Panga

This is a story of Jaya Nigam, enacted by Kangana Ranaut, it is a story of her comeback to the Indian Kabbadi team, she was the captain of the Indian Kabbadi team before she took the decision to get married.

Jaya comes from a middle class family, marries the man she loves who is a very good husband and has a cute son who actually suggests that Jaya should make a come back! So, to please the son Jaya the couple act as if she is making a serious attempt to make a comeback, but then Jaya really latches on to the idea of a comeback and makes it by facing a obnoxious boss and taking the decision to even transfer to a differrent city for her comeback.

Panga is very light, easy going, predicatable movie. this film does not preach anything, it does not fight for the cause of Indian housewives and does not portray indian housewife as some downtrodden or something to that effect, infact it glorifies the nuclear family which stands by her. This is Jaya Nigam the individuals story.

Kangana Ranaut stands out as a typical middle cass woman who is in a conflict, she has to decide  for her family and also for making a comeback.

Jassie Gill as a loving husband is good.

Yagya bhasin as the son, the child actor is comfortable in front of the camera.

Richa Chaddha as an all weather friend of Jaya is nice.

Neena gupta is also there in the movie, the casting director  done well.

I liked the realistic aspects of the movie, the house of a middle class person looks like a middle class person's house, the dress they wear, the way they travel is real, also all the incidents that happen in Jaya's life take their own time nothing happens like a miracle. only in one scene the couple get into Volswagon Polo, where did that come from ?? leaving this point the art direction is good.

The screen play is good , no awkward moments . Nitesh Tiwary's name comes  in the credits as 'addional screen play'  and 'additional dialogue writer' why 'additional' ?

Nikhil Mehrotra and Ashwini Iyer  Tiwary have written well and have chosen a nice topic of a married woman's comeback and kabbadi.

Whenever the director is involved in the writing, screen play and editing is up to the mark there is a nice flow to the movie, Panga has it!

'Panga' is nice and worth a watch.

                                                                             ****







 

Ikigai - by Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles

I heard about this book and was curious as to what is the reason there is so much talk about it, so I went and bought this book.

The book begins with the now popular venn diagram of four circles. Ikigai is at the intersection of four circles viz a] What the world needs b] What you can be paid for c] What you are good at  & d] what you love.

Ikigai is the reason for you to jump out your bed each morning!

The book is the research by the author's on the longevity of the people in the island of Okinawa where there are 24.56 people over the age of 100 for every 100000 inhabitants, which is more than the global average.

As the authors say this book is to bring the secrets of Japan's centenarians to you and give you the tools to find your Ikigai.

The medical studies of the centenarians has revealed that they suffer from fewer chronic illnesses like cancer & heart diseas, have enviable level of vitality and their blood has fewer free radicals. Women experience moderate symptoms during menopause and both men and women maintain higher level of sexual hormones and the rate of dementia is beow the global average.

The chapters on the Okinawan's diet is very revealing and the concept of "Hara Hachi Bu" is interesting.

The people of Okinawa are not the one to 'exercise'  but are the ones who are constantly ' moving'  , here the authors talk about Yoga and tai-ich and Qi-Qong.

The one thing that the Okinawan's are is they are 'resilent' and will follow their Ikigai come what may.

The ten rules distilled by the authors are to be re-written and pasted on the wall so that you can read it daily. It will help you find out your Ikigai.

Ikigai is a research backed book but it does not shock you with graphs and tables, it is easy to read, not very heavy and can be read in one or two sitting. It is informative and educative . Certainly worth having in your collection.

                                                                          *****
                                                                           

Tanhaji - Unsung Warrior

Tanhaji - The unsung warrior is the story of Subhedar Tanhaji Malusare of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and how he re-conquered the Kondhana fort by defeating Udaybhan Rathod. Tanahaji is a story about  all that he did to be selected for the job, working out the strategy to fight Uday Bhan and  the  dreaded cannon called as the 'Nagin'. Kondhana fort was to be centre of Aurangazeb's rule of the south  India and to win it back from the Moghuls was a slap on Aurgazebs face.

The movie captures your attention from the second it starts and occupies your mindspace  even after the movie is over! All the characters are introduced in a manner which has an impact and helps in storytelling and building the storyline. Ajay devgun as Tanaji Malasure, Saif Ali Khan as Udaybhan, Sharad Kelkar as Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Kajol as Savitribai Malasure, Luke Kenny as Aurangazeb  was a surprise. Padmavati Rao as Jija mata, all of them did their parts well!

Ajay Devgun as Tanhaji was appropriate for the role. Saif Ali Khan as a negative, eccentric Uday Bhan was a revelation and I enjoyed whenever he appeared on the screen. The other hero was the special effects, they are not at the Bahubali level but certainly very effective.

Cenematographer, Kieko Nakahara  is also a revelation..

Hats off to Prakash Kapadia as a joint writer and as screenplay.

Om Raut as a writer and as the director has hit a six ! I will watch out for his next film.

Tanhaji - The unsung warrior, is a WOW film and everyone must watch it !!

                                                                  *****

Chapak - a film by Meghna Gulzar

Hello !

This is a story of 'Malti' enacted by Deepika Padukone who is an acid attack victim, it is a story of the two court cases she fought against all odds. This is also her love story with 'Amol' enacted by Vikrant Massey, who runs an NGO for Acid attack victims.

This movie tells us who are the girls who are subjected to acid attacks. The film also points out the inadequacy of section 326 of the Indian Penal Code, the maximum punishment for acid attack under this section is only seven years !. This movie also wonders what posseses an individual that they resort to such an action. This movie also shows some victims of acid attack have moved on and want to live  life to the full !! which is very positive.

Deepika , central to the movie has done justice as Malti her eagerness to get a job and looking into her lawyers eyes asking for support in the court room stand out. Vikrant massey as an Impatient NGO owner who  is actually very possesive of Malti also stands his ground. Payal Nair as an angel aunt  and Madhurjeet Sarghi as a lawyer are very ressuring whenever they appear on the screen.

You know you are watching a Meghna Gulzar movie and you can't help but 'Talwar' and 'Raazi'  come to your mind and I think she just managed to beat the law of averages ! Chapak kept me engrossed throughout the length of the movie which is 123 minutes.

The Statistics of acid attacks in India at the end of the movie shocked me, which means that acid is still available and some sick minds can still use it to destroy peoples lives.

Chapak is certainly worth a watch.

                                                                       ***** 

Fratelli Classic Shiraz

Hello!


I picked up a Fratelli wine from my the wines shop I frequest for buying my beers. I had seen a poster of Fratelli wines and was curious , so I bought one yesterday I bought what was given by the vendor and he offered me the 'Classic Shiraz'.

The label on the wine is average and the tasting note says 'Shiraz based blend'  and gives the tasting notes and here are my notes

Colour : Ruby red

Aroma : Harbaceous and earthy

Body : very light bodied wine, did not see any legs forming, not very acidic , does not have a strong  aftertaste, I found the wine crisp.

This bottle was manufactured in Dec 2019 and I paid Rs 595.

 After tasting the wine I visited their website which is good and has made me curious to try their other wines.