Avatar (2009). Imagination meets patience meets technology.

Who remains king? The story!



I was a teenager when Titanic was released in India in March 1998. There was sufficient buzz generated by the movie (released in the US in December 1997), and I went to the theatre to do advance booking of tickets. The plan was to watch the movie with two classmates from school, and the sibling. I was very disappointed on seeing the ‘Houseful’ sign on my arrival, and the serpentine queues. I had school the next day, and the plan to buy tickets had to be postponed.

My mother got me the tickets when I was away in school.

The movie meant so much to me that I frowned at my giggly classmate. Coming to think of it, I even remember the scene – she was laughing when the cutlery was falling off the shelves, and I couldn’t fathom what was making her laugh.

I read and re-read the 12th Std. English lesson on the sinking ship; in a case of perfect timing, NCERT’s lesson was available. I borrowed the OST audio cassette from another classmate. I made a scrapbook containing every news article I could find, every picture I could obtain. I bought a poster and saved it for over a year before it found a place of honour in my room in Mumbai. I spoke of management lessons to be learnt from the sinking of this ship in the first formal presentation I had to make at b-school.

A dozen years post Titanic, Caprio and Winslet are counted among the best performers in Hollywood. I have changed in my own way.

When Avatar was released last month, I knew that this was going to be a solo watch. I decided to watch it when my parents were travelling. I had been warned to keep my expectations in check for the story reportedly had nothing new to offer, and I entered the theatre not knowing what to expect. What I was curious to see was the revamped theatre – it left me disappointed with its colour scheme (with lots of gold) and layout.

I got bored with the predictable start and the monotonous dialogues. By the interval, something unexpected happened. The bridge of my nose started hurting with the plastic glasses, and I had to hold them at a distance.

I had also started liking Navis, and their world set in Pandora. I am happy that Cameron waited for technology to be ready to capture what he had in mind – the stunning visuals make the movie-watching experience worthwhile.

3 Idiots (2009)

For those of you who have watched 3 Idiots, isn’t Ladakh looking gorgeous? Minor query for those of you who have visited the place - is it really as desolate as it appears?

Rajkumar Hirani has the ability to tell a story well. He uses a combination of simplicity and humour, has a focused approach on what he has to say, and ends his movie by saying, “The moral of the story is…”. Well, almost. Incidentally, these qualities are the hallmark of a good teacher. RH, did you ever want to become one?

In case you are finding the story difficult to understand, perhaps reading this would help. Chetan, I have not forgotten you and I assure you that my vast readership of 15 readers, give or take 10, will not forget you either.

Showing that salt water conducts electricity, the helicopter with the camera, the usage of the vacuum tube to aid the delivery of the baby – it felt really good to see concepts in use, and the careful detailing. Science, I know we have repeatedly expressed interest in each other. Time to rekindle the flame?!

Don’t you think Shreya has modulated her voice to suit Kareena to a tee?



Speaking of Farhan the photographer (played by Madhavan), would you consider doing what he did? Say fiddle-dee-dee to the world, care only about what your parents have to say on your choice of profession, and then go ahead to convert your passion into your profession? I did give it a thought. Watching and writing about Federer does not fit the bill.

Good going, Raju the engineer. Sharman brought alive the fear of failure that haunts him, and made his journey towards improving his self-belief look completely believable. I loved his performance.

Why do characters played or backed by Aamir in movies related to our education system end up topping the class, or winning the first prize in the Art competition? Is it to say that unconventional methods can be adopted, but you need to be the topper all the same?

As the movie progresses, watch Aamir relax into his role as Rancho. He starts taking himself less seriously, and is seriously cute in his nerdy, bespectacled look.

Go watch. Go.