Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Love and Rage: Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Yesterday night I was watching rerun of an episode of Alfred Hitchcock presents, a suspense TV series of the old. The story brought myriad of emotions in me. I felt compelled to narrate it in my own words to get some closure.
The story started with a woman of around thirty lying on a bed with a bandaged hand, too weak to get up, in a dimly lit room. She tried to remember where she was, but couldn’t. She then tried to account for what happened last. “Yes, I was waiting for Jack”, she got a bit of smile back thinking of him.
Jack came home and she fixed him a drink. She was feeling a bit tensed and anxious while holding the drink, Why? Oh yes, she was an alcoholic and have been off drink for some time. The Craving. But for his sake, she fought hard. “Darling lets go to a party tonight”, he said, taking her in his arms. “A party you said, but with all the people, all the drink around? I feel scared”. “I am sure you will be fine”, he assured her.
They entered the party. He had some urgent work with the hostess and went in to the study with her. She was feeling so scared and lonely in that room full of people, trying to resist the craving. But why was her hand bandaged? She still could not remember. A stranger offered her a drink but she declined. Where is Jack? What is he doing with her? Just then Jack came out arms in arms with the hostess. Something happened then, What was it? Yes, she threw a drink at the hostesses face, and then ran out crying.
Jack knocked at the door. He would be so angry. But he was not. “I am worried for you Martha, coz I love you”. “You love me after all what I have done today?” “Yes I love you dearly”. “Oh Jack, my Jack, I am sorry for everything. When I see you with other women, I can’t control it. And while resisting all that drink. I think I will go mad. What would all those people be thinking about you at the party? Let’s go back and undo the damage”. He smiled and they kissed. “Let’s get married”, he proposed. She was so happy.
How come she ended up in this dark room? “Nurse”, she called out. They went back to the party. He was having a conversation with the hostess and another woman. She went out to the balcony for some fresh air. The stranger came back. He turned out to be the brother of the hostess. “You see my sister over there with that man. She loves him like anything”. The rage came back. “She loves him, but they say, he is in love with another woman.” She blushed. “A woman, who they say is an alcoholic. The worst kind”, he went on. “They say it won’t be long before she goes back to her ways and he comes running to my sister”.
It was all true, isn’t it?. She needed a drink now. The craving was back. She gulped a double martini. After a couple of shots, she said, “Let’s go bar hopping”. Don’t know what took over her. They went from bar to bar, drinking like anything. She was in a mess. Jack came looking for her along with the hostess. She will take him away. She will take him away. Jack tried to hold her, but she was in a violent rage. “Leave me alone, I tell you, Leave me alone”, she threw herself around. Jack was not able to hold her. She fell down, broke the glass she was holding and hurt her hand. The reason for the bandage. There she was lying with a bloodied hand, pieces of glass and spilled drink. Jack bent down to pick her up.
A nurse entered the room. She felt less scared. “Nurse I am feeling better now. I want to leave the hospital”. Nurse looked amused, “You can’t leave lady. This isn’t exactly a hospital.” “What is this place then?” she asked confused. “Well this is the city jail”. “What???? Why am I here?” “You killed a man yesterday night, slit his throat with a piece of glass. A man named Jack Simmons”.
She felt like something ripped her from inside. She tried to cry but voice stopped in the tracks.

Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara: The Dialoguebaazi

I saw Once upon a Time in Mumabi Dobara recently. Unlike the reviews I have been hearing, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was indeed what a movie should be, A Fantasy. The Dialoguebaazi, Song, Dance and what not. After a long time I was able to recite dialogues after the movie ended. Dil Chahta Hai, though an awesome movie, was the final nail in the dialogues of the old. OUATIMD, brought it all back.
Peene ki capacity, Jeene ki strength, Account ka balance aur Naam ka kahuf…kabhi bhi kam nahin hona chahiye. (Capacity to drink, Strength to live, Bank balance and Fear of the name…should never become less). Seems a bit over the top, but it was exactly what I liked. A loveable yet a dreaded gangster.
Given that the whole movie is full of dialoguebaazi, the ones I liked the most are below:
1. “Agar main hero ban gaya toh meri pehchaan bura maan jayegi” (If I became a hero, my identity won’t like it). When Akshay is told that he can be a hero in life, in he wants to.
2. In chamakte huye pathar ko dekh kar auratein maaf kar deti hain, Shohaib nahi. (Women accept apologies when given diamonds, not me) Akshay is not amused when one of his men produces looted diamonds as reason for his coming late.
3. Aam admi aam ki tarah hote hain, koi unhe kha jata hai ya koi unhe choos leta hai. (Common men are like Mango, some eat them, others suck them)
4. Dafan toh sabne hona hai ek din…jeete ji dab gaya toh jeena mitti hai. (Everyone has to be buried one day…if I get buried alive (under fear), then life is useless)
5. Waah re waah, uski maa ka bharosa! (Wow! O Wow! Her mother’s trust). It’s a play of words. Bharosa if misspelt makes a choicest of expletive.
6. Pyaar mein aadmi cutting chai jaisa hota hai, na pyaas bujhti hai, na mann bharta hai. (In love, man is like a half cup of tea, neither it satisfies thirst, nor it makes us feel good)
7. Aadmi toh auraton ke hote hai…tujhe zinda chod diya toh sharafat bura maan jayegi! (Men belong to Women…if I leave you alive, good will feel bad.) When a gang member begs for his life, reminding Akshay that he is his own man.
8. Shoaib toh pyaar se pyaar bhi nahi karta! (Shoaib doesn’t even make love with love).
9. Aathana dalke do kaudi ki dhamki koi bhi de sakta hai (Anyone can put a 50 paise in a payphone, and utter a worthless threat)
Movie threatres went a step ahead. I saw the below sign at the snack counter, beneath the OUATIMD poster.
10. Popcorn nahin liya toh picture bura maan jaayegi. (If you don’t take popcorn, movie will feel bad)

Monday, August 19, 2013

Cardinal Sin and The Twisted Ankle

After a tiring day in Kolkata, me and a friend of mine decided to catch the late night show of Once upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara. We enquired about a theatre near our hotel and caught a ride.
I was standing in the ticket queue when something caught my eye. I don’t really know what it was, Was it the Smile, Was it the Innocence, Was it the Eyes, Was it the Dress. I just kept looking unaware of the world. There was this girl in green, with the Smile that puts Mona Lisa to shame, with the Innocence that defies this world, with the Eyes that penetrates the heart. It took me a while to realize she was with a guy and took a while more to realize that she was recently married, given the prominent Mehandi on her hands.
She was ahead of me in the queue, I bought the tickets and went inside. I lined up to buy some popcorn and there she was again, in the same queue. I was struggling hard not to gaze at her, given the consequences that could result in. The movie ended sometime later. I caught a glimpse of her during the interval. She was not just with her husband, but with full family.
Show got over at around 2 in the night. I strolled to the exit. There she was with her family. Perhaps my last chance to look at her. My friend had stopped a taxi and called out to me. I walked towards the taxi but kept looking sideways gazing her.
Just then I felt a jolt and fell down with an excruciating pain. I hadn’t noticed that I was crossing over from high footpath on to a low road. I had mis-stepped and badly twisted my ankle. I saw her getting into a car and fading away. For moment the pain stopped along with the time. As she went away the pain came back and I could see my friend bent over laughing.
If she was Eve, I just paid my dues for the Cardinal sin of Lust.

Freebies are Fishy: The lure of the missing handle

I have always been taught, if you are getting a good bargain, be cautious. There is nothing like free lunches. An advertisement by a leading telecom operator goes like, “It feels good when you get something extra”. I couldn’t agree more. But it is this good feeling that shrouds our judgment and tricks us.
More often than not you will find the devil disguised as an angel to lure you. If something seems too good, take extra precautions. There is a good chance that it will bite you.
This weekend I was in Kolkata for some urgent matter. I was to take an early morning flight back. As it happened, I twisted my ankle and was in no shape to reach the airport without help. A friend of mine, who was leaving the night before, dropped me at the airport in night itself. So I was there at airport at 12 am for a 6 am flight.
Slowly the exhaustion started to get better of me and I felt like lying down. There are no recliners like T3 at Kolkata airport, just a stack of chairs with separating handles. There is no way you can combine chairs to make a bed (have been my habit since college days, whenever I worked late in lab/office).
Something magical happened next or so I thought! Even with my twisted ankle and drowsy mind, I was able to notice an abnormality amidst one stack of chairs. One of the separating handle was not there. It combined two chairs. I galloped over there and was thrilled. I lied down. Peace. I remember before falling asleep, few people coming over to figure out how I managed to lie down and also remember their begrudged faces when they realized it’s by sheer luck. And so I slept.
Sleep I tell you is the sweetest thing, at the same time it can be the damnest. I slept and slept and slept. By some quirk of fate, I woke up and checked the time. Was it 5:35 already? Or was it a dream? No it was real. I was about to miss my flight. With my broken leg, I ran to collect my boarding pass. I was the last one. They took pity on me coz of my leg. I breezed through the security check and ran towards the boarding gate. Last and final call was going on for last 10 mins. Excited, I failed to locate the boarding gate. Trouble! I was on the wrong floor. I took the escalator down and skidded to the gate. It seemed so far away! Someone from the airlines staff realized my sorry state and came over to assist me. I was the last one to board.
Had it been 15-20 mins more of sleep, I would have missed my flight. Given my budget constraints of late, it wouldn’t have been a good thing.
Anyways the devil disguised as the lone missing handle lured me in and had almost had me. Next time when you feel special, beware! Someone might just have dialed 666.