iMHO – In My Honest Opinion – April 2013

So Many Fun Things, So Little Time! Here’s The Scoop

A Wednesday at ISM

YouTube is a haven for parodies and this one is no exception. It’s a spoof on A Wednesday’s famous scene where Naseruddin Shah tells Anupam Kher about the common man’s problems. However, here it’s a first year student, annoyed with the ragging in college who kidnaps his seniors and rags them. Watch it for its dialogues and the main lead’s superb acting.

Barry Trotter and the Shameless Parody
Read the adventures of Barry Trotter and his two friends, Lon Measly and Ermine Cringer, at Hogwash School for Wizardry and Witchcrap. Barry is 22 years-old and will probably never leave Hogwash because G.K. Rollin’s books about him have made him rich. Hollywood then decides to make Rollin’s book into a movie and Barry and his friends are worried about the commercialisation of his tale, so Barry and Bumblemore hatch a plan to stop film production. It’s so ridiculous, it’s mind-numbingly funny.

 

 

 

Welcome to India
If the early-to mid 2000s was a long time ago, then this song is a golden oldie, but its humour is so brilliant that it will never be irrelevant. Rappers MC Vikram and Ludakrishna describe the crazy Indian life, with a catchy “Welcome to India where the cows eat hay/And we drive auto-rickshaws everyday” refrain.

 

Vayuputras
Timed with the release of Amish’s final book in the Shiva trilogy, the Vayuputras music album comprises 11 tracks, each depicting a different part of the story. Although a devotional album, the big names on the cover and the large number of Amish fans will ensure that this album has a larger audience. The opening track is Taufiq Qureshi’s haunting Shiva Trilogy Theme, and is the highlight. The delightful rendition of the flute leaves the listeners wanting more. Bhadra Bam Bole is also a theme song, lasting for around three-and-a-half minutes. Jawaab Do Prabhu is a bhajan while Kashi to Panchavati is an engaging and soulful instrumental track. Bikram Ghosh’s Nataraj – Lord of Dance sees the composer mixing the sitar and tabla beautifully. Each track adds a different flavour to the album and will leave listeners spellbound.

Stash It
Biffy Clyro’s Black Chandelier is proof that alternative rock isn’t dead yet

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trash It
The Harlem Shake meme has ruined Baauer’s song forever

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch It
Suits: it’s clever, informed and full of good-looking people

 

 

Miss It
The Voice, season 4: it won’t be the same without Cee Lo Green!

Movies

Chashme Baddoor
Starring: Ali Zafar, Siddharth, Divyendu Sharma, Rishi Kapoor Three friends share a house in Goa. Jay (Siddharth) and Omi (Sharma) are high on life, while Sid (Zafar) is the normal guy. Seema is the new girl in the neighbourhood who has Jay and Omi falling for her. A remake of the original movie of the same name (1981), David Dhawan has adapted it for today’s youth.

 

 

 

 

 

Aatma
Starring: Bipasha Basu, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shernaz Patel
A young mother (Basu) finds that the ghost of her deceased husband (Siddiqui) has possessed her daughter and intends to take her away. She must fight off the ghost of her husband to keep her daughter safe. This film marks Bipasha Basu’s return to the horror genre.

 

 

 

 

 

Oblivion
Starring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko
Commander Jack Harper (Cruise) is a former marine who is sent to an alien planet to destroy the remains of its alien race. There, he meets a 22-year-old woman; it triggers off a series of events that make him question not just his mission on the planet but also himself.

 

 

 

 

 

QUICK FIRE WITH SANDEEP DAS – Rs. 145

Chetan Bhagat really did open Pandora’s box. In the wake of his success, IIT and IIM graduates have been churning out books. An IIM graduate, Sandeep Das’ Yours Sarcastically is, in spirit, a cousin of Bhagat’s Five Point Someone. The book is narrated by its protagonist, Nikhil, as he lives through business school and the pressures of his first job. Fans of Bhagat will instantly notice the similarities not just in the novel’s setting (yet another premier Indian campus few have the privilege of experiencing) but also in the style it is written – the book is peppered with jokes and plenty of conversational dialogue in ‘Indian English’. There is another similarity too – both Bhagat’s and Das’ works are no literary gems. In Yours Sarcastically, characters appear and disappear with no prelude or explanations while the story zooms ahead with poor descriptive writing, which makes for a tiresome reading experience. If you are, however, a Chetan Bhagat fan, you will forgive all these trangressions and find this book entertaining.

Since you’re an IIM graduate, how much of your book should we take with a pinch of salt and how much of it should we believe in?
Although Yours Sarcastically is a work of fiction, some of the more interesting and spicy incidents mentioned in the book are actually real. I have used my own experience at IIM and at my workplace to create the right environment for the story to be told.

Would you say that Chetan Bhagat, another IIM graduate, has been influential and instrumental in helping you write the book?
I wouldn’t say Chetan Bhagat has been instrumental in helping me write the book. I wrote Yours Sarcastically because I thought I had an extremely entertaining, sarcastic tale to be narrated. Chetan Bhagat has definitely helped in changing the perception of publishers in India – they are now more open to first time authors on stories about the youth in India.

Where do you see ‘Yours Sarcastically’ going? Perhaps a film adaptation?
Yours Sarcastically has done extremely well till now. It has been critically well received by most major newspapers and magazines in India…Every author wants his or her book to be adapted to the big screen. The adaptation to the big screen is seen as the ultimate measure of acceptance and success for a book. I think Yours Sarcastically has all the elements to be converted into a commercially successful script. Some of the plot elements like interviewing 60 size zero south Bombay women, working with underworld dons, managing drunken managers, indulging in everyday office politics and back biting will resonate well and make for an interesting read.

What next for Sandeep Das? Are you going to continue writing?
As of now, I have been writing articles for various newspapers and magazines. I definitely plan to continue writing. I am currently working on my second book. My second book is a sarcastic take on a career in management consulting.

 

Volume 2 Issue 10