Rock On, A Wednesday and Phoonk - Movie Reviews

With loads of work keeping me busy at the office, I find very little time these days to blog or post comments....but, anyway, here are the movie reviews of some films that I recently watched - Rock On, A Wednesday and Phoonk.

Rock On - 7/10 - starring Arjun Rampal (Joe), Farhan Akhtar(Aditya), Purab Kohli (KD) and Luke Kenny (Rob). The film is basically about the members of a rock band called Magik, who win a music competition and get a recording deal. Unfortunately, various differences and jealousies crop up that force the band to split and go thier separate ways without completing the album. 10 years later, they rejoin and decide to give rock music one last try by participating in the music competition again.

Being one of the few Indian movies about rock music, I initially thought 'Rock On' would flop because of its basic concept and niche market. However, the excellent screenplay, music and direction saw the movie becoming a smash hit. Acting was passable. Script and storyline was quite realistic and the characters had depth. Basically, I did'nt find any holes or annoying bits in the movie.


A Wednesday - 3/10 - starring Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Deepal Shaw and Jimmy Shergill. Police Commissioner of Mumbai, Prakash Rathod (Anupam Kher), gets a call that nine bombs are planted over the city, and will be detonated if four terrorists are not released. He initially thinks it is a hoax call, but shifts into action mode when a bomb is found in the police headquarters. In the end, the so called 'terrorist' turns out to be an angry citizen - 'common man', who succeeds in his mission of killing four terrorists lodged in jail, just coz he believes they need to die.

I did'nt like 'A Wednesday' for two reasons - unrealistic interpretation of the media and the theory of revenge that the film propounds. With the amount of news channels today, no reporter can get an 'exclusive' on a terrorism story without loads of reporters from other channels showing up, plus, there were various technical aspects about reporting that needed looking into. About the revenge angle, if everyone decides they want to kill undertrials just because the media or the government says they are guilty, then lots of innocents will die. I just don't subscribe to the film's view about using 'staged encounters' to kill terror suspects believing them to be definitely guilty people who will kill again if freed.


Phoonk - 1/10 - starring some unknown new faces, the less said about Phoonk, the better. Based on black magic, the story of the film was really predictable and awful. The lady who plays the witch, with her overdone makeup and raucous laughter, reminded me of a teacher at school. I was wondering why Ram Gopal Varma was offering Rs. 5 lakhs to watch this film, now I know - If I knew about the contents of this film beforehand, I would'nt have sat through it if I was paid a crore.....


Did you see Rock On, A Wednesday and Phoonk? What do you think of them?

9/13 Delhi Bomb Blasts - An Eyewitness Account

Children were laughing, birds were singing and one Bengali guy was giving a passionate outpouring of his views to a group of friends. Tired after roaming about since afternoon, we were looking for a comfortable place away from the crowds to sit, chat and rest a bit. We settled for a grassy slope in Central Park that faced E- Block, Connaught Place.

A crazy/high guy came near us. He started doing pushups and giving weird speeches in a very loud voice. I felt really eerie and asked KK if we should move from there. A foreign couple was sitting nearby smoking. The tall blonde lady stood up and walked to a green dustbin nearby to dispose of some trash. Looking at the empty chips packets and plastic bottles lying around, we made a joke about how outsiders were more interested in keeping Delhi clean than us Delhites. When I turned to look back, the crazy/high guy had disappeared. We continued our conversation.

Suddenly, at around 6.30 pm there was a loud explosion. It seemed to come from behind E Block. Living in Delhi for as many years as I have, I was sure it was a bomb and told KK so. No sooner had I finished speaking, did the second blast happen. We both saw it. A white flash that rose 20 feet in the air, lots of white smoke and a huge explosion. We were shit scared. People started running like crazy, jumping over the spikes of the park fencing. I was trembling like a leaf. I knew many people, couples just like us, must be suffering or dead. We expected another blast and had no idea which way to run.

Only 10 minutes earlier we had been standing in the same area that the bomb went off. We entered Central Park through the gate opposite Palika Bazar. Deciding we needed some drinking water which was unavailable in the park, KK crossed the road to buy a bottle of mineral water from a vendor outside Palika Bazaar. I waited near the gate at the Central Park entrance. After buying the water, together, we walked passed the Green Dustbin, in which the bomb had been planted.

Later, as we stood comforting each other, the cops came and yelled at us to leave the park. We walked along the inner perimeter of the garden. Many people were crying. Crowds of people were standing on the traffic islands, too afraid to go to the main Connaught Place area because of the fear of more blasts. Ambulances, police jeeps and media vans sped along the Inner Circle road. I called up my parents to inform them about the blasts and that I was safe. We walked into Cafe Coffee Day in the Inner Circle, a relatively empty restaurant, for something hot to alleviate the stress. After some time, a cop entered the restaurant and yelled at the restaurant staff to keep an eye out for terrorists.

We left the restaurant half an hour later and found it real difficult to get transport back home. Autos were already packed. Those that were'nt refused to stop for passengers. Buses were few and crowded. The metro train services had been halted. People were stranded everywhere looking for transport. My parents were worried. My dad drove to Connaught Place to pick me up. KK ended up taking the bus. Reaching home, I realised all phone lines were jammed. Only SMS's were getting through. The fact that I was unable to reach my friends added to the panic. Vodaphone started working only after 10.00 pm, after which I felt some relief.

Later on, I heard on the news that another bomb had been defused in Connaught Place, Central Park. I thanked God for making sure that nothing happened to us and for keeping us safe in this terrifying situation. All I can say is, God Tussi Great Ho!! May the souls of the dead rest in peace and may the injured gain strenght to live life better than before!!

Have any of you been in a terrorist attack or faced such a situation??

I Love Your Blog Award

Hmmm, recently I won a 'I Love Your Blog' award from How Do We Know who writes 'Ki Jaana Main Kaun'. I am so overjoyed. I had started this blog around two years ago when I was in between jobs to vent out my unconventional views on various social issues to the blogging community.

In recent years, my blog has become more personal with posts about movies I've seen, places I've been and hobbies I like. I sometimes try to write posts about vital community issues whenever my brains don't feel fried after a hard day's work at the office, but am facing an uphill task. Well anyway, here are my five winners of the 'I Love Your Blog' Award -

These are the rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on their blog
2. Link the person you received your award from
3. Nominate at least 5 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you’ve nominated.

And the winners are -

1. Foodie's Hope - I simply love Asha's yummy recipes and the pictures are a great delight too.

2. I, Me, Myself - Sidhu Saaheb has a nice way of writing and I have learnt a lot about the Sikh Community through his blog.

3. Light Within - Written by Shirazi from Pakistan, this blog has posts about useful internet tips, tourism across the border and many other great posts.

4. Reeta's Ruminations - Another Dilliwalli, Reeta Skeeter writes about the highs and lows in the Nation's Capital.

5. Reflections of Mind - I like Balaji's posts about the beauty of the simple things in life.

Everyone is free to pick up this award and post it on thier blog. Of course, I read and love many other other blogs, but these blogs scored real high when it came to regular posts and comments.

So, tell me which blog do you love the most??