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My experiences at Pahalgam Summit

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As the continuously jerking bus we are sitting in scuttles ahead on faintly-lit metallic road running and winding along the roaring Lidder River, Kalyani Prasher blurts out her mind– “I could have never imagined myself travelling in Kashmir in this much dark of a night. This is different.” I hear this and feel  somewhat   startled. How can she read my mind? Is she some kind of a clairvoyant or what! Because I am sure if Kalyani wouldn’t have uttered those words, those would have been my words a couple of moments later. It is almost 9 o’clock in the evening, or rather night. I look ahead of me and then behind me. Nirupama Dutt seems busy looking out of window, and so are Rafat Quadri, Ghulam Pathan and Rajesh Sharma sitting in back rows. May be, some of them are already lost in similar thought with their gaze directed nowhere, and some are trying to lose themselves in the almost musical babbling of the crystal clear Lidder waters. But I am sure of one thing- no one is afraid,
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Filmfare Award for two of the best

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It was just another day, until I came to know about the announcements of Filmfare Awards for this year. Two awards had gone to two friends of mine... and more importantly, to such persons who are talented, have worked hard to make a position in tough-tough Bollywood, and who did deserve it. And it was a coincidence that both of them had been alumni of Panjab University, and I have known them since I was myself a student there in Chandigarh. Well, these two are-- Mahie Gill who bagged critics award for best female actor in a lead role, for her performance in 'Dev D'; and Irshad Kamil for his heart-touching lyrics of 'Ajj Din Chadeya..' in film 'Love Aaj Kal'. And both of them belong to that rare category of people who become more and more down-to-earth as they climb up the ladder of success. Talk to Mahie, and she will sound as a girl next door... talk to Irshad, and he will surely be fun to talk to. What's more, I can talk to both of them in Punjabi.
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Human fault, and French connection

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One more air crash and over 150 lives have been lost. A second major air disaster in one month. Who is to be blamed for the latest one?? Should Yemeni Civil Aviation be held responsible for this? The burning question is- how could they keep flying an aircraft which was 19 years old, had accumulated 51,900 flight hours, and was black-listed by French authorities two years ago after they found a large number of faults in it. France had categorically denied this fateful aircraft A-310 an entry into her skies. That was why the Yemeni airline Yemenia had employed a relatively newer Airbus A330 for the first two legs of their Paris-Marseille-Sana’a-Moroni flight number IY-626. And for the final leg of this flight, from Sana’a to Moroni, the passengers were asked to shift to A310 carrier. This whole episode is enough to throw light on how irresponsibly civil aviation of Yemen had acted in this matter. They are saying they never knew the aircraft was faulty. Then why had they not emp
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Dream comes true! Thanks, Madhur!

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It is like a dream coming true… a dream that has waited 20 long years to take shape. And I am amazed to know how things change overnight! My name going to appear on silver screen!! As lyricist!!! And that too for a film that is being directed by an excellent and enviable filmmaker, and that is being waited for by cinema-goers. Wow!!! Certainly, it is a different kind of feeling… a feeling that can be expressed just vaguely; a feeling that makes you smile at odd times. It is very different from the feeling when I see others happy at their achievements. At that time, I just feel happy … not merely for them, but to know also that they are doing what existence of human race is meant for- to achieve and then relish its sweetness. But, now it is not just happiness, it is much more than that. It is exhilaration, mixed with a strange sense of contentment- a feeling that life has denied me in its actual sense until now. That’s why it is so special and close to heart. It was just on
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Zoya, Farhan... And a beautiful film

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Exactly after one week of watching ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, I got a chance to watch another good movie. It was ‘Luck By Chance’ directed by Zoya Akhtar. I had heard about Zoya for the first time around eight years back when she was the casting director of ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. At that time, my younger brother was new to Mumbai, and was struggling to start his innings in Bollywood as an actor. He had met Zoya in connection with screen test for ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, and it was he who had mentioned to me about her. Well, for me at that time, she was just the daughter of Javed Akhtar, and who was involved in a film that his brother Farhan Akhtar was directing. This combination is again out there in ‘Luck By Chance’, but assuming different roles this time... Farhan is the lead actor in this film. This film is in all together different genre than what ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is in. Yet it entertains you well. No, it is not pure entertainment as such...it is an insight into the liv
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Act... but in a meaningful way

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Yesterday, when I was writing a comment on a friend’s blog, I got carried away. Mine was a not a comment on the post, but on a comment made by someone else about the post. I am not a person who usually likes to correct each and every person, or tries to emphasize my own point of view upon him or her. I take this pain for (or liberty with) a very few chosen ones…where I don’t think twice before saying what is there in my head, and say it straight without even thinking about the right way to say or choosing the right words. But this time I could not control myself and let myself go loose. Well, those were last two lines in that comment that made me write a full commentary. What irritates me is when people talk superficially but they try to sound very concerned. We show our concern for the society, we talk about national unity… but are we initiating or pursuing any action? Do we know from where to start, or do we really want to make a start?? Are we contributing in any way towards
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The Slumdog Millionaire...

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I enter the auditorium with a lot of expectations…as the movie has been getting raves and high accolades all over the world. But as the movie progresses one fact keeps becoming clearer in mind minute by minute. I am surely in for a surprise. The film is not what I had expected…it is much more than that. What mesmerizes your imagination in this film is the pace with which it moves ahead. Never ever there is a moment when you can afford taking your eyes off the screen. The moment you dare do it, you are going to miss something. The shots are amazing and tantalizing too… As the camera zooms through swarming narrows bylanes of Dharavi, you keep getting lost to the awe it inspires within you. Beautiful work behind the camera!!! It is first time that piles of garbage don’t make you feel sick… these, in fact, arrest you mind. And you find yourself totally lost in what is happening before your eyes…as if this all is real. And how beautifully the scenes of the famous game show have be
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