BODYGUARD- Review

With a caution the mindless entertainer it can be, we still chose Bodyguard. That was the biggest mistake and I demand Siddique my 200Rs back..

Few minutes into the movie, you know it is a straight rip off from a Telgu movie..Few traits to identify like gravity defying stunts, huge haveli, rich father protecting his pricess daughter, unreasonable enemies from generations ever ready to tussle..

Then there are the usual Salman movie starrer scenes like water pipe gushing over his body to tear open his shirt, invention of wierd dance steps, one punch dialogue for which you create situations so that it recurrs, signature ringtone which gets to your nerves after sometime, one 'trying to create comedy' man for which he tries hard and goes to extent of ripping his shirt but you should be a die hard Salman fan to succumb to such mediocre jokes and finally a bone head who falls for such idiocy..You have no reason to fall in love with his character Kareena. He is only doing his duty of guarding..Unless you are paid a bomb to act so brainless..Mix these ingrediants in a cocktail and you have an assured box office blockbuster or so thinks the director.

From the beginnning of the movie, you wonder why there is a pretty girl next to Kareena who sits/eats/sleeps/walks with her. Only at the end you know the reason why she agreed to play such a sly role. To have a "different" climax, the director did not think twice while aping the famous Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. On one side the romantic track surprises you, the comedy track kills you and the action track frustrates you. You wait for Intermission in the first half and wait to get out in the second half.

RATING: *
PS: Its not even a mindless entertainer. Its pure mindless

Exploring Europe: Part 1: Roma

Europe is for a reason a travellers paradise..A little bit of history on why we chose this continent and a small preface to Exploring Europe series..

When I was 8, I saw a movie where the heroine begs her father to allow her to see Europe before her marriage..that scene somehow dint get erased from my cerebrum even when I turned 24..Next reason being, Europe is full of history..something we studied from Class 1 to 10..Renaissance, French revolution, World war, paintings, sculptures, great structures etcetra etcetra..Next reason, we are single and earning and we will never ever have a chance like this to roam the world on our own again and we had to do it..A childhood dream successfully fulfilled..

My co-traveller: My friend from past 15 years..yet another techie in town..the same friend with whom I went to Big bazar, TV9 and Kannada movie director asking for job..those were our 3 most embarassing days i guess..The two of us have been planning this trip for more than 6 months..This trip was all we had in our life since then..

Destination 1: Roma

Eat:
Sadly both of us are vegetarians..Pizza, Pasta, Salad, Gelato, Pastry was all we could find..Trust me Pizza here tastes way better than its land of origin..Enter into any Departmental store and buy food to suffice your breakfast and snacks atleast..you can catch up on local speciality for lunch/dinner..A few packs of MTR bisibelebath, kharabath, pongal will come handy when you miss Indian food..

Sleep:
Book hostels online through hostelbookers.com. Go through the reviews and trust those reviews..Hostels usually provide you with free wifi, common computer, microwave, refridgerator..Trust me they are way better than any hotels which can only rip you off and charge extra for every little facility they provide..Another advantage of hostel is that you can meet people from different countries and share travelling stories as most of them will be holiday to explore..

See:
Rome was not built in a day and hence it can definitely not be seen in a day..Keep atleast 2 days to see Rome alone..Almost all tourist places charge entry fee..Colloseum, Palentine hill, Roman forum are all some tourist places which you have to visit for unknown reasons.., you must walk the city center from Fountain de Trevi to Piazza Navona..so Italian..Remember the true beauty of any place lies with..Markets in every city is not to be missed at all..Vatican should be another attraction in your list..

Travelling Around:
Most of them know English well and are helpful to guide tourist..Metro charges 1E for 1 way travel or you can take a day pass..Volvo buses/trams are better off it goes inside the city giving you a good view..

Buy:
Remember we are budget traveller and cannot afford any labels..Things that we could buy were soveniers, roadside dress, some woodden artifacts, chappals...There are some Italian artists sitting roadside who can make excellent paintings for 10E...If you are getting any portrait done, be sure about your artist..I got one of mine done and the portrait dint look anything like me..There are fake LV, Prada on roads..They are all made up of only 1 type of cloth and easily identifiable as fake..There is nothing expensive and worthy to buy especially if you convert..You can find the same here for much lesser price..

Safety:
Pickpocket capital of the world is an overrated title to this plain city..Its very much like India..you just have to be careful with your belongings..The two of us were so scared that we had stiched velcro pockets inside our pants which could hold passport and cash..It was useful but you need not take such extreme steps to stay safe..Lot of Bangladeshis with whom you can converse in Hindi..they are usually small store keepers..Dont give a damn to any teasers..

Some pictures from my travel..

Fountain de Trevi



Vatican





Colloseo






PS: Travelling on your own gives you an amazing feeling of independence, confidence and pride..I strongly recomment it for anybody who can afford..For any queries regarding Roma travel, drop me a mail @ sheelajv@gmail.com. I wish I had someone to tell me before we embarked..

Watch out for our next destination Amsterdam,Germany,Paris,Brussels

The decade that was: 2000-2010

Seems like yesterday when it was Y2K and I had just entered teenage world..Life is still the same in many ways but at times, it feels like a different world altogether..

Teenage to Adult journey: Things that changed our lives..

1. Malls :


Those were the days when Alankar Plaza used to be a Mall..If you are wondering what it is..It used to be a happening place for shopping in Majestic..Yes Majestic..You can imagine how happening it could have been..And food world was 'the destination' for grocessary where one could find brush to beans under same roof..Its been quite sometime since I used these words like Departmental store..

2. IT


2000
Girl: Hi, I work in x IT company.
Aunty in wedding: My son 'Brahmananda' also works in x. Do you know him?
Girl: There are 2 Brahmananda's I know

2010
Girl: Hi, I work in x IT company.
Aunty in wedding: My son 'Brahmananda Joshi' also works in x. Do you know him? (smart aunty adds surname too)
Girl: I know 10 Brahmananda Joshi's..

IT industry growing and still growing..

3. Television


Television was all about educating GenX on Indian mythology, Indian values, Indian family though in the form of Ekta's serials..Now teenage GenX watches shows on MTV,V and Bindass..And some mature GenX (mainly those working) will not have one..Who wants a TV when even cricket matches are live online and soaps are available online even before its telecast?

4. Orkut/Facebook


It was a platform where everyone could befriend
a. girl whom they just shared a smile
b. friend's friend
c. friend's friend's friend
and sometimes if luck permits, even chat with them..It was Orkut initially..It was like an oracle clarifying everything about the person with whom you had no scope to chat with even if the world paused..

5. Size 0


Bollywood divas, our so called fashion goddess were voluptous, out of shape,
Come Firangs and Miss Indias..All in super fit or should I call skinny anorexic bimbos..Bolly stars felt the pinch...Everyone started rigourous fitness regime to save their careers..and Size 0 was IN..

6. Phones


2000: Girl says "My dad has a mobile phone". Other girl in her mind "OMG! Mobile phone"
2010: Milkman,paperman,conductor,driver,housemaid everyone has one..
India's greatest invention in this decade is "missed call". Nowhere in this planet is there a concept called missed call. Its free for everyone-caller, receiver, network provider..no ones at loss..everyones happy

7. Bollywood


Kapoors, Khans, Chopras are still integral in B-town..Its still ruled by Superstars betas,betis,bhanjas,bhanjis..What can be done when there are Uday Chopras and Tusshar Kapoors? Uday Chopra to me epitomises Optimism..Everytime his movie bombs in Box Office, he resurfaces reminding us he still has his bank balance intact..Tusshar Kapoor is atleast bearable when he is dumb..

8. Kids


While walking on streets, kids played games like Lagori, ice-pice, kallu mannu, jootata (sorry i have no translation in other langueses)...These games seem lost in front of XBox, PS3, Laptops..There is sports ofcourse like Tennis, Basketball, Swimming but most of the times it to make the next Federer,Jordan and Phelps..

9. English


From words like 's**t' to 'f**k'..
From Erich Seghal,Paulo Coelho to Chetan Bhagat,Arvind Adiga, Arundathi Roy
From magazines, newspapers to e-news,blogs, twitter, facebook
From just elite angrez people to rickshawala,doodhwala
Its everywhere..

10. This is just for completion..Top 10 sounds way better than Top 9..

At the end of it, things have changed..for better, for worse is a mystery which time will tell..A clear conscience houses a happy soul..Looking forward to changes a decade later when I come back in 2021 i.e if we survive 2012..Have a great year ahead :)
And do drop in your views on what changed your lives in the past 10years..