Poster Done !

So finally we are done with the Poster presentation and officially we are now done with the MSE program albeit there are few more curses...I mean courses to finish ! Overall I think the poster session was pretty relaxed compared to the more grilling and nerve wracking sessions we have had in the past with the EOSP.(Not to forget the welcome change in the breakfast from the mundane Bagels and cream cheese !)
I liked the Snakes and Ladders section of our poster and it showed that we were creative and innovative in our thinking and from the interactions with our mentors, I think they liked it too ! Ofcourse,"it ain't over till the fat lady sings" - so got to wait and see what the grades are like !
Overall, this milestone also marks an end to the 16 month Studio program (or ordeal if you could call it so). Its going to take a while to digest the fact that its all over ! But for now, time for a short nap before I get back to my Machine Learning Mid term !

Darkest Night !

Often during life you come across one of those nights where you just want to be plunged in darkness. I had one of those nights yesterday when things just seemed not to be working out. Reason - I had just received my latest reject call from Deloitte - a company that I had pinned my hopes on simply because it probably suits my style of working and is one of the best matches to my skill set. However, I think I did mess up my case interview a little (why could not I come up with some data to show a 20% ROI) and to be fair, there might have been better candidates who deserved it much more.
Whats this all telling me? There are no free lunches - as a popular saying goes. I dont think I am going to get a job without really working hard at it. Yes ! There is the obvious challenge of balancing my workload in my curriculum with the job hunt - but who said life was easy. Another thing I also realized is that no matter how much someone consoles you or tries to motivate you, you have to develop that willingness and courage to fight it out. In adversity like this I always like to think of Saurav Ganguly (given my affinity for cricket) and how he fought his way back into the team when nobody was willing to give him a chance. I think mental strength and showing the stomach to fight are the key to be able to pass through a phase like this. Life has to move on since I have a poster session at 8 am tommorrow and then have to sit and do my Machine Learning Midterm - which would need some doing given my absence from class for the past week. As Raj Kapoor used to say -"The show must go on" !

Delhi-6 - Your Roadside Bhelpuri !

One of the quickest and easily accessible snack is the Bhel puri which you get at your roadside tapri.Its ready in 5 minutes with all the ingredients being put into a vessel with some masalas rolled churned and voila Your Bhel is ready!!. Delhi-6, unfortunately is like your Bhel which is nothing but a concoction of too many characters,too much of message ranting and leaves you with a taste which prompts you to ask the Bhelwala(director), “Bhaiya, isme thoda aur chutney daal do”
The chutney (read as plot) is the weakest link in the movie. In fact, up to the intermission you are greeted to a series of characters each hogging a 2 minute limelight. You are also given a decent view into the interiors of Delhi-6 and of course the nagging Ram-Leela.Im sure after watching this movie, Ram-Leelas are going to lose much of their popularity. The problem with these innumerable characters is that you hardly identify or emotionally connect with anyone of them leaving you completely confused and bewildered as to what is the underlying premise of this movie(if there was any in the first place!)
To add to the agony, you have a mysterious Kala Bandar who believe it or not, causes Hindu Muslim riots, is labelled as a Muslim terrorist and is creating Breaking News even on CNN (Yes CNN) And if that is not enough, the director goes into public service mode towards the end of the movie by making us believe that we all have a Kala Bandar within us and we need to look within. Ok! Nice message but the portrayal of this message and the scenes which depict the Hindu Muslin divide are anything but convincing and fail miserably to strike a chord.Rang De Basanti gave us that connection when the agitated youngster spoke out on AIR during those heart-rendering moments of the movie. But somewhere in trying to fit in the mannerisms and traditions of Delhi and Chandani Chowk in particular, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has probably lost the fact that the movie needs more than just images. It needs a plot !
Moving onto the performances,Abhishek Bachann is strictly ok but hey just because you are an NRI you need not put on an accent and if you cannot carry it off well, it looks all the more stupid.Shahrukh was also an America return in Swades, but you didn’t need to him to put on accent did you? And there is a Swadesish moment in the movie when AB jr. suddenly decides not go back to America. Although the idea is good, you still don’t empathize with this confused NRI. And again it’s simply because there aren’t enough soft moments in the movie to make you feel that way!
Among the good but wasted performances are A.R Rahman and Sohnam Kapoor. We all know Sohnam Kapoor can act and although she displays flashes of brilliance in her meaty role, its too small to hold the movie together. Another big flaw in the movie is the poor chemistry between Abhishek and Sohnam.Yes,towards the end of the movie they do fall in love, but the journey in love is always more beautiful than the destination which once again our Bhelwala surprisingly ignores.Sohnam could have been the saving grace of this movie but its too-little-too late to keep you enthralled.A R Rahman on the other hand has created a wonderful soundtrack but barring the Masakali track, all the songs are too cramped up in the first half. As if to add insult to injury, they have not been picturized completely as well with most of the songs culminating to an abrupt end after the first antra.I hope A R Rahman hasn’t seen the movie, or he would surely have felt cheated for his efforts.
The support cast consists of big names like Waheeda Rehman,Om Puri, Atul Kulkarni,Divya Dutta. But with such a thin plot and lack of direction,the movie would have been better off without their presence.And what on earth is Amitabh Bachann doing sitting next to AB while he is happily relishing the jalebis ! Yeh Delhi-6 hain mere yaar !
All in all, the movie neither showcases Delhi-6 in its true sense nor do the host of characters and the underlying Kala Bandar propaganda provide for any heart rendering moments. Go buy the Audio Cd instead.Im sure it would cost less than this chutney-less Bhel-Puri !