Photo credits: http://www.rccadetroit.org/

Can you make sense of this longing?

This feeling that engulfs me when I gaze upon

a pitch black night sky with a lone shining star

the sudden glimpse of a brick red titled roof

atop a cozy house on a cloudy windy day

The tree that sways and trembles with

bright sunny flowers on a drizzly morning

the nostalgia that triggers emotions deep within

like the vast ocean that gently cradles a bobbing moon

the fleeting memory of the smile of a child’s innocence

and eyes that twinkle with wicked mischief

that kills and thrills me

this bitter sweetness that I hate to love

and yet cherish for it warms my soul

I don’t want to let go

and yet wish it would leave me in peace

Sense of longing that preys so on a mind so fickle !!

In advertising new possibilities open up,  new challenges beckon you that fills you with a rush of excitement and fresh enthusiasm. The actual creative process will submerge your senses and shut out all else and it is just you, your thoughts and the creative – such an experience can be mind blowing.

I feel this connect every time I get the rhthym of composing a rush of my thoughts into words. I can just let go of everything else and be in the sole company of my thoughts with a feeling of a free falling making you relax, unwind and be so peaceful and so connected with the entire process. You just bask in the warm glory of words coming at you with the free waterfall of thoughts hitting your senses, awaking your soul and breathing fresh air into a mundane existence. You would be able to connect to what I am talking about, when you have lost yourself in a job or activity or hobby, which makes you come alive.

Back to being, say a creative writer in an advertising firm, the challenge would be to express yourself in a line – boy that can be so much of a struggle when you have to contain all the avalanche of expressions into that single line which is going to taking the world by storm…this adrenaline rush makes it so exciting and so enormously rewarding!

Watching the Prahlad Kakkar show on NDTV brought back waves of nostalgia – the array of ads like the MGM strepsils ad, pink or blue Jenson and Nicholson paints ad and my favourite gold spot, the zing thing had me travel back in time – it was one of those jingles you tend to hum. Watching the Aamir Khan-Aishwarya Pepsi ad, reminded me how much the art of make up has evolved in Bollywood now! The more recent SRK-Sachin pepsi was indeed a brilliant ad that made its mark as expected!

Thanks PK and NDTV for this little nostalgic trip down memory lane. Happy Diwali.

Here is a list of some cool (mostly old) ad clips…enjoy:

Amul Butter1

Amul Butter 2

Gold spot – the zing thing

Raymond Suitings 1

Raymond Suitings 2

Titan

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Choc ad 1

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Choc ad 2

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Choc ad 3

Nescafe

Rasna

Complan

Dhara

Most of us love rain. There is something very romantic about standing in your balcony and feeling the cold breeze sprinkle your face with rain spray, while you sip a hot cuppa.
Just after some refreshing rain its a treat to see the greenery around smiling with a gratified sigh with their original lustre shimmering with pride. There is something cozy about curling up in warm clothes and reading a nice book in such weather.

When you are all by yourself, here are some romantic things you can do when it rains, to enjoy your solitude:

• Open all the doors and windows in your house and feel the rain spray, while you take a nostalgic trip to some happy memories.
• Get a bit bolder and go up to your terrace and feel the downpour in its full glory. After a mirthful time full of childish glee, you slip into some warm clothes, dry your hair and treat yourself to a cup of hot coffee or a bowl of soup.
• Cuddle up between warm sheets and watch a romantic comedy
• Make paper boats in all shapes and sizes and let them take a course in all the tiny rivulets that run around your house…(remember how much you loved it as a kid)
• Prepare a light, piping hot meal, light some candles, put on some music and enjoy it leisurely…spoonful by spoonful, in fact an ice-cream cone is not a bad idea for dessert.
• If you are someone who loves to write or compose a short story or paint…go for it.
• Take a nice long walk in the neighbourhood park when its gently drizzling

Make the most of the rain and get some “just-me” time.

It is amazing how situations can spin your state of mind out of control, how anticipation can build to unimaginable states of anxiety. It is a not so nice a state to be in as you feel only a miracle will help you make peace with yourself.

It is a cute movie, endearing with its innocence and charm. The opening soundtrack “Pop goes my heart” is a fitting intro to a romantic comedy and captures the 80′s feeling quite well. The other soundtracks were quite charming as well, especially the one sung by Alex Fletcher (HUGH GRANT) on stage, “Don’t write me off yet”. It employed a sense of humour and a sensitivity of the heart simultaneously, which is an extremely potent combination in real life situations.

The turn of events in the story is quite cleverly weaved in lines with the movie’s theme music and lyrics. I like the Sophie Fisher’s (Drew Barrymore) simile on Music and lyrics – “A melody is like seeing someone for the first time… the physical attraction…sex…but then, as you get to know the person, that’s the lyrics. Their story… who they are underneath. It’s the combination of the two that makes it magical.”

The striking thing about the movie is the lightheartedness with which the entire script is handled. It’s has quite a few good laughs.

Then again it did not bring depth to the emotion of two people in love – Alex Fletcher and Sophie Fisher. I don’t think it is because of the lightheartedness of the movie, it has more to do with the lack of chemistry between Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. For instance, Notting Hill where Hugh Grant stars with Julia Roberts brings out the chemistry and depth of feeling….you can connect to it but you cannot do the same with the on screen pair of Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore.

Anyways, good time pass and tunes that get you humming.

When do you start feeling objective about a situation in your life?

Trivial things in everyday situations to coping with life’s experiences that go on to make you tough, everything has an impact on the way you think and the way your personality shapes.

I for one always think that it is difficult to feel objective at the first take. It takes years of growing up to be able to do that at the drop of a glance. Thoughts always tend to bounce off the heart to the head. It is your emotional take on it first, even more so for a sensitive person and then it goes past that stage of thought to an analysis of the situation. That is when you push the situation away from you and look at it from various different pairs of shoes. You then arrive at a clear objective picture, from which point it becomes easier to move on, having dealt with it inside your head. You can choose to shrug it off or learn from it, whichever the situation is worthy of.

What happens when you are feeling sad? Again music lends voice to your anguish. You can cry your heart out listening to a number that moves you and reflects your emotional turmoil but the best part is your tryst with music when in rage. I find metal the most demonstrative release of rage. When you are feeling happy or sad, music enhances those feelings, make them burn through you, giving you a high. When you feel anger, music, the heavy metal kinds, actually heals. I was listening to the Helloween band which has some amazing numbers. The best bit was the sarcastic humour laced ever so subtly within the lyrics. It makes you laugh in all the anger you feel. The pace and tempo of the music is so soothing to the soul….you got to experience it… to see what I mean, so next time you feel that rage building inside you, tune in to  album, The Dark Ride ( Band – Helloween), for a recipe on coming to terms with the rush of emotions inside you. HEAL YOURSELF.

With these intriguing lines the movie opens on the scene of a traffic jam in post-9/11 Los Angeles and runs through a very insightful, engaging sequence of events in the lives of the people who are part of this scene. It is a movie that speaks of prejudices revolving around racial discrimination, how people develop the feelings due to the circumstances they find themselves in and how by a twist of fate the prejudices come undone giving them a chance to heal themselves the hard way. The movie describes how normal socially tolerant people overcome by the air of general mistrust, reveal an ugly side to themselves when they vent out frustration and misplaced anger on the innocent.

It is a fantastic script, amazing intertwining of plots that keep the viewer engaged and put them through an entire range of emotions. You hate a character one moment and feel for them the next. Some of the scenes are so involving and kindle such strong emotions that you thank god for being safe and secure in your own country atleast for now! A beautiful movie that takes an empathetic view of human emotions.

Mystery Men
A funny narrative of a bunch of wannabe superheros who eventually find themselves in a situation where they can make their dreams come true. Funny, laugh out loud, lines dot the entire movie. The use of “fork” by blue Raja (Hank Azaria) in his British accent coated dialogues, the bowler daughter and father exchange, Mr. Furious’s (Ben Stiller) expressions and pick up lines he uses to win a date with his sweetheart, the Invisible boy’s concept of invisibility, Spleen’s flatulence ( a gypsy’s curse) etc., is hilarious and fits in nicely with the script.

Captain Amazing who is considered the beloved superhero of Champion City suddenly finds that he has wiped the city of all the crime and therefore does not have a job to do. He realizes that he is losing out on his sponsorship and notices himself slipping into oblivion. He decides to rectify the situation by releasing some of the anti-social elements including the worst villain of all Casanova Frankenstein. His attempt back fires and he finds himself captured by CF. This is where the wannabe superheros hatch a plan to save Captain Amazing ending up in an interesting situation, which they have created and must undo to save Champion City.

The funny script that spoofs a variety of situations and all kinds of superheroes, the comical presentation and a nice cast form the crux of the hilarity.

Sin City
The first thing that strikes you about this movie is the uncanny resemblance of reading a comic and at the same time feeling overwhelmed by the difference the medium can create to your viewing experience. For eg., In one of the batman movies you realize that the character is saying aloud whatever is expressed in thought bubbles within a comic strip and find it laborious and artificial. In Sin City you find the camera work, heavy use of black and white with distinct reds, and behind the scenes technology that tries to create the comic strip feel in the characters and background, simply striking.

The movie dwells on the dark side involving crime, deception and cold blooded psycho criminals of Basin city. It is collection of stories intertwined and narrated in a spiral of events, which emerge into clear storylines when the plot thickens and unfolds. Bruce Willis and his sexy voice lend a certain quality to the visual presentation and the background music adds to the eerie feeling that the movie imparts. The movie is said to borrow influences from the Film Noir period (1940s-1950s) with heavy drama, lots of flashbacks with voice over narratives, femme fatale situations that are characteristic of this genre. A thriller which grips the user in an engaging story telling experience.

Life is beautiful

An endearing movie that moved me to tears. The movie starts out with the charming, effervescent Guido (Roberto Benigni) wooing school teacher Dora (Nicoletta Braschi). The romance is a delight to watch with Guido’s innate humour, and his affectionate way of addressing Dora as his “Principessa”. They get married and have a son and we get glimpses of the very happy life they lead together. Set in 1930s the characters become victims of the war situation, when Germany invades Italy and takes Guido, who is jewish, to the concentration camp.

The family is separated and find themselves in different zones of the camp. Guido makes a valiant effort to keep his family together, communicating with his son and making him believe it is all a big game where you get to win a real tank for a prize . It is so heart warming to watch him help his son cope with the situation as he explains three ways to lose points in the game, one is being a crybaby, two is asking for his mommy and three is saying he is hungry and asking for something to eat. Your heart goes out to the father and son duo during the closing scenes. The conversations Guido has with his son and wife always manage to make the viewer very happy or very sad. They are delightful during the happy times and torturous during the sad.

Not wanting to make his son witness the ugly face of racial discrimination when they come across a board that says “Jews and dogs not allowed”, the delightful manner in which Guido talks to his son about his trip to another store with a Kangaroo who was not allowed brings a lightheartedness to the whole situation, which is what Guido strives to accomplish at every critical instance to keep hope alive. This is what the movie is all about. Eternal optimism, keeping hope alive to win a moral victory in adverse conditions.

However, speaking whatever runs in your mind becomes a very difficult proposition when you are caught in an emotionally vulnerable situation. Subtlety doesn’t help in such cases either. There is always the benefit of doubt.

When egos loom large, as they should under certain emotional temperatures, the power of expression is lost. Images, thought maps and dreams and fantasies churn your mind in a wild frenzied, rollercoaster ride, that gives you a hazy, racy glimpses of highs and lows of a volatile emotional graph, that makes you go nuts. You are so confused. There are so many permutations and combinations, that you know will simply dissolve with a little exchange of thoughts but the courage to bare the soul is at odds with the need to hold on to your pride.

When your confused mind assembles the thoughts in the right order, clears the cobwebs of uncertainty and lends a shine to the one truth that stands out… you hold your breath. You come to terms with the truth. You are no longer afraid. You no longer need to communicate. You know. You are aware. That knowledge is very powerful and it heals.