Views And Review -Veere Di Wedding

When the trailer of Veere Di Wedding came out in May, and though it was not coming out from best of the production houses in the country, I thought the trailer had a quirk. Balaji Telefilms is known to draw up the worst regressive plots for the television, and Anil Kapoor productions - the last time they claimed to make a chick lit - they made an Aisha. However, the trailer looked good, and I did think Yogesh would not mind watching four good looking women on the celluloid.


The reviews that came out thrashed the movie. The reviewers said the movie does not pass Bechdel test. Bechdel Test is primarily conducted on movies and work of fiction to ascertain - if women play a significant role and interact with each other in the stories, and talk about anything other than men.

With such bad reviews, I had dropped the idea of watching the movie in the theatre, but a good friend asked if one can watch Salman Khan's masala flick then why not Veere di Wedding. It raises the question of why does one watch a movie, and the answer is entertainment. What else can explain the mindless movies that made it to the hundred crore club?

Then why do people expect a chick lit like Veere di wedding to pass Bechdel test or be feministic or compare it with Lipstick Under My Burkha with which it has nothing in common, except multiple female leads and the production house?  And with all those questions, in the spur of a moment, the ticket was booked in the second row for this chick flick.

There's some charm when you watch a movie in a house full theatre. I heard some loud cheer from the back seats, throughout the movie, attesting the fact the movie indeed had an audience, in all likeness to Tiger Zinda Hai or Grand Masti.

At the end of the movie, my husband said, "I think you liked the movie."

"It was okay, maybe decent."

" Afterall it's about four boisterous women."

I smiled because for him I am that unruly woman. Did I find myself in the shoes of the protagonists?  No, I don't think so. My life is quite different from these four women, their issues and not to forget their financial situations. However, I had fun.

A set of fearless women is a treat to eyes. These women smoke, drink, and swear; and at no point, they look vulgar.  But more than that they have an opinion, even if it is about men and relationships.  They are not bitches. They are best friends and anyone who wants get an idea of how women talk to each other- this could be their chance. To sum up, the characters are simply sensible modern women.

If comparatives are to be drawn with sex comedies such as Grand Masti or House full, the movie was several notches above in portraying the women and gay relationships. At no point, it indulges in male bashing, objectifying women, or making fun of the LGBTQ community. To be honest, I did think the movie would indulge in at least in one scene where it would mock Vivek Mushran and his partner. But there isn't and its a win, we might hope to have a better-focused movie on gay relationships in near future.

Swara Bhaskar proved mettle as an actor as she played the rich kid, with no holds barred. Shikha Talsania and Kareena Kapoor too don't disappoint. Sonam Kapoor -(sigh!), she will reach there in another four-five years.

Now before we move to shameless product plugging, one last thing, Veere di Wedding is a movie and not a book, it needs to be extensively edited to fit a particular runtime to be cost-effective and appealing to an audience. Therefore there are not as many dialogues which one could take note of, however again the one where Swara discloses how her relationship has gone to docks or when she repeats it to her parents, takes the cake.

So, yes the movie plugged lots of products. Air India, Bikaneri sweets, Oxford English Hindi dictionary, Bharat Matrimony, and Amul. Although I am not sure if Oxford and Bharat matrimony paid. But in a country like ours, where women in Bollywood struggle for meatier roles, one needs a viable model. The production would need to recover its costs, unlike Dil Chahta Hai which is held as best friendship movie ever had guaranteed returns, on the other hand, this movie is an out and out gamble. And guess what no one is troubled by all guys trip to Goa, in the spur of a moment.

So, yeah - to conclude the movie might pass Bechdel test because they do talk about other stuff, even though for a short time.

Yes, the movie could have been better so would Bajrangi Bhaijan or Tiger Zinda Hai could have been better.

And the final question - about feminism - the movie doe not identify itself or can be classified as core feminist movie, but I think makers were clear on that - the purpose of the movie was entertainment and not activism.

Last checked, the worldwide movie made hundred crores in collections. Go ahead Bollywood make some more chick lits - let us see more feisty women on screen. You have got an audience

Fault - A Short Story On Kindle

A bit about #Fault. The story was written two years ago for a contest. I did not win it. Then it was made available on Quillrapp. To be honest I did not do much about it.

For past a few months I have been looking at my short stories folder on my computer. Finished Stories. Stories with strong critique by early readers. Stories that are unattended. Ideas worthy of Novel.

And then there was the Novel I am working upon which is nowhere near the finish line. The one that would announce I have arrived. But it will take time. A little long time.

So to test the waters once again, I have published Fault on Amazon. I hope that it will receive an audience.

The link for download: https://www.amazon.in/Fault-Vanita-Bodke-ebook/dp/B079RZ6369

Carthick's Unfairy Tales

Disclaimer: In another world that was without social media, the chances of knowing Karthik would be minuscule. But the bane that social media is which deprives us of our productivity, it has also been the boon that connects us to the people who share our interests.

Incidentally, Karthik and I share similar interests in writing and reading, and hence, I state explicitly: I know Karthik Laxminarayanan, Author of the Carthick's Unfairy Tale.
The review that follows, to the best of my knowledge is without bias.

I close the Kindle app after reading one of the stories, 'The Frog who would be the King' and look out of the window of the taxi and wonder if this should be my favourite story. I am afraid the story had a populist view as if to conform to the guidelines of feminism. Its another bane of social media, you don't know who is not pretending.

At this thought, I decided to come to this book later and move on to The Palace of the Illusions. A retelling of Mahabharata from the Draupadi's POV who I feel is the eternal conflict that women represent and which opposite gender claims to have not fully understood.

Feminism, I realise is a topic worthy of a full blog post. I will write about it, someday.

Before closing the app, I read the title of next story, 'No Country For Wild Beast' and I wondered if it is a retelling of 'Beauty and the Beast', considered as an unfeminist fairy tale of our time. Last year, I read two versions of this fairy tale, one by Grimm, and other by Madame de Villeneuve, translated from French by Rachel Louise Lawrence. Both stories have changed my perspectives about this and many other fairy tales I have watched and read, since.

No Country For Beast is not a Beauty and the Beast story, but another fairy tale, Goldilocks and the three bears. In this story, author amuses about the ways of human beings through a little bear's POV.


Retelling is a tricky business.  Once, Suresh C. who's working on a retelling of Greek myth said, even Neil Gaiman's retelling doesn't sell. And I don't doubt it. If I have read about the blue glass slipper of Cinderella or a mischievious Goldilocks, why should I read Karthik's version?

There are many reasons. The first and foremost is the cover.  It is a well-done cover. The cover depicts elements each of the seven stories in the book. A blue glass slipper, a horseman, a bear, a couple of rats, a hobgoblin, a castle in the background, and a full moon night. The overall purple colour like an adhesive holds the elements together. Not even for a moment, the cover seems crowded. It has a great recall value.

But when you open the book, the titles are - Of Mice and Horses, The Frog who would be the King, No Country for Beasts etc.

A look at these titles and we realise the author borrowed them from famous books.  Of Mice and Horses is inspired by Of mice and men by John Steinback, No Country for Wild Beasts is in inspired from Cormac McCarthy No Country For Old Men and so on.

So, from cover, you know the story, but from the title, you can only make a wild guess about the story.

And the author doesn't stop here. To further engage his audience the author in these stories adopts the narrators who are not 'heroes'.

For example, in 'Beans of Avarice' which is a retelling of (as you may have guessed) 'Jack and the Beanstalk,' the narrator is the vile magician.

It starts with, 'I needed a boy. A proper simpleton at that. I didn't want too smart a boy who would turn on me. Like the one Mustafa found.'

For many fairy tales, it is not easy to spot who is the narrator from the first line. It solely depends on readers knowledge or author's discretion to tell which tale gets a makeover.

This change in narrators gave scope to the author to talk about underlying philosophies.

For example, in A Tale of One City, the city of Hamelin narrates the famous/infamous tale of Pied-Piper. In this story, author repetitively asserts the consequences of famous corporate jargon 'Quick fixes'.  This story is the lesson why we must think holistically before taking each step. The finale of the story defines who we are as readers.

This story I believe achieves the purpose of writing. At a time, when we are not coming out in large numbers, and only a few are telling the stories that matter, or the stories that will shape our future, Karthik braves it with this one and it's smart. The jugheads are going to have a tough time cracking this one.

My favourite is the last story of the book, The Hunger Diaries. This story is the retelling of Hansel and Gretel, the one that has been told and retold several times over centuries. The original story doesn't change, but there are versions, and one of the versions is written by Neil Gaiman.

This story is an important part of the European history, the continent was hit by great famine, and there were instances of cannibalism and abandonment of the children.

I told Karthik, Neil Gaiman would be proud of him if he ever read this story. I say so, after having read the brilliant The Graveyard Book, and Hansel and Gretel and other short stories by the maestro. Both Mr Gaiman and Karthik not only strive to tell a story but also try to give a message through the stories.

Karthik in his book has a message for everyone, women, men, introverts, and the coveted middle management.

The only complaint, Karthik does not deliver punches at the end of the most stories, and I am a huge fan of punchlines. An end that leave jaw dropped.  It's a personal choice.

The book does leave you wanting for more.

You can buy the book here.

Where is your home?

Every time, when someone I know, moves to Canada or Australia, I evaluate if I could live here anymore.If I have the strength to breath stench-ridden air here. Or if I can still travel in overpopulated trains and not worry about being looted or molested.

It's a difficult decision.

In 2011, My sister invited me to visit her in  Dubai. A fine place. Shopping Paradise. Abundantly comfortable lifestyle. I enjoyed my stay there, but one day, my sister asked me a pertinent question, when I grow old, where would I want to spend my life! She answered her own question, probably somewhere with peace and tranquillity, closer to mother nature.

In the backdrop, is Dubai Marina, a palatial skyline.

After a week, when I returned, I had a hearty fight with a taxi driver and it was May, Mumbai was high on humidity, and the drizzling sweat that poured all over my body soothed me to a great extent. I can't tell you how better it felt to be back in my own city.

*

Last week we were at Mahur, a known shakti-peeth, it was an annual visit. We made small donations to the temple. The typist who prepared the receipt asked my husband - Gaav? Now, the translation of Gaav is a village, a place where you stay or a place which is your native, or a place you identify with.

The idyllic city of Mahur

This typist isn't going to verify what we say, we even had the option to say 'Timbuktu' and he would probably raise an eyebrow, ask how it is spelled, and move on.

On the other hand, my husband fumbled a bit, before saying Mumbai. I pointed out to him, technically Aurangabad where his father was born. He replied, "What difference does it make? We are Nomads!"

Nomad. Nomadic Tribe. The caste we belong to. If you ask me, I know nothing about our history. We have been farming for more than a hundred years. The evidence of it is a stone statue, on which our ancestors were carved and placed in our farms. Last April, we resurrected the shrine.

The Shrine, A hundred-year-old village house, and the kitchen in it.

My uncle came to the city with his siblings, after he graduated from Nasik. He stayed in Kalyan and moved to Bandra and later to Andheri. He lived in Kalyan until his brothers moved out for jobs and his sisters got married.

My dad worked, lived, and died in Uran. I was born in Uran. I spent twenty-two years in Uran and now, seventeen years in this city, Mumbai, four of which were for education.

After Dad's death, Mom moved to Andheri, and we bought a house there. Now she lives in Chembur, near one of my sister's house.

On my anniversary, which was last month, Mom and I made the trip to the naval dockyard for some work. I travelled via free-way witnessing a burst of under-construction multistoried towers and wondering if I would buy these houses just for the sake of some status and raise a humongous debt.

Presently, I stay at Navi Mumbai, overlooking Yeoor Hills and a public garden. It's a small place, but I feel it's enough.

On the map, if I have to ever pinpoint a place where I belong, I might not be able to say one -Uran, Nasik, Andheri, or Mumbai, but Maharashtra will win hands down.

Probably, that is why I won't move anytime soon.