, of course, in that it spends a lot of time on that juncture between (arranged) engagement and marriage. For me the appeal of the movie was the talkfest between the lead pair. At times (but only at times), I was reminded of the Ethan Hawke-Julie Delpy characterization in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.

I liked Seema Biswas' character (she plays the jealous stepmother of Amrita) and both she and the girl who played her daughter could have been given a little more screen time. I didn't expect that twist toward the end but what followed was so sweet I gagged at times. So the movie does drag at times but there are a few wonderful scenes (like the one where Shahid and Amrita talk softly in the moonlight) that lingered in my mind well after the movie ended. The songs and music are softer than the aforementioned moonlight. This is a feel good movie and should hold immense appeal to most non-resident Indians (but especially the ones that need to go out and get a life).

Anatomy of a Scene

"It was late afternoon as I pulled into my driveway and climbed out. The sun was warm and making its way toward the horizon. On a whim, I walked across the huge yard toward the rolling fields beyond the property line. I scurried over the freshly painted white fence and, with my hands on my hip, stood there taking in the lazy scene. The sky was a deep blue with wisps of milky white clouds passing by at a snail's pace. They had all the time in the world. A cockchafer went flying past me. I craned my neck to follow his flight path. He was moving fast and soon he was out of sight over a small hill overflowing with dandelions that were swaying gently to the breeze. It was a calm day but then it was always calm out here.

As I sunned, I slowly became acclimatized to the smells and sounds of the field. A slight but angry rustle nearby indicated that my presence had disturbed the slumbers of a small animal, perhaps a field mouse. Two butterflies were in earnest conversation a ways off. They seemed to tumble down a bit. They were in combat. Were they fighting for the love of a lady then? The distant warble of a purple martin seemed to add a layer of melancholy to their battle. One of them was destined to lose. I hoped that they were not brothers.

The sun was sinking lower in the sky and the breeze had picked up. The light had turned to a cooler blue. There was a faint hint of a familiar scent wafting down from a small hill yonder to my right: the fragrance of bur marigolds that I could not see. Maybe that cockchafer had a cousin who made her home amidst those marigolds. Had he been taking tea with her before he said his goodbyes and so ended up flying past me on his way home? Maybe it was time for me to be getting home too. I took one long earnest look around. Everything seemed to indicate that it was time to start settling in for the night. I turned and started waddling my way back home."

A History of Flight

I recently re-watched one of the Discovery Channel's "Walking with Dinosaurs" DVDs. This particular DVD presents a Pterosaur (apparently the first vertebrates to evolve flight) migrating to Europe from South America. I found the migration as portrayed in the DVD to be fascinating. I am quite sure that a lot of what was presented was speculation based on fossil evidence available so far but still this segment always makes me wish that I had large wings using which I could ride giant thermals and soar for hours and perhaps fly to wherever I want to go on the planet. Hey, maybe I will get around to doing it someday. At the very least, I would "go out" with a...plop :)

Isn't he a tough looking bugger?

Anyway, portions of this segment are available on Youtube.

Picture of the times

"Dying Gaul and his wife" circa 220 BCE.

I am taking an Art History class at UMASS. This sculpture was one of several that we studied last night. I found it very engaging. According to Julius Caesar's own account, the Gauls made combat in the nude. Their wives would go to battle to cook for them and to cheer them on. The Gaulish warriors, on defeat, killed themselves and their women--not necessarily in that order--to prevent being taken as slaves. What struck me most about this sculpture was that the Gaul is still holding on to the wife that he has just slain. Or maybe he is lowering her to the ground. Either way, it shows his presence of mind (and perhaps his fondness for her) even during such a trying time.

"Mom AWOL During Custody Battle Turns Self In"

Apparently the US Army is mulling over desertion charges for a female soldier who recently served in Iraq. This woman obtained emergency leave so she could return to the States to fight a custody battle for her child. Her main reason for getting into the military: so it could pay her bills.

If "soldiers" like this lady are what this nation has to depend on going forward then I am gonna go get trained in guerilla warfare myself. A lot of US citizens feel that it is the Army's duty to help out the woman. Pussies, I say to them! What do you think the Army is: a f*cking welfare program?!

I have to wonder about the various flavors of compassion evident in today's society. We have this female soldier and her plight (I think that she screwed up). On the other "end" of the social ladder, we have Paris Hilton in jail. Then...Wait! What? Paris is already out of jail! Well, gosh darn heckers!! She is such a "class act", isn't she?

On a side note, I remember making a recent post somewhere to clarify that an astronaut who lost an expensive camera during a spacewalk was female (Sunita Williams actually) since a lot of other posters on that forum assumed the astronaut was a male. One guy replied to my post saying, "That's what happens when you send a woman to do a man's job." I thought that he was being chauvinistic. Now it looks like I am not sounding off any different than he was!

Ok, it looks like today is definitely not a day in favor of women's lib.

True Depravity?

Ok, so this morning I had had a solid breakfast at the Country Kitchen in Weymouth and was making my way back to the office. As I was stopped in a red light, this driver, an Elizabeth Hurley lookalike, comes careening around the corner (she had a green light) in a little Volkswagon as if she had forgotton to slow down for the turn. Y'know, Oops! I did it again and all that...Then I realized what was happening. She looked like she was giggling, had a cigarette in her left hand (which was also clutching the steering wheel) and had a phone to her right ear (using her right hand, of course).
I mean, what the hell, man?!

Here comes another one, mates

There is yet another article about exercising being the most effective method for weight loss. However, there is an interesting tidbit. Apparently exercise becomes more effective if performed right after a meal (my Mom always said I shouldn't strain myself after a meal!).

Most people in the western world already know what needs to be done to lose weight and feel better. But a lot of them don't always do what is necessary. It is a question of inertia. You can print all the articles in the world. But if people aren't willing to get out and sweat it...

As for the actual tidbit (training after a meal), I always tell people (who ask me about training) that perfect health begins with developing good posture. If you have imbalances, then exercising will exacerbate such skeletal problems over time. So improve and fix that posture first. Here is a great article by Ian King on fixing imbalances:

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=281kilter2

And another one (you should really read this if you have a desk job):
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=07-075-training

And the best time to train:

When one feels like it!

This could be at 11 at night or 11 in the morning. Whatever works and, most importantly, whenever one feels like it. I have gone home after work some days and took a few minutes to do some burpees, sit-ups and single-leg calf raises (using a telephone directory). Then, once a week, right before I fall asleep, I might do a bit of bridging for the neck. The gem here is this: I do it when I feel like it. This way I am guaranteed of not having any burnouts or loss of interest in my training. I don't have to schedule anything. And by not scheduling a training session, I don't have to meet it! So...just do it.

Here is the original BBC article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6712923.stm