On Fridays I watch soft-core porns with Mikhail and he always whisper to me.

I prefer he stay quiets but he whisper. I never understand what he say.

"What's that?"

whoa after all my cd about melody of michael already out now…. in japan~ *sigh*

here the cover:

yeah so nice with the 07-ghost symbol… i wonder where i can download it~~

i can’t found it!!!! and also i can’t give more specific information because of my lackness of japanese…

hehehe… ^^’

so see ya!!1

The Legacy of 1989 Is Still Up for Debate

New York Times/Steven Erlanger—The historical legacy of 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell and the cold war thawed, is as political as the upheavals of that decisive year.

The events of 1989 spurred a striking transformation of Europe, which is now whole and free, and a reunified Germany, milestones that are being observed with celebrations all over the continent, including a French-German extravaganza Monday evening on the Place de la Concorde.

But 1989 also created new divisions and fierce nationalisms that hobble the European Union today, between East and West, France and Germany, Europe and Russia.

From left, Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger and former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher next to a piece of the Berlin Wall.

Some of the intensity of those divisions is evident in the tug of war, in both Europe and the United States, over the achievements of 1989 — whether they owe more to the resolute anti-Communism of Ronald Reagan or its inverse, the white-glove embrace of the East by many in Western Europe.

And while many in the West saw the wheel of history spinning inevitably, causing the rise of democracy and banishing serious rivals to American power, China forestalled its own revolution in 1989 and catapulted itself to prominence through an authoritarian capitalism that the leaders of Russia are now studying.

“The Chinese ended up with a Leninist capitalism, which none of us imagined in 1989, and which is now the main ideological competitor to Western liberal democracy,” said Timothy Garton Ash, a chronicler of 1989 in his book “The Magic Lantern.”

It is a tribute to 1989, not unlike the French Revolution 200 years before it, that its meaning is hotly contested. Different groups in different countries see the anniversary differently, usually from their own ideological points of view.

A group of Russian tourists gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Friday.

In general, said James M. Goldgeier of George Washington University, a historian of the period, “the big question out there for 20 years is who gets the credit.”

For many in the United States, he said, most of the credit now goes to President Ronald Reagan and his aggressive military spending and antagonism toward Communism. That view has largely eclipsed another American perspective, which was that globalization and democratization were so powerful that a Mikhail Gorbachev was inevitable, and that the cold war ended through “soft power” — propaganda, diplomacy and the Helsinki accords.


More @

Jaman dahulu kala di Rusia hidup pasangan suami-istri Simon dan Matrena.
Simon yang miskin ini adalah seorang pembuat sepatu. Meskipun hidupnya tidaklah berkecukupan, Simon adalah seorang yang mensyukuri hidupnya yang pas-pasan. Masih banyak orang lain yang hidup lebih miskin daripada Simon. Banyak orang-orang itu yang malah berhutang padanya. Kebanyakan berhutang ongkos pembuatan sepatu. Maklumlah, di Rusia sangat dingin sehingga kepemilikan sepatu dan mantel merupakan hal yang mutlak jika tidak mau mati kedinginan. Suatu hari keluarga tersebut hendak membeli mantel baru karena mantel mereka sudah banyak yang berlubang-lubang. Uang simpanan mereka hanya 3 rubel (rubel = mata uang Rusia) padahal mantel baru yang paling murah harganya 5 rubel. Kata Matrena pada suaminya, “Simon, tagihlah hutang orang-orang yang tempo hari kita buatkan sepatu. Siapa tahu mereka kini punya uang.”

Maka Simon pun berangkat pergi menagih hutang. Tapi sungguh sial, tak satu pun yang membayar. Hanya ada seorang janda yang memberinya 20 kopek (kopek uang receh Rusia). Dengan sedih Simon pulang. “Batallah rencana kami mempunyai mantel baru”, pikirnya. Di warung, Simon minum vodka untuk menghangatkan badannya yang kedinginan dengan uang 20 kopek tadi. Dalam perjalanan pulang, Simon melewati gereja, dan saat itu ia melihat sesosok manusia yang sangat putih bersandar di dinding luar gereja. Orang itu tak berpakaian dan kelihatan sekali ia sangat kedinginan. Simon ketakutan, “Siapakah dia ? Setankah ? Ah, daripada terlibat macam-macam lebih baik aku pulang saja”. Simon bergegas mempercepat langkahnya sambil sesekali mengawasi belakangnya, ia takut kalau orang itu tiba-tiba mengejarnya. Namun ketika semakin jauh, suara hatinya berkata “HAI SIMON, TAK MALUKAH KAU ? KAU PUNYA MANTEL MESKIPUN SUDAH BERLUBANG-LUBANG, SEDANGKAN ORANG ITU TELANJANG. PANTASKAH ORANG MENINGGALKAN SESAMANYA BEGITU SAJA ?” Simon ragu, tapi akhirnya toh ia balik lagi ke tempat orang itu bersandar.

Ketika sudah dekat, dilihatnya orang itu ternyata pria yang wajahnya sungguh tampan. Kulitnya bersih seperti kulit bangsawan. Badannya terlihat lemas dan tidak berdaya, namun sorot matanya menyiratkan rasa terima kasih yang amat sangat ketika Simon memakaikan mantel terluarnya kepada orang itu dan memapahnya berdiri. Ia tidak bisa menjawab sepatah kata pun atas pertanyaan- pertanyaan Simon, sehingga Simon memutuskan untuk membawanya pulang. Sesampainya di rumah, Matrena sudah menunggu. Ia marah sekali karena melihat Simon tidak membawa mantel baru, apalagi ketika dilihatnya Simon membawa seorang pria asing. Dia nyerocos marah-marah, “Simon, siapa ini? Mana mantel barunya ? Astaga ! Kau bau vodka. Teganya kau mabuk menghabiskan uang yang seharusnya kaubelikan mantel !!” Simon mencoba menyabarkan Matrena, “Sabar, Matrena…. dengar dulu penjelasanku. Aku tidak mabuk, aku hanya minum vodka sedikit untuk mengusir hawa dingin. Adapun orang ini kutemukan di luar gereja, ia kedinginan, jadi kuajak sekalian pulang”. “Bohong !! Aku tak percaya…. sudahlah, pokoknya aku tak mau dengar ceritamu ! Malam ini aku tak akan menyiapkan makan malam. Cari saja makan sendiri ! Sudah tahu kita ini miskin kok masih sok suci menolong orang segala !! Usir saja dia !!” “Astaga, Matrena ! Jangan berkata begitu, seharusnya kita bersyukur karena kita masih bisa makan dan punya pakaian, sedangkan orang ini telanjang dan kelaparan. Tidakkah di hatimu ada sedikit cinta kasih Tuhan ??” Matrena menatap wajah pria asing itu, mendadak ia merasa iba.

Tanpa mengomel lagi disiapkannya makan malam sederhana berupa roti keras dan bir hangat. “Silakan makan, hanya sebeginilah makanan yang ada. Siapa namamu dan darimana asalmu ? Bagaimana ceritanya kau bisa telanjang di luar gereja? Apakah seseorang telah merampokmu ?” Tiba-tiba wajah pria asing itu bercahaya. Mukanya berseri dan ia tersenyum untuk pertama kalinya. “Namaku Mikhail, asalku dari jauh. Sayang sekali banyak yang tak dapat kuceritakan. Kelak akan tiba saatnya aku boleh menceritakan semua yang kalian ingin ketahui tentang aku. Aku akan sangat berterima kasih kalau kalian mau menerimaku bekerja di sini.” “Ah, Mikhail, usaha sepatuku ini cuma usaha kecil. Aku takkan sanggup menggajimu”, demikian Simon menjawab. “Tak apa, Simon. Kalau kau belum sanggup menggajiku, aku tak keberatan kerja tanpa gaji asalkan aku mendapat makan dan tempat untuk tidur.” “Baiklah kalau kau memang mau begitu. Besok kau mulai bekerja”. Malamnya pasangan suami-istri itu tak dapat tidur. Mereka bertanya-tanya. “Simon tidakkah kita keliru menerima orang itu ? Kita ini miskin. Bagaimana jika Mikhail itu ternyata buronan ? Kita bisa terlibat kesulitan”, Matrena bertanya dengan gelisah pada Simon. Simon menjawab, “Sudahlah Matrena. Percayalah pada penyelenggaraan Tuhan. Biarlah ia tinggal di sini. Tingkah lakunya cukup baik. Kalau ternyata ia berperilaku tidak baik, segera kuusir dia”. Esoknya Mikhail mulai bekerja membantu Simon membuat dan memperbaiki sepatu. Di bengkelnya, Simon mengajari Mikhail memintal benang dan membuat pola serta menjahit kulit untuk sepatu. Sungguh aneh, baru tiga hari belajar, Mikhail sudah bisa membuat sepatu lebih baik dan rapi daripada Simon. Lama kelamaan bengkel sepatu Simon mulai terkenal karena sepatu buatan Mikhail yang bagus. Banyak pesanan mengalir dari dari desa-desa yang penduduknya kaya. Usaha Simon menjadi maju. Ia tidak lagi miskin.

Keluarga itu sangat bersyukur karena mereka sadar, tanpa bantuan tangan terampil Mikhail, usaha mereka takkan semaju ini. Namun mereka juga terus bertanya- tanya dalam hati, siapa sebenarnya Mikhail ini. Anehnya, selama Mikhail tinggal bersama mereka, baru sekali saja ia tersenyum, yaitu dulu saat Matrena memberi Mikhail makan. Namun meski tanpa senyum, muka Mikhail selalu berseri sehingga orang tak takut melihat wajahnya. Suatu hari datanglah seorang kaya bersama pelayannya. Orang itu tinggi besar, galak dan terlihat kejam. “Hai Simon, kudengar kau dan pembantumu pandai membuat sepatu. Aku minta dibuatkan sepatu yang harus tahan setahun mengahadapi cuaca dingin. Kalau sepatu itu rusak sebelum setahun, kuseret kau ke muka hakim untuk dipenjarakan !! Ini, kubawakan kulit terbaik untuk bahan sepatu. Awas, hati-hati; ini kulit yang sangat mahal!” Di pojok ruangan, Mikhail yang sedari tadi duduk diam, tiba-tiba tersenyum. Mukanya bercahaya, persis seperti dulu ketika ia pertama kalinya tersenyum. Orang kaya yang melihatnya membentak, “Hei, tukang sepatu, awas jangan mengejekku, ya !! Bukan hanya majikanmu yang kumasukkan penjara kalau sepatuku jebol sebelum setahun. Kau juga takkan lolos dariku !!” Sebenarnya Simon enggan berurusan dengan orang ini. Ia baru saja hendak menolak pesanan itu ketika Mikhail memberi isyarat agar ia menerima pesanan itu. Setelah harga disepakati, orang itu pun pergi pulang. Simon berkata, “Mikhail, kau sajalah yang mengerjakan sepatu itu. Aku sudah mulai tua. Mataku agak kurang awas untuk mengerjakan sepatu semahal ini. Biar aku mengerjakan pesanan lain saja. Kau berkonsentrasi menyelesaikan pesanan ini. Hati- hati, ya. Aku tak mau salah satu atau malah kita berdua masuk penjara.”

Ketika Mikhail selesai mengerjakan sepatu itu, bukan main terkejutnya Simon. “Astaga, Mikhail, kenapa kaubuat sepatu anak-anak ? Bukankah yang memesan itu orangnya tinggi besar ? Aduh, bagaimana ini ? Celaka, kita bisa masuk penjara karena….”, belum selesai Simon berkata, datang si pelayan orang kaya. “Majikanku sudah meninggal. Pesanan dibatalkan. Jika masih ada sisa kulit, istri majikanku minta dibuatkan sepatu anak-anak saja”. “Ini, sepatu anak-anak sudah kubuatkan. Silakan bayar ongkosnya pada Simon”, Mikhail menyerahkan sepatu buatannya pada pelayan itu. Pelayan itu terkejut, tapi ia diam saja meskipun heran darimana Mikhail tahu tentang pesanan sepatu anak-anak itu. Tahun demi tahun berlalu, Mikhail tetap tidak pernah tersenyum kecuali pada dua kali peristiwa tadi. Meskipun penasaran, Simon dan Matrena tak pernah berani menyinggung-nyinggung soal asal usul Mikhail karena takut ia akan meninggalkan mereka.

Suatu hari datanglah seorang ibu dengan dua orang anak kembar yang salah satu kakinya pincang. Ia minta dibuatkan sepatu untuk kedua anak itu. Simon heran sebab Mikhail tampak sangat gelisah. Mukanya muram, padahal biasanya tidak pernah begitu. Saat mereka hendak pulang, Matrena bertanya pada ibu itu, “Mengapa salah satu dari si kembar ini kakinya pincang ?” Ibu itu menjelaskan, “Sebenarnya mereka bukan anak kandungku. Mereka kupungut ketika ibunya meninggal sewaktu melahirkan mereka. Padahal belum lama ayah mereka juga meninggal. Kasihan, semalaman ibu mereka yang sudah meninggal itu tergeletak dan menindih salah satu kaki anak ini. Itu sebabnya ia pincang. Aku sendiri tak punya anak, jadi kurawat mereka seperti anakku sendiri.” “Tuhan Maha Baik, manusia dapat hidup tanpa ayah ibunya, tapi tentu saja manusia takkan dapat hidup tanpa Tuhannya”, Matrena berkata. Mendengar itu, Mikhail tidak lagi gelisah. Ia berseri-seri dan tersenyum untuk ketiga kalinya. Kali ini bukan wajahnya saja yang bercahaya, tapi seluruh tubuhnya. Sesudah tamu-tamu tersebut pulang, ia membungkuk di depan Simon dan Matrena sambil berkata, “Maafkan semua kesalahan yang pernah kuperbuat, apalagi telah membuat gelisah dengan tidak mau menceritakan asal usulku. Aku dihukum Tuhan, tapi hari ini Tuhan telah mengampuni aku. Sekarang aku mohon pamit.” Simon dan Matrena tentu saja heran dan terkejut, “Nanti dulu Mikhail, tolong jelaskan pada kami siapakah sebenarnya kau ini ? Mengapa selama di sini kau hanya tersenyum tiga kali, dan mengapa tubuhmu sekarang bercahaya ?” Mikhail menjawab sambil terus tersenyum,

“Sebenarnya aku adalah salah satu malaikat Tuhan. Berthun-tahun yang lalu Tuhan menugaskan aku menjemput nyawa ibu kedua anak tadi. Aku sempat menolak perintah Tuhan itu meskipun toh akhirnya kuambil juga nyawa ibu mereka. Aku menganggapNya kejam. Belum lama mereka ditinggal ayahnya, sekarang ibunya harus meninggalkan mereka juga. Dalam perjalanan ke surga, Tuhan mengirim badai yang menghempaskanku ke bumi. Jiwa ibu bayi menghadap Tuhan sendiri. Tuhan berkata padaku, ‘MIKHAIL, TURUNLAH KE BUMI DAN PELAJARI KETIGA KEBENARAN INI HINGGA KAU MENGERTI:
PERTAMA, APAKAH YANG HIDUP DALAM HATI MANUSIA.
KEDUA, APA YANG TAK DIIJINKAN PADA MANUSIA.
KETIGA, APA YANG PALING DIPERLUKAN MANUSIA.’ “

“Aku jatuh di halaman gereja, kedinginan dan kelaparan. Simon menemukan dan membawaku pulang. Waktu Matrena marah-marah dan hendak mengusir aku, kulihat maut di belakangnya. Seandainya ia jadi mengusirku, ia pasti mati malam itu. Tapi Simon berkata, ‘Tidakkah di hatimu ada sedikit cinta kasih Tuhan??’ Matrena jatuh iba dan memberi aku makan. Saat itulah aku tahu kebenaran pertama: YANG HIDUP DALAM HATI MANUSIA ADALAH CINTA KASIH TUHAN” “Kemudian ada orang kaya yang memesan sepatu yang tahan satu tahun sambil marah-marah. Aku melihat maut di belakangnya. Ia tidak tahu ajalnya sudah dekat. Aku tersenyum untuk kedua kalinya. Saat itulah aku tahu kebenaran kedua: MANUSIA TIDAK DIIJINKAN MENGETAHUI MASA DEPANNYA. MASA DEPAN MANUSIA ADA DI TANGAN TUHAN” “Hari ini datang ibu angkat bersama kedua anak kembar tadi. Ibu kandung si kembar itulah yang diperintahkan Tuhan untuk kucabut nyawanya. Aku menyangsikan apakah si kembar dapat hidup tanpa ayah ibunya padahal mereka masih bayi. Tapi ternyata ada seorang ibu lain yang mau merawat dan mengasihi mereka seperti anak kandung sendiri. Tadi Matrena berkata, ‘Tuhan Maha Baik, manusia dapat hidup tanpa ayah ibunya, tapi tentu saja manusia takkan dapat hidup tanpa Tuhannya’. Aku tersenyum untuk ketiga kalinya dan kali ini tubuhku bercahaya. Aku tahu kebenaran yang ketiga: MANUSIA DAPAT HIDUP TANPA AYAH DAN IBUNYA TAPI MANUSIA TIDAK AKAN DAPAT HIDUP TANPA TUHANNYA. Simon, Matrena, terima kasih atas kebaikan kalian berdua. Aku telah mengetahui ketiga kebenaran itu, Tuhan telah mengampuniku. Kini aku harus kembali. Semoga kasih Tuhan senantiasa menyertai kalian sepanjang hidup.” Seiring dengan itu, tubuh Mikhail terangkat dan tubuhnya makin bercahaya. Mikhail kembali ke surga.

This review was first published on PFC [link]

Sweety, Guddu and the Acid Rainbow

For me there will always be a difference in experience between watching a film on big screen, on the immediate weekend after its release compared to watching it after reading many reviews, seeing it on DVD. Because of my lack of knowledge, experience and panache to observe the nuances and minutiae of this medium of art and expression. Unfailingly, I tend to form an opinion from others viewpoint, build-up expectations or more detrimentally, become biased.

Thus, I normally try to avoid reading many reviews before watching a movie just to keep my mind free from any bias or expectations. However, for Kaminey it was entirely a different trip. I have never had the privilege to witness any Director’s perspective on his movie before watching it, leave alone attend  a discussion between two Directors, who have imprinted their style in contemporary Indian cinema, in person, in real time. So, when the two directors started discussing the film in animated excitement, I gulped it down like a greedy pig. Because, having missed the discussion, I would have now been writing the script of Flashbacks of a Fool- Part Deux.

Evolution of ‘Hindi movie’ has always been based on certain modus operandi, saving a handful of exception, which rather proved the norm. Movies which were not formula based were a copy/ lift/ inspiration or termed as ‘Art film’. So Commercial Hindi cinema, also known as ‘Mainstream Bollywood’ or ‘Escapist Entertainment’, always typified the certain formula, albeit modernized with time.

The formula broadly delved on love story, family drama, twin siblings/ reincarnations, political drama, cop/ gangster/ terrorist, horror/ comedy (of late it’s difficult to distinguish between them).  With the winning formula combined with muscular hunks, foreign locations, underdressed zeroines, numerous song and dance sequences, they were sure to entertain a section of the audience. The other kind of audience drooled over Tarantino, Ritiche and Rodriguezor, to satisfy their appetite for dark wit and flamboyant violence. Then happened Kaminey and things did not look the same anymore.

[This para is not in PFC review] The basic plot revolved around separated twin brothers Guddu and Charlie (Shahid Kapoor), Guddu’s girlfriend and mother of his child Sweety (Priyanka Chopra), her headstrong regionalist politico brother Bhope Bhau (Amole Gupte). A huge consignment of coke deal goes bad and Guddu and Charlie gets entangled in a nexus of corrupt cops, international drug peddlers, Bengali race fixer Mafioso and henchmen of Bhope. A bloody chase for power and money ensues while love and blood bonding floats above all.

Kaminey to me is an absolutely desi and dark director’s cut of our times, which does justice to the medium of art/expression as well as makes commercial sense. Vishal Bharadwaj uses elements of the time tested formula and imbues them in the film in his unique way. The story is a not so subtle statement on Indian politics and corruption at the metropolis underbelly, under the subtext of classical vulnerable romance. What is subtle is how he interweaves dream like sequences within harsh reality and creates a ballad, wrinkle free and acid washed.

Charlie without the Chocolate factor

The aspects of Kaminey which made me see the movie once again-

Political undertone- The statements on politics, corruption and exploitation may not be new in intent but surely in presentation. In a necropolis, neither the criminals are glorified nor are the cops. At the end of the day the people are constituent of a symbiotic scum, corroding the moral values to the core and celebrating it with vada pao and modak. When values are traded and negotiated like vegetables, it’s the kaminey who walks up the victory stand.

Childhood memoirs- The guns in the hands of Bhope Bhau and Mikhail seemed like toys, when they play the  game of death with innocent ‘dhishkaon’ to each other. The mention of Bela-Bahadur and champak immediately took me to my days of Indrajaal Comics. Violence was a child, once upon a time. That’s why the eccentric Bengali dadas not only refuse to grow up, but chose their lethal weapons with childish ecstasy.

Black Humour- Now this is not everyone’s glass of blood. How violence becomes comic and death brings a smile, are illustrated in this movie. Picking up the humorous killing scenes and describing them would be a criminal offence and killing of the humour itself, so I refrain. Those who love comic books may get the drift.

Dialouges- Each and every sentence uttered by the characters reflected the idiosyncrasy, humour and the strata of the society the characters represent. Usage of original mother tounge by the characters further makes it a treat for the audience, who understands it. I can vouch that the Bengali dialogues were one of the best in the movie, not just because it’s in Bengali but the contextual sarcasm in which they work. For your information, ‘Sonamoni’, mukhta ektu kholo dekhini’ [ o my sweetpie, open your mouth please] and ‘O amar Sontumunu pushuta’  are the sweet nothings a Bengali mother affectionately uses to nurse and cuddle her baby.

Influences- Some of us, who are little overdosed with international films, tend to seek the ‘inspiration’ or ‘tribute’ to a context, or a scene, and then analyze it so deeply, which probably even the Director never had any clue of. Just because a film is structured as non-linear narrative and talks about a wristwatch doesn’t mean a simile with Pulp Fiction, similarly to El mariachi because of a Guitar and Guy Ritchie because of multiple gangsters chasing a large booty moving. However, I must confess, some of the elements used, did remind me some films of foreign origin. For example the masked figures in the song Fatak reminded me the death procession on Once Upon  A Time in Mexico., the climax shootout reminded me of Desparado, Mikhail’s long hair  and sniffing style reminded me of Banderas of El Mariachi and Pacino from Scarface.

Symbolism and Surrealism- The delirium of Charlie and the jump cuts to his childhood and Mikhails deadbody in his father’s place was subconscious acceptance of guilt, which , in most probability was intentional. But Guddu’s walk along the railway track over the corpses while half-dead people are trying to grab his feet was surreal to me- I was simultaneously surprised, shocked and disturbed, but ‘felt’ the scene in my psyche. Quite an anarchist poetry in celluloid.

Bhope Bhau- Politically corrupt, brilliantly evil

Characters performances- Priyanka Chopra , Amole Gupte, Chandan Roy’s performances are etched in stone. Rajatava Datta and Deb Mukherjee as the Bengali dadas are brilliant too. I liked Tenzing Lama as Tashi too, he had the right attitude to like bitches over dogs.  Shahid Kapoor’s dual role as Guddu and Charlie gives us some hope, that stars may not need to build up a image of romantic or action hero but can do character roles. Our cinema needs characters, we have seen enough heroism.

Overall, a superior and entertaining cinema with masala plot, great music, fabulous casting, cult characters, brilliant cinematography and a new flavour which sets the Hindi film standards up there, that would change the meaning of ‘average’.

However, I did have my feeling of discontent with Kaminey, even being aware of the director’s thought behind certain elements.

Dilution/ comic reliefs- The high standard of twisted humour, though fairly consistent does degrade a bit at places, especially with that Lele character at the climax.

Make up- looking at it from pure practical point of view there should have been some marked difference between the twin brothers, representing their upbringing. Atleast, Guddu would have been given a shorter hair cut.

Climax- The climax was a big letdown and it was clear that it’s been brutally edited to fit the film into a time limit. Such climax, panned with wide angle camera, rendered with the number Rasta Hai Jo Sasta Hai Wo would have been a masterpiece, a metaphoric epic like end. The silhouette against the setting sun and the gunfire sparks looked like a painter’s canvas and I wanted more. But, it ended like a rushed up 80’s potboiler, with a clichéd message – Alls well that ends well. The ending clearly disappointed me. It was like the fragile David of art was defeated by the commercial Goliath. The ballad gets asphyxiated.

Certification- Was that A certification some kind of joke? Some contemporary movies get released with an U certification which feature cleavages as deep as ATM slots, display human flesh like PETA adverts, item numbers that would enable premature ejaculation to coma patients, leave alone the Sulabh Sauchalay grade  innuendos, while  I cringe into my seat, as my 9 year old son doesn’t even find them funny. But Kaminey gets a big A, because our respected censor board does not want to talk about condom and thinks Kaminey is a bad word, so is Pilibhit.

I sincerely request the film fraternity to give censor board another chance, by making Ch*tiye.

August 15, 2009…i went to watch the special show at 8:00AM in Cine Planet, Kompally and the movie selected was Kaminey…the newly released movie. Friday night, my colleagues mentioned its a nice movie and also from TV/ad, it was clearly known to be bollywood’s favorite formula – twin brothers and a story on their life.

Vishal Bhardwaj directed Kaminey(Rascal) is completely bold, funny and  unpredictable. While i watched the movie, i was wondering, how the rating could be 4/5. But yes at the last i realized the theme. Well its a story of two identical twin brothers Charlie and Guddu (Shahid Kapoor). Charlie lisps, while Guddu stumbles. They follow their life in own way, never met each other for 3 years. Charlie gets into earning money in short-cut scheme, while Guddu enters into NGO. Charlie worked with 3 Bengali brother for fixing horse racing. Guddu a simple NGPworker has got his girlfriend Sweety(Priyanka Chopra) pregnant and got into a situation to get her marry. In Charlie’s business, one day he bi-mistakenly got in to a Cop jeep to escape from a encounter where he found a guitar full of cocaine worth of 10 crore. This made his life easy with his short-cut way of living. Guddu, on the other hand caught by Bhope Bhau(Gangster/politician) turns out to be Sweety’s brother. And here comes the halfway, where both lives cross. The story takes a dramatic turn at this stage, but minutes before that, ‘Dhan Te Nan’ makes the proceedings interesting. All most everyone targets to catch hold of the guitar as per their contract. Some funny scenes where cops asked Guddu(caught mistakenly) to give the police statement in song, as he was good in song to avoid the stumble. While Bhope caught Charlie. Everyone comes to their contracts. Both brother met, bcoz of the guitar..takes them to a situation of argument on their past. In this cat and mouse game, the baddies get mixed up between the twins. Who’s Guddu and who’s Charlie? Amid the shootouts and mayhem that follows, the two brothers rediscover love for each other. Finally story ends with Guddu and Sweety escaped from the encounter, the rest end their live due to their Kaminapan(Rascals) even Charlie who shot while decides t leave his Kaminapan(get-rich-quick scheme).

Overall the Picture was a good one, with Shahid kapoor’s excellency twin acting. Priyanka as usual acted superbly, and looks dashing(specially in bride costumes) . Story and the powerful writing from Vishal will certainly make the movie successful at the box-office. Other characters are also good too like ChandanRoy(Mikhail, Charlie’s close friend), Amol Gupte(Bhope) and Tenzing Nima(Taasi) and some others. 2nd half of the movie was good and interesting, while 1st half was tried to drag you into the story. Kaminey music was not that good, except ‘Dhan Te Nan’ . As well another area for kaminey for being a good movie is its cinematography. On the whole, i can rate the movie 3.5/5.

Awefome Kameenapan! 

Pic source: in.movies.yahoo.com

Dear Mr. Vishal Bharadwaj,

What have you done with Kaminey? You have created a big problem for rest of the Hindi film industry and the organizers of different movie award nights. How will they not nominate your film for Best Picture (Filmfare and IIFA did not nominate Omkara in the category while Krrish and Dhoom II found mention) and if they do, how will they nominate a 150-crore grossing, mindless-sexist-racist comedy in the same category? This is not fair.

Yours sincerely,
Bollywood well-wisher

Coming back to Kaminey, it is pure cinematic brilliance. Take a bow Vishal Bharadwaj; you have made a classic that will be talked about in the decades to come. From start to finish it is a roller coaster ride and one does not get time to catch a breath. There is not one thing that does not work for this film… story, dialogues, acting, music, lyrics, cinematography, editing, everything is first rate and it all comes together in an absolutely Kameeni film.

Kaminey is about identical twins, Charlie and Guddu (played by Shahid Kapur); the former lisps (says ‘f’ in place of ‘s’) and the latter stutters. Both of them have chosen different paths in life; Charlie is involved in a gang and can do anything to achieve his dream of becoming a bookie at the race course, Guddu on the other hand works with an NGO and loves spending time with his fiery Marathi girlfriend, Sweety (Priyanka Chopra). For Guddu, Charlie is as good as dead and Charlie prefers a Kaali Billi (black cat) to his manhoof(s) (inauspicious) brother. One fateful night their lives get intertwined and they have to save their dreams along with their lives.

In his career best performance, Shahid has done a fantabulous job of bringing alive, two distinct and difficult characters – Charlie and Guddu. He lives up to the super high expectations and is the new superstar (one who can act) on Bollywood’s horizon. Priyanka Chopra is simply delightful as Sweety; she is feisty, romantic, strong and vulnerable, all in one. Once again the best I have seen of her till date. There are many more characters including corrupt police officers, a trio of Bengali gangster brothers, a flamboyant drug-lord and African smugglers, amongst others. But there are two supporting characters that stand out… Amol Gupte as Bhope Bhau, a Maharashtra loving gangster cum aspiring politician who dislikes immigrants in his city especially those from Uttar Pradesh; and Chandan Roy Sanyal as Mikhail, Charlie’s coke-addict, whimsical best friend.

Vishal has done a great job in the writing department. The script based on an idea by Cajetan Boy, a writer from Nairobi, is taut and keeps the viewers hooked with plenty of twists and turns. One cannot afford to go out for popcorn or even answer a text message as the screenplay is arranged like a jigsaw puzzle and you are supposed to fit in all the pieces, no spoon feeding by the director here. There are so many characters and no time to develop them, Vishal does not bother with that and lets you discover them through their actions. There is tremendous attention to detail that builds these characters. For example, Bhope Bhau is shown checking his blood sugar level while barking orders to his gang members, establishing the fact that he is diabetic.

Dialogues in the film are simply mind-blowing, sample these… Charlie says, “Yeh life badi kutti cheez hai” (life is a bitch) and “Paifa kamaane ke do raafte hain, ek fhort cut aur doofra chhota fhort cut” (there are two ways to earn money, short cut and a shorter short cut). Sweety says, “Kya maine rape kiya tha tumhara” (did I rape you?). There are many more moments in the film that will make you laugh out loud and at the same time shock you.

Vishal once again strikes gold in the music and the background score department. Starting with ‘Dhan te nan’ (Sukhwinder Singh and Vishal Dadlani create magic here), the signature tune in the film to the slow numbers (the title track, ‘Mere raaste kaminey’ and the ballad, ‘Pehli baar mohabbat ki hai’), the music is outstanding. What I really loved is the usage of two male and two female voices for the same song, ‘Raat Ke Dhai Baje’ (Rekha Bharadwaj, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kunal Ganjawala and Suresh Wadkar) and ‘Fatak’ (Sukhwinder Singh and Kailash Kher). Gulzar as usual has penned some out-of-the-box and brilliant lyrics. All these songs are weaved beautifully in the narrative and with the crisp editing you are almost left asking for more. The background score uses the ‘Dhan te nan’ theme extremely well and some catchy numbers from the 70s like ‘Duniya mein logo ko dhoka koi ho jaata hai’.

Tassaduq Hussain’s cinematography is amazing and you are not treated to perfect still frames which add to the entire experience. He has mostly used a hand-held camera to capture the rain-drenched city of Mumbai. Meghna Manchanda Sen and A. Sreekar Prasad deliver on the editing, which can make or break a caper like this. Dolly Ahluwalia’s styling and Sham Kaushal’s action are also brilliant.

What elfe fhall I fay about thif film… it if the beft film I have feen fince Aamir Khan’s ‘Taare Zameen Par’. Kaminey if a film with an attitude… I ftrongly recommend thif awefome flick, don’t miff it and watch it in a theatre.

My Rating: * * * * ½ Four and a half stars (on five)

- Shrey Khetarpal

Pic source: in.movies.yahoo.com

Three years ago when Vishal Bharadwaj made “Omkara”, a lot of us couldn’t stop raving about his style. And now his latest film “Kaminey” catapults him to the league of pioneers of new wave cinema in India. Over the past few years, Hindi film industry has shown remarkable maturity in handling and narrating  new themes and stories, thanks to some incredibly talented directors like Anurag Kashyap, Neeraj Pandey, Dibakar Banerjee and others.  But “Kaminey” is unlike any other film we have seen for a long time in Hindi because it transcends the limitations like language, insipid content and more importantly lack of conviction among other things, that we usually associate with Cinema. It teases you with its intelligence and once you fall into its realm, there’s no looking back in this roller coaster.

“Kaminey” narrates the story of twins, who are living separate lives. One stammers and the other has a lisp. While they have their own perspective of what kind of lives they want, fate has different plans for them. On a particularly eventful day, the brothers bump into each other under some extraordinary set of events and then…..dhan tana……You have watch all that on big screen.

“Kaminey” is undoubtedly dark, funny and intelligent at the same time. No wonder, we are expected to carry our brains along while watching this movie because it’s like a jig-saw puzzle which isn’t easy to figure out instantly. The film has tremendous energy at the outset but its real strength is in the fact that all its characters brim with life and sharp intelligence. It makes you wonder how one can fiddle with a theme so mundane in Bollywood and come up with a perfectly sensible story. We are talking about Guns, Goons, Drugs, Corrupt Policemen, Fanatics. Hasn’t this set been the most mundane set of characters in all our films? Yet, under Vishal Bharadwaj’s direction all of them turn extremely unpredictable and continue to remain so till the very end. Some of the characters like Bhope, which Amol Gupte plays with striking ferocity or Tashi played by Tenzing Nima bring a certain charm to the role of an antagonist which has been missing in our films. Every dialogue uttered speaks volumes of their personality and not even once do they appear to be out of sync of their characters. Then there are other characters like Mikhail, Lobo, the Bengali brothers and a horde of others who give the film a distinct voice and personality. It’s for this reason one must watch and appreciate this film.

Shahid Kapur does remarkably well as Guddu, the kind-hearted guy who has a specific plan for his future. Guddu has a tough time dealing with his stammering problem and doubts the sincerity of his relationships  from time to time. Inferiority complex? Maybe. On the other hand, Shahid saves his best for the role of “Charlie”, the one with a lisp…oops…lifp! It takes time to understand his diction and once you get a hold of the lisp, it never ceases to amuse even in the most wretched situations. Priyanka Chopra is wonderful as Sweety, be it her Marathi slang or even her resolve to marry the guy she loves despite all odds. Amole Gupte as Bhope, whose love for Maharashtra echos the sentiments of several political leaders of Mumbai, is stunning! He’s funny and at the same time cruel to those who don’t heed to his words, take that scene where Mikhail and Bhope play a game of russian roulette. We know that someone’s going to die, yet the tragedy is morphed by both Bhope and Mikhail’s antics.

Like all his other films, Vishal Bharadwaj sets his story amidst some unsual locations. The backdrop is Mumbai this time and somehow the locales still look like Bombay. The film is not only dark in its content but also visually. Most of the scenes have a greyish tinge to them which is perfectly in sync with the mood of the film. Even most of the locales are the bylanes and slums of Mumbai. Kudos to the production unit for the effort they have put in. Another reason why this film is so slick is, Tassuduq Hussian. The cinematography under his agies reminds you of several Hollywood films and extremely helpful in capturing the emotions and mood of the characters who are on the run. The hand-held cinematography style adds a lot more life to this film and something which you can’t stop raving about. Vishal Bharadwaj who also wrote this film apart from composing the music, background score and direction excels beyond your imagination. The plot of “Kaminey” might look simple, but it’s very unpredictable and at times keeps you guessing about what’s going to happen next. “Dhan Tana…” and “Pheli Baar…” are beautifully composed. The background score is a huge asset! It’s one thing to narrate a film, but it’s altogether to narrate a complex story with a stroke of genius. That’s exactly where Vishal Bharadwaj succeeds, continuously. Maqbool and Omkara showed us what he can do with a set of talented actors, but with “Kaminey” he pushes the ante’ further in terms of entertaining as well as presenting a challenging film to the audience. I bow to our desi Quentin Tarantino! And there’s a huge influence of Guy Ritche’s style as well in Vishal’s style.

This film is highly recommended for everyone and I mean even those of you who love cheesy flicks. It hits you like a brick, reminding us how much of junk we have been watching all these days in the theaters. You don’t have to be a genius to appreciate this film, yet the film expects you to understand the major part of how and why on your own. Watch “Kaminey” because it respects your intelligence and films like these come once in a bluemoon.

Bottomline: The film is …a…aw…awefone! Ftunning! A must watch.

Rating: 5/5

P.S: Quite a few dialogues are in Marathi and few in Bengali. It would have been great if the film makers had subtitles for them too.

P.P.S: It’s not that this film is the greatest ever film made in Hindi. But watching the film makes you realise that it couldn’t have been better. Hence a rating of 5/5…:)

Picture Courtesy: Wikipedia.com

Please help my writing and movie reviews by buying me a coffee….or a movie ticket.

For all the movie buffs and film makers in Hyderabad, here’s an interesting event on 23rd August…”Cut It Short”-Short Film Festival…read more @ http://cutitshort.wordpress.com

(Share this article…)

]]> http://fenilandbollywood.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/movie-review-kaminey-by-raja-sen/ Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:03:20 +0000 fenilseta http://fenilandbollywood.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/movie-review-kaminey-by-raja-sen/ http://kolowski.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/ak-74/ Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:03:31 +0000 Karl Kolowski http://kolowski.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/ak-74/

É possível reparar que trata-se de uma versão atualizada da AK-47. A sigla AK, como na AK-47, significa Avtomat Kalashnikova odraztzia, ou então, no nosso bom português, rifle ou arma automática de Kalashnikov.

O general Mikhail Kalashnikov a projetou em 1974 durante a Guerra Fria, de modo a criar uma arma com todas as facilidades da AK-47, porém mais atual. Foi amplamente difundida entre as principais repúblicas soviéticas formadoras do Pacto de Varsóvia (Moldávia, Bielorússia, Estônia, Letônia e Lituânia), em oposição à OTAN, norte-americana.

Também pode ser encontrada pelo nome de AKSU-74, onde SU é a sigla de Soviet Union, obviamente indicando a origem do armamento, proeminente da URSS, mas que depois também foi produzida na China, Alemanda Oriental, e Romênia. Sua principal aplicação foi na guerra soviética contra o Afeganistão, onde o objetivo era a construção de um oleoduto que escoasse o petróleo da região para a costa, onde poderia ser distribuído.

O notável é que, para combater os russos, os EUA treinaram diversos afegãos fornecendo armamentos e ensino tático militar, e dentre os alunos mais esforçados estava ninguém mais do que Osama Bin Laden.

Teve diversas variações e tinha a capacidade de acoplar um lançador de granadas, como visto abaixo:

Dados Técnicos:

• Peso: 3,03 Kg
• Comprimento: 943 mm
• Comprimento do cano: 415 mm
• Calibre: 5,45×39 mm
• Cadência de tiro: 650 por minuto
• Velocidade de saída do projétil: 900 m/s
• Raio de efeito: 100-1000 m
• Alimentação: cartuchos de 30 ou 45 tiros

Vídeo: Poder de fogo da AK-74

O blog é meramente descritivo e não incentiva nem fornece informações de uso e/ou aquisição das armas nele expressas.

Il futuro potrebbe portare la Roma ancora più ad Est. Ha un nome e, soprattutto, un portafoglio il signore russo interessato all’acquisto del club. Si chiama Mikhail Prokhorov, è nato a Mosca il 3 maggio 1965, è un finanziere che ha fatto fortuna negli anni Novanta con il nickel, è l’uomo più ricco di Russia e il numero 40 della classifica mondiale dei supermiliardari 2009, stilata dalla rivista Forbes. Celibe, ha due passioni: le donne e sport. Le prime gli hanno creato qualche problema, la seconda lo ha fatto diventare presidente della federazione russa di biathlon. Prokhorov si è invaghito della Roma in occasione della finale di Champions. Le immagini del Colosseo illuminato, l’Olimpico pieno e il nome Roma hanno messo in moto l’operazione. Ci sono stati incontri e scambi di e-mail con UniCredit, la banca che vanta un credito di quasi 400 milioni con il gruppo Italpetroli. Prochorov ha affidato il progetto a uomini di sua fiducia, imponendo una condizione: l’assoluto riserbo. Prokhorov, che conosce bene le storie legate alla Naftva Mosca e Soros, vuole trattare con le banche e da 40 giorni i suoi uomini attendono la nomina del supermanager al quale dovrebbe essere affidato l’incarico di vendere la Roma. L’offerta Prochorov è pronto a sborsare 250 milioni di euro per l’acquisto del club, oltre ad altri 80 da investire sul mercato. C’è già una lista di possibili acquisti, in testa ilnome dell’attaccante Pavlyuchenko: Prokhorov vuole un calciatore russo nella sua Roma. L’obiettivo è quello di portare la Roma ai massimi livelli europei, non solo in ambito calcistico. Nei programmi, c’è una rivoluzione totale, dal merchandising alla comunicazione. Un emissario di Prokhorov è stato ricevuto da UniCredit a Roma l’8 luglio, mentre la sede moscovita di UniCredit ha preso visione della disponibilità dei 250 milioni di euro. Il 19 luglio Prokhorov ha avuto l’ok politico dal premier russo Vladimir Putin. Manca solo la lettera d’intenti per far partire l’operazione, ma fino a quando la nomina del supermanager per la vendita della Roma sarà rinviata, Prokhorov non si muoverà. Settimana prossima Rosella Sensi convocherà una conferenza stampa.

FONTE:

ISCRIVITI AL FORUM DI AS ROMA FAN – CLICCA QUI!!!

I know there are a lot of polls like this one… but I still don’t have too much on this blog, and it is because I have to do other stuff and I am still doing something for the blog, so I am sorry that is going to slow.

Nos toca ahora un gran notición de “Perdidos” si es que llega a cumplirse… Por lo que lo que viene a continuación puede considerarse simplemente como rumores, o también como spoilers, que cada uno lo lea bajo su responsabilidad.

Desde DarkUFO nos llega la información que los productores de la serie se han puesto en contacto con parte de los miembros “muertos” de la serie para que volvieran para la sexta temporada. De hecho la página va más allá de esto y da los nombres de aquellos que están por confirmar y a los que, según ellos, podrían estar fijos en un arco argumental de la última temporada de “Lost”.

Por un lado estarían los personajes que todavía no han dicho nada acerca de aparecer de nuevo en la serie como Libby, Eko, Kelvin Inman, Leslie Arzt, Dannielle Rousseau, Mikhail Bakunin, Tom, Goodwin Stanhope o Ethan. Ellos son grandes secundarios que han ido cayendo a lo largos de las cinco temporadas que hemos tenido hasta ahora.

Sin embargo Shannon, Boone, Charlie, Juliet, Ana Lucía, Michael Dawson y Charlotte sí que podría estar de nuevo en la serie. Además se dice que podrían volver para varios episodios…

Todo ello ha dado lugar a nuevas teorías: como que quizás vuelvan al mismo momento del avión, sin llegar a estrellarse, con todos sus pasajeros en perfecto estado que es lo que el científico vaticino antes de ser asesinado. Nada es oficial y tendremos que esperar hasta ver la última temporada en 2010 para descubrirlo…

Former president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev has released a CD album entitled ‘Songs for Raisa’, dedicated to his spouse who died from acute leukemia in 1999.

The 78-year-old politician has recorded the album with the leader of one of Russia’s most beloved rock bands ‘Mashina Vremeni’ (Time Machine), Andrey Makarevich.

The last Soviet President told Interfax news agency he’s recorded his wife’s seven favourite songs. ‘There will be no bulk selling of the album. We’ve put it on our charity auction in London,’ Gorbachev said.

Gorbachev sang one of the songs live at the charity dinner in London last week, causing a storm of applause, Interfax adds. Among the dinner’s guests were Boris Johnson, Sarah Brown, J.K. Rowling, Vanessa Redgrave and other prominent political and cultural figures.

In 2006 the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation was established to help find a cure for cancer in children.

Riporto brandelli dal Corriere.it

MOSCA – È stato l’ultimo segretario del Partito comunista sovietica, uno dei protagonisti della fine della guerra fredda, premio Nobel per la pace. Oggi è presidente (nonché fondatore) della Green Cross International, organizzazione ambientalista indipendente. Ma Mikhail Gorbaciov non è solo uno dei grandi protagonisti della storia del Novecento: è anche un uomo innamorato di sua moglie Raissa, morta di leucemia nel settembre 1999 in una clinica tedesca. E per esprimere il suo sentimento eterno ha inciso un disco in cui canta alcune delle canzoni preferite dalla consorte.

NON SARÀ IN VENDITA - Si chiama appunto «Canzoni per Raissa» e l’ex presidente dell’Urss l’ha realizzato insieme ad Andrei Makarevic, noto compositore e musicista russo, leader del gruppo rock Mashina Vremieni (La macchina del tempo), in occasione del decennale della scomparsa della compagna. Un gesto d’amore non solo rivolto al passato, ma anche al presente e al futuro: Gorbaciov ha presentato la sua opera a Londra durante una serata di beneficenza organizzata dalla Fondazione che prende il suo nome a favore dei bambini malati di leucemia. «Sul disco sono incise sette romanze tanto amate da Raissa Maksimovna – ha detto -. Le canto io personalmente, accompagnato da Andrei Makarevic. Lo abbiamo presentato alla nostra serata di beneficenza a Londra, ma non verrà messo in vendita nei negozi». Pavel Palazhcenko, portavoce della Fondazione Gorbaciov, ha spiegato che «cedendo alle richieste di tutti i 347 ospiti della serata, Mikhail Serghieevic ha cantato una delle canzoni più commoventi del disco, intitolata “Vecchie Lettere”, suscitando un incredibile entusiasmo e un mare di applausi».

Una canzone di Mikhail

Venga qualcuno a dire che l’amore eterno non esiste!!!!! Maschietti (e non solo) prendete nota…