TCS Open 10K run

Posted by Anantha | Posted in | Posted on Monday, May 28, 2012

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Some times, even after accomplishing some things - though it comes out the way you plan it - it does not satisfy you. Yesterday's TCS 10K was one such thing for me! 
The run began at 8AM from Kantheerava stadium. I finished the run around 8:58AM. That's exactly how I want to sum up my experience! I do not have any thing to mention in between. I can't particularly point to a thing and say why was it so. Was it because I was skeptical about my strained right shin or was it the previous day's junk food intake or was it because my Endomondo did not catch GPS signal during the race or was it because I did not have enough time to use the rest rooms after reaching Kantheerava or was it some thing else... I am sure some thing was not right about the whole run. I basically did not enjoy the run. Mind you, it is not the finish timing, I have nothing much to complain there. 56 mins - 58 mins  has always been my 10Kms timing. 

This TCS 10K was more like my engineering studies, All I know is I finished it, I neither enjoyed it nor  I remember anything about it.


Update at 3PM:
OK... the official timing is out now. My net finish time is 56 mins 49 secs. My overall ranking is 771 out of some 7000 odd people who finished the race in my category. More stats can be found here.

Udaan

Posted by Anantha | Posted in , | Posted on Wednesday, May 16, 2012

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Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
Cast: Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Ram Kapoor, Aayan Boradia


I am not going to write this post like my earlier movie reco posts. As there is lot to say and I am finding it tough to connect the dots. Just to be really really brief about the plot, Udaan is about the relationship of this teenager Rohan [Rajat Barmecha] with his disciplinarian father Bhairav Singh [Ronit Roy] and also with his step brother Arjun [Aayan Boradia].

I am in a mood to say too much, this post would contain many plot spoilers, but if you have not seen Udaan, don't worry too much about it. Because in this movie how it happens is more important than what exactly happens.


  • The city of Jemshedpur looked really beautiful in the movie. I have never been to Jemshedpur. The city which I had imagined to be a dusty and rusty city through my myopic imagination, actually looks lusciously green and 'beautifully wet' in the rainy season. It has become a cliche for writers and directors to say the city or town they are using as a backdrop for the film is supposedly a character in the film and not a mere locale. But in Udaan, Jemshedpur and Shimla, both the places where the movie is shot, come across alive as any other character in the movie. When Bhairav Singh [Ronit Roy] and Rohan [Rajat Barmecha] were running across the city, I really felt like running in that city! Any marathons in Jemshedpur? ;)
  • Loved many of the symbolism used in the movie. The beating of hot iron by a huge piston kinda in Bhairav Singh’s factory when Rohan works as an apprentice there by equating Bhairav befitting Rohan into a mold he wants him to be in, then Jimmy [chachoo, Bhairav’s younger bro] seeing Rohan catching up with Bhairav Singh in one of their early morning jogs symbolizing the grown up Rohan who no longer wants to follow his father’s footsteps and is ready to take on the world. It is very unfortunate that Jimmy sees it, the audience sees it but Bhairav would not.
  • Rohan's friends Vikram, Maninder n Benoy are introduced to the audience at the beginning and not shown at all after they get expelled from school and return to their respective hometowns. Even when we are shown Rohan speaking to Maninder on phone twice in the movie, we just get to hear the voice of Maninder. This trick works great, as an audience we miss to see Rohan's friends as he misses them after their boarding school. Thus we are made to feel what Rohan feels, we are made to miss what Rohan misses. Basically, the director has made sure that we travel with Rohan in his emotional journey.
  • Loved the way Arjun, the step brother of Rohan played by Ayan Boradia, points his finger at defeated Rohan and says 'disgraceful' repeating their father Bhairav Singh :-)
  • Watched director Vikramaditya Motwane's commentary on the movie where he talks about some of the scenes in the movie which he liked shooting, which he disliked for the way it has come out, where he confesses about some small little bloopers in smoking continuities, hair and make up continuity, some justifications for why the things are the way they were in the movie, scenes which were absolute pain to shoot purely because of the logistical and monetary constraints, scenes where things have fallen in place very very unexpectedly (when Rohan comes to live with his father after a gap of 8 years, the quote - Love Happiness on his Tee appears as Lose Happiness because of a crease when he sits on the bed) and have made them look beautiful. I personally love these kind of commentaries which tell the process of a draft manifesting into a fine final product. Another reason to buy original DVDs :) And I must thank Tess for lending me this DVD.
  • The childhood photos of Rohan and his mother which appear in a photo album in the movie are actually of Vikramaditya Motwane's wife Ishika's and her nephew's. And those were the still photos taken by Vikramaditya himself. The photos are very candid and the lady in the photo Ishika is very very gracious!
  • Another special thing about the movie is, the narration does not appear to be in hurry to reveal everything to the audience at once. It takes its time to sufficiently build the aura of every character and create the projection of image in audience's mind and judiciously reveals the details a bit here and a little there.
  • A word about the acting department. Rajat Barmecha is just fine as a teenager with simmering anger against his upbringing. He shows his vulnerable side too when he is reciting stories, poems and during his lately built camaraderie with his step brother. Ram Kapoor is brilliant in his small yet strong role. Manjoth Singh instantly strikes a chord with the audience. According to me, the best was Ronit Roy as Bhairav Singh. Basically it is a well etched multi-layered character. A gray character that is going to stay in my mind for a long time.

Last but not the least, this is the poem Rohan recites to Maninder when both of them – along with other two friends Vikram and Benoy – get expelled from their boarding school and would have to part ways for getting caught watching an adult film in a theater in Shimla.

choti choti chhitrai yaadein
bichhi hui hain lamho ki lawn pe
nange pair unpar chalte chalte
itni dur chalein aaye hain
ki ab bhool gaye joote kaha utare the

aidi komal thi jab aaye the
thodi si nazuk hai abhi bhi
aur nazuk hi rahegi
in khatti meethi yadon ki shararat
jab tak inhe gudgudati rahe

sach, bhool gaye hain
ki joote kahan utare the
par lagta hai
ab unki jarurat nahi..

Note: chhitrai means sprinkled

I found this poem very close to my heart. Want to dedicate this to my close buddies – Basu, Byre, Prashi and Bhai. Neither did we study together in boarding school nor were we caught watching an adult film in theater, but this is to our share of bullshit and mess and fun we were part of :)

Naina baan paDi by Nandini Srikar

Posted by Anantha | Posted in | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012

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The song, "Dil mera muft ka..." from Agent Vinod got added to my playlist little late. I must say, much after the Pungi song. "Dil mera muft ka..." has been played in endless loops during my long runs. Though the tune is catchy, it is the singing which I loved the most. On spending little time on net, I found out the singer's name is Nandini Srikar. She is the one who had sung 'Bhare Naina..' from Ra.One. It also led me to some of the non-filmi compositions by this amazingly talented woman. 'Naina baan paDi' is a song composed and sung By Nandini Srikar for her private album Beete Pal which was released in 2011. It is originally written by Meera, which also has a version sung by legendary Asha Bhosle.

For now, check this soulful composition and rendition by Nandini Srikar... Ever since, I listened to this song, I have become a huge fan of hers. Let me know if you like it or not...



PS: Can you believe that 'very Indian sounding' piece of stuff from 3 Mins 29 Secs is actually Electric Guitar..!?!! That's by guitarist Prasanna

PPS: Sunidhi Chauhan, Richa Sharma, Harshdeep Kaur and now Nandini Srikar... not sure how many more such names get added to this list in future. Bring it on Bolly Music, I have kept this list open... :)

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