This is very cliched- but, is beauty only skin deep? Does physical appearance play such a huge role in finding love? Do ‘fat’ or ‘ugly’ people not find love?
What this movie, folks: Shallow Hal, and you will find out.
Image via Wikipedia
Shallow Hal. Image courtesy: Wiki
The story is about a shallow guy called Hal, who is obsessed with physical beauty, and due to not being very good-looking himself, does not quite hit it off with good looking women whom he is attracted to. A chance encounter with a life coach leaves him ‘hynotised’ so he can only see INNER beauty in a person. Hal suddenly finds that the women he thinks look gorgeous, also show interest in him! He falls in love with a beautiful and intelligent woman, who is also kind and intelligent and humorous. Only to realise, much later, that this girl, whom he sees as ‘slim and sexy’ is actually massively obese!
Now, I was really curious to see how this movie would end. To me, the perfect ending was not in Hal leaving this girl because she was not ‘really’ beautiful. Nor in the girl ditching him because he was ‘shallow’. And certainly not a dramatic climax of ‘ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan’. No. That only happens in fairy tales. And fairy tales, as we know, are only tales.
Much as I do not want to spoil the fun and reveal the ‘The End‘ part, I am not sure how many of you have already seen the movie, or will try to watch it. So I’ll just tell you!!!
The movie ends with Hal realising that he loves his girlfriend, Just the Way she Was! When he finally sees her (not in his hypnotical state), he says ‘Oh My God!!’ and then follows it with a ‘You’re beautiful!’ It was touching to see Hal realises that what makes people beautiful or ugly, is the inner beauty and not what is skin deep.
How I wish we could all be this way.
How I wish we would appreciate people for what they do rather than how they appear!!
How lovely would it be, if the entire world worked on this simple principle of ‘seeing inner beauty’.
How easy life would be if we could just see people for what they truly are, rather than the person they project themselves to be, while their true nature lies hidden beneath layers of branded clothes!!
And equally, how awesome if we could the true nature of people, and realise what pieces of shite they are, behind all those sugar-coated words!
An afternoon with Handsome Giri, is what this title should actually read.
Yeah, now do not get ideas. ‘Giri-giri Peck’ – the dashing Gregory Peck (as my lovely little sister adorably named him once upon a time, when we – my sister and I – were both children).
Now, this week has been pretty busy, and with school re-opening today, I decided at noon (yesterday, that is) to ‘enjoy’ what was technically the last ‘holiday‘ for the term, by spending some quality ‘me time’.
Lucky for me, this is what we stumbled upon. And I say ‘we‘ because the brat refused to nap, and insisted on watching the movie with me, sitting ‘quietly’ on the other sofa!
As the curtains unfolded, I grabbed a mug of hot chocolate (Sigh! In reality, all I had was a plastic throw-away cup with some plain old water!), and curled up on the sofa. To watch the movie I’d last seen about two decades ago 🙂 with my mum (who had this huge crush on Giri-giri, which – at that time – I found utterly silly!)
Scene 1 – Dainty Audrey Hepburn (I’m sorry I only managed to find this video from Youtube and didn’t get the direct scene from the movie)
As I watch the movie unfolding, grinning stupidly, I am interrupted by this…
Lovely Audrey
‘Is she a Princess?’
I am amused by the brat’s interest. I reply ‘Yes darling’ with a huge smile. Yay! My son and I can actually enjoy a movie together!
‘Why is she removing her shoes? Is she naughty?’
I grin again. My sweet little funny, silly boy.
Wicked Witch??!!!
‘No, she isn’t naughty, her feet are aching, so she wants to take off her shoe for a few minutes’.. I venture to explain.
‘Is she trapped in a palace? Is there a wicked witch? Is that woman there the witch?’
I turn my head away from the TV, squint at the brat, just to check ….
Nah! Can’t be. He’s hasn’t even turned four. He can’t possibly… he can’t actually be doing this on purpose… !
‘No, there is no witch, now let’s keep QUIET and watch the movie’, I mutter.
A few seconds of golden silence. The spell is broken by this:
‘Why is she crying? Why? Why?’
‘Because SHE WANTS TO RUN AWAY from the palace… ‘ I say rather loudly, emphasising the ‘RUN AWAY’.
An innocent: ‘Why?’
‘Because she wants to enjoy life irresponsibly – like you – but cannot’ – I say, scathingly.
A few sober seconds. He watches TV. I watch him.
Next, the scene where Audrey Hepburn actually manages to run away from the palace.
The barrage of questions resumes. Reinforced.
‘Has she run away now?’
I refuse to answer.
‘Please speak! Has she run away?’
I give a cursory nod.
My eyes are now glowering, smouldering.. whatever.. at the little nuisance.
THE GLOWERING LOOK
Now, THIS look is going to keep him quiet. If this doesn’t, I swear I will change my name.. to.. to.. Oh sod it! Let’s just see if he can shut up now!
My brat looks uncertain for a moment. Then, he replies – BOTH to the nod AND the look, by a simple (and unflinching) – ‘Wwwwwwhyyyyyyy?’
And I’m thinking WTFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙄 😦
The brat didn’t let me reach even this scene… that has been made, and re-made without shame, into every Indian language available.
So, guess what I very wisely did – turned the TV off, and took the brat outside instead!
Sigh! So much for an ‘interesting’ afternoon with a handsome hunk!!
I leave you to watch this: (well, if your children/grandchildren/neighbour’s children.. ANY children allow you to watch!)
1990: ‘Chennai’ – Old, dull city. Faded tin-like PTC buses plying across dusty roads, passengers hanging out from all doors and windows too, much like grapes spilling out of a basket! Dark-skinned auto-drivers harassing their ‘savaari’ (passenger) for extra money.
Marriage was ‘arranged’ by matching horoscopes and families. And Love signified something forbidden. Passion, lust and seduction – three words used interchangeable, but sadly, all meant something borne out of duty to one’s spouse, or for someone else’s!
Seduction took many forms. Some were naive and delightful, like this:
And marriage meant a mature (beautiful, nevertheless) relationship between two equally serious adults.
And suddenly, love was not ‘taboo’ or ‘gross’ any longer!!
This song, from Kalaignan, was as sensational (despite the heroine’s hair-do) as it was melodious. (Thanks, Vimmu & Scorpia, for reminding me).
Over these years, we had a deluge of ‘young’ movies, starring fresh and happy faces. ‘College life’ changed from ‘girls wearing dhavani and oily pig-tails’ to what-was-then-hep outfits 🙂 and Life also meant Fun 🙂
2000: And finally, while one could celebrate Youth and its associated freedom and carelessness, one also realised that beautiful sensual side to love.
This song from Alaipayuthey in particular was both naughty, and sensual. It showed that ‘marriage’ need not mean an always-behave-serious-relationship-of-two-mature-adults. Marriage could also mean ‘friendship’, ‘fun’ and spontaneity :-)
2001 onwards: Now, strangely, my mind goes blank when asked about songs that tingle the romance buds over the last ten years.
What songs redefined love and lust over the last ten years? Do fill in!
And on that happy note, hope you have a very good weekend, filled with sunshine, laughter and romance 😉
EDITED TO ADD:
Current faavvvvvvvvvvouurriiiiiiiiiiitttttttteeeeeeeeee:
It isn’t very often that one trembles with emotion after watching a movie. Switching channels over the weekend, I just chanced to catch a glimpse of the movie 15 Park Avenue on Sony TV. Two minutes into the movie and I could not surf and skip away to another channel. This was a compelling watch (if there is any such term!).
I’m not going to bore you with the story line, as it is already available on this link on Wikipedia. And if you do wish to watch the movie first, it is available on Youtube 🙂
But a word of caution – if you do watch the movie, you must prepare yourself for a bit of confusion when it ends. For, it ends quite abruptly, and leaves plenty to the imagination / interpretation of the viewer.
The movie was extremely disturbing. From various angles.
First, ofcourse there is Meethi, the girl suffering from schizophrenia. Konkana’s performance is absolutely fantastic! You cannot but help feel touched by her innocence and feel awful about her medical condition. It was disturbing to see how engrossed a person can be in his/her ‘own world’. When we see so-called mad people on the road, they too, are probably suffering from something like this. Its terrible even to watch. One feels sorry, sad and angry. The poor patient, starts to believe that the family that cares for her, is infact against her and prohibits her from living what is reality, for her!
The scene where Mithi is raped is gut-wrenching. Unlike Bollywood/Kollywood movies where rape is cinematised, this particular scene is taken very decently, but has immensely disturbs the viewer. One can actually empathise with the trauma of rape. One feels sick (and sad and angry) at the thought of it.
The way she is abandoned again, is so touching. I especially liked the scene, where when Jojo tries to place an arm around Meethi, she first shrinks. Then she tries to nestle into him, but when he taps her shoulder, she notices something. She realises what his true emotions are. That he does not accept her any longer! And she returns to her shell.
Second, seeing the family suffering as much as the patient herself, again disturbs you. Everything, every action, has to revolve around the patient. And all the time. It must be so demanding on the family. A myriad of emotions there.. sadness, frustration, anger, helplessness, care and love!
Third, Meethi’s fiance, Jojo who has ‘settled down’ and has a beautiful family of his own. One can visibly notice his feeling of guilt (of having abandoned Meethi), the strong emotions of his wife (fear, anxiety) and the way he is torn between his conscience and practicality.
And finally, the character of the Mother was very movingly etched. Its hard to imagine the plight of a woman, whose children are suffering from different problems. One is schizophrenic, another has broken relationships and the third just does not care!
Altogether the movie was deeply disturbing. It makes one think, if do nothing else!!
And now, the most important scene of the movie – the finale:
Where, Meethi searches for 15 Park avenue.
Meethi unites with her family, while the others are left searching for her.
I found various interpretations of the ending of the movie on the internet.
One view was that infact, it was the older sister Anjali who was schizophrenic. This does seem a little plausible, considering that Anu herself had broken relationships and the Doc always seemed to be with her. Though, I thought the Doc had a little more than professional interest in her 😉
Another interpretation was that Jojo was schizophrenic ?!! Now I don’t subscribe to this view because the character seemed to be quite straight-forward.
Now, my interpretation of the ending is:
When Meethi finally sees her home and family at ’15 Park Avenue’ she enters it. But well, all that is illusionary, so in reality, she actually just gets lost. Another name to the list of missing persons!
Anjali keeps looking for her, and keeps asking people for the ‘illusionary address’.
This is what is most striking about the movie.
Though Anu KNOWS it is not real, she believes in her sister’s delusions.
She believes that just as we live in the ‘real world’, the illusionary world of her sister’s is true too.
She believes that ’15 Park avenue’ IS a REAL address and that they will find it, and find Meethi there!!
Now that does not make her schizophrenic. While she is a strong, practical woman, this belief of hers, impractical as it sounds, is REAL to her. Again, while that is her reality, for passers-by, that again, seems to be a delusion.
So what is reality and what is delusion? Its a big big question. An unanswered one in that. Because there is no answer. Each to his own reality. Each to his/her delusions.
To me, the movie only serves to show how much reality is intertwined with what isn’t real. The delusionary Meethi finds her reality. The pratical Anjali actually believes in the delusions.
Now go watch the movie, and add your interpretations 🙂
At first it was the cast that put me off. The title too. Expectations therefore were at an all time low.
So when a friend sent me the DVD, I promptly discarded it for a time when Sky TV would let me down by not airing anything worthwhile.
Lest I sound crazy, let me state very clearly (in Bollywood jargon) that this was not a ‘mind-blowing’ movie. Nevertheless, there are some aspects that I really liked. And here are the takeaways from the movie.
1- That the heroine, Alisha (played by Priyanka Chopra), comes across as such a wonderful, confident and happy woman, who struggles hard to juggle her career along with her personal life. This is so different to the heroines of a bygone era. Earlier, divorce was taboo, and the divorcee (strictly, the woman) would have to look sad, depressed and repentful, missing ‘her man’ at every juncture!
In sharp contrast, Alisha is a very happy and intelligent woman, not regretting the past, and only trying to strike the right balance. She enjoys her successful career, and is a really cool mum. Hats off to such characters, and may there be many more like them.
(A pity, though, that despite her obvious affluence, she doesn’t have much money for clothes. She seems to wear her little daughter’s outgrown shorts. And her other outfits seem like there wasn’t enough material left over to make a complete dress! Sigh! Yeah, I can see you gentlemen are resolving to watch the movie right away!)
2- That the ‘nanny’ is a man. I didn’t actually see parts of the movie, as I was multi-tasking with something in the kitchen, but yes, it was a very pleasant experience to see that a nanny need not necessarily be a woman. It can be a man too. Maybe this is lift-off from Mrs.Doubtfire, well, atleast partially. But it is good to see Indian audiences can accept this fact. There can be male nannies, there can be house-husbands, and there is nothing wrong about it. I like it!!
3- That the ‘male nanny’ did not find it ‘beneath his dignity’ to entertain the kid or to simply be a nanny! Even in the scene where he is given a long list of household chores, and cheekily outsources it, there is no indication that he thinks ‘being a man is reason enough to not do the chores’. To me, it just came across that he simply did not have a clue as to what to do / or / felt overwhelmed, and so outsourced it. That again, shows a shift in attitude and culture, as a whole. Even if it only represents one small portion of society, still, its a breakthrough, isn’t it?
4- And this song, is what actually made me want to see the movie in the first place.
The hero says ‘love’ is based on looks. For someone who looks bad, finding love is ‘impossible’. While Alisha first refutes it, she later on realises that, that is indeed true. Nobody gives a second glance to someone who looks like a geek, or is ugly. Now I partially agree with this. People (both men and women) give a lot of weightage to looks, far more than what is deserved. And many a time, love is not reciprocated simply on this count. All the same, I also believe, when someone only looks ‘average’, the love that one finds is very genuine, as it is based on something more substantial than just looks.
5- Then, I loved this line by Alisha ‘I’m not a princess. I’m an ordinary girl, but when I’m with you, I feel like a princess’. Well, what more can one say? That is what love is all about!! If your partner can make you feel special, what more can one ask for? The romantic in me loved this typical crazy Bollywood scene!
6- And lastly, I liked the character played by Dino Morea (and not just because it is played by him 😉 ). This character again, came across as a confident young man, who knows the difference between Right and Wrong, and consciously Chooses Wrong. And in the end, when ‘Truth triumphs’, he is equally sportive. He does not do any ‘dramatic repenting stuff’, and not does he ‘swear revenge’. He simply acknowledges the other’s success. I think that is a very nice trait to have. To be able to lose graciously 🙂
So, now I’m not asking you to watch the movie. Watch this song, for sure.
There are a lot of aspects about the movie that are not so good … some of the stereotyped college scenes, the little daughter being so grown-up, that there is no change at all in the looks of main characters despite the time-leap. Despite all this, though, I think the movie has its positives. Apart from the above, Priyanka Chopra looks stunning, the music is pleasant, and every actor perfectly fits the role.
So, those of you, who have found your soul-mates, congrats once again, and work hard to continue to treat them like a Prince/Princess as the case may be 🙂
And to those of you who are looking for love, all the best 🙂 I hope you will care to consider values that will last forever 🙂
Happy Weekend, all 🙂
[P.S: All pictures, courtesy the great WWW. Linked them back to the original source whereever possible]
OK. There have been hundreds (er…or was it thousands?) of reviews of ‘3 Idiots’ and much has been spoken and written about it. What with the Chetan Bhagat controversy, www has been inundated with opinions and viewpoints on the movie, the book and the reality of the movie itself.
So what is it that I want to talk about in this post?
The simple fact, that one is somehow touched by this movie. And FEELS a sense of loss, thinking of lost opportunities, and faded dreams.
I, for one, am a very simple person. I generally look at the positive side of an event (or so I claim 😉 as people who are close to me may think otherwise 🙄 ) and don’t regret most of the decisions I’ve taken. (Well, except perhaps that adorable bag I missed buying during the Debenhams Sale last year. Or some huge decisions like taking a break from work, at the peak of my career! Sigh! And that’s just the occasional ‘sigh’.. Mind it 😀 )
But this particular movie made me feel remorseful..
For all the dreams that I stopped chasing…
For all the wishes I thought could never come true…
For all those moments when I had suppressed my thoughts/emotions and did not speak my mind out.
Maybe it was all for the best. Maybe I would have gotten into serious trouble because of my foot-in-the-mouth disease! Maybe I would have been financially affected due to a wrong decision. But atleast I would have tried! And maybe, things might be better?!
And what interests me MOST, is that, everyone I know/see is touched the same way.
Does it mean that we have all compromised on important things in life, and made decisions against what we really wanted? Or were we just too timid to fulfill our deepest desires? To put it very crudely, are we a bunch of Losers?!
‘Losing’. In direct contrast to what our parents prepare us for! The Rat Race starts in pre-KG, with lakhs of rupees worth donation, to get admitted into a prestigious school. From there on, the Race just goes on and on.Until, by the time we reach the Finishing Point, we are so jaded, that Winning or Losing does not even matter any more. We are simply relieved that the Race is over, and we can head back home, for some peace and quiet.
But hey! Who knows? The guy who honestly chased his Dreams.. if there was any such person out there.. is he entirely happy? Or does he, too, have regrets of his own?
Like they say , in advanced computer terminology, ‘GOK’, meaning, ‘God Only Knows’ 😉
Atleast, one thing the Movie has taught me, is to be bold enough to TRY new things. Better Late, than Never!
I might just start with trying to write a poem/fiction this week?! Or maybe, sign up at the local gym! Who knows!
So, simply Give me some Sunshine.. Give me some Rain.. Give me Another Chance, I want to Grow up Once Again…..
When I accidentally came across the story-line, I was disgusted, as this is a straight lift off the English movie: She’s the man. Now that, was a thoroughly enjoyable movie. So, I was upset to see Yashraj has simply hadap-ed an English movie, instead of letting their creative juices flow. I guess all they want is a juicy cash flow!
Ofcourse they will rake in the moolah. They have * handsome Shahid * Nautankey Rakhi! * And crafty Rani. (I somehow find her sexy smile rather artificial and forced!)
Call me crazy, but am I the only one in the world to think Rani looks worn?!She doesn’t quite have that refreshing charm she exuded in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or Ghulam (and I absolutely loved her in those movies!!). And to think of watching Rakhi Sawant, that itself is sheer torture. Much as I respect her outspoken-ness, she is a little too brash for my liking!
On another note, Aishwarya Rai seems to have gained a few tyres. Check out this video. Cheap thrill, that 😉 – the much-hyped Bacchhan Bahu isn’t quite the slender reed she used to be.
Now, now, now, Don’t you go pointing fingers at me! Neither am I a former Miss World nor do I get paid Crores of rupees, while being adored by the new Mummas-and-Pappas.
Another tidbit for you… when I tried to Google ‘Aishwarya Rai’ , this is one of the answers that came up featuring a link to ‘Wikianswers‘. What a waste of Internet resources. We Indians are crazy about ‘our stars’, aren’t we?!
‘Change is the rule of nature’ – The Bhagavat Gita
How many times have we heard that Change alone, is constant?
As we rapidly outgrow innocent childhood and move into complex adulthood,and lose our baby fat to make place for hardened larder and cholesterol, most of us also leave our homeland in search of greener pastures. And every day, every year we see change. We are innundated with material comforts and are left gasping for a breath of fresh air. We see money and clutter all around, but are left yearning for that elusive inner peace.
I too, have seen a bit of turbulence over the last five years – crossing seas, witnessing and experiencing recession, stepping into the threshold of motherhood, etc.
The silver lining is, I have (contrary to the saying in the Bhagavat Gita), found something that has indeed remained constant all through these turbulent times.
I turned on the TV last night, and found this Kk soap on air. Choosing between Naya Don and this wasn’t an easy task. Both were equally agonising. However, it had been ages since I saw Kk, so I decided to give it a shot. Just to catch up on the story, you know.
And guess what? Nothing, absolutely NOTHING had changed!
Prerna (the protagonist) is a grandmother now, but she still looks like she is in her 30s. The same open tresses, gaudy chandelier earrings, bejewelled sarees, and the same irritating expression of anguish and hope on her same-looking face.
The same situation, of an ex(lover/husband/what have you!)-turned-villain trying to expose her ‘raaz’ (secret), and in the attempt, unwittingly reuniting her ‘parivaar'(family).
The most antogonising part however was, that the camera showed the SAME dumbfounded expression on each face on the screen, with jarring sound-effects every time the shot switched between the protagonist and the ‘current’ villain and back again, EIGHT times in FOUR seconds. The extras (hubby calls them ‘tea-bun’, meaning, they play insignificant roles and idle around with a cup of tea and a bun!!) are also paralyzed with ‘shocked’ expressions from various angles and in various stills and replays.
The scenes and situations are the same, the actors are also the same, despite taking leaps forward in time. The jewellery and accessories are the same. Infact everything is the same as it used to be when the soap was first aired on TV.
So you see, ‘change’ is not always the rule of nature. Ekta Kapoor defies this logic. It is certainly not absurd that a ‘dadi’ (granny) still looks like a ‘didi’ (sister).
And everytime there is a change in my life…like staying at home after losing a job, or trying to settle down into foreign surroundings, there is something I can fall back on. I only have to tune into ‘Chaahat ke safar mein….‘ and I am instantly cheered up, as I feel like I am back to the good ol’ days! The cheer just seeps through the long-lasting headache that the soap leaves me with.
The gist of this post is, Change may be constant, but with a stabilizer like the Kk soaps, there isn’t much need to worry!
We watched Aegan last night. Like hubby says, “How ever did they manage to copy a good movie like ‘Main Hoon Na’ and turn it into so much crap?!!!”
Nevertheless, I found it was good time-pass. For one, it was the first movie hubby and I were going to, in almost 3 years!! Secondly, the hip-hop music wasn’t bad, and actress Nayantara looked drop-dead-gorgeous. Ignore the (fl)ab and puffy eyes and actor Ajith Kumar still looks handsome.
The movie did bring out a few laughs. In fact, the downright silliness of some scenes (like the hero frightening away a angry mob of armed rowdies, with a simple stare!!) was almost as funny as the really-intended comedy scenes.
On the whole, I’d say, if you have nothing else to do, and want some time pass, watch ‘Aegan’!
Next, the scene where Audrey Hepburn actually manages to run away from the palace.
Writer-z-block 
