Inside Out: Brilliant!!

How do they do it? Again and again? Hollywood is creating new benchmarks in animation, the next surpassing the last. What wonderfully creative ventures that take animation to new levels!

Disney Pixar has brought another jewel out of its kitty. Inside Out is an absolute gem of a movie, entertaining, amusing, reflective and thought provoking. Though ostensibly for youngsters, this film has something for everybody, age notwithstanding.

After all, the five emotions are universal and create havoc in everyone's mind in the same manner that they do in little Riley's mind. And though Joy tries to dominate, how many times we have been controlled by Anger or Disgust or Fear? And how many of us actually revel and find solace in Sorrow? The movie drives home the sweet homily that all emotions need to be in tandem for us to function properly, and even negative emotions are required.

The visual impact is outstanding; we can actually feel the emotions and touch their impact. The islands, the core memory orbs, the various sections of the mind, the dream factory, excellent! How do they explain such complex psychological topics so simply, in a language that children can relate to? Its a applause-worthy effort, that deserves standing ovation from all cine lovers.

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Guru Dutt - Legacy of an Overlooked Genius

"Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaae to Kya Hai:" This heartfelt anguish was literally personified by film maker and actor extraordinaire - Guru Dutt, whose birth centenary happens to be tomorrow (July 9). Maestro or Failed Genius? All his life, he strove to depict his vision, his dreams on celluloid. Yet, even as he strove for success, for renown, he was a bit of a recluse, a black sheep himself. It was as if he wanted to challenge the language of popular cinema by being within the format, from the inside. His women had brains, taxi drivers and masseurs were philosophers, sex workers pined for spiritual ecstasy, and friendships blossomed between unlikely people. Common people on the street spoke wiser logic than academics or high-nosed editors. The topics of the films may seem dated now, but the eternal truths voiced in them remain relevant. His films were distinctly different from other popular Hindi films. They had all the commercial elements of song, dance, comedy, romanc...

Does Mother Mary Really Come? You bet!

Prolific writer-activist-thinker Arundhati Roy's memoir, an ode to her mother's formidable personality, is cleverly titled, Mother Mary Comes to Me. Below the title is a picture of young Roy nonchalantly smoking a bidi. Irreverence, thy name is Arundhati Roy! At 372 pages, it is a tome, a sweeping saga that recollects both her mother's remarkable life, as well as her own. Is it a Memoir? Yes and no. Though the book title refers to their mother-daughter relationship, the book - at several junctures treats each one of them as independent and exclusive from one another. In fact, for a good part, her mother finds no mention at all, and the reader is engrossed reading about Roy's exploits and struggles through Architecture College, early attempts to find her vocation and calling, her dabbling with cinema, acting, scriptwriting; her romantic liaisons with the luscious JC, Sanjay, Pradeep et al. A life as extraordinary and unapologetic as Arundhati's mesmerizes in itself. ...

Book review - The Stationery Shop of Tehran

Iranian writer, Marjan Kamali's The Stationery Shop of Tehran is a remarkable and touching book. Like all literature set in countries with a deeply troubled history, this book too revolves around disillusionment, pain and the desperate struggle to live a normal life. Akin to Khalid Hosseini, Kamali intertwines the political in the personal lives of her protagonists. Class struggle also plays a major role, like education or the lack of it. The story spans over six decades and two continents, starting from 1953 Iran to New England, US in early 2013. Love lost, Lives Shattered Young lovers, Roya and Bahman try to hold on to their love in the face of all pettiness and politics, but the aftermath of trauma runs too deep. Just as their country plunges into another political upheaval, their lives are shattered and they are thrown apart. Yet, Kamali makes her story deeply human and optimistic. Her lovers are genuinely good human beings, kind, forgiving and full of empathy. In...

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