Quite a radical approach to art direction, huh? I’m not buying the Africa inspired visuals though. And that last shot of Kelis turning around to reveal a baby on her back is downright ridiculous. Nevertheless, it’s still got enough neon-pop-funk aesthetics to take inspiration from. Andy Warhol would have been proud.

David Guetta impresses as usual with his music. He seems to be on a roll, considering his other hits doing rounds of Dance music charts worldwide: Memories (feat. Kid Cudi), One Love (feat. Estelle) and Gettin’ Over You (feat. Chris Willis, Fergie and LMFAO) among others.

Great beats and interesting video, aye?

It didn’t help that the subtitling was awfully incomplete during most exchanges in Bengali. Imagine being able to understand only the first half of the sentences uttered by the protagonists because there were no subtitles for the remaining half. In my book, this is a serious technical glitch that could badly affect how people who do not speak Bengali perceive the film. I hope whoever is responsible for it, has it fixed soon. I’m going to be looking forward to a properly subtitled DVD so that I can watch the entire film without wishing I had a translator app for my mind.

Rahul Bose as Snehamoy

The film is about a shy Bengali man called Snehamoy, who writes letters to a female pen-pal in Japan called Miyage, who is just as shy as him if not more. Over time, they both find themselves communicating more freely with each other than they ever have with the people around them and this blossoms into their version of love across borders and cultures. Soon, Miyage asks Snehamoy to accept her as his wife; without ever having met or even spoken to him. After much introspection, he accepts and thus begins the story of The Japanese Wife.

Chigusa Takaku as Miyage

To make the plot interesting, a second woman is introduced to test the boundaries of Snehamoy’s comfort zone. Sandhya, the same girl that Snehamoy’s mashi (maternal aunt) wanted him to marry before Miyage popped the question, now comes to live with them as a young widow with her son, Paltu, in tow. While Snehamoy and Paltu start bonding over Japanese kites and a familiar father-son like relationship emerges, his interaction with the mother is relegated to cursory glances at best. He even writes to Miyage that he doesn’t know what her face looks like or if she has shaved her head or not because of this. Gradually, both Snehamoy and Sandhya let their guards down and get to know each other better while Snehamoy is still as devoted a husband to Miyage as ever.

Raima Sen as Sandhya

The trouble with this sort of arrangement of events is that none of the three different relationships between Snehamoy and Miyage; Snehamoy and Paltu; and Snehamoy and Sandhya are fully explored, leaving you with just bits and pieces of each to chew on. At the end of the film, you are left wondering who/what the film was really about. Was the story really about everlasting love? Or was it little more than a poignant tale of one man, two women and the circumstances that bind them all together?

That said, you must watch ‘The Japanese Wife’ for Rahul Bose’s portrayal of a Bengali man from the village whose struggles with the English language often result in bhery funny scenes, accent and all. Moushumi Chatterjee plays the perfect mother figure to Snehamoy complete with taunts and jibes over her incomprehension of his marriage to an absentee Japanese wife, while even with barely a mouthful of dialogues, Raima Sen manages to take your breath away with her silent, soulful expressions.

Visually, the film is a feast for the eyes. One can almost smell the air of the Sunderbans and get a feel for the languid pace of rural life there by just looking at the visuals on-screen. It’s almost poetic.

Overall, I would rate The Japanese Wife a 3.5/5.

Films like these can really inspire the film-maker hidden in every one of us! I, too, want to write a story for the big screen some day.

On today’s show, he met with the founders of Kiva, a San Francisco based non-profit organisation that facilitates on-line micro-finance lending to entrepreneurs in the developing world.

Here is a video of the show (if you are unable to view it, see it on Rockhopper.tv here) :

I was so impressed by the work this organisation is doing, that I immediately decided to become a Kiva lender myself. After all, how big a hole can US$ 25.00 (INR 1,286.00) really burn in my pocket? Barely enough for it to even be noticed!

Scrolling through the list of entrepreneurs that needed funding, I knew my first loan would be going to a Kenyan, considering that I am one myself (by citizenship, not ethnicity). So, I chose 58 year-old Jane Njambi Njoroge (the first ‘N’s are silent on both words) who sells animal feed to farmers; keeping both her age and area of business in mind. Agriculture (especially the organic type) is one of the industries that I am passionate about supporting and this was my chance.

The process of lending the money itself is really simple. All you have to do is register for an account on Kiva (with minimum form fields to fill out); choose the person you want to support (through detailed profiles with proper information about the candidates) and then pay the money through your Paypal account or a credit card. That’s it! Before long, you will find a confirmation from Paypal and one from Kiva, in your e-mail inbox waiting to be opened.

I hope some of you reading this will also be inspired by Kiva and follow my lead of becoming a lender. You could possibly turn around the life of an entrepreneur struggling somewhere out there (there are 45 countries to choose from, including the United States itself) with a loan of just 25 US Dollars! Think of all the good karma that will come your way.

My next loan is going to go to an Indian, since I’ve lived in India for almost 12 years now and it’s time to give back. Who will yours be going to?

My favourite was the ‘Blank Spaces’ one (shown above) by Rajneel Singh from New Zealand. Which one is yours?

I was expecting it to be more about design with lots of interesting visuals to look at, but it’s actually about the rise and fall of the design school itself, with some interesting black and white photos from the 50s and 60s.

Here are some photos I took from my camera phone (please excuse the quality):

Some of the textual content on the larger boards is laid out a bit funny, so it could take you a while to understand the chronology. Not very user-friendly for a design exhibit, if I may add.

The 3D exhibits of actual assignments by students at the school were rather interesting, like this model of the precursor to today’s minivan above. Or these experiments in physical geometry below.

Overall, the exhibition was pretty lack-lustre. If you do find yourself in the area though and have time to kill, go for it. It might just give you some valuable insight into the field of design education from half a decade ago.

The exhibition is on till March 28, 2010 from 10.30 am to 7.30 pm daily.

Venue: Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumara Krupa Road, Kumara Park West, Bangalore 560001.

So, please go and have a look at my portfolio and tell me what you think of it.

As far as the look and feel of the website itself goes, it is still a work-in-progress and I will be adding more elements and functionality as I go along. For now, the bare-bones design serves its purpose. If you have any suggestions, feel free to send an e-mail to me@parasg.com.

Cheers!

Tired of living amongst people I don’t share similar values with. Tired of being bullied on the road for following rules and trying to set a positive example. Tired of having my film-watching experience spoiled by unruly mobs of supposedly “educated” youth (just because they converse in Hinglish, dude!) and their cell phones while my mobile and I keep silent. Tired of being the only one interested and listening, while others continue to yak on about themselves in exemplification of the term ’self-centredness’. I’m tired.

I don’t belong here. Not in this city. Not in this country.

It’s about time I started packing up and moving on to another land to start work on the next sequel of my life, which might, some day, star a wife and kids and an accent I adore. Some day!

Here goes day four of Mission 7D.7F.7C:

Date: March 4, 2010

Film: Invictus

Cinema: PVR Cinemas, Forum Mall, Hosur Road, Bangalore

What was supposed to be an inspirational film about South Africa’s first black leader using the sport of rugby to unite a country torn apart by apartheid turned out to be a disappointing series of events that relies too heavily on metaphors and forced sentimentality to represent the coming together of racially distinct groups.

With most films, by the time the closing credits roll, you have a good idea of what the film was about. With Invictus though, the core idea behind the film becomes murkier as the film progresses till you are left wondering what the story was all about. For example, is this the story of a new president working hard to bring his people together? Or is it about the wonders that a sport can bring about? Or is it about two leaders influencing each other such that it brings about a winning situation for both? I don’t know! Maybe the director was trying to tell too many stories at the same time, failing to tell even one in a manner that resonates with the audience.

Something about it’s narration and pace makes it seem staged and not real enough. It lacks focus. Almost as if the entire film is based on a formula for box office success as opposed to what really happened. Where true stories go, Clint Eastwood should have taken a page out of ‘Remember The Titans’.

I’m so disappointed, I don’t even have a review for you folks.

For that, I rate the film a poor 2.5/5.

How it has been nominated for two Oscars, escapes me.

Here goes day three of Mission 7D.7F.7C:

Date: March 3, 2010 (Wednesday)

Film: Ishqiya

Cinema: Innovative Multiplex, Outer Ring Road, Marathalli, Bangalore

After becoming a regular at multiplex chains like PVR and Inox, it can come as a rude shock that Innovative Multiplex, which was the first of its kind in Bangalore city, can even be called a multiplex any more. The branded, upmarket experience that comes to mind when one thinks of the word ‘multiplex’ is not what you will get at Innovative Multiplex. At best, brace yourself for something that is neither old-school stand-alone theatre nor glitzy multiple screen haven, but something in between. From dirty food preparation areas in the pseudo “food court” to a balcony-like “gold class” in the cinema hall, I was not prepared for what I saw in spite of having seen a film years ago at the same premises. To say that I am really glad I don’t live anywhere near Innovative Multiplex would be an understatement.

Moving on to the purpose of my visit, I must say I seem to have chosen a string of films for my mission that all have one thing in common—humour that is incidental to the situations the protagonists find themselves in. Neither forced nor contrived. Just the way I like it. And in this regard Ishqiya is no different.

Set in the small town of Gorakhpur in northern India, Ishqiya is a rustic exploration of love in its different forms as experienced by the three central characters: Krishna Verma (Vidya Balan), Khalujan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban Hussain (Arshad Warsi).

Khalujan and Babban are two small time criminals on the run from their boss Mushtaq, who they have stolen money from. After trying every number on their cell phones for a place to hide without any luck, they decide to seek shelter at the house of Verma, who they had once helped in a similar situation. Unknown to them, Verma was killed in a gas cylinder blast and so, when they reach his house in Gorakhpur, it is his widow Krishna who welcomes them.

Before long, the lonely widow has captured the imagination of both Khalujan and Babban and while they try to win her over in their own different ways, she pines for her own dead lover. So who finally gets who? Watch the film to find out. My mission isn’t to spoil surprises.

I don’t know if it had something to do with director Abhishek Chaubey’s long-term association with Vishal Bharadwaj, but the rural setting of Ishqiya has a lot in common with Vishal’s own directorial masterpiece—the brilliant ‘Omkara’. From the village-like setting to the characters’ crude language and colourful fashion sense, the film’s similarities with Omkara lend it a credibility too often lacking in a “Bollywood” obsessed with glamour and international attention.

Naseeruddin Shah is excellent as the old-world romantic Khalujan. After having seen him perform live on stage, I can’t imagine him not making any of his roles look good any more. And for some reason, I feel that Arshad Warsi is at his best when playing the quintessential ‘tapori’ (as in the Munnabhai franchise). He has perfected the ’small-time gangster’ persona on-screen. And Vidya Balan does indeed look best in a saree without losing out on the intense ferocity she is becoming known for.

Overall, Ishqiya deserves a 3.5/5 for reminding us of the charms of village life.

Have you seen the film? What did you think of it?