Macchis ki Teeli

1 am and the weekend's around the corner. Not that it matters to people like me who're no longer restrained by the ole corporate leash. Haven't felt like writing in a while and like I was telling someone not too long ago that it kinda surprised me just how long I've been away.
But I'm back... if only for a little while (good lyric this...)

So what can I write about? Perhaps we can do a little rundown on whats been happening in my life recently. Easiest place to tap into for some material. Went for this play on a Friday some weeks ago called Ismat Aapa ke Naam which was 3 one wo/man acts based on the writings of Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai. Funnily enough I was supposed to have gone for an English play on Saturday night but got arm-twisted gently coaxed into attending this one as well. So me who hadn't seen a play in over 15 years finally ended up watching 2 plays on consecutive nights. Sort of...
Patience Gadhadhari Bheem... I shall explain.

Now Ismat Aapa... was enacted entirely in Urdu (and that too the hardcore wtf-did-he-just-say kinda Urdu) as was wished by the director who wanted to stay true to the writings of the author. Well I'd say he succeeded quite admirably coz I understood jack! About 80% of all the dialogue just went flying overhead and I was just about able to get the gist of the overall plot. The first sketch was enacted by Manoj Pahwa whose name you perhaps will not recognise but whose face you certainly will. Now this guy has acted in several Hindi movies off late and falls into what I refer to as the mandatory sidey comic role required in most films these days. The writing is so terrible in today's movies that you automatically vent your ire at actors like Pahwa who're.. well.. just doing what's been written. I was so happy to eat humble pie that night. He is a wonderful performer and, despite obvious personal language barriers, made his act an enjoyable one. And if Pahwa was fun to watch, his wife Seema who followed in the 3rd act was a complete riot. Again someone who is relegated to doing the sidey stuff in Bollywood. These two are truly talents who are wasted on the big screen and walking out into the night I was happy that to have had some preconceived notions shattered that night and also bemused at how much you have to dumb down your craft go to earn your bread and butter...

Now the next day I went to see a famous play called Waiting for Godot. And... I walked out during the interval! It's supposed to be this deep thinking play about the harshness of life and existentialism. There are many levels to it relating to religion, philosophy, politics and psychology as explained by a friend who had come along. But all I could think through 45 minutes that was the first half was, "Ayyeeeee bhaaaaaiiiiii.... apne palle kuch nahi pad raha...". I guess my choice of entertainment over the past many years now veers to anything which either amuses and/or enthralls me and certainly at the very least which I am able to understand quickly enough. Sure there are many ways to interpret a play like this one but it failed to capture my interest which means I will not even bother dissecting it like I would have any book/movie/TV show. I probably come across as less evolved by many who hold this play in high regard. Guilty I suppose but if there's one thing at all that I can be sure about, is that I could probably rewrite that play (the dialogues anyway) and make it atleast a tad more entertaining than it was (for me) that night.
On a positive note, it was pretty cool to watch Naseeruddin Shah and Benjamin Gilani for the first time live. These guys are the big daddys of Indian theatre and yeah while the play itself bored the crap out of me, the performances were pretty darn good. I had no idea till a few days later that Randeep Hooda (he of Monsoon Wedding and D fame) had played the heavily bearded character of Lucky the slave.

In other news, I will doing a little thing on a community radio station with the Madman (he of my other blog fame). We two suave worldly gents will take on the forces of evil and vanquish them resoundingly whilst  rescuing dainty maidens and ride off into the sunset talk about civic issues that are hassling the neighbourhood. Of course with our irreverent spin on it :) We've already been warned about (not) dropping the F-Bomb on the air by our Program Director. So if you're in and around Bandra from the 1st of May, tune into Jago Mumbai 107.8 and give us a listen...

Also joined a band in the recent past although it seems like we barely got together before the bassist had to take off to join his new job and our lead player leaves for the States in August. I really must find people my own age to jam with rather than dudes who're either in/barely out of college. But the good thing is we're planning to do a band within a band side project of acoustic and indie covers. 1 guitar 1 voice kinda thing. The first two songs on the setlist are courtesy the lovely and refreshing Nimbupaani (who ought to put up posts more often but then that'd be the pot doing the proverbial thing) which are Blue October's - Calling you (Acoustic) and Winterpills' Cranky.
And this third one is an Elton John classic covered by My Morning Jacket... I'm not married. In fact I don't even have a significant other and of course no kids either but fuck this song gets to me each time I listen to it. 



I usually try to end on a positive or funny note but not this time... Probably one of the most moving death scenes in Indian cinema, I choked up at THIS scene of a brother losing his sister and couldn't stop the tears from falling especially at 0:23 - 0:31