Often ‘word of mouth’ works for the discerning viewers in choosing films and web-series among the plethora of content that surfaces on the OTT platform, since the reviews on print media are not necessarily unbiased. Thanks to the fairly positive feedback received from informed friends we decided to latch on to this ostensibly low-budget ‘Hotstar’ film that hasn’t been much talked about. At the end of it we were left happy & inspired !

It should be apparent to the makers that no matter what masala mix, star power & incredible action scenes you inject, a film’s content, its purposeful story-telling and screenplay that etches out real characters, makes a film watchable. Crime-Action-Drama formulahas been beaten to death played  out by jaded superstars with irritating regularity. ‘Patna Shukla’ scores on many points but what appeals is sheer simplicity and sincerity of purpose.

Courtroom dramas have been common in Hindi movies but actors who’ve donned the judge/lawyer robes have hammed and overacted loudly in al-most all barring ones like Manoj Bajpayee’s ‘Bas Ek Banda Sirf Kafi Hai’ ! Here we have Raveena Tandon (far-cry from earlier glamour girl avtaar) effortlessly playing a crusading lawyer who’ll walk many extra miles to get justice and her relentless quest puts her family in jeopardy as she defies powerful bosses to unearth a ‘Marksheet’ scam in the Patna University. The intensity of her nuanced performance was indeed quite a revelation.

Presiding over the case is the no-nonsense, down to earth District Judge and late Satish Kaushik wins our hearts with humorous quips & crisp raps. Anushka Kaushik as the aggrieved student is very impressive as is Manav Vij playing the morally upright husband who stoically stands by his wife ! There’s also a bright cameo from Raju Kher, our dear friend in Mumbai, who endearingly essays the role of a supportive father caught in the legal crossfire. He must go along with his lawyer-daughter for securing justice.  

There are few telling messages that ring true in today’s context. The wily ‘Neta’ facing corruption charges, boasts by saying ‘times have changed, we do illegal things in a legal way’ (like coercion and administrative action). Cinematic license is taken but this is an indictment on the malpractices in system of education. It’s morality and integrity that must win in the end !

A great review deserves as much credit as a great film. It navigates the discerning, niche audience from the maze of mindless high octane action, war films heavy on nationalism, espionage thrillers, badly scripted ones of horror, mystery genre and several sequels to inane, old comedies ! Despite being averse to leaving home comfort of OTT binge watching, we caught ‘Laapataa Ladies’ on a big ‘PVR’ Screen on our Sister’s ‘Five Star’ feedback.

As veteran cine-goers we’ve seen it all in classics from Bimal Roy in 1960s to Hrishikesh Mukherji and Shyam Benegal in ‘80s that reveled in the art of simple storytelling. Here we revisit that simplicity and humane touches of ‘Parekh’ and ‘Sujata’ or a fable retold in Sai Paranjape’s ‘Katha’ to the empowering ‘Queen’ (2103) &the delightful ‘Panchayat’ series (2020). This one relates to age-old suppression of women through a quaint tale set in village milieu of two similarly attired young brides getting switched in the station, as their faces remain entirely covered as per local customs !

‘LL’ brilliantly directed by Kiran Rao, with its witty imagery, screenplay & superb cinematography of our contemporary rural social set-ups, akin to  legendary cartoonist Lakshman’s comic stereotypes like the corrupt, paan chewing local Cop and his moronic sidekick. Social messages come thick and fast with dry humour as when the venerable tea-stall lady calls out the woman’s plight declaring ‘fraud that’s always been perpetrated on us’ or ‘names of stations change with the Govts’ its difficult to recall the names.

Steeped in ancient beliefs and customs sacrosanct to them (and its not just the rural folk), the elders cannot accept women as free & self-dependent !But there’s a twist in this tale. The seemingly helpless lost brides are made of sterner stuff, go-getters in a man’s world they are up for the fight and the two ‘Laapataa’ Ladies, played with charm and conviction by Pratibha Ranta as ‘Jaya’ and Nitanshi Goel as ‘Phool Kumari’ simply steal the show. Men become mere players in the ‘theatre of the absurd’ that’s our society.

Thankfully the absence of big stars works wonderfully for the film as it did for the celebrated hit ‘12^th Fail’. All the characters, though a bit contrived in parts, look essentially genuine. Special mention for Chaaya Kadam who plays ‘Manju Maai’ who’s towering presence gives shelter to the weak. In a surprise cameo is Ravi Kishan – his comic talent and acting chops make us wonder why he doesn’t focus on his craft more than his role as an MP ! With that feel-good effect, this film that teaches us what we always preach. 

What couldn’t be achieved in 16 long years in lifting the IPL Trophy by a group of men, some considered legends of the game, was settled in only their second outing by the spirited, undaunted, never-say-die Smriti Mandhana led band of valiant RCB women ! All the matches went down to the wire, but RCB managed to extricate themselves from impossibly lost situations and unbelievable positions to several remarkable victories !

While we watched all the thrilling encounters, it was theabsolutely magnificent looking Aussie all rounder, Elysee Perry for RCB who dominated the show in the last three matches taking on the fancied MI team single handedly in two games, before playing the sheet anchor in the Finals. It was exhilarating all round cricket at its best, but also brought back nostalgic fan moments and memories of our school days of 1960s. 

Having been allowed to study in La Mart Girls, Lucknow (it was co-ed in those days up Class IV ) we would look up to the top performers on the track and field events with admiration & awe. A marquee event was the Swimming Competitions that were held between the sister institutions of La Mart Lko & Calcutta. What remains in my memory are the highlights of those contests that had the super show by the famous Nafisa Ali, then called the ‘Golden Girl’ not only for gorgeous looks but for her amazing skills as an ace swimmer who walked away with all the medals and the applause. 

Back to WPL, amazing performances of Elysee Perry and Richa Ghosh with the bat and the artful web spun by the RCB spinners on the opposition, held us all spell bound and have raised the bar for women’s cricket. For Smriti Mandhana, victorious Captain who held her nerve and has led RCB with aplomb, it’s validation of her huge potential not only as an elegant batter but as a most promising leader.

It’s a gem from the archives of vintage Hollywood films that we chanced upon on OTT (Prime Video). Rated a landmark film of its time by a great filmmaker, Stanley Kramer, for its bold and thought provoking subject, ‘Judgement at Nuremberg’ (1961) has an amazing star cast of greats like Spencer Tracy, Marlene Dietrich & Burt Lancaster and many others. Akin to a vivid war documentary, it’s a masterpiece for the sheer brilliance of screenplay, dialogues and standout performances.

Set in the post war era of the 1940s, wherein the holocaust of WWII had witnessed massive devastation and heinous atrocities committed against humanity and the Jews in particular, by Nazis who overran Europe, the American law enforcement authorities set up Tribunals to try those responsible for the inhuman war crimes of that regime. The film deals with one such court case held at Nuremberg, Germany, wherein four former eminent German judges are charged with passing sentences that led to the mass executions of innocents as per then laws of the state. None of them, were directly involved with executions or running of concentration camps.

The Tribunal Court with passionate intensity from both sides, debates the dilemma of fixing accountability for the crimes on the accused. There is impassioned plea for their defense- judges give rulings based on evidence and in accordance with the laws that may come as dictats of despotic leader and accord justice from that viewpoint, but moral and ethical issues arose. Judges were upright, learned men who could’ve raised their voice against unilateral, unjust laws but remained silent, though some others(judges) had resigned, left their posts, foreseeing dangers ahead for the system. Element of coercion on the judges existed since the total allegiance to the State was paramount – all had to fall in line for the glory of the Nation !

American Judge presiding over the case (played by Spencer Tracy) tries to understand the psyche & ethos of the German people in a small place like Nuremberg- how a civilized society could watch the kind of torture inflicted on innocent people as Nazis had done ?Locals revealed facets that showed fear, ignorance & helplessness against might of fascist totalitarianism!

The Judge while delivering judgement faces the same moral dilemma that is relevant today. Across many developed nations of the world, sweeping dictatorial powers throttle the voice of ordinary people and opposing ideas in the name of nationalism and march ahead with their grandiose plans, often at heavy cost to justice, order, peace and humanity !

As the famous line goes ‘Good friends are like stars, you don’t always see them, but you know they’re always there’. There’s something about the warm, reassuring aura of ‘buddies’ from old-school bonding together after decades of being apart that evoke emotions in our gregarious disposition.

They are the ones we’ve grown up with, who knew our childhood secrets and happily accept us for who we are, even as the world has its own scales of measuring success ! While earlier we wrote letters to keep in touch, it’s now thanks to social media that’s reconnected old friends across the globe. Two days ago Tandra informed me, eyes shining with girl-like excitement ‘My school friend is in town and I’ve persuaded her to come to our place !’

Suddenly our quiet household became a hub of feverish activity with a few odd tasks assigned to me, since I’m a non-starter in ‘kitchen’ affairs. Doors knobs and handles had to be polished, rooms to look proper, right cutlery, and elegant mats put out on marble dining table with bowl of home-grown roses as centrepiece and select local delicacies and drinks to be organized. Tandra’s culinary prowess led to kitchen becoming an epicentre for trying  out a few exotic vegetarian recipes she felt her dear friend would love !

In that backdrop, yesterday’s morning was sunny, made brighter with the visit of Tandra’s schoolmate Vibha of  St. Mary’s Convent, Allahabad, (now based in New Delhi) ! For the two friends it was a such a remarkably wonderful reunion. Vibha is warm, endearing, affable and so appreciative of hospitality extended to her. Their bonding, affinity & thrill in getting to spend quality time together, holding conversations on issues that affect their friends and trying to solve each other’s problems makes their group become family. Being there for each other is such a heartwarming gesture.

Friends make the journey of life more beautiful. Now, in autumn years, we value our old school ties more, cherish and endeavor to relive those good times, remembering that the funny, crazy ones made the best memories. Here are a few lines from an old film song that sums up that nostalgia :

‘Kuch bhooli hui yaadein, kuch bichde hue afsane,

Aane lage aise yaad, jaise kal ki ho baat,

Laut aayi hai..phir se wohi bahaar…..’

It’s the time for celebrating the vibrant festival of colours and everyone wants to wish their relatives, friends and loved one’s on Holi and send them beautiful messages filled with love and bright colourfulness of Holi. Fortunately for us, suitably worded texts and pics are available on-line and one needn’t compose trying to articulate one’s feelings. There will always remain the traditional ethos of Holi marking the triumph of goodness over evil and the arrival of spring and the newness in nature that you associate with it.

In a way, it heralds the beginning of another aspirational phase just arriving before the close of financial year.With climatic change, health and environmental concerns, age-old customs ofcelebrating with water colours, even paints and varnish,has diminished over time, celebratory practices -exchanging gifts, extendinggreetings on social media or in meets,partaking of special Holi delicacies and planningshort tripsand partying hard, thanks to Holi holidays merging with weekend offs, have all grown significantly !

As with life’s many memorable events, Holi brings back many nostalgic reminiscences. I recall that as a small kid, I dreaded the festival where one’s own parents and siblings  suddenly looked scary with myriad colours smeared on their faces. In my mind it was akin to the spooky Halloween. Soon within a few years I got over my fears and with my teenaged neighbourhood & school compatriots in crime, it became a real fun-filled affair.Over the years, celebrations were with familiesand would involve lots of merry-making, singing and dancing but we avoided boisterous, bawdy & drunken festivities. Quintessentially for senior citizens,the festival is still to sit, meet & bless Gen Y &Z !

We’d learnt from ourschool teachers that all our festivals had real significance in the cultural code and values that were meant to be followed. What festival of colours does is to paint all in strong colours of universal brotherhood, remove the societal & religious differences, practice forgiveness & find friendly ties converting discord in relationships. It’s supposed to be a harbinger of peace, harmony, happiness for all people. If all this sounds unreal and idealistic in today’s context, that’s what it is ! Happy Holi, Friends !

There is good news if you’re an indefatigable Agatha Christie fan who hasn’t yet had enough of her limitless, delectable mysteries with the most famous fictional characters unraveling them for us, despite ‘red herrings’ strewn all across the crime scenes ! In our eternal search for some watchable content on OTT to pass the evening pre-dinner hours, we stumbled across on ‘Sony Liv’, an old British tele-series of 1989, titled ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’ which has a staggering 70 episodes spread over 13 Seasons ! Like greedy netizens we have already watched five wonderful stories @ one episode per evening !

One may rightly say that it’s not necessary that both should agree to watch the same stuff on TV. Over the years we’ve disagreed on every conceivable issue (including people, politics, films) but are blessed to share our affinity for ‘Cricket’ and love for ‘Agatha Christie’. In this process, my dear better half  has acquired remarkable investigative abilities. She knows if I’ve eaten out by observing the shape of my shirt across the middle or from my face ! Also in one episode, she pointed the killer to me, before even Poirot could ! 

Coming to the Series, the Victorian aura and the English countryside with  huge, sprawling mansions, hats, tailcoats and butlers have been recreated with elegance but most importantly, ‘David Suchet’ is marvelous as Hercule Poirot, the ace detective with an egg-shaped head full of excellent grey cells. His Belgian persona is replete with the curled moustache and funny accent and he’s so ably assisted by his friend Capt. Hastings (much like Watson to Sherlock Holmes) who exclaims ‘Good Lord !’ when Poirot solves the case !

The episodes are based on different short stories (some presumably written by script writers) and many based on famous Christie novels like ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’ that we saw recently. The short ones have a run time of about 45-50 minutes while the full length ones based on a novel could be 100 mts. In any case, for Agatha Christie fans, it is like unearthing a treasure and has saved us hours of industrious channel surfing. It’s quite perfect for family viewing sans gore, violence (barring the murders!) & today’s foul language.

A famous quote for people who reflect on their yester-years is ‘The Past is Tense, the Future is Perfect’ which tells us, with the use of some Grammar, not to dwell too much on what’d happened once upon a time in our lives. Yet some memories of the school days often cannot be erased so easily and looking back, appear funny, outrageous, almost surreal in today’s context !

This story is from the mid-1960s (yes, six decades ago !). As young boys we loved our school and classmates, though only like-minded ones became our close friends. There was also an influx of new students joining the school from time to time (mid-session entry was allowed in special cases) and we old regulars looked to entrants with interest one looks at newer specimens. We’d get amused if they were onerously saddled with names of great men !

The story gets fascinating with the arrival of a jovial & rotund young gent with the proverbial ‘Big Bang’. In those days, our lunch break was full of fun and frolic and apart from a small counter serving snacks near the portico, we also had an ice-cream vendor coming with his cart. As frugality was our motto, the only ice-creams we could afford was the humble ‘Orange Bar’. But our fortunes (in terms of ‘Kwality Ice-creams’) were about to change…

The new entrant apparently looked simple at first, but soon showed a very generous streak by inviting class mates to expensive ‘Choc Bars’ every day during the lunch break and would take out wads of notes to pay the Vendor. With fairly strict ‘no-frills’ upbringing we had never seen such benevolence. Soon word got around school about the ‘Boy-Wonder’ with a Midas touch  and like all such ‘opulent’ people, he had a large following waiting on him.  

But there’s always suspicion on too much of a good thing. When the matter got reported to his parents about his reckless spending it was found he was dipping into large amounts of cash lying in drawers of his successful Doctor Father. The matter was hushed up as it involved a young boy’s future. That  was then. Later in life, he went on to become a successful entrepreneur.   

I often feel how easily we had all jumped on the band-wagon of freebies and had not considered how one so young could have huge sums  to spend. Any similarity to what’s happening all around us today, is purely coincidental !   

What’s it about good humour and a happy, smiling face that’s so attractive that many rate it as one of the important traits in a prospective life-partner or an irresistible quality in a friend, as a constant source of happiness & amusement in life’s journey. ‘He’s warm and so funny’ is a compliment to one who’s a change from ‘I’m the Best’ haughty attitude some people carry. The popular guys in early school were generally labeled as ‘Motu’, ‘Chotu’, ‘Budda’- for in camaraderie, no one knew of ‘body-shaming’. These chaps could joke at themselves, rag boring teachers and spread mirth all around.

That’s because the fascination with ‘hasna-hasana’ if we recall, started with a toddler’s chuckles and inscrutable smiles that win the hearts of a doting observers. As kids, we’d laugh hundreds of times a day watching Tom & Jerry cartoons & Laurel and Hardy and anything remotely funny including the antics of pet doggies. And we all loved adventure stories of kings, fairies and giants but only with happy endings ! In today’s age, all these may have found place in mobiles that little kids can operate. 

Sadly, as we progress, first as young college students carrying expectations of excellence from society and desperately fighting with millions for a good place for further studies and then later as working adults, life tends to be serious and challenging what with the job demands, filial responsibilities & aspirations of making it big, that makes our laughter become infrequent. That’s why you have stand-up comics, comedy shows, getaways and a rare go-to film to induce some amusing moments in busy lives of the millennial. Senior citizens are better off with ‘laughter clubs’ and more time on hand !

Ask anyone ‘what makes you laugh’ and they’ll share the latest hilarious forward, meme or cartoon received from one of their W’App groups that’s gone viral. The ‘laughter’ job is now assigned to the social media netizens and centre around the outpourings of our outspoken politicians in the form of barbs, jibes and diatribes against the others. Even one prime time News Channel understands our agony of and has introduced a section ‘Happy Story of the Day’ to enliven spirits, depressed after watching the news !

We all including the best doctors know that ‘laughter is the best medicine’. It’s power is to draw people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. It strengthens immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, protects you from the damaging effects of stress. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. The question is ‘Laugh about what ?’

For that the answer is we need to develop more humor in our lives which looks at the funny (and positive side) of things even when they aren’t going your way. Surely, the best place to start is from home and with the bitter  half – for it also helps release anger and forgive (or be forgiven) sooner !

When Lord Tennyson had said ‘Old order changeth yielding place to the new’ he wasn’t exactly referring to the evolution of Cricketers in India but his words would appear very apt in describing the great sea-change that’s taken place from the days (in 1960’s and 70’s ) when players from Mumbai historically dominated international cricket in India.

With the likes of Umrigar, Borde, Bapu Nadkarni, Sunil Gavaskar, Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar and others (& later of course the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to Rohit Sharma, the present Indian captain who has been carrying the baton for the Bombay Club and ‘Mumbai Indians’ in IPL), the Indian Squad that’s played international games would boast of the talented players who had emerged from the ‘Maidans’ and parks of mega metros like Mumbai and also Bangalore, Chennai till ‘Kapil’s Devils’ from the North burst on India’s scene post 1983 WC Win ! Ranchi’s ‘MS Dhoni’ phenomenon paved way for a great churn happening in cricket from hinterlands.

However, many critics believe that the trend changed with the arrival of Sourav Ganguly as India’s Captain. It helped build a strong foundation that consolidated it’s position in world cricket by handpicking local talents regardless of the place they came from. It was only during his regime when Allahabad’s young Mohd. Kaif made it to India’s team to strengthen the middle order while also being a real live-wire on the field. Brilliant swing bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Praveen Kumar and RP Singh and the skillful leggie Piyush Chawla made UP proud of their feats, all hailing from different parts of the State.

Among the notable cricketers from UP who have played for India, the most prolific with all round abilities, was the versatile Suresh Raina. He made his ODI debut in 2005 and scored a century in his first Test in 2010 in Sri Lanka. His last international match was in July 2018. A left-handed batsman, Raina (18 Tests, 226 ODIs and 78 T20Is) emerged as a clean hitter of the ball and then went on to establish himself as one of India’s best limited-overs batsmen and has also played a huge role in CSK team’s success in the IPL !

Another name from UP that’s made waves in the last decade is that of ‘Kuldeep Yadav’ the artful wrist spinner and wily ‘Chinaman’ bowler from Kanpur. Along with the great Ravi Ashwin and all-rounder Jadeja, he now forms India’s feared and potent spin attack. 

The latest crop of immensely gifted players who have originated from UP are excellent products of a fiercely combative IPL tournament where they play for various franchises and also having gone through the grind of the domestic circuit. Young Yashasvi Jaiswal is already big name of reckon with in International scene and Dhruv Jurel has shown his class as a superb wicket-keeper batter.Gutsy Rinku Singh looks a potential T20 finisher !      

But, unlike in the past where UP’s erstwhile star players of the likes of Gopal Sharma and Gyanendra Pandey always represented their State in Ranji Trophy matches, many players who’ve hit big-time migrate to other States. That’s possibly why UP (as a Team), despite its talent pool, isn’t at the Top in the Domestic Circuits !